Character Playbooks & Skills

You’ve dedicated your life to hunting down and destroying supernatural abominations. Although this work has left you physically and mentally scarred, it's also given you purpose in a world besieged by dark forces. Now, you only feel alive during the hunt. To most people, you look like a dangerous, war-ravaged vagabond. But that suits you just fine.

Core Ability: Hardened Resolve - During your turn, you may gain one Strain to take a second attack action. If your first attack is a crit success, you can make a follow-up attack without Strain. Whenever you deal the killing blow to a monster, you lose one Strain.

• Advancement: At level five, you can attack twice a turn without added Strain. You may gain one Strain to make a third attack.

Suggested Skills: Bladed Weapons, Marksmanship or Archery, Tracking

Talent (choose one):

• Tough as Coffin Nails: Roll an additional D6 when determining your starting max HP. Exposure to supernatural creatures does not cause you Strain. You cannot be Terrified.

• Bloodhound: You have a supernatural ability to find evil creatures. When you roll Mind to track a monster or discover its lair, you gain a bonus (2X bonus if you also have the Tracking skill). If an evil non-human creature is within 500 feet, you sense its presence and know it's general location. You cannot be surprised.

• Quick: Once per combat, you can double move without losing your action. At level seven, you can do this twice per combat.

Starting equipment:

You begin with D6x10 Sterling, light or medium armor, a cloak or jacket, a sack, three torches, and two weapons chosen from the following (one is silvered or has 12 silvered rounds):

• Saber

• Bearded Axe

• Crossbow

• Pistol

• Musket

Leveling:

When you level up, you may choose another talent rather than adding a point to one of your core attributes.

Despite your remarkable healing skills and otherworldly charm, most people find your strange mannerisms and appearance unsettling. You have bizarre clothing, hair, tattoos, and/or jewelry. You also occasionally chat with dead people. But that’s perfectly normal in your line of work, so people really should lighten up about it.

Core Ability: Respite (Action) - Roll Will and touch one target, muttering an incantation. On a complete success, they regain D6 HP and lose D3 Strain. On a partial success, they regain D3 HP and lose 1 Strain. On a failure, you gain one Strain instead. Once you've used this ability three times, you cannot use it again until you've had a long rest.

• Advancement: At level four, you can perform Respite four times per long rest. At level eight, you can do so five times.

Suggested Skills: Any

Talent (choose one):

• Hex (Action): Roll Will and gain one Strain. Your eyes briefly turn black as you speak a phrase. Complete success: A person or creature you can see takes 2D6 damage (half on a partial success or double on a crit). Failure: Nothing happens and you gain another Strain. At level five, your hex deals 2D6+1. At level nine, it deals 2D6+2.

• Bolster (Action): Roll Will and gain one Strain. Your eyes briefly turn milky white as you speak a phrase. Complete success: Up to two allies you can see gain a bonus on their next action roll (or one ally on a partial success or up to three allies on a crit success). Failure: Nothing happens. The bolster effect only lasts one hour.

• Commune with Dead (Action): Roll Will and gain one Strain. Your eyes briefly turn pale violet as you speak a phrase. Complete success: You can briefly converse with a corpse, asking it three questions (two questions on a partial success or five on a crit success). Failure: Nothing happens. The corpse cannot be undead and only knows the information it would have known in life, up until its death. Its answers are short and may lack detail.

Starting equipment:

You begin with D6x10 Sterling, a wooden staff or cane, a dagger, a briefcase or sack, and two items chosen from the following:

• Two Vials of Red Poison (see Mundane Equipment)

• A Sedatio Potion (see Magical Equipment)

• A Vigor Potion (see Magical Equipment)

• A Bird or Snake Familiar (see Magical Equipment)

Leveling:

When you level up, you may choose another talent rather than adding a point to one of your core attributes.

Your inner spirit burns hotter than a blacksmith's forge. From a young age, you felt inexplicably drawn to fire. By your seventh year, you had started learning to manipulate fire. By your tenth year, you could manifest it from thin air.

Core Ability: Pyromancy - You can create and manipulate fire, manifesting a flame in one or both hands (does not require an action). The flames shed bright light for 10 feet and dim light for another 10 feet. You can extinguish one or both flames at will. With flames ignited, your unarmed attacks do an additional D6 damage and catch flammable materials on fire. You are immune to damage from fire. However, if you are covered or submerged in water, you cannot create flames.

• Advancement: At level three, your unarmed attacks (with pyromancy) deal an additional +1 damage. At level five, they deal an additional +2. At level seven, +3.

Suggested Skills: Any

Talent (choose one):

• Flamestrike (Action): Roll Will and gain one Strain. A jet of flame 15 feet long and 5 feet wide shoots from your hand in a direction you choose. On a complete success, any people or creatures in the line take 4d6 fire damage (2D6 on a partial success or 6D6 on a crit success). On a failure, your flames go out. Once you've used this ability three times, you cannot use it again until you've had a long rest. At level 4, you can use this ability 4 times per long rest. At level 8, you can use it 5 times per long rest.

• Re-Kindle: Whenever you deal damage to an enemy using pyromancy, you can reroll the damage dice. You must take the result of the re-roll. Once you've used this ability three times, you cannot use it again until you've had a long rest.

• Burning Presence: While in combat, you emanate immense heat. Any person or creature that ends its turn within five feet of you takes D6 damage.

Starting equipment:

You begin with D6x10 Sterling, a cloak or jacket, a backpack, and two items chosen from the following:

• A Luck Stone (see Magical Equipment)

• A Vial of Smoke (see Magical Equipment)

• A Vigor Potion (see Magical Equipment)

Leveling:

When you level up, you may choose another talent rather than adding a point to one of your core attributes.

You are a supernatural oddity and must hide your true form or people will regard you as a freakish monster. Although you look like an abomination, you have a normal human mind and emotions. After being cast away as a small child, you spent years living as a pariah before eventually finding a person or group that accepted you without judgement. The experience hardened your resolve but also taught you the value of self reliance.

Suggested Skills: Any

Core Ability: Amphibious Mutant - You have unmistakable amphibian and/or fish-like features, including pronounced gills, bulbous eyes, webbed hands and feet, spines, and color-changing skin. You can see normally in darkness without a light source. You can breathe air or water. You have a swim speed of 60 feet. Your claws deal D6+2. Your tough hide functions as natural light armor, although you cannot wear additional armor. Because of your webbed fingers, you cannot use ranged weapons effectively (penalty).

• Advancement: At level five you can make two unarmed attacks on your turn. At level nine, you can make three.

Talent (choose one):

• Curious Mind: When searching or investigating an area, you gain a bonus. You also gain a bonus when examining something to determine its properties or attempting to fix a mechanical object.

• Natural Camouflage: You have become adept at adjusting the colors of your skin. While in a natural environment, you gain a bonus to all Stealth and Hide action rolls.

• Healing Surge: Gain one Stain to gain D6 HP (does not require an action). You can only use this ability if you have six or less Strain. At level seven, your surge replenishes 2D6 HP.

Starting equipment:

You begin with D6x10 Sterling, a sack, a cloak, and two items chosen from the following:

• A Luck Stone (see Magical Equipment)

• Panacea (see Magical Equipment)

• A Vial of Smoke (see Magical Equipment)

Leveling:

When you level up, you may choose another special talent rather than adding a point to one of your core attributes.

Beginning in childhood, you spent countless hours studying arcane lore under the tutelage of an elder arcanist. Eventually, after rising from apprentice to initiate, the elders sent you out into the world to continue your research. You were told to return after seven years, seven months, and seven days.

Core Ability: Runekeeper - You start with three Runes selected from either the Dark or Sublime school.

• Advancement: At levels 3, 6, and 9 you gain a new Rune chosen from either the Dark or Sublime school. Whenever you long rest and roll for spell points, you gain additional spell points equal to half your level rounded down.

Suggested Skills: History, Occult, Languages

Talent (choose one):

• Alchemist: During downtime, if you have alchemy tools, materials, and a quiet place to work indoors, you can roll Will to use alchemy. On a failure, you cannot perform alchemy for D3 days. On a complete success, you create up to D3 potions of the following types (D2 potions on a partial success or D6 on a crit success):

  • Sedatio Potion (see Magical Items)

  • Vigor Potion (see Magical Items)

  • Panacea (see Magical Items)

• Split Mind: As a free action, you manifest a spectral copy of yourself, which hovers in an unoccupied space of your choice within 50 feet. The copy is non-corporeal, invisible, and has the same movement speed as you. It can hear and see, even in darkness, up to 50 feet. It can telepathically share with you whatever it sees and hears. Your spectral copy stops manifesting if it is ever more than 200 feet away from you, if you die, or if you dismiss it as a free action. Once you split your mind, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. You can only have one copy summoned at a time. At level five, your spectral copy can take semi-physical form, looking exactly as you do. It can also cast spells (although it shares your same pool of spell points). If it takes damage, it stops manifesting.

• Illusionist: As an action, you may roll Will and expend one spell point to create a three-dimensional projection of an object, person, or creature up to 50 feet away. On a full success, the object can be no larger than a 10-foot cube (or a 5-foot cube on a partial success). On a failure, you produce nothing. On a crit success, you regain a spell point. The projection can create a single repeated sound, such as a whisper, yell, cry, whimper, roar, or short spoken phrase no more than six words in any voice. Anything that touches the projection passes through, revealing the illusion. If a person or creature uses its action to examine the image, the GM rolls 1, 2, or 3D6 (according to its intelligence). On a full success, the illusion becomes obvious. On a partial success, they spend one minute before realizing it's an illusion. On a failure, they believe it to be real.

  Starting equipment:

  You begin with D6x10 Sterling, a satchel, a cloak or jacket, notebook, ink, pen, and two items chosen from the following:

  • Alchemy toolkit (required to perform alchemy)

  • Two Vials of Acid (see Mundane Equipment)

  • A Small Animal Familiar, e.g. cat, mouse, raven, etc. (see Magical Equipment)

  • A Luck Stone (see Magical Equipment)

  Leveling:

  When you level up, you may choose another special talent rather than adding a point to one of your core attributes.

Several years after joining the priesthood, you were invited to join the Sacred Order of the Rose, pledging to root out evil in all its insidious forms. Since then, you’ve seen things that would send most people to the asylum. In fact, a few members of your order have met that exact fate. You bear the haunted look of a person who has witnessed something truly horrific, something that left an indelible mark on your soul.

Core Ability: Holy Magic - You start with two Runes selected from the Sublime school. As an action you can gain one Strain to ward a living person from being possessed by demons for 24 hours. You are permanently warded against possession. Once each dawn, you can pray for the strength to vanquish evil, gaining D6 temporary hit points.

• Advancement: At level three, your morning prayer grants you 2D6 temporary HP. At level seven, it grants 3D6.

Suggested Skills: History, Occult, Medicine

Talent (choose one):

• Demon Bane (Action): You hold up a holy symbol and intone a prayer. Roll Will. On a complete success, up to D6 Lesser Demons or one Greater Demon that can hear you (30 feet) are repulsed for one minute and must spend that time moving as far away from you as possible. On a partial success, the creatures are repulsed for D3 turns and you gain one Strain. On a failure, nothing happens and you gain one Strain. If used on a person possessed by a demon, the demon is expelled back to hell on a complete success. On a partial success, the demon is expelled but you also gain D3 Strain. On a failure, the demon remains and you gain D3 Strain. On a critical success, one lesser demon within range of the player's choice is destroyed completely and burnt to ash.

• Undead Bane (Action): You hold up a holy symbol and intone a prayer. Roll Will. On a complete success, up to D6 Lesser Undead or one Greater Undead that can hear you (30 feet) are repulsed for one minute and must spend that time moving as far away from you as possible. On a partial success, the creatures are repulsed for D3 turns and you gain one Strain. On a failure, nothing happens and you gain D3 Strain. On a critical success, one lesser undead within range of the player's choice is destroyed completely and burnt to ash.

• Healing Prayer: Roll Will and gain one Strain. One person or creature you can see within 50 feet regains 2D6 HP on a complete success or D6 on a partial success. On a failure, nothing happens. At level three, your prayer restores an additional +1 HP. At level five, this increases to +2. At level nine, +3.

Starting equipment:

You begin with D6x10 Sterling, a holy symbol, satchel, cloak or jacket, and two items chosen from the following:

• Two Sedatio Potions (see Magical Items)

• Panacea (see Magical Items)

• Healer’s Kit (see Mundane Items)

• Blessed Prayer Beads (see Magical Items)

Leveling:

When you level up, you may choose another special talent or a new Rune spell from the Sublime school rather than adding a point to one of your core attributes.