BY M I K E Y H A M M

credits
W R I T I N G & L AYO U T INTERIOR ART SPECIAL THANKS
Mikey Hamm Galen Pejeau (52, 53, 57, 58, 61, 62, 63, Steph, Billie, & Wally
66, 67, 70, 115, 151, 152, 153) #hack_talk_yogurt
Sex on a Pizza (20, 30, 93, 116, 122, 123, Null Range
C O N S U LTAT I O N 124, 132, 133, 148, 159) Quantum Kickflip
Cass Rea, Emily Devereux, Ema Susanna Wong (9, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 73) Mum, Dad, Krist, Nath,
Acosta, Eskur, Ian Hart, Paul Blinov, Scott A. Ford (4, 38, 78, 79, 136) Ash, Jesse, Samson, Linus,
and Rowan, Rook & Decard. Halie Finney (37) Shep, Maggie, Iggy,
Rupam Grimoeuvre (83) Gram, Grampa, & Mama
Taylor Reese (126) Intrigue Con & Pe Metawe Games
COPY EDITING Mike Perschon (129) The Town of Three Hills
Ryan A. Markle Mikey Hamm (131) The Tegler Skatepark
Anthony, Deborah, & David
Tyler, Natalie, Joleen, Vin,
PROOFREADING C OV E R A R T Christina, Ben, Dacy, & Gunnar
Michael Elliot, Eskur, Michael Sex on a Pizza John Harper, Avery Alder,
Pelletier, Jeff Nelson, Grady Jaynes, Jason Morningstar,
Eric Brunsell, Joe Amon, River Ray, Grant Howitt, Chris Taylor,
MintRabbit, Ev, Victor Lane, Michael ADDITIONAL WRITING Robin Laws, & Ken Hite
Carens-Nedelsky, Laena, Sebastian Robyn Slack, Michael Elliott, and and, of course,
Schreiber, Kris, and Kathy Hamm. many guests (credited later on). My Sweet, Sweet Backers

Slugblaster Copyright © 2024 Mikey Hamm. All rights reserved. Version 1.3.
Published in 2024 by Mythworks (www.myth.works).
This work is based on Blades in the Dark (found at http://www.bladesinthedark.com/), product of One Seven
Design, developed and authored by John Harper, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
 contents
T H I S I S S LU G B L A S T E R 4 T H E F R E A K I N G M U LT I V E R S E 78
1 What This Game Is and How to Play It
3 Your World, Other Worlds, And Everything
Living In Both
Introduction 6
What Is Slugblasting? 10 Your World 80
How to Play 12 Null & Hillview 80
Overview, Structure, Advice 12 Bonus Hometowns 84
Do Stuff 18 Other Worlds 90
Take Slams 20 Making Portals 91
Look Cool 22 The Map 94
Downtime Beats 24 The Worlds 96
Opportunities & Challenges 26 Bonus Worlds 114
Run Ideas 28 Monsters 118
Epilogue 30 Factions 126
Demo 32 NPCs 141

B E I N G T E E N AG E R S 38 RUN THE GAME 142

2 Making Your Characters, Making a Crew,
4 How to be The Slugmaster
and Making It Big
What a GM Does 144
Make Yourself 40 Setup 146
The Grit 42 Pacing 148
The Guts 44 Tone 150
The Smarts 46 Decisions 153
The Heart 48 Danger 154
The Chill 50 Scenes 156
Signature Devices 52 Chase Demo 162
Gear 62 Change the Game 164
Make Your Crew 72 Solo Rules 168
Fame 76 Index 174
W H AT I S S LU G B L A S T E R ?
It’s puberty and laser beams, bug guts and
punk music. It’s skateboards and texting and
fights with your parents. It’s alien worlds
with your dumbest friends, it’s being in your
bedroom completely alone. It’s yesterday’s
colours, today’s feelings, tomorrow’s day-
dreams, and slang from five decades.

A dog-eared copy of
Slugblaster Magazine. What
started as a hand-stapled
zine named after a silly
inside joke eventually led
to a new teen phenomenon.

You’ll need to learn to

get eye-slime stains out.
Slugblasters do a lot of
laundry.

Sneakerheads are clamouring

for these special edition
Riftninja Indigos.

The multiverse wasn’t ready

for the ketchup-flavoured
potato chips dominating
the snack aisles of Null’s
northern prairies.
 -
-
W H AT T H I S G A M E I S
A N D H O W T O P L AY I T
intro- Welcome
In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by
wheat and canola, is the small town of

duc-
Hillview.

It doesn’t have a mall. It doesn’t have a

movie theatre. It doesn’t have a Turbo
Taco or a music venue or a liquor store
your aunt doesn’t work at.

tion
What it has is a gas station, a curling rink,
fourteen churches, a privately funded
particle energy physics lab that employs
half the town, and some of the thinnest
spacetime fabric on the planet. Thin
enough for a growing,
underground culture Based on the name
of bored teenagers of a DIY magazine
to slip into the vibrant
started by some of
the original members
planescape of exotic of the scene.
worlds just beyond.

They call it slugblasting. It’s dangerous.

It’s stupid. It’s got parent groups in a
panic.

This is Slugblaster, a And it’s the coolest thing ever.

tabletop roleplaying game So solder up your raygun, print some

hazwear in your dad’s garage, grab

about teenagehood, giant your hoverboard, and watch out for

metaterrestrials as you try to make a

bugs, circuit-bent rayguns, name for yourself in the highly competi-

tive, punk-rock world of interdimensional

hoverboard tricks, and action sports.

This is Slugblaster, a tabletop roleplaying

trying to be cool. game about teenagehood, giant bugs,
circuit-bent rayguns, hoverboard tricks,
and trying to be cool.

6
Who are you? The system
A sassy rich kid with a pair of modified time-skipping The rules system for Slugblaster is based on Blades in
Scram Cat® sneakers? A curious nerd with a custom the Dark, a game by John Harper. John’s rules are great
3D-printed gravity beam? A chill loser with a lovable for player-driven sandbox campaigns, free-form cinemat-
robot sidekick? An ultra-dimensional princess with a ic action scenes, stories about crews in over their heads,
hoverboard made from pure light? and improvised gameplay with lots of collaboration.

In Slugblaster, you and your friends mix and match And like a good slugblaster would, I’ve made some
personalties, signature devices, and other details to mods! I’ve stripped things out, bolted stuff on, and tuned
each create your own teenage character, then form a everything to support stories about adventure-seeking
crew with its own hangout spot, personal brand, and teenagers, as well as:
web of unique interpersonal dynamics. You and Sara are
cousins. Sara and Kiara met in preschool, Kiara is the ● Looking cool and doing tricks! Popping your gum in
only one who knows Kevin’s biggest secret, and Kevin slow-mo while you do a 1080 over jets of slime.
and you will never forget the hilarious and traumatizing ● Gear-hacking, component-collecting, and special
time those bullies trapped you both inside the school items with physics-insulting powers full of colour
dumpster with an angry magpie. and creative possibility.
● Fame and popularity! Get fans, earn sponsorships,
wear a t-shirt with your face on it.
What Do You Do? ●
●
More teamwork (but also more drama).
Really fun chases!
Blow off school and sesh the abandoned waterpark in ● Touching narrative downtime arcs, where you buy
Empyrean. Get the Miper sponsorship by speed-running scene prompts with points you earn during your
Prismatia. Salvage power crystals from moss-covered adventures.
decommissioned giga-mechs in The Golden Jungle. Go ● Dramatic, push-your-luck, third-act disasters!
viral by venturing into Quahalia without a logic binder. ● Satisfying campaign epilogues.
Sneak into the hottest party in Operaeblum.

Just make sure you get home before the demiplane N E W TO S LU G B L A S T E R ?

melts, or the bloodwhip swarm sucks your marrow out, Players familiar with Blades in the Dark and/or
or Rescue scoops you up and hauls you Dungeons & Dragons can check page 175 for a
back to the decontamination facility, or quick guide to adjusting to Slugblaster.
Ah, Rescue
that android mercenary gets revenge for agents, the
that thing Curtis drew on its head with mall cops of And hey! If you’ve never played a roleplaying
paint marker. the multiverse. game before, read through the demo on page
32, or even better, check out the Quantum
Or, you know, before your mom finds out and sends you Kickflip podcast to listen to a group of cool, funny
away to some kind of camp for troubled youths. people play an entire Slugblaster campaign!

7 7
 W H E N D O E S I T TA K E P L AC E ? You Might like This
Game if You Like...
Anywhen and nowhen. Slugblaster draws inspira-
tion from many eras. ● Stuff about young adventure-seekers like Big Hero
6, The Iron Giant, Stranger Things, Paper Girls, and
From the ‘70s, before I was born, when surf rats the Spider-Verse movies.
in Dogtown created skateboarding as we know it ● Weird stuff like Everything Everywhere All At Once,
with nothing but boredom and empty pools. The Midnight Gospel, Saga, Black Science, Infinity
Train, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
From the early ‘90s, when I was just a little kid, ● Funny stuff like Futurama, Adventure Time, Douglas
and teenagers felt like gods of MTV cool, No Adams, and Neal Stephenson.
Fear, and untied shoelaces. ● Coming-of-age movies like Eighth Grade, The Edge
of Seventeen, and A Goofy Movie.
From the early ‘00s, when I was a teenager my- ● Stuff about skateboarding like Skate Kitchen, Betty,
self, drawing on my backpack and throwing my Mid90s, or Lords of Dogtown.
skateboard dramatically after a breakup. ● DIY culture like BEND: A Circuit Bending
Documentary or youtube videos of actual kids mak-
From the late ‘00s, when I was a youth worker ing actual lasers in their actual bedrooms.
at a skatepark, checking myspace in my fullzip ● Saturday morning programming like Ben 10,
hoody, and kicking out kids barely younger than Earthworm Jim, Cyberchase, Power Rangers, or
me for smoking weed in the bathroom. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (any version, but the
2018 series is especially Slugblastery).
From right now, as I near middle-age with kids ● Anime like SK8 the Infinity, FLCL, Eizouken,
of my own, and teenagers once again seem so Sarazanmai, and Paprika.
much cooler than me, serving bussin (?) baggyfit ● Video games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Jet Set
looks and bending politics to their will. Radio Future, OlliOlli World, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk,
DokeV, Eastward, and Commander Keen.
And of course, from an array of futures—distant ● The hoverboarding scene in Back to the Future II or
and near, optimistic and cautionary, possible and the way the bug aliens exploded into slime in Men in
completely absurd. Black. Remember how cool that was?
● And real actual science stuff like the deep sea
You should do the same. Draw on the eras that episodes of Planet Earth and Michio Kaku’s Parallel
inspire your table. If you were teens in the ‘80s, Worlds and Physics of the Impossible.
plug 8-tracks into your rayguns! If you were teens
in 2010, bring back Vine and shutter shades!

Do what makes you feel like a kid, even if you

still are one.

8
 Introduction

See new dimensions,

bend your mind, explore
Get a crush, ask someone strange realities, seek
out, fall in love, have your answers, find questions.
heart broken, write a series
of rap verses about how you
feel.

Travel the
multiverse, smell
new smells, meet
interesting people,
watch your best
friend serenade
you with emo raps
over a very hard-
to-watch live
stream.
Hey, look! It’s
the name of
the game!

Shake the scene. Crash parties. Get

famous. Spray paint your name on
an interdimensional train.

9
 but what is an Identity!
slugblasting? Identity is important for teenagers. When they become
a slugblaster, they are at once part of something, and
distinctly individual. What you wear, how you ride, what
you drink, the kind of powercell you use—it all matters.
An action sport! One weird thing about teenagers is that they care what
others think of them! As alien as that concept might
Slugblasting is first and foremost an action sport—the seem to adults (who go through each day completely
meta-dimensional mutant lovechild of skateboarding, unconcerned that their neighbour Pat thinks the mulch
motocross, freerunning, urban adventuring, and any- in their flowerbed is too dark), peer approval has been
thing else where you go fast and get hurt a lot. shown to be the driving factor for dangerous teen
behaviour through the decades. Social media just
Just as surfers learn to read the swell of a wave, and amplifies it. Slugblasters are always live, streaming
skateboarders learn to see the potential in every con- action cam footage of their runs to audiences across
crete ledge, slugblasters (aka “sluggers”) learn to read the multiverse, going to greater and greater lengths to
the ripples in the spacetime field and see the potential increase their following and get noticed by sponsors.
in the entire multiversal landscape.

Like skateboarding or
graffiti, slugblasting is
An artform! considered by some
to be political by its
a mo vem ent !
very nature. As long as
Slugblasters are the kind of kids who build nuclear re- there are groups trying to stop slugblasting, control
actors in their garage. They circuit-bend ray guns they slugblasting, or profit off of slugblasting, the very act
ordered off the dark web. They hook hoverboards up of slugblasting becomes a form of resistance, an act of
to guitar pedals. They love the smell of solder, the feel- rebellion against the powers-that-be, the conventions
ing of things clicking together like lego blocks. They of mainstream culture, and the cozy, inertia-stricken
are thrift-hounds, scouring the web for unique parts suburbians complicit in the injustices of the multiverse.
and lovingly building their collections piece by piece.
As long as sluggers are being hauled away to decon-
Slugblasters take pride in their gear. The way they tamination facilities, as long as sponsors’ parent-cor-
piece things together (their “setup”) is a part of their porations are over-mining kramshon in Prismatia and
identity, aesthetic, and personality. It’s also a constant stealing patents from fourteen-year-old “contest win-
work in progress. They are always changing things, ners,” and as long as the scene is filled with gatekeep-
re-calibrating, pushing the boundaries, and making ing d-bags who call you posers, there will be young
new discoveries. people getting on their boards in defiance.

10
 Introduction

a mo ral pan ic!

a thr ill !
Like most teen pastimes, from roleplaying games, One of the reasons
to skateboarding, to drinking beer in the woods, adults don’t understand
slugblasting isn’t accepted by mainstream grown-up slugblasting is that their brains aren’t wired for risk the
society. At best, it’s viewed as a strange and silly fad, at way teenage brains are. Teenagers embrace uncertain-
worst it’s viewed as illegal, immoral, and deadly. ty. Adults try to minimize it.

Everyone has their own reasons to hate it. Scientists Interestingly, teenagers are also more likely than both
think it’s undermining research, parent groups think young children and adults to grow from hardships and
the portal radiation is rewiring their children’s brains, traumatic experiences. Getting swallowed whole by a
church groups think these kids are visiting hell, and giant psionic eel builds character, ya know? And that’s
environmental groups are concerned about invasive good, because no matter how careful you are, how
meta-dimensional species. much hazwear you own, pain is going to be part of the
hobby. For some, it’s the price of admission. For others,
There is, of course, some sense to all these arguments. it’s part of the draw.
Slugblasting is dangerous. There is literally a lake of
fire in Calorium. But they don’t see how important it Slugblasters take a lot of pride in their slams. They
is to you. They don’t understand what slugblasting zoom in on the blood, compile the footage into slam
means. How could they? They’ve never experienced it. reels, and wearing their casts like badges of honour.
Slugblasting is your life, not theirs. Skate or die, girl.

Money has been part big bus ines s! Skateboarders have

a fee lin g.
of the sport since the been trying to describe
early days, before there was the feeling since the
even the term for it, before the college-aged founders beginning. The sound of the
of Scram Cat Surf Co. worked all night to fill orders for wheels on cement. The flow-state. The wind in your
their new Nth gear hoverboards. face. The feeling of pumping down a transition or land-
ing bolts on a new trick.
By the end of that first historic summer, slugshops
were bubbling up everywhere. Then the big corpo- Slugblasters have an even harder time. How do you
rations waded in to sop them up and wring out new describe the way a hoverboard carves the spacetime
revenue streams, flooding the market with new slug- slush? How do you describe the new colour you saw in
blasting products and injecting some serious money Quahalia, or the way the meadows of Empyrean smell
into the hobby with huge sponsorship deals. For a lot during a planar eclipse? How do you describe the feel-
of kids, slugblasting wasn’t just a way out of this uni- ing of being somewhere no one else has, and doing
verse anymore—it was a way out of the trailer park. something no one else has done?

11
 How to Overview
You’ll sit down with 2–4 friends, this book, some pen-

Play
cils, some basic six-sided dice, and a few sheets you
print off slugblaster.com. You can see an example of
these playsheets on page 16.

One of you is the game moderator (GM). You’ll set

up the game (page 146), then help the others make
player characters (PCs) and form a crew (chapter 2).
Then you’re ready for your first episode!
(The basic rules Each episode has two phases: the run (page 28),
of the game) and then downtime (page 24). One episode takes
about 2–4 hours, and a full season can contain
around 5–10 episodes.

Runs are the action part. Laser fights and hoverboard

chases and wild parties. Every run has a goal, plus
some obstacles the GM puts in your way. To over-
come obstacles, you make action rolls (page 18)

Slugblaster is played and the results will determine if you succeed or fail,
and also if problems (page 20) arise. You collect

around a table with a few trouble points (page 21) as you try to survive and
style points (page 22) when you do tricks and
other cool things.
friends. You use dice, this During downtime, you take turns spending trouble
book, and the power of and style points on beats (page 24). Beats are
events and moments that fuel the story, prompt
your imaginations to tell a freeform roleplaying scenes, grow your characters,
earn you doom and legacy (pages 21 and 22)
radical story together over and get your crew closer to its ultimate goal—
becoming legendary slugblasters!

a couple hours, and then At the end of the entire season, use the epilogue

continue that story the rules (page 30) to wrap everything up, and find out
how the legacy and doom you collected impact your
character’s future.
next time you play.
12
 How to Play

THE RUN!
Action! Adventure! Hijinks!
● Do things with action rolls (pg 18)
● Survive problems and accumulate
slams and trouble (pg 20–19)
● Earn style by doing tricks (pg 23)
REFRESH DISASTER??
● Refill boost/kick (pg 19)
● GM collects bite (pg 145) Each player makes a
disaster roll to see if
they marked too much
trouble (pg 21)
●
episode
takes 2–4 hours to play
● 5–10 episodes in a full season
PICK A RUN CLEAN-UP
Decide what your crew should do
for the next run (pg 28) ● Collect style bonuses (pg 29)
● What’s your goal? ● Clear slams
● What’s the prize? ● Shift factions (page 126)
● What’s the obstacle?

DOWNTIME!
School! Chores! Feelings!
● Free-form, scene-based roleplaying
● Spend style and trouble on beats (pg 24)
which help grow your character, set up
scenes, and trigger events (pg 26-27)

13
 Tips for Players!
There’s no right way to play Slugblaster, but you’ll have
the best, most right experience if you adhere unflinch-
ingly to these sacred tenets I wrote on my phone in a
Tim Horton’s parking lot while covered in pastry flakes.

S H OW S O M E G R I T A N D. . . F O L LOW YO U R H E A R T A N D. . .
● Be Ambitious. You drive the action. So find some- ● Care About Your Character. Remember what it was
thing you want, and go get it. Break a record. Make like to be a teenager, and embrace your younger
a video. DM a sponsor rep. Start beef as a publicity self with both humour and love. Yes, you were em-
stunt. Throw a huge party. barrassing and a know-it-all and had a unibrow and
● Take It On The Chin. You’re going to fail a lot, and yellow teeth. But you were also sensitive and kind
you’re going to roll 4s and 5s more than anything and would talk with your mom about the mysteries
else. That’s still success. You’re still killin’ it, girl. Pain of the universe for hours at the kitchen table.
is part of the hobby, and slams decorate the path- ● Love Your Crew. Give them nicknames. Design a
way to fame. logo. Get hyped when your teammates succeed,
Drive your because it’s also your success.
character like a Don’t worry. The rules
B E G U T S Y A N D. . . stolen hovercar! give you lots of power to
J U S T C H I L L A X A N D. . . handle danger!
● Make a Mess. Rack up that trouble, collect that
doom, take big swings and cause some drama. It’s ● Be Flexible. Hold things lightly. Go with the flow.
the only way to reach your highest heights, and it’s Don’t plan. Jump in and figure it out when you get
where the fun stuff is. there. Embrace the chaos. Say “yes and,” and when
● Show it Off. Make any world more spectacular just you can’t, at least say “no but.”
by showing up. Roleplay with confidence. Do that ● Listen. When you’re not in the spotlight, remember
voice you’ve been practicing in the shower. They’ll to enjoy the show, and not just plan your next sen-
love it, dude. tence. Your friends are being hilarious and awesome
The opening scene right now. Savour the moment. It’s all we ever have.
of Deadpool is a
F L E X T H O S E S M A R T S A N D. . . masterclass.
● Get Creative. Describe your tricks like a movie di- A N D A LWAYS R E M E M B E R TO. . .
rector. Create a slow-motion diorama of fun details, ● Cheese It! The best sessions end in a chase.
with mint-green sparks spraying from your board as Embrace it! Scram at every opportunity. It’s not
you wink at the camera or flip-off a deathbot. failing, it’s a tactic. You’re in control. Lead that mon-
● Be Curious. Ask questions. Turn over rocks. Touch ster through a gauntlet. This is the game. If you’re
that ominous glowing thing. Dive into the world. Do getting chased by mutating mallcops and not sure if
some research by watching snowboarding tricks on you’re going to make it to the portal before the lava
youtube and reading about M-theory on wikipedia. wave hits you, you’re playing Slugblaster.

14
 caffeinated

(denim)

16
17
 Do stuff Success! You do it!

Doing Stuff Mixed success. You

do it, but there’s a
This is an action game. It’s about blasting huge monsters or problem.
into slime with colourful laser beams and kickflipping
over quantum centipedes.
Failure. You don’t
do it, and there’s a
You make an action roll anytime you try to melt an or or problem.
android with your maser, hoverboard away from a logic
storm, rummage through your knapsack for a spare
battery, sneak out of your room without your dad seeing
you, or do anything else where the outcome is uncertain H OW M U C H D O YO U AC C O M P L I S H ?
and failure could be interesting. Your plasma wave hits, but how much damage does it
do? You smooth talk the sponsor rep, but how much info
does she give you? The impact of your action is deter-
AC T I O N R O L L S mined by the GM, based on pacing, tone, and common
1. Say what you’re trying to do and then roll a sense (page 153).
six-sided die (1d6).
2. If you get a 6, you succeed. If you get a 4 or 5, The GM might set up a progress track (page 149) for
you succeed but there’s a problem. If you get a tasks that are too complex, difficult, or interesting for
1–3, you fail, and there’s a problem. one single action. With each success, you get closer to
3. Describe your success (or failure). The GM your goal, based on how impactful your action was.
describes the impact, as well as any problems,
based on what makes sense in the situation.

Tracking a
complex hacking
I D E A S F O R AC T I O N S Opening Cracking Access task.
access panel... firewall... granted!
● blast something ● remember a crucial
● sneak or hide fact you may have
● run away or race learned in school H OW B A D A R E T H E P R O B L E M S ?
● climb a tree ● pull an item you In the same way, the GM also determines how bad any
● hack a battledrone could reasonably problems you roll are. Those problems are going to be
● sound convincing have packed out of worse (page 155) if you try something extra dangerous
● look for something your backpack like doing a trick (page 23) or trying to go toe-to-toe
with a monster you should be fleeing from.

18
 DO S TU F F

Doing stuff better

Slugblasters are scrappy, resourceful, and impossibly
When you get to roll
lucky. They get in over their heads again and again, but extra dice, you take
when they need to pull through, they usually find a way. the highest result.
● Boost and kick are points you spend for one-time
bonuses to action rolls. You can find them on your
sheets (see attitude, pages 42–50 and turbo,
page 52). The crew sheet also has some, which W H AT K I C K C A N D O
are shared by everyone (see hype, page 72). ● Mark more of a progress track or shoot down
● You can only use dare once per action roll, but more laserflies!
there’s no limit to how much unspent boost or kick ● Damage a monster with an otherwise ineffec-
you can use. Dole them out carefully throughout a tive attack. Punch that giant crab right in the
run or blow them all on a single epic action. Stack, nerve sac.
mix and match, and go nuts. ● Get more style points when landing a trick (1
● When you make an action roll with multiple dice, style per kick).
you take the highest result, ignoring the rest. ● Gain some side benefit, or do a couple things
● Boost and kick are spent before the action is rolled. at the same time.
● Your spent points refresh at the start of each run. ● And more! If it’s too much to ask from a
normal action, add some kick and ask again.

BOOST
Mark a boost for +1d6 to an action roll.
T E A M WO R K & S H A R I N G
Teamwork is simple, flexible, and encouraged. As
KICK long as you can describe and justify it (for exam-
Mark a kick to increase the potential impact of an ple, by being nearby) you are free to:
action roll. That kick remains spent even if the action
fails. No risk, no reward, hotshot. ● Use boost, kick, or dares to improve a team-
mate’s action roll. How do you help?
● Freely take (or nope) slams for each other.
DA R E How do you step in?
You can... If you... ● Share or trade components with teammates.
● get +1d6 to an ● let the GM gain 1 bite, ● Donate style to the crew or a specific team-
action roll, ● let the GM introduce an mate. How do you give props, share the
● get +1 kick to an extra problem, suggested credit, redirect praise, gas them up, etc.?
action roll, or by you, or
● clear 1 trouble ● mark 1 trouble. You can’t share trouble. That’s yours to deal with.

19
 take slams
Problems
The airlock starts closing. You bail and break your col-
larbone. A metasaur starts chewing on your boyfriend’s
stupid head. Slugblasting is a great way to avoid the
problems at home, but a terrible way to avoid problems
in general. You’re in for a world of hurt, a multiverse of
hot neon tribulation. Isn’t that exciting!

● When you roll a problem, the GM either introduces

a snag or hits you with a slam.
Noping
There are endless possible ways to die, especially when
you think it’s fun to sneak into other universes and
S N AG S rollerblade with monsters, but your story takes place in
Snags are twists and turns that make the situation more one of the few realities where you won’t. In Slugblaster,
dangerous or complicated. An alarm goes off, the build- you control when and if your character gets hurt. So if
ing starts collapsing, your ex shows up to the party, a the GM tells you that you break
monster grows a second head, etc. your leg, or get cut in half by a Only slams. You can’t Nope
nega-ray, you can just say no. snags, unless you use the
alternate rule on page 165.
SLAMS
Slams are lingering problems that directly affect your NOPE!
body, mind, spirit, or gear. Things like bruised, exhaust- If you don’t want to take a slam, say “nope!” and
ed, freaking out, humiliated, glitching device, etc. describe the cool thing your character does to avoid
it instead. Then mark 2 trouble.
● If you get slammed, write it in one of the slam boxes
on your sheet. If you’re slammed and all the boxes
are already full, disaster strikes! See next page.
● Slams clear at the end of the run, during clean-up. N O P I N G F O R WA R D S !
● Some situational slams may clear sooner, if it makes For players with improv experience, noping can
sense. For example, if you took time to wash off in a feel like blocking fun moments. The trick is to
[probably snake infested] river, you could clear that practice additive noping. What cool thing does
slimed slam you got trying to hug a snail. your character do just in time? What do we learn
● Slams don’t give penalties, but the GM might adjust about them from how they avoid slams?
the impact of your actions where it makes sense.

20
 TA K E S L A M S

Trouble Doom
While you and your friends were laser-surfing through Doom represents the scars and debts of this insane
life sucking on redbull popsicles, your homework was hobby. The bridges you’ve burned, the lies you’ve told,
piling up, your dad was worried sick, and your luck was the dimensional horrors you can’t unsee, the hearing
running out. In Slugblaster, you can never escape your loss from that time with the matter-collapser. The things
troubles, but you can swap and defer them. that follow you into adulthood.

● You mark trouble points throughout the run as you ● Disaster and certain downtime beats can give you
take dares, nope slams, etc. doom. Write it on your sheet. Be descriptive.
● If you mark your eighth trouble box, disaster strikes! ● Doom can also be cleared with certain beats, or by
● Trouble can be cleared by spending it on beats going on a run specifically for that purpose.
during downtime. ● Your doom helps determine your epilogue.

Disaster Fractures
Everyone’s luck runs out eventually. Too many sketchy Once you’re an adult you’ll get along with everyone
landings. Too many close calls with close monsters. Too and never be sad, but until then you have to deal with
much horseplay and too little respect for the rules of drama. The fame, adrenaline, and relentless tentacles of
physics and probability. slugblasting can strain friendships and tear apart even
the tightest crews.
● The GM asks each player to make a disaster roll
near the end of the run (often on the way home). ● Certain downtime beats and challenges can cause
● Disaster may also automatically strike in special the crew to take or clear fractures. Write them on
situations, like if you mark all your trouble or take the crew sheet, in a fracture box. Be descriptive.
too many slams. ● If your crew takes a fracture when all fracture boxes
are full, you break up. Everyone marks 1 doom and
one or more PCs must leave the crew.
DISASTER ROLLS ● Reconciliation requires a significant sacrifice, such
Roll 1d6 per empty trouble box on your sheet. Take as one member clearing some legacy or marking
the highest result. doom.

6 Easy street. Avoid disaster and

mark 1 style.
4/5 Close call! Avoid disaster but
mark 1 trouble.
1–3 Disaster strikes! Something re-
ally bad happens (page 155).
Mark doom.

21
 look cool
Style Legacy
As you may suspect from a game with locations shaped Legacy represents the lasting accomplishments, rela-
conveniently like skateparks and no mechanical penalty tionships, trophies, and memories from your slugblasting
for not wearing your helmet, Slugblaster is not just about days. The fame and clout that follow you out of high
what you do, it’s about how. It’s kickflipping over that school and the things you’ll cherish long into life, when
quantum centipede, and taking a selfie while you do it. you’re in your late twenties driving past the skatepark in
your Honda Fit.
● You earn style by doing tricks, using certain traits
(page 40), and from style bonuses (pages 27, ● You get legacy from certain downtime beats and
40–48, and 70). crew perks (page 77).
● You can spend style on beats (page 24) that earn ● Legacy may be lost due to disaster, or sacrificed to
you legacy, unlock new traits, etc. mend a fractured crew.
● Crew style is a single amount that can be split ● The amount of legacy you collect helps determine
amongst you, or go towards buying things like fame. your epilogue.

Fame “ B U T M Y C H A R AC T E R I S A N E R D ”
Your crew’s ultimate goal is to be famous slugblasters. Style points are not just for pretty people in
To make it. To go pro. You may discover new universes, trendy sunglasses.
rescue endangered metaterrestrials from an invasive
species, bring down a corrupt research group and forge Everyone has something that matters to them,
friendships that last a lifetime, but if you don’t make the and every subculture has something they think is
cover of Slugblaster Magazine, what’s the point? cool. Skateboarding legend Rodney Mullen is a
huge nerd. He isn’t known for his fashion sense
● Fame measures how successful and well-known or charisma, he’s known for inventing nearly
your crew is. See page 77. every skateboarding trick there is.
● Your crew advances in fame by unlocking a new tier
with style points. There are six tiers, and each tier Beyond that, style points represent more than
has a different cost, as well as new perk options. just superficial flash and popularity. They repre-
● Anyone can choose to contribute style to the crew. sent confidence, self-actualization, and personal
This represents being a team player, repping your achievement. Being cool is about embracing life
squad, and redirecting praise toward your friends and being completely yourself.
instead of just taking it for yourself.

22
 LOO K COOL

Doing a trick is similar to

taking a desperate action in
Tricks Blades in the Dark.
B OA R D T R I C K I D E A S
Slugblasting, by nature, is about doing unnecessary ● Rotations. 180s, 360s, backflips, wildcats,
things that are unnecessarily risky. Just for the lols, mistys, mctwists, underflips, half-cabs, cork-
just for the likes, just to make your friends flip out, and screws, and other tricks where you rotate in
just to see if you can. Although you can get style a few the air before landing.
ways, tricks are really the backbone of Slugblaster’s ● Flip Tricks. Kickflips, heelflips, caspers,
style economy. hardflips, treflips, shove-its, impossibles, and
anything else where the board itself flips or
● These rules are for big, risky, attention-grabbing rotates before you land back on it.
tricks. You don’t need to roll to practice a kickflip in ● Board Grabs. Tail grabs, nose grabs, melons,
the safety of your driveway. indys, mutes, methods, chicken salads, and
● You can spend kick to increase the amount of style anything where you reach down and grab a
you get from a successful trick. Each kick spent part of your board with your hand while in
awards +1 style, if the trick lands. Turn that board- the air, often paired with a rotation.
slide into a switch-boardslide-bigspin-out. ● Rail Tricks. Boardslides, nosegrinds, 50-50s,
● Slugblaster tricks are usually combined with another crooks, feebles, lipslides and other tricks
action, but you use the same rules for doing isolat- where your board makes direct contact with
ed tricks too. a rail or ledge as you slide along it.
● And much more!

DO A TRICK
Add a trick, a flourish, or some extra show to any OT H E R T R I C K I D E A S
action by saying “check it” before your roll. Any Tricks aren’t just for hoverboarding! You can use
problems rolled are worse, but if you succeed you this rule to add a flourish to all sorts of actions.
also mark 1 style. The only limit is your imagination.

● Take a selfie while running from a pack of

mathpanthers.
“ B U T N O O N E WA S WAT C H I N G ” ● Take a rad photo of a metasaur’s teeth, or
There doesn’t need to be an audience. Even a your friends skating a gnarly rail
single gobsmacked witness can start a myth, and ● Tag a wall with some next-level graffiti.
sluggers are constantly live-streaming, recording, ● Slap your crew’s sticker on a Rescue agent’s
and getting footie for their next edit. helmet as you sneak past him.
● Deliver a sick burn, or spit the illest punchline
Besides, as mentioned, style is just as much of the whole rap battle.
about self-confidence as it is buzz. Anyone who ● Hold your laser pistol sideways.
survives a trip through a gravity worm’s digestive ● Make a wisecrack before punching a robot.
system is going to walk a little taller after. ● Land in a three-point superhero stance.

23
 Each personality
has a custom trait

beats Trait beats beat too! See pages

43-51.
Cartwheeling through unstable portals
into cuckoo-banana-land with your friends may not be
the most efficient path to college admission, but it cer-
Sure, Slugblaster is mostly about hoverboarding away tainly teaches you a lot about who you are!
from monsters, but it’s also about doing chores and
waiting for your jeans to finish drying. The downtime ● Origin Story (3 style). A flashback that shows a
phase lets you explore some of that thrilling mundanity defining moment from your past. +1 trait.
as you take turns describing and roleplaying a few mo-
ments that take place back in Hillview in the week or so ● Sharpened (4 style). A teammate inspires you or
after your run, often prompted by beats. shows you something about yourself. +1 trait.

● Beats are moments you can purchase with your

trouble and style to fuel the story, advance your
character, and prompt roleplaying scenes.
family arc
● The cost listed with each beat is the amount of style Slugblasting is not exactly embraced by society. As
or trouble you clear to buy it. with underage drinking, rap music, or eating tide pods,
● You can always purchase trouble-cost beats even if opinions can vary wildly—the moral panic of the century,
you can’t afford them. Your funeral, friendo. a thorny societal issue, or just kids being kids. But even
● Trait and arc beats are one-time buys. Arc beats if your family is completely checked out or astoundingly
must be bought in descending order, and you can permissive, there’s always some way to get in trouble.
only buy one per arc each downtime. These limits
don’t apply to any other beats. Buy six In the Labs at ● Trouble at Home (2 trouble). Your family disap-
once for all I care. proves. How? Why? Do you care? +1 slam (distract-
ed, worried, etc.) and pick a teammate who notices.

● Final Warning (3 trouble). An argument, punish-

F R E E F O R M R O L E P L AY I N G ment, or ultimatum. What do they want? What do
During the freeform roleplaying of the downtime you? What don’t they understand? What don’t you?
phase, you become the director of your own +1 doom.
scenes. Forget the dice and just tell us a story.
The GM and other players are there to assist you. ● Last Straw (4 trouble). Nuclear war, scorched-earth,
Tell them your vision and ask them for ideas. and words you both regret. +1 slam (grounded, lost
Answer their questions. Cast them as NPCs and device, etc.) and +1 doom. What’s the crew think?
perform the scene like actors in a movie. If that’s
not your thing, go the other way and describe the ● Redemption (4 style). Who makes the first move
scene like a writer, adding details and showing toward forgiveness? What’s changed? How will you
us what the characters are thinking and feeling. treat each other differently now? −2 doom, +1 legacy
or trait.

24
 B E A TS

And me having a
mid-life crisis since
Angst arc CREW beats the age of 24.

These years can be rough. Your mom’s always on your In the end, Slugblaster is about friendship. Your crew is
case, your body is changing, and metaterrestrials keep going to have a lot of ups and downs on your road to
dissolving your molecules! Eventually the stress is too stardom. What will hold you together through it all?
much for even the chillest of bruhs.
● Opportunity (2 style). Something great happens to
Whether it’s heartbreak, adolescent insecurity (adults the crew. Roll an opportunity (page 26).
never feel insecure, obv), or the existential dread that
comes from glimpsing the infinity of the multiverse, it’s ● Challenge (5 trouble). Something not-so-great hap-
going to be hard on you and those around you. pens to the crew. Roll a challenge (page 27).

● Angst (2 trouble). You’ve got issues. Do we know ● Fight (5 trouble). An argument, betrayal, or broken
why? How do they show? +1 slam (angry, jealous, bond. How does each participant feel threatened
depressed, etc.) and pick a teammate who notices. by this issue? Hear everything as an attack, speak in
accusations, and focus on winning. +1 fracture.
● Struggling (3 trouble). Your issues get worse. You
act out, project, or try to solve the problem the ● Make Up (5 style). An apology, kind gesture, or re-
wrong way. +1 doom. grown bond. A conversation where you really listen,
address those core concerns, and tell the others
● Darkness (4 trouble). You are not okay. Your issues how you feel, not how they are wrong. −1 fracture.
hurt your own crew. How? What did you say? What
did you do? What did you not do? +1 fracture.

● Catharsis (4 style). Who helps you? What do you

other beats
understand now that you didn’t before? What will So much to do, so little spacetime. You’ll find more beats
you change? −1 doom, −1 fracture, +1 legacy or trait. below, as well as in signatures (page 52), the map
(page 91), and each personality (pages 43–51).

● Being Good (1 style). Chores, homework, Bible

WHEN THINGS GET REAL study, showing up for your shift on time. You know,
Angst and family beats can be fun, tropey, and actually trying. Clear 2 trouble.
even therapeutic, but they can also get heavy.
Remember to be chill and check in with each oth- ● You Earned It (5 style). A trophy, a trick named
er. I also recommend using Script Change (page after you, a scholarship, a moment you’ll cherish
146) for this same reason. A lot of people have forever. +1 legacy.
had tough teenagehoods and may not want to re-
visit that all right now, especially while you crack ● Take an L (5 trouble). You suffer a loss, burn a
jokes with your mouth full of chips, Cody. bridge, gain a debt, or set off a looming threat. Does
the crew know? +1 doom.

25
 Players roll 1d6 and, optionally, add...
● +1 if friendly or better with five or more factions
● +1 if allied with one or more factions
● +1 for being Up & Comers tier or higher
● +1 for being Rising Stars tier or higher
Opportunities
Hot Spot. A random world pays out +5 crew Irony, Maybe? Against all odds, Hillview has briefly
1 style this run. Can you even get there? There or become a hot spot, with teenage pilgrims from all over
just has to be a way, right? gasping in mild interest.

Solo Offer. A faction wants to partner with one Tide Pods. An online trend beckons all youth. Earn a
2 of you. Reject it and displease them. Accept for or mega run bonus, but only if you post before the trend
legacy or 3 components, but also 1 fracture. sours and you lose style instead. Start a danger track.

Contest. A video jam, live tournament, hack-a- Name-Dropped. Someone important talks about you.
3 thon, or other exclusive contest. +1 bite, but a or +5 crew style. It doesn’t mean they like you, but it
chance at a mega prize. does mean they know you exist.

Collab. You get invited by another crew on a Team-Up. A mutually beneficial opportunity arises for
4 sick run with a mega prize, plus a chance to or you and a rival or enemy. Is this the beginning of an
impress their fans and associates. uneasy truce? Or a mutually-toxic frenemyship?

Rager. You are invited to a festival, secret club, Who You Know. Someone offers to introduce you to
5 or some other exclusive party with extra fea- or an important friend. Get mega favour with a faction,
tures and prizes. but only if you don’t mess it up.

Live and Direct. A special run with a high Viral. Gain 1d6 crew style, then, if you want, keep
viewership, a packed crowd, or a hapless crew rolling. If you ever roll a 6, you bust and cause a
6 or
of eager documentarians. +3 bite, but all tricks backlash, displeasing three factions and gaining only
earn +1 style. 5 crew style instead.

Dream Run. A chance to be first at a new spot,

Swag. A sponsor gifts you with samples, testers, and
7 sneak in somewhere legendary, or go on some or
other freebies. +3 components each.
other run with a mega prize.

One Shot. A pivotal run with a huge mega prize VIP Access. A faction shows you a secret two-way
8 or
that changes everything, but also +5 bite. gate between any two worlds. What’s the catch?

Planar Eclipse. A once in a lifetime dimensional

Big in Japan. You’ve become surprisingly pop-
9+ or phenomenon gives you brief access to somewhere
ular (+3) with an unexpected crowd. Why?
normally inaccessible.

26
 E V E NTS

GM rolls 1d6 and, optionally, adds...

● +1 if rivals or worse with five or more factions

challenges ● +1 if enemies with one or more factions

● +1 for being Up & Comers tier or higher
● +1 for being Rising Stars tier or higher

Faction Churn. A faction realigns, rebrands, Planar Tectonics. Two worlds switch places on the
1 reforms, or changes significantly. How does this or map. Do we know why? Is this an omen? How does
change your relationship with them? this seismic event change the political landscape?

Bias of the Week. One of you has emerged as Hush-Hush. An enemy of another faction makes you
2 the fan favourite. Be humble for 1 style, or bask or a tantalizing offer. Taking it would be a betrayal, but
in your spotlight for 5 style and a fracture. only if they find out.

Misunderstood. Your crew’s brand or reputa- Cooperation. A faction asks you a difficult, risky, or
3 tion is questioned. How did this happen? How or socially awkward favour. Accept or displease them.
can you set the record straight? ::grimace emoji::

Threats. A faction jumps you, brings you in for In the Middle. Some of your fans cause trouble, two
4 questioning, etc. You each take a slam (shook, or allies start fighting, your sponsor makes a terrible PR
tired, etc.) which can be noped individually. move, etc. Do you get involved?

Called Out. A faction publicly challenges you to Rumours. Someone is trying to turn you against each
5 a +3 bite run. Accept or displease two crowds. or other. Each player invents a thing they’ve heard about
Being boring is even worse than being cowards. a teammate. Take a fracture until you can sort it all out.

Impostors. Alternate yous show up, trying to Climate Change. One of your crew’s brands is falling
sleep in your beds and eat your sugarpops. out of fashion, offering no style bonus for the next 1–3
6 or
They think you’re the impostors. Are you? How runs (determined secretly by the GM). Rebrand, hold
would you know for sure? out, or try to fight the shifting tides.

Snitches. An authority talks with your families Invasion. Something followed you home. Do nothing
7 about your behaviour, auto-triggering every- or and displease Rescue or Doorways, or try to fix it and
one’s next Family beat (but not Redemption). risk incriminating yourself even more.

Ghosted. A faction suddenly turns on you. Wtf, Skate Stoppers. An authority starts shutting down
8 or
dude? What’s going on? thin-zones.

Hunted. Someone or something is after you. +3 Smear Tactics. Someone tries to ruin your reputation.
9+ bite and no prize this run. Just escape, survive, or Take −1 with three neutral, unfriendly, or unstable fac-
and live to stream another day. tions. Two friendly or tight factions turn unstable.

27
 This is called a d66
table. and you use
them by rolling 2d6

runs
and using one as the
first digit, and the Find a real deece spot to film a new hover-
11
other as the second. boarding video.

Liberate some gear from Rescue’s infamous

12
confiscation lockers.
● Each run should have a goal, a prize for reaching
that goal, and at least one starting obstacle (page Nosegrind reality. Boardslide a dreamscape. Let
154) you need to overcome. 13
yourselves peel back then surf that bomb home.
● You can try for multiple prizes or some kind of extra
big mega prize (double a normal prize or so). These Break into the offices of Slugblaster Magazine
runs should then be harder, with more starting ob- 14
and get your tape onto the editor’s desk.
stacles or extra bite for the GM (page 145).
● Use the run and prize ideas included here, check FUST is throwing a big hoverboarding demo.
out the featured locations for each world (pages 15
Get in that half-pipe and steal the show.
96–112), or come up with something yourself!
Hack the Doorways website and upload your
16
own PSA.
P L AY E R - D R I V E N
Download Infinite Pizza’s app and do deliveries
Slugblaster is a sandbox-style, player-driven 21
for store credit at FUST. Thirty minutes or less!
game. The GM doesn’t need to plot out a story-
line or cook up a series of missions for the PCs. Scram Cat is sponsoring a big all-night hack-
22
a-thon. Should be poppin’.
Instead, the GM describes the world like a play-
ground, and the players swarm in and climb on Hack Miper’s lightning fast delivery drones
stuff with their sticky popsicle fingers, driven by 23 and follow them around like a bunch of porch
their characters’ goals and what looks shiny. They pirates.
create the storyline. They think up the missions.
The GM just offers a bit of guidance, a few obsta- Slip into the airducts of reality and explore some
cles, and a lot of consequences. 24 dimensional infrastructure before The Arborists
kick you out.
If the players decide they want to find power
crystals, the GM suggests where they could look. Patch the frayed math around heavily-used
If they decide to throw a party, the GM thinks 25 portal-zones to keep younger sluggers and
up some snags. If they tick off a faction, the GM local wildlife safe.
makes sure that faction plots revenge.
Open a portal right in the middle of a big
As John Harper says in Blades in the Dark, 26
Doorways meeting.
“Action, reaction, and consequences will drive
everything.” 31 Throw a surprise party for someone!

28
 RUN S

A skater term for hitching a ride by

holding onto a car’s bumper.

Skitch behind the Miper train and give those Break some kids out of Rescue’s infamous
32 53
commuters something to talk about. decontamination centre.

Salvage components from the giant mecha Disrupt Hardecker mining operations in
33 54
sleeping under the moss in the Golden Jungle. Prismatia.

Tag or poster a string of worlds before getting Vandalize and/or correct a hard-to-reach
34 55
caught. Better go fast! billboard.

Figure out what’s haunting Thennis Spar and See how long you can stay out before you peel
35 56
how to fix it. back. Document the entire experiment.

Create a never-ending party via an ill-conceived Mess with those jerks poaching endangered
36 61
time-loop experiment. metaterrestrial species a couple worlds over.

A big client needs something delivered yester- Sneak in somewhere and make it better in a
41 62
day. Like, actually. Can you figure that out? funny way.

Some kid just took a brutal bail. Can you get Sneak into the club. Maybe your sister would
42 63
them to the hospital before they peel back? lend you her ID.

Top the leaderboards for the famous Wilkie’s Get your hands on some tickets to Multipalooza
43 64
Speed Run™. or another big festival.

Publicly challenge another crew to a race or a A team survived in Quahalia for 4.2 seconds
44 65
game of SLUG. without their logic binders. Can you do better?

Get a selfie with an Empyrean zone pony, the 66 Pull a hilarious interdimensional prank.
45 Calorium phase dragon, your alternate self, or
some other elusive entity.
PRIZE IDEAS
There’s a huge party tonight on the other side
46 of the multiverse, and it’s your job to bring the ● Amp. Getting to a dope spot where tricks
drinks. earn +1 style.
● Bonus. 3–5 crew style for accomplishing a
Deliver an ominous package for Shimmer. How specific goal.
51 bad could it be? Definitely not a human foot or ● Stuff. Components or gear.
something, right? ● Favour. Impressing a specific faction.
● Access. Unlocking a specific portal-zone, or
52 Bring some newbs on their very first run. triggering a specific opportunity.

29
 epilogue
● First, decide how much time the epilogue covers.
C R E W E P I LO G U E
Finally, what happens to the crew? This thing you
were part of that’s bigger than yourselves, bigger
than any one member. Answer as a group:
The GM has final say. A year works well, but it could
even follow your characters into adulthood. ● What is that one epic story everyone tells
● Then, each player rolls 1d6 per 2 doom to determine about you? The Guts has final say.
their epilogue’s low point and 1d6 per 2 legacy to ● What is that one perfect memory none of you
determine their epilogue’s high point. will ever forget? The Chill has final say.
● Now, using those prompts, describe what happens ● What did the crew contribute to the sport of
to you in a montage. End on a high point. This is slugblasting? The Smarts has final say.
Slugblaster, not Sadblaster. ● Does the crew stay together? Break up?
Live on with new members? What part of the
crew’s legacy endures the longest? The Grit
LOW P O I N T
has final say.
● Do any of you still hang out? If not, when was
A lasting injury. A broken dream. A future you the last time you were all together? Did you
6 can’t escape. Sent to juvie. A lost friendship. know it was the last time?
Something that haunts you. The Heart has final say.

A long road. A setback. Stuck in a rut. Grounded

4–5
for a year. Difficult changes. Something ending. Jet Collective will be
around long after its
An mild embarrassment. An amusing predica- original members have
1–3
ment. A looming threat. A nagging loose end. become cheugy adults
with life insurance and
costco cards.
HIGH POINT

Living the dream. Popularity. Money. Lasting

6 friendships. Or just complete happiness doing
what you love. You get what you wanted most.

A new friend. An old friend. Reconnecting.

4–5
Progress. Rebuilding. Keeping at it.

A glimmer of hope. An open door. A memory

1–3 you’ll always cherish. Something that can’t be
taken from you.

30
 demo A condensed example of
what playing an episode
of Slugblaster looks like.
Joshy: Don’t remind me!

Rani: I take out my phone to film it.

Joshy: Woo boy. Okay.

Four friends sit around a table Joshy: I bet we can make one out Joshy rolls one
Action rolls
with dice, pencils, print-outs, and of that mall map and a toppled die and gets a 6! (pg 18)
snacks. Three of them have made vending machine. Everyone at the table
characters together, the fourth has cheers and high-fives.
taken the role of Game Moderator Rani: Fire. Good job, Joshy.
(GM). We join them part-way
through their first run. Doug: You’re so smart, Joshy. GM: You succeed! The ramp holds,
you get a ton of air and stomp the
GM: Okay, you’ve found your way GM: Love it. The vending machine landing on the other side.
into the abandoned mall buried is heavy but you work together
under the dunes! You’re on the and push it over. The map is bolted Rani: ME NEXT. I’m on my board
second floor. There are toppled to the floor though. and heading for the ramp. And I
over vending machines and a want to do a trick!
big mall map pedestal with “The Doug: If only we had lasers. Tricks
Wicks” graffitied over it. GM: Nice! Okay, so
(pg 23)
Rani: Exactly what I was thinking. if you succeed you
Rani: Do we see the candy Do I need to roll to cut this thing also earn style, but if you roll a
Runs
store we heard about? (pg 28) free with my photon pistol? problem, it’s worse. Tricks are
That’s our goal. dangerous!
GM: Hmm. I think this is still mun-
Doug: Weird alternate-universe dane enough to not need a roll. Rani: Right! Okay I want Boost
candy! I want it. I want it so badly. to make sure I land it, so I (pg 19)
Rani: Okay! I take out my raygun, boost my roll with attitude.
GM: You see it! An old Wilkie’s cut the map off the pedestal and I’m gutsy and I think that
sign, flickering at the end of the then we haul it over to the vending would help here!
dusty, dark corridor. But between machine and set up a nice little
you and the sign is the gap you kicker. Joshy, you wanna do the Doug: You know how to commit!
heard about. A big section that’s honours?
collapsed down onto the first floor. Rani: Totes! Okay so two dice...
Joshy: Yikes, me? Alright, I grab check it!
Rani: Can we ollie it? Obstacles my board and try to jump this gap!
(pg 154) Rani rolls her two dice and gets
GM: Not without some GM: This definitely warrants an a 3 and a 6. Luckily for her, the
kind of ramp. It’s just too big. action roll! Lots that can go wrong. highest roll is all that matters.

32
 EXAMPLE OF PLAY

Rani: A six! Let’s GO. Joshy: I am not thrilled by this. GM: If you succeed, yep.

GM: Nice! Describe your success! GM: Nor should you be, Joshua, Joshy: Great. I flick this thing into
because crawling from the dark- overdrive and squeeze the trigger.
Rani: I launch off the kicker, do a ness is a garbage-truck sized And I rolled a.... 5.
board grab, and keep my phone mutant cockroach! You remember
pointed right at me recording as I that thing from Men in Black? GM: A mixed success!
do it. Maybe give a little wink. Yeah, like that! Your reality beam cooks
a huge section of this
Doug: Tiiiight. Joshy: SHOOT IT! I SHOOT IT sucker. (Marks track two
WITH RAYGUN. more times.) But there’s
GM: Very cool. Mark your style! also a problem! It looks directly at
Rani: Yeah I pull out my photon you with its compound eyes and
Rani takes her pencil and ticks a pistol for sure. Still filming with the screams boiling acid at your face.
style box on her sheet. other hand, of course.
Joshy: NOPE!
Doug: My turn. I gotta one-up you GM: You kids with your cellular
now. Check it. 360 stalefish, son! telephones. Okay, this thing is GM: Don’t want acid on your face?
tough, so it’s gonna take
GM: Remember, tricks are danger- more than one action to Joshy: Nope nope nope.
Tracks
ous. If you roll badly then— fully deal with. (page 149)
GM: Boiling acid face?
Doug: I rolled a 1. LOL. GM sets up a 5 mark
progress track, labeled Joshy: Nope, no thanks.
GM: Well you fall for sure and land “Kill Cockroach.”
hard down on the first floor. Take a GM: Suit yourself! Mark
slam. Bruised. GM: There. We’ll use that to track 2 trouble instead, and
Noping
Slams (pg 20)
how hurt this thing is. Fill the track tell us how you
Doug writes “bruised” on
(pg 20) and bug goes bye-bye. avoided it.
his sheet under the slams section.
Rani: Great. I got a 6! Pew pew. Joshy: Are there soda machines
GM: But also, since you were on this side too? I dive behind one
trying a trick, there’s more. You’ve GM marks the track of those.
fallen into a puddle of slime with once.
clusters of big gelatinous orbs in GM: Love it. The acid bubbles on
it. Joshy: And I blast it with the tile and melts the plastic of the
my reality cannon! I use machine instead of that face of
Doug: Don’t worry, my buds! turbo to boost my roll and... yeah I yours you value so much. Doug?
I landed on some weird eggs, add 1 kick, too. That hurts it more
should be all good! right? Doug: I throw my board at it!
Kick
(pg 19)
33
 GM: Your board? Why? Where’s GM: Outstanding. So a boost from DOUG DOUG DOUG DOUG...
your raygun?? turbo, a kick from your dare that
gives this impact, and a kick from GM: AHEM! In a SHOWER of
Doug: My board is my signature! Joshy that gives it extra impact. VISCOUS BILE, some of which hits
I want to be able to use turbo to Let’s see how— you because of your dare, slam-
boost my roll or whatever! ming you with terrible chemical
Doug: And I’m going to do a trick. burns and—
GM: Okayyyy... well your board
doesn’t have the density pedal GM: What. Doug: I nope those burns, baby!
kinetic deck
mod or anything yet, so it’s not (pg 60)
really an effective weapon against Doug: My board has GM: Okay, mark your trouble
giant monsters. You can tell it that boomerang thingy... and—
would just bounce off this thing’s
exoskeleton. Joshy: Proximity Lock. DOUG: WE’RE GOING TO LIVE
impact FOREVER!
Doug: I’m still gonna. (pg 18) Doug: Yeah that. So I want to
Captain America this bug. Catch Everyone eventually calms down
GM: Excuse me? the board in my hand afterward and continues to play. The crew
while looking up at Rani’s camera makes it to the Wilkie’s store,
Doug: I’m still gonna. I’m gonna all like “I’m a wittle wascal.” loads up on old candy, takes pho-
get really close to this thing and tos in front of the mascot, gets at-
whip the board at a squishy spot. GM: Please don’t make that voice tacked by a swarm of eye tendrils,
I use a dare to take an extra but wow okay, so that’s an auto- then heads toward the exit.
problem for some kick. matic problem from the dare, and
Dares then worse problems if you roll GM: Waiting on the other side of
GM: Ahhh okay. Yes, that
(pg 19) badly. Are you sure y— the portal is a squad of Rescue
makes sense. And yep, that kick agents, trying to ambush you.
will make this otherwise very inef- Doug rolls more 6s than We’ll do our disaster rolls now, to
fective action have more impact. the GM has ever seen. see if all that trouble you’ve been
collecting comes back to bite you.
Doug: Okay so I use two boost Joshy: YES DOUG.
from my kinetic deck’s turbo, plus Rani: Hoo boy. Disaster
the kick from that d-diggity dare... The whole group starts highfiving (pg 21)
and chanting Doug’s name while GM: Everyone roll 1d6 for
Joshy: Can I help him out too? I he beatboxes and marks 1 style. each empty trouble box you have.
want to give him another kick. I’m
The Smarts, so I think I’ve read GM: You hit the cockroach’s eye, Joshy rolls 4d6 and his highest is
about cockroaches in science overloading a nerve cluster and a 5. Rani rolls 3d6 and her highest
class. I yell down, making it explode in a shower of... is a 3. Doug rolls 1d6 and gets a 6,
“Go for the eyes!” Sharing are you listening to me? obviously.
(pg 19)
34
 E xamp l e o f P l a y

GM: (Rubs temples) How... are you GM: Okay and with that, the run is GM: Well Joshua, sometimes get-
so lucky? over! ting engulfed in eye tendrils is just
for fun.
Doug doesn’t answer, distracted Doug: We did it!
by finding twenty dollars in his Rani: What about that “super
pocket. Rani: Yeah besides that last part scraped” slam I got?
we rocked that run pretty hard.
GM: Well, Doug is fine. In fact, GM: Just clear the “super” part.
he somehow manages to mark 1 GM: You sure did! Okay,
Structure
pg 13
style. Go figure. Joshy, you had a let’s do the clean-up Rani: So I go into the
close call. phase. You accomplished your next run with “scraped”? Super Slams
goal of exploring the candy store, pg 155
Joshy: Yeah I mark 1 trouble right? so your crew gets a 5-style bonus GM: Yep. Takes time to heal. Oh
One of the Rescue agents grabs as the prize. And you also get your and I’ll adjust factions now, too.
my jacket but I wriggle out. individual style bonuses, too, if Rescue definitely likes you less.
you think you earned them. You are −2 with them. Rivals.
GM: Love it. Great idea. But Rani.
Joshy: I had that idea The Smarts’ Doug: And I think The Freaks like
Rani: I know, I know. for the ramp, I think style bonus us more. We said they like gross
that gets me mine. pg 46 things and it was pretty gross
Disaster Ideas
GM: You rolled a (pg 155) when Joshy’s face went into the—
disaster. You’re GM: Yep, I agree. And your crew’s
getting rescued, sis. They grab brand is Ultranauts and you ex- GM: Yep, we all remember. Joshy
you and haul you in for decontam- plored something so you get +3 you okay, btw? You’ve been pretty
ination, questioning, all that. Mark more. You want to split that up? quiet since, uh, since that thing
doom. It should be some kind The Freaks liked.
of long-term consequence. Any Doug: Nah, let’s bank it.
ideas? Joshy: (Far-off look) ...I’m fine.
Joshy and Rani agree. They add
Rani: Let me think. Oh, how about 3 style, along with the 5 from GM: Great. Well, next up is down-
“permanent record”? their prize, to their crew’s fame time! You can buy beats and tell us
track. Enough for them to go from what you do the rest of the week.
GM: Ha! Yeah that’s great. Nobodies to Up & Comers!
Rani: I wanna spend some style.
Rani writes “permanent record” GM: Oh and clear your slams, I’m going to buy the Swagger beat
on her sheet, in the doom sec- everyone. from my personality
tion. That doom will stay with her sheet. This is how I The Guts
the entire campaign, Joshy: So many slams. I should picture it. (pg 44)
and contribute to her get a prize for all the eye tendrils I
epilogue. Doom had to deal with. GM: Yeah set the scene.
(pg 21)

35
 In The Lab
pg 53
Rani: It’s me getting released from Joshy: Exactly! (Joshy rolls Doug: Yeah your dad seems like a
Rescue. Slow-motion walk out, 1d6 to see what In the Lab sweet guy trying his best.
chewing gum, rocking a shaved gets him.) Okay! So I’m in my
head from the decontamination. bedroom soldering together a new Joshy writes “Guilty” in his slam
coil for my reality cannon. That’s box, and also marks the “Trouble
GM: Nearby kids staring in through when my dad comes in. Rani do at Home” beat to show he’s pur-
the chain link fence. you want to play my dad for this chased it. He clears 2 trouble.
scene?
Joshy: I can totally hear “Bad GM: Okay, Doug, what about you?
Reputation” playing for this scene. Rani: Oh sure! What’s he like?
Doug: Well buds, I got a lot of
Rani: Absolutely. Joshy: Not sure yet... sorta trouble. I spend some time Being
non-confrontational and quiet? Good. Babysitting all my little
Doug: And you give them the fin- Like I think he comes in and just brothers and sisters and stuff. But
ger as you leave! sits on my bed for a while before that only clears 2. I was thinking of
I have to be like “Um, everything buying us a challenge, if Rani and
Rani: Haha! Nah, something more okay, Dad?” Joshy are cool with it.
subtle. I know, I take a selfie with
the guards. I caption it “new look.” Rani: Ha! Yep. Then he’s like “So Rani: Bring it on, challenges look
your mom wanted me to ask about fun honestly.
Doug: Yeah! With a filter that some... internet video she saw on
gives them hilarious mustaches or her work computer?” Joshy: I’m nervous. But it would be
something. nice to clear some more trouble.
Joshy: “Oh, that...”
Rani: Hahaha! Yes! GM: Challenge it is!
Rani: “Joshy, this slugblasting
Rani wraps the scene up, clears stuff. Your mom... It doesn’t look The crew clears a combined total
the 3 style and unlocks a new trait safe.” of 5 trouble, and the GM rolls on
for her character, as directed by the challenge table. He gets a 3
the Swagger beat. Joshy: “Dad, it’s fine. It’s just like, and chooses Cooperation, already
goofing around.” scheming about what that could
GM: Great! Who else? mean for the crew next time they
Rani: “Just do me a favour and try get together to play...
Joshy: Can I do a couple things? In to tone it down, okay? No more
the Lab and Trouble at Home? videos. They worry your mom too
much.”
GM: No limit! You can combine
them into one scene even. Maybe Joshy: “But I... Okay. Sorry, Dad.”
your parents confront you while Our heroes’ adventures
you’re working on your gear. GM: Great scene. continue on page 162!
36
 Drink
what
scares
you.
Taurine? More like Snore-ine!
Those other drinks play it safe.
We play it loud. So quench your
thirst and drown out the doubt.
Don’t think—PANIC!

causes
anxiety
T E E N AG E L I F E I S H A R D .
You have to balance still being a kid, with
almost being an adult, with building robots
alone in a shed. There’s never enough time
to do it all. If only you had a suspiciously
metallic duplicate of yourself to help you
with chores, listen to your problems, stroke
your hair and take you to prom!

Maybe they’re just mad that

your room is messy and didn’t
even SEE the viral video of
you getting swallowed whole by
a toad the size of a garden
shed.

As much as you try

to leave your problems
at home and the
tentacles in Desnine,
both just seem to
follow you wherever
you go.
Not so chill now, huh
buddy?

Careful, your Wilkie’s

Radblaster® is falling
out of your Voidwear
backpack!
being
Teen-
agers
MAKING YOUR CHARACTER,
M A K I N G YO U R C R E W,
AND MAKING IT BIG.
 Make 1 pick your
Personality

your-
Your personality defines your strengths, atti-
tude, and approach. There are five to choose
from: The Grit, The Guts, The Smarts, The Heart,
and The Chill, detailed on the following pages.

self
Your personality isn’t about what you can do,
it’s about how. All slugblasters can shred, shoot,
party, and rework a fusion array. The Smarts will
just do it differently than The Guts would.

● Your Look. Look details describe how you

dress and present yourself physically. Pick

(character ●
as many as you like.

Your Family. Who you live with, the ones

creation) concerned about when you get home at
night. Pick two details that describe them.

● Your Bond. Pick one bond you have with

This is a story about another character.

Your Vibe. Mannerisms and quirks specific

teenagers. Not kids, not ●
to your personality, listed on the following
pages. Pick as many as you like.
adults, but that time in ● Your Traits. Traits are special powers based
between, when anything on your personality, listed on the following
pages. Pick one to start with. You unlock
feels possible, everything more with trait beats. One of your traits can
be from another personality. See Personal

feels important, and Growth on page 16 for an example.

nothing feels quite right. ● Your Gear. You start with your phone,
raygun, hoverboard, and one special per-
sonality item. Choose two more pieces of
gear to start with from page 66.

40
 Cha r a c t e r C r ea t i o n

LO O K FA M I LY
d6 1 2 3 4 5 6 d6 1–3 4–6
1 minimal technical oversized fitted all black pastel 1 rich boring
2 neon muted vintage flashy polished provocative 2 poor religious
3 relaxed cutesy trashy chic androgynous brand-new 3 supportive big
4 classic sporty piercings chains second-hand handmade 4 unstable small
5 ballcap braces nail polish jewelry shoelace belt light makeup 5 strict sheltered
6 full beat glasses bandanna dyed hair lots of hair shaved head 6 relaxed ultraterrestrial

BOND
By combining different items, you can Where from?
craft specific aesthetics. For example, Your family doesn’t Check pages 97,
1 childhood friends
a grunge look could be built by selecting ​ need to be nuclear. You 105, and 110 for
muted, relaxed, second-hand,​etc. might live with an uncle, ideas.
2 mutual goals
3 well-kept secret
a host family, or in a
group home.
4 natural chemistry
5 relatives To make a nice web, each player
6 shared hardships
can pick the PC of the player on
their right.

pick your
2 Signature
Your signature is a special piece of gear Name
you customize, cherish, and continue to
modify. It’s part of what makes you spe-
cial, and is probably your go-to method
3 yourself
of solving problems. What do your parents call you?
What do you call yourself? What
You can add more ● Its Looks. What does your signature have your jackass friends called
mods throughout the look like? More on page 52. you ever since you sneezed while
game. See page 53. ● Its Mods. Mods are special powers drinking strawberry milk three
for your signature. Pick one starting years ago? Don’t worry, Bubbles,
mod that costs 2 components. it’s because they love you.

41
 THE AT T I T U D E

GRIT
Describe how your grit helps your
action, then boost or kick as need-
ed. Also, refill 1 attitude whenever
you fail any action. When the
going gets tough, ya know?

TRAITS
You have focus, patience, and resilience. You’ve spent hours ● Patient. When you reveal how
practicing the same hoverboard trick over and over until it’s you’ve been waiting to act, get +1d6
perfect, and your gear is organized, well-maintained, and or +1 kick on your action.
as durable as you are. You don’t expect things to be easy.
Sometimes the only way is the hard way, and when everyone ● Sacrifice Your Body. Take a slam
else has gone home, you’re just getting started. (exhausted, strained, etc.) to get
+2d6 to your action. This slam can’t
Play as The Grit if you want to take lots of slams, have lots of be noped or avoided in any way. You
boost, be the dependable one in the crew, and solve prob- gotta actually take it, kid.
lems with precision, hard work, and dedication.
● Diligent. You can reroll In the Lab.
Rocky Balboa (Rocky), Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation), Also clear +1 trouble when Being
John McClane (Die Hard), Judy Hopps (Zootopia), Dave (Kick- Good once per downtime.
Ass), Eleven (Stranger Things), Mei Ling (Turning Red), and
Stevie (Mid90s) all have a lot of grit. ● Walk It Off. You gain 1 extra slam
box. Mark 1 style every time you take
a slam.
EXTRA GEAR You start with this.
◯ Something Everyone Else Forgot ● Skill. You’ve spent hours and hours
◯ Backup Portaling Device practicing ______________. If this
You can pick this one in
place of another piece of would help you with an action, you
gear. can mark 1 trouble to upgrade a 1–3
STYLE BONUS result into a 4/5 result.
Get +1 style after runs where you show
toughness or focus. Fill in the blank with something
like: flip tricks, writing code,
self-defence, going unnoticed, etc.

42
 The G r i t

T R A I T B E AT Cut your Inertia-Core

own hair. Slugger.
● Grinding (2 style). A scene where
you work hard, prep carefully, wait
patiently, fall and get back up, etc.
+1 trait. Got punched by a
robot. LOL
so valid. Hardecker® haz
GRIT ARC vest, reclaimed
● A Goal (1 style). A montage where peelback kit, first
you work towards a goal. Practicing
aid kit, matches,
water purification
an impossible trick in the driveway, tablets...
building something no one believes
in, saving change in a jar, etc. +1 slam
(tired, blistered, etc.)

● Setbacks (2 style). The work gets

harder, progress slows, and now it’s
raining. Your goal feels farther away
than when you started, but you keep
at it. +1 slam. What’s the crew think? Whole crew signed
the cast.
● Quitting (4 trouble). The moment
you finally give up. Why? What broke
you? Who have you let down, be-
sides yourself? +1 doom, +1 fracture. From that
month trying to
learn frontsides.
● Perseverance (3 style). You get back
up and keep going. You always do.
Who believed in you? −1 doom, −1
fracture, +2 legacy, +1 trait.

VIBES Secondhand
duraweave pants
1 one song on repeat with a well-voided
2 never smile warranty. Signature
3 your drink matches your shoes kinetic
4 sleep when you’re dead deck.
5 adult-in-residence
6 overachiever

43
 THE AT T I T U D E

GUTS
Describe how your guts help your
action, then boost or kick as need-
ed. Also, refill 1 attitude whenever
you attempt a trick, even if you
fail. Feel the rush?

TRAITS
You’ve got confidence, boldness, sass, and chutzpah. You bet ● Show Off. You get +1d6 when you
on yourself, challenge convention, throw caution to the wind, do a trick. You just can’t help it, the
and go for broke. Your hoverboard tricks are fast, big, and un- spotlight loves you.
necessarily dangerous. Your hacks are suped-up, overclocked,
and absolutely a fire hazard. Hey, if you’re too scared of doing ● Snake. If there is any question about
something wrong, you’ll never do anything great, right? who goes first, it’s you.

Play as The Guts if you want to take lots of big risks, do lots of ● Double Dare. Instead of taking a
tricks, play the loose cannon, and solve problems by making dare, you can mark 2 trouble for
big moves and generally being God’s gift to slugblasting. +2d6 or +2 kick to an action roll.

Han Solo (Star Wars), San (Princess Mononoke), Marty McFly ● Walking Disaster. You don’t just flirt
(Back to the Future), Tony Stark (The Avengers), GoGo (Big with disaster, you’re dating it. You
Hero 6), Rainbow Dash (MLP: FIM), Raphael (TMNT), and Korra get +1d6 on disaster rolls, and can
(The Legend of Korra) all have a lot of guts. choose to take a disaster for a willing
teammate. If you do, mark 2 style.

EXTRA GEAR ● Raw Talent. You’ve always just been

◯ Something You’re Not Supposed to Have amazing at ____________. If this
◯ A Portable Speaker would help you with an action, you
can mark 1 trouble to upgrade a 1–3
result into a 4/5 result.
STYLE BONUS
Get +1 style after runs where you show Fill in the blank with
boldness or risk-taking. something like: math, going
fast, getting your way,
first person shooters, etc.

44
 The G u t s

T R A I T B E AT Ablatine helmet your Highly

dad made you promise caffeinated.
● Swagger (2 style). A scene where you to wear.
trash talk a rival, break your own record,
comment on your own videos, show up
late, or just live life fast and loud. +1 trait.

GUTS ARC
● Spotlight (3 style). You get scouted by
a sponsor, become the fan favourite, or
get singled out for some kind of reward
or accolade. You aren’t humble about it. Signature
+1 legacy, +1 fracture.
gravity beam
(glove con).
● Star Power (2 style). More attention, Great hair.
more offers. It’s going to your head.
How do you treat your entourage crew?
+1 legacy, +1 fracture.

● Going Solo (4 trouble). You have a big

fight with your crew, choosing yourself
over them. It eats at you. +1 fracture. +1
doom. +1 slam (guilt, anger, etc.)
Mathpanther bite.
● The I in Team (1 style). You turn down
a huge offer, set the record straight, or
show up just in time to help, sacrificing
your own legacy for the crew. −1 legacy,
−1 doom, −2 fractures, +7 style for your
crew, and +1 trait.
Fresh stick and Poke
your mom doesn’t
VIBES know about.
1 queen
2 hot mess
3 highly-caffeinated
4 wear your own merch
Complimentary Wilkie’s
5 infected nipple ring swag for being
6 shades indoors amazing.

45
 This is the only rule I

THE
changed for this edition.
Let your players with older AT T I T U D E
books know.
Describe how your smarts help

Smarts
your action, then boost or kick as
needed. Also, refill 1 attitude when
you or a nearby teammate fails an
action. You learn from failure.

It’s not about intelligence. It’s about curiosity, love-of-learning, TRAITS

a fascination with the world and how it works, and a willing- ● Lateral Thinking. When you try a
ness to think about things from different angles. Your hover- trick with a creative approach, mark 1
board tricks are creative and outside-the-box, your hacks are style even on a failed roll.
experimental and complex, and everything around you is a
problem to be solved. ● Technobabble. Twice per run, ex-
plain something technical with jargon
Play as The Smarts if you want to explore and contribute to or a fun metaphor for 1 style and +1d6
the setting, ask lots of questions, give lots of answers, mess to a roll.
around with a bunch of device mods, and solve problems in
clever, creative ways. ● Power User. Gain a secondary
signature of your choosing. It shares
Hiro (Big Hero 6), Gadget (Rescue Rangers), Princess the turbo pool of your primary one
Bubblegum (Adventure Time), Violet (A Series of Unfortunate and has space for one mod (sold
Events), Nell (The Diamond Age), Donatello (TMNT) and skate- seperately).
boarding legend Rodney Mullen all have a lot of smarts.
● Actually Reads the Manual. You can
break mods down into components
EXTRA GEAR and install new mods on the fly. It
◯ A Work-In-Progress takes either an action roll or a few
◯ A Vital Screenshot or Image File minutes.

● Know-How. You know everything

STYLE BONUS about ____________. If this would
+1 style after runs where you show Fill in the blank with help you with an action, you can
curiosity or creativity. something like: your enemies, mark 1 trouble to upgrade a 1–3 re-
hoverboard physics, fashion, sult into a 4/5 result.
xenobiology, social media,
lasers, etc.
46
 The S ma r t s

Signature
T R A I T B E AT hyperoptics. Pencil above ear.
● Research (2 style). A scene of you
exploring, reading, analyzing a video,
being creative, trying something new,
planning portal routes, etc. +1 trait.

Hacking gauntlet
SMARTS ARC Portaling device you made from
● Inspiration (1 style). A big idea strikes found in a DARA a kit.
you, gnawing at your mind and flooding equipment locker, just
you with adrenaline. Do we know what
like, sitting there.
it is yet? You drop everything to go work
on it. Pick a teammate who was there.

● Results (2 style). The idea shows

promise. Is it some kind of device, a new
trick, a portaling breakthrough, or what? Spacetime
+1 legacy. Pick a teammate who is there ampimeter.
when you test it. Circuit-bent
photon pistol.
● Unintended Consequences (4 trouble).
The idea goes haywire, dominoes terri-
bly, or gets into the wrong hands. What’s
the crew think? +1 doom or +1 fracture.

● Full Realization (3 style). And just like

that, it snaps together. Who or what Particle bond
helped you see the missing piece? bike shorts.
−1 doom or −1 fracture, +1 legacy,
+1 trait. Took a shinner trying
a [theoretically
impossible] primo
VIBES trick.
1 lost in thought
2 homeschool chic
3 dad cuts your hair
4 pencil above ear
5 just learned what avant-garde is
6 wall of text

47
 The
heart
AT T I T U D E
Describe how your heart helps
your action, then boost or kick as
needed. Also, anytime you (or a
teammate you’re helping) succeed
on any action, refill 1 attitude.

Slugblasting is your life. You have integrity, intuition, passion, TRAITS

and empathy, and you rep your crew harder than anyone. Your ● Team Player. Mark 1 style whenever
gear is well-loved and highly personalized, and when you hov- you take (or nope) a slam for some-
erboard people can tell you’re giving it all you got and loving one else.
every single moment.
● Pep Talk. Once per run, refill 3 hype
Play as The Heart if you want to get in on the drama, lead by or clear a slam for a teammate. What
example, help others, and solve problems by working together do they need to hear the most right
and wanting it badly enough. now?

Finn (Adventure Time), Starfire (Teen Titans), Captain America ● Middle Finger.​ Once per run, auto-
(The Avengers), Ma-Ti (Captain Planet), Honey Lemon (Big matically get a 6 on any action, no
Hero 6), Will (Stranger Things) Xander (Buffy the Vampire roll required. Add up to 2 kick, baby.
Slayer) and Steven (Steven Universe) all have a lot of heart. Nothing can stand in your way.

● Intuition. You can always tell who

EXTRA GEAR likes/dislikes who, what someone
◯ Something From Someone Special really wants, and if someone’s vibes
◯ An Important Pamphlet are off.

● Passion. You care a lot about

STYLE BONUS ___________. If this would help you
+1 style after runs where you show with an action, you can mark 1 trouble
passion or empathy. to upgrade a 1−3 result into a 4/5
result.
Fill in the blank with something like:
scientific discovery, helping people,
rail tricks, photography, your friends,
fitting in, etc.
48
 The H ea r t

T R A I T B E AT
● Devotion (2 style). Look through your
crew’s photos, daydream about portals,
feel the wind in your face as you skate.
Show us what you care about, and how PAC-PAC, your
much. +1 trait. Signature robotic
companion.
HEART ARC
● Dalliance (2 style). You begin a special Impractical
relationship with a member of another
film camera.
faction, a teammate, or someone else. +1
legacy.

● Catching Feelings (1 style). The rela-

tionship blooms, but things get more
Focused on
complicated, too. What’s at stake? Which everyone’s good
teammate disapproves? +1 legacy, side.
+1 fracture.
Three-generation-old
Miper® nega-ray.
● Us or Them (4 trouble). A misunder-
standing, conflict of interest, betrayal,
or messy break up hurts you and your
crew. +1 doom, −1 legacy, +1 fracture.

● Love Conquers All (3 style). You make it

right, prove your loyalty, speak truth and
do the brave thing. Your bonds are stron-
ger then ever. −1 doom, −2 fractures, +1
legacy, +1 trait.

VIBES Took one for

the team.
1 hugger
2 always shares at youth group
Stickers
3 everything’s political from youth
4 active listener convention. Shoes you
5 positive vibes only painted
6 always the youngest yourself.

49
 the AT T I T U D E

chill
Sit back, relax, and get
+1d6 to all your actions.
Things just tend to work ∞
out. (This puppy can’t be
shared with teammates. They’re
too busy to enjoy it, anyways.)

TRAITS
● Steezey. Mark 1 style anytime you roll
Chill is effortlessness, zen, and going with the flow. You do doubles. You look cool without even
stuff by feel, press buttons to see what happens, and some- knowing it.
how make even the simplest hoverboard tricks look steezey.
Maybe you’re lucky, maybe you just notice what everyone ● Umm… Guys? You accidentally
else is too busy to. notice the stuff everyone else didn’t,
like hidden panels, perfect skate
Play as The Chill if you want to crack jokes, eat some snacks, spots, looming monsters, etc.
let problems solve themselves, and not think too much.
● Button Masher. Mark 1 turbo to use
The Dude (The Big Lebowski), MJ (Spider-Man: a locked mod for the length of one
Homecoming), Indiana Jones, Priya (Turning Red), Be mindful when you action—or 2 turbo if the mod is from
Todd (BoJack Horseman), Shaggy (Scooby-Doo), button mash in mods another device. Be careful, potential
Deadpool, Wichita (Zombieland), Ilana (Broad City),
that are unique to problems are worse.
a teammate’s device.
and Fred (Big Hero 6) all have a lot of chill. Include them in the
moment! ● Lucky. Once per run, dumb luck
helps you. A tree falls on a monster,
EXTRA GEAR lasers miss as you tie your shoes,
◯ Something You Found on Your Way Here you unknowingly give someone a
◯ A Pet perfect gift, etc.

● Quirk. For some weird reason, you

STYLE BONUS are good at ___________. If this
Get +1 style after runs where Fill in the blank with something like: would help you with an action, you
you show ease or flow. numbers, being friends with animals, can mark 1 trouble to upgrade a 1−3
swordfighting, riding switch, doing result into a 4/5 result.
things with your eyes closed, etc.

50
 The Chi l l

T R A I T B E AT Very little idea Literally Just

what’s going on. woke up ten
● Just Vibin’ (2 style). You just being you. minutes ago.
Playing video games, sleeping, eatin’
chips, chasing butterflies, whatever.
Show us how care-free you are. +1 trait.
Knock off Scram
Cat® t-shirt.
CHILL ARC Ashley.
● Caught in a Plot (1 style). You overhear
something, get mistaken for someone,
get ushered into the wrong line, etc.

● Serendipity (2 style). Your moment of

dumb luck continues to pay out, but
also gets more complex. What does the
3D-printed
arm.
crew think? +1 legacy.

● In Too Deep (4 trouble). You’re found just found this cool belt
out, painted into a corner, caught frantic- lying on the sidewalk?
ly Mrs. Doubtfiring at an event, and just
in way over your head. +1 doom. Pick a
teammate who notices.

● Somehow Works Out (3 style). And ref lattice

yet, you land on your feet, as per effing fishnets.
usual. That photo becomes a meme, the
money was still in your backpack, the
CEO liked your initiative, etc. −1 doom,
+1 legacy, +1 trait.

Signature
VIBES Riftninja
slip-ons.
1 space cadet
2 just woke up
3 laundry day
4 deadpan
5 always eating a bag of chips
6 kisses their mom on the lips and
isn’t weird about it

51
 Signatures Signature Negafriction
Sword. Check out this
glow-in-the-dark cord
wrap!
Slugblasters love their gear, and most tend to have one device they
love the most and spend the most time tinkering with. Slugblasters
call this device their ​signature​, or sometimes their “setup.” Your sig-
nature is what makes you special, and is probably your go-to method
of solving problems. You can see an example of a signature device
sheet on page 17.

FUNCTION
Your signature’s function simply describes what it enables you to do.
Often this will require an action roll, but not always. (As normal, the
GM should decide whether an action roll is needed, based on
how exciting and dangerous the situation is.)
Ben.
LO O K S
Each signature has a list of look options. Use those in Re-scoped an old 1st
combination with this table and your own imagina- generation Nth gear to
tion to describe your device. Is your gravity blaster make this slip rattle.
a chunky plastic cannon, a glitchy 3D-printed
powerpack, or a sleek metallic orb? Did you
make it yourself or was it a birthday pres- Getting a dope -0.02
ent from your rich uncle? Do you put stick- frictional coefficient
ers over it? What kind? (Use the sticker when at full power!
table on page 71 for ideas!)

TURBO!
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6
Describe how your signature helps
1 plastic sleek / shiny chunky / rugged
you with an action, then add dice
2 rebuilt / DIY glitchy metallic
or kick as needed.
3 borrowed / stolen dirty / worn brand-new
4 3D-printed last-generation custom paint job
5 circuit-bent cartridge-based mass-produced
6 sticker-covered reverse-wired scribbled-on

52
 S ig n a t u r es

Mods D OW N T I M E B E AT !
Listen, if you and that soldering iron behind your back In the Lab (1 style). Tinkering, de-
1 coil
are going to so flagrantly void the warranty of your new signing, crafting, shopping, etc.
2 disc
greymarket nonsense device, I can’t stop you. All I can Do any/all of the following:
do is provide you with information and support and 3 lens
pray I raised you to respect the laws of physics. ● Install mods you have the 4 gem
components for. 5 choose
● Mods expand the functions and power of your ● Uninstall mods and salvage 6 choose &
signature device. the components. roll again

● Each mod costs a certain number of components, ● Exchange three matching

detailed in its description. components for one component of your
choice.
● Roll to gain 1 random component.
COMPONENTS
Components ​are an abstract representation of the
parts you need. You can get them as a run prize, with Need to resolder these
the In the Lab beat, and from certain opportunities. loose terminals after
that thing with the
● Lenses​represent various prisms, diodes, reflec- megalodon.
tors, optic siphons, photonic reframes, etc.
DIY omega engine for
signature power armour.
● Coils represent various tubes, wiring, servos, artic-
ulators, drive trains, coherence spirals, etc.

● Discs​represent various circuit boards, processors,

chips, cards, firmware, code blocks, etc.

● ​ ems represent various fuel cells, power sources,

G
alien minerals, reality-distorting crystals, etc.

UNIVERSAL MODS
3D-printed
armature.
In addition to the mods listed in each entry, all signa-
tures also have the following mods available to them.

● Power Cell (2 gems). Turbo gains 1 kick. Basically stole this

● Stabilizer (1 coil, 1 disc). Turbo gains 1 boost. commutator from shop
● Kitbashed (varies). Purchase a mod from another class but Mr. B is chill
signature device. Way stronger stable force with it.
quotient after switching to
a torque-state system.
53
 gravity blaster Reality Cannon
Oh, gravity. Thinks it’s so tough, but even an entire If you shine light through a kramshon crystal, you see
planet’s worth can’t beat the static field generated by a a brand new colour. If you fire a high-powered beam of
balloon rubbed on your little sister’s head. But you got- coherent photons through a kramshon crystal, you can
ta love an underdog, and with enough concentrators, scramble reality itself. And guess what! Most things,
exciters, and dilators you can still get this one to bark. including monsters, are made of reality! Have fun!

FUNCTION FUNCTION
Roll to damage things at a gauntlet, glove, Roll to scramble things with a gauntlet, glove,
distance with a blast of crush- carbine, pistol, powerful reality beam (either carbine, pistol,
ing force (or pummel stuff with cannon, visor destructive and permanent, or cannon, visor,
non-lethal grav torrents). powerpack, orb, unpleasant and temporary). powerpack, orb,
wand... wand...

MODS MODS
● Endurance Engine (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to coarsely ● Parameter Dial (2 Discs). Roll to temporarily shift
lift, push, and pull things at a distance, with the or calibrate minor features of a target, like colour,
accuracy and power of a tractor. texture, volume, odor, temperature, etc.

● Agility Pin (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to manipulate ● Exponent Coil (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to temporarily
things at a distance with the accuracy and power of create 2d6 alternate versions of a subject or ob-
two human hands. ject. They appear nearby. One is usually evil.

● Impulse Rig (1 Lens, 1 Coil). Roll to launch your- ● Subjectivity Diode (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Create a tem-
self high in the air, use your beam like a grappling porary illusionary reality for a specific target. The
hook, or give yourself a burst of speed. effect happens within their senses.

● Gravity Spasm (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Mark 1 turbo to ● Matter Lens (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to create large
avoid a physical slam by creating a brief, invisible amounts of soft, amorphous matter, which coheres
force field. into random objects and terrain with time. Specific,
complex, or immediate forms may require kick.
● Field Inverter (2 Coils, 1 Lens, 1 Gem). Roll to tem-
porarily modify the gravity of a room-sized or small- ● Concept Inverter (2 Gems, 2 Discs). Roll to invert
er area you target with your gravity beam. Choose a target’s adjective—something “dry” might turn
whether the gravity there is increased, decreased, “wet,” for example. You choose. Adjectives are
reversed, pointing sideways, etc. Roll each time relative to yourself (i.e., an elephant is “big”). As
you want to change it. always, substantial or dramatic results (“living” to
“dead,” etc.) may require kick or multiple rolls.

54
 S ig n a t u r es

robotic companion powered armour

Loners, geniuses, and kids with too much love to give 3D-printed armour, repurposed exoskeletons, and
all inevitably create signature devices capable of feel- Slipmarket battle suits didn’t hit the scene until fairly
ing things. Is it a hovering companion drone, a lum- recently, but their modular frameworks make them per-
bering utility mech, an inflatable personal healthcare fect for creative slugblasters looking to do something
assistant, or something else? bespoke and original.

FUNCTION FUNCTION
As smart and loyal as a dog. android, Nope slams from falls, crushing, flashy, utilitarian,
Can follow closely, lift and carry mech, drone, hits, and other kinetic damage mining exo,
things you could, communicate quadruped, biped, for only 1 trouble. Don and doff combat jacket,
vaguely, and you can roll to have rolling, hovering, fast via an automated process. skinsuit, hardsuit,
it do simple tasks, like fetch. metal, plastic... post-motocross...

MODS
MODS ● Heavy-Duty Servos (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to lift or
● Weapons (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Roll to have your robot carry very heavy things, slowly crush things in your
attack, at a distance or in melee, lethally or non- hands, or jump great distances.
lethally, with weapons you’ve designed. What are
they? ● Weapons System (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Roll to attack, at
a distance or in melee, lethally or non-lethally, with
● Mobility Boosters (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Roll to have your either attack-speed blows or other weapons you
robot go really fast. Can carry a passenger or two. design. What are they?
Ditch the hoverboard and hop on.
● Mobility Boosters (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Roll to go fast
● Heavy-Duty Servos (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to have over solid terrain, via jet propulsion, mechanized
your robot lift or carry very heavy things, slowly leg engines, etc. Room for 1 passenger.
crush things in its hands, or jump great distances.
● Ablatine Plates (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Avoid one slam
● Guardian Mode (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Mark 1 turbo to from physical damage. Resets during your next In
have your robot protect you or a nearby teammate the Lab beat. (Can’t stack with 3D-Printed Ablatine.)
from a physical slam.
● Omega Engine (2 coils, 2 gems). Mark 2 turbo.
● Neural Network (4 discs). Your robot now has the Your armour transforms for a few minutes, getting
intelligence, communication skills, and common bigger, brighter, or cooler in some way. You get +1
sense of a human child, and grows smarter and kick on all related actions and can roll to create
more independent each day. Mark 1 legacy. They a powerful, room-sized force field which requires
grow up so fast. focused concentration.

55
 skipmode runners riftninja sneakers
Skip boring. Skip average. Skip to the good part Riftninja sneakers are branded as performance-wear
with Skipmode runners. The commercial shows a kid for pro-level capture-the-flag athletes, hoping to
fast-forwarding through his homework, but everyone distance themselves from their core market of graffiti
knew it was just clever marketing for a fairly average artists, vandals, thieves, and kids trying to sneak out of
modular shoe. Until sluggers got ahold of them... the house.

FUNCTION FUNCTION
Use your powered midsoles to hi-tops, low-tops, Use astral phasing to become hi-tops, low-tops,
run, jump, and slide super fast, mids, slip-ons, slightly not here, ghostly and mids, slip-ons,
easily keeping up with your pals boots, hikers, ethereal, which can help you boots, hikers,
on hoverboards. flats, platforms, sneak around. flats, platforms,
laserblades... laserblades...

MODS MODS
● Anti-Negafriction Outsoles (1 Gem, 1 Disc). You ● Hyperphaser (1 Lens, 1 Gem). You can roll to phase
can run up walls, hang from ceilings, etc. Complex through walls and other matter.
or risky maneuvers may require a roll, as usual.
● Anti-Negafriction Outsoles (1 Gem, 1 Disc). You
● Energy Tenser (1 Coil, 1 Disc). With a running start, can run up walls, hang from ceilings, etc. Complex
roll to teleport in-universe. If you can’t see your or risky maneuvers may require a roll, as usual.
destination, potential problems are worse.
● Powered Midsoles (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Run, jump,
● Temporal Scrubber (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Reveal you’ve and slide super fast, easily keeping up with
been fast-forwarding through most of this snooze hoverboards.
fest. Refill 1 hype. Mark 1 trouble and try not to
think about all you’ve missed by not being present. ● Reaction Switch (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Mark 1 turbo to
Being constantly stoked is not the same as living. avoid a physical slam by turning ghostly just before
it hits.
● Chrono Clip (1 Disc, 1 Gem). Mark 1 turbo to avoid
a physical slam by skipping a few seconds into the ● Plane Haunt (2 Lenses, 2 Gems). Spend 1 turbo
future. Others think you disappeared briefly. to create a extra version of yourself. You share
resources and can roll to swap minds. Ends after
● Causality Hoop (2 Gems, 1 Lens, 1 Coil). Mark 2 a few hours or whenever one of you takes a slam
turbo to rewind time a few seconds and retry an ac- and disintegrates horribly (that slam lingers with
tion, warn someone of a slam, change tactics, etc. the remaining “you” as concept shock). Also, mark
(Due to, uh, temporal rippling, game resources like 1 turbo to clear 2 trouble. There was a you covering
boost, trouble, etc. still stay as they are, however.) at home this whole time.

56
 photonic jacket
Metamaterial clothing has been working hard to keep
kids’ atoms intact since slugblasting started, but
Miper’s Billy Blazer® and similar photonic jackets have
taken the scene by storm. Blend into the scenery, stand
out from the crowd, and stay alive more to thrive more.

FUNCTION
Display colours, patterns, and blazer, bomber,
images on the fabric’s surface. denim, leather, Cross section of jacket
Also, nope slams from lasers and hoodie, trench, sleeve demonstrating
other electromagnetic energy for coveralls, raincoat textronic interaction.
only 1 trouble. windbreaker...
Photochromatic layer can
MODS divert up to 4000 MW Worn-out
of photonic energy under ambiance panel. :(
● Flash Patterns (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to blind, daze, the right conditions.
confuse, entrance, or cause seizures in targets that
can see your jacket.

● Ambiance Panel (1 Gem, 1 Coil). Freely program

non-realistic, translucent graphics within ten feet
of you, or roll to create a more convincing illusion.
Preparation and/or image data may be required.

● Photo Bypass (1 Coil, 1 Lens). Roll to fold normal

light around you and blend in with your surround-
ings. Remember to put your hood up!

● Hardlight Upscaling (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to tem-

porarily augment your jacket with useful hardlight
ornaments such as glowing tentacles, giant polygo-
nal fists or briefly serviceable wings.

● Concept Prism (2 Lenses, 1 Gem, 1 Disc). Mark 1 Still gets too hot during
turbo. You temporarily split into 3d6 colourful in- complex transforms. Need
stances of yourself. They are difficult to control, but
better heat sinks.
This new flexible display
tend to act like you would and stay nearby. layer works like octopus
skin, by using synthetic
chromatophores.
58
 S ig n a t u r es

Negafriction Sword hyperoptic visor

Negafriction is just what it sounds like: complete non- Why have your face glued to your phone when you can
sense. Normally, friction converts kinetic energy into have your phone glued to your face? Visors, goggles,
heat, causing objects to slow down and get warmer. and other hands-free consoles are popular among
But negafriction swords speed up and get cooler. Just nerds, videographers, and anyone who needs to text
like you! while eating a footlong sub.

FUNCTION FUNCTION
Roll to slice, dice, chop, and ancient, futuristic, Use an advanced HUD to access goggles, visor,
stab things (or non-lethally modern, hardlight, information, capture picture and shades, glasses,
smack them with the kinetically- katana, scimitar, video, send texts, play Ruby eyepiece, mask,
charged sheath). longsword, Rush, and do everything else helmet, contact
carbon fibre... you could with a phone. lenses...

MODS
● Slip Rattle (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Roll to teleport in- MODS
universe by slicing spacetime. If you can’t see your ● Realmware Lens (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to see ener-
destination, potential problems are worse. gy fields, invisible entities, and in-depth biometrics.
Also acts as a spacetime ampimeter (page 66).
● Field Projector (1 Lens, 1 Coil). ​Roll to temporarily
remove the surface friction from a room-sized area ● Omniscience Aperture (1 Lens, 1 Coil). You can
near you. see through walls, into objects, and all around you.
Also, mark 1 turbo to avoid dodgeable slams.
● Ref Coating (1 Lens, 1 Gem). ​Avoid slams from
lasers and other electromagnetic energy by mark- ● Spacetime Periscope (1 Lens, 1 Coil). Roll to press
ing 1 turbo, redirecting the attack wherever you up against the spacetime membrane and spy on a
wish. neighbouring universe.

● Negafriction Wake (1 Disc, 1 Gem). ​Roll to boost ● Powered Crunk Filter (1 Disc, 1 Gem). Mark +1
your speed as your sword accelerates through style when you successfully use a trick to take a
matter (even air) and pulls you along. dope picture or video.

● Subdimensional Edge (2 gems, 1 lens, 1 coil). You ● Adv. Neural Imaging (2 Lenses, 1 Coil, 1 Disc).
can roll to temporarily slice entire dimensions off of You can roll to see and record a subject’s active
a target, turning a 3D object 2D, for example, or re- surface thoughts. It’s obvious you’re doing it, but
moving someone from the timestream. The target adding kick allows you to do it secretly and/or
re-coheres after a minute or two. It’s not pleasant, zoom into deeper thoughts and memories. Use
but mostly harmless. caution.

59
 kinetic deck voidwear backpack
Inertial sweepers and momentum cells have been The back-breaking sport of shoulder-hoarding was
standard in hoverboards for years, allowing higher top transformed by Miper’s iconic, ubiquitous Voidwear®
speeds for classic kick-push decks. Only recently have backpack, which uses [stolen] proprietary shipping
slugblasters discovered that a little ballast-modification technology to allow you to carry the contents of your
can break the laws of hoverboard physics completely. bedroom in a simple 1-pocket cinch.

FUNCTION FUNCTION
Go fast over solid terrain. Make Store any amount of objects nylon, canvas,
your board super heavy at will, Use the tables smaller than a person in your denim, leather,
either as an effective attack or to on pages bag’s pocket dimension. Roll to plastic, hardlight,
protect it from theft. 64–65! see if you happen to have a spe- mirage-weave,
cific everyday item in there. satchel...

MODS
● Proximity Lock (2 Discs). Your deck returns to you, MODS
if possible. May require a roll if the path isn’t clear ● Astral Intake (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Mark 1 turbo and roll
or it faces resistance. to pull a unique, specialized, or implausible item
from the multiverse, like antitoxin, an alien lifeform,
● Stasis Anchor (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Make your deck or almost the exact keycard you need.
completely immovable, floating frozen in space,
until you deactivate it. ● Omni-Siphon (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to vent a cocktail
of energy from the multiverse. Use it as a makeshift
● Density Pedal (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to increase or weapon, jump pack, or charging station.
decrease your own mass dramatically. Make your
body lighter than air, make your fist heavier than ● Chaos Vent (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Mark 1 turbo. Turn your
uranium, and don’t let anyone push you around. bag into a one-way portal to a randomly selected
world. The bag goes with you.
● Inertial Vortex (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Roll to subtract
momentum from a room-sized area around you, ● Collapsible Panels (1 Coil). You can fold your bag
slowing nearby enemies and objects. Alternatively, into itself, leaving only a single zipper tab in your
mark 1 turbo to avoid a slam from kinetic attacks. hand, which can be used to reopen the bag.

● Dimensional Ballast (2 Coils, 1 Gem, 1 Disc). Roll ● Reversible Zipper (2 Coils, 1 Gem, 1 Disc). Roll to
to decrease your mass drastically by temporarily turn your bag inside out. You and everyone and
shedding some of your dimensions! Turn 2D and everything in a room-sized area are now floating in-
hide against a wall, or briefly exist outside time! Try side your bag, surrounded by all your junk. Outside
adding a dimension even. Why not? You do you. observers simply see a bag lying on the ground.

60
 S ig n a t u r es

hardlight board “ D O I H AV E S P R AY PA I N T ? ’ ’
Create a board made of solid, stable light with this Sometimes you want to know if have a certain
wrist-mounted device. Out of the box, it’s basically just item on you that isn’t covered by your gear.
a standard hoverboard you can use as a nightlight, but Often this is just for a joke, character moment, or
a good programmer can unlock its true photonic poten- aesthetic flair, and in that case the GM will prob-
tial. Hold onto your waveforms! ably say yes. If it’s an item that would change the
course of the scene or help you solve a problem,
you can just roll an action to see if you have it,
FUNCTION as long it’s plausible. (Producing unlikely items
Go fast over solid terrain on a purple city, blue requires having a voidwear backpack​with an
hoverboard made from crys- sunset, loud stars, astral intake.)
tallized light. Make your board white heat,
non-exist and re-exist at will. pink ice, teal god,
neon black...

MODS
● Photon Vent (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to create trails of
Cheap mall kiosk
scratch-armour film
semi-permanent, slightly brittle hardlight behind covering the drag
you, which float in space until they fade. The Miper Spark® 6 SE lens.
hardlight generator.
● Energy Lattice (1 Lens, 1 Coil). Roll to reform your
board into custom shapes, including tools, hand
weapons, and other useful objects of a similar size.

● Photon Exciter (1 Lens, 1 Coil). Roll to damage

things you grind, slide, ollie over, or just smack with
your board.

● Flicker Switch (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Avoid a physical

slam by marking 1 turbo. You blink out of existence
for a second. What’s it feel like?

● Matter Photonizer (2 Coils, 1 Lens, 1 Gem). Mark

2 turbo to turn yourself (and your gear) into pure
light. The rest of the world pauses. You can’t affect
the paused world, but you can observe and move
around in it. Time starts again after about an hour,
or once you’ve moved 100 total feet.
Having trouble with
Flicker switch salvaged photon vent. Too much
from a Wilkie’s arcade trail jitter. Need to try
console. realigning the baseplate.
61
 gear Your phone
You kids and your phones. Whether it has a touch-
screen, stylus, keypad, or scrollwheel. Whether it reads
cartridges or minidiscs. Whether it flips open, slides
While the typical Hillview adult is still dazzled by video open, or stays open—you can rest assured that your
conferencing and unable to figure out the new remote, phone will always be by your side, at 5% battery, getting
sluggers tend to be avid gearheads, just by nature of one bar in The Waking Pits if you’re lucky.
the hobby. Collecting, customizing, and configuring their
setups not only engages their adventurous minds, but Make calls, send texts, take a selfie, play Rift Zipper,
allows them to express themselves with colour options lurk a chatroom, update your MiPage, stream live to
and brand loyalty. GooTube, find components on Swapi, check your class
schedule on the school’s awful website, and scroll Dripp
● A problem may result in a piece of gear breaking or until your eyeballs chap.
running out of battery power. These gear problems
might be recorded as slams. ● Enables you to do typical smartphone things
● All characters start with a phone, a raygun, a hover- throughout the multiverse.
board, one personality-specific item, and two pieces ● Could instead be HUD goggles, a sticker-covered
of gear from page 66. laptop, a data bracer, or some other similar device.
● Additional gear can be gained as a run prize or by
spending the component-cost listed in its entry.

H OW M U C H DA M AG E
D O E S M Y G U N D O?
In Slugblaster, most gear won’t
provide bonus dice or anything,
but instead simply allow you to
do things you couldn’t normally
do, using common sense. You
can’t hack without hacking
equipment and you can’t shoot
something without a raygun, for
example. Your damage (impact)
depends on how effective the
GM thinks your action is, not the
type of gun you have. Add some
kick and let it rip, hotshot!
Miper’s Limited
Edition SpiPhone®.

62
 G ea r

Your raygun OT H E R O P T I O N S
Listen, nobody planned for teenagers to be carrying Hey, I get it. Vaporizing matter with a beam of
energy weapons around just to protect themselves prismatic starlight just isn’t for everyone. No
from twelve-tonne arthropods. The Hardecker® D11 is problem, cross it out and write in something else!
a mining tool. The Miper® Grav was designed to help
healthcare workers lift infirm patients into the bathtub. There are many ways to protect yourself in a
Out of the box, a Wilkie’s® Reality Cannon isn’t much hostile planescape, from powergloves to gravity
more than an oversized laser pointer kids use to draw bats to plasma staffs. And of course, the iconic
on walls and make their little sisters smell like farts. But nanoedge sword, which has been a fixture in the
what can you do? Teenagers are resourceful. And a slugblaster scene ever since some kid realized
valuable target market. that ray guns freeze up, monsters generally don’t,
and swords look totally rad.
● Rayguns come in a limitless variety of designs and
manufacturers, but all enable you to significantly If you’d prefer to abstain from violence entirely,
damage targets at a distance. you can instead choose a piece of protective
● Most models have a non-lethal setting, which feels gear from page 70.
like a stun gun, knock-out dart, flurry of paintballs,
getting blasted with a firehose, etc.

R AYG U N , S T E P A
d6 1–3 4–6
1 particle maser
2 proton neutron
3 laser reality
Gravity Glove. 4 mass feedback
5 photon danger

Zerobeam. 6 gravity zero

R AYG U N , S T E P B
d6 1–3 4–6
1 ray bow
2 beam wave
3 blaster pistol
4 visor projector
Proton Neutron 5 arc cannon
Projector. Pistol.
6 wand glove

63
 G R I P C O LO U R GRIP CUT
Your board d6 1–3 4–6 d6 1–3 4–6
The Nth gear board created slugblasting as we know it. 1 classic black 1 solid
Hoverboards had been around as dorky novelty toys for
2 red yellow 2 stripe band
a few years, and Popularian teens had been sneaking
3 blue orange 3 word pattern
into other dimensions for a while using other methods,
4 purple green 4 logo messy
but the moment those two bored surf rats invented the
Nth gear, everything changed. 5 pink white 5 mosaic design
6 clear hologram 6 painted torn
This new board had something other hoverboards
didn’t. Feel. You could feel the contours of spacetime DECK GRAPHIC
under your feet, hear the board cut slush in decadent d6 1–3 4–6
ASMR waves. The world was your skatepark—rocks 1 unpainted solid colour
and rough streets paved over by smooth, undulating
2 rad design name of a sponsor
blankets of spacetime. Curbs became kickers and walls
3 cool image dope pattern
became quarter pipes. You could snowboard in summer,
4 custom paint job sticker collage
surf indoors, and skateboard on the grass.
5 signed by someone programmable display

But there was more, of course. Riders soon discovered 6 hilarious slogan (see table on page 71)
that with the right speed and angle they could plunge
through the thin spacetime membrane around portal-
zones. If the Nth gear hoverboard was like skateboard- OT H E R O P T I O N S
ing’s urethane wheel, then this was like the Z-boys first Slugblasting may have started with hoverboards,
skating an empty swimming pool. but it’s grown well beyond that.

BMX bikes with adaptive hardlight wheels have

H OV E R B OA R D S 1 0 1 become a mainstay, powered sneakers and
● Go fast over solid terrain, hovering somewhere be- repurposed Hardecker® jump-packs basically
tween 3–12 inches above the ground, depending on birthed a fully-formed culture of interdimensional
the foaminess of spacetime in that area. freerunning, and hardlight inline skates (known
● These hoverboards don’t use magnets or turbines. commonly as laserblades, after Wilkie’s® break-
Instead they carve and slide over the invisible drifts out brand) gained long-overdue respect after
of spacetime slush that cover the landscape. Chihiro Muñoz bombed a Lazy Bunny stream with
● Many hoverboards have some form of propulsion, or her legendary stalefish 900.
at least inertial-sweepers to amplify your pushes.
● You can’t fly on your hoverboard, but you can usual- By board or bike, by jet-chair or scooter, as long
ly jump pretty high (10–15 feet) with a good run up, as you have a way to go fast and make portals,
and higher if you have something to use as a ramp. you’re a slugger. So feel free to cross out hover-
● In general you can probably do whatever a fairly board and write in something else.
good snowboarder or skateboarder could do.

64
d6 1– street 2- mcfly 3- manta 4- bigfoot 5- oldschool 6- slush

1-2

1- penny 2- nickel 3- gert 4- bomb 5- drift 6- wave

3-4

1-2
bmx
5-6
3-4
laserblades
5-6
freerunners
 Other Gear
And of course, you have a whole bunch of other junk.
A security cluster of slugblasting gear and teenage
detritus that’s always with you, shoved into a knapsack
alongside your homework, phone charger, chocolate bar
wrapper collection, and that super cute nail polish you
stole from the drugstore.

GRAPPLING HOOK
A pistol-sized launcher that fires an anti-negafriction
dart which sticks firmly to most surfaces until switched
off. The dart is attached to a hundred feet of lightweight
carbon-fibre cable, which can be retracted via the
launcher’s micro-winch. (Costs 1 coil.) A spacetime
ampimeter, various
repair tools, and
S PAC E T I M E A M P I M E T E R H AC K I N G TO O L S that salvaged
Allows you to measure spacetime thickness in your May include an advanced handset or hacking
mech arm you’re
not sure what to
vicinity, which can help you find thin-zones and oth- gauntlet, as well as an arsenal of data spikes, do with.
er quantum abnormalities. Available as a standalone keyloggers, transceivers, rippers, cloners,
device or as a smartphone dongle. Also grants +1d6 to proxies, packet dumps, brute-force salvos, and
Portal Discovery beats. (Costs 1 disc.) old-fashioned lock picks. (Costs 1 disc.)

M U LT I V E R S A L M A P S R E PA I R TO O L S
Local terrain maps for a number of worlds, overlaid and May include soldering irons, laser torches, screwdrivers,
gridded, allowing you to figure out exactly which part ratchets, tweezers, skate-tools, multimeters, oscillo-
of that vampire nest you’re going to portal right into. scopes, decoiling pliers, astral bolts, duct tape, and
Available in a bizarrely-folded waterproof hardcopy for various spare parts needed to repair, salvage, or modify
the exceptionally paranoid. (Costs 1 disc.) tech away from home. (Costs 1 coil.)

SMALL DRONE PRO CAMERA GEAR

Can be controlled manually via a difficult-to-use app, Covers a variety of DSLRs, vintage film cameras,
or programmed to fly in predictable patterns or keep a chest-mounted action cams, shoulder-mounted 3D
subject in sight. Useful for scouting, filming stunts, carry- video rigs, advanced drone attachments (drone sold
ing less than a kilogram, and running out of power right separately) and anything else better or different than
when it’s 400 feet out over a lake of acid. (Costs 1 disc.) your phone’s camera. (Costs 1 lens.)

66
 G ea r

Items in this column can be obtained

via certain perks. See page 7776.
MASK P E E L B AC K K I T
You can’t hoverboard if you can’t breathe! A slug- Peelback accidents are traumatic events, even for
blaster’s mask is as unique as their wallet or cellphone the pliable teenage brain, and a peelback kit (usually
case. They can look like bandannas, medical masks, consisting of a coherence rod, mouthguard, seizure and
gasmasks, gaiters, hockey masks, Halloween masks, nausea tablets, stable pattern flashcards, etc.) can make
and motocross helmets, all with enough nanofilters, CO₂ all the difference should a friend be unlucky enough to
scrubbers, and oxygen lattice built in to keep you vap- experience one—and you’re lucky enough to get back
ing nature’s own wherever you are. (Costs 1 coil, 1 lens.) to them in time. (Costs 1 disc, 1 coil.)

HAZWEAR B AC K U P P O R TA L I N G D E V I C E
The problem with portals is you might not know what’s Bad things can happen to a hoverboard. You could
on the other side. Will there be air? Will it be toxic? Will shoot it out near a bottomless pit, focus it in a fit of rage,
it be thrumming with radiation or piled on top of you for or lose it to an aggressive Rescue officer. Cautious
miles and kilometres creating a dozen atmospheres of slugblasters might like to know they have a second way
organ-stomping pressure? Who knows! That’s the fun home. Covers compound-energy photospheres, spare
of it. And you can enjoy it all with the various skinsuits Nth gears, splat-hatches, etc. (Costs 1 lens.)
and motocross-inspired hazwear available for you really
serious slugblasters to decorate with cartoon characters
and spill iced coffee on. (Costs 2 coils.)
The original prototype for
LO G I C B I N D E R
the Woolner spacetime
unraveller, an advanced
Logic Binders are arcane devices that allow you to exist portaling tool.
safely in universes with different physical laws than your
own, keeping your reality intact long enough for you to
get yourself killed in a more comprehensible way. They
can look like a remote control, a piece of odd metallic
jewelry, or a glittering cloth patch sewn onto your denim
jacket. (Costs 1 disc, 1 gem.)

A D VA N C E D P O R TA L T E C H
Thin-zones without thin enough spacetime are known
as “doubles” and “triples,” and using them requires
special cutting-edge technologies such as portal drills,
slip foam, spacetime unravellers, or fancy Nth gear
upgrades. Also grants +1d6 to Portal Discovery beats.
(Costs 1 gem, 1 coil.)

67
 Use the mop
attachment for a
nice controllable drip.
H A R D E C K E R ® S LU D G E F L A R E S HARDLIGHT MARKER
Over 600 cubic feet and 4.5 eventual tons of patented This thick, chisel-tip pen lays down a stream of solidified
Solidifying Liquid Ultra-Dense Grappling Expansion photons. Pop the cap, select the colour with a clicky
packed into an 8-inch, 14-ounce baton, originally de- twist ring, then draw with hardlight paint that floats im-
signed for various mining applications. Crack the stick, movably in empty space and is about as strong as tem-
stand back, and watch a shipping container worth of pered glass. Useful for prototyping, temporary repairs,
sticky hi-viz foam gush out. Pack of two. (Costs 1 coil.) and innovative graffiti writing. (Costs 1 lens, 1 coil.)

MASER GRENADES SMART CORD™

Great for swarms of bloodwhips, better for swarms of One of FUST’s most popular products. This cordial cord
popcorn, maser grenades explode into hot fields of is one hundred feet of dynamic nylon rope, woven with
microwave radiation that cook anything inside. And neural strings. Does rope stuff autonomously like tying
hey, contrary to popular belief, microwave radiation is knots, affixing to high places, etc. Give it simple voice
non-ionizing, meaning it won’t cause cancer, only blister- commands and it does the rest. Warning: screams if you
ing, deadly burns! Pack of two. (Costs 1 gem.) cut it. (Costs 1 coil, 1 disc.)

THE FUST® MIX B E A M F I LT E R

A quantum compact disc full of songs curated by FUST A beam filter attaches to your raygun, allowing you to
music snobs. From remixes and covers of familiar hits, not only adjust the energy type, but also dramatically
to originals that were never released in this dimension, reskin the way it looks. Change the colour, sculpt the
you’ll always have the right song for any occasion. texture, make it look like a stream of glitched-out neon
(Costs 1 disc.) birds, whatever. (Costs 1 disc, 1 lens.)

W I L K I E ’ S ® G R AV I T Y S T I C K E R S PA N I C E N E R GY ® F U E L- L I N E
These collectors items were printed as entrance swag A 42 oz plastic cup of energy that never ends! PANIC
for an infamous Wilkie’s-sponsored zero-g rave. Few claims the quantum lens in the cup jacks straight into
remain. The graviton-rich adhesive in each palm-sized their experimental R&D department, full of new flavours.
holographic sticker nullifies 500 lbs of weight from what- But many suspect it actually syncs with the spill trough
ever it’s slapped on. Pack of three. (Costs 1 gem.) of the nearest PANIC soda fountain. (Costs 1 lens.)

F U S T ® S TA S I S S T I C K E R S AU G B A N D
Originally made to quality-seal pizza boxes, these stasis This headband (also available as a ballcap) projects fun
stickers use tachyonic positrons (aka pause-itrons) to photo filters onto your face. Express yourself with silly
slow entropy in any < 300 lb object they’re stuck to. dog ears, make your skin look as smooth as single-use
Pizzas stay hot, gelato stays frozen, people stay young plastic, or attempt to pass yourself off as an entirely
and utterly unconscious. Pack of three. (Costs 1 lens.) different, better person. (Costs 1 lens, 1 disc.)

68
 PA R T I C L E B O N D T I G H T S 3 D - P R I N T E D A B L AT I N E
A bit too cold out for a dress? A bit too hot out for pants? The multi-layered carbon compounds in Ablatine are
A bit too monstery out in general? Wiggle your stems engineered to crumple, vaporize, melt, fragment, and
into these classic nanomaterial everydays, and go live shatter instead of the wearer’s precious, changing body.
your best life, ya know? Nope scrapes, bites, and other Avoid one slam from physical damage for free. Resets
lacerations for only 1 trouble. (Costs 1 lens, 1 coil.) during your next In the Lab beat. (Costs 1 lens, 1 disc.)

K N O C K- O F F S C R A M C AT ® T E E M I P E R ® E S C A P E B AG
If you look close it says “Scram Rat,” but that won’t stop This single-use emergency device is a big hit with
this shirt from deflecting lasers just as well as the real parents. When you would be seriously injured, this
thing for half the cost. Okay, almost as well as the real backpack instead expands and encloses you in an em-
thing. Fine, 50% as well. I guess you get what you pay barrassingly massive sphere of cushioning material and
for, and you paid to get hit by twice as many lasers. You stable quarks that deposit you back in Null unharmed.
do you, man. Nope slams from lasers and other electro- (Costs 1 coil, 1 disc.)
magnetic energy for only 1 trouble. (Costs 2 gems.)

pronounced D U R AW E AV E JAC K E T
AW F B R AC E L E T “off bracelet” Your Duraweave jacket has a lifetime warranty for stan-
An Anti-Wet Field generator uses diamagnetics to repel dard wear and tear, but literally nothing you’re doing in
water, something found plentifully in most living things. it qualifies as standard so don’t get ahead of yourself.
Keep slugs off your back, keep mud out of your eyes, Nope bruising, bludgeoning, and crushing for only 1
and get a little personal space. Nope slime, tentacles, trouble. (Costs 1 disc, 1 coil.)
and mouths for only 1 trouble. (Costs 2 coils.)

L I N K PATC H D U O
Particle bond Sew one onto your jacket and give the other to a friend.
spandex. Arcane energy entangles your quanta, allowing you to
swap places within the same universe and communicate
telepathically (emoji only). If one of you peels back, the
other does too, and removing either patch hurts you
both. Set of two. (Costs 1 coil, 1 disc, 1 gem.)

S L A M PATC H
This iron-on patch absorbs a set amount of most types
of energy, including kinetic energy. Avoid one slam from
physical damage for free. Once used, the patch fades to
greyscale, functionally inert but now valuable as a form
of street cred. (Costs 1 lens, 1 disc.)

70
 G ea r

Stickers, Pins, The amazing Cya Bear courtesy

of beloved ultrabacker Travis
patches, etc. Michael DeVoll.
S LO G A N
Stickers, pins, patches, and other Albert Einstein with his tongue out Cya Bear, lovable hoverboarding
11 41
expressive wearables are essential doing the hang loose sign kawaii icon
among teenage slugblasters, who “Skate and/or Die” w/ an image of A Miper® sticker defaced with
12 42
use them to articulate their iden- a dead cartoon cat in a box sharpie
tity, align themselves tribally, and “Bohrder” w/ a picture of Niels “Don’t Even Think About It” over
13 43
demonstrate credibility and status. Bohr on a hoverboard an infinity symbol
14 “Slugblasting is Not a Crime’’ 44 “Troubled Youth”
● Use these tables for ideas and 15 “Crush the Waveform’’ 45 “No Points for Style’’
inspiration! “Dream On’’ w/ map of Quahalia A pinup whose face shifts to look
● Where do you put it? What 16 that displays the viewer’s last 46 just like the mom of whoever
does it say about you? How do dream or nightmare views it
you feel about that? 21
“Focus’’ w/ a picture of a broken
51
A pinup of Lazy Bunny’s mascot
hoverboard Wift Wabbit wearing a gold chain
“Tough to Peel’’ w/ the image of a Stephen Hawking wearing shades
22 52
navel orange giving the middle finger
ORIGIN 23 “Just Violating Physics Byeeeee’’ 53 “Keep Slugblasting Weird”
Allie Gater doing a kickflip in a “BRANE-IAC’’ w/ a portrait of
1 you bought it 24 54
wedding dress Edward Witten
2 someone gave it to you 25 “Own the Zone” 55 “Secret Scooter Kid”
3 you stole it “ALT’’ w/ image of a holographic “Always Streaming” with a num-
4 you made it yourself 26 face that changes slightly each 56 ber that reflects current viewer-
time it’s viewed ship of whatever account you link
5 you got it for free as swag
“McTriple’’ in reference to the A salt shaker, traditionally
6 something else 31 high-difficulty portal-zones called 61 considered to be good luck in
triples among slugblasters slugblaster culture
“Maxed Out” w/ a portrait of Max Two tattooed fists with enough
32 Planck firing lightning bolts from 62 knuckles to spell out the entire
FORM his mouth Woolner Unraveller Theorem
1 sticker 33 “Not From Around Here’’ 63 “Real Spacetime Has Curves”
2 iron-on patch “Lawbreaker’’ w/ image of Newton “Coexist” w/ a picture of multiple
34 getting a hoverboard broken over 64 slightly different versions of the
3 button / enamel pin his head same person
4 t-shirt / sweatshirt / hat 35 “Popularia or Bust” 65 “Board to Death”
5 phone case A caffeinated scratch and sniff “Light Eater” w/ image of a salad
36 PANIC Energy® drink can. The fla- (the sticker’s glittery surface
6 hoverboard deck graphic 66
vour rotates daily. See page 138. works as a solar panel to slowly
charge whatever it’s applied to)

71
 Make 1 brand
Whether it’s how you consciously present your-

your
selves, or just how people think of you, your
brand can help set you apart. Pick two.
The Guts has final say.

● Shredders. +3 crew style after

You can wait to
pick until after
runs where you race, chase, or your first run.

crew
land x-treme tricks. You also get a
● Hackers. +3 crew style after runs chance to rebrand
where you salvage parts or mess when you become
with tech.
Up & Comers.
● Good Kids. +3 crew style after
runs where you help others or take
a stand.

(crew creation) ●

●
Punks. +3 crew style after runs where you
leave your mark or make a statement.
Partiers. +3 crew style after runs where you
throw a party or have a good time.
● Weirdos. +3 crew style after runs where you
take an unconventional approach.
● Couriers. +3 crew style after runs where you

But this isn’t the story ●

deliver something.
Ultranauts. +3 crew style after runs where
you find a new world or deal with dimension-
of some assorted kids al weirdness.
Underdogs. +3 crew style after runs where
with rayguns. It’s the ●
you get in over your heads.

story of a crew. A crew

of best friends, starting HYPE!
A shared resource. Do it for the crew and

as slugblasting nobodies boost or kick as needed! Some perks can

unlock more.

and becoming legends.

72
 C r ew C r ea t i o n

2 Hangout 5 The Map

Sorry kids, you can’t always be in another reality. So The multiverse is a tapestry of worlds connected by a
where do you hang out when you’re not? Pick two. The maze of portals—s­cene secrets exchanged by word of
Chill has final say. mouth and posted in online forums like cheat codes.
You’ve pooled your knowledge to sketch out some start-
ing routes. Each of you draws a one-way portal between
d6 1–3 4–6 two neighbouring worlds. The Smarts draws two.
1 the gas station The Video Hut
2 Burger Man the hoverboard park I suggest making
3 a classroom the school cafeteria sure you have a
4 Make-Out Park an abandoned building
route back home,
too.
5 someone’s garage a church basement
6 detention somewhere else

3 starting perk
Your crew is just forming, but you’re not full newbs.
You’ve read the magazines, tagged along with the older
kids, and have some hand-me-down gear. Pick either
Masks or Advanced Portal Tech. The Grit has final say.

4 Factions
You’re new on the scene, but you do have a few bud-
ding friendships and rivalries.

● The GM picks a faction already in your way (−1).

● The Grit picks a faction that trusts them (+1).
● The Guts picks a faction they’ve already somehow
annoyed (−1 or −2, you choose).
● The Smarts picks a faction they’ve studied (+1).
● The Heart picks a faction that a friend or family
member is part of (+1 or −1, you choose).
● The Chill picks a faction they know from being in
the right place at the right time (+1).
● The GM picks any faction they want (−1 or +1).

73
 6 name your crew CREW NAME IDEAS
11 includes a number 2dope, Sip 63
12 includes a colour Purple Boyz, Yellowtime
The hardest step. Relax. Use these tables for ideas, and
13 an entire sentence Have Fun or Die Trying
take a run or two to decide if needed. But remember, if
14 celebrity spoonerism Hony Tawk
you don’t name yourself, the community eventually will.
15 celebrity pun Rodney Nullin’
And it won’t be great. The Heart has final say.
16 has “The” at the front The Moment, The Grips
21 “Hillview’s _____” Hillview’s Worst
C O LO U R S 22 adjective adjectives Wet Reds
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6 23 anagram of your initials MORPHS
1 black white grey 24 a line from a movie or book All-Powerful & All-Stupid
2 red yellow blue 25 swap S for Z, Ex for X, etc. The X-Truzz
3 orange green purple 26 includes suffix 5 House, Portal Girls
4 pink violet teal 31 word with vowels removed MLTVRS
5 turquoise indigo magenta 32 word spelled wrong Phreak Owt
6 brown rainbow clear 33 word repetition Slugs Slugs Slugs
34 based on hangout spot Hut Rats, Cafeteria
35 onomatopoeia Bamf Springs, SPLAT!
LETTERS & NUMBERS 36 a little alliteration Grom Grinders
d6 1 2 3 4 5 6 41 rad assonance Chill Billions
1 A B C D E F 42 nonsense word Grankle, Smatchy, Flur
2 G H I J K L 43 portmanteau Loverboarders
3 M N O P Q R 44 super short IV, SK8, !!!
4 S T U V W X 45 inside joke you never explain Yogurt, Ritz Made Sick
5 Y Z 1 2 3 4 46 a single concrete noun Milk, Gravel, Light
6 5 6 7 8 9 0 51 a single abstract noun Exposure, Calculus
52 based on last emojis you sent Real Cool Heartbreak
53 based on the snacks here Nacho Universe
SUFFIXES 54 noun & noun Scab & Solder
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6 55 acronym you figure out later DOPE, BIP
1 crew collective disaster 56 acronym that includes an x SMX, LXNX
2 gang posse project 61 a verb The Shredding, Nullify!
3 squad army/mafia experience 62 random wikipedia topic Wisconsin, K-Theory
4 team house society 63 clandestine religious reference Nothin’ New
5 boarders locals underground 64 needless abbreviations The Huv Bs
6 boys/girls/kids monsters slugblasting, inc. 65 first pet + mom’s maiden name Punky Cunningham
66 rhyme time Drip & Rip

74
 Sermon N
“Let the s otes
ea resoun
the world, d , and every
and all wh thing in it
o live in it ,
” - Psalm
98:7 Grace Fe
llowshi
Church
 Aren’t you those kids
fame from that video? LOL
that was sick!
What’s good, dawgz.
Hear about that rail
As you play, you and your teammates can spend style to
work your way from Tier 0 Nobodies all the way to Tier 5 burn over in Priz?
Legends. Each tier comes with some immediate benefits
and also unlocks new perks you can purchase.

Burn bright, my babies.

1 W E L L- E S TA B L I S H E D
(7 style). The scene knows you
2
NOBODIES 0
You’ve been casually slugblasting
UP & COMERS
(5 style). You have people’s
attention, and now they’ll decide
if they care.
now. You’ve earned your right to
be here.

● +1 and −1 with two neutral

a little while. You know how to factions.
hoverboard, you know how to get ● +1 to opportunities. ● Gain 1 free two-way portal.
into a couple worlds, but no one ● +1 to challenges.
knows who you are. ● Rebrand, if needed.
PERKS
● Logic Binders (3 style).
PERKS Protect your math and survive
PERKS ● Hazwear (2 style). Hazwear Haz 3 worlds. Page 67.
● Masks (2 style). Colourful suits in a variety of styles.
nanomaterial air filters. Survive Survive Haz 2 worlds. Page ● Small-Press Merch (4 style).
in Haz 1 worlds. Page 67. 67. T-shirts, stickers, pins, patches,
etc. +1 hype.
● Advanced Portal Tech (2 ● Sticker Spotted (4 style). Your
style). Portal through thicker crew’s name in a lasting loca- ● Improved Hangout (4 style).
zones. Page 67. tion. +1 legacy each. Move in to an off-world skate
shop, pizza place, test lab, etc.
● Protective Fans (5 style).
Loyal clapback artists and ● Diehard Fans (5 style). Fans
Who are you? Sure, lookouts. Reroll challenges. that will wear your merch in
the casket. +1 legacy each.
whatever. Just stay ● Blurb (5 style). A pass-
out of our way, groms. ing mention in Slugblaster
Magazine. +1 with two
factions.
76
 FAME

Think they’ll show? I heard y’all are blowing

up! Don’t forget us when
Not much of a party you’re famous, girl.
if they don’t!
4 LEGENDS
5
(11 Style). You did it. You’re slug-

M A J O R P L AY E R S
3
(9 Style). You get name-dropped
R I S I N G S TA R S
(9 Style). Buzz and excitement
surround you. Everyone is watch-
ing closely.
blasting icons and the scene will
never forget you. Even your mom’s
friend Deborah knows you’re
famous for “hockey or rapping or
routinely and everyone has an something” and no one can say
opinion on you. ● +1 to opportunities. you didn’t do something with your
● +1 to challenges. lives not that you were trying to
● Four factions move further ● +1 hype. prove that, right?)
from neutral.
● Gain a third brand.
PERKS
● Quantum Hangout (5 style).
PERKS An upgraded hangout spot in Did you hear they
● Name on a Shoe (5 style). your own private demiplane. met DJ Dollarz?
A custom shoe, hoverboard
deck, etc. +1 hype. ● Image Rights (5 style). Your
own action figures, video Sellouts.
● Eponymous (5 style). A route, game skins, etc. +1 legacy each.
spot, trick, etc. named after
the crew. +1 legacy each. ● Screaming Fans (5 style). A OMG we go to school
● Article (5 style). An article in
teeming hoard of groupies and
stans. +1 hype.
with, like, celebrities.
Slugblaster Magazine, etc. +1
with two factions. ● Cover Story (5 style).
Featured in Slugblaster Pfft. They aren’t
● Tastemaker Fans (5 style).
Influencers, industry peeps,
Magazine. +1 legacy each. even that good.
etc. +2 style per run.
Did you hear my son is
famous? Yep, he’s on the
I liked their internet and everything!
early stuff.
77
UH OH.
Teenagers aren’t allowed anywhere, huh?
They’re kicked from playgrounds and driven
from corner stores with ultrasonics. Parents
nag them to leave the house, then wonder
where they were. But out there, beyond a
curtain of spacetime, is a place you and your
friends can just exist without it being called
loitering. Where a Kid Can Be A Kid™, as long
as A Kid Isn’t Eaten By Monsters™.
YOUR WORLD, OTHER WORLDS, AND
E V E R Y T H I N G T H AT L I V E S I N B O T H
your Null
The Universe of Null is fantastically
boring—a desaturated, bland world of
tax returns and life insurance, vanilla ice

world
cream and talk radio.

A world of beige lawns, brownish snow

and a dozen shades of taupe plastic
siding. A world of two-hour Sunday after-
noon drives to your great aunt’s house,
with nothing to do but eat stale mints out
of a garage-sale candy dish.
(where you live) A world so unspectacular that the neigh-
bouring universes almost missed it,
mistaking it for part of the ocean of dead
dimensional nothingness it borders, and
only making contact recently.

A world of big flat patches of grassland

The multiverse is an infinite called (get this) The Great Plains, where
a lonely sun and a single moon made of
tapestry of worlds in every grey rock move predictably through a big
empty sky. Where you can drive for hours

possible combination. And without needing to touch the steering

wheel.

even though so many of And somewhere near the forgotten top of

that unremarkable prairie, in the middle
these worlds feature twelve- of nowhere, hundreds of kilometres from
some unimportant city, is a little town
colour rainbows and edible called Hillview.

starlight, you had to be born

here. In Null. The Plane of Despite what you’d think, it’s not
called Hillview because it sits atop
Teenage Boredom. a hill providing stunning vistas. It’s
called Hillview because you can see a
hill from there.

80
 YOUR W ORLD

Hillview T H E R E A L H I L LV I E W
Hillview was founded by pleasant, easily impressed Hillview is based on my own small hometown of
farmers, who were seduced by the loam and spent the Three Hills, Alberta.
next hundred years growing wheat, pumping oil, and
rolling out fresh preachers from its seminary school. I loved growing up in Three Hills, but I knew oth-
ers who didn’t feel that way at all. Kids who felt
Things changed more recently, when DARA surveyors isolated, trapped, unaccepted, and bored out of
discovered that Hillview’s remarkably thin spacetime their minds. Kids who couldn’t wait to leave, and
fabric and distance from important population centres would have done anything to escape into cooler
would make it the perfect location for a big, expensive, dimensions. I tried to channel that while creating
potentially volatile particle physics lab. this exaggeratedly boring version of the little
town I love so much.
But despite the population bump, Hillview is still a town
of just a few thousand, where you can walk from one But Hillview isn’t the only place in Null with thin-
end to the other in twenty minutes and be offered a zones and bored teenagers. Check out page
ride by passing neighbours three times along the way. 84 for some alternate hometowns by guest
Where the summer evenings are long and cool, and writers, based on places from their childhoods!
you can ride your bike until 11 pm before the streetlights
even come on. Where the houses are modest and well-
priced and there’s lots of good jobs.
PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
A friendly town where you can put down roots and raise ● multiple neighbours ● chainlink fence
a family, which is, of course, exactly what 16-year-olds offer you a ride ● a soccer field during
care about most. ● Doorways protest practice
● one of your parents ● a sofa being loaded
shows up or calls you into a moving truck
TECH LEVEL ● someone from your ● packed playground
It took decades for the invention of the internet mom’s book club ● the trailer park, an old
to change the average person’s life in a tangible ● your narc little brother trampoline
way, to go from research paper to specialized ● off-duty teacher ● two freaks smoking in
technology to novelty item to something your ● on-duty RCMP officer Make-Out Park
mom uses to buy paper towel. In the same way, ● another crew visits ● drainage ditch
Null is in the uneven nascent stages of a new and it’s so humiliating ● your dad leaving his
era, where it’s perfectly normal for slugblasters ● your crush is here job at the gravel yard
to own hoverboards and pocket-sized atom ● unannounced DARA ● school bus full of
smashers, but also perfectly normal for the rest Rescue division train- wide-eyed normies
of Hillview to drive diesel pickup trucks, cook ing exercise ● Cst. Plett’s patrol car
hashbrown casseroles in crock pots, and not be ● invasive species from
too sure about this whole multiverse thing. another world
The GM can use
these lists to create exciting
scenes and chases in Hillview.
81
 1. Grain Elevators. Towering wooden relics, where 11. Burger Man. Hard ice cream, mushroom burgers, a
wheat was siloed then loaded into train cars table of retirees reading Coffee News Bulletin.
through long, tempting chutes.
12. The Video Hut. This cultural hub rents movies,
2. Gravel Yard. Large sloping heaps of aggregate, game consoles, and well-used slugblasting gear.
well-secured by a broken chainlink fence. Have it back by 5 pm the next day, and don’t forget
to rewind the amp-coils!
3. Hillview Aquatic Centre. This indoor pool is the
epicentre of Hillview’s nightlife. Family swim ends 13. The Food Cellar. This local grocery monopoly
at 7 pm. Closed semi-annually to be drained and employs most of Hillview’s teenage workforce,
cleaned. who spend eternal 4-hour shifts stocking shelves,
dreaming about portals, and flirting during close.
4. Hillview Rinks. Hockey and curling. Off-season
they become showfloors for the weekend farmer’s 14. Hillside Lanes. The glow-bowl night at this 5-pin
market and an annual multiversal trade fair. bowling alley is the closest Hillview gets to a Invented
The Wilkie’s club scene. Bring a date, crash a youth
booth gives in Canada!
5. Water Tower. Hillview’s most cherished free samples! group, get a slice of Hawaiian pizza. Weird, right?
vestigial monument, lit up each Christmas,
climbed by bored teenagers each April, and used 15. McLeod’s Hardware. The sporting goods aisle is
by local sluggers as a meta-navigational landmark. the only place in town to buy a hoverboard.

6. Mission Bible Institute. A small, diverse college 16. Grace Fellowship Church. The largest of Hillview’s
developing the latest in youth pastor technology. fourteen churches, and the birthplace of both
Doorways and its young, hip offshoot, Wayz.
7. Hoverboard Park. In the dead of winter, dedicated
skaters settle for wooden ramps in an old MBI gym- 17. Hillview School. Draw Punnett squares, read
nasium that is a few degrees warmer than outside. Othello, build a plasmic lens in DARA’s youth sci-
Skating is paused at 7 pm for a five-minute Godtalk. ence outreach program, sit through Ms. Theissan’s
anti-slugblasting assembly. No skating in the halls!
8. Gas Top. A default muster point for Hillview’s
teens. Get a slush, get some potato wedges, flip 18. DARA Research Facility. See page 133.
through an issue of Slugblaster Magazine without
buying it, try to buy vape with your sister’s ID. 19. Hillview Health Centre. Your local slam shop. This
small hospital has good pie, a friendly maintenance
9. Big Sub. Hillview’s first real fast-food chain, just like man, and at least one slugblaster waiting in the ER.
the ones in the city! Under construction.
20. Dump. This landfill collects Hillview’s trash in large,
10. Police Station. While most dimensional matters sloping pits, along with unshredded documents,
are handled by DARA, general community safety is old computers, and strange scrap from DARA’s lab.
still handled by this small local RCMP detachment. Lindsay Reimer found a brand new MZ5 in there!

82
 bonus hometowns
Oakmont Park Oceano
By Jeremy J. Harper, inspired by Black urban neigh- By Kristin Devine, inspired by the coastal and agri-
borhoods that are full of love but deprived of oppor- cultural city of Oxnard, California and its surrounding
tunities—places like Germantown in Philadelphia, cities Ventura, Camarillo and Santa Paula.
Pennsylvania.
Oceano is a flat, coastal town nestled between several
People who don’t live here don’t get it, but you know larger, and better-known coastal cities. It is home to
all about life in Oakmont Park. About pick-up games, one outdoor mall, a downtown that nobody under the
Rita’s water ice, and the smell of your auntie’s per- age of 50 visits, and the annual Strawberry Harvest.
fume. About row houses, family cookouts, and so much If you want to see a new movie or go shopping for
music. But you also know about your cousin upstate clothes even remotely in fashion you have to drive two
who was denied parole, and teachers that don’t look towns over and cross the hill. Weekends in Oceano are
like or care about you. About impossible situations and spent cruising down 5th Ave. and Spartan, hanging out
desperate choices. About vigils. And marches. And at the mini golf course, or enjoying long days at the
wishing you could find the answer to help your com- beach, if the local surfers allow you to.
munity get free.
Oceano is pretty quiet, with an undercurrent of sad-
But what if the answer isn’t here to be found? What ness. There are not many well-paying jobs and its
if it’s out there? And you gotta free yourself to find it? crime rates are much higher than its surrounding cities.
Well, then it’s time to lace up your antigravity J’s, hop Folks tend to either surrender to living here for their
on your hoverboard, and crash through the hyperspace whole lives or they start planning their escape minutes
barrier. after graduation from high school.

F E AT U R E S Will one day inspire the F E AT U R E S

“sandwich theory” of
● BJ’s Steaks. One of the best multiversal structure. ● The city college (“Go Armadillos!”) that hosts the
jawns for cheesesteaks. town’s largest event each year, the Strawberry
● Dilapidated public housing projects. Harvest.
● Kingsley Park. The playground’s a mess, but the ● Angelo’s Taco Stand.
basketball court is still much loved. ● Lucy’s Go-Kart Racing and Mini-Golf.
● The neighborhood gang that offers more protec- ● Silver Line Beach, which is home to many local
tion than the police ever have. pods of surfers.
● The Oakmont Park Jail. Full of poor folks with mi- ● Oceano Harbor Village that tries its hardest not to
nor charges who can’t afford bail. call itself part of Oceano.

84
 YOUR W ORLD

Kingsport greatwood
By Michael Pelletier, inspired by cities such as By Cass Rea, inspired by formative years in the sprawl-
Baltimore (Maryland), Harrisburg (Pennsylvania), ing, doomed glory that is Sugarland, Texas.
Portland (Maine), and Lowell (Massachusetts)
Several tedious hours of traffic outside the city, some-
Once a booming industry town, Kingsport remains only one thought it would be a good idea to turn a swampy
as a relic, overshadowed by more contemporary cities floodplain into a suburb. Welcome to Greatwood.
and reduced to a footnote in history.
Spoiler: the woods aren’t great. Deforested years ago,
Few of those who are born in Kingsport get a real young monoculture groves surround newly construct-
chance to escape. Entire generations have never set ed, cul-de-sac-laden neighborhoods. Ever-watchful
foot outside the city limits. Some are content with that, neighbors occupy spacious McMansions bordering an
or at least have convinced themselves that they are. overwatered 18-hole golf course. Ample parking and
mosquitoes await! Most adults are stuck in an endless
It’s as if downtown’s brick buildings hide a gravity commute to city jobs, the rest employed by the Rolling
anchor, keeping everyone close, or pulling them back Hills Sugar Factory, which does not appear to actually
after short stints in other cities. But you think that if produce sugar. Greatwood has every fast food chain
you can just go fast enough, go far enough, maybe there is, neatly contained within the greasy food court
you can really break free and find a place where things of a mall with perpetually broken air conditioning.
happen, instead of one where things once Allegedly, a kid once got eaten by a meta-gator trying
happened. Haunted? Or to ride the storm sewer drains, but if true that would be
fluctuating by far the most interesting thing to ever happen here.
portal-zone?
F E AT U R E S
● The crumbling Kingsmouth Lighthouse. F E AT U R E S
● The Owl Diner. ‘50s style, known for milkshakes ● An overzealous golf course security guard.
and breakfast sandwiches. ● Older kids sneaking onto the 13th hole at night.
● The musty Kingsport Library. ● The sugar factory silo’s pipe network hums slightly.
● The decrepit Kingsport State Mental Hospital. ● Fracking burn-off flickers just outside of town.
● King’s Chapel, an ancient burial site. ● Goth kids attempting a spell in the woods.
● Country club members appalled by fresh graffiti.
d6 Old Industry Worst Thing Best Thing ● Wanna-bes trying to skate the storm drains.
1 fishing gangs art scene
● That huge raccoon who can get into any dumpster.
● Your friend Luke just spilled his slurpee AGAIN.
2 shipping drugs food
● A lonely kid in the shade of a highway overpass.
3 textiles unemployment good schools
● Fiercely competitive church groups in the park.
4 coal/pyrite organized crime music scene
● Sweaty kids stuck on a school bus for hours.
5 quarry weather museums ● The never-finished neighborhood across the river.
6 papermaking gentrification national park ● That one smoggy but beautiful view of the city.

85
 Greektown Todos os Santos Medina
For beloved ultrabacker Shepherd By Wendi Y., inspired by the city of By Ashley Moni, inspired by Dubai
Cameron, inspired by his neigh- Salvador, Brazil. and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab
bourhood in Toronto, Ontario. Emirates.
First thing to know is that it’s TOO.
Greektown’s teens hoverboard DAMN. HOT. HERE. Some kids are A blinding blue cloudless sky,
all year round. Feet frozen in privileged enough to have ACs, punctuated by too many industrial
their salt-stained skate shoes as but not you. If you wanna cool off cranes. A world-famous tourist
they launch off windrows left by you can go to the beach or go to town, apparently fun enough for
snowplows. Dodging potholes the mall. Not much else to do here, adults that they travel here from
and spraying old traction gravel I’m afraid. Especially if you live on all over the globe. But fun is for
when the snow melts. Kickflipping the outskirts two buses away from rich foreign tourists, not kids from
over construction barriers until the anywhere. Sure, it’s beautiful, but migrant families like you.
snow returns two months later. that just means there’s loads of
tourists all year round. And have I Your parents don’t believe in giv-
The good portal-zones in other said that it’s hot here? ing you any money, but that’s okay
neighbourhoods are always too cause there’s nothing to spend it
crowded, but there are some on and no way to get anywhere
spots here only the locals know, F E AT U R E S without public transit. So you loiter
up on the top of the music hall and ● The beaches. If you like in the stairwells of the fifteen-story
old Greek restaurant-turned-phar- surfing, welcome home. All apartment building you and your
macies-turned-cupcake-shops. the good ones overflow with friends live in, or bike up and down
sunscreen-smeared tourists. the multi-level parking lots until
like “ketchup chip” ● The Black Lake neighborhood, the watchman chases you out.
F E AT U R E S and “clean laundry.”
where youth of all ages go to
● Suckers Candy Co., a trusted dance and get wasted.
hangout and the only place in ● The Old Town. The city’s colo- F E AT U R E S
the city that carries the weird- nial past shows itself in large ● The mosque nobody’s man-
er flavours of Pix Soda. baroque mansions. Parents aged to spot but everyone can
● The Big Slope. A huge hill say it’s dangerous after dark. hear during its loudspeaker
crowded with festival goers in That’s exactly why it’s got the prayer calls.
the summer and nine-year-old best parties. ● The local sandlot where work-
tobogganers in the winter. ● The Woman in Purple wanders ers keep building and tearing
● A nasty twelve-kink rail at the the streets, a violet ghost with down foundations on alternat-
park with a higher body count a hidden face. They say she’s ing weeks.
than texting while driving. been here since the 19th cen- ● The roadside shawarma joint
● Pottery Road, where tury. They say she’s grieving. a few blocks behind your
hill-bombers sacrifice their They say you should never building, in the territory of the
lives for SPEED. look under her veil. scary kids.

86
 YOUR W ORLD

Northwood Walkergate
By Laurie O’Connel, inspired by rural England and the By Daniel Charlton, inspired by the greatest place on
brilliant girls who grow up there. Earth. Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

The town has one bus in and out every day. The adults Proper geet big blocks of flats and council houses like.
don’t seem to mind, but you’ve always felt trapped Walkergate doesn’t have much going for it. Most of
here, the city with its shopping centres and cafes the high street is boarded up but there’s a few charity
seeming less accessible every year. The skateparkis shops, a Pound-Savers and a chippy. The adults think
dominated by the lads—the older boys who know ev- all the place has going for it is the handful of pubs, but
ery trick and always have the newest gear. Your group you know differently.
hangs out elsewhere: in the playground, the chalk pits
outside town and, best of all, the well. Most days, you The tarmac paths are smooth as butter to skate on and
don’t even care that you feel unwelcome in the skate- the scrapheap your dad got that new car door from is
park, because the old cycle tunnel at the town’s edge full of all kinds of rubbish to tinker with. The green belt
is where you get into alternate dimensions, between estates is a wondrous place. Not just because
and the guys don’t know what they’re AKA when you can escape your parents and explore abandoned
missing. Calorium’s sun quarries, but because it’s packed with thin-zones. Just
finally dies. get back in time for tea, otherwise you’re grounded
until hell freezes over.
F E AT U R E S
● Northwood Grammar (where students wear blazers
and have nicer stuff) and Northwood Secondary F E AT U R E S
(the school everyone else goes to). ● Gradual sloping concrete staircases between a
● The Rec. A football pitch that’s mostly mud. A crick- block of two giant flats. Gazza got a great video of
et square ruthlessly defended by the oldies. A tiny him grinding the handrail here!
skateparkin the corner. ● If they didn’t want you to skate about the metro,
● The Cycle Tunnel. An old tunnel on the edge of why did they make the floor so smooth? What you
town, containing a massive graffiti mural of Shrek; mean it’s dangerous playing near the track? You’ll
your path to somewhere else. move before the metro comes.
● The Lads. Older kids hanging around the skate- ● The guard dog at the scrap heap looks like he’d rip
park. They don’t bully you, exactly, but they ignore your face off but he’s super friendly. Remember the
you in ways that make you feel self-conscious, and time he pulled you around on your board?
you don’t feel comfortable with them. ● Drinking spot in the trees full of empties. What’s
● The Extras. That’s you: the queer kids, the mis- 9% mean and what makes this brew so “special”?
fits, and the girls. You have to share your older ● Dirt bike race track you use with your push bikes. It
brothers’ boards between you. But you’ve found has the sickest jumps and hills!
freedom in fleeing to different dimensions—places ● Random police sirens. Ha, they’re coming for you.
you can be yourselves, experience new things, and No they’re not! What are the other kids pretending
escape the judgment of your peers. you’ve done?

87
 Fort George Baranek Kada Kada
By Thomas Manuel, based on the By River Ray, based on a small By Jordan ‘Skelpie’ Clarke, and
city of Chennai, India. town in Poland’s Silesia region, based on Marla (South Australia),
some distance away from the city and Alice Springs (Northern
A city can have more than 5 mil- of Katowice. Territory).
lion people and still be as silent as
a room after someone accidentally Surrounded by farmland and When the hot winds rise, dust
lets one rip. nestled between larger towns in covers the outback town like a red
southern Poland, Baranek isn’t sheet. The locals spend their lives
It’s hot here for nine months of an ideal place to grow up. And al- sweating indoors and swearing at
the year—so hot that sometimes though Poland is behind on some the local wildlife. Everyone’s given
it feels like you’re an ant and the slugblasting trends, even here up on getting rid of the shell-back
gods have a magnifying glass and you’ll find bored kids with home- lizards, which outnumber even the
a mean sense of humor. Around made hoverboards and no sense flies. A couple dollars can be made
lunch, the streets are deserted ex- of self-preservation who are ready clipping the ticks off cattle, a few
cept for those forced by their jobs to go portaling. more for shoveling crud.
to trudge along. Everyone else is
indoors or huddling under whatev- You’ve got your teachers giving
er shade they can find. F E AT U R E S lessons over the radio, so even
That’s the
But in the morning and funny thing ● The Kill-Hills. Located on the when you’re sick, you’re still
the evening? You can about home, outskirts of town, these hills expected to attend class. Though
almost start to like isn’t it? are way too steep to safe- some kids realize teachers can’t
the place. ly skate or sled down from keep an eye on you (especially if
(giving them the infamous you bribe your younger brother to
nickname), but they might just act like you for a bit).
F E AT U R E S be the best spot for a portal to
● A beach where people hide show up.
behind umbrellas when they ● The Palace. Located in the F E AT U R E S
kiss park across the street from the ● The Geology Museum, now
● A temple or mosque or church church, this old German palace with a new particulate matter
around every corner has since been turned into a display.
● One million apartments that cultural center (as if you would ● Old Barry Wexter, who sells
are under construction go there for that). roadkill puppets.
● Cars and buses that don’t ● The Kilns. Kids in Baranek ● The Red Mule, a spittoon sa-
follow traffic rules have few interesting hangout loon (no children allowed).
● A river so muddy that the options, and these old lime ● Woop Woop, out past the dirt
dead bodies sometimes get kilns by the railway are often roads, where you can surf
stuck where they butt up against on red dunes and find rare
● A landfill one another. thin-zones

88
other infinite worlds
The multiverse is an infinite mosaic of
worlds, every combination of particle

worlds
in every different arrangement in every
stage of motion in every possible se-
quence. Everything, even the absurd and
unlikely, is happening somewhere. There
is no way to know it all, do it all, be the
best, or be unique. There are endless
worlds in the midst of tragic destruction
and endless worlds of unimaginable
utopia all at once and there is nothing
(where you go you can do to change that, even though
multiple yous have tried.
to have fun) So why bother taking out the garbage?
Because even though there are endless
other worlds where you’ve already taken
out the garbage, never take out the
garbage, and die on the way to take out
the garbage, the fact is if you don’t take
But just beyond the veil, out your garbage right here, in this world,
right this second mister, you’re going to
a few quanta to the left, be grounded. So how do you want to
spend your Saturday?
awaits your escape. Worlds Contemplating infinity can be humbling,
of fun and adventure. mentally stimulating, spiritually enrich-
ing, and perhaps even calming, but you
Worlds of wonder and can’t think about everything everywhere
all at once, like, all the time. It causes
treasure. Worlds of death nosebleeds. In order to avoid sliding into
existential madness, slugblasters focus
and madness and for some on the “local multiverse”—twelve or so
nearby worlds clustered together like a
reason all the bugs are the small planar continent, surrounded by a
desert of dead universes and a sea of
size of garbage trucks? quantum noise.

90
 O t he r W o r l d s

A local multiverse thin-Zones

There are four worlds in this cluster with known hu- You can’t make a portal just anywhere. You need a spot
man populations. Operaeblum, Popularia, and Thennis where the spacetime is thin enough. These thin-zones
Spar started an interdimensional relationship decades (sometimes called portal-zones) are scattered across the
ago, establishing trade, diplomacy, immigration, and multiverse and hidden throughout town, each linked to a
extra-planar development. Hardecker sends mining ves- specific neighbouring world. There’s a zone to Vastiche
sels from Operaeblum to Prismatia through huge Planck- in the park. Operaeblum has a mid-air outie at the end of
energy burn-gates. Miper is constructing a trillion-dollar The Dropline. And you heard Sita fell out of The Golden
multiversal train across the planar continent. The monks Jungle right in Ryan Paulson’s bedroom.
and spiritualists from Thennis Spar claim to have been
traveling the multiverse for eons, and arcane relics Some thin-zones are undiscovered, hidden, secret,
scattered across the planescape suggest they may not guarded, buried or blocked in some way. A spacetime
have been the only ones. Null was, of course, late to this ampimeter can measure nearby spacetime, and experi-
whole party, its leaders completely overwhelmed by the enced hoverboarders say they can feel out spacetime
knowledge of interdimensional travel. Null’s teenagers, density by the way it affects their ride. Unlocking one of
however, figured it out pretty quickly. these valuable spots might be a run itself. And of course,
some thin-zones are just not as thin as they should be.
These are what sluggers call “doubles” and “triples,” and
Tearing Spacetime require special tech or skill to use.

Spacetime permeates every world and keeps it from

doing illogical things, like sloshing into neighbouring
universes. A field of math covering everything, thicker D OW N T I M E B E AT !
in some places, thinner in others. Piling up in drifts like Portal Discovery (2 style). Exploring, eaves-
snow. Collecting in pools like slush. Flowing in undulat- dropping, crunching data, scouring old message
ing waves and able to boil and froth. boards, etc.

Nth gear hoverboards are designed to ride these Pick a world (A) that borders another (B) and roll
curves, and innovative slugblasters have learned to 1d6 to see what kind of portal-zone you learn
plunge through spacetime like a jet ski breaking the sur- about.
face tension of the water, exiting this world and leaving
a portal behind them. 1 one-way to A 1 ...tricky to locate
2 one-way to B 2 ...a faction secret
● Most spacetime portals are temporary, usually last-
3 one-way to A but it’s... 3 ...blocked or guarded
ing no longer than a few seconds before they cool,
4 one-way to B but it’s... 4 ...very dangerous
shrink, and smooth back over.
● Creating a portal generally requires three things: an 5 two-way 5 ...only open sporadically
action roll, a hoverboard or backup portal device, 6 two-way but it’s... 6 ...too thick for basic tech
and something called a thin-zone.

91
 one-way gates planar Hopscotch
Most of the portals you create in these thin-zones are You can’t reach every universe from yours, just the uni-
one-way. Yes, you can go to Vastiche from the park, but verses that border yours, dimensionally speaking. You
you need to find another way back once you’re there—a might travel through a few worlds to get to your final
specific portal-zone that goes to Null. destination, and then a few more to get home. To get
from Thennis Spar to Popularia, you’ll cut through The
One-way portals are gnarly. When you create one, you Waking Pits, zagging from thin-zone to thin-zone.
see nothing but a perfect, vantablack hole in space. No
sound, light, or matter can come back through from the Sometimes these zones are close together, and your
portal’s destination. If you put your hand in, you can’t stay in a connecting world is very brief (kids say there’s
pull it back out. You can’t even feel it, because your a shortcut through Desnine short enough to swim
brain can’t receive signals from your fingertips. Step without an oxygen mask). Other times you’ll find your-
through quickly so you don’t black out! self skating a kilometre through the jungle pursued by
mathpanthers just to get to your next thin-zone.
Once you’re through, that same portal looks very differ-
ent, like an open window into the world you just left, but A lot of slugblasters find all the 5-dimensional logistics
a window you can’t re-enter. Your hand passes through and dynamic route-planning their favourite part of the
it like it’s a hologram, a mirage of home. sport. You’ll often hear sluggers discussing paths and
routes in impenetrable jargon and slang, geeking out
about the kid from Thennis who did a 5-burn P2Q slide
92 cycle in under 3 minutes.
S O M E S LU G G E R S L A N G
● Peel. Short for “peel back.”
● Rip, Dip, Burn-Through, etc. Various terms
for creating and/or entering portals.
Fruits and vegetables are often used to describe
how prone to peelback a person is. As a result,
● Doubles/Triples. Areas where spacetime is slugblasting aesthetic has become increasingly
too thick to portal through by normal means. produce-based.
● Faithy. A run to a world you don’t have a
known way home from.
● Skating. Hold-over term for hoverboarding.
● Line. A skateboard term for a consecutive
trick path, now also used to describe a route
through multiple worlds.
● Grom. A young, annoying rookie slugblaster.
● Banana. Someone who peels back easily.
● Lime. Someone who doesn’t.
● Ripe. The haggard, unsettled feeling you get
when you’re close to peeling back.
 O t he r W o r l d s

Hostile environments Peelback

Because of quantum waveform probability echoing, Just as spacetime tends to sew itself back up, the
the topography of some worlds may seem familiar, but cosmic immune systems of these other worlds tend to
almost everything else is likely way different. spit out foreign objects. If you go too far or stay out too
long eventually you’re forced back to your homeworld
Sure, it might have a field and a sky, just like Hillview through a traumatic process called “peeling back.”
does, but here it’s a field of black glass and pink flame,
with a white sky so hot your bodily fluids expand quicker On the one hand, this means that it’s unlikely you’re
than your skin. It may even be so different that your at- ever stuck anywhere forever. On the other hand, peeling
oms separate, or a third of your dimensions blink out, or back is so unbearably intense that many teenagers hang
your existence itself becomes utter nonsense under the up their boards after experiencing it. Without special
alien quantum laws of this new hellscape you decided to equipment, adults rarely survive at all.
pop your head into just for the lols.
Much is still unknown about peelback. Why does stress
These worlds come in a variety of hospitalities and may seem to trigger it? Why does it only seem to affect life,
require you to have masks (for toxic atmospheres or and not that keychain from Popularia? Why did Nicole’s
deficient oxygen levels), hazwear suits (for extreme tem- brother get flung into the astral plane for three weeks
peratures, pressures, and radiation), or logic binders (for and why can he read minds now?
worlds with different physical laws than your own).

93
 ? ?

you are
here
CALORIUM

OPER- NULL
? AEBLUM VASTICHE

EMPYR
EAN

POP
ULA PRISMATIA THE
RIA THENNIS
future GOLDEN
m-train SPAR JUNGLE
THE W
? AKING
PITS ?

? (This surrounding
QUA DESNINE
blank space is a HA
sea of Noise. Check LIA
page 114.)

M A P T H E M U LT I V E R S E wtf
Theories come and go, but the
current general consensus is that (you can use a
the multiverse ripples out forever 3 little number
Draw arrows to label portal
in type 15 pentagonal tiling. between worlds complications
to mark a portal two-way one-way you’ve rolled )
94
 Pronounced

Vastiche
“Vas-TEESH.” F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Overpass. A river of abandoned cars rust
bumper to bumper on a mile of elevated freeway.
The windshields, on-ramps, and medians are fun
Chemical war badlands. Crumbling parkades, faded to skate and underneath you’ll find shade, graffiti,
billboards, and an abandoned megamall almost entire- empty cans, and hundreds of thrumming egg sacs.
ly covered over with dunes of pink sand.
● Rainbow Tank. Between the bombed-out remains
Greenish clouds smear Vastiche’s pale yellow sky. The of two big-box stores is a pockmarked graveyard
landscape is dry and jagged, the air smells like chlo- of military vehicles, including a large battle tank
rine and tastes like artificial sweetener—a byproduct of covered in years of spraypaint and railwax.
some sort of chemical weapon used during whatever
global conflict turned this once-placid suburb into a ● The Secret Megamall. The dunes occasionally drift
wasteland of concrete and exposed rebar. Nothing enough to expose an entrance to this legendary
grows here but roachweed and no one lives here spot. There’s a food court, a mini-golf course, ex-
except the packs of tumorous coyotes that scrap and travagant water features hiding entire ecosystems
cackle in the ravines. under a layer of thick chemical algae, and even
some alternate-reality stores and snack machines
Yeah, Vastiche sucks. But it’s easy to get to, relatively that haven’t been picked over yet.
chill, and adults have virtually zero commercial interest
in it—so it’s a good casual spot for when you can’t get
to someplace better, and for slugblasters who are still PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
getting a feel for the sport. Sure, it may be the bunny ● a rival crew shows up ● maze of hoodoos
hill, but it still has enough skate spots, blank walls, with the same idea ● collapsing billboards
military-grade salvage, and buried mysteries to make ● a category 5 caustic ● active minefield
for a fun weeknight. storm brewing in the ● ragged canyon
Indicates distance ● piece of old on-ramp
hazard level. a squadron of well- huge cement pipe
HAZ ● ●

1 armed salvage crabs ● craters and gravel

B R I N G YO U R M A S K ● a dreadfly ● waves of sandy dunes
Whatever happened here, it left the air not ● Rescue does a routine ● crumbling parkades
great, although toxicity levels vary day to day. mop up ● broken, crisscrossing
Most times a breath mask is enough, but caustic ● the mall is already escalators
storms can blow in too, wreaking havoc on your swarming with other ● waterfall of pink sand
eyes, skin, and the jacket you borrowed from slugblasters coming down through
your older sister without asking. Occasionally, the ● your way home is a broken skylight
air clears up enough for you to ditch the mask en- obscured by shifting ● food court labyrinth
tirely. On these rare nights Vastiche is alive with dunes ● second level collaps-
the sounds of partying teens. For inside the ing onto first
megamall ● mini-golf course

96
 O t he r W o r l d s

Thennis Spar F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● Arborist Temple. Like everything in Thennis Spar,
this sacred site is both impossibly ancient and un-
believably futuristic. Word is that the Arborists are
A bustling, exotic utopian city. Locals trade olives and hoarding some serious tech in their inner sanctum
spices in the forum, discuss the multiverse in ancient (not to mention all the secrets of the multiverse).
temples, and try to ignore all the ghosts.
● The Forum. You can find just about anything here if
Visiting Thennis Spar for the first time feels like travel- you know where to look, including strange delica-
ing to the ancient past and the distant future all at the cies, impossible wonders, and all the components
same time. In the crowded marketplace, you’re as likely and gear a crew could ask for. The question is:
to find a cart full of fresh produce as you are a cache what do you have to trade?
of salvaged alien tech. An ancient obelisk hewn from
the living rock towers overhead, and at its pinnacle, a ● The Catacombs. In a city full of ancient architec-
hardportal from Prismatia bathes the entire city in con- ture, the catacombs pre-date almost everything
tinuous golden-hour light. else by centuries. Secrets hide inside these wind-
ing tunnels, but who knows what else is waiting for
Since most worlds are nothing but abandoned ruins you in the darkness. Finding your way in is difficult,
and untamed wilderness, coming here often introduces finding your way out is even worse.
Null’s sluggers to broader multiversal culture. This city
can open up a lot of figurative doors and literal portals
for a crew looking to make their name—just don’t get PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
on the Arborists’ bad side! ● stern Arborist guards ● a grove of olives
Active ● ghost attention ● a balcony overlooking
civilization.
CIV ● huge negawraith the bustling market
● briefly crossing into a ● a cart of colourful
RESIDENTS conjoined negaverse powders in your path
Soft, warm skin the colour of various metals, from ● scheming rival crew ● a narrow alley
pale zinc, to patinated copper, to the blackest ● too many people are ● a labyrinth of apart-
titanium. Their tunics and scarves are made from watching you ments and insulae
the latest metamaterials, their togas and shawls ● Shimmer mercs ● a vine-covered wall
from the wool of well-cared-for lambs. ● a city-wide ceremony ● an ampitheatre
starts, with intricate ● a wedding at an ex-
They work with joy, trade without greed, and customs you’re ex- pensive villa
uphold simple laws with justice and mercy. Their pected to know ● a back way into the
scientists pray, their priests study, they write ● you accidentally break Arborists’ gardens
new songs each day. They are kind, humble, or defile something ● the serene waters of
good-humoured, and haunted by the ghosts of ● a summoned soliton the public baths
their ancestors. ● the way out is slowly ● a risky jump to the
sealing off aqueduct

97
 Pronounced “DEZ-neen,”
from a Thennis Spartian word

Desnine
meaning “Swim Forever.” F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● Observation Centre. Miles of pristine glass corri-
dors that twist in every direction. Flickering emer-
gency lights illuminate steep drops, tight corners,
An infinite ocean, with water where outer space should and occasional full loops. A great place to score
be. The serpentine glass corridors of an abandoned primo footage or find abandoned gear, but watch
observation centre twist around a small coral moon. for cracked glass and flooded chambers.

Desnine wasn’t always a popular destination for ● Ethan’s Reef. A coral moon home to hundreds of
slugblasters—after all, nobody likes playing the water metaterrestrial species and some very mysterious
levels, right? Even with breathing masks, it makes for alien wreckage. Named after that kid who went
a dangerous run. Glowing coral and bioluminescent missing here. What was he looking for anyway?
manta rays cast just enough ethereal light to find your
way, but massive shapes drift through the inky black- ● The Bub. This huge air pocket collects interesting
ness beyond, and they look hungry. flotsam from surrounding waters—things washed
off sluggers and things from leagues away. Plus a
Despite all that, the discovery of the abandoned few years ago a crew of shredders hauled a janky
observation centre (and all that beautiful, immensely old grav unit in here that can be set to make the
skateable glass) has redefined Desnine as a risk worth inside surface fully skateable.
taking for a lot of crews. Just make sure your gear is
waterproof first.
PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
● flooding hallways ● coral archways
HAZ ● giant psionic squid ● a smack of jellyfish
1 ● mask failure ● a powerful gyre
W E I R D G R AV I T Y ● a freaking megalodon ● a gauntlet of giant,
The gravitational pull of an infinite tonnage of ● your stream is weirdly predatory anemones
seawater on one side is opposed by the gravi- hemorrhaging viewers ● the carcass of a large
tational pull of an infinite tonnage of seawater ● the water is changing animal covered in
on the other side, meaning the effective gravity temperature/viscosity scavengers
everywhere in Desnine is about zero (except the ● some kids are trapped ● unlocked hatch
artificially generated 1g in the observatory). inside an air pocket ● tight corner, full loop
● shady experiments ● a jumble of computer
No pressure changes, no diver’s sickness, air ● so many crabs stuff blocking the hall
bubbles undulate in one place forever, things ● reality-bent whirlpool ● cracked glass
within those bubbles are similarly weightless, sucking you into, like, ● segment where the
and heavily used portal-zones have accumulated Quahalia? artificial gravity has
large pockets of leaked extra-dimensional atmo- gone out
sphere over the years. For inside the ● tunnel heads into the
observatory. darkness of the coral

100
 O t he r W o r l d s

the golden F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Praetorians. No one knows how many of these
huge bipedal battlecraft hide beneath the foliage,

Jungle rusting away, just like no one knows who built them
or why. The one thing that’s certain is they’re full of
valuable components, if only you could get inside.

The ruins of an advanced civilization, grown over by ● The Clearing. This large break in the canopy is
dense, sparkling rainforest. Decommissioned gundam littered with highly-skateable and lichen-crusted
sleep under blankets of moss. wreckage—tempting, taunting, and utterly exposed
to the watchful gaze of flying predators.
For slugblasters, the Golden Jungle has always been
a hotspot, in more ways than one. Hoverboarders are ● The Chasm. An enormous scar across the land-
drawn to the dense foliage, geographical anomalies, scape. Nothing grows along the scorched, crum-
and crumbling remnants of ancient architecture, which bling cliffsides, and few know what’s at the bottom
all add up to a sort of natural skatepark that is unri- other than a thick layer of ominous fog. Some say it
valed in the local multiverse. holds the answer to what happened here. Everyone
says it’s way too wide to jump across on a hover-
There’s also the inherent mystery of the ruins them- board, but you can’t help but wonder...
selves, and the secrets lurking within the mecha,
waiting for someone brave (or stupid) enough to come
and claim them. Sure, the shadows beneath the jungle PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
canopy hide creatures too vicious and terrible to even ● you portal in over ● rotting rope bridge
imagine, but what’s a slugger run without a little mortal some crocodile water ● giant robotic head
terror? ● you draw the atten- sticking out of the
tion of mathpanthers ground
● giant slugs ● deep, muddy river
● oh no quicksand ● huge tree, huge roots
A WO R L D W I T H O U T N I G H T ● ancient, mossy robots ● mag-train hanging
Don’t let the name fool you—the foliage in the ● giant robot hand gets from tangled vines
Golden Jungle isn’t actually golden, though you’ll activated ● rusted silo on its side
find just about every other imaginable colour ● you’re being watched ● mating ground for
(and a few unimaginable ones as well). No, this ● accidental fire many exotic birds
plane draws its moniker from the plethora of bril- ● two authorities having ● a very dark canopy
liant suns that shine constantly in the sky above. a secret meeting ● large termite mounds
There is no night in the Golden Jungle, and the ● these are not vines ● temple ruins
constant daylight combined with the moist, mug- ● rival crew followed ● wide chasm
gy air creates rapid, uncontrollable growth in the you here ● mecha skeletons
local flora. ● your way out is in covered in webs and
metasaur territory black foliage

101
 Pronounced
“priz-MAT-ee-ah.”

Prismatia F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● Hardecker Mining Facility. Hardecker has been
mining kramshon and farming polystellar energy
here for years—junking up the place with chutes,
The plane of light. No sky, no ground, no up, no down. struts, conveyors, and an entire workforce of dis-
Pink clouds and giant crystal asteroids refract rays gruntled, virus-riddled mining bots.
from a pantheon of distant psionic stars.
● The Miper Train. Miper believes their trillion dollar
Prismatia was the place of first contact between local multiversal train network will bring the multiverse
multiversal civilizations, and has remained a vital way- closer together and usher in a new era of peace
point during the decades of trade, cultural exchange, and (for them) prosperity. Right now it’s just a tan-
immigration, and adolescent truancy that followed. talizing, half-finished network of hardlight tubes.
Whoever you are and wherever you’re going, you’re
probably cutting through Prismatia. ● The Wanda Curve. An ancient, large-diameter ring
of solid glass, thrumming with odd wavelengths of
It has something for everyone. Abundant nonrenew- energy. Scientists and historians speculate on its
ables for hungry corporations. Alien ruins for hungry origin and purpose, but most slugblasters just want
academics. A psionic cacophony for spiritual pilgrims to know if they can skate all the way around the
and college-aged psychonauts. A drillable spacetime inner edge first try.
field for ambitious transit barons. Stunning views for
wealthy tourists.
PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
And for young hoverboarders, an ever-shifting airscape ● portaling right into ● two crystal asteroids
of ramps, rails, and mind-blowing gaps, all in a slurry of a hazardous field of colliding
rolling spacetime and wonky gravity. mining debris ● a length of discarded
● stomach churn- Miper trainway
ing planetesimal ● Hardecker mining
M YS T E R I O U S P H YS I C S hopscotch drones calving an
Prismatia’s gravity (or, more likely, some kind of ● pteranodons opalescent mountain
static-field equivalent) works a bit differently. ● giant glasshoppers ● an oscillating orb of
Relatively small objects like asteroids or a large with laser eyes sparkling fluid
piece of debris each have their own 0.6 g gravity ● a psionic storm ● a drifting chunk from
well, but this well quickly weakens and disap- crashing into the a wayward alien idol
pears even a few metres out. thoughtscape ● one and a half floors
● an exit in constant of a ruined skycastle
This means you can stand, walk, and skate motion ● a giant rotating disc
normally on something the size of a shipping ● an exit deep inside with a small hole in
container, but can also break back out into zero-g the tangled frame- the centre
space with nothing more than a solid jump. work of a half-built ● a migrating flock of
shipping station metaterrestrial birds

104
Yep, just like
Mario Galaxy!
 O t he r W o r l d s
Pronounced
“op-er-AY-blum.”

Operaeblum F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● Matte Static. The hottest club in the multiverse.
Models push illegal flavours of PANIC Energy®,
sponsor reps cut deals in the VIP, pros skate the
Three warring corporate megatowers, connected with portal-connected halfpipe, and every time the beat
twisting pedways and skytrains. Raves, androids, mir- drops the dance floor is blasted with a flurry of
ror shades. You get it. caffeinated party snow. Must be legal drinking age.

The multiversal conglomerates that own this triad of ● The Drop Line. This famous skate route starts off
towering arcologies have been locked in war ever since the M-train platform, snakes across a tangle of
an infamous three-way IP dispute involving animated skyways, past the giant party windows of Matte
unicorns. Resulting sanctions and blockades have Static, and ends with a faith-testing air drop into a
turned a dense network of closed tubes and bridges supposed portal near the Hardecker mining floors.
between the towers into bustling neutral territory,
where kiosks clutter walkways and restaurants serve ● Wilkie’s Candy Lab®. A grueling funzone, where
street food out of permanently docked tramcars. indentured employees must eat only candy, shoot
each other with foam darts, and party joylessly in
The din of rain and sub-woofer bass is punctuated 16-hour shifts as they roll out the newest in toys,
by whoops from club-goers and the routine sounds games, candy, and slugblaster tech.
of somebody committing a crime within earshot.
Operaeblum never sleeps—an eternal dusk-hour
insomnia of sodium lights and flashing billboards, wet PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
pavement and aluminum. Workers file into tubes, fat ● portaling into the mid- ● dance floor of a club
cats dine in leisure gondolas, and gangs on sport bikes dle of a gang war filled with freaks
race down ribbon roads of grav-fixed asphalt. ● android bouncers ● maze of dark hallways
● pickpockets snatch ● passing skytrain
CIV something and take ● kids playing ball hock-
off running ey in empty pedways
RESIDENTS ● homicidal funbots ● crowded skybridge
Operaeblans have pastel hair and washed-out break out from the ● paramilitary blockade
complexions. They wear latex and holograms and candy lab ● flickering hardlight
company-issued plastic one-suits. Cyberware is ● caught in proxy war crosswalk
all but compulsory. Content is drip-fed directly ● crucial infrastructure ● illegal street race on
to the amygdala to free up the frontal lobe for begins to break apart vertical roadways
emails and deciding which company-issued ● something bad falls ● very narrow beams
nightspot you hit with your company-issued from a thousand ● tangle of personal
friends tonight. Work hard, party hard, outsource floors above transport tubes
sleep to a neuro-linked surrogate floating in a ● mysterious hacker ● departing party tram
napping tank on the tenement floors. calls you with danger- packed with sloppy
ous directions conscripts

105
 calorium Pronounced
“cah-LOR-ee-um.”
F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Gliders. Dozens of glimmering foil air vessels
circle lazily with no visible purpose or pilots, stuck
in a powerful thermal column. Winged creatures
The plane of fire. Strange airships float on updrafts, roost, silhouetted against the oppressive white sky.
flocks of flamingos gather in the boiling soda lakes, a
phase dragon naps in a steaming caldera. ● Soda Lake. A natural skatepark of partially cooled
lava formations forms the shoreline of these scald-
The dying, late-stage sun of this world decided it would ing alkaline waters. An audience of metaterrestrial
spend its last billion years boiling oceans, turning the flamingos watches closely. The deep part of the
beaches to glass, and filling the sky entirely. Whatever lake hides strange ruins beneath its roiling surface.
civilization used to be here has either fled or fried, and
little remains aside from ash-white foundations sur- ● The Ziggurat. This black zirconium structure shim-
rounded by moats of hot neon lava. mers in the heat, its origin unclear, its contents a
mystery, and its architecture a dope array of skate-
Despite some economic potential, most view Calorium able ledges, hubbas, and banks. Cursed markings
as just a big hot logistics problem, routing nightmare, herald the coming Omni-Sorcerer.
and barrier to further interdimensional exploration.

But to a slugblaster, nothing is more metal. PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS

● hazwear failure ● a ramp of cooling rock
HAZ ● portal rupture ● a surprising series of
2 ● a planar volcano cliché geysers
P O R TA L R U P T U R E venting pure molten ● drifts of hot salt
The intense heat of this plentiful armaggedon mathematics from ● small islands across
would be a steady source of clean energy, if not a subdimensional the soda lake
for the huge interdimensional power conduits mantle ● a parade of flamingos
required to pipe it back home. Many believe the ● jet black metasaurs ● the bleached ruins of
problem can be solved, but impatient develop- ● the phase dragon flies cinderblock structures
ers have already eroded Calorium’s spacetime in eldritch patterns ● half-open hatch to a
fabric enough that accidental, spontaneous, and ● soliton of pure fire burned-out bunker
difficult-to-close portals in and out form regularly, ● aggressive thermo- ● a slope of black glass
causing fires in neighbouring worlds. farm defence bots ● a twisting lava tube
● centipede with a ● onyx slabs jutting
reflective carapace from the ground
moving like mercury ● dragging chains of
HAZWEAR NEEDED ● android ravagers low-flying gliders
Yeah, dude. It’s like a billion freaking degrees made of hot chrome ● sagging metal girders
here. ● your way out heats to placed across rivers
volatile levels of lava

106
 O t he r W o r l d s

the waking F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Doom Slalom. Starts on the hilltop ruins of a
flickering castle, winds its way through the breed-

pits Pronounced “AHHHHHH!

AHHHH!! MAKE IT STOP!!”
ing grounds and hunting territories of multiple
predatory ecologies, ends in a flagstone megaramp
over The Trench. Welcome to Hardmode.

Cold, dark Hell. A frozen landscape of crumbling cas- ● The Trench. The abyss of this abyssal plane. A
tles and graveyards, lit entirely by lightning strikes and deeper descent into alien madness—where logic
phosphorescent invertebrates. unravels and nightmares wake and slabs of rotting
masonry from collapsing bridges hang suspended
Ages ago the sky was blacked out and this place was in the tattered spacetime.
plunged into frigid darkness. Mammalian life went
extinct and everything else evolved to be chitinous and ● The Steeple. A massive cathedral surrounded by
skittering, with antifreeze in its blood, surviving entirely acres of cemetery. Eerie frequencies thrum from
through chemosynthesis or by sucking the soft stuff within. A power source? Sub-woofers? The warped
from the convenient hazwear packaging of wayward anti-hymns of a hive of metaterrestrial vampires?
teenagers.

The Waking Pits is slugblasting’s Mount Everest. Few PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS

spots are more dangerous (which has some intrinsic ● swarm of starving ● a falling tower
value) but the toppled turrets and snaking ramparts of phosphorescent bugs ● drifts of hard dry snow
this long-abandoned gothic-modernist civilization are ● lightning blizzard ● series of powerful
a hoverboarder’s dream, even if every other unholy ● wraiths lightning strikes
molecule of this place is a total nightmare. ● bad cell reception ● frosted castle ruins
● something hidden in ● a healthy patch of
HAZ CIV? the moathouse tubular plant-animals
2 ● vicious scavengers feeding off a vent
RESIDENTS??? ● you find some other ● a giant white crab
Every kid knows there are vampires in The kids but something walking over you
Waking Pits, but few agree on what they actual- seems...off ● a frozen orchard
ly are, since no image has ever made it online. ● you break through the ● porcelain dolls falling
Some say they’re highly-evolved bats, mutant ice into a tomb/nest from the sky like rain
mosquito men, or an alien race of hemophagous ● bone-white spiders ● a rotting barn filled
xenomorphs. Others say they’re a secretive ● chaotic evil soliton with cracked mirrors
gang of gothy, grey-skinned runaways from formed from black ice ● crumbling ramparts
Operaeblum. And a few vehemently maintain that and castle pieces ● treacherous field of
they are immortal ultrafiends, worshiping at the ● your way out requires crooked tombstones
Cathedral to Super Satan. a freefall into The ● a half-lowered
Trench drawbridge

109
 Pronounced
“pop-you-LAIR-ee-ah.”

POPULARIA F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Beach. Swim, surf, and party among the hot-
test people in the multiverse, or skate the famous
boardwalk. Sure, there’s a Miper® store there now,
The Place To Be. Artists, influencers, and models pop- but also FUST, Infinite Pizza, and Scram Cat’s first
ulate the cafes, clubs, pizza joints and skateshops of mythic storefront, where slugblasting was born.
this hopping beachside campus.
● Popularia U. Sure, you probably didn’t
If Null is at one end of some sort of interdimensional travel across 3–6 hostile planes of reality
coolness spectrum, Popularia is at the other. It’s where to slip into a class on Quantum Scattering
It still has
its hand-
slugblasting first started, back when overclocking a Theory or Relative Multiversal Ethics, but painted sign!
hoverboard’s Nth gear to burn through the fabric of the campus’s skate spots, lab tech, and
reality itself sounded like a bunch of science fiction elite dorm parties may interest you.
nonsense.
● Downtown. Go shopping, skate the M-train station,
Boring just doesn’t exist in Popularia. There’s always a sneak into Miper’s corporate hq, or search for the
killer party in the dorms, or a secret show in a disused elusive loft offices of Slugblaster Magazine.
Miper warehouse, or an underground tournament on
the beach at midnight. You just have to know the right
people to get in (or know how to not get caught). PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
● no one else is dressed ● snaking boardwalk
This is the big pond, fishies. Where you go to prove like you here ● hotties by a pool
yourself, make connections, and go viral. It’s also ● you can hear a party ● skaters seshing the
where about a million crews have burned out, broken but can’t find it famous 12-stair hubba
up, and quit the scene forever. But that’s not gonna ● a rival spreading lies ● lit beachside rap show
happen to you… right? ● peelback countdown ● active movie shoot
● it came from the sea ● the buzzing line out-
● Miper security drones side a sneaker store
CIV
● Old Guard is watching ● philosophy students
RESIDENTS you, evaluating tripping balls
Popularians are beautiful, well-dressed people ● people smirking and ● someone amazing-
with brightly-coloured skin and hair. Youth in hap- you don’t know why ly extra taking their
py, closed friend-groups rule over beaches, pizza ● someone hands you metasaur for a walk
shops, and campuses, while Popularia’s adults the mic ● ​Wilkie’s promo taping
relax poolside in stunning villas, greenlight billion ● maniacal soliton crys- with another crew and
dollar movies, curate art galleries, and design the tallizes at a concert a bunch of models
future with fellow members of the intelligentsia, ● trouble at the foam ● the legendary banks
sipping beverages that will be trendy in Hillview party down to the beach
two decades from now. ● packed crowd won’t ● perfect reef break
let you through coming in

110
 O t he r W o r l d s

Pronounced
“em-PEER-ee-en.”

EMPYREAN F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Meadow. Bushes hang with a dozen variet-
ies of berry and meadow seals sleep among the
wildflowers in adorable fuzzy piles. Odd ampimeter
Untouched paradise. Winged deer drink from streams readings birth speculation of secret portal-zones,
and wild pastel horses gallop over rolling hills of velvet arcane forces, and higher-dimensional beings.
grass. Be careful if you eat the berries.
● Eternal Pastures. Soft, grassy hills home to herds
Acres of wild prairie grow on a wide loop of penrose of giant bison and teams of playful mustangs. A
ribbon, where you can hoverboard downhill forever rainbow of new colours arcs across an open sky
and cool crystal streams cascade off the edge into the scattered with dancing flocks of winged deer.
turquoise lake below/above. Where time moves at a
different pace. Where a day spent here is only an hour ● Allie’s TurboSplash Waterpark™. An abandoned
at home and an eternity spent here wouldn’t be nearly Wilkie’s project, now sunbleached and overgrown
long enough. with prairie grass. Empty pools, weird exhibits, and
a half-finished network of colourful waterslides
In our infinite multiverse, is there more good than bad? await hoverboarders lucky enough to be here.
More heavens than hells? Does the question even
make sense outside the caged perspective of our
four-dimensional minds? This is what slugblasters ask PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
each other during sleepovers, lying on the grass under ● horse wants to race ● a series of large hills
a dazzling mural of stars, the beauty of Empyrean softly ● poachers ● a stream of cool water
whispering the answer. ● Calorium flooding in ● a stampede of horses
through frayed portal ● migrating bison
HAZ ● lost track of time ● waterfall
3 ● failing logic binders ● tall, numbing grass
LO G I C B I N D E R S N E E D E D ● v. happy, v. sleepy ● a tangled thicket
The strange laws of this paradise protect it from ● rare time inversion ● beautiful, tranquilizing
exploitation. Many governments and corpora- ● stampede of large, field of flowers
tions have tried to establish a foothold here and non-violent creatures ● potential shortcut the “rainbow
eventually retreat. Without a logic binder, one ● animal adopts you ● bees road” move
can barely glimpse the light of Empyrean before ● mischievous critter ● an adorable animal
peeling back, unsure if what they experienced steals something vital the size of a house
was even real or not. Even with a logic binder, ● curfew approaching blocking your path
your trip is always shorter than you’d like, al- ● why aren’t your ● cute animals sleeping
though secret slugblaster lore says that the better phones working? on large, pretty rocks
you behave here, the longer it lets you stay. So ● you’ve been duped ● missing ribbon slice
respect the wildlife, pick up your pop cans, take ● your way out requires creates a huge gap
only photographs and leave only grind marks. you to leave and you ● a deep coulee
don’t wanna ● a dense stand of pine

111
 Pronounced
“Qua-HAY-lee-ah.”

QUAHALIA F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Orthoplex. Impossible shapes overlap, reflect,
and reform in this kaleidoscopic 5D playground.
Strange control panels on hard-to-reach platforms
Pandemonium glitching. Staircases snake up to float- can tweak mathematical parameters, unfurl new
ing consoles while snakes staircase down to sinking spacial dimensions, and create new worlds.
palaces. Hold onto your atoms.
● The Archives. The flooding halls of an infinite
Slugblasters are actually lucky to have so many rela- library, where time flows strangely—slowing and
tively sensical universes nearby, considering the vast reversing, swirling forever in whirlpools, stagnating
majority of the infinite multiverse is a tessellating sea of in hidden alcoves, and escaping down seductive
quantum noise—illogical combinations of mathematical side passages into alternate timelines.
babble. Quahalia is a stepping stone to that particular
brand of fun, an eroding peninsula of quasi-substance ● The Neb. Memories, secrets, dreams, and fears
stretching into The Noise (page 114). tumble in this psychic nebula like traincars in a
tornado. A shuffling obstacle course made from
It’s a place many slugblasters find themselves. A place movie sets from your life, asteroid-sized person-
for thrill-seekers, those who seek answers, those who al possessions, dioramas of thought, and garish
seek a new perspective, those who took an ill-advised floats from the parade of you.
shortcut, and those who just really want to nosegrind a
dreamscape or meet a version of themselves from the
future and maybe kiss them. What? Why is that weird? PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
You’re weird shut up. ● swarm of omnimouths ● stairs to nowhere
● you are all one being, ● a garden of forking
HAZ thoughts colliding, paths
3 each controlling a ● a turnstile of deep
LO G I C B I N D E R S N E E D E D different limb questions
Without a good logic binder, the boundaries be- ● construct of darken- ● a corridor you create
tween you and Quahalia start to melt away. Your ing numbers with thought
body flickers through higher-dimensional geo- ● meta-structural failure ● a one-inch hole you
metric forms, your perspective warps and frac- ● carnivorous terrain can fit through
tures, your neurons fire in reverse order as cause ● part of who you are ● your bedroom door
and effect rework their long-standing contract. If takes off running ● take a moment to fall
you’re lucky, you’ll peel back in a few seconds, ● foes made from your forever
although it may not feel that short to you. For as internal contradictions ● the skatepark of your
you know, eternity is not more and more years, ● red-hot logic binders own body
but rather a single moment subdivided infinitely. ● you think you’re back ● a halfpipe, a 3/2 pipe
What final, frozen thought keeps you company, home but you’re not ● the terrain of dreams
washed smooth by lapping waves of forever? ● the way out is deeper ● a room from your
into The Noise nightmares

112
 O t he r W o r l d s

RUINS TWIST
Make A world 11 airport 11 The air here is toxic/hallucinogenic/caffeinated.
12 amusement park 12 The terrain is constantly moving.
Use these tips & tables to create
13 battleship 13 Everything is on fire. It doesn’t burn, just looks rad.
your own worlds!
14 casino 14 An active battlefield, apocalypse, or celebration.
15 construction 15 You can’t be hurt here.
● Is it a known place? How do
16 craters 16 Gravity is weaker.
people talk about it?
● A good Slugblaster world 21 cruise liner 21 Gravity pulls from different points.

has things to hoverboard on, 22 department store 22 Your tech struggles, lags, routinely dies.
things to discover, and things 23 greenhouses 23 Your tech gains power at a dangerous rate.
that can go wrong. 24 hospital 24 Every smell reminds you of a specific moment.
● Write a quick list of potential 25 hotel 25 You’re like ghosts haunting this place.
problems and some fun chase 26 huge statues 26 An enthusiastic audience you can hear but not see.
checkpoints. 31 landfill 31 Something draws you to the centre.
● Let the crew name it for you, if 32 marina 32 As you move further in, things lose detail.
you haven’t already! 33 military vehicles 33 Structured like a ring, sphere, ribbon, box, etc.
34 movie studio 34 Exists on or inside a colossal being.
35 multiplex 35 Exists inside a snow globe, terrarium, or diorama.
C O LO U R S ( R O L L T W I C E )
36 museum 36 A familiar bedroom, but you’re an inch tall.
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6 41 parade floats 41 Universe is 2D, like a sidescroller.
1 red orange teal 42 pizza arcade 42 Like your world, but if you’d made different choices.
2 yellow green magenta 43 playground 43 Like your world, but in the past.
3 blue purple lime 44 powerplant 44 Like your world, but in the future.
4 pink lilac peach 45 prison 45 Time moves slowly/backwards, but not for you.
5 black white grey 46 rail yard 46 A day here is a minute at home.
6 brown clear wtf? 51 receiver dishes 51 Time can be controlled through intense willpower.
52 reservoir 52 Time loop!
53 school 53 Dreamworld logic.
LANDSCAPE
54 shipping yard 54 All your thoughts happen out loud.
d6 1–3 4–6 55 skyscrapers 55 Terrain reflects your mood.
1 grasslands forest 56 solar farm 56 Formed from the contents of your phones/pockets.
2 jungle tundra 61 spacecraft 61 Formed from your collective id.
3 mountain desert 62 stadium 62 This is the inner landscape of someone you know.
4 badlands swamp 63 suburb 63 This is all a simulation. (What’s new, amiright?)
5 aquatic space 64 subway system 64 What constitutes a swear varies moment to moment.
6 urban combine two 65 warehouse 65 Single episode genre-swap.
66 zoo 66 You’re in a musical and only one of you knows this
isn’t normal.

113
 bonus
Unlucky slugblasters have
been hurled into The
The Noise Noise during bad peelback
accidents.
By She Who Ships in Darkness

Expansive nothingness, static patterns pulsating in

Worlds the space between worlds. Shorelines—few and far

between in this expanse of white—appear as dark
smudges. Thoughts like lost emotions. Masses only
half-formed. Colors bleed into the ether the deeper you
wander, until they become one with The Noise, muted
and dispersed.

It’s a big multiverse out there, spanning infinitely be- The Noise is only silent in its cacophony. The planes
yond the twelve main worlds of this planar cluster. New rarely collide here, but occasional whispers can be
continents await discovery for those willing to voyage heard above the din. Blips phase in and out of ex-
into the surrounding quantum noise, and unmapped istence, their flora and fauna displayed as strange
demiplanes, pocket universes, and strange extra- molecular patterns. The stronger ones leave echoes
dimensional spaces can be found anywhere—just down of washed-out patterns that can be interacted with—
the street, right under your nose. though caution is advised.

● Merchants and mercenaries called Glitches ride

The borel Machine ●
the tides of The Noise.
The ether of The Noise has no form, but environ-
For beloved ultrabacker Richard Magnelli. mental fluctuations called Blips often grow into
strange, unstable planes where none should exist.
An ancient computer, an omni-directional mountain ● Sinusoidal oscillations produce haunting whispers
of gears and tumblers, home to an uncountable num- like radio waves.
ber of monkeys, who live and play in distinct troops, ● The longer you’re here, the more monochrome you
joyfully pressing buttons and flipping switches for some become, eventually phasing out completely.
unknown purpose. ● Ion storms are common in The Noise, shaping and
manipulating matter. These can create amplified
● A dozen twisting routes down the mountain, Blips (known as Surge Blips), shattered planes
between crushing gears, over strange metallic existing only as long as the storm does. HIGHLY
archways, and through buzzing coils. DANGEROUS!
● Terminals spool out undecipherable text on miles of ● Smudges of fringe interference briefly assemble
polymer tape hanging off the mountain like vines. into flora, fauna, and otherworldly entities before
● Diligent spider monkeys with one-hundred-foot arm either vanishing back into The Noise or growing
spans maintain the machine, effortlessly ripping into fully formed Solitons.
out worn gears and foreign objects then tossing You can read more
them into the depths. about Solitons on
page 123.
114
 O t he r W o r l d s

SlipMarket Gameshow Archipelago

For beloved ultrabacker Gertrude Peters-Garcia. By Nathan Blades

Slipmarket is a hidden demiplane, a pocket of space It’s said that the very first TV game show was invented
between universes where the laws were murky enough when a young producer glimpsed this demiplane in the
that criminals and refugees and hackers could carve middle of a coffee-induced stress attack. A scattering
out a spot hidden from arc-marshals, Arborists, and the of vibrantly coloured islands in a sea of neon slime.
rest of the official local multiverse.
Each island has a Host, capable of granting (what they
Buy illegal numbers, stolen demiplanes, weapons that think are) your deepest desires; but fabulous prizes are
violate reality, and drugs that collapse your wave- hard-fought...
function so hard you’ll wish you were dead in more
universes than just the one you took drugs in. The aesthetic of the islands have made it a popular
location for beginner slugblasters, but when you’re
To enter Slipmarket you need to have a logic binder, wagering everything, a loss will make you more than
and know how to set it, since the security boss repro- late for class.
grams the working physical laws of the
demiplane routinely. Remember kids: An Operaeblan ● Shadowy, faceless Stagehands assist all Hosts.
Just say “No” to matter subtraction!
named Jericho ● Rumour has it, collect five Megacrystals for a life-
Zebulak (pg 134).
time supply of… something?
● Booths selling goods and services that morph to ● Lighting rigs stretch infinitely skywards, spotlight-
offer you your deepest desires. ing “main characters”.
● Secret Infinite Pizza location, with more scandalous ● Colourful spinning platforms float between islands
booth stickers and illegal toppings. ● Mt Ubertrick, a steep mountain.
● Sudden shifts in the physical laws. intertwined with stripy rails. Solitons seem to
● Lovable con artist thinks you kids are alright. ● The Lightning Round, a hurricane
collect in this place,
like water bottles in
● Incoming limited shipment of fully banned PANIC repelled with quiz questions. a lost and found.
Energy® drink flavours. ● Sheer Score Attack, a ball pit in a
● Street toughs wonder what you’re looking at, kid. caldera, crackling with energy.
● Cages filled with endangered species, some cute, ● Ephemera Temple, an ancient fibreglass ruin.
some deadly predators, many both. ● Gross Coast, a slimy seaside resort with caves that
● Tattoo parlor offering arcane customs and a large regularly flood.
selection of nanotech flash. ● A swarm of purple chittering bugs. They’re deli-
● Booth that promises to introduce you to one of cious, but they bite back just as hard.
your alternates. ● The Island Champ, clad in form-fitting spandex,
● Booth selling timeline modification will sell you a their gigantic foam broadsword can knock you
combo package that comes with a memory scrub clean across the horizon.
and fifty units of chance augmentation. ● Leslie O’Smiles, the Undefeated Host.
● Sponsors making suspicious deals.

115
 They say the demiplane of
Topiary Topiary split off from The
Golden Jungle. Maybe that’s
The void Shores
By Helen Gould where the way in is? For beloved ultrabacker Charles Gillespie.

Welcome to the realm of dizzyingly high tree-tops and A mythical surfer’s paradise, said to be hidden on the
gigantic vegetation. Most people like to hang out in the other end of certain magical riptides. A top secret cove
upper branches, where they can see the sky and feel with soft white sand, perfect waves, flawless weather,
the cool breezes, but others talk of the mysteries that and absolutely no rocks. Where outside time pauses
can be found in the darkness of the lower reaches. and you and your friends can take as long as needed to
relax and be healed by the water.
This is a tangled place of greenery stretching as far as
the eye can see. The gargantuan plants of this place ● A driftwood board shack decorated with stickers,
include spectacularly regal trees, distressingly ambi- half-read paperbacks, drying swimwear, and other
tious flowers, and extensive mushroom colonies. Some abandoned belongings of previous visitors.
flora like to cluster together, like the fungi; others don’t ● A campfire site in the shelter of an overturned boat
mind what company they keep. You can find the point- ● Ripe tropical fruit you’ve never seen before.
ed crowns of pine trees next to Venus flytraps next to ● It is customary to leave an offering for Chill Charlie,
stately orchids, all of them wrapped up in honeysuckle the old skeletal remains of some guy who must
and ivy. Or you can find yourself traversing across the have been so happy here that he never left.
pale, spongy portobellos for weeks.

The seasons here are simple: it is hot and sunny, or

it is hot and stormy. There is no such thing as a light
Camp fractal
rainfall; when the clouds appear, everyone gets under For beloved ultrabacker Jeff Nelson.
cover or risks being washed away.
Something bad happened on the last week of summer
● The annual branch-surfing competition. camp. Something so terrible it caused that horrific night
● A huge, temperamental bird guarding her nest. to tear from the reality stream and flutter forsaken in
● Natural swimming pools in the trumpet vines. tatters through the astral plane, looping endlessly.
● Swarms of butterflies that briefly blot out the sun.
● A rickety lift system between the levels of foliage. ● Attractive junior counsellors excited to meet the
● Cobwebs spanning miles and miles of branches. new arrivals! What’s your camp name?
● The people who live in the giant fruits. ● Huh, no cell reception...
● Beehives full of honey (and massive bees). ● Half-pipe, zipline, BMX trails, go-kart track, canoes,
● The leap of faith—a death-defying drop into a water skiing, that inflatable blob thing, rope course,
safety net so far down you can’t see it. archery range, workshop, horseback riding, etc.
● Migratory herds of large, friendly spider monkeys. ● Gear acting glitchy, losing power.
● Observatory network run by nocturnal scientists. ● Cabin pranks, truth or dare, late-night bonding,
● Clouds of hallucinogenic pollen. memories that will last a lifetime.
● A giant anaconda that lurks among the roots. ● Something terrible hunting you down one by one.

116
 O t he r W o r l d s

the land Of Forgotten ECCLESIASTICA

Arcade Cabs By Grant Howitt & Chris Taylor

By Nem Ginty An eternal church built by an interdimensional con-

glomerate of ultradeacons, uber-vicars and three
A pulsating purple sky, glass-shattered with teal concurrent popes; packed with towering spires,
lightning bolts so massive they seem to cleave the sky radical buttresses, tapestries you can swing from,
when they strike. A swirling vortex of black mist lanced hologramatic messiahs and proselytizing prophets.
through with prismatic rays of TV static holds a crum- Watch out for the priests, though—they don’t like it
bled, blasted moon’s corpse in locked, lazy, doomed or- when no-good teens do sick grinds on their pews.
bit. Embedded in the white stone are the remains of a
forgotten era, brilliant cabinets adorned with depictions ● Enormous alien wedding celebration complete with
of evil demons, mighty warriors, and sick-nasty space hovering minicathedrals and a laser snowstorm of
cruisers dueling among the stars. Monsters claw their confetti.
way out of the blue-grey screens, starved into bestial ● Priests carrying tall stacks of dry religious tomes to
fury and desperate for your quarters—or your blood, knock over as you skate past.
whichever is easier. ● A rotating glass skybridge that connects multiple
parts of the structure.
● Mazes of blinking screens. ● Angels (six wings, too many eyes, more wheels
● Reality-builder drones mining cabinets for idea-fuel than you’d imagine) scud past in the sky outside
● Rails made of thunder, blasting the stained-glass windows, singing praise.
worlds apart as they strike. Universally ● These boring old hymnals are in dire need of a
● A horde of killer werewolf men. recognized as decent bassline.
from KILLER WEREWOLF MEN 3 the best in the ● Get yourself one of those dope pope hats.
● A storm of tokens, gold-painted series, aside ● Look out! It’s the ROBOBISHOP.
plastic and nickel singing as it hits from maybe the ● Skateboard on water and cause a minor schism.
the ground.
surprisingly good ● Help one of the outsider fringe religions get set up.
KWM Warfare,
● Fused amalgams of half-dreamed the mega-popular in the eternal structure with a cool party.
monsters from games cancelled be- RTS spin-off. ● A bunch of steel-armoured paladins arrive and try
fore they were ever real. to kick you out.
● Wardens, mysterious, deadly. ● A rogue floating spire, normally restrained by
● Rare stable ground, coated in a layer of black-pur- golden chains, detaches from its moorings and
ple fuzzrock, speckled with neon lightning gems hovers around the place.
and fossilized claim tickets. ● Legend has it that Jesus, the creator of the Christ
● A battlefleet from the nearest realities, ready to Air (and also the kickflip), was filmed performing
obliterate the world, one rock at a time. some of his coolest tricks in 1996. Only one boot-
● A prize-redemption room, a bastion housing a rebel leg copy of the video remains, and it’s stored under
militia, their experimental homemade teleporter lock and key in the Ivory Sanctum deep beneath
missing just one thing.... the surface of Ecclesiastica.

117
Mon- intro
Here is a selection of creatures, machines, and
otherworldly entities you may encounter out

sters
there in the multiverse.

● Each entry lists some details, behaviours,

and potential problems, including example
slams, in a somewhat logical order, with
disastrous outcomes near the bottom. GMs
should pick and choose the details that
work for that scene, and improvise their
own as well.
(Bugs, robots, ● GMs are encouraged to use these as tem-
and other lil' plates for their own creations, too. Reskin
a slug as a land squid, flesh out metasaurs

cutie pies) into different species, and use the tables

on page 125 to whip something up from
scratch.

● You can find the entries for Nexus Masters,

It’s a dangerous multiverse Rescue Agents, and Mercenaries on pages

124–126 of the Factions section.

out there, crowded with

tentacles and terminators And the Giant Robot Hands,
and all sorts of big juicy Androids, and Surveillance
Orbs on pages 122–123
things that want to eat, can be used for Authority or
Sponsor forces, too.
melt, and terrorize you,
just because you happened
to rollerskate a little too
close to their house!
118
 Monsters

Mathpanther Psionic Crocodile

The speed and cunning of a predatory jungle cat com- Easily confused with psychic alligators,
bined with the terror and immortality of predatory mathe- these hungry, hungry reptiles infest murky
matics. Mathpanthers are drawn by the scent of anoma- waters throughout the local multiverse,
lous logic, such as that given off by rifts in spacetime or feeding on the data-rich nerve clusters
Not to mention the
sacred telepathic
interdimensional trespassers. of intelligent prey and the whatever-rich gharials given free
whatevers of anything else they find. rein over many of
● Stalks you silently. Thennis Spar’s
● Chases you with power, agility, and maybe a few ● Bursts from the water. tepidariums.
short teleports here and there. ● Chases you with an honestly startling
● Multiplies into a pack. landspeed or by weaving through the air as it swims
● Divides its prey. up through your psychic wake.
● Continually reforms from any amount of damage ● Hacks your nervous system (paralyzed, slowed,
unless solved properly. controlled like a meat puppet, etc.)
● Tears at you with claws (cut up, sliced wires, etc.) ● Bites you (multiple punctures, grappled, dislocated
● Pins you to the ground (pinned, frozen in fear, etc.) shoulder, etc.) and tries to pull you under the water.
● Bites your neck, reducing you to your euclidean ● Feasts on your good memories (confused, sad, etc.)
primitives and causing you to peel back. ● Repulsed by bad-tasting memories.

Quantum Centipede Metasaur

From the Latin, meaning how much one hundred foot, These large, meat-eating theropods have spread
the quantum centipede is a question with no safe rampantly through the local multiverse thanks to their
answer. A fractal, trypophobic mushroom trip of sharp astounding ferocity, hyper single-generation evolution,
chitinous legs. A non-integer of spiracled body seg- and complete willingness to eat anything, no matter how
ments multiplying as you try to find the end of it. A horror much that thing screams or smells like vanilla-mango
with no terminus, arcing toward you on a sine wave of body spray.
hooked claws. A total bummer.
● Slams you with terror (panicking, etc.)
Called ‘’the
● Weak to attacks on its rarely-seen centipede effect’’ by ● Quickly overwhelms you unless you either flee or
rearmost body segment. psychologists. Deadass. stand completely motionless.
● Breaks your tiny little brain on ● Disgustingly mutates spines, extra legs, extra heads,
sight (freaking out , hyper-reflection, etc.) larger eyes, laser eyes, or whatever it needs.
● Blocks your escape with chittering coils of itself. ● Adapts to once-effective attacks.
● Grabs you with sharp forcipules (grappled, cut, etc.) ● Packmates show up to help with dinner.
● Injects you with venom (woozy, paralyzed, etc.) ● Grabs you in its jaws (grappled, bitten, etc.)
● Swallows you whole and slowly digests your future, ● Clamps down with 35,000 newtons of bite-force
starting with the best possible outcomes. (super crushed, eaten alive, etc.)

119
 Metaterrestrial Slug salvage Crab
The multiverse has a slug problem. Although most Like their smaller, cuter, exponentially-less-deadly
life-bearing worlds have their own native varieties, most relative the hermit crab, this species of metadecapod
of the slugs you encounter are likely to have come from relies on an exogenous shelter system to protect its soft,
a single, highly-adaptive transdimensional species even terrifying body. In the absence of giant metaterrestrial
more invasive and destructive than the teenagers run- mollusk shells, the salvage crab settles for small build-
ning away from them! ings and vehicles—in this case an F-14 fighter jet.

● Chases you quickly on a negafriction slime trail. ● Hits the afterburners and gives chase.
● Pummels you with a jet of mucus from a real gross ● Joined by its hotshot wingcrab to hunt in tandem.
nozzle thing (slimed, stuck, slowed, etc.) ● Launches sidewinder missiles, destroying terrain,
● Why does it keep regenerating!? trying to get a lock (targeted, nearly blown up, etc.)
● Absorbs power with its EM-siphon (flickering gear, ● Brings down the big claw (grappled, crushed, etc.)
dead battery, etc.) and grows way bigger/faster. ● Ejects before its shell explodes, exposing a hooked
● Harpoons you with its barbed radula (grappled, tail—soft and vulnerable but dripping with toxic se-
scraped up, etc.) cretions (bad rash, literally can’t stop puking, etc.)
● Retracts you slowly into its esophagus through a ● Scoops you into a mouth full of sharp, feathered
wet tunnel of sharp denticles. maxillipeds (horrified, chewed, etc.)

peeler-eyed Dreadfly BloodWhip Swarm

Muscus macrofractus can be found pupating in dank Despite their cutesy name, abyssal bloodwhips are ac-
spawning ponds and crawling along ceilings on three tually pretty gross. They’re like flying tapeworms. They
dozen sticky tentacles. It’s a quantum being, and feeds have a series of combination heart-stomachs, mate for
on mathematically-potential matter. It’s huge compound life, and can scream, usually when frightened or about
eyes allow it to see a segment of your actuality spec- to fly in for a tasty marrow-bore. Bloodwhips subsist
trum—all the different versions of you possible—then primarily on marrow.
forcibly actualize and externally digest whichever one
looks tastiest. ● Hard to hit with pinpoint damage, but vulnerable to
masers, explosions, fire, and other area effects.
● Rips a half-dozen alternate yous into existence (one ● Envelops you in a blinding cloud of monster.
of which often turns out to be evil). ● Clogs gear up with what looks like silly string but is
● Gruesomely devours one of your alternates in front actually just metres and metres of bloodwhip.
of you (actuality-shock, normal shock, etc.) ● Screams in a startling chain reaction ending with
● Spews acid across the battlefield. you (freaking out, deafened, etc.)
● Grabs you with adhesive tentacles (grappled, etc.) ● Works its way into your hazwear and under your
● Carefully vomits digestive enzymes on your head, clothes looking for a nice bony drill site.
melts you and sucks you through a proboscis. ● Drinks your marrow! (fatigue, bone-holes, etc.)

120
3.2 What's Inside a Metaterrestrial Slug?
Metaterrestrial anatomy
can seem pretty strange
9
to us!
7
14
For this exercise, label
the diagram with the 6
9
terms you’ve learned in 8
this unit. avoid
slang, “splulsgger” 10
mouth parts
1. _______________ 4
5
buccal mass
2. _______________

cephalic tentacles
3. _______________ 3
2
1
15 11

nerve ring
4. _______________ 14
x
done button
5. _______________ the nasties X
10. _______________

mantle
6. _______________ intestine
11. _______________ 13
12

slime central X
7. _______________ ovotestis
12. _______________

stomach
8. _______________ gonopore
13. _______________
to
No adding cu
snot nozzle x
9. _______________ b-hole x
14. _______________ the curri lum ,
’ve
Nicholas. Wethis.
i5. em-siphon discussed
Sluggy Asks... Apply it!
How is this slug’s anatomy similar to In your groups, go “slug-hunting”
that of a slug you might find in your around the school! How many
garden? How is it different? kinds can you identify?

See me after class.

 From FUST’s special line
giant robot Hand of “Hover or Die” decks
featuring “all the things
Battalions of rusting warbots lie scattered across worlds, that almost killed us.”
relics of long-forgotten interdimensional conflict. Most
are dead, useful only as salvage. But some of these
machines (or pieces of them) remain active, wandering
the multiverse like autonomous ronin—broken soldiers
without a war, their purpose lost in a tangle of buggy,
half-eroded protocols.

● Stalks around like a tarantula, scanning random stuff.

● Can be hacked via a hard-to-reach panel.
● Pursues with jet boosters, curling into a collision fist.
● Fires a salvo of microrockets (battered, burned, etc.)
● Deflects attacks with unexpected forcefield.
● Grows hardlight claws and strikes (stabbed, etc.)
● Pulls you right into its palm with a tractor beam.
● Squeezes you like a lime or attempts to flee with a
hostage as part of its baffling 8-bit agenda.

Android
Androids can be found all over. From bouncers working
dance clubs in Operaeblum, to interdimensional courier
bots putting entrepreneurial slugblasters out of work, to
rogue synthroids wandering the lower planes in hunting
packs, to the malware-prone home assistants being de-
veloped by Miper. And while most androids are friendly
collaborators, this one in front of you probably isn’t.

● Kill-mode engaged! Deploys hidden arsenal.

● Pursues you relentlessly like a freaking terminator.
● Adapts to energy weapon modulation frequencies.
● Transforms into more advantageous configurations.
● Attacks with inhuman strength (bruised ribs, etc.)
and blasts from its laser eyes (lasered, etc.)
● Begins charging mega-weapon.
● Target lock acquired, prepare to be de-atomized
(targeted, laser dot on forehead, etc.)

122
 Monsters

Surveillance orb Variance wraith

This volleyball-sized hover drone observes all its sur- When the course of reality is altered, an infinite number
roundings at once with hundreds of mechanical irises. of possible futures collapse into one, and sometimes,
Why does it watch you? Who does it serve? Will you their raw potentiality concentrates to form a Variance
catch it before it flies away? Probably not but you also Wraith. Its incorporeal form is out of phase with the fab-
don’t want to just be standing here when the backup ric of space and time, and its only goal is the destruction
arrives. Time to jet, buster. of reality itself.

● Patrols silently, stalks you from a distance. ● Cannot be reasoned with or hidden from.
● Catches you in the act, records everything. ● Pursues you like a freight train of smoke and tar.
● Flees trying to get in signal range. ● Kills plants, boils water, and melts terrain with its
● Nearly impossible to hit, but its avoidance chip over- ghostly shrieks (terrified, reality-scrambled, etc.)
heats if strained too long. ● Uh oh, your attacks go right through it.
● Intentionally winds and weaves through dangerous ● Grows bigger as it devours life and energy.
areas, mocking you with sassy bleeps. ● Splits into two (sorry).
● When in range, requests backup and attempts to ● Slices with spectral claws (cut, quantum injury, etc.)
upload the evidence. ● Digs its way in and takes over your body, shunting
● Begins self-destruct sequence. your mind off into some kind of nethersphere.

soliton Omnimouth horde

On rare, statistically-inevitable occasions, the random These ravenous, softball-sized mouths float in midair,
fluctuations in the infinite noise line up just right to subtracting material from the multiverse with sickening
form powerful entities. Whether it’s a demi-god of fire, efficiency. Their origin is debated and their biology is un-
a celestial glob of the All-Pattern, or a giant face made clear, but any matter eaten seems to disappear forever,
of glowing thought-crystal shouting lasers at you, these a source of much concern for those made of matter.
encounters leave a lasting impact. Run and/or pray.
● Hibernate in formation, motionless and invisible.
● Fills you with wonder/dread (dazed, groveling, etc.) ● Appear one at a time all around you.
● Divine boredom, eldritch instinct, or some higher ● Quickly overwhelm slow-moving or stationary tar-
cosmic purpose dictates you must be chased, test- gets (swarmed, trapped, fetal position, etc.)
ed, tormented, and/or destroyed. ● Hard to hit with pinpoint damage, but vulnerable to
● Molds reality to create a dangerous obstacle course. masers, explosions, fire, and other area effects.
● Blasts you with energy beams from its mouth, or ● Devours long tunnels through surrounding terrain,
psychic rays from its third eye (stunned, sizzled, causing landslides, cave-ins, etc.
polymorphed, brain-slushed, etc.) ● Chews through plastic, metal, and flesh (broken
● Binds you in its Omega Chambers for inscrutable device, covered in bite marks, bleeding, etc.)
and eternal-feeling appraisal and judgment. ● Organizes into MEGAMOUTH.

123
 sudsy mister Young
For beloved ultrabacker Ben Gelinas. For beloved ultrabacker Jason Hall of RPGlory.

Pigpens beware—Sudsy is coming. Most trace this It looks like a normal teenager, but it’s actually an ancient
soap monster’s origin to an industrial spill in Prismatia, being nearly as old as your parents. Mister Young drifts
but now it wanders the planes, leaving a trail of caustic from world to world embedding among young people
foam, protected by a rich chemical lather, drawn to filth and feeding off their energy and optimism, on a mission
and scrubbing until there’s nothing but bones. to defy adulthood and grind the multiverse forever.
I swear this
● Rushes toward you, swelling into a furious lather. ● Befriends, charms, becomes part of the gang. isn’t me.
● Vulnerable to oil and large amounts of water, but ● Quietly skims teen lifeforce (tired, bitter, etc.)
small amounts of water actually strengthen it. ● Gets you alone and transforms.
● Drips through cracks, pours over barricades. ● Takes a huge bite from your youthful exuberance
● Soaks you with cleaning agent (slick, blinded, (exhausted, despondent, etc.)
burned, corroded gear, etc.) ● Immune to physical harm, but vulnerable to being
● Corrals you inside expanding mounds of thick foam. trapped, starved, or overfed.
● Envelops you fully then flees someplace it can clean ● Chases you on his cursed hoverboard.
that grime off your skeleton in peace. ● Devours you entirely (mummified, nearing forty, etc.)

The Peryton The Conductor

For beloved ultrabacker Robert Michon For ultrabacker Shane O’Reilly (AKA Curtis)

No one knows exactly what this deer-like metaterrestrial A malicious soliton from The Noise, formed from the
cryptid is. Engineers say it’s a rogue AI, philosophers angsty sonic-pollution left by the phone speakers and
say it’s the answer to the Last Question, and though earbuds of an entire generation. The Conductor may
most believe it to be entirely peaceful, Terri’s cousin manifest as a construct of pure distorted bass, a DJ on
Mark swears he saw it bite a guy’s arm off at a rager last a killing spree, an insidious virus festering in your music
Saturday night. library, or a garish poltergeist with a dripping baton.

● Turns translucent when spotted. ● Generates hypnotic rhythms (dazed, puppeteered,

● Flees and fragments at the speed of thought. etc.) and disturbing melodies (freaked out, sad, etc.)
● Cameras and recording equipment start acting up, ● Pursues and haunts you on waves of sound.
requiring recalibration. ● Nearly unkillable, but vulnerable to antiphase noise-
● Shifts to a new world and pulls you along with strong canceling and full vacuum.
spacetime riptides. ● Slams you with violent bass (bruised, headache,
● Seems to be playing with you, teasing, leading you internal bleeding, etc.)
somewhere special. ● Drags you into The Noise (page 114).

124
 Monsters

STRONG VS... WEAK VS...

Make A Monster anything trying to breathe 11 loud sounds
1
the surrounding air
12 electricity surges
It’s Alive! Abuse your GMly powers of 2
all but one of the pcs’
13 chemical reactions
weapons
creation to create your own monsters! Use 14 strikes to a sensitive area
these tips & tables for ideas. 3 all the pcs’ weapons
15 overheating
exposure to flesh / close
4
contact / toe-to-toe fights 16 confusion
● What is its goal, drive, or directive?
5 attempts to hide or flee 21 self-destruction
● Do you want the PCs to fight it? Run
attempts to use electronics 22 loss of momentum
away from it? Befriend it? Study it? 6
or make portals in its vicinity
23 nuclear radiation
Sneak past it? Trick it? Your goal may
24 specific wavelengths of light
affect how you describe the monster.
25 magnetic forces
● Write a quick list of potential problems and slams. What terrible new
26 reality inversion
features or tactics reveal themselves? How does it attack? How does it
defend itself? Check out page 159 for ideas. 31 clever maneuvering
● Let the crew name it for you, if you haven’t already. Maybe this is the 32 its own attacks
first time this monster has been encountered by humanity! 33 certain pheromones/frequencies
34 alien atmosphere
35 disarmament
36 stunning
A DJ E C T I V E ( R O L L T W I C E )
41 threats to its nest
d6 1 2 3 4 5 6 42 standing perfectly still
1 giant dripping glitching abyssal morphing camouflaged 43 deception
2 colossal hungry advanced celestial radioactive telekinetic 44 having a need met
3 towering inverted warping splitting teleporting anti-reality 45 internal lasers
4 flying unstable planar mutating babbling replicating 46 the epsilon principle
5 territorial ancient hybrid evolving screaming 5-dimensional 51 choking
6 ghostly psionic quantum vomiting unraveling multi-headed 52 complete meltdown
53 portal static
54 hardlight
NOUN
55 nth trails
d6 1 2 3 4 5 6 56 weird gravity
1 fly squid crocodile centipede android bacterium 61 mutation
2 mosquito jellyfish snake slug killbot fungus 62 water
3 moth eel shark larva drone amoeba 63 clouds of particulate
4 hornet scorpion manta ray worm cyborg parasite 64 twisting or tangling
5 cockroach crab theropod lizard mecha swarm 65 peelback
6 insectoid spider pterosaur caterpillar construct mix two 66 displays of vulnerability

125
 Fac- faction rules
There are four kinds of factions in
Slugblaster: crews, sponsors, authorities,

tions
and crowds. Each faction has things they
like and things they don’t. How you treat
them, what you post, and what they hear
about you can change how they view
you, and how they treat you back.

You can track your faction relationships

using the following symbols.
(Rival crews, corporate
sponsors, and other people +1 Friendly. Agreeable, interested,
encouraging.
that aren't you)
+2 Tight. Helpful, close, caring,
enthusiastic.

It’s a busy multiverse. +3 Ally. Ride or Die. Should

trigger a perk or event, such as
Diehard Fans, Collab, or Swag.
There are rival crews
trying to upstage you, -1 Unfriendly. Annoyed, skeptical,
or wary.

sponsors trying to sell -2 Rivals. Resentful, angry, threat-

ened, petty.

you, authorities trying -3 Enemy. Let me at ‘em. Should

to police you, and big trigger an event like Hunted or

Smear Tactics.

crowds of potential !!! Unstable. The relationship is

on the verge of changing dra-
fans watching your Feel free to make up
matically. Anything could tip it.
(Useful for betrayals, which have
every move. your own symbols, too.
Question marks, emoji,
etc. Relationships can
the potential to turn allies into
enemies quickly, for example.)
be complex!
126
 Factions

CREWS Sponsors
You’re not the first group of slugblasters to give them- Getting sponsored is the nearly-multiversal goal of all
selves a name and matching hats, and you won’t be the slugblasters, ever since the very first hoverboard shop
last. Many crews have come and gone, formed and re- gave a free t-shirt to some kid they liked. However, a few
formed, risen to stardom, and washed up just as quickly. years ago, a candy company called Wilkie’s transformed
the scene by injecting big money into it, offering massive
● BRB. A crew of straight-laced, athletic, and super rockstar sponsorship deals to promising slugblasters.
competitive laserbladers.
● Jet Collective. A large crew of inclusive activists ● Miper. A sleek, idealistic big-tech company.
with an addiction to petty drama. ● Hardecker. A clueless blue-collar brand that’s just
● Null Range. An obnoxious, anti-authoritarian crew of been made cool.
older kids from Hillview. ● Wilkie’s. Candy, toys, energy drinks, x-treme sports.
● Lazy Bunny. Super mainstream, super broish, super ● Scram Cat. The original indie slugblasting shop, in
nice live-streamers having their moment. the process of becoming a Miper subsidiary.
● The Wicks. A crew of young, rowdy, disenfranchised ● FUST. Last real indie sponsor, owned/operated by
up-and-comers. total a-holes.

Authorities Crowds
There is more to this world than slugblasting—there The slugblaster scene is a 4-dimensional Venn dia-
are also people who want to stop slugblasting, control gram of complex sub-scenes and overlapping political,
slugblasting, and use slugblasters to help them commit philosophical, and aesthetic in-groups. But in general,
crimes! Authorities are the various powerful groups of it can be divided into five main clusters. These are your
adults you have to deal with whether you want to or potential fans—while your fame level determines how
not. These authorities’ motives are complex, mysterious, well-known you are, your relationship with these various
and often-changing, and you tend to see different sides crowds determines who actually likes you and thinks
of them depending on your relationship. They can be you’re cool. Cool is relative, after all.
your biggest ally or your greatest enemy, and each entry
details how. ● The Thrashers. The partiers, hipsters, and artists.
They value authenticity, aesthetic, and attitude.
● DARA. Big, mysterious research facility. Its Rescue ● The Heads. The nerds, athletes, and aficionados.
division acts as Hillview’s portal cops. They value skill and innovation.
● The Arborists. An ancient sect of planeswalkers ● The Mavens. The activists, punks, and diehards.
from Thennis Spar. They value community and standing for something.
● Shimmer. Transversal criminal syndicate. ● The Freaks. The ravers, crusties, and oddballs. They
● Doorways. Concerned parent group from Hillview. value originality and expression.
● The Old Guard. Promoters, magazine editors, and ● The Normies. The mainstreamers, pre-teens, and
retired slugblasters. basics. They value fun.

127
 crews “Jet” used to stand
for something, but
no one in the crew
remembers what.
Jet Collective
This diverse crew of Thennis Spartians likes to hold a
mirror up to the scene, while at the same time nurturing
it with community events, demos, and comps. They love
Brb slugblasting and try to fight for it, but are highly sensitive
to perceived infractions. Once you’re in their bad books,
The first team ever to burn through in a triple, BRB is a it’s hard to do anything right.
crew of competitive, backpack-wearing laserbladers,
dominating leaderboards and beating every comp they NPCs. Lyyra (outspoken, overprotective, 100% princi-
enter into submission. People joke that BRB will be the pled, 0% chill). Garek (used to be edgy and always over-
ones to get slugblasting turned into an Olympic event. compensates for it, big into experimental orb music).
Phox (mysterious, rarely talks, but when they do it’s to
NPCs. K-jump (girlscout, pushes herself). Whiplash drop some knowledge).
(loyal, everything’s a competition, sore loser). Bez
(noise-canceling earbuds, inventing tricks in their head). Assets. A reluctant Miper sponsorship, venues and
event organizers on speed dial, a powerful rumor mill,
Assets. Free gear from Scram Cat, best times on all and huge pull with The Mavens.
the top speed runs, a well-organized text file filled with
secret routes, and huge pull with The Heads. Likes. Compassion, accessibility, inter-crew cooperation,
activism, and stunts that make a statement.
Likes. Skill and innovation, talking shop, The Old Guard,
DARA (low-key, Rescue once legitimately saved their Dislikes. Gatekeeping, phonies, sellouts like Lazy
lives), and Scram Cat. Bunny, edgelords, Hardecker, and The Normies.

Dislikes. FUST, Null Range, sloppy runs, and gimmicky

stunts.
S I T UAT I O N !
Jet Collective’s strong passion and principles
have started to curl back in on itself, turning what
would be normal drama between friends into
an all-out war of accusations, ultimatums, and
brinkmanship. If someone doesn’t step in, Jet
Collective could implode entirely, causing shock
waves through the scene.

The BRB mascot, Flip, doing

a double-burn in his phat
hardlight inlines.

128
Null Range
Diehard fans know it was originally spelled “0range,” but no one bothers with that
anymore. Null Range is known for being obnoxious and fiercely anti-establisment,
punching their own sponsor reps during parties and dressing in parodies of DARA’s
iconic orange hazwear as an f-you to the agency they’ve waged total war on.

NPCs. Curtis (foul-mouthed, douchey blazer, messed-up homelife). Delainey

(sarcastic, chewing bubble gum, constantly exasperated with Curtis). Harv (weird,
dirty). Rick (90s hacker vibes). Van (all business, speakers in helmet).

Assets. A secret portal-zone somewhere near Burger Man, a large collection

of Rescue uniforms and equipment, an inside man at DARA (Rick’s dad), fragile
FUST sponsorship, pull with The Thrashers, the blessing of The Old Guard.

Likes. Jet Collective, The Old Guard, and stickin’ it to the man.

Dislikes. DARA, Doorways, The Arborists, and milquetoast dorks like BRB.

lazy bunny
The only crew to be featured on The Morning Show before Slugblaster
Magazine, this fun-loving set of good-looking goofs has become a
crossover hit, tween sensation, and many people’s first exposure to the
slugblasting movement at all. You can’t sell out if you’ve never been in!

NPCs. Paisley (cutesy, painfully basic). Bryce (infectious smile, sin-

cere, oblivious, golden retriever). Sally (simps for Paisley and Bryce).
And, of course, Dylan (“Dylllllannnn! You’re such a joker.”).

Assets. A huge streaming channel, Wilkie’s sponsorship, entou-

rage of Normies, and Wift Wabbit, their insanely popular team Special
mascot on track to be more famous than they are, pending an thanks to
animated series currently stuck in pre-production. ultrabacker
Travis Michael
Likes. BRB, being liked, having fun, and good vibes.
DeVoll for
coming up with
Wift Wabbit,
Dislikes. Jet Collective, FUST, snobs-in-general. possibly my
favourite thing in
this entire game.
129
 The Wicks S I T UAT I O N !
Shaking the scene and scaring parents across the mul- Hardecker had no idea what they were signing
tiverse, this throng of rowdy kids from Operaeblum is up for when they sponsored The Wicks, and their
making up for their inexperience with raw talent, youth- board is only now realizing what they’ve got­—the
ful energy, and a complete disregard for the way things hottest property in the slugblasting market, and
are usually done. an absolute PR nightmare. The Wicks could make
life-changing money, but only if they start playing
NPCs. Dogburgers (aggressive, intimidating, unhinged). by the rules.
Sexxx (friendly but mischievous, has an animatronic
baby in a carrier that she’s programmed to smoke cig-
arettes). Dead Parents (shy, most talented, butt of the
joke, parents are dead).

Assets. VIP access to the one club in Operaeblum

they aren’t banned from, a way into Wilkie’s Candy
Lab® through maintenance tubes, the adoration of The
Freaks, a sponsorship from Hardecker, a channel of
videos that could turn your pastor grey.

Likes. Pranking/abusing their exhausted sponsor rep,

crashing parties, and not giving an eff.

Dislikes. The Old Guard, The Arborists, most Mavens

and most other crews.

Turns out
I really like
writing these.
MORE WICKS
1 Kancer 1 Earblood
2 Bong Jesus 2 Mean Fetus
3 Vomatron 3 LL Cruel J
4 Slurgasm 4 Gearl Sweatshirt
5 Autopsy F-bot 5 Satan’s Girlfriend
6 Needles 6 Lil’ Atilla

130
IF YOU CHOOSE TO DO IT.
DO IT SAFELY.

learn more at
safeslugblasting.org
 authorities NEXUS MASTER
For beloved ultrabacker Andrew Davison.

When the Arborists need a threat to the multi-

The Arborists verse neutralized with extreme prejudice, they
send in the Nexus Master. Trained in combat
Arborism is an ancient religion with temples through- disciplines from throughout the multiverse, the
out Thennis Spar, and likely beyond. They believe the Nexus Master is a relentless opponent, as deadly
multiverse is a great tree with many forking branches, with their fists as they are with their signature
and that they have been called to tend to it. At their Ionic Poleaxe.
best, they are spiritually-minded thinkers and philoso-
phers, guiding interdimensional travellers with wisdom ● Runs you down with arcane speed, mind-
and protecting the multiverse from destructive forces. At jumps, and holy determination.
worst they’re creepy cultists trying to control everything. ● Deflects and redirects your attack.
● Throws a variety of gravity orbs that slow,
NPCs. Daada, the High Forester (mysterious, calculated, launch, or trap you.
smells strongly of incense and portal static). Rani, the ● Slams you with Ionic Poleaxe (reality dam-
Sapling (young, smart, torn between her devotion to her age, concept rupture, etc.) or well-trained
family and her desire to be a normal teenager). fists (pummeled, pwned, grappled, etc.)
● Uses a quantum palm strike to peel you back
Assets. Deciduum Temple (and all the advanced tech- or knock you into a holding dimension.
nology and multiversal secrets contained therein) and
numerous secret routes and portal-zones.
The Arborist’s sigil, found marking
Likes. Balance, order, tradition, nature, sustainability, various temples, shrines, and secret
and nurturing the minds of respectful young people. sites throughout the
local multiverse.
Dislikes. Anything too disruptive, Doorways, invasive
species, anomalous quantum phenomena, and littering.

S I T UAT I O N !
The Arborists believe there is a disease of sorts
spreading through the limbs of the multiverse,
threating to rot the entire tree. If they can’t figure
out what’s going on, they’ll be forced to start
pruning entire branches.

132
 Factions

Been around for years and

people still can’t agree on
how to pronounce it.
DARA R E S C U E AG E N T
DARA (Dimensional Access and Research Agency) is a Incompetent rent-a-cops, well-trained patrols, and
privately-operated, government-funded particle physics elite strike teams here to save you from fun and
lab operating in Hillview. At best they provide schol- haul you back home for processing, decontami-
arships and mentorship to young people, while their nation, treatment, and a court-ordered six-week
Rescue unit provides help to people in serious trouble. safety course.
At worst they are a shady for-profit experimentation
facility with an army of crooked spacetime cops. ● “Help has arrived. Remain calm and stay still.”
● Chases you on hoverbike or goofy upright
NPCs. Officers Koop and Penner (bumbling, easily pro- personal transport device.
voked, pants falling down when they try to run). Dr. Slate ● “Rescue Unit Bravo requesting backup!”
(ambitious, pragmatic, always using hand sanitizer). ● Immobilizes you with stun rays or jets of hard-
ening foam (numb, stuck, etc.)
Assets. A multibillion-dollar facility, impressive security, ● Freezes up portal-zones with zerobeams.
highly-trained ultranauts, two long-shuttered satellite
facilities, an underfunded Research & Innovation wing,
a floundering Youth Science program, an over-fund-
ed Rescue division, a newly-built Treatment centre, a
freshly-minted Prevention division, squads of agents in R E S E A R C H FAC I L I T Y
powered EDA suits, fleets of drones, experimental zone A world-class complex complete with staff hous-
locks, two twenty-client-capacity SAR harvesters, and a ing, food court, gym, learning centre, data suite,
storage room full of confiscated slugblasting gear. acres of lab space, and a negafriction power-
plant that provides free electricity to the easily-
Likes. New data, exciting discoveries, fostering young placated population of Hillview, which still uses a
scientists, and monitoring/controlling Null’s spacetime. fraction of the energy devoured by DARA’s huge
underground particle accelerator.
Dislikes. The Arborists, being undermined, and punk
kids bringing negative attention to extraplanar research. PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
● security doors ● a fenced lot filled
● guards, sentry bots with cooling coils
● oops you run into a ● reflective hallways
S I T UAT I O N ! parent or teacher ● break room
Despite growing criticism from its dwindling staff ● alarms, sweeps ● catwalks over lab
of actual researchers, the Prevention arm of ● full lockdown ● glass elevator
DARA’s notorious Rescue division is developing a ● planar assault on ● holding cells
technology that would “repair” Null’s spacetime the hardportal ● huge, underground
field, patching thin-zones and severing Null from ● elite units atom-smasher pipe
the rest of the multiverse entirely. ● reactor collapse ● shipping dock

133
 shimmer the Old guard
Shimmer is a transversal underworld criminal syndicate. A group of promoters, reviewers, burnouts, wash-ups,
At its worst it’s a hive of mercenaries, arms dealers, and and geriatric twentysomethings who were doing this
thieves. At its best it’s ​your​hive of mercenaries, arms when you were in diapers. At their best, they are men-
dealers, and thieves. Like, nobody’s all bad, right? tors, rolemodels, and sources of inspiration and wisdom.
At their worst, they are cynics, snobs, and gatekeepers.
NPCs. A mercenary named Balaclava (gruff, sarcastic,
always gets stuck babysitting slugblasters). A Slipmarket NPCs. The editor of Slugblaster Magazine, Corey
dealer named Galina (bug-eyed, always sweating). A (old/28, cranky, lives and breathes slugblasting). The
boss named Jericho Zebulak (cigars, voice to match). co-owner of Infinite Pizza, Marley (sarcastic, amused,
used to be a pro slugger until an injury).
Assets. A fleet of killbots, a gang of toughs, corrupt
board members, Rescue agents on the payroll, hidden Assets. Powerful influencers and bloggers, slugblasting
smuggling portals, illegal weapons and portaling tech, oral historians, a curated collection of skate shops and
and young sluggers unknowingly delivering contraband. pizza joints, secret portals and hoverboard spots.

Likes. People they can use, people who keep quiet, and Likes. Authenticity, respecting forebears, paying hom-
scrappy kids who can break into places and might want age to slugger history, Scram Cat, FUST, and Null Range.
to make a few bucks, huh? Whatcha say?
Dislikes. Arrogance, anything too disruptive to slug-
Dislikes. Snitching, ingratitude, and disloyalty. blasting fundamentals, Lazy Bunny, and The Wicks.

M E R C E N A RY S I T UAT I O N !
Being an interplanar mercenary isn’t easy. The Sensing a sea change with the rise of popular
bugs are big, the pay barely covers your over- streamers like Lazy Bunny, The Old Guard is plan-
head, your joints don’t take portal static like they ning a battery of hot takes and think pieces that
used to, and these teenage brats won’t stop will tear the scene in two. All must pick a side.
getting in your way.

● Protected by cool-looking battle armour.

● Dope hand cannon vaporizes huge chunks of S I T UAT I O N !
terrain and whoever doesn’t run. Shimmer thrives in this era of nebulous trade
● Chases quarry with sweet jetpack. laws and spotty border control. But improved in-
● Scans for body heat with wicked helmet. frastructure and oversight threaten this wild west,
● Unsheathes negafriction knives, visibly and slugblasters are fast becoming the only ones
weighs pros and cons of killing a minor. who can still slip through the cracks.

134
 Factions

Doorways S I T UAT I O N !
Doorways is a parent group concerned about the negative effects of slug- Doorways is facing a cross-
blasting on Hillview’s teenage population. At its best this coalition of involved roads. Sensing defeat,
parents provides education, supervision, and safety equipment to young some members are trying to
people. At its worst it’s a mob of torch-waving soccer moms burning piles of backtrack and turn Doorways
Slugblaster Magazines and protesting near portal-zones. into a pro-slugblasting safety
awareness group, while
NPCs. Stacy’s mom, Karen (stubborn, angry, something is wrong and no one other members have only
is listening. Has “got it going on,” though, yes). Jason, the youth leader (up- become more zealously
beat, deep conviction, “no cap, my homies”). opposed to all of it, like the
growing subsect of multi-
Assets. Boxes of tracts and pamphlets, a storage room in the school gym verse deniers in the “One
holding donated peelback kits and hazwear for safe-slugblasting campaigns, Universe Society.”
highly contagious outrage, many church basements, spies undercover as the
“cool” teachers, straight-laced teen snitches, an elite neighbourhood watch.
From an infamous series of early-era
Likes. Safety, good rolemodels, and, inexplicably, Lazy Bunny, who they find
Doorways comics, which, despite many
glaring inaccuracies and out-of-context
wonderfully charming and polite, even if they can’t condone their lifestyle. Bible verses, managed to actually TEACH
a few kids how to make portals.
Dislikes. DARA (for letting this all happen), Wilkie’s (who brazenly exploit this
fad for profit), bad attitude, uncouth behaviour, and music with too much bass.

135
 Sponsors S I T UAT I O N !
Miper has a vision for a more connected multi-
verse. As part of that vision, Miper has decided to
build a hugely expensive interdimensional train,
Scram cat which requires them to switch to an entirely new
Q-Form, rendering all current Nth gear products
Before Scram Cat, slugblasting wasn’t much more than a incompatible with local spacetime.
few kids sneaking into Prismatia through mining portals.
But with Scram Cat’s novelty toy, the Nth gear™ hover-
board, everything changed. (The company’s name is so Crews sponsored by Miper get
new phones, definitely without
synonymous with the subculture that in some places
slugblasters are called “scram cats” instead.) No com-
Miper tracking devices in them.
pany has the history, the respect, and the authenticity Some people are different. They choose excellence.
that Scram Cat has—which is exactly why Miper is set to They choose precision. They choose something with
acquire them later this month. I’m sure it will be chill. classical music and confusing shots of austere architec-
ture and European models in their advertisements. They
NPCs. Sibling co-owners Ken (naive, optimistic, com- choose Miper®, a design-focused tech company striving
pletely baked) and Esther (resigned, over it, completely to change the world one innovation at a time.
baked). Miper’s on-site auditor, Imani (observant, data-
driven, this is going in her report). NPCs. Celebrated visionary and CEO Tristen Voss
(passionate, arrogant, ambitious). CTO Jian-Jian Ren
Assets. The most legendary slugblasting gear available, (disgruntled, has given everything for this company and
The Scram Cat X-Games™, a flagship store on Popularia for what). Unpaid intern Robin (terrified, overworked).
boardwalk, years of hard-earned brand loyalty, a name
inextricably tied to the culture, the blessing of The Old Assets. A partially operational interdimensional train, an
Guard, a mountain of debt, and no other options. expensive R&D campus in Popularia, one endowment
away from voting majority on Popularia University’s
Likes. Crews who just love the sport, do big tricks on board, a library of patents and a piranha tank of lawyers,
classic spots, break records, and try new things. market dominance in telecom and social media, the
prestigious Young Genius scholarship, and Scram Cat
Dislikes. As of next month, whatever Miper doesn’t like. (pending evaluation).

Likes. Scientific discovery, innovation, and crews with

Crews sponsored by Scram Cat passion and something to say, as long as it’s not some-
get a t-shirt and a 60 ft roll thing critical of Miper.
of grip tape in a random colour
(see page 64).
Dislikes. Irreverence, crews who don’t take this serious-
ly, Rescue, Doorways, The Arborists, and FUST.

136
 Factions

Crews sponsored by Hardecker get a

lifetime supply of descoring spray foam
cleaning agent! Yay!
Hardecker S I T UAT I O N !
Hardecker had no idea they were in the slugblasting Hardecker is holding their first ever slugblasting
business, but have been reluctantly pivoting ever tournament, and they clearly have no idea what
since their rugged outer-planar mining products were they’re doing, because the top prize is a ludi-
co-opted by the scene. They’ve begun tentatively mak- crous amount of money. However, it’s being
ing sponsorship deals, at least until their boardroom full protested by a group of Mavens, and Slugblaster
of beige-wearing dads try to figure out why a bunch of Magazine is covering the protest.
teenage hipsters are buying out their P400 Duraweave
Outwear Jackets and sewing decorative patches onto
them.

NPCs. Paul, head of marketing (baffled, can barely use

a computer, “what do teenagers like?”). Cheryl (intense,
pantsuit game on point, had to work twice as hard to get
here and isn’t about to let some punks ruin everything).
Flenderson, operations manager (fake smile, always
feels like he’s telling you what you want to hear).

Assets. Bizarre momentary cachet, various mining

portals, SPM Kramshon and other mining subsidiaries, Hardecker® 20gv
the Hardecker® Tools commercial line, the ill-conceived MAX-R mid-range
Hardecker® Fleek™ slugblasting line currently being
7” slackbeam, out
of the box.
focusgrouped, warehouses full of product, silos full of
unrefined kramshon, and union-busters paid under the
table.

Likes. Normies, fiscal solvency, untapped revenue

streams, doing legally fuzzy deals with Shimmer, punctu-
ality, hard work, and advertising their powered weapon
systems with slow-motion shots of sparks, sweaty brows
being wiped, objects falling into beds of gravel, and
dirty, calloused hands gripping mud-splattered heavy
duty particle rays.

Dislikes. Controversy, anything that’d make the share-

holders nervous, anything too weird, improper use of
equipment, The Arborists, and cussing.
Hardecker® 20gv
MAX-R mid-range
7” slackbeam,
after modification.
137
 Crews sponsored by Wilkie’s
get all-they-can-drink PANIC
PA N I C E N E R GY ® D R I N K F L AVO U R S
Wilkie's Energy®. Careful now.
1 Lemon Stress 1 Blackout Punch
Wilkie’s is the local multiverse’s largest confectionery
2 Peach Meltdown 2 Cold Sweat
and other foodstuffs brand. Their parent company ac-
3 Public Freakout 3 Amygdala Rap Battle
quired them in a fun, militarized takeover in an effort to
provide calories to their megatower arcology of pas- 4 Fried Melon 4 Tang-xiety

sionately indentured citizens/employees. They’ve had 5 Bloodstream Bassdrop 5 Raspberry Crash

an active presence in the slugger scene since launching 6 Nauzea 6 (K)ortisol
their youth-targeted energy drink, PANIC Energy®.

NPCS. Mr. Wilkie, founder (old, eccentric, bleached hair,

big Guy Fieri energy). Ally Gater, the cartoon face of S I T UAT I O N !
Wilkie’s social media accounts (trickster, quick with the Wilkie, the company’s elderly, thrill-seeking
clapback, loves stirring the pot, real identity unknown). founder has been missing for nearly a year. The
Drew, Director of Funtimes (joyless, monotone, this is company has done everything it can to cover it
their dream job). Kenzie, sponsor rep (life of the party, up, but rumors are getting out and conspiracy
knows every bouncer in the multiverse, exhausted, theories are forming.
often caught staring into the middle distance).

Assets. A loving legal death-grip on Lazy Bunny, the

annual Multipalooza festival, a growing line of slug-
blasting gear, eighty percent of the energy drink market,
a beloved internet-breaking mascot, a permanently
closed waterpark in Empyrean, a top secret research
lab in Operaeblum, a rumored storage demiplane full of
shipping container after shipping container of snacks
and toys, the PANIC Energy® street team, and an army
of glitchy funbots.

Likes. Big parties, hilarious pranks, footage with

slime, and crews that look like they are having fun.

Dislikes. Taking things too seriously, taking

things seriously at all, debbie downers, party
poopers, Doorways, and The Arborists.

Ally was first introduced with

the launch of the PANIC Energy®
breakfast cereal, Deliri-Os™
which use CRISPR technology for
serious crunch.
138
 Factions

Crews sponsored by FUST eat

free at Infinite Pizza. One
FUST topping limit.
S I T UAT I O N !
Soon to be the only truly independent slugblasting FUST is freaking out about the pending deal
brand offering sponsorships, FUST is a group of diehard, between Scram Cat and Miper. Scram Cat may
anti-establishment Old Guard jerks known for refusing be their bitter rival, but it’s also an OG legend! It
sales to moms looking for birthday presents and banning shouldn’t be bought by some big tech company!
kids from their store for not knowing what peelback is. It should be bought by FUST, as a hilarious flex.
Their sister shop, Infinite Pizza, has been a slugblasting
hotspot for years.

NPCs. Stooch (opinionated, moody, high standards).

Mogie (jackass, prankster, “yo, does this look infected?”)
The shop dog, Mr. William Samswell aka Mr. William
Slamswell aka Slamdog Willionaire (good boy, loves
tummy rubs, wears a bandanna, trained to hoverboard).

Assets. The hottest slugblasting apparel on the market,

a notorious video channel, a single storefront despite
huge demand, Infinite Pizza, a fulfillment centre in an old
yogurt factory, a small record label, huge pull with The
Thrashers, and the blessing of The Old Guard.

Likes. Super dangerous runs, big slams, crews that

DGAF, Null Range, and The Wicks.

Dislikes. Goody-goodies, crybabies, sellouts, Read about the

Scram Cat, corporations, and all authorities co-owner, Marley,
besides The Old Guard. on page 134

INFINITE PIZZA
Every inch of every surface is covered in stickers
and paint marker. The music is loud and not par-
ticularly appropriate, and the staff has to shout
to communicate between the small, narrow front
counter and the tiny, fully exposed kitchen area.
They’ve got the best slice in the multiverse and
a total of three booths, none of which are ever
available when you walk in.
Stands for
“Follow Us to
Slam Town.”

139
 Crowds Throngs of
potential fans,
ready to hit that
like-button.
the mavens
The activists, punks, diehards, and organizers. They
think of slugblasting as a movement and value integrity,
community, and standing for something.
the Thrashers NPCs. Kary (friendly, usually baked, stack of handbills
The partiers, scenesters, artists, and riftrats. They think for an event she’s promoting). Adan (intense, skeptical,
of slugblasting as an artform and value authenticity, bag full of spraypaint and wheatpastes). A coffee shop
aesthetics, style, and attitude. full of slam poets. An ecosystem of passionate micro-
bloggers locked in eternal discourse.
NPCs. Travis (chill, laugher, torn flannel shirt). Lee
(cold, intelligent, handpoked tattoos she did herself). A
group of hipsters drinking something bluecollar at the
skatepark. Students exchanging zines at a community
the Freaks
artspace. The oddballs, goths, ravers, and neo-hippies. They
think of slugblasting as a lifestyle, and value originality,
expression, and freedom.
the Heads NPCs. Andre (wears a wizard cloak, board painted to
The more clean-cut nerds, athletes, and aficionados who look like a dragon, says “m’lady”). Shen (cat-eye contact
geek out about slugblasting, think of it as a sport, and lenses, subsists on EDM). A group of teens in clown
value skill, chops, innovation, and professionalism. makeup playing with juggling sticks in the park. Seedy
chatrooms filled with memelords.
NPCs. Isabel (no-nonsense, always filming, notebook
full of routes from famous crews). Matty (enthusiastic,
nerdy, backpack and huge headphones at all times). A
group of devotees in line for the newest Miper® tech.
the normies
Power users comparing builds on the r/slugblasting The basics and mainstreamers. Your cousin Doug. Those
message board. kids in the hoverboard park with their dads. Their dads.
They think of slugblasting as a fun new trend and value
entertainment, accessibility, and being nice.

S I T UAT I O N ! NPCs. Frankie (tweenage, impressionable, probably will

The scene has been arranged like this for years. want you to sign a painfully new toy-aisle hoverboard).
But things are changing. Power is shifting, lines Tad and Ajay (sweet, broish, likely to yell “do a kickflip”
are blurring, The Thrashers like pop music now, at you from a car window). A group of happy, optimistic,
and there are whispers of entirely new crowds pumpkin-spice-scented students. A homefeed well-
bubbling out from the cultural ether. stocked with selfies, brunch, and online quizzes.

140
 Factions

MANNER D E TA I L S
Make A person 11 patient 11 smells like food
12 enthusiastic 12 smells like smoke
Use these tables to help create interesting rivals,
13 cooperative 13 straight up smells amazing
flesh out family members, design your dream
14 buzzkill 14 clearly showered moments ago
boyfriend, whatever!
15 insightful 15 stain on shirt
16 laid back 16 great skin
21 sketchy 21 sad haircut
You can read more about what 22 calculating 22 ill-fitting top
Thennis Spartians, Operaeblans, 23 careless 23 itchy sweater
and Popularians are like on pages 24 charming 24 very loud pants
NAMES 97, 105, and 110.
25 secretive 25 conspicuously new outfit
26 annoying 26 bold hat choice
Hillview (Kids). Caleb, Ethan, Kyle, Ryan, Dave, 31 arrogant 31 punchable face
Derek, Ira, Kemal, Amir, Riya, Ashley, Jessica, Kit, 32 douchey 32 bit of a tooth situation
Jasmin, Emily, Sara, Kristy, Imani, Yu-jin, Jordan. 33 distracted 33 for real gorgeous
34 baked 34 untested skincare routine
Hillview (Adults). Mr. Garber, Mr. Sadiq, Todd, Pat,
35 anxious 35 always looks tired
Don Stoll, Lori Stoll, Jennifer, Mrs. Enns, Miss Park.
36 quiet 36 that’s a lot of hair
41 dishonest 41 tiny, tiny eyes
Thennis Spar. Otha, Saturni, Vani, Maxavi, Soma,
42 snobby 42 turtlenecked AF
Brahmia, Varunius, Numeri, Aquana, Kumaria, Pira.
43 defiant 43 complete smokeshow
Popularia. Capucine, Baptiste, Constance, Rés, 44 confident 44 blinks too much
Noemie, Meline, Maxence, Morgenne, Julienna. 45 total downer 45 talks with hands
46 nice 46 talks in staccato
Operaeblum. Grip, KT, Antioch, Plastic, Babylon, 51 whiny 51 husky voice
Nineveh, Worker 1.1.3, User j.smith786, #2ef53e. 52 brash 52 mumbler
53 moody 53 melodious
54 shady 54 practically yelling
WA N T S / N E E D S
55 suspicious 55 BIG
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6 56 so extra 56 doesn’t look their age
1 money love excitement 61 obsessive 61 whoa those are some eyebrows
2 power peace justice 62 nosey 62 kinda cute tbh
3 control change freedom 63 cold 63 coming down with something
4 popularity security achievement 64 fierce 64 recently injured
5 answers fun community 65 hyper 65 carrying too much stuff
6 pleasure identity respect 66 try-hard 66 looks a lot like one of the PCs

141
 You like the look of the
Miper X, but the hoverplate
config of your old Scram Cat
custom still just feels better.

You gotta stop lending Andy

your tools.

You’ve taken this thing apart

a dozen times. Maybe you’ll
loosen the tracking on the
agility pin a bit, or see if
you can finally get that beam
filter installed.

Cya Bear pillow, your most

cherished possession

IN THE LAB
You’ve practiced your treflip, you’ve modded
your grav blaster. You’ve wrapped Ruby Rush 2
in hard mode. You’re still bored. What you need
is a challenge. Danger. The thrill that can only
come from a multiverse set to destroy you. If only
there was some god-like entity to help with that.
run
the
game
HOW TO BE THE
SLUGMASTER
what the job
Slugblaster is a player-driven sandbox game.

A GM
The players make the story happen for them-
selves most of the time, by taking actions and
setting their own goals. This doesn’t make your
job any easier, but it does make it a bit more
straightforward, since you mostly just react to
what the players give you.

Does
In Slugblaster, the Game Moderator (GM) has
five main jobs:

1. Setup (page 146). Session zero, starting

the game, and prepping for your first run.

2. Pacing (page 148). Jump cuts, surprises,

group rolls, and progress/danger tracks.

3. Tone (page 150). How to set the correct

tone and guard it with your life.

They build characters, you 4. Decisions (page 153). Saying yes, say-
ing no, judging effectiveness, and player
build worlds. They bring vs player situations.

snacks, you bring pain. You 5. Danger (page 154). The most import-
ant of them all. Obstacles, snags, slams,
are the GM. The Slugmaster. disasters and everything else you need to
adorn the characters with buckets of hot,
The only one weird enough jubilant agony.

to read this book and This chapter contains guidance for each of
these jobs, followed by tips and tricks for run-
think “You know what’s ning specific kinds of scenes (page 156) as
well as non-begrudging advice on
more fun than shooting how to change the game (page 164).

bugs? Eating children!” Like how to run a

chase and plan the
perfect party!

144
 W ha t a G M d o es

the mindset gm actions

● Be Curious. Ask them questions. Give them prob- Here’s a list of some things you can do, to help guide
lems you don’t know the answer to. Ask yourself you until you get the hang of it.
what would logically happen next. Let everything
flow from the fiction. Play to find out what happens.
AT A N Y T I M E YO U C A N . . .
● Be Bold. Paint the multiverse with colour and slime. ● Describe their surroundings.
Don’t be afraid to get weird. Surround them with ● Ask questions like “What do you do?” or “Who’s
alien landscape and lots of things to poke and play closest to the river?” or “Does that make your
with. Make everything a skatepark. character mad?” or “How does the trick look?”
or “Anyone have an idea for a problem?”
● Be Passionate. Be a fan of these rascals. You aren’t ● Start a looming danger track (page 149) or
their enemy­, for you dump acid on them out of love. establish a future obstacle.
And when they roll 1s, don’t make them look silly— ● Cut to the action, with the characters in control.
they aren’t incompetent, the world is dangerous. ● Call for an extra refresh (page 13) any time
during the run (helpful for longer runs!).
● Be Tough. Make them work for it. If you say the slug ● Call for a group action (page 148). This can
will eat them if it catches up, don’t flinch when it speed up and simplify a scene.
happens. The PCs have plenty of resources for deal-
ing with danger. It’s their job to save themselves.
WHEN THEY ROLL A PROBLEM...
● Be Chill. Hold things lightly. Go with the flow. Prep ● Hit them with a snag (page 154).
less than you think you need to. Leave blanks. ● Hit them with a slam (page 155).
Embrace the chaos. Say “yes and...”, and when you ● Or just gain 1 bite you can use later.
can’t, say “no but...” instead.

S P E N D 1 B I T E TO. . .
● Introduce a surprise problem (page 148).
BITE ● Cut to the action, with the characters in over
Bite is a resource the GM spends to introduce their heads.
shocks, surprises, and other challenges that ● Suddenly advance a threat (and the associated
could feel unearned or unfair otherwise. Not all danger track)!
tables want or need to use bite, but I find it helps
me worry less and have more fun.
S P E N D 2 B I T E TO. . .
During the refresh (page 13) the GM collects 1 ● Force an immediate, additional disaster roll on a
bite per player, and gains extra bite from certain single PC.
challenges (page 27) and dares (page 19). ● Introduce a random challenge to the crew (or
pay a little more to pick something specific).

145
 setup SCRIPT CHANGE
Slugblaster works great with Script Change, a
toolset by Beau Jáger Sheldon.

Setup is not the most glamorous part of a GM’s job, and Slugblaster’s tone can swing wildly from table to
certainly not as fun as dropping quantum fear-meteors table, and even from scene to scene. Everyone is
on screaming teenagers. But someone needs to get this going to have preferred levels of fantasy, realism,
party started—and that someone is you. darkness, violence, silliness, etc. Script Change
keeps the tone consistent and everyone at the
table comfortable.
before playing Plus, Script Change’s movie-based terminology
“Session Zero” is the name for the stuff that happens and VCR aesthetic fits Slugblaster perfectly.
before the group’s first run. Making characters, getting Not to mention that cool Instant Replay feature!
on the same page, and getting ready to play. Show that last trick in bullet-time and describe
every metaterrestrial dove flying past in the
1. Print the sheets (at slugblaster.com) and put them background.
on your table with some dice, pencils, snacks, and
your cat who loves lying on warm paper and fancies You can download and print Script Change for
herself a gamer now omg what device will she pick? free at: briebeau.itch.io/script-change

2. Once everyone is done petting that chubby angel,

briefly describe what Slugblaster is, using the intro
on page 6, if helpful.
Some groups find two start options
3. Set guides for tone and content in
it helpful to You can start them in the action, during a run. Starting
pick crew brands
your campaign. You can use Script before making this way is fun, saves time, strongly establishes the
Change and the tone questions on characters. structure, and gives them a chance to learn the rules im-
page 150 to help. mediately. This is better for players who are comfortable
with game mechanics.
4. Help players create their characters (page 40).
Alternatively, you can start in town, before the action,
5. Let each player describe their character, including opening on each character living their day-to-day lives.
their bond with another character. (Don’t forget Mrs. This option is slower, and you’ll be surprised how long
Whiskers and her wittle swugbwasting kitty eeeeee!) players can happily play out mundane teenage life. It
can require savvy pacing to get them to the run, but
6. Lead them through crew creation (page 72). establishes the emotional core of the game and is a
good option for players who are more comfortable with
7. You’re now ready for Session One! Or skip this for storytelling than game mechanics.
now and do it
after the first
run.
146
 S E TU P

your first run

Runs can vary greatly in length and structure from table W H AT S H O U L D I P R E P ?
to table, based on how long you have to play each time Slugblaster was designed as a flexible, player-
you meet, how long you want your campaign to be, driven, open-world game. It empowers improv,
how difficult you want the game to feel, how talkative and also requires it. If you try to plan out the plot,
your group is, how goal-oriented your players are, etc. either you or your players will get frustrated.
There’s no correct length, and you will quickly get a feel
for what works for you, but you gotta start somewhere, Many GMs find they need to prep very little for
so here is a simple run outline to get you started. Slugblaster, but some feel better when they do or
even enjoy the prep itself. If that’s you...
1. Set a couple obstacles the crew knows they need to
overcome to reach their prize. Start the run near the ● Problems are the bulk of your job, so make it
first obstacle, using either a quick travel montage easier for yourself and jot some down, using
or a jump cut (see page 148). This first obstacle the tables on page 156–160 or the lists in
might be exciting, but not overly dire or expansive. each monster and world entry to help you.
● Prep some NPCs. Pull some from a relevant
2. Now ease up on the pace a bit and let them explore, faction, or make someone new. Think about
talk with NPCs, etc. They may overcome more ob- what they want, practice their voice, etc.
stacles, and may even reach their goal. But then... ● List a few descriptive details for a couple
locations you expect them to visit, including
3. Introduce a twist or new threat that changes the interactive objects or terrain.
nature of the run. A monster attacks, Rescue shows ● Write a list of names, tech jargon, and other
up, the universe starts collapsing, etc. New obsta- things you find hard to improvise.
cles and goals may emerge, and snags evolve and ● Read up on factions or monsters you may
intensify the situation, setting up the final set piece. use, and bookmark pages you think you’ll
need to reference, like a world you know
4. End with a big fight, a big chase, or something else they want to go to next.
action-packed and dangerous. You might even call ● Prep any music, maps, and images, you
for disaster rolls near the climax of this scene. want to use. Finding good location images
can make action scenes more tangible.
5. The run ends and the crew heads home, either ● Practice a solid opening description. It
victorious, by the skin of their teeth, or beaten and hypes people up and starts your game off on
bruised. If you haven’t already, call for disaster rolls solid footing.
as they portal home, then make your way to the ● Write down a few questions you can ask the
clean-up and downtime phases! players to get them moving.
The Demo on ● Remind yourself what happened last game.
page 32 gives It can help to ask the best note-taker in the
an example of group to do a recap for everyone.
downtime.

147
 pacing Surprises
Surprises are big in pulpy adventures like these. I mean,
what’s the point of giant sleeping monster eyes if they
don’t slowly open behind a character mid-sentence? But
Players are fully capable of controlling pacing them- they’re also a pacing tool. If a run drags or the PCs seem
selves, and also fully capable of spending an entire aimless, it can help if a giant horsefly grabs one and
session arguing about how to open a door. Historically, starts trying to drink them like a juicebox.
it’s up to the GM to keep things moving and provide
structure to the game. These shocks are thrilling and fun, but can sometimes
feel unfair or unearned in roleplaying games. This is why
You can use your power as GM to speed up through the surprises cost bite. Containing GM power helps the run
boring parts and slow down on the cool stuff. Skip to feel concrete and winnable to the players, and frees you
the action. Use montages. Start in the middle of a fight. up to be maniacal without worrying you’ll overstep.
Similarly, freeze frame cool moments and take time to
savour them. Flesh them out, paint in detail. What kind Have a new threat suddenly appear, have a monster
of debris is floating around? Flower petals? Sparks? make an extra attack in a surge of anger, or have that
Droplets of slime? What graphic is on the bottom of that approaching plasma storm build speed so the climactic
hoverboard as it flips? What colour are the laser beams? escape feels perfectly timed.

jump cuts group rolls

Your most powerful pacing tool is to simply cut to the If two or more PCs have the same immediate goal, the
interesting part. The first time they get invited to a party GM can call for a group roll, which is just like an action
in Popularia, the fun part could be getting there, a kind roll, except the results apply to everyone involved.
of Superbad homage. But after the first time it might
make sense to just start the run with them arriving, in the
middle of a dance battle, etc. GROUP ROLLS
1. One player rolls for the group.
Similarly, while it can sometimes be fun for players to 2. Anyone in the group can boost or kick that roll,
plan a heist, it can be just as much fun to smash cut to describing how they contribute.
alarms going off, the character’s arms full of stolen com- 3. If the roll succeeds, everyone does, but any
ponents, being chased by guard drones. problems affect everyone equally.

Remember, cutting to desperate situations costs bite, Group rolls can dramatically speed up tedious or overly-
and you should always focus on what your players are complex scenes, like when the entire group sneaks into
interested in. If they seem really excited about their heist a building, or a huge, multi-layered chase sequence.
plan, or picking out their outfits for the party, They are also mechanically powerful, so the GM decides
don’t skip it. Jump to the fun, not past it. As long as when to use them.
you’re having
fun, too!
148
 Pacing

Tracks W H AT T R AC K S LO O K L I K E
Tracks are tools to, uh, track what is happening in the There are lots of ways to track things. Here are some
game. They are concrete visual representations of situ- different methods. Do what works best for your table!
ations that might be hard to picture otherwise. Instead
of hitpoints, a progress track may reflect how close a
monster is to death. If a storm brews on the horizon, a Three sizes of hand-
danger track reflects how close it is.
drawn “clocks,” each
shown partially filled.
Classic and simple.
S TA R T I N G A T R AC K
The first track you set in a scene is a pacing decision.
Should hacking this security door be a single moment,
or an entire scene? That determines whether they
solve the problem in a single roll, whether you set up a
You can track by
spelling a word,
like in a game of
HORSE or SKATE.
CAUGHT
progress track, and how long that track should be. Every
table is a bit different, and you’ll get a feel for it with
practice, but a 4–6 length track is often a good bet.

A D D I N G M O R E T R AC K S
xx If playing
You can use a
stack of poker
chips!

Once the pace is set, any new tracks used in that scene
can be set relative to that first pace-setting track, and
determined more by common sense. If fending off a
500-kg crocodile takes a 4-track, then fending off that
3/5 online, you
can just use
checkboxes or
points.
approaching 900-kg royal crocodile takes longer.

M A R K I N G T H E T R AC K PERCEPTION CHECKS?
Tracks reflect what’s happening in the scene more than Sometimes you want the characters to notice
determine it. If the fiction changes, you adjust the track something, remember something, or receive
to match. Often this is when someone rolls an action, some other kind of information. In other games
but not always. Use common sense, but here’s a guide: you might ask for a perception or knowledge roll.
In Slugblaster, just either give it to them (why
● Successful actions make 1 mark on a waste time!) or give them a tiny thread and make
progress track. More effective actions them take actions to unravel the rest. “You just
could mark 2 or even more. BitD veterans saw the bushes move. What do you do?” or “You
● Danger tracks can advance steadily
might prefer to remember reading something about this on a
use the 2-mark
with time, or dramatically when there’s a system. That’s message board, but can’t remember the details.”
problem or you spend bite (page 145). totally fine.

149
 tone TO N E Q U E S T I O N S
● Does this look more like Stranger Things, Into
the Spider-Verse, or Adventure Time?

Tone is tricky in Slugblaster. The multiverse is deadly, ● Someone falls from 40 feet up, landing in
but the PCs don’t die. They have rayguns that could some bushes. How hurt are they?
liquify a minivan, but they don’t kill people. They back-
flip over demigods, and also cry when their dad starts ● A kid tosses a salt packet from their lunch
drinking again. It’s gonzo, but not silly. It’s Ninja Turtles, box at a giant slug. Is this a cute little joke
but not Bugs Bunny. or an effective attack? Could a monster be
defeated through the power of song?
Everyone at the table contributes to the tone, so each
table’s tone is going to be different. Some will end up ● Do other slugblasters die? Is it urban legend
with Stranger Things, others Adventure Time. I go for or all too real? Do you attend the funerals?
Into the Spider-Verse, but it’s your game and your job as
GM to set the right tone for your group, and pull things ● Do adults like Rescue agents or mercenaries
back when they go off course. Here are some tips for get killed by the monsters? Is it played for
how to do that. laughs, horror, or a bit of both?

● Is it chill to blast a human, even non-lethally?

Do the questionnaire What if they’re chasing you with a gravity
net? What if they’re trying to hurt you? Can
Before playing, it can help to get on the same page, you knock someone out by bonking them on
tone-wise. These questions cover some key issues you the head? Are they okay after?
may face. Discuss them together. Answering with exam-
ples from familiar movies can help. You can reach for ● Is it chill to blast a giant bug? What if it’s not
Indiana Jones to express the “horrifying-but-funny” way even trying to digest you? What if you’re in-
mercenaries might get eaten by giant slugs while the side its nest? What about a psionic alligator?
kids hide in the bushes freaking out, for example. What about an octopus? What about a giant
monkey? What about that giant bug’s giant
It’s okay if you don’t agree, it’s okay to not know yet, and larvae? What if the larvae are trying to digest
it’s okay to adjust things later. The questions are meant you? What if they’re confirmed racists?
to get you thinking. It’s better to discuss this stuff now
than in the middle of an action scene. Otherwise you’re ● Is all this portal nonsense in the characters’
debating eel consciousness for forty-five minutes while heads, like some big analogy for teen drug
Olivia is tired, Caleb’s trying to keep the scene moving, use or the arrival of the internet in isolated
Noah has apparently just researched eel consciousness rural communities?
for a term paper, and poor Morgan just wants to know if
she can shoot this eel or not.

150
 Tone

Make it Gonzo discourage murder

Listen, hard science fiction is great. Paper was invented These kids probably shouldn’t kill people, even if they
so Neal Stephenson could use sixty pages to explain deserve it. It introduces a level of darkness and moral
orbital mechanics. But that’s not Slugblaster. Slugblaster complexity this game isn’t really built for. It bums Mr.
is about cool words and pretty colours. It’s about planar Slugblaster out, ya know? Murder is not considered
eclipses and neon slime. It’s about slabs of falling crystal cool in the slugblaster community, and even using a
landing to create a ramp at the exact moment someone non-lethal weapon against a Rescue agent may be seen
needs to 360 over a chasm filled with pink lava. as extreme. Certain crowds might like it, others might
think it’s a woof, and hellfire will surely rain down in any
Most players are here for it, freed from the shackles of case. Most slugblasters tend to run from Rescue agents.
greyscale realism, but you can set them up for success, That’s just part of the sport.
too. Give them big, slime-filled monsters to fight. Swap
those human guards for a battalion of androids they can The simplest and most foolproof way to handle this is to
melt with glee. Build vibrant set pieces, with interesting pause and remind the players that this is not that kind
props and terrain to interact with. Make everything a of game, remind them they have a stun setting, remind
skatepark, and turn fights into chases when possible. them they can run, and maybe give them a bunch of
They aren’t just fighting Velocitaurs, they’re fighting androids or pod-people to evaporate instead (they could
them while trying to outrun a plasma storm. just be getting bored).

Keep it Grounded don't let them die

You’re bound to get too silly here and there in your In the same way, these kids probably shouldn’t die. They
effort to be lit. When that happens, it can help to ground may take hard slams, break bones, go to the emergency
things with some mundane detail and emotional truth. room, or have their reality mangled by a pandemonium
ray, but having to go to a teammate’s funeral would dra-
Yes, they have a nega-ray, but what does it feel like in matically change the vibe of the game. Doing that once
their hands? How does it smell when it heats up? Yes, might work for certain stories, but more than once and
slugblasters call it Popularia, but does it have another you’re playing something else.
name? What’s the economy like? What’s that Arborist’s
kitchen like? Sometimes a single drop of realism can be Slugblasting is obviously mind-bendingly dangerous, but
all that’s needed to keep you out of rubber-chicken land. it also needs to stay fun for the game’s premise to hold.
They should always have a way of just barely avoiding
For the same reason, you can juxtapose the bonkers tragedy. They are the lucky ones. And if they get in a
action of the run with mundane drama straight out of situation that stretches plausibility too far, you have an
any coming-of-age story. These teens might be able to ejection seat—peelback. Peelback is unpredictable,
stop time and grav-jump over canyons, but their tech tends to happen more during times of duress, and is
won’t save them from failing their chemistry exam, or still a super rough consequence, so it’s a good death
that disappointed look from their father. replacement in this game.

151
deeper.
BOARDING COMPS
WIDE GAMES
CONCERTS
BIBLE STUDY
TECH WORKSHOPS
WORSHIP
GIVEAWAYS
GUEST SPEAKERS

7PM ON FRIDAYS
@ GRACE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
 De c isi o n s

decisions judging impact

The players say what they do, the dice say if they suc-
ceed, but it’s the GM who determines how much they
accomplish—how effective and impactful the action is.
Part of the GM’s job is to be a referee. Use common
sense, do what’s fair, and do what’s the most fun. As mentioned on page 149, the first thing you’re going
to consider is pacing. Do you want this task to take a
roll or two, or be the focus of an entire scene? Once the
Saying Yes pace of the scene is set, impact can be judged based on
common sense:
Guess what! You can say yes more than you think! This
game works well with bold attempts and bizarre ideas. ● Is what they are trying reasonable or clever?
They still have to roll the dice, problems can still arise, ● Did they look for ways to get some kind of edge?
and you as GM still determine how effective success is. ● Are they slammed with slimed and trying to climb a
So when in doubt, say yes and ask for a roll. cliffside or trying to wrestle with a broken arm?
● Are they using the right tool for the job?
● Can you picture this working in a movie?
Saying No ●
●
Does it fit with the established tone?
Are they adding kick? Kick can represent
You say no to protect the tone, keep scenes challenging
extraordinary moments
of skill or luck.
and honest, and maintain fairness. If someone has an
idea that’s too silly, tries to stretch plausibility to resolve
a problem too easily, or tries to bend a rule in a way that P L AY E R V S P L AY E R
replicates a teammate’s ability, you should probably say This isn’t a PVP game, but the nature of teenage
no. Otherwise, again, I suggest saying yes. drama means character vs character situations
may arise. If so, don’t use the normal rules.
Instead, ask the players to collaborate on the
W H AT P C S C A N T Y P I C A L LY D O scene without dice rolls, in a way that reveals
something interesting about both characters.
Climb a ladder? Yep, no roll needed. This requires the players to be mature and flexi-
ble, which means it might not always work. Some
Climb a ladder during an Yes, with a successful players might just agree to settle it with:
intense laser fight? action roll.
● A coin flip.
Jump over a house with Yes, with a successful ● Rock, paper, scissors.
special jumping boots? action roll. ● A “trouble bid,”​where whoever is willing to
mark the most trouble gets to resolve the
Jump over a house without No, sorry. You are, in scene their way.
special jumping boots? fact, human.

153
 danger obstacles
Obstacles are the things on the run the characters
need to directly overcome in order to get their prize.
Unlike problems, obstacles and threats are established,
This is the main job. You are a consequence generator. known, or foreshadowed before they are encountered,
This is what you’ll spend the majority of your time and often before the run even starts. Examples:
mental energy doing throughout a session—just coming
up with an endless series of oopsies and ouchies for ● The exact location of the
You might need
to explore or ask
your little scamps. prize is hidden or secret. around a bit.
● The path to the prize is difficult,
It’s the hardest part of the job, but also may be the only treacherous, blocked, or well-guarded.
truly vital part. A group of mature players can referee ● Earning the prize requires a series of difficult tasks,
themselves, and even set their own pacing and tone. surviving a dangerous situation, winning a tough
But it’s just not as satisfying to overcome an obstacle competition, etc.
you set for yourself. They need you to be the bad guy, to ● The prize must be claimed before
give them what they can’t give themselves. You are their a threat shows up, a window
servant, and your job is to serve them plate after plate of closes, or time runs out. Do your tricks before
trouble and snakes. the storm ends, impress
a sponsor rep before
the party ends, etc.
Snags
Snags are special because they create more story—a
new obstacle, a new threat, more things going wrong,
and more fun for the players. Unlike slams, snags
don’t get ​noped​, since that would subtract upcoming
fun. Snags are great for crafting and fueling fun action
scenes and encounters. They can start the action off,
then evolve and extend it. Examples:
AKA monster
● A new, unexpected obstacle or shows up.
threat is revealed.
● A task gets more complex or difficult, with more
steps. Start or extend a progress track.
● A situation gets more dangerous. Any future prob-
lems rolled are worse.
● A big twist changes the nature of the scene and
what the characters need to do.
● An asset is lost.

154
 DANGER

Slams Disasters
Slams however, are usually one-time stings. They’re a Whether exuberant debacle or sobering gut punch, a
strong, simple option anytime, but work especially well disaster should always teem with future story potential.
when a scene is ready to end and you don’t want to
extend it with another snag. ● Other severe outcomes like challenges or super
slams can sometimes work as alternatives to doom.
Slams often represent physical injury, but don’t forget to ● Disasters can be the direct consequences of the
also slam them with mental strain, exhaustion, emotional current scene, or be out-of-nowhere twists.
wear, damage to gear, and the like. ● Let the player write their own doom or veto ideas
that don’t work for them. Don’t murder their parents
● Banged up, bruised, sprained ankle, scratched up, or have peelback age them forty years unless they
lightly roasted, slimed, exhausted. are into it. Be prepared to offer an alternative.
● Stressed, upset, humiliated, distracted, confused.
● Reality damage, concept warping, unraveling logic.
● Drained powercell, glitching software, cracked DISASTER IDEAS
screen, broken gun.
● Pinned down, grappled, stuck, Injury. You incur (or finally notice) a serious
1
targeted, dangling from ledge. Slams like these injury. You need to get to a hospital.
ones clear when
the situation Loss. Your signature device is lost, confiscated,
changes. 2
WORSE PROBLEMS stolen, or seriously damaged.

In extra dangerous situations, like when someone does Peelback Damage. Peelback pulls you home
a trick or doesn’t run from a big deadly monster, you 3 violently, straining organs, altering physiology,
deliver worse problems. This might mean: scrambling reality, or rattling your psyche.

● Two standard problems. Peelback Accident. Peelback tosses you into

● Everyone gets slammed. the multiverse, swaps you with an alternate,
4
● Someone gets super slammed. shifts your timeline, opens a portal to heck right
where your bedroom used to be, etc.
Super slams take longer to clear. The player writes the
slam as normal, but with super (or some other intensi- Capture. You’re nabbed by Rescue and hauled
fying adverb) in front. Super bruised, super tired, hella 5 in for treatment, pulled into an Arborist ques-
angry, etc. When it’s time to clear the slam, they only tion chamber, grounded until the rapture, etc.
clear the intensifier. Super bruised becomes bruised.
They clear the rest the next time. Personal. The last text you’d ever want to
receive. You get dumped. Your mom gets a job
6
Super slams require extra noping to avoid. One nope overseas. Your dad finds your secret account.
avoids the intensifier, two nopes avoids the entire thing. Someone leaks that one video.

155
 scenes exploration
Slugblasting is often about discovery, and many runs
include lower-adrenaline scenes where the characters
spend time in a new area looking for a hidden portal,
A psionic crocodile attack. A hoverboard race through valuable salvage, ancient mysteries, or the way through
multiple worlds. The PANIC Energy®​beach party. No to some legendary hoverboarding spot.
matter what the characters get up to, you can make it
interesting, dangerous, and fun by providing compelling Also, in hoverboarding culture, time spent doing tricks
details, juicy problems, and maybe a track or two. at a specific location is called a “sesh,” and a lot of runs
involve the characters simply trying to sesh a cool spot
before time runs out or a monster shows up. You can
use these exploration problems in those situations, too.
J O U R N E YS
Sometimes a run is all about getting to a new
world. Sometimes a run starts with the characters E X P LO R AT I O N P R O B L E M S
already there. And sometimes you want some-
thing in the middle—a quick travel montage of This is going to take longer than you thought, and
how the trip to Popularia went before the rave may require some extra steps, such as clearing
1
starts, ya know? rubble or opening a hatch. Must be something
really good hidden here.
● Ask one player to roll for the whole group.
Everyone can boost or kick as desired. A storm brews, a monster stirs, the sun sets,
2
● On a 6, it’s smooth sailing! Have each player sirens echo in the distance. Better hurry.
describe a fun moment from the trip.
● On a 4/5, they all make it but take slams Yikes. This area is a lot more dangerous than you
3
(tired, sunburnt, hungry, slimed...) or trigger a thought. Be careful, worse problems await you.
looming threat—an authority is tailing them,
a predator followed them through the portal, Uh oh. You’ve drawn attention, woken something
4
Kit’s dad needs her home by 9 pm, etc. up, or finally noticed a looming threat.
● On a 1–3, they don’t make it due to a big
problem (monsters, gear failure, bad info, Things aren’t what you thought. This hill is a
etc.) They might have to roll again, or the run sleeping turtle, this cave is a mouth, these aren’t
5
may just veer in a new (worse) direction. actually power crystals, you’ve fallen into a trap,
or you’ve accidentally uncovered a conspiracy.
Longer journeys could require multiple rolls, if
desired. For example, you could have them roll You’re starting to run out of juice (tired, hungry,
once per traversed world. (Just remember that 6 sore...), or you fall and take a slam (banged up,
these rolls can deplete the PCs resources.) shinner, concussed, broken gear...).

156
 SCENES

There are valuable

Infiltration components out there,
waiting to be carefully
A good part of slugblasting is getting into places you’re extracted. Don’t set
not supposed to. Hopping the fence into DARA’s facility, off that self-destruct!
slipping past the bouncers at Matte Static, reprogram-
ming a guardbot, hacking your mom’s email, and all that
stuff. Make these moments into meals by:

● providing objects, terrain, or other fun details for

characters to interact with.
● using progress and danger tracks.
● carefully inserting problems that increase the heat
without boiling over right away into a fight/chase.

I N F I LT R AT I O N P R O B L E M S

There are sentries, fences, firewalls, keylocks,

1 counter-hackers, or fields of motion-sensing
lasers you didn’t expect.

A guard takes a smoke break near your hiding

2 spot, a sleeping monster readjusts to block
your path, etc. C AT A N D M O U S E
Like chases, stealth scenes can work well with
A floorboard creaks, a spotlight sweeps near- checkpoints, especially in scenes where PCs are
by, the power core fluctuates, or a bead of evading a foe who’s actively searching for them.
3
sweat threatens to land on a pressure sensi-
tive floor you’re hanging above (stressed, etc.) Run it like a slow, tense chase. Set the stakes,
danger track, and finish line, which could be as
An alarm rings, a twig snaps, multiple shelves simple as a nearby door, air duct, portal, etc.
4 full of collectible handbells clatter to the floor. The checkpoints might be things like a floor cov-
The jig is up and the hunt is on. ered in noisy glass shards, a gap in the bushes,
or anything that is hard to cross sneakily. Like in
You trap yourself in an awkward hiding spot, a chase, they still cross on a fail, but the danger
5 duck into a dangerous room, trigger a booby track advances as the foe hones in on them.
trap, or find something you shouldn’t have.
Additional problems can be pulled from either
You start wearing out and cracking under the the chase table or the infiltration table.
6
pressure (frazzled, bleary, on the brink, etc.)

157
 CHASE TIPS
Chases ● The checklist is written for being chased, but works
A Slugblaster chase isn’t about gaining a lead or plot- for chasing others and racing others, too.
ting out distances. It’s a side-scroller obstacle course ● Each world (pages 81, 96–112) has a list of sample
of checkpoints you run through as a tight group while a checkpoints. Good checkpoints have hazards,
monster breathes down your neck. choices, and/or things to interact with.
● Group rolls (page 148) can work well for chases.
● By adding kick or taking extra actions, characters
CHASE CHECKLIST can try to do other things during a chase, like slow-
1. Get things moving. Players can be reluctant to start ing the enemy down to clear some marks on the
fleeing, even when it’s clearly necessary. So here’s danger track by shooting, creating hazards, etc.
the trick. Just say, “It starts chasing you! Where are
you headed?”
CHASE PROBLEMS
2. Set the course. Set a finish line (a thin-zone, place
of safety, etc.) and some checkpoints (try 3–5). The You don’t have a clear finish line. You need to
1
amount should be known to the players, even if the find it, open it, unlock it, etc.
details of each checkpoint are a surprise.
Your foe brings out a long range weapon, an
2
3. Set the stakes. Tell them what happens if they lose. evolved speed setting, or a weird psionic ability.
Make it clear, severe, and something you can follow
through on (two slams, losing their prize, disaster The way you wanted to go is blocked. You need
3
rolls, etc.) Set a danger track (try 3–5 marks long). If to change course. GM adds checkpoints.
it fills, they lose.
Your board’s powercell is dying, you drop some-
4
4. Run the chase. PCs take actions to move through thing important, your path needs clearing, etc.
each checkpoint quickly. On a failure (1–3) they still
move through, but slowly, which marks the danger 5 You get slammed by a foe, a fall, or exhaustion.
track. Problems occur too, as normal.
6 Watch out! A hazard up ahead slams everyone.

FA L L I N G B E H I N D, S P L I T T I N G U P
These chases are tight. The fastest crew member
is only a short distance ahead of the slowest, so
assume the crew is sticking roughly together. If
the crew purposely splits up, the enemy picks
one character to keep chasing, leaving the others
free to hide, escape, or try something else.

158
 SCENES

FIGHT PROBLEMS
fights
Fights are often a run’s main action scene, when a play- Didn’t even flinch! The monster has thick skin,
er rolls badly and some huge insectoid bursts from its 1 regenerative tissue, a forcefield, or something
underground chrysalis. They’ll fight, then run from it, or else that makes it tougher than expected.
fight while running from it. Slugblaster 101, right there.
Oh come on! More foes join the battle, a clock
● You can use multiple progress tracks with multiple 2 starts ticking, this monster starts charging a
paths to victory. Do they blast it to bits, or try to psionic blast, or some even worse threat looms.
bring the cave down on it? Do they blow off the
mech’s gun first, or focus on its powercore? Hope you have backup plan! You lose your
● Enemies may have immunities to certain kinds of weapon, your foe has a defence you hadn’t
3
attacks. This can make fights more interesting, as planned for, the terrain shifts, or things are not
players scramble to work the problem. what they seemed.
● At the start of a fight, use problems to evolve the
danger. The metasaur mutates, the microbot swarm On second thought.... The monster grows a
self-replicates into a strike force, the slug immedi- second head, reveals a venomous stinger, or
ately swallows someone whole, etc. After that, use 4 transforms into its true (and much bigger) form.
problems to slam. This is more dangerous than you thought, and
● You can have powerful monsters give out extra problems will be worse. Better run!
slams, or even super slams (page 155).
● Even if you aren’t doing a proper chase, you can 5 You get slammed! (Slimed, jacked up, etc.)
make fights more exciting by having the battle move
through multiple locations, using checkpoints as Splattering acid, a huge swing, an energy blast,
6
ideas for new stages in a shifting arena. or some other area effect slams everyone here!

The landspeed of
a psychic alligator
should not be
underestimated.

159
 social situations downtime
Parties, concerts, interviews, photoshoots, high-stakes Many players take naturally to downtime’s freeform role-
texting, and other social situations can be valid, exciting playing scenes, but some find them intimidating and will
encounters with obstacles and danger. want a bit of help from you and the other players. You
can offer ideas and insert descriptive details, but the
Set up some progress and danger tracks. By making so- best tool you have is questions.
cial goals and risks explicit, the scene comes to life and
every decision matters. You could start with an “Impress ● What beat are you buying? What’s it say? What do
the Sponsor” track, and then a “Sponsor Leaves Party” you think that looks like?
track. Throw in a “Group of Mavens Get Annoyed” track ● Is this a montage? What song is playing during it?
and suddenly you have the beginnings of a social mine- ● Where do you envision this happening? Your house?
field akin to reality. School? What’s the room look like?
● What is your character doing when the scene starts?
And don’t forget to slam them! Slams can represent all Who else is in this scene? Should one of us play
sorts of social and mental damage, like embarrassment, them? What are they like?
confusion, over-caffeination, and stress. I mean, what’s ● How do you think that conversation goes? If we
more stressful than a party? were watching it from outside a window, what would
we see? Could we tell what was being said?
● How does your character feel? How do the others
S O C I A L S I T UAT I O N P R O B L E M S feel? How do we know that? How do they show it?
● Should we end this scene here? Or is there more we
1 Things get awkward, cold, tense, or hostile. need to answer still?

You need to explain yourself, prove yourself,

2 answer some tough questions, do someone a
favour, or talk to a few other people first. H AV E A N N P C A S K A Q U E S T I O N
A fun way to break the ice and get players role-
Things aren’t what you thought. You’re being playing is to just have an NPC ask a question like:
3 set up, this is someone you recognize, you learn
news that changes everything, etc. ● Hi Steven, this is Lisa’s dad. She’s not an-
swering her phone. Have you seen her?
Time is running out. You’re losing their interest, ● Finally! You must be the band. Ready to rock?
4
your wi-fi is failing, an interruption nears, etc. ● Is everything okay, sweetheart? You’ve hardly
touched your dinner.
You take a slam (stressed, flustered, confused, ● Hey losers. What are you doing out here?
5
embarrassed, angry, read-to-filth, etc.)
Nothing gets a scene started like a chance to tell
You are interrupted by something bad. A monster, a lie or trash talk some d-bag.
6
a Rescue force, planar unraveling, etc.

160
 SCENES

YO U H E A R D T H E R E W I L L B E . . .
Make A party The doper the
party, the 11 infinite pizza from Infinite Pizza
more details 12 bottomless drinks
From hazy summer kickbacks to pre-grad ragers, you roll! 13 go-go dancers / dance battles
from all-ages punk shows to sweet sixteens, from
14 holographic celebrity appearances
extra-planar dancehalls to epic youth nights at churches with
15 someone famous
large pizza budgets and distracted chaperones—it’s party
16 free swag!
time, party people. Use this page to bring the ruckus.
21 live music / a killer DJ

● Were the characters invited to this party? Do they know 22 karaoke / rap battle / singalong
anyone going? Can they get the location? 23 mandatory costumes / dress code
● What are the characters’ goals for this party? What is the 24 skate demos / hoverboarding competition
run prize? Do they get a style bonus just for being seen 25 trippy temporal events
there, or do they need to do something to stand out? Is 26 hackathon / gear jam
there a faction they can finally impress? 31 half-pipe / mini-ramp / rail
● What are the obstacles? What are the threats? What 32 video games / live slugblasting feeds
could go wrong? 33 a big showdown
34 physics-bending dance floor
35 clandestine make-out locations
VENUE
36 foam / confetti / body paint / fireworks / glitter
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6 41 bass that splits your waveform
1 house skate shop community hall 42 brief access to a rare euphoria orb
2 music venue pool church 43 bonfire / massive aquarium / movie
3 beachside rooftop youth centre 44 televised events / roving documentarians
4 corporate HQ bushes school gym 45 a bowl of Empyrean cauchy berries
5 dance club block abandoned building 46 swimming
6 skatepark dorm something else 51 wide games / beer pong / bring-your-own-laser tag
52 a chance for one of you to talk to a crush
53 a whole pile of hot people
GUESTS
54 high-stakes truth or dare
Mostly [A], with a smaller And at least one or two
55 an unveiling, product launch, or big announcement
amount of [B]. members of...
56 a sharing circle
1 thrashers 1 an unfriendly or worse crew 61 a raffle, awards ceremony, or special toast
2 heads 2 an unfriendly or worse sponsor 62 cute animals you can touch
3 mavens 3 an unfriendly or worse authority 63 photobooth
4 freaks 4 a neutral or better crew 64 that kid from Thennis Spar who can see the future
5 normies 5 a neutral or better sponsor 65 a rare multidimensional phenomenon
6 players choose 6 a neutral or better authority 66 a special portal, one night only

161
 demo Our heroes’ adventures
continue in this example
of a thrilling chase!
GM: Great. You all clear this check-
point quickly. The danger track
doesn’t get marked, but of course
the metasaurs are still right on
your tail. Doug you mark style for
your... crocodile grind. Rani you
GM: Okay gang. Despite Doug’s Rani: Brutal. K, let’s rip! rolled a 4, so even though you
best attempts to (sigh) seduce the got through quickly, your landing
metasaurs, they let out a terrible GM: Great! Three checkpoints to was hard and cracked one of your
roar and start chasing you! the temple! And our first hoverboard plates. Take a cracked
is... (shuffles papers, finds plate slam, or nope it if you want.
Joshy: Book it! the checkpoint list for the
Golden Jungle) ...the river!
#1 Rani: I’ll take it, my trouble score is
Rani: Book it! Deep and muddy and crowded getting too high.
with sun-basking psionic croc-
Doug: What they said! odiles. How do you try to get GM: Okay next checkpoint!
through here quickly? An old magnetic train suspend-
GM: Great! Where to? ed from a tangle of vines starts
Joshy: I’m going to jump it, if crashing down right in your path.
Joshy: There’s a thin-zone out of there’s something I can use as a
here by the old temple right? Let’s ramp. Joshy: I hit my board’s jets and try
go there! to get through in time.
GM: Yep, there’s boulders and logs
GM: Makes sense! You start book- that would make a nice kicker. Rani: And I’ll use the impulse rig
ing it to the temple. The metasaurs on my gravity cannon to give you
give chase, crashing through the Rani: Yeah, I’m jumping it too then. more speed! Here, take a boost.
jungle after you. You can feel their
breath! Doug: I’m going to ride on top of Joshy: Nice! Thanks.
the crocodiles (eats chip).
Doug: Brush your teeth! Rani: And then I’m going to also
GM: Of course you are (exhales). use my gravity cannon to launch
GM: I’m starting a danger Okay let’s roll. myself over the train. And I want
track. 6 marks long. If it to add a trick while I do it! A...
fills, the metasaurs are Joshy and Rani both roll using misty flip or something?
going to catch you and slam you boost. Doug and the GM decide
all with bitten and trapped, and riding on a crocodile is a trick, and Joshy: Like this? (Shows misty flip
(checks watch) yeah we’ll probably Doug rolls his normal 2d6 from be- on youtube.)
do disaster rolls early, too, if they ing Chill. Joshy gets a 6, Rani gets
catch you. Got it? a 4, and Doug, of course, gets a 6 Rani: Oh heck yeah! That’s deadly,
too. They describe their actions. dude.

162
 EXAMPLE OF PLAY

GM: Okay Doug, what about you?

Doug: (Staring at his own hand).

GM: Nice! In any case, you failed
to get through quickly, too (marks
danger track), so the metasaurs
GM: (Steadies breath). Last
checkpoint. A rotting rope
bridge! You can see the temple
#3
Fingers are messed up, huh? are closing in! Better right beyond it. But below it, a dark
make up some speed. ravine hiding unspeakable jungle
GM: Ahem. Doug. horrors beneath its canopy of
Doug: What about me? predatory leafy growth! The meta-
Doug: Oh right! I’m gonna... (Eats saurs are RIGHT behind you. Two
chip.) ...just ride through and hope GM says something under breath. marks away in fact. And remem-
it doesn’t hit me? ber, if they catch you, they will
Doug: Huh? slam you twice and we’ll make the
GM: You sure? Okay, well let’s roll. disaster rolls early (looks straight
GM: I said “Yay Doug!” You... glide at Doug).
Everyone rolls 1 except Doug, who through the dead centre of the
rolls two 6s. giant, collapsing wreckage without Rani: Well, if I get slammed twice
a scrape on you. I’m rolling disaster anyways be-
GM: Unbelievable. Okay. Yikes. cause my trouble scor—
Joshy you tried to lead them Doug: I rolled doubles too, I have
through the wreckage but instead an ability that— GM: WONDERFUL. What do you
got slammed by a piece of train do?
yourself. Take bruised. And you GM: Yep, we know. We got it. You
tumbled off your board briefly too, look super cool, okay? Take style. Joshy: Maybe I could add kick to
which slowed you down. my roll and shoot the bridge while
Doug: And the metasaurs don’t— I go past? That would clear some
GM marks danger track. of their track.
GM: No they don’t advance, Doug!
GM: Rani your grav- They’re still just tantalizingly close Doug: Don’t worry, Joshy. I got
launched misty flip was looking to biting your stupid neck. In fact this.
dope but you clipped a branch at (spends bite), they grow some
the apex. Take banged up, and more legs actually, and get even Doug eats a chip, accidentally
since your were doing a trick.... faster (marks track). REALLY fast, wipes his hands on what happens
Take thrashed too, from falling in fact (spends bite, marks track). to be the GM’s tablecloth, and
back down through a bunch of HA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA picks up his dice.
thorny vines. TAKE THAT, DOUG!

Rani: Well I gotta nope at least one Doug: What’s happeni—

of those (marks trouble). I have Will our heroes make it
some duraweave gloves, and I GM: LAST CHECKPOINT, DOUG! across the bridge? Will this
think I’m able to grab those vines (Sits down, puts shirt back on, GM find the help he needs?
instead and slow my fall. drinks water.) Find out next time!

163
 change Adjusting the
difficulty

the
The length of your runs, the types of
snags you introduce, and your table’s
play style can all affect the difficulty of
the game, so it may take a few runs to
find the right difficulty level for your play-
ers. For further adjustments you can:

game ●
●
●
add or subtract bite.
add or subtract hype.
adjust track lengths.

playing longer
If you want to keep playing after you’ve
become Legends, you have a few options.

A Slugblaster wouldn’t just ● New Goals. Keep playing at full pow-

er, exploring the outer multiverse and
saving up style towards a series of
settle for the basic factory custom mega-achievements.

settings of their new laser ● New Sheets. Jump a year ahead, in

a bigger pond. You were Legends
shoes, would they? Nuh uh! in high school, sure, but now you’re
freshmen at Popularia University or
They’d open them up and benchwarmers in the Wilkie’s Pro
League®. So reset the crew back to
start ripping out wires! So Nobodies and start characters over
with different sheets. Teens change
why would I expect you to and explore new parts of themselves.

play my game as intended! ● New Story. Play as your characters’

younger siblings, slugblasters in a
I’m appalled at the thought! different Null town, or a group of
Operaeblan teenagers fighting for
their lives!

164
 C H A N G E TH E G A M E

Alternate rules ● No Disaster Rolls. Disaster rolls add a push-your-

luck element to marking trouble, and provide a
Here are some examples of untested rule tweaks that tense moment in the run’s final act, but they aren’t
alter the feel of the game. Use at your own risk. crucial. You can remove them if you want the game
to swing less and be a bit less punishing.
● Noping Snags. Allowing snag-noping gives the PCs
more power over the situation and the players more ● Beats During Runs. Allowing beats to be pur-
authorship in the story, but can more easily lead to chased outside of downtime can help PCs manage
blocking and fun-subtraction. trouble during longer runs, and allows for fun mo-
ments like transdimensional phone calls from angry
● Betting Style for Big Tricks. You can let players wa- parents or big arguments between teammates while
ger style points for big tricks. If they succeed, they in the middle of a chase. You may want to upgrade
double their bet. If they fail, they lose it for talking the slams from some beats into super slams so they
big game then embarrassing themselves. You might last long enough to have meaning. For example,
want to set a limit or things could get nuts—players a PC who buys Angst near the very end of a run
can work the odds to their favour, plus there’s The shouldn’t be able to clear that slam a few moments
Heart’s dreaded Middle Finger trait to consider. later.

● Flashbacks. Blades in the Dark veterans might

want flashbacks reinstated, especially if their crew is
pulling lots of heists and pranks. Allow PCs to spend
1 kick then describe and roll an action they could
have plausibly taken in the past.

● Crits. You can also add critical successes back into

the game. If a player rolls two or more 6s, their ac-
tion is more effective or earns them +1 style.

● Hype Generator. To keep the good times rolling,

have successful tricks generate hype for the crew.

● Afterburner. To be nice, let them boost and/or

kick after the action roll. This can give PCs another
chance to succeed, or further amplify a success
after the fact.

● Slams Deplete You. To be mean, but also add some

verisimilitude, you can have slams also deplete
some boost or kick, to represent the wear
and tear on their body, mind, and gear. Ike Newton would be
rolling in his grave
if he saw what you’ve
done to gravity, missy.
165
 other settings other stories
When I was ten I drew a comic called “Ray Gun Boy.” You can go further, tossing out gear and changing signa-
In college I dusted off this character for a short story tures to use Slugblaster to tell other stories about young
exploring sci-fi wonder and mundane moments from people trying to balance their ambitions and messy
my childhood in playful juxtaposition. I’ve now spent home lives.
a decade steeping in this world, lovingly crafting each
dimension, each faction, my passion steady, awaiting ● Reskin Tech. Play as snotty adolescent demigods
that rapturous day when I can share it with you. roaming Asgard, daring young inventors in easily
scandalized steampunk London, or teenage war-
But no, you’ve already used a razor blade to carefully locks flying illegal brooms through Onward’s New
remove Chapter 3 from the book entirely, ready to run Mushroomton.
Jet Set Radio Future or save some Tales from the Loop
campaign gone off the rails. How nice for you. And how ● Build New Signatures. Ride custom mechadragons,
nice of me to allow and even encourage such disdain for play as young cowgirls on magical pastel horses, or
my creative labour by listing below some ideas for alter- create signature powers to tell stories of aspiring
nate settings that require only minor cosmetic changes. teen superheroes à la Ms. Marvel or Kick-Ass.

● Different Maps. Ditch the map and make the mul- ● Play in Reality. Tell realistic stories of down-and-out
tiverse a sandwich, overlapping circles, layers of an skateboarders, aspiring young musicians, cutthroat
onion, segments of a giant ring, cars in an infinite teen influencers, and emotionally unstable first-year
train, or just a different type of mosaic. art students.

● Different Methods. Ditch the Nth gear and enter ● Beyond! You’re in deep hack territory now, but I just
other worlds via wardrobes and mirrors, runic graf- know some of you are thinking, “this is perfect for
fiti, vaping, strange buses at odd hours, answering my campaign about middle-aged spies surviving the
blocked numbers, putting your shoes on the wrong desert.” Who am I to stop you? Enjoy, my sweet.
feet, or any door you put your portal key into.

● Different Multiverses. Ditch the classic multiverse

and instead be teen time travellers, explore other M A K E YO U R OW N S I G N AT U R E S !
planets, jack into the metaverse, jump magically Making your own signatures is easy! Reskin
into the pages of storybooks, or use shrink rays to existing devices, rewrite flavour text, or assem-
adventure in the horrid microspaces all around. ble something new from various mods. Create
a Quickmile BMX by rewording the Skipmode
● No Multiverse. Ditch the multiverse entirely and Runners. Use the Reality Cannon as Fey Magic
rollerblade through the streets of Tokyo-to, play and the Gravity Blaster as a Wand of the Wind
shows on Egress Station, explore the corridors of God. Reimagine the Robotic Companion as your
your Martian dome city, or skate the halls of the favourite digimon.
dystopic megamall your tribe has settled in.

166
 Solo slugblaster starting solo
by Michael Elliott To start your single-player game, follow these steps,
starting with your character.
Let’s face it, sometimes other people are inconvenient.
They have jobs and kids and are always busy when you 1. Personality. Pick The Loner (page 172). Define your
want to play that cool new roleplaying game you bought look, family, etc. as usual. You don’t have a bond.
online. Not you, though. You’ve got plans. You’ve got Pick a starting trait. Detail your phone, raygun, and
yourself a piping hot copy of Slugblaster and you’re hoverboard, then pick two pieces of gear from pag-
gonna grind through every dimension, plot every portal es 66-67. You get these in addition to The Loner’s
from here to Popularia, and prove that rolling dice and extra gear.
pretending to be other people is cool, Cheryl.
2. Signature. Pick your signature device and one start-
The solo rules let you play Slugblaster as a single player ing mod that costs 2 components.
and experience all the rad stuff in this book by yourself.
It plays very much like Slugblaster with a few exceptions. 3. Name. What’s your Loner called?

● Instead of a crew, you have achievements you pur- Then you define the world.
sue in your solo slugblasting career. Each time you
tick off 7 achievements your fame increases and 1. Hangout. Pick or roll for two spots where your
you get a new perk. See page 173. Loner feels safe (page 73).
● You don’t have a crew to notice your troubles, so
you just have two arcs to worry about—the Family 2. Factions. Pick a faction you’re a fan of (+1), a faction
arc and your Loner arc (plus all the usual beats like that you have annoyed (-1) and a faction that your
Being Good, In the Lab, Portal Discovery, etc.) family is part of (-1 or +1).
● You can nope snags, not just slams, as explained in
the alternate rule on page 165. 3. The Map. Draw 3 one-way portals between neigh-
bouring worlds you’ve heard about, then use the
Portal Discovery beat to draw 2 more. Make sure
you have a way back home!
S O LO H O O K S
● You had a crew once, but not anymore. Why? Remember, you’ll
● You lost someone. Everyone says they’re need a mask and
gone, but you just know they’re out there. some hazwear for
● You’re the first one in town to even try this. certain worlds!
● Maybe you can prove to your older brother
you’re good enough to join his crew.
● You know something. Something you can’t
tell anyone, but need to do something about.
Share your exploits on social
media for other Loners to
● I mean, this podcast won’t record itself, right? find! #slugblaster

168
 C H A N G E TH E G A M E

playing solo A DV I C E F O R P L AY I N G S O L O
As in the main game, solo runs should have a goal, Playing Slugblaster solo is all about finding
a prize for reaching that goal (page 154), and at your fun. Wanna see all the worlds? Do Portal
least one starting obstacle (page 154) you need to Discovery beats or runs exploring new thin zones
overcome. and routes. Wanna blast monsters? Make a list of
all your favourites. Wanna be the ultimate gear-
Overcoming obstacles should require You can find head? Save style for In the Lab beats and gather
at least one action roll. As normal, some
lists of problems as much gear as you can. Do what excites you!
in each monster
action rolls might result in problems, which entry, each world
can include additional obstacles. entry, and on Instead of talking about what happens at a table
pages 150-154. with friends, you can keep track of your exploits
You will also add problems by spending bite in a journal or an electronic document. You can
(page 145). Spend 1 bite to roll for a random problem also imagine it as a series of short stories, or just
on either the solo problems table (page 170) or on an lay out your challenges on a map and treat each
appropriate table from pages 150–154. run like you’re trying to get the highest style
score possible. Maybe sketch each run like an
At the start of each run, make a solo bite roll to deter- isometric video game, or just take notes.
mine how much bite you have. A run does not end until
you’ve spent all your bite. If you want guidance, the achievements list (page
170) is a great place to start. How many can you
If you need to do in one run? Which ones do you focus on?
S O LO B I T E R O L L roll 0 or fewer
Build a dice pool. Start with 1d6
dice, roll 2d6
and take the
then add or subtract dice based lowest.
on these questions: Ending solo
● Is it in a world you haven’t visited yet? −1d6 When you’re playing by yourself it’s hard to know when
● Do you have any slams? −1d6 to stop. You can follow the story until you get to a satis-
● Is it in boring old Null? +1d6 fying end point, go hard until your Loner has nothing left
● Are you allied with any factions? +1d6 to give, or cross off every achievement for that sweet,
● Are you enemies with any factions? −1d6 sweet high score. Here are some ways you can end
your Loner’s slugblasting career:
Roll the dice. If the highest roll is a 6 take 1 bite, if it’s
4/5 take 2 bite, and if it’s 1–3 take 3 bite. ● When you’ve marked 4 doom.
● When you’ve completed one or both arcs.
● When you’ve earned all the achievements and
When you finish your run (either by achieving your goal reach the highest fame level.
or giving up) make a disaster roll and follow the game-
play loop (page 13) as normal. When it’s over, roll for their epilogue (page 30)

169
 Also known as “chievos,”
S O LO P R O B L E M S unfortunately.
11 Long, complex, or dangerous chase
12 Folks from a local crowd are in danger
AC H I E V E M E N T S
13 Small monster (you pick)
● Personal Best: Finish a chase.
14 Spacetime weirdness
● Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em: Encounter a robot.
15 Large monster (you pick)
● Cheese It!: Run from Rescue agents.
16 Uh oh a quantum centipede infestation
● Best Crab: Encounter a salvage crab.
21 A lurking monster is revealed ● Ruh Roh!: Encounter a ghost.
22 Mercenary with a contract on slugblasters ● Monster Manual: Roll a new monster.
23 Oh no Rescue agents want to “save” you ● Pew Pew!: Use your raygun.
24 Sponsor holding a press junket for a new product ● Get up Loner: Fill your slam boxes.
25 Monster from another world shows up ● Real Human Being: Make a friend.
26 World checkpoint or location in your way (you pick) ● Solo Cups: Attend a party.
31 Oh snap that’s a loop-de-loop ● Multiplier: Meet another version of yourself.
32 Approaching calamity (start or mark a threat track) ● Side Character: Roll a new person.
33 An authority has a base in your way ● Character Development: Complete an arc.
34 Bad omen, +1 bite on your next run.
● Weird Gravity: Break the laws of spacetime.
● One Small Step: Go through a portal.
35 Chased by an authority
● Stinky Sands: Visit Vastiche.
36 Weird DARA experimental equipment
● Cool Kid: Visit Popularia.
41 World problem in your way (you pick)
● Illogical: Visit Quahalia.
42 Big Hardecker mining equipment
● Seven Minutes in Heaven: Visit Empyrean.
43 A visiting crew challenges you to a competition ● Blah!: Visit the Waking Pits.
44 Your nega-self appears (they’re you, but evil) ● Frying Pan: Visit Calorium.
45 Another slugblaster needs help right now ● Mirror Shades: Visit Operaeblum.
46 Robot on the fritz ● Invert Controls?: Visit Prismatia.
51 A crew shows up racing to the same goal ● Swimming Lessons: Visit Desnine.
52 You have to move to a new location or world. Why? ● Gunpla: Visit the Golden Jungle.
53 Big chasm, pit, crevasse, or other hole ● Olive Oil Popsicles: Visit Thennis Spar.
54 Ew a metaterrestrial slug ● Not in Hillview Anymore: Roll a new world.
55 Metasaur!
● Best Frenemies: Get +3 or -3 with a faction.
● Trendsetter: Get +2 with a crowd.
56 A faction tries to capture or detain you
● Rich or Poor: Get +2 or -2 with a sponsor.
61 Draw a new portal on the map (what comes out?)
● The Man: Get +2 or -2 with an authority.
62 Great salvage spot (pick a component if successful)
● Team Player: Get +2 with a crew.
63 A perfect half-pipe or ramp (+1 style for tricks)
● Overclocked: Install all your signature mods.
64 Perfect spot for a mural and/or vandalism ● Maker: Acquire each type of component.
65 Sick rail grind spot (+1 style for tricks) ● Soldering Burns: Build a piece of gear.
66 Public trick spot (+1 style for tricks)
Problems aren’t ALL
bad, but they are
all... distracting.
170
 “I love my job. I work with experts
from all over the world, unraveling
the most foundational mysteries of
the multiverse!”

APPLY TODAY! “And it all started with

my DARA Young Minds™
ELIGIBILITY. Our Young Minds™ scholarship is
available to Hillview Township residents ages 15 scholarship.“
to 19 with no recent safety infractions.*

REQUIREMENTS. Applicants will submit a

personal essay (1000 words), research proposal
(3000 words), or working prototype with ®
attached timelog (minimum 180 hrs).†

*Minimum 3 months, or 18 months for applicants without assigned DARA Rescue division safety mentor. Applicants with outstanding
mentoring accounts will not be considered.
DARA
†Submission of content to our application (including, but not limited to, research and prototypes) constitutes transfer of ownership
rights to DARA Ltd, including usage, modification, reproduction, and distribution, without obligation for compensation. Applicants
confirm non-infringement of third-party rights and submission implies acceptance of these terms.
 the AT T I T U D E

loner
Add boost or kick to any action.
Refill 1 attitude whenever you fail∞
an action. You have your own back
out there, y’know?

TRAITS
Other people suck. Kids at school make fun of your patches ● One Step Ahead. Twice per run,
and hoverboard, your family ignores you when you talk about flash back to how you prepared for
quantum tunneling, and no one follows you through the weird this moment. Take +1d6 or +1 kick to
black hole in reality that appeared behind Burger Man. But that action.
you’ve been studying other worlds and practicing tricks ever
since you made your own Nth gear and slipped into that first ● Main Character Energy. You get
thin-zone. And now you can’t get enough. +1d6 to disaster rolls and an addition-
al slam box.
Play as The Loner if you want to explore the multiverse
and play Slugblaster by yourself. This playbook ain’t Try playing ● Called Shot. You get +1d6 on solo
for folks playing with friends. It’s designed to be solo with other bite rolls. Also, when you roll on
used exclusively when playing solo.
personalities for an problem tables you can mark 1 trou-
added challenge!
ble to reroll and use either result.
Hobie (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), Ice King
(Adventure Time), Mulder (X-Files), Asuka (Neon Genesis ● Pathfinder. You roll +1d6 for In The
Evangelion), Batman, Brendan Frye (Brick), Rick Sanchez (Rick Lab and Portal Discovery beats.
and Morty), Allison Reynolds (The Breakfast Club), Jessica
Jones, and Samus Aran (Metroid) all have big loner energy. ● Autodidact. You taught yourself all
about ______ and ______. If either
would help with an action, you can
EXTRA GEAR You start with this. mark 1 trouble to upgrade a 1–3
◯ Something That’s Missing Pieces result into a 4/5 result.
◯ A Slam Patch (page 70) You can pick this one in
place of another piece of
gear.
STYLE BONUS Fill in the blanks with something like:
hacking, psychology, getting big air,
Get +2 style after each run. sneaking around, cooking for one, etc.

172
 CHANGE THE GAME

LO N E R A R C
● Alone (2 trouble). A scene of you being S O LO FA M E
lonesome or single-minded. Eating This is the fame track for solo play. You get famous
lunch alone, practicing tricks, disman- as you earn achievements. Once you’ve earned all 35
tling stuff in your hideout. Why don’t you achievements you’ll be a Paragon!
fit in with the other teenagers?
+1 doom, +1 slam (sad, obsessed, frus- 0 – Nobody. No one really knows you exist. Yet.
trated, angry, etc.)
1 – Somebody (7 achievements). Some people are
● Make a Connection (2 style). You meet talking about you, just not to your face. +1 trait.
a kindred spirit, a teen reaches out, you
help someone with a problem and make 2 – Interesting (14 achievements). Your runs are get-
an unexpected friend. Who are they? +1 ting attention. Slugblasting crews and other folks in the
legacy, +1 trait. scene know your name. +1d6 to your next solo bite roll.

● The Break (4 trouble). You mess up, 3 – Legit (21 achievements). Normies might know
make a mistake, lose connection, or your name or the stunts you’ve pulled, and folks in the
choose going alone when you should’ve scene respect you for doing it solo. You now get access
just asked for help. Does anyone else to hype—­2 boosts and 1 kick. They refresh before each
notice? How bad is it? +1 slam, +1 doom. run.
-1d6 to your next solo bite roll.
4 – Lone Star (28 achievements). Folks throughout
● Reunion (4 style). You make amends, the multiverse share your exploits. Some reach out with
apologize, do something special for opportunities. Others want you to stop. +1 and −1 with
someone else, think about other people two neutral factions.
for once, and maybe find a place to
belong. −2 doom, +1 legacy, +1 trait. 5 – Paragon (35 achievements). You did it. Not only
are you a slugblasting star, you have shown that peo-
ple can do this even if they don’t have a crew. You have
changed the scene. Other slugblasters emulate your
look and aspire to be like you. Loners throughout the
VIBES multiverse feel less alone.
1 already has a smoking habit
2 brooding
3 odd one out in every crowd
4 monosyllabic
5 fixated on odd hobbies
6 not from around here

173
 index family, 40–41
family beats, 25
fractures, 21
friendly. See factions
from hype, 72
from turbo, 52
kramshon, 54, 69, 104,
137
A crew, 72–77 kitbashed. See universal

actions, 18–19
brand, 26, 72, 76–77
crew beats, 25
G mods

advancement
character (see beats)
crew style, 26, 72
crew epilogue, 30
gear, 62–70
goals, 28–29
L
crew (see fame) fame, 22, 76–77 group rolls, 148 legacy, 22, 30
signature (see mods) hangout, 73
allies. See factions
attitude, 19, 42–50
hype, 72
name table, 74
H M
perks, 73, 76–77 hacking. See infiltration mega prize, 28
B custom signatures, 166 hangout. See under crew
healing. See clean-up
mercenary, 134
mods, 53, 54–56
beats, 24
In the Lab, 53
D Hillview, 81–83
hoverboards
M-train, 29, 91, 93, 136

Portal Discovery, 91
running beats, 160
danger tracks. See
under tracks
function, 64, 91
history, 11, 64, 136
N
bite, 19, 28, 145 dare, 19 other options for, 64 Nexus Master, 132
bonds, 40–41 disaster, 21, 155 tricks, 23 noping, 20
boost, 19 doom, 21, 30 hype, 19, 72 NPC creation, 141
from attitude, 42–50 downtime, 12–13, 24 Nth gear, 136
from hype, 72
from turbo, 52
demo of, 35–36
running it, 160
I Null, 80

impact, 18, 153 O

C E infiltration, 157
Infinite Pizza, 139 obstacles, 28, 147, 154
challenges, 25, 27, 145 enemies. See factions In the Lab, 53 opportunities, 25, 24
chases, 158, 162–163 epilogue, 12, 30 overview of play, 12–13
checkpoints, 158 events, 26–27 J
by location, 81,
96–112, 133
exploration, 156
journeys, 156
P
demo of, 162–163 F parties, 162–163
in fights, 159
in infiltration, 157 fights, 159
K peelback, 67, 93, 155
perception, 149
clean-up, 13 factions, 126 kick, 19 perks, 76–77
components, 53 fame, 22, 76–77 from attitude, 42–50 personal growth, 40, 16

174
 Chases

D & D P L AY E R S !
playsheets, 16–17 slang, 92 ● This is less crunchy and more like making a
Portal Discovery, 91 snags, 20, 154 movie together. What’s fun, cool, and makes
portals, 91–93 stabilizer. See universal sense in the fictional situation determines
power cell. See universal mods what happens more than mechanics. Don’t
mods stickers table, 71 overthink it, don’t look for the grapple rules.
prize, 28–29 style, 22–23 If this was a movie, what would happen here?
problems ● No skill list, movement rates, or to-hit bonus.
slams, 20, 49
snags, 20, 154
T Any kind of action you can think of is done
with an action roll—1d6 plus 1d6 for each
worse problems, 155 teamwork. See sharing; boost you use. Roll all the dice and use the
problem ideas group rolls highest roll to see how you did.
by monster, 119–124 tech level, 81 ● An action roll’s impact is like its damage, and
by scene, 156–160 thin-zones. See portals progress tracks are like a monster’s hitpoint
by world, 81, 96–112 tier. See fame bar, except there may be tracks for all sorts of
progress tracks. See tight. See factions obstacles, not just combat ones.
under tracks tracks, 18, 149 ● No formal initiative or rounds. Just take turns.
PVP, 153 danger track, 145, ● Foes don’t roll. They act when it makes sense
162–163 (or when a PC rolls a problem) and automati-
R progress track, 18,
33–34
cally hit unless the PC nopes the attack.

rebranding, 72, 76 trading components, 53

refresh, 13, 145 traits, 42–51 B L A D E S I N T H E DA R K P L AY E R S !
Rescue agent, 133 travel, 156 ● Legacy is like stash, doom is like trauma,
rivals. See factions tricks, 23 trouble is like stress, and style is like xp/coin.
runs, 13, 28–29, 147 trouble, 21 ● No action ratings. Instead roll 1d6 for any
run bonus turbo, 52 kind of action. You can add dice with boost
as a prize, 29 or dares (like pushing and devil’s bargains).
by crew brand, 72
by personality, 42–51
U ● Slams are like harm, but don’t have penalties
or levels, and they clear after each run.
ultraterrestrial people ● Resistance is called noping. You can only
S 97, 105, 109, 110
universal mods, 53 ●
nope slams, not other consequences.
Position is less emphasized, but tricks and
safety tools. See Script unfriendly. See factions other desperate actions can lead to worse
Change problems. Effect is called impact. It can be
Script Change, 24, 146
sesh. See exploration.
W ●
increased normally or by spending kick.
No load system or flashbacks. Some GM
sharing, 19 weapon damage. See moves replace engagement, and disaster
slams, 20, 155 impact and challenges replace entanglements.
super slams, 155 worse problems, 155 ● Instead of downtime activities you buy beats.

175
You are small.

You are just a handful of parameters in the infinite

universe generator. A few numbers a quintillion
decimal places down the encyclopedia wand. A
blip on the timeline, a speck of cosmic dust.

You are also big.

Your intestines are the coil-structured megacity

for trillions of bacteria. Whole dimensions are
born and collapse in the quantum foam inside you
every second. Your dad brings you up in every
conversation.

You are someone’s world.