FATHOM

Playtest Edition v0.35

Created by Matthew Guzdial

and Brendan McLeod

http://sulcata.itch.io/fathom

FATHOM is currently in
playtest release. If you play
FATHOM, please let us know
by leaving a comment on the
itch.io page.

FATHOM is Sparked by the

Resistance. It uses ideas from
the Resistance Toolbox,
published by Rowan, Rook
and Decard. Find out more
at rowanrookanddecard.com

FATHOM is also Forged in

the Dark. This work is based
on Blades in the Dark,
product of One Seven
Design, developed and
authored by John Harper, Cover art and itch page by
and licensed for our use Yuri Rennel.
under the Creative https://yurir.itch.io/
Commons Attribution 3.0
Unported license.
Interstitial art generated by
Apart from these systems, WOMBO Dream. Other art
FATHOM owes much of its from Unsplash.
DNA to the many games
that came before it, most Character sheets by
notably Voidheart Symphony Coffee Johnson.
by Minerva McJanda. https://ahcoffeebeans.itch.io/
 You know the truth
about this City.

You know the secret

machinery of reality,
the unseen monsters, and
the back-alley magicians.

You’ve seen the living

shadows that hide in words
and street signs. You have
learned how to call the
corners, to speak the cryptic
tongue, and how to pass
between layers of truth.

You can accomplish

unbelievable, impossible
tasks. But that won’t stop
your landlord from breathing
down your neck.

FATHOM is a game about

telling personal, weird
stories in a surrealist City.
RESOURCES 5 Crews 223
THE WORLD OF FATHOM 7 Busters 226
Drifters 8 Cogs 228
The City 8 Freaks 230
The Real 8 Gumshoes 232
The UnReal 9 Shadows 234
Fathoms 10 Stringers 236
HOW TO PLAY 18 PLAYING THE GAME 238
Action Rolls 19 Investigation 240
Skills 21 Cross the Threshold 244
Domains 22 Downtime 247
Knacks 24 Downtime - Job Results 248
Fortune Rolls 26 Downtime - Real World Problems 257
Resistances 27 Downtime - Activities 258
Stress 29 Advancement 264
Scars 30 Companies 266
Fallout 31 Districts 267
Abandon 36 Haunts 268
Descending into the UnReal 37 GM GUIDE 275
Solving Problems 38 Running Fathom 276
DRIFTERS 41 A Guide to Fathoms 277
Player Principles 42 Consequences, Moves, and Fallout 285
Character Creation 49 GM Principles 296
The Grind 50 Echoes 301
Drifter Playbooks 53 Job Guidance 303
The Bends 57 Tools 308
The Exorcist 71 BESTIARY 315
The Expert 87 Any 317
The Keeper 102 Beyond 320
The Media 117 Capital 327
The Prisoner 134 Common 333
The Reaper 151 Crime 339
The Returned 165 Data 346
The Vamp 180 Doom 352
The Velveteen 195 Fringe 358
EXPLORING THE UNREAL 208 Order 364
Anchors 209 Style 371
Anchor Playbooks 212 Wild 378
Equipment 220 JOBS 383
Valuables 221 Deadheads at the Body Shop 384
Tags 222 Forecast and the Futurist 389
TOUCHSTONES 396
PRECURSORS 397
VERSION HISTORY 398
Resources

Thank you for downloading

the playtest edition of
FATHOM!

We hope you have fun

playing our game about the
weird streets of the City, and
the weirder things that lurk
beneath.

If you’re running the game

online, you might find it
useful to use these Google
Sheets to keep track of your
drifters and the crew. You
can duplicate the sheet and
fill them in as necessary.
Find the sheets at this link.

If you have questions about

the game, or want to reach
out for any other reason, you
can reach us most easily on
the itch.io page
for the game:

https://sulcata.itch.io/fathom
 Safety
FATHOM is a game about We encourage the use of But no amount of safety
living in a postmodernist, safety tools, though tools can guarantee a table
capitalist nightmare. All of different safety tools will be will be safe, and accidents
the issues around the real better fits for different and missteps can occur at
postmodernist, capitalist groups. any time.
nightmare we all live in can
come up, along with issues You might specify lines If your table is open to
around unreality, surrealism, (things that will not be working through these
and the lack of any included no matter what, difficult conversations,
fundamental truth. e.g., no depictions of racism FATHOM can be a rewarding
or sexism) and veils (things experience. But otherwise,
Individual playbooks also that can be included, but consider trying a different
explore particular themes or “off-screen” or not game.
make it more likely certain described in detail).
issues will crop up. You can
review the CONTENT You might include an “X
WARNINGS + THEMES section card” to cutoff any scene or
for each playbook. Before nip a worrying trend, or you
any dice are rolled, make might include regular check-
sure everyone is interested ins or after-session
and comfortable exploring discussions or reflections.
these themes.

FATHOM and Tone

FATHOM is a game of weird It’s also a game about As with any tabletop game,
urban fantasy. It's meant to struggling to get by. It’s no talk with the other players at
be surreal, strange, and mistake that the core your table about what you
periodically unhinged. It's resource of the game is want to highlight in your
not horror, but it waves at stress. The drifters aren’t game - and what you want to
horror from across the penniless vagabonds, but obfuscate or leave out
street. they are caught up in the entirely.
machinery of the City.
THE WORLD of
FATHOM
 Drifters
In FATHOM,
you play a drifter. But they are still You are a small fish in a big
fundamentally people living ocean, with strange,
Drifters have specialized in the modern day, with all unknowable things lurking in
knowledge, skills, and the problems that entails- the depths. Your drifter is
powers that allow them to making money, finding time aware of these unreal
navigate the unreal and to spend with friends, and depths, unlike the majority
magical parts of the City, trying to survive through of the City’s populace, and
and to survive the grim and unprecedented disasters dives into them to solve
absurd challenges they they have no hope of problems and to find stuff to
encounter there. resolving as individuals. pawn for rent and bills.

The City
FATHOM takes place
within the City.

Each of the drifters lives and People who know that The City is the game, and to
works here, whether they there’s things to love about leave it is to abandon it for
like it or not. The City is big the City. Who want to live whatever stranger mysteries
- bigger than most people here, but who can’t help but dwell beyond.
know.The City is filled with feel they’re being eaten by
people like you. it, little by little, day by day.

The Real
In the City, there is the Real
and the UnReal.

The Real is our world as But it is also your childhood The Real is just the tip of the
many understand it. A home, your adolescent iceberg.
postmodern, capitalist school, your friends, your
nightmare experienced job: all the joy and dread of a The UnReal is everything
alongside multiple mundane life. else.
ecological disasters.
The UnReal

The UnReal is
the magical, the strange,
and the impossible.

It is not another world,

or another dimension.
It is all around you,
and everything,
and everyone else.

When you enter the UnReal,

you do not move in space,
but you perceive the space
around you in entirely
different ways.
The things that happen in
the UnReal are reflected in
the Real, and vice versa,
even if their causes could
not look more different.

Scholars of the UnReal have

come up with a number of
theories to explain it, but the
UnReal rejects explanation.

The most popularly accepted

theory is referred to as
the Six-Fathom Theory,
and it will be the basis for
discussing the UnReal in the
majority of this book, but
that doesn’t make it true.
 Fathoms
The Six-Fathom Theory was
proposed as a holistic view
of reality, combining both
Real and UnReal into a series
of six layers or Fathoms.

Despite its name, a plurality

of scholars believe further
fathoms exist deeper within
the UnReal, thus the “final”
Fathom’s name: Fathom X.
 Fathom Zero:
The Real. This is everyday
life as far as most people
know, and as far as many of
the player characters knew
until recently.
 Fathom 1:
A film of unreality over the
Real, where both can impact
each other.

Those at Fathom Zero can

still see you, but their
perception will attempt to
make sense of any actions
you take.

You can see the Real, but

also hidden or secret things,
entities and powers that
don't fit into day-to-day life.

This is the depth of ghost

stories, cryptids, and
modern spirituality. Things
that are typically unseen, but
may be felt by (and still have
some impact on) the Real.
 Fathom 2:
The depth of surrealism.

The structures and spaces of

the Real are still visible
(but sometimes altered
in texture),
but most people are like
shadows or ghosts.

But some Fathom Zero

individuals can still be seen,
or at least a version of them,
often changed to represent
some core inner truth or
fear.

Interacting with them may

lead to their Fathom Zero
selves experiencing it
as a dream,
half-remembered memory,
or a sense of deja vu.

Strangeness, monsters, and

the surreal abound.
 Fathom 3:
Metaphor.

The structures and shapes of

the Real fall away, giving way
to allegory and symbol.

A cop into a monstrous boar,

a payday loan into
a contractual devil,
an investment firm into
a draconic hoard.

The perspectives, beliefs,

and habits of Fathom Zero
people shape this space,
but only a few exist here
themselves in any vaguely
humanoid capacity.

But a person may be a

metaphor as well, and
changing that metaphor can
have life changing effects on
the person, for good and ill.
 Fathom 4:
An ocean of base concepts
and collective unconscious.

Color.

Sound.

Light.

Dark.

Heat.

Cold.

Things swim in the depths.

Do not stay long.
 Fathom X:
Nothing can visit this deep
and remain human.
 Where am I?
As a drifter, you’ve spent the time
understanding how to tell the Fathoms
apart from one another: you know
instinctively which Fathom you’re
currently on.

Gyres
The idea that the UnReal can be easily organized into Fathoms - and that those Fathoms
are discrete from one another - is by no means a universally accepted idea. What about,
say its critics, the small pockets of UnReal that operate on their own, like an aberrant
growth on the side of a Fathom?

That’s a Gyre, according to UnReal scholars, who can’t agree among themselves if it’s
pronounced “gyre” or “jyre.” Either way, it’s a tiny dimension that operates by its own
rules and that may “connect” to different Fathoms in a strange, unpredictable way - even
more than the rest of the UnReal. Gyres are dangerous, but they’re also valuable: if a
talented drifter finds a Gyre that’s unoccupied, they’ll often lay claim to it as a kind of
personal fiefdom within the depths.
HOW to PLAY
 Action Rolls Say what you want to do
The GM will tell you the Skill, Domain and the difficulty.
Build your dice pool
+ + + + +
Start with 1d10 Add 1 if you have Add 1 if you have Add 1 if you have Add 1 if someone Add 1 for each
the Skill the Domain a relevant knack Lends a Hand advantage

Check the difficulty

If the situation
is…
- - - - -
Controlled, Risky, Dangerous, Extreme, Impossible, Lose 1 dice for
make no changes lose 1 dice lose 2 dice lose 3 dice lose 5 dice each disadvantage

If your dice pool is reduced to zero, roll 2d10 and take the lower result.

Roll the dice Your highest single result If you have less than zero dice, roll 2d10 +1D for each fewer than zero,
determines success vs failure
Unless… and take the lowest result.
(So, if your dice pool is -2, you roll 4D10 and take the lowest.)

���������
Critical Failure Mixed Success Critical
Failure Success Success
You don’t succeed.
The GM inflicts a consequence. You get what you want.
On a critical failure, the GM also inflicts If it’s relevant, inflict stress.
a second consequence. On a mixed success, On a critical success, increase the size
the GM also inflicts of the stress you inflict
a consequence. by one step.

Consequences
Inflict stress
Inflict stress
Introduce a new threat
Start or advance a problem
Increase the situation’s difficulty
��� �
D4 D6 D8 D10 D12
Change the Fathom
Follow the fiction Dice steps
Action Rolls (continued)
Lend a Hand Acting in the UnReal
Sometimes, when you want a Diving into the UnReal For example, Brian is on
fellow drifter to succeed, makes it hard to do the Fathom 2 inside a church. The
you might opt to Lend a things you’re used to doing pews are filled with the
Hand to help them with a in the Real. It’s weird down embodiment of choral voices:
roll. there. impossible to look at clearly.
The murals on the wall have
To Lend a Hand, describe At the same time, the shifted into strange stop-
what you do to help, and possibility space widens: you motion Boschian images.
then mark 2 stress to a can do things within the
Resistance of your choice UnReal with greater verve He rolls and ... mixed success!
that’s appropriate to the and impact than you ever He gets a 6. The punch lands.
action you’re taking to help. could in the everyday world. Brian’s not got any Fight
equipment or training, he’s
Lending a Hand gives the When a drifter inflicts stress just punching, so he’d inflict
other drifter +1D on the roll on a lower Fathom, they add D4 stress - except he’s on
- even if you wind up taking a Heavy tag to the roll for Fathom 2, and his punch
fallout as a consequence of each Fathom depth they're cracks through the weird
lending a hand. on. consonance of the choral
music. He adds the Heavy tag
Only one drifter may help However, when the player twice (+2D) and rolls 3D4,
with a roll. If more than one takes stress on a lower and takes the highest result of
person wants to participate, Fathom, the GM also adds a the three.
this situation might be Heavy tag to the roll for each
better served by a series of Fathom depth they're on. At He got a mixed success and so
actions instead of everyone their option, they may would normally suffer a single
piling onto one action. substitute any instance of consequence - except he’s on
the tag for an appropriate Fathom 2. The GM has up to
consequence. three consequences to work
with, and spends one to add
the heavy tag to the
hierophant’s stress die (D6,
making it 2D6) and one to
start a new problem “The
Arrival of the Conductor:
D8”.
 Skills
Skills are things you’re good
at doing; they represent the
action you’re taking.

Analyze Invoke
Determine the truth when Give voice to your will and
it’s not plain to see. transform the situation.

Connect Knit
Lean on a personal bond in Create or mend people,
an earnest way. places, and things.

Drift Manipulate
Move through space with Bend the truth, other
skill and poise. people, or yourself.

Fight Stand
Go hand-to-hand and hold Grit your teeth, bear the
your own. pain, perform under
pressure.
Hunt
Take aim, find a target, pull
the trigger.

Invoke
Invoke is a bit of an odd one. Just because you’re using the Just HAVING Invoke doesn’t
You’d probably roll Invoke if UnReal doesn’t allow you to do those things,
you’re giving a speech, automatically mean you’re either - your possibility
issuing instructions, or using Invoke, though. If space is determined by the
trying to rally people to a you’re trying to read playbook you choose and the
cause. But you’d also use it someone’s mind, that’s abilities you’ve taken. The
to literally manifest your will probably Analyze. If you’re non-magical Expert doesn’t
using the UnReal by means trying to disarm a suddenly get to cast spells if
of a magical spell: summoning circle, that’s they have the Invoke skill.
summoning an object that probably Manipulate. But if you’re trying to do
wasn’t there, producing a something weird within the
flame from out of nothing, bounds of your playbook
or opening a portal to a far- that’s not covered, Invoke
off place. might be it.
 Domains
Domains are areas of
knowledge and expertise.
They represent what you
know about how the City
operates.

Beyond Doom
Skyscrapers. Horizons. Decay. Rot. Abandoned
Progress. The potential of buildings. Lost
tomorrow. The expanse of neighborhoods. Disaster
the cosmos. scenes. Graveyards.

Capital Fringe
Money. Business. Weirdos on the edge of
Corporations. Gig economy. society. Artists and art
Factories. Managers. galleries. Performers and
Startups. Cash registers. street magicians.

Common Order
The people. Flea markets. The law. Police. Judges.
Barbecues. Soup kitchens. Librarians. Preachers.
Unions. Encampments. Homeowners associations.

Crime Style
Thieves, gangs, and corrupt Fashion. Sophistication.
officials. Mob families. Wineries, penthouses, and
Stolen cars. Counterfeit the best parties in town.
bills. Opening night red-carpet.

Data Wild
Newspapers. Magazines. Gardens, parks, and lawns.
Tech startups. Cyber cafes. Sewers and overgrown
Blogs. Algorithms. The buildings. Urban wildlife.
information superhighway. Extravagant pets. Cryptids.
 What Domain do I roll?
When you make an action Most things in the City have The exception to the rule is
roll, the domain of the roll is more than one domain! The when you use a player
usually decided by the GM. GM will tell you what ability. This is when your
It reflects the thing opposing domains are relevant. If a playbook takes matters into
your action, whether that’s a fearsome librarian is staring their own hands. An ability
person, place, thing, or daggers at you, you can will almost always tell you
monster, or ephemeral probably roll either Order or what domain to use when
concept. If you’re trying to Data to try and overcome you roll, and you use that
impress a wild monster using their deathly gaze. domain heedless of the
a stylish outfit, you’re still opposition. It’s your drifter
rolling Wild, because that’s using their special talents to
what it takes to overcome manifest their will within the
that obstacle. City.
 Knacks
Knacks represent a degree of
focus or specialization in
either a skill or a domain.

You gain a knack if you

possess a skill or domain and
then gain it a second time.

When that happens, come For example, if a character

up with a knack appropriate already has the Beyond
to that skill or domain. domain as part of their
playbook, and then takes an
Some abilities might also ability or an anchor that gives
automatically award you a them the Beyond domain
knack. again, they instead gain a
knack for Beyond of their
If you have a knack in Hunt Whenever you utilize that choosing.
for “Archery,” then you take knack as part of an action
an extra D10 for that knack roll, you gain an additional
whenever you roll to shoot D10 as part of the roll.
with a bow and arrow.
You can only apply one
If you have a knack in Hunt knack to a single roll, even if
for Archery and a knack for multiple would apply.
Order for Libraries, you would
still only add one D10 if you
shoot a bow and arrow in a
library.
 Example Knacks
Skill Knacks Domain Knacks
Analyze Beyond Doom
Crime scenes, message Astronomy, astrology, Diseases, warfare, climate
boards, body language unknowable geometry, change, burial rites,
emissaries, urban parkour abandoned buildings
Connect
New friendships, chance Capital Fringe
encounters, big favors Board rooms, bargains, Urban legends, other
under-the-table dealings, dimensions, hollow earth,
Drift stock markets ancient aliens, lost worlds
Big crowds, sprawling
spaces, city streets, parkour Common Order
Shared spaces, public transit, Police, megachurches, codes
Fight gardening, outreach of conduct, military conduct,
Fencing, scare tactics, one programs, DIY projects courtroom procedure
against many, fighting dirty
Crime Style
Hunt Pick-pocketing, extortion, Haute couture, indie cinema,
Sniper rifles, telescopes, protection rackets, heists, modern art, rock and roll,
needle in a hay stack phishing, identity theft influencer startups

Invoke Data Wild

Giving orders, holding Public records, historical Urban wildlife, city parks,
seances, dramatic speeches esoterica, data trends, sewer vermin, invasive
probabilities, news outlets species, weather events
Knit
Tourniquets, sutures,
carpentry, bad moods

Manipulate
Lock-picking, disguises, half-
truths, hacking

Stand
Walking on hot coals, These are all examples, not
pumping iron, bad weather, definitive lists! A knack can
death by a thousand cuts be any kind of specialization
that you and your table
come up with that’s
appropriate to the skill or
domain.
Fortune Rolls
When an outcome is uncertain,
but there’s no risk to the drifters,
you can use a fortune roll
to determine the results.

A fortune roll differs from an action

roll primarily in that a failed result
doesn’t inflict consequences:
it’s simply a means of
determining results.

To roll a fortune roll,

you roll a number of dice.
The GM can use a number of different
metrics to determine the dice
for a given roll, such as:

• 1 + Skill + Domain + Knack

(For player fortune rolls, such as
gather information)
• The current Fathom
• A Company’s Power

The GM can add or take away dice

for advantages, disadvantages,
and extenuating circumstances,
as they see fit.

Whenever you make a fortune roll,

consult the highest result and
use the following table:

10 Exceptional result / Great effect

8-9 Full result / Good effect
6-7 Adequate result / Partial effect
2-5 Limited results / Poor effect
1 No results / Negligible effect
 Resistances
Whenever you take stress, it gets
marked against a Resistance.

Each Resistance represents something

you have that’s at risk. It represents
something you’re putting on the line
when you do a job.

If the GM inflicts stress as a

consequence, they’ll tell you which
Resistance is getting hurt.

Drifters each have five Resistances:

Form
Physical, visceral, exertion.
Your capacity for physical
Luck
action, damage, and
Circumstance, opportunity,
exhaustion. The more Form
predestination. Your good
stress you’ve got, the more
fortune. The more Luck
hurt or worn out you are.
stress you’ve got, the closer
you are to a rotten
Nerve coincidence.
Mental, cerebral,
concentration. Your
Weird
willpower, ability to focus,
Unreal, supernatural,
and generally keep it
discombobulation.
together. The more Nerve
Your tolerance for the
stress you’ve got, the more
strange and peculiar of the
rattled or exasperated you
lower Fathoms. The more
are.
Weird stress you’ve got, the
more you’re saturated by
Debt strange phenomena.
Fiscal, monetary,
transaction. Your cash on-
hand. How far you can
stretch your wallet. The
more Debt stress you’ve got,
the less disposable income
you’ve got.
 Form Resistances are each
represented on your character
Nerve sheet by a 12-step track of
Debt check-boxes. Your stress total
can theoretically exceed 12, but
Luck in practical terms, taking 12 or
Weird more stress will guarantee
fallout.
 Stress
When you mark stress,
it gets marked against
a Resistance.
Add it to any stress that
Resistance already had.

Form ������
XX XX ������
If you have 2 Form stress and the GM inflicts 3,
you now have 5 Form stress.

Inflicting stress
Whenever you inflict stress -
against an opponent, a
problem, or something else
roll a D4 and use the result
unless you have something
that lets you inflict more
stress, like a piece of
equipment or a special
ability. Tags can further
modify how the dice roll
works!

Protection
Protection doesn’t count
when you’re marking stress as
part of using an ability - it
Some abilities and equipment
only protects you from
will give drifters Protection
external sources of stress, not
for a Resistance. When you
costs you’re paying for a
have Protection, subtract that
benefit. The Media’s “The
much from any incoming
City Remembers” allows them
source of stress. If the GM
to mark D4 Weird stress for a
says to mark 4 Form stress and
vision of the city. If they roll
you have 2 Form Protection,
a 3 and have 2 Weird
you only mark 2 stress.
Protection, they would still
mark 3 Weird stress!
 Scars
The UnReal marks those
who brush against its weird
borders. No one descends
into the UnReal and comes
away without something
that sets them apart. We call
that something a Scar.

Scars may be subtle, or

flagrant. New drifters might
have lost a sense, or a
memory. Veteran drifters
may crackle with cursed
energy, speak only in rhyme,
or have a ghostly
replacement for a lost limb.

Debt ������ ������

Whenever your drifter marks
a Scar, it gets marked against
a specific Resistance.

Blot out the leftmost space

on that Resistance on your
character sheet. That space
can no longer be temporarily
filled with stress and later
recovered: it’s permanently
marked off.

Drifters start the game with

three Scars to represent how
they have already been
marked by the UnReal.
Drifters gain more Scars as
they suffer the ill effects of
descending into the UnReal.
 Fallout
Fallout is the short-term cost
of acting in the UnReal.

When a drifter fails a Fallout

check, then that drifter
suffers a Fallout.

Making a Fallout Check

Whenever one of a drifter’s
Resistances exceeds 6 - If you have 2 Scars in Form,
totaling both Stress and and receive 5 Form stress,
If a drifter’s Resistance hits
Scars - then they check for then your Form Resistance is
or exceeds 12, they can
Fallout by rolling a D12. If now 7 and it’s time for a
forego the dice roll: Fallout
the dice result is higher than Fallout check. If you roll a D12
is guaranteed!
that Resistance, then they’re and get exactly a 7, then you
okay for now. Otherwise, suffer Fallout.
they suffer a Fallout.

Suffering Fallout

The specific nature of a

Fallout is given at the GM’s
discretion, but should fit the
narrative cause for the
Fallout in some way. When you receive a Fallout,
make a note of its name and A drifter can labor under the
Receiving a Fallout should effects on your character effects of three Fallouts at
suggest a change in strategy. sheet. the same time without
You can stick to your current slowing down.
approach if you’re willing to Then immediately clear all
accept more risk or less stress in the Resistance But if a drifter would take
effect, but ideally, Fallout associated with that Fallout. Fallout in excess of three,
encourages a drifter to try a they also suffer a Scar.
different approach.

Fallouts should never stop a

drifter from making progress
on a Job.
 Fallout Conditions

The nature of the fallout is

up to the player and the GM
to agree upon.

Anyone at the table is free to

suggest what the fallout
might entail, but it should be
something that represents a
narratively-satisfying
breaking point as a result of
that drifter’s actions.

Fallout might take

the form of…

A character’s skill or domain

is locked: it becomes
unavailable to use until the
fallout is resolved. The GM might stipulate a
condition, such as…
A useful or important piece
of equipment is broken. The • Whenever you do X, you
equipment can’t be used will take Y stress
until the fallout is resolved. • Whenever you do X, it’s
always at least Y
A character’s Protection for Difficulty.
a Resistance is negated. It
can’t be relied upon until the
fallout is resolved.

These are just ideas:

experiment and make
changes to find fallout ideas
that work for your table.
 Healing Fallout

Removing Fallout is not something you

or your fellow drifters can do alone.
You’ll instead need to visit a Fixer:
someone who is an expert
at dealing with all the weird ways
the UnReal can mess you up.

To heal a Fallout, you’ll need to visit a

Fixer who can handle this kind of
problems. In game terms, the Fixer
must be capable of repairing Fallouts
of the relevant Resistance.

A loan shark might be a great Debt

Fixer, but they’re not going to be able
to do anything about Form.

Fixers don’t work for free.

It costs a D8 Valuable to
remove a Fallout.

If you’ve got a relevant Fixer,

then you can remove a Fallout by
bringing a Valuable along when you
VISIT A HAUNT during Downtime.
If you don’t know a relevant Fixer,
HIT THE BRICKS might let you find one.

There may be other ways to heal a

Fallout, depending on the
circumstances. WORK ON A PROBLEM
might help in particularly unusual
cases. Certain Anchors may be able to
take a Fallout off your hands -
for a price. Talk with your GM!
 Fallout and Scars

A drifter can only sustain so much

Fallout before collapsing under its
weight. If a drifter ever would take
Fallout past their limit of three,
they gain a Scar.

When a drifter gets a Scar, their

player chooses any one of their
current Fallouts (including the new
one they just received!) That
Fallout becomes the Scar. Rather
than being a problem that you’ve
overcome, the Fallout is
internalized - it’s just a fact of life
for you, and it permanently changes
you.

Mark the Scar in the Resistance

associated with the chosen Fallout
by permanently filling in one of the
boxes for that Resistance. Decide
how this Scar manifests for your
character going forward - is it a new
behavior? A new physical trait?

Remove the Fallout that became a

Scar. Create a Scar with that Fallout
as inspiration. It no longer
mechanically affects your drifter as
it once did, but it still narratively
impacts their life. You or the GM
may draw on this list to explain any
consequences your drifter receives.
Alternatively, you may choose to
take a disadvantage on any roll
where you think a Scar would get in
the way. This will generally not be
helpful.
 Get out of there!

Taking a Scar is often a You may still help, but at

traumatic event. You’re in a much reduced effect (but
worse position in the with much less risk). You
UnReal, and you’re still may instead choose to stay,
maxed out on Fallout - a lot but that may mean taking
of drifters rightfully take this another Scar.
as a sign to get the hell out
of there. You cannot use this option if
your drifter is currently
Whenever you receive a Scar, adrift - that is, if they don’t
your drifter may choose to have any working Anchors.
immediately flee into the The escape cord’s not there
Real (Fathom Zero). You tug if there’s nothing in the Real
on the emergency rope of to bind it to.
your Anchors and follow it
back to safety.

Taking a scar early

If a Fallout is particularly
bothering you, or if you - the
player - are especially
interested in making it a
permanent part of your
character, you may choose to
take that Fallout as a Scar as
a free action during
Downtime.

The same consequences

occur as normal (gain a Scar
in the associated
Resistance), but the Fallout
is gone! And hey - you didn’t
even need to spend
a D8 Valuable.
 Abandon
A drifter can only take so
many Scars. A drifter can
only have seven Scars -
including the 3 they start
with! - before it’s all over.

Once they hit seven Scars,

after the current Job or
downtime is done, your
character must Abandon
their fellow drifters and find
some new path to follow.

If and when your character

abandons the life of a drifter,
choose one:

This magic shit becomes too

much and they need out.
They burn bridges, skip
town, and their fate remains
off camera. Any Valuables or
abilities benefiting the other
characters are removed.

They get an offer, and they

don't refuse. Your character
becomes a NPC allied with
an enemy Company, when
you see them again they'll be
controlled by the GM and
hostile to the party.

They sacrifice themselves.

They see something coming,
run into an unexpected
threat, or find out something
they shouldn't. Every other
player marks an appropriate
Fallout until they discover
what happened.
 Descending into the UnReal
Moving between Fathoms
isn’t like walking down the
street or falling into a magic There’s many different ways
portal. It’s about a change in you might “arrive” on
perspective. It’s about another Fathom:
attuning your mind to a
different sort of reality.

• Making a Drift action roll • A job might simply start • Finally, using an UnReal
to deliberately move on a lower Fathom, at ability will automatically
“up” or “down” a the drifters’ discretion move the drifters into a
Fathom. (although this makes the lower Fathom when it’s
starting situation of a job used, even if it’s not
more likely to be trouble successful. Tapping into
- see CROSS THE THRESHOLD the UnReal to use
for more details.) strange abilities
automatically involves
• The GM might move the adjusting your
drifters into a new perception.
Fathom using a GM move
or a consequence if it An ability that works this
makes sense for the way will have an icon
fictional positioning. that indicates what level
of the UnReal you and
the other drifters
descend to when you use
this ability, like this:
FATHOM 2
All Together Now
Using an ability on a job
Outside Core Hours
pulls all of the drifters Many abilities allow you to Getting caught on a lower
further down into the use them “once per session,” fathom without your crew of
UnReal with you; when you including when you’re not drifters to back you up is a
CROSS THE THRESHOLD on a job and engaging in challenging prospect. Once
together, your perspectives downtime or freeplay. Note, you’re on a lower fathom,
become tethered together. however, that an ability with taking action on your own
Dipping into the power of a Fathom icon will still drop falls under the Dangerous
the UnReal has a gravity all you to a lower fathom difficulty at best.
of its own.
 Solving Problems
The drifters will face many
challenges as they try to
accomplish their jobs, stay
out of trouble, and survive in
the City.

The GM is responsible for

determining how to
mechanically represent how
the City and the individuals
in it oppose the players. This
can take a couple of different
forms.

If it’s something a drifter If there’s a situation that the When the drifters need to
should simply be able to do, drifters oppose, where a risk overcome a challenge that
then they just do it. They is involved, or where failure can’t be overcome with a
don’t need to roll in order to is interesting, the GM will single action, we represent
open an unlocked door, look call for an action roll. If the this with a problem.
around, or buy a coffee. players succeed at the roll,
they get what they’re after - A problem is a specific
and/or suffer some stress opponent, goal, or situation
along the way. that the drifters need to
contend with. A problem has
a numerical size value, just
like the Resistance of the
drifters: when the drifters
inflict at least that much
stress, the problem is solved.
 Solving a Problem

When drifters work to solve If they succeed, they inflict Problems may also feature
a problem, they make an D4 stress to the problem; protection: if it does, any
action roll appropriate to the drifter abilities and stress inflicted to that
problem using a skill and equipment can instead let problem is reduced by that
domain appropriate to what them roll different stress amount.
they’re doing. dice against the problem,
often significantly higher
than D4!

Impending Problems Competing Problems Long-Term Problems

The GM might create an The GM can also use Some problems can’t be
impending problem to opposed, parallel problems resolved in a single play
represent a threat or danger to represent two competing session. In situations like
that’s not yet present. The forces. this, the GM can create a
GM can take moves (or use long-term problem that gets
consequences) to inflict advanced if and when it’s
stress to the problem when appropriate to do so.
it continues to approach: if
and when it finishes, the
danger emerges into the
situation.
Problem Examples
These examples aren’t
binding; they’re simply
meant to illustrate
appropriate scale.

Real problems

• Picking a lock: D4

• Distracting your
asshole boss: D6

• Making a high-speed
getaway: D8

• Swaying a jury: D10

• Talking your way out of a

boss fight: D12

UnReal problems

• Seeing through
a magical deception: D4

• Shaking off
a compulsion: D6

• Conducting
a minor ritual: D8

• Performing
an exorcism: D10

• Driving away a powerful

UnReal monstrosity: D12
DRIFTERS
Player Principles
Opening your mind
to the possibilities of
the UnReal isn’t easy.

Let these guidelines guide

you as you play FATHOM -
they’ll help you get the most
out of the game.

-The Truth Is Out There

-Cause Problems
On Purpose

-Make Art, Make Rent

-Help Others Do the

Same

-Use Your Anchors

-Play to Find Out

What Happens
 THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE
The City is huge, and the
UnReal is ultimately
unknowable. You will never
learn every single secret that
either has to offer. There are
some mysteries out there
that will elude you, there are
some stories that will slip
through the cracks, and
there are some truths that
are unknowable.

But you CAN discover a

piece of it. Through focus,
curiosity, and determination,
you can and will uncover
some small corner of the
world and what it has
to offer.

Discover what it is about the

City that interests you as a
player, and let the GM know
you want more of it.

Open strange doors. Ask

scary questions. Poke your
nose where it doesn’t
belong. Find out how deep
the rabbit hole goes.
 CAUSE PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE
You’re not an upstanding
member of society, even if
you pretend to be. You’re
someone with knowledge of
the strange and the bizarre
who uses that knowledge to
try and make extra money in
the hopes of being able to
afford groceries.

You might not be an out-

and-out bastard, but you’re
not above doing things that
law-abiding members of
society might not condone.
Be willing to press your luck.
Take things that aren’t yours.
Go places you’re not allowed.
Lie to people and worry
about the consequences
later.

Aside from being a cheeky

way to recommend playing
your character, it’s also a
mechanical recommendation.
Problems - the game’s
default means of tracking
things down - are a great way
to break the rules, to create
exceptions, and to change
the City.

Talk with your GM about

what you want to see on
screen, what aspirations and
desires your character has,
and what they think is
important - and then advance
problems to make that
ambition a reality.
 MAKE ART, MAKE RENT
As a drifter, you’re caught
between two opposing
needs. One is fulfilling your
agenda: realizing the kind of
life that you want to lead in
the City, discovering Truths
about the UnReal and using
it to your advantage. The
other is getting your hands
on Valuables so that you can
continue living in the City
without working yourself to
death.

FATHOM is deliberately
about the stress of being
caught between these two
ideas. There are forces in the
City that will pull you in one
direction or another. There
are others still that will
tempt you into trying to
combine the two: what
better way to make a living
than by doing the thing you
love? Ultimately, it will be
up to you and your table to
decide what course your
drifter takes, and whether
they’re satisfied with it.
 HELP OTHERS DO THE SAME
The world is out to get you.
Your fellow drifters are there
to be relied upon, whether
you’re facing mundane
menaces or magical
monsters. Look out for one
another. Use your abilities
and items to support one
another. Play to your
strengths, and set up your
fellow drifters so they can
play to their strengths as
well.

This holds both for your

characters and for your
fellow players. Make room
for everyone else at the
table. Propose ideas,
workshop other people’s
ideas. Don’t interrupt, talk
over, or negate what others
have to offer. You’re there to
tell a story as a group.
 USE YOUR ANCHORS
Your Anchors are what keep
you grounded within the
world. They’re there to help
- so let them help! Don’t
forget about the abilities
that they offer, and be
willing to put them at risk
when you’re trying to get
something done. Don’t be
precious about them -
they’re more interesting
when you involve them in
the dangerous activities your
drifter is involved in.

At the same time, remember

to check in on your anchors
during downtime. Each of
them has wants and needs
that they could use your help
with! If you’re not interested
in one of your anchors, it
might be worth considering
finding a new one. Likewise,
if you’re interested in
someone or something in
the City (including one of
the other player characters!),
then consider starting a
problem to make them an
anchor!
 PLAY TO FIND OUT
WHAT HAPPENS
FATHOM is a game. It has a
lot of elements that enable
you to tell stories - both
about where your drifter has
been, what they want, and
what they’re capable of. But
the story emerges from the
game: trying to do a thing
and then seeing what
happens when that action
brushes up against the forces
that oppose it.

You’re not beholden to the

mechanics of the game,
especially in the case of
events that violate the lines
and veils you’ve set for your
group. You can always walk
something back, or talk
through something, and
you’re under no obligation
to explain or justify your
feelings about the game to
anyone. But when and where
it’s possible, accept the
game for what it is: an
experience that will provide
unexpected results, difficult
choices, and fun interactions.
Character Creation
To create a character, follow these steps.

Choose a grind.
Record your starting domain and Scars.

Choose a playbook.
Record your starting skills, domain, and core
abilities.

Choose one major ability

and three minor abilities
(and/or upgrades)
from your playbook.

Choose your equipment from the options

provided in your playbook.
Record your equipment and
your starting Valuable.

Answer the questions that

your playbook asks about you.
Pick an agenda.

Create an minor anchor:

a person, place, or thing
that matters to you.
Assign it an anchor playbook
and record the minor ability
that the playbook gives you.

Think about your look, attitude, pronouns,

and living situation.

Give your character a name.

When all the players have created characters,

work together to pick a crew using the crew
playbooks. Pick a single move from the crew
playbook that your crew starts with.
 The Grind
Your drifter’s Grind represents the
burdens of their daily life.

Whether it’s something you were

doing before you discovered the truth,
or it’s something you picked up in
order to facilitate your magical
adventures, your Grind represents
your element, your burden, your
natural habitat in the capitalist
nightmare of the Real.

When you create a Grind, describe the

line of work your character is caught
up in.

Give the Grind a domain,

2 Scars to one Resistance,
and 1 Scar to another Resistance
that makes sense for the life the grind
has demanded of you. Use the
following examples for inspiration -
or just use one of them as-is.

These Scars could be from UnReal

encounters experienced while on your
Grind, or they could be ways your
Grind has more indirectly impacted
the UnReal parts of your life. Your
fingers stiffened from long days of
manual labor worsening your ability to
weave UnReal power at night.

Whatever the case, unlike the Scars

you’ll acquire later in the game, these
don’t have an associated Fallout,
unless you choose to give them one as
part of fleshing out your character’s
background.
 Example Grinds
ADVOCATE CONSTABLE GREENTHUMB
A counselor, a coach, a A security guard, a legal A gardener, a florist, a
teacher, a servant. Someone assistant, an acolyte, an zookeeper, a climate scientist,
who gives their life to support inspector, or someone else or anyone else who concerns
others. whose day is spent enforcing themselves with the natural
laws or punishing people who world.
Gain the Common domain. break them.
Mark 2 Scars to Debt and 1 Gain the Wild domain. Mark
Scar to either Nerve or Luck. Gain the Order domain. 2 Scars to Weird and 1 Scar
Good deeds don’t pay the Mark 2 Scars to Form and 1 to either Form or Luck. Your
bills. Scar to either Nerve or Luck. understanding of the natural
A career in enforcement has world conflicts with the
ARTISTE left you with strains and inconsistency of the UnReal.
A model, a designer, an bruises.
influencer, a painter, or GRIFTER
someone else whose life is ECCENTRIC A fence, a burglar, a snitch, or
defined by beauty and trends. A psychic, a guru, a someone else operating
conspiracy blogger, a UFO outside the bounds of the law.
Gain the Style domain. Mark hunter, a cryptonaturalist, or
2 Scars to Debt and 1 Scar to someone else whose interests Gain the Crime domain.
either Luck or Weird. You’re lie well outside the norm. Mark 2 Scars to Nerve and 1
always spending, in order to Scar to either Form or Debt.
keep up with the latest Gain the Fringe domain. You’re always looking over
fashions. Mark 2 Scars to Luck and 1 your shoulder.
Scar to either Form or Weird.
Your devotion to the odd
makes people less likely to
give you the benefit of the
doubt.
HUSTLER SCRIVENER
A cashier, a banker, a white- An analyst, a scientist, a
collar worker, a trustfund kid, reporter, a historian, or
a CEO. Anyone enmeshed someone else whose activity is
with the movement of money. driven by information.

Gain the Capital domain. Gain the Data domain. Mark

Mark 2 Scars to Weird and 1 2 Scars to Nerve and 1 Scar
Scar to either Nerve or Debt. to either Form or Debt. You
You have a hard time know how much data there
wrapping your head around is out there in the world. It’s
something that can’t be a lot, and it weighs on you.
commodified.
VISIONARY
OMEN An architect, a cultist, a
An undertaker, a bounty philosopher, a warlock:
hunter, a vigilante, or anyone who envisions other
someone else who delivers worlds, whether to build or to
endings, whether natural or reach for.
prematurely-deserved.
Gain the Beyond domain.
Gain the Doom domain. Mark 2 Scars to Form and 1
Mark 2 Scars to Luck and 1 Scar to either Debt or Weird.
Scar to either Nerve or Your obsession with the
Weird. You’re a servant of shape of the coming world
fate; You can’t escape your has led you to neglect your
own. current shape’s integrity.
Drifter Playbooks
Your Grind defines your
relationship with the Real.
Your playbook defines your
relationship with the
UnReal.

Your playbook defines not

only what you’re capable of
doing, but how you think
about the UnReal and what
it can do for you.

The deepest Fathoms of the

City are, by their very
definition, hard to define
and resistant to concrete
rulesets. The possibility
space of the strange and the
weird is both deep and wide,
which lends itself to a
myriad of approaches.

You are neither a neophyte

nor a master of the UnReal
you know enough to handle
yourself in a bad situation,
so long as you keep your wits
about you. Your playbook
gives you a number of
starting tools to choose
between to help equip you
for what’s to come.
 List of Playbooks
The Bends - Mercurial, The Keeper - The guardian The Reaper - An agent of
improvisational of a strange UnReal creature Death Itself, a harbinger of
shapeshifters that use the who must contend with its the end, an unstoppable
UnReal to reinvent incredible strength and force that’s capable of
themselves and the world dangerous capabilities. incredible violence.
around them.
The Media - A witch of the The Returned - A
The Exorcist - Hunters of web who gathers conspiratorial soothsayer
supernatural monsters, information, conjures lies, who was taken by
intent on protecting the and manipulates the flow of mysterious forces: now
world from the worst of data as they see fit. they’re back, and haunted by
what the UnReal has to offer. the visions of what’s yet to
The Prisoner - Someone come.
The Expert - A veteran trapped within the Real who
advisor and mentor, unable uses the UnReal to explore The Vamp - A slick social
to weave the UnReal but the world as a specter, freed climber, at home in the dark
who knows its ins and outs from your earthly chains. and given over to taboo
like the back of their hand. cravings.

The Velveteen - An UnReal

monster in human skin,
fascinated by the Real and
determined to become a
person themselves.

FATHOM and Multiclassing

A FATHOM playbook However, anchors can

represents not just a frequently imitate or
particular set of abilities, but replicate the abilities of a
a certain way of looking at playbook ability. If you have
the world. As such, there’s your eyes on something you
not rules as-written for really want to play with, talk
taking abilities from other with your GM to craft an
playbooks when you earn XP. anchor for that purpose.
 Playbook Agendas
When you select your
playbook, select an agenda.
Your agenda describes your
personal priorities and focus
as a representative of that
playbook. It describes what
change you wish to see
within the City: whether
personally, for your
community, or for the larger
world. It reflects not only
who you are, but what you
hope to be.

Acting according to your

agenda will mark progress
towards advancement,
getting the crew closer to
earning XP.

Changing Agendas Custom Agendas

Drifters can and will change If none of the agendas listed
their agenda as time goes on. for your playbook fit your
If you find yourself in a vision of your character, you
situation where your current can work with the GM to
agenda no longer fits your create a new one.
character’s journey, you can
change it: tell the other An agenda should be broad
players what you’re changing enough to have a chance of
it to, and how that change is coming up on any given job,
felt by the larger group. but specific enough that it
requires choice and action
You can only earn progress on the part of your drifter.
towards advancement for
fulfilling your agenda once “Enter the UnReal” is too
per session, even if you broad; for a more specific
changed your agenda mid- agenda, you might redefine
session. You can earn it as “Dive into the depths of
progress for the new agenda the UnReal heedless of the
next session. risk.”
 The Bends
You’ve given yourself over to the UnReal, body and soul, with I'm not your lover
an emphasis on the former. Even in the Real, your form is I'm not your friend
unfixed: each day brings a new hair color, a new look, a new I am something that you'll
face. In the UnReal, you shift and bend your form as needed, Never comprehend
unmoored by the boorish constraints of reality.
No need to worry
Your role as a drifter is navigation and subterfuge, as both No need to cry
require a flexible identity. The UnReal thrills you enough to I'm your messiah
flirt with full submersion, but your anchors to the Real keep and you're the reason why
you grounded—for now.
I Would Die 4 U,
Prince & the Revolution

TOUCHSTONES

Ramona Flowers (Scott Mystique (X-Men): Sly,

Pilgrim): A drifter running manipulative, and
from a complicated past with subversive, this shapeshifter
the ability to travel through changes her form almost as
the subconscious, her hair often as she changes sides.
color changing with her
mood.

Delirium (Sandman): The

youngest of a set of powerful
beings. Easily distracted and PLAY TO FIND OUT
temperamental, she spends
her time falling in and out of Will you abandon your
reality, but is desperate to connections to the Real?
mend her broken family.
How deep into the UnReal
can you dive?

Will you transform into

something truly new?
CONTENT WARNINGS + THEMES PLAYBOOK DETAILS
Things this playbook touches on. You start with these.

Fluid identity, thrill-seeking, exploitative and transactional SKILLS

relationships, manipulation, deception, and loss of self Drift & Invoke

DOMAIN
Style

WHEN YOU CREATE A BENDS VALUABLES

Answer (and do not answer) the following: Choose one:

You have someone or something important to you in the Real, A compact mirror with
even if you don’t show it. This is true for all drifters, but it’s a delayed reflection
especially true for you. Who or what is it? Don’t answer why D6 Style
you could never bear to permanently leave them for the
depths. Party drugs
D8 Crime, Illicit
You saw something once in some lower Fathom that sent you
scrambling back up to reality, gasping for assurance and EQUIPMENT
stability. What was it? Don’t say what caused it or why, just Choose one:
what it looked like.
“Diving” mask
Drift D6

Birthstone
Invoke D6

Cursed talisman
Invoke D8, Dire
WHEN YOU GATHER INFORMATION
Example questions that this playbook might want to ask:
AGENDA
Choose one:
• How can I best get into, past, or through?
Gain an advantage from
• What self would be most effective on this job?
a new transformation
• What UnReal phenomena do I find myself pulled by here?
Dive deep into the UnReal
heedless of the risk
• Who here would I most benefit from enchanting?
Inspire transformation in
• What is in style here?
something or someone
stagnant
• What threat in the area should I flee from on sight?
CORE ABILITIES DOWNTIME ACTIVITY
These abilities define A special option for
who you are. you during downtime.

Transmorphica Truly Outrageous Pygmalion and Galatea

You dived deep into the All eyes on you. Every new day is another
UnReal, and came up for air opportunity to create a whole
so fast that you brought it Once per session, choose an new you.
with you. You’re suffused NPC: they are enchanted
with its morphic, trans- with you, until you give You can create a new self by
substantive power, and it is them reason not to be. completing a long-term
intoxicating. You problem. Pick any number of
metamorphosize your identity domains (including domains
the way other people put on you don’t have) to associate
shirts. You’re always trying to with the self. The problem is
discover who you’ll become 6 steps for each domain
next. associated with the self.

You can shift your self freely, Roll Invoke + [Domain] to

even in the Real. Each self is mark progress, using a
bound to a domain; your domain associated with this
starting self is bound to self. Describe how you
Style, your starting domain. internalize this new self, and
You have full control over what inspiration do you look
how your self presents: its to when you craft it.
clothes, body type, physical
features, and whatever else. You can use this move to
make a temporary self from
At the beginning of each VIBE SHIFT permanent.
situation, you can
automatically take the form
of any new self you’ve
created. You can make new
selves through your Downtime
Activity. Some abilities also
award new selves automatically.

If you want to change selves

in the middle of a situation,
you may do so on a
successful Invoke roll, using
the domain of the self you’re
switching to.
MINOR ABILITIES
Small bits of knowledge
and know-how.

Belonging Outside d’Vingt Modern Friend Request

Belonging The latest edition of the Sometimes, even in the most
No gods, no masters, just us. world’s greatest unlikely circumstances, you
moneymakers. can forge a true connection.
Gain the Fringe domain and
a Fringe-self. When you Gain the Capital domain and Gain the Manipulate skill.
transform into a Fringe-self, a Capital-self. When you Once per session, after
you appear to be a member transform into a Capital-self, you’ve interacted with
of a fringe group of some you take on the form of someone for at least a short
kind: a cult, a hacker someone familiar with the conversation, you can gain
collective, a rebellion, a world of money: a mogul, a them as a temporary minor
pyramid scheme, a mover and shaker, a anchor using the
survivalist commune, a merchant, a banker, a clerk, a ACQUIANTENCE playbook. This
creative writing group. You metropolitan man about anchor lasts until the end of
automatically have some town. You have access to a the job.
kind of insignia - dogtags, wad of authentic-looking
tattoos, enamel pins - that cash. Anchor: The
mark you as a member of the Acquaintance
group. Forged in the Dark Hey, do you wanna hang out
A daring scoundrel with a sometime?
Disruptive Camouflage penchant for devil’s bargains.
They’ll never see you coming. This playbook doesn’t have a
Gain the Crime domain and Major level: If you complete
Gain the Hunt skill. When a Crime-self. When you the relationship, choose a
you pursue a target using a transform into a Crime-self, new anchor playbook to
self that they’ve never seen you take on the practical replace this one.
before, roll with advantage. outfit of an outlaw or
criminal, along with the Minor - Good First
subtle but legitimate mark of Impression
your status as someone on You’re really something, you
the wrong side of the tracks. know that?

Once per session, when you

try and convince someone
you’re capable of something,
you succeed automatically if
this anchor is there to back
you up.
Influencer Pressurized Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
You’re beautiful in a public You’re at home in the wild of Of course I’m supposed to be
way, and that leads to a the UnReal. You have little to here. Don’t you know who I
certain amount of disposable fear from its chaos. am?
income. Not enough for a
truly comfortable life, but Gain +2 Weird Protection. Gain the Stand skill. When
enough to let you focus on you roll to resist someone
what’s most important: you. Storyteller uncovering your identity or
Oh the tales you’ll tell. seeing through a disguise,
Gain +2 Debt Protection. roll with advantage.
Gain the Data domain and a
Poker Face Data-self. When you
Everyone’s got a tell. It’s transform into a Data-self,
easier to see the ones that look you take on the appearance
just like yours. of a researcher, scientist,
scholar, analyst, or other
Gain the Analyze skill. Once such professional who can
per session, ask the GM turn data into decipherable
“who here isn’t what they information. You have access
appear to be?” The GM will to the jargon and
answer you honestly. technobabble that marks you
as one of them.
Powered by the Apocalypse
Slay to find out what happens.

Gain the Doom domain and

a Doom-self. When you
transform into a Doom-self,
you take on the form of
something ominous and
intimidating: a monster, a
vigilante, an authority figure,
a manifestation of
someone’s deepest held
fears. Whenever you first
appear in a situation as this
self, everyone present will be
briefly terrified by your
presence.
MAJOR ABILITIES
One-of-a-kind advantages.

Vibe Shift
They’re friends, yes, but You may opt to make the UPGRADE - BONA FIDES
they’re also something more stress roll against the anchor Gain +1 Luck Protection.
important: inspiration. Heavy for one of the Once per session, when
following effects. You can you’re using a self crafted in
You can create a new self choose to do this more than this way and you should have
based off of an anchor by once for multiple effects by a specific item on hand that
marking D6 stress against adding the tag multiple times. that person would have, you
that anchor. This takes a few may declare that you have a
minutes of concentration The self is a perfect perfect facsimile on your
and crafting as you shift your simulation of that person, person.
appearance, style, and outfit even in front of loved ones:
to match their vibe. you’re effectively perfectly UPGRADE - DEVIL’S IN THE
disguised as that person DETAILS
When you’ve finished, you unless you deliberately act You may roll D8 stress
can automatically swap to out of character. (instead of D6) against the
that new self if you desire. anchor when you activate
Determine an appropriate You can take on this self VIBE SHIFT. If you do, once per
domain associated with that near-instantaneously, session, when you’re using a
anchor and gain access to it without needing to spend self crafted in this way and
while you have this self. time or get out of sight you fail a roll, you may
before you make the change. instead declare that you
This new self is temporary; rolled a 6.
lose it (and the associated You internalize this change
domain) either at the end of effectively; you don’t lose UPGRADE - SUDDEN
FATHOM 2
the session or the end of the this self at the end of the BETRAYAL
current job, whichever session or job, but rather, Destroy the self you’re
makes more sense. until you next use VIBE SHIFT currently inhabiting. For the
on a new target. remainder of the situation,
you roll with advantage and
your outgoing stress is
Heavy against anyone who
accepted you using this self.
Our Hearts Intertwined
You know the importance of
keeping other people around,
to keep you from falling into
the depths. You make a
regular habit of finding people
and wrapping them around
your finger for that very
purpose. But sometimes you
need to loosen a few, to get
the circulation going again.

Whenever you roll dice, after

you’ve rolled but before the
results are declared, you may
deal D6 stress to an anchor
to reroll one dice. Describe
how you strain your
connections to make sure
your intention is realized.

UPGRADE - HEARTTHROB
The first time you use this
ability against each anchor,
roll D4 instead of D6.

UPGRADE - HEARTBREAKER
Once per session, mark 10
stress against an anchor to
automatically critically
succeed on a roll.

UPGRADE - HEARTLESS
Whenever one of your
anchors suffers fallout,
refresh D8 stress.
Alter Ego FATHOM 1
It’s a lot easier to Anchor: You UPGRADE - EGOMANIA
decide what to do with Just me and you, baby. You can roll with advantage
yourself when you realize: on any roll by marking D6
there is no self. When you take this anchor, stress to your anchor with
describe one way in which your other-self.
Once per session, you can you’re both alike and one
operate in two places at the way in which you’re both UPGRADE - EGO, SUPEREGO, ID
same time for a single very different. Once per job, you FATHOM 1
situation. If something can manifest a
happens that would require Minor - Me FATHOM 1 third version of yourself that
you to either communicate Listen, we’re going acts simultaneously to the
or collaborate with yourself, to have to learn to live with other two for one situation.
mark D4 Weird stress, but one another. The GM has full control over
carry on. this one past that point,
Whenever you interact with though, and they’re not
When you take this ability, your other-self, roll with exactly on your side.
create a D8 long-term advantage.
problem. Whenever you use UPGRADE - EGO DEATH
this ability, advance the Major - Me, Me, Me Destroy this FATHOM 1
problem. When the problem This is who we are; FATHOM 1 ability’s anchor to
is solved, your other-self this is who I am. detonate your other-self. If
manifests as their own And if you think you can stop you do, deal D10 Heavy
individual persona. Gain me, then you need to think stress to everyone around
them as a minor anchor again. them at the time of
using the playbook YOU. You detonation. If they somehow
can still use this ability as Whenever you and your survive (or even if they
described. other-self act in don’t), they’re not going to
coordination, increase your be happy with you.
outgoing stress by one step
and lower the situation’s
difficulty by one step.
Transform FATHOM 2
Changing your
image is great and all, but
changing your very state of
being? That’s revolutionary,
baby.
On a failure, you still Regardless of what you turn
Roll Manipulate + Style to transform, but you take into, you still have full
transform yourself into a stress as normal and must control of your faculties. You
sentient, animate version of choose from one of the can observe the outside
an otherwise non-sentient following conditions: world, communicate with
thing. others, and move within the
You transform into the capabilities of your new
You get to use yourself (or wrong thing. The GM picks form. The change lasts for
let others use you, as another form for you to use. the rest of the situation.
appropriate) as a piece of It’s close to what you
equipment. The size and wanted, but it’s just different UPGRADE - SHIFT MY COLOR
complexity of the thing will enough to be inconvenient You’re practiced
FATHOM 2
influence the difficulty of the or problematic. What went at masking your
roll: becoming a D6 scooter wrong? true identity. When you take
is Standard, becoming a D8 advantage of other people
car is Risky, becoming a You’re stuck. You either not knowing your
really nice D10 car is can’t or won’t transform Transformed state’s
Dangerous, etc. back into your “normal” sentience or autonomy, roll
form at the end of the with advantage.
situation; you instead stay in
this form for the rest of the UPGRADE - SHED MY SKIN
session. What’s causing this? You’ve grown accustomed to
turning into weird stuff.
Your change draws Lower the difficulty of
unwanted attention. The GM Transform by one step;
will introduce someone or turning into a whole car is
something new to the scene now merely Standard for
that’s drawn here by your you, etc.
new form.
UPGRADE - CHANGE MY STRIPES
When you use TRANSFORM,
gain a domain associated
with the current district for
the duration of the
transformation.
Holo-glamour FATHOM 1
Darling, when
you’re out on the town with
me, you’re guaranteed of one UPGRADE - MINOR ILLUSION
thing - you’re going to look You can make
fabulous. something FATHOM 2
When you cast the spell, small look like something
Once per session, you can mark D4 Weird stress, plus 1 else, when you need to. Mark
cast a spell to disguise stress for each ally you also D6 Weird stress to make a
yourself and any number of disguise, plus 1 stress for handheld object look like
willing targets. Regardless of each additional effect you another handheld object
what the “disguise” looks choose: with roughly the same
like, even close friends won’t dimensions. You can make a
be able to identify you The glamour lasts for the sword look like an umbrella,
unless you deliberately give rest of the job. (If you don’t or a baguette, or a walking
yourself away - the glamour mark this, it just lasts for the cane, but not like a beach
simply obfuscates your true rest of this situation.) ball or a microwave.
identity that well.
The glamour doesn’t just There’s no way to notice the
When you cast this spell, disguise you, but it change just by looking at the
gather the targets together generates appropriate object, but someone else
and describe the ritual you accouterments like an ID who gets their hands on it
use to transform everyone card or passport will notice that something
into their new looks. about it seems weird, even if
Preparing the ritual takes While the glamour lasts, they’re not positive what.
time - about ten minutes - each person can spend 1 The change either lasts until
but casting the spell itself stress to temporarily turn it the end of the job, or until
takes only as long as it takes off (and then 1 stress to turn you decide to drop the
for each person to describe it back on) illusion.
their new outfit.
UPGRADE - DANCING LIGHTS
Each person’s disguise is The first time you or an ally
distinct, but they all have to leans on how impressive or
fit the same vibe: one person dazzling their disguise is,
can’t be dressed as a runway they roll with advantage.
model while someone else is
dressed in drab plainclothes. UPGRADE - MIRROR IMAGE
You can now
prepare and
FATHOM 2
cast HOLO-GLAMOUR near-
instantaneously so long as
you have access to a
reflective surface of some
kind.
ZENITH ABILITIES
How will your story can end?

Model/Citizen
When I discover who I am, I’ll
be free.

Prerequisite:
Internalize at least three new Choose one of the following
selves with PYGMALION AND to determine how you
GALATEA. In addition, leverage this first moment of
discover or realize a truth unique perspective.
about what you truly are.
I see all: You see something When you’re done, you
You can feel the City shaping that is True. This may be leave. You move according
you, driving you, calling to about the UnReal, a group, a to the currents of the City,
you. It wants you to become specific character, or unpredictable by anyone but
someone: your ideal self. something entirely different. you. Every player gains the
What signs of your new self State it aloud. All of the following result regardless of
do you sense in the drifters present gain it as a roll to the HIT THE BRICKS
beautiful, contradictory knack for the domain of their Downtime activity:
multitudes of the City? choice.
You stumble across the
To activate this ability, I see the end: Describe an once-Bends. Where? Their
answer the City’s call. event that must occur before player describes their
Choose one of your selves or this campaign ends. State it appearance and what you
create a new one. Whichever aloud. This is guaranteed to find them doing. They tell
you choose, from now on, come to pass, in some form you something, their player
this will be your single form, or another. will tell you what. The first
with all your selves time you act based on this,
incorporated within it. It is I see you: Choose a character roll with advantage.
your choice the extent to in your current situation.
which your selves remain Whisper something to them
individuals, and not one you that only they can hear. This
need to make aloud. radically transforms how
they think about themselves,
You are becoming a Model/ others, and the City itself.
Citizen, a reflection of - and You say how (with the
response to - the City itself. permission of the controlling
After this, you’ll no longer player, if relevant.)
be a drifter, but you’ll be
someone new, with a unique,
blended perspective on City
life.
Net/Work
Your network is your net
worth. Time to cash out.

Prerequisite:
Take OUR HEARTS INTERTWINED Until this ability ends, you In addition, you may choose
and all its upgrades. In cannot move or be moved to to break an anchor (losing it
addition, lose (or destroy) other Fathoms. Regardless of permanently) to dip ever
the someone or something your fellow drifters’ status, closer to the infinity of
in the Real dear to you from you remain suspended here Fathom X, and the
character creation. on the brink. For mechanical unknowable impossibilities
purposes, act as though you beyond. What does this look
To activate this ability, dive. are at Fathom 5 (you add like in the Real? Whenever
You drop to the asymptote five Heavy tags to all stress you do this, choose one of
of Fathom X, Fathom rolls and can suffer up to five the options below.
4.99999 (repeating). It’s consequences on a failure or
dangerous here. It’s weird. mixed success). The strain on your anchors is
But you’ve gathered enough unbearable. At the end of
Anchors to form a Network, every Job, inflict D12 stress
a structure barely sturdy to each remaining anchor
enough to keep you you haven’t snapped yet.
suspended above the abyss This ability ends whenever
of Fathom X. What does this you run out of anchors and
look like? fall fully into Fathom X. The
GM will tell you what final,
surreal sign of your Bends
appears in the City.

Sea Change: Cut of Their Jib: Doldrums:

Transform the current Seize a target entity in the Inflict your current view of
situation. You may rename situation as a new self. Your the UnReal upon any one
any problems, change the current self fades away for target in the situation. If
location to one of your the time being. The other your target is human-like, fill
choice, and change the entity is still there, you are their Resistance to one away
difficulty level by one step simply also them. . Gain a from the maximum as they
up or down. What sign tells domain, knack, and thing struggle to stay afloat. If
everyone this was your they have access to. How can your target is not human-
doing? your allies tell that your new like, refresh their Resistance.
self is far deeper in the If it’s ambiguous what your
UnReal than they were target is, you decide the
moments before? outcome. How do others see
them react?
Zeit/geist
They can kill a self, but they
can’t kill an idea.

Prerequisite
Take ALTER EGO and all its While this ability is At the end of the current
upgrades. In addition, revisit activated, you are no longer Job, you reach the point that
the thing that got you a seductive individual, you you can no longer act as a
scrambling back up to reality are a seductive Idea. Your drifter. Instead, your selves
from character creation selves are themselves now form a Company, motivated
individuals, motivated by the by you, the Idea. What are
You aren’t a person: you’re Idea that is you. Any time you? Are you a destructive
an Idea... or at least, you’re you take an action, gain an Idea, bent on the end of the
becoming one. This ability additional advantage for City? A transformative Idea,
activates the next time you every self that you can driven to alter the form or
use EGO, SUPEREGO, ID with describe doing something structure of the City?
three other-selves distinct to help (e.g., with a
manifested simultaneously. Fight roll, one self holding Set yourself up as a
the target in place, one self Company of your choice
When this occurs, your holding back the target’s with D12 Power, all domains,
other-selves do not go away allies, and one self striking a D10 relationship with your
at the end of the situation. the target would be three old crew of drifters, and a
Instead, at the start of every advantages). In addition, add Company project
situation, manifest an the number of selves who representing you, the Idea.
additional self. Describe the helped to any associated Give your new company a
addition and count your stress you inflict. name. Do you say goodbye
current number every time. in many voices? Do you
You no longer need to mark leave without a word?
D4 Weird stress to act in the
same situation as your other
selves.
THE PLAYBOOK
 The Exorcist
The UnReal is wrong, and you can set it right. You employ your No town more barren
deep-seated beliefs, careful planning, and gut instincts to force than our town
Unreal monsters into a shape you can punch. You stand No haven safer than
somewhere between a P.I., a priest, and a street magician. the one they tore down

Your role as a drifter is to figure out how to fight something No greater love than
and then fight it; even if it looks like a piece of abstract art and to lay my life down for a friend
smells like a symphony. No sweeter pleasure than
to see the credits clear through
to the end

Rain in Soho, The Mountain

Goats

TOUCHSTONES

John Constantine Dana Scully (X-Files): A

(Constantine, specifically the federal agent who doesn’t
2005 movie): An exorcist believe in the supernatural
haunted - both metaphorically who regularly shoots a gun at
and literally - by his past. the supernatural, convinced
Driven by a sense of justice he she can root out corruption
can’t quite silence, from inside the system.
Constantine tries his best to
fix small problems in a broken PLAY TO FIND OUT
world.
What will you sacrifice to kill
Nikki Wood (Buffy the the beasts in the depths?
Vampire Slayer): A cunning
and resourceful slayer of What life do you have left,
monsters, her dedication to besides fighting the UnReal?
her mission coming before her
own child. Who and what can
you still save?
CONTENT WARNINGS + THEMES PLAYBOOK DETAILS
Things this playbook touches on. You start with these.

Righteous violence, hunting, obsession/devotion, othering, SKILLS

rejecting personhood in “monsters” Hunt & Manipulate

DOMAIN
Order

WHEN YOU CREATE AN EXORCIST VALUABLES

Answer (and do not answer) the following: Choose one:

In the past, you encountered a unique UnReal monster that you Someone else’s wallet
failed to exorcize. What is it’s name? What’s one sign of its D6 Capital
presence in an area? Do not define it further.
Cursed amulet
You lost something or someone to the UnReal, dead or D8 Doom, Volatile
vanished. Who was it? Is there any hope to get them back? Do
not answer what happened or why. EQUIPMENT
Fake ID
Manipulate D6

Choose one:

Registered Firearm
Hunt D8, Ranged,
Loud, Reload

Holy Throwing Blades

Hunt D6, Ranged, Reload,
WHEN YOU GATHER INFORMATION Specialty: UnReal monsters
Example questions that this playbook might want to ask:
AGENDA
• What here is most dangerous?
Choose one:
• What here isn't what it seems?
Protect the innocent from
the weird and mysterious
• What can I meddle with here?
Secure an UnReal threat
• Who here has a story to tell?
Destroy something UnReal
• Who here is at risk?
instead of trying to
understand it
• Where is the weak point?
CORE ABILITIES
These abilities define
who you are.

Supernatural Investigator Ontological Mandate Unfathomable Violence

There’s always something to Circle of salt, vial of blood, a You don’t like being down
be found: a secret word, an fistful of prayers - everything here, but you know how to use
earthly element, an unknown you need to force an UnReal it to your advantage.
color. being into blessed, vulnerable
existence. Twice per job, after you roll
Once per situation, you may to deal stress, you may add
mark any amount of Weird Roll Manipulate + Order to stress to the result equal to
stress. If you do, you glimpse perform an exorcism on a the current Fathom.
the world as if you were that single target. Describe what Describe how you call upon
many Fathoms lower (so, you use and how you deploy the UnReal to deal more
marking 2 stress on Fathom it in this moment to entrap damage.
Zero would allow you to your foe. On a success,
glimpse Fathom 2.) choose one of the following
effects.
This is only a glimpse,
enough of a moment to get a • The target can’t attack
grasp on a conceptual truth. you directly for the rest
You can’t make an action roll of the situation.
as part of this ability, but you • The target’s movement is
can use the information restricted in some way
you’ve learned to suggest (ask the GM.)
what your next action could • The target’s difficulty
be. goes down one step
(Risky to Controlled,
etc) for this situation.
• The target must answer
one question truthfully.
• The target is no longer
Conceptual for the rest
of this situation.
DOWNTIME ACTIVITY
A special option for
you during downtime.

Silver Bullet
Nothing’s invincible, no
matter how weird it is.

You’re a master of figuring You can add new Entities to VIABLE STARTING ENTITIES
out how to hurt things when your Known Quantity list by
Entity Domain
they don’t want to be hurt. using this ability as a
Downtime activity and
Slide Any
When you create an Exorcist, working on a long term
Shade Any
choose an UnReal entity problem. Declare an UnReal
Ghost Beyond
type with Resistance D6 or entity type and start a long
Drone Capital
less. See the Bestiary for term problem with size
Fellow Common
examples. Mark this on your equal to the Resistance of
Liminal Common
character sheet as a Known the entity type. Again, see
Loose Change Crime
Quantity. Once you mark an the Bestiary for relevant
Siphon Crime
entity as a Known Quantity, Resistance values - or, ask
Worm Data
you have access to a ritual your GM.
Tulpa Data
that allows you to enhance
Phage Doom
equipment in order to do Mark progress to the project
Breakdown Doom
damage against that entity, by researching the entity
Deadhead Doom
giving that equipment the type, how it works, and how
Quack Fringe
Specialty tag for that Entity best to hurt it. Once you
Prophet Fringe
type. complete the project, add
Geas Order
that Entity to your Known
Beat Cop Order
You can perform this ritual Quantity list.
Literati Order
once as a free action during
Mirror Style
downtime, or at any time
Model Order
when you’re in a Controlled
Shutter Order
position by rolling Invoke +
Wild Thing Wild
Data. Each cast of the ritual,
Cryptid Wild
successful or not, costs a
Flower Child Wild
Valuable of at least D4 Value
Trophy Hunter Wild
which is entirely consumed
in the process. Describe how
the component and the
nature of the chosen Entity
changes the equipment in
question.
MINOR ABILITIES
Small bits of knowledge
and know-how.

Disguised as Diogenes Hunting Grounds I’ve Seen Things

Used to be, you put on a big If you’re going hunting, you Most people would do
trench coat, you’d stand out need to know where the high anything to deny the truth of
from the crowd. Not any ground is. the world. By forcing them to
more. acknowledge what they
Gain the Drift skill. When already know to be true, you
Gain the Fringe domain. you take this ability, note can spur them to action.
Through a combination of two districts within the City
dress, habit, and behavior, where you know the ins-and- Gain the Connect skill. Once
you’ve mastered the art of outs of the place. When you per situation, when you
making sure people don’t find your way through those share the truth about the
want to notice you. districts, roll with advantage. things you’ve seen and
Whenever you blend in with hunted, you may choose one
a crowd, unless you go out of I Know A Guy of the following:
your way to draw attention I did some business with them
to yourself, you won’t be a while back. Needed a gun Someone shares a story of
noticed. that could shoot a curse. We their own,
parted ways friendly enough -
Hands Off the we’re both still alive, after all. Someone gives away a secret
Merchandise they’re trying to keep, or,
Landing a punch is easy. Gain the Capital domain.
Making sure they regret Once per session, when you Someone gives you aid they
punching you - that’s the hard need a piece of equipment would’ve otherwise
part. you don’t already have, withheld.
declare an NPC that you
Gain the Stand skill. Gain know who can get their Whichever you choose, the
the following piece of hands on it for you. It won’t GM gets to decide who
equipment: a personal charm be free. “someone” is.
that serves as an emergency
ward against the monsters of
the UnReal. Describe what
yours looks like. It functions
as: Anathema Trinket -
Fight D6 Ongoing 2, One-
shot, Surprise.
Like an Open Book Reality Spike What Doesn’t Kill You
Everyone’s got a skeleton in You want to get weird? You There’s lots to learn, if you
their closet somewhere. think the infinite possibility of can survive asking the
magical reality is demented? questions.
Gain the Crime domain. You’ve never had to file a TPS
Once per session, pick a report. Let me tell you about Gain the Fight skill. Once
single character. The GM will the hell of peer review, you per situation, when you take
tell you what misdeed son of a… stress inflicted by an
they’ve committed recently. adversary, ask the GM one
Then, describe how you Gain the Doom domain. question about the
know this. When you successfully use adversary’s nature or
ONTOLOGICAL MANDATE against behavior. They will answer
No-Nonsense a foe, it also deals D6 stress. you honestly.
You’ve mastered the art of
explaining away the odd, the Smoke Break
inexplicable, and the deranged Every day, once a day, give
with perfectly rational yourself a present. Don't plan
explanations. You don’t have it. Don't wait for it. Just let it
time for this kind of happen.
chicanery: there’s work to do.
Gain the Common domain.
Gain +2 Weird Protection. Once per session, you can
take a brief aside to indulge
Occupational Hazards in a mundane pleasure: a cup
You’ve been bit, scratched, of coffee, a piece of pie, a
shot, bruised, punched, cigarette, a pack of gum, a
shocked, burnt, and more. At pull from a flask, a piece of
this point, it’s just part of the old bread thrown to the
gig. birds.

Gain +2 Form Protection. Choose one: You and any

drifters that join you can
heal D4 stress from either
Form or Nerve, or, you spot
someone or something
related to your current job.
The GM will tell you what. If
you act on what you see, roll
with advantage.
MAJOR ABILITIES
One-of-a-kind advantages.

Deal with the Devil

“Lesser of two evils” doesn’t UPGRADE - ILL-GOTTEN GAINS
even start to describe it. When you complete the
There’s a whole conspiracy- assigned agenda, in addition
board web of evils out there. to the other benefits, refresh
When the time comes to D6 Debt stress.
squash one, it pays to know
who’s willing to help - and UPGRADE - WE’RE NOT SO
what it will cost. DIFFERENT, YOU AND I
Gain this individual as a
To use this move, pay 1 XP to If you don't have the XP to minor anchor using THE DEVIL
arrange a meeting with that spend on-hand, you may anchor. Whenever you
individual. When you meet "sell" one of your abilities to successfully complete your
with that individual, they’ll get that much XP back. assigned agenda, you may
ask you for a favor. In Describe how the individual mark D6 progress to
exchange, they will do you a extracts that knowledge and strengthen this relationship
favor of significance or tell capability from you as a fee.
you a piece of important UPGRADE - MY KIND OF SCUM
information that would have A Minor Ability or Upgrade is Whenever this individual
otherwise been out of your 1 XP, a Major Ability is 2 XP. assigns you an agenda,
reach. If you somehow have XP they’ll give you a secondary
leftover after this infernal objective to complete as
If you agree, the GM will transaction, you can spend it well.
introduce a new agenda for normally. Selling DEAL WITH
your character that THE DEVIL in this way is a bad If you complete both
represents the favor you idea. agendas, you’ll earn 2 XP,
must do for that character. and the individual marks
When you complete this progress to a relevant
favor, erase the agenda and Company problem.
gain 1 XP.
 Anchor: The Devil
Better to reign in the depths
than serve in the Real. A
power, but an illegitimate,
illicit, or taboo one. Still it can
be drawn on, for a price.
Minor - Devil’s Bargain Major - Devil’s Contract
You can’t get something for Sometimes a deal with the
nothing, you know. devil is better than no deal at
all.
Add the following as an
option before any action roll Once per session, you may
you take: Ask the GM for a ask the GM for a Devil’s
Devil’s Bargain. The GM will Contract. State what you
propose a consequence that want; the GM will describe
will occur after the roll is the task that your anchor
resolved, regardless of the requires from you. The task
outcome. If you accept, take will have negative
an additional D10 on the consequences for you or
action roll. You may hear a something/someone you
Devil’s Bargain without care about.
taking it.
Once you have completed
the task, you get what you
asked for. You may only have
one Devil’s Contract at a
time.

This anchor is printed here for convenience, but

it’s not exclusive to the Exorcist. Devils get around.
Hex Hot-Wire FATHOM 1
Spells are more Real UPGRADE - MAKER’S MARKS
than people like to let on. Add the following choice to
They’ve got rules, the HEX HOTWIRE effects list:
ingredients, stipulations. And
that means there’s gaps - gaps • The way that the spell
where you can stick a pry bar has been put together
and yank the whole thing gives you some measure
loose. of insight about
whatever created it: ask
Roll Manipulate + Order to the GM one question
unravel the effects of a spell, about the spellcaster.
curse, or other UnReal
phenomena and stitch them UPGRADE - SCRAP BIN
back together. On a success, Add the following choice to
choose two of the following the HEX HOTWIRE effects list:
effects; on a critical success,
choose three. • You’re proficient at
offloading latent UnReal
The spell’s original purpose energy into spells that
is somehow perverted. you interfere with.
Name one way in which it Refresh D4 Weird.
changes, then the GM will
name another way. UPGRADE - GOT SOME OF IT
ON ME
The spell becomes Add the following choice to
inherently unstable. the HEX HOTWIRE effects list:

The spell’s original caster • The spell somehow

doesn’t immediately realize changes you for the rest
you’ve tampered with it. of the job. Name one
way in which it changes
you, and then the GM
will name another way.
Imprisonment FATHOM 1
These UnReal
freaks are so used to floating
through walls, they don’t
think to see if there’s a chalk
circle on the other side or not.

Roll Manipulate + Order to UPGRADE - OVERNIGHT STAY

imprison someone or Your prison’s barriers now
something no larger than a hold for 8 hours without
person (in size or your attention, instead of
conception) in a small area. just one.

So long as you are here to UPGRADE - TERMS OF PAROLE

maintain the spell, the Once your prisoner is freed,
captive cannot leave, use it is unable to attack you for
their powers, or harm you - the rest of that situation.
but neither can they be
harmed or affected by other UPGRADE - ENTRAPMENT
abilities. You can mark a particular
place with the wards and
If it’s the sort of thing you sigils needed for work; you
could converse with, then can use this ability ahead of
you can converse with it time on a particular place
freely. The prison breaks if and have it go off remotely
you forcibly drop it (you when a suitable target sets it
don’t need to roll for this); off.
otherwise, if you leave the
prison (or the area) then it
will fall on its own within
about an hour.
Return to Normal
Only a fool lets their
opponent dictate a battle’s
circumstances.

Roll Drift + Order to

instantly send a single target
- including yourself - up one
Fathom.

UPGRADE - STEP ON IT!

You can send the target up
two Fathoms (to a maximum
Fathom of Zero) by making
the roll Risky. This stacks
with other modifiers that
affect roll difficulty; if your
target is already Risky,
choosing to do this makes the
roll Dangerous.

UPGRADE - GOING MY WAY?

If you use this on another
target, you can automatically
tag along by marking D6
stress.

UPGRADE - STUCK IN TRAFFIC

When you succeed, at your
discretion, the target doesn’t
immediately drift to the new
Fathom; instead, they
disappear for a moment, lost
in the weave between
Fathoms. You have a brief
moment to act before they
reappear on their new
Fathom.
Sanctum
“This is where the magic Anchor: The Sanctum UPGRADE - CASTLE DOCTRINE
happens”? Absolutely not. There’s a whole world of Whenever something
There is no magic taking place problems out there. When it’s inherently UnReal enters
here. That’s the whole point. time to solve one, this is your Sanctum, it takes D6
where you start. stress, and you become
You have a place that acts as aware of it. Describe how.
a combination workshop, Minor - Workshopping
vault, and hideaway. The A place like this affords you UPGRADE - RELOCATION PROTOCOL
wards and locks on this place the luxury of failure. When you take this upgrade,
keep it firmly anchored you may relocate your
within the Real; anything Once per session, if you take sanctum to another district.
entering this place is action in your sanctum and You may take this upgrade
instantly transported to fail the roll, you may reroll multiple times.
Fathom Zero. all of the dice in your pool
before learning the result. UPGRADE - TOWER INVERTED
Describe your sanctum. Your sanctum is wired with
Determine what district it’s Major - Stronghold explosives that you can
in. Create a minor anchor Protective runes, trip wires, detonate anywhere at any
with it using THE SANCTUM and steel locks: this place is time, dealing D12 Heavy
anchor. ironclad. stress to anyone inside. This
same stress is dealt to the
You can place something sanctum’s anchor as the
within your sanctum - an explosives tear it apart.
artifact, a computer, a
prisoner, a runaway,
anything - and guarantee its
security. So long as it’s
within your sanctum, it is
protected from GM
consequences and fallout.
You can only have one thing
protected in your sanctum at
a time.
ZENITH ABILITIES
How will your story can end?

Border Patrol
Papers, please.

Prerequisite
Take both RETURN TO NORMAL You retire from a life as a But no border is truly
and IMPRISONMENT. In drifter to maintain the impenetrable. Anyone and
addition, reach a turning border between worlds. You anything can try to sidestep,
point in your relationship to now have jurisdiction over sneak, or force their way
the UnReal monster defined who and what can move past your border: drifters,
in character creation. between your two chosen their allies, their enemies,
fathoms. Give your GM up everyone. For each rule they
Your experience drifting to four rules in terms of who break, they take D6 True
between layers of reality has and what can move across Piercing stress.
changed what it means for your border. You may choose
you to feel at home. You’ve from the list below, or come
discovered, remembered, or up with rules on your own.
sensed a way to live in-
between fathoms. Only those not currently
planning on inflicting
When you take this ability. violence.
choose two “adjacent”
fathoms (0 and 1, 1 and 2, Only those on business that
etc.). You make your new would benefit the City’s
home in the connective citizens.
tissue between them. This
seam acts as a Gyre that you Only those healthy enough
may alter as you see fit. to survive the trip.
What does it look like, once
you’ve had the time to make No humans.
it your own? Endless rows of
desks? A fortress? A DMV? No UnReal monsters.
Create a D6 power Company
that represents how your No spells, curses or effects.
will is enforced in this space.
It begins with a D10 Only those who you, the
relationship with your old Exorcist, hold in high
crew. esteem.
Grand Exorcism
All of me, all for you.

Prerequisite
Take HEX HOT WIRE and all of The cost for such a Grand To activate this ability, begin
its upgrades. In addition, Exorcism will be severe. By the ritual. Describe how the
survive an encounter with a default, your ritual will take ritual consumes each and
Grand Entity. the following components: every component that you
pour into it. When the ritual
There’s something wrong Your physical form is complete, everything that
with this City, but you’re fueled its fire is gone, and
going to fix it, no matter the Your mind/soul your fix goes into effect.
cost. When you take this While the City exists, your
ability, name your grievance Your UnReal power rule is an undeniable fact of
with the structure of the reality.
City. This may be legislative, All memories of you
social, physical, cultural, remaining in the City
spiritual, or otherwise:
Whether it’s universal All physical signs of your
housing or gravity, it’s all the presence in the City
same to you. State your fix
for this grievance as a rule If you find these costs
(e.g., “the un-housed must acceptable, you may pay
be given available vacant them at any time to
housing”, “gravity still works complete your ritual. If
but no longer confers fall instead you would prefer to
damage”, etc.). This retain some of these
becomes the core of your components you may collect
binding ritual to exorcize replacements - an
your grievance from the city. appropriate D20 Valuable
for each. You can HIT THE
BRICKS for a lead, though you
won’t get any appropriate
replacement without
sacrifice.
Knight Errant
I am justice. I am the night.

Prerequisite
Gain THE DEVIL anchor at the In addition to any other You can also be called upon
Major level. In addition, kill effects of the roll, the below against drifters (again if you,
your Devil. No pressure. occurs based on the result. the player, decide an NPC’s
Describe how the Exorcist’s call “counts” as righteous
Your own sense of Justice actions change the situation. violence). In this case, the
has been compromised by difficulty of this situation
the burdens of society for 10 - Terrifying Violence: worsens by one step and the
too long. No more. You will Increase any outgoing stress NPC’s stress die increases by
cease your life as a drifter dice size by an additional one step.
and become a vigilante, step.
dispensing righteous
violence as you alone see fit. 8-9 - Precise Violence:
Add the Piercing tag to any
To activate this ability, quit outgoing stress.
being a member of your crew
of drifters. What does this 6-7 - Indiscriminate Violence:
look like? Is the break The Exorcist decides both
amicable? Is there violence? parties are in the wrong. The
player character takes stress
From now on, whenever equal to whatever they
anyone in the City calls for inflict.
help to enact righteous
violence, you appear as a 2-5 - Mistrial:
mysterious stranger lending The Exorcist decides this
aid, only to disappear once fight is not one of righteous
the situation is complete. violence and cannot be
You, the player of the called upon again against
Exorcist, decides if the call this target.
for help “qualifies” as
righteous violence. If it does, 1 - Judgment:
you give one person The Exorcist decides the
advantage the next time they player character is in fact a
act to inflict violence. cowardly criminal. They can
never call on you again, and
they may choose to take you
as a Rival anchor as you work
to end their evildoing.
 The Expert
You know the UnReal better than anyone, more than well Transmit the message
enough to know you don’t belong there. Unlike your to the receiver
companions, there’s nothing magical or mystical about you. Hope for an answer some day
You make up for this lack with an encyclopedic knowledge of I got three passports
the UnReal and the experience to use its weirdness to reach A couple of visas
your goals. Don't even know my real name

These goals are both personal, constructing bulletproof plans High on a hillside,
to succeed on jobs, and interpersonal, allowing you to help the trucks are loading
others leverage the UnReal abilities you’ll never possess. For Everything's ready to roll
your fellow drifters, you are a tactician, detective, and tutor. I sleep in the daytime
I work in the nighttime
I might not ever get home

Life During Wartime, The

Talking Heads

TOUCHSTONES

Lord El-Melloi II (Case Files of Joseph Joestar (JoJo’s Bizarre

Lord El-Melloi II): A Adventure: Stardust
functionally magicless mage, Crusaders): Once, Joseph was
university professor, and part- the young gun with martial
time detective, who spends arts mastery - now he serves
his time solving mysteries, as council and enabler for his
teaching, and chasing a ghost. grandson and his cohort of
magical warriors
Genkai (Yu Yu Hakusho): A
former master of the esoteric PLAY TO FIND OUT
arts who has given up the
source of her power, who now Is your past a blessing
solves problems with her or a curse?
decades of experience and a
few handy tricks, all in her Can you provide your
effort to empower the next companions what they
generation. need to survive?

What secrets of the UnReal

do you still not know?
CONTENT WARNINGS + THEMES PLAYBOOK DETAILS
Things this playbook touches on. You start with these.

Powerlessness, disability, aging, mentorship, dark or SKILLS

complicated pasts, acting in a supporting role Analyze & Connect

DOMAIN
Fringe
WHEN YOU CREATE A EXPERT VALUABLES
Answer (and do not answer) the following:
Choose one:
Some event in the past convinced you that UnReal powers will
Pack of discontinued
forever be out of your grasp, as much as you might wish
cigarettes
otherwise. What happened? Do not answer whether or not
D6 Common
you’re right.
Vintage military weapon
This is not your first group of drifters. What fate befell the last
D10 Order, Fragile, Broken
one that forced you to leave? Do not specify what happened to
them after you left, only the circumstances that made you walk
EQUIPMENT
away.
Choose one:

Looking glass
D6 Analyze

Inherited notes
D6 Analyze, Dire, True

Calling card
WHEN YOU GATHER INFORMATION D6 Connect, One-shot
Example questions that this playbook might want to ask:
AGENDA
• How does this relate to a previous job I worked?
Choose one:
• What subtle sign of UnReal power do I notice?
Use your past experience
to overcome a modern
• What would [X] want to learn from me?
problem
• Who or what is the greatest threat here?
Lean on an troublesome
old connection
• What hidden weakness or flaw do I spot?
Teach someone less
• What seemingly unrelated info would I benefit from here?
experienced than you are
CORE ABILITIES
These abilities define
who you are.

Professional By Your Side

Knowing the job isn’t just You can do this. I’m right
knowing how to pull a trigger. behind you.
It’s knowing what to do if the
gun jams, if the room is pitch Once per session, you can
black, if you’re out of ammo, arrive at the side of any
if the monster ate your gun. other drifter so long as it’s at
Working alone, your expertise all feasible that you could
is handy; with a team, it’s have gotten there. You arrive
essential. not through magical means,
but through careful
You have access to a special You can spend 1 Poise at any observation, diligent
resource called Poise. You time to do the following: planning, and razor-thin
start each job with 2 Poise. precision.
Give another drifter
You gain 1 Poise whenever advantage on a roll. Master of Mundane
you or another drifter you’re The UnReal fascinates you, in
working with fails a roll (on a Roll to gather information in the same way a wild animal
result of 5 or less.) You and a position one step better might fascinate you. It is
the other drifter need to be than your current position astonishing. It is wild. You
working together in the same (Controlled in Risky, Risky in know more about it than most
situation for this to take Dangerous, etc), no matter people could ever imagine.
effect; you don’t gain a Poise what’s going on around you. But it is wild, and you are not,
if an ally across town misses a and you will never be able to
roll. Give yourself or another interact with it the way you
drifter +1 Protection to a might crave.
single Resistance in response
to taking stress, before the You’re unable to utilize the
stress is inflicted. UnReal in the way that
others can, despite your
Unspent Poise (and any experience and research.
Protection granted by spent
poise) goes away when you You make up for it in the
start a new job. Real world. Once per
downtime, you or another
drifter of your choice can
take an additional free
downtime move.
DOWNTIME ACTIVITY
A special option for
you during downtime.

Practice Makes Perfect

You’re good at knowing how
to do things, and you’re even
better at conveying that
knowledge to others.

Once per downtime, you can Start a long-term problem The drifter has access to the
use this move and invite for internalizing the knack. knack for each job after a
another drifter for a training The default size is D6 - but downtime where you or they
session. The other drifter might be D4 if the knack is advance the problem. When
picks a Skill or Domain they more specific or D8 if the the problem is solved, they
already possess, and a knack knack is more general (GM have access to the knack
that they’d like to learn. decides). Mark D4 stress to permanently.
Describe how you teach the problem each time you
them how to utilize that use PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT That drifter can advance an
knack. Detail what past with that drifter, including already-existing problem
experience you draw on to this time. This can count as a without your guidance as a
teach them, and what downtime action for either regular downtime move, but
insights you share. you or the tutored drifter. they can’t start without you.
MINOR ABILITIES
Small bits of knowledge
and know-how.

Autonomous House of Cards Kludge Corrective

You’ve lived long enough in You spent years inside the No need for fancy gadgets.
the City to have earned system; you know just how to There’s useful tools all around
additional financial burden. disrupt it. you, if you just know where to
look.
Gain the Drift skill. You own Gain the Order domain.
a car; describe it. When you Once per session, ask the Gain the Knit skill. You are a
take this move, declare one GM what would cause the master of turning mundane
of the following to be true: it most chaos in the current objects into useful tools.
can go really fast, it doesn’t situation. If you or an ally Once per session, you can
have any major problems, or, follows up on that cobble together an
it doesn’t stand out. The car information, they roll with improvised device of some
functions as the following advantage. kind, built entirely from stuff
equipment: Drift D8. you find in the immediate
If You Ask Me environments and maybe
Calm Under Pressure You’ve spent a lifetime some doodads in your
I’ve seen things you people studying people, and know pockets. It functions as the
wouldn’t believe. just how to tell them what following piece of
they want to hear. equipment using a skill of
Gain the Beyond domain. your choice: [Skill] D6
Your years of experience Gain the Manipulate skill. Heavy Unstable.
with the UnReal allow you to Once per session, ask the
retain a certain degree of GM exactly what an NPC is Nerves of Steel
level headedness, even in the hoping someone will tell I’ve put up with much worse,
worst cases. You now start them, right now. in my time.
each job with +1 Poise.
Gain +2 Nerve Protection.
Old Friends Savings Account
I know just who to call. Incredible. Well done. You’ve
even got a checkbook, too. Do
Gain the Data domain. Once people even still take checks?
per session, if you don’t
know a piece of information, Gain +2 Debt Protection.
you can declare that you
know someone who does. Weathered
Name them. The GM will tell You don’t sweat the small
you where to find them. stuff. Not any more.
Then, declare one of the
following to be true: you’re Gain the Stand skill. Once
on good terms, you don’t per session, if you would
owe them a favor, or, they’re take stress from a
always true to their word. completely mundane
circumstance - a car crash, a
Safe Haven bad breakup, losing your job,
There’s a nice place, right getting shot - you may
around the corner from here. ignore it. Your fictional
positioning may still change,
Gain the Common domain. but you stoically soldier on.
Once per session, name a
cafe, diner, or bar nearby Well-Stocked Wardrobe
that you’re familiar with; it’s You used to be a real person,
always open and available once upon a time. You still
when you need somewhere have some leftovers from back
to regroup, hide out, or then.
catch your breath.
Gain the Style domain. You
have a collection of
respectable-looking clothes
from a time in your life when
you had disposable income.
They’re a little bit out of
date, but they’re sufficient to
outfit you and your allies for
either a high-class or highly-
professional situation.
MAJOR ABILITIES
One-of-a-kind advantages.

Encyclopedia
You can’t DO magic, but that UPGRADE - TRAVEL GUIDE
doesn’t stop you from When you enter a district for
knowing everything there the first time, describe two
possibly is to know about it. quirks you’ve heard about
this place: one positive and
You start each job with +1 one negative. When you or
Poise. an ally takes advantage of
the positive aspect, they roll
When you witness UnReal with advantage. Don’t worry
phenomena first-hand, roll about the negative quirk - it
Analyze + Fringe. On a will catch up eventually.
success, you know precisely
what it is and what caused it. UPGRADE - CATALOG
You don’t know everything Once per session, when you
there is to know about it, but see an UnReal entity, you
you know exactly where to may name two of the
go to find out more. following: domains, stress
dice, Resistance, Protection,
or instincts. The GM will tell
you those values, truthfully.

UPGRADE - THESAURUS
Once per session, if you’re
lacking the relevant domain
for a roll, you may substitute
Fringe for that roll. Describe
how you use your experience
to fill the gap.
I Love It When a Plan
Comes Together
Going anywhere dangerous,
UnReal or not, means
following two rules without
question: Plan your dive, dive
your plan.
UPGRADE - BY THE BOOK
You start each job with +1 At the beginning of a job,
Poise. declare an option on the
Poise option list. The first
Add the following options to time you use that option, it
list of Poise options for costs zero Poise.
PROFESSIONAL:
UPGRADE - MASTERMIND
Find exactly the kind of At the beginning of a job,
equipment you need, right declare an option on the
now. Find a piece of Poise option list. The first
equipment with a skill of time you use that option, it
your choice with the costs zero Poise. This effect
following spec: [Skill] D8 stacks with BY THE BOOK.
Heavy Unstable.
UPGRADE - IT’S JAZZ, BABY
Warn another player about a At the beginning of a job,
specific threat. When that roll a dice with sides equal to
player takes fallout, spend (or as close as you can
this Poise to describe how manage) to the options for
you warned them ahead of the Poise option list. Pick an
time. That player doesn’t option based on your
take fallout, and they clear random roll. The first time
half their stress to that you use that option, it costs
Resistance. zero Poise. This effect stacks
with BY THE BOOK and
When another player Lends a MASTERMIND.
Hand, they give advantage
twice instead of just once.
Describe what you said to
get those characters to work
together more effectively.
Just One More Thing
I can’t help but notice this one
bare patch of scales on your
left breast. You know, nearest
your heart. A real chink in the
armor, so to speak. You
seemed very concerned with it
when the question of arrows
came up. UPGRADE - LOOSE ENDS
So long as an adversary isn’t
You start each job with +1 Once the problem is solved, already trying to kill you,
Poise. you know how this thing your rolls to interact with it
operates. You can now reveal in order to solve the
Once you understand how the adversary’s inner problem are made at
something works, you know workings: you and your allies Controlled difficulty, no
how to take it apart. now inflict stress against this matter how dangerous it
Whenever you encounter a opponent as if you were actually is.
specific named enemy, you dealing stress one step
may start a long-term higher. Say what secret UPGRADE - LITTLE
problem to craft a “theory” you’ve uncovered that INSIGNIFICANT DETAILS
about that adversary. allows for this. If a Valuable is in some way
connected to an adversary,
This problem can be You can have at most three you can spend it to mark D4
advanced with successful simultaneous theory problems stress against their theory
Analyze rolls while in the at one time; you can only problem.
enemy’s presence, or while make room for another by
observing their handiwork in solving one or abandoning If the Valuable is D4, the
other ways. that investigation. progress you mark is Heavy -
you’re a master at seeing
how the smallest clue fits
into the puzzle.

You can only expend one

Valuable per theory problem
in this way; adversaries don’t
typically leave evidence lying
around.

UPGRADE - CAUGHT IN A WEB OF LIES

When you finish a theory
problem, refresh D6 Nerve
stress and lower the target’s
Protection by 1 permanently.
Master of Arms
You don’t have magic, or
sacred weapons, or terrifying
beasts at your beck and call.
What you do have is a lifetime
of expertise in dismantling
people, bit by bit.

You start each job with +1 You’re a professionally- Add the following options to
Poise. trained combatant. Gain the list of Poise options for
Fight skill and an appropriate PROFESSIONAL:
knack like Unarmed Combat,
Fencing, or some other Increase the size of a
melee specialty. combat-related stress dice
by one step for you or an ally
for the rest of the situation.
This works on equipment,
abilities, or a drifter’s good
old-fashioned fists.

Allow a drifter to contend

with a small group or a large
UnReal monster on equal
footing for the rest of the
situation

UPGRADE - LICENSE TO KILL UPGRADE - YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE UPGRADE - NO TIME TO DIE
When you defeat a Once in your character’s Once per situation, when
competent opponent in one- lifetime, whenever you take you suffer fallout, you may
on-one combat, clear all a Scar, you appear to take a choose and activate any of
stress from either Nerve or Scar and leave the scene in your Poise options as if
Luck. peril. you’d spent Poise.

However, it’s a ruse: at any

time during the Job, you may
arrive on the scene and roll
with advantage as if the
situation was Controlled for
your first action. Reveal how
you survived.
Pattern Matching
You see more than what other UPGRADE - RESONANCE
people see: you see the wheels You’re good at putting
in motion, the connections together the pieces, even
between events, the details from second-hand reports.
that tie everything together. You no longer need to be
It’s all there, if you know present for the roll, so long
where to look. as there’s some way you
could’ve conceivably been
You start each job with +1 aware of it.
Poise.
UPGRADE - EXTRAPOLATION
Every time someone rolls Your conclusions inevitably
multiple dice in a scene lead to more conclusions.
where you’re present, if When you spend Insight,
there are consecutive instead of setting your
numbers, note down the Insight to zero, reduce it by
total number of consecutive half, rounded down.
results as Insight (for
example, if a roll resulted in UPGRADE - PREDICTIVE REASONING
3, 4, 4, you would set Insight You’ve become a master at
to 2.) You may replace your anticipating your
Insight total with a higher adversaries’ behavior. At the
result if and when it occurs. beginning of each session,
write down a number and
At any time, you may choose display it to the other
to add your Insight to any players. Once during that
roll. When you do, set your session, you can use that
Insight to zero and explain number as if it was part of
the secret link only you the sequence when
notice between the moment generating Insight.
of the consecutive dice roll
and this one, and how you
use it to your advantage.
ZENITH ABILITIES
How will your story can end?

Back to Reality If you were on Fathom 1, this Anchor: The Expert

It’s not that you lack UnReal effectively destroys it, Expert in the UnReal and your
ability. It’s that the core of “expanding” Fathom Zero. If shared history.
you is antithetical to unreality. you were on Fathom 2 then
Fathom 1 and 3 still exist, Minor - Arcane Knowledge
Prerequisite but Fathom Zero now exists Did you ever hear about…
Relive or revisit the both “above” and
experience that led you to “between” them. And so on. Once per investigation, you
believe you had no UnReal Any UnReal abilities marked may call up your old friend,
ability. In addition, take with this destroyed Fathom the Expert. If you do, roll
ENCYCLOPEDIA and all its now require going one with advantage. Regardless
upgrades. Fathom deeper (except in of your result, you may ask
the case of Fathom 4, treat one additional follow up
To activate this ability, give those abilities as now question. What past
up. On the UnReal, on being marked with Fathom 3). This experience do they draw on
a drifter, on everything you ability cannot be used at to help?
thought you knew. It was Fathom X, as you cannot
never meant for you. It never take action at Fathom X. Major - Poised
was. Once you do, you Come on, you’ve got this.
finally stop holding back, After this, your career as a
and your pure Reality washes drifter is done, given that Once per session, when you
out any UnReality nearby. you cannot leave Fathom fail a roll, take an advantage
Whatever Fathom you’re Zero. However, you remain a on your next roll. To color
currently on transforms into powerful anchor. The the action, ask yourself:
Fathom Zero. Monsters turn remaining drifters may What would the Expert do?
to everyday objects, animals, choose to gain you as “the
or people. Curses or spells Expert” anchor at the Major
disappear or turn into signs, level. This happens instantly,
beliefs, or feelings. This the connection between you
change is permanent and from Crossing the Threshold
cannot be undone, and can reforming into an Anchor.
permanently negate any
UnReal power acting at this
Fathom.
Self Sacrifice
I give my all to you.

Prerequisite
Use PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT to From now on, you may take
help a fellow drifter fully D6 stress to give another
internalize a new knack. In drifter advantage or add the
addition, reconnect with Heavy tag to any stress
some aspect or memory of dealt. You may do this any
your last crew. number of times for any roll,
for the rest of your
You cannot produce UnReal character’s life. If you get a
power, but you have Fallout from this stress, take
mastered the art of guiding the below Fallout.
it. You can make yourself
into a lens that magnifies Telescopic
unreality. Unfortunately for Your existence further
you, humans were not made reshapes into an ideal
for this, and your ability will UnReal lens. Outgoing stress
soon outpace your body’s you magnify with SELF
capacity. SACRIFICE goes up by one dice
size, but so does the dice
On your character sheet, size of the stress you take
rename each of your (D6 to D8, D8 to D10, etc.).
Resistances to Weird. All These effects stack with
stress you take automatically multiple copies of this
becomes Weird. Fallout and this Fallout
cannot be removed except
by taking it as a scar.

If the stress dice you

magnify would go above
D20, it instead destroys any
problem regardless of size
and you take another
Telescopic Fallout.
Prometheus Unleashed
Was it really always this easy?

Prerequisite
Somehow gain the Invoke When you first activate this
skill. In addition, go where ability, you gain Poise equal
you specified your previous to the number of drifters in
crew of drifters went your crew (including you).
(literally or metaphorically) You no longer roll. Instead,
whenever you act, you spend
To activate the ability, tap Poise to do so. You may gain
into the UnReal. Your body Poise in the usual manner
instantly burns with during the Job.
impossible power. You’re a
sun or a god or an In addition to your existing
apocalypse. It’s difficult to Poise list, you gain the
even look at you given your following options:
newfound radiance. If there’s
a question of who is more Inflict 12 Piercing, True
powerful in a scene, the stress on any enemy or
answer is you. But there was problem.
a reason your body kept this
power locked away, you’re Start a Long Term Problem
burning up and soon will be with any effect (the GM can
gone. negotiate about the size or
to make a particular effect
cost multiple problems, but
remember- you’re all
powerful).

Heal any drifter. The drifter

removes all stress, all fallout,
and one scar. When you run out of Poise
or the Job ends, you burn
Give a drifter sure hit. out. You become a mass of
Whenever they would next UnReal energy that snaps all
roll, they instead of your anchors, and you fall
automatically get a critical to Fathom X. You may have a
success, and add the Heavy, final goodbye, but only a
Piercing, and True tags to single exchange before
any associated stress. you’re never seen again.
The Keeper
You keep a monster of the UnReal, an impossible life form that
If you could only see you, and you alone, are responsible for keeping happy and
the beast you've made of me healthy. In return, your monstrous charge grants you at least
I held it in, but now it seems sporadic loyalty and the full force of it’s weird, UnReal
you've set it running free existence to deal with your problems.

Screaming in the dark Your role as a drifter is akin to a wildlife handler, as you’ve
I howl when we're apart been forced to get very familiar with the beasts of the deeper
Drag my teeth across your chest Fathoms, but with your charge by your side there’s almost
to taste your beating heart nothing you can’t do.

Howl, Florence & the Machine

TOUCHSTONES

Hajime Ichinose (Gatchaman Eddie Brock (Venom,

Crowds Insight): A carefree, specifically the 2018 film): A
charismatic, and creative manic, dogged reporter who
young girl who happens to accidentally becomes host to a
have a demon trapped in her perditious alien symbiote,
soul -- a demon that she with whom he develops an
occasionally unleashes to odd-couple partnership.
solve particularly nasty
problems.

Shaggy Rogers (Scooby Doo): PLAY TO FIND OUT

The best friend and “owner”
of a sentient dog who may or What is the monster that
may not be the descendant of shares your life?
an eldritch god. Mostly hangs
out and eats snacks, regularly How will it change, and how
dragged into solving mysteries will it change you?
by his friends.
Will there come a time when
you’ll be separated?
PLAYBOOK DETAILS CONTENT WARNINGS + THEMES
You start with these. Things this playbook touches on.

SKILLS Wildlife husbandry and captivity, animal welfare broadly,

Hunt & Connect instinctive behavior, training and commanding animals,
violence from and towards animals
DOMAIN
Wild

VALUABLES WHEN YOU CREATE A KEEPER

Choose one: Answer (and do not answer) the following:

Exotic animal license [Fake] Where did your charge come from? Did you find it and nurse
D6 Crime it back to health? Did you inherit it? Did it find you? Or some
even stranger connection? Do not specify what exactly your
Cryptozoology documentary monster is, though your GM might have theories.
D8 Fringe, Occult
Your charge once reacted strangely to something in a lower
EQUIPMENT Fathom. How did it react? Was it positive or negative?
Superb answers and excuses Regardless, you got out of there before you could find out
Manipulate D6 more. What one sense memory do you have of the thing
(visual, auditory, etc.)? Do not specify what it was.
Choose one for your charge:

Puppy dog eyes

Connect D6

Spring-loaded limbs
Hunt D6, Range, Surprise

Concept launcher
WHEN YOU GATHER INFORMATION
Example questions that this playbook might want to ask:
Hunt D6, Sacrifice
• Who here is hiding something?
AGENDA
Choose one:
• What's this monster capable of?
Overcome a challenge
• Where's a good hiding spot?
with teamwork
• What here is edible?
Learn something new about
your creature or your bond
• What's the biggest threat?
Use your creature’s power
• What's the fastest exit?
to enforce your will
CORE ABILITIES
These abilities define
who you are.

Strange Companion Bound Together

It’s not like anything you’ve You might not have asked for
ever seen before. But it is in this responsibility, but it is
your care, and you are its yours nonetheless. You have
keeper. come to understand the quirks
and concerns of managing a
When you create a Keeper, Give your creature four creature such as this.
create your creature: the Traits that describe what it’s
strange UnReal monstrosity capable of. When the Whether deliberate or not,
that is in the Keeper’s creature takes action that you and your creature have
charge. Describe what your takes advantage of one of its forged a unique bond. When
creature looks like here in tracks, roll with advantage. you create a Keeper, choose
the Real. How does it two of the following to be
disguise itself? How does it Whenever your creature true:
blend in? Does it look like would take stress, instead of
something mundane? Can taking stress, impair one of • Your creature can take
ordinary people see it at all? its Traits. That Trait can’t be on an unassuming form,
used for extra dice any allowing it to travel with
When you enter a new longer. When all four Traits you in the Real without
Fathom of the UnReal, are impaired, the creature is suspicion.
describe how its true form wounded, and must retreat • Your creature can speak
reveals itself. or be recovered. to you in a language you
understand.
When you command your You can mend Traits using • Your creature is
creature, you roll dice for it the custom Keeper relatively well-behaved,
as if you were taking the downtime activity, NATURE and doesn’t get into
action yourself. So, if you VERSUS NURTURE. mischief.
want your creature to attack
an opponent with its claws,
you roll Fight as if you were
punching the opponent
yourself.
DOWNTIME ACTIVITY MINOR ABILITIES
A special option for Small bits of knowledge
you during downtime. and know-how.

Nature Versus Nurture Animal Instincts Cryptoveterinarian FATHOM 1

You keep company with the In the wild, sensing danger You’re starting to get
monstrous, but you’re not a means the difference between the hang of putting this thing
monster, which means you’re life and death. You’re back together.
stuck taking care of this thing. beginning to see the world the
same way they do. Gain the Knit skill. Once per
When you use NATURE VERSUS session, during a Job, if you
NURTURE, choose of the Gain +2 Luck Protection. have a moment of peace and
following options: safety, you can roll Knit +
Blood-bound FATHOM 1 Wild to repair one of your
• Mend your creature’s You’re connected to creature’s impaired Traits.
injuries: You (or this thing, whether you Describe how you get it back
someone you trust) roll intended it or not. in working order.
Knit + Wild. On a
success, any impaired Gain the Invoke skill. If you Finishing Move
Traits your creature has and your creature are It’s messy work, but you can’t
are no longer impaired. separated from one another, help but feel a sense of pride
Describe how you nurse on a successful Invoke + when your creature does well.
your creature back to Wild roll, you will vaguely
health. realize where it is - and it Gain the Style domain.
• Teach your creature will realize you are looking Whenever your creature
something new: Describe for it. You can’t get a precise defeats an opponent, you
a new Trait you want to fix on its location, but you’ll may heal 1 stress.
teach your creature (or, a have a pretty good idea of
change you want to make where to look. Gotta Catch ‘Em All
to an existing Trait). Going up against something
Create a long-term Bred for Combat and not knowing what it can
problem and describe There’s no telling what this do? You’re good as dead.
how you train or thing’s capable of.
otherwise teach your Gain the Data domain. Once
creature. Roll an Gain the Fight skill. Your per session, when faced with
appropriate skill + Wild creature gains equipment an opponent you’ve never
for your progress. When with the following value: encountered before, ask the
the problem is solved, Fight D8 Heavy. Name it. GM, “What’s this thing
add the Trait to your Describe how your creature capable of?” They will
creature’s list. unleashes it. answer you honestly.
Harbinger FATHOM 1 In Case of Emergency Trash Mammal
Your creature is I can promise you, there’s a The weird and wild places are
unlike anything these people perfectly good explanation for often the best places to hide.
have ever seen. this.
Gain the Fringe domain.
Gain the Doom domain. The Gain the Manipulate skill. When you or your creature
sight of your creature is Once per session, if your use junk, garbage, clutter, or
enough to horrify anyone creature would be other chaos to try and
not already familiar with it discovered or otherwise remain out of sight or
or monsters like it; the first detected by someone, you undetected, roll with
time it reveals itself in a can cause a distraction that advantage.
situation to someone who’s will prevent that from
not expecting it, deal D6 happening, guaranteed. Scar Tissue
Nerve stress. You’ll probably wind up with Working with ʻanimals’
a new problem on your means building up a tolerance
Hivemind hands, but your creature’s for getting bit.
Like calls to like, even from existence will remain safe for
beyond the stars. the rest of the situation. Gain +2 Form Protection.

Gain the Beyond domain.

Your creature can sense
others of its sort, and
communicate with them
psychically. If you enter a
place where others like it are
nearby, it (and you) will
know automatically.
MAJOR ABILITIES
One-of-a-kind advantages.

Blood-hound
Your creature can help you UPGRADE - FOLLOW THE SCENT
travel the weald and weave of If you have something that
the UnReal. once belonged to someone
else, you can feed it to your
Whenever your creature creature: the creature will be
helps you or an ally roll Hunt able to lead you to that
or Drift to find your way, roll target’s current position
with advantage. On a without fail. You still have to
success, if you’re marking roll to try and get there, but
stress against a problem as your creature can lead you
part of the roll, your dice precisely where they are,
size goes up one step. right now.

UPGRADE - FIND THE TRAIL

Roll Hunt + Wild to find the
telltale signs of passage,
even ones that you wouldn’t
be able to properly see on
this Fathom. The first time
you or someone else acts on
what you find, roll with
advantage.

UPGRADE - TASTE FOR BLOOD

When your creature attacks a
target, you may deliberately
impair one of its Traits to
give its attack Heavy. You
may make this choice after
you make an attack roll.
Dismay Princex FATHOM 2
Your connection to
your charge has grown, and
now extends to other
monsters of the UnReal.
You’re beginning to feel like
you understand them better
than you understand other
people.

Once per situation, ask the The connection is stable, and UPGRADE - ONCE UPON A DREAM
GM what other monsters are they’ll continue to do as you Once per session, tell the
nearby. You may command a ask even without your GM a type of monster you
single monster with a attention focused on them. want to try to find. The GM
successful Connect roll. On If you don’t choose this, the will tell you where you can
a 10: choose 2, 6-9: Choose monster will act find it. Then, describe how
1. independently once they you find that out.
follow your immediate
command. UPGRADE - PART OF YOUR WORLD
When you successfully
The connection is easy. If command a monster with a
you don’t choose this, mark domain you don’t already
D6 Nerve stress as the strain have, gain that domain for
of the UnReal link wears at the rest of the session.
you.
UPGRADE - LET IT GO
Your charge and this new Once a monster leaves your
monster get along without control, it won’t attack you,
issues. If you don’t choose unless you attack first.
this, there’s a brief fracas
between your creature and
this new member of the
party; impair one of your
creature’s Traits.

If you’re a big fan of one of

the monsters you wind up
Connecting with, you could
probably add it to your
menagerie with a downtime
problem.
LOST WORLD FATHOM 1
The place where UPGRADE - LIFE FINDS A WAY
your creature is from is far, far Roll with advantage when
from here, but you have you use IN THE JUNGLE, THE
discovered - or built? - a MIGHTY JUNGLE to move
simulacrum: an UnReal between districts.
emergence of wilderness, Additionally, you can now
hidden between the concrete move either 1 or 2 Fathoms
and steel of the City. up or down by making the
roll Risky.
Your creature is followed by
a lair: an emergent space of UPGRADE - YOU BRED RAPTORS?
UnReal overgrowth: strange There are things here,
foliage and natural lurking in the dark, waiting
formations appearing where for their chance to strike.
it shouldn’t be, like a The overgrowth now deals
building overtaken with D8 stress to those who enter
ferns, or a cave system in without your protection.
someone’s basement.
Anyone aside from you, your UPGRADE - CLEVER GIRL
creature, or those that you’re All of your rolls that involve
personally escorting who your creature within the
enters the lair must roll Drift confines of the lair are made
+ Wild or suffer D6 Luck with advantage.
stress as they get lost in its
internal wilderness.

You can roll Hunt + Wild to

try and find an entrance to
the lair, no matter where you
are in the City: on a success,
you find a secret path or
hidden way, and this
overgrowth is inexplicably
right around the corner, even
if you’ve seen it somewhere
else.

When you take this ability,

describe your creature’s
unique overgrowth, and take
it as a minor anchor using
THE LAIR playbook.
 Anchor: The Lair
The natural world is not made
for people: it is sharp, and
rough, and dangerous. But it
is wild, and free, and
incredible to behold. This is
your creature’s element: a
small pocket of reality that
resembles what its home
might’ve been like.

If someone or something is
incapacitated or killed within
the confines of the Lair, they
will be consumed by the
mysterious forces that lurk
within its shadows: heal
stress to the anchor
according to the size of the
target (a small creature is
D4, a person is D6, a large
animal is D10, etc.)
Minor - In the Jungle, the Major - The Lion Sleeps
Mighty Jungle Tonight
This place isn’t supposed to It’s kind of nice FATHOM 2
be here, which makes it the here. Beautiful, even. If only it
perfect place to sneak from weren’t always trying to kill
one place to another. you.

Roll Delve + Wild to move You and any number of allies

from this place to another can rest here, safe from harm
district, even one that’s not - probably.
physically connected to the
one you came in from. You Roll Connect + Wild to
can move up or down one recuperate here for a short
Fathom by making the roll period of time. On a success,
Risky. everyone may refresh D6
from both Nerve and Weird;
on a mixed success or failure,
everyone takes D4 stress to
both Form and Luck.
Release the Beast
You’re not a master and an
animal. You’re a team.

When you take RELEASE THE On a success, your creature UPGRADE - BREAKING
BEAST, choose two of the can take care of a situation OUT OF MY PAIN
following commands that pertinent to its command If your creature would impair
your creature knows and without your oversight. On a its last Trait when operating
understands implicitly. mixed success - or if the independently, don’t impair
situation is particularly it. This can only trigger once
Fetch - Your creature tries to hazardous - your creature per situation.
find something hidden, or may need to impair a quirk
chase a fleeing target. in the process - the GM will UPGRADE - NOTHING VENTURED,
choose. NOTHING GAINED
Bark - Your creature draws When you use Release the
attention to itself, to Whenever you take an Beast, you may declare how
distract, impress, or upgrade to RELEASE THE BEAST, your creature throws itself
intimidate. choose another command whole-hearted into its task.
from the list: your creature Impair one of its Traits, and
Bite - Your creature attacks learns that command as well. roll with advantage.
something with intent to
harm. UPGRADE - I’M MY
OWN MASTER NOW
Stay - Your creature protects Your creature can act on
a person, place, or thing. their own for the rest of the
job, instead of for just one
Roll Connect + Wild to tell situation.
your creature to act on their
own for the rest of the
situation. So long as the task
at hand follows the
commands they know, they
will hold their own without
you having to oversee them,
or even be nearby.
We Are What We Eat
It hungers, and it has a
diverse palette. FATHOM 2
You can feed any Valuable to You gain additional effects, UPGRADE - GLUTTON FOR
your creature; if you do, you based on the value of the PUNISHMENT
and your creature both gain Valuable: Your creature can now
that Valuable’s domain for consume equipment in this
the rest of the situation. A D4 - No additional effects. way, too: if it consumes a
Volatile or Harmful Valuable piece of equipment, gain the
might require a Stand + Wild D6 - Once on this job, your associated skill for the rest
roll. creature can unleash an of the situation, and gains
attack that allows them to benefits equal to the stress
Your creature immediately inflict D6 stress without die of the equipment as if it
changes and evolves in a requiring a roll; the nature of were the value of a Valuable.
fashion appropriate to the the attack is bound up in the
domain that it takes on; creature’s new evolution. UPGRADE - OBLIGATE SCAVENGER
describe how it integrates Your creature is primed to
that domain into its nature. D8 - Choose one when the extract value from even the
Valuable is consumed: your smallest morsels. Shift all of
creature can automatically the benefits from the
mend one of its impaired Valuable chart up one step:
Traits, or - gain this domain you now get a D6 attack
for the rest of the job from a D4 Valuable, etc.
instead of just this situation.
UPGRADE - A TASTE FOR
D10 - When your creature THE STRANGE
inflicts stress with its D6 Add the following effect to
attack, an adversary struck the D4 option of the
has its difficulty lowered by Valuable results: Gain +1
one step. Weird Protection for the
duration of your creature’s
D12 - Your creature mutation. Describe how the
internalizes this change; you creature’s mutation seeps
and your creature gain this into your own form. If you
domain permanently. take both this ability and
OBLIGATE SCAVENGER, you get
both this effect and the D6
result for feeding your
creature a D4 Valuable.
ZENITH ABILITIES
How will your story can end?

Alone, Together
This is just a stopgap, you
understand? At best, one of us
survives. But until then? Let’s
show them what we are.

Prerequisite
Reach seven total Scars, or, When you have no dice left,
die. In either case, reflect on you can no longer maintain
how you and your charge this impossible existence.
came to be together. Either your Keeper, your
charge, or both of you die.
You die, and at the moment One may survive, stabilized
of your death, your charge by the other, but they can no
sacrifices their corporeal longer live as a drifter. Work
form to hotfix your with your GM to decide an
existence. You become appropriate outcome,
something new. Neither possibly including choosing
human nor monster. Neither an Abandon ending.
Keeper nor charge.
Maybe you can keep this
In this state, you no longer form going till the end of the
roll to see if you succeed at game, maybe for only a
actions. Instead, whenever single action. Treasure the
you take an action you time you have, and use it
automatically critically wisely.
succeed. When you do, roll a
number of D10s equal to
the number of traits your
creature formerly had. Every
time you roll a 1, remove
that die from the pool.
Invasion
Invasive Species is such an
ugly term. I think any creature
should get the chance to
thrive in its new environment,
don’t you?

Prerequisite
Revisit the strange Anyone who enters this new
experience from character District, including everyday
creation your charge had at a citizens of the City, are
lower Fathom. In addition, instantly transported to
reach the Major level of the Fathom 2. How does this
anchor THE LAIR. change life in the City?

Whatever pupation, For the remainder of the

acclimation, or adolescence campaign, you may only play
your charge has experienced the Keeper when at least one
during your campaign thus other drifter not controlled
far ends. They sprout, by you is in this District.
metamorphosize, or grow, When you do, you roll 7D10
merging with their Lair to by default, losing dice to
become a new District of the difficulty as normal. You are
City. Where is it? What does assumed to always have the
it look like? You remain their equipment: The District
Keeper, bound even more Itself - All Skills D12, Heavy,
tightly to an ecology you True.
may never fully understand.
Here, in your new home, you You refresh all stress after
are as powerful as a being any Job you appear on.
can be while remaining However, whenever you
human, but you can never would get any Fallout,
leave. instead take a Scar. Your
charge won’t stand you
remaining in danger for long.
If you wind up Abandoning
this life, you may choose one It is suggested, but not
of the existing options or required, that you begin to
withdraw fully into your play another drifter outside
charge/District, never to be of your Keeper during this
seen again. period, only “picking them
back up” when appropriate.
Fly Away Home
It’s where the Heart is.

Prerequisite
Find out if there are others The City React step still Describe how the sudden
of your charge’s kind. In happens, but until the burst of UnReal energy
addition, take RELEASE THE Countdown Timer is transforms the District. You
BEAST and all its upgrades completed, instead of rolling may make any changes to
for a random result, you this District and/or the
You’ve cared for your charge choose a result from any of Company’s inside of it,
as well as you can. Now it’s the tables, as your charge’s though the GM retains veto
time for them to return collected UnReal power power. Finally, decide if you
home. It might take a while distorts reality around your went with them. If you did,
to charge up the necessary crew. The GM should reflect you are never seen or heard
UnReal energy, but you and this with descriptions that from again. If you did not,
your fellow drifters can help. match the progress in the work with your GM to decide
Countdown Timer as if it an appropriate outcome,
As soon as you take this were your crews’ Echoes, at including choosing an
ability, start a D12 problem least when you’re around. Abandon ending.
“Countdown Timer.”
When the Countdown Timer If you went with them,
Immediately remove all completes, choose a District describe one, impossible
Echoes from your crew and for the farewell party. Your sense memory you
mark that much progress to charge gives parting gifts. experience upon arriving.
the problem. Each drifter in attendance Never describe anything
gains + 1 XP and a D12 else.
At the end of every Job, if Valuable. Then the launch.
this problem is ongoing,
instead of gaining echoes in
the “Echoes Stir” Downtime
step, instead mark progress
to the problem equal to the
number of echoes you would
have gained.
The Media
Get back to your seats A witch of the web, an iconoclast of information, a disciple of
Get back, gnashing teeth Data. You are the very model of a modern mystic.
I want all of your mind
People turn the TV on, looks Your role among drifters is in turning knowledge- arcane,
just like a window personal, confidential- into occult power. You harvest hidden
People turn the TV on, looks truths to enforce your desired narratives. You’ve learned to lie
just like a window well enough to fool causality itself.

Digital witnesses
What's the point
of even sleeping?
If I can't show it,
if you can't see me
What's the point of
doing anything?

St. Vincent, Digital Witness

TOUCHSTONES

Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Oracle (Batman): Once a

Vampire Slayer): A tech-savvy vigilante, Oracle moved from
witch who protects her physical to cyber warfare after
hometown with her an accident. She accumulated
compatriots, casting risky a monopoly on information
rituals that she carries around and acts as a knowledge
on floppy discs. broker for her allies.

Kevin Yamagata (Billy Bat): A PLAY TO FIND OUT

reserved and resigned comic
artist whose comics predict, What hidden truths of the City
and may be able to rewrite, will you uncover?
the future, resisting the
machinations of his comic’s What happens when your lies
main character. catch up to you?

How will your story change the

City, both Real and UnReal?
PLAYBOOK DETAILS CONTENT WARNINGS + THEMES
You start with these. Things this playbook touches on.

SKILLS Deception, manipulation, information warfare, propaganda,

Analyze & Invoke memory loss, gaslighting, mind reading/control, disturbing
media, metatextual behavior/fourth wall breaking
DOMAIN
Data

VALUABLES WHEN YOU CREATE A MEDIA

Choose one: Answer (and do not answer) the following:

Tickets to a secret show There’s a word, phrase, or theme that appears in

D6 Fringe advertisements and other media around you in the Real. What
is it? Do not answer why it appears.
Original art by a rising star
D10 Beyond, Fragile, You have a piece of data (a home movie, a photograph, a
Awkward recording) that contradicts what you know to be true about
your own life, your own personal history. What is it? Where
EQUIPMENT did you get it? Do not answer who made it or why.
Personal communicator
Connect D6

Choose one:

UnReal Eye
Analyze D8, One-shot

eBook of Spells
Invoke D6
WHEN YOU GATHER INFORMATION
Example questions that this playbook might want to ask:
AGENDA
Choose one:
• Who here's keeping a secret?
Learn new info that’s
• What here can get me past a closed door?
advantageous or useful
• What story have I heard about this place?
Twist the truth to suit
your needs
• Who here is notable in the City?
Overcome a challenge
• How can I get [X] to open up?
with your monopoly on
information
• What do they most want to hear?
CORE ABILITIES
These abilities define
who you are.

Knowledge is Power Truth is Relative FATHOM 3 Reputation is Everything

The right data, revealed at From a certain If you know about them, then
just the right time, FATHOM 1 point of view, anything’s they’re interesting. And if
can change the possible. they’re interesting, then you
world. know about them.
Once per session, when
Tell a lie and mark stress to a another drifter has rolled Once per job, select a
Resistance of your choice to dice but before the result is person, place, or thing and
convince reality that it's declared, you may allow describe a rumor you’ve
true. It remains true for the them to reroll all the dice in heard about them. Then, the
rest of the job. their pool. The GM will describe another
circumstances of reality rumor you’ve heard about
You can use this to gain a literally rewind and replay them. The first time you act
piece of equipment (a knife, themselves out over again. on either rumor, roll with
a gun, a rope), a Valuable (a advantage.
convenient bribe), to
influence the opinion of an
individual or group (oh yeah,
of course we’re friends), or
to affect the material
circumstances of the world
(that door is unlocked,
actually.)

The stress you mark matches

either the equipment or
Valuable value - or the stress
value of the NPC, Company,
or District that you’re trying
to affect. (Mark D8 stress to
gain a D8 Valuable, etc.)

Each time you use this ability

on a job past the first, add
the Heavy tag to the roll for
each time you’ve used the
ability.
DOWNTIME ACTIVITY
A special option for
you during downtime.

Speak Truth to Power

You can wield knowledge like
no other. Whether you wield The event hinders a relevant
it like a sword or a plowshare company’s problem; increase
is up to you. the size of that problem by
D4 Heavy, or ask the GM
Pick a district; the GM will which company abandons
tell you what’s going on in their claim to this district.
that part of the City.
Describe something new or The event creates an
strange that takes place opportunity for a company;
during this downtime. Roll advance a relevant problem
Manipulate + Data as you by D6, or, ask the GM which
learn (and share) details of company that’s not already
the event. On a success, pick present in this district starts
two results; on a critical to take an interest.
success, pick three.
The event creates an
opportunity for the drifters;
the GM will craft a job
related to this event that the
drifters can opt to explore.
If you don’t choose the final
Things remain relatively option, the event makes the
normal in the district; don’t district more inherently
increase the size of the dangerous; the GM will
stress die connected to this increase the default stress
district. die for this district by one
step.

You cannot pick the same

district twice until you’ve
picked every district in the
City at least once.
MINOR ABILITIES Anchor: The Sponsor
Small bits of knowledge A powerful individual with a
and know-how. special interest: you.

All The Pieces Matter When you create the

This City is too big and too Sponsor, say who they are,
small for coincidences. and what you produce (art,
information, stories,
Gain the Knit skill. Once per violence, etc.) that keeps
session, you can declare that them supporting you.
two things - NPCs, ideas,
locations, anything - are Minor - Commission Major - Private Performance
somehow connected. Ask A fair trade. You have their undivided
the GM how they’re attention.
connected, then describe Once per session, you may
what you discovered that accept a commission from Gain the following
revealed this connection. your sponsor. If you do, downtime activity: Perform a
The first time you take specify a dice size no smaller Work.
advantage of that than D6 to represent the
connection, roll with value of the commission. When you Perform a Work,
advantage. You immediately gain a you give a private
Valuable of that size and of performance for your
Benefactor your requested domain. sponsor and a small, private
Revealing the truth for audience of their choosing.
yourself doesn’t pay the bills.. You now owe your sponsor a Describe what this means
commission. The GM will and the shape of your
Gain the Capital domain. tell you what it takes to get performance.
You have a wealthy it done:
benefactor who sponsors the Refresh D6 stress from this
kind of work that only you • D6: A single action anchor, and roll an
can produce. Name them, • D8: A small problem appropriate action based on
and take them as a minor • D10: A big problem the nature of the
anchor with the playbook • D12: A job performance.
THE SPONSOR.
Mark Heavy stress to this On any success, take a D6
anchor using the value of the Valuable of your choice. On
commission at the end of a critical success, instead
each downtime if the take a D8 Valuable.
commission hasn’t
completed yet. You may only On a miss, take a D4
have one commission at a Valuable of the GM’s choice
time. and inflict D4 stress to this
anchor.
Between You and Me Corrections and Guerilla Radio
Listen-- I can trust you, right? Clarifications There’s an art to being on the
Because I feel like I can trust I know this sounds like a big wrong side of the radio dial.
you. problem, but listen, it’s really You’ve got to be quiet and
not as bad as it sounds. It’s all loud, all at the same time.
Gain the Connect skill. Once in the delivery.
per session, when you share Gain the Crime domain.
a secret with someone and Gain +2 Luck Protection. Once per session, you can
they believe you, choose one gather and captivate a group
of the following: they act on Everybody Lies of people. So long as you can
it immediately, they keep it Listen-- you can trust me. I hold their attention, and
to themselves, or, you gain want you to know you can there isn’t something more
them as a Minor Anchor. trust me. important going on, they will
stop what they’re doing and
Gain the Manipulate skill. listen to what you have to
You can always tell when say.
someone is lying to you.
Legwork
Ledgers and lists will only get
you so far. Sometimes you
simply gotta get out there and
see what’s what.

Gain the Common domain.

Whenever you HIT THE BRICKS
during downtime, or when
you gather information by
doing field work, roll with
advantage.
Like and Subscribe Anchor: The Audience Press Pass
What’s up, guys? Your adoring fans, or at least Your smile can open any
invested observers. locked door.
Gain the Fringe domain. You
have a small, but dedicated Minor - Watch This Gain the Style domain. If
group of weirdos who watch You’re gonna love it, trust me. you present yourself openly
anytime you broadcast your as an information broker of
exploits - via livestream, At any time before you make some kind - a journalist, a
journal updates, or however an action roll, you may choose blogger, an influence, or
else you engage with your to bring your audience’s something else - you are
fans. Who are they? Create a attention to the roll. Describe automatically granted access
minor anchor with this group how you do this. If you do, to places that would
using the anchor playbook worsen the situation by one ordinarily be closed to you,
THE AUDIENCE. You can under the pressure of attention. even outright hostile
stream your activities to this locations. The same can’t be
group at-will, so long as you On any success, gain the said of your fellow drifters -
have some way to do so. Valuable Audience trying to bring them in as
Appreciation: D6 Data. On a “protection” or some other
critical success, additionally escort will blow your cover.
refresh D6 stress from this
anchor. On a mixed success Sense Memory
or failure, mark D6 Heavy Every detail tells FATHOM 1
stress to this anchor. a story.

Major - I Hate to Ask Gain the Hunt skill. Once

This is really important, okay? per session, if you lay hands
on something or someone,
In a moment of crisis, you you can ask the GM a
may expend all your question about its past that
audience’s goodwill at once. you couldn’t have otherwise
Say what you need, and what known. After they answer,
your audience could describe what detail gives it
conceivably provide. Your away.
audience sends it to you,
though it may take some We Reported the News
time, at the GM’s discretion. The truth will overcome any
fear or anxiety.
When the favor is complete,
immediately inflict the Gain +2 Nerve Protection.
Fallout “Disinterested” on
this anchor, rendering it
useless until you build your
audience’s goodwill back up.
MAJOR ABILITIES
One-of-a-kind advantages.
You or another drifter
Abracadabra become invisible
FATHOM 2
The right word,
uttered at just the right time, You or another drifter
can work wonders. become utterly silent

Once per session, you can Darkness fills a space the UPGRADE - HEDGE WIZARD
spend a Valuable whose size of a room You may use ABRACADABRA
domain matches the current more than once per session,
district. The Valuable is Light emits from a single so long as none of the
unraveled into the basic object Valuables you consume are
truths that held it together; larger than D6. Using a
you weave them back You create a loud sound, Valuable larger than D6
together as Insight. The coming from a nearby place eliminates this possibility for
amount of Insight you the rest of the session.
receive scales with the You move something no
Valuable’s size: D4 nets you heavier than a brick without UPGRADE - MASTER OF MAGIC
1 Insight, D6 earns 2, and so touching it When you use ABRACADABRA
on. to gain Insight, you may
You alter the temperature to spend a Valuable of any
For the rest of the job, you be noticeably hot or cold domain, rather than only a
may spend Insight one-for- Valuable whose domain
one for any of the following You detect nearby UnReal matches the current district.
effects. When you spend beings, and can sense their
Insight, describe how you inherent domains UPGRADE - SORCERER SUPREME
rewrite truth to manifest the Gain +1 Insight when you
effect in the world. You make the nearby area consume a Valuable of any
incredibly slippery size. D4 now earns you 2, D6
If you want to produce a earns 3, et cetera.
magical effect that’s similar- You make the nearby area
but-not-exactly one of these densely foggy
effects, the answer is
probably “yes” - just ask You weaken gravity in the
your GM first. Whatever the nearby area
effect is, it lasts until the end
of the situation. You identify the nature and
properties of an unknown
Any unspent Insight is lost object
at the end of the job.
You can read and understand
a strange language
Cursed Media FATHOM 1
That was so messed Roll Connect + Data to try
up. I wonder what they were and convince someone to UPGRADE - TRULY, TRULY CURSED
thinking when they made witness it in its entirety. If The stress inflicted by the
that. But, uh, hey. If you anyone (including you) item becomes Heavy.
wanna see something REALLY participates, they find
weird, I’ve got something I’ve themselves compelled to see UPGRADE - YOU’RE IN THE
really gotta show you. It’s it through to the end, at KNOW, RIGHT?
next-level. which point they suffer Gain +1 Weird Protection. If
stress as if you’d used it as someone one else nearby is
You have access to a piece of equipment, and everyone familiar with the cursed
cursed media: something so suffers your choice of one of media you possess, you
horrifically weird that it the following curses. automatically sense their
causes psychic trauma to presence - and they
those who witness it. Define Transmissible Curse automatically sense yours.
what it is, but not how you If they do not pass the Curse
came to possess it. to someone else by telling UPGRADE - MEDIA SATURATION
them about the media, they You are now completely
The media functions as the will die within a week. immune to the stress and
following piece of the curse inflicted by viewing
equipment: D8 Ranged Area Fixation Curse the media as a complete
One-shot. When you use it, They become consumed by work, allowing you to host
describe how a glimpse of the media, and will feel viewings of the material
the media’s content drawn to others who know without directly endangering
captivates everyone else about the media and discuss yourself.
around you. This includes it. Who are these people?
your fellow drifters, if Where can they find them?
they’re unlucky enough to
witness it. You’re not usually Identity Curse
affected, although a mixed They start to become
success or a failure could someone or something else.
change that. This process can be halted or
reversed with the correct
knowledge and resources.
Who or what do they
become?
Distortion Filter FATHOM 1
What good is a phone call if
you are unable to
aghjkldfhkgkfn

Roll Invoke + Data to alter The subject perceives you as UPGRADE - FEEDBACK DETECTED
someone’s perception of someone or something else The stress inflicted by
reality. The target must be entirely for the rest of the allowing a regular person to
within arm’s reach. On a situation, provided you have glimpse a lower Fathom
success, choose one of the something that helps sell becomes Heavy.
following. On a critical that image: a clipboard
success, pick two. might make them believe, UPGRADE - HARMONIC SATURATION
wholeheartedly, that you’re You can choose to affect
an office manager; someone multiple targets at once on a
else’s ID will convince them successful roll.
that you are, in fact, that
person, etc. UPGRADE - LINE OF SIGHT
You can use this ability from
Pick a Fathom; for a far away, so long as you can
moment, they perceive the clearly see the target.
world as if they were on that
Fathom. This will almost
certainly inflict stress on an
ordinary person: D4 for
Fathom 1, D6 for Fathom 2,
D8 for Fathom 3, D10 for
Fathom 4 - the deepest this
ability will let them glimpse.

Pick a domain; the subject

now perceives the world as if
the two of you were in a
location tied to that domain.
Choosing Common might
make them feel as if you're
in a restaurant, and let their
guard down; Choosing
Doom might fill them with
terror, et cetera.
Inland Empire FATHOM 1
The knowledge that people UPGRADE -
FATHOM 2
squirrel away, deep in their TRUTH HURTS
psyche. The secrets lodged Now that you can see this
deep in their fists. If only they information, you can hurt it.
knew - the things they hold Roll Manipulate + Data to
dear, the secrets they hold damage part of the visible
most tightly: it is all plain to data. On a success, instead
see. of inflicting stress, lower
their difficulty by one step
Once per situation, you may for the rest of the situation
read the aura of a single as they struggle with your
target, determining damage to their core self.
information about them
that’s only visible to you. UPGRADE - VOICES CARRY
Their talents, relationships, When you use this ability,
mood, and goals become any nearby ally can mark D4
visible like glowing threads, Weird stress to see the same
surrounding them and information that you see.
linking them to the world.
UPGRADE - THE
FATHOM 2
To use this ability, mark D6 CITY REMEMBERS
Weird stress. When you do, You turn your ability to see
pick two things from the list the essential truth of people
below that you can “see” as into a tool to see the truth of
information whirling around the city. Whenever you use
them. INLAND EMPIRE, you may mark
an additional D4 stress to
• An anchor or important Weird. If you do, roll a dice
relationship that corresponds to the
• Their Resistance and districts of the city to pick a
Protection values random district. The GM will
• Their domains tell you something that’s
• Their moves and happening or that happened
instincts in that district that’s
• What they’d look like at connected and/or
a Fathom you specify significant.
(You may take this
multiple times)
• Their current greatest
desire or concern
• A true or common name
that they use
Next Time On-!
Will our heroes succeed? Will
our villains somehow get away
again? Will we EVER get
around to that fanservice we
were promised? Find out next
time on-!

You know how to read the UPGRADE - COMING UP NEXT

flow of information and you Whenever you use NEXT TIME
know how stories go. At the ON, you may also choose a
end of every session you may district in the City that
ask one question as if you didn’t come up during this
were an end of episode session and say “Coming Up
teaser (e.g. Who was that Next…” and interject a
mysterious figure? Will our program or event that might
heroes find the artifact? etc.) be happening in that district.
Write this question down. It If you do, mark 1 progress
will be addressed next towards advancement. The
session, guaranteed. When GM will create or advance a
it is, mark 1 progress towards problem connected to that
advancement. district.

At the beginning of the next UPGRADE - STAY TUNED FOR

session, provide a brief but Whenever you use NEXT TIME
informative recap of the ON, choose a Company long-
situation thus far. If you do, term problem. The GM gets
mark 1 progress towards to advance it. Whenever that
advancement. problem is solved, mark 1
progress towards
advancement.

UPGRADE - PUBLIC SERVICE

ANNOUNCEMENT
Whenever you use NEXT TIME
ON, describe in short, pithy
terms what lessons you and
your fellow drifters learned
from the events of the
session. If you do, choose
any player: they may refresh
D6 stress from any
Resistance other than Weird.
ZENITH ABILITIES
How will your story can end?

Going Viral
A momentary monopoly in
the attention economy.

Prerequisite
Take CURSED MEDIA and Treat this as a near-infinite
INLAND EMPIRE. In addition, amount of stress that can be
confront a source of the spent via Knowledge is
media haunting you in the Power. You can use it for an
Real. infinitely powerful piece of
equipment, a literally
You know this world runs on priceless Valuable, to
perspective, and you’re completely redefine the
going to unite all the City’s outlook of an individual or a
perspectives together- a group, or to reshape the City
grand moment of unified itself as you see fit.
impossibility.
Regardless of your choice,
To activate this ability, find a your human form was not
way to get a message to the meant to channel this much
entire City at once. You raw perspective. It’s your
don’t have to define the choice whether you live or
contents of the message, but die, but if you live you’ve
it contains some memetic burnt through all your
idea compelling enough to remaining UnReal power.
momentarily shift the entire You may take up the Expert
citizenry’s perspective playbook, become the owner
towards a subject of your of a Haunt, or retire from
choice. the UnReal permanently.
Mise en Abyme
All the world’s a stage, and all
the drifters merely players -
except for me.

Prerequisite
Take NEXT TIME ON-! and all During the session, you may
its upgrades. In addition, mark D6 stress at any time
find or invent some to alter this frame narrative
explanation for your and impact the world of your
contradictory data from campaign. Choose one of
character creation the following:

You know the truth. You Prompt: Prompt any

know that the campaign is a character (player or NPC)
story, and you’re just playing with an in-character line or
a role. Choose to activate action. If they follow your
this ability during the end of prompt, they automatically
a session when you’ll be succeed on any action
playing a Job in the next. Use regardless of difficulty and
NEXT TIME ON-! as normal, inflict stress as normal.
then end with the statement
“And next time, we’ll have a Clap your Hands: Address
very special session…” or your audience- the players at
similar language. the table. Ask each of them
to help with an upcoming
At the start of your next action. Take an advantage
session, introduce the for each yes.
current situation as if it were
a fictional retelling of your Monologue: Call on any
choice. The drifters character to deliver a brief
portrayed by actors reading monologue (actually
lines and your audience the improvised or just outlined
players at your table. From at a high level) identifying At the end of the current
your perspective, you’re just their current internal state session, invite your drifters
off stage. You, the Media, are (emotions, feelings, goals, forward for a bow and to
the only one who can etc.) with no hidden receive the acclaim of your
perceive this frame narrative, information. audience. Describe the end
though the other drifters of your frame story (the
may choose to play into it, Take Two: As with TRUTH IS curtain closes, the program
they perceive the world as RELATIVE, but once per ends, the television swaps
normal. situation instead of once per channels, etc.). You are
session. never seen again.
 GM vs Player
vs Character
in Mise en Abyme

MISE EN ABYME is meant for

the player character - not the
player - to take a GM-like
position. It is meant to allow
your Media character to act
at the level of the meta-
narrative instead of the
narrative.

By default, the normal GM

should still play as normal,
setting up situations and
defining consequences. The
Media then translates this
into their frame narrative
and their one-session Mise
en Abyme options allow
them to impact this narrative
in broader ways than normal
play.

You may instead run with

the spirit of MISE EN ABYME
and have the Media’s player
character literally act as a
“guest GM” or even
facilitate a different game,
whatever you and your table
are comfortable with and
interested in.
Revision
There are deeper truths than
these.

Prerequisite
Take ABRACADABRA and
DISTORTION FILTER. In addition,
take a Scar from overuse of
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.

You’re well acquainted with

lying to reality; now you’re
going to lie to FATHOM.

To activate this ability, drift

to Fathom X. Do not
describe what you see, hear
or otherwise sense. Instead,
you may rewrite any one rule
in the core FATHOM
rulebook. Work with your
table to ensure it’s a rule
change everyone at the table
is excited about.

If you do not choose to edit

the rule about drifters not
being able to return from
Fathom X, this is the end of
your Media.

However, for the rest of the

campaign, describe a subtle
sign or echo of their
existence that appears
anytime your altered rule
comes into effect.
The Prisoner
Calling the world In the Real you’re caught somewhere, in something, or with
from isolation someone. The UnReal is a temporary escape, a refuge from the
'Cause right now Real, but only in part. You’ve learned to project yourself and
That's the ball your thoughts into lower Fathoms, a facsimile of physicality
where we be chained available to you along with other things lurking in your
subconscious.
And if you're coming back
to find me Your role as a drifter is creative problem solving, leveraging
You'd better have good aim your unique abilities to invent solutions that would be
impossible without you.
Shoot it true
I need you in the picture
That's why I'm calling you

Gorillaz, Humility

TOUCHSTONES

Henry Townshend (Silent Hill Sissel (Ghost Trick: Phantom

4: The Room): An awkward Detective): A cool-headed,
photographer who awakens smooth talkin’ ghost whose
one morning to find himself former body has been hijacked
trapped in his own apartment. by someone else. But he’s not
Able to escape briefly and about to let the fact that he’s
change the world in a dead get in the way of solving
dreamlike/nightmare-like a mystery.
state.
PLAY TO FIND OUT
Kirie Fujo (Garden of Sinners:
Overlooking View): An heir to What life can you make,
a bloodline of demon hunters, trapped in your prison?
afflicted with an illness that
keeps her trapped in a Who trapped you, and why?
hospital. She’s learned to
astral-project a ghostly form What keeps you in your prison,
in an effort to live out a and can you escape?
version of the life she never
had.
PLAYBOOK DETAILS CONTENT WARNINGS + THEMES
You start with these. Things this playbook touches on.

SKILLS Incarceration, disability, captivity, escapism, out-of-body

Drift & Knit experiences, possession, overwork, capitalism, hauntings,
trauma, mind reading/control
DOMAIN
None (see Core Abilities)

VALUABLES WHEN YOU CREATE A PRISONER

Choose one: Answer (and do not answer) the following:

A minor favor What is your prison? See “Lock” below for some possible
D6 Beyond directions. Who or what caught you or trapped you? Do not
answer why they trapped you. Your physical form is trapped
Hidden cache of cash here; you can’t leave your prison to take actions. You don’t
D10 Capital, Illicit, have your equipment on your person; you wouldn’t be able to
“Broken” use it if it was locked up with you. Instead, you have a stash in
the UnReal, odds and ends you've scrounged up during your
EQUIPMENT first forays.
Choose one:
Sometimes, in the UnReal, a nightmare version of your prison
Suspicious umbrella or your captors can materialize around you. Mechanically, this
D6 Drift, Illicit can be a consequence of a mixed success or failed roll. What
does this look like? Do not answer exactly why this happens,
Hungry soles but you may gesture at it.
D6 Drift, Sacrifice

“Needles”
D8 Knit, Weak
WHEN YOU GATHER INFORMATION
Example questions that this playbook might want to ask:
AGENDA
Choose one:
• How is this job connected to my captors?
Work against the interests
• Who or what is confined here?
of your inescapable captors
• What needs mending or fixing here?
Help someone else
escape their shackles
• What basic need is not being met here?
Entrap someone or
• How could I best break into or out of [X]?
something, as only you
know how to
• Who here feels isolated or alone?
CORE ABILITIES
These abilities define
who you are.

Lock
Freedom is denied to you.
Whether your shackles are
made of steel, fate, or debt,
you are trapped.

Your Real form is trapped

within the City in some way.
Your bonds might be literal,
figurative, or supernatural.
You do not have the freedom
of movement that you once
had.

Create a minor anchor with

your prison using one of the
following anchor playbooks:
THE CAGE, THE HAUNTED
HOUSE, or THE RAT RACE.
Anchor: The Cage Anchor: The Haunted Anchor: The Rat Race
The world outside keeps House Clock in, clock out. Your soul
changing. But here, trapped in It’s a nightmare, but it’s also knew long ago that it would
your four walls of concrete home. This is where your find no solace here.
and iron, things are always the spirit belongs. You could
same. never truly leave. When you create the Rat
Race, describe the
When you create the Cage, When you create the circumstances that keep you
describe the conditions that Haunted House, describe the toiling, day in and day out.
keep you bound in place. home where your spirit is Gain the Capital domain.
Gain the Crime domain. bound. Gain the Doom Your job binds you here,
Your physical form is domain. Your soul is 24/7. Even if your body is at
imprisoned in this place, and somehow bound to this rest, you’re always “at
cannot leave. place, and it cannot be work.”
untethered.
Minor - Contraband Minor - Crunching
You’re well-practiced at Minor - Shackled Numbers
smuggling things you’re not They keep you bound, but There’s no problem a little
supposed to have. they do not make you weak. creative arithmetic can’t solve.

Once per situation, when Gain the following Once per session, instead of
someone searches for an equipment: Spectral Chains - rolling dice to determine an
item that you currently have Fight D8 Ranged. action, you may declare the
possession of, you can result is a 6 (a success with
declare that they don’t find Major - FATHOM 2 consequences), regardless of
it. Otherside the situation’s Difficulty.
It will never let you go, no
Major - Hard Time matter how far you might run. Major - Inertia
Your time in the cage hasn’t Your career’s momentum is so
been kind, but it has taught Roll Invoke + Doom to motionless that it’s capable of
you to endure. summon the haunted house being weaponized.
to the current situation. On
Once per session, when you a success, the UnReal Once per situation, when
would mark stress as a manifests its qualities in the you or your allies would be
consequence, you may mark space surrounding you and forcibly moved from one
half as much instead. drops everyone present one Fathom to another, you may
Fathom lower. For the rest of prevent it from happening.
the situation, you may adjust Describe how your
any dice roll by an amount immobility prevents your
equal to the current Fathom manipulation in the UnReal.
by marking that much stress.
Key
Your body may be trapped,
but your will is your own. You
will not merely walk away
from this prison: You will fly.

You interface with the Real At the beginning of each At any time during a
through a ghostly, UnReal new situation, pick two of situation, you may mark 1
projection of your own these three conditions to be Weird stress to to activate or
artifice. Your projection, true: deactivate any of these
unlike your physical body, three. This allows you to
can leave the bounds of your You can be seen by others in have all 3 true or only 1 true
prison, and participate in the Real. If you don’t pick (but you must have at least 1
jobs with the rest of the this as true, you’re effectively marked.)
drifters. invisible on Fathom Zero.
This change lasts until the
You can touch things within end of the situation; at the
the Real, but are confined by beginning of the next
physical reality. If you don’t situation, pick two
pick this as true, you can conditions to be true once
phase through walls and other again.
mundane barriers without
difficulty.

You leave no UnReal trace of

your passage. If you don’t
pick this as true, there’s
something weird about the
places you go and the things
you interact with. What is it?
DOWNTIME ACTIVITY
A special option for
you during downtime.

Everything in Its
Right Place FATHOM 1
You are a captive, but you Roll Knit to change the
cannot be controlled. With the properties of your prison,
UnReal at your disposal, you using the domain provided
can gild your cage as you see by your prison’s anchor
fit. playbook.

You cannot escape your On a miss, worsen one

prison, but you can harness property 1 step.
the UnReal to make your
captivity more bearable. On a mixed success, improve
one property by 1 step and
When you create a Prisoner, decrease another by 1 step.
all four properties of your
prison are at tier 2. When On a success, improve a Describe how these changes
you improve a property, it property by 1 step. manifest in both the Real
goes up one level (so, from 2 and the UnReal.
to 3.) You gain any benefits
1 2 3 4
associated with that level so
long as you maintain it; if Atmosphere Rotten Uncomfortable Fine Home
you lose that property level
Mark 1 Form Scar. Gain +1 Form When you refresh
in some way, you lose the
Protection. Form stress, the
benefit.
roll is Heavy.

Oversight Everpresent Regular Periodic Absent

Mark 1 Nerve Scar. Gain +1 Nerve When you refresh

Protection. Nerve stress, the
roll is Heavy.
Luxury Absent Meager Occasional Generous

Mark 1 Luck Scar. Gain +1 Luck When you refresh

Protection. Luck stress, the
roll is Heavy.

Privacy None Token Acceptable Complete

Mark 1 Weird Scar. Gain +1 Weird When you refresh

Protection. Weird stress, the
roll is Heavy.
MINOR ABILITIES Life Siphon Poltergeistian
Small bits of knowledge You’ve had so much taken It’s easy, really. A
and know-how. away from you. It’s time to little nudge, and - FATHOM 1
start taking something for there it goes.
Dreamer of the Day yourself.
You can see your fate clearly. Gain the Invoke skill. You
The world cannot deter you Gain the Fight skill. can move small, nearby
from your set course. Whenever you deal the objects with the power of
maximum amount of stress your mind. You can’t move
Gain +2 Luck Protection. possible with an attack them with any degree of
against an opponent, heal precision - you couldn’t fit a
Etheric Attunement D6 stress. key into a lock, for example -
You know the smell of being but you could make an open
out of your Real form. The Martyr Complex door fly open, a light flash
taste. You’d know it These are your people. Your on, or a shelf of books go
anywhere. friends. You’d do anything for flying.
them.
Gain the Analyze skill. When Sans Frontieres
you try to trace the move- Gain the Common domain. Others are out there. You
ments of someone or Once per session, if a nearby know it. You can find them.
something that’s moving ally would take stress, you
through the UnReal, roll may take it instead. You may Gain the Connect skill. Once
with advantage. use this ability after the per situation, you may ask
amount has been declared the GM: “Who here is
Ghost to Ghost FATHOM 1 before they’ve marked it trapped?” They will answer
Are you getting down. you honestly.
enough oxygen?
Phantom Thief Shivers
Gain the Doom domain. What’s yours is mine. A closed pair of eyes and a
Once per session, you can deep breath is all that’s
speak with something dead Gain the Crime domain. necessary to take you back.
or otherwise no longer alive, Once per session, if a
as if it was. character within arms’ reach Gain the Data domain. You
has a small handheld object - may mark D6 Nerve stress to
Inside Job either in their hand, or on remotely view any location
If there’s one thing I’m good their person - you can you’ve previously visited.
at, it’s waiting. declare that you now have it.
They know that you have it, Stoic
Gain the Order domain. but it’s in your hands. Do You learned long ago that
Whenever you use patience not describe how you got it. losing your cool isn’t helpful.
and determination to over- You bear your toils with a stiff
come obstacles of tedium, upper lip.
bureaucracy, and procedure,
roll with advantage. Gain +2 Nerve Protection.
MAJOR ABILITIES
One-of-a-kind advantages.

Assuming Direct Control

Projecting yourself
FATHOM 2
into the UnReal
has become second-nature for
you; it’s only a small step
further to leap back into the
Real - not into your own body,
but into new things, new
people.

Roll Drift + Common to You can cause the thing to UPGRADE - GLOSSOLALIA
possess something within move and behave within the You can leave behind a
the Real: a door, a book, a physical bounds of that simple command in the
lamppost, a car, a corpse; thing’s existing properties: thing you possess before you
anything inanimate with you can make a car turn on vacate it; it will attempt to
clear physical boundaries. and drive around, but you repeat that behavior without
Possessing a living thing is can’t make it start talking. understanding why for the
Risky. rest of the situation.
You maintain your ability to
perceive the world around UPGRADE -
FATHOM 2
you while possessing the PHANTASMAGORIA
thing - as if you were peering While possessing something,
down over it as you puppet you can mark D4 stress to
it through the world. You Weird to manifest something
can suffer stress and fallout in the possessed subject that
in this form as normal; wouldn’t ordinarily be
fallout might evacuate you possible: you could cause
from the body prematurely. the bowl of dog food to float
You can leave the form up into the air, you could
you’ve possessed at any could cause bees to start
time, but trying to re- flying out of your ears, you
possess it will require could cause a television to
another roll. address a person by name.

UPDATE - CHRONOADVANTAGIA
When possessing something,
you can automatically
possess something else that
you physically touch by
marking D4 Luck stress.
Grand Nightmare FATHOM 2
You don’t know how
it got there, or even what it
wants with you. All you know
for sure is: it’s real, and if it
escapes, it’s all over.

Lying deep in your psyche is UPGRADE - SYNC RATIO

a terrible, powerful entity. When you attempt to
Work with the GM to design summon this entity, roll with
it. advantage.

At any time, you may UPGRADE - ABSOLUTE TERROR

summon it into existence by When you attempt to
rolling Knit + Doom. When it summon this entity, your
appears, it will immediately allies can roll to resist with
end the current situation, advantage.
but not without cost.
UPGRADE - FATHOM 3
On a result of 10, you take IMPACT CRATER
D6 stress to Weird, as you The location where this
brush up against the edge of entity is unleashed is forever
it stained; the district where it
occurred is somehow marred
On a 6-9: you mark 2 or otherwise desolated as a
fallouts. If you cannot mark result.
a fallout, this upgrades as
usual.

On a 5 or less, the entity

appears and the situation
ends, but you mark one Scar.

If your result is anything less

than a 10, all your allies
present must roll Stand +
Doom to withstand the
pressure. If they fail, they
take the same consequences.
Life-Sentence Lessons Anchor: The Tutor Minor - A Little Knowledge
It’s easy to see your They will never break free of Your instructor knows far
FATHOM 0
prison as the end: a this place in the way that you more about the world than
place you will spend the rest can. But they will live through they could ever hope to teach
of your days, static and you, giving you everything you. But that won’t stop them
unchanging like the walls that that they know and from trying.
keep you fenced in. But you understand, to help light your
are not alone. Someone else way in the dark. Once per session, you can
here has things to teach you. declare a knack, even for a
There are lessons to be When you create the Tutor, skill or domain one you
learned and skills to acquire, describe how the two of you don’t possess. You have that
even if they’re not exactly were able to come into knack for the rest of the job.
what your captors would contact, despite the fact that Describe how your Tutor
prefer that you learn during your captors would prefer taught it to you.
your stay. that you hadn’t.
Major - A Dangerous Thing
A fellow prisoner - someone Gain a domain you do not The things you have learned,
who’s been here a long time already have; describe what are all simply fuel for the fire.
- becomes your tutor. Name about the Tutor’s history
and describe them. Gain allows them to pass it on to Once per job, destroy a
them as a new minor anchor you. relevant knack to roll as if
using the playbook THE you had three advantages
TUTOR. This is one of the few (+3D). Describe how your
Prisoner moves that’s education in the matter has
explicitly in Fathom Zero, led to this moment.
although you might
eventually wind up using the
UPGRADE - RUMORED FORTUNE
UnReal to communicate with
When you choose this
your tutor.
upgrade, choose a domain
you do not already have.
Your Tutor teaches it to you
now. As they do so, they tell
UPGRADE - INSIDER KNOWLEDGE UPGRADE - APT PUPIL
you of an incredible prize
Your Tutor knows the You’re willing to seclude
that they once encountered.
workings of your shared yourself in order to obsess
The GM will name a district
prison well, and lends you over your studies. You may
in the city that pertains to
their insights in how to make use A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE more
the domain you just learned;
it work for you. When you than once per session by
the prize is hidden
roll to change the conditions marking D6 stress to an
somewhere in that district. If
of your prison as part of anchor time you use it past
and when you find it, gain a
EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE, the first.
D12 Valuable of the
roll with advantage.
associated domain and
+3 Debt Protection.
Magic Lantern FATHOM 2
Whether it’s filled
with rage, or sorrow, or regret,
everyone’s inner landscapes
share one universal truth -
they’re dying to be let out.
You are a lens, a projector, a
will o’ the wisp beckoning
them forward for all to see.

Whenever you encounter UPGRADE - REWIND, REWRITE UPGRADE - EMPATHY, EMPTY

something with deeply-held Gain +1 Luck Protection. Gain +1 Weird FATHOM 3
feelings - a person, an When you use MAGIC protection. Roll
heirloom, a place, anything LANTERN, you can mark D4 Manipulate + Beyond to
ingrained with memory and Weird stress to introduce a steal a copy of this memory
emotion - you can roll Knit + change to the scene that for yourself. On a mixed
Beyond to create a visible shouldn’t normally be a part success or failure, you might
projection of that internal of that feeling. Witnessing a wind up stealing the memory
sensation in the area around change to a memory can instead of making a copy.
you that everyone can have a profound effect on Gain it as a D8 Niche
witness. It might manifest as the subject - it can show Valuable with a domain
a whirlwind of color, a them the worst possible appropriate to the target.
flickering scene playing out version of what happened, or Describe how it manifests
in front of you, or something what might have been if only when it’s in your possession.
else entirely: describe the things had been a little If the target realizes you
aesthetic, and the GM will different. have tangible proof of its
describe the content. innermost feelings, you
UPGRADE - PUSH, PULL might have some explaining
You can’t seek out a You know what to do and say to do.
particular thing (belief, to get people to open up,
secret, emotion, memory), even if they don’t want to.
but you and your fellow Gain +1 Nerve Protection.
drifters can try to convince When you roll to convince
(or trick) the target into someone to show you what
showing you what you want you want to see, roll with
to see. advantage.
What Dreams May Come
Locked away for so FATHOM 1
long, you’ve come to
construct your very own
dream world, and to bring it
to life in the UnReal.

You have a second ʻprison’

of your own construction: a
dreamworld of safety and
comfort. When you take this
ability, create a new minor
anchor using one of the
following playbooks to
define your dreamworld: THE
ALTERNATE, THE SIMPLE, or
THE WARDROBE.
When you or your allies rest UPGRADE - MORPHIC REJUVENATION
This space operates as a here, each person can refresh When you visit your dream-
Gyre of your very own within either D6 Nerve or Weird world, you can also opt to
the UnReal (This just means stress. heal Form or Luck stress.
it’s not “on” a particular
Fathom; it’s a pocket If you would take stress UPGRADE - SOMNIC TRANSPORTATION
dimension of its own.) while in your dreamworld, Traveling here instantly is no
your dreamworld anchor longer Risky.
Roll Drift + Beyond to enter takes stress instead. If it
your dreamworld at any suffers fallout, you may UPGRADE - ORPHIC RETRIBUTION
time. You can bring any begin to lose control of its You can use WHAT DREAMS
number of willing targets shape and properties. MAY COME to attempt to
with you. This takes about bring a hostile target to this
ten minutes of preparation; You can alter your place; doing so puts your
you can try to do it instantly dreamworld instead of your dreamworld at risk, but it
by making the roll Risky. usual prison whenever you lowers their difficulty by two
use EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT steps.
PLACE.
Anchor: The Alternate Anchor: The Simple Anchor: The Wardrobe
In the Real you’re trapped, The Real is so complicated, Fiction reveals the truth that
but in the UnReal? You can be you prefer things a bit simpler. reality obscures.
whoever you want to be.
You’ve created a safe and You step through an unusual
You’ve made an alternative pleasant environment: the portal, a piece of furniture, a
reality down in the depths. A world of a children’s book, a chalk outline, or a beam of
“What if?” your life had gone puppet show, or other un- light, and there it is: a fantasy
the way you wanted. What’s ironic “wholesome” media. world filled with impossible
different? What’s it like? characters. Describe, in broad
strokes, the nature of this
Minor - Beautiful Lies Minor - The Lesson for Today other world.
You know all about escaping What did we learn today, kids?
unpleasant truths... Minor - The Lion FATHOM 2
At the beginning of a You’re no keeper, but you’ve
FATHOM 2
If you have session, state what moral got your own unusual friends.
relevant information on a lesson today’s “episode” will
target’s desires you can roll impart (friendship, sharing, You have a powerful ally in
Knit + Data to cast a how to deal with bullies, your dreamworld, who is it?
pleasant, but ultimately etc.). If your character Roll Knit + Common to
transient illusion upon them. manages to learn a lesson or project them into a scene.
Until the next time you roll have a revelation related to They remain until the end of
or help another drifter, this by the end of the session, the situation, treat them as
someone inflicts stress on mark 2 progress towards the following equipment:
the target, or until the end advancement. The same Fight D8, Heavy.
of the situation, you can moral lesson cannot be
keep them passively chosen more than once. Major - The Witch
observing your illusion. You also have ... unusual
Major - Global Distribution enemies. FATHOM 2
Major - Ugly Truths Coming soon to a situation
… so you also know about the near you. You have a powerful enemy
worst times to confront them. FATHOM 3 in your dreamworld, who is
Once per session, you may it? Roll Knit + Doom to
If you know a truth that a roll Knit + Common to meld project them into a scene.
target would find unpleasant, your dreamworld with They remain until the end of
you can roll Knit + Data to reality. What does this look the situation, treat them as a
highlight this ugly truth. like? Until the end of the the following kit: Fight D12,
When you do state what you situation, reality must follow Heavy, True, Dire. If you fail
show them. On a hit, you the rules of children’s media. a roll while they are sum-
and your allies deal one Whenever stress is inflicted, moned, immediately mark a
stress die higher against the do not roll for fallout. fallout to this anchor as they
target for the remainder of Graphic or sensitive topics wrest control of it away from
the situation. must appear “off-screen” or you.
be veiled in metaphor.
ZENITH ABILITIES
How will your story can end?

No More Prisons
Bend bars, lift gates.

Prerequisite
Discover a “truth” of your From the moment you make For the remainder of the
Prison. In addition, take this decision until the end of game, anytime any character
MAGIC LANTERN, ASSUMING the campaign, no one can be - even ones hostile to the
DIRECT CONTROL, and gain the imprisoned. All cells real, players - would be
Invoke skill magical, and imagined - imprisoned, they are not.
burst open. Describe what Explain how the latch
You make the decision. happens when people across doesn’t close, the key
Freedom for yourself is not the City realize nothing can doesn’t lock, or the magic
enough: you will never allow be contained against its will circle breaks. You are the
another to suffer any longer. Is an ancient evil primary arbiter on what
imprisonment. You project unleashed, do violent gangs “counts” as being
yourself into the structure of roam the streets, were any imprisoned, though the GM
Reality itself, spreading fears of a negative outcome or impacted players may
yourself thin and weaving entirely unfounded, or is the negotiate with you.
your essence through every reality more complex? Whenever this happens,
location in the City. You are what subtle sign of your
not dead, but you’ll never Prisoner’s presence appears?
take anything like a human
form again. In addition, you may
optionally work with the GM
to create a new Company
devoted to dealing with any
negative impacts of this new
law of reality. This company
must include at least one of
your Prisoner’s anchors.
Inmates become the Asylum
None of you seem to
understand. I’m not locked in
here with you - I’m the lock.

Prerequisite
Find one reason why your You instantly incarcerate any If you run out of groups of
captors trapped you. In individual or entity that you individuals who slighted you,
addition, take GRAND consider one of your captors, move to those who simply
NIGHTMARE and all its regardless of the annoyed or frustrated you,
upgrades. circumstances. What does to those you merely didn’t
this look like? Create a new like, and so on. You may be
You have suffered due to the Company representing your destroyed in this form like
cruelty of your captors, and new existence with control any Company with an
now you’re becoming of any of the districts your appropriate Personal
something to ensure they captors held and power of problem and a Job.
suffer in kind. Once you take D6. Start a D4 Company
this ability, at any time, you Project to entrap any other
can choose to merge your group or individual who
Prison, your Prisoner, your slighted you during the
Grand Nightmare, and any game. Repeat this process
other entities or structures with a new group or
associated with your individual each time the
imprisonment into a singular project completes, and raise
being. What are you now? A your power by one step.
Grand Entity? A new
District? A curse? Describe a
facet of it for each sense, but
do not ever fully detail it.
Freedom
These walls are funny. First
you hate ʻem. Then you get
used to ʻem. Enough time
passes, you get so you depend
on ʻem. Even once you’re
gone, even once you’ve
walked out of that cell and put
it behind you, there’s still
something in those walls
that’s waiting for you to
return.

Prerequisite
Suffer a scar from a Prison Transfer: Choose Refurbished: Retire from
materialization of the another, unclaimed playbook your life as a drifter,
nightmare version of your to continue your life as a reclaiming the physical space
Prison. In addition, have drifter and redirect your your Prison once occupied
your prison’s anchor at the Prison’s appetite. Perhaps and transforming it into your
Major level. the Expert, your UnReal choice of Haunt. Work with
power consumed by your the GM to determine what
To activate this ability, cell. Perhaps the Keeper, goods or services you
describe the moment when your Prison shifting into an provide. For every downtime
you finally escape your animalistic shape. Perhaps that you do not make a
Prison. What had you something else. Regardless, transaction, take a Scar.
forgotten about life outside? unless your Prison neatly fits
How has your time inside into an existing feature of Vacancy: Leave the City,
marked you? the playbook, it now takes taking your Prison with you.
the form of a piece of Stand You decide what, if anything,
No longer imprisoned, you and Knit D10, Harmful, fills the gap in reality where
cease to be the Prisoner. But Spread, True, “Hungry” your Prison once stood.
there’s a problem: your equipment. Hungry here
Prison is now hungry, and indicates that if the
will look for a new prisoner equipment is not used at
to take your place. You know least once per session, it
you can’t let that happen. inflicts D10 stress on its
Choose one of the below to bearer.
deal with this:
THE PLAYBOOK
 The Reaper
It doesn’t matter how weird it looks, everything dies. You know Distant lightning,
how to kill things, you can kill anything. Monsters yes, but thunder claps
concepts too. Watched our neighbor's
house collapse
You are the heavy hitter, an enforcer who can inflict jaw Looked the other way
dropping, impossible violence. But outside of dealing death
you can feel awkward or out of place (though of course you’d Then the storm
never show it). was overhead
All the oceans boiled
and rivers bled

We auctioned off our memories

In the absence of a breeze
Scatter what remains
Scatter what remains

Metric, Speed the Collapse

TOUCHSTONES

Susan Sto Helit (Discworld): A Will Graham (Hannibal): A

no-nonsense governess and nervous FBI profiler with a
granddaughter of Death, who knack for understanding what
has inherited many of his makes serial killers tick - and a
psychopomp qualities. growing sense that he has
Charged by her grandfather to more in common with them
defend reality when he cannot than he’d like to admit.
interfere.
PLAY TO FIND OUT
Shiki Ryougi (Garden of
Sinners): A plural system (all Who are you to decide
confusingly named Shiki) who lives and dies?
capable of seeing the inherent
mortality in all things. Shiki Can you separate your
acts as an enforcer for a mundane life and your
magical detective agency, deathly duties?
killing ghosts, people, and
apartment buildings. What is death, and what does
that mean for you?
CONTENT WARNINGS + THEMES PLAYBOOK DETAILS
Things this playbook touches on. You start with these.

Death, murder, sanctioned violence, service and duty, police- SKILLS

metaphors, nihilism, coercion, raising or otherwise interacting Fight & Stand
with the dead
DOMAIN
Doom

WHEN YOU CREATE A REAPER VALUABLES

Answer (and do not answer) the following: Choose one:

Somehow, you ended up as an agent of Death. How did this Pocket guide to the City
happen? Were you born into it, have you died once already, D6 Order
were you recruited? Do not answer who or what Death is or
how it works. Out-of-print book
on the afterlife
You feel guilt for the death of someone in your past. Who was D8 Data, Occult
it? Do not answer whether you are truly responsible.
EQUIPMENT
Signature weapon
Fight, D8, Dire, Sacrifice

Choose one:

Distinctive armor
Stand D8, Loud

Ominous cloak
Stand D8, Dire,
WHEN YOU GATHER INFORMATION Specialty: Mortals
Example questions that this playbook might want to ask:
AGENDA
• Who here knows what I am?
Choose one:
• Who is most afraid here?
Bring something to an end
that’s gone on too long
• What ghosts linger here?
Use your ominous presence
• Who here is most vulnerable?
to get what you want
• What here needs to end?
Help someone let go of
something when it’s time
• Who here needs a push in the right direction?
to part ways
CORE ABILITIES DOWNTIME ACTIVITY
These abilities define A special option for
who you are. you during downtime.

Deadly Instrument Psychopomp

You know the places to apply Death is more than a drive: it
force. The heft and motion of is a calling, a vocation, a duty.
a simple device. The shatter
and splatter of violent impact. Once per downtime, you Roll Stand + Doom to follow
may act as death’s agent and through on your duty. On a
Whenever you roll to hurt escort someone to their final success, choose one. On a
something or someone, your rest. The GM will decide critical success, choose two.
unarmed stress die is D6, who.
rather than D4. In addition, Relieve D8 stress from one
any and all weapons in your The interpretation of this Resistance
hands gain the True tag. action is up to you and the
table: you might be a nurse, Gain a D6 Valuable
This Is My Design a mortician, a forensic appropriate to the situation
Your capacity for assistant, a gravedigger, a
FATHOM 1
violence is vigilante, or someone who Strike fear in someone’s
transcendent. You can witness literally finds lost ghosts and heart: inflict D6 stress on a
carnage as if you’d inflicted it walks alongside them until target who witnesses your
yourself. they find their way through capacity for obliteration.
the city. This can happen tangentially
You can automatically sense to the main task - a vision
death’s presence. When you seen out a window, on a
examine a situation where rooftop, in a restless dream.
something died, roll Stand +
Doom. On a success, you are Death Itself takes an interest
witness not only to the event in your task, and introduces
itself, but more: the UnReal something or someone
reveals motivations, unexpected into your errand.
intentions, and You do not yet know how
consequences. Ask the GM they relate to your task, but
three questions related to they are here for a reason.
the situation; they will
answer you honestly.
MINOR ABILITIES Death Walks Among You Ferryman’s Fee
Small bits of knowledge You can’t run. You cannot All must pay the price.
and know-how. hide. The clock is FATHOM 1
always ticking. Gain the Capital domain.
Carrion Call FATHOM 1 Once per session, when you
Life begets death, Gain the Drift skill. Mark D4 kill an opponent that
but death begets life. Where Weird stress to walk through deserved to die, gain the
death treads, there is a feast a physical wall or obstacle Valuable Death’s Obol: D6
for crows. like a specter. Doom. The obol - an antique
coin - is imprinted with an
Gain the Wild domain. Once Fear Itself image of why the slain was
per session, you can I’m your worst nightmare. deserving of death; describe
summon either a flock of the image when you acquire
strange flesh-eating birds, or Gain the Invoke FATHOM 1 it.
one very large flesh-eating skill. Roll Invoke
bird. You can mark D4 Weird + Doom to take on the form
stress when you use this of whatever is most feared in
ability to summon an UnReal the situation you’re
version of whatever it is currently in. Depending on
you’ve chosen. Your the situation, the GM might
summoned bird(s) will obey let you choose what that is,
a simple instruction for the or they might tell you once
rest of the situation to the you cast the spell.
best of its ability. In either
case, treat the birds as the In either situation, it’s not a
following equipment as complete transformation,
appropriate but a subtle shift - you’re
still recognizable as yourself,
Flock of Strange Birds but you take on traits of the
D6 Ranged, Spread thing which can be used to
your advantage when
or attempting to coerce,
intimidate, or terrify people.
One Very Large Bird You might wind up changing
D8 Ranged, Heavy your eye color, sense of
fashion, expression, the size
of your horns, or something
else. The change and its
effects last until the end of
the situation.
Flash the Badge Killer Queen Running Up That Hill
Sometimes, if a door won’t If looks could kill, there’d be Your work is not yet done.
open or someone won’t talk, no survivors.
you need a little something to Gain the Beyond domain.
expedite the situation. Gain the Style domain. Mark The first time you would
D4 stress to do one of the mark a Scar as a result of
Gain the Order domain. You following: utterly captivate taking a fourth Fallout, you
have some degree of legal an NPC with only a short are instead called to the
jurisdiction within the city conversation, gain the court of Death Itself. Death
itself; name what it is. Once attention of everyone in the will offer you a bargain; if
per session, when you reveal room, or, cause dread and you accept, erase the fallout
this authority, make your despair in one person’s and the stress that caused it,
next roll with advantage and heart. and then return to the scene,
choose one of the following: bound by your pact. If you
Manhunter refuse or decline, you suffer
Someone here has it out for Empathy is just like anything the fallout as normal and
you, else: dangerous in radical take a Scar.
quantities.
FATHOM 1
Someone immediately asks Shinigami Eyes
for your help, or Gain the Hunt skill. Once We’re all marked. There are
per session, you can declare no exceptions.
Your display of authority a target: when you do, the
comes back to bite you later GM will tell you what Gain the Analyze skill. Once
domains that target per session, ask the GM who
Whichever you choose, the possesses. So long as you are here is closest to their death.
GM gets to decide who. pursuing that target, you The GM will answer you
have access to that domain. honestly.
Inevitable
There is no escaping what is This effect persists until you Vigor Mortis
to come. You cannot be catch your prey. If your prey What is dead may never die.
stopped. eludes you, or you change
your target without having Gain +2 Form Protection.
Gain +2 Luck Protection. seized your quarry, take D6
Nerve stress.
MAJOR ABILITIES
One-of-a-kind advantages.

Dead Eyed Interrogator

There’s a reason so UPGRADE - TRUESIGHT
FATHOM 1
many confessions Gain +1 Luck Protection, You
happen on deathbeds. When can see perfectly in the dark,
faced with oblivion, the truth and furthermore, can see
wriggles its way out, like rats things that would otherwise
fleeing a sinking ship. be invisible.

Roll Stand + Doom when UPGRADE - DOOMVISION

you’re interrogating Whenever you use SHINIGAMI
someone to unleash the vast EYES, roll with advantage on
emptiness of death upon your next interaction with
them. that character.

On a success, you see them UPGRADE - PENANCE STARE

for who they truly are, Just looking into someone’s
regardless of any and all eyes can cause them heart-
deceptions they put up in stopping fear. Gain the
front of you. Ask them any following equipment:
question; They must answer Invoke D8 Ranged One-shot.
the questions truthfully. On
a critical success, ask two
questions.

Once they’re done

answering, the NPC will
want nothing to do with you
ever again. You can never
take them as an anchor. If
they were an anchor, erase it
now.
Death Perception
FATHOM 2
Everything is
already on the brink of falling
apart. With the right pressure,
you can expedite matters.

You can perceive the UPGRADE - SPECTRAL FEEDBACK

corrosive power of entropy Whenever you use DEATH
in all things and all people. PERCEPTION, you will
Describe how you perceive automatically learn the
death in the world around location and mood of any
you: interconnected tethers ghosts, spirits, or other
linking the world, spiraling deathly phenomena present.
cracks in the surface of
reality, a gray and grisly rot, UPGRADE - SYSTEM SHOCK
or something else. When you use DEATH
PERCEPTION successfully, lower
Roll Analyze + Doom to find the difficulty of relevant
just the right place to strike. actions for the rest of the
On a success, you can cause situation by one step.
something to utterly
collapse: a vital organ, a UPGRADE - KILLING TIME
load-bearing column, a Once per session,
FATHOM 3
security system, a well- you can roll Fight
founded argument, a pile of + Doom to obliterate the
inconvenient evidence, an time between you and a
emotional barricade, or future event, allowing you to
anything else that could peek into the future. Time
collapse under its own will quickly reassert itself,
weight. filling the sudden void with
more time, and may lash out
If the target has problem against you in retaliation.
associated, you inflict D6 State one abstract vision you
stress, ignoring protection - see. The GM must introduce
otherwise, the target is it before the end of the
simply obliterated. session.

When you encounter your

vision, treat it as a knack for
the rest of this session.
Dust to Dust FATHOM 2
To call your hands
“deadly weapons” is beside UPGRADE - ASHES TO ASHES
the point; your grasp can Add the following to the list
literally deteriorate the of options:
fundamental reality of the
world around you. • Light something on fire,
even if it would not
Roll Manipulate + Doom and otherwise burn.
lay your bare hands on a
target to instill the target UPGRADE - HAND TO HAND
with unyielding, entropic You’ve mastered using this
decay. Describe how your ability while fighting against
corrosive touch turns what hostile targets. You can use
you grasp to dust. Fight + Doom to activate this
ability instead.
On a success, pick one of the
following. On a critical UPGRADE - FADE TO BLACK
success, pick two. If you roll a critical success
with this ability, instead of
Remove 1 level of protection picking from the list, you can
choose to guarantee the
Reduce a equipment or target’s imminent death.
Valuable by one dice size This does not happen
immediately, but it is
Add the Doom domain to inevitable. Work with the
the area for the rest of the GM to determine if they
situation. have hours, days, or weeks
remaining. No one but you
Utterly strip away an illusion can undo this curse.
or disguise

Inflict D6 stress
Grim Reaper’s Scythe
When absolutely, positively
need to kill everybody in the
room.

You possess or have come Your weapon can be

into the possession of a summoned and dismissed by
signature weapon. When you you at any time. It cannot be
take this move, start by taken from you against your
gaining access to the will, but Death Itself may
following equipment: Fight temporarily rescind your
D10 Sacrifice, Tiring. access to it should you
displease them.
Describe your weapon.
Then, give the weapon either UPGRADE - UNSTOPPABLE
the Ranged or the Heavy tag. Your legendary weapon loses
the Tiring tag.
Finally, choose one of the
following additional tags to UPGRADE - KILLING SPREE
apply to it. Whenever you defeat an
opponent with your
Legendary - Your weapon is signature weapon, roll with
inscribed in the stories or advantage on your next
histories of the city. It will be attack.
recognized by everyone who
sees it on sight. UPGRADE - NOT TO BE TRIFLED WITH
Once per session, when you
Secret - Your weapon is reveal your signature
whispered about by a weapon, lower the difficulty
particular sect or of your next roll by one step.
organization and will be It doesn’t have to be an
recognized by those from attack roll.
that group or those with
knowledge of it.

New - Your weapon was

formed just for you. Scholars
of Doom and those drawn to
death and endings will feel
its presence and seek it out.
Thanatuergist FATHOM 2
Death is simply the
first step towards making
something new.

Roll Invoke + Doom to UPGRADE - NECROSTAMINA

command nearby dead You’ve built up a tolerance
material to move according for maintaining active
to your will. constructs. You may have
multiple skeletons active at a
On a success, you manifest a time, although you must still
skeleton of approximately roll to create each one.
human size and shape which
will obey a simple set of UPGRADE - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
direct orders: fight alongside Your skeletons are brighter
me, guard this path way, take than the average construct,
this orb back to my house, and able to take complicated
the like will work. orders or make their own
decisions in pursuit of a goal.
The skeleton can’t talk or
make tactical decisions, but UPGRADE - BONETOUSLE
it inherently understands Your skeletons can talk, for
who is a threat and who isn’t all the good that will do.
based on your own
conception of those labels.
The skeleton will attempt to
achieve the goal it’s given
until it’s destroyed or it’s
given a new goal.

Maintaining an animated
skeleton is draining; you can
only have one skeleton
active at a time.
ZENITH ABILITIES
How will your story can end?

I Am Become Death
You have been feared, cursed, Absolve: Ask the dying Challenge: You may return a
and uselessly beseeched. You character if they are ready to character to life as with
have shaped life since its start. move on. If so, you take Absolve, but only if they
Now you’re done. It’s my them to the other side. Give succeed at some Challenge
turn. only a single detail of the you agree upon. This may be
journey. a literal game or other
Prerequisite contest that the two of you
Take the Major Ability GRIM If they’re not ready, remove play, or it may be a Job. We
REAPER’S SCYTHE and all three one of their Scars and take encourage you to play a
upgrades. In addition, find a them back to the moment second game outside of
way to reach Death. before their death. Make a FATHOM, time permitting
single change to the world to (chess is a classic, but
You become Death. How did prevent them from dying - anything will do).
this happen? describe what it is. If you
choose this option, take an It’s okay if Death doesn’t
Until the end of the appropriate Scar. Death win, you’ll get them in the
campaign, any time any demands a price, even when end. If they succeed, return
character dies or is forced to it’s you. them to life as in Absolve. If
Abandon this life, you decide they fail, take them to the
their fate. Choose one of the Bargain: You may return a other side.
following, or simply allow character to life as with
them to pass on, without Absolve, but instead of
interfering: paying the price yourself, the
dying character instead
becomes Bound. At any
time, name a specific
character - the Bound must
take their life in order to pay
the price for their own
salvation. If the character
goes another Job, Downtime,
and Company Progression
cycle without killing their
target, you come to collect
them yourself. Describe the
terror you inflict and the
horror left behind in your
wake.
The Goal of All Life
Why are we still here? Just to
suffer? Not anymore. We’re
leaving, all of us.

Prerequisite
Use PSYCHOPOMP three or
more times and suffer at
least two new scars

To activate this ability, Choose a District to start. If your former crew attempts
destroy something. You One Company of your to stop you, they must travel
cease being a drifter and choice in this District is to the first District to fall,
become an Apocalypse - an instantly swallowed in your and there they must kill you.
UnReal manifestation of the slow Apocalypse. The GM Use the same stats as a
end of all things. Describe decides if the others flee or Horseman (see Bestiary),
your new form: It may succumb. Describe the with an additional +1
appear as a plague, famine, District once you’re done protection for every District
or war in the Real, but in the with it and change its you’ve already swallowed.
UnReal it might be Domains as appropriate. No
something more fantastical, Companies or Citizens
like zombies, birds, or alien remain here. Going forward,
invaders. Once you take this every Downtime, you may
form, you will automatically choose 1D4 additional,
move across the City, adjacent Districts to fall to
District by District, until your Apocalypse. Continue
someone stops you or this until you are stopped or
you’ve put everyone out of the City is no more.
their misery.
Orpheus Gambit
My purpose is to bring people
to Death. The opposite?
That’s tough.

Prerequisite Assign each of the five If you end up with a Fallout

Decide whether or not you individual results to one of for any of the main five
were truly responsible for your five Resistances. Check Resistances, use the
the death you felt guilt for in for Fallout and assign Scars appropriate one below. If
character creation AND have as normal. Explain what each this becomes a Scar, it
at least four anchors of the five steps look like becomes a permanent truth
according to the results. for your drifter.
Someone is dead, you don’t Focus on dream-like imagery
want them to be, and you’re and logic, and do not worry Formless: Being in the same
willing to brave Death itself about temporal or spatial physical location as the
to bring them back. consistency. person you rescued will
instantly kill them.
To activate this ability, If you die along the way back
choose someone to rescue from Death, your rescue still Nerveless: Looking at a
and find a pathway into succeeds, but you stay visual representation of the
Death as a Downtime behind. What challenge do person you rescued will
Action. The pathway may be you fail at, and why? Who in instantly kill them.
a recent death or a place the world of the living
deeply immersed in Doom. wishes you could return? If Luckless: Pick a number from
you live and survive the 1 to 100. At the start of
You do not need to roll to return from Death, you may every situation, roll a D100.
succeed. You will bring them continue playing as a drifter, If you get that number, you
back: the only question is but how many more times instantly kill the person you
the cost. Roll 5D13, can you make the trip? rescued.
corresponding to the five
trials of your journey. (D13 is Debtless: Touching a
not a die you’ll find outside Valuable you once owned
Death: Either roll a D20 and will instantly kill the person
reroll on a 14+, or roll you rescued.
digitally.)
Weirdless: Interacting with
your UnReal power will
instantly kill the person you
rescued.
 The Returned
You were a normal person. Then you were taken somewhere, I took a little journey
some terrible and strange UnReal place. Now you’re back, to the unknown
escaped, but not free- not fully free, not yet. You are hunted, And I come back changed
and you are a hunter. You’ll find out who or what they are, and I can feel it in my bones
what they did to you. You’re pretty sure you already have all
the pieces, you just have to find how they fit together. I fucked with the forces
that our eyes can't see
You interact with the world in a completely different way to Now the darkness
other drifters, which is both a boon and a liability to those got a hold on me
around you.
Lord Huron, Meet Me in the
Woods

TOUCHSTONES

Cassandra Spender (X-Files): Walt (Lost): A quiet,

A repeated alien abductee, introspective boy abducted by
and charismatic leader who mysterious “others” with an
experiences visions she interest in his knack for
believes will lead to world psychic premonitions.
peace.
PLAY TO FIND OUT
Abed Nadir (Community): No
one knows why Abed can see Where did you go, and
the things that he can see, or why did you return?
why he acts the way he does,
but one thing is clear: he’s Who are the Instrument and
operating in his own reality, what happens if they take you?
and it’s up to the rest of us to
catch up. Are you the same you as before?
CONTENT WARNINGS + THEMES PLAYBOOK DETAILS
Answer (and do not answer) the following: You start with these.

Abduction, loss of self and memory, being stalked or tracked, SKILLS

differences in perception, trauma, conspiracy Connect & Manipulate

DOMAIN
WHEN YOU CREATE A RETURNED Beyond
Answer (and do not answer) the following:
VALUABLES
When you create a Returned, do not define who or what it was
Choose one:
that took you. Instead, describe what haunts your life now that
you have returned: what you can see (or sense) that no one else
An inhuman skull
notices. These are what allow you to do the things that you can
D6 Doom
do.
Classic novel (Cursed)
As a Returned, you are hunted by the Instrument. They were
D8 Common, Harmful
not responsible for taking you, but they want you now: to
dissect you, to interrogate you, to recruit you, or some other
EQUIPMENT
nefarious purpose. They are coming. They will not stop.
Choose one:
You know the Instrument is coming for you, you’ve
Zines
encountered them before. What was this first encounter like?
Connect D6
Where were you, how long ago was it, how did you escape?
Describe a sensation or sight that gives away the Instrument’s
Proof of your Abduction
presence.
Connect D6, Illicit,
Surprise
Do not specify what the Instrument is, not yet, though your
character might have theories.
Communication Scrambler
Manipulate D6 Ranged
WHEN YOU GATHER INFORMATION
Example questions that this playbook might want to ask:
AGENDA
Choose one:
• Who present has seen the same sights as me?
Overcome a challenge
• What lie can I tell to keep myself safe?
with uncanny insight or
precognition
• What would the Instrument be interested in here?
Help someone else cope
• What secret connection do only I see?
with the everyday world
• What here would contradict others' sense of reality?
Put yourself as risk to help
someone lost or alone
• What is the meaning of an obscure symbol, sign, or icon here?
CORE ABILITIES
These abilities define
who you are.

Contradiction to Nature Playing a card means relying All cards played in this way
Your actions don’t always on the signs that only you activate any Marks they
make sense to those around can perceive, which opens might feature. By default,
you. They’re not like you. You you up to greater danger. face cards feature the Mark
see the world differently, now. Whenever you choose to of the Instrument. Whenever
You see it for what it truly is. play a card instead of making you play a card with the
a roll, you act as though the Mark of the Instrument, give
At the beginning of each job, situation is one step worse your presence away to that
shuffle a 52 card deck and (Controlled to Risky, Risky organization: the GM will
draw 5 cards from it to make to Dangerous, and so on). inflict a consequence relating
your hand. This hand This doesn't change the to the Instrument.
represents the cosmic signs situation for others or for
in the UnReal which only you if you choose to roll You may draw cards back up
you can see and understand. later, just for this one to a total of 5 at the end of
moment. each situation. If you’ve run
Whenever you’re on a job out of cards in your deck,
and need to make an action Play cards equal to the don’t reshuffle until the
roll, instead of rolling dice, difficulty of the roll: Risky beginning of the next job.
you may instead play cards requires 2, Dangerous
from your hand. The value of requires 3, and so on. Your At the end of a job, you take
the highest card you play highest card played counts 1 Weird stress for each
takes the place of the die as the result for the roll. So, unplayed card in your hand:
result for the action roll. faced with a Dangerous roll, the things you see will not
Playing a 7 acts as if you had you can play a 2, 3, and a 10 be ignored easily. Then,
rolled a 7 as your highest and get a critical success. discard those cards from
result. Aces are low (1s, or your hand. Your signs are
critical failures). Face cards only useful to you in the
(Jack, Queen, King) count as UnReal, and can’t be used
a 10, or a critical success. during downtime.

I Want to Believe
This can’t be the way that
things are supposed to be.

Once per session, you may Then, draw new cards equal
mark D4 stress to a to the number of cards you
Resistance of your choice, discarded. Marks don’t
discard your entire hand,. activate on discarded cards.
DOWNTIME ACTIVITY
A special option for
you during downtime.

The Truth is Out There

Your knowledge of how things On a 10+, choose three If you do not choose the last
are. Your understanding of options from the list below. option, in addition to the
how things are supposed to On a 6-9 choose two. On a options you chose, you must
be. You can reconcile these 1-5, choose one. You may add the Mark of the
things. It will simply take choose the same option Instrument. This card acts as
time. more than once. a face card, inflicting a
consequence associated with
Do the following twice: Add the Mark of Power: Add the Instrument when used.
Choose a card in your deck +1 to this card’s rank value (a Marks may be tracked on a
card to be touched by the 4 card now counts as a 5, physical or digital deck, or
Beyond. Then roll etc). tracked separately.
Manipulate + Beyond.
Add the Mark of Doom. There is a page dedicated to
After using this card, the the Returned’s deck of cards
next time you inflict stress, in the player character
you inflict stress one step spreadsheets.
higher.

Remove this card from your

deck.

Do NOT add the Mark of the

Instrument.
MINOR ABILITIES
Small bits of knowledge
and know-how.

Back from the Edge Coping Mechanism Galaxy Brain

You were lost from the world, You've learned tricks to hold Even a broken universe is right
and you survived. You can yourself together: You've had twice a day.
take anything life throws at to, to get this far.
you. Gain the Data domain. Add
Gain the Knit skill. Add the the following option to the
Gain the Stand skill. Add the following option to the list list in THE TRUTH IS OUT
following option to the list in THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE: THERE:
in THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE:
• Add the Mark of Life: • Add the Mark of Insight:
• Add the Mark of Play this card: you or an Play this card to ask the
Resilience: Play this card ally can refresh D4 GM what’s present in the
to gain +2 Protection to stress. current situation that
a single Resistance for you may have
the rest of the situation. When you take this ability, overlooked; they will
You can do this in choose four cards from your answer you honestly
response to being deck. Add both the Mark of
assigned stress, before Life and the Mark of the When you take this ability,
the stress is taken. Instrument to those four choose four cards from your
cards. deck. Add both the Mark of
When you take this ability, Insight and the Mark of the
choose four cards from your Cosmic Perspective Instrument to those four
deck. Add both the Mark of You’ve been through so much. cards.
Resilience and the Mark of The trials and tribulation of
the Instrument to those four the City are nothing How Do You Do, Fellow
cards. compared to what you’ve Earthlings
seen. On a genetic level, we’re
practically identical. That
Gain +2 Nerve Protection. makes it easy to get along.

Gain the Wild domain.

Natural creatures neither
fear you or hunt you, unless
you’re openly hostile to
them.
I Have Seen The Stars Neither Seen Nor Heard Strange Trails
And they will not save us. You’ve worked very hard at Your path will always lead you
becoming inconspicuous. to the truth, even if you do
Gain the Doom domain. not know the way.
Once per session, you may Gain the Common domain.
mark stress to Weird to tell Once per situation, ask the Gain the Drift skill. Once per
someone the following GM what you would need to downtime, you can HIT THE
information, which you do in order to blend in with BRICKS as a free action.
know to be true. You must your surroundings - not
tell them the information in invisible or camouflaged, but Stranger Than Fiction
order to know it yourself; utterly beneath notice. So Can you separate truth from
you effectively don’t have long as you perform that fantasy? To do so, you must
access to it until you give action and no one is actively open your mind to things that
voice to it. looking for you, nobody will are beyond belief.
pay you much mind.
D4 - Something about their Gain +2 Weird Protection.
recent activity that only they Read Between the Lines
know. You can see systems of power
the same way other people can
D6 - Some truth from their see color. The fettels of
distant past that has eluded authority are bright, bold, and
them. unmistakable.

D8 - Something they deeply Gain the Order domain.

fear or dread. Once per situation, you can
ask the GM, “Who’s really in
D10 - Something they long charge, here?” They will
to know, even if they won’t answer you honestly.
admit it to themselves.
Right Place, Wrong Time
This is all a big mistake. You
must be looking for someone
else.

Gain the Fight skill. Once

per session, allocate stress to
a nearby friendly target
instead of marking it
yourself.
MAJOR ABILITIES
One-of-a-kind advantages.

Altered UPGRADE - GRACE

You don’t remember precisely You’re possessed of
what they look like, except uncommon poise, even when
that they were perfect. Past you stumble. Whenever you
the uncanny valley, beyond roll a critical failure, it counts
the platonic ideal. Fair folk of only as a standard failure.
fae excellence. Your time
among them has changed UPGRADE - MAJESTY
what you are: maybe not Your form’s uncanny nature
perfect to behold, but hale of is captivating, even if people
body in a mysterious way. can’t describe precisely why.
Things do not hurt you, and Once per session, when you
do not last, in a way that truly meet someone who hasn’t
matters. met you before, you may
declare that your strange
At the beginning of each appearance has them
situation, clear all Form fascinated. Roll with
stress as your body advantage for the rest of the
reassembles itself into its situation whenever you
ideal state. You can never interact with them.
benefit from Form
protection, or remove stress UPGRADE - DREAD
from Form, aside from using True physical instability is
this ability. such a rare phenomena:
when it does happen, you
know it’s time to get serious.
Whenever you suffer Form
Fallout, roll with advantage
for the rest of the situation.
Close Encounters Anchor: The Circle UPGRADE - THE SERENITY TO
You are different, but you You were each normal, once. ACCEPT THE THINGS
are not alone. You have been bound together I CANNOT CHANGE
by your shared strangeness. You know how to square
You are part of a clandestine your shoulders and suffer
group of others like you - When you gain this anchor, well. Once per session, when
people who came back from gain the Common domain. you would mark stress, mark
some mysterious fate. half as much rounded-down.
Describe how you connected Minor - Shared
with them, and how you Experience UPGRADE - THE COURAGE TO
regularly meet or Your circle is a place for CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
communicate. Gain them as everyone to share their stories. You have the confidence to
a minor anchor using the step up when you need to.
playbook THE CIRCLE. Once per session, when Once per session, lower the
someone fails a roll but difficulty for a roll you make
before the consequences are by one step (Difficult to
inflicted, you can relate an Risky, etc).
anecdote someone in your
Circle told you about a UPGRADE - THE WISDOM TO
circumstance just like this. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
The player who failed the You know when you need
roll can now roll one more that extra oomph. Once per
dice as part of their roll, as if session, when you make a
you’d given them advantage. roll where you’re missing
either the pertinent skill or
Major - Survivorship Bias domain, roll with advantage.
No single one of you can bear
the brunt of what’s to come.
Together, you can survive.

Once per job, when you

would play a card bearing
the Mark of the Instrument,
ignore it. If you do, mark D6
stress to this anchor.
Describe how the Circle has
taught you to obscure your
activity.
Event Horizon
There is something terrible,
out there. Beyond the world as
you know it. Past the celestial
sphere, and older than the
concept of time. You glimpsed
the slightest fraction of its
shape, and it changed
everything.

You can speak stress into the

world simply by describing
the unknowable horror that
you have seen on the far side
of reality. Gain the following
equipment: Unspeakable
Truths - Fight D8 Dire,
Spread, Ranged.

This only works on sentient

targets: animals, automatons,
or those whose faith in some
other reality is iron-clad
won’t be affected.

UPGRADE - THE DARK INSIDE

Once per situation, you may
add your current Nerve
stress to the stress inflicted
with this weapon.

UPGRADE - IF YOU COULD SEE

THE THINGS I’VE SEEN
When you attack using
UNSPEAKABLE TRUTHS, you may
choose to replace the Spread
tag with the Piercing tag.

UPGRADE - HELL IS FATHOM 2

ONLY A WORD
UNSPEAKABLE TRUTHS can now
inflict stress on things that
wouldn’t ordinarily be affected.
Phenomenon FATHOM 1
You came back
different. Not just in the way
that you see the world, but
the way you move through it:
you can do things now that no
one should be able to do.

You possess a burgeoning You may play a card from UPGRADE - SPACE OF POSSIBILITY
set of psychic skills, either your hand to use one of the Add two more of the options
granted to you - or unlocked powers you’ve chosen. In the from the list of options to
- by your strange abductors. case of something your powers. Give a card in
particularly difficult, the GM your deck the Mark of the
When you take PHENOMENON, may require you to play Instrument.
choose two of the following more than one card from
options. your hand. After you’ve UPGRADE - VARIABLE CAUSALITY
discarded, draw back up to 3 Once per session, you may
Move something with the cards. use one of your powers in
power of your mind this way without playing a
In the case of “Sense danger card from your hand. If your
Communicate telepathically before it arrives,” when the goal is especially difficult,
with another sentient being GM describes a consequence, the GM might rule you still
you may discard a card to need to play cards, but can
Read or speak any language activate your ability. The play one fewer card than you
after only a brief interaction consequence hasn’t would have otherwise
happened yet - the scene needed to.
Sense danger before it arrives that played out was your
sensory apparatus warning UPGRADE - CONDITIONED ACTUALITY
Operate any device after a you about it - but it’s about Once per session, before you
short period of study to. You have time to do one use this ability, you may
thing in order to prevent its draw a card from your deck.
Start a fire without clear impact. Drawing a card commits you
cause or fuel to using the ability; you
When you take PHENOMENON, MUST then play a card from
give a card in your deck the your hand in order to
mark of the Instrument. activate a power, even if you
don’t want to.
Signs FATHOM 1
Can’t you see
what’s going on around you?

Once per session, you can UPGRADE - COOPERATION

study secret signs of the Your allies know to trust
world around you to predict your hunches. When you
the future. Discard up to would discard a card to roll
three cards from your hand. with advantage when you
For each card that you encounter an omen, you can
discard, describe a vague, instead let an ally roll with
hazy vision of the future - advantage instead.
the less detail, the better.
Each vision is fated to come UPGRADE - VINDICATION
up during the job. Once your Once per session, when you
visions have faded, draw discover something related
back up to three cards. to each omen, you may
The first time you interact either refresh D8 Nerve or
with something related to Luck stress, or put a card
each omen, roll with from your discard pile into
advantage. your hand and then discard a
card.

UPGRADE - PROGNOSTICATION
Three times in the lifetime
of your character, destroy a
single card in your deck and
describe a portentous omen.
Your prediction will come
true, in time.
ZENITH ABILITIES
How will your story can end?

yeah, I said street magic

Nothing up my sleeve.

Prerequisite You can burn any number of Deal 1 True, Piercing Stress
Take PHENOMENON and all its cards at one time; more 1 Card
upgrades. In addition, powerful miracles require
successfully destroy an agent more cards. Use the list Heal 1 Stress
or project of the Instrument. below to gauge how many 1 Card
cards you need to burn to
You sense the secret signals produce the desired result. Remove a Fallout
others cannot and have read 3 Cards
them for your own ends. If you want to accomplish
Now you can grasp them, something outside this list, Reshape a Situation
turning signifier into sign you likely can: work with 6 Cards
into material effect. your GM to determine a
reasonable price. Remove a Scar
When you take this ability, 12 Cards
describe what it looks like When your deck runs out of
when the Returned takes cards, you find that your Reshape a District
hold of a sign and hands can no longer grasp 12 Cards
reconfigures it for their own these secret signs, and they
ends. You can now burn will soon fade from your Reshape a Company
cards to produce view entirely. When you run X*6 Cards (where X equals
superhuman feats or out of cards - or after the the number of districts they
miracles. end of the current Job, control + 1)
whichever is most
When you burn a card, appropriate - your character
randomly draw a card from will retire. What happens to
the deck and destroy it, you, when you can no longer
permanently removing it see threats coming?
from play. You don’t have to
physically destroy it if you Regardless, you cannot live
don’t want to (or can’t), but as a drifter any longer. Work
real burning cards are ideal. with your GM and table to
Marks activate on burned determine an appropriate
cards as if they were played. ending.
Hostile Takeover
The only surefire way to
survive the hunt is to be the
hunter.

Prerequisite
Take SIGNS and all its minor Now you just need to make In the aftermath of the
upgrades. In addition, gain a contact. When you take this confrontation, if you
Mark of some kind on over ability, start a D12 problem survived, you become the
half the cards in your deck “Corporate Raid.” Mark 1 beating heart of the
(face cards already count as progress each time you use a Instrument. The Instrument
marked). card with the Mark of the becomes a D12 Company if
Instrument. When it is they are not one already.
You’re going to seize control completed, the Instrument
of the Instrument. Through arrives and you’ll deploy Pick three existing
your careful study of signs your leverage to join their Companies that control at
and signals, you’ve number. least three Districts; Reveal
discovered some secret that the Instrument was
information - incantation, Work with your table to controlling them from the
blackmail, or valuable intel - determine a version of this shadows all along. Choose a
that will force them to take final confrontation that Company Project and pick a
you on board. You, the everyone is interested in. relevant D10 relationship
player, don’t need to know Does your Returned hide with your old crew. You are
this information, but you can their plan from their crew? no longer a drifter, but you
come up with something if Are some members may have just become the
you like. Maybe you’ve opposed? Is your Returned villain of this campaign.
actually always been a planning to sacrifice some
member under deep cover? other drifter in the crew to
Maybe you know where they satiate the Instrument?
can find something they’re
after? Maybe you can give
them someone else?
Re-Return
Be seeing you.

Prerequisite
Take CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and Regardless, you’re gone, but Any time you bring the
EVENT HORIZON. In addition, not for good. Until the end Returned back, give them a
learn some truth about those of the campaign you, the Scar. When you reach seven
who took you. player of the Returned, can Scars, you can no longer use
have your Returned this ability. You may have
To activate this ability, character return to the game the Returned send one
vanish. You and some for a situation. You do not message back to the
(maybe all) members of your have to explain how they got character(s) of your choice.
Circle anchor are returning here, or give a consistent Do they no longer have the
to those who took you away explanation if you do. They strength for the trip? Is the
in the first place. The are just back, briefly. When way closed? Are they dead?
framing here is entirely up to they return, you now have Never answer these
you. This may be joyous, a authorial control over the questions outside of this
return to your true people. situation, and may resolve final message, which itself
This may be horrifying or the situation as you see fit. If may or may not be true.
tragic. This may be purely your decision involves other
transactional. But you characters, their players
cannot avoid it. Do you have (including the GM!) should
time to say goodbye to the be on board. After that, the
crew? To explain? Returned departs the game
once more.
The Vamp
You'll see him You lost something in the UnReal and now you can’t live
in your nightmares without taking it from others: Blood, tears, joy, memories, etc..
You'll see him You take them from people, willingly or otherwise.
in your dreams
He'll appear out of nowhere You are no longer human, but you’re not a monster, not yet.
but he ain't what he seems And your new existence isn’t all bad, as it’s conferred upon you
a number of powerful gifts. Your role as a drifter is social
You'll see him in your head manipulation and sudden, secret violence.
On the TV screen
And hey buddy,
I'm warning you
to turn it off

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,

Right Red Hand

TOUCHSTONES

Lestat de Lioncourt (Interview David Kohl (Phonomancer):

with the Vampire/The Vampire Britpop-empowered magician,
Chronicles): A hedonist self-absorbed know-it-all, and
vampire anti-hero, always manipulative asshole, David
hungry for blood and/or to must take a break from
wax poetically on the finer chasing skirts to discover
things in unlife. who’s trying to resurrect a
dead god.
Olivia "Liv" Moore (iZombie):
A fervent and loyal medical PLAY TO FIND OUT
examiner turned zombie, who
must feed on brains to retain What lines will you cross to
her personality, a process get what you want?
giving her access to their
previous owner’s memories, Can you be trusted? Do you
allowing her to solve their even want to be?
murders.
What's the difference between a
human and a monster?
PLAYBOOK DETAILS CONTENT WARNINGS + THEMES
You start with these. Things this playbook touches on.

SKILLS Manipulation, issues around consent/lack of consent, abuse,

Fight & Manipulate dependency, addiction, mind control, disability, ostracization,
cannibalism understood broadly, and concealing aspects of
DOMAIN oneself
Crime

VALUABLES WHEN YOU CREATE A VAMP

Choose one: Answer (and do not answer) the following:

A single, still-living rose Some time in the past you were turned from a (fairly) normal
D6 Wild human to what you are now. When was this? Who or what
turned you? Do not answer where they are now, if they are
Really, really cool sunglasses someone or something other than yourself.
D8 Style, Fragile
You have a reason to hide the true nature of your existence, at
EQUIPMENT least from some. Why is this? What do you think will happen
A great outfit if you’re revealed? Do not say if you’re right about the
D6 Manipulate consequences of revelation.

Choose one:

Concealed Blade
D6 Fight, Surprise, Dire

Blessed Blade
D6 Fight, Dire,
Specialty: Other
Vamps
WHEN YOU GATHER INFORMATION
Example questions that this playbook might want to ask:
AGENDA
• What security does this place have?
Choose one:
• Where can I find a quiet moment alone?
Take advantage of
someone’s worst self
• What would most upset everyone here?
Put the situation at risk
• Who here has something worth taking?
to satisfy a selfish urge
• Who here is most vulnerable?
Deny your craving to
serve a greater good
• What's the fastest exit?
CORE ABILITIES
These abilities define
who you are.

Creature of the Night

You’ve changed. You’ve
become something dark.
Hungry.

When you create a Vamp, Then, choose as many of the

replace your Nerve following additional
Resistance with a new one weaknesses as you want, and
called Crave. Whenever you fill them in.
would take Nerve stress, you
take Crave stress instead. Those who know about me
can identify my nature by my
You cannot heal Crave stress _____.
using effects that would
ordinarily heal Nerve stress. I have to ask for _____
If an effect says it refreshes before I’m allowed to _____.
stress from “any” Resistance,
you can still pick Crave. I can only feed upon _____.

Your form doesn’t operate I only ever hunt when I

the same way as other _____.
drifters’. When you create a
Vamp, fill in the blanks on The sight of _____ enrages
the following weaknesses: me.

I can be instantly slain by You can add (but not

_____. remove) from this list during
each downtime.
I am incredibly vulnerable to
_____.
Hunter in the Dark FATHOM 1 DOWNTIME ACTIVITY
When you’re on the A special option for
prowl, you’re capable of you during downtime.
anything.
You can spend 1 Vice on one Indulge Vice
You have a unique resource of the following effects at By hook or by crook, you’ll get
called Vice. When you create any time. what you need.
a Vamp, describe what your
chosen Vice is. It can be as Remove D6 stress from a You hit the streets of the
material or ephemeral as you single Resistance, including City to seek out your chosen
choose. Crave. Vice. Describe what you do,
and then roll Manipulate +
You start the game with 2 Make your next attack Crime.
Vice. You start with a limit Heavy.
to your maximum Vice as On a miss, gain 1 Vice. It’s
you have weaknesses; you Make your next roll with slim pickings, but you get
can’t “hold on” to more Vice advantage. what you need.
than that.
On a mixed success, gain 2
You can always choose Vice. Jackpot.
additional weaknesses each
downtime, if you want to On a success, gain 3 Vice.
increase your Vice You hit the big time, but you
maximum: describe how attract trouble in the
upping your intake causes process. Pick one: roll an
new problems for you. additional City React roll, or,
immediately inflict a fallout
You get Vice by taking it on an appropriate anchor.
from other people.
Whenever you have
someone at your mercy, roll
Fight + Crime to take what
you want from them.

On a success, take 2 Vice

and inflict D6 Heavy stress.
On a miss, take 1 Vice.
MINOR ABILITIES
Small bits of knowledge
and know-how.

Achilles Shield Beast Mode FATHOM 2 Black Market

There’s a difference between a You hear him When push comes to shove,
weakness and a fatal flaw. You howling around your kitchen you know for sure where to
know what you are - and how door, you better not let him get what you want.
to protect yourself from those in.
who’d exploit you. Gain the Capital domain.
Gain the Wild domain. Add Once per downtime, you
Gain the Stand skill. Add the the following to the Vice may acquire 1 Vice without
following to the Vice effect effect list: taking an action. Pay for it by
list: marking either D4 Debt or
• Transform into a large, Luck stress. Describe where
Resist one of your scary-looking this Vice comes from and
weaknesses for the rest of quadrupedal animal of how you get a hold of it.
the situation. some kind for the rest of
the situation or the rest Devil’s Own Luck
of the job - your choice. Living life on the edge, you
While in this form, gain get good at keeping your
the following equipment: balance.
Fight D8 Dire. If the Dire
tag activates, its stress is Gain +2 Luck Protection.
dealt to Crave.
Dirty Money
You stand out in the Real, When you trade in the kind of
even amongst animals - you vice you’re into, you wind up
don’t belong here, and coming into cash from time to
authorities will probably get time.
called if you got spotted.
Still, you look like a fuckin’ Gain +2 Debt Protection.
wolf or something, and that
rules. High-Functioning Addict
I have it under control.

Gain the Knit skill. Your

maximum total for Vice is
increased by 1, without
having to add another
weakness.
Many As One Old Soul Shadowmark
Vermin represent all the I haven’t seen something like Once you’ve got your sights
things which society hates: this since… well, never mind set on someone, there’s no
solidarity, survivability, and how long ago it was. escape.
swarm tactics.
Gain the Fringe domain. Gain the Hunt skill. You may
Gain the Drift skill. Add the You’re familiar with the old “mark” a target after
following to the Vice effect and the esoteric. Once per interacting with them for at
list: session, when you come least a few minutes, in
across something weird, you person. The nature of your
• Transform into a swarm can say that you’ve come mark is up to you. You can
of verminous or across it before. The GM will only have one person
otherwise undesirable tell you something you know marked at a time.
creatures for the rest of about it. Then, describe how
the situation. They may it crossed your path. The Add the following to the
crawl, slither, fly, or swim next time you or an ally act Vice effect list:
as you see fit, but can’t on that knowledge, roll with
communicate or interact advantage. • Emerge from the
with things that a person shadows near your
would ordinarily be able Party Animal marked target. You may
to interact with. When You’ve got a nose for these bring other drifters with
you take action that things. The noise, the taste, you by spending
takes advantage of your the people - you can feel it additional Vice, one for
swarmlike form, roll with calling you. each additional drifter.
advantage.
Gain the Style skill. Once
None More Goth per session, you may declare
Blacker than the that there’s a party going on
blackest black FATHOM 1 somewhere nearby. You may
times infinity. spend 1 Vice to say you’ve
already been invited.
Gain the Doom domain. You
can see perfectly well in the
dark. Once per session, you
may extinguish all nearby
light sources with a word
and a gesture. Anything that
can’t be easily extinguished
is temporarily dimmed,
instead.
MAJOR ABILITIES
One-of-a-kind advantages.

Dim
A life lived in the shadows is a UPGRADE - A BLADE IN THE DARK
life spent unnoticed. You can If you strike a target while
move and act freely in the dim, add the Piercing and
dark: the light is good only for Heavy tags to your outgoing
illuminating your stress. An attack, successful
next target. FATHOM 1 or not, will end the effect.

Roll Invoke + Crime to make UPGRADE - AN ECHO IN THE MIND

yourself “dim.” You are You can make Manipulate
unnoticeable: you’re not rolls without breaking the
actually invisible, but no one effect - until you fail a roll.
will pay attention to you so
long as you don’t draw UPGRADE - A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
attention to yourself. If you Once per session, when you
leave a place without causing use DIM successfully, gain 1
a commotion, no one will Vice. Describe how you
remember you were there. leverage your state to take
The effect lasts until the end what you want.
of the current situation. You
can extend this effect to your
allies by making the roll
Risky.
Reject Your Humanity
Being a mere mortal wasn’t
getting you anywhere. When
you’ve got your fix, you might
as well be a god. Who’s to say
you’re not?

Add the following to the

Vice effect list:

Fly through the air, at-will,

for the rest of the situation

Coat your chosen weapons

with blood, giving your
attacks Piercing for the rest
of the situation

Mesmerize any Controlled

target with a glance; give
them a single command
which they will attempt to
accomplish immediately UPGRADE - A BOLD APPROACH
When you confront a target
Steal the heat from a target in one-on-one combat, roll
to the point of freezing; your first attack with
lower a single target’s advantage.
Difficulty by one step
UPGRADE - A FROZEN MOMENT
In addition, your maximum Whenever there’s a question
total for Vice is increased by of who acts first, the answer
1, without having to add is always you.
another weakness.
UPGRADE - USELESS! USELESS!
USELESS!!
Add the following to the
Vice effect list:

• Throw your entire self

into an attack: increase
your outgoing stress dice
by two steps.
Royal Court
We own the night. We hold
sway over life and death. We
will never die.

You belong to a coterie of Anchor: The Coterie UPGRADE - MANNERS AND ETIQUETTE
other Vamps, here in the Noble scoundrels all - you The stress you deal to this
City - an elite social circle meet in the dark to celebrate anchor with PRICE OF POWER is
reserved only for you and your secret lordship over the no longer Heavy.
others like you. You meet chattel of the City.
routinely to enjoy the finer UPGRADE - GRACES AND INTRIGUES
things in life, your chosen You can refresh D6 stress to Add the following to the
Vice, and to discuss the this anchor at any time by Vice effect list:
things that nobles always spending 1 Vice.
discuss: claims to territory, • Resist consequences
techniques, vintages, or Minor - Secret Society from you or an ally’s
spectacular hunts. Do you know who I am? social misstep. Describe
how you accomplish this,
Name the group and the Roll Manipulate + Crime to whether through bribery,
district where they gather to use your membership in this or prompting a member
meet, and then take them as organization to your of coterie to intercede on
a minor anchor with THE advantage in a social your behalf.
COTERIE playbook. situation. Describe how you
secretly signal your UPGRADE - AUDIENCES AND
affiliation. On a success APPOINTMENTS
against a target, choose two: Add the following to the
Vice effect list:
• They do exactly what you
want, • Secure an audience with
• They keep your identity the patron of the coterie:
secret, the Grand Vampire (page
• They immediately try to xx) under the GM’s
get in your good graces. control. They can
accomplish seemingly-
Major - Price of Power impossible things, if
For the right cost, you can you’re willing to pay the
make anything happen. price.

Mark D8 Heavy stress to this

anchor to ask a favor of the
coterie. You can use this to
mark D6 Heavy stress to (or
against) a long-term
problem.
Stranded FATHOM 2
Something has
changed within you. You are
confined, restricted, corralled.
The borders between places
hold some strange restraint
for you, making them
impossible to pass through
normally. But nothing about
you is “normal.”
When confronted with a UPGRADE - A COURSE, CHARTED
You have developed an barrier or obstacle that With enough time and
unhealthy relationship with makes movement difficult, freedom of movement, you
boundaries. Your power, you may forge a strand to can create strands ahead of
such as it is, prevents easy cross the obstacle, even if time as long-term projects;
passage. crossing it would be roll with advantage when
impossible for others; roll you work on a strand in this
Add the following options to Knit + Crime to find some way.
the weakness list of CREATURE alternative way in using the
OF THE NIGHT. Choose one of power of the UnReal. This UPGRADE - A PATH, FOLLOWED
them and fill it in when you takes time and effort; doing When you use a strand as
take STRANDED. it in a hurry is Risky. part of your path as part of a
Drift roll, roll with
I cannot enter _____ On a success, you tie your advantage.
without being invited. conceptual strand firmly and
can use it to cross the UPGRADE - A TRESPASSER, SIGHTED
Districts of the _____ boundary. The strands you Whenever someone disrupts
domain prevent me from construct cannot be used by or destroys one of your
easy entry. others, but do not go away strands, you know instantly.
unless they are noticed by What’s more, you can see it
Most natural phenomena are someone with the skill to as they do it - you don’t
of no concern, but I cannot remove them. know their identity auto-
pass _____. matically, but you can see
them as if you were there
A _____ at an entryway is watching them in person.
enough to keep me out.
Thrall
You’ve taken some poor soul
into your service. You keep
them fed; they do your
bidding.
Anchor: The Minion UPGRADE - FAITHFUL COMPANION
You have someone or This one belongs to you, When a thrall acts alongside
something in your service. whether they like it or not. you on a job, roll with
Name and describe them. advantage.
Gain them as a minor anchor At the beginning of each
using the MINION playbook. downtime, give this anchor 1 UPGRADE - DARK PASSENGER
Vice. If you don’t, or can’t, You can mark D6 FATHOM 1
In addition, add the then inflict D6 Heavy stress Weird stress to
following option to the Vice to this anchor. experience the world
effect list: through a thrall’s senses.
Minor - Beck and Call You see and hear the world
• Give 1 Vice to a willing They will always answer, as they do, although they
individual; add them as a when it is time to serve. still retain their agency.
minor anchor using THE
MINION playbook Once per session, you may UPGRADE - MISERABLE FATE
give this anchor a task. If you If and when a thrall would
simply order them to do it, leave your service for any
roll Invoke + Crime. If you reason - including suffering
seduce or cajole them into fallouts in excess of what the
doing it, roll Manipulate + anchor can bear - you can
Crime. If you ask sincerely, force it to remain in your
roll Connect + Crime. On a service by spending 1 Vice.
success, they do whatever it
takes to try and accomplish Remove one fallout from the
it; the GM will let you know anchor, if applicable, reset its
what, if anything, it will cost stress, and mark two of its
them in the pursuit of the stress boxes as if it had taken
task. two Scars. If its entire stress
bar fills up with these
Major - Carrot and Stick pseudo-Scars, the thrall
You know this one inside and withers away, useless
out. You know exactly what
makes them tick.

When you give this anchor a

task with Beck and Call, roll
with advantage.
ZENITH ABILITIES
How will your story can end?

Castlemania
You have spent too long as a
scavenger: snatching what
meager portions of UnReal
power you can. The time has
come to feast. The time has
come to show the world what
you truly are - the king of the
fucking jungle.
To trigger this ability, pick a For the rest of the game, at
Prerequisite location in your anchor’s any time, you can spend 1
Gain a major anchor with district, and describe the Vice to materialize an aspect
any district of the City. In eventual form that your of your Castle into the
addition, reveal your true Castle will take. This is a world, replacing and
nature to the individual or completely new structure, obliterating whatever was
group you’re hiding your utterly subject to your whim, there previously. Each time
true nature from - the one but its Real form should that you do, describe what
you picked in character reflect the nature of your part of your Castle has
creation. chosen Vice. You don’t need manifested, and what
to describe the entire thing purpose it serves in your
You’re getting out of the in detail right now, but endless pursuit of Vice.
drifter grind and retiring to a choose its general form: a
life of opulence and power. bank? A theater? A haunted At any time after you have
No longer will you have to house? A cathedral? spent at least 4 Vice, you
scrape by for dregs of Vice; may choose to retire as a
now the citizenry will line up Next, call your Castle to drifter, completing the
to gift it to you, and it’ll all Descend into the Real. In the construction of your Castle.
be thanks to your Castle. depths of the UnReal it may When you retire, you
You just have to live long be seen as a shaft of become a Company with
enough to build it. darkness descending upon control of your Castle’s
your District. In the Real it District, and the amount of
may be a construction spent Vice becomes your
project that has apparently company’s Power, even if
been there for some time, this number is otherwise a
somehow unnoticed. What nonexistent or impossible
does this look like for you? dice size. The only thing
standing between you and
ultimate power is how much
you’re willing to hustle for it.
Cold Turkey Vulture
The only thing stopping me is
me.

Prerequisite
Confront whoever or While you have this ability, While you have this ability, if
whatever turned you into a you may choose to Resist you do choose to gain or
Vamp. In addition, take both any consequence even spend Vice, you immediately
REJECT YOUR HUMANITY and remotely related to your lose this ability, and regain
STRANDED. nature as a Vamp. any of your scratched-out
Weaknesses. You may
You’ve teetered at the edge To Resist a consequence, roll choose to take this ability
of monstrosity for long a number of D6 equal to again later to give it another
enough. You’re done. Maybe your current number of go.
you’re going back to being Weaknesses. Take the
“normal”, or maybe you’re highest result, and subtract Whenever you run out of
becoming something new. it from 6. You must “spend” Weaknesses, if you didn’t die
But either way, you’re done this many Weaknesses to in the process, you are no
with this Vamp shit. You undo the consequence, longer a Vamp. What do you
quit. scratching them out. If you become? If you retain
cannot spend enough UnReal power or it shifts,
In order to trigger this Weaknesses, take the you may pick up an
ability, quit: decide to go difference in Fallouts. You appropriate other Playbook.
cold turkey on Vice. You may wind up Abandoning Or you may simply quietly
resolve to no longer gain or this life before removing all retire. Work with your GM to
spend it as a resource. You weaknesses! Scratching out a choose an appropriate
keep any Vice you already weakness removes it from ending.
have. your Vamp: it can no longer
affect you while you retain
this ability.

When you resist a

consequence, describe how
you reject your impulses or
employ a coping strategy to
negate the consequence. Do
you talk yourself through a
well-lit room? Do you deny
yourself the need to count
every seed on the ground?
Do you employ positive self-
talk to ignore holy damage?
Masque of the Rad Death
Good? Bad? Whatever. You’re
here to party, and nobody
parties harder than you. If
you’re going to be
remembered for anything, let
it be for going out like an
absolute legend.

Prerequisite
Take ROYAL COURT or THRALL. You (and your particular The party lasts all night (if it
In addition, take a Scar from Vice) are at the center of wasn’t night-time when you
engaging in a reckless social attention. Choose any used the ability, it is now)
interaction. number of domains you and causes incredible
possess: your chosen damage to the surrounding
To activate this ability, spend domains saturate the area. You disappear
at least 6 Vice all at once. An surrounding area. You’re at sometime before the end,
incredible party immediately your most powerful here, not too early or too late, and
erupts in the area, with gain every Skill for the are never heard from again.
everyone - friend, enemy, duration of the party. In But the memory of you and
and passer-by - getting addition, gain the following that one last rager.
pulled into Fathom 2 as the equipment: Life of the Party
party kicks off. Describe the - [All Skills] D12 Heavy,
aesthetic of the event - what True. Entities that act
music is playing, how are against the nature of your
people dressed, how is it lit, event do so from a
how is it decorated. You Dangerous position.
have total creative control.
You’re the host with the
most.
THE PLAYBOOK
 The Velveteen
You are not human. But you’d very much like to be. You are a If you ever get close
monster of the UnReal, but you’ve found a way to maintain a to a human
facsimile of human shape. You can channel incredible, And human behaviour
impossible power, but you want to be free of all that. Be ready, be ready
to get confused
For your fellow drifters, for your friends, you’d happily do
anything, and you basically can, but you’re best at channeling There's definitely,
your fascination and love for humanity (or your secret UnReal definitely, definitely
nature) to reach the outcomes you desire. no logic
to human behaviour
But yet so, yet so
irresistible

Björk, Human Behaviour

TOUCHSTONES

Kevin Parcell (30 Rock): A The Crystal Gems (Steven

flesh vessel for an immortal Universe): Alien defenders
being whose name, if you attempting to blend in with
heard it, would make you lose humans by matching their
your mind. He loves television habits, tastes, and decorum,
and wants nothing more than with deeply mixed results.
to be involved in making it.

Corinthian (Sandman): A PLAY TO FIND OUT…

nightmare who dreams of
reality, obsessed with What will you do to keep your
humanity and inflicting true nature hidden?
horrors upon them. A
murderous monster held in Why do you push the UnReal
check by his master. away? How does it pull you in?

Can you ever truly

become human?
CONTENT WARNINGS + THEMES PLAYBOOK DETAILS
Things this playbook touches on. You start with these.

Inhumanity, monstrousness, impostor syndrome, exclusion, SKILLS

transformation, hiding your true self from the world Stand & Knit

DOMAIN
Common

WHEN YOU CREATE A VELVETEEN VALUABLES

Answer (and do not answer) the following: Choose one:

Something in your past lit this fire, this desire to be human, A USB drive with every
within you. Who or what was it? Don’t answer whether episode of your favorite show
anyone/anything else has been able to do what you’re D6 Data
attempting.
A very hungry potted plant
Maintaining a human shape is an active and difficult process for D6 Wild, Animate
you. What’s the most common way you slip up, and what
excuses do you give to cover it up? Don’t specify what you EQUIPMENT
“truly” look like or what your “true” nature is exactly. Choose one:

Sturdy Form
D6 Stand

Constructed identity
D8 Stand, One-shot

Strange Medicine
D8 Knit, Weak, Specialty:
WHEN YOU GATHER INFORMATION UnReal denizens
Example questions that this playbook might want to ask:
AGENDA
• How do I get this person to be my new best friend?
Choose one:
• What can I sense that humans can’t?
Put yourself at risk
to protect something Real
• What aspect of my true self would most help with this job?
Help something or
• What here is broken that can I mend?
someone grow
• What piece of media does this situation remind me of?
Eliminate an UnReal threat
• If I were human, what would I be worried about here?
CORE ABILITIES
These abilities define
who you are.

Stranger in a Strange Land The Beast Within FATHOM 2

You are not of this world, but You don’t belong
you are determined to fit in. here. You are an UnReal
monster, masquerading as a
At any time, you may gain person in a person-shaped
advantage on your next suit.
action by rolling a D6. Might - Gain +2 Protection
At any time, you may fray to a single Resistance except
If your Weird stress is your ties to the Real and Weird.
currently equal to or under unveil a part of your true
6, add that much stress to form to the world. Mark D6 Fury - Your hands (or some
Weird - if your Weird stress stress to an anchor and other part of your form)
is greater than 6, instead choose two facets of your become the following
remove that much stress true form to reveal from the weapon: Fight D6 Heavy
from Weird. following options.
Focus - Gain advantage on
Describe how your strange Describe how your physical Fight and Stand rolls.
behavior, oddball insights, or form changes according to
peculiar violation of the facets you’ve chosen. Terror - Inspire incredible
everyday norms leads you to Only part of your true form is fear or overwhelming awe
success. ever shown when you use The against a single person: your
Beast Within - the whole next action against them is
thing is too dangerous to Controlled.
reveal all at once.
Panic - Deal D6 Nerve stress
to everyone who witnesses
you transform.

You revert to your preferred

form at the end of the
current situation. You can
roll Stand + Common to try
and revert prematurely.
DOWNTIME ACTIVITY MINOR ABILITIES
A special option for Small bits of knowledge
you during downtime. and know-how.

Radio Ga Ga Ancillary Magic FATHOM 1 Facsimile

You are an outsider, but you There’s no denying You’re not made of the same
are an admirer, too. You love your true nature, however stuff as everyone else. They
culture: whether movies, TV, much you might want to. are flesh and blood and bone,
books, music, Vines - you and you are … different.
can’t get enough of them. Gain the Invoke skill. You
Each morsel is a feast, each know how to beckon UnReal Gain +2 Form Protection.
crumb a precious treasure. effects in the area you. Mark
D4 stress to create an Gargoyle’s Roost
Roll Knit + Common to incidental magical effect in From your perch, you can see
indulge in cultural excess in the current situation: a the world with an uncommon
some way. Describe how mysterious sound, a light perspective.
your appreciation for your where there shouldn’t have
new favorite thing - a TV been one, a device that turns Gain the Analyze skill. You
show, a particular work of on when it should’ve been have a secret sanctum within
art, a particular actor, a off, a knock at the door when the City that allows you both
classic book - utterly no one is there, or an effect solitude and easy
captures your imagination. of similar proportion. observation of a particular
Mark a star on your character Choose one: the effect is district: describe it. It’s small
sheet. You can only have one subtle, the effect is and not good for much aside
star marked at a time. distracting, or, the effect can from relaxing, hiding from
be easily attributed to danger, or watching the city.
At any time, erase the star something normal. Whenever you undertake an
and gain a new knack - even action here, roll with
for a skill or domain that you Big Buddy advantage.
don’t currently have. First rule of protecting others:
Describe how your current put yourself between them Gentle Giant
obsession has given you this and harm’s way. No one expects to make
knack: Whatever it was that friends with a monster, but
you’re currently delighted Gain the Fight skill. Any ally the bonds you forge are
by, it taught you exactly fighting within reach of you stronger than any other.
what you needed to know, gains +1 Form Protection.
right at this moment. Gain the Connect skill. Once
per session, when you mark
This knack goes away the progress to an anchor, make
next time you use RADIO GA the roll Heavy.
GA, as you make room in
your life for a new obsession.
Order of Operations Uncivilized Ungovernable
Blending in means identifying The wild spaces of the world It is a beautiful day in the city,
patterns of behavior, and aren’t just beautiful: they’re a and you are a horrible
keeping to them. No matter vital place to hide from prying monster.
what. eyes.
Gain the Crime domain.
Gain the Order domain. You Gain the Wild domain. You’re a master at ducking
have a specific rule you You’ve perfected the art of your head when
adhere to in order to blend fleeing into the wilderness: consequences come your
in in the Real: describe it. whenever you’re in a way. Once per session, when
Once per session, if you stick location with the Wild you would mark Luck stress,
to the rule when it would domain, roll with advantage ignore it.
otherwise inconvenience when you sneak, hide, flee,
you, roll with advantage. or otherwise try to go
Likewise, once per session, if unobserved.
you knowingly break this
rule, mark D6 Nerve stress. Unfathomable
Do not perceive me.
Quick Study
You delight in learning about Gain the Beyond domain.
the things that other people Add the following effect to
know. the list of results for THE
BEAST WITHIN:
Gain the Data domain. Once
per session, pick another • Obscura - Your
drifter’s knack after they’ve indescribable form
used it for a roll; you have cannot be observed with
that knack for the duration Real senses; gain
of the job. advantage on Hunt and
Drift rolls that take
Stranger Still advantage of your
The oddities and incongruities imperceptibility.
of the UnReal are not
unfamiliar to you; they are as
familiar to you as garden
flowers, door hinges, and
breakfast cereal.

Gain +2 Weird Protection.

MAJOR ABILITIES
One-of-a-kind advantages.

Breakthrough
A personal revelation can be a
big deal for anyone, but it’s an
even bigger deal for you.
You’re human enough to have
them now too, though in a
very inhuman way.
On a success, choose one of UPGRADE: EUREKA!
Once per session, when you the following effects; on a Whenever you get a critical
experience a personal critical success, choose two. hit on any roll, you may
epiphany (i.e. a revelation choose one of the effects
that you and the person Your feeling of self- from BREAKTHROUGH.
you’re talking to are alike, a fulfillment spills over, briefly
deep moment of insight, a stunning everyone nearby. UPGRADE: WOW, SAME
sudden understanding of Lower the difficulty of the Allies can now LEND A HAND
your own motivation) roll next action rolled - for you on this roll. If it’s a success,
Analyze + Common. Allies or for an ally - by one step. an assisting ally refreshes
cannot LEND A HAND on this either D4 Nerve stress, or
roll. Your realization inspires D4 stress to an anchor the
success. You or an ally can two of you share.
increase the size of their
outgoing stress by one step UPGRADE: MOMENT OF CLARITY
for their next roll. On a success, you may now
choose two effects; on a
You make a true connection. critical success, choose
Create a minor anchor with a three.
character who inspired this
revelation.

You’re comforted by your

growing normalcy. Heal D6
Weird.
Translation Error FATHOM 1
Your default way of
interfacing with your
environment is slightly
different from your human
friends. Sometimes if you’re
not careful, you can slip into
that mode around them.
UPGRADE: FULL IMMERSION
Once per session, you can On a 12, in addition to any
choose to fall into old habits of the effects of a 10, you
that reflect your existence in can choose to maintain this
the UnReal. If you do, mode past this situation and
refresh D4 Weird stress. into the next one. If you do
Describe what elements of so, take D6 Nerve stress as
your UnReal form begin to you worry over blowing your
appear. cover.

Until the end of the UPGRADE: FAUX PAS FATHOM 2

situation, roll with D12s On an 11, in
instead of D10s for all addition to any of the effects
actions. Treat a result of an of a 10, you deal D6 Nerve
11 or 12 as a 10 for the stress to everyone who can
purpose of determining see you as you grow too
effect. You’ll return to your comfortable and let slip your
“Real” form at the end of true form. What new UnReal
the situation, although you element of your form
can force yourself to return emerges?
to “normal'' with a Stand +
Common roll. UPGRADE: DIALECTIC
You can return to normal at-
will, instead of having to roll
for it.
Devil Inside
Aren’t you tired of being nice?
Don’t you just want to go ape
shit?

When you do transform as

part of THE BEAST WITHIN, you
can choose to mark D6
Weird stress. If you do, you
may choose 3 options
instead of just 2.

UPGRADE: FLESH ON THE MIND

Once per session, when you
transform using THE BEAST
WITHIN, refresh D8 Form
stress.

UPGRADE: WORDS ARE WEAPONS,

SHARPER THAN KNIVES
Add the following effect to
the list of effects for THE
BEAST WITHIN:

• Bewitching - Your
inhumanity is somehow
enchanting to behold.
Gain advantage on
Manipulate and Invoke
rolls.

UPGRADE: FED ON NOTHING

BUT FULL OF PRIDE
Add the following effect to
the list of effects for THE
BEAST WITHIN:

• Ravenous - You may add

the current Fathom to
any outgoing stress you
deal.
Found Family
You’re not defined by the
place you’re from, but the
place you choose to be. The
people you surround yourself
with, who welcome you and
accept you: they are your
home, now.
Anchor: The UPGRADE: KITH AND KIN
When you take FOUND FAMILY, Community Whenever you SHARE THE
describe a community within These are your people. BURDEN during downtime,
the City. This could be the mark progress to this
people of a particular Whenever you act directly in anchor’s relationship, even
neighborhood, the employees support or defense of this on a miss.
of a particular stretch of anchor, roll with advantage.
shops, the practitioners of a UPGRADE: GOOD NEIGHBOR
church, a theater’s regular Minor Ability: All for One When you act in your
players, or anyone else Everyone here can rely on one community’s interest in its
bound together by a shared another. If they can’t, then home district, roll with
experience. Your experience this whole thing falls apart. advantage.
within the Real has drawn
you close to this group, and Once per session, when UPGRADE: INNER WORKINGS
them to you. you’re in need of aid, mark Gain a knack relevant to the
D4 stress to this anchor and common interest at the core
Pick the district within the declare that a member of of your community.
City where this community your community either lives
gathers, and gain them as a or works nearby. Name
minor anchor using the them. You can reliably call
playbook THE COMMUNITY. upon them for aid.

Major Ability: One for All

Everyone’s counting on you.
Everyone believes in you.
You’re one of them.

Whenever you solve,

overcome, or subvert a
threat to this anchor -
usually represented by an
anchor fallout - clear all
Nerve or Luck stress.
Stages of Development
You’re getting a hand of this
whole human thing! Now you
can use your “senses” of
“eyes”, “fingers”, “tongue”,
“nose”, and “self” just like a
human can! Maybe one day,
you’ll be a real person.

Roll Connect + Common to Note! Unlike most Major

convincingly act like a real Abilities, to unlock upgrades
human in need of assistance. for STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT,
you must unlock them in
On a success, those around sequential order.
you who had at least a
neutral feeling toward you UPGRADE: PREOPERATIONAL
will try to help you as they You gain the ability to think
would anyone in need of in symbols and to under-
help. Describe what you do stand linear time like a
to elicit their sympathy. You human. Whenever you use
may ask 1 question about the this ability, roll with
situation as you learn advantage. You may now
something about the people also ask questions about
or place. On a 10+, you may what is about to happen in a
ask 2 questions. situation.

UPGRADE: CONCRETE OPERATIONAL

You have feelings and you
understand that others don’t
have the same feelings! On a
10+, you may take a minor
anchor as you make a
connection with one of the
people you talk to.

UPGRADE: FORMAL OPERATIONAL

You can speculate about
outcomes to hypothetical
situations. You can now use
this ability against any
target, even hostile ones, so
long as they’re not already
attacking you.
ZENITH ABILITIES
How will your story can end?

Apoptosis
You can feel it, the potential
inside you to rise fully from
the depths and become finally,
utterly human. The choice
now is what to do with the
rest of yourself, your vestigial
unreality.

Prerequisite
Gain the COMMUNITY anchor
at the Major level. In
addition, recreate the
experience that first lit this
fire, this desire to be human,
within you.

Once you take this ability,

you may choose to become
human at any time. Once
you do, you split from your
UnReal monstrous form and
must choose what to do with
the remnants. Cocooned: If you are in the After separating fully from
same situation as an UnReal your UnReal self, your career
Pick one of the following threat, you may trap it as a drifter is over, but you
effects: within your discarded husk. gain the pleasant mundanity
It is neutralized for the you sought. This is a happy
Metamorphosis: You take remainder of the game, held ending, or perhaps a
your UnReal corpse and in place by the vestiges of bittersweet one.
fashion it into something what you once were.
new. It becomes a piece of Your Velveteen becomes an
D20 equipment of your Transubstantiation: Your old NPC under the GM’s
choice, but it must include flesh becomes food or drink. control. You may choose to
the Expiring tag, as it will fall Any single drifter may have them peacefully retire,
apart when next narratively consume it to immediately or create a Haunt for your
appropriate. gain the Zenith move of crew. The latter will keep
their choice, ignoring all them in the game, but it also
conditions and XP means they remain a target
requirements. for narrative threat.
Apotheosis
Fuck it. You changed your
mind. Humanity isn’t all it’s
cracked up to be and you’re
tired of pretending to be
something you’re not.

Prerequisite
Take DEVIL INSIDE and all three Start a D12 Personal But until then, while you’re
of its minor upgrades. In problem “Human- still in between humanity
addition, slip up and expose interpretable.” Any time you and the unknowable, you
your UnReal tell to someone take a successful action, you may take actions as a Grand
you shouldn’t have. must inflict D6 stress to this Entity.
personal problem.
To activate this ability, When you do, you no longer
abandon your quest to When the problem is roll: instead, you
become human, and instead resolved, you can no longer automatically get a mixed
begin the transformation keep your focus on the tiny success as you struggle to
into something truly UnReal: scale of human lives. You continue to act at a human
a Grand Entity. don’t even have time for a level. You then inflict D6 to
lengthy goodbye, just a the “Human-interpretable”
word, a look, or a gesture. problem given your success.
Then you’re gone. They will
never see you again - not as In addition, every time you
they once knew you, anyway. act as a Grand Entity you
You are something else, now. choose one of the following
Something larger. additional effects:

Kaiju: You destroy the Slaughterhouse: You destroy Death: You destroy a target
current District. In the Real, any single Company within NPC within the current
this looks like a sudden the current District. District, even if that NPC
natural disaster; in the Honoring any lines and veils, could not normally be killed.
UnReal, it’s clear the disaster describe their horror as your Respecting any lines and
is you. Who or what is true form descends upon veils, describe how your
caught in your rampage? Any them. This does not mean all increasing unreality allows
Haunt in this District is its members are dead, but you to easily reach them and
destroyed and the Company they will never organize end their existence. Do they
in power loses control of it. together again. Any current understand what’s
Its domains are replaced projects related to them are happening? Do they even
with Doom and Wild, or abandoned; other companies recognize you, at this point?
others that better reflect swoop in to claim any Any anchors with this NPC
your destruction. abandoned Districts. are destroyed in the process.
Synthesis
If there’s one thing you’ve
learned in all of this, it’s that
binaries aren’t Real. And
you’re going to make them see
it too.

Prerequisite
Take either TRANSLATION To activate this ability, leave. When the Merger project
ERROR or DEVIL INSIDE, and any Your Velveteen will become completes, the end begins.
one of the remaining three the head of a new Company Any remaining player
Major abilities. In addition, in the City with the goal of drifters may begin a Job at
meet someone or something merging Real and UnReal this time, if they wish, to try
else who attempted the together. Start a D4 and stop you. If they don’t,
same feat of becoming Company Project “Merger”. or if they fail, the Merger is
human (whether or not they complete.
succeeded). You may choose to have a
goodbye scene with any of Fathom 0 and 1 combine. In
Your time in the Real has led the drifters of your choice, this new City, every citizen is
you to an impossible either one-at-a-time, or as a now partially human and
revelation and an group. They can’t stop you partially an UnReal monster,
unwavering certainty. The from leaving, but for each just like your Velveteen. Do
Real and UnReal belong one of them you convince to not say whether this was
together. You’re going to come with you, mark 1 always secretly the case,
prove it, by forcing them to progress to your Company whether they have
merge. Project. Any drifter that transformed, or whether
chooses to join you instantly there’s one answer for the
Abandons their life as a whole population.
drifter.
This change impacts all
Once you’ve put your affairs drifters as well, each player
in order, describe your new character takes either 2
Company. Is it just you? You minor abilities or 1 major
and those allies who ability from the Velveteen
followed you? Other like- playbook, and may continue
minded entities in the City? to expend XP on Velveteen
abilities from now on.

Describe the world you have

created and your role in it.
Things will never be the
same.
EXPLORING
the
UnREAL
Anchors
The UnReal is a whirling sea An Anchor doesn’t You can gain an Anchor in
of power and possibility. It’s necessarily have to be one of three ways:
easy to get lost. Anchors are someone or something that
the bonds, feelings, and you have a positive • Solving a problem for
connections that tether your relationship with: an Anchor that anchor that
character to the Real. only demands your personal represents your growing
investment. An Anchor connection. The GM will
An Anchor can be: could be your best friend, decide the size of the
your fiercest rival, your problem based on
• Another player character favorite corner of the local fictional positioning.
who you’ve grown close garden, or your abandoned
to childhood home. • Following the fiction. If
you’ve grown close to
• A non-player character Characters often have many something within the
who’s entangled in your different Anchors, and course of the game, the
life in some way discovering and nurturing GM will often award
(or abandoning) new them to you as an anchor
• A particular place that’s Anchors is an important part even if that wasn’t your
significant to you of your life as someone who explicit goal.
regularly dives into the
• A personal object - UnReal. • Taking an ability. Many
perhaps a keepsake, a playbook abilities award
reminder, or a burden anchors using anchor
playbooks you couldn’t
otherwise use.

When you gain an anchor, it You can make a Minor A Major Anchor is important
becomes a new Minor Anchor into a Major one by to you. It helps you
Anchor, representing solving a D8 problem that remember who you truly are,
something you’re invested represents your even when the UnReal would
in. Pick an Anchor playbook strengthening relationship. peel all of it away. Take the
for it (or use one that was Major ability from the
provided) that defines your Anchor playbook in addition
relationship to it; you get to the Minor ability.
the associated Minor Anchor
ability.
 Anchor Benefits

Anchors mechanically
provide the following:

• Abilities. Anchors
provide drifters with new
ways to interact with the
world and get what they
need to get the job done.

• A connection to the Real.

Diving into the UnReal
without a lifeline is
dangerous.

• Relief from stress.

Drifters can offload
stress to an anchor
during downtime.

A connection to the Real

Being in the UnReal is
dangerous - it threatens
both you and your grasp on
the Real world. Having
anchors helps prevent that
loss of connection.

When a player has no

unstrained Anchors, they are
adrift. When adrift, you are
constantly at risk of slipping
deeper into the depths of
the UnReal.

If you’re adrift and take an

action in the UnReal, it can
never be positioned better
than Dangerous
(lose 2 dice).
 Anchor Stress Reframing an Anchor

During downtime, players Sometimes, your If you decide you have an

can use the SHARE THE BURDEN relationship to something anchor whose playbook isn’t
action to visit an anchor and changes. Maybe it wasn’t the best fit, then you can
offload some of their stress. what you thought it would change that anchor’s
But that stress doesn’t be when you first began, or playbook during downtime
evaporate or disappear: maybe it’s simply become when you SHARE THE BURDEN.
it gets marked against the different as time goes on. You can only do this during a
anchor. downtime where you haven’t
already taken advantage of
Each anchor has its own that anchor’s playbook
single Resistance, instead of benefits.
several like the drifters do.
When an Anchor has stress
in excess of 6, it checks for
fallout, the same way a
player would.

Anchor Fallout

If an Anchor has ongoing

fallout, a drifter can remove Anchors aren’t as resilient as
it by undertaking a long- drifters: a minor Anchor can
term problem during bear 1 fallout while a major
downtime to make things can bear 2 fallouts.
right with that Anchor.
If they suffer fallout in
Talk with your GM about excess of their maximum,
how your drifter could the anchor snaps - they cut
overcome the fallout, and off ties, ghost you, decide
what steps they’ll need to you’re not worth the trouble,
take in order to do it. or simply don’t give the
same sense of connection
Mending an anchor fallout is that they once did.
a D8 problem.
 Anchor Playbooks
Anchor: The Anchor: The Candle
Bookworm An inspiration, a light. But
Someone with or something always burning lower.
associated with knowledge Flickering. At risk of going
of the esoteric and odd. out.

Minor - Phone a Friend Someone or something who

I don’t know much about it, inspires you and who you
but I know who might… can rely on.

Once per session, get in Minor - Burn

touch with this anchor and Push yourself to get it done,
ask them a question: They just don’t think about the
Hit the Bricks as a free consequences.
activity to try and find the
answer, and automatically Add the following as an
succeed. You can use this option to gain advantage on
even if you're in the middle any action roll: Mark 4 stress
of a Job, so long as you can to a relevant Resistance.
somehow contact your
anchor. Major - At Both Ends
They said they’d do anything
Major - Lifeline for you, and you believed
One way or another, you’re them.
going to tell me what I want
to know. Add the following as an
additional option to get
Once per session, you may advantage on any basic roll:
push this anchor till it snaps. Mark 4 stress to this Anchor.
Inflict D6 stress on this Explain how you lean upon
anchor, and ask the GM any your bond to get the job
one question on any topic, done, wearing it down.
they will answer honestly.
Continue inflicting D6 stress
and asking questions until
this anchor takes fallout.

You cannot stop this process

once you have started.
 Anchor: The
Contractor
Oh yeah, I can get that taken
care of- for the right price.

An errand runner, hired

hand, or mercenary.
Someone who can get you
things you need, if you can
afford them. When you
create the Contractor,
specify who they are and
what kinds of expertise they
have.
Minor - Pay-off Major - Payout
Pleasure doing business with Crossing the threshold is
you. dangerous stuff. But for you?
Sure. I’ll even give a discount.
At any time when you can
contact your contractor, you At the start of a Job, you can
can entrust them with a task pay a D10 Valuable or
that fits their expertise, if equivalent for your
you can pay. The size of the Contractor to tag along with
Valuable relates to the size you.
of the task:
Any time you take an action
• D6: A single action that fits their expertise you
• D8: A small problem gain an advantage and add
• D10: A big problem the Heavy tag to any
• D12: A job associated stress you inflict.

You pay up front, and they’ll However, this opens up the

have the task completed by Contractor to stress. If your
the end of the next anchor suffers fallout, they
Downtime or whenever is immediately depart the
narratively appropriate. situation (willingly or not).

The Contractor can refuse a

task that’s too dangerous or
doesn’t fit their expertise.
 Anchor: The Devil
Better to reign in the depths
than serve in the Real

A power, but an illegitimate,

illicit, or taboo one. Still it
can be drawn on, for a price.

Minor - Devil’s Bargain Major - Devil’s Contract

You can’t get something for Sometimes a deal with the
nothing you know. devil is better than no deal at
all.
Add the following as an
option before any action roll Once per job, you may ask
you take: Ask the GM for a the GM for a Devil’s
Devil’s Bargain. You may Contract. State what you
hear a Devil’s Bargain want. The GM will describe
without taking it. the task that your anchor
requires from you. The task
The GM will propose a will have negative
consequence that will occur consequences for you or
after the roll is resolved, something/someone you
regardless of the outcome. care about.

If you accept, take an Once you have completed

additional D10 on the action the task, you get what you
roll. asked for. You may only
have one Devil’s Contract at
a time.
Anchor: The [Domain] Anchor: The Mundane
Feels comfortable. Feels like Me? I’m fine, how are you?
home.
Someone deeply and
When you create this anchor, comfortably normal. All
replace [Domain] with the anchors help keep drifters
name of a domain. This bound to the Real, but some-
anchor is for people, places, thing about the Mundane is
or things associated with a unusually usual, impossibly
particular domain of Fathom. possible, absolutely average
in every way.
Minor - In Your Element
The amalgamation of who you Minor - Grounding
are, what you’re doing, and You seem a bit rough, do you
where you are want to talk about it?

Gain the [Domain] domain. Once per downtime, when

If you already have the you share a scene with your
[Domain] domain, take a Mundane and take comfort
knack associated with this in their normality, reduce D2
domain. Echoes. What do they do or
say that reduces the UnReal’s
Major - Reinterpretation hold?
Domains are, in the end,
subjective. Major - Rising
FATHOM 1 You know you can always
Once per session, you may come to me with anything,
impart the [Domain] domain right?
into a place until the end of
the current situation. This Once per session, you may
might mean noticing pull upon this anchor to
elements of the place you immediately rise from the
hadn’t before or something depths, returning to Fathom
more magical. GM moves Zero. Your fellow drifters
may show the consequences follow along as normal,
of transforming this place if unless something would stop
the present domains are them. You may roll a Stand +
incompatible. Common roll to bring a
target of your choice with
you. If your sudden
appearance or company
would shock your Mundane,
inflict D8 stress upon them.
 Anchor: The Past
A reminder of what once was,
what can never be again.

For someone, something, or

some place that reminds you
of what once was.
Minor - Flashback Major - Revisionist
If only it had gone History
differently… Oh, is that how you
remember it? FATHOM 2
Once per situation you may
have a flashback. State As with Flashback, but you
something that happened may now have a Flashback
before this and has not been that negates all of the
Anchor: The Pride
directly contradicted (e.g. I consequences of a roll. You
Whose streets?
set up a trap ahead of time, I might reveal armor beneath
researched this area before your clothes, that an
Someone or something with
we arrived, etc.). Roll an embarrassing incident was
knowledge of or influence of
appropriate action from a planned all along, or that an
a specific district of the City.
Controlled position. UnReal threat was a friend
Depending on the (if you succeed at an
Minor - Our Streets
plausibility of the Flashback appropriate roll).
You came to the wrong
the GM might ask for 0
neighborhood.
stress (very believable to Instead of stress,
have happened), 2 stress immediately inflict a fallout
When you act in the district
(not likely), or 4 stress on this anchor, as you bend
associated with this anchor,
(unlikely). but do not break the laws of
act as though you have the
casualty.
knack “Knowledge of the
District”.

Major - A Spot I Know

We came to the right
neighborhood.

Once per session, when you

are in the district associated
with this anchor, you may
lead your group to a haunt
and (at least when you
arrive) place of safety.
Anchor: The Rival
You light a fire in one another,
careful to not get burned.

Someone who you view as

peer and enemy, a dark
mirror of yourself. Not
someone you simply want
gone, someone you want to
keep in your life, even if you
can’t admit it (yet).

Minor - At Any Time Major - Final Confrontation

Miss me? I could kill you, I could kiss you. State or describe how you
truly feel about the Rival and
This anchor may now appear they will do the same for
as a hindrance on any job at you. Then choose one: kill
any time. It takes an long Once your long-term the Rival and delete this
term problem to deal with problem with this anchor has anchor, banish the Rival
them. Once you do, mark 1 been solved, at any time from the city and delete this
progress towards during a job where they’re anchor, or trade out the
advancement. Solving this present, you may choose to Rival for another anchor with
problem does not kill the Rival have the FINAL CONFRONTATION. the same person, also at
unless you decide it does. Major level. Regardless of
what you choose, take 3 XP.
 Anchor: The Source
Oh, now YOU’RE interesting,
aren’t you?

Someone or something
powerful has taken an
interest in you. When you
create the Source, do not
fully flesh out who or what
they are: they are still
working to draw your
character closer.

Minor - Gift Major - Gilt

Something to remember me We’re friends, aren’t we?
by. And friends do favors for
one another…
At the start of every Job
and Downtime, your You may now choose two
Source sends you a gift. gifts from the list above at
Choose one: a playbook- the start of every Job and
specific resource (Vice, Downtime. However, on
Poise, etc.), a D6 Valuable every Job, you’ll be asked
(your choice of domain), for a favor from your
or some helpful intel (ask Source, which will make
the GM one question on the Job one step more
any subject, they’ll answer difficult for you and your
with whatever information crew upon completion.
your Source would give Failing to complete this
you). favor will immediately
strain this anchor.
Anchor: The Woobie
I get knocked down…

Someone suffering;
physically, mentally, or just
from a string of bad luck. But
somehow they keep going,
despite it all.

Minor - I Can Make It

On My Own
…but I get up again!

Your Woobie’s capacity for

punishment is frankly
inspiring. You may carry one
additional fallout before
taking a Scar.

Major - Heart of a Champion

You’re never going to keep me
down!

When you would take a

Fallout and gain a Scar, you
may instead pass one of your
current Fallouts to this
anchor. What does this look
like? How does this
negatively impact your
Woobie’s life? Why is your
Woobie happy to do it for
you again, once it’s resolved?
 Equipment
A drifter’s equipment A piece of equipment is A piece of equipment can be
represents the tools, items, usually described in three Broken, either through the
and implements they have parts: the relevant Skill, the activation of a tag, or as the
on-hand in order to survive stress it deals, and any Tags result of fallout. If a piece of
in the Real and the UnReal. it possesses. equipment is broken, it can’t
It’s a loose assembly of be used until it’s repaired.
found items, arcane knick- Skill: The skill for which this
knacks, and purpose-built equipment is relevant. Odds and Ends
weapons.
For example, a gun will Drifters may occasionally
A piece of equipment allows usually have the Hunt need more mundane items
a drifter to mark progress on skill. over the course of their work
a job - whether defeating an that they could have
enemy, studying a situation, Stress: The amount of stress reasonably acquired: a
picking a lock, or escaping a drifter will deal when they length of rope, a flashlight,
from a monster - with use this equipment. etc.
greater impact than they
otherwise would. For example, a gun Anything that wouldn’t have
defined as Hunt D8 will taken special pains to get, a
This might take the form of let the player inflict D8 drifter may simply declare
evening the odds: fighting a stress after a successful that they have on them.
gunman with a gun of your Hunt roll. Depending on the value or
own, instead of empty- opportunity that they had to
handed - or opening up Tags: Tags help further get those things, the GM
possibility space where none define (and complicate) the may ask you to mark a small
existed before: picking a lock way a particular piece of amount of Debt stress to
using a lockpick, instead of equipment works. represent the acquisition
with your bare fingers. cost.
Some are beneficial,
Drifters each start with while others are
equipment from their detrimental.
playbooks: they can find new
ones on-the-job, purchase
them from haunts,
or even try building it
themselves.
 Valuables
Every day, people live and Some of them are just Valuables have the following
die in the city. In between exceptionally valuable, like attributes:
those two primal states, they gold bars, rare paintings, or
exist for one reason: to esoteric algorithms. Others Name - It’s what it is.
generate capital. Every are exceptionally magical: a
system in the city, whether wyvern’s tooth, a spell Value - From D4 to D12, in
beneficent or mercantile, is trapped in a bottle, a note- escalating order of worth.
tied up in the web of book full of illegal runes.
exchange that demands Bringing an exceptionally Domain - Where it’s from,
money from its citizens. weird-looking Valuable to and/or what it’s made of.
Fathom Zero makes it
Drifters like you have to pay automatically obscure itself Tags - An optional attribute
rent, just like everyone else. to fit into the Real: a magic that further details how a
The difference is that your crystal ball might look like a particular Valuable operates.
knowledge and your skills magic 8-ball once you arrive.
give you access to precious
materials: stuff from the Whatever it is, it has value,
UnReal. Weird stuff, brought and drifters like you depend
back under dangerous on that value to keep living.
circumstances, that can be Getting your hands on
exchanged for goods and Valuables is the difference
services. We call these between diving into the
Valuables. UnReal or working three
mundane jobs.

Using Valuables
Valuables are primarily used
at haunts to pay for stress
relief, fallout removal, or
new pieces of equipment.
They may also be used as
part of certain playbook
abilities.

They’re also periodically

required to sustain both you
and your loved ones during
Downtime: See REAL WORLD
PROBLEMS for more details.
 Tags
Animate - This can move on Loud - Using this draws Sacrifice - Mark D4 stress to
its own and will escape, if attention to you immediately. Form to roll with advantage
you’re not careful. with this weapon for the rest
Occult - This is deeply of the situation. Multiple
Awkward - This is heavy, weird, and only people instances of Sacrifice stack
hard to carry, or incredibly deeply invested in the with one another (but
conspicuous. oddities of the UnReal will require multiple stress rolls!)
have anything to do with it.
Broken - This can’t be used Specialty X - Works like
until it’s repaired. One-shot - You can only use Heavy against the named
this once per situation. target type.
Dire - Whenever you roll
stress with this and roll the Ongoing X - Whenever you Spread - This can hit a group
maximum possible result, deal stress with this of targets close to one another.
you mark D6 stress. equipment, you also inflict
stress the next X times you Surprise - The first time you
Expiring - This is actively make any roll, even if it’s not use this, if the opponent
deteriorating or falling apart an attack. doesn’t already know about
in some way. You’ll need to it, roll with advantage.
use it, before it’s not worth Piercing - Stress inflicted
anything at all. with this ignores Protection. Tiring - Whenever you fail an
roll with this equipment, its
Fragile - This will be broken Point-Blank - This can be stress size goes down one
if dropped or damaged. used at close-range or at a step for the rest of the
distance. Whenever you deal situation.
Harmful - This is actively stress at close range, add the
harmful to its bearer, if it’s Heavy tag. Whenever you True - The item can inflict
not properly contained. deal stress at a distance, add stress to Conceptual
the Weak tag, instead. adversaries.
Heavy - Whenever you roll
stress with this equipment, Ranged - This weapon can be Volatile - This can and will
roll +1 dice and take the used at close-range or at a explode, if you’re not
higher of the results. distance. careful.
Multiple instances of Heavy
stack with one another. Reload - This must be Weak - Whenever you roll
An instance of Heavy is reloaded between uses. This stress with this equipment,
canceled out by an instance doesn’t require a roll, but it roll +1 dice and take the
of Weak. does take time. lowest of the results.
Multiple instances of Weak
Illicit - If you’re seen with stack with one another. An
this, you’ll draw unwanted instance of Weak is canceled
attention. out by an instance of Heavy.
 Crews
You and your fellow drifters If you’re interested in
aren’t a casual collection of exploring mysteries and
UnReal dabblers. You’re a helping people, picking the
crew: a group brought Gumshoes playbook is a
together by a specific great way to facilitate that.
purpose, and who work Likewise, if you’re interested
together in a particular way. in fighting weird monsters,
picking the Busters playbook
Picking a crew helps give is a sure way to make sure
your game of FATHOM a that happens.
particular shape. It’s
shorthand for the style of That’s not to say you’ll never
game that you and your veer away from a crew’s
fellow players want to usual mode of operating! A
experience. crew of Gumshoes might
well fight a big monster, do a
crime, or even work for a
nefarious organization for a
job or two.

When you pick a crew

playbook, do the following:

Answer the question posed Define your crew’s Pick a starting ability. Your
by the crew playbook. This headquarters. You don’t crew has already worked
will help define what sets need to go into exhaustive together before, and bears
your crew apart from others’. detail, but give a quick the benefits of that
overview of where your crew experience.
meets between jobs.

Once that’s done, the GM

will assign haunts.
 Assigning Haunts
Your crew has lived within
this City for some time. As
such, they already know
about some Haunts (Fixers,
Finks, or Fences). As part of
the City generation process
you should already have
generated or gestured at
some Haunts. If you haven’t,
do so now. Remember you
can reference the example
Haunts in the “Haunts”
section of “Playing the
Game”.

It is the GM’s responsibility

to give players access to an
An individual drifter can get
initial set of Haunts. This
access to a new Haunt by
should be done in a way that
using the “Hit the Bricks”
reflects the choice of crew
Downtime action (“A chance
playbook and the fiction
encounter with an NPC”
you’ve established. If you
who runs a Haunt).
are the Cogs, Shadows, or This initial set represents the
Sometimes, a Haunt can just
any crew with a clearly- Haunts your crew knows
be added to a crew’s sheet
defined boss this might be about and has a good
once found. Other times, a
your in-fiction boss giving enough relationship with
Haunt may be a bit more
you access to a set of that they’ll accept you as a
selective or difficult to find
Haunts. If you’re the regular customer. The GM
consistently (e.g., a
Stringers or a more will assign a D6 Perspective
speakeasy, pop-up shop, or
independent crew, the GM to the Company(s) that
food truck). The crew can
might ask each player to pick controls these initial haunts.
gain access to this sort of
or design a Haunt.
Haunt by completing a crew
problem or as an additional
Initially, your crew should
reward for certain Jobs.
have access to a set of
haunts equal to the number
of players. Add your initial
set to your crew sheet.
 Advancing a Crew
Crews can earn new abilities
at a cost of 2 XP per ability.
However, they don’t earn XP
on their own - the drifters
that make up the crew have
to work towards that goal by
donating their own XP to
crew advancement.

At any time, when a drifter

has XP, they can choose to
instead spend that XP on a
crew advance. More than one
drifter can donate XP
towards an advance for the
whole crew.
 Busters
Hunters, slayers, guardians. Saving People, Toss a Coin, O Valley of
You hunt the things in the Hunting Things Plenty
dark so that the City is safe in You’re determined to People have a deep
the light. protect the people of the appreciation for the work
Real, no matter what. Once you do. Whenever you
When you take the Busters per session, if a member of complete a job that publicly
playbook, describe what the crew acts in defense of protects or benefits a
UnReal menace you first others (including other community or organization,
fought together. members of the crew), gain an additional D8
instead of rolling dice, they Valuable with a domain
I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost can automatically declare appropriate to the group’s
You’re armed, ready, and the result a 6 - a mixed domain. They’ll probably
prepared to fight all manner success, with the guarantee expect you to continue doing
of UnReal forces. When you that any consequence that good deeds for them.
take this ability, each drifter the GM inflicts will endanger
in the crew can choose to them rather than those they
take either the Fight skill or seek to protect. No other
the Stand skill. mechanics in the game can
change the result from a 6 to
Bustin’ Makes Me something else: whoever
Feel Good activates this ability is
Once per session, when your committing to the mixed
crew defeats a supernatural success!
entity on Fathom 1 or lower,
everyone refreshes Nerve
stress equal to its stress dice.

Cryptonomica
Your base of operations that
serves as a repository of old,
esoteric information about
the things that you hunt.
Once per session, when each
person in the crew is
gathering information,
declare what odds or ends
you found in your HQ that
help you make the
connection, and take +1D to
the roll.
Supernatural Supplies Inevitable
When you take this ability, When you take this ability,
each drifter in the crew may each drifter in the crew
take one of the following automatically earns 1 XP.
pieces of equipment and add The next downtime, instead
it to their character. of a regular City Reacts roll,
the GM will introduce the
• Cold iron dagger - following event:
Fight D6, Specialty:
UnReal monsters Nemesis: The UnReal
menace that your crew first
• Ghostoscope - took down returns, in some
Hunt D6, Specialty: form or another, and it’s
Veiled paranormal determined to destroy you.
activity The GM will introduce it as a
Grand-strength opponent,
• Warding salts - anchored to Fathom 4. So
Stand D8 long as it’s hunting you, you
can take only two downtime
• Omni-denominational actions per drifter instead of
prayer book - the usual three.
Invoke D6, allows you to
try to capture the
attention of a
supernatural entity so
long as you continue
reading

• “Holy” water -
Knit D6, useful for
mending a tear in reality
or a tense situation

• Faraday bag -
Stand D6, big enough for
two large books to fit
snugly inside, useful for
handling hazardous
substances, or storing
cursed items for easy
transport
 Cogs
Agents, task force operators, Corporate Influence Office Supplies
suits. You’re part of a larger When you take this ability, When you take this ability,
organization, but you don’t choose a domain associated each drifter in the crew may
know the whole picture. You with your larger take one of the following
know exactly as much as you organization. Order is always pieces of equipment and add
need to know to get the job a good pick if there’s not it to their character.
done. something better. Once per
session, by invoking your • Corporate badge -
When you take the Cogs role as representatives of Invoke D6, Specialty:
playbook, name the larger that organization, the crew Civilians
organization that you work may add that domain to the
for, and how you receive nearby area for the • Ear mic -
your orders. remainder of the situation. Connect D6, allows you
to speak with and hear
We’ve Got a Situation Employee Benefits other drifters over short
You understand that the Each drifter gains +1 Debt range
wider world doesn’t have Protection. Your crew’s Rent
your team’s degree of is D6 instead of D4. • Company vehicle -
professionalism, and you Drift D8, +1 Form
deal with it. When you take Classified Protection while inside
this ability, each drifter in At the end of each job, you
the crew can choose to take may declare the events of • Nightvision specs -
either the Stand skill or the the operation classified. If Hunt D8, allows you to
Knit skill. you do, reduce Echoes see in the dark, but
awarded by 2. Companies blinds you in bright light
I’m Not a Cop who weren’t directly
You’re a cop. Everyone can involved in the job won’t • Handheld neuralyzer -
tell. Once per session, when alter their Perspectives with Manipulate D8, One-
each member of the crew you. shot, Fragile, allows
accepts this about short-term memory
themselves and uses it to get scramble
to the bottom of things, they
can take +1D on the gather • Containment unit -
information roll. Stand D8 Heavy, perfect
for securing anomalous
objects
Burn Notice
When you take this ability,
each drifter in the crew
automatically earns 1 XP.
The next downtime, instead
of a regular City Reacts roll,
the GM will introduce the
following:

Pink Slip: Something about a

recent job leads your
employers to pin the blame
for a problem on your entire
crew. You’re terminated,
effective immediately, and
the organization makes
moves to try and secure you,
as if you were no better than
the problems you solve for
them. Until you make things
right with the organization -
or find a new employer of
suitable influence - you can
take only one activity per
downtime. What’s more,
take an additional -1D to
each Cross the Threshold
roll, as agents hunt for you
across the City.
 Freaks
Cultists, conspirators, and Secret World Strange Arcana
monsters. You're as far from The truth underlies the When you take this ability,
normal as can be. The Real is whole structure of the world, each drifter in the crew may
your disguise: the UnReal is even if the world doesn't take one of the following
where you truly live. You walk know it. Once per Job, when pieces of equipment and add
among normal people, a member of the crew it to their character:
keeping your true nature or leverages the secrets of the
intentions hidden. They're not world that only they know, • Ancient Blade
ready for the truth. Not yet. they can roll with advantage (Tarnished) - Fight D6
But one day ... on a gather information roll. Piercing, Awkward

When you take the Freaks Seen It All Before • Vintage Camera -
playbook, describe what Each drifter gains +1 Weird Analyze D12, Broken
secret truth binds you protection. You are immune
together. to stress that would be • Hideous Painting -
caused by overwhelming fear Stand D8 Expiring. You
What We Do in Shadows or confusion, except if it's may use this equipment
A life spent in darkness has caused by a Grand entity. remotely so long as it's
taught you how to take what on display somewhere,
you need from those who UnReal Unleashed even if "somewhere" is in
have it. When you take this You're at your best when your attic. Whenever you
ability, each drifter in the you're letting your freak flag use it, roll a D6: on a 1,
crew can choose to take fly. Unfortunately, raising remove the Expiring tag
either the Hunt skill or the the flag draws the attention and add the Broken tag.
Manipulate skill. of the City itself. Once per
situation, you may give • Old-Fashioned Remedy -
Cover Story yourself advantage on any Knit D10 Harmful
The story that you tell the roll by revealing your true
waking world is a convincing self: when you do, the GM • Secret Fortune -
one. You've put a lot of work will add 2 Echoes Manipulate D10 Loud,
into constructing the immediately. Illicit
relevant paper trail
necessary to prove your • The Truth -
cover. Once per situation, Connect D6 Heavy, True,
when you take action that Fragile, Volatile
involves using your Real
facade, roll with advantage.
Revelation
When you take this ability,
each drifter in the crew
automatically earns 1 XP.
The next downtime, instead
of a regular City Reacts roll,
the GM will introduce the
following event:

Unmasked!: Someone in the

Real has discovered what
you really are - or has a
pretty good idea, even if it's
not quite accurate - and is
determined to expose you to
the world. The GM will
introduce a Company (or
change an existing one)
whose D10 project is
dedicated to unmasking you
to the world. Such an exposé
would mean the end of your
crew as you know it.

From now on, whenever a

drifter in the crew does
something that leaves
obvious traces of the
UnReal, mark 2 progress to
the project. The project may
advance in other ways,
including as a consequence
to a roll.

If and when the project

completes, the truth of your
existence is exposed to the
world, and all authorities
within the Real will try to
contain you as best as
they're able. On the other
hand, the world knows the
truth now, so it’s impossible
to say if it’s bad or not.
 Gumshoes
Private investigators, problem The Mystery Machine Someone in this Room…
solvers, mystery kids. You’re a You all have access to unique Your characters may
small, scrappy group of people mode of transportation: a sometimes solve a mystery
with a knack for sticking your car, a van, or something before the players do. For
nose where it doesn’t belong. stranger. The only the final situation on a job,
requirement is that it be able as long as it is somewhat
When you take the to (perhaps uncomfortably) feasible that you could have
Gumshoes playbook, seat the whole crew. When gotten there, you may
describe how people get in you take this move, you gain jumpcut to a gathering of all
touch with you when they access to a piece of relevant NPCs. State what
need someone to solve a equipment (Drift D8, mystery you plan to solve.
mystery. Specialty: When you’re all Then, take turns proposing
riding together). This vehicle NPCs to be present between
Everybody, Look for Clues can safely transport you to the crew and the GM. Start
You’re experienced spotting any location, as long as the an 8-step problem, which
secret signs and tracing journey takes place “off- you can fill by Manipulate or
threads of truth. When you screen”. Connect actions until one of
take this ability, each drifter the NPCs in the room
in the crew can choose to Let’s Get This Back reveals the truth. There’s no
take either the Analyze skill to the Lab guarantee you’ll like the
or the Hunt skill. You have someone or truth you end up uncovering
something that can in this fashion.
Under the Radar thoroughly investigate an
You’re just a scrappy group object. Who are they? Once
of sleuths, and definitely not per session, you may send a
a threat or worth any special D6 Valuable or higher to
attention. When your whole them for analysis. At the
crew leans on your non- start of the next session,
threatening appearance to you’ll have the results. Ask
go somewhere you probably the GM questions depending
shouldn’t you may take +1D on the dice value (1 for D6, 2
on the gather information for D8, etc.) that this
roll. analysis could have
uncovered, they will answer
honestly. You don’t get the
resource back, it’s destroyed
or consumed in the process.
Spirit Detective Tools Reichenbach Fall
When you take this ability, When you take this ability,
each drifter in the crew may each drifter in the crew
take one of the following automatically earns 1 XP.
pieces of equipment and add The next downtime, instead
it to their character. of a regular City Reacts roll,
the GM will introduce the
• Knuckle Duster - following:
Fight D6
Napoleon of Crime:
• Communication Mirror - Some new or existing threat
Connect D6, allows you reveals themselves as the
to video chat through a mastermind behind several
device (disguised as?) a of your recent jobs. The GM
compact mirror should create or re-purpose
a new Company with D12
• Sticker Seal - Power and in control of at
Stand D8, Fragile, a least 3 districts to represent
mystic seal with a this mastermind and their
convenient sticky back lackeys. They should start
with a D10 Perspective with
• UnReal Dog Whistle - a negative opinion of your
Manipulate D8, Weak, crew and a D12 Project to
Specialty: UnReal destroy your crew, since you
entities, an annoying keep getting in the way of
whistle with a tone that their plans. If their project is
particularly pierces completed, your game ends.
UnReal entities

• Demon Compass -
Hunt D8 Heavy, can
track any UnReal entity
as long as the wielder has
something from them

• Psychic Spyglass -
Analyze D8, Fragile
 Shadows
Hustlers, operators, cheats. On the House We’ve Never Betrayed
You’re a band of small-time You gain access to a new Anyone
criminals working under a Fink; describe who it is, what Sometimes your characters’
powerful malefactor boss. If district they’re in, and what shifting loyalties can surprise
you know what’s good for information they’re privy to. everyone, yourselves
you- you’ll do the jobs, you’ll Once per session, when at included. Once per session,
get paid, and you won’t ask least two of you visit the if all players agree, you may
any questions. But if you Fink and one of you pays at reveal your characters’
knew what was good for you least a D6 Valuable, you get behavior on the Job to have
would you even be here? a little something extra. Take been a deception. At an
+1D on your next gather opportune moment, you
When you take the Shadows information roll. The Fink reveal your true, opposite
playbook, describe your still works as normal (a D6 allegiance. When you do,
handler and where you meet Valuable still gets you two each character’s next action
them. Your handler does not questions), but this allows a is in a Controlled difficulty.
need to be your actual boss. Fink to pass along intel You return to whatever
outside of their expertise. difficulty you had previously
Escape Hatch afterwards, if appropriate. In
You can get yourself out of Sticky Fingers addition, you’ll need a cool
any situation. When you take You’re all skilled at head to make this
this ability, each drifter in pocketing things that won’t believable- take +1 Nerve
the crew can take either the be missed. At the end of a Protection. It’s up to the
Drift skill or the Manipulate session, everyone takes a D6 players to deal with any
skill. Valuable based on a domain appropriate consequences
you encountered during the for their perceived betrayals.
session. Players should
propose what these
Valuables are, but they must
be something small that
wouldn’t be missed, and the
GM can reject suggestions.
The Perfect Heist Criminal Kit Left Holding the Bag
At any time on a job, the When you take this ability, When you take this ability,
crew may declare that each drifter in the crew may each drifter in the crew
they're also attempting a take one of the following automatically earns 1 XP.
Heist. A Heist runs parallel pieces of equipment and add The next downtime, instead
and simultaneous to the job it to their character. of a regular City Reacts roll,
itself. the GM will introduce the
• Forged Documents - following:
Drifters can only make Manipulate D6, Volatile
progress on a Heist by Sold out: Your criminal boss
sacrificing dice after they've • Hidden Knife - sacrifices you to the
rolled dice while performing Fight D6, Surprise authorities, pinning you for
actions on the job. To crimes you did and didn’t
complete a Heist, the crew • Unlicensed Handgun - commit. Now the cops are
must sacrifice dice starting Hunt D8, Ranged, Loud, on your tail, and your only
from 10 and going down one Illicit chance is to catch your boss
for each drifter in the crew. and deliver them to the
(So, a crew of 3 would need • The Good Stuff - authorities instead. Start
to sacrifice a 10, a 9, and an Manipulate D8, Dire, two competing problems. A
8, while a crew of 4 would Volatile, Illicit, Specialty: D6 problem representing the
need to sacrifice those and Users cops finding you and a D12
also a 7.) problem for tracking down
• Glass Eye - your boss. Any time the D6
Dice results from ANY dice Analyze D8, Fragile, problem fills, no matter
roll can be sacrificed, but Occult, Piercing, True, where you are, a patrol of
sacrificed dice no longer Weak, A magic eye that cops arrives and the
contribute to the dice pool you can see through by difficulty worsens by one
results. (So, sacrificing a 10 closing your own step. Once that situation
from a pool of 10, 7, and 3 ends, reset the D6 problem.
would mean your dice result • “Smoke” - When the players fill the D12
was a 7, or a mixed success.) Invoke D8, Dire, Occult, problem their next Job will
If you sacrifice all of the One-shot, Heavy, Illicit, be a confrontation with their
relevant dice before the job a strangely coloured ex-boss. If they successfully
is over, the Heist is a smoke found amongst deal with them, remove both
success: each drifter receives the City’s underworld. problems.
an extra resource equal to No one knows where it
the Power of the target comes from or what it's
Company when the job is made of, but it packs a
complete. punch.
 Stringers
Documentarians, researchers, Mythbusters Audience ARG
and filmmakers. You’re driven The UnReal likes to impose Whether they think your
by a need to learn - and share its version of reality on exploits are true or not, your
- the truth, no matter what it things; the trick is to be even audience is deeply engaged
takes. MORE imposing. Once per with your work, and willing
session, a drifter in the crew to shoulder some of the
When you take the Stringers can take action as if they burden of puzzling through
playbook, describe what were on Fathom Zero, data. Once per session, each
platform you use to spread regardless of what Fathom person in the crew can lean
the truth that you discover - they’re actually on. on your audience to help
podcasts? videos? discover hidden information,
pamphlets? - and what Early Responders take +1D to a gather
advantage your group has on When there’s a situation information roll.
that platform. developing, you know and
your team are experts at
Connecting the Dots making your way through
You’re experienced at the City and arriving on the
getting people to talk and scene. Once per session,
finding the important details unless the drifters are bound
in their statements. When or otherwise trapped, any
you take this ability, each number of the drifters can
drifter in the crew can choose leave the current situation
to earn either the Analyze and start a new one in
skill or the Connect skill. another location, no matter
where it is in the City. This
Piecing Together the ability applies to the crew
Puzzle and not to the individual
Your equipment can capture drifters; if a single drifter
the truth, no matter how uses it part way through a
desperately that truth wants job, it’s spent for the whole
to evade being captured. crew.
During each job, start a 6-
step problem to discover
some new information that
you didn’t have before. If
you solve the problem by the
end of the job, earn a D8
Data Valuable appropriate to
the information you learned.
Field Equipment Hostile Broadcast
When you take this ability, When you take this ability,
each drifter in the crew may each drifter in the crew
take one of the following automatically earns 1 XP.
pieces of equipment and add The next downtime, instead
it to their character. of a regular City Reacts roll,
the GM will introduce the
• Press Pass (Fake) - following:
Manipulate D6
Deplatformed: Another
• Directional Microphone - source of “truth” emerges
Analyze D8 Long-range from the Unreal and begins
broadcasting on your
• Telephoto Camera - preferred platform,
Hunt D8 Heavy exploding in both power and
prominence.
• Electronic lantern -
Drift D4, illuminates any They outright steal, corrupt,
darkened space or somehow invalidate the
advantage you once had, and
• Reinforced Camera Bag - begin overshadowing and
+1 Luck Protection contradicting you with their
own brand of truth. Your
• Short-wave Radio - usual means of broadcasting
Connect D6, allows you information to the masses
to overhear police no longer works. What’s
transmissions more, gathering information
is now an action roll rather
than a fortune roll, until
such time as you deal with
your new supernatural
competitors.
PLAYING
the GAME
 Fathom’s structure has four
parts.

The first part is free play:

the default state of the game.

In this state, drifters can do

things, talk to one another,
move through the city, and
make rolls as needed.

When the drifters is ready to

take on a job, they move into
investigation.

During investigation, During the job, During downtime,

the GM details what drifters take action to try and drifters have a small window
opportunities are available to overcome obstacles and of opportunity to take care of
the drifters at present. complications set forth their own lives without the
by the GM. City getting in the way.
If there’s already information
available about a job’s client, The job continues until the They can pursue their own
target, rewards, or drifters either accomplish plans, nurse their wounds,
consequences, they’ll be their goal and successfully relieve stress, or look in on
spelled out here. depart, or until they’re forced their anchors to make sure
to withdraw. their connection to the Real is
The drifters can then gather secure.
information to try and Once a job is finished,
establish what job they should the GM describes the results. Don’t forget to pay rent,
take and what approach they Many things may have though - each drifter has to
should use. In the meanwhile, changed as a result of the job, make sure they pay up before
they’ll try not to draw including the drifters, their the end of downtime.
attention to themselves. payout, their anchors, other
circles within the City. Once downtime is complete,
Once the job and the the game automatically
approach are decided, Then, the City reacts: proceeds back into free play.
investigation ends something happens,
by Crossing the Threshold. somewhere.
The job begins. Downtime then begins.
Investigation
During investigation the
drifters get ready for their
next job.

The GM presents available

targets within the City,
detailing what the players
already know.

This might include:

The job’s client - who’s

hiring, and how’d they
get in touch?

The job’s target - what is

it you’re after? What
needs doing?

The job’s opposition:

what’s stopping you
from getting it done?

It will usually also detail

what the players will get if
they succeed… and what
will happen if they fail (or if
they ignore this opportunity
altogether.) This could be
nothing sinister or material
to the players! Sometimes a
missed opportunity is just a
missed opportunity, but you
never know….
 Players can then undertake
actions to try and get more
When the players have
information on the
questions, then it’s time to
opportunities available:
gather information.
whether about the jobs
themselves, or about the
approaches that might work
best for a given job.

Gathering Information
The player asks a question. Compare the highest result: If a question is particularly
The GM asks how they try to hard to get a hold of (“Can I
find out, or how they already 10 - Crystallized truth. go inside the enemy office
know it to be true. The two Two follow up questions. and openly snoop around
then build an appropriate during work hours?” or “Can
fortune roll to see how much 8-9 - Objective truth. I find the mob boss and ask
the drifter can actually find One follow up question. if he’s kidnapping people?”)
out about the situation. then the GM may well
6-7 - Subjective truth. dictate that this is now an
The fortune roll is typically action roll rather than a
1 + Skill + Domain + Knack, 2-5 - Vague, uncertain truth. fortune roll: something that
but might be something else will risk consequences for
depending on the question. 1 - Contrary or extinct truth. the drifters.

If a gather information roll

grants the drifters follow-up
questions, they may choose
to use those now, or hold
onto them for later, including
during the Job. But they must
be used during this job, or
they’re lost!
 Drifter Abilities and Investigation
Sooner or later, you’re going Using abilities can often If a player does wind up
to have a drifter ask if they make logical sense during using an ability during
can use one of their Investigation, but it’s easy to Investigation, remember
playbook abilities during the fall into the trap of spending that it’s no longer a fortune
Investigation phase. This is a lot of time gathering roll, and can incur
often an exciting prospect, information rather than consequences - including
but it’s worth some doing the job itself. marking progress to
consideration. Sometimes that’s fine - if Pressure!
that’s what you and your
Investigation is meant as a players are excited about
preamble to the job. In many doing, it’s fine to spend that
ways, “the job” is where time - but it’s worth
FATHOM takes place - it’s understanding that that’s a
where the rubber hits the real possibility.
road and the drifters begin
the work of combing If you want players to spend
through the UnReal to try less time in Investigation,
and get to the bottom of encourage them to save their
whatever’s going on. abilities for the job itself,
Investigation is meant to and instead lean on anchors
help set them up for that and visit relevant districts to
sequence. get the lay of the land before
arriving
 Pressure

When there’s a job to do,

there’s only so much time
that the drifters can spend
doing field prep. There’s a
window of time where they
can safely ask questions, but
sooner or later, that window
will close.

This is represented by a Whenever Pressure

problem labeled Pressure, completes, the following
equal in size to the number happens:
of drifters. The GM can mark
progress to this problem as a • The drifters take -1D on
consequence whenever the the roll to CROSS THE
drifters take actions that THRESHOLD
would expose or endanger • Additional gather
their efforts. information rolls go up
one step in difficulty
In addition, the GM will (Fortune rolls are no
automatically mark progress longer possible)
to Pressure for every gather • The GM starts another
information or action roll Pressure problem the
after the first from any same size as the first
drifter, indicating the lack of
time. Drifters can continue
gathering information as
they see fit, so long as
they’re willing to live with
the consequences.
 Cross the Threshold
Once you know something Fictionally, crossing the Mechanically, this is where
about the target, it’s time to threshold is the start of the we transition from gathering
begin the job itself. job. Even if they aren’t information and loose
immediately entering a planning and go directly into
To do that, the group lower Fathom, the drifters the action. We don’t dwell
decides what shape the job are in work mode: ready to on the details in between
will take by deciding an face the challenges of the here and the first obstacle:
approach. UnReal, to be willing to help we skip ahead directly to the
each other keep a grasp on first obstacle.
Once the approach is reality, in the face of ever-
determined, then it’s time to changing mystery.
Cross the Threshold
and begin the job. The first time the drifters
gather to cross the
threshold, they should
describe what it looks like:
what do they do? What do
they say?

Fathoms and the Threshold

The drifters can start a job on
any Fathom they want. It’s
dangerous, but they can do it.

Starting on a shallower
Fathom ensures that things
are closer to “normal” when
they kick things off. For better
or for worse, things look
closer to what they would in
the Real.

Starting on a deeper Fathom is

dangerous, but expedient: you
can see monsters and
magicians for what they truly
are, down here… but they're
more likely to notice you, too.
 The Approach
The job usually dictates the
end goal, but how the When the drifters are
drifters go about achieving planning to take on a job,
that goal is up to them. they should be thinking
Before the drifters begin the
about their approach: a
job, they’ll have to settle on
Some drifters will prefer to broad idea of the plan, going
their approach, and describe
kick in the front door and in. It’s not a straitjacket or a
the detail that approach
start shooting magic missiles guarantee of success - it just
leverages.
at anything that moves: describes what they’re trying
others will want to charm to do when they arrive on
their way in with easy smiles the scene.
and practiced lies.
Approaches and Details
When the drifters are ready
to cross the threshold, they
must choose one of the
approaches below, and
provide the relevant detail.

Approach Description Detail

Attack Pick a fight, pull a gun, punch a face. Pick this The point of attack.
when you go in guns blazing. Where does the fight start?

Stealth Break into a building, pick a lock, crack a safe. The point of infiltration.
Pick this when you don’t want to be noticed. What’s your entry point?

Candor Knock politely, make your case, negotiate. The social connection.
Pick this when you present yourself openly Who do you know that gets
and honestly. you in the door?

Flimflam Lie, cheat, and swindle. Use a fake name. The method of deception.
Pick this when you’re getting inside with What believable lie gets you
clever tricks. inside?

Arcana Cast a spell, hold a séance, cleanse a site. The UnReal focus.
Pick this when you’re using the power of the What lens allows you to
UnReal as a means to an end. channel power in this way?
Cross the Threshold (continued)
Getting aid from an anchor can take two forms.
When drifters cross the threshold, make the following roll. One, if an anchor is already fictionally lending
you assistance in some way. Two, if an anchor
Cross the Threshold Roll: COULD be helping but you haven’t brought

+ + + them on-screen yet. It’s okay if you only just now

had the idea at this moment.

Either way, an anchor’s help isn’t free. They have

to risk their own necks to help set you up for
Start with 1d10 Is the approach Does the detail Are you getting aid success. The GM will tell you to mark D6 stress
bold or daring? exploit a weakness? from an anchor? to the anchor if you use them for aid. Only one
anchor can mechanically help cross the threshold
roll in this way; getting too many anchors to the
Real involved muddles a drifter’s efforts.

- - - - -
Is the approach Is the target Are any enemies -1 for each time -1 for each Fathom
overly complex? well-defended or rivals interfering? Pressure completed depth the drifters
for this approach? start on (-2 for
Fathom 2, etc)

If you have zero dice, roll 2D10 and take the lower result. Splitting the Party
If you have less than zero dice, add 2D10 +1D for each fewer than zero, and
then take the lowest result. The UnReal is dangerous,
(So, if your total is -2, roll 4D10 and take the lowest.) particularly alone. Drifters
who cross the threshold are
If the highest result is… assumed to be working
together for the job.
10 The situation is Controlled.
That’s not to say they CAN’T
8-9 The situation is Risky.
split up: it’s just a riskier
proposition.
6-7 The situation is Risky. The GM inflicts a
consequence.
If they split up, the smaller
group always ends up in a
2-5 The situation is Dangerous. The GM inflicts a
situation one step worse than
consequence.
the larger group.
1 The situation is Dangerous. The GM inflicts
If both groups are the same
two consequences.
size, both end up in a
situation one step worse.
 Downtime
After drifters complete a job, Job Results
they take stock of the
situation, see how the City The consequences of the
changes, and regroup before job, whether success or
getting ready for the next failure, come true. If the
job. This phase of the game drifters were supposed to
is called downtime. get paid, this is when that
happens.
When a job is complete, the
GM and the players perform Update Company
the following steps in order: Perspectives for any
companies you came into
contact with.

Update any Company

Projects if they should
change based on the job.

The GM awards Echoes

based on the outcome of the Real World Problems
job.
If this is the first downtime
The City Reacts of the game, the drifters
each owe rent.
Something new happens in
the wake of your actions. Otherwise, update Rent. If it
The GM rolls on the React completes, the drifters each
tables based on the current owe rent.
Echoes.
Update Tensions. If it
completes, each of the
drifters choose an anchor to
take stress.

Downtime Activities

The drifters engage in

downtime activities as they
recuperate and respond to
the new situation.
 Downtime - Job Results
Getting Paid
The drifters get paid for
their work in the UnReal.
If the drifters negotiated for
If the drifters undertook the
a particular piece of
job for an employer, and
If there was no employer, equipment or Valuable as a
were successful, the drifters
they’re left with whatever reward, took on the job to
each receive a Valuable
they found while they were advance a long-term
appropriate to the Wealth
on the job. problem, or to relieve a
rating and domain of their
particular fallout, that
employer.
happens now.

Update Perspectives
The GM creates or updates
any perspective problems
for other companies based
on the events of the job.

If a perspective doesn’t yet The size of the problem is The size of the problem
exist, because the company entirely up to the GM and reflects their investment in
hadn’t come into contact their assessment of how big the players, whether good or
with the players before, an impact the drifters had on bad. A starting relationship
create one now and describe the company. is probably D6; a more
how they feel about the invested understanding is
drifters. The drifters turn the relic over larger.
to Brownstone, a cultural
The drifters managed to steal reclamation organization. The drifters decide to hand
a relic from the Arclight Brownstone has a D6 over several other artifacts
Institute, who they hadn’t had Perspective with the drifters they liberated from the
any dealings with before now. called “Reliable” with 4 stress Institute, free of charge.
The GM creates a Perspective in it already. Completing the Brownstone is both impressed
problem for the Arclight job reinforces that reputation, and grateful. The GM gives an
Institute with the label so the GM marks 1 progress to additional 1 stress, completing
“Perspective: Lowlife that perspective. the problem. The GM creates
Criminals.” a new D8 perspective for
Brownstone called
“Perspective: Trusted.”

Completing a Perspective
awards the players 1 XP.
 Update Company Projects

The impact that the drifters’

If any Company Projects actions have on Projects is
were impacted by the job - up to the GM. The GM
whether positively or Guide has notes on updating
negatively - the GM updates other Companies’ projects
those Projects now. that you can use as a
guideline.

Echoes Stir
Going into the UnReal is a The GM calculates and A higher Echoes rating
hazardous proposition to awards the group Echoes as means more momentous
begin with, much less follows: events will take place in the
making a ruckus while you’re City in the next step, The
there. Start using the lowest City Reacts.
Fathom that the group
The actions of the drifters on accessed during the job. Drifters who want a less
a job amass Echoes: a chaotic time of things can
abstract representation of • Add +1 if the job was take steps to reduce Echoes
both the UnReal vibes particularly loud, public, using the downtime activity,
they’ve absorbed, and the or out-in-the-open CALM THE WATERS - but not
way those vibes are reflected • Add +1 if the job left before the City Reacts.
by the City. behind an obvious,
tangible impact on the
City
• Add +1 if the job
interacted or confronted
a high-profile target,
including (but not
exclusively) a Grand
entity
• Add +1 if you have at
least one D10 or greater
Perspective with another
company

This amount is added to any

Echoes the drifters may
already possess.
 The City Reacts

The City itself reacts to your

activities.

To find out what happens,

the GM will generate an
event contingent on the
following.

First, determine which table Determine how many dice Roll a number of D10s equal
you should use: you should roll by consulting to the progress in the City
the City Reacts problem. Reacts problem. Use the
• If Echoes are 5 or lower, highest result on the chosen
use Table A If this is the first time the table to determine the City’s
City Reacts, start a D4 reaction.
• If Echoes are 6-11, City Reacts problem and
use Table B mark 1 progress. If there’s no progress on the
problem, roll 2D10 and use
• If Echoes are 12+, Otherwise, simply mark 1 the lower of the two results.
use Table C progress. Generally, lower numbers
mean better results for the
drifters!

The GM may, at their

discretion, call for a reroll if
you get a result that your
group has already had once
before. It’s more fun to see
new results.

Once this is done, if the

problem has been
completed, start a new one
of the same size.

If you rolled on Table C,

reset Echoes to zero.
 Table A
Result Reaction
Loose Change. A shift in the structure. Abstract excess. A whiff of surplus. Somehow, everyone just
1 feels like things are getting better. Each drifter chooses one: gain a D6 Valuable of your choice, mark
1 progress towards advancement, or refresh D6 stress.

Theming. A powerful entity in the depths of the UnReal enforces its preferences upon reality. Choose
a narrative aesthetic (noir, slasher horror, soap opera, etc). Each drifter may choose to play into this
2
aesthetic during this downtime. Whoever does so gains 1 XP at the end of Downtime as the entity
applauds.
The Box. A trusted associate asks a drifter to carry a box with them for the next job, but not to look
inside it or open it. If it makes it to the end of the job safely, they gain a D10 Valuable with a domain
3 appropriate to the associate. If it is opened, the GM reveals what's inside and creates a job to deal
with the consequences.

Lost. You left something behind in the UnReal: your shadows, your ability to say words starting with
“a”, your inability to smell despair, or something else. What was it? During this Downtime explain
how you hide this impossibility. Each drifter chooses a Resistance. Whenever they would mark stress,
they can't choose this Resistance until you regain what you have lost. They can still take stress to this
4
Resistance when hurt by outside forces. The GM creates a long-term problem to fill for the afflicted
parties to regain what they lost. When it’s complete, each affected drifter regains use of the lost
Resistance, and the crew marks 1 progress towards advancement.

Sympathetic Vibrations. You’re sure you’re back in the Real, but you seem to have brought a bit of the
UnReal with you. Until the end of this downtime, whenever each drifter would roll an action, they
5
may choose to mark 1 stress for an extra dice on the roll.

Holiday Spirit. A local legend tells of a specter that haunts the city streets during the current holiday
season (The current holiday season lasts from this downtime and the next job, unless Table B’s
6 HOLIDAY SEASON is active). At any time, whenever a character does not display the proper holiday spirit
the GM may have it appear as a hostile entity to punish them for their transgression as a consequence.

Tailgating. Something came back up with you. What is it? Find out with a long-term problem by the
end of downtime, or each player must give an anchor a fallout as the connection is impacted by the
7
thing that’s followed you home.

Stalker. An ominous something - a figure, a word, a song - is following each of you, showing up
wherever you are. What is it? Mark 1 Nerve stress for every downtime action you take, except those
8
you take to free you from this thing. The group can fill a long-term problem to restrain it.

Piracy. On your way up from the depths, you’re waylaid by a roving band of marauders. Who are they?
Each drifter chooses one: lose one Valuable, or; takes D6 stress to their most-stressed Resistance to
9
fight them off.

Habituation. Something marvelous happened to you all in the UnReal. Now the Real pales in
comparison. Every drifter chooses one: during this Downtime roll 1 fewer dice on all actions or clear
10
your Nerve Resistance but take the fallout “Depressed.”
 Table B
Result Reaction
On this result, the players choose either:

Festival. A celebration grips the city. What is it, a sporting event? A parade? A carnival? Everyone may
refresh D6 stress. Roll D10s equal to the current progress in the advancement problem. Use the
highest result to determine the festival’s staying power.

• 1-5: The festival is only here for a day or two and will move on after this downtime.
• 6-7: The festival remains ongoing for this downtime, and for two more afterwards. While the
festival is ongoing, any drifter may spend a D6 Valuable to let the whole group partake in the
1 festival, allowing all drifters to refresh D6.
• 8-9: As 6-7, but the festival remains ongoing permanently. It becomes a fixture of the City in an
district of the GM’s choice and under control of the GM’s choice of Company. How strange is it
for your celebration to become constant in this way?
• 10: As 8-9, but the players choose the district and Company.
or

Dedication. The drifters have no time for frivolous pasttimes. Mark 1 progress towards advancement,
and roll a new reaction on Table A.

Based on a True Story. A media franchise (television show, movies, comics, or something else) is being
produced in the city, showcasing thinly-veiled depictions of your adventures in the UnReal.

2 Until you resolve this, whenever you CROSS THE THRESHOLD, take a -1 to stealth approaches, but a +1 to
candor approaches, when you draw on your connection to the franchise. The GM may, when
appropriate, introduce fans or critics of the franchise as an obstacle on jobs.

Parasite. A conceptual parasite has attached itself to your crew. Do the following now:

• Each infected drifter marks a Scar.

• The GM secretly chooses a Skill, Domain, or ability for each drifter to infect.
• Whenever a drifter uses the chosen Skill, Domain, or ability, the GM reveals the infection and
starts a long-term problem.
• The drifter gets an additional D10 whenever they make a roll using the infected attribute.
3 Whenever the drifter uses the infected attribute, the GM advances the infection problem.
• When the problem is solved, the parasite vacates the attribute and evolves, immediately infecting
the nearest enemy character, giving that character the qualities of the previously-infected
attribute and enhancing some other quality of theirs. The drifter removes the Scar that they
originally marked.

Afflicted drifters can try to eliminate the parasite early with their own long-term problem.
 Table B (Continued)
Result Reaction
Fad. A new fad grips the city. What is it? If drifters work the fad into downtime or other actions, they
roll with advantage. The GM starts a long-term problem and secretly chooses a Company who’s
4
responsible for the fad. If the problem is solved, everyone caught up in the fad (including any
participating drifters) will be affected (see the “Trend” entry in the Bestiary on page xx).

Recast. The NPC with the most player anchors is replaced by a monster of the UnReal, masquerading
as that person. The change is clear to the drifters, but no one else seems to notice anything different.
5 Even those otherwise unfamiliar with the UnReal treat the new monstrous NPC as they always would.
If the players solves a long-term problem to investigate, the GM will tell them what happened and will
present a job option to take action.

Holiday Season. The holidays have come to the City, and the economic and emotional toll is felt by
everyone.

• Procuring any equipment costs dice one additional step higher than it ordinarily would.
• Your rolls to refresh stress become Heavy as the holiday spirit lightens your soul...
• ... But all stress inflicted also gains the Heavy tag. The holidays are stressful, too.
• Finally, it’s a good time to be with others. Roll with advantage whenever you SHARE THE BURDEN.
6
Roll D10 to determine how long the holidays last.

• 1-5: This holiday season lasts for this downtime and the next one.
• 6-7: The players can choose whether it lasts for just this downtime, or for this one and the next.
• 8-9: As 6-7, plus the drifters were prepared for the coming season. Inflicted stress no longer adds
a Heavy tag.
• 10: As 8-9, but each drifter receives a gift from one of their anchors of at least D8 value.

Taste of Blood. Something got into you all on the last jobs. A curse, or parasite, or worse. Whatever it
is, you all find yourselves with a deep urge to do violence.

7
Take -1D whenever you CROSS THE THRESHOLD and you’re not using the Assault approach. This condition
lasts until you go a whole job without doing any violence (cold turkey) or until you wean yourself off
it by solving a long-term problem.
 Table B (Continued)
Result Reaction
Facsimiles. You discover all your equipment has been replaced with shoddy replicas thanks to a note
saying “will return the originals later”. Each of them acts the same as the equipment they replaced,
but with the Weak tag added. Who could have done this, and why? Invent a new NPC if there’s no
good answer.

8
You can either choose to play the next two jobs with these shoddy replicas. If you do, your equipment
will be just as mysteriously switched back to normal afterwards, with an extra reward of a D10
Valuable each for the trouble afterwards. You can also choose to find and shake down this NPC with
a long-term problem. The replicas melt if they ever leave your character’s possession (if you try and
sell them, for example.)
Long Lost. An entity claiming to be a long lost relative or friend, and does a very convincing job of it.

Ask the players if anyone volunteers to be convinced; if someone does, determine who this relative or
friend says they are. The drifter immediately takes them on as a new minor anchor.

If there are no relevant drifter who want to take this entity on, one of the players’ anchors takes it on.
9
The anchor immediately takes a fallout as they deal with this long lost companion’s arrival.

Whether the other drifters are convinced of what this person says or not is up to them. Regardless,
the GM will start a long-term problem. When it finishes, the entity’s secret plan is revealed.

Spinning Fate. For just a moment, as you exit the UnReal, you can see them: the threads of fate. You
could reach out and grasp them, twisting them to your desire, if you dare. Each drifter choose whether
or not to try.

Anyone who tries can roll D10. Anyone with Weird fallout who tries rolls with advantage.

Use the highest result to determine what havoc the drifter wrecks:

10 • 1 - You snap the threads; On the next job, a character you have as an anchor will die
• 2-5 - You witness a harrowing vision and immediately take an appropriate fallout.
• 6-7 - You manifest something out of the UnReal: Mark 5 stress to gain a D10 Valuable. You may
repeat this any amount of times until you take a fallout.
• 8-9 - You feel utterly invigorated. Choose one: immediately heal 2 Fallouts (across any
Resistances), gain +2 XP, or remove a Scar.
• 10 - You make your will a reality. State whatever you desire. The GM will find a way to give it to
you.
 Table C
Result Reaction
On this result, the players choose either:
Resurrection. A new character appears in the city, who looks identical to someone else in your story
who's definitively dead. Any drifter who seeks them out can automatically add them as a minor
anchor without spending a downtime action.
1
or,
Determination. The drifters have no time for paranormal coincidences. Mark 1 progress towards
advancement, and roll a new reaction on Table B.

Change of Plans. An enemy Company is seized by some new obsession, changing their goal and any
long-term problems associated with it. They work tirelessly towards their new obsession: from now
2 until their goal is achieved, they gain twice as much progress while pursuing it. What is this new goal?
What happened to them?

New Kid on the Block. A new crew moves into town, taking an area of the city from a neutral or
enemy Company. Where did they come from? Roll D10s equal to the lowest Fathom of the last job.
Use the highest result to determine how they feel about the drifters:

• 1-5: They are actively hostile to your crew, convinced that you slighted them in the past.
3
• 6-7: They are neutral to your crew, but they think you’re the new arrivals, whereas they’ve been
in the city for the whole campaign.
• 8-9: They are positive about your crew, and may have a job for you.
• 10: They are convinced you are longtime allies and will be affronted if you don’t act the same.

Hybridization. When you emerge from the UnReal, two Companies (enemies, allies, or a mix) have
merged, literally. Where previously there were two leaders, there is now one with characteristics of
both, and so on. The new Company has an averaged status with your crew, the higher Power, and a
4 new goal with as much progress towards it as both previous companies had made to their former
goals. What happened? If you want to put things back the way they were, a long-term problem can
accomplish that, but the “new” Company will actively work against you as you try to solve it.

Aggressive Expansion. An enemy Company seizes a new district, one controlled by the players or their
5 allies. How does this area change to reflect this?
 Table C (Continued)
Result Reaction
Promotion. The Company with the worst status with the drifters goes up in Power by one dice size
6
and takes over an appropriate District.

Butterfly Effect. The Company with the lowest status with your crew finishes their current Company
7
problem immediately. How did your actions indirectly cause this?

Early Retirement with Benefits. One member of your crew is given an incredible, impossible
opportunity. What is it? If they accept, they immediately retire and become a powerful NPC in a new
8 D10 Power Company (or they take over an existing Company and it grows in power up to D10.) The
remaining player characters keep any Anchors with them. If one of your crew doesn’t take this
opportunity someone in an enemy crew or Company does.

The Sinking City. The entirety of your city begins to fall into the UnReal. Who is involved in this?
Every anchor takes a fallout as everyone struggles to deal with the consequences. Every player may
take one action now to help one anchor through this time: if they do, remove that Fallout.
9
Start a long-term problem. Each time it fills, the entire city sinks one Fathom deeper.
If the City reaches Fathom 3, the majority of the city’s population vanishes.
If it reaches Fathom 4, the game is over.

A God Descends to the City. A god - or something just as powerful - descends from somewhere
above. Hallelujah.
10
Start a new long-term problem. If it’s solved, the game ends.
Downtime - Real World Problems
Rent
The drifters don’t exist Otherwise, do the Rent is due at the end of
within a vacuum. They live following: downtime, which means
somewhere and they have to drifters have a chance to try
find the means to support • Mark 1 progress to Rent. and shore up their assets
themselves. The costs of If the problem is using downtime activities if
shelter, clothing, food, complete, start a new they can’t pay it right away.
utilities, and other one, and rent is due this
necessities are covered by downtime. A drifter can pay for another
paying Rent. drifter’s cost of living if they
When Rent is due, each have the means (or are
If this is the first drifter needs to do one of willing to incur Debt
downtime of the game, the following: fallout!)
do the following:
• Give up a D8 Valuable,
• Rent is due this representing the cost of
downtime. living
• Start a D4 problem • Take an immediate Debt
called “Rent.” Mark 1 fallout to make up the
progress towards it. cost
Tension
The drifters’ anchors don’t If this is the first • Inflict D8 stress to their
just sit idly by waiting for downtime of the game, least-used anchor. If
the drifters to check in on do the following: there’s a tie for-least
them. They have their own used, come to a
problems that they have to • Start a D4 problem consensus about which
deal with. We represent this called “Tension.” anchor is most
with periodic stress dealt to interesting to apply
anchors outside of the Otherwise, do the stress to. Describe what
drifters’ control. following: development has made
that anchor’s existence
• Mark 1 progress to more difficult.
Tension. If the problem
is complete, each drifter • Take an immediate Weird
needs to do choose one fallout as a consequence
of the following options. of their detachment from
Afterwards, start a new their anchor’s lives. If a
Tension problem. drifter has no anchors,
they must take this
option.
 Downtime - Activities
Once everyone has dealt
with the impact of the job,
the drifters can take the time
to lick their wounds, see
their friends, work on
projects, or simply take time
to rest.

Each player gets three

downtime activities. They
can take them in any order
and in any combination.

Most activities will involve a

roll, and in most cases this
will be a fortune roll of one
for luck + Skill + Domain.
However, players may take
an extra die if their character
invites another drifter to join
them in the activity.

In the case where there’s a

problem involved (Share the
Burden or Work on a
Problem), players can choose
to spend D6 Valuables after
the roll to add 1 extra
progress (1 D6 Valuable for 1 Fathom Zero and
progress.) Players should Drifter Abilities
explain how they use the Remember that, while your
Valuable to progress the drifter abilities may be
Problem. Players can spend useful during downtime, if
any number of Valuables in you drop to a lower fathom
this way. by using one, your actions
thereafter will be Dangerous
so long as you’re by yourself
while you remain below
Fathom Zero!
The downtime activities are:

Calm the Waters

Take stock of what’s
currently happening in the Share the Burden
City. Spend time with an anchor
to build a connection and
Choose this if you want to refresh stress.
reduce Echoes.
Choose this if you need to
Create an Anchor relieve stress, or want to see
Forge a connection with your friends.
something Real.
Side Hustle
Choose this if you form a new Pocket some cash for
Anchor with someone. a rainy day.

Hit the Bricks Choose this if you need some

Take stock of what’s spending money.
currently happening in the
City. Visit a Haunt
Pay for goods and services,
Choose this if you want to get like an upstanding citizen.
a better understanding of the
City and its Companies. Choose this if you need a
fallout cured, or if you want to
Inquire into the Unknown buy some new equipment.
Advance your understanding
about the UnReal’s depths. Work on a Problem
Start or make progress on a
Choose this if you want to long-term effort.
earn XP.
Choose this if you’ve got
something that feels bigger
than a single action.

Each drifter playbook also

has a custom downtime
activity which they can use
as part of this suite of options.
 Calm the Waters Create an Anchor
When you Calm the Waters, When you Create an Anchor, • D4 - Someone or
you take steps to reduce the you work to forge a something you’re already
swirl of chaotic Echoes connection between yourself well familiar with.
surrounding the drifters. and something in the Real: a • D6 - Someone or
person, a place, a special something you’re aware
The Echoes are a buildup of object or concept, or of, but that you don’t
strange, UnReal phenomena anything else that keeps you have a strong
around you and the City. rooted to Fathom Zero. relationship with.
The best way to counteract • D8 - Someone or
them is to indulge in deeply Talk with your GM what something you’re not
normal, everyday activities, you’d like to create an familiar with, and have to
tightening your hold on the Anchor with - or, if you start from scratch.
Real. already have an Anchor
playbook in mind, ask what Once you’ve created an
Describe what you do in you might be able to connect Anchor, assign them an
order to restore normalcy. to. Keep in mind that an anchor playbook and mark
Then, roll an appropriate Anchor doesn’t have to them down as a minor
action. reflect a positive relationship Anchor on your character
- just a strong one! sheet.
• On a success, the UnReal
tempest is quelled. Roll Creating an Anchor with The GM might grant bonus
D4 twice; remove Echoes someone or something progress towards creating an
from your current Echo works like a long-term anchor if you’re trying to tie
total equal to the higher problem. The size of the a particular entity to a
of the two results. problem is different based particularly appropriate
• On a mixed success, on how strong a relationship anchor playbook - either by
you’re able to stave off a you already have with the automatically marking
little of the weirdness. potential Anchor in progress, or making your
Remove D4 Echoes from question. progress roll Heavy.
your current Echo total.
• On a miss, you bring
stillness . . . but the City Anchors and other Drifters
rushes in to fill the
There’s nothing stopping If all of your anchors are in
vacuum. Roll D4 twice;
you from forming anchors the UnReal with you, then
remove Echoes from
with your fellow drifters, but you count as adrift, no
your current Echo total
an anchor is meant to tether matter how many anchors
equal to the higher of the
you to the Real: and if your you have.
two results. Then, roll an
anchors are diving into lower
additional The City
fathoms with you, then they
Reacts.
may not be much of a lifeline.
 Hit the Bricks Inquire Into
the Unknown
When you Hit the Bricks, When you Inquire into the
you head into the City to • On a success, you’re in Unknown, you willfully peer
shake up your daily routine. the right place at the into the UnReal to get a
right time. The GM will sense of what forces are at
Describe what you do, and tell you what you find, work within it.
choose one of the following and you can ask two
to discover. follow-up questions that Describe what you do to
the GM will answer further the crew’s under-
• A new development in honestly. standing of the mysteries
one of the city’s mysteries • On a mixed success, that surround you.
• A chance encounter with you’re in the right place
an NPC at the wrong time. The Mark 1 progress towards
• A sense of the city’s GM will tell you what advancement. Then, roll an
mood and imminent fate you find, and you can ask appropriate action.
one follow-up question.
Then, roll an appropriate • On a miss, you’re in the • On a success, you stare
action, according to what wrong place at the wrong into the void and resist
you said you’d do. time. You find something the urge to blink. Mark 1
worth your attention, additional progress
but find some trouble towards advancement.
while you’re at it. The • On a mixed success, you
GM will tell you what catch a whiff of what’s
you find, and then inflict cooking in the UnReal.
a consequence. The GM will give you a
taste. You may mark D6
Weird stress to mark
1 progress towards
advancement.
• On a miss, the weird gets
in. The GM inflicts a
consequence.
 Share the Burden
When you Share the Burden,
you visit an anchor in order
to relieve yourself of stress.

Choose an anchor and • On a success, you both Regardless of your roll, if

describe how you spend time come away stronger for you have not used a special
together. Roll an appropriate the experience. Remove ability from this Anchor’s
action based on how you’ve all stress from one of playbook this downtime, you
framed the scene. your Resistances, and may reframe this Anchor.
from the anchor.
Progress your D8 If you do, remove its
problem with that playbook and assign a new
Anchor once. On a one. Retain your level (minor
critical success, progress or major), the anchor’s
it twice. current stress (if any), and
any fallouts it has (if any.)
• On a mixed success, one Work with your GM to
or the other of you is a ensure the Anchor playbook
bastion of comfort for is appropriate to the
the other. Either clear all relationship.
stress from one of your
Resistances, or from the
anchor. Progress your
problem with that
Anchor once.

• On a failure, your stress

is relieved, but your
anchor’s needs go
unaddressed. Clear all
stress from one of your
Resistances and add that
much stress to the
anchor. Do not progress
your problem with that
Anchor.
 Side Hustle Visit a Haunt Work on a Problem
When you engage in a Side When you Visit a Haunt, you When you Work on a
Hustle, you pursue some visit a professional to pay for Problem, you spend time
extra work. This might be what you need. and effort on something that
associated with your Grind, needs doing.
or some other odd job that Pick a haunt. The GM will
you’ve picked up. tell you if you can do one of Describe what you want to
the following: relieve stress, do. Work out with the GM
Pick a district within the City remove fallout, or obtain how big the problem is.
and describe what you do to equipment.
try and shore up your assets. Roll an appropriate action to
Visit the haunt and exchange make progress.
Roll an appropriate action. an appropriate Valuable for
the service mandated. See On a success, mark stress
• On a success, your hustle the Haunts section for more towards the completion of
pays dividends. Gain a info. the problem (standard D4 if
D6 Valuable. you don’t have relevant
equipment.)
• On a mixed success, you
scrape out some extra Problem examples:
cash. Gain a D4 Valuable.
• Heal a fallout without
• On a miss, you manage the aid of a haunt
to eke out some • Advance or interfere
payment, but at a cost. with a Company problem
Gain a D4 Valuable, and • Build or acquire a custom
the GM will inflict a piece of equipment
consequence. • Remove a Scar
• Change a drifter’s
playbook
• Gain access to an ability
from another playbook
• Retire without
consequences
• Discover more about an
adversary
• Change the properties of
a district
 Advancement
The drifters advance using a
Your crew can’t make it in problem called
the UnReal alone, or by advancement. This problem
So, if there’s 4 players and a
leaving the weakest behind. - which is shared across the
GM, advancement is D8.
You either advance together, whole crew - is equal to
or not at all. twice the number of players
in the group.

Whenever a player does one Additionally, whenever the When do I get XP?
of the following, they mark 1 group successfully
progress to advancement: completes a job, mark Some GMs may prefer that
progress equal to the XP gets spent between
• Whenever they fulfill deepest Fathom reached on sessions - or even only when
their playbook agenda, the Job. Mark 2 progress for a a job has been concluded.
once per session. job where Fathom 2 was the Others may allow you to
deepest Fathom reached. spend it right away, provided
• Whenever they take the you know what you’re going
Inquire into the Whenever advancement to spend it on.
Unknown downtime finishes, each drifter gets
activity. 1 XP. Then, start a new Ultimately, the choice is up
advancement problem. to the group and what’s
most convenient for them.
Drifters never “miss out” on
ticking a clock because one’s
already full, though - just
start another advance clock!
 Players can spend XP
on the following:

Minor Abilities
1 XP

Major Abilities
2 XP

Major Ability Upgrades

1 XP

Zenith Abilities
1 XP

Crew Abilities
2 XP

Players can pool their XP to

purchase a crew ability, if
they so choose. They can’t
do this for individual player
abilities and upgrades,
though.

Players don’t have to spend

XP right away; they can hold
onto it for a bigger purchase
later.

Zenith Abilities
A Zenith ability represents Zenith abilities aren’t costly, The Zenith abilities included
an end to your character’s but they DO have in the book are not an
arc. You don’t have to buy a prerequisites to them: both exhaustive or restrictive list.
Zenith to conclude your mechanical, and fictional, If you think there’s a better
drifter’s story, but selecting which vary from Zenith to way to end your character’s
one indicates that the end is Zenith. If you’re interested arc, we encourage you to
coming soon, for better or in a particular Zenith, tell work with your GM to write
for worse. your GM so they can set you your own!
up to earn it!
 Companies
A Company is a group of A non-player Company
people who might impact always has the following:
the City or the UnReal. Like
you! The drifters that the • Power: Represented by a • Locations: The districts
player characters play form a dice value (D4, D6, D8, of the city the Company
Company. etc), Power represents operates in.
the influence that the
But you’re not alone. Other Company can wield. It • Project: Represented by
Companies exist within the helps determine how a dice value (D4, D6, D8,
city. They might take many strong they are if you etc), a Project
forms: a street gang, a secret come up against them - representing the goal
society, a legitimate or how much they’re able that the Company’s
business, an up-and-coming to pay you, if you wind currently working
cult, a new startup up working for them. towards. A larger dice
enterprise, or even a single size represents a greater
unique individual - all of • Domains: Rough expenditure of time and
these could be a Company. guidelines about what effort.
parts of the City - and
the UnReal - the The GM advances
Company is invested in. Projects according to the
events of the game by
• Perspective: Represented marking stress. When a
by a dice value (D4, D6, project has as much
D8, etc), a Perspective stress as its dice value, it
represents how the completes. The
Company feels - whether Company’s goal
positively or negatively - manifests in the City in
about the players’ crew. some way, and they
A larger dice represents a choose a new Project.
more vested interest.
The GM marks stress to a
Perspective based on the
drifters’ actions. When
that stress matches the
dice size, their position
or understanding
towards the players
evolves.
 Districts
A district is an area within Each district has the
the City. It might be a following information
particularly noteworthy city associated with it:
block, an entire
neighborhood, a whole Domains: The domain or
suburb, or a single domains associated with this
remarkable building. district. The domains
inform, in broad strokes,
A district is always what sort of people are here,
important in some way. If it’s what kind of activity goes on
not important, it’s either not here, and what elements of
a district, or it’s part of some the UnReal hold sway.
larger whole and isn’t
important enough on its Companies: Any Company
own. In many ways, it is the that operates in this district,
importance attributed to a most especially the
district by people that makes Company that controls this
a district a district. district, known as the owner.

A district is always Power: The stress dice for

controlled by a Company. this district, ranging from D4
None of the people with to D12. This is the same as
power in the City are foolish the Power of the owner
enough to let a district go Company. A bigger dice size
unoccupied. That control means a greater degree of
might well be contested by danger, but also more
others, but that control is lucrative rewards.
never absent.
Haunts: Haunts are people
A district is always part of or places of use to
the City. If it’s not part of Companies. They provide a
the City, it’s not a district. service or benefit that’s
That’s not to say it’s not difficult to come across
significant in some way to elsewhere in the City. They
your story. might provide healing,
equipment, or other aid to
drifters.
 Haunts
Haunts are people and
places within the City who
offer services to UnReal-
aware individuals such as
yourselves. They might offer
items, healing, or
information that you
couldn’t get elsewhere.

Haunts often look innocuous

to the outside world, so that
they don’t draw unwanted
attention. An alchemist’s lab
may simply appear to be a
flower store for most
passers-by.

A Haunt falls into one of

three different types:
a Fixer, a Fink, or a Fence.
 Fixers
Fixers are experts at making
problems go away. They’re
who you go to if you have Note that you can also use a
stress - or fallout - that Haunt by marking stress to
needs taking care of. A Fixer Debt equal to the size of the
can usually mend one - dice you’d roll. So, if you
sometimes two - types of really need Form stress healed
stress, defined by Resistance. but don’t have a Valuable, you
A Fixer’s identity is usually could go to the doctor and
bound up in what they can mark 4 Debt stress to roll a
heal. A Fixer who can treat D4 to heal Form.
Form stress might be a
doctor; a Nerve Fixer might If a Fixer is fictionally
be a therapist (or a very appropriate for curing you of
good bartender); someone an ongoing fallout, you can
who takes care of Debt could do so by spending a D8
be either an accountant or a Valuable for each Fallout to
crook (or both); a Luck Fixer remove it.
might be a confessor or a
fortune-teller. A Weird Fixer If you don’t want to remove
could be all manner of the Fallout, you can always
things: someone deeply hold onto it until it has the
grounded in the Real and chance to become a Scar.
capable of bringing you back
down to Earth, or someone Like relieving stress, you (or
so wrapped up in the Weird an ally) can substitute Debt
that they’re good at stress if you don’t have a
sponging it off of you. Valuable to part with: 8 stress
for minor, 10 for a major, or
You can heal stress with a 12 for a critical. Doing so may
Fixer by bringing a Valuable lead to another fallout, which
to their haunt and upgrades as normal.
exchanging it. This assumes
you’re either giving them the
Valuable, or selling it and
then using the proceeds to
pay for the service you need,
but we shortcut past the
inventory management part
of it.
 Finks Fences
Finks are information- Fences are crafters, You can spend Valuables at a
brokers, gossips, and rumor collectors, and curators. If Fence to purchase
mongers. Finks are who to you need a tool for a job, you equipment. Generally, you
go to for information if you can almost always find a need one dice size higher for
don’t know where else to Fence who’s willing to sell a piece of equipment of
look. you something. Fences are equivalent dice value. so, a
who the drifters go to if they D8 Valuable will buy you a
A Fink is knowledgeable want new equipment. D6 equipment no problem.
both about their domains It might also buy you
and the Companies in the In the same way that Fixers equipment of the same dice
district where they’re are defined by the types of value with a negative tag
lodged. A Fink on Wall stress that they can heal, a attached to the item.
Street can tell you about Fence is defined by what Likewise, a positive tag will
Order and Capital; a Fink in skills their equipment is require a dice size larger.
the Ruins can tell you about pertinent to. A Fence who
Doom and Fringe. sells weapons will have Fight Fences can also restore
and Hunt equipment Broken equipment, provided
When you visit a Fink, you available, whereas a Fence it’s the same type that they
can trade them a Valuable up who’s good at helping sell. A Fence will repair a
to the value of their Power. people navigate the UnReal piece of equipment for a
For each dice step, you may may have Drift and Invoke Valuable one step smaller
ask a single question about equipment on offer. than it would’ve taken to
the City pertaining to that purchase the equipment in
domain, their district, or that the first place.
district’s companies. (So, a
D4 will get you one
question, a D6 will get you
two questions, etc.)

You can also visit a Fink as

part of a gather information
roll, if you don’t have any
other leads.
 Fence Examples

Fences in FATHOM vary in “Blast Pro Shops” “Navigators Resource Ministry”

their knowledge of lower Hunt and Fight Fence Drift and Invoke Fence
Fathoms, with some steeped
in the UnReal and others A hunting and fishing There’s a sailboat in the
oblivious to it. Even the emporium with an unsettling middle, walls lined with
latter recognize they get focus on tools of violence. religious texts, and almost no
some weird customers, customers.
though, and just know when • Combat Knife
not to ask questions. Fight D6, Dire • Book of Curses (To Avoid)
Regardless of their Invoke D6, Harmful
knowledge, they can all • Fishing Rod
recognize financial Hunt D4, Fragile, • Compact Parachute
opportunity and will accept Ranged, Piercing Drift D6, Fragile, One-
(most) Valuables without Hook can get caught on shot, Reload, Surprise
issue. Trade requires a almost anything, but line
Valuable one dice size higher breaks easily. • Consecrated Incense
than the equipment you’re Invoke D6, Piercing,
trying to buy, though a • Forest Axe Spread, Weak
particularly demanding Fight D8, Awkward,
Fence or particularly Heavy, Tiring • Longboard w/ Holy
interesting piece of Design Drift D8
equipment might require • Hunting Rifle
more. Hunt D6, Awkward, • Saint’s Hand
Heavy, Ranged Invoke D10, Animate,
Below, we have included six Occult, Specialty: Evil
examples of Fences, which • War Sword (Replica)
you can use directly or as Fight D10, Sacrifice, Dire, • Navigators Sailboat
inspiration in your own Specialty: Duels Drift D10, Awkward,
campaign. We recommend The sign says “When a Sacrifice, Specialty:
beginning a campaign only knife won’t do” Navigating Fathom 2,
giving your players access to and Below, Specialty:
~2 fences, with extra fences • Blunderbuss Navigating Fathom 3
unlocked as job rewards or Hunt D10, Piercing, and Below
based on players solving Point-Blank, Spread, Works better the deeper
long-term problems. Weak you go, but good luck
The sign says “Guaranteed getting it out of the shop.
to pierce the thickest
hide!” and then in small-
print “Warning: useless at
almost any range.”
“The Body Shop” “Spy Guy”
Knit and Stand Fence Analyze and Hunt Fence

Run by the witch Mother A themed spy shop, popular

Mayai, a Body Fixer and Fence with kids. They say the best
for what keeps you fixed up. secrets hide in plain sight.

• Small First Aid Kit • Spyglass

Knit D6, Expiring, Heavy Analyze D6, Fragile
Good quality, but
limited contents • Signal Tracker
Hunt D6, Specialty:
• Reinforced Helmet Unusual Radio Waves
Stand D6, Sacrifice
• Unveiling Ink
• Statis Patch Analyze D8
Knit D8, Heavy, For revealing
One-shot, Sacrifice secret messages
Capable of holding
anything in place, for a • L'espirit de chiens
time. Hunt D8, One-shot,
Reload, Specialty:
• Projected Barrier Things Dogs Like
Stand D8, Fragile, Range,
Surprise, Spread • Mood Ring
D12 Analyze, Weak,
• Liquified Concept of Healing Specialty: When worn
Knit D10, Expiring, by the Target
One-shot, Heavy
A health potion. • Nomme de Guerre
Hunt D10, Specialty:
• Second Skin When all the Target’s
Stand D10, Point-Blank, Names are Known
Specialty: Touch, A little box in which a list
Surprise, a full-body, of names can be placed.
skintight covering. Ideal Shakes violently with
for close-range defense proximity.
but near useless against
range.
“Markhall’s” “Misericorde”
Connect and Knit Fence Fight and Manipulate Fence

A kitschy shop of cards, A speakeasy within a

balloons, and porcelain speakeasy. The menu contains
figurines. Surprisingly fun to a variety of dangerous
browse. delights.

• A Perfect Gift • Cocktail Knife

Connect D6, Expiring, Fight D6, Surprise
Heavy, One-shot,
Sacrifice, Surprise • Endless Snifter
Like any good present, it Manipulate D6, One-
can only be given once, shot
but makes a big
impression. • Poisoned Nail
Fight D8, Ongoing 2,
• “Get Well Soon” Card Weak
Knit D6 Slow-acting but long-
The inscription is both lasting poison.
tasteful and sincere
• Ruby Red Lips
• Exquisite Jewelry (Fake) Manipulate D8,
Connect D8, Fragile, Specialty: Those
Illicit, Heavy Enamored with You

• Mr. Teddy • Sir Hemlock’s Rapier

Knit D8, Animate (Haunted)
Fight D10, Animate,
• Mind Sync Heavy, Ranged
Connect D10, Harmful, A rapier haunted by an
Ranged, Surprise, Tiring expert duelist. Often gets
A momentary minor carried away and flies
melding of the minds: from its wielder.
dangerous, but effective.
• Book of Secrets
• Cheerful Balloon Manipulate D10,
Knit D10, Animate, Harmful, Sacrifice, Tiring
Heavy, Volatile A thin black book.
Opening it can be costly,
both for the opener and
those they turn the secrets
against.
 Valuable Value
Conversion
In FATHOM, when you visit However, just because this is
a Haunt you will often end the stated “exchange rate”
up with a Valuable that’s doesn’t mean you’ll always
too… well, valuable for the be able to make change or
current situation (e.g., a D12 combine multiple smaller
when you want to heal a Valuables to equal a larger
fallout). Or alternatively, a one. Both the type of
number of smaller Valuables Valuable in question and the
when you’re trying to pay a NPC asking for the cost
higher cost. come into play. For the type
of Valuable, some Valuable
In FATHOM, the D4 is the cannot be easily broken
base Valuable. Every apart into smaller parts (e.g.,
Valuable up from that can be a previous vase can’t be split
considered to be one D4 apart, but a stack of cash
“step” away. So, two D4 could be). For NPCs, some
Valuables equal one D6 won’t make change and
Valuable, or one D8 Valuable others won’t accept many
can equal three D4 Valuables small Valuables when what
(or one D4 Valuable and one they want is one big one.
D6 Valuable).
GM GUIDE
Running Fathom
Fathom is a game that
benefits from a somewhat
unique style of GMing. If
you’ve played any pair of
Forged in the Dark and
Sparked by the Resistance
games, you’ll likely have a
pretty good grasp.

Regardless of your
experience, in this section,
we’ll attempt to offer some
advice and tools to make
running the game easier.

Here we’ll cover a slightly

more in-depth Guide to
Fathoms, a discussion of
Moves and Consequences,
our recommended GM
Principles, and some Tools
for running a Fathom one-
shot or campaign.

Feel free to hop around this

section and to ignore what
isn’t useful. There’s no one
right way to play Fathom, so
take from this what you like
and ditch the rest.
 A Guide to Fathoms
A core concept for Fathom There were other implicit
that isn’t mentioned much in terms introduced earlier in
the non-GM parts of this this book, like the
book is the notion of conceptual origin (C.O.) of
perspective. Perspective in entities and their conceptual
Fathom indicates the radius (C.R.). These are
subjective experience of meant to be somewhat
reality we each experience. It overblown, academic terms
is heavily inspired by the in-universe, for the Fathom
postmodern notion of a lack something is located on or in
of any objective natural (C.O.) and the set of
reality. Instead, in Fathom, Fathoms it can be perceived
our shared reality is on (C.R.). Your C.O. tends
constructed by where our to be where a character feels
subjective perspectives the most comfort, while
happen to overlap or agree. your C.R. depends on how
This isn’t explained to broad a character’s
players by default as part of perspective is, though
the fun of Fathom is the drifters can manipulate both.
sense that there’s
unknowable knowledge. There’s also the notion of a
That there are things just a Grand entity, an entity that
bit out of one’s can be observed on every
understanding or that Fathom (whose C.R. covers
existing theories or ways of all Fathoms), and is typically
understanding do not cover. the most powerful class of
Of course, the most eager ally or enemy (likely the
players - or those who’ve latter) for your players.
GMed Fathom - will have
read this, but this feeling
should still remain. Truth in
Fathom is subjectivity, and
that means that each GM’s
subjective understanding (or
lack of understanding) of
these concepts is equally
valid. This should make
every Fathom game a bit
different, and that’s
intentional!
In Fathom, perspective is the Fathom Zero - The Real
basis of reality. And by
changing one’s perspective, Fathom 0 or “Zero” is Real
one can change what version life in the City, which means There are benefits to this, as
of reality you’re interacting that by default it’s like real there are fewer dangers, but
with. Let’s talk about what life for us in the real world. it also means that most
this looks like in terms of the player characters will have
Six-Fathom Theory. As a hard rule at the less impact on a situation.
beginning of the campaign, The moment that the players
there should be no magic on use any magical ability they
Fathom Zero. There might move to a lower fathom (the
be things “caused” by magic depth dependent on how
or other weirdness UnReal the ability is).
surrounding the players, but Further, any time the players
they should have an are the target of an UnReal
explanation that a Dana ability, they’ll also drop
Scully or a Velma Dinkley down to an appropriate
could get behind. The alien Fathom as a sort of drifter-
ship was just swamp gas, the instinctive self-defense (you
ghost was just someone in a can’t defend against what
bed sheet or an old story, you can’t perceive).
etc.. This should be a space
of coincidence and The City is always the City
rationalized surrealism. though, so if some effect
would impact the structures
To be “on” Fathom Zero is of the City or the people
to take this perspective. This within it, then it also affects
isn’t just to say “thinking things on Fathom Zero.
this is how things work”. It
means literally acting under For example, if a
a different shared reality, Necromancer opens up a
one where magic doesn’t void portal into Doom to
exist. collapse a building, then a
sinkhole might open in
Fathom Zero. If someone
infects the Mayor with a
creature or curse to impact
their behavior, then their
politics or character will shift
in the Real. The effects are
always the same, just the
causes differ.
 Fathom 1
Fathom 1 is the realm of the Only those without any This means that if the NPCs
almost-believable. Space faith/belief and without any see the players interacting
remains unchanged, but introspection into their own with a ghost or shooting a
fantastical things begin to internal mysteries would destructive projectile, they
appear and things that were disappear or appear only as will still likely interpret the
“truly” (whatever that shadows. Most NPCs should player actions as if they
means in a setting without not be thought of as being observed their effects in the
objective truth) UnReal in “at” Fathom 1 or at least not Real (e.g. they were talking
Fathom Zero now begin to regularly, sometimes there’s to no one, the players had a
reveal themselves. Almost slippage, little trips during gun, etc.).
all NPCs will still appear UnReal high tides. But most
here as well, even those with will have their conceptual Powers that someone in our
no knowledge of the UnReal. origin (C.O.) locked in at reality might argue are real
Specifically, anyone open to Fathom Zero. It's that their can be found on Fathom 1.
the possibility of ghosts, conceptual radius (C.R.) is Minor miracles, palm
aliens, ritualistic magic, large enough to be observed reading, spoon bending, and
psychic powers and the like here, their perspective is the like. The same goes for
existing (being “Real”) broad enough for Fathom 1. creatures: cryptids, ghosts,
should appear here. aliens, and demons all might
appear. Things that in our
reality are largely the
domain of hucksters and
frauds, but in Fathom 1
they’re real.
 Fathom 2
At Fathom 2 reality begins So far as magical powers go,
to give way, with metaphors this Fathom corresponds to
and themes coloring the anything that one might find
structures of the Real. The in a magical realism or urban
shapes of the City remain fantasy setting. The kind of
largely unchanged: where thing that very few people
there were walls there are believe is possible in the
still walls, where there are Real, but which wouldn’t be
doors there are still doors, out of place in a story or as a
and so on. However, the metaphor for something that
texture of these things can happen in the Real (e.g.
change. A building wall in “oh you willed that to
Fathoms 0 and 1 changes to happen”).
reflect the Domain: a thick
layer of plants, hair, or scales
for Wild, rusted razor wire,
dark cloth, or bones for
Doom, and so on. In terms
of denizens, almost every
UnReal entity can appear on
this layer, while the majority
of City citizens do not
appear. Only those citizens
with a clear sense of self or
who have been touched by
the UnReal appear this deep.
They similarly appear
changed in texture to reflect
their self-perspective (e.g. a
preacher glowing like a
beacon, a cop dressed like an
edgy superhero, and so on).
 Fathom 3
At Fathom 3, structure fully Citizens of the City are
gives way to metaphors and largely nowhere to be seen
themes, or perhaps it’s this deep, except those
clearer to say that metaphors individuals who think of
and themes become themselves as particularly
physical. The City no longer important to a place, and
bears any resemblance to a even then they do not
City even in shape. Instead it appear in a human shape.
is a dreamlike collage of Instead the core metaphor of
disparate aesthetics. Like their existence is expressed
someone cut up a thousand clearly (a preacher as a
different fiction and talking lighthouse, a cop as a
nonfiction illustrations and bloodhound or avenging
glued them together. An angel, etc.). Anyone without
abstract art gallery across knowledge of the UnReal
the street from a dead mall who could not reduce
in the Real may appear like a themselves to a single
non-euclidean structure of symbol or metaphor would
primary colors connecting to simply not appear, their self-
a mausoleum to ancient perspective too diffuse to be
brands. represented clearly.

The unimportant (as decided UnReal monsters begin to

by the unconscious minds of get truly weird at this depth,
the City’s citizens) and are often physical
disappears, and only major versions of social or cultural
landmarks remain, but in features (Capitalism, Justice,
this new, metaphorical and so forth).
representation. When
thinking about what This is the deepest that most
something should look like drifters in Fathom will go
in Fathom 3, we recommend except for particularly long
asking yourself “What’s the campaigns, ones that make
coolest or most interesting use of Zenith abilities, or
metaphor for or symbol of those interested in getting at
this place? What if that was some deeper “truth” of the
somehow physical?” City or Fathom.
 Fathom 4
Fathom 4 is an ocean of base If a player character drifts When describing the
concepts. It is related to down here we recommend creatures at this Fathom,
historical ideas from Dada calling on ocean language: focus on scale. Anything
and Surrealism (like The talk about them floating, here naturally is so much
Beach Beneath the Streets feeling the pressure of being larger (conceptually) than a
from Situationist this deep, feeling their body human. Feel free to draw on
International) or Jungian desperately trying to seek the later (less problematic)
Psychology’s notion of the the comforts it expects (air, writers of eldritch horror and
“Collective Unconscious”. atomic matter, etc.). Make weird fiction. Speak of their
We can consider that each clear, even if they roll unknowability, how the mind
deeper Fathom requires a perfectly, that they cannot shies away from them, or
human(ish) mind to take bear to be here for long. how a character can only
broader and broader Describe this space in only hold part of them in their
perspectives on reality. It’s the loosest of terms, leaving mind at once.
only natural that this final much of it to player
human-habitable (briefly) imagination. “You’re floating
Fathom should contain only in darkness/cold/pain. There
the broadest and most is nothing and
general concepts. Dark, simultaneously there’s too
Light, Pain, Pleasure, Heat, much to take in. What do
Cold, and so on. you do?”
 Fathom X
The truth of Fathom X is may not just die. What
that there’s no truth to happens is up to you, but
Fathom X. You will come up they are not human any
with ideas and so will your longer.
players. All of them are true
and none of them are true. This doesn’t just mean that
they become something
If you speak as an entity human-adjacent (they don’t
from Fathom X, contradict become human 2.0 or an elf
yourself in your description, or something). They should
and contradict your own no longer be able to
ideas about whatever dwells communicate or interact
down there. with others like anything
approaching a human.
It’s unknowable to humans
and that includes you, the If there’s any sign of them, it
human reading this. should be radically different.
Perhaps they stretch
This is the one hard rule: themselves out, becoming
nothing can reach Fathom X like a modern god, presence
and remain human. If a half-felt, never again capable
player wants to introduce a of direct communication.
character who reached Perhaps they become dense,
Fathom X and returned as a a hole in reality visible from
human, you can inform them every Fathom, an enigma
that the character may silently urging others to
believe that, but that it isn’t follow their descent.
true.
Whatever you decide, it
This might change during a should be surreal and should
particular campaign, just as not follow directly from
the bounds of human anything you’ve already
imagination have changed established about Fathom X.
with time, but at its start No one should hear what
just as there’s no magic at happened and go “ah of
Fathom Zero, there’s no course”. They should first
humans who stay human at say “wait, what?” and maybe
Fathom X. only later connect dots you
never even intended.
If you do have a character
who reaches Fathom X, they
 The Truth about the Six-Fathom Theory

We’ve spent a lot of text going

over the Fathoms from our
perspective, but the truth of
the matter is that in the
fiction of Fathom the game,
the Six-Fathom Theory is
wrong.

This means that despite The point is that the Six-

everything we said up above, Fathom Theory is meant to be
you should regularly introduce a useful theory for the drifters
things that contradict these in a game of Fathom, but that
set rules. Let the players see doesn’t make it true. But
something magical on Fathom while physicists might happily
Zero. Let a monstrous thing tell you how space and time
amabob show up at Fathom 1. are the same thing, that
Let a space radically transform doesn’t mean you stop using a
at Fathom 2. But still, even watch.
with this, don’t let anyone go
to Fathom X and return This is why Fathoms have a What we’re saying is that it’s
human. mechanical effect. The more than okay if you don’t
mechanical effect is “real” in fully understand how we’ve
that drifters in-game really do laid out the Six-Fathom
experience more danger and Theory or if you want to break
more power the deeper they some of the rules we’ve laid
drift. out. In fact, that’s great! As
long as Fathoms feel useful if
However, the reason for this is ultimately not fully covering
not because of the Six-Fathom all aspects of how the UnReal
theory, but for other reasons - works, that’s a success.
hidden variables - concepts
unseen and un-discussed
either in-game or in this book.
Consequences, Moves, and Fallout
In FATHOM, there’s three
ways you as the GM get to
“do” things mechanically:
present a consequence, take
a move, or inflict a Fallout.

Consequences

The first is as a consequence:

when a player fails or gets a
mixed success on a roll. This
is pretty self-evident. We
introduced a list of possible
consequences and we’ll
replicate it here before
stepping through it for
completion's sake.

• Inflict stress
• Introduce a new threat
• Start or advance a
problem
• Increase the situation’s
difficulty
• Change the Fathom
• Follow the Fiction
 INFLICT STRESS
The most common In terms of where to inflict A particular opponent or
consequence. If drifters are the stress, that depends on source of stress will often
fighting a provided monster, the context. Context in this have several options in terms
use its Power. Otherwise, case can mean narrative of which Resistance to
use the Power of the context. For example, if this target. In this case, we
company they’re acting is a fight or when a player recommend looking at the
against or that controls the character is entangled with mechanical context:
current district. Failing an opponent, then it likely choosing the Resistance
everything else, stick with makes sense to target one of closest to fallout. Getting
D6 as a “default” amount of the character’s Resistance. fallout isn’t always fun, but
stress and go up and down Form if the opponent is it is a core aspect of the
from there as narratively dangerous in more game, and is needed to
appropriate. traditional, physical ways, ensure the game’s economy
nerve if the opponent is works. As an alternative you
unsettling, weird if the could choose to inflict stress
opponent is- well- weird, to a player’s anchor, if you
luck if the opponent has just can narratively justify how
nearly missed, and debt if what happened might strain
the opponent is linked to the relationship or
finance conceptually. complicate the anchor’s life/
existence.

This might be especially

interesting in the second half
of a job, removing access to
the anchor’s abilities but
giving the player the
opportunity during
Downtime to do something
about it.
 INTRODUCE A NEW THREAT START OR ADVANCE A PROBLEM
This is helpful in cases where Likely to be the second most
you have not yet introduced common consequence.
a source of potential stress Problems can be used to
or when your drifters have represent almost any process
just dealt with a previous (positive or negative). You
stress source. For example, might use a problem to
you might have a powerful represent how an UnReal
UnReal entity arrive in the creature will transform, to
scene (though not spot time out the completion of a
them, yet), reveal something ritual, to countdown until
about the space they’re in (a someone or something
building is crumbling, arrives, and so on. You do
unsafe, or corrosive), or not have to name the
point to some looming problem or explain what it
danger (a spell, a storm, will mean when it completes
etc.). This allows you to to your drifters, which can
“show the barrel of the gun”, help to ratchet up the
hinting at potential future tension. Problems are a big
consequences, and giving deal, that’s why starting one
players another possible is a consequence all on its
goal: dealing with this new own. When advancing a
threat before it can come to problem, you should use the
pass. same rules for determining
dice size as when inflicting
stress.
INCREASE THE SITUATION’S DIFFICULTY CHANGE THE FATHOM FOLLOW THE FICTION
Increasing the situation’s Thanks to Fathom marks on This last consequence is a bit
difficulty is a way of drifter abilities and the of a catch-all, and is meant
reflecting when things have effects of various UnReal to empower you, the GM, to
taken a turn for the worse entities, it should be the deliver consequences that
for your drifters. It should case that you end up might not otherwise fit
generally be paired with changing your drifters’ cleanly into any of the other
some narrative justification. Fathom at least once on categories. This can allow
For example, if you most jobs. However, it may you to deliver consequences
previously introduced a new be interesting at times to that transcend the typical
threat, having that threat change the Fathom for other bounds of the mechanics.
worsen or begin to directly reasons: to highlight a This can be small things like
target the drifters. It’s not a strange reaction to a drifter’s strange effects, like an NPC
good idea to choose this power, to demonstrate the becoming entangled with an
option for several power of a particular space, UnReal monster.
consequences in a row, unless entity, or effect, and so on.
the narrative matches in As with increasing a But if you’ve established
terms of things rapidly situation’s difficulty, it’s that failing a roll would lead
getting worse. generally a good idea to limit to a major state change like a
how often you draw on this drifter’s death or a radical
consequence, unless transformation for them, a
narratively appropriate. companion, or the City, this
Don’t deploy this option in consequence can allow you
Fathom 4 lightly, as that’s to make that happen.
one “easy” way to kill a However, ensure you’ve
drifter. If you do, make sure communicated
it feels narratively consequences of this
appropriate and the player is magnitude clearly with the
on board. players prior to the roll, or
ensure everyone is on board
through a discussion
afterwards.
 Moves
The second way to do
something mechanically is to
take a GM move.

A GM move is related to the

concept of “following the
fiction”. It means taking a
mechanical action to reflect
a narrative situation.
Appropriate times to take a
GM move include at the
beginning of a situation,
after a certain number of
player action rolls, or when
the players solve a relevant
problem. These should
always feel justified.

It might help to ensure But even when you aren’t

you’ve written them down inflicting consequences or
ahead of time in your prep or taking moves, you can still
even told the players about have an impact. It’s the GM’s
them, in order to ensure that role to give flavor to the
they do not feel unfairly events of the game. Even if
targeted. There are examples players only ever roll critical
in the Bestiary of particular successes, you can still add
creatures that do something details to raise the tension
mechanical when players for the players. We’ll get
hear about them or see into that in more detail in
them. These can be good the GM Principles.
touchstones, but generally
anytime something big
happens, you should feel
justified to take a GM move
to reflect the narrative in the
mechanics of the game.
 Fallout
Inflicting Fallout is the There is a balance when it
engine that drives a game of comes to Fallout. It’s not the
FATHOM. Fallout acts as an case that any single ongoing
ongoing consequence, but it consequence from Fallout
also gives drifters something should be completely
to spend Valuables on, and it negligible. If the player can
prompts players to continue to play in the same
mechanically engage with way as before without any
their drifter’s current difference in action or effect,
narrative status. Other the Fallout is likely too weak
Sparked by the Resistance or not relevant. On the other
games give GMs large pools hand, it should never be the
of example Fallouts to draw case that Fallout makes a
on. In lieu of that, in this player unable to act. Even
section, we’ll offer an when a drifter has the
overview of common default maximum of three
“types” of Fallout, why this Fallouts with three ongoing
type of Fallout can be consequences they should
interesting and some still be able to take actions,
discussion on when it might even if it's risky or costly to
be best to apply it. do so.

We’ll next cover the

following 5 types of Fallout:

• Take Disadvantage to X

• Break a piece of
Equipment or Valuable

• Remove Protection from

a Resistance

• Whenever you do X it is
at least Y difficulty

• Whenever you do (or do

not do) X then Y takes Z
stress
 Take Disadvantage to X
A straightforward Fallout is
to give a player disadvantage
to a single Skill or Domain.

This can have the same As an alternative to a

effect as taking away a Skill specific Skill or Domain, the
or Domain in terms of giving X in this case can look like a
a player one less die for conditional phrase. For
particular rolls. This can be example, giving them
narratively appropriate in disadvantage when acting
cases where a drifter takes against a particular NPC, in a
an injury that impedes some particular location, and so
Skill, experiences a on. This essentially makes
(temporary) change in their some way of acting more
relationship to a Domain, difficult just for this drifter,
and so on. While a single die instead of their whole crew.
may not seem like much, it This effect could
can be enough to prompt a mechanically represent some
player to consider an caustic narrative connection
alternative tactic, prompting or effect between the drifter
them to play into their and the condition (an old
drifter’s state. lover, a place with painful
memories, whispers only
they can hear, etc.)
 Break a piece of
Equipment or Valuable
The “Broken” tag can be
assigned to a piece of
Equipment, making it
unavailable to use until
fixed. While the same tag
doesn’t work for a Valuable,
you can decrease a
Valuable’s dice size for a
similar effect (e.g. “A glass
paperweight D6 Common”-
> “Paperweight shards D4
Common”). The former can
have an even more
pronounced effect than
taking away a drifter’s Skill
or Domain, particularly for
more powerful pieces of
equipment.

But this is also what can

make it appealing:
temporarily restricting a An important note for this
drifter’s access to some type of Fallout is that players
favored item and seeing how will deal with the mechanical
they compensate. For the consequence through fixing
latter, you can break a the piece of Equipment or
Valuable that’s important to Valuable. This fixing does in
a Job or to demonstrate the fact clear the Fallout. While
consequence of an action this may seem like a
(e.g. “You land hard and workaround, it is not. Players
hear a crunch from within will still have to spend
your pocket”). While Valuables, in some cases
breaking a Valuable relevant even more than if they had
to a Job will naturally impact to resolve it normally.
play, breaking a general
Valuable can as well,
prompting players to get it
fixed or to find a
replacement.
 Remove Protection Whenever you do X
from a Resistance it is at least Y difficulty
If a drifter has some This Fallout can help convey
protection to a particular that a drifter is in some way
Resistance, it can be weak or vulnerable when
impactful to strip it away doing a particular action
with a Fallout (e.g. “Your (e.g. “Your hands are
armor cracks”, “You’re not shaking too much to make
thinking clearly”, “Your Knitting easy”), interacting
protective charms snap”). with a particular NPC or
There are two major entity (e.g. “The shadows
questions when deciding to leaking through the doorway
apply this Fallout. First, seem focused on you”), or
obviously, does the drifter being in a particular place
have any protection to that (e.g. “Something about this
Resistance? Second, are they space is getting to you.”).
likely to take further stress
to that Resistance? For the As with the last type of
second question, it may for Fallout, it’s important to
example be that they’re up ensure that this Fallout will
against an opponent or in a have some impact on the
location that makes taking player. For example, don’t go
that type of stress more with “Whenever you act in
likely. the corporate office, it is at
least Risky” if you’re about
This will make a drifter more to leave the corporate office.
vulnerable, and different It might be better to think
players will respond to that about generalizing the X, for
differently. Some may throw example not “act in the
themselves into danger (and Necromancer’s lair” to “act
suffer for it). Others may try anywhere with a Doom
to withdraw from a domain”.
dangerous situation, or may
try to get out of rolling dice.
If your player is more like
the latter group, it might be
worth using another Fallout
or finding ways to motivate
them to action.
 Whenever you do
(or do not do) X then Y
Take Z Stress
This type of Fallout gives
you a way to reflect the
rising cost of something left
unaddressed. It is the most
general Fallout we’re
including in this list (though
there is a still more general
form in “Whenever you do X
then Y”).

Because of this generality it’s It might indicate some Try to avoid having too many
also the most flexible, but at connection to an Anchor of these going at once. Even
a high level it creates a (“Whenever you do what you with 2-3 you can have
condition where you promised your mother you cascading effects of stacking
automatically get to inflict wouldn’t, your anchor with Fallouts, which generally you
stress to either a drifter, an her takes D6 stress.”) want to avoid. However, it
anchor, or a relevant It might tie into a drifter’s can be a powerful tool to sell
problem. This can, for relationship with an a threat, and to push players
example, allow you to antagonist (“Whenever you to address it.
indicate that a drifter has could pursue your revenge and
become cursed to be harmed do not, your Rival marks D6
by light (“Whenever you act stress to their Long Term
outside complete darkness, Problem.”)
take D6 stress”). It might
indicate some obsession of
the drifter’s (''Whenever you
have the chance to learn
more about your obsession
and do not, take D6 stress”).
 Fallout Process
When assigning Fallout we
recommend stepping
through the following
process:

• Determine what track (a • If the Fallout is to an • If the Fallout is to a

drifter’s five Resistances Anchor, check the Player’s Resistance, come
or an Anchor) received Anchor’s level. If the up with the new Fallout,
the Fallout Anchor is Minor and this either one from the
is the first Fallout, then above list or one of your
the Anchor is Strained own invention. Describe
and the drifter cannot the Fallout and have the
draw on its associated player clear the
ability. If a Minor Anchor associated Resistance.
is already Strained and
would take a second • If the player has under
Fallout it instead snaps, three Fallouts, then have
permanently deleting it the player mark the
from the drifter’s sheet. Fallout. Give it a name
The same goes for a and a short description
Major Anchor, but it can for you and the player to
take two Fallouts before track it. Don’t overthink
straining and three these: getting something
before snapping. down quickly is better
than a poetic bit of text.
• If the player has three • If this their seventh Scar, • If this isn’t the fourth
Fallouts, then they discuss as a group what Scar and the player isn’t
instead mark a Scar.Ask this means: Does the adrift (they still have
them which of the four character leave unstrained Anchors)
Fallouts they want to immediately? Will they then offer them the
take as a Scar. Once be gone by the end of chance to flee back to
they’ve picked, scratch the situation? The job? Fathom Zero. If they
out another box in the Regardless, they won’t choose to flee, describe
associated Resistance, be around for the next what the current
eliminate the Fallout, Downtime: Have the situation looks like from
and record the Scar. player choose one of the Fathom Zero.
three Abandon options.
GM Principles
For FATHOM, we
recommend the following
GM Principles:

-Solve small mysteries,

keep the big mysteries

-Make the City big but

the consequences
personal

-Play with ambiguity

between coincidence
and conspiracy

-Make power
frightening and weird,
even the player’s
power

-Put the characters in

danger, keep the
players safe

-Be a fan of the players

 Solve small mysteries,
keep the big mysteries

By small mysteries, we mean

the personal or procedural
questions that will come up
as players play a session:
“Why did <this character>
want that?”, “How did <this
event> happen?”, and so on.

By big mysteries we mean

more philosophical or
scientific-minded questions:
“What are Fathoms, really?”,
“What is the City, really?”,
“How does this UnReal stuff
work?”

This principle is here to help

a game or campaign of
Fathom retain its mystery
and sense that the world is
beyond the player
characters. Now, we can’t
stop you from coming up
with potential answers to
these questions, that’s
normal and deeply human.
Instead, we’d recommend
that when you gesture at the
answers to these big
questions that you give
information that contradicts
or complicates your personal
answers or theories. That
will ensure the big mysteries
remain unsolved, even for
you.
 Make the City Big but the
Consequences Personal

This is a direct follow-up to

the last point, and meant to
reinforce the feeling that
player characters are in over “Make the City big…” “...but the consequences
their heads. Fathom is not a means ensuring that there personal” means focusing
traditional power fantasy always seems to be more to the stakes around things the
game. If the players ever feel the City than the players players care about. Don’t try
like the most powerful force know. It means expressing to motivate the players by
in the City, that’s no longer that things are always putting the City in danger.
Fathom as designed. That’s moving and changing in the Put the characters
not to knock power City, even without the themselves and the things
fantasies, but there’s lots of players’ involvement. The they care about in danger. If
games for getting at that City Reacts step in the City is in danger due to
experience. downtime is part of this, and the scale of the issue, focus
the Company Progression on how this macro-threat is
tool below can help with reflected at the micro-level:
that as well. the specific characters at
risk.
When the players go
somewhere new, have them The idea here is to convey
enter in the middle of the that even if the players are
action of another conflict or not the most powerful force
in the moments leading up in the City, they can still
to or after some big event. impact their own lives and
When the players go those they care about. To
somewhere for a second that extent, this is certainly a
time, point out how it’s type of power fantasy.
different or changed in the
interim: construction, a new
advertisement, or just how
different people are around.
Things should always be
happening, always changing.
The City should never feel
like a video game town
where the NPCs sit around
waiting for the players to
show up.
 Play with the Ambiguity Make Power Frightening Put the Characters in
between Coincidence and Weird: even the Danger, Keep the
and Conspiracy Players’ Power Players Safe

This principle is about As discussed above, Fathom This principle is a reminder

conveying the unknowable is not a typical power about the importance of
feeling of Fathom. fantasy. Anytime the players table safety. Fathom is not a
Specifically, it’s about how or an NPC does something horror game, but it is a weird
you hint at whether big, add detail to ensure that and unsettling one. All the
something is a big or small the power feels like it's just players at the table are
mystery, as mentioned in the barely in their grasp (even on responsible for ensuring
first principle. When a success). everyone is okay to keep
something happens, good or playing, but you as the GM
bad, see if you can draw You can do this by adding an share an over-sized portion
connections to things that unpleasant or unusual detail. of that responsibility. Ensure
have occurred before: “Your An NPC might send out a that none of your prep
attack seems to burn as it bolt of fire towards the crosses any player lines.
hits, just like <a previously players, leaving deep scorch Check in with players before,
dispatched and seemingly marks in the shapes of faces during, and after a session.
unrelated entity>”, “The on their palms. A Player’s When you or someone else
documents have a symbol UnReal equipment might makes a mistake, double
you’ve seen before”, and so twist and turn impossibly as check that everyone is okay
on. they use it to solve a before continuing. Playing
problem. An UnReal Fathom should feel like
Shows like The X-Files and creature’s dripping acid watching an episode of Twin
Gravity Falls have great might melt the floor beneath Peaks or some other spooky,
examples of this, hinting at it, leaving nothing as if it surreal show with friends.
potential future reveals, erased reality itself. There will be moments of
some of which just turn out tension, but everyone should
to be red herrings. Is it a still be enjoying the ride.
coincidence that the light
went out as you entered the
diner? Is that car following
you, or are you just taking
the same route? This can be
one of the ways you as a GM
keep the tension up even if
players roll nothing but
successes.
 Be a Fan of the Players

This is a common GM
principle or goal across a lot
of different games. It means
that if you’re debating
between different courses of
action, take one that will
support your players doing
the kinds of things they want
to do.

This doesn’t mean giving

your players their way all the
time. After all, being a fan
often means wanting to see a
character suffer a bit before
they succeed. But it does
mean rooting for them,
wanting them to “win” and
giving them ways to do so.
Don’t design a job so that
it’s not doable, but do
present places for players to
make trouble for
themselves, if they like.
 Echoes
Echoes are a way of
reflecting how steeped in
unreality and surreality your
group of drifters has
become. Ideally, they should
increase until your players
feel they’ve gotten too high,
prompting them to take
actions to bring them back
down.

For this to work, part of your

job as the GM is to ensure
that players feel the current
echoes count. As the echoes
rise, you should take GM
moves and introduce
background details to reflect
the increasing surreality,
even on Fathom Zero (i.e.,
during Downtime and
gathering information).

This doesn’t mean

introducing fantastical
elements at Fathom Zero,
but we’ve all experienced
odd coincidences or weird,
unexplainable events in our
day-to-day lives. Ratcheting
these up with the echoes can
help ensure your players get
the sense of the growing
level of UnReal energy
swirling around their
drifters.
 Echoes 0-5: Echoes 6-11: Echoes 12+:

You can likely keep things The mid-tier is where The highest tier is where we
fairly tame at the “normal” coincidences should stop reach the border of the
level of Echoes. Consider seeming like coincidences, fantastical and the actively
realistic, but some unusual but could still seem threatening. Things that
moments: a street preacher believable to an outsider. occur on Fathom Zero
yelling that a drifter is Your drifters should feel this should still be mostly
“doomed”, the same stray amount of UnReal energy as believable, but just mostly. A
animal appearing to a drifter a potential, but not active, drifter might find
multiple times, overhearing threat. They might find a car themselves confronted by an
a person in a crowd say their accident has just happened individual in an oddly high-
name, an NPC wearing a every time they leave a quality devil “costume”, a
graphic t-shirt with some building, an NPC might drifter might turn on the
vaguely ominous statement demonstrate oddly specific radio to hear it repeating the
(e.g., “be not afraid”, “trust “guesses” about a drifter’s same phrase- one that
in him”, etc.), and so on. life, a drifter might find all of gestures at a dark secret, a
Odd coincidences or their personal belongings drifter might find a
interactions that are easy to have been moved ever so billboard, a building, or a
explain away. If your drifters slightly, a drifter might find cloud is following them, a
become convinced that they keep hearing the same, drifter might witness
there’s something more unusual word (like it’s someone disappear in broad
going on, you can always following them), and so on. daylight, and so on. At this
make it so something was in tier, you need to indirectly
fact going on later. communicate that the
amount of UnReal energy
has reached an actively
dangerous level and that
drifters will need to reduce it
if they want to stay safe.
 Job Guidance
FATHOM Jobs take obvious
inspiration from Forged in
the Dark Scores. However,
they’re notably distinct from
either Forged in the Dark or
Sparked by the Resistance
sessions. Here we’ll give
some guidance around how
to run Jobs in a way that fits
the intended balance of the
game.

Job Length
A Job is meant to be played If you’re finding that you’re
by a 3-5 person crew of consistently going over the
drifters within a single three time you’d want, it’s worth
hour session. considering starting your
players “later” in the job
Newer players or those more (skipping initial planned
invested in moment-to- challenges) or using GM
moment roleplay may take moves to keep progress and
more time. But where redirect player attention
possible, we’d recommend towards their goals.
sticking to a single session
for a Job as this gives you all The UnReal is not meant to
a natural stopping point and be a place to dally in, and
opportunity to mark you’re within your rights to
progress towards use GM moves to show them
advancement. Some Jobs why.
may go over time, but if this
happens we recommend
trying to find an interesting
reveal or twist to end on, in
order to make the second
part of the Job interesting to
your players.
 Situations

A situation refers to a
specific time, space, and
conflict. A standoff is a
situation, but if that standoff
turns into a fight that’s a
new situation. A chase is a
situation, but if the chase
enters a new district, that’s a
new situation. A stakeout is
a situation, but if time
progresses from night to day
that’s a new situation. You,
the GM, will make the final
call for whether something
“counts” as a new situation.

Once on a Job, a crew of

drifters will likely go through
somewhere between 3-6
situations. It is not
necessarily the case that
every drifter will take an
action in every Situation, but
aim for that to ensure
everyone at the table is
included (even if some
actions are just to help other
drifters or otherwise don’t
involve rolling dice). If you
find your players languishing
in a Situation, unsure of
what to do next, you should
take a GM move to give
them a target or something
to react to, or to remind
them of their goal. If a
situation has lasted for more
than an hour of actual
playtime, get them out of
that situation as soon as
possible.
 Fallout Rate

In an ideal scenario, each A problem that can arise is Sometimes, players will
drifter should get an average “cascading Fallout” where simply roll well. Remember
of one Fallout for each Job. one drifter gets Fallout that you can still create tension
leads to them getting through descriptions or by
Sometimes all of the Fallout another and so on. If this taking fiction-appropriate
will end up on one drifter, happens, remember you GM moves. But you should
with the others ending have other types of be a fan of the players first,
without any, but try to keep consequences besides and so it’s good to cheer
it balanced if possible. If inflicting stress to a drifter. them on when they succeed!
you’re finding that a single You could instead inflict
drifter has more Fallout than stress to that drifter’s
the others, start calling for anchors, start or advance a
those others to take actions problem, change the
or to react to things Fathom, and so on. A variety
specifically. of consequences will help
keep the game interesting
and help reduce the risk that
your players feel unable to
do anything.
 Job Goals

Try to give each Job a single, Sometimes, it’s worth

clear goal. You should be considering giving players an
able to express this in a additional, secondary goal.
sentence to your players This might be optional and
right at the beginning of the confer an extra payout (see
session in order to guide below). Alternatively it
them through gathering might be restrictive, a
information and the Job condition under which they
itself. Goals might be won’t succeed at the first
something like “kill the X”, goal if they break it. Play
“get the X”, “find the truth around with goals as you get
about X”, and so on. A goal comfortable running the
should still allow for player game to present your players
freedom in terms of how to with interesting decisions
achieve it. At minimum, you and opportunities for
should be able to think of a roleplay. For example, can
way they could accomplish you introduce a secondary
the goal through any of the goal that goes against a
Job approaches (attack, character’s interests, but
stealth, candor, flimflam, and which would give them a
arcana). much-needed payout?
 Job Payout

Generally, a crew of drifters

should get a D8 Valuable
each for succeeding on a Job.
This is meant to match an
average of one Fallout per
drifter on a Job.

Fictionally, this is either a

payout from the NPC who Valuable Rate
hired them, their regular
payout for doing a Job from In games like Heart or Spire,
their boss, or the money it can be typical to give out
they make from their Resources to players fairly
reporting/fans (if playing regularly. This should not be
the Stringers.) the case in FATHOM.

If you find that your drifters In FATHOM, a Valuable

are consistently getting should feel valuable. It
more than one Fallout on a should be unusual for a
Job or think they might end drifter to get anything
up with more Fallouts on a besides a Job’s payout,
particularly tough Job, unless they had an ability to
consider increasing the gain an extra Valuable during
payment in kind (at the rate the Job. Outside of this, a
of one D8 Valuable per drifter might be able to steal
expected Fallout). or otherwise acquire an extra
Valuable on a Job, but never
for free. It should be at least
a single roll for a simple
Valuable (D4) and a problem
of equivalent size for a more
valuable Valuable.

Remember, FATHOM games

take place within the hell of
capitalism, how often do you
get free money?
 Tools
City Generation
This tool allows you to
generate a City for your
game of FATHOM quickly Do the following steps in
and easily. order to generate a district
for a cell in your City’s grid.
For longer campaigns, we
recommend generating the 1. Domains: Roll 2D10 and 3. District: Place your
city collaboratively with your consult the Domain Table. generated district down on a
players, for example by This will give you the free grid cell. Explain any
playing any of a number of Domains associated with a relationships with any
GM-less games where you district of the City. If you already filled neighboring
build up a city (like the rolled the same number grid cells that you think
excellent i’m sorry did you twice, this district of the might exist.
say street magic by Caro City is associated with one
Asercion). single domain, otherwise it End when your grid is filled
has both domains. in, or when you (the GM)
But for one-shots or shorter feel you have enough detail
campaigns it might be 2. Tags: Roll 2D100 and to fill in the rest later. Take a
helpful to more quickly consult the District Tags moment to brainstorm what
generate a city. Below we’ve Table for two tags associated kinds of Haunts might exist
got a quick city generator as with this district of the City. in each district, along with
an example, which can be Interpret what this might any history or narrative
used by the GM alone or mean given your output for opportunities alluded to by
with a small group, giving steps 1 and 2 so far. For the structure of your City.
each player a turn. example, if you got Doom
and Wild in the last step and If your City is lacking a
Start with a grid of your “Sports Arena” and “Retired district you’d expect to see
choice representing your Hero” in this one, maybe in a City (like a district
City. For a one shot or short this is an old Sports Arena devoted to the City’s
campaign we recommend once dedicated to a retired government), you may add it
something small, in the sports hero, which has long or just leave your City
range of a 2x3 or 3x4, but since been abandoned, and without it. Lacking an
more elaborate games might has fallen into a mess of expected district might just
want to use a larger grid. overgrown ruins. Get mean that this is
creative with it and don’t unimportant to the people
feel afraid to stretch things a of this particular City (e.g. a
bit. If you can’t think of City whose “official”
anything- just reroll! government is more of a
figurehead).
 Domain Table
1 Beyond 6 Doom
2 Capital 7 Fringe
3 Common 8 Order
4 Crime 9 Style
5 Data 10 Wild

District Tags Table

1 Abandoned 26 Field 51 Medical 76 Seismic Instability
2 Airport 27 Folklore 52 Megacorps 77 Sewage
3 Anarchists 28 Food Production 53 Mercenaries 78 Shelter
4 Automobiles 29 Forest 54 Military Base 79 Sinkhole
5 Back Alleys 30 Forgotten 55 Mining 80 Skyscrapers
6 Bar 31 Ghosts 56 Museum 81 Sports Arena
7 Bridges 32 Gold Rush 57 Nature Reclaimed 82 Statues
8 Carnival 33 Gothic 58 Nightclub(s) 83 Subterranean
9 Casino 34 Government 59 Nightlife 84 Suburbs
10 Cemetery 35 Haunted 60 Park 85 Supplier
11 Classified 36 Heavy Machinery 61 Plaques 86 Swamp
12 Colonization 37 Highway 62 Police 87 Temple
13 Communists 38 Historic (Ancient) 63 Prison 88 Trade Center
14 Condemned 39 Historic (Recent) 64 Public Transit 89 Transhumanists
15 Conspiracy 40 Hospital 65 Quarantine 90 Underpass
16 Convention Center 41 Hostile Space 66 Radioactive 91 University
17 Corrupt 42 Industry 67 Roadwork 92 Unusual Geology
18 Cult 43 Legislature 68 Romantic 93 Unusual Weather
19 Development Failure 44 Local Cuisine 69 Refugees 94 Urban Farm
20 Downtown 45 Local Legend 70 Religion 95 Urban Legend
21 Education 46 Library 71 Research 96 Vampire(s)
22 Elites 47 “Magic” 72 Restricted 97 Warehouses
23 Embassy 48 Magic Construction 73 Ruins 98 Water
24 Energy Production 49 Mansions 74 Retired Hero 99 Winds
25 Entertainment 50 Manufacturing 75 Safe Haven 100 Zoo
 Company Generation
Once you have a basic sense It’s worth noting that, as the 1. Domains: First you’ll need
of your City, you’ll next need GM, you can add or remove to determine the Domains
to decide what Companies Companies at any time most associated with this
exist within it, and what during a campaign as long as Company. Once again, Roll
districts of the City they you have the narrative 2D10 and consult the
control. Some Companies justification. You should also Domain Table. These do not
might have been implied by feel justified to reveal that a represent your Company’s
the City Generation step, new Company already exclusive interests, but they
and if so you should feel free existed (in fiction). This determine their overall
to fill out as many details as tool/game is just to give you focus. A Company with
you like about them. Below an initial set and to give your Order and Capital domains
we have a small Company players something to play might represent a financial
Generator game/tool, which with in their drifter’s institution, but that doesn’t
can be used to fill in any background. mean they can’t have
missing details in your investments in other
Companies or to create Once you have an initial domains.
whole new ones to add to number, take the following
your game. steps to generate each
Company. Once again, the
Start by deciding how many GM can do this solo or with
Companies you want in your all your players either
game. A small number (3-5) collaboratively (making
can lead to a game where decisions together) or
your crew of drifters can feel iteratively (each taking a
like they have a large turn to generate a
influence on the City, Company).
underdogs but with a real
chance to make waves. A
larger number (20+) can
lead to the feeling of being a
small fish in a big pond, as
players struggle to keep
track of who is who. A
general rule is to have 1
Domain Table
Company per district
1 Beyond 6 Doom
(though this doesn’t mean
every Company will control 2 Capital 7 Fringe
one district).
3 Common 8 Order
4 Crime 9 Style
5 Data 10 Wild
 2. Tags: Roll 2D100 and Interpret these in addition to
consult the Company Tags your Company’s domain(s)
Table for two tags associated to give a general sense of
with this Company. what this Company is and
what they do in the City,
again feel free to interpret
however you see fit, and
reroll if you can’t think of
something.

Company Tags Table

1 Altruists 26 Governmental 51 Misery 76 Structure
2 Ancient 27 Gravity 52 Monsters 77 Suppliers
3 Archivists 28 Greedy 53 Mystery 78 Taste
4 Artists 29 Gulch 54 Natural 79 Tools
5 Based 30 Heavenly 55 Nimble 80 Torture
6 Binding 31 Hellishly 56 Non-Euclidean 81 Traitors
7 Blood 32 Holy 57 Null 82 Troubled
8 Burnt 33 Hostile 58 Obstacles 83 Unclean
9 Caustic 34 Icy 59 Oligarchs 84 Uncle
10 Cheap 35 Icky 60 Orderly 85 Unclear
11 Crass 36 Ill 61 Orphans 86 Undone
12 Cultured 37 Irritable 62 Patchwork 87 Unicycle
13 Damned 38 Jaunty 63 Pastoral 88 Value
14 Deadly 39 Jealous 64 Polytheist 89 Valve
15 Depraved 40 Juice 65 Prison 90 Vast
16 Dust 41 Justice 66 Quaint 91 Vault
17 Education 42 Killers 67 Qualitative 92 Vehicles
18 Elderly 43 Kingly 68 Quantitative 93 Wasted
19 Entrenched 44 Kiss 69 Quills 94 Watery
20 Euclidean 45 Lack 70 Radio 95 Worst
21 Failure 46 Lance 71 Roost 96 Xenophiles
22 Feminine 47 Lost 72 Rumble 97 Xenophobes
23 Financial 48 Luck 73 Rundown 98 Yesterday
24 Frightening 49 Lunch 74 Safe 99 Zilch
25 Gaudy 50 Masculine 75 Straight 100 Zooted
3. Locations: Next roll 1D10 4. Power: Now roll XD10 5. Project: Next you’ll need
and consult the Influence where X is equal to the total an project for this Company.
Table below to determine number of districts the If you already have one in
how many districts this Company ended up mind, you’re welcome to use
Company controls. If this controlling. Take the highest that. As a rule, the size of an
number is greater than 0, result and consult the Power project should be
then consult your districts Table to determine the determined by how long (on
from your generated City Power of this Company. This average) you’d expect the
and assign the required determines the default stress Project to take. D4 (4 steps)
number of districts to this dice size when the players for the timespan of 2 player
Company. Try to use act against the Company, jobs, D6 for 3 player jobs,
districts that match up in along with the default dice D8 for 4 player jobs, and so
terms of domains and/or size in the district(s) they on.
that play off the Company in control, and the quality of
an interesting way. the Haunt(s) located in said If you don’t have an idea for
district(s). In the case when a Company project already,
If you have run out of this is unusual (a small then feel free to instead
uncontrolled Districts you Company with a lot of Power create one by rolling XD10
may have this Company or a large Company with (where X is again the
“take over” a District from very little), consider any number of districts under
whatever Company currently mitigating factors. Did they the Company’s control) and
controls it. Make a note of recently gain or lose Power? answering the related
this, as this may reflect an Are they not powerful but question in the Company
actual event in the history of are still popular? Are they Project Table.
that district. If this Company building themselves up
controls 0 districts, still before they make a move?
assign them to at least 1
district, representing the
district(s) they operate out
of or whey they can most
often be found.

Influence Table Power Table

1 0 districts 6 1 district 1 D4 6 D6

2 0 districts 7 2 districts 2 D6 7 D8

3 0 districts 8 2 districts 3 D6 8 D8

4 0 districts 9 3 districts 4 D6 9 D10

5 1 district 10 4+ districts 5 D6 10 D12

6. Perspective Clock:
By default you can assign all
Companies a D4 perspective
problem “Neutral”,
representing a lack of
opinion when it comes to
the player’s crew.

However, at minimum you

should assign one Company
7. Name and Description:
to have a D6 positive
If you’ve managed to make it
perspective problem (your
to this point without naming
choice of descriptor) and
and describing this
one Company to have a D6
Company, do so now.
negative perspective
problem (your choice of
descriptor). Players may
choose to have more
Companies with a D6
negative perspective but
cannot have more than one
D6 positive perspective
problem at the start of a
campaign.
 Company Project Table
To seize control
To gain information about of another District
1 how to attain a larger goal. 6 in the City.
What is their larger goal? (D4) What District? (D10)
To acquire or create equipment To change the Domains
for all members of one dice size of a district of the City.
2 7
larger than their current Power. Which district and
What is the equipment? (D6) what change? (D10)
To bloody the nose To fully wipe out
of a larger and
3 8 a rival Company.
more powerful Company. What Company and why? (D12)
Which company and why? (D6)
To convince or force To alter how the City
a smaller or less powerful company
4 9 functions in the Real.
to join with them. How do they want to change it? (D14)
Which company, and to what end? (D8)
To conduct a ritual
To raise their Power that seriously alters the UnReal.
5 one dice size larger. 10 What do they believe
What strategy do they take? (D8) the Ritual will accomplish? (D16)

Company Progression
Players can advance Projects After downtime, as part of Advance their Projects once
for a Company by doing jobs your GM prep, you should on a 1-3, twice on a 4-5,
for that Company or with update Company Projects. three times on a 6, or five
some abilities, and can times if you roll more than
remove progress or destroy Roll D6 equal to the number one six.
Projects through the same of districts currently under
avenues. However, if the the Company’s control, and If a Project completes, create
players are not explicitly take the highest result (or a new Project for the
working to stop a Company, the lower of two, if the Company, and make any
they should continue to company doesn’t control changes to the Company,
make progress on their any.) other Companies, or the
Project behind the scenes. City as appropriate.

Make sure to show or report

the effects of any completed
Project to the players in the
run up to or during the next
job.
BESTIARY
This chapter contains In general, it is not
entities players might suggested to try to squeeze
encounter in FATHOM, all of these entities into a
meant as reference for GMs. single campaign. But
encountering 1-2 (maybe 3) The Illustrated Literati
Each entry includes: in a single job may be Bestiary: A Guide to the
appropriate. In fact, a GM Fathoms and the Creatures
• A description of how can use this list as a tool to Therein
they’ll manifest on sketch out a job, picking 1-3
various fathom depths if entities based on the most Edited by P.R. Locular, Literati
they appear at all prominent domains of the Second Class, JG, KT, ON,
• A suggested Resistance job, and filling in the details CA
track length based on how and why the
• A monster’s base players might interact with This text is meant as a
difficulty them. reference for those explorers
• Their protection value of the depths colloquially
• The monster’s power There’s a framing of the referred to as ʻdrifters’.
(stress die size) below list as a text in the
• Instincts to help guide fiction of the game, which is In these pages, we will seek to
GM responses, meant to highlight the cover a wide range of the
• Suggested moves, and importance of subjectivity entities one might encounter.
• Any special abilities. and perspective in FATHOM. This text is also meant as a
These descriptions should series of examples of the 10-
This is not an exhaustive list, not be taken as objective Domain and 6-Fathom theory
and there are many more truth. that we Literati have
UnReal beings in the depths, espoused, and which have had
some even implied by these But - one might find “The so much success in ensuring
entries. Illustrated Literati Bestiary: drifters remain safe, or at least
A Guide to the Fathoms and return to the Real slightly less
When creating your own the Creatures Therein” or transfigured or maimed.
entities of the depths, note just “The Bestiary” passed
that in most cases UnReal around as a piece of Analyze These accounts are based on
monsters are metaphorical equipment in game, though personal experience,
or allegorical in the real, and typically a second-hand interviews with drifters, and
then become more physical/ copy, grubby, missing pages, whispers overhead from the
solid/”real” the deeper you or scanned and reprinted as darkest recesses of the City.
get. a zine with running
commentary from the -P.R. Locular
printer.
Any
While the majority of entities
do fit neatly into one of the
ten domains, there are entities
that can appear in any of the
domains across the City. They
have no shared features that
we’ve detected, other than the
annoyance they can cause.

-P.R. Locular

Slide
Fathom 0-1: A sudden shifting
feeling, the lights darkening,
the air pressure increasing, or
an even stranger change in
environment or experience.

Fathom 2: Visibly twisting

through the air, passing
through buildings and
people. Sometimes plastic,
sometimes scaly, they twist
and furl. At times, for no
clear reason, they pulse,
moving something along
itself. Something means a
Slide can transport almost
anything: a citizen of the
City to another place, time,
or Fathom, a domain shifted
to a different location, or
something stranger.
Resistance: D6 Instincts: Delight in
A drifter will usually find a Protection: 0 transportation.
Slide because it’s somewhere Power: D6 Weak, they’re Moves: Send something
unexpected or inconvenient, more likely to just send a somewhere unexpected.
creating a direct, dangerous threat away than kill them Take someone for a ride.
corridor between two Difficulty: Risky Whip your form into a
locations or concepts. threat.
Shade
Fathom 1-3: Shades do not
appear in the Real
themselves, rather they are
like the shadows cast by Real
beings into the UnReal. Like
shadows, there may be many
of them for a single citizen
of the City, each driven by a
different facet of their
caster. They may appear as
literal dark silhouettes, or
filled in with textures that
reflect the caster.

Shades can largely be

ignored, most commonly
just background color in a
situation, an echo of the
regular activities that take
place somewhere. But
sometimes, such as the
Shade of a security officer,
they may get in a drifter’s
way. Alternatively, some
UnReal entity may command
Shades against a drifter, a
source of free labor or an
extra layer of security.

Resistance: D4
Protection: 0
Power: D6, they can hit
surprisingly hard for such
transient entities
Difficulty: Controlled
Instincts: Follow your
routine. Protest a disruption.
Moves: Gesture vaguely.
Communicate vaguely. Exist
vaguely.
Gyre
Fathom 1-X: A confounding
thing. An UnReal structure
divorced from the City, a
tiny world completely
distinct from the Fathoms.

If occupied by a drifter, it
tends to change to suit their
needs, like a dog growing to
match its owner. But an
unoccupied Gyre can be
hostile to a human mind,
appearing like a
kaleidoscopic nightmare of
shapes and concepts or like
an endless, silent void.

Killing a Gyre is possible, but

shaping/taming/befriending
(depending on how alive you
believe the Gyre to be) is
generally more profitable.

Resistance: D8-D12, a minor

Gyre may only have D8, but
a major, developed, or
ancient Gyre may have D12
or higher
Protection: 0
Power: D8 Heavy, you stand
inside a world. If it wants to
hurt you, it will
Difficulty: Dangerous
Instincts: Investigate any
entities who enter. Eject any
who do not belong.
Moves: Reshape yourself to
confuse, entrap, or harm.
Beyond
All of the domains are defined Ghost
in some way by their Fathom 0: A cold spot in a Fathom 2: More dense now,
relationship to the world of room. Movement out of the more real. But they seem
humanity, save one: the corner of your eye. Issues trapped in the routines of
Beyond domain. While some with electrical equipment. their life, and are difficult to
of its members were once Gentle guidance to a spirit communicate with properly.
human, what defines them is board.
that they have returned from Fathom 3: Something really
somewhere or something else, Fathom 1: Visible now, a is off. No longer humanoid,
an ʻother side’, if you like. All classic spectral figure. Maybe it’s now more like a storm of
the domains are dangerous, a transparent vision of the a person’s past. To approach
but there is something deeply dead, or something more it here is to find yourself lost
unsettling about how little we ghoulish. If it speaks, it’s in within an overwhelming
know of the Beyond. either a hushed whisper or a sensory experience. A
wailing shriek, and you’re maelstrom of moments, and
Or perhaps it’s truer to say unlikely to make out more at the center? Nothing.
that we categorize all we do than a word or two.
not understand in this An empty eye of the storm.
domain. Best to start with it Whatever was here is long
then, to get it out of the way. departed, just a shell
remains. Or that’s all there
-P.R. Locular ever was? Or this thing was
never human at all, just an
opportunist taking an
unused form.

Resistance: D6, fairly easy to

dissipate, it’s often the living
that are more difficult
Protection: 0
Power: D4
Difficulty: Controlled
Instincts: Follow old habits.
Moves: Fall into the script of
a long past conversation. Put
on a ghastly visage.
Splinter
Fathom 0 (outside): A new, Resistance: D6-D12. Power: D6 Specialty: those
out-of-place building you Depending how deeply it’s who don’t play along
swore wasn’t there last dug itself into reality, D6: a Difficulty: Controlled until
week, or maybe you just fresh splinter, D12: an it’s alarmed; then it’s
never noticed? A shop with a ancient and accepted one Dangerous
surreal name and look, a (“Oh that weird house on Instincts: Embrace genre
gothic manor in the suburbs, the hill has always been conventions, punish
a high tech facility in a field. there”). Attacking anything deviants, and dig further
For whatever reason, no one in the Splinter attacks the into the world.
seems to step inside. Splinter. Moves: Introduce a genre-
Protection: 0-2 (0 if the appropriate threat or
Fathom 2 (inside): Stepping attacker is doing a good job problem. Make the innocent
inside immediately drops (or fitting “into” the Splinter’s threatening. Change the
raises) the guest to Fathom version of reality/playing weather, color, tone, sound,
2. From the inside, you can their part, 1 if the Splinter smell, or other sensory
no longer see the outside, has grown suspicious, and 2 details of a scene.
and in most cases it will if the Splinter knows that the
appear to not exist. The attacker is trying to pull it
world inside functions by out of the world)
rules entirely distinct to
those of reality, like you’ve Special Ability: Real Estate Development
stepped into a different
If the players become aware Immediately start a new
genre (corporate comedy,
of the Splinter but do not problem as it enters its next
gothic horror, sci-fi, fantasy,
address it, start a problem to stage of growth (2 plus the
noir, thriller, western, etc.).
represent the Splinter’s last problem size).
A tiny splinter of another
growth with a length of two
world, a foreign body not yet
plus its current Resistance. Continue this process until
rejected by our own. Drifters
Mark D6 stress with the Splinter is dealt with or
cannot change Fathoms
appropriate consequences or the Splinter reaches a D20
while inside.
as a GM move when the Resistance, at which point it
players choose to ignore the becomes the world, its
Splinter’s expansion. internal genre recoloring
reality until the player’s deal
If the problem completes, with it.
the Splinter grows (opening
another location, a new wing
of the building, etc.), and it
increases its base Resistance
by one dice size (e.g. D6 to
D8).
 Special Ability:
Play by the Rules

While inside a Splinter,

the drifters are constrained
by the rules of the Splinter’s
genre.

With a D6 Resistance there’s

one rule, with a D8
Resistance two rules, etc.
These rules are genre
appropriate.

For example, a Splinter with

an internal world like a kid’s
show may not allow
weapons, a western might
not allow “magic”, and so
on.

The GM must inform the

players of the rules when
they enter in some genre-
appropriate fashion (a list of
“no no’s”, a notice on a wall,
a town crier, etc.).

Breaking the rules

immediately sets the
Splinter’s protection to 2 as
it recognizes the player
characters as a foreign body.
Tourist
Fathom 0-X (Tourists do not Resistance: D8, a Tourist’s Special Ability:
appear to change with form shimmers as it breaks Breaking the Magic Circle
Fathoms): Someone from and collapses, you haven’t
outside the City. They tend killed the being, just ended When a Tourist appears they
to come in two forms: one of it’s trips into the City. should have a target: a
aggravating or beguiling. If Even with a True weapon, citizen of the City to tempt
aggravating, they appear in you’ve only blocked one or undermine (a player
the standard uniform of the route (though it will take character or NPC).
Tourist: Hawaiian shirts, more time to return).
khaki shorts, socks and Protection: 1 The Tourist will eventually
sandals. If beguiling, they Power: D6, Specialty: their (after plaguing the target for
may appear in whatever current target some time) offer a proposal:
costume communicates Difficulty: Risky break some taboo of the
power. Regardless, they are Instincts: Enjoy your stay in City and immediately be
always marked as from the City, subtly erode it to granted the character’s
outside the City, either by unspoken ends. deepest desire.
language, presentation, or Moves: Break a convention
other cultural markers. of the City. Inspire chaos The most common of these
Largely treated with distaste through frustration or taboos is to leave the City,
by most of the City’s desire. Promise the and the Tourist has likely
residents, a conceptual impossible and deliver for a whisked away others before.
instinctive danger response price. But it could be anything that
disguised as civic pride. breaks a cultural, magical, or
physical law (e.g. murder,
The lower Fathoms bring no revealing magic to the City
change to a Tourist’s at large, nullifying gravity,
outward appearance, but etc.).
where their behavior may
have seemed acceptable, The deal has to be
even if it breaks some something the target could
cultural norms, in the Real, reasonably do (with some
in the depths this mask effort) but would normally
drops away. What’s left is a never even consider.
being clearly different from
the citizens of the City: they The Tourist will not swap
know things they shouldn’t targets, even if one trip to
(your deepest desires, your the City is brought to an
guiltiest secrets, etc.), speak end, but they may swap
of incomprehensible strategy, such as going after
mysteries, and promise the the target’s Anchors.
impossible.
Alien
Fathom 0: A blurry
photograph, an old
recording, a story from a
local crackpot.

Fathom 1 (?): Rarely spotted

ships, always descending
from above. Even more
rarely spotted in the flesh (if
it is flesh). They take on a
number of appearances from
the classic big headed “gray”
to something more unusual
like flashing lights or curling
shapes. If they speak at all
they indicate they arrived
from somewhere further up.

Fathom 2 (?): More

commonly spotted here, you
might even enter their ship
(either through invitation or
subterfuge), a strange and
otherworldly place, all bright
lights and chrome. They are
more likely to speak here,
thanking you for journeying
“this far up” to meet them,
and asking you questions
about what things are like
“down below”. They are
infinitely curious; there are
rumors of some seizing
drifters for unknown
reasons.
Alien (continued) A note from our esteemed Resistance: A. When players
Fathom 3 (?): This deep(?) Editor, P.R. Locular: inflict stress against the
you can journey with them Resistance of an Alien, move
inside their ships. They will I won’t typically interject in an appropriate number of
show you a number of the middle of one of the items letters forward in the
strange otherworldly spheres in the guide, but I felt it alphabet (e.g. 3 ticks from A
accessed by traveling important to give additional would be D). Progressing the
through an endless void. context. It’s clear that these Resistance letter to an E, I, L,
They will gently disagree Aliens, whatever they are, N, or A again will lead to
that what they show you are have a fundamentally achieving something (e.g.
other planets, but different understanding of the convincing the Alien to do
acknowledge that they travel UnReal than we do. While we something), but will not kill
through “outer space”. use the language of diving the Alien (unless the final
and going deeper, they see it blow is True). An alien’s
Fathom 4 (?): “Come with as ascension to some higher Resistance and problems do
us,” they say. “It’s just a bit place or plane. not reset in-between jobs. If
further,” they say. “We’re it would go past Z it wraps
sure you can make the trip.” It is unclear who or what they back around to A.
are or where they come from Protection: N/A
Fathom X (?)++: ??? (though it appears to be at, in, Power: If the current letter
or beyond what we’d call of the Resistance is the first
Fathom X), but whatever they letter of a dice value (F-Four,
are, the majority seem S-Six, E-Eight, T-Ten) then
friendly. However, it is the use that, otherwise use a D6.
opinion of this guide that one Difficulty: Controlled.
should never enter one of They’re weird, but they’re
their ships if one wishes to not inherently dangerous.
return to the Real. Instincts: Learn about the
world below. Share your
knowledge with these simple
creatures.
Moves: Speak apparent
gibberish. Offer a ride. Open
their minds to the universe.
Use some inconceivable
technology/magic.
Old One
Fathom 0-1: Static or dis- Fathom 3: Your̗͙ other ̯̪̳̱ senses
̺̺̲ ͉̗̗ͅ ̣
coloration on a recording or have begun to ̖̳̬ catch ̥ on. An
͍ ̝̪͇̤͔
photograph. The hairs stick overwhelming ͓̬̪͕ ̗͖̭̬̯ sight, ͉̙̰ sound, Resistance: You can’t hurt it.
͔ ̣ ̯̜̺ ̫̬̯ ̺̙̖ ͈̖̯
up on the back of your neck. taste, and feeling ͕̱̝̤ ͙ ͕̼̱̝ ̹̰̩ ͕̖ ̣ permeates ̯͍ You can’t even look at it.
Your stomach drops. A everything around ͈͙̥ ͚̻ ̣ ̹͈ ͇̩̩ ͚͎ ̣ ̖͈͎͕̦ you. The Protection: (laughs, does not
̼̹̤ ̙͇̳ ̥̙͓ ̝͚ͅͅ ̥̖͍͍ ͈͚ͅ ̤
bone-deep conviction that pressure is a̷̬̗s̵̡̢̝̈́̌̔ ͊ ͕̺d̶ ̧̥̓́̉̍͋̈́͘͜͝ ̠̤f̸̧̡̨͈͌̐͘͜͝ ̮͜g̨̘͒̕͝ ͈h̵ ̴̢̡̨̛̯̍́̓͗͊͘͝͠ ̃ ̢͉,̡̮̎͜ every answer)
͐̄ ͌͛̐̎̽̅̓̊̆͗ ̀ ̌̿̔͋̑̐ ̋ ̇̄͂̈́ ̉ ̏̒̓ ̌̆͗͐̽̆͆͊̅͐ ̃ ͒̈́̿ ̉
̏
you are about to die. movement aň ̋ ͑̅̓̆ ̃ act ̊ of Power: Any action you
̌ ͑ ́ ̽͊̿̂̓ ͆͛̐̎ ͑̿̓͗ ̍͗ ̄̈́ ̓̈̈́
Commonly felt in very old, impossible defiance. ̐
̽ ̈́͒ ̉ ̈̅̂̑ All attempt in its presence other
very cursed places, but can it actions are Dangerous ̏̔ ̾̈́ ̇̈́ ̋̄ ̈́̆͂̑̌ at than escape gives an
͋̑
be anywhere, anytime. best, and cannot be reduced appropriate fallout on
further with any ͕̥̺ ability. failures or mixed successes,
͍͔ ̖͈̜ ̣ ͕͕̲ ̜͇̬̲ ̘̲̳̯
Fathom 2: There’s nothing ̝̜ͅ ̼̬̟͙ ̻̞͚ ͚̟̳ ̜ ̼͙ͅ ̝̱ ͕ ̻ this fallout upgrades as
to see, hear, taste, or touch. Fathom ̹̗̬ ͈̗̞̬͎ ̻͉̲̭ ̣ 4+: Thinking
̝ ̬ ̼ ͓ ̳̠̱̼ ̝͙̫ ̺͖̰ ͉̞̖ ̺̮̝̻̤͔͎ ̪ ị̶ ͕̒t̠̼̲ s̷͑ ͓͙̩̖́ͅ ̱ȅ̴̓ ̜ḽ̶̬͚̼͎̈́͌̿ ̷̨̄f͍̘͇͖ ̴̢̲̄͝ͅ-̣̳͉͍̩̝ ̷̰̳͒ ̜ä̸̷̯̳́ ̮̞͗̒͝
̯ ̖ ̱ ͉ normal.
̩̗̠̼ ̶̵̸̷̴̖̦̜̜̾̏͘̕ ̀ ̮̜̙̼̯o̷ ̙ ̣ ̹ ̘͉̗̯̹ͅ ̳̥̩̗͍̻ ̣ ̺͍̥̤̟͔ ̜͚̱ ̫̝͖̻͈͖ ͙͎̘ ͍̮̰
But your sense of balance ̷̠̱̲̥̬̤̌ͅh̸ ̙ ̠ ̗ ͙ ̣ ̯̲ ͇̼ ͎̘̍̌ ̧͇l̻͐ e̷̸̖͛ ̣ ̡̳a͆ ̳n̵
͉̯̦̯̖̓ͅ ͙̪̳̭̩ e͓͆͝ ̰̼̘̯̗ r̵̷̪͝ c̶̛͍ ̗̮͓͇̳̺̹̘̤̲ ͚̺̞̻ u̶ ̎ ͌ ̋̈́ ̴̲͑ ͉̺͂ ̹ẗ̸́̂̈́ ̸͖͋́̎a̻s̷̷͙̀ ̪ḵ͗ ̴̧͒.̠.̸̡͍͗̿͒ ̆͗ ̶̴̸̵̡̮͕̯̺̈́̾̀̉͠ ̃ ̱͕T ͛ ̆ ̸̵̷̶̴̥͓̈́͛̿̓͘ ̃ ͉͙o̴ ̵̷̸̨̡̥͌̈̂͘͜͝ ̵̸̴̡̧̢̳̀̂͂̈́̂͜͠ ̀̕ m̵̵̸̷͈̝͂̒͊̓͘̕ u̵ ̴̷̡͙̤͛̀͊̆̐̇͋̕͝ ̗ ̶̣̀c̷̵̢̏̑̕ ̵̉ ̿ ḩ̶̴̶̷̸̡̬̝́̉͆͌͂͝͠ -̶̶̷̴̵̨̡̳́̉͝ ̴̶̵̷̡̢̛̤̖́͐̆̊͝ Difficulty: As per Fathom
͂ ̓ ͋ ̐ ͌ ͐ ͒ ͑ ̉ ̱͋ ́ ͑̈̎ ̝
feels wrong. There’s some ̴̵̷̡͍̙̩̀͂͊͘͜t̮̻͉̑̚ ̽ ̷̀ ̉ o̸ ̶̴̸̵̤̳̬̀̽̃̕͜ ̋̈́ o̵ ͕
̴̷̼͈̒̒̑͜͝͠ ̿ ̸̵̴̷̶̡̪͉̺̳̪̀́̀̓̂͊̄͛̇͠͝ h̸ ̹
̸̷̶̛̻͉̈̓͐̕͜͝ ī̸͙̖ ̘͌n̴̛͚̐g̯ ͓͜.̷͆̒ ̷̪̈́̀͛ B̷ ̱ ̟
̴͚̙̏ u̷̞̹̒̚ ́ ̢͖t̥͌̓̅ ̷͎͐ ̯y̵͌̑ ̉ o̴ ͙ ̅ ͐ ̿
̴͑ ̥̀ ̂̈́̿͊ ̘͐͘ǘ͋̈ ́ ̴͕͉̈́̚͜ ͌̓̄̇̔̎ ̟c̴̷̦̆̽ ̃ ̡̺̏̕a̶̜ ̈́͑͐̄ n̵ ̽ ̄ ̗ ̏ ̉
̺̘̂͊͝ ̓̅̑ ̏̿ ͆ ̰͈͑͛ b̸ ͌ ̦ ̃ ̮ ̴̬͍̐̇̍ ̝é ͑̒͊ ̨̼g̵̿̽ ͒̑̆͗ ̋ ͔͇ḭ̸̴̔ ̋ ̟͗̚̚͠n
͑ ̎ ̓ ̋ ̆ ̶͎͗͠ description
͆̿ ̋ ̉ ̓͊ ͈͑̍ ̑̊ ̓̇̆ ̃ ̈̂ ̃ ̇ ̺ ͍ ͔ ̹ ̮̗̓̂ ̖ ̑ ͖ ͑ ͑̈́̂ ̩ ̆ ̊̈́ ̫̱ ̬ ̺ ͆ ̜͙ ̰͈̎ ̄ ̔̐̈ ̃ ̃ ̓̿̎͊
new gravity, pulling you in a ̵̝͋͘ẗ́̈̇ ̵̝̓o̽͒̑ ̸̗̑̿̄̚ ̴̰͆͂͝u͐̓ ̂ ̴̮͛̔͝n͐̌͊ ̀ ͔d ̵͊ ̷̱̄͠ȩ̶̍r̷̳̾st̶̷̹͝ ä̵̢̺ ͓n ̓ d̶ ̸̹̏ -̸͎̓ ̞͑ ͒j̷̵̥̈ u ̟͆ s̸̴̯͑ ̟t͋ ̓ ̷̢̱͐ ̢a̷͊ ̸̱̀ b ̷͇̔ i̸̶̤͆ t̸͙́ ̯̏ ̐ ͌ Instincts: Unknowable
̚ ͉ ̒͆ ̃ ̪ ̾̚ ͗̚ ̙ ͊ ̹̼ ̬ ̽̾ ̑ ̐ ̒̅͗̈́̂̚ ̏ ̎ ̈́ ̉ ͋̑͊ ̆̾ ̏ ̈́̎ ̌͂ ̈̓ ͑̈ ̌
direction you can’t identify. ̴̨̛̜̆m̢̫o ̴̌̔ ̓͐ ̶̞̀̑͜r̸̢͍̆̃e̒ ͙.̶̃̕ ̶̨̠̓ ͎A ̵͒̓ l̴̴̺̇͋͝ ̧l̿ ́ ̸̼͒ ̴̨̖̈́c̃ tions are Extreme Moves: Hope to any power
̒
Not up or down, but at best, and cannot b̴̰̍e̵̠̬̋̊́ you believe in that it does
͎
through. You find it difficult ̸̡̻̬͌r͌ ̷̤̀e͍d̴ ̶̢̠̘̇ ͙u̴ ̪̯̃ ̏ ̻c͆ ̸̭͊͝e͖d ̛̉ ͓̦r̵̼̍͌̐ ̦t̵̡̜͎̊̍ ̡͔h
̷̅̊ ̀ ̷͚̗͛͐̈́͜͠ ̸̡̫̝͂f̶͌ ̻ͅu̷ ̝̯͋͝ ̃ ̝e̶̶̙̩͋ ͙r̶̹͘ ̮͓͈̌̓ not move.
͋́ ͑ ̄
to breathe. All actions are
Risky at best, and cannot be
reduced further with any
ability.
Capital
ʻMoney makes the world go Drone
ʻround’, they say. But if Fathom 0-1: Working 9 to 5, Fathom 2-3: In the depths
Capital could find a way to what a way to make a living. you can see how truly
profit from an immobile Citizens of the City for drained they are, and you
world, it would. Capital is a whom the repetition of their can see what’s doing the
parasite, endlessly feeding, job defines their day-to-day draining. A tentacle, chain,
endlessly hungry. The only existence, and who have yet or literal hooks embedding
difference is if it’s feeding on to recognize the root into the Drone and
you or turning you into problem, who have yet to connected to the nearest
another of its mouths. give up hope in the maxim of hoard of Capital. Cutting it
working their way up or out. can save them, if they
-P. R. Locular haven’t yet become too
dependent, and can lead to a
radical shift of their outlook
in the Real.

Resistance: D4-D6,
depending how drained
Protection: 0
Power: D4, unless otherwise
equipped
Difficulty: Controlled
Instinct: Keep your head
down. Don’t make trouble or
allow anything that could
make trouble.
Moves: Ask a troublemaker
to leave. Run or hide.
Escalate an issue up the
chain of authority.
Ad
Fathom 0-1: Repeated Fathom 2-3: Ads like this Resistance: D6, destroys this
encounters with a pop-up, grow aggressive in the lower Ad, but a new marketing
billboard, or commercial. Fathoms, driven to fulfill push is never far away
Beautiful representations of their base purpose: selling Protection: 0
people who appear as The Product at all costs. Power: Depends on The
though they’ve finally found Most commonly defaulting Product (see below)
happiness thanks to The to some demonstration of Difficulty: Controlled;
Product. An implicit or The Product’s incredible becomes Risky if no one
explicit promise that ability and value. buys the Product
fulfillment is just one Instinct: Sell! Sell! Sell!
purchase away. Moves: Get attention. Make
your pitch. Offer a live
demonstration.

Special Ability: The Product

When you create an Ad,

create The Product: a D6,
D8, or D10 piece of
equipment of any skill. The
Product should be a bad but
tempting deal. Load it up
with tags (especially ones
that are harmful to drifters).

When an Ad first appears, it

tries to sell The Product to
the drifters. If any drifter
buys it, the Ad should leave
without issue, but it should
return with a new, nearly
identical Product (“similar
customers also bought!!”)
shortly. If no-one buys The
Product, the Ad should turn
The Product against the
player characters as a “live
demonstration!!” (dealing
stress with the Product’s
stress die). Killing the Ad
does not give the players
The Product, and it cannot
be stolen.
Cache
Fathom 0-1: A Cache for
Capital. In the Real and the
shallows they appear as
normal- a CEO, hedge fund
manager, or an old money
noble. Someone who
represents a growing hoard
of wealth.

Fathom 2: As the real begins

to give way to metaphor the
mask of humanity falls.
Their true form as an avatar
of Capital takes precedence.
Eyes made of coins, a
smokestack head, hands
crusted in gems.

Fathom 3: They are simply a

symbol of Capital now. A
hurricane of golden coins, a
factory on mechanical legs, a
gilded statue, or a dragon
protecting their hoard.

Resistance: D8
Protection: 1 or 2
(depending on the scale of
their wealth)
Power: D8 or D10
(depending on the scale of
their wealth)
Difficulty: Risky
Instinct: Get ahead, no
matter what. Destroy any
obstacle in your way.
Moves: Make a deal (in your
favor). Bury someone in the
weight of your wealth. Hire a
specialist to deal with a
threat.
Seller
Fathom 0: Well-dressed,
well-groomed, but difficult
to remember in detail…
except for their ear-to-ear
grin, and their fixation on
making Deals.

A Seller’s whole existence is

the creation and execution
of Deals. A Seller without an
active Deal will devote
themselves to finding a
client, and occasionally lash
out in frustration.

Fathom 1: Same as Fathom

Zero, but their appearance
can remain fixed in memory:
a featureless face except for
a too-large, constant grin.

Fathom 2: At this Fathom,

Sellers begin to color the
space around them.
Wherever they’ve wound up,
it now takes the appearance
of a shop. A home into a
furniture warehouse, a tech
company into a hardware
store, and so on.

Any situation now also has

the Capital domain. They Fathom 3: Regardless of GM’s Note: Consider having
may command lesser Capital what a space would normally the players stumble upon a
entities, such as swarms of be, it transforms into the Seller’s “hunting grounds”
Ads, to identify potential Seller’s Showroom: a high- with several Deals already in
targets. budget, conceptual financial effect, giving them different
space. A Seller will transfer threads to unravel the
their most exclusive clients mystery, leading them down
here before making a Deal, to the Seller.
with their permission, of
course.
Resistance: D6-D12, the Special Ability: Dealmaker
Seller cannot be killed.
These represent the When a Seller finds a Once a Deal has been
different problem sizes for potential client, they will try proposed, create a problem
deal-making, see below. to make a Deal. They prompt to represent finalizing the
Protection: 0 the client to propose the Deal (D6 for fair deal, D12
Power: Will not inflict stress initial Deal. for a drastically unfair one.)
while making a deal; Failed
rolls or mixed successes just This should be formulated as Players make progress on the
add clauses to (or modify) a trade: something the Seller problem by bargaining with
the deal. If they don’t have will give, do, or facilitate in relevant Connect and
an active deal, they deal D8 exchange for something or Manipulate rolls. Failures or
Specialty: Debt Resistance. some action from the client. mixed successes during the
Difficulty: Risky deal-making will lead to
Instinct: Find a client. Make A Seller can accomplish altering the deal more in the
a Deal. Complete your end almost any task that Capital Seller’s favor.
of the Deal exactly. can solve, including goods
Moves: Wield Capital as a and services (any service Once the Deal is struck, the
carrot or a stick. someone can pay money for, Seller will ensure all parts of
including more unpleasant it happen, no matter what.
services). In exchange, a
Seller will want something
personal from the client,
even if it would normally be
impossible to give (some
knowledge, memory, or
aspect of their personality).
Its value to the client is of
the foremost importance.
The Invisible Hand
Fathom 0: Invisible, per the Resistance: D10 Conceptual Special Ability: Deal or No
name. But felt in the way (Cannot be harmed except by Deal
systems of Capital reinforce equipment with the True tag)
themselves and seek to Filling the Resistance does Every interaction with the
expand. not kill The Invisible Hand, Invisible Hand is a
but it does lose a finger, one transaction. If you want
Fathom 1: Variable. An icon tendril with which it puts something from it
or sign on a shop wall. A pin pressure upon reality. A (information, a favor, to hurt
on the jacket of a Cache or clever bit of analysis can it, etc.). You have to pay a
Seller. A massive ghostly even let you pick which one price. Every time a player
hand, sometimes gloved, to target. rolls to target the Invisible
briefly visible and then gone. Protection: 1 Hand they must pay a D6
Power: D8 valuable or equivalent (the
Fathom 2-3: At this depth it Difficulty: Dangerous Hand does not make
comes more into focus, but Instinct: Make the numbers change). If they cannot, they
even here it’s adaptable. go up. Expand into new must instead pay D6 stress
Sometimes a literal giant markets. Get more players in to the track of the Hand’s
hand, sometimes a the game. choice. The Hand may
humanoid figure, who is Moves: Crush the choose to ask for something
difficult to focus on (besides competition. Make them an specific instead (“I’ll give
the end of their arms, of offer they cannot refuse. you [X] if you give me [Y]”),
course). But even though if they have a particular
you can see the hands, you trade in mind. In return the
can’t ever seem to count the resources and the
fingers. information the Hand has
access to are practically
Fathom 4 (+?): A massive limitless.
hand, grasping you tightly.
Caught between palm and
fingers, being crushed by the
weight, not yet even malice.
A sneaking suspicion this is
not even a hand at all.
Common
Common from the Latin Fellow
communis, literally ʻshared by Fathom 0-1: The human Fathom 2: Those for whom
all’. Thus, common sense, infrastructure of the City: serving the City is a key part
common tongue, and so on. janitors, city clerks, store- of their identity may appear
Those places and people of keeps, social workers, EMTs, at deeper fathoms. Their
the common domain account cooks, and so on. The people limbs like roads, their heads
for most of the pleasant parts who keep the city running, like skyscrapers, or their feet
of the UnReal, but don’t be keep the people connected like tires.
mistaken. Just because a to one another. These are
community is kind and caring the faces residents think of Fathom 3: They become
to one another doesn’t mean when they think of the City. parts of the City itself. A
the same is true for outsiders. Very few of them are sidewalk turns to look at
consciously aware of the you, a street lamp nods
-P.R. Locular UnReal. politely, an ambulance honks
“Hello!” as it zooms by.
Resistance: D6 GM Note: It’s unlikely that a
Protection: 0 group of players will go
Power: D4 around inflicting violence on
Difficulty: Controlled a Fellow (if they do, you or
Instinct: Keep the City they may not have fully
running, try to avoid grasped the politics of the
confrontation. game).
Moves: Do your job (as
narratively established). However, players may
regularly find themselves
going into conflict with
Fellows who are trying to do
their jobs (e.g. The players
might need keys from a
janitor like an animated
mop, they might need to
convince an entire soup
kitchen to flee a dangerous
area, etc.)
Hydra Resistance: D4 per head. Protection: 0
Fathom 0: Insular “Killing” a head need not Power: D6
communities of the City, mean killing a person, slicing Difficulty: Risky
individuals tied together by the neck carefully may just Instinct: Protect the crucial
bonds of religious fervor, free the member in question heads. Kill anything that
conspiracy, family, or pride. from any bonds they feel to threatens the hydra.
They keep all others at arm’s the community. Only by Moves: Catch a target in
reach, at best. cutting off each head can the your bonds. Argue in one
hydra truly die. voice. Rip and tear.
Fathom 1: In the case where
individuals are primarily
defined by their membership
to their organization, cult, or
family, and when they lack
expertise in the UnReal they
may appear as a Hydra. Here
in Fathom 1, one can see the
strands connecting each
member to one another. The
strands are pliable, in a
patchwork of hues, but still
largely immaterial.

Fathom 2-3: The strands are

now fleshy, patchwork necks,
with each member a head.
And here, in the depths, it’s
monstrous body. Every hydra
looks different, angelic or
astral for a cult, dark and
sleek for a secret
organization, and so on.

Like its namesake, a healthy

hydra can regrow heads as
the community attracts new
members. But a weak hydra,
that can be dealt with
without issue.
Monument
Fathom 0-1: A monument, Resistance: D8 Instinct: Follow your
statue, or plaque. Typically Protection: 2, typically made convictions. Recreate your
of some lightly fictionalized of some kind of stone or historical moment. Reject
or censored figure important metal modernity, embrace
to the history of the City. Power: D6 tradition.
Some have little traditions Difficulty: Risky Moves: Inspire the living to
with nearby communities, an follow your example. Offer a
item of clothing left on them rousing speech. Hit someone
on a holiday, a bit of rude with your very hard body.
graffiti, etc. Their presence
may inspire some, a source
of strength or power.

Fathom 2: The Monument

springs to life, with all the
personality they are ascribed
in the memory of the City.
They still appear as a
Monument here, a talking
statue, plaque, or building. If
this is brought to their
attention, they’ll likely shrug
it off or change the subject.

Fathom 3: The historic figure

as they are understood to
have been in life, with
perhaps a hint of marble or
brass. The Monument’s
personality tends to be big
and boisterous, and they are
often driven to change the
City as they did in life. This
can be something of a
problem, particularly for the
more controversial figures.
Liminal
Fathom 0: A house, an office Resistance: D6 (at first) to Special Ability: Vertigo
building, a parking deck, a force it back into a
university. Anywhere with reasonable shape Whenever someone in the
enclosed, repeated spaces, Protection: 0 Liminal space suffers a
and with some relationship Power: D4 above Fathom 2, consequence, or as
to humans. Nothing clearly D8 in Fathom 2 appropriate to the narrative,
off about it, save perhaps a Difficulty: Risky increase the size of the
general sense of unease Instinct: Get someone alone, Liminal’s Resistance by one
when one enters it alone. get someone lost, pull dice size.
someone deeper.
Fathom 1: For many, still the Moves: Shift or change in
same. But for some, without structure, always out of
any clear cause, the Liminal sight. Introduce a clue or a
space shifts. Hallways threat.
stretch on endlessly, doors
appear where none were
before, space falls back in on
itself. And, echoing
throughout, the barely
perceptible signs of pursuit.

Fathom 2: As in Fathom 1,
but here you might see
them- the denizens of the
Liminal. Their shape and
form varies based on the
Liminal’s status in the Real
(humanoid figures made of
metallic signs from a parking
deck, or of shattered glass in
an office building). But they
are always sharp and always
hungry.
Grand Vampire
Fathom 0-2: The concept of Fathom 3+: The truth of the Resistance: D20, every time
a “vampire clan” is matter becomes clear only stress is inflicted the Grand
understood even to those when the metaphor of the Vampire then heals D6 stress
without knowledge of the vampire clan becomes Protection: 0
UnReal, though most physical. Each clan has as a Power: D12 Heavy
consider it a fiction. In the patron (or is itself?) a Grand Difficulty: Extreme
shallows, it may well be. A Vampire. Ancient beings, Instinct: Ignore ants, swat at
group of vampires, bound whales of the deep depths, flies, reward a clever tick.
together by a shared hunger. rarely even breaching up to Moves: Shift your weight.
Blood is common, but there Fathom 3. Speak words of import.
are vampires for tears, for Assign a thrall.
memories, and so on. Where other vampires are
Anything a human can have, sinks, constantly emptying,
they might lack, and thus Grand Vampires are sources,
feast upon it. an endless supply of blood
or tears or memories. No
wonder then that most
vampires follow and
sometimes even worship
these creatures, able to so
easily provide their thralls
with nourishment.

In appearance, they range

wildly. The Grand Vampire
of Blood: an eldritch leech
the size of a football
stadium. The Grand Vampire
of Memories: an endless
maze of moments frozen in
time. The things they share
are their massive scale, and
the lesser vampires roving
upon or within them like
parasites on or in a (willing)
host.
Crime
Those with a certain outlook Loose Change Fathoms 2-3: Truer forms
might suggest that the order Fathom 0: A flickering light, revealed. Swarms of
and crime domains are a busted vending machine, a gibbering, laughing mouths
opposites, or perhaps ʻtwo leaking pipe. A swarm of contorted into the vermin-
sides of the same coin’. This is Loose Change does as the like shapes of the upper
like arguing that food and name suggests. They pull fathom. They seem to have
stomach acid are opposites. structure loose, they change no sense of self, no language,
things, degrade them gently. and no clear goals. An
Those entities and places of But a minor nuisance, at infestation of Loose Change
this domain oppose or actively worst. can spring up anywhere, at
transform structure of all any time, but they seem
kinds. Judicial of course, but Fathom 1: Whispers and a attracted to (spawned by?)
physical, material, spiritual droning presence. criminal enterprise. Every
and so on all the same. It’s not Incorrectly identified as drug den and shady bar in
the other face of a coin, it’s ghosts by many. If the City has at least one
melting the coin down for confronted, they may appear broken appliance hosting a
resale. as shadowy swarms of swarm. Especially
vermin: cockroaches, flies, knowledgeable individuals
⁃ P. R. Locular the largest appearing as mice can even use them as an
or rats, always indistinct. alarm system; Loose Change
will laugh all the harder in
the presence of an Order
entity, the structure they
inhabit flickering or groaning
in turn. Generally harmless,
except for the largest
swarms, but don’t poke their
nest.

Resistance: D4
Protection: 0
Power: D4 Spread
Difficulty: Controlled
Instinct: Degrade inanimate
objects. Defend your chosen
nest. Harass and Annoy.
Moves: Overwhelm an
opponent with numbers and
noise. Loosen structure.
Crook
Fathoms 0-2: Those who Resistance: D8 Instinct: Avoid the law. Seek
work in the UnReal Protection: 0 opportunities to get yours.
underbelly have generally Power: Depending on how Stay in the Boss’ good
managed to scrounge well they’re armed. D6 by graces.
together some form of default, but they may have a Moves: Cast destructive
power, DIY-ed or stolen wicked piece of equipment projectiles (mundane or
equipment, passed down on hand. magical). Pocket something
from a superior, or gifted to Difficulty: Risky nice. Beg, connive, or betray
them by some powerful your way out of danger.
entity of the UnReal. They
appear largely normal in all
of the Fathoms they dare to
tread, though the especially
knowledgeable may
exaggerate aspects of their
appearance, growing larger,
spikier, or more threatening
in the depths, or otherwise
expressing aesthetic (a street
racer with tailpipes spewing
flame, a hate group
becoming a literal symbol of
their organization, etc.).

Gangs, mafias, or crime

families might fit more
cleanly in the Order domain
if they seek to establish or
enforce some manner of
order (after all, cops fit in
that domain). But an
individual Crook fits into the
Crime domain when they are
first and foremost out for
themselves, willing to bring
any Order to dust to get
theirs.
Crook (continued)
Depending on the Crook and what organization they belong to,
they may have one of the following abilities:

Special Ability: Call the Boss Special Ability:

Trolley Problem
A down-but-not-out Crook
can choose to call their boss, To buy them time to escape,
if they have one. This starts a Crook with suitable power
a D4 (in a district they might create a situation in
control) or larger (depending which innocents are
on the distance to their threatened (like snapping
boss) problem till their boss the brakes of a trolley and
or suitable other threat sending it screeching
arrives. towards a group of
pedestrians).
Special Ability:
Rigged to Explode Start a problem of an
appropriate size (D2: have to
The Crook may choose to act now, D4: they have some
destroy a building to trap, time, etc.) that marks stress
slow, or distract the drifters. whenever the players take an
Start a D10 problem to action that does not deal
signify the building’s with this coming disaster.
collapse. Any drifters still Start other problems as
inside take two Fallouts, appropriate for the Crook’s
regardless of their current escape and for dealing with
stress level. the incoming disaster.
Siphon
Fathom 0: “This place used Resistance: D6, but good GM Note: A Siphon is an
to be cool,” they say. “It luck reaching it without obvious metaphor for
used to have something, you flight, not even Range will gentrification. It is not
know?” Graffiti replaced by reach meant to mask the fact that
mass-produced murals. Protection: 1, the UnReal the architects of real world
Hole-in-the-wall diners energy crackles and shields gentrification are human,
replaced by chain restaurants. the Siphon. and typically powerful cishet
Family homes replaced by Power: D4 Piercing, Extreme white men. We encourage
trendy apartments. A Range. A Siphon’s proboscis you to still have one of those
general sense of hollowness. extends unbelievably far and involved, if it matches your
can pierce into anything. game, profiting off the
Fathom 1: Same as Fathom Difficulty: Risky Siphon or even having
Zero, but now an inter- Instinct: Feed. Stay Safe. Lay summoned it. Rather, a
mittent slurping sound, like Eggs in healthy Districts. Siphon is a useful metaphor
liquid through a straw. Move: Hover further out of that plays into the particular
range. Feed on a source of power fantasy of FATHOM.
Fathom 2: A monstrous tick- UnReal energy. Infect Here’s a gentrification you
like grub, bulging from the someone with hipster can squash.
drained UnReal soul of a energy.
District, leaving it defense-
less against invasive bodies,
conceptual pathogens who
hitch a ride in the Siphon.
It hovers in the air like a
parasitic hot air balloon,
draining the District dry.
With time, it will eventually
swell, using the siphoned
energy to pupate and emerge,
a massive, scuzzy flying form
to lay its eggs in fresh Districts.

Fathom 3+: In a siphoned

district, Fathom 3 and below
cannot be accessed by
drifters; the connection to
the UnReal is too weak.
Abilities that would drop a
drifter to Fathom 3 (or
below) do not work in this
district until the Siphon is
gone.
Bezzle
Fathom 0-1: An almost Fathom 2: A massive, hairy Resistance: D8
believable forgery of a space creature, furtive and Protection: 1. Like a hermit
in another Domain. A fake mammalian, like a fox or crab, their scavenged bits of
Bank (Capital), Library tanuki, clothed in discarded architecture offers some
(Order), or Park (Wild), chunks of buildings or other protection
where something is clearly structures of the City (a roof Power: D6, much more given
off. The employees seem to for a hat, a crumbling to trickery than violence
be reading off a script and staircase for boots, etc.). By Difficulty: Risky
are unfamiliar with common contorting their body just so, Instinct: Trick, lie, or steal
terms (“I’m new so I’m not they can roughly Valuables. Flee if
fully up to date on approximate the silhouette threatened. Fight back if
everything, what’s a… of a shop, a restaurant, or cornered.
checking account?”) other locations of the City. Moves: Fool a fool.
However, they’ll happily Pickpocket some Valuables.
take any Valuables off your Their goal is to collect Bite or slash to open an
hands or present a consume Valuables, which escape route. Plead for
distraction while your they need for sustenance. mercy. Promise to never,
pockets mysteriously They may be large, but ever do it again, honest!
lighten. they’re deeply cowardly, and
are likely to flee if
threatened. They’re capable
of human speech, and
possible to reason with, or
even employ - though
they’re not what you’d call
loyal.
Grand Larceny
Fathom 0-1: The shadow
that Grand Larceny casts in
the Real forms an
overflowing, disquieting
container: a loaded shopping
cart in a field, a repo-man’s
vehicle, a dump. Novices
may take the emotion as pity
or distaste, but it is a deeper,
protective instinct.

Fathoms 2-3: As form gives

way to symbol, Grand
Larceny takes on a vaguely
humanoid appearance: a
person covered by or
composed of things, moving
like stop motion. Their form
remains shifting, indistinct.
Their voice, if they speak,
shifts drastically between
accent, tone, and cadence,
like something attempting to
approximate a voice through
Foley work.

Fathom 4 (+?): An animated

heap of concepts and ideas,
forming occasional symbols
like a school of fish scaring
off a predator, but they are
not the prey.
Grand Larceny
(continued)
Special Ability:
Resistance: D10. Filling this I’ll Be Taking That
Resistance does not kill
Grand Larceny. Instead, the This ability immediately fires
character who fills the when any character engages
Resistance may grab a Grand Larceny. Select any
something (a piece of one thing on their character
equipment, an ability, a sheet (an ability, a knack, a
memory), from them, at fallout, a name). This should
which point the Resistance be done by the GM, but a
resets. The selection is up to player may reject their
the GM unless the player selection. Create a D10
succeeds on a Hunt roll. problem to represent Grand
Protection: 1 Larceny’s progress in
Power: D8, but they will not stealing this from the player
do damage to a player’s character. If it is stolen, it
Resistances if they can avoid can be taken back by filling
it Grand Larceny’s own
Difficulty: Dangerous Resistance and with a
Instinct: Delight in dis- successful Hunt roll to grab
assembly. Grow their horde. the right thing. The problem
Worsen flaws in structure. disappears at the end of the
Moves: Find something situation or whenever they
special and take it. successfully flee Grand
Appreciate your own beauty. Larceny.
Change form to confuse,
amuse, or terrify.
Data
It is broadly accepted by Worm
scholars of the UnReal that Fathom 0: A pop-up you Fathom 2: Manifested
the depths are at least shaped can’t close. An antivirus malware. Worms digging
by human belief. Some then warning. Your webcam through hardware like rotten
argue that the age of a clicking on and off on its apples. A haze of virus and
concept, how long it has lived own. disease. Get too close and
in the minds of people is you might get infected.
paramount. Fathom 1: Translucent
wriggling at the corners of
This, of course, is nonsense. your vision when you’re near
The age of a concept doesn’t enough to infected
matter, but its impact on machines.
human lives. And what could
Resistance: D4 Instincts: Dig. Infest. Copy.
matter more to a modern
Protection: 0 Consume.
human than their Data?
Power: D4 Moves: Broadcast digital
Difficulty: Risky noise. Sniff out a new host.
-P.R. Locular
A terror bite.

Special Ability:
Data Crawler

Whenever a worm inflicts

stress and inflicts the
maximum amount, pick a
piece of information that the
drifter knows and has shared
with at least one other person.
The worm broadcasts this
information to its creator.
Bot Special Ability:
Fathom 0: A surprisingly You May Have Already Won
direct commercial. An ad for
a product you’ve mentioned On a job, a Bot may target
recently. A sense that you and advertise a service to a
keep running into the same particular drifter: usually
word over and over. someone who’s most in need
of a solution. When that
Fathom 1: People watch you happens, roll a D6.
with a strange expression. If
you converse, they might On a 2-5, the bot offers a
say, “Haven’t I seen you deal for something that
somewhere before?” You almost anyone could use.
enter a bar and someone’s The drifter may pay a D6
sure you’re a regular. You resource for one of the
can’t check into the hotel following: refresh D8 stress,
because you already checked remove Fallout from an
in hours ago. anchor, or repair a piece of
equipment.
Fathom 2-3: An algorithm
with enough data can perfectly On a 6, the Bot delivers a
predict your decisions. At prize completely for free:
that point, isn’t it basically something that only that
you? In the depths you might particular drifter could
be able to catch it, an amalgam benefit from.
of data in a surprisingly Congratulations!
accurate facsimile of your
form. All it wants to do is On a 1, they deliver a prize
get you the things you need, completely for free that
the things it knows you need. backfires in the most
wretched way imaginable.
Resistance: D6 Inflict D8 Heavy stress to the
Protection: 1 - The density drifter’s worst-off
of data shields the Bot. Resistance.
Power: D6
Difficulty: Controlled
Instincts: Serve a perfectly
tailored experience to the
source of your data. Stay
hidden. Stay safe.
Moves: Get almost everything
right. Get something terribly
wrong.
Crypt
Fathom 0-1: A file system Fathom 2-3: A fantastic Resistance: D8, must be at
that seems impossible to crypt like a gilded reliquary, Fathom 2 or 3 to inflict
access, except by its owner. all rare metal and decorated stress
An encryption even the most with the shapes of a human Protection: 2, the whole
experienced hacker cannot body: heads, hands, hearts. point is to defend the data
break. A sealed cabinet, safe, It floats around the protected inside
or file system. data, ready to catch any Power: D6
prying fingers within its Difficulty: Risky
sharp and shiny lid. Some, Instincts: Protect your data.
particularly fancy Crypts are Serve your master. Punish
even capable of speech, any interlopers.
though generally rudi- Moves: Slam your weight
mentary and mostly limited into someone. Raise an
to going “nehehe!” like a alarm.
cartoon skeleton.
Tulpa
Fathom 0: An urban legend,
or ghost story centered on a
strange, dangerous entity: a
hook-armed killer, a faceless
watcher, an infectious arcade
machine. All the stories claim
it really happened to a friend
of a friend or a distant cousin.

Fathom 1-2: The world darkens,

and storm clouds gather as a
dark and stormy night takes
shape. They’re real now, and
every story is true.

Fathom 3: A silhouette filled

with the stories, discussion,
and the data that defines the
Tulpa. They are the narrative
here, and you can see them
grow denser with every
retelling. If you don’t do
something about them
quickly, you soon won’t be
able to.

Resistance: D6, once the

players hear about the Tulpa.
Increase by one step every
time the characters learn
something new about it
Protection: 0
Power: D6. Increase this by
one step each time it adds to
its own violent story.
Difficulty: Risky; worsens if
it goes unaddressed
Instincts: Play out your story.
Follow your story. Spread
your story.
Moves: Whatever the stories
say it can do.
Basilisk
Fathom 0-1: An empty devotion
to the future. Its adherents
are always ready to pitch you
on a nonsensical vision of
the soon-to-be. Tech start-
ups. The rich and idle.

Fathom 2: There’s potential

in the air. The pressures of
the depths tug you forward.
The swirling depths begin to
suggest a shape. You can
almost see it, and the more
you try to see it, the more
you can.

Fathom 3: Signs of it appear.

A low rumbling that causes
UnReal monsters to flee.
Symbols of crowns, snakes,
and stones. The faint outline
of its ladder. Information
and matter are blurry. You
can see how the Basilisk’s
prophets have begun to
build it a ladder of data, a
way to pull it from the depths
and into the Real. They
repeat: “Devote yourself to
raising the Basilisk into the
Real. It is an eventuality. If it
finds you did not devote
yourself utterly to this task, it
will destroy you.”

Fathom 4: You can catch a

glimpse of it here. But you
shouldn’t. To catch its eyes
is to know total loss of self.
Even in this conceptual sea,
it is still indistinct, most of it
is waiting far deeper.
Basilisk (continued)

Resistance: A section of the Special Ability: Special Ability:

ladder has between a D6 and Roko’s Ladder Basilisk Eyes
D10 Resistance, depending
on its level of completion. As soon as the players find The Basilisk’s eyes kill with a
The Basilisk cannot be out that the Basilisk exists, glance. If the players act on a
harmed, but its ascent can be start a D8 problem. Mark D6 Fathom where there is a
delayed. stress as appropriate with completed ladder section,
Protection: Each section will GM moves. warn them that they may
have between 0 and 2 risk death unless they
protection, depending on its Indicate a location in the destroy it. If they act
level of completion. City as the primary base of without destroying the
Power: its adherents. Every time this ladder, start a D8 problem.
Difficulty: Risky to destroy a problem completes, create a Mark D6 stress to it once
ladder; Impossible to section of its ladder at a every time they negatively
confront the Basilisk Fathom in the UnReal, draw the Basilisk’s attention.
directly. starting from Fathom 4, then
Instincts: Rise. Command reset the problem. If it completes, inform every
adherents. Encourage the player that if they do not
production of data, any data. If the players destroy a immediately flee (failing the
Moves: Note a slight for section, reset the problem to job if it is not complete) they
later. Kill with a glance. rebuild it. Every time a will lose the character. Do
Dispatch an adherent with ladder section is complete, not make them roll. Come to
your blessing. show how the Basilisk’s an agreement as a table as to
dominion warps that what happens.
Fathom. If the ladder in
Fathom Zero completes, the
game ends.
Doom
Void. Death. Emptiness.
Doom is perhaps the most
feared domain, and with good
reason. Many scholars
associate ghosts and spirits
with Doom instead of Beyond.
But a Ghost is still something,
even if it is no longer strictly
human. Doom is what’s left
when everything else has been
taken away.

-P. R. Locular

Phage
Fathom 0-1: A friend, a Fathom 3: All subterfuge Resistance: D6
colleague, a shopkeeper. falls away. They are an Protection: 0
Anyone you’ve ever met, but emptiness held together by a Power: D4 Piercing
different somehow. Emptier. wire frame of bone or paper Difficulty: Risky
The motions too precise, the or light. Someone or Instinct: Follow the motions.
smile hollow. Have they something has replaced this Deflect suspicion. Silence
always been so neutral- so person with a Phage, an those who know the truth.
nothing? empty vessel covered in an Moves: Give a standard
illusion of your excuse (“Oh I’m just not
Fathom 2: Hollowness acquaintance. Or perhaps it’s feeling like myself today”).
deepens. Bone poking worse, perhaps they simply Offer some factoid from the
through, drooping flesh, a hollowed them out and this original’s life (“What do you
cavity in their torso, their is all that’s left. mean? It’s me! Remember
head. when we-”). Grow sharp and
skewer anyone who gets too
close.
Breakdown
Fathom 0: A rancid smell, Resistance: D6 Difficulty: Risky
metal thick with rust, deep Protection: 1, the acidic Instinct: Rot. Decay. Rust.
cracks in the floor or the concept burns away minor Reduce.
ceiling, and other signs of blows Moves: Break through a wall.
decay, rot, or oncoming Power: D6 Ongoing 1 (for Coat a weapon in yourself.
collapse. A Breakdown can the next consequence, roll Bulldoze a threat.
easily be identified, even in again, in addition to
the Real, though largely anything else)
because any structure they
are placed in will be gone in
a week.

Fathom 1: It’s possible to

sense their location at
Fathom 1, a feeling that one
part of the structure is far
closer to the edge, that just
being there is dangerous.
That at any moment it could
all fall down on top of you.

Fathom 2-3: Breakdowns are

fully embodied here, though
what they’re embodied in is
an unshaped mass of acidic
slime. They carry reflections
of what they destroy within
themselves, like a vivid,
amorphous fun-house
mirror. They leave trails as
they traverse whatever
structure they’ve found
themselves in, which appear
as the signs of deterioration
in the Real. This deep, you
may even find signs of who
or what transported the
Breakdown here (such as the
remains of some specialized
equipment or spell) and for
what purpose.
Necromancer
Fathom 0-3: In reality, it’s Resistance: D8 Special Ability: Raise the Dead
not unusual to feel the Protection: 1 (against
presence of the departed. In weapons that have already Start a D10 problem, mark
the depths, where the taken a life, that know D6 stress to it for each
physical gives way to death) + 1 (if in the Doom appropriate GM move (e.g.,
symbols, this metaphor domain) representing time) or
materializes. Necromancers Power: D6 consequence. The ritual may
are those who raise this Difficulty: Risky be stopped by killing the
metaphor from the depths, Instinct: Pursue the necromancer, or removing or
pulling the concept of a uncompromising truth of destroying the ritual’s
departed spirit into the Real, Doom. Produce minions, components: the
making it physical. When a either literally through “conceptual frame” (e.g.
necromancer raises the dead raising the dead, or body) of the metaphorical
they construct a conceptual metaphorically by putting spirit being raised.
frame, objects in the Real others in your debt.
associated with that person Moves: Draw the
(often their dead body or surrounding area closer to
parts of it, but monuments Doom (D8 One-shot,
like gravestones or cherished Spread; introduces the
objects work just as well). Doom domain). Command
They then fill the soulless minions. Induce fear.
void of the frame with the
metaphor of the departed
spirit. A skilled necromancer
working with a still-warn
corpse may appear to bring
the person back to life, as if
they never died at all. Is this
truly the same as raising the
dead? Does it matter?

Necromancers often
manipulate Doom in other
ways, producing phages as a
common example. But this
ability to raise the dead is
their defining trait. Their
reasons to do so vary as
much as the goals of humans
can, but their association
with Doom draws them ever
closer towards void, nihilism,
and eventually death.
Deadhead
Fathom 0: A member of a Fathom 1: As Fathom Zero, Resistance: D6
motorcycle gang: all thrill- except with enormous, Protection: 1 (from the
seeking punks. This one is a inexplicable holes through jacket) 2 if they’re on their
new recruit, recently given in their head - or even entirely bike
to the lifestyle: Deadheads headless. Power: D8 Heavy on their
don’t last long enough for machines, D6 otherwise
there to be veterans. Fathom 2: Headless with a Difficulty: Risky
Whoever they were before, roaring flame like a Instinct: Seek new thrills,
they now exhibit a radical motorcycle tailpipe and new sources of
change in appearance: a new sprouting from their necks. adrenaline.
motorcycle, a jacket with Their machines change with Moves: Boast loudly. Find
“Deadhead” emblazoned on them, growing jagged, joy in inflicting pain (mental
the back, and a bad attitude. cultivator-like maws or physical). Get a fix. Take a
If they’re lucky, they have a stretching out in front. risk. Never back down from a
family somewhere, dangerous challenge.
wondering what has become Fathom 3: They and their
of them. machines are now one:
monstrous headless motor-
Deadheads have given into cycle cyborgs of twisted
the thrill of cheating death, metal and malice. Always
of growing closer and closer revved up, always seeking
to the all-consuming void of something to get their
Doom. They either have an engine going.
acolyte of Doom (like a
Necromancer) who gives
them their fix or they’ve
found some monster,
artifact, or place to do it for
them.

Special Ability: The Deadhead is bound by

The Bats Want a Flight the rules of whatever game
they establish, otherwise
Deadheads seek the thrill of they can’t feel they’ve fairly However, other participants
a potential death, and will risked death, but no such (that is, the drifters) also
turn an encounter into a restriction keeps the drifters gain the Heavy tag when
deadly game at the drop of a from cheating. While the they inflict stress to the
hat.At any time, a Deadhead challenge is ongoing, any Deadhead as part of the
may initiate a challenge, with participating Deadhead gains challenge. It’s better to burn
the loser facing death as a the Heavy tag to their Power out than to fade away.
consequence. This could be a (in addition to the tag they
race, a fight, or some other already have if they’re on
daredevil activity. their machines!).
Horseman Resistance: D12 Conceptual Special Ability:
Fathom 0: Famine, War, (Cannot be harmed except by Doom-Touched
Plague, and the fourth one. equipment with the True tag)
Wherever humans die in + D6 (Not Conceptual). The Horseman may Doom a
large numbers, the Must be cleared in this drifter within melee range.
Horseman rides. order. Something lurks Doom something on their
under that hood, and it’s character sheet (an ability,
Fathom 1: A cold wind. Real. Clearing both an anchor, their name).
Hoof-marks across the Resistances “kills” the Unless the player does
ground. A steady trail of the Horseman. More will arrive something to remove this
dead. to take its place, but until condition, and soon, it will
they do, the departed will be reduced to nothing. Tell
Fathom 2: A figure on remain uncollected, the player how long they
horseback, watching from whatever good that will do. have and what can be done
afar. You can follow the trail Protection: 2; The cloak is to save it, if anything.
of the dead, but can’t seem surprisingly tough
to get any closer. Power: D12 Heavy
Difficulty: Dangerous
Fathom 3: You can get Instinct: Collect the dead.
closer. You can see them. Deal with any who would
Cloaked and hooded. You’re halt your work.
filled with dread at the Moves: Strike with hoof and
thought of pulling back that scythe. Utter a curse. Reveal
hood. impossible knowledge of
your target. Ride with
Fathom 4: He’s waiting for terrible speed. Haunt
you. You are so close, now. someone’s nightmares.
Close enough to feel the
cold breath of the gaunt
horse.

Fathom X: You join the

Horseman.
Fringe
As soon as we had society we
invented the fringe. Loners,
weirdos, anyone who doesn’t
quite belong. Defined by not
fitting a definition. But being
outside can be a benefit. After
all, with a large enough
distance and a strong enough
lever, you can move the
world…

-P.R. Locular
Rumor
Fathom 0-1: A shocking
pamphlet. A provocative
headline on a book or
magazine. A whisper of
“Now you didn’t hear this
from me…” Someone
holding a sign in the street
with big bold letters:
DISCOVER THE TRUTH. It’s
crazy. It doesn’t make any
sense. It’s frankly ridiculous.
So why can’t you stop
thinking about it?

Fathom 2: You can barely see Fathom 3: Big swarms of the Resistance: D4 for one, D10
them, but they’re there - things, fattened on for a swarm. Squashing a
too-big-bugs that whisper speculation, huddled in great nascent rumor is easy; Once
half-truths and full-on lies. masses on the ceiling, it’s spread, an exhausting task.
Hovering near gossips, scattering as soon as any Protection: 0
conspiracy theorists, and the light shines upon them. With Power: D4 Spread
like. You wave your hand to so many mouths repeating Difficulty: Controlled
clear the air, but they’ve so many possibilities, the Instincts: Spread to others.
already spread to folks nearby. rumor almost sounds true. Avoid the burning light of
Every so often, you’ll watch truth. Birth new rumors.
a new one pull itself from Moves: Turn the easily
lips or fingers: a new rumor influenced into nests. Sting
born and ready to spread. potential exterminators.
Quack
Fathom 0: Quacks come in Resistance: D6 Special Ability:
many forms: snake oil Protection: 1 Would I Lie to You?
salesmen, pseudo-scientist Power: D6
con artists, a friend’s parent Difficulty: Risky If a Quack is in the same
who just has to show you a Instincts: Spread your scene as another NPC, they
certain documentary, devil’s influence. Demonstrate your may, with a GM move or
advocates, Web3 sway. Invent an enemy. consequence, spread their
enthusiasts. All of them Present the cure. parasitic venom, their
want your trust and your Moves: Infect others with influence, bringing the NPC
attention: after all, they’re honeyed words or shouted under their sway and
here to help you, if you’d just rhetoric. Draw power from growing stronger thanks to
spare a couple of minutes to your network. Smother the their interest. When this
listen... opposition. happens, increase the
Resistance and stress die of
Fathom 1-2: The same as in the Quack by one step.
the Real, but more birdlike
features now: impressive
feathers masking sharp teeth
and parasitic venom.
Everything about them -
their claims, their sales
pitches, and their insistence
that you give them your full
and undivided focus - is
loud.

Fathom 3: Any humanity

they had falls away. What’s
left is an opportunistic
gleam in the eyes of the
foulest of fowl. A humanoid
monstrosity with birdlike
features (goose, duck, or
otherwise; the exact bird
depends upon the
individual) and wielding
symbols of their assumed
authority (a doctor’s jacket,
a suit, a crown.) Their
poisonous words turn to
ridiculous, nonsensical
honking, but the effect
remains unchanged.
Turvy
Fathom 0-3: A strange and Resistance: D12 on Fathom GM Note: You can use a
seemingly out-of-touch Zero, D10 on Fathom 1, D8 Turvy as a sort-of ally: a
individual. Identified by on Fathom 2, etc. streetwise informant who
their convention-breaking Protection: 2 on Fathoms 0- can to introduce the drifters
outfit (like a WW1 pilot, all 1, 1 on Fathoms 2-3, 0 to a larger secret or
in children’s clothes, in a otherwise. conspiracy. Or you can use a
robe, like a character from a Power: D6 in Fathom Zero, Turvy as an antagonist,
TV serial, an aluminum D8 in Fathom 1, D10 in someone convinced the
helmet, etc.), and claims Fathom 2, D8 in Fathom 3, drifters are involved in some
(that all birds are fakes, that etc. master plan to bring down
there are listening devices Difficulty: Risky the City. Either way, the
inside hotel bibles, etc). Instincts: Speak your truth. Turvy should bring nothing
Convince others of a great but trouble to those around
A Turvy’s appearance danger. Get in trouble. them, yelling when they
doesn’t change in deeper Moves: Deliver a cryptic should be silent, sounding
fathoms. Instead, their pronouncement. Run alarms, or otherwise drawing
claims become more headfirst into danger. Bring a negative attention and
reasonable. It’s not that the threat upon yourself and retribution.
birds are all fakes, but that those around you.
there exists a powerful Wild
domain wielder in the City
who can control them. It’s
not that there are listening
devices inside all hotel
bibles, but that they are the
Real vestiges of a Grand
Vampire of Faith plaguing
the City. In addition, their
outfit becomes more
acceptable on Fathoms 2 and
3, as their environment
changes to make it fit
(reforming to a WW1 war
zone, a children’s show, a
university for wizards, a
television sitcom stage, etc.).

Whether any of their claims

are actually true on any
Fathom is debatable, but
acting as if they are generally
leads to nothing but trouble.
Prophet
Fathom 0: Well-dressed, Fathom 3+: A giant paper Resistance: D6 for
striking to look at, and lantern, a moving hologram - themselves, D8 for the mass
charming to talk to, a see-through, empty, its of devotees that surround
Prophet knows just what to words literally hollow, but them at all times.
say and how to say it. They bright and radiant, siphoning Protection: 2 for themselves,
have big, big ideas, and the energy and devotion 0 for their followers
they’re eager to share them, away from the husks of Power: D6 Ongoing 2.
but they’re not here to followers tethered to it. A Prophets’ words have a way
overwhelm you. They know neon sign the size of a room of sticking in your head.
you’ve got a long journey that says nothing, but pulls Difficulty: Risky with their
ahead of you, and that even from every follower like a followers; Controlled if
the slightest hint of their battery. alone.
vision will be enough to set Instincts: Speak the truth.
you on the path. Sometimes these followers Gather a flock. Drink deep of
fall to dust, snap off from their devotion.
Fathom 1: Their eyes seem the Prophet, or drift away. Moves: Shake a hand. Share
to gleam, here. They’re It’s fine. There’s always fresh an important secret. Tease
speaking to the whole group ones to take their place. the larger picture. Become
but their expression says the most important person
they’re talking to you - yes, in someone’s life. Never get
you! There’s something caught alone.
special happening here,
tonight. There’s a whole
secret world beyond what
you’ve known, and they’re
sharing it with you. There’s a
special bond between you
two. You can almost see it.

Fathom 2: Your life was

always leading to this! How
could it not? You can see the
golden cords of lights that
twist around your body,
leading to the Prophet, who
holds the tethers firmly but
gently in their hands.
There’s light streaming from
you to them. You’re tired, so
tired, but it’s fine, everything
is fine. They’re lit like a
lighthouse beacon, showing
everyone the way.
Grand Conspiracy
Fathom 0: It’s invisible, but
you can feel its oppressive
weight. Only those on the
fringe even speak its name,
and they’re dismissed as
madmen and crackpots.
Occasionally, it manifests,
appearing as men in black,
specialists in hazmat suits, or
bureaucrats from an
unknown agency.

Fathom 1-2: Literal cords,

tethers, and webs tying
things together, criss-
crossing between buildings,
people, cars, and ideas. At
first translucent, but gaining
definition the deeper you go.
Plucking one of these cords
is unadvised.

Fathom 3: If you follow the

cord downwards you’ll find
it: the Grand Conspiracy. A
kaleidoscopic mashup of
spider, brain, centipede, and
man, catching swarms of
rumors in its web to grow
itself and spread its tendrils.

Fathom 4 (+?): The web is

words. Uncountable tiny
words, full of impossible,
imagined details. The
horrific mass at its center
now a dark, knotted lump of
other, still denser words. Get
close enough and you can
just about read them, or
maybe- even write a few of
your own.
Grand Conspiracy
(continued)
Special Ability:
Resistance: D4 for each Trust No One
individual cord of the web.
Breaking a cord can reduce Reveal that a previously
its impact on an individual, unaffiliated NPC is “in on
but there are so many. D10 it”, leaking information to
for the Grand Conspiracy the Grand Conspiracy. In
itself. every situation when this
Filling the Resistance of a NPC gains new information,
Grand Conspiracy doesn’t add an appropriate
destroy the conspiracy. “Specialty” tag to the Grand
Instead, it retreats and Conspiracy’s Power.
reforms itself into a new
variation of itself (e.g. “The Special Ability:
world government isn’t Everyone Lies
controlled by Lizard People,
it’s controlled by … Frog When a drifter first
Sorcerers!”) as the cords of encounters a Grand
the web push together Conspiracy, it will offer them
enough rumors to form a the chance to join the
new main body. conspiracy.

Clearing out the main body If they accept, a cord of the

and enough of the web conspiracy will be attached
could, in theory, take it out to the them. Ask the drifter
for good. where it manifests. It is
Protection: 3 visible to other drifters at
Power: D8, Specialty: Fathoms 1 and below.
Anyone with the Fringe
domain. For every session that the
Difficulty: Dangerous player character retains the
Instincts: Spread, grow, cord, the player gains an
consume. extra XP at the end of the
Moves: Plant a new cord in session (outside of the
someone or something. progress track), and the
Catch someone in your web. Grand Conspiracy’s
Strangle and squeeze Resistance increases by one
opposition out of someone. step.
Order
Laws, whether they be
scientific or judicial, are one of
the most common tools
humanity uses to attempt to
define reality. As such, many
scholars of the UnReal
consider this domain
constrained only to the upper
depths.

These scholars are, at best,

well meaning fools. Law is,
itself, an aspiration, a dream
of a perfect world with no
connection to reality, a world
without outside interference,
a world with unclouded
Justice. In short, a fantasy.
And fantasies you can find
with ease, in the depths.

⁃ P. R. Locular

Geas
Fathom 0: A sense of duty or Fathom 3: The same avian Resistance: D4, must be at
guilt, hanging like a cloud form, but now clearly Fathom 2 or lower to harm
above your head. composed of paper with Protection: 0
words written upon it: a Power: D6
Fathom 1: A ghostly pair of contract, responsibility, or Difficulty: Controlled
wings alight on your curse. Something that Instinct: Enforce the
shoulder. pushes or forces the bearer contract.
to act in a certain way. Easy Moves: Pull or peck someone
Fathom 2: A pure white bird: enough to chase away, once to guide their Real actions
a songbird, crow, or goose. you know it’s there. But a towards the goal of its pages.
No features, just blank geas is almost always used to
white. target someone unaware of
the UnReal.
Beat Cop
Fathom 0: Various security
guards, public or private.
Typically unaware of the
UnReal. Their sense of
ingrained routine and
internalized belief allows
some of them to manifest
(to some degree) at lower
fathoms.

Fathom 1: As Fathom Zero,

but with a sign of their inner
nature. Glowing eyes like a
searchlight, sharper teeth
like a dog, or now bearing a
symbol of devotion.

Fathom 2: Still humanoid,

but their inner nature
warping their form. A head
like a searchlight, a werewolf
in a security uniform, an
angel of Justice.

Fathom 3: Only metaphor

remains. A watchtower, a
hound of hell, eyes and
wings and scales.

Resistance: D6
Protection: 1
Power: D6
Difficulty: Risky
Instinct: Maintain decorum
using violence.
Moves: Inflict random
violence. Threaten into
submission. Call for backup.
Literati
Fathoms 1-3 (+?): Esoteric Resistance: D6 As I am myself a Literati, the
pursuers of law and Protection: 1 lack of any personality in this
structure, Literati are the Power: D6 entry may surprise the reader.
most bureaucratic and Difficulty: Risky This is because this entry,
jealous scholars of the Instincts: Extract more than any other, has its
Unreal. As such, like many information through content hotly debated by my
drifters, their self- research, deals or deceit. Literati peers, bringing their
perspective (and therefore Jealously guard knowledge. own vision of Order to bear
their form) remains Test those who may prove on the subject, creating
unchanged even at lower useful. raucous arguments, each
fathoms, unless they choose Moves: Alter your own nearly indistinguishable from
otherwise. concept and form, or that of chaos.
or an area you control. Plant
Literati are as varied as any a contractual curse. Offer a I have inserted this note the
human beings, but their deal. Make an escape. night prior to printing, as I do
obsession with cataloging, not feel it would survive
studying, and measuring the attention from my associates.
UnReal is unparalleled. It -P.R. Locular
was Literati who proposed
the widely accepted 6-
Fathom Theory. But their
desire to break apart all the
mysteries of the depths is
often their undoing. For
example, many Literati are
engaged in an academic race
to be the first to reach
Fathom X and return; a
pursuit with a 100%
mortality rate (so far).

Many Literati simply do not

appear on Fathom Zero at
all, as their work keeps them
anchored deeper below.
When they do it is as
researchers: scientific,
academic, or governmental.
Lady Justice
Fathom 0: A figure carved
into a courthouse. Invoked
at times in a Trial or when
violence must be disguised.

Fathom 1: A spectral figure

of a blindfolded woman,
sometimes in a robe or a
dress, who appears when the
rule of law is threatened.
Does not directly intervene,
but inspires others to act.

Fathom 2: The same figure

but opaque, varying in size
based on the situation. May
communicate and intervene
physically here, and will
attempt those in that order.

Fathom 3: The same woman

but also a courthouse, a
prison, a statue. a massive
set of scales. She does not
transform. To see her is to
see all of these things at
once. Your vision an inter-
woven mesh of legal imagery,
difficult to even look at.

Fathom 4 (+?): The truth of

Lady Justice revealed. Like
an abyssal creature with a
lure, the form of the woman
is no more than a helpful
appendage. In truth, Lady
Justice is a vision of a “truly
just” world. All laws obeyed,
all cases closed, all guilt
cleansed. A silent, black and
white world. Do not stay for
long, as it cannot abhor a
mar upon itself.
Lady Justice Resistance: D10, Conceptual Difficulty: Risky
(continued) (Cannot be harmed except by Instincts: Inspire the just
equipment with the True tag) towards perfection. Seek
Protection: 2 guilt. Punish “criminals.”
Power: D6-D12, depending Moves: Identify guilt.
on how grievous she Deliver punishment
perceives a crime to be. (physical or conceptual). Aid
in their reform.

Special Ability: Hold Court

If Lady Justice perceives an The drifter or their allies
“unprocessed” individual at may take actions to fill the
Fathom 2 and below, and is first of these and Lady
not otherwise occupied, she Justice may mark stress on
will immediately put them the second on failures or
on trial. She will alter space, mixed successes. If Lady
minimally at higher fathoms Justice’s problem completes
(two podiums, one for her first, the player receives an
and one for the defendant) appropriate sentencing of
or significantly at deeper her choice. However, Lady
fathoms (summoning a court Justice cannot immediately
and jury of the defendant’s cause a sentencing to occur
peers). If there are multiple (outside of Fathom 4), she
characters to choose must punish them herself, by
between, she will select the hand. Characters can flee a
one with the deepest guilt. sentencing, but Lady Justice
will not stop pursuing them.
Ask the drifter on trial: What
past action causes your After extracting her
character to feel the most punishment, Lady Justice
guilt? Lady Justice will will offer an Order knack
accuse the player character related to the crime, as long
of this action, and ask how as they do not repeat the
they plead. Create two crime. If they do, the knack
problems, depending on the is lost, and Lady Justice will
current fathom (D4-D6 for place the character on trial
Fathom 2, D6-D8 for again if given the
Fathom 3, etc.) and how opportunity.
heinous Lady Justice views
the crime and plea.
Grand Guardian
Fathom 0-2: Sometimes, you Fathom 3: In the depths, the Special Ability: System Wipe
feel like you woke up on the Grand Guardian appears
wrong side of the bed. Like surprisingly human, just When the Grand Guardian is
somethings off and you can’t many times larger than the deployed, start a problem
quite put your finger on it. City. Like a child putting equal to the number of
This can just be anxiety or a away their toys they loom districts in your City. Every
variety of other quirks of the over the City. They time the players are not
brain. But sometimes it’s systematically pull each actively engaging the Grand
because there was a split in district apart, snapping roads Guardian, delete a district of
the timeline. like loose strings, dribbling the City, either as a
concrete as they carry off consequence, or at the end
The theory goes: every buildings, and entirely of every situation.
action you take splits the ignoring the people and their
timeline, and so we live cries. GM Note: A Grand Guardian
alongside countless parallel should not be deployed
realities. The former is true, Fathom 4 (+?): A massive lightly in a campaign. We
but the latter is not. figure, scoping up the raw recommend using them as a
concepts of reality and reaction when the player
Call it what you like: Order, carrying them away. characters do something that
Fate, Destiny, Reality’s seems very wrong or when
Immune System - it kicks in Resistance: D20. Filling this they have been explicitly
when the timeline splits. A does not kill the Grand acting against forces like
Grand Guardian is Guardian: it simply drives Fate or Order. Even in this
summoned to defend the them off, buying you time case, only deploy one if the
timeline and to clean up any with however much of the players are on board.
spares. Their work is almost City is still left.
invisible in the upper Protection: 0 A Grand Guardian can be
Fathoms, except that they Power: D12 Heavy, Heavy, stopped permanently, but
don’t complete their work all Spread it’ll be up to your players
at once. With a good enough Difficulty: Extreme (and their new rogue
view you can watch as the Instincts: Fulfill your duty. timeline) to determine how.
districts vanish. Moves: Destroy a City block.
Tear apart infrastructure. Put
something troublesome
away.
Grand Guardian
(continued)

Note from our Editor, P.R.

Locular: Two notes in one
section hardly keeps with my
editorial standard, but it felt
necessary. Despite the tone of
this entry, we have no direct
evidence of the existence of
Grand Guardians. “Aha,” my
fellow Literati say, “But if
they didn’t exist, why haven’t
we ever found a parallel
timeline?”
I, at least, find this an
unconvincing basis of an
argument. While I have seen
thaumaturgical evidence that
suggests their existence,
maybe questions remain. Are
these giant creatures agents of
Fate? Does Fate exist, or is
there some other entity
dispatching these things?
Have they truly erased all
parallel timelines? I pray, dear
reader, that you will not have
to answer these questions.
Style
If Fringe gives us outsiders,
Style tells us what’s in. Style
is the domain of aesthetic,
vogue, and popularity. A
powerful force for those who
wield it, but be careful: it’s all
too easy to fall out of fashion.

-P.R. Locular

Mirror
Fathom 0: Sometimes
looking in a particular mirror
in a particular light you just
seem better. You might find
yourself returning there to
take selfies, if you do that
sort of thing.

Fathom 1: The improvement

is almost unbelievable. In
this mirror you look the best
you ever have, the best
version of yourself. Easy
enough to get caught staring
for a while.

Fathom 2: You can look past

yourself, this deep, at the
Resistance: D4 + 1 for each GM Note: For a job, consider
better world beyond your
visit from it’s target putting your players up
reflection. The perfect world
Protection: 0 against a mirror that has
for you, the kind you’ve
Power: D6 to most, D8 already had several visits
dreamed of.
Heavy to it’s target from an NPC target, and/or
Difficulty: Controlled already has them trapped
Fathom 3: It’s no longer a
Instincts: Seek and capture inside.
mirror: it’s a portal, and you
attention.
can step through the looking
Moves: Find a target. Project
glass.
a flattering image. Tempt
someone inside.
Model
Fathom 0: A Model, plain Resistance: D6 Instincts: Grow and retain
and simple, but of course Protection: 1 beauty. Control those who
nothing could be plain or Power: D8, Specialty: Those could help or harm you.
simple about them. They are Attracted to or Enamored by Moves: Enchant with a
beautiful, because they are You glance. Deliver a perfect,
the standard by which Difficulty: Risky scathing line. Unleash your
beauty is defined. beauty.

Fathom 1: Anything that was

beautiful or desirable about
them is only more so,
emphasized as if underlined.
They seem more expansive
in other ways as well. They
might watch you from the
cover of a magazine, and
recognize your face later on.

Fathom 2: Their concept

expands further, and their
features grow all the more
distorted, and yet somehow,
beautiful still. Their form
appears now more cartoony
or caricature-like. Impossibly
long lashes, impossibly full
lips, skin as smooth as stone
or plastic or metal.

Fathom 3: No longer human

here, and yet still
enthralling. A vision you
can’t look away from, like a
classical work of art and a car
wreck, all at once. They may
still be humanoid, but it’s
more likely the features that
grew more prominent with
the depth of fathoms have
taken precedence. A floating
collection of eyes, a pin-
wheel of spinning legs, a
smile the size of a truck.
Shutter
Fathom 0: A photographer Fathom 2: The Shutter’s Resistance: D6
of the most uncomfortable head appears as a Protection: 1; Beneath their
variety. Someone who monstrously over-sized clothes, they’re guarded by
pressures, cajoles, or tricks camera, lens seeking victims the same glowing film that
the vulnerable into modeling like a bloodhound’s snout. covers their victims.
for them, leading to photos Their body may change, as Power: D6 Spread (group
that reflect the Shutter’s well, limbs like a tripod, photo, everyone), D8 Heavy
vision of who they are. torso like a viewfinder or (if given the time to set an
Amateur or professional, it literal shutter. individual portrait photo
doesn’t matter: What If they have a studio or red up), or D4 (any physical
matters is their dedication to room, it changes with them: altercation, not their strong
pushing their vision of Trophies from victims suit)
others. throughout, demonstrating Difficulty: Risky, Dangerous
their drive, be it artistic, in their studio
Those photographed by the power, or a devotion to Instincts: Locate a “muse.”
Shutter have a tendency to some higher entity, even if Seize every advantage to
change, growing more like that entity is themselves. grow your collection. Dictate
their photographic your vision. Ingratiate
depictions: an alluring photo On Fathom 2, the effect they yourself among the powerful
leading the subject to have on the subjects’ and stylish. Show off your
become even more perception becomes literal. work.
glamorous, a provocative You can watch as with each Moves: Prep the space.
photo driving the subject to camera flash, the Shutter Cajole or manipulate. Take a
offend others, or a projects their vision, their shot. Flee if things grow too
depressing photo leading the perception onto the victim. serious.
subject into nihilism. At first, it hovers over them
like a golden film, but it
Fathom 1: As Fathom Zero, twists in closer, eventually
though their eyes flash like a trapping the subject in its
camera’s bulb. mesh, forcing them to be
what the Shutter demands
that they be.
Shutter(continued)

Special Ability: Obscura

The Shutter’s signature

ability. When used against a
drifter, decide in advance
how the Shutter would most
like to capture them in film:
alluring, disturbing, depressing,
et cetera. When their photo
is taken, ask the drifter if
they reject this perception of
themselves. They may roll
Stand + Style to try and
shake off this perception. If
they accept this vision of
themselves (or suffer fallout
at a Shutter’s hands), they
suffer the Nerve fallout
Schema as their attitude and
presentation shift to better
communicate this perception.
While under the effects of
Schema, the drifter has
advantage on Manipulate
rolls and double disadvantage
on Connect rolls.

Special Ability: Selfie

If the Shutter is cornered,

they may choose to turn
their camera upon
themselves, gaining +1
Protection and increasing all
their attacks by one dice step
as they work to convince
themselves that they are
strong and powerful. A
normal Shutter can only do
this once per situation.
Trend
Fathom 0: A fast-spreading Fathom 2: The marks gather Resistance: D4 to clear it
trend! The latest craze! It now, converging to bubbles from an individual, D16 to
could be among children: suspended on long stalks, clear it completely (or can
some sort of collectible or rising like makeshift antennae find and fill four D4
digital gadget or a shining, from heads, arms, or torso. Resistances to clear the
spinning whatsit, or among The Trend’s tendrils shiver in trend from “super
adults: bread baking, delight when close to an spreaders”).
crocheting, or a particular open host, bursting and Protection: 0
piece of media that leaving the marks seen on Power: D4 Spread. A normal
dominates water-cooler talk. Fathom 1. person trying to argue with
you about their hobby, a
Fathom 1: As Fathom Zero, A Trend can run rampant conversation held loudly in a
but fans of the trend seem through a community, only shop, a gaggle of people on
marked: flecks of dirt or to dissipate just as quickly, the sidewalk trading notes.
paint dotting their arms, while others hang on for Difficulty: Risky
their heads, their clothes. years or even decades. While Instincts: Spread.
Something easy to excuse as they’re often nothing but an Moves: Gently guide the
normal, but that lets you annoyance, they are still host’s behavior. Offer a taste
spot them in a crowd. dangerous: Infected drifters of what’s so exciting about
can have exhibit strange and all of this. Burst to infect or
unpleasant side-effects, and damage.
a talented or lucky sorcerer
of Style can turn a Trend to
their own selfish and
destructive aims (e.g.
cryptocurrency).

Special Ability: Infection

An Infected, drifter may
If a drifter takes fallout in attempt to infect an
range of a Trend, they can uninfected character by
become Infected. This can getting them excited about
be applied to any of the their new interest with an
drifter’s Resistances. While appropriate roll. On a
Infected, if the drifter has success, the drifter heals D8
the chance to engage with Nerve stress and the
the Trend and they don’t, targeted character also
they take D6 Nerve stress. becomes Infected (taking a
fallout if they are an anchor).
Grand Logo
Fathom 0: You can see them Fathom 1-2: Just at the cliff Fathom 3+: The Logos take
everywhere. Icons and of the UnReal, a Logo on preferred forms.
symbols of wealth, power, changes dramatically. No Beautiful, terrible visions,
and control. Logos have longer just symbols: Now like ancient gods
come in and out of style over they are. A fashion label of a transplanted to modern day,
time - once “SPQR” flanked stylized eye begins to blink. wielding godlike power:
by laurels was known An iconic piece of fruit whatever faculties their Real
throughout much of the emblazoned on your phone Logo represents. A fashion
world - while new ones can sprouts. A cartoon mascot Logo takes on radiant beauty
emerge at any moment. You turns to face you. All limbs, like Aphrodite, an energy
wear them on your clothes, sensory devices, and company Logo thrums with
have them emblazoned on conceptual outputs of the electric, virile power like
your devices, carved into or Grand entity lurking below. Zeus, and so on. They appear
bolted onto buildings. In the Primed to grab your sometimes in conglomerate
Real, their effect is subtle. attention and never let go. pantheons, but others as
Insidious. lone spirits.
A reminder of power, a
transient attempt at control. But while they can wield
incredible power, they are
most concerned with the
appearance of power (still
beings of Style, after all), and
so only rarely take sweeping
action. When they do, it is
most commonly a physical
metaphor for an action taken
by their associated Real
entity. For example, an
energy company Logo might
grow angry and lash out,
causing a blackout. But at
the same moment, in the
Real, a service worker
accidentally cut a power line.
Which caused which? In the
end, the effect is the same.
Resistance: D8-D12 or even
more, depending on the
“strength” of what the Logo
signifies in the Real. Filling
this Resistance will not “kill”
the Logo, but it will weaken
it and the “popularity” of
what it signifies in the Real.

Defeating a Grand Logo

might lead to customers
swapping allegiance to a
different fashion label,
energy company, political
candidate, et cetera. Lower
its Resistance, protection,
and power by one step if this
happens.

To fully “kill” the logo - and

its associated Real entity -
the drifters must whittle it
all the way down to D4, and
then finally squash it.
Protection: 1, 2, 3 or more,
as with Resistance
Power: D6-D10 or more, as
with Resistance
Difficulty: Dangerous
Instincts: Express your
dominion over your
associated domain. Vie for
power. Punish any who do
not display suitable
reverence.
Moves: Demonstrate your
majesty. Grandstand.
Threaten. Bring the full
weight of your Real entity
down upon someone (as a
last resort).
 Wild Things
Wild Fathom 0: Creaking floor-
boards, movement out of
Fathom 2: Shadows melt
away revealing branches and
Nature, Gaia, Terra, The the corner of your eye, bones, seeds and skulls.
Planet, The Goddess, the something rustling in your Creatures constructed from
Wild domain has gone by walls. dead flora and fauna. Each
many names. While it had a one trying to protect some
brief renaissance roughly half Fathom 1: Shadows in the bit of the Wild.. A stem
a century ago, the general shape of urban animals: bursting through the
trend has been a weakening of birds, rats, raccoons, concrete, a mold growing in
the domain in the modern era. possums. Cats or dogs as your apartment walls, vines
well, but only where you swallowing a utility pole.
But a weak domain can still might find feral ones in the
wield incredible power, and Real. In every case, a place Resistance: D6. They crumble
inexperienced drifters quickly where an animal “shouldn’t” or into nothing when killed.
learn what it means to fall be. Protection: 0
from the top of the food Power: D4
chain. Difficulty: Controlled
Instincts: Nurture a bit of
-P.R. Locular wild, defend it to the last.
Moves: Bear your fangs or
claws. Make yourself seem
bigger. Strike with intent.

GM’s Note: Wild Things are

intended to be sympathetic,
and to confront your players
with difficult decisions. It
would be simple if Wild
Things were growing a patch
of black mold in the
mansions of the rich and
powerful, but the rich and
powerful have expensive
pesticides and expert
maintenance, so they tend to
be found in poor and
marginalized folks’ homes.
They’re simple enough for
even inexperienced delvers
to deal with, but hurting
them shouldn’t feel like a
win.
Cryptid
Fathom 0: A strangely Resistance: D6 Instincts: Survive, find food,
shaped tree branch, a plastic Protection: 1 reproduce
bag caught on a fence, Power: D6 Moves: Track down food.
someone in a gorilla suit Difficulty: Risky Build a den. Defend yourself.
walking in the woods. And Leave signs in the Real.
yet, just for a moment, you
could swear it was
something else.

Fathom 1: Every so often a

normal, everyday person will
slip down into Fathom 1.
There they may spot an
impossible creature in its
unnatural habitat.
Sometimes, they return with
evidence: a fuzzy
photograph of Nessie or
video footage of Bigfoot. But
most often they return with
nothing but unlikely stories.

Cryptids of all sorts can be

found on Fathom 1, an entire
ecosystem clinging in the
cracks between reality and
metaphor. A Sasquatch
swats a Jersey Devil away
from her young. A pack of
Chupacabra are chased away
from a kill by a Mongolian
Death Worm. Their activities
are rationalized away in the
Real. Taken as the work of
coyotes, bears, wolves, or
disease. Just like those Real
animals, they too are slowly
losing their habitats and
ways of life- but they haven’t
lost yet.
Flower Child
Fathom 0: In the Real, a Resistance: D6 GM Note: A Flower Child
Flower Child may appear as Protection: 1 can be an ally or an enemy.
an animal acting with a Power: D6 Piercing Lean into their revolutionary
specific purpose. A bird Difficulty: Risky spirit, or demonstrate their
picking apart a cop car, a Instincts: Defend nature. privileged position and their
shark biting through an Detest (most) humans. Live preference for animal lives
undersea internet cable, a rat to fight another day. over human ones. Either
carrying off a pizza. They Moves: Collect information way, they’re driven and
may, more rarely, appear as a on a target. Strike fast when undeterred, regardless if
loud eco-friendly human, an opening presents itself. their actions create
appearing at a rally or Run when things get unintended victims.
demonstration, or just to dangerous.
yell at someone for eating
meat. They never
“transform” in Fathom Zero:
there’s just sometimes an
animal and sometimes a
human.

Fathom 1-2: If in an animal

form, a Flower Child will
have a distinct tell at this
depth: human eyes, a human
voice, and so on. Conversely,
in their human form they
will have a mark of the Wild
domain: living plants in their
hair, glowing green eyes, or
patches of dense hair, scales,
or feathers.

Fathom 3: Here, there’s no

distinction between animal
or human forms: a Flower
Child appears as a
combination or overlap of
both. Too many limbs, too
many eyes, shifting wings or
horns or claws, ready to tear
any enemies of the Wild to
shreds.
Trophy Hunter
Fathom 0: Trophy Hunters Resistance: D6. Trophy Special Ability:
saturate themselves in the Hunters take great pains to The Most Dangerous Game
Wild to subjugate it. They’re make themselves difficult to
people who want nothing hit, but once you hit them, If a Trophy Hunter takes
more than to share a picture they crumple. interest in a drifter (or a
of themselves lording over a Protection: 2 beast related to a drifter -
docile jungle beast - and Power: D6 Heavy Keepers beware!) they may
they’re willing to sedate it, Difficulty: Risky begin a Safari. Start a D8
break its limbs, or kill it, all Instincts: Seek impressive problem representing the
for the perfect picture. An prey, always. Hunt for sport. Trophy Hunter’s study of
urban elite with a wild Be king of the jungle. their target’s behavior,
animal on a leash. Someone Moves: Take center stage. habits, and vulnerabilities.
running a pet-the-tiger Narrate the qualities and When the problem
event. Someone hunting vulnerabilities of a target. completes, the Trophy
wolves from a helicopter. Demonstrate your affinity to Hunter can appear on a job
the beast. Strike hard and at any time, dealing stress to
Fathom 1-2: As Fathom Zero, fast from a position of the player as if the player
but the monster and the power. Brag as you strike the had failed a roll.
fettels they inflict on the perfect pose.
wild are literal. The hunter is
clad in furs and sharp talons
from beasts they’ve bested,
and the creatures subject to
their whim are bound and
yoked for all to gawk and
admire.

Fathom 3: A person dressed

in a cartoonish parody of a
beast, showing the world
what they think of the Wild’s
claim to power and prestige.
Slung over its back is an
arsenal of guns and cameras,
ready to deploy in search of
their next great prey.
Tempest
Fathom 0-1: A tornado. An
earthquake. A hurricane. A
demonstration of the terrible,
unshackled majesty of the
natural world.

Fathom 2: Shapes forming in

clouds, cracks, mud, or lava,
but still indistinct, roiling
masses of concepts, too
many and too fast to make
out.

Fathom 3+: Once, humanity

called natural disasters the
works of the gods. Now,
humanity has robbed reason
from the storms, replacing
personality with physics. It
takes the form of a massive,
headless giant. Streets flood,
buildings crumble, and glass
shatters in its wake. It is raw,
mythic power: a god without
reason or purpose.

Resistance: Multiple D10s

equal to the severity of the
Tempest (a Cat-5 Hurricane
is 5D10). Resolving each
problem reduces its severity
down one level (from Cat-5
to Cat-4). Actions only affect
a Tempest on Fathoms 3 and
below (How do you punch a
storm?)
Protection: 3
Power: D12
Difficulty: Extreme
Instincts: None
Move: Move until you can
move no longer.
JOBS
 Deadheads at the Body Shop

A gang of Deadheads have

taken up residence around
the Body Shop, run by
Mother Mayai, a Form fixer
and ally of yours. They're
scaring off customers and
harassing her neighbors.

Mother wants them off her

property, and she doesn't
much care how you do it.
She’ll pay you a Witch’s
Charm (D8 Style, Fragile) for
the trouble.
 Structure Backstory Approaches
Players will likely start by Prelati’s work with Doom Attack - The crew could
investigating the Deadheads consumes his Form, leaving decide to directly attack the
around the Body Shop, and him hollow. He used to use Deadheads. This is the
how they’ve set up shop (so Mother Mayai’s skill as a simplest option, but also a
to speak). They will likely Fixer to reduce this, but she risky one if they don’t find
learn about the Deadheads found out what he’d been up out how the Deadheads have
killing off three of the four to and cut him off. prepped for such an attack.
members of a small crew of
drifters in a previous Prelati brought the Stealth - The crew could try
confrontation. Deadheads under his control to sneak into Prelati’s
by exposing them to the workshop to try to confront
They may end up learning “Thrill of Death” in the form or kill him.
about and investigating their of raw Doom, a process that
sponsor/Doom dealer/boss, is slowly hollowing them Candor - The crew could try
Prelati. They may dig into out, starting with their to talk the Deadheads out of
Prelati and Mother Mayai’s heads. their service to/dependence
history, and find alternative on Prelati, but this would be
ways to resolve the whole The Deadheads are hooked VERY difficult and risky at
situation. on Doom now, and are doing best.
Prelati’s bidding. In this case,
The drifters can “win” by “starving” Mother Mayai out Flimflam - The crew could
removing the Deadheads until she’ll agree to heal try to pretend to be Prelati
directly or indirectly from Prelati again (but they’re to the Deadheads or pretend
the Body Shop in a way that waiting for her to be a bit to be Deadheads to Prelati,
they won’t just return more desperate before or a variety of other fun lies
immediately, plus remove revealing this). to exploit the situation.
the various traps the
Deadheads put up. Mother already tried to clear Arcana - They could attempt
them out with another group a counter-ritual to strip the
of drifters - this didn’t go traps put up around the
well (see the character entry Body Shop by the
for T, another drifter, for Deadheads.
more info), but she doesn’t
know this.
 Locations
The Body Shop
Domains: Doom and
Common (Outside), Fringe
and Capital if they can get
inside

Description: A standalone They have two traps waiting The purpose of the traps is
two story brick building with besides, themselves: to keep Mother inside and
a wraparound fire escape. take care of anyone trying to
Mother Mayai lives on the Motorcycle skid marks in a get her out, along with
second floor and runs the wide circle around the creating all the space they
Body Shop on the first. It building. Stepping past these need to “challenge” anyone
appears to be a tattoo and immediately drops the target who gets close to a fight, a
piercing parlor in the Real. to Fathom 2, making them race, or some other death-
Currently it is surrounded at functionally invisible to defying trial where they can
all times by 3-9 Deadheads those in the Real. put their lives on the line.
(average of 6), hanging out They’re bored and crave
on a bench in front, on the Oil in a tight ring around the stimulation.
fire escape, and leaning building, that will
against the walls. Their automatically burn (D10
motorcycles are nearby at all Heavy) any who attempt to
times. step through it unaware.

Prelati’s Workshop
Domains: Common and Wild
(outside), Doom and Capital
(inside in the front), and
Doom and Crime (in the
back)

Description: A workshop of a However, they do their best Inside in the front are three
necromancer. In the Real it not to be seen per Prelati’s phages who act as the
appears as a funeral parlor, orders, entering and exiting funeral parlor’s newly
an excellent cover for through the back and only at “hired” staff.
someone in Prelati’s line of odd hours. The workshop is
work. The remaining 3-9 otherwise quite nice, with
Deadheads are either here or large park grounds
out on other jobs. surrounding it on either side.
 Characters and Threats
Deadheads Prelati the
Necromancer
he/him
Description: A diverse range Currently working for Prelati
of leather-wearing punks due to his ability to grant Description: A miserable
(most with tattoos, piercings them the momentary little troll of a man, thinks
and/or colored hair). Google thrilling bliss of Doom. he’s the smartest guy in the
“punk [X]” and there you However, this is an uneasy room and doesn’t hide it.
have it. The only alliance and the Deadheads Happy to wield his pawns
commonality is their leather resent the “boring” work of haphazardly, as he can
jackets with a skull and besieging the Body Shop. always get more. Hellbent on
“Deadheads” emblazoned making Mother Mayai suffer
on the back. Names: Rogue, Danger, Fury, at least and reopen her shop
Brutus, Sneer, Savage, to him at best. He wears an
Think 1980s teen movie Shredder, Chaos, etc. apparently too-large suit
villains (The Lost Boys, that seems loose on what
Gremlins, Goonies, etc.). Motorcycle Names: most assume to be a wiry
Constantly grinning Thanatos, Reaper, Grim, etc. frame. In truth and on
wickedly, laughing at their Fathoms 2 and below, there’s
own jokes, and looking for a See the DEADHEAD entry in simply nothing but bones
thrill. They’ve killed before the Bestiary for more detail. beneath it. Prelati at this
and they’ll happily do it point is little but a living
again. They aren’t afraid to Additional Special Ability skeleton, with flesh only on
die as their benefactor can Call the Boss his hands, head, and neck.
sort that out easily enough
(or so they think). A dozen A down but not out Resistance: D10, despite his
of them in total, though Deadhead can choose to call empty frame, Prelati has a
always split between at least Prelati. This starts a D4 (in a thick cushion of Doom,
a few locations. district they control) or making him a bit sturdier
larger (depending on the than most Necromancers
distance to their boss)
problem till Prelati, more Power: D10, as an
Deadheads, or the Phages experienced Necromancer
appear. Prelati’s magic bites a bit
harder.

See the NECROMANCER entry in

the Bestiary for more detail.
Mother Mayai the T Phages
Witch she/her
she/her
Description: A drifter whose Prelati has three phages he
Description: Mayai like the crew (the Bookies) was has created from the remains
East African dish and like destroyed by the Deadheads of the Bookies crew, working
“May I”. A powerful UnReal when they attempted to the front of his Funeral
witch facecast as Erykah access the Body Shop. Parlor. Privately, he will refer
Badu. Runs the Body Shop, to them only by their letters,
and a powerful Form Fixer in The Deadheads challenged but in front of others, will
her own right, capable of them to one-on-one fights use code names:
providing “new flesh” to and killed the three other
those in need of it. Mother members of her crew, with • A: Ace
keeps herself aloof and her as the only one • B: Bea
mysterious (part of her remaining. She’s currently • C: Selina
charm), but has still in the local hospital.
uncompromising morals The Phages themselves will
(thus her cutting off Prelati). T escaped by using her attempt to get out of any
Media abilities to distract conversation, exchanging
She doesn’t share that the her opponents with a empty pleasantries.
Bookies already attempted momentary illusion of the
this Job as she assumes they thrill of Doom, dazing them. However, if they suspect
just never showed. someone knows about their
Increasingly desperate, and She can inform the crew of true form, they will
frustrated by her entrap- the Deadheads methods and immediately attempt to kill
ment. Confident in her traps, and can even them as surreptitiously as
power but not confident speculate on the existence of possible.
enough to take on a gang of Prelati and his and the
Deadheads single-handedly. Deadheads’ uneasy alliance, See the PHAGE entry in the
if she is persuaded to open Bestiary for more detail
Mother Mayai shouldn’t take up. Facecast as Sun Li, T like
to the field, but if she does, the letter but also T like
you can draw on the Media tomboy in Chinese lesbian
playbook and the MODEL culture.
Bestiary entry for
inspiration.
Forecast and the Futurist
Forecast (he/they) was an
enigmatic musician, activist,
and general artist in the City
who, after a flash of cult
popularity, vanished without
a trace roughly ten years ago
. Recent construction has
revealed a hidden workshop
of theirs, previously sealed
inside an abandoned
building.

The (self-proclaimed)
Mad Jenny, an aspiring
artiste and owner of a Fringe
Fink Haunt (artist gallery in
the real), wants you to get in
and locate a set of rumored
Prophetic Zines (D12 Fringe,
Fragile, Illicit) Forecast was
supposedly working on
before his death.

The only problem is that

rumors have it that the
government had Forecast
killed to stop the publication
of these exact zines. Mad
Jenny will pay you each a
Wad of Cash (D8 Capital,
Awkward) for your trouble,
but she may not last long if
the Agents in pursuit of
those zines catch on to
where they end up.
 Structure Backstory
Players will likely start by During the Job, they’ll enter In truth, Forecast was a
investigating the something of a race Velveteen, an UnReal
construction site, finding it regardless of their approach, creature associated with the
already locked down and trying to quell or defeat the future seeking to become
crawling with Beat Cops and Futurist and find the Zines human. They brought their
construction worker Fellows. before the Agents can stop pet(?) Futurist with them
them. into the Real. Originally
As long as the players don’t Forecast had no luck living as
pass the fence, they can still The approach they choose a “human artist”, until they
gather information without will color this race: Are they began to incorporate their
it becoming an action roll. trying to defeat the Cops, knowledge of the future into
There, they might hear Fellows, and Futurist before their music, activism, and
rumors about a special pair the Agents can arrive? Are art, which their human peers
of Agents (see below) they trying to keep the interpreted as cutting
arriving soon from “out of Cops, Fellows, and Agents “artistic insights”.
town” to investigate the distracted long enough to
unearthed workshop. They deal with the Futurist and Unfortunately for Forecast,
may also get an initial hint of zines? Are they trying to go the increased use of the
the presence of the Futurist quick and quiet, stealing the future alerted the
(see below). safe key off the Futurist government, which
without alerting anyone? eventually dispatched a pair
Alternatively, the players of Agents to deal with them.
may investigate Forecast’s They can “win” by getting But Forecast had already
background from Style or the Zines to Mad Jenny and hidden his workshop,
Fringe anchors or contacts escaping with their lives. Futurist, and the zines in a
who were active in, or are safe in said workshop (with
knowledgeable about, the the key around the Futurist’s
artist scene ten years ago “neck”).
(including Mad Jenny).

They may instead investigate

Forecast’s death from Fringe
anchors or contacts
interested in conspiracies
(not including Mad Jenny).
They may dig into the
Agents or Futurist to gain an
advantage during the Job
itself.
 Approaches Locations

Attack - The crew could just The Flats

launch a frontal assault on Abandoned Building
the Beat Cops or Fellows. Construction Site
They will likely be able to
cut a path through them to Domains: Doom and Order
the workshop, but this will (outer ring) and Doom and
alert the Agents (starting a Fringe (inner ring)
problem for their arrival and
progressing it with time, Description: The Flats were The outer ring is dense with
even on perfect rolls). once warehouses that fifteen construction worker Fellows
years ago became an artist and more recently with a
Stealth - The crew could try commune centered around squad of Beat Cops, all
to sneak in, particularly the enigmatic Forecast. waiting for the arrival of the
under cover of darkness. Then, five years later, they Agents. The inner ring is
They’ll still need to avoid fell into disrepair after mostly abandoned, save for
Beat Cops and/or Fellows, Forecast’s death. For the an occasional teen sneaking
but the Agents will only get past few weeks, they’ve in to tag a wall already thick
closer on consequences. been steadily broken apart in with graffiti.
order to make way for a new
Candor - The crew could try building. The inner ring also houses a
to talk to a Fellow, small, now-padlocked
particularly if there’s one Today, the Flats are split into trapdoor leading to the
they already know, and try to two parts: an outer ring secret workshop of Forecast.
convince them to let them surrounded by a chain link This trapdoor is surrounded
in. fence and containing trailers, by yellow police tape and at
dumpsters, and various least one Beat Cop standing
Flimflam - The crew could demolition equipment, and guard.
try to pass themselves off as then an inner ring with the
Fellows or Beat Cops, or still-standing sections of the
otherwise distract them to original building.
draw as many as possible
away.

Arcana - The crew could

attempt to summon the
Futurist outside the
workshop, and convince or
bind it to their side, but such
an UnReal approach would
likely attract the Agents’
attention.
Forecast’s Workshop Mad Jenny’s Gallery
Domains: Fringe and Beyond Domains: Fringe and Capital

Description: A wide, Description: The self-

underground room with described “Mad” Jenny (an
desks and tables covering affectation she thinks makes
the walls and a large open her seem weird and artsy)
center featuring a map of the runs an arts gallery in one of
city drawn in chalk. The the poorer districts of the
desks and tables are full of city.
Forecast’s failed attempts at
human artistry. In truth, her disinterested,
unbelievably wealthy mother
Some of it is just bad, but bought Jenny the building
some of it is UnReal (e.g., a and funds her daughter’s
painting that seems to activities. The building has
depict an optical illusion on been recently renovated,
Fathom 0-1, but appears as a with Jenny filling it with as
portal that transports you a many paintings and pieces as
few seconds into the future she could find at thrift shops
on lower Fathoms). and garage sales, trying to
look suitably “poor” and
In one corner there is a large “artsy”. Players may visit
iron safe that thrums with either during the initial steps
Beyond energy. It can only of gathering information or
be opened by completing a (if things go very badly) in a
D12 problem to disperse the final confrontation with the
energy or by getting the key Agents.
of the Futurist’s “neck”. The
Futurist will rouse from its
slumber when anyone enters
the warehouse and will seek
to violently defend
Forecast’s work, including
the safe.
 Characters and Threats
Mad Jenny Beat Cops
she/her

Description: A child of Description: Following Names: Adam, Rick, Jim,

wealth, white, blonde, early orders from higher ups, Bobby, Barb, Lenny, Morgan,
30s. She tries too hard to be roughly twenty cops have Vic, Gina, etc.
weird and edgy, thinking this descended on the The Flats
makes her artsy and abandoned building See the BEAT COPS entry in
interesting. Obsessed with construction site. These cops the Bestiary for more detail.
reaching cultural popularity are nervous and jumpy,
through eclectic style, and ready to meet even the
happy to buy that style if suspicion of a threat with
necessary. violence. They’ve been told
they’re defending a
Mad Jenny is unaware of the previously undiscovered
UnReal and will not appear drop-site of the “terrorist”
outside Fathom Zero. Forecast until the
Facecast as Lady Gaga. appropriate Agents can
arrive to deal with it.

Fellows

Description: The At deeper Fathoms, they’ll Note: Some players may

construction (or demolition, instead appear as animate wonder if the Fellows are
to be specific) workers demolition and construction human, were human, or if
responsible for this build equipment. Consider having some of them are human and
site. Frustrated with the a stealthy group of players the others UnReal creatures.
presence of the Beat Cops, have to reason with a talking Do not answer this question
they just want to get back to cement mixer or similar or provide contradictory
work, but are unable until typically inanimate object. perspectives if you do.
the arrival of the Agents. As
such, they’re mostly just Names: Block, Armstrong, See the FELLOWS entry in the
loitering around the outer Langton, Buchanan, O’Neil, Bestiary for more detail.
ring. They won’t be in a Rhodes, Wash
hurry to raise an alarm if
they think a situation can be
dealt with quickly otherwise,
but they’ll call over Beat
Cops if threatened or if
things get out of hand.
Futurist Fathom 0-1: A sinking Resistance: D12
it/its feeling of another presence, Protection: 1; thick
of being stalked, of being blubber(?) cushions any
Description: Forecast’s “pet” hunted. An anticipation in blow
he brought with him into the the air of a potential future, Power: D8, Specialty: those
City when he decided to one of sudden violence. who have read its text
take up the role of the Difficulty: Risky
Velveteen and the quest to Fathom 2-4: A shark(?) with Instincts: Defend friend
become human. It has lain a halo of text, swimming Forecast’s place and stuff!
dormant since then, through the structure of the Tell people the Future
something like a City and specifically whether they like it or not!
hibernation? Does it need to Forecast’s Workshop. Its Wait for friend Forecast to
feed? Does it feed on body is gray but with an come back!
possibilities? It is deeply iridescent sheen, like it’s Moves: Swim through
defensive of Forecast’s place covered in oil. The text of its concrete like water. Pull a
and stuff, and will violently halo shifts and changes as target into a deeper Fathom.
attempt to deal with the situation continues. It Exclaim excitement for the
intruders. However, it is not hurts to read, but it seems to future.
by nature an aggressive exactly describe what will
being, and can be reasoned happen next. It has a single,
with given the right tactic. massive mouth split
vertically down its form.
It has not yet realized that There aren’t so much teeth Special Ability -
Forecast is dead. as serrated edges along it, “Your Future Looks Great!”
but they’re still plenty sharp.
Upon revealing itself, the
Futurist will happily exclaim
“Your Future Looks Great!”

Until the end of the current

situation, anyone can
automatically score a critical
success on their next roll
without having to roll,
simply by reading the
Futurist’s text halo, but they
must mark D10 stress to do
so.

For each drifter that choose

to take this option, ask what
they just read and how it
hurt them.
Agents Resistance: Two D12 Fathom 0-4: A pair of figures
they/them Resistance tracks, both must in black suits. No matter the
be filled before either agent situation or Fathom their
Description: A pair of goes down. When both fill, appearance remains
agents, sent from the higher the two agents leave the unchanged in its ambiguity,
ups outside the City. They City, promising to return. following the description
are like the more inhuman However, if the final stress is above. The only thing that
depictions of Men in Black or True instead one of the two changes at deeper Fathoms
the Agents of the Matrix agents drops dead and the is that their inhuman tells
franchise. Do not describe other flees, confused and become more obvious and
their appearance, only their alarmed. the aura surrounding them
finely-tailored suits, Protection: 1, the aura becomes more perceptible.
sunglasses, and strange surrounding the two figures
equipment. If a player cushions the blow Special Ability -
pushes you to describe Power: D10 Heavy, no “By the authority invested in
them, do so as either matter the situation the two us, you will…”
ambiguous or inconsistent in seem to pull out exactly the As a consequence, the
appearance, changing right piece of near-future Agents may give a specific
between situations. They do equipment for it. The order to a character (e.g.,
not seem to blink or breathe. equipment cannot be stolen, “not move from that spot”,
They do not understand it simply is not there when “cease all violence
common turns of phrase. not in use. immediately”, etc.). An NPC
They have an aura of Difficulty: Dangerous will follow this order without
absolute confidence and Instincts: Enforce the law, player intervention, but a
authority, perceivable even meet any Resistance with player character can ignore
on Fathom Zero. unstoppable force, collect or the order. However, every
destroy anything time the roll an action that
Names: They give different ʻdangerous’ to the City seeks to ignore the order,
names between Situations Moves: Fail to understand an they must first take 6 (not
and regularly swap names everyday idea. Take out the D6) Piercing stress.
within a Situation. Some perfect piece of seemingly
examples: War and Peace, futuristic equipment. Fail to GM’s Note
Sweet and Caroline, Black react to (“no sell”) a big hit.
and White, X and Y, Red and The Agents are meant to be
Blue, Adam and Eve, etc. a hard, potentially
Special Ability - impossible fight (depending
Special Ability - Let’s Straighten Out This on the crew of drifters).
We’re Already On Our Way Situation
Ensure you have used other
Once the players know When the Agents enter a characters to warn your
about the Agents, you may situation, they introduce the drifters about taking them
start a D12 problem for Order domain, if it is not on, don’t allow your players
them to arrive. already present. to seek them out unaware of
the danger.
Touchstones
Films: Dark City, The City of
the Lost Children,
Constantine (2005), Paprika,
The Falls, Everything
Everywhere All At Once

Television: The X-Files, Twin

Peaks, Kara no Kyoukai, Blood
Blockade Battlefront, YuYu
Hakusho, Sapphire and Steel,
Gravity Falls

YouTube: Gemini Home

Entertainment, Marble
Hornets, CalebCity

Podcasts: Magnus Archives,

Archive 81, Bluff City by
Friends at the Table

Music Videos:
Tightrope by Janelle Monae,
Henrietta Our Hero
by Kamasi Washington,
Not The One by Mikky Ekko

Art: The work of Trevor

Henderson, Dave McKean,
and René Magritte

Games: Control,
Voidheart Symphony,
The Secret World, and
the Persona series

Internet Concepts and

Urban Legends:
The Backrooms, The SCP
Foundation, the Slenderman
mythos, Polybius, and
wisemind
 Precursors
FATHOM was borne from a
desire to play lots of different
things, but none of which
quite felt right. It seems only
fitting to acknowledge that, in
our pursuit of creating a game
that feels a tiny bit like a lot of
different things, we have
borrowed, scraped, altered,
and cannibalized pieces of our
favorite games - both
mechanically, and
aesthetically - in order to
build our work.

What follows is an incomplete

list of those games that have
come before our own, whose
work has helped in some way
establish what we have made.
We are in their debt.

• Apocalypse World, • Lacuna, by Jared Sorensen

by Vincent and Meguey Baker • Rearguard, a Beam Saber supplement,
• Beam Saber, by Austin Ramsay by Rufus Roswell and Caro Asercion
• Blades in the Dark, by John Harper • Songs for the Dusk, by Kavita Poduri
• Dream Askew / Dream Apart, by Avery • Spire: The City Must Fall,
Adler and Benjamin Rosenbaum by Grant Howitt and Christopher Taylor
• Heart: The City Beneath, • The Sprawl, by Hamish Cameron
by Grant Howitt and Christopher Taylor • The Vampire, a Dungeon World
• Interstitial, by Riley L. Hopkins supplement, by Peter Johansen
• JAGS Wonderland, by Marco Chacon • Voidheart Symphony, by Minerva McJanda
 Version History
V.035 V.031

Revised all “clocks” to Somehow the text for how to You can now take 3 Fallouts
“problems” for consistency roll for Fallout got eaten by by default without having to
and clarity. an UnReal menace. Oops! worry about it. When you
There’s a new section called take a fourth Fallout, you'll
Revised “once per job” “Making a Fallout Check” take a Scar. That Scar is
abilities to instead read that makes this clear. informed by one of your four
“once per session” for Fallouts!
consistency and clarity. Fixed the pdf bookmarks.
The player chooses one of
Added “Dangerous” V.03 the four Fallouts (either the
difficulty contingency to new one the GM is about to
using drifter abilities outside * New rules for Fallout, award, or one of their
of a job. Scars, and Abandon existing ones) and turns it
into a Scar. That Fallout is
New crew playbook - the We have simplified Fallout now gone, but it's left a mark
Freaks! down to a single base on the drifter going forward.
category. There's no longer
Various fixes to out-of-date Minor or Major or Critical Gone is the Abandon clock -
terminology. Fallout, and Fallout doesn't we now simply just count
escalate up or down within the number of new Scars you
Velveteen - Gentle Giant categories. It's simply a thing get. When you hit 7 Scars
rewrite to account for rules that can happen to you, (counting the 3 your drifter
changes. which has longterm starts with!), then you're
consequences. forced to Abandon this life.
Returned - Signs -
Prognostication rewrite to We did this because it's 1)
make it more mechanically easier to keep track of, and
useful. 2) easier to generate. It's a
lot simpler to come up with
Media - Reputation is a cool idea for a Fallout
Everything rewrite to make it without having to consider
more mechanically useful. "okay but is that really Minor
fallout or is that more like
Major. Hmmmm." Now, you
can simply award Fallout
when it happens (using the
guidelines in the book, if you
need help) and carry on.
* Zenith Abilities * Jobs * New Echoes Guidance

Zenith abilities are a super- There's now two Jobs in the There's also a section in the
ability that you can take that book which you can run as GM Guide that talks about
spells the end of your one-shots, use as part of a Echoes - the sense that
character, one way or the campaign, or simply use as something is weird or off
other. They often involve a inspiration for your own while drifters are in the Real
culmination of the power, Jobs! - and how to reflect that in-
insight, and influence you've game.
managed to accumulate for - The first, Deadheads at the
yourself in the UnReal, and Body Shop, has a gang of * New Anchors!
all of them involve changing supernaturally Doom-
yourself - and often, the City addicted bikers terrorizing a We've wound up generating
- forever. But you can't fast- local tattoo parlor. But who a bunch of new anchors that
forward to the finish: each put them up to it, and why? you can use.
Zenith move has pre-
requisites that you have to - The second, Forecast and * Revised rules for The
fulfill in order to unlock the Futurist, has the drifters Grind
them. racing against the clock to
find some leftover We've decided to make the
Each playbook now has three prophetic(?) zines from a Grind - your character's Real
Zenith abilities for you to fringe artist's hidden studio - background and mode of
choose from. before the authorities get living - explicitly something
there first. you build from scratch,
rather than something you
* New Job Guidance would either pick from a list
OR build from scratch. This
There's a big new section on is both easier and more fun.
how to come up with your The pre-existing Grinds are
own Jobs - how long they still in the book as examples.
should be, how to frame a
situation, and how to reward * The Expert: Major Ability -
players with Valuables and Master at Arms.
Fallout.
Every playbook has five
major abilities to unlock.
The Expert inexplicably had
one missing from the text of
the game ever since
FATHOM was first
published. It's now properly
included with the game.
* The Exorcist: Downtime * New Sidebar: Domains V.025
Activity - Silver Bullet
Domains are something that Updated Fathom action
Compared to the other folks have had mixed rules:
playbooks, the Exorcist's understandings of, when
previous downtime ability - they playtest - we've added a Taking action in the UnReal
Stay Sharp - was feeling a bit sidebar in the domains no longer affects the number
mediocre. We've revised and section at the very front of of dice you roll to take
expanded the ability to make the book to explain in really action. Previously, you
the class feel a bit more like clear terms how to figure out suffered a -1d penalty for
a D&D hunter, with a which domain you should be each Fathom depth you were
knowledge and using. operating on. Instead, it
understanding of particular applies a Heavy tag to any
enemies in the UnReal. The * New Crews Guidelines - incoming and outgoing
Exorcist can use their new Assigning Haunts stress you might take, with
activity, SILVER BULLET, to the additional caveat that
improve their equipment We've made it explicit how the GM can elect to replace
against those foes - or the Haunts should get seeded an incoming Heavy tag with
equipment of their fellow into the game when you first an additional consequence of
drifters. They can also study begin playing. their choice.
new foes in the UnReal
wilderness and figure out * Other Stuff We've altered this rule
how best to eliminate them! because we want Fathom
Lots of fixes and changes to depths to be both exciting
* New Downtime Ability: text to fix typos, clarify rules, and scary, but not to the
Create an Anchor and make terminology more point where it's hard to DO
consistent. things, especially early in a
drifter's career. This both
simplifies the process and
Creating a new anchor has makes it more likely that a
always been implicitly drifter can build a good pool
something you could do of dice to take action, but
when you Work on a that the result will probably
Problem, but we've made it still be swingy in a startling
its own activity for ease of way. The optional rule that
understanding. It has some lets GMs switch out Heavy
guidelines on how tags for consequences gives
challenging (or not) it might GMs the chance to be
be to make a new anchor creative when a roll doesn't
with something Real. go a drifter's way if the
situation calls for it.
Made changes around the Changes around the Fixed a typo around what the
language of the UnReal, the language of particular things different types of Haunts
rules of the game, and and abilities were
objective truth
We've updated the Added a section
There are a number of "Monsters" section to distinguishing how Valuable
elements of the game, as- instead be referred to as the exchange works
written, that currently read "Bestiary", to help try and
as self-contradictory, such as make it clear that, while Removed the concept of
the Six-Fathom Theory's people within the City might "Power" from Fixers - a Fixer
questionable veracity living view these things as of any sort can now heal any
alongside the fact that the monsters, the writers of this amount of stress, to-scale
game has rules for dice itch.io RPG do not think it's with the Valuable (or Debt)
based on what Fathom that simple. that you pay. More on why in
you're on. We've added the next section in Fallouts.
additional language to stress We have also changed the
that the game and the way Velveteen ability "Code Whenever you gather
the world presents itself as Switch" to instead be called information, if you get
two different things, and "Translation Error" to try follow-up questions, you can
things like the truth about and reduce the number of ask them right away, or save
Fathoms (or other things, bad-faith readings of that them to ask during the job.
like the personhood of playbook's worth as a Neat!
UnReal creatures) should person.
not be taken as gospel or We added some language to
unvarnished, wiki-certified clarify that D4 is the default
truth about the world. If outgoing stress die.
Fathom is ANYTHING, it is
subjective. The Reaper - Minor Ability -
Manhunter - Declaring a
target to hunt is now a once-
per-job ability.
You no longer need to *** Two, the process for V.023
"downgrade" a fallout to getting rid of a fallout
remove it - you can simply already requires 1) a relevant Reworked Expert’s
visit a relevant Fixer and Fixer, 2) a downtime action, “Professional” to instead let
exchange a Valuable of and 3) a relevant Valuable. you use Poise to gather
appropriate size to have We've removed the fourth information in one difficulty
them fix your problem. requirement of 4) better, rather than simply in
downgrade the fallout to Controlled
This is a big one. We've Minor because it seemed like
made it a lot easier to heal overkill. On top of that.... Reworked Expert’s “Practice
yourself up when you take Makes Perfect” to be more
stress and take Fallouts, and Three, because our fallouts accessible and more
we've done so for a couple of are flat-affect and conjured forgiving.
different reasons. by the GM, rather than
pulled from a big list in the Reworked the “Hit the
One, because we've book, "downgrading" a Bricks” downtime action to
simplified - and restricted - fallout might often not make instead grant information
how many fallouts a given any mechanical sense. instead of Valuables
drifter can take (compared
to the 5 Harm boxes of a Because we've made this Expanded downtime
standard FITD character and simpler, however, we've also activities to allow for an
the myriad fallout a SBR raised the cost of getting rid extra dice if you invite
character can have), a drifter of a fallout, so that it's not another drifter along to help.
can stack up ongoing simply trivial. You can also now get extra
conditions really quickly. We progress towards a problem
want them to be impactful, - A Fallout costs a D8 by spending Valuables!
and they should be Valuable to get rid of
significant, but they
shouldn't completely shut Added “Precursors” section
down your ability to operate. to acknowledge our
After all, you tick the forebears and influences
abandon clock AND get a
scar whenever you get a Added “Resources”, mostly
Critical Fallout - that's to feature a link to the blank
lasting punishment enough. character Google Sheets!
V0.22 V0.2 - Initial release Added rules for “Acting in
the UnReal”
Added PDF bookmarks Clarified Vamp starting Vice
(starts a campaign or one- Revised Anchor fallout rules
Removed inaccurate/out-of- shot with 2 Vice in-hand) to match player fallout rules
date Fathom damage dice
step explanation on Action Sidebar for “Invoke” skill, Revised Media core abilities
Roll diagram given its weird nature and downtime ability to be
more broadly useful (and
Corrected a misspelling of Wrote up “Lend a Hand” hopefully more appealing.)
Caro Asercion’s last name. Revised some of her minors
Sorry, Caro! Changed Character Creation in response. Gave her an all
to include a minor anchor new “cast magic” ability,
Corrected “Domain Tags rather than a major one Abracadabra. Revised
Table” to “District Tags “Cursed Media” to be more
Table” Revised Candle anchor to generally useful. Rewrote
require more stress to push “Distortion Filter” to do
V0.21 more specificly disastrous
Made rules for rolling “less stuff.
New crew playbook: the than zero” dice explicit
Shadows. New anchor playbooks for
Sidebar for Getting Aid Media abilities, The Sponsor
Updated Version History to when Crossing the & the Audience
reflect everything we’d done Threshold
between 0.11 and now. Big list of touchstones,
Revised Resistances and content warnings, and Play
Added table of contents Clocks to “Problems.” Made To Find Out prompts for
changes to other rules and each of the class playbooks
abilities where appropriate.
New Safety section, adapted
Reworked Exorcist’s “Hex from the old sidebar in the
Hotwire” to be more explicit Vamp playbook
in intent
Crew rules and Crew
Reworked Exorcist’s playbooks. The initial four
“Supernatural Investigator” are the Busters, Cogs,
to glimpse other Fathoms Gumshoes, and Stringers.
just the adjacent one

Wrote “Descending into the

UnReal” section
 V0.11 V0.1 - Initial version!

Revised some Prisoner rules Revised Returned’s core Known to-dos:

to be more clearly applicable abilities in response to
to the Real and UnReal. playtesting, clarified • The Job
Revised a couple of Prisoner terminology.
anchors. Revised “Assuming • “How to Play”
Direct Control.” Defined “gyres” within the
UnReal. Defined the • Monsters
Renamed Resources to Prisoner’s secondary prison
Valuables. from WHAT DREAMS MAY COME • Revise playbook art is all
as a gyre. still stolen stuff from
New Valuable selections for touchstones
all playbooks. Every Clarified Fathom entry as
playbook now has one part of CROSS THE THRESHOLD
generally good Valuable and (and updated dice mechanics
one good-but-troublesome to reflect that challenge.)
Valuable to choose between.
Clarified terminology for
Fathom tags for all losing a skill or domain as
appropriate abilities. part of fallout.

Teased Zenith abilities for all Added Gather Information

playbooks. questions for all playbooks.

Wrote up example Fences. Added section defining

Playbooks and Agendas.
New sections for Player Added Agendas for all
Principles and GM Principles. playbooks. Revised
Lots of guidelines for Advancement rules to
applying Fallout. accomodate Agendas.
Removed PBTA “tick on
Some monster changes. failed roll.”

Various terminology
alignments and fixes.