CRUCIBLE

Dark Age of Imeria

Quickstart Rules

James Rhys Lloyd-Jones

Chapter 1: Introduction
The world of Crucible: Dark Age of Imeria is a
harsh one. War and disease claim king and
commoner alike. The Church of Degra Veen, Father
of Man, wields ultimate power as it exploits the
nobility and oppresses the peasantry. Hrothgard
struggles under the schism between The Engineer's
Guild and The King. Kelen enjoys prosperity and
despair hand in hand under the iron fist of Pontifex
Pious IV. H'kaer and Kroms continue their decades
long war. The Frontier is rich and vibrant where it
isn't cruel and unyielding. Lama endures the
depredations of the warring vampires and
skinshifters alongside slavery to the northlanders.

Do you have what it takes to rise above the travails

of the Dark Age? To fight back against the
encroaching shadows? Will you die a hero, or live a
legend?
Crucible is a Fantasy Horror Role-playing game
inspired by White Wolf's World of Darkness,
Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game, and Crystal Dynamics Legacy of
Kain series.
Players assume the character of a person living in
this harsh world, and live out adventures set for
them by the GM, or Historian. Supplemental
rulebooks will be available for players wishing to
play as Hunters, Vampires, Skinshifters, Fair Folk,
Demons, Hollow Ones, or The Flesh. In a game of
Crucible Dark Age of Imeria, one player assumes
the role of the narrator or historian, the rest of the
players create characters using the character
creation rules in this book. Actions in Crucible are
resolved with twelve sided dice, it is advisable that
every player has a half dozen of these on hand

Rogue Magi hide in the wilds, causing the Church

to keep pressure on the Sanctioned Magi of Ymon.
Vampires stalk the night. Skinshifters prey on the
unwary. The Fair Folk steal children for their sport.
Demons command degenerate cults. The Hollow
Ones keep their tireless vigil. The Flesh howl their
lamentations to the tyrannous stars.
This is a world where every decision could save a
life or damn a village. Where life is cheap and death
comes in many forms. Where we are reminded
every day to be afraid of the dark.

Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1
Chapter 2: Imeria ....................................................................................................................... 2
Chapter 3: Character Creation ................................................................................................... 3
Chapter 4: System Information ................................................................................................ 16
Chapter 5: Magic...................................................................................................................... 22
Chapter 6: Historian Information ............................................................................................. 28

Chapter 2: Imeria
With good cause these are dark times. Vampires
roam the night. Witches and Fairies steal children
and curse farms. The walking dead wander the
wilderness. Demons whisper to the hearts of men,
and seek to tear a hole between Hell and earth. The
Church and its Inquisition are necessary, and they
won't let anyone forget that.

Crucible is primarily set on a continent called

Imeria. Imeria covers an area roughly two thirds the
size of North America. It comprises the nations of
Hrothgard, Kelen, H'kaer, and Kroms, along with
the largely neutral territory of the Frontier. Imeria is
mostly Central to Eastern European in 'flavour.'
It's connected by a land bridge to the smaller
southern continent of Lama. Lama is roughly
equivalent to Africa in most regards, though it
notably lacks anything like the Sahara.
Imeria is presently in a Dark Age; a feudal society
where the Kings hold dominion, noble families vie
for the throne, and the serfs toil beneath them. With
some exceptions; cities have a middle class of
craftsmen, merchants, and scholars. Kroms is a
theocracy, and H'kaer is a militarized state. The
Frontier is dotted with little towns and outposts
where a man or woman could make their fortune.
The printing press has not yet been developed
poor education and illiteracy are rampant, the
exception being the nobles taught to read and write
Old Imperial, the language of the Church. Indeed,
the Venic Church holds quite some sway over the
princes of men.

History: Knowing Your Place

According to the oldest folklore (and heresy),
Imeria was once covered by a great empire, fuelled
by magic. Glorious and utopian, the empire was
ruled by the Old Gods until the War in Heaven,
when the Demon Princes tore it asunder. The ruins
still stand, in lonely, forgotten places, marvels of
architecture, still hiding wondrous secrets. The
Church, however, holds that while the Empire was
once great, they blasphemed against Degra Veen
with magic and heresy, and in their hubris and sin
were easy prey for Demons and more earthly
terrors. There is no denying the Old Imerian Empire
once stood, but what it was like, and what destroyed
it, no one knows.

farmer's daughter who got sick of watching her

family cower from the creatures lurking in the
night, took her great-grandfather's spear from over
the mantle, and became a legend in her own
lifetime. Kelenites enjoy sitting around bonfires by
night, telling stories and drinking pale ale or red
wine, eating beef and strong, white cheese.

Kelen
Kelen is known as the land of plenty, in the centre
of the continent; a nation of broad, rolling, grassy
plains that stretch from Hell's Teeth Mountains in
the north which divide it from cold Hrothgard,
down to the Viridian Coast in the south and the
Sleeping Sea, bordered to the east by the untamed
lands of The Frontier which separates it from the
subcontinent of Lama, and to the west by the
marshes of The Martyred Pass preventing an
invasion by Kromsian fanatics.
Kelen enjoys long, warm summers, with mild, rainy
winters. The countryside is dotted with farms, horse
ranches, and small forests. Three things define the
nation of Kelen to outsiders piety, chivalry, and
wine. But beneath the reputation lies corruption,
backstabbing, and tyranny.

Life Among The Nobles

Being of noble birth, one can expect a solid
education in the arts, history, literacy, and for the
gentleman, warfare. Women are also taught the
finer points of running an Estate making them
formidable negotiators, organisers, and leaders.
Nobles enjoy better food, clothing, freedom, and
power. Some abuse this power, some do not, some
are simply so selfish as to ignore their responsibility
to the people entirely. First and second sons become
officers in the military or take over the Estate. Third
sons enter the clergy, either as priests or Inquisitors.
Fourth sons are scholars, and often become
seneschals to their own house or others, as it is
considered unbecoming of a nobleman to deal in
mercantile affairs. Noble women are expected to
marry for wealth and political power, though some
do break the mould House Maerlyn is presently
ruled by a Lady, and The Order of the Iron Rose
was founded by Lady von Tippen as a knightly
order for women. Nobles, owing to their freedom,
are at risk of falling into dangerous activities such
as Demonology or Magic, which they can both
support and hide using their considerable power.

The Countryside
Life in the countryside of Kelen can be difficult
closer to Estates the people live on farms, tending
the land. Further out are horse breeders, raising the
majestic destrier and quick feathre breeds for which
Kelen is known. Small villages provide a place for
these farmers to meet and trade, to drink and
socialize, and a hub from which smiths and other
craftsmen can work. While in some fiefdoms this
can seem idyllic, it is not always the case there is
little protection from monsters, save for wandering
Slayers and the occasional beneficence of the local
Count. Some Counts can even be the worst problem
for their tenants, charging extortionate rent or
failing to care for them. Count Reichmond, for
example, is very unpopular with his tenants;
people's daughters are taken to his manor, and
return a few weeks later scarred at least,
sometimes pregnant. Sometimes they don't come
back. A revolt may only be a matter of time, but
Reichmond's brother is an Inquisitor. Even a
righteous man fears the eye of His judgement.
Peasants are usually illiterate and uneducated, and
the men usually have some kind of weapon militia
training. In most of Kelen, women are rarely
afforded the opportunity to make an independent
life for themselves, but there are some who do
achieve greatness. Of note is Lydia the Impaler, a

The Fiefs
Kelen is split into fiefdoms, ruled by one of the six
Great Houses of the Kelen nobility. In antiquity,
each fief was a state unto itself until Geralt of
Haldynvale united them into modern Kelen. The
Lords of the Great Houses dwell in castles at the
heart of their fief, maintaining the King's
Regiments, collecting taxes, and warring. Each Fief
is further divided into Estates, controlled by Counts.
The Counts are the real backbone of the fiefdoms,
caring for their tenant farmers, protecting villages,
and screening militia recruits for admission to the
Regiments.
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with visitors restricted and escorted though

virtually anyone can visit once they secure the
proper favours and references. Geralt of Haldynvale
is buried here, making it a site of great historical
significance and preventing the Church from
clearing it out once and for all.

Regar
City of Kings, Regar is the capital of Kelen and
home of Great House Faraldan with a population in
the low hundreds, located in northern Kelen
between Hell's Teeth and The Black Forest. It is a
comparatively small city split into two parts, the
inner city dominated by the imposing bulk of Castle
Lanchame, surrounded by high, thick, and wellguarded walls to keep the riff-raff of the outer circle
from the nobles within. Much of the inner
population are the nobles, a multitude of scholars,
soldiers, and craftsmen. The inner city is divided
between Castle Lanchame near the north wall, the
Barracks slightly east of the castle, the Royal
Market near the south gate, and St. Thaedrus'
Square in the centre. The palace is sprawling and
ancient, possessed of a modest dignity and gravitas.
The Barracks is an entire district of soldiers
quarters, armouries, stables, and craftsmen. The
Market is home to further craftsmen and plenty of
merchants. Embassies and guesthouses form the
edge of St. Thaedrus' Square. Much of the life of
the inner city is taken up with scheming and
backstabbing, as often members of Great Houses
come to court in order to further their interests both
personally and in service to their House. It can take
a great deal of politicking, bribery, and stringpulling to gain entry to the inner city, which gave
rise to a shanty town outside the walls, populated by
those hopeful of royal attention or those on
pilgrimage. Naturally, this was a massive
opportunity for profit by canny merchants, who
rapidly moved in to provide inns, taverns, food, or
other services from gambling dens to brothels.
Within fifty years a town referred to as the outer
circle (or as the nobles inside would have it, the
Rat's Nest) grew up, bloated on the money of
pilgrims and lives of the poor. For every nobleman,
merchant, or priest visiting the city are two
prostitutes and dozen cutpurses lurking in the dingy
streets of the outer circle. The Mourning Grove is a
place of pilgrimage, a relic from the early days of
the Church, before the ancestral Kelenite practice of
planting trees over burial sites was declared
heretical by the Venic Church. Located just outside
the city to the north and kept under careful watch,

House Faraldan
The House of the King; the last three Kings of
Kelen have been sons of House Faraldan. As such,
the current seat of House Faraldan is the capital city
of Regar, and the King's brother is Lord of the fief.
King Svarton Faraldan is noted as a just and kind
ruler, albeit rather weak and nave. Faraldan is a
House long famed for leadership, however, and
much loved by the people. Deposing Svarton by
violence would require tremendous effort, for his
children are many and House Ferldain is likely to
come to his aid. Faraldan's attention is stretched
thin the Church keeps pressure on the King, and
he dare not step wrong for fear of the Inquisition, or
the wasting decline brought by the criticism of the
Pontifex. But this House is also expected to
spearhead colonisation of the Frontier. And foreign
negotiation. And protection of the nation's holdings.
Svarton and his sons are highly taxed by serving the
people. They do, however, serve the people.
Svarton himself is a kind and noble man, and has
done his best to instill virtue in his sons. House
Faraldan counts House Maerlyn and House Videme
as true allies. House Ferldain is something of a
wildcard, and the rivalry with Delat goes back
generations. Vassal Families: The du Wetts,
Selanmeres, and Graffen are noble families who
owe vassalage to Faraldan.
Ymon
Ymon is the Holy City, seat of the Church located
in the fiefdom of Delat, in the east, only a week's
ride from the border of the Frontier. A rather large
city, Ymon has high walls and rising spires, tipped
with pennants that make the silhouette of the city so
distinctive at a distance. The Sacred Heart is the
central district of the city, where the Grand
Cathedral is located. ThePontifex lives and rules
here while Delat technically hold dominion over
4

the city, the word of the Pontifex is unquestionable.

The northwest of the city is dominated by the
Arcane College, also referred to as the House of
Mercy. Once Castle Delat, the building is now
walled off from the rest of the city Black Alley is
the gap between the walls of the College, and the
walls of the city, home to all manner of seedy
businesses. The College is more reminiscent of a
prison than a place of learning, where Magi who
accept the terms of the Fultoten Accord are sent to
live and study alongside mutants seeking (or forced
into) refuge. The walls are specially warded to
block all magic, and patrolled by fratremaul. The
College appears imposing yet innocuous from
without, but the inner courtyard and more remote
chambers are packed with magical miracles. The
opposite corner of the city contains the University,
where many nobles, merchants, or well-to-do
craftsmen send their children to be educated. The
northeast of the city is the home of the Inquisition;
their barracks, chapel, armouries and reliquaries,
libraries and quarters. The remaining parts of the
city are given over to small merchants and
craftsmen, and some nobles. Delat does keep a
permanent residence here, but their keep is now
located a few miles south.

stumbling block to younger, more ambitious Delat,

for Grigori has no time for the lies and underhanded
tactics of his family. While Grigori could not join
the priesthood, his first duty being to family, his
faith is unshakeable, and his fire & brimstone
tirades near legendary. Castle Delat is located just
north of Ymon. House Delat has the advantage of
Church backing, and a long-standing hatred of
Faraldan who took the throne from them three
generations ago. However, Delat are not warriors,
and cannot oppose the King openly. Ferldain has no
love for them, Maerlyn hates them, and Videme
tend to stare at them in the most unsettling way.
Vassals: The Strakers, Leuwaardens, and
Reichmond families.
House Ferldain
Castle Ferldain lies on the far west border of Kelen,
at the mouth of the Martyred Pass. For this reason,
Castle Ferldain is an impregnable fortress,
protecting the nation from the vile creatures of the
marsh and Kromsian incursion. The men of
Ferldain are a taciturn, practical sort. Warriors born,
the Ferldain value martial excellence, honour, and
piety above all else. They have no time for politics,
swearing service to the true and proper King in
this instance, Svarton Faraldan. Ferldain are often
absent from court, far too busy waging a private
war to defend the nation. It is not uncommon for a
Ferldain scion to take his righteous fury into the
Inquisition, frequently serving among the
Demonhunters. The current Lord is Klaus Ferldain;
a giant of a man who will waste neither words nor
time. Ferldain are an unknown value; so ignorant of
Kelen politics, they could, in any event, side with
anyone. They at least have much respect for
Faraldan, the only other House to share their skill at
arms. Vassals: Karst, von Tippen, and Gulliman
families. Recently a Baron Crowley has also been
appointed over the little town of Volstat and the
surrounding forests.

House Delat
Depending on whom you ask, the name Delat is
synonymous with either faith, or treachery. Many
Cardinals and Inquisitors bear the name Delat, or
that of a vassal family. As such, House Delat wields
considerable power though the Church, and the
mailed fist of the Inquisition. Aside from those
likely to join the ranks of the Inquisition, the Delat
are not trained for battle while any son of House
Delat can be expected to use a sword, he will rarely
do so with the same skill as other nobles. Delat
fights with words; orators and politicians to a man.
Delat is also no stranger to betrayal and
assassination, giving rise to the phrase 'I would
sooner turn my back on Delat' in reference to an
untrustworthy person. The current Lord and
patriarch of the family is Grigori Delat, a stonyfaced man of impressive conviction and
authoritative mien. He can be something of a

House Maerlyn
The Maerlyn are a family in decline. The Maerlyn
have never been soldiers, or priests, or leaders.
Maerlyn are the seneschals, the scholars, the
5

advisors. This alone is far from enough to spell their

descent, but the Maerlyn hide a dark secret. Magic
and mutation flow in the veins of all Maerlyn.
Many exiled sons and daughters of the House are
rogue Magi, and precious few of those who remain
are left untouched by the Ether. Their mutations are
not often too severe, but at least three children from
the family currently study at Ymon's Arcane
University for 'their own protection'. Maerlyn has a
great hatred and fear of Delat, given their links to
the Inquisition. In what may be a poor decision,
Maerlyn is thus more accomodating to... unusual
individuals. It is rumoured that Lady Francesca has
spoken with Vampires, and keeps a hidden library
of secret lore. She is rather infamously flirtatious,
and often described as dangerously intelligent.
Maerlyn and Faraldan were dear friends and
brothers in arms at the foundation of the Houses,
and to this day there are strong ties between their
Houses. Vassals: Kain, Strobel, and Montefort
families.

profits. Soren Videme felt that his family deserved

noble status, and petitioned the first King Faraldan
to be named a Great House. The King granted this
request, in as seemly a time as he could. Videme
would be a valuable ally for the new King, and what
is more, they had opened trade with H'kaer,
promising to provide the King with the amazing
metalcraft of the embattled country. The King was
unaware, however, of Videme's true colours. There
are, and always have been, two sides to House
Videme. The noble, public face of the current Lord
and his first son, dealing fairly, trading wisely, and
contributing to the good of the city. The hidden face
of Videme are the Blacknives. The second son of
each Lord is trained to become The Blacknife, a
master criminal and leader of the gang. No one can
yet trace the Blacknives back to Videme, though
Thiah has suspicions.
Illim
Illim lies on the River Erbor in Western Kelen,
which cuts a diagonal line through the city, in the
small Fiefdom of Thiah, commanding an enviable
control of the trade routes between the other Kelen
cities, Hrothgard, and H'kaer, and in recent years
has opened some trade with the Coral States across
the Sleeping Sea. The city is around 400 years old,
and now boasts a population in the thousands. The
oldest part of the city is on the west side of the
river, in one of the more northerly regions. Based
around Castle Thiah, this is often referred to as The
Old City, or the Noble District. It is home to the
Cathedral of St. Geralt, many merchants, and the
houses of noble families. Just north of the Old City
is Lanternlight District, where red paper lanterns
hang gaily outside the facades of three streets,
marking their structures as brothels all. South of the
Old District and Haldynvale Square is one of the
largest slums; referred to as Southside it is a
collection of warehouses, tradesmen, craftsmen, and
lesser merchants, with some areas being rougher
than others. This part of the city is enclosed by the
Old Wall. Moving further east and closer to the
river, one comes upon the Docks on either side of
the river, the Docks are alive with taverns and
warehouses, with sailors and inns and labourers. It's

House Thiah
Thiah are merchants. If it can be bought, sold,
leased, or taxed, the Thiah will find a way to profit
on it. Unlike most Houses, who have their keep
relatively isolated, House Thiah is based in the city
of Illim. Thiah are always pushing for more trade,
more goods, better roads and ships. Thiah have
turned Illim from a collection of cottages into a
bustling city in just a few decades. Thiah are noted
for being quick thinkers and fast talkers, and very
observant. Having such a vital role in all trade
within the nation, Thiah's contacts are impressive,
and it's rare anything can happen without Thiah
knowing about it information that they will gladly
pass on, for the right price. Thiah is locked in a
bitter rivalry with House Videme, and knowing
Videme are allies to the King would side with Delat
out of spite. Both Thiah and Videme are unusual in
that they do not really appoint vassals.
House Videme
As Illim rose, so too did merchant families. The
Videme family became prosperous and influential
in the city, rivalling Thiah in their acumen and
6

not the safest place, especially not for an unescorted

lady, but there are worse. There is an island in the
centre of the city, where the river is widest, called
Broken Moon Park, connected by bridges to the rest
of the city, this area has been cultivated into a
pleasant garden in which to walk, rendezvous, and
relax. By day one of the safest and most enjoyable
areas of the city, it is less appealing by night.
Further east one enters the New City; referred to
variously as the Rebel Side, City of Lost Hopes,
and the Wretched Hive. The northern half of the
district is home to House Videme, wealthy
merchants, nobles in the pocket of Videme, the
theatre, and an array of businesses catering to the
entertainment of the nobility opulent gambling
dens and bordellos, in honesty, but these things do
not count against one's reputation when enjoyed
with such class and expense. The south side of this
district is The Strack. The Strack is a Magocracy
Era ruin uncovered in the last 120 years or so, and
at first the distract thrived as an abode of scholars
and treasure hunters, adding to the prosperity of the
New City. But when the first mutations began to
appear, it all went downhill. Now the Strack is the
most tragic slum in the city; a town unto itself
populated by mutants, where only the Inqusition
and the Holy Order of St. Geralt dare to tread to
mete out justice The city is defined by the twosided coin of Thiah and Videme. House Thiah is a
Great House by ancestry and divine mandate; as
god wills the King rule, so doth Thiah preside as
among the highest nobilty in Kelen. House Videme
earned their position as a Great House; ostensibly
by mercantile skill and value to the crown,
entreating the newly-crowned Svarton I for status as
a Great House. Both Houses have vassal families
living and serving in the city (though they are really
more like merchants under patronage than true
vassals), both maintain regiments for the King
albeit not within the walls, nor of much size. Both
conduct trade on a broad scale to every city in the
land, many larger towns, and some foreign nations.
But where Thiah is based on cunning, foresight, and
acumen, Videme relies on intrigue, subterfuge, and
calculated violence. The Houses dance, as is the
way of court; an intricate and circumspect duel of

politics, gossip, assassination, and negotiation.

Meanwhile, the harried men of the Watch are torn
in two those loyal to the machinations of Thiah,
and those desperately serving their community,
protecting it from the shadow war of the Houses
and the petty crimes of its own less desirable
elements. At times, the Watch behaves like a gang
with official appointment, abusing their power and
position in service to Thiah. Ill-treatment of nobles
will garner the attention of the House; the peasants
enjoy no such special consideration. In contrast, the
Blacknives of Videme are less kind to nobles, more
apt to earn the love of the lesser citizenry. The
second son or daughter of any Videme Lord & Lady
is kept secret, spirited away and trained as a master
criminal. They become The Blacknife, leader of the
eponymous gang, serving the agenda of Videme
from the shadows but betraying no connection to
the House, allowing it to maintain a virtuous
reputation. The Blacknife maintains a web of
connections to lesser gangs and thugs, allowing
them to act indirectly; ideally those working for the
Blacknife do not even know to whom they owe
ultimate loyalty. The Cult of the Enlightened is an
ultimately harmless sect that arose in the last fifty
years; preaching pacisfism, the rejection of wordly
goods and vices, and promoting a philosphy of
inner peace with a view to reincarnation. While the
Inqusition regards them as dangerous heretics and
the merchants as bad for business, some nobles take
an interest, and many supernatural forces at work in
the city find them charming. The Alchemists Guild
is an association of craftsmen and scholars, with a
hard core of genuine members and a loose
affiliation of scholars from all walks of life. No
doubt many inhuman scholars pay dues and attend
meetings, but no one would pay attention enough to
notice. All manner of useful tools or tomes could
potentially be purchase from the Guild, but their
creations have as much chance of exploding or
poisoning as they do of actually working. The
Dockworker's Union is an association of sailors,
labourers, tapsters, and innkeepers in the docklands
which puts pressure on their higher-ups, through
both strikes and violence, to ensure fair treatment
and payment. They will, sometimes, indulge in
7

petty crime, too. The Southside Cartel is an alliance

of smaller merchants driving a thorn into the sides
of the Great Houses; while the two squabble, the
Cartel swoops in to take advantage. Neither can turn
their full resources to stamping out the Cartel
without leaving themselves vulnerable to the other.
The Brotherhood of the Bloody Hand is a secular
and secret order of assassins, drawn primarily from
noble backgrounds to provide either a thrill or
professional pride to its membership, depending on
whom you ask. And to make money. Ridiculous
sums of money. The Holy Order of St. Geralt is a
knightly order dedicated to carrying out the Lord's
work; ministering, performing charitable works, but
most importantly, and most enthusiastically, the
purging of the unclean. The Inquisition cannot
maintain a permanent presence in the city, and so
the Order seeks to locate and destroy inhuman
threats to the city. While they typically lack the
magical arsenal of those they so idolize, the Order
has the advantage of numbers and lack of
accountability. They enact periodic witch-hunts,
executions, show trials, and outright murders on
mutants or any other non-human on which they can
lay their gauntleted hands. The city is also host to
an under and overground warren in the New City
are the spacious and specially comissioned sewers,
filled with forgotten secret passages and
strongrooms, a highway beneath the streets. In the
Old City is the Thieves' Road, a maze of rooftop
paths and hideaways, relying on the towering and
overblown architectural style of the Old City, and
its tightly packed streets. And this underground
world is a populous as that of the city everyone
sees. Oldest of the strange forces at play in the city
is The Good Doctor, his dwelling within the city
unknown. Likewise is his nature uncertain he is
simply a mysterious philanthropist who provides
surgery to the poor. Though never seen nor heard,
he has six servitors his Surgeons who do his
work in the city. Secretly, for their services are
whispered to be magical. These six are Brother
Misericordia in the Old City, Sister Patientia in The
Strack, Brother Venia in the New City, Sister
Silentium in the Lanternlight District, Brother
Providentia on the docks, and Sister Sanctimonia in

Southside. They cannot cure disease or infection

with much skill, but are excellent at physical
wounds and surgery. La Resistance is the mutant
equality movement. Based in The Strack, they seek
to acheive equal rights for mutants in society, to
halt the persecution and abuse. Of course, some of
their number espouse the enslavement of
'Baselines', exalting the superiority of the mutant
strain. La Resistance is no stranger to violence, as it
can be a necessity sometimes to protect
themselves, and other times not. Assassins are a fact
of life. With nobility and gangs and other entities at
work, someone surely will need someone else
killed. Discreetly or fit to make an example, without
being caught or making it very clear whence the
order came. While many assassins die in their first
mission every month, a successful asssassin needs
to be very good at what he does. Or have a
supernatural edge. The finest assassin in the city is
The Ace of Blades, contactable only via an
elaborate series of dead-drops and intermediaries.
The Ace will kill only for the highest price, and has
never been seen by anyone who lived to speak of it.
Cassandra is a created being and mercenary,
specialising in brutal, obvious kills. Cassandra from
the waist up is a woman, and from the waist down a
serpent. Her flesh is a soft red, with patches of blueblack scale, and her eyes a golden-yellow. Her
creator bestowed on her a resistance to heat and
fire, and concluded that six arms are better than
two. Cassandra is a deadly combatant, wielding a
sword in each hand and capable of enduring blows
that would kill an ordinary woman. She is,
however, pleasant and sociable, living in the Strack
and enjoying nights of song and ale. The Lady is
the epitome of the silent kill. Her victims simply...
vanish. She charges high prices, and often comes to
her employer, rather than being sought out. There
are some other individuals of note in the city;
notable not for their influence in any organisation
but for personal power. Alexei the Kind is one, a
Communer hiding in the Strack as of the last six
months. His work is twofold a study of mutation,
and curing disease. He provides cures and elixirs for
free, asking only for test subjects in return. They are
always treated kindly and with dignity for the
8

duration of his study. The people of the Strack, in

turn, have great respect and affection for Alexei.

Beyond Kelen
Hrothgard
Hrothgard; the name of the cold northern nation
beyond Hell's Teeth and its ancient capital. A place
where every Baron is like a king unto himself and
his Baronies only tenuously linked to the King. A
place where terrible, fearsome monsters descend
from the mountains, rise from the depths of the sea,
or crawl from the dark places of the earth. A place
where the summer is a time to rejoice and plant and
hoard. Where the winter is long, and dark.
Mercenary companies drift along the borders and
travel from one Barony to the next, vital to the
survival of the nation. Unlike Kelen, where big
cities are rare, Hrothgard is divided into Baronies
with a bustling town at their heart. While the
warmer months see more people farming and
mining, virtually every man has a craft to ply during
the winter when most people move into the walled
towns. Hrothgaard enjoy cider, vodka, mutton, and
seafood (particularly shellfish). Peasant homes are
made of wood, and sunk two feet into the earth.
Wealthier people have more stone in their houses,
and often a second floor deeper underground.
Hrothgaard houses are noted for their warmth in
winter. Sculpture and song are popular art-forms in
Hrothgard, though instrumental music is
remarkably rare. Hrothgard is noted for a few
exports that define a man's life and career cider,
vodka, ores, wool, fish, soldiers, sculpture, song,
and ships. It is impossible to talk of Hrothgard
without first mentioning the capital. An immense
city, perfectly square and at least four miles a side,
rising from the earth such that the streets are a good
ten feet above ground level, the entire city appears
to have been perfectly carved from a single,
colossal block of stone. The buildings all blend
seamlessly into the ground, and the buildings
themselves are all a single piece without joint or
crack, aside from more timeworn and uncared for
sections.

In the heart of Kelen is Black Forest.

A dark and primeval wood, Black Forest is vast,
dense, and infested with monsters. Batlike
Vampires lurk in the deep woods and prey on
nearby towns, Fair Folk ride out to steal children,
and shapeshifting beastmen call it home. Assaulting
Black Forest is impossible, as the Vampires are too
deep and know the terrain too well, and the
werebeasts similarly too stealthy in the woods. Only
the mad and the dead try to fight Faeries.
The Martyred Pass is located on the border between
the fiefdom of Ferldain and Kroms, in the northwest
of Kelen. Once a verdant valley, home to the
Ferldain vineyards and manor house, it was
devastated by the Kromsian Offensive decades ago
when the terrible weapons of the theocracy were
brought to bear, and is now a desolate and deadly
marsh. The Kromsians have, apparently, long since
abandoned efforts to expand, leaving the dread
waste to torment House Ferldain. Castle Ferldain
and its great walls guard the main road from the
swamp, and regular patrols keep... things from
slipping through. Terrible monsters dwell in the
swamp cast-offs from the Kromsian flesh-vats,
mutated wildlife, Magocracy accidents, and native
horrors. It is said, in fact, that the swamp is the
result of Kromsian experiments with Magocracy
relics, and that somewhere deep in the sordid mess
lies an ancient ruin seething with dark power.
Stormspires can sometimes be found in Kelen.
Once the homes of powerful Magocracy
Stormlords, these towering structures of blued steel
and stone rise to the clouds, many of them
generating a supernatural storm around their peak.
Places where it never stops raining suggest the
location of such a spire.

ten. The nation is ruled by committee the four

Ministers and the Administrator, voted for from
among High Command during the previous
administration. The current Administrator is named
Vess.

H'kaer
H'kaer is located to west of Kelen, and the weather
is somewhat drier, particularly in the centralnorthern areas of the country where the landscape
turns to limestone karst, a vast plain of cracked
stone. H'kaer has only one true city - the capital
fortress-city of Jaegam, on the coast. H'kaer is less
of a nation, and more of an army occupying a
region. Every man, woman, and child in H'kaer is a
soldier, and so in place of towns and villages are
heavily fortified garrisons. Jaegam itself is an
ancient relic similar in construction to Hrothgard, a
nigh impenetrable bastion of faintly goldencoloured stone. Like all H'kaeri settlements, a
mazelike warren of tunnels extends underground.
All H'kaeri garrisons are built with high walls, a
small number of low buildings inside, and extensive
tunnels filled with dead ends and unnecessary twists
that make them impossible for a non-H'kaeri to
navigate where the bulk of garrison life takes place.
While the northern areas of H'kaer, and the eastern
border are heavily fortified, the southern, fertile
lands are host to the farms, mines, and
manufactories. H'kaer is noted for peerless
metalcraft, and can be convinced to trade their
excellent weapons for food, tobacco, and raw
materials increasingly so as the war drags on. For
H'kaer is a nation defined by war, against the
Vampire-worshiping theocracy of Kroms in the
north. On a lighter note, the H'kaeri enjoy a weak,
spiced ale when they drink at all, but one would
require oxen to separate one from his tobacco pipe.
The H'kaeri prefer storytelling, as an artform, and
singing. Improvised instruments are becoming
popular, made from whatever garbage suits, as the
nation cannot afford to waste resources on such
things. H'kaeri are noted, also, for a dark, sarcastic
sense of humour. On birth, a child is given a first
name and registered to their garrison so that no two
soldiers have the same name. Provided they are not
on vital active duty, the parents are given a few
years of inactivity to raise the child, typically until
the age of six. The child is frequently assessed for
their skills and aptitudes, even more so once formal
education begins. Depending on their results, they
will be sorted into their appropriate Ministry by age

Kroms
Kroms is located in the warmer regions north of
H'kaer, towards the Sea of Winds, where the land is
a little more arid and hilly. Much of Kroms is
uninhabited, and not kindest to human habitation to
begin with. The centre of Kromsian habitation is on
the Veldian Peninsula where the Black Citadel is
located. It is bordered in the east by the Martyred
Pass, and southern border is guarded by H'kaeri
forces, meaning Kroms would be trapped save for
their superior ship-building. Kroms is a theocracy
with a rigid caste system. At the top is their deity,
the Living God Vasnok who sleeps in the Citadel to
recover from wounds earned in battle centuries ago.
Below Vasnok are the Vampires; the Hierophant
and the Fanes, the Children of God and Avatars of
the Divine, Priesthood of Vasnok. Beneath the
Vampires are the Twilight Caste, the Savaan, Those
Closest to God, a number of once-human families
who have been fed a monthly dose of Vampire
blood for generations. As such, they are not longer
entirely human, but faster, stronger, and smarter,
loyal to the Vampires and beautiful to look upon,
divided into the martial Twilight Guard, and the
scholarly Twilight Surgeons. They are the warriorpriests and citizen soldiers of Kroms, and the
H'kaeri, having never encountered a real Vampire,
consider these formidable foes to be the ruling
Vampires of the theocracy. Beneath the Twilight
Caste are the Ker Viteur, ordinary humans who
form the middle-class of Kromsian society. While
Savaan are literate, educated, and trained in
warfare, the Ker Viteur are not taught to fight or to
read. It is their purpose to wash and cook and clean,
to build and dig and carry. They are not slaves,
simply the menial caste charged with those acts
considered below the dignity of the Twilight Caste.
They are considered weak, base mortals who need
the guidance and protection of the Savaan. Just as
the Savaan have been elevated above normal
10

mortals, another caste has descended the Chattel.

Bred in vast farms outside the Citadel, like animals,
the Chattel have been downtrodden, imbred, and
mutated by the Vampires for so many generations
that they have become less than human. The
degeneration is so complete that no amount of care,
education, and well-treatment can ever restore them
to human intellect. They are half-feral things, fed to
the Priesthood or employed as raw material, drilled
in simple tactics, armed with cheap weapons, and
sent screaming toward the enemy in an expendable
mob. The Citadel is an immense black iron edifice
that towers to the heavens like a twisted claw,
wherein the Living God Vasnok is said to sleep. It
has stood since time immemorial, and only the
Priesthood or favoured Savaan may enter. Around
the base of the Citadel the Kromsian capital has
grown. Temples are closest to the Citadel, grandiose
structures of sandstone finished in obsidian and
onyx. To shine a light into these temples is a
suicidal heresy, and only Savaan may use or tend
them. The homes of the Savaan are next large,
airy villas of sandstone, comfortable and impressive
without being tastelessly opulent. Then there are the
temples for the Ker Viteur, where the Savaan
preach, and the homes and workshops of the Ker
Viteur beyond that. The Farms are located some
way from the citadel miles of pens, made from
stone and wood for the most part. Packed with
Chattel, overseen by Savaan and Ker Viteur
assistants. Twilight Surgeons painstakingly oversee
the breeding and alteration of the stock, and it is
here too that the warbeasts forged in the Citadel are
studied and bred into larger numbers. Some
auxiliary flesh-vats are also kept here, storing the
biomagical implants used by the Twilight Caste.

the dangers of the Frontier. There are a number of

sponsored expeditions to the Frontier made by
Hrothgard and Kelen, by Houses and Baronies,
forming small outposts and towns, and even a city.
The vast forests make it prime logging territory and
excellent hunting ground. The hills are rich with
minerals, and the Sunward Coast is excellent for
fishing not that many settlements extend so far.
The Frontier also hides many ruins from the
Magocracy and Empire, a rich bounty of magical
artefacts and lore for those brave or foolish enough.
The Frontier is also a place of warfare Mercenary
companies hired and led by noble representatives
fight one another in these wild, secluded lands to
solve disputes at home. Or to settle personal
grievances. The longer one spends in the Frontier,
the less one remembers the ways of Kelen and
Hrothgard. While not unified, the more time passes
the more it becomes a country of its own. The
largest settlement on the Frontier is Strassenbourg,
an actual walled city owned by Baron Snapcasm of
Hrumart. His vassal ruler is Duke Hadric, a clever if
decadent ruler who knows that one of the best ways
for a city to grow is to give it enough freedom. As
such, Strassenbourg is home to branches of House
Videme and the Blacknives to take advantage of its
enviable trading position. House Maerlyn maintains
a home here, where Magi or mutants from their own
home and those of vassals are sent. Not because
they are openly tolerated (though the Duke
sometimes looks the other way in exchange for a
favour), but because it's a little easier to hide and
provides a starting point for beginning life on the
Frontier. Other nobles from both Kelen and
Hrothgard are beginning to trickle in as the
prosperity of the city grows. Owing to his
unscrupulous behaviour, the Duke has amassed a
small arsenal of magical devices and the favour of
some increasingly powerful magi. He's surprisingly
restrained in his blackmail of the Maerlyn in the
city, never contacting or requesting of the House
itself. It seems likely the Duke is patiently building
up a powerbase to declare Strassenbourg a
sovereign state.

The Frontier
The Frontier is located to the east of Kelen, a vast
and untamed region stretching from the land bridge
to Lama in the south, to the end of Hell's Teeth in
the north and onto an as-yet unexplored peninsula
beyond the mountains. The Frontier is bordered to
the west by Kelen, and to the east by the Sunward
Sea. It is a sparsely populated region, the forests
and hills full of ruins, monsters, and towns lost to
11

Chapter 3: Character Creation

Step 1: Character Concept
Decide on your character their name, nationality,
home, goals, hopes, dreams, a rough idea of who
they are and what they do. Motivation is of massive
important a character should have a strong
motivation driving them, be it to end corruption in
the church or to stage a glorious people's revolution
against the tyranny of the monarchy, to slay a
legendary monster or become ruler of a town.
Explain your concept and backstory to the
Historian, so they can give you background bonuses
(backgrounds can be found in the GM section of
this document).

towards XP costs and the Attribute cap. Select 3

Attributes any three and designate them as
Major Attributes. Divide five points between these,
and remember they can be no higher than four.
Then, select thee Minor Attributes, and divide four
points between these. Finally, you have three points
that you may use to round out the remaining
Attributes or to boost the others.

Step 2: Mutation
The next step in character creation is to determine
what if any mutation the character possesses. This
will have a powerful impact on the character they
may be normal, and you can proceed as such. Or
they may have a Mutation, leading to stigma or
hardship in life.

Strength: Strength is the physical strength of a

character. It is used to determine, broadly, how
much they could life or carry. It forms a prerequisite for certain weapons, and serves in damage
calculation. It can also provide soak (see below).

Attributes are rated between 1

human average, 2 is average, 3
is bordering on superhuman,
superhuman. A mortal cannot
higher than 4.

and 10. 1 is below

is above average, 4
and 5 is outright
have any Attribute

Dexterity: Dexterity is the measure of a character's

overall flexibility, agility, and fine motor control. It
is used to undertake delicate actions such as
lockpicking, acrobatic actions in conjuction with
Athletics, to determine your Offence and Defence
stats, used in making attack or dodge rolls, and
contributes to your Combat Pool.

Roll a D20. If you roll a 3, the character receives a

minor magical mutation from birth. Roll a 17 and
the character receives a major magical mutation.
Roll an 8, and the character receives The Gift of
Mana. If your character possesses a minor mutation
roll a d20 on the appropriate table to determine the
result, if he or she possesses a major mutation roll a
d10 and consult the table. See the magic chapter for
more details on magi.

Fitness: Fitness determines the overall physical

health and endurance of a character. It determines
their healing rate, Speed, fatigue, the number of
offensive actions per combat round, and can
provide soak.

Step 2: Attributes
You have nine Attributes to chose from, which all
start at 1. First, apply any bonus points from
backgrounds, mutations, or other sources. Unless
explicitly stated otherwise, these count both

Intellect: Intellect is the raw intelligence of a

character. It is the slow, plodding, but reliable route
to knowledge, and governs the ability to study,

12

learn, and remember, or undertake any strenuous

mental activity.
Intuition: Intuition is tied to quick wits and
perspicacity. It is used in both thinking fast or
noticing details, and related to Ranged Combat.

Artisan (Must specify a field): Used to craft works

of art, not limited to physical art such as sculpture
or painting, but also to poetry or music.
Alchemy: The closest thing to a science you're
going to encounter. Each point effectively filters out
the pseudomystical components for the actual,
functional chemistry.

Willpower: Willpower is the personal, internal

resolve and psychological fortitude of a character. It
is vital both to use and resist Magic, serves a part of
social defense, and be used to mitigate wound
penalties.

Awareness: The passive sensory Skill awareness

helps you spot ambushes or hear someone sneaking
up on you.

Bearing: Bearing is sheer force of personality. A

character with high Bearing could be either
charismatic and confident, or menacing and cruel,
or simply carry themselves with a striking grace and
poise.

Craft (must specify a field): Craft covers everything

from blacksmithing to construction.
Commerce: The ability to haggle, estimate, and
gamble effectively. Good for knowing when you're
being fleeced or where to find the best deal.

Guile: Guile is the ability both to lie and to spot

lies. It is the dexterity to Bearing's strength, the
clever quip and cutting insult.

Etiquette: Used in dealing with nobility, etiquette

can save you from a potentially fatal social faux
pas.

Composure: Composure is the mask to Willpower's

spine. It is used in social defense, to maintain the
desired image in the face of superior arguments or
ruthless insults.

Evasion: A combat skill used to calculate Dodge

Rating
Governance: The skill used in the running of an
estate, church, mercenary company, or any other
organisation requiring co-ordination.

Step 3: Skills
Skills start at 0. The Historian will award you some
free points based on your background. After
that, you may divide 21 points between your Skills.
You may place no more than three points into
anyone Skill, but this can raise a Skill to 4. No
higher. You may also select 4 Skill Specialities,
which add 1 die to your pool when applicable to an
action.

Intimidation: Used to threaten,

otherwise intimidate people.

coerce,

and

Investigation: The active, sustained act of searching

for something. Used to search rooms or buildings or
desk drawers for something useful, or to actively
look for potential ambushers.

Athletics: Used in conjuction with Fitness to

determine Speed, also used for tasks which are
physically exerting.

Language: Each point in Language represents a

language spoken. All characters speak their native
language for free. Each point after chargen costs
12XP, regardless of listed rank.

Academics: Used to read, write, and research. All

writing in Northern Imeria is done in Old Imperial,
which you can think of as like Latin. A character
must have at least one point in Academics to read
and write.

Lore: Knowledge of Magic, monsters, and magical

history.
13

Leadership: While Governance handles the nuts

and bolts of leading, this Skill is used to make
inspiring speeches or otherwise bullshit minions
into dying for you.

Survival: A vital skill to live in the wilderness,

covering everything from tracking and foraging to
animal lore.
Tactics: Strategy is for winning wars, but Tactics is
a skill for winning battles directing a small squad,
taking advantage of terrain or holes in the enemy
line, and so on.

Medicine: Similarly to Alchemy, this Skill leads to

a lot nonsense about humours and leeches that is
more likely to kill than cure until third rank. But
even a crackpot with a bloodletting fetish can set a
broken bone.

Thievery: Used to pick locks, pockets, or otherwise

acquire things that up until recently didn't
belong to you.

Melee: A combat skill sed to determine Offence,

accounting for your ability to wield a weapon.

Thrown: Used to determine Ranged Offence when

using a thrown weapon such as a spear, javelin,
dart, or the humble but effective half a brick.

Mingling: The common-folk counterpart to

Etiquette. Used to blend into crowds and ingratiate
oneself with the lower classes.

Unarmed: Used to determine Unarmed Offence

Parry: A combat skill used to determine Defend
Rating.

Step 5: Derived Stats

Offence: (Melee = Melee + Dexterity), (Ranged =
Ranged/Thrown + Dexterity), (Unarmed =
Unarmed + Dexterity).
Defence Rating: Dexterity + Parry
Dodge Rating: Dexterity + Evasion
Soak: Lower of Strength or Fitness
Speed: Fitness + Athletics
Combat Pool: Speed + Dexterity
Ranged Pool: Dexterity + Intuition + Investigation
Step 5: Other Values

Persuasion: Used in social combat to talk people

around to your way of thinking.
Perform: Used to entertain or coerce entire crowds.
Politics: Knowledge of political affiliations and
histories, and also useful details about the nobility
most likely to be taken by a character of noble
background.
Ranged: Used to determine Ranged Offence.

Health is equal to 10
Condition is equal to 20
XP, Money, Esteem, Glory, and Notoriety are at the
Historian's discretion.

Stealth: Employed to be sneaky and hidden.

Strategy: This skill is used to manage armies, large
scale plans, logistical trains, and in general the
business of winning a war.

Step 6: Finishing Touches

Sometimes the Historian may give bonus XP at
character creation to improve characters, otherwise
XP may be gained in play
XP Costs:
Attributes: 15, 20, 25
Skills: 6, 3, 9, 12, 18, 24

Streetsavvy: A working knowledge of how to

survive and thrive on the city streets.
Subterfuge: A skill employed for lying, cheating,
misinforming, scapegoating, and generally being a
cunning bastard socially.
14

Minor Mutation Table

1. Hand of Flame The player can sprout magical fire from his fingertips.
2. Cold Blooded The player can shrug off verbal hostility, but responds easily to genuine warmth.
All social rolls which could be construed as cruel against the character have their difficulty increased by 1, but
genuinely warm and earnest rolls have the difficulty dropped by 1.
3. Deathsight The player can see the deaths clinging to a person, though not the connection.
4. Healing Touch The player can restore Health to another at the cost of his own.
5. Cloak of Shadow The player can gain a +1 automatic success to Stealth checks in shadows or darkness
6. Piercing Vision The player can see in the dark
7. Kissed by Fate the player can roll a chance die to automatically succeed a task they could not possibly
accomplish
8. Out of Sync When threatened, the player gains +1 to dodge or defend as they move slightly faster than the
world around them.
9. Beast-kin The player has an unusually powerful sense of smell.
10. Armoured Soul the player gains + 1 to resist magic
11. Empathic The player is adept at reading emotions, + 1 to persuade, lie, or seduce.
12. Ill Fated the player must roll a chance die once per day which may cause them to fail miserably.
13. Light sensitive the player suffers 1 to Perception in full sunlight
14. Dark Fear the player suffers -1 to Perception in dimly lit places, as they have a terrible sense of things
watching them from the shadows sapping their concentration.
15. Bloodboil player is short-tempered and ALWAYS feels hot. -1 to Fitness in hot environments, never any
environmental penalties in all but the most extreme cold.
16. Ghostspeaker player can communicate with the dead -whether they like it or not.
17. Quick Healer The player can heal CON at a rate of 1 per day but must eat near constantly for the
duration of the speedy healing.
18. Implacable Player receives 5 extra CON, but their skin feels... stony.
19. Broken Mirror the player has no reflection
20. Prophetic Dreams does what it says on the tin.
Greater Mutation Table:
1. Slow Ageing The player ages more slowly than normal, living a good twenty years more.
However, they learn and grow just a slowly experience costs are + 2
2. Soulless The player is without a soul, they nullify nearby magic. Run the risk of becoming
a Darkling.
3. Vagrant Spirit On death, the player possesses the nearest living body.
4. Shape-shifter Player can take on one animal shape of their choice.
5. Bark-skin the player is more plant than human vulnerable to fire, but able to photosynthesise to recover
health & condition.
6. Water Through Fingers Player has a -2 resistance to physical damage, as their body flows around the
weapon like water.
7. Shadow Touched the player suffers -1 to all rolls in sunlight, has dark skin and claws, allowing them to
deal slashing damage while unarmed and a +1 to stealth checks in shadow.
8. I Am The Storm the player constantly crackles with electricity, and must discharge a blast
of lightning every two hours.
9. Burning Rage the player literally bursts into flame when angered this does not harm them.
10. Glorious Aspect the player radiates a soft golden glow, somehow divine. + 1 Charisma
15

Chapter 4: System Information

Crucible 2nd Edition uses d12s. For non-combat
actions, your dice pool is equal to your Attribute
plus any applicable Specialities. The player may
suggest the application of a second, justifiable
Attribute, which is applied at half value (rounded
down). The Difficulty of all rolls begins at 11
on the die. This number is reduced by 1 for each
point of the relevant Skill the character possesses.
The resultant number is the Difficulty of the roll,
and any die showing equal or higher is a Success.
If a Skill is rated at six, it automatically succeeds
with a minimum of two successes, but the dicepool
can still be rolled to improve this.

Jim rolls two elevens, a two, a three, and a six.

Arrala gleans that the Communer was working on
biomagical mining equipment.
Combat
Combat operates on Rounds and Turns. A Round is
the time taken for every character in the combat to
make their move. Turns are the individual actions
within the combat by each participant.
So, a Round of combat with five fighters will have
five Turns.
The order in which fighters take their Turn is based
on their Speed. The higher the speed, the sooner
you move. Contested turns are decided by a rolling
a d12 each, the higher number winning, and the
order is then fixed for the rest of the combat. Speed
is also used to determing you movement range
you have a Free Movement radius centred on your
character which is equal to your Speed in feet.
Moving beyond this costs you 1 die from your
Combat Pool, and you may only spend a number of
movement dice up to your Fitness.
Next, we have the Combat Pool. This is a
representation of the energy your character can
expend in a Round. It allows them to perform
multiple actions in their Turn or defend themselves
during an enemy Turn. Let's say a player has a CP
of six he can roll all six for an all out attack on
one enemy. Or, he can roll two for one enemy, two
for another, and keep two to protect himself.
Naturally, the ability of the player to succeed at
each task is reduced by splitting his pool. A balance
has to be found. It's important to note that players
must actively defend if you don't reserve dice for
a parry or dodge roll, you will suffer on the counterattack. You may make defensive actions as long as
you have Combat Pool remaining, but you can only
make a number of offensive actions capped by your
Dexterity. Drawing your weapon, nocking an arrow,
or taking other miscellaneous actions costs 1 CP.
Finally, we have Defence and Offence.
These determine the difficulty of hitting or blocking
an enemy. Enemies who attack faster than a PC
cannot be dodged, and must be blocked. Enemies

0 successes: Failure. The task was not completed

adequately, and this may result in loss, death, or
ridicule as appropriate.
1 success: Partial success; the task is acheived just
barely with potentially undesired consequences.
2 successes: The task is successful. Nothing to brag
about, but the job is done.
3 successes: Better than average, but not very
noteworthy
4 successes: Good enough to draw notice or
comment if appropriate
5 successes: A superlative achievement
6 successes or above: A truly astounding success
As an example, Jim's character Arrala wants to
translate an Old Imerian document found in a
Magocracy era ruin. This is a mental task, and so
the Attribute to be used is Intellect. Arrala has
Intellect 3, so Jim's dicepool is three d12s. The text
is the personal research journal of a Communer, so
the relevant Skill is Lore. Arrala has Lore 4, which
means the Difficulty of the roll is 11 - 4 = 7.
Jim points out that Arrala has been travelling with
Eoin's Communer named Weaver for some time
now, and may be better able to discern relevant
details thanks to his influence. The Historian allows
this to apply half, rounding down, of Arrala's
Intuition to the roll. Arrala has Intuition 4, and so
her dicepool is now 5 d12s.
16

who attack more slowly can be dodged or parried

depending on preferences.
When attacking an enemy, you deduct your Offence
from their Defence. If their Defence is at least two
points lower than your Offence, a successful roll is
8 on the die or above. If the enemy Defence is equal
to your Offence, 9 on the die or above is a success.
If the enemy has a Defence two or more points
higher than your offence, an 10 on the die is
necessary to hit them. Defending yourself works the
same way. Below is the success table:

When rolling an attack, you decide how much

Combat Pool you wish to use, and must specify the
Damage Type for example, if you want to apply
the Piercing Damage of a dagger, you must specify
that you are making a stabbing attack, rather than
slashing with the edge.
The enemy will roll an amount of their Combat
Pool to defend. The Historian will subtract their
successes from yours, and the remaining successes
will determine the success of the attack as above.
Defending yourself is similar declare your defense
when the enemy attacks, roll the amount of
Combat Pool you wish to use, and the Historian will
determine success.

1 Success Limb, half Strength mod

2 Success Limb hit, full damage
3 Success Body Blow, half damage
4 Success Body Blow, full damage
5 Success Instant kill.

Grappling
In order to engage an enemy by grappling them, the
player rolls opposed Strength + Unarmed this dice
pool subtracts from their Combat Pool. Once
grappled, both parties make opposed Strength rolls
of a flat 10 difficulty. The combatant who rolls
more successes controls the grapple, and is able to
use their Combat Pool (Enemy Strength + Enemy
Successes) for other combat actions while holding
their opponent. Naturally, their actions are at a -1
Penalty, where the grappled victim suffers
3 penalties and the same deduction from their
Combat Pool. Importantly, grappling can be used
defensively. A successful grapple can be used in
place of a defensive roll, and your grapple target
can serve as a human shield, raising your effective
Defend by 2.

Head Injury: If a target (Or PC) is struck in the

head, a d20 may be rolled to determine if this
causes unconsciousness or even eye-damage. A
result of 1-5 results in eye damage, 14-20 in
unconsciousness. Eye damage 3 or higher dealt by a
Piercing weapon results in death.
Damage is determined by the Damage value of your
weapon + your Strength.
Unarmed Damage is pure strength. Precisely where
a blow lands is at the discretion of the Historian,
unless the player calls it. A called shot is at a -2
penalty, but can potentially be very damaging.
Once damage has been determined consult the
injury tables at the end of this chapter to determine
any additional effects.

Fatigue
Combat is strenuous. A character can fight
effectively for a number of Turns equal to twice
their Fitness though this number is reduced by
one each time an all-out attack is made or defended
against. When the character has fought for a number
of turns equal to their Fitness, they begin to suffer a
cumulative -1 penalty to their Combat Pool. When
they have fought for a number of Turns equal to
twice their Fitness, they are utterly exhausted and
unable to fight on.

One minor non-combat action (as decreed by the

Historian) will be free per turn, but any major such
actions or more than one begin to detract from your
combat pool as -1 per action.
An exception overall is ranged combat, where
attack dice are defined by Dexterity + Intuition +
Investigation. This is deducted from Combat Pool
when used, but leaves the remaining CP dice for
other purposes. Furthermore, more powerful bows
have a Strength prerequisite.
17

Soak
Soak is applied after armour, reducing damage by a
few more points.

secondary Combat Pool which can only apply to

parry rolls.
Health and Damage
In Crucible, all objects and people have a stat called
Condition. This represents the physical
integrity of their body and their capacity to
function. All humans have 20 Condition. A loss of
four
Condition may represent a broken arm or leg, five is
an outright loss of limb.
Each body part has a maximum amount of damage
that can be applied to it. Arms and Legs cannot
withstand more than five damage before being
incapacitated. Five to the head can kill. Ten to the
Torso will also kill, in most cases.
As Condition decreases, penalties apply. A loss of
four or five will normally cause a loss of one bar in
Dex and strength, to represent the loss of the limb
or internal trauma. 0 Condition means the body is
immobile, paralysed, almost utterly destroyed. At -5
Condition the body is ruined beyond recognition.
There is a second stat, however Health. Health has
a max of 10 by default. Where
Condition represents external, physical harm to
bodily function, Health represents the effects of
severe damage, illness, internal injuries. A character
who loses 4 Condition has a broken arm nothing
life threatening, usually. Losing five at once,
though, is losing a limb and lot of blood.
Health will drop by one point if this happens. When
Condition falls below 10, Health slowly begins to
follow at a rate of one Health per five Turns, or out
of combat, roughly every five minutes. This
quickens by one Turn for every two-point increment
lost below 10 Condition. However, Health can drop
as low as six before affecting Condition. A
character being eaten away by disease or internal
bleeding might not realise the extent of the damage
until organs begin to fail or limbs seize up.
Health is quite subtle, where Condition is obvious.
Health of zero is instant death, no exceptions.
Health can recovered at a rate of 1 per four weeks
minus a week per bar of Fitness. So a character with
Fitness 3 will recover 1 health per week, or 1 per
four days if the character is resting.

System Opacity
As a player, you may be used to the GM telling you
the hit points, modifiers, and other details of an
enemy during combat in definite, mechanical terms.
In Crucible, this is narrative. You will never be
provided with the exact stats, health, or combat pool
of an enemy, but the Historian should be making
you aware descriptively if the Historian tells you
that an enemy attack appears weak, halfhearted,
skewed, or otherwise you can reasonably assume
they rolled poorly or with little of their Combat
Pool. If, on the other hand, the Historian says the
attack is strong, brutal, precise, or similarly
upsetting terms you can probably assume it's going
to hurt if it hits you. Likewise, you will only be able
to judge from appearances what the state of an
enemy is. That mercenary bleeding out through the
stump of his arm is pretty conclusively out of the
action, but his friend remains stoic in spite of his
ragged breath and slashed stomach.
Weapon Specialities & Dual Wielding
Weapon Specialities add 1 die to your attack or
parry rolls when using the appropriate weapon
this bonus applies to all attacks and defensive
actions you make in a Round, effectively generating
a free die on each action.
Dual Wielding allows you to use two weapons at
once for various effects, but your character must
be at least Dexterity 3, and have the Ambidexterity
trait (Dexterity 4 automatically assumes you are
ambidextrous). This simply allows you to wield two
weapons at once to either perform a double strike or
counter-attack. When counter-attacking, any
overflow successes on a parry roll are they applied
as an attack roll against the aggressor. When double
striking, the damage of both weapons is applied to a
successful attack, but leaves you unable to defend
until your next turn.
With the Dual Weapon Speciality, you gain the
benefit of the Parry Pool. This is a two-die

18

Condition returns at an incrementally faster rate,

based on Fitness. A broken limb takes at least a
month to recover the first point of Condition, the
next point will take four weeks divided by Fitness
(rounding up). Divide again for the next point, and
so on.

Ranged Weapons:
Short bow: 6 Piercing
Longbow: 8 Piercing (Requires Strength 2 to use, -2
penalty unless Strength 3 or higher)
Sling: 6 Crushing
Throwing Axes: 5 Hacking
Throwing Knives: 3 Piercing

Weapons

Special Weapons:
Kromsian Man-flayer: 5 Slashing, may cause Heavy
Bleeding, Disarm. Requires Melee 4
Kromsian Eviscerator: 6 Slashing, causes Heavy
Bleeding, Crippling Pain. Req. Melee 4

Weapons come in four kinds- Light, Heavy,

Ranged, and Special.
Likewise, there are four kinds of damage associated
with weapons :Slashing, Piercing, Crushing, and
Hacking.
These damage types are sometimes applied
simultaneously to a weapon, or different types of
attack with a weapon will lead to different kinds of
damage. Weapons and armour can also inflict
penalties to certain statistics. For example, a Greatsword is a Heavy Weapon. It's impossible to lift
with a Strength below 3, incurs a Speed penalty,
and may cause the user to overbalance. On the other
hand, it does a combination of 12 Slashing and
Crushing damage, allowing it to inflict massive
damage against most armour types.

Armour:
Armour of differing types can mitigate some of this
damage, but bear in mind they may be vulnerable to
other kinds of damage. Armour has a Condition
rating, which when destroyed, renders the armour
useless. If the armour does not specify resistance to
a damage type, it provides no protection. Slashing
and Hacking deal half their damage to armour, and
half to the target inside. Piercing will deal twothirds damage to the target. When the result is odd,
the greater amount is delivered to the target.
Crushing applies full damage to the victim, but
none to armour. These values are always rounded
down. Weapon damage is always augmented by the
wielder's strength

Light Weapons
Dagger: 2 Slashing, 3 Piercing
Reaping Hook: 3 Slashing, 2 Piercing
Rapier: 4 Piercing, 3 Slashing
Kelen Cavalry Sabre: 3 Slashing, 2 Piercing
Short Sword: 4 Slashing, 3 Piercing
Longsword: 5 Slashing, 4 Piercing
Pollax: 6 Crushing
Hand Axe: 4 Hacking
Mace: 4 Crushing
Spear: 4 Piercing

Leather Armour:
Resistances:
-2 Crushing
-2 Slashing
Jerkin: 14 Condition
Pauldrons: 10 Condition
Bracers: 6 Condition
Gloves: 2 Condition
Greaves: 8 Condition
Helm: 5 Condition

Heavy Weapons:
All heavy weapons have a prerequisite of Strength 3
and reduce speed by 2
Greatsword: 8 Slashing & Crushing
Great-axe: 8 Hacking & Crushing
Halberd: 8 Slashing, 4 Piercing
H'kaerian Purifier: 8 Slashing, 6 Piercing

Studded Leather Armour:

Resistances:
-2 Crushing
-2 Slashing
Jerkin: 16 Condition
Pauldrons: 12 Condition
19

Piecemeal Armour
When combining different armour types, their
individual stats apply in different ways. Primarily,
torso and leg armour will always have the Strength
prerequisite, but not inflict the Dexterity penalties.
By contrast, limb armour may not have the Strength
prerequisite, but will apply either half or the full
Dexterity penalty.

Bracers: 8 Condition
Gloves: 3 Condition
Greaves: 9 Condition
Helm: 5 Condition
Chainmail:
Penalty: -1 Dex
Resistances:
- 4 Slashing
- 4 Hacking
Shirt: 18 Condition
Sleeves: 12 Condition
Gauntlets: 4 Condition
Kilt: 8 Condition
Helm: 8 Condition
Half-Plate:
Requires 2 Strength, - 1 Dex
Resistances:
-6 Slashing
-4 Hacking
Cuirass: 20
Pauldrons: 15
Gauntlets: 8
Greaves: 12
Helm: 8
Requires 2 Strength, - 1 Dex
Full Plate:
Requires 2 Strength, -2 Dex
Resistances:
-6 Slashing
-4 Hacking
-2 Piercing
Cuirass: 20
Pauldrons: 18
Gauntlets: 8
Greaves: 15
Helm: 10

20

Slashing/Piercing 3
Slashing/Piercing 4
Slashing/Piercing 5
Hacking 3
Hacking 4
Hacking 5
Crushing 3
Crushing 4
Crushing 5

Arm
Bleeding, -1 Health per two Rounds
Bleeding as above, -1 to Hit
Arm incapacitated, -2 Health via blood loss
Bleeding, -1 Health per Round
Bleeding as above, -2 to Hit
Arm dismembered, -2 Health via blood loss
-1 to hit for 1 Round
Broken Arm use incurs -3 penalty
Shattered Arm

Slashing/Piercing 3
Slashing/Piercing 4
Slashing/Piercing 5
Hacking 3
Hacking 4
Hacking 5
Crushing 3
Crushing 4
Crushing 5

Leg
Bleeding, -1 Health per Round
Bleeding as above, -1 to Speed
Leg incapacitated, -2 Health via blood loss
Bleeding, -1 Health per Round
Bleeding as above, -2 to Speed
Arm dismembered, -2 Health via blood loss
-2 to speed for 1 Round
Broken leg 3 speed
Shattered Leg 4 speed

Slashing 3
Slashing 4
Slashing 5
Piercing 3
Piercing 4
Piercing 5
Hacking 3
Hacking 4
Hacking 5
Crushing 3
Crushing 4
Crushing 5

Head
Bleeding, -1 Health per Round
Bleeding, -1 Health per Round
Death
Bleeding, -2 all actions
Death
Death
Bleeding, -2 all actions for one round
Bleeding 2 all actions two rounds
Death
-2 All actions
-3 all actions for the day, -2 the next day
Death

Slashing 3-5
Slashing 5-8
Slashing 8-10
Piercing 3-5
Piercing 5-8
Piercing 8-10
Hacking 3-5
Hacking 5-8
Hacking 8-10
Crushing 3-5
Crushing 5-8
Crushing 8-10

Torso
Bleeding, -1 Health per Round
Bleeding, -2 Health per Round
Bleeding, -3 Health per Round
Bleeding, -2 Health per Round
Bleeding, -3 Health per Round
Bleeding as above, Organ damage
Bleeding, -1 Health per Round
Bleeding, -2 Health per Round
Death or incapacity, owing to axe in the ribcage
-2 All actions for one round
As above, internal bleeding -2
Internal bleeding -4

21

Chapter 5: Magic
Imeria is not without its Magi. Wielders of
immense arcane power, Magi have the capacity to
reshape the world in their image, the forces of
nature and super-nature at their beck and call.
But they are still human. Magi can bleed. Magi can
die. And their power carries a risk of terrible
backfire. One in a thousand people might be a
Magus though the Sanctioned Magi of Ymon
believe there could more out there who have simply
never discovered their power.
There are twelve Sanctioned Magi, tolerated by the
church and kept, practically imprisoned, within the
Magi' College in the city of Ymon. They each bear
an Inquisitorial Certificate to state that they are not
dangerous, and agree to the terms of the Fultoten
Treaty.
The College was founded on this Treaty, when the
rogue psycheturgist Delvar Le Mann barricaded
himself and a collection of gifted youths within the
church of the village of Fultoten. When the
Inquisition came to purge the unclean, Le Mann
negotiated their surrender in exchange for more
equitable terms for Magi. Magi who agree to remain
under watch in the College, pursue their studies in
peace, and present their findings to the Church as
required are allowed to live. The rest are put to
death, or flee into the wild.

Magi feel watched. All the time. Their magically

infused souls are beacons to the terrible beings
who dwell beyond. The Ether Fiends.
With every use of magic, the Magus makes himself
known to the Fiends. With greater expenditures or
special effort by the Fiends the Magus can
become a channel for the Fiends to attack them and
even enter the world through their body. The more
powerful the magic, the greater the risk. Fiends
attack the Magus' soul directly, leaving almost no
defence against their attacks.
Of important note is that only the Magi are aware of
the Fiends. Even the Inquisition is kept ignorant of
the risks of magic better they believe Magi wield
their power without restraint. Ether Fiend attacks
can be resisted by rolling Willpower, Difficulty 10.
Ether Fiends deal direct Health damage of 6
Willpower. If a Magus dies from an Ether Fiend
attack, the beast devours his soul and takes over his
mortal shell.
The first Fiend Check requires 1 success. The
second requires 2. The third, 3. This continues until
the Fiend finally strikes the Magus, and returns to 1.
A Magus's power is determined by their Logos.
Logos comes in five levels.
Logos 1: The Coil of Invocation 0 Logos Points
This level of Magic allows the Magus to call upon
faint traceries of magic, such as fire from fingertips.
It requires no roll nor cost to use. These build 1
Logos Point per use.
Logos 2: The Coil of Evocation 50 Logos Points
Magi may now use magic to affect the world around
them, such as creating and hurling an icicle or ball
of flame. In combat, this counts as the use of their
turn. It requires a Willpower + Logos roll of
difficulty 8. Failure results in a Fiend Check.
Generates 4 Logos Points per use.
Logos 3: The Coil of Weaving 120 Logos Points
Magi now have access to ritual magics. They are
also capable of more powerful Evocations. Ritual

When rolling for Mutation in character creation,

rolling an 8 grants The Gift of Mana, making the
player a Magus.
All Magi are defined by their Etheric Weave. This
is the Pattern the magic flowing through their body
assumes. Magi have names for the varying patterns,
and have found that an Etheric Weave is in part
determined by the Magus' personality, and in part
by the magic they use most. A young and
unpractised Magus can potentially harness any
school of magic, but once their Pattern is locked by
use and nature, they cannot deviate.
The risk of magic, however...
22

rules are covered later. Greater Evocations require a

roll of Willpower + Logos of difficulty 9
Failure, or rolling any 1s requires a Fiend Check.
Generates 8 Logos Points per use.
Logos 4: The Coil of Channelling 300 Logos
Points
Magi can now employ devastating magical effects,
as of the above roll. However, merely using magic
of this calibre invites the wrath of the Fiends.
Generates 10 Logos Points per use.
Logos 5: The Coil of Manifestation 500 Logos
Points This coil reduces the difficulties of all lesser
Logos by 1, and allows more potent, persistent
magical effects. Magi gain the capacity for
superhuman Mental Attributes.

Invocations of Conflagration
The Coil of Invocation allows a Conflagrant to
manipulate fire and heat on a very small, personal
level. A Conflagrant may see to it that they
themselves do not suffer the cold, or conjure a small
flame for lighting a real fire. Similarly, the
Conflagrant can bolster their own will, to overcome
obstacles set before them or the mental intrusions of
Heartwrights.
Evocations of Fire & Flame
The Coil of Evocation allows for more overt
displays of power the conjuration of damaging
fireballs, casting of fire from hands, controlling
fires already set. Fine manipulation of temperature
is possible at this Coil. Imbuing the self and allies
with a sense of valour or righteous anger is also
more possible at this Coil, compelling them to fight
harder and trust that their cause is just.
Weaving Firestorms
The Coil of Weaving allows greater fine control
over flame and heat, unlocking the practices of
Animation, Enchantment, and Weaving itself. At
this Coil, a Conflagrant can consume an enemy in
fire, hurl explosive fireballs, or conjure vast sheets
of flame. They can chill the air or covertly cook an
enemy in his armour. They can also drive allies to
berserker furies or vengeful crusades.
Enchantment is the act of ritually imbuing an item
or weapon with properties related to the Pattern
of the Magus. For a Conflagrant, this most
commonly takes the form of the traditional fiery
sword.
Animation is the creation of controlled, semiautonomous, or fully autonomous sevitors using the
Pattern of the Magus. In the case of Conflagrants,
this is most often an animate flame, sometimes
anthropomorphic in shape, intended as a weapon or
guardian. Semi-autonomous varieties tend to
be slaved to a location or object, charged with
protecting it. Fully autonomous types require the
aid of a Heartwright, or a bound Demon. A rarer,
and generally frowned upon variant is the
Thermophage, an animate region of icy cold air
fringed with near-invisble, cold flames. The
Thermophage sustains itself by stealing the heat

Patterns of Magic
Below youll find just a few of the many patterns of
magic found in the full version of Crucible: Dark
Age of Immeria
Spellbook: Conflagration
Pattern of the Golden Flame, The Raging
Conflagration, Fire of Passions
Mystical Associations: Galathas, passion, anger,
inspiration, Demons of the Fourth Circle, fire,
righteous fury, axes.
Associated Materials: Gold, burnished bronze,
garnet.
The way of the Conflagrant is beset on all sides by
distractions, by injustice and the tyranny of evil
men, driving them to furious anger. Conflagrants
are
fiery,
passionate
individuals,
loyal,
straightforward, and honourable. Woe betide those
who would betray a Conflagrant, for betrayal is
anathema to these masters of elemental fire.
Compelling, charismatic people, Conflagrants are
always found at the head of a charge or frontline of
an organisation. They rarely care for the vagries of
organisation or rulership, and so mostly become the
respected sergeant, the celebrated hero, or the
righteous martyr. Conflagrants tend to sweep
people up in their lives, and sometimes leave them
irreparably burned either literally or
metaphorically.

23

from anything nearby, which proves fatal to living

victims.
Weaving is practice of ritually combining Patterns,
the act of two or more Magi coming together to
produce a powerful effect. This is most often
employed in the creation of servitors, artefacts, or
fortresses.

be transient if merely implanted. With focus, they

can read surface thoughts, and externally
manipulate dreams. It is also possible to play with
the connections between people changing love to
hate, distaste to respect, and so on.
Enchantments of the Ruby Heart tend to promote
emotional wellbeing or destruction. Enchanted
objects actually tend to be memory recorders
mental snapshots of particular emotions, events,
ideas, such as those contained in Memory Rings.
Animations of the Ruby Heart are usually minds of
varying intelligence implanted into the constructs of
other Magi. Heartwrights are prized, but heavily
distrusted allies to any Magi creating servitors.
Weaves of the Ruby Heart likewise involve
implanting consciousness into inanimate objects,
usually the controlling intelligence of a building or
machine. Many palaces in the Magocracy came
equipped with these CMs (Constructed Minds) to
regulate autonomous processes like the automatic
doors or air conditioning.

Spellbook: Heartwright
Pattern of the Ruby Heart, The Dream Incarnate,
Soul of Creation
Mystical Associations: Querene, imagination,
dreams, mind, thought, emotion, Demons of the
Second Circle, lockets.
Associated Materials: Rubies, violets, ink.
Heartwrights are often compassionate, empathetic
Magi in fact, they almost have to be. Feeling the
emotions of those around you can lead to an almost
pathological fixation on making others happy. A
natural born sadist may revel in truly knowing the
suffering they can inflict, of course, but in general,
Heartwrights are caring people. Heartwrights can be
found at any level of an organisation, and always
with people. While they appreciate solitude a great
deal, too long alone can adversely affect a
Heartwright. Heartwrights tend to be parental or
controlling, particularly more powerful ones.
Invocations of the Heart
This Coil allows the Heartwright fine control over
their own emotions, though this is something they
reserve for emergencies, having an innate sense of
sanctity about natural emotion. They can also sense
the emotions of those around them.
Evocations of the Mind
This Coil gives the Heartwright the abilty to push
the emotions of others, inflating or shrinking them.
The emotion must already be present, however.
They can also make their own emotional state
infectious to those around them, and bolster a
particular emotion in someone for days. With
concentration, they can get the gist of surface
thoughts.
Soul Weaver
At this Coil, the Heartwright can inspire emotions
in people, though they take time to bolster and will

Spellbook: Communing
Pattern of the Silver Tree, Blood of Life, Roots of
the World Mystical Associations: Jura, sex,
woodlands, hunting, conflict, health, Demons of the
Fifth Circle, claws.
Associated Materials: Bone, blood, pearl.
Communers are vibrant, impulsive, savage Magi.
Hedonists to a fault, prolific lovers and parents,
volatile, reactive, Communers embody the red teeth
and claws of nature. While they enjoy their peace
and serenity, and simple pleasures, Communers are
driven by a lust for life and flagrant disregard for
their own wellbeing. Communers develop a strong
sense of self important to people who might
change their face more often than their clothes.
Communers are hard to miss and tend to lead by
example, fiercely loyal to their friends and loved
ones. A Communer and their family may resemble a
pack or herd more than anything else. Communers
do share a strong will to power, though, and will
almost instinctively fight for dominance.
Communers are often the least intellectual of Magi.
Invocations of the Silver Tree
24

A Communer can, at first, bolster only themselves

healing wounds rapidly, fending off illness with
ease, boosting their physical attributes or growing
new and versatile limbs.
Evocations of Life
At this Coil, the Communer is a masterful healer,
able to reshape themselves or allies temporarily,
and perform feats of superhuman physical prowess.
Weaving Lives
At this Coil, the true power of the Communer
becomes apparent. They are nigh-invulnerable, able
to resculpt their bodies into perfect or alien forms,
and inflict miraculous blessings or terrible ailments
on others. Their true power, however, lies in
Animation.
There are no Enchantments of the Silver Tree.
Animations of the Silver Tree are living things.
Always. It takes a more powerful Communer to
create true, breeding creatures, but all Communers
tend to create servitor-beasts, living tools and
weapons, pets and machines. In place of
Enchantments, Communers tend to produce
implants or symbiotic creatures to improve living
beings.
Weaving life only requires other Magi when a
Communer needs to imbue them with properties of
other Patterns and even then, a Communer is a
force unto themselves at the highest Coils.

thrust into leadership. Even if it is a small role,

Torchbearers will always find themselves in charge
of something. Torchbearers are also inextricably
associated with justice in the minds of most people,
and in the fighting of evil ironically, Torchbearers
rarely do such things themselves, giving the power
to the people instead.
Invocations of the Ivory Sun
The first Coil ensures a Torchbearer can always see
their way. They can also glow with benevolence
and wisdom, the better to ingratiate themselves with
others. They are also capable of skilful leaps of
logic and intuition.
Evoking Epiphany
The second Coil allows a Torchbearer to provide
inspiration, courage, and knowledge to those around
them. They can blaze brightly to blind enemies, and
refract light to create illusions of themselves.
Weaving Visions
At this Coil, a Torchbearer can turn light into a
deadly weapon, firing beams of searing light over
short distances. They can blind enemies and light
the way of the righteous. Their powers of insight
allow them to understand people better and get to
the heart of a problem. They can bend light to
appear to teleport short distances, or create illusory
duplicates.
Enchantments of the Ivory Sun are often unique to
purpose-made constructs known as lightcasters,
small, ranged weapons based on the Torchbearer
ability to project weaponized light.
Animations of the Ivory Sun are known as Wisps
small, mobile globes of light. On their own they
do little more than provide light, an extra weapon
platform, and distraction.
Torchbearers generally Weave their power into
structures to provide light, or work with
Heartwrights to produce scout Wisps.

Spellbook: Torchbearing
Pattern of the Ivory Sun, Supernal Light, Light of
Invention
Mystical
Associations:
Virdina,
epiphany,
knowledge, progress, learning, ambition, Demons
of the First Circle, bows.
Associated Materials: Sunstones, ivory, mirrors.
Torchbearers are heroes. As a rule. Leaders,
teachers, philosophers. Light, insight, and
revelation are found beneath the Ivory Sun.
Torchbearers are singular people, and believe that
each walks his own path; you can only show a man
the way, not walk it for him. As such, Torchbearers
do not so much teach or impart knowledge, but
rather inspire others to find truth for themselves.
Torchbearers can never hide, never avoid being

Spellbook: Shadows
Pattern of the Ebon Night, The Eternal Shroud,
Secret of Secrets
Mystical Associations: Adjukant, night, darkness,
hidden knowledge, secrets, the number eight, The
Eighth Circle, omniscience, books.
Associated Materials: Jet, onyx, silk.
25

Shadows of the Ebon Night are the lorekeepers, the

hidden masters, the spies and assassins. They know
all, and tell nothing save what they need you to
know. Where the Torchbearer inspires a man to find
the truth, Shadows teach him what he needs to
know. Where Torchbearers lead at the front,
Shadows do what must be done without a word.
Shadows are watchful, curious, and quick to act.
Shadows rarely tackle something directly, setting
up elaborate webs to trap their prey. While
seemingly rather withdrawn, Shadows are actually
quite personable when given the chance.
Invocations of Night
The first Coil allows a Shadow to maintain stealth
and secrecy, occluding their identity, masking
themselves in shadow, silencing their footfalls.
Evoking Darkness Primeval
At this Coil, a Shadow remains a master of stealth,
while also gaining more power of darkness, able to
will it into physical form as fearsome tentacles or
silent, vicious claws. The Shadow can render foes
blind with a blanket of unnatural shadow, or wipe
his passage from their memory.
Weaving Shadows
A Shadow Weaver is a fearsome enemy, able to
step into one shadow and leap from another, to
conjure dread talons of darkness from nowhere, to
strip the memories from your skull, to raise his own
shadow into an impenetrable armour of night.
Enchantments of the Ebon Night are applied to
armour, clothing, and books most often. Indeed,
silken clothing imbued by a Shadow is formidable
armour in its own right, and often the attire of
Shadows.
Animations of the Ebon Night are numerous and
dangerous. Even when not imbued with a mind by
Heartwrights, many display an intelligence of their
own. Darklings are the most common, animate,
gremlin-like shadow creatures of varying size and
purpose, from combat to espionage. It is possible
for an unscrupulous Shadow to make a Darkling eat
a person's shadow, stealing a mind for themselves.
The Ebon Night is Woven into structures to hide
them or fill them with traps.

Ritual Magic
Rituals have varying stages and difficulties. For
example, a Guardian creating a Golem would have
the following rolls:
Willpower + Logos + Craft (Stonemason) to
construct the Golem Body using stone. Each
success represents a well crafted limb.
Willpower + Logos + Craft (Smithy) to install
functional iron joints. Each success represents a
successful joint.
Willpower + Logos to implant a suitable power
receptacle (Jade, for example). Minimum four
successes are needed.
Willpower + Logos to ward and infuse the Jade.
Each success represents the maximum charge it can
hold and the number of successes required for
magical dispelling.
Willpower + Logos to empower the Golem. Each
success represents one hour of function until a
recharge is necessary.
Inner Beast Unchained
A rare and powerful mutation, the mutant holds a
wellspring of magical power within them, but
cannot access it it exists almost seperately to
them. Magi can sense this power, but do not always
comprehend the significance. Magi may even
mistake these mutants for other Magi but the
Inquisition cannot detect them at all.
Until the beast is unleashed
Known to Magi as Weaveborn, these mutants are
tied inextricably to an Etheric Stream, embodying
those traits associated with a Pattern with shocking
intensity. They often receive a small and unusual
benefit from the mutation, something that is always
at work, in addition to complete immunity one form
of magic. More importantly, however, is that when
the Weaveborn finds their life in danger, they
transform into a terrible monster. At first this
transformation is unwitting, unwilling, amnesiac,
painful, and uncontrollable. Some Weaveborn learn
to control this power, however, becoming

26

dangerous combatants and magical powerhouses.

The transformation takes one

a humanoid pillar of flame and magma that is

difficult to approach, let alone fight.

Turn to complete, and triggers when:

The Weaveborn drops to below 10 Condition or 5
Health
The Weaveborn critically fails a Fear Test
The Weaveborn is struck with the appropriate
magical energy at Logos 3 or higher.

QUEN - The Quenim feel the beating of the Ruby

Heart. In human form, they can feel the emotions of
those around them, and even taste their thoughts
with enough concentration, and attain superhuman
Bearing, Guile, and Composure. In Weaveshape,
they become an invisible entity of pure mind.

The Weaveborn may roll their Willpower at

difficulty 8 to resist the transformation any time
after the first. They may likewise roll to force a
transformation, though it requires a number of
successes equal to their Willpower. The Weaveborn
is under Historian control while in monster form,
unless they deliberately invoked the transformation.
The transformation will only persist for a number of
turns equal to half their Willpower rounded down if
they roll to turn back, for a number of turns equal to
their Willpower if they do not try to 'come down',
and a number of Turns equal to twice their
Willpower if they transformed of their own volition.

JURAI The Juraim resonate with the powers of

The Silver Tree. In human form, Juraim can achieve
Superhuman Physical Attributes and receive a flat 1
per day regen rate of Condition, and 1 per week of
Health. In Weaveshape, they become a horrific,
shifting mass of limbs, claws, and fangs, often
settling on some anthropomorphic animal shape that
can form all manner of new weapons or limbs.
VIRDIN The Virdinim bear the light of the Ivory
Sun. In human form, they can attain superhuman
Bearing, Intuition, and Strength, and can generate
light to see by in the dark. In Weaveshape, they
become angelic figures of light and phyisical
perfection.

When Weaveborn transform, all magic detection

artifacts in a mile radius pick them up. Further,
those capable of sensing magic hear a word a
word in some unknown tongue that has come to be
used as a name for each type of monster.

DJUKA The Djukanim are enshrouded by Ebon

Night. In human form, they are supernaturally fast
and stealthy, gaining a permanent + 2 to Stealth
rolls and +3 Speed. They may also return from
death, but each time costs a bar of Willpower. In
Weaveshape, their form is so horrifying all memory
of it is obliterated from the minds of witnesses.

GALATH The Galathim are touched by the

Golden Flame. In human form, Galathim have great
drive and enthusiasm, and do not suffer Fatigue
rules. They also cannot be burned by fire, and never
fear the cold. In Weaveshape, the Galathim become

27

Chapter 6: Historian Information

Running a Generation of the Dark Age of Imeria
can be challenging, but the setting is rich with
potential. Will you challenge players to defend their
village from changing enemies? Will you send them
on a quest to uncover the depths of a ruin on the
Frontier? Will they have to escape persecution for
magical deformities, or fight on the frontlines in
H'kaer? Combat needn't be the focus, naturally.
Players could easily be negotiating to end a war or
secure a trade agreement, or conning villagers into
buying their elixirs.
There's plenty of scope for Generations in the game,
be they hack and slash adventures or political
intrigues. Even characters honestly trying to eke out
a quiet life will be brought into conflict with
bandits, rogue Magi, Vampires...

when luck plays a factor, the d20 is your tool. 1 is

extremely lucky, and the numbers 2 to 10 are
decreasingly luck. 10 itself is neutral, and 11
onwards the roll becomes unlucky.
Experience should be awarded at the end of a
session 6 per character is the standard, but feel
free to award less for truncated games or more for
extended or especially challenging sessions.
Likewise, award bonus XP throughout the game for
little triumphs to individual players from 3 XP for
an exceptionally cunning plan that goes off neatly
or 1 or 2 for good role-playing (which should
always be rewarded and encouraged.)
Backgrounds
Read the character backgrounds for your players.
Unlike other games where these kinds of merits are
awarded with set points or XP, in Crucible they are
given freely as long as they make sense to the
character's background. You can give as many or as
few as you like, but three is a good rule of thumb.

Your task as Historian is not merely to set the stage,

you have the option to tell a story with the players
as the cast. You can go with a simple dungeon
crawl, a heroic saga, or simply leave hooks in wait,
allowing the Player Characters to forge their own
destinies in a world that seems as alive as possible.
Bear in mind also that you need to referee the rules;
you're the final court of appeal and arbiter of the
challenges the PCs face. The Golden Rule is always
to feel free to ignore the rulebook where it would
inhibit the fun and that includes canon. The
system and setting are both intended to be flexible,
keeping a good balance between gamerist and
simulationist philosophies, and you can skew that
balance in whatever manner suits you and your
players.

Bungler: If the character background contains

extremes of good and bad luck, give them the
Bungler merit. Whenever you feel it appropriate,
make the player roll a D20. Any number between 1
and 10 inclusive brings good luck, getting better the
closer to 1. 11 20 is bad luck. On rolling a 1 or a
20, the result is applied, and the dice is rolled again
with only the opposite luck counted. For example,
the player enters a warehouse, slamming the door
open. They roll a 20, and a heavy sack falls from
the rafters and knocks them out. They next roll a 1
turns out the sack was full of gold.

It's up to you to set the difficulty rating for actions.

Typically the difficulty of a roll starts at 10 for no
points in the associated skill, and decreases by 1 for
each level in that skill the player possesses to a
minimum of 6. For example, having no points in
Craft (Smithing) would demand 10s to even dream
of success.

Scholar: Any history of education or studious

nature - + 1 to Academics
Militia Training: Any combative past - + 1
Athletics, Melee, Defend, and Ranged

The Luck Roll: Keep a d20 handy for this. When the
players are travelling and you need an encounter, or

Survivalist: A history of living on the streets or in

the wild. + 1 Survival or Streetwise
28

church, and of learning is Old Imperial. All written

language in Imeria is in Old Imperial, and few
people can read.
Mercenary Wars
There has not been an outright war between Imerian
armies in the last 200 years. Conflicts mainly take
place on the Frontier, as representatives of houses
and nations lead mercenary companies in various
skirmishes. In the last fifty years, major conflicts
include a battle to resolve a personal dispute
between House Feraldan and House Delat, and the
clash at Strassenbourg to decide whether the land
belonged to the Hrothgaard barony of Vremart, or
the Kelenite House Maerlyn.
In the main, the presence of monsters in the dark
makes war an unappealing prospect. That said, in
quieter years, the standing forces of Kelenite
Houses will fight to settle disputes over land,
policy, personal matters, or even just to keep the
troops sharp.

Hunter: Professional hunter at some stage. + 1 to

Ranged, and + Investigation, and Survival in
familiar terrain.
Chronic Liar: Dishonesty is a big feature of the
backstory. + 1 Subterfuge
Politician: + 1 Politics and Persuade
Field Medic:+1 Medicine
Born Leader: + 1 Leadership
The General + 1 Strategy
The Sergeant: + 1 Tactics
Thief: + 1 Stealth and Streetwise
Thug: + 1 Streetwise, Intimidation, Unarmed
Business Man: + 1 Persuade, Commerce
Ladykiller/Maneater: + 1 Seduction vs. Opposite
sex.

Morality & The Forces of Corruption

The world is a dark place. Characters may give in to
vice without knowing it, or painfully aware of the
fact. Unfortunately, there is a measurable
metaphysical effect of sin the hosts of Hell are
watching, and waiting. If a player commits a
stunning act of Pride, Lust, Envy, Wrath, Sloth,
Greed, Gluttony, or Hate, or many little such
indulgences, it will catch up with them. Demons
will appear, in beguiling, human shapes when the
player character is alone, and offer them power to
further commit their sins. The precise nature of this
is up to you, and massive detail will follow in
Demons of Imeria: Damnation. For now, consider
magical weapons and stat bonuses based on the type
of Demon.

Survivor Type: + 1 resolve from a history of

enduring significant hardship and suffering.
Feel free to devise more merits of your own, as you
feel they are appropriate.
Money
Lama functions primarily on barter. For the North,
there are 24 copper coins in one silver, and 9 silver
in one gold. A quality longsword will normally sell
for about 2 silver. The average wage of a farm
labourer would be about 3 Silver a year. A room at
an inn would normally be six coppers a night.
Language
In Kelen, Kelen is spoken. In Hrothgard,
Hrothgaardian. In The Warring States, Kromsian
(the H'kaerite dialect is called Krite).
Communication occurs on two fronts. For the laity,
there is Tradestongue, a mish-mash creole of Kelen
and Hrothgaardian used by craftsmen, traders, and
most city dwellers. The language of politics, of the

Accepting the offer of a Demon causes the

character to accumulate Taint. It is up to you
whether or not you inform the player of this, but the
character remains ignorant. Every three accepted
offers adds a new Infernal Mutation, and after five
mutations the character is considered more Demon
than Human, and dragged screaming into Hell by
29

boons to their Witches companions in the form of

lesser Fae, new body parts and powers. But what
they Fair Folk give, they might also take away at
any time, and the more a person has given up, the
more this will harm them. The more powerful a
Witch becomes, the more beholden the will of their
masters they are.

The Arbiters, terrible crystalline automata which

enforce the laws of Hell.
Infernal Mutations tend to be largely aesthetic, but
connected to the deal made. For example, a
character gifted with improved Dexterity may find
their fingers growing inches longer with new joints.
A character may find themselves covered in scales
with a boon of natural armour. One of the most
common deals is the Arcana Infernal a PC may
gain the powers of a Magus, but in a twisted and
Tainted way. Demons cannot allow a character to
emulate the powers of Seers, Conduits, or
Necromancers. In place of Logos, a so-called
Diabolist has Corruption. They gain Taint Points at
the same rate a Magus would gain Logos Points, but
risk and cost-free... initially. Each rank of
Corruption adds aesthetic mutations equal to the
level of Corruption (1 at start, 2 at Corruption 2,
and so on), and at Corruption 5, the Arbiters come
for the Diabolist.
Pride values martial excellence and egotism, and is
associated with light.
Sloth offers gifts of magical and mental power,
associated with dreams and shadow.
Wrath floods the body with adrenaline, strength and
endurance for continued violence, associated with
fire.
Envy grants the ability to make others fail, rather
than improve the self, and is associated with ice and
water.
Lust gives physical prowess, mutation, and
seductive talent, associated with flesh.
Greed atrophies sociability, but provides boons to
craftsmanship, associated with metals and
mechanisms.

Example Fae Patrons:

Mysteries The Silken Prince, King of Spiders,
Patron of Spies and Voyeurs
The Silken Prince often takes the shape of a
H'kaerian man in black silk clothing, or armour
made from spider silk. Wise and eternally patient,
the Prince has an affection for scholars who would
reject accepted knowledge in order to learn more.
He tends to offer boons of stealth, knowledge, or
vision.
Twilight Lady of the Crossroads, Lord of the
Interstitial Places, Walker on the Edge
Twilight is without gender, though more inclined to
be male at dawn and female at sunset. She always
appears ephemeral, beautiful and mysterious. He is
quite fond of games of chance. She is the patron of
travelers, outcasts, fugitives, and actors.
Order The Grey King, The Fulcrum Whence The
World Turns
Order takes the shape of a king, as is only fitting.
His throne room is filled with maps, and to the right
of his throne is a stack of books, to the left a
hammer. He has no affliations to concepts such as
good or evil, The Grey King simply desires
stability.
Despair The Empty-Eyed Prince, Dreamslayer,
That Which Calls to Despair
He has many names, and his cursed blade forged
from the regrets of addicts has perhaps as many.
How does one speak safely of this Arcadian Prince?
His faceless gaze peers from the spaces where
memory should be, seeking your hopelessness, your
guilt, your pain. Blood trails in his wake his own,
and that of others. Addiction, misery, agony,
torture, all fuel him. Once wrapped in barbed chains

Witches
Witches are individuals, male or female, who have
entered into contracts with the inscrutable Fair Folk.
The Fae offer their favour for reasons entirely their
own the person has pleased them, or crossed
them, or willingly given of themselves. The Fae
demand sacrifice burnt offerings, self-mutiliation,
deeds in their name. In exchange, they provide
30

in penance for his crimes, his shadowy wings bleed

eternally from wounds torn when he broke free. But
penitence is in his nature, now. They say if one can
find his favour, he will purge them of their sins,
reforge them as better men in the crucible of
suffering...

driving the Host into acts of violence and

indulgence, and using more Biomorphs. High
Synergy promotes more control over the Parasite,
allowing the Host to resist the demands of the
Parasite.
A roll of Willpower + Synergy is used to resist the
Parasite. Each use of a Major Mutation or Hive
Link preceeding this roll adds 1 to the difficulty.
Failure results in either indulging in the behaviour,
or losing a point of Synergy.
Synergy can be raised by willingly indulging the
Parasite. This can be done through consuming fresh
human flesh once per week, which can keep the
Hunger at bay. In order to keep the Rage quiescent,
the Host must indulge in violent combat once a
month. Avarice is the desire of the Parasite to steal
and incorporate more fleshmatter it need only be
maintained for a few days, but this desire must be
fed at least once every six months. Desire must be
fed once a year by infecting a human victim with
the Parasite. Failure to feed causes the Hunger to
flare into Rage, demanding violent combat followed
by feeding within the week. Neglecting to indulge
this impulse causes it to flare into Avarice,
demanding violent combat within the month,
following by feeding, and using the matter of the
fallen. Ignoring this will cause it to flare into
Desire, and will require infection, combat, and
feeding within the month. Observing these rules
grants a + 2 dice bonus on resistance rolls to related
actions.

Love Salve of the Soul, Bitch-Goddess, Maiden of

the Heart's Wine,
Love is beautiful, but always appears differently to
other people, even those in the same room. Love is
vengeful, fickle, jealous, selfish, a liar. Love is
honest, caring, giving, loyal. To know her is to want
her is to hate her.
Winter The King in Crystal, Death of Worlds,
Cloud-Shepard and Snow-Cloaked
Winter is cruel, callous, cold, uncaring. He doesn't
mean to be, all the time, it is simply in his nature.
Winter appreciates endurance, but also comfort. A
blazing fire, away from his snows, is pleasing to
him. Children throwing snowballs delight him. The
King tries to be kind he simply fails at it.
Transition The Gate & The Key, Walker Between
The Worlds, The First Gasp & Last Sigh
The Last Sigh does not take a corporeal shape often,
preferring to be a voice on the wind or cloud of
steam. Often invoked to bless births and sanctify
funerals. It is said that The Walker can prevent the
dead rising again even Vampires.

Psionics
All Psionics cost 5 Growth Points, and use
Willpower rolls to determine successful use.

The Flesh
The Flesh are a mysterious, hive-minded monster.
A kind of parasite that fuses with the host when
implanted by other Flesh, willing the host towards
acts of violence and cannibalism. Some strongwilled individuals can control the parasite, to a
degree, and do their best to hide what they have
become. Or they might attempt to harness the power
of the Hive for their own ends.

Telepathy uses Willpower + Guile

Telekinesis uses Willpower + Dexterity or Strength,
depending on the action
Thermokinesis Heat manipuation, similar to a
Logos 2 Conflagrant
Force-Manipulation Manipulation of electrical
energy similar to a Logos 2 Stormlord
Projection The ability to project one's awareness
away from one's body

Synergy
Represents relationship with the Parasite. Low
Synergy leads to the Parasite having more control,
31

Kinetic Control The ability to manipulate forces,

redirecting the energy of a blow or projectile.
Energy Barrier The ability to form a shield that
protects from magic

Emotion. They need them to sustain their existence,

to sculpt their fetter, and to fend of the strange
monsters that inhabit the Shadow.
A ghost collects Emotion by haunting, either
benevolently or malevolently, and from the impact
they had in life. Mortals make offerings; flowers at
the graveside, a glass of whiskey poured on the
ground. A ghost can use Emotion to interact with
the World Under Sun, albeit with difficulty, in order
to provoke more Emotion. Fear and Anger are the
easiest Emotions to harvest, but every
Emotion has pitfalls.

Hive
Hive functions by implanting Nodes in animals, or
Attuning Ferals.
Corpse Nodes, implanted in a dead body, cost 2
Growth Points, but the resultant Shambler is of
limited use.
Animal Nodes cost 4 Growth Points, and are more
useful, with their own suite of Mutations
Attuning costs 6 Growth Points per Flesh, and is
capped by Willpower.
Use of Hive to directly command Nodes, or create
new Nodes, requires a Synergy roll of difficulty
8 one success will suffice, but failure causes a loss
of a Synergy point.

A ghost can become a powerful, but simple entity,

driven by two or three ruling Emotions. Their
Haunt begins to twist and abstract around them,
sinking into the Depths. It becomes an island, or a
cave, or a tower, or a garden. Something closed off
by one means or another, be it walls or water,
empty space or hedgerows. Something that reflects
the ruling Emotions of the ghost, and their
attachment to the Chamber.
The Depths are composed of these Chambers,
floating in an empty, lightless void, without life or
colour. They glitter like desultory, broken stars in
the endless night. There is only cold, and hunger in
this place. Where ghosts, monstrous once-ghosts,
and the terrible Keepers struggle for the skeins of
Emotion that find their way down into the Depths.

Mutation
Mutation is very similar to Communing, and very
open. Essentially, any effect used costs 2 +
(Equivalent Logos) Growth Points.

Death, And What Comes After

While every faction has it's own ideas about what
death brings, Necromancers know better. Many
souls simply... disappear. Where they go is a
mystery, even to the most powerful Necromancers.
There are exceptions the souls of the Tainted go
to Hell. The souls of Witches go to their masters.
And individuals of extraordinary willpower and
stature remain, as ghosts.
A character must have at least Willpower 4 to
persist as a ghost after their death. They pass from
what the dead call The Land Under Sun, into The
Shadow of the World. The Shadow is a dead and
grim reflection of the world, where it rains
eternally, everything wreathed in grey mist and
drained of colour. Ghosts awaken after their death
in a place important to them in life, or a person, or
an object. They are fettered here, able to travel the
Shadow to a limited degree but at risk of dissolution
if they go too far or linger too long. Ghosts feed on

Sample Antagonists
One-Eyed Ragos
Nationality: Kelen
Age: 21
Affiliation: Bandit
One-Eyed Ragos was once the unruly son of a
minor Kelen noble. He drank, he gambled, he
womanised and brawled. This came to an amusing
head when an angry husband put out the drunken
Ragos' eye with a well-thrown dice. Finally sick of
him, Ragos the Elder cast his son out, and
threatened to put him to death should he darken the
estate again. Ragos and his boys now prowl the
borders of other estates and small towns, plundering
32

trade wagons and kidnapping women. Ragos

himself is a proud and uncompromising man, and
still a remarkable shot with a longbow.
Dex: 4 Str: 3 Fit: 3
Melee: 2 Ranged: 4 Athletics: 3
Int: 2 In: 4 Wil: 3
Cha: 3 Gui: 3 Com: 2
Speed: 6
Offence: 8 Defence: 6 CP: 10 Per: 6

H'kaerite woman named Kynath, has increasingly

expressed distaste for the company's lack of
scruples in recent months. The mercenaries could
be on the brink of a skirmish, as they begin to
factionalise.
Dex: 3 Str: 4 Fit: 4
Melee: 4 Athletics: 3
Int: 2 In: 2 Wil: 3
Cha: 3 Gui: 4 Com: 2
Speed: 7
Offence: 7 Defence: 8 CP: 10 Per: 3

Inquisitor Straker
Nationality: Kelen
Age: 29
Affiliation: Inquisition
Inquisitor Straker is a harsh, violent man. He is
incorrigible and would sooner burn a village to the
ground to root out heresy than let a single
blasphemer escape. His cruel eye has now turned on
the village of Kendelstat. A village so near the
Black Forest cannot remain clear of taint, surely?
Or so Straker believes. Perhaps, he muses, it would
be best to see the whole village put to the sword and
torch...
Dex: 3 Str: 3 Fit: 3
Melee: 4 Athletics: 3
Int: 3 In: 3 Wil: 4
Cha: 3 Gui: 2 Com: 1
Speed: 6
Offence: 7 Defence: 7 CP: 9 Per: 5

Mad Lord Snapcasm

Nationality: Hrothgaard
Age: 30
Affiliation: Lesser Hrothgardian Baron
Snapcasm controls the barony of Hrumart on the
northern Hrothgard coast, on the mouth of the
river Ulta.
Rail-thin with a profile like a hatchet, Snapcasm at
first appears polite and generous. In truth, he is
deeply paranoid and sadistic, his dungeons filled
with cruel and humiliating contraptions tormenting
'criminals'. Their crimes range from 'looking at his
Lordship funny' or, indeed, 'failing to look at his
Lordship funny'. Hrumart is a prosperous area,
however it is a major Hrothgardian port, and the
sea to the north makes for rich fishing. This is half
the reason Snapcasm has proven difficult to
depose. There are also rumours the mad lord traffics
with infernal powers to maintain his rule....

Vertus Hrell
Nationality: Hrothgaard
Age: 27
Affiliation: Grey Mountain Mercenaries
Hrell is captain of the Grey Mountain Mercenary
Company. Strong and able men and women, they
patrol southern Hrothgard near Hell's Teeth,
protecting the settlements there from monster
attacks.
Most of the time. The company is notorious for
abandoning or even looting villages that cannot pay
its fees. The company has proven difficult to
remove for Hrothgaard nobles in the area. The
company is far better trained than their own guards,
and they do keep monster incursions from the
mountains down. Hrell's second in command, a

Sister-Captain Gaedryss
Nationality: Kromsian
Age: 42
Affiliation: The Twilight Guard
Gaedryss is one of the most dangerous women in
Imeria. Lithe and hard and savagely alluring, she
commands the Kromsian Twilight Guard, the elite
warriors in service to the Cult of Vasnok. Once a
month, Gaedryss receives a potent elixir from her
masters, raising her body and mind to
superhuman levels and extending her lifespan but
leaving her hopelessly addicted. Proud, zealous,

33

and vicious, Gaedryss is armed with Vasnok's

Talons, a magical variation on the standard
Kromsian
manflayer. Engaged to a young sergeant of the
Twilight Guard
Fear Rating 6
Dex: 5 Str: 4 Fit: 4
Melee: 5 Athletics: 4
Int: 2 In: 3 Wil: 3
Cha: 4 Gui: 2 Com: 2
Speed: 8
Offence: 10 Defence: 8 CP: 13 Per: 6

The Infernals are immune to fire damage. They

Regenerate as per the rules above. They take five
extra points of Con damage from brass weaponry
(though this not widely known), and are probably
vulnerable to water. They hunt by sensing
vibrations in the earth, and as such can never suffer
blindfighting penalties.
Fear Rating: 8
Off: 8 Def: 10 Spd: 5 CP: 12 Per: 4
The Vampires of Black Forest
Vampires of Black Forest rarely venture far from
their home, but sometimes one or two can be found
in other heavily wooded areas. The so called 'lesser
Vampires' can appear anywhere, but only by night.
The Vampires are batlike, winged, and extremely
stealthy. They have a powerful magic which allows
them to manipulate blood. They feed on the
villagers and townsfolk of Kelen, and are skilful
enough to go undetected most of the time.

Monstrous Antagonists
The Black Beast of Faltoven
The Black Beast of Faltoven is a hulking, humanoid
creature covered in black fur, with four arms tipped
with three-taloned hands. It has four glowing red
eyes, and stalks the villagers by night. The beast is
rarely seen, moving incredibly fast and striking only
by night.
Magical Properties: Plague, Regeneration
The Beast can infect victims with a terrible plague
by scratching them. This infection deals 1 Con
damage in the first hour, 2 in the second hour, 3 in
the third hour, and so on. The victims suffers severe
necrosis, and cannot be cured without magic.
The Beast can only be killed by removing all of it's
CON, and can spend 1 Point of Health to restore 2
Points of Con reflexively.
Fear Rating: 8
Off: 10 Def: 8 Spd: 7 CP: 12 Per:

Magical
Properties:
Flight,
Haemoturgy,
Aeromancy, Regeneration
The Vampires can fly on their batlike wings, and
cause bleeding wounds to bleed still more. They
can also manipulate the wind. Regeneration rules
apply. Holy water can burn them.
Fear Rating: 8
Off: 7 Def: 7 Spd: 10 CP: 14 Per: 12
The Dark Ones
These human figures move unseen through the
cities of Imeria. They appear normal, until someone
upsets their mysterious business. They possess
inhuman speed and strength, and are all but
impossible to kill. Their apperance is impossible to
guess they look like anyone, until it's too late.
Fear Rating: 7
Magical Properties: Regeneration, Shapeshifting,
Mind Control
Off: 8 Def: 8 Spd: 8 CP: 12 Per: 7

The Infernals
The Infernals inhabit a ruined city in the Hell's
Teeth mountains. They are massive, red-skinned
and ramhorned. They belch fire, and have flames
burning in their eyesockets. The Infernals descend
from the mountains each decade to destroy a village
and take slaves, who are penned and slowly fed
upon. The terrible Infernii sweep out of the
mountains into Southern Hrothgard perhaps once in
a decade, particularly in the Southwest.
Magical Properties: Fireproof, Regeneration, Brass
Allergy, Earthsense

Undead
Zombies tend to appear without rhyme or reason,
though most often at the edges of civilisation.
Generally the work of Rogue Necromancers, their
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presence eventually prompts an Inquisitorial hunt.

Ghouls, on the other hand, are far more dangerous.
Their origin is a mystery the
real problem with Ghouls is that their victims
become Ghouls. Mercifully uncommon, but finding
one Ghoul often means an entire, damned village
lies nearby.

known to be able to communicate. They live in

small tribes, with an alpha male leading them.
Ratmen favour slings and simple spears as weapons
as much to hunt for food as for their own
protection. Rumours of Ratmen with wolf mounts
are considered foolishness, at best.
Off: 6 Def: 6 Spd: 6 CP: 9 Per: 5

Zombies
Shambling and slow, the risen dead flail clumsily
with their rotting fists and search for
meat, fresh or carrion. Not too threatening without a
guiding power behind them.
Magical properties: Devour, Undead
Zombies must be destroyed utterly or incapacitated
and left to rot. They can recover Con by eating
meat.
Off: 8 Def: 4 Spd: 3 CP: 6 Per: 1

Skinshifters
The skinshifters appear like people with subtly
animal features, until they transform either partly or
fully into semi-human beasts of formidable
strength. Common animals include wolves, tigers,
bears. Skinshifters live in the wilds, sometimes
surprisingly close to human settlements. Their
packs rarely have more than six members, but
rumours speak of a lost city in the northeast ruled
by the Skinshifters Skinshifters are most common
in Kelen and on the Frontier, after Lama itself.
Their actual attacks are infrequent, perhaps once or
twice in a decade. Almost everyone sees a
Skinshifter at some point in their lives, and most of
those lucky people don't even get a second glance
from the creatures.

Ghouls
Emaciated, fast, and cunning, baleful green
witchfires burn in the eyesockets of Ghouls as they
seek to rend and tear with their sharp claws and
fangs. Death is perhaps a kinder fate than to be
bitten.
Magical Properties: Undead, Rakh Virus
Roll a D10 after any successful hit by a ghoul. A 10
means that the character is now infected with the
Rakh virus. They will become a ghoul within three
weeks unless cured. The Historian makes these rolls
in secret players are never told they have the virus
except by a knowledgeable NPC when symptoms
appear, or an appropriate skilled Mage player, or a
player with high Lore/Medicine.
Fear Rating: 8
Off: 7 Def: 7 Spd: 9 CP: 14 Per: 4

Magical Properties: Rapid Healing

Skinshifters have prodigious toughness and healing.
Lost limbs regrow within the hour, wounds
heal rapidly, they can continue to fight with
terrifying skill and ferocity even when grievously
wounded. Recover Con at a rate of 2 points per
fifteen minutes. 1 point per 3 rounds of combat.
Fear Rating: 8
Off: 10 Def: 10 Spd: 8 CP: 12 Per: 5
The Lost Girls
They say there was the daughter of a woodsman
who played with the fairies of the forest. She told
her father about the great trees where the Dryads
lived, in innocent wonder. The woodsman didn't
belive in the Fair Folk, but he believed in good
lumber. Into the woods he went, by the noonday
sun when the Lords & Ladies were weakest (though
he did not know this), and cut down the greatest old
oak there. When the little girl returned by twilight,
the Fair Folk were enraged by her betrayal, and

Ratmen
The Ratmen are the legacy of some long forgotten
Communer. Around four feet tall, they live in small
communities in wild places, or under human cities.
Nimble, dextrous, and cunning, Ratmen are not
inherently evil, any moreso than humans based
from a vile creature, certainly, but they are the
pinnacle of the Communer's art. They rarely cause
trouble unless provoked or starving, and are not
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cursed her; Her father had been a reaper of trees,

now she would be a reaper of men. The Lost Girls
look like emaciated, naked girls of about ten, their
bodies twisted to resemble dogs on all fours,
walking on the knuckles of their claw-fingers and
claw-toes, with long tails, nose less faces with allwhite eyes, and grinning, fanged mouths. Lost Girls
loathe men, and will rip them to shreds at the
merest scent. Adult women they ignore. Young
girls, however, they seek to bite and infect with
their curse.
Off: 7 Def: 7 Spd: 10 CP: 12 Per: 4

Magical Properties: Immunity to Normal Weapons,

Devour, Infection
The Flesh can be harmed only by silver weapons,
fire, or magic. They regenerate CON by consuming
their victims, and it is said that some can spread
their curse to others with a bite.
Fear Rating: 8
Off: 7 Def: 7 Spd: 14 CP: 18 Per: 4
Julian Deslieux
Poor, scarred Julian. Poor, childless Julian. Poor,
blasted earth when Julian wreaks his vengeance.
Julian was a normal man, once. Oh, Magus too, but
a normal man. A man with loves and vices, with
dignity and drive. But Magi often lead such torn
and tattered lives...
The Inqusition took his wife from him. Took his
daughter from him. Left him with nothing. Left him
burned and wasted.
But Julian survived. And Julian went quite, quite
mad. He lurks in the ruins of the church where his
town once stood, tending a linen-swaddled bundle
of shadows that laughs like the muffled echo of a
child. Treat Julian as a Logos 5 Shadow of the Ebon
Night.

Hollow One
The Hollow One is a mysterious humanoid,
composed of both flesh and steel. Rarest of the
monsters, Hollow Ones can sometimes be found in
the wilderness, as though waiting or watching, and
do not attack unless provoked. At other times,
however, a lone Hollow One will attend some event
of great import from coronations to funerals to
parades and slay someone. They have killed kings
and paupers, men and monsters. What they want is
beyond anyone's guess.
Magical Properties: Lifeless
A Hollow One can only be killed by destroying it
utterly or removing the head decapitation is not
guaranteed, Historian's discretion. Remember Ash
from Alien?
Fear Rating: 8
Off: 10 Def: 10 Spd: 7 CP: 14 Per: 4

Puppeteers
'Let me make one thing clear to you - Ulspeth was a
dick. He was a genius, a powerful Magus, and an
important historical figure. But mostly, he was a
dick. Have you ever heard of Salty Puppeteers?
Ulspeth's doing. Lord knows why he decided this
idea was a good one. They're like squid you
know, those things they eat up near the Winter Sea?
No? Anyway, Puppeteers. Bit sad, really. They
latch onto your neck and inject you with this venom
- makes you all relaxed and pliant, but doesn't kill
you. Then they wrap tentacles around your limbs,
and ride you around like a godsdamn horse.
Buggered if I know why - mostly they seem to ride
people into fishmarkets and start eating the
merchandise.'

The Flesh
The Flesh appear as hideous parodies of human
beings. Their flesh flows like molten wax to form
terrifying weapons and appendages, and nothing
short of fire or silver can destroy them. While more
common the further north one travels, Flesh attacks
tend to be sporadic affairs lone travellers found
mutlilated beyond recognition, mercenary groups
slaughtered to just a few men. Flesh attack alone or
in groups of two or three.

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