Free Quickstart

a Tabletop Roleplaying
Game about the end of the
world
Written by: John Hedge & Brian Ashford
Lead Artist: Colin Richards
Lead Writer: John Hedge

With thanks to all of our playtesters at Ancient Robot Games

as well as the Blue Beetle Crew, who put the game through
its paces and to countless friends who provided feedback
and error checking.
With thanks to our Early Supporters for making this game a
reality: K.J. Montgomery, Matt ‘Doc’ Tracy, Will Wilshere,
Daniel Roos, Tristan Gray, Alex Clarke, Liam Carnell, Perry
Clark, Nate Hughes, Alex Kreis, Rina Haenze, Scott
Bannerman
This product is licensed under the ORC License held in the
Library of Congress at TX-307-067 and available online at
various locations including:
www.chaosium.com/orclicense,
www.azoralaw.com/orclicense,
www.gencon.com/orclicense & others.
All warranties are disclaimed as set forth therein.

This is the free quickstart and is not for sale.

If someone has sold this to you please contact
eofhumanity@gmail.com immediately.
INTRODUCTION
Embers of Humanity is a game about regular people living
through the end of the world. They scratch out a meagre
existence living off the land, with the impotent ruins of
modern society slowly rusting around them.
Play revolves around a small group of survivors who take
charge of a settlement. These survivors head out into what’s
left of the world in order to keep their community afloat. They
may be gathering supplies, negotiating with others, battling
it out against raiders or maybe just the deadly forces of
nature.
At the end of each session, the Survivors return to their
settlement. The choices they make influence the settlement’s
growth. Will they build a thriving town or become just one
more group of raiders, scavenging amongst the ruins of
civilisation?
This is a short overview of the key information needed to play
Embers. It is ideal for players about to play their first game
looking for a reference and authors who may want to write for
the setting.

Introduction 1
Character Creation 2
The Dice System 4
The Survivor 6
Combat 9
The Weird 12
The Settlement 13
Glossary of Terms 14

1
CHARACTER CREATION
Grab the character sheet from the back of this booklet and
print it or download the fillable-form version online.

Roll for Characteristics

Roll (3d6*5) for each of Strength; Dexterity; Constitution;
Intelligence; Power; Charisma & Luck. Don’t roll for Empathy.
Add the number to the Success column and add half that
number (rounded down) to the Hard column.
Amy’s player rolls 3d6 and gets a 4,3 and 5. She has rolled 12. She
multiplies it by 5 to get 60. This is her Strength score. She writes
60 in the success column and 30 in the Hard column.
Set the Hit Points (HP) to: (Strength + Constitution) /10.
Amy’s Strength is 60 and Constitution is 65. Her HP is therefore
12. (You always round down.)

Choose a Background
Your background is who your Survivor was before they joined
the group. Choose one and set the four basic skills to 60.
Each background also comes with a recommended Expert
skill. Write it in the first blank column on the Expert skill
section and set that skill to 60.

Set the Remaining Skills

• Choose two other base or combat skills and set them to 40.
• Set Grapple to half your Strength and Dodge to half
your Dexterity.
• Set all other scores to 20.

Amy’s player chooses the Criminal background. She sets her

Brawl, Read Person, Stealth & Threaten to 60. She then chooses
Spot Hidden and First Aid and raises them to 40. Her Strength is
60, so her Grapple becomes 30 and her Dexterity is 40, so her
Dodge remains at 20. She sets all her other scores to 20.

2
 Basic Skills Expert
Skills
Criminal Brawl, Read Person, Stealth & Threaten Lockpick
Hunter Dodge, Navigate, Listen, Stealth Rifle
Labourer Athletics, First Aid, Repair, Brawl Construction
Driver Navigate, Repair, Stealth, Spot Hidden Pilot Vehicle
Priest Convince, First aid, Listen, Read Person Comfort
Soldier Athletics, Brawl, Stealth, First Aid Shotgun
Teacher Convince, Read Person, Spot Hidden, First Aid Research
Trader Convince, Listen, Read Person, Spot Hidden Bargain
Paramedic Athletics, First Aid, Navigate, Grapple Medicine
Farmer Athletics, Brawl, Repair, Spot Hidden Nature

Expert Skills
Each Survivor has three expert skills. Your first expert skill is
related to your Background, but you can pick two others. You
may pick from the list of Expert skills in the Expert skill list
above or invent your own with your GM. You do not have to
choose all three Expert skills before play starts; in fact we
encourage you to leave them blank while you figure out who
your character is. You can then reveal the exact skill you need
in a moment of extreme need and save the day!

Choose your Empathy

A high Empathy means you struggle to hurt others, while a
low Empathy means you only help others if it benefits you.
Choose an Empathy between 20-80 for your Survivor. Choose
whatever feels right for the character. There’s no right or
wrong answer with Empathy, and it will change as you play.
Amy’s player thinks her Criminal character talks a big talk and
isn’t afraid to hurt others, but is a bit of a softy on the inside. To
balance this, she decides to give Amy a 55 Empathy.

Decide Personal Information

Name your character, choose their pronouns, and add in any
important information about who they are as a person.
Congratulations! You have now created your Survivor and are
ready for the wasteland.

3
THE DICE SYSTEM
Whenever a roll is called for, players roll a D100 against the
skill that the GM has called for.
If the players roll exactly or under the skill, then the Survivor
succeeds. If they roll exactly half their skill or less, they get a
Hard success.
Amy is attempting to climb up the side of a building. The action
is difficult, but not outside her skill-set. The GM calls for an
Athletics roll. Amy has a 60 in Athletics. Her player rolls a 46.
Amy succeeds and is able to climb up the building.
If a player rolls over their skill, they fail. A failure usually leads
to the Survivor being unable to complete the task they were
trying to achieve. A single failure rarely leads to a dangerous
situation for the survivor.
Bob attempts the same climb. His player rolls a 52, but Bob’s
Athletics skill is 40. Bob is unable to join Amy. The GM explains
that as Amy climbed, the guttering came loose and if Bob
attempted to climb the same way, he could get badly hurt.

Re-Roll
If a player has already failed the roll, they can opt to re-roll.
This is when the player rolls a skill for the second time in a
row. You cannot re-roll a third time. The GM should give the
player an understanding of the consequence the Survivor
faces if they fail the roll. This could be physical damage, loss of
resource, being captured, or upsetting someone enough that
they are no longer willing to help. Failing re-rolls always
makes things worse for the Survivors.

Critical
If a player rolls a 1, they have rolled a critical success. Criticals
usually mean that the scene not only goes exactly as the player
wants, but there’s an additional positive effect associated
with the roll.

4
Fumbles
If a Survivor’s skill is under 50, then they fumble on a roll of
96-100. If a survivor’s skill is 50 or higher then they only
fumble on a 100. Rolling a fumble should have a similar effect
to failing a re-roll. Something bad happens to the Survivor.
This could be physical damage, loss of resources, being
captured or badly upsetting someone.

Bonus and Penalty Dice

Sometimes a GM decides that something is quite likely to
occur, or a previous roll has gone well for the group and they
want the next roll to feel likely to succeed. In this case, they
call for a bonus die. When rolling a bonus die, the player rolls
the percentile die twice and takes the lower number.
Sometimes the opposite situation occurs and the GM thinks
a roll should be less likely to succeed. In this case, they call for
a penalty die. When rolling a penalty die, the player rolls the
percentile die twice and takes the higher number.

Who decides when to roll?

The GM always decides when to roll attributes and skill
checks. The job of the players is to describe what their
Survivors do and it is then the GM’s job to determine what
kind of dice roll is required. However, that shouldn’t stop
players from suggesting dice rolls.
There is an exception for Empathy rolls.Players decide when
to roll for Empathy.

5
THE SURVIVOR
BASIC SKILLS
Everyone starts with 10 basic skills and these start at 20%.
Each profession grants you four different basic (or fighting)
skills to raise to 60%.

EXPERT SKILLS
Survivors get one expert skill from their Background and 2
more that they may choose during play. At any time, a player
can state that their survivor has an expert skill that means
they are more likely to succeed on an action and explains why
they have this skill. Players then add this as an expert skill at
60%. There is no exhaustive list of Expert skills, however any
professional skill or unusual expertise may count. Some
examples are: Lockpicking, Chemistry, Tracking, Juggling,
Sword Fighting, Disguise.

LUCK
Luck is a characteristic that a character has. Whenever
something should be determined not by a Survivor’s abilities,
but by blind luck, the GM can call for a Luck roll.
Amy is trying to steal a truck and her player asks if the keys have
been left in the ignition. The GM thinks it’s plausible, but decides
to leave it to chance and calls for a Luck roll. Amy’s player rolls a
52 against her luck of 60 and so succeeds. The keys are indeed in
the ignition.
Luck is also a resource that players can spend in order to turn
a failure into a success. When you spend luck, it goes down.
Making the next Luck roll harder.

6
EMPATHY
Empathy shows how willing someone is to help others or act
in the interests of humanity in general rather than in their
own personal interests. When a Player opts to roll Empathy,
they are deciding on whether their Survivor will perform a
more selfish action or whether they will instead perform a
more virtuous action. Empathy is called for by the player, not
the GM.
If a Player rolls under their Empathy, they will take the action
that puts others first. If they roll over their Empathy, they will
take the selfish action, putting themselves first.
Amy and Bob are rushing out of the raider’s base carrying heavy
supplies when Bob takes a fall and injures his leg. With the
raider’s hot on their heels, Amy could help Bob, but it would
mean dropping these vital supplies. Her player opts for an
Empathy roll. If she rolls under, she drops the supplies and helps
Bob. If she rolls over, Bob is on his own. Amy’s player rolls a 45
against her 55 Empathy. Amy dumps the supplies, throws her
shoulder over Bob and tries to pull him to safety. The GM gives
her a bonus die on the Athletics roll.
After a Player rolls Empathy, any roll associated with that
check is rolled with a bonus die. The GM may also decide
simply to let the decision play out without a roll. If the GM
feels that the Empathy decision is particularly consequential
for the Survivor, they can also give the Survivor an Empathy
reward or penalty.
If a Survivor reaches 0 Empathy, they have lost any ability to
work with others and disappear from camp/settlement,
having stolen whatever supplies they could. The Survivor is
retired and the Player must roll up a new Survivor.
If a Survivor reaches 100 Empathy, they have lost the
willingness to go out into the Wasteland, opting to remain
back in the Settlement to lead, teach, grow food and focus on
healing. The Survivor is retired and the Player must roll up a
new Survivor.

7
EXERTION
Every time a Survivor takes an action in combat or attempts
something physically difficult, they gain Exertion. Exertion is
a measure of how tired the Survivor is.
If a survivor has to do something difficult, such as a Strength,
Dexterity or Athletics roll, they gain Exertion.
▪ On a success, they gain 1 Exertion and succeed in
the action.
▪ On a hard success, they don’t gain any Exertion
▪ On a failure, they gain 1d4 Exertion and the GM can
determine if the action succeeds.
For a combat action, such as engaging in melee, a survivor
gains 1 Exertion.
A survivor can also gain Exertion for stressful situations. If a
Survivor encounters something weird or are in a perilous
situation, have them roll against POW.
▪ On a success, they gain 1 Exertion and remain calm.
▪ On a hard success, they don’t gain any Exertion.
▪ On a failure, they gain 1d4 Exertion and they don’t
remain calm.
If your Exertion is half your current hit points, your survivor
is Impaired and now fumbles on a 90 or higher.
If your Exertion is greater than your current hit points, your
survivor is Exhausted and has a penalty die on all rolls.
If your Exertion is greater than your maximum hit points,
your Survivor is Incapacitated and can no longer do anything
until they rest.
Impairment and Exhaustion can be reached by Exertion
increasing or hit points decreasing. Exertion can be reset by
your survivors taking a break. They should be reasonably
warm, safe from any immediate threats and have something
to eat and drink for it to count as a break.

8
COMBAT
Play drops into turn order whenever multiple people want to
act at once. Turn order is when everyone gets a chance to act
one at a time rather than letting people act based on what’s
happening in the story This is most common in combat. Turn
order runs in order of Dex. Highest first. Firearms rolls occur
before melee rolls, regardless of DEX.
Amy has a DEX of 70 and Bob has a DEX of 50. In combat, both
are running for the cover of a nearby wall. Amy takes her turn
first and her player succeeds on an Athletics roll. Bob’s player
fails his Athletics roll. He still reaches cover, but the GM
determines he takes 1d4 damage diving for cover.
On the next turn, Bob gets out his handgun to return fire while
Amy bandages Bob’s wounds. As Bob is now using a firearm, he
takes his turn first. His player succeeds on the Firearms roll and
Bob does 1d8 damage to their pursuers.

Melee
In combat, you are either engaged or un-engaged. Engaged
Survivors are in melee range with an opponent that is intent
on fighting with them. An engaged Survivor may take one of
four standard combat actions:
• Fighting: Either with Brawl or a specific weapon.
Intending to do damage to your opponent.
• Grapple: Attempting to hold and subdue your
opponent.
• Dodge: Attempt to become un-engaged from
your opponent(s) or break a grapple. Attempting
to break a grapple costs 2 exertion points.
• Firearm: Shotguns and Pistols can be used as
normal while engaged. Rifles roll with a penalty
die while engaged.

9
Brawling
Bare knuckled or with simple melee weapons.
Success: 1d4 damage Failure: No damage. Critical: 2d4
damage

Grapple
Holding someone down or positioning them where you want
them. Success: Target can’t move away without breaking
grapple Failure: No effect

Dodge
Escaping while engaged or grappled. Success: Survivor
escapes engagement or grapple Failure: No effect.
A survivor that breaks a grapple is still engaged.
A survivor may use Dodge in response to a brawl or grapple
attempt. This costs a point of Exertion. A Success avoids the
Brawl or Grapple.
If the attacker rolls a Hard success, the survivor must also roll
a Hard success to avoid consequences.

Melee weapon (any)

Melee weapons operate the same as Brawl and do 1d6
damage. Melee skills are an expert skill and should be defined
narrowly. For instance: Hammer, Sword, Dagger, Club.

Firearm (any)
Shooting someone or something with a weapon. Firearm
attacks cannot be dodged. Success: Roll Damage Failure: No
Damage. Critical: Double damage
▪ Pistols can be wielded at both close and longer
ranges and do 1d6 damage.
▪ Shotguns do 3d6 damage at close range and 1d6
damage at longer ranges.
▪ Rifles can only be wielded at long range and do 1d10
damage.

10
Exertion
In the wasteland, combat is brutal and short. Each round,
every Survivor gains a minimum of one point of Exertion.
Attempting to break free from a grapple costs 2 points. The
GM may also rule that some actions, such as sprinting for
cover cost additional Exertion.

Injury and Death

Life is cheap in the wasteland, sometimes people die. When a
Survivor is injured, they lose hit points. If a Survivor loses all
of their hit points, they collapse to the ground and are Dying.
If a Survivor is Dying, they must pass a Constitution roll at
the start of their next turn or they will immediately die. Their
first roll each day is rolled with advantage.
Another Survivor or NPC can attempt to stabilise a Dying
Survivor using a First Aid or Medicine roll. On a pass, the
Survivor is stable. They cannot take any action other than
lying down and recovering, but they are not dead.
If a Survivor takes half their max hit points of damage in a
single round, they have taken a major wound and are
Impaired until they return to the settlement and/or seek
medical attention.
A successful Medicine roll and 24 hours rest will remove an
impairment caused by a major wound.
If a survivor takes more than their max HP worth of damage
in a single shot, that Survivor must pass a hard Constitution
roll or immediately die. If a Survivor takes more than double
their max HP worth of damage, then they immediately die
and nothing can save them.

11
THE WEIRD
Nothing has ever been the same since the collapse.
Electronics were the first thing to go. Blanking out into
useless piles of metal and plastic. But there were other effects:
time is no longer predictable, and even the very best
clockwork timepieces struggle to keep accurate time. The
winter before last seemed to last many months more than it
should have. With this slow breakdown of rules that were
once thought immutable, has grown the Weird.
The GM can choose how much or how little to lean into this
element of the game. Some may wish to focus on survival and
community and leave the Weird in the background. A
justification without explanation. Others may thrust it into
the foreground and make it an integral aspect of the post-
apocalyptic world. The Weird has two core effects:
Electronics no longer works: For some reason, anything with
a circuit board or thin wire is unable to function. Modern
rechargeable batteries are also unable to hold their charges.
Although single-use batteries can still power simple devices
and thick copper wire can still hold a current. The newer and
more advanced a technology is, the less likely it is to function.
Time is relative: Any attempt to accurately record time fails.
Two identical timepieces set beside each other will slowly
drift apart, showing entirely different times the next day.
Some weird effects, like the two core rules, affect everywhere.
While many others tend to be seen in ‘bubbles’ of weird. They
are often detected by a noticeable change in gravity, getting
either lighter or heavier when a Survivor steps inside them.
Bubbles can be nearly any size.
The Weird does not need to make sense, or be easily
understood by the Survivors. It does not even need to be
particularly consistent, behaving differently in different
locations at different times.

12
THE SETTLEMENT
Players work together to set up their settlement. Roll a d10
three times for the initial resources that the settlement
begins with. Reroll doubles.
Players then roll a d20 one time each on the Complications
table. (players may reroll doubles or make it extra
complicated).
The group then agrees where the settlement is and what it
contains based on the prompts given to them by the
Resources and Complications. This should be just an open
discussion guided by the GM.
Write down important features about the location. Develop
it, draw maps, and otherwise build on the settlement
however you like. Initially, the survivors should be the
majority of the people within
the community. However, as d20 Complications
the settlement stabilises and 1 Poor neighbours
thrives they will slowly begin 2 Haunted by the weird
to increase the size of their 3 Old war-zone
camp, welcoming more 4 Maze-like architecture
people into the fold. 5 ‘Owned’ by a powerful faction
6 Infestation
7 It’s really damp
8 Obvious/Visible to outsiders
9 Obvious strategic importance
d10 Initial Resource 10 It always stinks
1 Large collection of hand tools 11 Poor soil
2 Clean water source 12 Weirdos keep showing up
3 Fertile land 13 Something bad buried here
4 Easily defendable 14 Polluted and filthy
5 Solid walls and roofs 15 Excessively loud wildlife
6 Space for expansion 16 Mutations in the wildlife
7 Difficult to find 17 Isolated locations
8 Rail connected 18 Prone to flooding
9 Large collection of weapons 19 Something’s Weird. It’s bad
10 Basic medical facilities 20 Something’s Weird. It’s good

13
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Characteristics: The innate abilities of the Survivor. Their Strength,
Dexterity etc.
The Collapse: The day that technology stopped working and the
Weird began appearing. The end of the world.
Dying: A survivor at 0 hit points is dying until they either receive
medical aid or die.
Exhausted: When a survivors exertion is higher than their current
hit points, they have a penalty die on all rolls.
Exertion: How tired the Survivor is.
Expert Skills: Special skills or expertise the Survivor has that most
people don’t have.
Game Moderator (GM): The person running the game and playing
everyone other than the survivors.
Hit Points: How much damage a Survivor can endure before dying.
Incapacitated: If a Survivors Exertion is greater than their max hit
points, they are incapacitated. They cannot do anything until they
rest.
Impaired: Through exertion or injury, a survivor now fumbles on a
roll of 90 or higher.
Percentile: The ten-sided dice with the numbers 00-90 on them.
Rolled along with the regular d10 to produce a number from 0-100.
Player: The person sitting at the table, playing the game.
Settlement: The place the Survivors have settled down in and begun
living.
Skills: The Survivors’ abilities, how well they do things.
Survivor: The Player Character in the game.
Turn Order: When each player and NPC takes a turn to act instead of
letting people act based on what’s going on at the table.
Wasteland: The surface of the earth, covered in the ruins of
civilisation.
Weird: Any aspect of the post-collapse Wasteland that doesn’t fit in
with a real-world understanding of physics.

14
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