METRO 2 - Action Database - Final Draft

© 2023 Son of Oak Game Studio - M:O Action Database - Final Draft Copy Page 1
Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

ACTION DATABASE
WHAT IS THIS PDF AND WHO IS IT FOR?

The Action Database is a database of suggestions for typical :Otherscape actions, their
positive and negative tags, their possible Consequences, and what Effects to use to represent
them.
The Action Database is not required to play the game nor does it limit play; it is not a
rulebook. You can use the core rules of the game presented in ://PLAY to create any outcome,
without ever referring to the Action Database. This may be your group’s preferred way to play
:Otherscape, especially if you’re used to narrative games, or you may refer to it on occasion,
when you need inspiration.
If you ever feel stuck for your next action as a player or for Consequences as the MC, the
Action Database is here for you. If your group is coming from more rules-heavy role-playing
games, this will help you bridge the gap to :Otherscape’s open system.

DATABASE: LOADING… >>
With its open-ended tag-based rules, :Otherscape allows you to simulate and resolve any
imaginable action that players could want to take in a scene. From hacking a simple lock to
piloting drones, from brewing potions to summoning spirits, from driving a getaway car to
shooting rockets at a giant spider tank – all actions of a mythic cyberpunk series can be
resolved using the same rules.
The following Action Database is provided as suggestions on how to handle most common
actions in the universe of :Otherscape using the rules. Each entry is an action or a narrow
category of actions that can be resolved in a similar way, suggesting how the action’s outcome
should be determined – as a narrative, quick, or tracked outcome – although the MC may
always apply their cinematic considerations to override these recommendations.
Many actions offer both a quick and a tracked option, with the tracked option reserved for
scenes where the action is the focus of a scene (e.g., hacking in a cyberspace scene). You
might want to skip some of the more involved ways of handling tasks if doing so would slow
down the pacing of your story. The MC can always decide to handle something as a quick
outcome, making an entire firefight play out with a single roll, for instance.
Each entry also lists:
● Suggestions for the kinds of tags that would be positive or negative for such an action
● Suggestions for which Effects to choose in order to best translate your action’s narration
into game rules, the tags and statues most likely to be created (or destroyed) as a result
of this action and how long they should last, and any related Limits
○ Suggestions for Extra Feats appropriate to the action, which can also be for a
great or exceptional quick outcome.
● Suggestions for likely Consequences that might result from a miss or a mixed hit
The Action Database presents recommended suggestions for how to handle topics such
hacking, magic, drone piloting, and the like – but things could be different in your game.
Perhaps Harnessing works differently in your series, or your PC practices an unusual type of
Esoterica that requires different handling. Use the Action Database as a baseline, and mix and
match as appropriate to your game.
UNIVERSALLY RELEVANT TAGS AND STATUSES
Some statuses affect all or most actions. Almost every action requires you to pay attention to
what you’re doing and be able to perceive your surroundings. For this reason, tags and statuses
like darkness, heavy fog, loud crowd, distracted, in-pain, etc. can negatively affect most actions.
Likewise, stamina statuses like tired, winded, or exhausted can affect any action that requires

effort or focus. Motivating or empowering feelings, such as save my brother or hates the
corporations, can boost a wide variety of actions, if the MC deems determination and conviction
as playing a part in the success of the action.
TIME MATTERS
The actions listed here vary in how long they take to perform, from near-instantaneous combat
attacks to business or travel actions that could span days. Actions taken by PCs must match in
scope to the scene in which they are taken; a PC cannot go on a journey across the world
during a combat scene that lasts under a minute.
Furthermore, the very passing of time can trigger other events around the PCs. For example,
searching a crime scene could take a good chunk of time and while the PCs are searching,
others may notice them there, the gang of perpetrators could be on the move, or a different
problem can arise for the PCs on the other side of town.
The outcome of the action also affects its timing: an exceptionally well-performed negotiation
could be completed quicker than usual, while a botched negotiation could burn precious
daylight, often for naught. To represent this, the MC can always feature time itself as a
Challenge in the scene. When establishing or re-establishing a scene, the MC can make
Threats related to time, such as “You’ve spent a lot of time climbing the side of the KOCMOC
complex; your synchronized watches are counting down nervously.” – and then deliver
Consequences if the crew ignores it.
When delivering Consequences for any action, the MC can say the action took long enough for
more trouble to unfold, and then present these troubles to the players. For example, as
Consequences, a drone graveyard tinkerer working on building an assassin drone could find
themselves blackmailed by a stray vagabond who’s noticed their unusual and illegal project and
wants something in return for their silence.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
WHAT IS THIS PDF AND WHO IS IT FOR?........................................................................... 2
DATABASE: LOADING… >>........................................................................................................3
UNIVERSALLY RELEVANT TAGS AND STATUSES........................................................ 3
TIME MATTERS................................................................................................................ 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................................5
COMBAT..................................................................................................................................... 10
COMMON COMBAT STATUSES.......................................................................................... 10
DIRECT ATTACKS................................................................................................................ 12
Area Attacks (Attack)....................................................................................................... 12
Hand-to-Hand Attacks (Attack)........................................................................................ 13
Multiple Attacks................................................................................................................13
Precision Attacks............................................................................................................. 13
Ranged Attacks (Attack).................................................................................................. 14
Homing Ranged Attacks.................................................................................................. 14
Restraining an Opponent (Disrupt, Attack)...................................................................... 15
Surprise Attacks and Silent Kills...................................................................................... 15
Two-Weapon Fighting...................................................................................................... 15
COMBO ATTACKS................................................................................................................ 16
TACTICAL ATTACKS.............................................................................................................17
Attacks to Hold Off or Spur Opponents (Quick, Disrupt, Influence, Attack)..................... 17
Confusing an Opponent (Quick, Influence, Disrupt, Weaken)......................................... 18
Disarming and Sundering Gear (Quick, Weaken)............................................................19
Feinting and Distracting Attacks (Disrupt)........................................................................20
Impairing Attacks (Disrupt, Weaken)............................................................................... 21
Trick Shots (Quick, Create, Influence)............................................................................. 22
COMBAT SUPPORT............................................................................................................. 23
Analyzing the Battlefield (Quick, Discover, Disrupt).........................................................23
Assisting an Ally (Quick, Enhance, Bestow).................................................................... 25
Assuming a Battle Stance (Enhance).............................................................................. 26
Improvised Weapons (Quick, Create)..............................................................................26
Preparing an Attack (Enhance)........................................................................................28
Leadership (Enhance, Restore, Influence)...................................................................... 29
Treating Injuries (Restore, Discover)............................................................................... 29
TACTICAL TEAMWORK........................................................................................................30
COMBAT MOVEMENT.......................................................................................................... 31
Forcing an Opponent to Move (Quick, Disrupt, Weaken)................................................ 31
Moving Around the Battlefield (Quick, Enhance)............................................................. 32
Retreating From Combat................................................................................................. 33
Vehicle Combat................................................................................................................33

COMBAT DEFENSE..............................................................................................................34
Blocking or Soaking an Attack (Mitigate)......................................................................... 34
Dodging an Attack (Mitigate)............................................................................................34
Taking Cover (Quick, Bestow, Enhance)..........................................................................35
CYBERSPACE............................................................................................................................ 36
CYBERSPACE AND HACKING TERMS............................................................................... 36
THE PHYSICAL LAYER.................................................................................................. 36
HUMAN USERS AND DIGITAL ENTITIES......................................................................36
DOMAINS VS. DEVICES.................................................................................................37
INTRUSION COUNTERMEASURES (IC)....................................................................... 38
USER VS. SUPERUSER.................................................................................................39
HACKING AS A SCENE VS. HACKING IN A SCENE.......................................................... 40
HACKING STYLES................................................................................................................40
COMMON CYBERSPACE STATUSES................................................................................. 41
KILLING A DIGITAL GHOST................................................................................................. 41
DATA, NETWORK, AND CODING........................................................................................ 43
Accessing Data (Quick, Discover, Create).......................................................................43
Connecting to a Node...................................................................................................... 44
Data Forgery (Create)......................................................................................................44
Disconnecting (Quick)......................................................................................................45
Protecting Data or Programs (Enhance, Create)............................................................. 46
Repairing Data or Programs (Restore)............................................................................ 47
Scanning the Network (Quick, Discover)......................................................................... 48
Tracing Data or Signal (Quick, Advance).........................................................................49
Writing a New Program (Create)......................................................................................50
HACKING.............................................................................................................................. 51
Blocking a Digital Attack (Mitigate).................................................................................. 51
Crashing a Node or a Program (Attack)...........................................................................52
Disrupting Device Functionality (Disrupt, Weaken)..........................................................53
Overriding or Fooling a Security Device or Program (Quick, Set Back, Weaken)........... 54
Taking Control Over a Node or a Program (Quick, Advance, Influence)......................... 55
VR MODELING......................................................................................................................56
Altering the VR Environment (Quick, Bestow, Weaken).................................................. 56
Creating VR Constructs (Create)..................................................................................... 57
Customizing an Avatar (Bestow, Enhance, Loadout).......................................................58
Moving in VR....................................................................................................................58
HARNESSING....................................................................................................................... 59
Harnessing a Brain (Quick, Bestow)................................................................................ 59
Taking Actions in VR While Harnessed............................................................................60
EXPLORATION & SURVIVAL.....................................................................................................61
DIFFICULT TERRAIN............................................................................................................ 61

NAVIGATING DANGER.........................................................................................................63
Chases (Advance, Disrupt, Enhance, Mitigate)............................................................... 63
Creating and Removing Hazards and Obstacles (Create, Disrupt, Weaken).................. 65
Scavenging (Create)........................................................................................................ 66
Scouting and Guarding (Quick, Discover, Enhance)........................................................67
Sneaking Past a Threat................................................................................................... 68
Surviving Environmental Hazards (Mitigate)....................................................................68
Travel and Survival in Dangerous Environments (Quick, Advance)................................ 69
MEDICINE, HEALTH, AND RECOVERY...............................................................................70
Mental and Physical Resilience and Recovery (Mitigate, Restore, Bestow, Enhance)....70
Performance Enhancement (Bestow, Enhance).............................................................. 71
Treating Injuries and Other Conditions (Restore, Discover)............................................ 72
MYTHOS..................................................................................................................................... 73
COMMON MYTHIC TERMS..................................................................................................73
COMMON MYTHIC STATUSES............................................................................................73
USING MYTHIC POWERS....................................................................................................75
Aiding Others with Mythos powers...................................................................................75
Attacking with Mythos powers..........................................................................................75
Divination or Magical Senses...........................................................................................75
Finding and Focusing on a Specific Ability (Create, Loadout)......................................... 76
Granting Abilities to People or Items (Bestow, Create, Enhance)....................................77
Healing with Mythos Powers (Restore, Discover)............................................................77
Moving and Evading with Mythos powers........................................................................78
Manipulating Others with Mythos powers........................................................................ 78
Protecting with Mythos powers........................................................................................ 78
Shaping the Environment with Mythos powers (Create, Weaken)...................................79
Shapeshifting and Transformations................................................................................. 79
MYTHOI & SOURCES...........................................................................................................79
Communing with a Mythos (Quick, Discover).................................................................. 80
Identifying a Source (Quick, Discover).............................................................................80
CONJURING......................................................................................................................... 82
Banishing a Conjuration (Attack)..................................................................................... 82
Commanding a Conjuration (Quick, Influence)................................................................ 83
Summoning a Conjuration (Create)................................................................................. 84
THE ARCANE ARTS............................................................................................................. 85
Countering, Dispelling, or Disenchanting Mythos Powers and Sources (Mitigate,
Weaken, Disrupt)............................................................................................................. 85
Performing Magical Rituals (Quick, Advance, Enhance)................................................. 86
Sourcecraft.......................................................................................................................87
Warding (Enhance).......................................................................................................... 87
SPYCRAFT................................................................................................................................. 88

COMMON SPYCRAFT STATUSES...................................................................................... 88
CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS............................................................................................. 89
Avoiding Attention and Staying Anonymous (Mitigate).................................................... 89
Breaking and Entering..................................................................................................... 89
Infiltration (Varies, Advance)............................................................................................ 89
Sneaking and Hiding (Quick, Enhance, Disrupt)..............................................................90
Tailing (Quick, Discover, Enhance).................................................................................. 91
Losing a Tail (Restore)..................................................................................................... 92
INTEL GATHERING...............................................................................................................93
Listening to Rumors and Asking Questions (Quick, Discover, Create)............................93
Reconnaissance.............................................................................................................. 95
Researching a Topic (Quick, Discover, Create)............................................................... 95
Searching and Investigating a Scene (Quick, Discover, Create)..................................... 96
SOCIAL INTERACTIONS........................................................................................................... 97
COMMON STATUSES...........................................................................................................97
BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS............................................................................................... 99
Making a Purchase (Quick, Loadout, Create)................................................................100
Negotiating a Fee (Enhance)......................................................................................... 101
Paying for a Service (Varies)......................................................................................... 101
Selling Stuff (Enhance, Bestow).................................................................................... 102
IN-PERSON INTERACTIONS............................................................................................. 103
Competitions (Advance, Set Back)................................................................................ 103
Deception (Quick, Influence)..........................................................................................104
Gathering Support and Resources (Loadout, Create)................................................... 105
Getting Close to Someone.............................................................................................106
Making an Impression (Quick, Influence, Enhance)...................................................... 107
Manipulating Public Opinion (Influence)........................................................................ 108
Negotiation.....................................................................................................................109
Outsourcing a Job (Quick, Varies)................................................................................. 109
Persuasion (Quick, Influence)........................................................................................ 111
Preparing an Approach (Enhance).................................................................................112
Resisting Social or Emotional Manipulation (Mitigate)................................................... 113
TEAMWORK........................................................................................................................ 113
Helping and Supporting (Bestow, Enhance).................................................................. 114
Leadership (Enhance, Restore, Influence).....................................................................115
Team Preparations (Bestow)..........................................................................................116
TECH & GEAR.......................................................................................................................... 117
COMMON TECH & GEAR STATUSES............................................................................... 117
OPERATING TECH & GEAR...............................................................................................119
Evaluating and Activating Tech (Quick, Discover)..........................................................119
OPERATING A DRONE.......................................................................................................120

Programming a Drone....................................................................................................120
Piloting (Quick, Enhance, Restore)................................................................................122
Reloading and Recharging (Quick)................................................................................124
Setting a Trap (Quick, Attack, delayed roll)................................................................... 125
TECHNICAL MODIFICATIONS........................................................................................... 126
Building, Crafting, or Upgrading Tech (Loadout, Create, Bestow)................................. 126
Maintaining and Repairing Tech (Restore).....................................................................127
Tampering with a Device................................................................................................127

COMBAT
Armed and violent conflict is an everyday part of the dystopian future of :Otherscape, especially
for mercenaries engaged in the arms race for Sources and tech such as your crew. Whether it’s
an alley knife fight, a battle with military-grade tank bots, or a clash of monstrous Conjurations,
your characters will encounter armed resistance in most jobs, and must know how to defend
themselves. Even when Harnessed into cyberspace, warriors and gunslingers use physical
combat actions to hack, as explained under Harnessing (page XX).
COMMON COMBAT STATUSES

Winning a fight: The Limit hurt-or-subdue tracks defeating a PC or a Challenge by killing them,
injuring them, restraining them, or otherwise physically overpowering them. It includes all
physical harm statuses such as injured/wounded, burned, crushed, shot, etc., but also subdual
statuses such as restrained, knocked-out, and such.
The generic statuses injured and wounded indicate any injury or wound. For flavor and
cinematic flair, they should usually be rephrased to indicate the specific injury or wound inflicted,
such as broken-arm or gunshot-wound.
Wreck tracks defeating a PC or Challenge with a mechanical body, such as a drone or a vehicle.
Grounding or restraining such a machine also involves maxing out wreck.
Tactics: Statuses can represent a character’s current position on the battlefield, favorable,
unfavorable, or favorable for some situations and unfavorable for others.
● A character can be exposed, surrounded, or cornered, which is positive for attacks

against them and negative for mitigating attacks against them.
● A character can secure an advantageous-position which is positive for mitigating attacks
against them and for attacks they perform, while being negative for attacks against them
and mitigating attacks they perform.
● A character can position themselves behind-cover or be hunkered-down, to boost their
mitigation against attacks.
● A character can be prone, which may be favorable for mitigating some attacks or
unfavorable for mitigating others.
Challenges gain positive tactical statuses as Consequences; if a player wants to take action to
create one for their PC, see Moving Around the Battlefield (page XX). The MC may also interject
to give, remove, or expire an appropriate tactical status according to what happens in the fiction.
However, not all tactical aspects require a status – only the most pertinent one should be
reflected in a status.
Battleground awareness: A character could get distracted, either because their attention is
dispersed or because they are too focused on something; they can become blinded, blindsided,
shellshocked, stunned, etc. Such statuses hinder a character’s ability to notice enemies
sneaking by or sneaking up on the character, as well as most attack mitigation reactions.

Stamina: When someone is physically overextended, they can become tired, winded,
exhausted, or similar. The MC may count stamina statuses against their hurt-or-subdue Limit for
simplicity, or separate them into a different Limit, which is usually equal to their hurt-or-subdue
Limit.
Morale: High morale, battle frenzy, fear, and demoralization can all affect a character’s
performance in battle. Statuses such as momentum, raging, scared, or demoralized are
common factors in combat actions.
Poison: The poisoned status becomes incapacitating when its tier equals the victim’s
hurt-or-subdue Limit and lethal or permanently transformative when it exceeds that Limit. A
character can use Combat Defense (page XX) to avoid being poisoned in the first place and
they may also attempt to resist the poison, see Mental and Physical Resilience and Recovery
(page XX). The poison is neutralized when the status is fully removed, see Treating Injuries and
Other Conditions (page XX) or Healing with Mythos Powers (page XX).
When a PC is poisoned, the poison becomes a Challenge. The MC can pose a Threat using the
poison (“The poison spreads in your body.”) The frequency of this Threat can range from every
time the scene is re-established to once every Downtime, depending on the effects of the
poison. If the Threat remains unaddressed, even during another PC’s spotlight, the MC can
deliver Consequences such as increasing the tier of the poisoned status or shutting down body
and mental functions by burning tags.
When a PC inflicts poisoned, the poison is considered a secondary character controlled by the
PC, not unlike a spirit or a drone sent on a mission. Whenever the player gets the spotlight, they
can take action as the poison and roll to cause more damage with it; the target’s poisoned
status is a positive status in such a roll. The MC should consider allowing the player an
extended spotlight to activate the poison in addition to the PC’s action. On a hit, the player
Attacks to deal additional poisoned statuses that stack with the original status or Weaken to
shut down body and mental functions by burning tags. Consequences on such a roll refer to the
poison itself, and most commonly involve slowing the spread of the poison (denying the PC’s
next action as the poison) on a mixed hit, or the target having overcome the poison, although
the damage from poisoned may still remain (rename the status to system-shock or the like).

DIRECT ATTACKS
Area Attacks (Attack)
Fire a missile or a rocket ● Bombard ● Shower with a hail of bullets ● Cleave with a
mighty weapon ● Infuse an area with evil spirits ● Blanket area with magical frost
You deliver an attack to an entire area. Targets in the area are hit selectively or indiscriminately,
depending on the nature of your attack. If there are defensive tags shared by most of the
targets, they apply to this roll; otherwise, targets mitigate this attack individually (Resisted Area
of Effect or Multiple Targets, page XX). This action always has a target Scale; see Fire and
Strike for attacking single targets.
Attack to inflict a harmful status such as wounded, slashed, bleeding, burned, electrocuted,
dissolved or corrupted, usually applied to the Limit hurt-or-subdue, wreck, or similar.
Extra Feats: create a mess or cause chaos; disperse the targets around; remove obstacles or
hiding places; create a pile of rubble or debris; cause the target to retreat in a certain direction
Power
➕ attack rate or speed; large melee weapon; explosive ammo; command of terrain; brute force;
destructive attitude; hazardous materials; targets in a choke point
➖ targets are spread out; hiding spots; slow-firing weapon or slow projectile; detrimental
weather conditions
Consequences
You are caught in the area of effect; you harm allies, innocents, or something valuable to you;
the targets counterattack (injured); you overexert your resources (burn a tag); your attack
obscures your senses (creates smoke cloud) or creates an unintended hazard (such as pooled
acid).

Hand-to-Hand Attacks (Attack)
Punch ● Kick ● Bash ● Stab ● Slash ● Thrust ● Bite ● Impale ● Run over ● Touch with
harmful substance ● Touch with magical effect
You strike at close range in order to harm. Apply Scale to Strike at multiple targets or a larger
target. To attack an area, see Area Attacks (page XX).
Extra Feats: cause pain; push them back; block their path; keep them focused on you; draw
someone else’s attention; draw an item out of a pouch; maneuver around or away from them
Power
➕ weapons; weapon skills; touch-based abilities; specific maneuvers; strength or speed;
empowered or excessive energy; target’s weak spots or vulnerabilities
➖ wounds or pain; physical restriction; unstable ground; target’s armor, shielding, or dexterity;
target’s natural resistances
Consequences
The target counterattacks (injured); you lose balance (off-balance); you expose yourself
(exposed); you exert yourself (winded); you lose your weapon (burn a tag).
Multiple Attacks
Your rate of attack or ability to attack multiple times in quick succession should be represented
by a tag or several tags such as rapid fire or many-armed goddess. Multiple attack tags can add
to the Power action to Hand-to-Hand Attacks (page XX) or Ranged Attacks (page XX), as long
as you attack in a fashion that utilizes your rate of attack. If you’re attacking multiple opponents
by Scaling an attack action, multiple attack tags can help to offset the Power loss from Scaling.
Additionally, you may be able to use multiple attack tags to unleash an Area Attacks (page XX)
at an entire area.
Precision Attacks
Called shot ● Careful slice ● Aim for a weak point ● Do a stunt
If you take a called shot to maximize damage, see Preparing an Attack (page XX) before
making an Hand-to-Hand Attack (page XX) or Ranged Attack (page XX).
If you take a called shot to impair a target's specific ability or their equipment, see Impairing
Attacks (page XX) or Disarming and Sundering Gear (page XX).
If you take a called shot as a stunt, see Trick Shots (page XX).

Ranged Attacks (Attack)
Shoot with a firearm or a cold ranged weapon ● Blast with a magical bolt ● Throw or hurl
a projectile
You shoot, throw, launch or otherwise propel a harmful projectile, object, energy, or substance at
range. Apply Scale to fire at multiple targets or a larger target. To attack an area, see Area
Attacks (page XX).
Extra Feats: cause pain; invoke fear; keep them pinned down; keep them focused on you;
create a distraction; stay hidden; misdirect the source of the attack; quickly reload
Power
➕ weapons, weapon skills; specialized ammo; great accuracy; manual dexterity, ideal
conditions for a clear shot; empowered or excessive energy; target’s weak spots or
vulnerabilities
➖ wounds or pain; physical restriction; weapon faults; extreme range; poor vision or visibility;
environmental interference, such as shooting through water or unstable ground; target’s armor,
cover, shielding, or dexterity; target’s natural resistances
Consequences
You lose sight of your target; the target closes in to melee range; the target shoots back at you
(injured); you hit an unintended target; your weapon jams, you run out of ammo or your magical
power is exhausted (burn a tag); you expose yourself to harm (exposed).
Homing Ranged Attacks
Tags that describe homing weapons such as guided missiles, smart ammunition, or
bewitched arrows can simply be used to increase the Power of a Ranged Attack action
and therefore the chances of a hit. Locking on with a guided weapon before making a
ranged attack can also be reflected as Preparing an Attack (page XX).
Alternatively, the MC may choose to represent launching a homing projectile as a Chase

(page XX) where upon maxing out catch the target is hit and then takes a harmful status
of the MC’s choice or is narratively eliminated, decommissioned, etc.

Restraining an Opponent (Disrupt, Attack)
Chokehold ● Pin down ● Throw down ● Tackle ● Body slam ● Leg sweep ● Control
someone’s body ● Grapple ● Wrestle
You use your body or weapons to limit your target’s movement in close quarters. See also
Hand-to-Hand Attacks (page XX).
Disrupt to give your target a hindering status such as prone, concussed, in-pain.
Attack to max out their hurt-or-subdue Limit with subdued, restrained, or pinned.
Extra Feats: move them around; position them in between you and a threat; cause them to
drop something; take something off of their person
Power
➕ physical strength; large size; martial arts training; tool or weapon such as a garrote, net or
whip; ability to manipulate bodies; target’s physical restraints
➖ small size; target is nimble or slippery; target is electrically charged, cold to the touch, or
covered in spikes
Consequences
The target attacks you (injured); the target grabs you and restricts you in return (you take a
similar status); you get thrown away into a precarious position (unsteady); you fall down (prone);
they take something from you (burn a tag).
Surprise Attacks and Silent Kills
A combatant that is taken by surprise may receive the status surprised, whether through a
player using Disrupt, as a Consequence, or as an interjection by the MC simply to translate the
narrative into game Effects. The MC may also rule that certain defensive tags are inapplicable
when a target is surprised, such as agility, a riot shield, and even certain forms of armor that an
unseen attacker can easily circumvent.
To keep an attack undetected to parties other than the target, use an Extra Feat.
Two-Weapon Fighting
Two-weapon fighting is represented either by having two separate weapon tags, by having a tag
that outlines your skill with two-weapon fighting, or both. You can perform any combat action
using these tags.

COMBO ATTACKS
The actions listed here describe distinct combat outcomes,
but every offensive action can potentially combine multiple
Effects, depending on the tags used and the amount of Power
at your disposal.
● You might shoot your SMG at a loose block of

concrete above a target to Attack and injure them
while also Creating a block of concrete story tag
blocking the entrance.
● You can use your vampiric Source tag suck life force
to Attack and give the enemy drained-life, Weaken
their energized status, and Recover to heal your own
injured status.
● Your drone combat platform could shoot an acid jet to

Weaken an enemy’s heavy armor and Attack to give
them acid-burns.
● You can appear from the darkness and stab an

enemy’s arm with a demon-possessed knife to
Disrupt them with a weak-arm and Influence them to
be frightened!

TACTICAL ATTACKS
Attacks to Hold Off or Spur Opponents (Quick, Attack – Suspend)
This entry will be included in the final PDF.

Confusing an Opponent (Quick, Influence, Disrupt, Weaken)
Confuse ● Intimidate ● Demoralize ● Deceive ● Misdirect ● Battlefield manipulation ●

Shock ● Disrupt minds ● Hack an opponent’s AR layer ● Jam a battle drone
You use clever tactics or direct influence to impair your target’s judgment or cognitive capacity,
potentially directing it to make poor choices. At Scale you can confound a group or a larger
consciousness, such as a hivemind.
Quick: The target stalls or takes the desired action.
Influence to dictate the target’s next actions with a compelling status such as make them hostile
to their own allies, focused on something else, or docile.
Disrupt to inflict a hindering status, such as overconfident, surprised, dazed, distracted, or

broadcast-intentions.
Weaken to reduce a positive status on the target such as high-morale, energized or drilled
maneuver.
Extra Feats: draw attention away from your allies; move the target around the battlefield; split
up the target group; keep the spotlight to immediately act
Power
➕ booming voice; deceptiveness; knowledge of the battlefield; command and leadership;
target’s fear or gullibility
➖ counterintelligence and surveillance; target’s alertness, resolve, training or leadership;

magical or technological countermeasures; impaired communication, e.g. due to loud ambient
noise or cyberspace interference
Consequences
The target attacks you (injured); the target sees through your misdirection and it backfires; the
target becomes resistant to future misdirection (alert); only some of the targets are affected; an
ally gets confused.

Disarming and Sundering Gear (Quick, Weaken)
Sunder a weapon ● Swat weapon away ● Break shield ● Damage cyberware ● Destroy
wand ● Jam signal ● Break claws ● Snatch out of their hands
You attack a piece of equipment on somebody’s person, either held, stowed away or attached to
their body, with the goal of making it unusable or unavailable to them.
Quick: Remove an item not represented by a tag. Actions using the item are not available until it
is retrieved.
Weaken to remove an existing tag representing gear. If you disarmed them, you could then
Create to give yourself a tag representing the item, meaning you managed to grab hold of it and
can now use it yourself (see Improvised Weapons, page XX).
Retrieving their gear might be as easy for your target as reaching over to pick a crowbar up from
the ground, or as complicated as spending weeks in a specialized laboratory to fix severe
damage to a unique piece of cyberware. If it is possible within the scope of a scene, the MC can
use Consequences at a later time to determine the target retrieved their gear.
Extra Feats: kick the disarmed item away; maneuver around your opponent; place or plant
something on your opponent
Power
➕ physical strength; precision; appropriate weapon skills and maneuvers; long reach;
opponent’s recklessness; entangling equipment or weapons such as chains, nunchaku, or flails;
fragile gear
➖ opponent’s strong grip or physiology; gear that is hard to reach, remove, or damage; limited
space; robust or shielded gear
Consequences
The target attacks you (injured); the target disarms you instead (burn a tag); target grapples you
(pinned-down); you drop something; the target secures their gear (strong-grip or inaccessible).

Feinting and Distracting Attacks (Disrupt)
Fake strike or shot ● Sidestep ● Throw flashbang ● Feign weakness ● Dazzle with lights
● Redirect attention ● Create a diversion ● Fake retreat
You fake an action, such as striking, retreating or letting your guard down, or create a distraction
such as an illusion, a loud noise, or a sudden jolt, with the intention of taking advantage of your
opponent’s distraction and attack from an unexpected angle or exploit a weakness.
Disrupt to inflict a negative status on the target, such as vulnerable, overextended, guard-down
or unaware. This status usually expires after increasing the Power of one attack; if the target
survives and if they are able, they will quickly realize their vulnerability and compensate for it.
Extra Feats: humiliate them; draw attention away from someone else; move the target around
the battlefield; cause the target to drop something; keep the spotlight to immediately attack
Power
➕ nimbleness; deceptiveness; light weapons; appropriate gear; powers of distraction; illusions;
target’s fear or gullibility
➖ slow or restrained movement; target’s alertness, quickness, sharp senses or mind reading
Consequences
The target attacks you while you are feinting (injured); you stumble (embarrassed or
off-balance); you affect an ally as well; you lose your weapon or gear (burn a tag).

Impairing Attacks (Disrupt, Weaken)
Hamstring ● Disable a limb ● Break cover ● Cause pain ● Impair senses ● Throw sand in
their eyes
You shoot or strike your target with the intention to impair a specific ability. See also Feinting
and Distracting Attacks (page XX).
Disrupt the target by hitting a specific limb, organ, or component, such as a crippling shot
(limping), kick to the head (dazed), or a strike to the ears (deafened or off-balance).
Weaken the target by eliminating specific abilities or advantages such as shooting off a scanner
dish, punching a proboscis to impair acute smell, or throwing a knife to slow down a fast runner.
Extra Feats: make the impairment go unnoticed (if possible); cause your target to flinch or be
distracted; keep the spotlight to immediately attack
Power
➕ special training or specific maneuvers; weapon skills; precise weapons; ammo suited for the
task; agility and maneuverability; quick reflexes
➖ disadvantageous positioning; target’s quick reflexes; target’s armor, shielding, or dexterity;

target’s resistance to impairment
Consequences
The target attacks back (injured); the target is impaired, but in a different way; you hit someone
or something you did not intend to harm; your weapon jams (burn a tag); you run out of ammo
(burn a tag); you expose yourself to attacks (exposed).

Trick Shots (Quick, Create, Influence)
Ricochet a bullet ● Disable a device ● Puncture a gas tank ● Show off your weapon skills
You skillfully perform an impressive, accurate, or complicated stunt with your weapon. For
example, trying to shoot at a console on the other side of the room, kicking a tennis ball into an
exhaust port, or slicing an apple in half and having each half ricochet off an opponent’s face.
To harm multiple targets with a trick shot, see Ranged Attacks with Scale (page XX). To impair a
target's specific ability or disarm them, use Impairing Attacks (page XX) or Feinting and
Distracting Attacks (page XX). To perform a trick shot to create a new hazard, see also Creating
and Removing Hazards and Obstacles (page XX).
Quick: You successfully pull off your stunt.
Create to make your trick shot produce new elements in the environment, such as a fallen utility
post, sudden flood, or rolling oil barrels.
Influence others by imposing an impressed, amused, or even threatened status.
Extra Feats: destroy an object or remove it from the scene; cause others to flinch or be
distracted; create a breach or opening
Power
➕ weapon skills; precise weapons; ammo suited for the task; agility and maneuverability; quick
reflexes; mischievousness; breakable or movable objects in the vicinity
➖ heavy or bulky weapons; poor vision or visibility; target’s size and distance; heavy, armored
or durable objects
Consequences
You hit, but cause a reversed or undesired outcome; you harm someone or something you did
not intend to harm; you’re embarrassed or ridiculed; your weapon jams (burn a tag); you run out
of ammo (burn a tag); you expose yourself to attacks (exposed).

COMBAT SUPPORT
Analyzing the Battlefield (Quick, Discover, Disrupt)
Peek out of cover ● Deploy a scanner drone ● Employ tactical thinking ● Sense the life
force of combatants ● Analyze a fighting style ● Analyze weaponry, cyberware, or
Sources ● Identify a weakness
You survey the battlefield to gather or surmise valuable insights such as your opponent's
numbers, position, tactics, objectives, intentions, or capabilities. If appropriate, the MC may
reveal specific information from the Challenge Profile such as tags, Limits, Consequences, and
Specials to reflect the knowledge gained by a PC.
Quick: You learn the most valuable details.
Discover to quantify how much was learned or to fine-tune the specific information you’re
looking for.
Disrupt to give your opponent a weakness tag such as gap in armor, slow left hook, or same
old tricks.
Extra Feats: keep your target unaware that you have this information; keep the spotlight to act
on new information immediately; use new information to circumvent a Threat by the target
Power
➕ sharp senses; supernatural senses; tactical training; sense-enhancing gear, such as
binoculars; superior position; combat analytics software or tech; warfare knowledge or
databases
➖ poor visibility; opponent’s speed or cover; unique tactics, behaviors, or abilities;

counterintelligence tech or Sources
Consequences
You are attacked while analyzing (injured); the target changes their tactics; the target hides their
tactics; you arrive at the wrong conclusion and make a tactical mistake; you expose yourself to
danger (exposed); your ability to analyze the battlefield becomes ineffective or impaired (burn
tag).


Assisting an Ally (Quick, Enhance, Bestow)
Flank the enemy ● Gang up ● Reposition your ally ● Shout a warning ● Deliver a
stimulant
You provide an ally with a momentary advantage or boost. Several crew members can help
together, each making their own assistance roll, as separate actions.
To help outside of combat, see Helping and Supporting (page XX). See also Performance
Enhancement (page XX) and Building, Crafting, or Upgrading Tech (page XX). To prepare
yourself, see Preparing an Attack (page XX).
Enhance to give a status like on-alert, boosted-agility, got-your-back or fortified-resolve.
Bestow to give a tag such as emergency force field, protective winds or smoke cover.
Assistance creates momentary advantages that often expire after one or two actions or
reactions, or sooner, if conditions change. For example, if the enemy moves around, it may no
longer be true that you have a protected-flank.
Extra Feats: improve position; hide intentions from opponents; extend the spotlight and give it
to your ally
Power
➕ relevant gear; combat maneuvering skills; tactical skills; camaraderie and leadership;
blessings
➖ confusion; internal strife; opponent’s preparedness to prevent the assist; loud ambient noise;
large distance between you and the target
Consequences
Opponent attacks (injured); you hinder your ally (negative status instead or in addition to
positive); you help the opponent (they get a positive status); you exhaust yourself or run out of
supplies (burn a tag).

Assuming a Battle Stance (Enhance)
Adopt martial arts stance ● Go into rage ● Fight defensively ● Battle dance ● Mystical
trance ● Act as a bodyguard ● Mark your prey ● Lock on primary target
You change your posture, focus, or demeanor in order to gain certain combat advantages. A
“stance” can be anything that significantly skews your capabilities in combat, such as
defensiveness over aggressiveness, focusing on one target at the expense of others, or a
physical position that favors one specific kind of attack.
Enhance to give yourself a status such as battle-rage, defensive-stance, warrior-aspect or

hunter’s-guile. This status stays for as long as you maintain the stance, and serves to focus you
on one set of actions at the expense of others: it assists with any action in its scope, and
hinders any other kind of action. For example, hunter’s-guile will hinder picking up a heavy brick
and using it to smash a drone forcefully, unless you first exit the stance, losing the status in the
process.
A PC can exit a stance during their spotlight, usually without requiring an action to do so. The
status remains in effect until the scene is reestablished, so it can still affect their next mitigation
roll.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight for a stance-appropriate follow-up action; improve position; draw
or stow weapons under pressure; grab a useful object from the environment; strike an
impressive pose
Power
➕ martial arts training; specialized weapons; mental focus; specialization in a specific combat
tactic or behavior; personality trait
➖ exhaustion; physical or mental restraints; target’s countering maneuver; energy block;

clamorous environment
Consequences
Your opponent maneuvers (surrounded); something bad happened while you were focusing
your attention; you suffer physical, mental, or mystical strain (strained or similar, or burn a tag);
you take a status that will go into effect when you exist the stance (e.g., disoriented).
Improvised Weapons (Quick, Create)
Use an improvised weapon ● Pick up a discarded weapon ● Pull a weapon out of a bag ●
Smash a bottle ● Conjure a weapon ● Distribute armaments
You grab something in your vicinity to serve as a weapon, or create a temporary weapon from
nearby resources or using magic. This action can be used to invoke a “too broad” tag by using it
to create a specific weapon tag (Downgrading a Tag, page XX).

Quick: You grab a discarded weapon which is already a tag in the scene, or acquire a weapon
that has no tag.
Create to add a tag representing the new weapon, such as assault rifle, broken drone blades,
hypodermic needle or display glass shards. With extra Power, you can make a set (Story Tag
Sets, page XX), and add features such as full cartridge, wicked sharp, secured grip, and the
like.
Improvised, temporary, and looted weapons tend to stay useful for a short while and then break,
bend, or run out of ammo. For more reliable weapons, use power tags or loadout tags.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight to attack immediately; brandish the new weapon threateningly;
hide the weapon on you; remain unnoticed; break or don’t break something as part of retrieving
the weapon; deliver the weapon to a beleaguered ally
Power
➕ resourcefulness; desperation; nearby debris; a stocked armory, lab, warehouse, or factory;
conjuring abilities; weapon dispensing allies; any existing tag for the object being grabbed
➖ physical obstacles (object is secured, chained, or buried); hindered vision or manual

dexterity
Consequences
You cause unintended damage while grabbing the object; you strain (winded) or harm (injured)
yourself; an opponent grabs it before you do (they get the tag); the weapon has an unwanted
feature (give a negative tag).

Preparing an Attack (Enhance)
Aim carefully ● Center in crosshairs ● Prepare to pounce ● Swing overhead ● Focus ●

Draw power
You use your skills, tools, and perhaps an opportunity to hang back for another beat and
prepare for a devastatingly powerful or precise attack, or before a mighty jump, etc. See also
Preparing an Approach (page XX).
Enhance to give yourself a helpful status, such as aiming, momentum, positioned-for-impact,

locked-on or charging-up. This status usually ends after increasing the Power of one attack.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight to attack immediately; remain unnoticed; draw their attention
Power
➕ favorite maneuver; martial discipline; laser scope; chargeable weapon; energy channeling;
safe position
➖ confusion or stress; harassing opponents; being rushed; crowded battlefield; unstable terrain
Consequences
Your opponent attacks while you’re off-guard (injured); an unaddressed Threat manifests; you
draw attention to yourself; you lose your grip on your weapon or implement (burn a tag).
Leadership (Enhance, Restore, Influence)
See page XX.
Treating Injuries (Restore, Discover)
See page XX.

TACTICAL TEAMWORK
Crew members can act in coordination by using actions such as Assisting an
Ally (page XX), Confusing an Opponent (page XX), Impairing Attacks (page XX)
or Leadership (page XX) with the intention of helping teammates or hinder
opponents in preparation for an ally’s attack. One PC takes the spotlight first to
provide a fellow PC with an advantage that they can use when they have the
spotlight next to deliver a stronger attack.
In addition to the tags, Extra Feats and Consequences listed in each specific
action, consider also the following.
Extra Feats: hide your involvement; make an ally look impressive when they
charge; draw attention to yourself; drive opponents back; switch positions with
an ally; extend the spotlight and give it to your ally
Power
➕ protectiveness; mentor or sidekick relationship; supporting attitude;
leadership position; advantageous positioning
➖ internal distrust or discord; bad timing; no line of sight between allies

Consequences
You get separated; your opponents get reinforced to match your numbers; you
miscommunicate (out-of-sync).

COMBAT MOVEMENT
For scaling terrain and movement outside of combat, see Exploration & Survival actions (page
XX) and Sneaking and Hiding (page XX).
Forcing an Opponent to Move (Quick, Disrupt, Weaken)
Push or pull a target ● Throw a target ● Present an obstacle ● Menace a target ● Force a
target back ● Employ fancy footwork
You use physical strength, magic, intimidation, tactical maneuvering, or any combination of
these in order to move your target or force them to move to where you want them to be.
Quick: You move your target or force them to move to the desired location.
Disrupt to create a status that represents the hindering nature of your target’s new position,
such as exposed-back, neck-deep-water, life-drained (by a magical field) or marked (by a
security system).
Weaken to remove a beneficial status such as concealed, commanding-position,

aimed-and-ready or magically-empowered (from a ley line confluence).
Extra Feats: place them in between you and a threat; cause them to drop something; keep the
spotlight and follow-up with an attack
Power
➕ physical strength; tactical movement; appropriate weapon; intimidating look; advantageous
terrain
➖ limited mobility; target’s quickness or robustness; target’s wings or climbing appendages;

disadvantageous terrain
Consequences
The target forces your movement instead; the target attacks you (injured); the target hunkers
down (dug-in); your attempts draw unwanted attention to yourself; you fall down (prone).

Moving Around the Battlefield (Quick, Enhance)
Reposition ● Dash ● Leap ● Parkour ● Tumble and roll ● Attain the high ground ● Hide
and sneak ● Get behind ● Fly around
You move to a desired position while facing opposition, danger, or difficulty, or move under
pressure, for example when under fire, maneuvering in tight spaces, racing to beat time, injured,
not sure where to go, etc. Your desired position can be a specific position on the battlefield such
as “on top of the open hatch” or a relative position such as “above my opponent”.
In many cases, moving around the battlefield does not require a roll – you narrate moving
together with another action (see Narration, page XX). If you are moving to take cover, see
Taking Cover (page XX). If you are traversing through a hazard represented by a tag or status,
see Travel and Survival in Dangerous Environments (page XX).
Quick: You arrive at the desired destination.
Enhance to benefit mechanically from your new location by giving yourself clear-shot,
high-ground, out-of-sight, blocking-the-path, etc.
Extra Feats: move unnoticed; get there in time; keep the spotlight to immediately attack; take
someone else with you; put yourself out of harm’s way; make an impressive entrance
Power
➕ fortitude; quickness; athleticism; invisibility; wings; grappling hook; jet pack; handholds; map
of the area
➖ hesitation; injuries; opponent’s alertness and senses; surveillance; physical barriers; rough
terrain; hazards; environmental opposition (e.g., crosswinds)
Consequences
The path is blocked; you come under attack or suffer from a hazard on the way (injured); you
are ambushed at your destination; you drop something on the way (burn a tag); you propel
yourself into a barrier (concussed); you fall down (prone).

Retreating From Combat
Tactical withdrawal ● Run away ● Escape a dangerous scene ● Let’s just get the fuck out
of here
In many situations, getting out of a scene does not require a roll and can simply be narrated. If
there are unaddressed Threats, escaping means that the MC gets to inflict Consequences as
usual, representing the PCs’ focus on getting away over acting in response to the Threats
present.
These Consequences might be one last attack (injured, bleeding, scorched or similar),
equipment snatched or left behind (burn tags), harm from an environmental effect (shocked,
cursed or similar), harm from the escape itself (strained, bruised or similar), personal cost or
aftermath (exhausted, frustrated, defeatist-attitude or similar), etc. Consequences might even
come during the next scene (see MC Skillz: Hard Open, page XX) or during downtime, in the
form of under-surveillance, guilt, bad-rap, broke, or similar, representing fallout from leaving
things hanging.
If escaping poses a dramatic challenge, a roll may be required. See Moving Around the
Battlefield (page XX) or Travel and Survival in Dangerous Environments (page XX). If enemies
pursue the PCs, set up a Chase (page XX).
Vehicle Combat
Your vehicle or mount is usually represented by a tag that you can add to any action that it can
help you with, such as running someone over (Hand-to-Hand Attacks, page XX), driving
someone back (Forcing an Opponent to Move, page XX) or flying over a barricade (Moving
Around the Battlefield, page XX).
Creating a vehicle or mount can be done as a loadout option, or through actions that create
appropriate tags like Summoning a Conjuration (page XX) or Building, Crafting, or Upgrading
Tech (page XX).

COMBAT DEFENSE
A PC with the right tags can combine different defenses in the same mitigation roll. See also
Countering, Dispelling, or Disenchanting Mythos Powers and Sources (page XX), and Blocking
a Digital Attack (page XX) for other forms of defense that can come in handy in combat.
Blocking or Soaking an Attack (Mitigate)
Parry ● Shield and armor ● Brace for impact ● Take it on the chin ● Absorb with nanobots
or a spell of protection
You rely on passive means or armor to protect you from harm in a mitigation roll. You can raise
a shield, activate a device or otherwise move to brace for the incoming harm; in some cases
you might even be able to mitigate attacks you are unaware of, using tags such as armored
hide.
Power
➕ armor or thick skin; pain tolerance; large size; shielding device or magic; parrying weapon;
opponent’s restricted movement; natural barriers; poor visibility
➖ weak points and vulnerabilities; intangible or energy attacks; surprising attacks; attacker’s
quickness and skill; attacker’s powerful or accurate weapons; attacker’s superior position
Dodging an Attack (Mitigate)
Duck ● Jump back ● Leap out of the line of fire ● Roll with it ● Fly away ● Flow around
the attack ● Lead the attack around you ● Become incorporeal
You move in order to avoid harm with a mitigation roll. This represents using any of your natural
and enhanced movement abilities capable of putting distance between you and the incoming
harm or moving around harm.
Power
➕ sharp or enhanced senses; speed and reflexes; survival instinct; poor visibility; flexibility;
combat training
➖ slowness; limited movement; attacker’s quickness and skill; attacker’s area attack weapons
and targeting systems; attacker’s superior position

Taking Cover (Quick, Bestow, Enhance)
Fall prone ● Camouflage ● Duck behind a wall ● Power up electromagnetic shield ●

Throw down furniture ● Conjure a wall of stone
You move to a hidden position to avoid being seen, or, if already under attack, move to a
defensive position or use your abilities to improve your protective capabilities to physically block
harm.
Quick: You find cover, averting an incoming Threat, for now.
Bestow or Enhance to create a tag or status such as camouflaged, shielded, dug-in,

barricaded door or sandbags, with the aim of helping your next action to move across
dangerous terrain (Moving Around the Battlefield , page XX) or to mitigate incoming harm. You
may also characterize your cover with additional tags such as perfect lookout position. Cover
tags and statuses may be short-lived and expire once cover is ablated, blown, or circumvented.
Extra Feats: find cover further away from danger; find an alternative path to advance; leave
something behind; take something or someone with you; misdirect your opponent
Power
➕ heavy objects or barriers (e.g. loose stacked crates); thick undergrowth; higher ground; small
body; quick thinking; self-preservation instincts
➖ area, homing, or non-tangible attacks; flimsy objects or barriers; small space; opponent’s
sharp senses or quick movement
Consequences
Cover is temporary; cover introduces a new hazard; cover collapses on you (pinned-down); you
expose yourself to a different opponent (exposed).

CYBERSPACE
For most individuals in the world of :Otherscape, life takes place in cyberspace. Everyone and
everything is connected; every aspect of society has been digitized: commerce, entertainment,
warfare, politics, relationships, and on and on. People can love, build, steal, hate, and kill in
cyberspace – so they do, and their creativity sprouts new types of digital beings who engage in
these same activities for their own reasons.
With this exponential expansion of online life, online crime has become commonplace and
security measures are constantly evolving to meet the challenge. This has been exacerbated by
the introduction of Harnessing technologies, which allow every lay person to ‘hack’ by simply
interacting with a VR environment. Whether as everyday users, seasoned hackers, data
specialists, or meathead Harnessed brains – your PCs are bound to engage with cyberspace.
CYBERSPACE AND HACKING TERMS
THE PHYSICAL LAYER
As far as anyone knows, the existence of all cyberspace depends upon physical objects and
individuals. Data is stored in and programs run on devices, most commonly servers but also
desktop consoles, handheld devices, drones, and cyberware. Communication between devices
is facilitated by tech that employs electricity, radio waves, microwave, visible light (such as fiber
optics and lasers), and such to transmit data.
An aura is the surface communication information one can “see” when examining a device or a
digital construct, whether from within cyberspace or from without, using an appropriate scanner.
It is the information any communicating device broadcasts due to simply existing in cyberspace
and being connected. An aura shows what this item is, how it’s connected to cyberspace, and
what its obvious features are, but further information may be encrypted. Reading an aura in
cyberspace is part of perceiving (Narration, page XX) but if you suspect something is being
hidden from you, you can Scan the Network (page XX).
HUMAN USERS AND DIGITAL ENTITIES
Most of human interaction with cyberspace is done through a shared metaphor, a sensory
interpretation that represents what the data is doing in a way that the human mind can intuitively
understand: data appears as objects, programs appear as animated entities, and
communication lines appear as glowing pipelines. Humans most commonly perceive and
interact with the cyberspace shared metaphor through VR, whether through a direct neural
interface connected to the brain, neuro-sensitive headgear, or some other type of VR headset. It
is also possible to interact with cyberspace using AR while engaged in meatspace activities, or
even through slower mediums such as a screen and a keyboard. Some people forego the

shared metaphor to look directly at code, but this process, if unassisted by other forms of
technology, can be excruciatingly slow.
Regular users, who run minimal programs, don’t need performance-heavy computers to interact
with cyberspace and use commonplace, everyday devices. In contrast, cyberspace
professionals – security experts, hackers, software designers, hardcore gamers, Harnessers,
and the likes – engage cyberspace with high-performance computational devices known simply
as consoles. A cyberspace expert’s console and the apps, or programs, they run on their
console are important tags in their arsenal, comparable to weapons in combat. A console can
also be used to Harness the hacker and their crew into VR, turning their physical actions into
cyberspace actions; see page XX.
Digital entities native to cyberspace, such as programs and AI, do not need the metaphor and
can perceive and interact with data and programs directly. Whether because they are restricted
from duplicating themselves (like most programs) or are loathe to do so because they want to
preserve their uniqueness (like some AI), digital entities usually host their source code
somewhere in cyberspace (and therefore also in meatspace) and can connect to other places in
cyberspace from their home server or move their source code between servers they consider
safe. Some hivemind software and AI are free of these human restrictions and can duplicate
themselves endlessly, but copies presumably need to communicate to update each other on
their experiences.
In VR, users appear as avatars. This could be a form based on their physical appearance (if
any), a modified version of themselves, or a form completely different from their physical form
such as a glowing orb of light or a favorite caricature. Digital entities can have countless forms,
but each entity's appearance is usually hardcoded into it, in a way that fits within the metaphor
(a security app could appear as a Roman legionnaire, for example).
Human users and digital entities who pose an opposition to the PCs in a scene are represented
by Challenges. A human user who is crashed is forcibly ejected from VR, while a digital entity
who is crashed loses their connection to their target and must restart their connection. Both can
experience different kinds of aftereffects to being crashed. If the user was crashed by Intrusion
Countermeasures programs or tools, they may also take additional statuses that can trace their
location, damage their console, infect their cyberware or digital bodies with a virus, or even fry
their nervous system.
DOMAINS VS. DEVICES
Cyberspace is made out of Domains and devices. This distinction is mostly for cinematic
purposes: Domains can be locations for scenes, whereas devices are objects in a scene or
off-scene.
A Domain is a cyberspace location in which a scene can take place: a database server, a VR
club, a private VR meeting room, or the heart of an AI. A Domain can be composed of multiple

subdomains with different functions and different levels of security, which in the shared
metaphor appear as different rooms or spaces. The space in each subdomain can conform to
Earth-like physical laws or be completely abstract or psychedelic. Each Domain has the
following features:
● An admin or superuser: The current controller of the Domain. By default this is the
owner of the Domain, although hackers can take over. An admin controls the behavior of
constructs and the shape of the Domain environment, although they might still be limited
by the programs they run.
● A core: The system that controls access and permissions in the Domain, usually
residing in its own subdomain. A hacker can become the superuser by reaching the
Domain core and rewriting its permissions, granting themselves a superuser status and
denying it from the current admin. (As an alternative, a hacker can also impersonate the
admin, but risks being discovered by the real admin.) A Doman’s core is represented by
a Challenge with a take-over Limit, which must be maxed out by the hacker to assume a
superuser role. Alternatively, a Domain can also be crashed by a hacker who reaches
the core.
● Constructs: Every piece of programming that has a function in the Domain appears as
a digital construct in VR. Most objects, such as walls, floors and light sources, are
“dumb”, but agents, mechanism, and security programs are all semi-autonomous or full
AIs, capable of taking action, and as such are most often represented as Challenges. A
construct can be crashed which causes it to stop existing in the Domain until it is
reloaded, or it can be taken-over, in which case the hacker can command it.
● Environment: The default appearance of the Domain to users in the VR shared

metaphor. The environment is represented by a tag: a jungle environment means
everything in the Domain is dressed in a jungle theme, and so the default for constructs
and objects is to take the appearance of something that belongs in a jungle.
A device is a physical item connected to cyberspace that doesn’t host a VR space (and
therefore cannot host a scene), but can still be hacked: a hand-held device, a drone, cyberware,
a Nearspace mechanism such as a lock or camera, or a network element such as a transceiver.
Most hacking actions against a device can be resolved with a quick outcome, or it can be
crashed to aggressively cause it to shut down, or taken-over to control its functions.
INTRUSION COUNTERMEASURES (IC)
All cyberspace actions related to a Domain or a device – referred to collectively as nodes –

require you to have both a connection to them, whether wired or wireless, direct or over the
cyberspace net, and authorization to interact with it. Together, these aspects make up your
ability to access the node.

Public Domains and devices, such as public Nearspace and VR venues, feature an open
network accessible to all. Secured Domains and devices, whether owned privately or by an
organization, can limit access and usage in different ways. For example, some cyberware
devices are cut off from wireless communications intentionally and can only be accessed
through direct wire connection to avoid hacking. However, since most Domains and devices
have communication needs of their own, the most common form of protection are apps which
prevent unauthorized access and usage and even attack hackers, collectively called Intrusion
Countermeasure or IC.
The most rudimentary IC is the firewall, a filter that controls access to the Domain or device.
Firewall software is varied and in a constant state of evolution, ranging from easily-penetrable
casual-user firewalls to ever-shifting, imposing AI firewalls, or even firewalls powered by a
Source. Every node that is connected to cyberspace, especially if it's connected wirelessly, has
some form of firewall to prevent just anyone from waltzing in, or else it is assumed to be
completely unsecure.
The quality of a firewall installed on a specific Domain or device Challenge is represented by the
status firewalled. Human users and digital entity Challenges also have the firewalled status to
represent their personal protection from hacking or counterhacking. Sometimes, firewalled can
be used to describe general resistance to hacking, even if the Challenge isn’t protected by a
firewall per se, such as a construct’s robust coding which makes it resistant to hacking. When
running a deep-dive cyberspace heist, the firewall may instead be represented by a Challenge.
There are other forms of passive security processes, scanning a node for suspicious activity,
validating the integrity of data in the node, or encrypting sensitive information. ICs can also be
an active security programs that trace and attack hackers.
ICs can be Challenges in and of themselves or they can be represented as Consequences in a

user’s or Domain’s Challenge Profile.
USER VS. SUPERUSER
Every Domain and subdomain has specific permissions that are automatically granted to their
standard users: The public front subdomain of a store sees everyone as standard users, but in
the backroom subdomain only employees are accepted. A hacker who gains appropriate
permissions to become a standard user can take whatever type of actions are allowed to users
in that subdomain: move around, access and copy accessible data or even edit and delete it,
activate and shut down connected device functions, and more. The scene goes on as if the
subdomain is a physical space and the hacker is a person free to walk around it, even if their
very presence there is illegal.
Some Domain actions require a special set of privileges, known as superuser privileges, which
are represented by the story tag superuser. In Domains not owned by the PC, the admin is the
default superuser, although hacker PCs and Challenges can become the superuser when they
max out the take-over Limit of the Domain. Superuser privileges are required to enact certain

restricted actions in a Domain: read, manipulate or remove sensitive data, access secured
subdomains, etc. They also allow a superuser to take actions without making a roll, like using
the Domain’s connected devices or commanding its constructs, unless they somehow face
opposition.
In the Domain of a building, for example, whereas a standard user may only be allowed to open
their own apartment door, a superuser can have any door open, close, lock, or unlock at their
discretion.
HACKING AS A SCENE VS. HACKING IN A SCENE

Cinematically, hacking can show up in two ways in your game.
Lo-res hacking is shortened into an action or set of actions within another scene. While the
hacker may slip into VR and face opposition therein, the players and the MC do not describe
each and every subdomain the hacker hacks through. Instead, the action is summarized as a
single quick outcome or a single tracked outcome (one Challenge). This is most appropriate
when there is only one PC performing the hacking.
Hacking a device is always low-res (with the exception of unique devices that comprise an
important part of the plot). For example, hacking a foe’s targeting system, hacking a drone, or
hacking a magnetic lock.
Hacking a Domain can also be low-res, if the MC chooses not to take a deep-dive into the
Domain for cinematic considerations. For example, hacking into a KOCMOC database just to
retrieve some files as part of an investigation may be a low-res hack.
Hi-res or deep-dive hacking is a VR scene or series of scenes, depicting the PCs as their VR
avatars, running around a Domain’s environment, sneaking past constructs, and interacting with
the Domain as a location. The admin and each construct or user in the Domain can be their own
Challenge, and there can be multiple subdomains to explore.
Hi-res hacking happens only in Domains (not devices) and it is most appropriate for a dramatic
cyberspace mission with a significant reward or goal. During a hi-res hack, the non-hackers PCs
are either Harnessed into VR as added firepower or have something else to do in a parallel
meatspace scene. Harnessing as a game mechanic only ever happens in a hi-res hack.
HACKING STYLES
All hacking can be summed up as belonging to one of three approaches.
● “Fighter”: Brute force attacks, aimed at crashing the target (which may be a
Domain, a device, an admin, a user, a firewall, or an IC). Because their effects
are immediate and clearly noticeable, such attacks usually raise the alarm and
may prevent further advancement beyond the hacked node. Use Crashing a

Node or a Program (page XX) to hit and Blocking a Digital Attack (page XX) to
block. If you are Harnessed, use Combat actions (page XX).
● “Mage”: Impersonation attacks, aimed at forging credentials to appear like an

authorized user or even superuser and withstand ICs scrutiny. High-security
nodes continually search for infiltrators within them, so hackers must be
prepared to be scrutinized often. Use Data Forgery (page XX) to prepare a
good disguise and to test it when it comes under inspection. If you are
Harnessed, use Deception (page XX).
● “Rogue”: Exploit attacks, also known as backdoors, aimed at finding or

creating unguarded access channels that circumvent the IC. Once access has
been gained, the hacker must continue to avoid detection by the node’s IC. Use
Scanning the Network (page XX) and Overriding or Fooling a Security Device or
Program (page XX). If you are Harnessed, use Sneaking and Hiding (page XX).
COMMON CYBERSPACE STATUSES

Shutting down opposition: The Limit crash tracks any of the following: defeating a program by
making it fail and shut down, at least for the duration of a scene or until it is reloaded; defeating
a human or entity by crashing their hardware or software or forcing them to disconnect from the
node or from cyberspace; or disabling a device or shutting down an entire Domain.
When a program or a user’s connection errors or misbehaves, they may take the status
glitched, a general purpose status representing difficulties in cyberspace affecting all virtual
actions. At the MC’s discretion, glitched may count against the crash Limit.
KILLING A DIGITAL GHOST

A digital entity, whether a PC or a Challenge, exists as source code
somewhere on the net and can project itself into other Domains as an
avatar in the same way human users do. To temporarily get rid of such a
being, one must crash its avatar, its local representation. To permanently
destroy it, its source code needs to be traced (Tracing Data or Signal, page
XX) and crashed, causing the digital entity to lose consciousness until the
source code is reloaded. If the source code is reloaded, the digital entity
has no memory of the time span since it was last running. If the source
code is deleted everywhere and can't be reloaded, the digital entity is
annihilated. Some digital entities who are a mythic Source or are Touched
by a Source can bend these rules in ways that cannot be explained with
cyberspace science alone.

A user who is forcibly disconnected by maxing out crash may suffer from additional statuses
delivered with the final Consequence that maxes out the Limit such as cyberspace-delirium
(meatspace disorientation following a sudden disconnect for experienced by human users) or
some temporary glitch to their origin code (digital entity). When the Limit is maxed by an
especially dangerous IC or enemy operator, it may result in virus-infected, tagged (see below),
or even brain-damaged, limited-motor-control, wiped-memories, or the like. This is represented
with a Challenge Special.
Fighting for control: Take-over tracks gaining control over a Domain core, a device, program,
or construct. When this Limit is maxed out by a hacker, the hacker controls the target and all its
functions, becoming its superuser. For example:
● If the target is a drone, an object, or a program, the hacker controls it.
● If the target is the neural link of a human operator, the hacker controls everything they
perceive.
● If the target is a brain implant, the hacker can control the target’s thought processes
and/or access their memories.
● If the target is cyberware, the hacker can control its functions.
Upon taking over a node, the hacker gains superuser and may remove the tag from any
previous admins. There is no other way to obtain this tag (including Bestow or Create); this is a
Special unique to cyberspace. In addition to allowing certain actions reserved to a superuser,
the tag empowers superuser actions within the Domain and impedes actions against the admin
within the Domain or against the Domain. The tag does not protect the superuser from attacks
originating from outside the Domain.
Defending against hacking: Users, devices, Domains, and even IC’s can be firewalled against
hacking. These statuses apply against attempts to Weaken them, because defensive software
is designed to protect itself first and foremost.
Tagging and tracking statuses: IC are likely to give a hacker tagged, representing the system
trying to identify them. This status hinders attempts to hide and impersonate within the Domain
that gave it. It can be removed with Repairing Data or Programs (page XX). Outside of a
Domain, tagged represent a party discovering more about their target’s real identity or location.
This status might have a located Limit, as the enemy closes in on the physical location of the
hacker and is able to take direct action against their physical form (whether a human body or
their home server). See also marked, under Common Spycraft Statuses (page XX) and
Avoiding Attention and Staying Anonymous (page XX).
Data: Data can get corrupted, making it difficult to read it or interact with it. It can be recovered
with Repairing Data or Programs (page XX).

Domain Scale: Some Domains and subdomains are larger than others, represented by giving
them Scale. A superuser tag automatically gains the same Scale as the Domain it controls.
DATA, NETWORK, AND CODING
Accessing Data (Quick, Discover, Create)
Download all the files ● Harvest data archive ● Draw from tapped data streams ●
Intercept comms ● Collect drone data ● Analyze with cybernetic eyes
You use your computer skills to access data, whether stored as files or transferred as a data
stream. Encrypted data may need specific decryption tags to decipher, while some data may
require accessing a specific subdomain or having superuser status.
Quick: Download the data or tap into a data stream and read its contents.
Discover if you are looking for specific information and must search a lot of data, especially if
time is short.
Create to gain story tags that represent the data you collected such as incriminating evidence or
Mutblade’s credentials.
Extra Feats: remain undetected; erase records of the download or tap; erase the file or data
stream after copying them (if possible)
Power
➕ computer skills; database and data analysis skills; cryptography skills; decryption software;
useful credentials; fast download speeds; large storage capacity; video scrubbing and searching
software; physically tapping the hardware
➖ security measures such as firewalls, encryption, or ICs; download throttling; overabundance

of data; poor strength of signal from the source; hardware hardening
Consequences
The download fails and can’t be restarted; the data is lost in transit, deleted at both ends; the
data is corrupted and needs repair; the target is alerted to your presence (tagged); the data
storage drive on your console is full; your system overloads or is attacked by a hidden
countermeasure (glitched or burn tags).

Connecting to a Node
Connecting to a remote Domain or device with a known address is equivalent to moving in

cyberspace and should be narrated as part of another action (see Narration, page XX). When
connecting poses its own challenges, such as roaming the dangerous Spirals as your avatar,
see Travel and Survival in Dangerous Environments (page XX). To find the address of an
unknown node, see Scanning the Network (page XX).
Data Forgery (Create)
Forge credentials or documents ● Cook up the books ● Set up a fake data stream ●
Create a cyberspace illusion to fool IC ● Create a deep-fake recording
You use your computer skills to create a digital deception of some kind, creating forged
credentials to fool security systems or creating virtual objects that give a false impression.
Create forged data tags such as unrecognizable avatar, superior credentials, or false evidence,
or create cyberspace constructs that have no content such as illusory wall or decoys. The
forged output is good for at least a scene but may not withstand scrutiny for much longer after
that.
Extra Feats: complete the work quickly; make the deception last longer
Power
➕ forgery skills; forgery software or AI; existing document to modify or copy; knowledge of the
impersonated target or forged content; artistic talent
➖ target’s alertness; fraud detection; firewalls; target’s unique features or complexity; lack of
specialized skills; inadequate software or hardware; computational overload
Consequences
You’re discovered; you accidentally delete the file you were editing; the forge is inaccurate, but
you don’t notice the problems in it; you leave a trace that can be followed (tagged).

Disconnecting (Quick)
Log off ● Unplug ● Jack out ● Awaken from VR and/or Harnessed state
You pull yourself or another crew member out of cyberspace under pressure. Normally,
disconnecting is a safe procedure that doesn’t merit a roll, but when disconnecting is rushed or
risky, such as during cyberspace combat or within a hostile Domain, a roll may be in order.
Once disconnected from a device or Domain, its ICs and admins can’t target you immediately
and must trace you to resume communications. Once you are completely disconnected from
cyberspace, nothing there can harm you directly.
Quick: You disconnect from a specific device or Domain or from cyberspace.
Power
➕ hacking skills; VR experience; appropriate safety console add-ons or apps; high quality
neural cyberware; meditation skills
➖ bad cyberspace connection; poor Harnessing hardware; addiction to cyberspace;

unwillingness to leave
Consequences
Suffer from cyberspace-delirium; ICs take advantage and strike before you flee (glitched,
tagged, fried-nervous-system); cause an unintended glitch; your consciousness wakes up
elsewhere in cyberspace or in a different body (if possible).

Protecting Data or Programs (Enhance, Create)
Set up a firewall ● Mask a signal ● Lock data behind an encryption ● Bounce data
between satellites ● Hide files within the system ● Leave an unpleasant surprise
You use your computer skills to encrypt files or a communication channel to limit access,
possibly adding a trap or a sentry program as well. Creating a secure channel for the entire
crew is a Scaled action.
Enhance or Create to attach a status such as firewalled, encrypted or scrambled-comms to the

file, data stream, or app, or a tag such as rerouting the data through a hardened router or using
a randomizer key. These allow you to better mitigate attempts to intercept, harm, or decrypt the
protected data. Use excess Power to Create a trap or a sentry program to guard the data.
Extra Feats: complete the work quickly; hide your sentry program; greatly compress the data
Power
➕ intrusion countermeasure and data security skills; cryptography skills; math skills; encryption
software and hardware
➖ target is corrupted or glitchy; target has features that make it hard to protect; inadequate
software or hardware; computational overload
Consequences
The target files get partly corrupted; data stream gets slow or glitchy; you lose the decryption
key.

Repairing Data or Programs (Restore)
Debug software ● Defrag ● Run virus check ● Patch up apps ● Free system resources ●
Turn it off and on again ● Restore from backup
You use your programming skills to repair a file, a datastream, an app, a construct, an avatar, or
the digital environment.
Restore to remove a harmful status such as glitch, crashed for Harnessed avatars, or burned
software tags. You can also fix corrupted data.
Extra Feats: complete the repair quickly; make it look as good as new; remain undetected
Power
➕ computer skills; diagnostic or repair software; a secure Domain
➖ inadequate software or hardware; lack of specialized skills; computational overload; the
target status or tag may also apply if it is actively fighting back (e.g., virus-infected)
Consequences
The subject gains a new quirk (story tag); your hardware is getting hot (burn a tag); an app
proves to be useless to the job (burn a tag); the repairs take longer than expected, potentially
exposing you to new dangers.

Scanning the Network (Quick, Discover)
Search cyberspace ● Analyze communicational “aura” ● Observe the digital environment

● Interpret the metaphor ● Notice hidden elements ● Identify constructs and avatars
You use your computer skills to scan cyberspace for specific data, analyze the aura of a node or
transmission to determine its nature, or analyze the VR world around you or objects within it. If
appropriate, the MC may reveal specific information from the Challenge Profile such as tags,
Limits, Consequences, and Specials to reflect the knowledge gained by a PC.
Quick: You determine the nature of a node or transmission, or in VR, a construct or avatar.
Discover if you are looking for specific information and must scan through a lot of information,
especially if time is short.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight to act on the information you gathered; remain undetected;
clean up the data trail
Power
➕ hacking skills; analysis skills; databases recording types of tech, communications, or
software; knowledge relevant to the VR environment; scanning apps; alertness; symbolic
interpretive skills (in VR)
➖ deliberate masking or spoofing; hidden data; obscure code or encoding; encryption; firewall;
poor communications; obstructing VR layers or constructs
Consequences
You raise the alarm; you attract ICs or enemy hackers; ICs preemptively attack (crashed,
glitched, taken-over, tagged); the target responds by loading additional protections (firewalled);
your console overloads (burn tags or overheated); access to other connected devices or
subdomains is denied; you get the wrong impression about a construct’s capabilities (fearful or
unimpressed).

Tracing Data or Signal (Quick, Advance)
Follow online activity ● Combine and contrast public and private information ● Get ready
to doxx ● Tap location data ● Triangulate a communication
You use your data analysis or hacking skills to track someone’s location in the material world
using digital clues they leave online.
Quick: You locate the target.
Advance to give pinpointed against a located Limit representing how hard the target is to pin
down and follow digitally. Once the limit is maxed out, you learn where they’re at right now. If the
target is a digital entity, you learn the current location of their source code and the server it is on.
Extra Feats: track their movements in addition to their current location; keep the spotlight for a
follow-up action; remain undetected; clean up the data trail
Power
➕ hacking skills; data analysis skills; experience tracking targets; knowledge of geography;
access to comms towers, transceivers, drones, or other hardware that could be used for
triangulation
➖ scrambled or otherwise unknown online presence; obfuscated signal (bouncing off multiple
online nodes or satellites); masking or encryption software; location with no net access
Consequences
The target knows you’re tracking them; the target traces you back; you attract ICs or enemy
hackers; ICs counterattack (crashed, glitched, taken-over, tagged); the target hides deeper
(hidden).

Writing a New Program (Loadout, Create)
All night coding ● Cobble together software packages ● Deploy black market code ●
Rewrite a similar program
You use your computer skills to write a program for use in cyberspace, on a console, or even
inside of a piece of cybernetic hardware.
Loadout or Create a program and its capabilities as a set of story tags (Story Tag Sets, page
XX). The program’s tags indicate the protocols that dictate different behaviors and capabilities.
See also Creating VR Constructs (page XX).
The MC may choose to represent this as an ongoing project. Advance to give making-progress
against a released Limit set by the MC in order to spend time coding. When released is maxed
out, the program is ready.
Unless special circumstances apply, the program remains reliable for a duration of time
commensurate with the time you invested in writing it; quick code bugs out fast. To have a
program ability available permanently, choose it as a power tag.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight to run your program (take an action as the program); complete
the work quickly; use few resources; make a new contact while getting help debugging; impress
professionals who interact with the program.
Power
➕ programming skills; powerful console; premade software plugins; advice of a programming
mentor; energy drinks; assistance from online databases or communities
➖ exhaustion; distractions; inadequate software or hardware; computational overload

Consequences
Overwork your brain on the task (mentally-tired); code does something different than intended
(alter the tags created); console burns out from testing (burn a tag or overheated); your code
triggers the admin’s or some authority’s deep scans.

HACKING
Blocking a Digital Attack (Mitigate)
Failsafe activate ● Personal firewall ● Defensive programs ● Nerve-protecting hardware ●

Anti-malware
You rely on pre-programmed apps, hardware blocks, or quick programming to protect you from
cyberspace harm in a mitigation roll. In some cases you might even be able to mitigate attacks
you are unaware of, using tags such as firewall.
Power
➕ security apps; hardened hardware; bouncing the signal; shielding over the device;
opponent’s glitched; low bandwidth; being in your Domain
➖ powerful penetration program or virus; computational power; hesitation; your cyberspace

weaknesses or vulnerabilities; a surprising attack; skill of rival programmer; being in their
Domain

Crashing a Node or a Program (Attack)
Cause to overload ● Inject malicious code ● Distributed denial of service attack ● Force a
disconnect ● Force into an endless loop ● Kick or ban from Domain ● Crash an IC
You use your hacking skills to bring down a node (device or Domain) or a program (IC,
construct, or avatar) with full force. Unless adequately masked with an Extra Feat, this draws
the attention of any admins or ICs in the Domain. Crashing Domains is a Scaled action.
Attack to inflict crashed, glitched, or another harmful status, usually applied to the crash Limit.
Extra Feats: remain undetected; clean up the data trail; sow fear in human users; cause a
violent disconnect (if crash is maxed out)
Power
➕ superuser; hacking skills; powerful console; offensive software such as a malevolent virus;
target’s exploits and vulnerabilities such as knowledge of killswitch codes or other “easter eggs”
left by previous admins; maps of data hierarchies within the Domain
➖ firewall; defensive software; hardened hardware; integrity of the node’s programming; skill of
rival programmer
Consequences
You raise the alarm; you attract ICs or enemy hackers; ICs counterattack (crashed, glitched,
taken-over, tagged); the target responds by loading additional protections (firewalled); your
console overloads (burn tags or overheated); access to other connected devices or subdomains
is denied.

Disrupting Device Functionality (Disrupt, Weaken)
Make cybernetics go haywire ● Fry hardware ● Packet storm ● Signal blast ● Virus
infection ● Inject conflicting commands ● Disrupt communication device
You use your hacking skills to wreak havoc on a piece of hardware, remote, carried, or installed
cybernetically. You must be able to connect with the hardware to do so. Most vital cybernetics
such as cyber limbs or organs are intentionally only accessible via a wired connection but some
can still be accessed via other systems, such as a health-monitoring system. Drones are largely
wirelessly connected.
Military-grade and other professional systems are generally able to recover from such damage
during a scene, as Consequences. Consumer-grade systems will require repair. To control
devices, see Taking Control Over a Node or a Program (page XX).
Disrupt to create negative statuses such as fried-circuits, auditory-static,

cybernetic-heart-attack, cyberspace-disconnection, etc.
Weaken cybernetic tags such as cyberlegs or protective statuses such as firewalled.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight for a follow-up action; the damage lasts longer or is hard to
bypass; the glitch isn’t immediately noticeable; remain undetected; clean up the data trail
Power
➕ hacking skills; powerful console; intrusion apps; electromagnetic interference devices (ECM,
electronics countermeasures)
➖ EM shielding; firewall; target device is hard to connect with; target device is of high quality,
has redundancies, and can self-repair
Consequences
You glitch your own gear or infect your own cybernetics with a computer virus; the target knows
it was you; the target retaliates (glitched); the target closes ports and rediverts processing,
gaining firewalled or hardened against further attacks; you damage a related or nearby system
you did not intend to.

Overriding or Fooling a Security Device or Program (Quick, Set Back, Weaken)
Lower the alert level ● Sneak past ICs or avatars ● Retask IC programs ● Shut down
alarms ● Tamper with the firewall
You use your hacking skills to undermine, stifle, or disable security systems, either in meatspace
or in cyberspace.
Use a quick outcome whenever you attempt to circumvent or pass through a specific gate
without being detected. Use the tracked option to undermine a system for later hacking, or to
lower the alarm Limit if it exists.
Quick: You pass the target security system undetected.
Set Back any alarm on the alarm Limit to lower the general alert level.
Weaken any system statuses or tags that represent security, such as firewall.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight for a follow-up action; clean up the data trail; activate some
other system (open a door, raise a barrier); give the system new targets or false targets
Power
➕ hacking skills; powerful console; hacking apps such as code-breaking software; security
credentials; experience with specific security measures or programs
➖ the alarm level itself; active ICs; firewalls; hardware hardening; skill of rival programmer;
complicated or obtuse systems
Consequences
You are discovered, raising the alarm level; you or someone close gets tagged; you lose your
cool or prove your skill can’t help you here (burn a tag); your console or an app overloads (burn
a tag); you leave identifying data behind.

Taking Control Over a Node or a Program (Quick, Advance, Influence)
Brute force password break ● Exploit flaws in security ● Impersonate administrator ●

Hack into personal device ● Remote takeover of vehicle or drone ● Gain control over
cyberware
You use your hacking skills to take over a cyberspace node (a device or a Domain core) or a
construct. When taking over a Domain or a device, you are attempting to become its superuser;
when taking over a program or construct you flood it with commands to force a behavior, or
otherwise hack the code to gain control over it.
Quick: You gain superuser status in a Domain or control over the device or construct.
Advance the take-over status against the node’s take-over Limit. Once take-over is maxed out,
you become a superuser in the node.
Influence to inject commands into the node as a compelling status such as random-movements
or attack-myself. Such commands can force a specific behavior but do not count toward a
take-over.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight to take a follow-up action as a superuser (if achieved); remain
undetected; clean up the data trail; sow fear in human users
Power
➕ hacking skills; powerful console; backdoors or exploits in the system; encryption protocols;
password files; falsified credentials; inside information on accounts active on the node;
experience with the organization that maintains or built the node or a certain type of software of
hardware used
➖ opposing superuser; firewalls; hardened hardware; secured node; ICs on alert; poor
connection; out of date credentials; skill of rival programmer
Consequences
You raise the alarm; you attract ICs or enemy hackers; ICs counterattack (crashed, glitched,
taken-over, tagged); the target responds by loading additional protections (firewalled) or locks
you out completely; your console overloads (burn tags or overheated); access to other
connected devices or subdomains is denied; you are counter-hacked, losing control of a device
(burn a tag).

VR MODELING
Altering the VR Environment (Quick, Bestow, Weaken)
Alter rules and procedures ● Change laws of physics ● God mode ● Restyle a Domain to
confuse the enemy or gain
You alter the fundamental rules governing activities around you within cyberspace. In most
environments, you must be a superuser to do so.
This is akin to rewriting the laws of physics, but could also serve to change the way vehicles
operate, alarms go off, or virtually any part of the Domain environment behaviors. These
alterations are fairly localized to the area of cyberspace around you, unless you Scale the
action.
Bestow to create alterations such as reversed gravity, intruders treated as friendly, or nothing is
visible.
Weaken to also remove the current VR environment tag or specific elements in it.
Extra Feats: remain undetected; clean up the data trail; alterations last longer or are harder to
scrub; changes are not easily noticed by the system or its administrators
Power
➕ superuser; skill at programming operating systems or other machine-level software; powerful
console; development environment programs; familiarity with this part of cyberspace; changes
that align with the logic of the current VR environment (such as jungle environment)
➖ secured Domain; firewall; spaghetti code; many interconnected parts; security protocols
blocking alterations; changes that go against the logic of the current VR environment (such as
jungle environment)
Consequences
You raise the alarm; you attract ICs or enemy hackers; you alter the rules in a negative way,
such as causing yourself to fall through the floor or get stuck in one place; you interrupt your
own data stream (glitched); your console overloads (burn tags or overheated).

Creating VR Constructs (Loadout, Create)
Construct a bridge ● Build an AI companion ● Create smart specialized applications ●

Simulate life ● Erect a fireworks display ● Make up a vehicle
You write code or run an app to create a new digital construct. This can be a “dumb”
environmental element such as a wall, an automated element such as a hurricane following a
pattern, or something autonomously intelligent. The entity you created operates on rules you
program into it and has the capabilities you give it. Its appearance is interpreted through the
Domain’s environment, and so it most likely looks like what it is.
Loadout or Create to make up a set (Story Tag Sets, page XX), with the first tag describing the
entity in general and each additional tag representing the entity’s description, abilities, or
constraints. Successive actions can be taken to keep adding functions to your creation. For
example, you might build a winged archive-searching program with tags like data searcher,
butterfly wings, and eager to please.
Unless special circumstances apply, the program remains reliable for a duration of time
commensurate with the time you invested in writing it; quick code bugs out fast. For writing a
program out of VR, see Writing a New Program (page XX). To have a construct available
permanently, choose it as a power tag.
Extra Feats: creation lasts longer before degrading; program can be trusted to act in ways that
benefit you; program is installed in a piece of gear, such as a weapon or cybernetic part;
complete the work quickly; use few system resources
Power
➕ superuser; programming skills; authoring tools; VR construct building experience; premade
libraries and plug-ins; good design methodology
➖ lack of creativity or creative block; Domain security such as local construct filters or modeling
regulation protocols
Consequences
The construct displays unintended behaviors such as stupidity or malice; the construct can’t
quite do what you wanted it to (slightly alter story tags created); the construct displays obvious
loopholes (add negative tags); the construct is already glitchy or won’t last very long; you raise
the alarm; you attract ICs or enemy hackers.

Customizing an Avatar (Bestow, Enhance, Loadout)
Code someone a superpower ● Glam up your visage ● Grant a VR gear or weapon ●

Transform an avatar into something else
You use your programming skills or apps to alter an avatar within VR, yours or that of an ally,
granting it useful programs in the form of gear, weapons and armor, or unusual abilities.
Bestow to grant abilities or items such as super strength, underwater breathing, shotgun, etc.
Story tags can be created in a set (Story Tag Sets, page XX) to make the item or ability more
powerful.
Enhance to grant statuses such as shielded, camouflaged, etc.
Loadout to equip an avatar with such abilities and items before going on a cyberspace heist.
Extra Feats: abilities can break fundamental rules of this VR environment; the avatar can shift
between current and previous form
Power
➕ superuser; programming skills; authoring tools; VR construct building experience; premade
libraries and plug-ins; good design methodology
➖ lack of creativity or creative block; Domain security such as local construct filters or modeling
regulation protocols
Consequences
You accidentally delete or corrupt existing avatar functionality (burn a tag or remove a positive
status); your new code is buggy (target avatar gets glitch); an item or ability created has an
inherent weakness (add a negative tag); you raise the alarm; you attract ICs or enemy hackers.
Moving in VR
See Moving Around the Battlefield (page XX) or Travel and Survival in Dangerous Environments
(page XX).

HARNESSING
The VR metaphor displays cyberspace data as objects in a three-dimensional space in order to
help users interact with it intuitively. Harnessing adds another layer of technological wonder to
this. Not only does it display cyberspace data and program as objects in a three-dimensional
space but it also translates computational problems to motor problems the brain can
understand, and then translates the brain’s reaction to these problems back into code. This
allows lay people to hack in cyberspace without knowing how to code, by doing what they’re
good at in the physical world: fighting, breaking and entry, impersonation, etc.
A hacker can Harness a human brain (or brains) to aid in a hacking job by transferring into the
avatar the type of activities that the brain is used to engage in. This process can be involved
and error-prone, so Harnessing is not cost-effective for short hacks.
While Harnessed, physical statuses, such as an injured, continue to affect the digital avatar of a
Harnessed character, as their mind cannot tell the difference between the two, unless special
coding is used to override this (see Repairing Data or Program, page XX). However, overriding
neural paths to heal an avatar in cyberspace does not heal the physical body of the PC.
Harnessing a Brain (Quick, Bestow)
You use your Harnessing skills to Harness yourself or another character. Successive actions
can be taken to keep fleshing out the Harnessed avatar. Harnessing the crew requires a Scaled
action; only tags that affect the entire crew count in such an action.
A Harnessing roll tests the hacker’s ability to build an avatar for the Harnessed brain that will
allow them to use their meatspace abilities in cyberspace. A hit (whether quick or tracked)
means the avatar is functional, although a mixed hit could bear the Consequences of several of
the Harnessed PC’s tags and even entire themes being burnt while in cyberspace; this
represents a failure to code a certain aspect of that character, such as their battleax Source.
The MC can rule that some tags cannot be burnt this way because they are not reliant on the
avatar, such as observant. A miss could mean the Harnessed PC has a barely functioning
avatar, is terribly glitched, or is even floating in cyberspace without a digital body. A hacker must
Harness themselves if they want to use their physical abilities in a cyberspace job; otherwise
their avatar represents only their hacking capabilities.
Quick: You create an avatar that retains all the Harnessed character tags in cyberspace (power,
weakness, loadout, and story).
Bestow to add tags to the avatar that the original character does not possess such as new
abilities or weapons. See also Customizing an Avatar (page XX).
Extra Feats: avatars hit the ground running (keep the spotlight and give it to them); avatars
spawn in a specific place in another Domain; avatars spawn undetected; Harnessed are still
partially aware of meatspace

Power
➕ hacking skills; Harnessing skills; VR modeling skills; Harnessing software; a powerful
console; familiarity with the Harnessed minds and bodies
➖ subject resistance; unusual or unique features to code; mysterious Mythos abilities

Consequences
Not all abilities were properly coded (burn tags of Harnessed PCs lasting for the duration of the
Harnessing); your coding is buggy (target avatar is glitched); the target avatar has shortcomings
(add negative tags); your console overloads (burn tags or overheated); someone looking for the
Harnessed detects their features in cyberspace (Harnessed avatar is tagged).
Taking Actions in VR While Harnessed
While Harnessing, almost every other action can be used as normal and be just as effective in
the digital world as in the physical one; that’s the whole point of Harnessing software.
Actions taken in cyberspace using a Harnessed avatar are translated from physical world
actions into cyberspace terms. For example, a warrior firing a gun can injure a construct, but the
status would be applied to their crash Limit; a mastermind can convince a construct to let him
access the core, but the convinced status would be applied to the take-over Limit; a stealthy PC
can sneak past a gateway that represents the firewall and effectively circumvent inspection, and
so on. Conversely, Harnessed PCs taking statuses such as injured, fragged-app, or
disrupted-connection, track them against a crash Limit, and so on.

EXPLORATION & SURVIVAL
From flooded service tunnels to rolling favela rooftops, from ancient moss-strewn temples to
sand-covered Megacity ruins, from the acid-rain-drenched downtown streets to forbidden
cyberspace Domains deep within the Spirals – your crew’s jobs will take them far and wide,
through every imaginable terrain and climate. To survive the hardships of a devastated world,
they must be prepared to endure harsh conditions, face off with local opposition that holds the
home advantage, and think on their feet – or else be consumed by nature, Mythos, or urban
wilds.
DIFFICULT TERRAIN
Basic features of a place can be story tags, such as broken ground, knee-high water, it’s a long
way down, wide open space, high waves, unholy power, etc. These features are very difficult or
impossible to remove, except through the use of Mythic powers.
Obstacles and objects that can provide cover, block the way, be brought down on an enemy,
picked up and used, or removed from the scene, can also be story tags, such as piles of debris,
high walls, heavy foliage, blocked road, weapon rack, innocent bystanders or holographic
display. See Creating and Removing Hazards and Obstacles (page XX).
Descriptions of current conditions in the scene are usually story tags, such as darkness, chilly
atmosphere, chilly atmosphere, low reception, and the like. The MC can present these
conditions as statuses if she expects the PCs to try and increase or decrease them. A roof can
have strong winds, but if the point of the scene is fighting a wind demon, it can be windy
instead. A club could have ear-splitting music, but if the PCs are expected to have a Battle of
the Bands, it can be loud instead.
Hazards are features of the scene, usually with a story tag, that pose danger. Examples include
open flame, toxic clouds, evil spirit energy, and the like. The MC can use them to establish
Threats that create Consequences if unaddressed: the flame approaches the gas tank, the toxic
cloud is spreading toward the crew, the evil energy is gathering up. They can also bring about
Consequences whenever they are relevant in an action: A PC who runs through a flame gets
burned, the toxic cloud makes everyone in it poisoned (its story tag can also affect visibility), and
the spirit energy creates a draining backlash with every spell cast in the area.
Hazards are rarely Challenges by themselves, and are more likely as tags and Consequences
in a fight or during travel. See Creating and Removing Hazards and Obstacles (page XX) and
Travel and Movement in Dangerous Environments (page XX).
When the MC describes the environment while Establishing a Scene (page XX), she can
choose to make any detail into a story tag, if she wants it to have mechanical significance. The
MC can also decide in the middle of a player action that a feature of the scene is worthy of a
story tag and interject to add it (Interjections, page XX).

Remember, only the most important features of an environment should be story tags. It is
recommended never to have more than three story tags representing the environment in a
scene.

NAVIGATING DANGER
Chases (Advance, Disrupt, Enhance, Mitigate)
After them! ● Keep them in sight ● Follow their path ● Cut them off ● Take a shortcut ●
Pedal to the metal ● Weave through traffic ● Veer sideways ● Swerve into them ●
Maneuver into broken ground ● Throw caltrops in their path ● Shoot the engine, wheels,
or gas tank ● Jam their autopilot
A chase scene usually has a tracked outcome and revolves around the catch/outrun polar Limit.
When outrun maxes out, the fleeing party manages to escape its pursuer(s), ending the chase
for the time being. When catch maxes out, the pursuer catches the fleeing party and ends the
chase by blocking their escape or otherwise preventing them from running away. The MC
determines the Limit as a measure of how lengthy she wants the scene to be and the stakes at
hand.
Outrun hinders any action at range that becomes less effective from a distance, such as most
attacks, intimidation, communication or noticing small details. The MC may rule that as long as
this outrun exists it is impossible to perform close combat actions, such as hand-to-hand
attacks, grabbing items, or attaching a tracker beacon by hand.
During a chase, you move, ride, drive, or pilot to catch up to your target (if you’re the pursuer) or
to escape your pursuers (if you’re the target). You may also take action to impede your
opponent.
Advance to build up catch or outrun on catch/outrun.
Disrupt with a hindering tag or status such as tight path, oil slick, unbalanced or shot-tire.
Enhance to give yourself more speed by adding fast or speeding.
Mitigate to prevent your opponent from gaining on you. You cannot double dip tags you already
used in your last action.
Extra Feats: block them on one side; block a specific path for them; avoid an upcoming
obstacle; change your position relative to them; direct the chase to a specific area; keep the
spotlight to attack; have them lose track of you for a moment
Power
➕ burst of speed; adrenaline; powerful leap; turbo drive; your opponent’s panic or slowness;
elevated position; spider legs; obstacles blocking your opponent; familiarity with the area; cover
and hiding placed (when fleeing)
➖ exhaustion or low fuel; opponent is hidden or disguised; limited visibility; dense crowds;
driving challenges like a winding path, narrow alleyway or muddy ground; bad weather;
opponent’s home field advantage

Consequences
There’s an obstacle in your path (e.g., piled debris); they circumvent an obstacle in their path
(remove tags); you lose precious time (chase or outrun); you run into a barrier or obstacle
(bruised or unbalanced); you lose speed (reduce fast) or they speed up (fast); you maneuver
through an open area (exposed).

Creating and Removing Hazards and Obstacles (Create, Disrupt, Weaken)
Start a fire ● Blast a hole in the floor ● Release a nanite cloud ● Overload doorway
circuits ● Break the mutagen pipes ● Clear the caltrops ● Cut the undergrowth ● Calm
the spirits ● Drive off the swarm ● Diffuse the poison cloud
You alter your surroundings in a way which creates a hazard or obstacle or removes one. To
create or remove something bigger than one person, this action must be Scaled. Anyone might
be affected by the hazard, be they friend or foe.
Create a tag or status such as wrecked car, mutagen cloud, distracting noise, open pit.
Disrupt to create burning, electrocuted, or cursed.
Weaken to remove a tag or tiers from statuses such as heavy-shadows, curse-of-weakness, big
boulder, buzzing swarm, or caltrops. Once you remove all relevant tags or status tiers, the
hazard is either completely gone or incapable of harming anyone.
Extra Feats: sculpt the target area precisely; sculpt a safe area inside the hazard; move around
or across the hazard; move out of the area in which you’ll be creating a hazard; draw attention
Power
➕ resourcefulness and inventiveness; relevant engineering skills; applicable tools and
weapons such as mobile barricade or a flamethrower; explosives; oil barrels; materials and
elements that could pose a hazard or negate it; destructive glee
➖ the hazard or obstacle itself; structural durability preventing the obstacle from being created
or dismantled; ineffective tools; obstructions or distance between you and the target area;
hazard-suppression systems (when creating)
Consequences
You get hurt in the process (corroded, electrocuted, bruised, cut, entangled, poisoned,
weakened, impeded, etc.); you end up caught in the hazard or behind the obstacle; equipment
gets damaged (burn a tag); the hazard expands or changes shape.

Scavenging (Create)
Loot the wreckage of a convoy ● Rummage through floating trash mounds ● Tear out
good components from a dead drone ● Steal scared effigies from a wayside shrine ●
Sample a Chimerics facility dump site ● Forage for food, or hunt
You use your skills at searching and recognizing things of value to gather useful things from the
environment.
Create story tags for the items or things you find, potentially as a set (Story Tag Sets, page XX)
such as berries, a loaded pistol, a cool windbreaker, extra plating, pouch of magic beans, or a
case of bullets. You may give what you find to an ally.
To have an item available permanently, choose it as a power tag.
Extra Feats: remain unnoticed; leave no trace of having been there; have an exit strategy;
avoid setting off any traps
Power
➕ assessment skills; acute or supernatural senses; good peripheral vision; scanning or
surveying gear; extensive memory; relevant knowledge; catalog databases;
concentration-enhancing drugs; a likely environment or container to find loot in, such as crates
➖ sensory obstructions such as darkness, fog, smog, high winds, loud noise, or heavy rain;
well-hidden items; very old or ruined items; deceiving features and optical illusions; illusory
Mythos powers
Consequences
You set off a trap or are ambushed (injured); the items you find are of poor quality (add negative
tags); they items you find are already falling apart and may not last long; someone notices you
while you scavenge; you drop something or are forced to leave it behind (burn a tag).

Scouting and Guarding (Quick, Discover, Enhance)
Scout ahead ● Follow tracks ● Explore urban ruins or a corporate complex ● Survey the
land with a drone ● Study local structures, flora, fauna, or geology ● Guard an
encampment or facility ● Patrol a defensive line ● Watch over a convoy ● Stay alert
You use your senses, skills, and tools to find your bearing or identify new threats. This can be
while exploring or while standing guard. If appropriate, the MC may reveal specific information
from the Challenge Profile such as tags, Limits, Consequences, and Specials to reflect the
knowledge gained by a PC.
Quick: You gather the most pertinent information.
Discover if you are looking for specific information, such as the location of a target, the best
path to a destination, imminent threats around, the main attributes of the most dangerous threat,
entrances and exits, and the main features of the area (number of levels, hidden chambers, and
the like).
Enhance to give yourself alert and be ready for anything.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight to act on the information you gathered; remain undetected;
leave no tracks; prevent a potential Threat from catching you or your allies off guard; secretly
communicate your findings to allies
Power
➕ acute or supernatural senses; alertness; stealthiness; surveillance or reconnaissance gear;
surveying gear; guidance or protection of local Mythoi; databases about this locale, its hazards,
and its inhabitants; alertness-enhancing drugs; high ground or vantage point
➖ sensory obstructions such as darkness, fog, smog, high winds, loud noise, or heavy rain;
camouflage; hidden traps or dangers; alertness of targets; deceiving features and optical
illusions; illusory Mythos powers; blurring or cloaking devices
Consequences
You only have a vague idea of your surroundings; you fail to notice a nearby danger (surprised
or injured); you wander off too far (lost); you lose a lot of time; you exhaust your senses or
surveying tools (burn a tag); instead of becoming alert, you daydream or doze off (distracted or
sleepy); you’re spotted (marked); the obstacles ahead are worse than you thought (barricades,
anti-magic circle).

Sneaking Past a Threat
See Sneaking and Hiding (page XX).
Surviving Environmental Hazards (Mitigate)
Break a fall ● Leap out of a trap ● Withstand a heat blast ● Survive radiation ● Resist a
swarm of nanites ● Cope with seasickness ● Endure freezing cold ● Hold your breath
when drowning ● Survive dehydration
You attempt to withstand the harm inflicted by an environmental hazard. To survive an

environment for a long period of time, see Travel and Survival in Dangerous Environments
(page XX).
Power
➕ quickness, instincts, and reaction speed; resourcefulness and inventiveness; protective and
environment-appropriate gear; resistance to this type of hazard; guidance or protection of local
Mythoi; harm-preventing spells or abilities
➖ slowness, grogginess, or apathy; gear that is detrimental for surviving this hazard;
vulnerability to this type of hazard; wrath or disapproval of local Mythoi

Travel and Survival in Dangerous Environments (Quick, Advance)
Get from A to B ● Climb a wall ● Travel long distance ● Ride in a vehicle ● Blaze through
the undergrowth ● Dig a tunnel ● Breach a fence ● Bridge a crevasse ● Jump over a fire ●
Weave between the acid pools ● Duck under the live wire ● Sidestep the cursed ground ●
Move through a maze ● Brave the nano-cloud with nothing but prayers
You move through difficult or hazardous terrain by making a path or enduring its dangers. In
order to move with a larger party or vehicle, this action must be Scaled.
This action could encapsulate anything from a tactical traversal of an obstacle or hazard (see
also Moving Around the Battlefield, page XX) to a prolonged journey. Only tags that affect the
scope of the action are relevant. For example, an arctic jumpsuit can help survive both a
one-time leap through a cloud of sublimating liquid nitrogen and a long journey through the Alps,
but food rations can only help the latter. This action can also be used when the destination is a
point in time and not in space, such as surviving a harsh winter in Siberia.
Quick: You arrive at your destination.
Advance approaching to max out traverse, at which point you arrive at your destination. Use
this tracked option when reaching the destination involves multiple steps such as skipping from
stone to stone over a murky pond, racing on a gyrocycle to cross the Megacity, or traveling
across a land in a montage.
Extra Feats: time your arrival or get there on time; control exactly where and how you arrive;
make a flashy entrance; find something useful on the way; bring someone with you; find an
easier path to travel back; arrive unnoticed; keep the spotlight to act immediately
Power
➕ speed and agility; athleticism and stamina; resilience and resolve; skill in hiking, running,
climbing, driving, etc.; appropriate vehicle; defensive and survival gear; provisions; tools to
make a path such as explosives; knowing the lay of the land; map databases; pathfinding skills;
engineering skills; protection of local Mythoi; helpful natural features such as shelter or foothold
➖ hazards such as fire, cold, electricity, toxic substances, etc.; rough terrain; obstacles and
barriers; inclement weather; hostile territory; enemy surveillance; dangerous flora or fauna;
roaming Conjurations; blind advance
Consequences
You don’t make it there, or don’t make it on time; you are hurt by a hazard (lacerated, bitten,
burnt, infected-blood, etc.); you suffer accidents, harm, or attacks along the way (injured); you
are ambushed (surprised); you get stuck in hostile territory or in the middle of a hazard; you
can’t find the path, or your chosen path turns out to be a dead end (lost or reduce previously
gained approaching); your escape route is blocked; you drop something on the way (burn a
tag); you expend resources (burnt a tag); you become exhausted, hungry, sweltering, freezing,
etc.

MEDICINE, HEALTH, AND RECOVERY
Mental and Physical Resilience and Recovery (Mitigate, Restore, Bestow, Enhance)
Bite your lip ● Show force of will ● Endure a poison ● Kick off a disease ● Self medicate ●
Walk it off ● Resist brainwashing ● Dive into a game ● Recenter ● Regenerate
You overcome a condition with which you are afflicted, whether by resisting it or recovering from
it over time. It may be physical, like a toxin, poison, or a disease; psychological, such as guilt,
pain, psychic control, resurfaced emotions, or a recurrence of mental illness; or a combination of
both, like hallucinogenics or torture.
Mitigate the status or story tag when you are first afflicted by it to reduce its impact on you.
Restore to remove a debilitating tag or status when you take action to recover.
Bestow or Enhance to represent temporarily-elevated constitution or newly-gained strength to

face similar conditions, such as poison resistance, strong will, fortified emotions, calm
acceptance, or becoming positive, energetic, or healthy.
Extra Feats: recover faster than normal; ignore the next immediate Threat to afflict you with the
same venom, brainwashing technique, etc.; inspire others with your strength
Power
➕ nerves of steel; fortitude and resilience; strong natural resistance and body functions; calm
mind; psychic defenses or emotional armor; meditation or mindfulness skills; regenerative
abilities; conducive recovery environment; blessings and guardian entities; help from friends or
medical professionals
➖ the condition itself; physical or mental issues that keep you from functioning; the source of
the condition or issue; sensitivities and vulnerabilities; dark or demonic forces eroding your
psyche
Consequences
You suffer from complications (get a different status or negative tag); you’re exhausted
(exhausted or burn tags); you lose your cool in front of others (burn tags or get bad-rap); you
lose patience with the recovery process.

Performance Enhancement (Bestow, Enhance)
Battlefield stim ● Blood nanite assistance ● Dosing pixie dust ● Mutagenic injection ●
Nose candy ● Sports doping
You use drugs or other medical treatment to improve a target’s capabilities. The treatment could
take the form of a simple injection or as complex and involved as a hospital stay. The more
involved the procedure, the longer the effects will generally last. Treatment could also involve
consuming certain magical items or Sources with appropriately Mythic results.
Since enhancers are usually consumable, it is common to burn them for Power (Consumable
Story Tags, page XX). For giving a booster during a fight, see also Assisting an Ally (page XX).
To upgrade cyberware, see Building, Crafting, or Upgrading Tech (page XX).
Bestow or Enhance to grant yourself or someone else attractive, peppy, hyper-focused,

roid-raging-strength, drug-heightened senses, nanite-boosted reflexes,, etc.
Extra Feats: make it last longer or shorter; avoid side effects or aftermath; do it on the down low
Power
➕ selection of drugs or medical supplies; drug abuse experience; skill at boosting others with
medicines; cybernetics that monitor vitals
➖ addiction or tolerance for drug used; lower grade medicines; lack of equipment; complex
cybernetics or multiple Sources clash; blood-cleaning cybernetics or purifying magic
Consequences
You become overdosed or addicted; you are temporarily afflicted by severe side effects (sick,
can’t-breathe, overconfident, cursed, or glitchy); you have lasting side effects (e.g., weakened
immune system, hallucinations, uncontrolled ticks or burn tags); someone sees you using; you
become tolerant to the substance and cannot use it again soon.

Treating Injuries and Other Conditions (Restore, Discover)
Give first aid ● Perform laser-knife surgery ● Dispense medpack drugs ● Stitch together
wounds ● Street doc visit ● Have a heart to heart ● Support someone through crisis ●
Spend a week at the hospital
You use your abilities to treat a harmful condition such as an injury or a personal psychological
issue. Depending on the tools and magic at hand, while some issues can be treated in the field
or on the job, other, more complex problems may require advanced treatment, a hospital stay, or
lengthy rehabilitation. See also Healing with Mythos Powers (page XX).
Restore to remove the harmful tag or status. It does not count as a negative tag or status for
this action, unless you are treating yourself or it is particularly aggressive or stubborn.
Discover to understand the condition better, or pinpoint its source.
Extra Feats: complete the treatment faster or allow for a speedy recovery; leave no scars or
treatment side-effects; prevent wounds from reopening, for now; move the patient while
treatment is ongoing; prevent the condition from spreading to others; prevent the condition from
doing more harm (e.g., poison)
Power
➕ medical training; medical equipment; drugs and supplies; corporate insurance; a sterile,
well-equipped workspace; healing magic; medical drones; the target’s regenerative attributes
(Mental and Physical Resilience and Recovery, page XX)
➖ poor drugs or equipment; battlefield distractions; unhygienic conditions; psychological

pressure
Consequences
The patient’s state deteriorates or they suffer from complications (increase status or add tags);
the patient resists treatment; the condition takes a lot of gear or medicine to treat (burn a tag);
you are overworked (tired); focusing on the treatment left you exposed or distracted.

MYTHOS
Now that the ancient legends have returned, it seems every jackass who is in-the-know
possesses a little bit of their endless magic. Mercenaries walk the streets with the power to
muddle their enemies’ senses or set their bullets aflame with hellfire; invisible and intangible
assassins creep unimpeded all the way to their quarry’s bed; seers and diviners foretell market
changes and drive speculative investment; and curses and love potions are once more sought
after by haters and lovers, sold by peddlers in the backstreets of the Megacity.
Along with the advent of accessible magic Sources came the forgotten horrors of old: vampires
and ghosts, demons and angels, faeries and dragons all swarmed back into the world, crawling
out of Thin Places and Relics or summoned by Esoterica and Avatars. Now, hunting for Sources
in the Megacity and the territories beyond involves facing fantastical beasts, wrathful spirits, and
wicked monstrous beings. Your crew must pack their own Sources and foster an understanding
of the Mythic world if they want to survive.
COMMON MYTHIC TERMS

A Source is a place, item, animal, or knowledge (or more rarely a person) which serves as point
of origin for the powers of a Mythos.
A Touched person, item, or place is deeply affected by a Source, usually after an intense or
prolonged exposure, to the point of possession of some of its magic and abilities. To keep their
powers, Touched individuals must maintain their connection with the Source through specific
Rituals that befit the nature of the Mythos.
A Conjuration is an autonomous being, monster, spirit, summoned object, and in some cases
even a place, that is created solely through the power of a Mythos and exists only as an
extension of a Source. It is made completely out of magic, and could therefore be created,
controlled, or banished. A Conjuration may be sentient or intelligent. See Summoning a
Conjuration (page XX).
Places of power, such as Thin Places, natural ley lines, artificial ritual chambers, a dragon’s
den and others, are mystically charged and can affect magical creatures and effects, positively
or negatively.
COMMON MYTHIC STATUSES

Curses: The all-purpose cursed status represents debilitating magical effects. By itself it
represents a hindering magical “weight” over your magical powers, but it should usually be
rephrased to indicate a specific magical harm, such as sapped-strength, haunted-by-demons,
terrible-luck, laughing-uncontrollably, etc.
Energy loss and gain: Running out of magical mojo or losing the concentration or willpower
required to use your powers can be represented by a status such as spiritually-exhausted or

drained, or by burning relevant tags. A status such as empowered or boosted-magic represents
having additional magical power, beyond the normal.
Environment: Mythos powers can also be affected by the presence of other Mythoi or ambient
magical energies they emanate. Tags and statuses like unhallowed ground or
magical-dampening can affect PCs’ ability to use Sources, if their Sources are affected by those
energies.

USING MYTHIC POWERS
When trying to achieve a “mundane” outcome – one that can normally be achieved with
non-magical abilities, such as all other actions in this chapter – your Mythos tags can be
counted as normal when adding up Power. This section lists actions that simply cannot be
accomplished without magic. The Consequences below are generally relevant to the use of
Mythos powers in addition to those noted for each action type.
Consequences
Your Source is sapped, your powers wane, or you exhaust your magical resources such as
ingredients (burn a tag or drained); your Source powers run rampant; there are undesired
side-effects, such a an explosion (injured, cursed); your use of this Source attracts Source
hunters; your use of this Source is noticed by an interested party; your use of your Source is an
anathema to the Mythos within it (burn a tag); you disrupt helpful magic effects on yourself, your
target, or nearby (burn a tag); you leave a Mythic scar on the area (cursed).
Aiding Others with Mythos powers
Lifting their load with telekinesis ● Breathing courage into their hearts ● Conjuring a
magical sword ● Shining bright to ward off fear
See Assisting an Ally (page XX), Improvised Weapons(XX), Leadership (page XX), and also
Granting Abilities to People or Items (page XX).
Attacking with Mythos powers
Lay a curse ● Smite down with lightning ● Bind in magical chains ● Chant a spell of
slumber ● Cast a Fireball ● Tear with shadow claws ● Slow time
See Direct Attacks (page XX) and Tactical Attacks (page XX).
Divination or Magical Senses
Sniff out your enemies with superhuman senses ● foretell fortunes ● psychometry ● etch
a glyph of forewarning ● read minds ● scry through a mirror
See Analyzing the Battlefield (page XX), Scouting and Guarding (page XX), and Intel
Gathering (page XX).

Finding and Focusing on a Specific Ability (Create, Loadout)
Find the right page in the grimoire ● Combine runes in a new way ● Memorizing spells or
prayers ● Pull the right thing out of a magic hat ● Sense a new ability bubbling up inside
you ● Discover a hidden feature of your Source
You take a moment to tap into a specific Mythos ability out of the broad range available to you.
This action is used with a “too broad” or broad Mythos power tag to generate a more specific
Mythos power tag (Downgrading a Tag, page XX). See also Granting Abilities to People or
Items (page XX).
Create a tag representing a specific ability or item within the range of your “too broad” tag that
you focus on in the moment, such as magic mirror, fireball spell, levitation bead or protection
incantation. With extra Power, you can make a set (Story Tag Sets, page XX), and add features
or additional abilities such as freezing halo, silent casting, channel divine magic, and the like.
These specific implementations of your power tend to disappear as quickly as they came about,
commensurate with the time and effort you invested in finding them.
Loadout such tags to reflect preparing or memorizing a limited set of abilities that is retained
until you load off. Burn these loadout tags for power to simulate magic that has limited uses
(Vancian magic).
To keep an ability available permanently, choose it as a power tag.
Extra Feats: hide your prepared ability; keep the spotlight to act immediately
Power
➕ your “too broad” tag; anything that can speed up the focusing such as a self-flipping grimoire
or rapid mimicking
➖ distractions and confusion; slowness and inefficiency

Consequences
The ability you gain is flawed or comes with strings attached (add negative tag); you panic or
lose your head (panicked); this is the last ability you’ll gain for a while (burn the “too broad” tag);
this ability comes at the expense of another (burn specific tag).

Granting Abilities to People or Items (Bestow, Create, Enhance)
Concoct a potion ● Coat sword with flames ● Giant’s strength enchantment ● Blessing of
accuracy ● Protective charm ● Eyes of the eagle ● Adorn with illusionary disguise
You create a magical effect on the fly, temporarily enhancing your own abilities or those of an
ally or conjuring a magical item that lasts for a short while. To create a being, see Summoning a
Conjuration (page XX). Scale up the action to grant the abilities to several targets; to grant size,
Bestow tags representing size.
Bestow abilities such as flying, time-bending speed, intangible, blessing of the nymph, etc.
Create a tag representing a magical object or effect, such as arcane shield, or add a tag to an
existing item such as adding nightmare claws to cyberware arm or runic ammo to machine
guns. With extra Power, you can add features such as strikes true, dragon-slaying, and the like.
Enhance with a status such as hasted, blessed-aim, magically-warded, or hidden-from-sight.
Extra Feats: new abilities or items lasts longer; keep (or give) the spotlight to act immediately;
grant the user the ability to switch new powers on and off
Power
➕ enchantment abilities; familiarity with the target; suitable or receptive target; appropriate
expertise (anatomy, herbalism, weapon-forging); well-equipped and suitable workspace
➖ target’s resistance; target’s contradictory features; poor quality items or ingredients

Consequences
The new ability comes with inherent flaws (add negative tags); the target is adversely affected
by the new ability (e.g., in-pain, blinded, addicted or burn a tag); the target is disfigured or
transformed into something unintended.
Healing with Mythos Powers (Restore, Discover)
Healing touch ● Calming whispers ● Blessed blood ● Troll regeneration ● Concocting an

antidote ● Qi infusion ● Banishing the evil spirit of a disease ● Undo a curse ● Free a
mind from hypnotic grip ● Remove a Mythic parasite ● Cure a legendary disease ● Heal a
tainted soul
If you’re healing a natural condition, see Treating Injuries and Other Conditions (page XX).
Otherwise, you use Mythos powers to cure a supernatural condition.
Restore to remove harmful statuses and tags.
Discover to understand the malady better, or pinpoint its source (or Source).

Extra Feats: contain the condition temporarily (if it’s a Challenge)
Power
➕ healing powers; connection to the target; experience with the condition or Source used to
cause it; medicinal items; environment conducive to the curing and to healing
➖ the condition itself (when healing oneself or if it is an aggressive condition); continued

contact with the causing Source; using a healing Source which is ineffective against the
condition Source
Consequences
The patient is left with complications (negative tags or statuses); the condition spreads to you or
those nearby (negative tags or statuses); you have exhausted what your healing could do in this
case and can’t try again.
Moving and Evading with Mythos powers
Flight ● Teleportation ● Silent step ● Traveling through or as an element ● Travel between

shadows ● Underwater breathing ● Spiderwalking
See Moving Around the Battlefield (page XX), Travel and Survival in Dangerous Environments
(page XX), and Sneaking and Hiding (page XX).
Manipulating Others with Mythos powers
Mind control ● An aura of fear ● Beguile with sorcerous charm ● Make someone forget ●
Uncanny bestial allure ● Influence emotions
See Deception (page XX), Persuasion (page XX), and Making an Impression (page XX).
Protecting with Mythos powers
Elemental shield ● Hover out of the way ● Wards or blessings ● Intangibility ●

Invulnerability ● Monstrous hide
See Combat Defense (page XX) and Countering, Dispelling, or Disenchanting Mythos Powers
and Sources (page XX).

Shaping the Environment with Mythos powers (Create, Weaken)
Cover a road with ice ● Telekinetic shaping ● Raise a wall of salt ● Summon tropical
winds ● Animate everything metallic ● Create deep darkness
You use your Mythos powers to alter objects and conditions around you, or conjure new ones.
See also Creating and Removing Hazards and Obstacles (page XX). This action must be
Scaled to match the size of the affected area, except when creating individual, person-sized
objects (Scale 0).
Create tags that represent what you have conjured into the area or what scene elements you
have transformed, possibly in a set (Story Tag Sets, page XX), such as mounting snow banks,
unnatural silence that is deeply disturbing , a wall of iron that is very thick, or a portal to hell that
emits heat.
Weaken to remove unwanted elements in the environment.
Extra Feats: make a show out of it; block someone’s path or clear a path for someone; keep the
option to reverse it at will
Power
➕ familiarity with the location; abundance of the desired material or element
➖ opposing or contradicting conditions such as weather; toughness or durability of materials
transformed
Consequences
Your shaping adds or eliminates something you didn’t intend (add negative tags or burn tags);
an ally or an innocent is caught in your shaping (injured).
Shapeshifting and Transformations
Become invisible ● Assume a were-form ● Grow bark on your skin ● Mimic the
appearance or abilities of others ● Duplicate yourself ● Become incorporeal
See Granting Abilities to People or Items (page XX).
MYTHOI & SOURCES

The following actions represent abilities gained through a deep, mystical connection with the
Mythos of a Source. As such, they can be rolled with Mythos (Rolling With Self, Mythos, or
Noise, page XX).

Communing with a Mythos (Quick, Discover)
Project an astral body ● Speak to your reflection ● Meditate ● Make an offering or

sacrifice ● Pray ● Listen to the winds ● Ritually invoke a Mythos’ true name
You communicate with a Mythos in the Otherscape to obtain mystical, magical, or mythological
secrets. You must possess a Source of the Mythos. To beseech a Mythos to cause supernatural
phenomena, see Using Mythic Powers (page XX).
Common topics are history of a Source; relationship between Mythoi; capabilities of a magical
Challenge; general guidance (“what would the Mythos do”), and earthly knowledge within its
domain of influence (“when will the next storm hit” or “what’s the best way to make a buck”). The
information is usually provided in symbolism and metaphors and is often heavily skewed
through the biases of the Mythos.
Quick: You commune with the Mythos and learn pertinent information.
Discover to glean answers to specific questions.
Extra Feats: impress onlookers, those Touched by the Mythos, or Conjurations of the Mythos
Power
➕ spiritual abilities; properties or qualities associated with the Mythos; strength of will;
knowledge of the Mythoi; ritual trappings; location related to Mythos; appropriate offering or
sacrifice
➖ physical, mental, or spiritual exhaustion; doubt or fear; Noise-related statuses, bad

relationship with the Mythos; location or qualities offensive to the Mythos
Consequences
Take Decay on a Mythos theme; the Mythos strikes out at you (burn any tag, or an entire
theme); the Mythos invades reality, creating a temporary Thin Place; the Mythos becomes
resentful; the experience leaves you spent (burn a tag or exhausted); touching the Mythos
proves to be too much (delirious or a compelling servant-of-the-Mythos).
Identifying a Source (Quick, Discover)
Read an astral aura ● Sense resonance ● Listen to the Source whisper ● Ask your own
Source about another Source
You examine a Source and attempt to use your knowledge of Mythoi, powers of perception, or
magical senses to figure out which Mythos grants it power and what this power might be. If you
use mundane research instead, see the Intel Gathering (page XX).
The information revealed might include visions of the Mythos, knowledge of who last possessed
the Source, or a sense of the Source’s purpose or powers. If appropriate, the MC may reveal

specific information from the Source’s theme kit or Challenge Profile such as tags, Limits,
Consequences, and Specials to reflect the knowledge gained by a PC.
Quick: You uncover the Mythos behind this Source and its powers.
looking for, such as the details suggested above and also the Ritual required to maintain a
connection with the Source, who else possesses a similar Source, or what could negate its
powers.
against an unlocked Limit set by the MC in order to spend time studying the Source. When
unlocked is maxed out, you unlock all the secrets of the Source.
Extra Feats: briefly communicate with the Mythos; make the Source momentarily show a visible
aspect of the Mythos
Power
➕ intuition and uncanny senses; arcane or mystical knowledge; relevant historical knowledge;
general knowledge of Mythoi; qualities that resonate with the target Mythos; sage and learned
advisors
➖ distractions; illusions or other deceptions; effects suppressing the Source’s power; qualities
offensive to the Mythos
Consequences
You get the wrong impression or false visions; other Sources around you are disrupted (burn a
tag); you anger the Mythos or act in a manner not aligned with its nature (cursed); you hit a
setback in your research (reduce making-progress) or a temporary impasse (cannot attempt this
action again for a while).

CONJURING
Banishing a Conjuration (Attack)
Make a banishing sign ● Exorcism ritual ● Psychic blast ● Spiritual cleansing ● Turn
undead ● Undo a golem’s animating force ● Disperse living nightmares ● Send a demon
back to hell
You use your Mythos powers to eliminate a Conjuration, sending it back to the Otherscape
realm from whence it came and dispersing its mystical energies. This could affect a materialized
or incorporeal Conjuration as well as a Conjuration possessing a host body, object, or location.
Exorcizing a location might require a Scaled action.
Banishment does not affect Sources or those Touched by them. See instead Countering,
Dispelling, or Disenchanting Mythos Powers (page XX).
Attack to give a banished status against the target’s banish Limit. Once this Limit is maxed, the
target is dissipated or flees back to the Otherscape, and is removed from the scene.
Extra Feats: ward the area or possessed person against this type of Conjuration, for now; keep
the Conjuration focused on you; momentarily bind the Conjuration from using a specific ability;
perform the banishment without being noticed; banish the Conjuration into a neighboring area;
don’t let up and keep the spotlight to continue the banishment
Power
➕ force of spirit; magical skills; applicable wards; incantations and abjuration; medium powers;
experience with this specific class of Conjuration; magic that excels at banishment or
destruction of this class of Conjuration; things abhorrent to the Conjuration or Mythos (salt,
religious symbolism, flowers cut under a full moon, and the like)
➖ presence of the origin Source; target’s banishment resistance; objects or spiritual fetters that
bind the target to the Megacity
Consequences
The banishing is interrupted (reduce banished that was previously gained); The Conjuration
retaliates (injured, cursed, or other Consequences from its Challenge Profile); the Conjuration
grows in power (energized) or gains additional powers (gain tags); your powers are ineffective
here (burn a tag or narratively prevent further attempts); you lose your concentration (exhausted
or drained); you attract the attention of the Source of the Conjuration, its current master, or other
Conjurations like it.

Commanding a Conjuration (Quick, Influence)
A binding spell ● Offer tribute ● Outsmart in conversation ● Bear down with psychic
force ● Attune to its resonance ● Speak its true name
You use your Mythos powers or conversation skills to force or cajole a Conjuration into following
your commands. Conjurations you summon are normally already under your control, unless that
control is lost at any point due to Consequences.
Quick: You force the Conjuration to do one thing within the scope of the scene.
Influence to give a compelling status such as bound, controlled, helpful, grudging-respect, or

sympathetic. Initially, this is a helpful status for mitigating any actions the Conjuration takes in
defiance of your wish; the Conjuration comes fully under your control when you max out its Limit
(if unlisted, it is equal to banish). The MC will give you a set of tags to represent the Conjuration,
if one does not already exist.
Extra Feats: the Conjuration follows you around for a while; the Conjuration holds you in high
esteem or is proactively helpful; keep the Conjuration focused on you; perform the command
without being noticed; momentarily bind the Conjuration from using a specific ability; block
someone else from attempting to take control, for now; don’t let up and keep the spotlight to
continue your influence
Power
➕ force of spirit; magical skills; appropriate magical implements; negotiation skills; aligned
goals; experience with this specific class of Conjuration; magic that excels at binding this class
of Conjuration; qualities you share with the Conjuration or its Mythos; existing relationship with
the Conjuration; offerings or sacrifices
➖ other bindings on the Conjurations; past antagonism with this Conjuration or its class; the
Conjurations recalcitrance or force of will; the Conjurations current master’s force of will or
magical aptitude; distractions; your social quirks
Consequences
The Conjuration flees the scene; the Conjuration retaliates (injured, cursed or other
Consequences from its Challenge Profile); the Conjuration becomes harder to command (willful
or angered) or you lose your hold on it (reduce bound, etc.); you attract the attention of the
Source of the Conjuration, its current master, or other Conjurations like it.

Summoning a Conjuration (Loadout, Create)
Summon hellhounds ● Animate golem ● Craft a living illusion ● Arouse spirits in seance
● Zombie reanimation ● Call upon the elves of the Black Forest
You use magic to summon a Conjuration into being – a Mythic creature or being associated with
a Mythos you have access to through a Source. The Conjuration behaves in a way that befits its
Mythos, but it can be influenced. Scale up the action to summon more than one Conjuration or
to summon a giant one.
A Conjuration you summon obeys you and is under your control, unless this control is lost due
to Consequences.
Loadout or Create to make up a set (Story Tag Sets, page XX), with the first tag representing
the Conjuration and each additional tag representing further abilities and attributes. Successive
actions can be taken to summon new Conjurations or to add attributes to existing ones. For
example, you might summon a laughing pixie with tags like small and elusive, magically
contagious laughter, and cooperative.
Extra Feats: the Conjuration lasts longer; summon the Conjuration in an advantageous
position; summon without being noticed; keep the spotlight to act immediately as the
Conjuration or with it
Power
➕ conjuration powers; the Source of the Conjuration; appropriate implements, location, and
offerings; a relevant place of power (a ritual chamber, ley line, etc); experience with summoning
this class of Conjurations
➖ wards against magical summoning or magical dampening; setting or situation that essentially
contradicts the Mythos
Consequences
You lose control of the Conjuration, and it may be defiant toward you; the Conjuration shows
typical yet unwanted characteristics or flaws (add negative tags); the creature can’t quite do
what you wanted it to (slightly alter story tags created); additional effects or creatures are
conjured, not under your control; the Conjuration is fleeting (lasts for only one or two actions).

THE ARCANE ARTS
Countering, Dispelling, or Disenchanting Mythos Powers and Sources (Mitigate,

Weaken, Disrupt)
Counter a spell ● Break an enchantment ● Dampen a Mythos power ● Release someone

from magical bonds ● Fight fire with fire ● Fight fire with ice ● Disperse malign forces
You use your Mythos powers to nullify another Mythos power.
Mitigate by nullifying a Mythos power just as it is being activated.
Weaken to remove the target’s tags and statuses representing Mythos powers or originating
from them such as door binding spell, giant’s strength, or warded. Some Challenges are able to
restore lost abilities as Consequences or Specials.
Disrupt to create tags and statuses that hinder the use of Mythos powers such as
dampened-magic, cut-off-from-the-divine, or muted.
Extra Feats: entirely block the target from using a specific ability, for now; keep the spotlight to
act immediately
Power
➕ magical skills; specific skill at countering or disenchantment; knowledge of or power over
other supernatural forces; specific abilities that perfectly counter the target ability
➖ powerful or alteration-resistant magic; the target’s magical skills or force of spirit; the raw
power of the effect; place of power; the magic aligns with your Mythos
Consequences
Your own Source is sapped (burn a tag or drained); the target effect grows stronger; you are
unable to dispel this power again, for now; there are undesired side-effects, such as magical
backlash (dampened-magic, injured, cursed); you disrupt helpful magic effects on yourself, your
target, or nearby (burn a tag); you leave a Mythic scar on the area (cursed).

Performing Magical Rituals (Quick, Advance, Enhance)
Meditative trance ● Religious rite ● Casting a complicated spell ● Drawing more power
You perform involved or complicated magic in order to achieve a specific narrative effect, such
as opening a portal to hell or restoring the soul of a possessed child. Depending on your goal,
the MC will tell you whether to roll for a quick outcome, to use Advance to reach a Limit, or, if
you are seeking an outcome beyond your powers, to Go Out With a Blaze (page XX).
Alternatively, you can perform a ritual with the sole purpose of empowering yourself in
preparation of a future action.
Completing a PC’s Ritual motivation may or may not involve a magical ritual such as this; a
motivational Ritual could also be a figurative “ritual”, such as a recurring activity that the PC
must partake in.
Quick: You complete the ritual with the desired narrative outcome.
Advance to build a status such as chanting or making-progress with the intention of maxing out
complete-ritual. Upon maxing out the Limit, the expected narrative outcome of the ritual occurs.
Enhance to give yourself an empowered status that will boost a designated magical action;
taking that action completes the ritual and expires empowered. Successive actions can be taken
to increase empowered before completing the ritual, but empowered does not help successive
actions, only the final action. Tags used in creating empowered cannot be double dipped in the
final action together with empowered.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight to continue the ritual or complete it
Power
➕ ritual library; tomes of knowledge; mentors; patience or willpower; raw magical talent; tags
related to the spell being prepared; arcane sanctum; solitude or other focus-aiding conditions;
ingredients or sacrifices
➖ distractions; flawed understanding of the ritual or Mythos; abundance of Noise

Consequences
The ritual is interrupted (reduce making-progress or empowered that was previously gained);
the ritual backfires or blows up in your face (cursed or injured); the ritual costs you your magic
(burn tags); there are undesired side-effects, such as a parietal transformation (skin of gold,
blind in one eye); a hostile Conjuration appears.

Sourcecraft
Craft a Relic ● Sanctify a Thin Place ● Uplift a Familiar ● Birth an Avatar
The ability to create new Sources is rare even among the most powerful beings in the world.
Even Avatars, who can Touch a person and boon them with magical powers with the flick of a
finger, do not always know why their own Mythos picked them or how to turn others into
independent Sources. No one has truly solved the mystery of where a Mythos will next manifest
and why – and no-one ever will, not completely. However, limited understanding of how to
awaken Sources – and how to snuff them out permanently – can be achieved, especially
through strange and ancient forms of Esoterica.
Creating a Source is almost always an involved project or an unleashing of raw power. Use the
rules for Performing a Magical Ritual (page XX).
Warding (Enhance)
Protective circle ● Psychic bubble ● Salt across the doorstep ● Sign of the cross ●
Whispered prayer ● Carry a hamsa
You use your Mythos powers to limit the activities of other Mythos powers generally, a particular
kind of Mythos powers, their Conjurations (ghost, kami, kelpie, etc.), or even just one specific
manifestation of a Mythos. Mythos Powers activated against warded people or things, or within
the area of the ward, are inhibited by it. Conjurations crossing the ward trigger an out of turn
action against them, typically gaining banish. Warding an area any bigger than a doorway
requires a Scaled action.
Enhance to create the status warded. The ward lasts for a duration commensurate with its tier
and the time you take to cast it.
Extra Feats: Conjurations are pushed back when they encounter the ward; Conjurations can’t
perceive what is warded; you cast the ward without being noticed
Power
➕ force of spirit; warding rites; knowledge of local Mythoi; useful ley lines or other magical
flows; appropriate magical implements; items and symbols anathema to the Mythos
➖ vulnerability to specific Mythoi or powers; a strong presence of an opposing local Mythos;

distractions
Consequences
The ward won’t last as long as it should; the ward harms those who are warded (dazed, sick,
enfeebled); the ward attracts the attention of more Mythic dangers; the ward works both ways,
keeping Conjurations in (if undesired).

SPYCRAFT
Everyone in :Otherscape is in each other’s business. Corporations employ industrial espionage
to steal each other’s knowledge and data assets while hiring assassins from crime-syndicates to
take out the competition or sabotage a vital R&D facility. Remnants of the world’s collapsed
governments operate the old intelligence agencies with military-trained operatives, tugging at
ever-shifting networks of informants to intercept the next political whistleblower. Conspiratorial
Source cabals, rebellious cyberspace communes, and sentient AI fight a constant battle to keep
their secrets from enemies and allies alike. Even on the street level, every sleazy fixer and
hustler tries to stay ahead of the game by snooping around, making the rounds, and secretly
creeping after their latest obsessions in the flicker of neon light.
Knowing is half the battle – usually the first half. To survive, your crew must know what they’re
getting into and develop an understanding of their enemies, their capabilities, their patterns, and
the nasty surprises they have in store for – all while expertly avoiding their prying eyes.
COMMON SPYCRAFT STATUSES

Alarm systems: Security systems of all kinds (mundane, cyberspace, etc.) have an alarm Limit
that takes alert statuses. This represents a security system or outfit’s rising suspicion or
indication that an unauthorized activity is taking place under its purview. When the Limit is
maxed, security is fully engaged, usually by introducing a new Challenge to tackle the
unauthorized activity. However, certain narrative developments can cause the alarm to go off
without maxing out the status, such as if one guard becomes aware and raises the alarm. The
status can potentially be Set Back with technical skills (Overriding or Fooling a Security Device
or Program, page XX) or using Social Interactions (page XX).
Alertness: The alert status represents someone being aware and ready. An alert guard is
harder to sneak past or catch by surprise.
Marked: A PC could get marked by systems or organizations, a status which hinders many
spycraft actions. This signifies that this group now know who you are, at least in general terms,
and are either actively searching for you or are able to recognize you should you resurface in
their neck of the woods. Spycraft specialists can attempt to avoid getting marked (see Avoiding
Attention and Staying Anonymous, page XX) but once a person’s true identity is made, it is very
hard to scrub. Nothing short of the most sought-after Sources – such that can erase someone
from all memory – can be used to quickly Restore things to normal. Luckily, the Noise flushes
through all systems and brains, washing away unused information with new stimuli. If you keep
your distance for long enough, the status will eventually narratively expire when the organization
has better things to worry about. See also tagged under Common Cyberspace Statuses (page
XX) and Repairing Data and Programs (page XX).

CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS
Avoiding Attention and Staying Anonymous (Mitigate)
Replace cover identity ● Switch to emergency communication channels ● Meet in the

safehouse ● Burn the documents ● Program your face mesh to a new face ● Vanish from
locator spells and scrying ● Disappear into the Noise
While in most cases it is nigh impossible to reverse being seen or noticed (a narrative
Consequence which cannot be mitigated), those skilled in spycraft have contingencies to
prevent their identity being recorded and compared against security databases.
You rely on contingency plans, quick thinking, high-tech gizmos, and obscuring Sources to
mitigate being marked or tagged. In some cases you might even be able to mitigate tagging
attacks you are unaware of, using tags such as cover identity.
Power
➕ emergency protocols; alternate and cover identities; face-altering tech or magic; being
forgettable or inconspicuous; magical obscuring; fate or memory manipulation; planted false
leads; bribed contacts; spycraft experience; familiarity with the opposition
➖ the opposition’s familiarity with you; the opposition’s spy tech and scrying Sources; being
caught by surprise; the marking agent’s quick reactions or alertness
Breaking and Entering
See Overriding or Fooling a Security Device or Program (page XX) or Tampering with a Device
(page XX).
Infiltration (Varies, Advance)
Get in unnoticed ● Use fake credentials ● Utilize disguise ● Impersonate staff ● Evade
surveillance ● Recon security
Usually, infiltrating a location or organization is a long operation requiring multiple steps and
scenes against various Challenges. Different phases of the infiltration could require actions such
as Sneaking and Hiding (page XX), Data Forgery (page XX), Deception (page XX) or Getting
Close to Someone (page XX), alongside Intel Gathering actions (page XX).
The MC can choose to abstract the process of infiltrating a secured location by placing an
infiltrate Limit and requiring a series of Advance Effects. When the Limit is maxed, the PC (or

the crew) arrives where they intended. This is a quick and tense way of creating an infiltration
scene, which is especially useful if the infiltration is just a part of a larger job.
The infiltrate Limit represents how close the PCs are to gaining access to their goal, be it a
person, a server, a vault, or a guarded Source. This infiltration might still be narrated as a
complicated process, with each infiltration action presenting a different situation with different
Threats and possible Consequences. This means that tags that helped with one step of the
infiltration might not be helpful with the next one.
Extra Feats: stumble across a golden opportunity to penetrate deeper (keep the spotlight)
Power
➕ sharp senses; stealth; camouflage; disguise; deception skills; hacking skills; credentials;
illusion magic; researched security protocols
➖ noticeable physical features; being wanted, tagged or marked; tight security; live camera
monitoring; suspicious or alert guards; sentry drones or AI; security checkpoints
Consequences
The alert level rises (alert); you’re forced to move back (reduce previously gained infiltrate);
security procedures recently changed (burn a tag representing prep such as forged credentials,
maps, passwords, or similar); you lose an item you used or exhaust an ability (burn a tag); an
approach proves to be ineffective (burn a tag); someone sees something out of place and
decides to investigate.
Sneaking and Hiding (Quick, Enhance, Disrupt)
Hide ● Burgle ● Observe unseen ● Camouflage ● Skulk underground ● Rooftop hopping

● Sneak up on someone ● Move silently or while invisible ● Move between shadows
You avoid being spotted or found. You might be moving silently, staying still, using cover, finding
hidden paths or using powerful magic and tech that provides invisibility or illusory darkness.
To track a series of sneaking actions into a place, see Infiltration (page XX) or Tailing (page XX).
To sneak up on a target, see also Surprise Attacks and Silent Kills (page XX).
Quick: You are not noticed. If moving, you arrive at your destination without being noticed.
Enhance to give yourself hidden.
Disrupt when you attempt to catch someone unawares, giving them surprised.
Extra Feats: bring someone with you; keep the spotlight to act immediately again
Power

➕ small silhouette; camouflaged outfit; cloaking tech or magic; thick foliage; crowded street;
lots of Noise; piled trash and debris; darkness
➖ sentry’s sharp senses and alertness; surveillance; open terrain; loud terrain such as
knee-deep water or creaking wood; bright floodlights
Consequences
You are spotted at the least convenient time; you get lost and end up somewhere else; you
leave something behind (burn a tag); you are spotted and remembered (marked) you are not
spotted, but something you did makes a sentry suspicious; you get nervous.
Tailing (Quick, Discover, Enhance)
Follow from a distance ● Shadow ● Stakeout ● Satellite surveillance ● Camera

surveillance ● Send a drone to watch them ● Keep tabs on someone ● Monitor their
accounts or VR activity ● Track their astrological map ● Stalk someone like a creep
You follow someone around with the intention of tracking their location, movements, and
actions, possibly for an extended period of time. Unlike a chase (Chases, page XX), you’re not
trying to intercept or stop them, but rather to stay at a distance that will allow you to keep them
in your sights. Also unlike a chase, a tail has no Limit or built in endgame. Tailing does not
necessarily mean that you are observing their every step up close; the MC will decide the level
of detail you get based on your methods.
Quick: You have current information on their whereabouts and/or activities.
Discover to find out specific details. You can also ask to be notified when something changes in
their routine or when a specific event or behavior takes place.
Enhance to place a tailed, marked, or tagged status on them, which supports your future intel
actions against them.
Extra Feats: the target won’t realize you’re tailing them, for a while; remain unnoticed (by
others); have a fast exit strategy, in case you are made
Power
➕ stealth skills; dark clothes; tracking skills; unmarked vehicle; tracking device; hidden vantage
point
➖ noticeable physical features; poor vision; target’s alertness; target’s security escort; target’s
disguise; target’s familiarity with you; being marked; distractions
Consequences
You lose your target; the target notices you; you lose track of the target for a time, during which
anything could have happened; the information you get on the target is blurry, incomplete, or

spotty; the target is more protected or informed than you realized; maintaining the tail becomes
taxing (bored, cramping, broke).
Losing a Tail (Restore)
You can shake off a tail with speed, stealth, guile or maneuverability, using your skills or
surroundings in order to keep the observer back while you move to a hidden or far away
spot, preventing them from following you.
Restore to remove the tailed status. This action uses the reverse of the positive and
negative tags as Tailing. Losing a tail cannot rid you of tagged or marked; it only stops
the surveillance on you.

INTEL GATHERING
These actions cover gathering information and turning it into actionable data. Some actions that
can be considered Intel are found in other categories, among actions that are affected by similar
tags or statuses. These are Accessing Data (page XX), Tracing Data or Signal (page XX) and
Scouting and Guarding (page XX).
The information garnered by successful intel actions is provided by the MC and by default must
be useful to the PC as well as truthful. However, as a common Consequence, the MC can
choose to give intentionally vague or part-true, part-false information to represent the imperfect
execution of this action.
While the information shared in the game is mostly narrative, it can also contribute directly to a
player’s rolls if it is expressed as a story tag. If a player has already spent a point of Power on
Discover in order to find a physical clue that could be a useful story tag, such as a keycard, the
MC should consider giving it to the PC without having them spend more Power. However, if the
player wants to dictate what they find, or what is important, they can Create specific tags, as
long as these are reasonably found in the scene. For example, a player may decide to Create a
DNA sample of the burglar.
In some cases, when a PC is trying to identify or understand things on a rudimentary level, the
MC may rule the player could Roll With Self, Mythos or Noise (page XX).

Conversational Inquiry (Quick, Discover, Create)
Hit the streets ● Ask around the neighborhood ● Meet informants ● Visit the local bar ●
Chat up the street vendors ● Bribe a city worker ● Tap into contacts network ● Gossip
with colleagues ● Canvas the neighborhood ● Interrogate ● Interview
You get out to where people are talking and invest the time, legwork, and resources in order to
locate up-to-date information about your current subject of interest.
The quality of the information given will depend on your choice of where to go and who to talk
with – a bar frequented by VR enthusiasts will have a lot of information about new
developments in Harnessing cyberware, and less about the current gang war downtown. Strictly
secret information is unlikely to be available.
Discover to get answers to specific questions.
Create tags based on the information you collect such as incriminating holograms, profile of the
killer, or word on the street.
Extra Feats: keep it on the down low; circulate your own rumor, message, or warning; take
action based on the intel to avert an incoming Threat
Power
➕ personal charm; intimidation; street cred; cash to throw around; favors owed by others;
membership in a gang, club, community or other in-group
➖ bad reputation; grating personality; fear and mistrust; cultural barriers; obscure or hidden
information; dangerous side of town
Consequences
The information is vague or part-true, part-false; you antagonize your interviewees or your
network; you run into an old enemy; you misstep and cause trouble (unwelcomed or bad-rep);
the target of your research learns about your questioning.

Reconnaissance
See Scouting and Guarding (page XX).
Researching a Topic (Quick, Discover, Create)
Run a search on Infospace ● Spend the day in the VR library or agency archives ● Rifle
through old documents ● Purchase files on the black market ● Use a scrying pool ● Enter
fringe chatrooms ● Run database queries
You search for information about a topic of interest. By default, you’re running a search on
Infospace (page XX) to get some details on something.
Finding easily accessible facts does not require a roll; make a roll when finding information is
difficult, involved, or dangerous due to pressing time, resistance, obscurity of info, common
mistakes, or other interested parties.
If you know where the answers are online, but you can’t access them, see Accessing Data
(page XX).
Create tags based on the information you collect such as building schematics, weather ritual or
secret codes.
Extra Feats: information goes back decades; information is complete, including video footage
or other digital proof; discover who last perused this data; information hints at something else
useful; leave a hidden message or hint
Power
➕ research or analysis skills; sophisticated search heuristics; expertise in relevant fields of
knowledge; privileged database access; speed reading; fast cyberspace connection; academic
background
➖ scant clues or rumors to go on; poor cyberspace connection; target or topic has little online
presence; information is considered dangerous or taboo; database is huge, corrupted, or
incomplete; outdated or obscure language or interface
Consequences
Your research is vague or strewn with inaccuracies; you alert the target of your search or an
interested party; you get sidetracked or lost down a rabbit hole of info; you learn something
useful, but not at all what you were looking for; you get a threatening message telling you to
back off; a group decides to track you until you get doxxed.

Searching and Investigating a Scene (Quick, Discover, Create)
Quick glance around the scene ● Read the room ● Look for evidence ● Search
thoroughly ● Use forensic tools ● Go dumpster diving ● Find hidden spaces and
passages ● Deduce what happened here
You look around your immediate surroundings and use your skills, knowledge, and tools in order
to extract useful information. Merely perceiving the room does not require a roll; make a roll
when you attempt to notice details that are obscured or hidden.
Create tags based on the items or evidence you collect such as keycard, databank or magic
scroll.
Extra Feats: remain unnoticed; leave no evidence of being there; leave a hidden message or
hint
Power
➕ enhanced or boosted senses; alertness; detective and deduction skills; familiarity with the
location; forensic or scanning equipment; helpful AR apps
➖ bad lighting; messy area; deliberately hidden objects; camouflage

Consequences
The evidence you find or the deductions you make are vague or part-true, part-false; you’re
spotted by the authorities, your enemies, or a party of interest; the physical item you were after
is in the hands of someone else; you spring a trap (electrocuted, poisoned, cursed or similar).

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
While many in :Otherscape lead their lives behind a wall of Noise, alienated from the world and
within a private bubble of information and stimuli, many more others engage with each other in
all manner of sociable spaces. There has never been a time in history where people interacted
with each other more. Over cyberspace and in VR clubs, at divey bars and corporate office
complexes, at the drone-dominated factory lines and in the gaming sphere – people are talking.
The definition of a person has expanded beyond just humans; AIs and andros, as well as Mythic
Conjurations, can all engage in social interactions: if it can communicate and feel, it’s a person,
even if you don’t understand how it thinks. Non-human personalities are often closer to some
humans than others.
The life of a mercenary, operative, or hustler is full of negotiations. Negotiating fees, hiring the
right help, intimidating an informant into talking, and closing a deal with the other side just to
stay alive are elementary tools in your crew’s survival kit. For social engineers and expert fixers,
connections, leverage, and influence offer an even greater, potentially even limitless power, as
they step over the dead bodies of their betrayed enemies in their climb to the top of the social
food chain.
COMMON STATUSES
Social Limits: Social statuses are often compelling (Compelling Statuses, page XX) and limit
the actions of a PC or Challenge. For a PC, they reduce the Power of actions that go against
the directive of the status; for a Challenge, they increase the PC’s Power to mitigate those
actions.
Once maxed out, these statuses force the PC or Challenge to comply with the directive, at least
for the duration of the scene, and any action to the contrary becomes impossible.
● Convince, negotiate: The character is on board with the new perspective or plan of
action and will comply as needed.
● Bribe: The character’s greed is satisfied and they will do as their briber asks (including
just looking away and doing nothing), as in convinced.
● Charm, befriend: The character is beguiled and will do their best to assist their charmer,
whether because they trust them or desire to get their approval.
● Threaten: The character is too afraid to act against or defy the imposing character.
Relationships and connections: Long-term mutual commitment, engagement, familiarity, or

feelings the PC has with another person or groups can be represented by tags such as
begrudging, my mentor, or loyal to the gang. These tags are also used to represent
relationships between crew members (Crew Relationships, page XX). Generally, having a
favorable relationship tag with another character is counted as positive for the PC when taking

social actions that target the object of their relationship, even if the relationship is on equal
ground.
Feelings, moods, and current stance: Character’s transient feelings are represented by
statuses such as excited, shamed, angry, frightened. These feelings can affect many social
actions for better or worse, whether they are the PC’s own feelings or the target’s feelings. A
status can also be used to represent the target’s stance towards the PC in this scene such as
friendly, guarded, annoyed, or hostile. Many feelings are polar opposites of one another and so
shifting a PC or Challenge mood may involve first reducing their current mood status before
being able to build the desired mood status, e.g. from despaired to enthusiastic. See Polar
Statuses, page XX.
Leverage, debt, and favors: Within the scope of a social action, the MC can interject to add
tags that represent one side’s leverage over the other, either as leverage, or more specifically,
such as cash on the table, vital info, or aggressive stance. One party owing money or favor to
another party can also be represented in the same way: I owe you one, Silk won’t forget this,
Mutblade’s favor.
Reputation and street cred: A PC’s or Challenge general reputation is represented by their
tags, such as known in corporate circles and street cred. A PC’s current reputation or rapport
with a particular person, group, or faction can be represented as a status, such as
good-standing or reviled. It may also be represented with a status on the other party such as
hostile. There isn’t a single “reputation” status – a PC must develop one for each social group,
though the MC can decide that reputation with one group is shared with connected groups. The
opposite may not always be true unfortunately, and having a bad-rap could affect interactions
with most groups a PC interacts with in the merc world and beyond.
Reputation statuses reduce or expire if the convo changes and the past drowns in the Noise,
but some transgressions are hard to forget and won’t expire until the PC takes action to rectify
the relationship.
Actively working to repair one’s damaged reputation involves interacting with the groups and
communities in which a PC has made a bad name for themselves, and either Making a (good)
Impression (page XX) to offset that bad rap with good-standing or Manipulating Public Opinion
(page XX) to sway it back to their favor. Since reputation statuses are often polar statuses (page
XX), garnering positive reputation statuses first reduces any existing bad ones.
Alternatively, leaders of factions with whom the PC has had issues could ask for something in
return to restoring good relations, such as a job completed or a sacrifice made. The MC can
expire any negative social statuses once the PC has regained the faith of the faction.
Being Yourself: The MC may allow the player to roll with Self (Rolling With Self, Mythos or
Noise, page XX) if the action does not require any special skill or knowledge and the PC is just
being authentically themselves.

BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS
As in a story or in a movie, in :Otherscape the exact monetary balance that a character has to
their name is never discussed directly. Instead, a character’s earthly belongings are measured
by their assets, represented by tags, and solvency, represented by statuses.
Wealth: A PC’s general wealth level is determined by their power tags such as cushy bank
account, wealthy, corporate business holdings, the high life (usually as part of an Assets theme)
or by their weakness tags such as slumming it or penniless. A character with no financial
permanent tags is considered to be at the lower-middle income class of a typical mercenary,
unless the setting of the series dictates otherwise. The crew’s general wealth level is a rough
average of the wealth level of its members.
Liquid Assets: Permanent financial tags can be used to generate more specific assets by
creating story tags and loadout tags, such as offshore accounts or a bunch of credits. Burning
financial tags indicates the character is cut off from their assets. For power tags this is
temporary; only replacing a theme or getting a tier-6 status could permanently cut off a
character from an asset represented by a power tag.
Solvency: The character’s current solvency – how much cash they can spend relative to their
general wealth level – is represented by positive solvency statuses, such as flush, solvent,
lots-to-spend, rolling-in-it, or negative insolvency statuses such as broke, low-on-cash, or
depleted-accounts. Normally, a character does not need this status to make a purchase; it is
only added if the character is extra flush or running short. If a solvency or insolvency reaches
tier 6, the MC may opt to permanently change the PC’s financial status by adding or removing
power or weakness tags, or entire relevant themes.
Earned Fees and Rewards: In addition to offering new Loot Catalogs (page XX), NPCs can
reward the crew for a successful job by giving them a solvency status or valuable liquid assets.

Making a Purchase (Quick, Loadout, Create)
Buy basic supplies ● Buy that jet yacht you always wanted ● Score some drugs ● Buy
stolen goods off the back of a lorry ● Facilitate an arms deal ● Book tickets ● Pay for
dinner ● Bankroll a new pad for the crew ● Procure a rare artifact
You use your financial assets to procure an item by paying for it in cash. You can only attempt to
procure what is reasonably accessible for your character at their general wealth level, social
role, and current location, or what’s available through your Loot Catalog. This general starting
point is modified by your PC’s current solvency.
If the purchase is straightforward, within your means, and does not involve creating tags, you
can obtain the item without rolling. If the purchase is complicated, illegal, involves negotiations,
etc., or if you wish to create story tags for the item you buy, you can roll for it. If you are
purchasing for a group or purchasing something large, this action must be Scaled. If you are
funding something together as a crew, see Helping and Supporting (page XX) to create and
combine a single solvency status to assist with this action.
Quick: You obtain the item(s) and pay the price.
Loadout or Create to create story tags describing the item, possibly as a set (Story Tag Sets,
page XX).
Extra Feats: do it on the down low; leave no paper trail; have it delivered to a place of your
choice; prevent any trouble during the transaction
Power
➕ solvency; liquid financial assets; general wealth; negotiation skills; good standing with the
seller; leverage; familiarity with the item or the market; contacts or leads that could facilitate the
deal; buying at the right place and/or the right time
➖ insolvency; financial straits; bad rap; bad standing with the seller or supplier; item at low
supply; honesty and naivete
Consequences
It’s a significant expense (reduce flush); you pay through your nose or get ripped off (broke); you
max out a financial asset (burn a tag); word about the deal gets around; you start getting
promotional spam on your AR (spammed); the seller gets antsy or even hostile; you get a
reputation of being a big spender or easy to swindle.

Negotiating a Fee (Enhance)
Haggle ● Change the terms ● Squeeze them for more ● Get them with the extras ●
Threaten to walk away ● Bloat the invoice
You use your haggling skills to squeeze out a few more bucks for the job you’re about to
undertake or for the job you just completed. The MC will set the baseline fee or reward as a
solvency status relative to the crew’s general wealth and based on how deep the employer’s
pockets are and the nature of the job. If the employer needs this job done urgently or you hold
something they want, you have leverage over them; if they are doing you a favor for even
paying you, they have leverage over you.
Enhance to create a new solvency status that will stack with the existing reward status. The
final status is the modified reward.
Extra Feats: the employer doesn’t mind it or overlooks it; you get half upfront (get half the
status tier rounded down, update it after the job is done); you get some other extra benefit or
kickback, possibly just for your PC
Power
➕ negotiation skills; financial or accounting skills; fraud and deception skills; leverage;
familiarity with or sway over the employer; inside tip; good standing
➖ the employer’s negotiation or deception skills; counter leverage; the employer’s familiarity
with you; bad rap; your severe insolvency; honesty and naivete
Consequences
You lose the negotiations (the reward status is reduced); your employer is pissed off or even
hostile; you overcommit – your reward is conditioned by much tougher terms or mission
objectives; you’re exhausted by the negotiations (mentally-tired or burn a tag); the employer is
getting annoyed from your repeated negotiation attempts; your employer turns on you or leaves
you to die.
Paying for a Service (Varies)
See Outsourcing a Job (page XX).

Selling Stuff (Enhance, Bestow)
Sell loot ● Put your gear up for sale on cyberspace ● Cash in on an asset ● Auction off
the battle drone you built ● Fence stolen items ● Sell off your games collection ● Pawn
your wedding ring or favorite curved ritual dagger
You sell items you possess to improve your financial situation. If the item sold is represented by
a tag, you should burn it for Power. You cannot sell a power tag or weakness tag item unless the
tag represents an inexhaustible supply of that item. Selling a Scaled item story tag, such as a
Scaled armored van, could give you a Scale advantage for this action. Distributing the funds
among the crew or a large group requires this action to be Scaled.
The MC may limit the Effects you gain depending on what you are selling and your general
wealth level. For example, as a wealthy corporate financier you may not be able to sell your
bubblegum to get solvent-3 because selling a bubblegum won’t normally generate enough
money to make you solvent-3 at your general wealth level.
Enhance to give yourself a solvency status or Bestow a liquid asset tag on yourself.
Extra Feats: do it on the down low; leave no paper trail; prevent any trouble during the
transaction
Power
➕ the item tag; desirable feature tags; negotiation skills; good standing with the buyer;
leverage; familiarity with the item or the market; contacts or leads that could facilitate the deal;
selling at the right place and/or the right time to the right people
➖ item flaws or low quality; bad rap; bad standing with the buyer; honesty and naivete
Consequences
The sale falls through despite your efforts (mentally-tired); the buyer decides to rob you instead;
you get swindled, selling it for an amount of cash that barely moves the needle (burn the item
tag without getting anything back); the item breaks during the sale (burn the item); you get bad
rap for selling crap, being inflexible, or setting your prices too high; the buyer conditions the deal
with additional favors or kickbacks.

IN-PERSON INTERACTIONS
Competitions (Advance, Set Back)
Sports competitions ● Gaming tournaments ● Debates ● Battle of the bands ●

Competitive gambling ● Hackathon ● Flight simulator ● Race to the finish ● Wizarding
duel
You use your skills to win a game or competition against other competitors or the game itself.
Competitions can be represented by a quick outcome, combat actions (e.g., a play-by-play
sumo match, or a fight between two piloted robots or VR constructs), or the resolution rules
presented here. For zero-sum competitions, in which both sides are fighting over the same
single resource (rope pulling, popular vote), use a polar Limit (Polar Statuses, page XX). See
also Chases (page XX).
Each competitor has their own win Limit, with the same maximum as the others (assuming the
competition is fair). The first one to max out win is the winner. The Limit can be rephrased or
even reversed as lose, if it’s a game of attrition, in which case the last one to max out is the
winner.
Advance to make statuses such as points-scored, rounds-completed, successful-hits, or

areas-explored, depending on the competition or game.
Set Back to lower the opponent’s status, if possible.
Depending on the game you might be able to Enhance to set up your next move, Disrupt your
opponent’s next move, Create a shortcut, etc..
Extra Feats: entertain onlookers; gain an extra turn (keep the spotlight); make the hall of fame
(if you win)
Power
➕ relevant skills in sports, music, gaming, or gambling; experience with this specific game or its
analog; quick reflexes; drive to win; good-quality gear such as professional golf clubs or a
customized VR avatar; performance-boosting magic, drugs, or tech; luck
➖ stress and nervousness; the challenge level, such as a tough course or tough crowd to
please; cynical, indifferent, or defeatist attitude; poor-quality gear; distractions and disruptions;
curses; bad luck; interfering magic or tech
Consequences
Your opponent scores (winning); useful game elements are wasted or tactics become useless
(burn a tag); a new NPC or obstacle stands in your way; you become tired, stressed, or
despaired.

Deception (Quick, Influence)
Mislead ● Manipulate ● Impersonate ● Lie your ass off ● Dishonestly seduce ● Sweet talk
● Lure in ● Con
You use lies and deceptions to make someone feel or behave in a specific way: open a secured
door, ignore the mistake, stop paying attention to something, accept you as a VIP, or tell you
something they don’t realize they shouldn’t have.
During a fight, see Confusing an Opponent (page XX) or Feinting and Distracting Attacks (page
XX). If you’re integrating yourself somewhere over a long time, see Getting Close to Someone
(page XX). To spread false rumors see Manipulating Public Opinion (page XX).
Quick: The target behaves as planned.
Influence to give your target a compelling status that narrows the range of actions they might
take. For example, you can give them trusting or intrigued to lure them into a trap, or make them
friendly at you, or enraged at someone else. This can be used to counter a polar status, such as
giving them complacent to reduce their alert (Polar Statuses, page XX) or to max out a Limit in
order to overcome a Challenge for the scene.
Extra Feats: the target won’t remember you; convince them to do one more thing; get an extra
perk or benefit; make them follow complicated instructions; others nearby also fall for the act or
at least can’t tell if you’re lying; you have an exit plan in case things go south
Power
➕ skill at lying; social engineering training; disguises; relationship with target; knowledge of the
person being impersonated; acting experience; dark lighting, loud room, or other distractions;
magical charm; microexpression AR assistant
➖ target’s suspicion and alertness; the target’s knowledge of the situation, you, or the
impersonated person; well-lit area; lie detection and expression-reading software; your honesty
and naivete
Consequences
The target sees through the attempt and becomes hostile, attacks (using their own
Consequences), or raises the alarm; the target is suspicious and demands more proof; the
target falls for your deception but reacts in an unexpected way; you get nervous; you get
deceived yourself and don’t realize it until it’s too late; your lies reach unwanted ears or catch up
with you.

Gathering Support and Resources (Loadout, Create)
Find friends ● Call on your followers ● Rally allies ● Seek mentorship ● Recruit a militia ●
Rely on your family ● Cash in favors with the gang ● Crowdfund your project
You work to gather help from around the world, a specific community or faction, or even just one
person of importance. The support is enough for one person; to gather resources enough for
your whole crew or to gather support on a greater scale, such as raising an army, this action
must be Scaled. See also Making an Impression (page XX) or Persuasion (page XX).
Loadout or Create to give yourself or your allies tags that represent the support you mustered:
equipment or assets, such as funding, borrowed motorcycle, backdoor passwords; backing or
political clout, such as support of the punks, sense of community; new allies, such as stolen
drones, spirits of the dead, Wilson the Oni. You can add additional tags and create a set (Story
Tag Sets, page XX) to represent trained or powerful allies.
The MC may choose to represent the gathering of support as an ongoing project. Advance to
give making-progress against a fully-backed Limit set by the MC in order to work on garnering
the support you need. When fully-backed is maxed out, you gain a set of tags.
Extra Feats: word of this support gets out and sparks additional action by the group or
community; keep the spotlight to immediately put the asset to use
Power
➕ connection to a community, group, or person; positive reputation; charisma and
persuasiveness; leverage; something to rally people around, such as a cause or a revenge;
shared troubles; appropriate gifts
➖ bad rap with the group; remoteness of where you are; recent scandals; hesitation and fear,
e.g. of retaliation by a common enemy; barriers in contacting the group or person, or
interferences in the communication
Consequences
Your would-be benefactors are insulted by your manipulations or audacity; an enemy group
learns of your rallying allies against them; your reputation is harmed by the act of asking for help
(bad-rap); you spend more resources on this than you planned (burn tags or broke).

Getting Close to Someone
Become “friends” ● Get invited to the poker game ● Build rapport ● Grill suspect ● Pillow
talk ● Talk around the cult’s watercooler
You work to get close to a target through intimidation, coercion, seduction or bribery, or
ingratiate into a group. This could be done in order to gain information or exclusive access to
the target.
To get information, see Listening to Rumors and Asking Questions (page XX). To get their
support, see Gathering Support and Resources (page XX). To influence them, see Making an
Impression (page XX) and Persuasion (page XX).

Making an Impression (Quick, Influence, Enhance)
Charm ● Act tough ● Make a big entrance ● Impressive handshake ● Yes, that is a signed
copy ● Throw cash around ● Show off ● Activate a magnificent AR display ● Brandish a
weapon
You conduct or express yourself in a way that will make a desired impression on those present.
To impress a crowd or an audience, this action must be Scaled.
Quick: The target is impressed.
Influence to give them a status, most likely for use in upcoming social actions against them,
such as attracted, dazzled, awed, admiring, wary, or fascinated.
Enhance to improve your standing with the target by giving yourself good-rap with them.
Extra Feats: remain anonymous despite drawing attention; draw attention away from someone
else
Power
➕ charisma and charm; looking good; broadcasting competence; keeping your cool; fashion,
luxury items, or other impressive accessories; display of powers or abilities; magical aura or
glamor
➖ social awkwardness; inappropriate appearance; bad standing with target; qualities that are a
turn off or warning sign to the target; obvious flaws or weaknesses; anything interfering with or
vying for the attention of the target
Consequences
You come out looking like a fool or are mocked (embarrassed); you get a bad rap on the street;
you ruin your fancy outfit, car, avatar, etc. or find out it’s useless here (burn a tag); you make the
opposite impression (threatened instead of attracted).

Manipulating Public Opinion (Influence)
Info leak ● Anonymous data drop ● Mass manipulation ● Online rabble rousing ●
Reporting the news ● Start a rumor ● Boost reputation ● Spread propaganda ●
Educational program
You manipulate online forums, local hangouts, or the media with a drop of intel, whether
manufactured or true. This can have hard to predict effects, but you act with a goal in mind. How
you present the information, the channels you use to disseminate it, and the particular facts you
highlight can help in getting your desired outcome. This is a Scaled action.
Influence to affect a large number of people with a compelling status such as

angry-at-Stratosphere-Strategies, suspicious-of-cyborgs, excited-for-the-Hooded-Scoundrel or
just generally paranoid.
Extra Feats: a lasting effect on the target community; be recognized as the face of this
movement; use the masses to block a Threat, e.g., prevent your assassination – for now
Power
➕ effective, explosive, or sensational content; contacts in the media; cyberspace dissemination
bots; influence over a large community; reputation as a news source, data leaker, or
whistleblower; high-quality forgery; shadows that can whisper in people’s dreams
➖ reputation as a liar or forger; anonymity; disliked by the media or online communities;

information hard to believe; counter social engineering
Consequences
You harm your reputation (bad-rap); the organization most tied to the info comes after you
(marked); you make a major enemy; the community you galvanized now hates you (hated); you
lose control of the narrative and/or how people react to it.

Negotiation
A negotiation is best resolved as a narrated conversation followed by a quick outcome

Persuasion (page XX). See also Negotiating a Fee (page XX).
If the scene is tracked and both parties are attempting to convince each other, then the first one
to max out the other party’s convinced has the upper hand and can dictate the outcome. The
outcome is still limited by what is achievable through negotiation: maxing out this Limit does not
give the winner complete control over the target’s mind.
Outsourcing a Job (Quick, Varies)
Pull strings ● Blackmail the powerful ● Pay someone to do it ● Make a campaign

donation ● Bribe the right people ● Call your old college roommate ● Have it taken care
of
You use your money, contacts, or leverage in order to get something done in the world, usually
to acquire something you want or hurt someone else. The effect of your manipulations can be
material, social, or even policy changed at the highest levels. In any case, you’re not directly
responsible for them.
Quick: The job is done.
All Effects can be used through this action; refer to the entry of the action being outsourced for
specific details. The tags you used must be able to mobilize the resources needed to get the
Effects you choose.
● Attack with a corp’s drone strike and demolish a warehouse; have a rival assassinated.
● Disrupt a rival gang by cutting off their suppliers (lacking-supplies); pile legal claims on a
rival.
● Influence an online community so they are dying-to-buy the new Pookie Bear; feed the
local ogre until they’re satisfied.
● Weaken a political rival by killing off their campaign assistant; cut net access to a rival
hacker.
● Bestow a protective blessing on the block; get to test the latest NM3 cyberware.
● Create smuggled weapons for the gang, pro-android policies in the government, or
personal VIP access to the club.
● Enhance the navy with tactical-preparedness; get the media talking about you to
become popular.

● Restore the old stadium by having a company remove the demolished status; get a
shaman to remove the curse from the temple.
● Advance your campaigning to become the leader of the commune.
● Set Back a growing-crimewave status that’s on a local-chaos Limit.
● Discover dirty secrets the mafia boss keeps for themselves.
Extra Feats: discretion from parties involved; block a commensurate Threat from happening -
for now
Power
➕ leverage; network of contacts or associates; relationship with specific power players; money
to spend; political position; charisma, persuasiveness, or cunning; experience with the
high-stakes political game
➖ the targer’s resources, people, and influence; incompetence or limitations of people working
for you; insolvency; specific challenges of the job, e.g., the target always wears a bulletproof
vest
Consequences
Your proxy botches the job; a bridge is burned and the contact or ally is lost, at least for now
(burn a tag); the result does not completely match what you wished for or it’s a complete
opposite of what you wanted; the job has an unwanted side effect; a rivals retaliate (broke,
cursed, bad-rap, burn tags, etc.).

Persuasion (Quick, Influence)
Convince ● Threaten or intimidate ● Have a heart-to-heart ● Rile up ● Honestly seduce ●

Bribe ● Talk down from ledge ● Talk sense into someone ● Make a case or present an
argument ● Hypnotize
You interact with a target to make them do something that they currently or normally wouldn’t
do: let you through, deliver a package, or let something slide. You achieve this by altering their
state of mind, making them feel a certain emotion, or making them accept your point of view. For
dishonest or subversive manipulation, see Deception (page XX).
Quick: The target behaves as planned.
Influence to give your target a compelling status that narrows the range of actions they might
take and will lead them to take the desired action, such as convinced, relaxed, terrified, or
infuriated. This can be used to counter a polar status, such as giving them friendly to reduce
their hostile (Polar Statuses, page XX) or to max out a Limit in order to overcome a Challenge
for the scene.
Extra Feats: the target will remember you; the target won’t remember you; convince them to do
one more thing; get an extra perk or benefit; make them follow complicated instructions; leave a
lasting good impression
Power
➕ social skills; leverage; attractiveness; knowledge of or connection to the target; useful
information to bring up; bribe or gifts; appropriate atmosphere; supporting appearance; mind
control or suggestive powers
➖ bad reputation; hostile or strained relationship with the target; communication problems or
interference such as loud ambient noise; undermining appearance; social awkwardness;
belonging to a social circle or faction opposed by the target
Consequences
The target refuses your requests and ends the discussion, for now; the target’s mental state
changes in an untended way (emotional status); the target is willing but demands something in
return; the target changes their mind (reduce previously gained convinced); the target tries to
convince you to the contrary (convinced); the target becomes hostile.

Preparing an Approach (Enhance)
Encourage someone ● Practice cover story ● Remember why you’re doing this ●
Reinforce resolve ● Hide intentions ● Hype yourself up ● Measure your words
You take a moment to rearrange your thoughts before engaging in interaction with another
person.
Enhance to give yourself or an ally a helpful emotional or social status, such as convincing,
hidden-intentions, resolute, entertaining or secretive. This status usually ends after a scene.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight for a follow-up action
Power
➕ strong character and discipline; being an emotional chameleon; self-suggestion training;
coaching and supportive skills; important memories or role models
➖ confusion or stress; distractions; mental rigidity or habitual feelings

Consequences
The oncoming social interaction catches you off-guard (alarmed, enraged, cowed, confused,
etc.); you draw attention to yourself; you neglect or push aside some irrelevant part of yourself
(burn a tag); you end up frazzled or tired.

Resisting Social or Emotional Manipulation (Mitigate)
Maintain composure ● Ignore the haters ● Laugh it off ● Reassert dominance ● Resist
temptation ● Stay steady ● Resist interrogation
You keep from losing control of yourself in the face of manipulation, social pressure, a terrifying
revelation, an exciting opportunity, or any other interaction or emotional spike. This is a
mitigation action used to decrease the tier of negative social, emotional, or mental statuses, or
to avoid related story tags. See also Mental and Physical Resilience and Recovery (page XX).
Power
➕ willful or indignant personality; unshakable composure or sense of self; support of friends or
allies; a free or enlightened mind; experience, street smarts, or wisdom
➖ other negative emotions; low self-esteem or self-image; emotional vulnerability; stakes in the
social situation; it’s personal; leverage they have on you

TEAMWORK
Your crew is not just a random collection of individuals, it’s a coherent group whose members
can help each other out.
Helping and Supporting (Bestow, Enhance)
Fund endeavor ● Offer advice ● Point out problems ● Share intel ● Tune up gear
You take action to assist someone in an action they are about to take, providing guidance,
resources, or just moral support for their efforts. If you are only casually helping while they do
the action, see Helping and Acting Together (page XX). More than one crew member can
help, each with their own action, if there is time and if it would benefit the final action.
To prepare yourself, see Preparing an Attack (page XX) and Preparing an Approach (page XX).
To help during a fight, see Assisting an Ally (page XX).
Bestow or Enhance to give your ally a status representing your help such as
flushed-with-funds, highly-informed, dripping-with-confidence or at-home-in-high-society, or a
tag such as cash fund, weapon stockpile, I’ll be there, or hoard of data files.
Extra Feats: the benefits of your support last longer; your relationship is strengthened
Power
➕ background in education; being a people’s person; skills relevant to the task at hand; useful
gadgets for the job; rapport with the target; appropriate resources
➖ difficulty to coordinate or get together; different goals; communications interference;

distractions; hot heads; know-it-alls
Consequences
You also give some bad advice (a status in a different topic); your own resources are depleted
(burn a tag or get winded or broke); the items gathered are not quite what was intended (slightly
change the tags); one of you isn’t happy about this (negative relationship tag).

Leadership (Enhance, Restore, Influence)
Lead by example ● Point and yell a lot ● Refer back to the plan ● Whisper over the
comms ● Inspire allies ● Rally troops ● Bolster resolve ● Command subordinates ●
Recite battle song
You use your charisma, rank, command skills, rhetorical skills, networking capabilities or specific
knowledge to lift your alles’ spirits and improve their tactical performance. You can use your
leadership skills to inspire or command a single person, or Scale the action to command a
group.
Enhance to give your allies a positive status such as coordinated-movement,

unshakable-resolve or barrage-ready.
Restore to reduce a negative status, such as exposed, stymied-advance, battlefield-chaos or

panic.
Influence to give them a compelling status that would make them follow your commands such
as obedient, sticking-to-the-plan, or in-line.
If anyone defies your command, acts against you or your allies, or otherwise breaks away from
the group, they do not benefit from this status any longer. If they fall back in, they might benefit
from it again, depending on context. Depending on the status, it may act as a compelling status
to keep subordinates in line.
Extra Feats: reposition the entire group (e.g. charge or fall back); misdirect opponents’
attention; grant spotlight to an ally to attack immediately
Power
➕ charisma; rank or authority; performance and oratory; tactical skills; communication gear;
camaraderie; devotion or zeal; inspiring song or speech; mood-altering magic
➖ self-doubt; fear or confusion; internal strife; supernaturally fearsome opponents; opponents’

home turf advantage; impaired communication, e.g. due to loud ambient noise or cyberspace
interference
Consequences
Your crew become less coordinated or confident in their abilities (confused-orders); your crew
blunders into a group of enemies; your leadership skills are proven unfitting to the situation
(burn a tag); your opponents act or attack while you speak (injured); your opponents learn your
tactics and weak points; someone has faltering faith (one or more allies gets demoralized); the
plan has some holes in it (vulnerable-position).

Team Preparations (Bestow)
Hatch a plan ● Agree on the rules ● Discuss tactics ● Look over the blueprints ● Meet up
in cyberspace ● Talk it through at a dive bar ● Run simulations ● Train for a specific task
You work with your fellow crew members to come up with a plan of action for a job or activity
and possibly prepare and train for it. This often happens during downtime or during a flashback
to the prep scene during a heist. This action is Scaled because it affects the entire crew.
Bestow your crew theme with a number of tags representing likely approaches, tactics, backup
plans, or escape routes you might employ while on the mission such as tunneling inside, guns
blazing, no innocents harmed, or smoke bomb retreat.
Extra Feats: flexible plan (a tag could be slightly changed during the mission)
Power
➕ intel gathered on the mission or task; mutual understandings in the crew; analytical and
planning skills; simulation software; inside help
➖ bad intel; inability to coordinate; impulsiveness and trigger-happy mentality; being under
pressure
Consequences
The plan is full of holes (confused-orders or out-of-sync); the plan leaked to enemies (tags are
burned during mission); crew infighting (burn crew tags or add negative relationship tags).

TECH & GEAR
With technology exponentially surging since the previous century, every day that passes
introduces new possibilities for what mankind is able to achieve. In the year 20XX, computers
can think for themselves, not only piloting machines and conversing with lonely hearts, but even
inventing new tech and designing their own AI offspring; material engineering offers constantly
evolving textiles, alloys, and chemical compounds with an endless range of practical
applications in consumer goods, industrial design, and warfare; this is then applied to
self-governing drones and state-of-the-art vehicles which perform any type of manual task
imaginable in exceedingly harsh environments; and cognitive sciences and bioengineering
bridge the biological-electrical gap and tap the very network of consciousness with superhuman
cybernetics and immersive neural interfaces. At the cutting edge are technologies that can, and
do, go completely out of hand: nanites, rapid gene editing, geoengineering, extraterrestrial
research – and with Source-powered science not even the sky's the limit.
Every function of life involves tech, every step in the Megacity triggers a thousand sensors and
procedures. A crew will always need at least one tech-obsessed tinkerer on board, but the
question is what kind: in the vastness of possibilities, it is their field of specialization – drones,
vehicles, firearms, biomed – that defines today’s techies.
COMMON TECH & GEAR STATUSES

Decommissioning tech: Vehicles and drones have a wrecked Limit, on which they take
statuses representing structural damage that prevents them from being operated as intended.
Maxing out this Limit means the vehicle or drone has been damaged beyond the point of
operation.
Supply issues: The power, fuel, or ammo supply of a device is handled narratively. The MC
can make Threats about supply running low (“You’ve fired half your clip by now”) and use
Consequences to announce supply has run out, which prohibits any further actions using that
device, weapon, vehicle, etc. (“You’re empty.”) but does not decommission the device in the
same way that burning a tag does. Players can Reload or Recharge (page XX) using a quick
outcome, or spend Power on an Extra Feat or a great success in a related action (such as while
moving) to reload supply and remove the narrative restriction. They may also use an Extra Feat
to prevent the supply Consequence for that action (representing using supply economically).
Tags for supplies do not affect normal use of the device, but have three other effects: (1) they
can inspire the MC to use the supply Threat and Consequence more or less often, (2) they can
affect reloading actions, and (3) they can affect actions that require ample supply to perform.
For example, extra cartridges can help to quickly reload or it can simply stave off the MC from
using the supply Threat and Consequences often; a short magazine can affect suppressive fire
negatively; an EMP generator with a built-in generator can employ it when covering a larger
area; or journeying very far in the desert depends on whether your truck that has a large gas
tank or is a guzzler.

Supply issues can be a status when they are ongoing. For example, electronic devices can
have power fluctuations and be depowered, forcing them to operate more slowly and with less
effectiveness. These can be recovered with repairs, see Maintaining and Repairing Tech (page
XX).
Malfunction statuses: Mechanical devices, especially weapons and cyberware, can be

overheated, creaking, or overloaded, each affecting their operation in different circumstances. A
jammed electrical device is suffering from severe connectivity issues which may affect its
operation, either regionally, due to a network failure, or localized to the device. If the malfunction
impairs the use of a device, use a status to represent it; if it prevents the use of the device
altogether, such as a weapon jam or a disconnected device, burn its tag instead.
Piloting issues: All vehicles and drones might become unbalanced due to a collision, rough
terrain, or environmental forces such as high winds. This status is usually removed after
affecting an action or two, but the MC can decide a Piloting action (page XX) is required to
stabilize the vehicle and reduce it.
Tech affinity: The MC may allow the player to roll with Noise (Rolling With Self, Mythos or
Noise, page XX) if the action does not require any special skill or knowledge beyond a general
understanding of technology.

OPERATING TECH & GEAR
Evaluating and Activating Tech (Quick, Discover)
Poring over a flashing control console ● Figuring out how to fly this thing ● Encyclopedic
knowledge of vehicles (or other tech) ● Scanning and comparing to databases ●
Interfacing with a new device ● Analyzing schematics ● Asking a smithing deity
You examine a device or technological component to find out more about it and, optionally,
operate it at a basic level. Operating a device to achieve specific Effects may require a different
action, see Operating a Drone (page XX) or Piloting (page XX). If appropriate, the MC may
reveal specific information from the tech’s theme kit or Challenge Profile such as tags, Limits,
Consequences, and Specials to reflect the knowledge gained by a PC.
Quick: You gain a good understanding about this piece of tech and its purpose and may also
activate its basic functions as part of the same action, if you wish.
looking for, such as what is the purpose of the device, how to operate it, what its features are,
what types of technological or scientific principles it employs, who manufactured it or designed
it, and so on.
against an unlocked Limit set by the MC in order to spend time studying the Source. When
unlocked is maxed out, you unlock all the secrets of the device.
Extra Feats: perform the evaluation unnoticed; activate a simple function; change a simple
configuration; keep the spotlight to immediately operate this device
Power
➕ tech and science skills in an appropriate field; reverse engineering software and tools;
technological databases; a workshop; contacts at the manufacturer or other relevant
consultants; divinatory Mythos powers in the invention, crafting, or smithing domain
➖ rarity or uniqueness; unknown or masked make or manufacturer; distractions or inclement

conditions; poor tools or workspace
Consequences
You draw the wrong conclusions about this tech; you accidentally interface or activate the
device, to detrimental results; you damage the device or disrupt its functionality (burn tags or
depowered); you hit a setback in your research (reduce making-progress) or a temporary
impasse (cannot attempt this action again for a while).

OPERATING A DRONE
A drone is a secondary character represented by a tag (power, loadout, or story), with
additional tags in the theme or set representing its features.
A drone can perform or assist with almost any Combat (page XX), Exploration & Survival
(page XX), Spycraft (page XX), or Tech & Gear (page XX) action, and if they are
AI-powered, could even engage in Social Interactions (page XX).
If the drone assistance is directly helpful to an action, such as when a targeting drone helps
shooting, simply add its relevant tags to the action as positive tags. Any relevant weaknesses
the drone has are also applied as negative tags.
When the drone is the chief perpetrator of the action, use its tags when you count the action’s
Power. Drone actions can be initiated autonomously, based on programming or orders, or
enacted directly by a pilot controlling it; either way, the player of the PC controlling the drone
rolls for its actions.
The tags, feats and Consequences suggested here refer to general use of drones and are
given in addition to those given in the actions used.
Power
➕ the drone tag itself; relevant features; remote piloting skills; relevant apps
➖ difficult environmental conditions (e.g., storms for flying drones); bad reception or failing
connectivity (for non-autonomous drones); damage to the drone; corrupted or infected
programming
Consequences
You’re too focused on piloting or monitoring the drone (distracted); the drone is damaged in
the process of its operation (wrecked); the signal to the drone is lost (disconnected); you lose
control over the drone and it takes unwanted actions; the drone wrongly interprets simple
commands, leading to a disastrous outcome; the drones expends too much power to
complete the task (depowered).
Programming a Drone
Programming your own drone normally does not require a roll – you narrate it together with
the action you want your drone to take (see Narration, page XX). In rare cases, when your
drone is resisting you or someone is trying to take control over it, you can roll this as a quick
outcome.

To program new capabilities, see Writing a New Program (page XX). To take over someone
else’s drone, or to regain control over your own hacked drone, see Taking Control Over a
Node or Program (page XX).

Piloting (Quick, Enhance, Restore)
Burn rubber ● Fly casual ● Maneuver around an obstacle ● Stay on their tail ● Land
safely ● Move into position
You maneuver a drone or vehicle you control.
Driving or flying in normal conditions does not require a roll – you narrate moving together with
another action (see Narration, page XX). Roll for this action when piloting is difficult or
dangerous because you’re under fire, maneuvering in tight alleys, not sure where to go, landing
in difficult conditions, bypassing a road hazard, etc.
If you are piloting to set up some other action, such as maneuvering into position so that a
gunner can fire on a target or so that surveillance systems can get the perfect footage, see
Assisting an Ally (page XX) and Helping and Supporting (page XX). If you’re traveling
somewhere, see Travel and Survival in Dangerous Environments (page XX). If you’re facing
opposition during your movement, see also Chases (page XX).
Quick: You pilot the drone or vehicle to the desired destination.
Enhance to characterize your piloting and your drone or vehicle’s movement with speeding,
high-up, under-the-radar, careful-approach, evasive, or the like.
Restore to remove unwanted movement and position statuses from your drone or vehicle such
as unbalanced or exposed.
Extra Feats: keep the spotlight and immediately take action from the new position; pull off a
stunt to reposition the vehicle or drone; move behind an enemy; move to an unseen location;
make a lot of noise as you peel out; block another vehicle from a certain path
Power
➕ dexterity, coordination, and reflexes; skill at driving or piloting; good piloting UI; AI
assistance; the vehicle or drone’s maneuverability
➖ inclement weather; damage to the vehicle or drone; bad reception or failing connectivity (for
remote driving); road hazards or obstacles
Consequences
You push the machine too far (wrecked); you spin out (unbalanced); the vehicle or drone gets
stuck or blocked; a subsystem is damaged (burn a tag); a passenger or a bystander is hurt
(injured).


Reloading and Recharging (Quick)
Load a new clip ● Recharge battery ● Recharge Source ● Refuel
You load a new clip in a weapon, fill up the motorbike’s tank, put new batteries in the device, or
replenish the bat guano for the Source. See Common Tech & Gear Statuses (page XX) for
details on how to handle devices running out of supply.
Quick: You reload (removing any narrative restrictions).
Extra Feats: do it without being noticed; keep the spotlight and use the device immediately
Power
➕ the weapon, device, or Source itself (representing the supply you pack with it); extra supply;
preparedness or resourcefulness; deep pockets and packed bags; equipment storage;
munitions storage; refueling depot
➖ damaged equipment; shaky hands; distractions; inclement conditions (e.g. rain making a
magazine wet); unwieldy supply such as heavy batteries or unstable explosive rounds; being
under fire
Consequences
You’re absolutely out of ammo (e.g., you drop your last magazine down a fire escape) and must
restock somehow; you are attacked while reloading (injured); the weapon or device jams (burn a
tag); you drop something else (burn a tag).

Setting a Trap (Quick, Attack – Suspend)
Fasten snare ● Lay tripwire ● Plant bomb ● Set delay on grenade ● Place a detonating
rune on a door
You carefully place a trap that will hopefully surprise your intended foe. The trip for the trap is
timed, sensor-based, or remotely activated, and it commonly triggers an alarm, an explosive
charge, a turret, or even a Source such as blowing faerie dust. To lay multiple traps or a trap
that affects a greater area, this action must be Scaled.
Play this as a delayed roll (page XX): instead of rolling when you set the trap, you only narrate
what type of trap you set and what would trigger it. When your trap triggers, you get an
interjecting spotlight to immediately roll to see if the trap ensnared your target. If you roll a hit,
the trap delivers its payload before whatever triggered the trap occurs, possibly even
interrupting the action that triggered it.
Quick: The trap delivers a narrative outcome such as sounding an alarm, distracting a foe and
making them fumble their action (if possible), or collapsing a passageway and blocking it.
Attack for traps that give a harmful status such as injured, electrocuted, or poisoned, or Disrupt
for traps that give a hindering status such as ensnared, distracted, or depowered. Other Effects
may also be used such as Weaken to shut down cybernetics, Create to summon a creature, or
Discover to scan the target and reveal its weak points.
Extra Feats: the payload is extra flashy or very quiet; disrupt the target’s intended action
(preventing its Consequence); keep the spotlight to act immediately
Power
➕ trap setting skills; the trap tag itself (if any); camouflage materials; explosives kit; skill at
hunting or demolitions; familiarity with the location; a location conducive to hiding a trap; target’s
confusion, distraction, or sensory limitations
➖ open space; target’s alertness; target’s trap detection skills, tech, or magic; target’s armor,
reflexes, and other protections against the trap’s payload
Consequences
The target becomes more alert; the target spots you; the target spots other traps you have set;
the target surprises you with their own trap (injured); the target figures out your MO (burn tags);
you’ve put a lot into that trap, and now you're running out (burn tags); your trap goes off
prematurely or is triggered by unintended targets, such as an innocent or an ally.

TECHNICAL MODIFICATIONS
Building, Crafting, or Upgrading Tech (Loadout, Create, Bestow)
Build from scratch ● Hybrid two devices ● Improvise explosives ● Jury-rig solution ●
Aftermarket add-ons ● Custom-tailor a gun ● Overclock ● Overcharge ● Pimp out ●
Construct from plans ● Model and 3D print ● Tinker in the garage ● Heat up the forge ●
Science up some weird shit
You use your technical abilities to create a useful piece of gear or tech: a weapon, a device,
cyberware, a vehicle, etc. This could reflect a quick, jury-rigged assembly using parts and tools
at hand or days-long project at your workshop. To work on tech that would be larger than a
person or affect more than one person, this action must be Scaled.
Loadout or Create tags representing the device and its abilities, such as electricity conduit,
makeshift lockpick, hidden compartment, or sentry drone; or Bestow upgrades such as a smoke
grenade launcher underneath your rifle’s barrel or tweaking a cyberleg regulator to be extra fast.
You can represent your device as a set of tags (Story Tag Sets, page XX). The first tag
represents the item and each additional tag represents its functionality and properties. A katana
can have honed blade, perfectly balanced, and maybe light as a feather.
against an assembled Limit set by the MC in order to spend time working on your project. When
assembled is maxed out, you gain a set of tags or even an extra theme created by the MC.
Your device or upgrade lasts for a duration commensurate with the time and resources you
invested in making it. To have the upgrade or device available permanently, choose it as a
power tag.
Extra Feats: customized size or shape of item; you do it quickly; it doesn’t look modified; it’s
confusing to other techies, making it difficult for them to predict the new functionality or remove
it; you build backup copies of the prototype; use fewer materials; item is particularly easy to
store, move, or handle
Power
➕ appropriate technological, crafting, and design skills (e.g., weapon smithing, cyberware
engineering, drone building); quality tools; workshop; special components; quality materials and
resources; innovative thinking; diagrams, plans, and schematics; mentorship
➖ distractions and stress; scarcity or insufficient parts; damage to the upgraded item; low
quality tools; inadequate workspace; safeguards placed by manufacturer
Consequences

You waste time, break tools, or expend resources (burn tags or broke); the device is damaged
(malfunctioning, glitchy, depowered); you have a work accident (scorched, electrocuted); your
work attracts unwanted attention; you activate dangerous functionality in the device; your device
is flawed (add negative tags); you overwork yourself or your helpers (burn a tag or exhausted).

Maintaining and Repairing Tech (Restore)
Debug software ● Defrag and run virus check ● Lube up ● Organize and knoll parts ●
Patch holes ● Run diagnostics ● Strip and clean
You use your technological skills to keep your equipment functioning and to repair broken parts.
Restore to remove negative statuses or tags and recover burnt tags of a weapon, device,
vehicle, or cyberware. The removed status or tag does not count as a negative for this action,
unless you are repairing a device that is also used in this action (such as a cyberhand or
maintenance drone) or repairing a particularly complex issue.
Extra Feats: you do it quietly; the damage or malfunction leaves no mark or trace; you keep the
spotlight to take immediate action with the repaired device
Power
➕ tech skills; diagnostic software; repair and maintenance tools; a workshop; having a
relationship with the item
➖ distractions or inclement conditions; malfunctions that are subtle or complex; unfamiliar

equipment; poor tools or workspace
Consequences
You make things worse (inflict a different status or burn a tag); your tools break or you use up all
your extra parts (burn a tag); you misplace the item in question; you become engrossed in the
work and lose track of time or of the environment (distracted).
Tampering with a Device
Shut down net access ● Overpower with EMP ● Plug in and reprogram ● Force a door
open ● Take control of system ● Switch off AI at the terminal ● Turn off hardware ● Find
the killswitch ● Blow up batteries ● Burn out components ● Destabilize thermal systems
● Pull out parts
You disrupt the operation of a device using your technical skills or brute strength. If you’re using
your hacking skills, see Disrupting Device Functionality (page XX).
Being on the ground also gives you an advantage over remotely-controlled devices. If you have
access to the device, such as a restrained drone or a mechanism with an exposed panel, you
use your technical skills to electronically override their remote commands. See Overriding or
Fooling a Security Device or Program (page XX) and Taking Control Over a Node or a Program
(page XX).

METRO 2 - Action Database - Final Draft

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METRO 2 - Action Database - Final Draft

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© 2023 Son of Oak Game Studio - M:O Action Database - Final Draft Copy Page 1

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

WHAT IS THIS PDF AND WHO IS IT FOR?

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Each entry also lists:

UNIVERSALLY RELEVANT TAGS AND STATUSES

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

COMMON COMBAT STATUSES

● A character can be exposed, surrounded, or cornered, which is positive for attacks

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Area Attacks (Attack)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Homing Ranged Attacks

Alternatively, the MC may choose to represent launching a homing projectile as a Chase

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Surprise Attacks and Silent Kills

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

● You might shoot your SMG at a loose block of

● Your drone combat platform could shoot an acid jet to

● You can appear from the darkness and stab an

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Attacks to Hold Off or Spur Opponents (Quick, Attack – Suspend)

This entry will be included in the final PDF.

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Confuse ● Intimidate ● Demoralize ● Deceive ● Misdirect ● Battlefield manipulation ●

Quick: The target stalls or takes the desired action.

Disrupt to inflict a hindering status, such as overconfident, surprised, dazed, distracted, or

➖ counterintelligence and surveillance; target’s alertness, resolve, training or leadership;

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

➖ disadvantageous positioning; target’s quick reflexes; target’s armor, shielding, or dexterity;

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Quick: You successfully pull off your stunt.

Influence others by imposing an impressed, amused, or even threatened status.

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Analyzing the Battlefield (Quick, Discover, Disrupt)

Quick: You learn the most valuable details.

➖ poor visibility; opponent’s speed or cover; unique tactics, behaviors, or abilities;

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Enhance to give a status like on-alert, boosted-agility, got-your-back or fortified-resolve.

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Enhance to give yourself a status such as battle-rage, defensive-stance, warrior-aspect or

➖ exhaustion; physical or mental restraints; target’s countering maneuver; energy block;

Improvised Weapons (Quick, Create)

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

➖ physical obstacles (object is secured, chained, or buried); hindered vision or manual

Fernando Autran (Order #43578042)

Aim carefully ● Center in crosshairs ● Prepare to pounce ● Swing overhead ● Focus ●

Enhance to give yourself a helpful status, such as aiming, momentum, positioned-for-impact,

Leadership (Enhance, Restore, Influence)

See page XX.

Treating Injuries (Restore, Discover)

See page XX.