Never Going Home - Book of Whispers

Book of Whispers
+One System
Brandon Aten
Matthew Orr
Writers
Brandon K. Aten
Irvin Jackson
Matthew Orr
Sarah Orr Aten
Adventures
Alan Bahr
August Hahn
Melanie R. Meadors
Dieter Zimmerman
Art
Charles Ferguson-Avery
Layout
Wm. Knox Gunn
Never Going Home: Book of Whispers
Copyright © 2019 Wet Ink Games, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted
or stored in a retrieval device, in any form or by any means, without the prior
permission of the publisher. This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to
actual animals, people, places, or events is purely coincidental.
Never Going Home and the +One System are trademarks of Wet Ink Games, LLC.
First published in 2019.
First printing.
Published by Wet Ink Games, LLC
Louisville, KY
[email protected]
ISBN: 978-1-988943-49-7 (Softcover)
ISBN: 978-1-988943-50-3 (Digital)
WIG-203
Printed in U.S.A. by Jostens.
Table of Contents
Whisper Paths ....................................................... 9

Constructs .......................................................... 14
Fetishes .............................................................. 27
Human Sacrifice ................................................. 29
Corruption Effects .............................................. 33
Adventures:
Hunger and Darkness
Melanie R. Meadors ........................................................36
McAusland’s Nightmare
Dieter Zimmerman ...........................................................44
Rockets’ Dread Glare
August Hahn ...................................................................51
Stars of Green Flames
Alan Bahr ........................................................................59
This project was made possible by the

786 people who pledged their support.
Locked in
the book of secrets.
We bear witness—
nature leads us into
the eternal tree.
October 12, 1916
When the rumors first started, I did not believe them. I passed
it all off as shell shock. Monsters. Spells. Secrets from some
other place. Couldn’t be. But it’s real. I’ve seen it.
Word spread from France to Belgium quickly, but official orders
were slower to come. By September no one could deny that the
armies were falling apart, the hell of the war being replaced with a
darker and more terrible reality.
Monsters. Spells. Secrets from some other place.
Tim was the first one to see a monster. Edmund the first to try
to fight one. I was the first to see one of the others. I didn’t
know what it was at first. Was it a man? Did it used to be a man?
No. I think it came from somewhere else. The same place the
secrets came from.
With no real orders, and the lines falling apart, some of us went
out looking for some fun one night. There was an old ball that
we’d found on the road to Ypres months ago. We took it out in
the field behind the lines one night. This was perhaps 3 weeks
past. We lit bonfires so we could play our game. Maybe the fire is
what attracted it.
Nobody saw it at first, not until the ball went sailing off into the
night due to a strong kick from Tim. It soared over me and when
I turned, I saw it- it’s dark outline against the sky, about 10
meters ahead of me, standing on a higher plot of ground. The ball
landed and rolled towards it.
I didn’t want to approach, but the calls of my fellows bid me
move off to retrieve the ball, so I went. The closer I drew to it,
the more my heart hammered. Could the others see it as clearly
as I could? No one admitted to it later. Perhaps it appeared only
to me.
I stooped to pick up the ball, within a meter of the other. I
could feel it’s eyes on me, though it was too dark to see its
eyes. I heard it approaching me as I closed my eyes, waiting for it
to attack. I was paralyzed with fear.
But after a moment, I raised my eyes and it had vanished. I didn’t
mention my encounter to my friends. Surely I hadn’t imagined it,
but I had to wonder…
By the next day, though, I was sure that my encounter was real,
because it had changed me. Now, I could do magic. I don’t know
how I knew it. But after the other one appeared to me, I knew
the rituals and the words.
Oct 15, 1916
The thing about this magic is that it makes me foggy. You have
to give something up from yourself in order to make the spells
work. It was easy at first- I gave up small memories, thinking it
wouldn’t matter. Things that are easy to relearn - the name of the
nearest town, or a book from school I didn’t like- or things that
I don’t need to remember- that girl’s name, the one I saw last
6
time I was on leave, or the two words of Spanish I learned last
year.
But it matters. It matters.
We started using it because the monsters were coming. Did the
other tell them we were here? It barely matters. We’re losing
either way.
Oct 19, 1916
Maybe there is a way to beat these creatures without using their
magic? Maybe we won’t have to make these choices anymore?
Oct 20, 1916
No beasts last night. No magic.
Oct 22
They came back. We’re moving now. They want our lines, they can
have them.
Oct ?
No spells today. I can’t afford to loose anything else. Problem
is, neither can anyone else, but the monsters keep coming. They’re
chasing us.
Oct or Nov- unsure
This magic is killing me but yet I’m still alive. I wish I had never
used it. We should have all just gone home.
Nov 7, 1916
Our battalion found another. They’re British. They told me today’s
date or else I would not have known. I wrote it down as soon as
I could so I didn’t forget. I forget so many things now. I forget
to eat. I forget to sleep. I forget what I look like. Sometimes I
forget my name.
Nov 8, 1916
We’re moving west into France. If we can get to the ocean, we
can escape to England (?) I’m not sure of the plan at this point.
No one tells me anything.
Nov 9, 1916
I think we were left behind. I don’t know where everyone went.
It’s just me and Tim now, but I think they took all our supplies
too. No tents or food. I don’t know where we are.
Nov 11
More beasts. Tim gone. Have to keep going west. Have to stay alive.
Have to find the rest of my unit. Where are they?
Nov 12
They found me! Told me I’d wandered off in the night. Tim isn’t
here though; they didn’t find him on their way west. I don’t know
what happened to him. He must have wandered off.
To help me stay safe, they assigned a man to me. I do what he
asks. I go where he goes. We never leave each other. It helps.
But he has to sleep. I don’t think I sleep anymore. What if I
disappear again?
Nov ?
I’m lost.
7
8
Whisper Paths
With the pressures of war comes innovation. This is true of
Whispers as well. Since the Veil was torn, magic systems have
developed swiftly. The following paths are available to all soldiers
willing to learn them.
Steps of Casting a Whisper:
• Choose Whisper and any augments.
• Spend any spell requirements (discard a card, take a damage).
• Roll for success.
• Make additional sacrifices (some Paths only).
• If successful, apply effects.
Machine Bonds (Brawn)

One of the aspects of humanity the Others enjoy most is the
ability to inflict death on the massive scale allowed by the weapons
of this war. Though they are new to human technology, they have
already suggested ways to bend technology to occult ends. A caster
following the Machine Bonds Whisper Path must have the proper
item to focus their Whisper through; a radio, a bullet, a gun. Then
they roll Machine Bonds, aiming for the Target Number given in the
individual Whisper, plus any augments. The caster does not pay any
requirement up front to cast each Whisper, but if they fail their roll,
they take 1 Brawn damage.
Radio: The caster puts a portable radio, or phone, or part of some
other communication device to their face or head and sends a mental
message to another person they know within 5 miles (8 km). TN 3.
Despite hearing the voice in their mind, the message is thick with
static. The radio leaves a burn on the caster’s head.
Double range (3)
Silencer: By gripping the barrel of a gun as it fires, the weapon
becomes completely silent. TN 3. Whomever fires the weapon still
must roll Ranged for the attack. If the caster is firing their own gun,
this Whisper and the attack can happen during the same action. The
next time the caster opens their mouth, the report bursts painfully
from the caster’s own mouth. Silence may be cast as many times as
the caster’s current Brawn before they must open their mouth and
release the trapped sounds.
Bone Saw: With a bone saw in hand the caster appears to
amputate an injured limb or saw out any damaged flesh. TN 4. The
bodily assault is an illusion, but it looks and feels real to both the
caster and the target of the healing. The caster must complete the
gruesome process or the Whisper fails. Once complete, the illusion
ends and the target heals 4 damage. To perform this Bond on
themselves, the caster must have at least 3 current Guts.
Flame Thrower: With any gun in hand, even a broken or unloaded
one, the caster momentarily bursts into flame and the weapon shoots
9
fire. TN 4. For this one attack, the weapon has the following stats: 3
damage - +1 damage (1), Spray (1), Fragmentation (3). Whomever fires
the weapon still must roll Ranged for the attack. If the caster is firing
their own gun, this Whisper and the attack can happen during the
same action. If the Whisper roll fails, the weapon’s stats are normal
for the weapon.
Armor Plate: By pushing a bullet into a fleshy part of their body
(the navel, the cheek, the armpit) the caster temporarily gains armor
plating. TN 5. Their flesh appears to be made of metal plates riveted
together. The caster gains 3 Armor until the end of combat.
+1 Armor (2)
Drive Chain: The caster concentrates and stops a vehicle they can
see from working. TN 5. All weapons and abilities of the vehicle simply
cease to function. The caster may maintain Drive Chain by forfeiting
their action to concentrate. This may be done for as many consecutive
rounds as the caster’s current Brawn. During this time the caster
sweats machine oil.
I’ll Drive (3): The caster takes full control of the vehicle and
operates it as if they were driving.
Fate Twists (Smarts)
This whisper path lets the caster change what could and should
have been. They use their psyche to interrupt the flow of time, disrupt
fate itself. However, while they can change the fate of others, their own
fate is usually set in stone. On their next action after casting a Twist,
whether it be an attack, another skill roll or even another Whisper,
the caster must rely on a “straight” roll of the dice. They cannot make
any +One manipulations with attributes or by spending cards, nor
can they use any other ability to alter that roll’s outcome. Fate Twits
are less “flashy” than most other Whispers with few outward signs
they have been cast and almost no way to identify the caster.
The Curse of Sight: The target gets a brief (5 seconds) image
of the next Antagonist the group is most likely to face. If there is
more than one, they will see the most powerful (based on potential
Rewards from defeating it). The Target Number is the Smarts of the
Antagonist. The image is only seen by the target (the caster may target
themselves), and the whisper does not identify what the being is or
what it can do.
+5 seconds to the vision (1), also receives audio (2)
Blunt the Knifes: This Whisper targets Brawn and reduces any
damage by the victim by 1 for as many consecutive rounds as the
caster’s current Smarts.
-1 damage (2), +1 target (1)
Devil’s Own Luck: The caster targets an ally’s Smarts Defense
and, if successful, the next time the ally chooses or is forced to
discard, they only have to show they have the required card in their
hand. They do not discard it. This benefit must be used the next time
10
a card would be discarded, it cannot be saved for later. However, a
failed roll by the caster indicates the ally must instead discard a card
at random immediately.
+1 target (2)
The Best of Us: The caster picks one attribute from one ally. That
attribute is the Target Number for casting the Whisper. If successful,
for a number of rounds equal to the caster’s current Smarts, everyone
in the Unit plays as if they have the attribute at the target’s rank. So,
if they target a character with 4 Brawn, everyone in the player group
has 4 Brawn for the duration of the effect.
Double duration (3)
Fog of War: This Whisper targets Smarts. The victim may only be
chosen to act last in combat, regardless of their Initiative Value.
+1 target (1)
Opening the Breach: Everyone in the caster’s Unit can see a
weakness in an Antagonist’s Defenses, lowering their effective Armor
by 1. The Target Number is Brawn or Armor, whichever is higher at
the moment. However, the spell only works on Antagonists who have
an Armor rating. The duration is as many consecutive rounds as the
caster’s current Smarts.
-1 additional Armor (1), +1 target (2)
Veil Calls (Guts)

Any caster who uses Veil Calls is consciously making direct contact
with the Others, and often knowingly bringing more terrors into this
world, often at the cost of a little piece of their soul. For each Veil
Call cast, the caster must either discard a card or suffer 1 point of
Corruption. They do not draw for Corruption, as they are connected
to the Others and Corruption is certain. For paying this requirement,
the caster gains 1 automatic success on their roll. They must then
succeed at a Whisper skill roll against the target’s Defense. Some Veil
Calls cause additional Corruption as well, which cannot be negated by
discarding a card.
Deadspeak: The caster whispers into the ears of an intelligent
being who has been dead for less than 24 hours, targeting the dead
being’s maximum Smarts. If successful, the being (still quite dead)
revives enough to answer 1 question for every rank of the caster’s
Guts. This spell neither ensures they will tell the truth, nor gives
them the ability to know anything they did not see, hear or know for
themselves when alive.
+1 additional question (1)
Taps: One of the few Veil Calls with positive effects, this Whisper
will put any Corrupted creature that was once human back into the
embrace of death. The caster has only to touch the target and roll
against the target’s Smarts Defense. On a successful casting, the
creature drops dead (again) on the spot, like a marionette whose
11
strings were cut. The normal Reward for the Antagonist is ignored,
instead the caster may choose to heal 1 Corruption from themselves.
+1 target (2), the entire mob the target is part of falls (4)
Blood Bond: By taking firm hold of each other’s hands, the caster
and a willing ally create a bond between themselves to share their
strength. The Target Number is the target ally’s Guts. For as many
rounds as the caster’s current Guts, the caster and anyone else joined
by the Blood Bond can make +One manipulations using the attribute
ranks of other members of the Blood Bond! Each attribute rank must
manipulate a linked skill and may only be used once per round. For
example, a character with 2 Smarts can make a roll as if they had
5 by using all 3 of their ally’s Smarts, but then, on their own turn,
the ally could not use Smarts to manipulate a roll at all. Everyone
involved in the Blood Bond receives 1 additional Corruption point.
+1 target (2)
Blood Heist: The caster selects two targets and points at them
both, they may choose themselves as one of the targets. If their
Whisper roll surpasses one target’s Brawn Defense, the victim suffers
1 damage and the other target may either heal 1 point of damage
or temporarily gain 1 rank in Brawn (caster’s choice). Healing is
permanent, the extra Brawn lasts one round for every point of the
caster’s current Guts.
+1 damage, also granting +1 healing or +1 Brawn (1)
The Corrupt Reverie: This sinister Whisper allows the caster to
channel their power through the Veil and take command of Corrupted
creatures. This Whisper causes 1 additional Corruption. The caster
draws the attention of a supernatural Antagonist and engages it in a
battle of wills. The caster makes a Whisper skill roll against the target
creature’s Guts. If the roll fails the creature is free to act as normal. If
successful, the caster gains control of the Antagonist for one hour for
every rank of the caster’s current Guts. The Antagonist becomes one
of the casters’ allies and willingly follows commands to the best of its
ability, though it may try to pervert those commands depending on
its intelligence. Defeating the creature in combat during the Reverie
does not result in any Reward, after all it’s an ally. Once the Reverie is
over, most Antagonists tend to wander off on their own, but some will
attack immediately. After winning a battle of wills and after a Reverie
ends, Antagonists cannot lose another battle of wills with the same
caster until 24 hours have passed.
+1 target (2)
The Defiled Circle: The caster uses blood to create a summoning
circle to bring a horror through the Veil and place it under their
control. The caster must either take damage (any attribute) to
themselves or do damage to other beings equal to the highest
attribute (Brawn, Smarts, or Guts) of the supernatural Antagonist
they are attempting to summon. The caster must have either
12
encountered such a being before, or come into possession of some
sort of information (usually found in an ancient text or tome)
that describes the creature in detail. Using this Whisper causes 1
additional Corruption.
Antagonists with Guts equal to or less than half the caster’s
current Guts are automatically under the caster’s control when
summoned. For other Antagonists, the caster engages them in a
battle of wills. The caster makes a Whisper skill roll against the
target creature’s Guts. If successful, the caster gains control of the
Antagonist. Control lasts for one hour for every rank of the caster’s
current Guts. The Antagonist becomes one of the casters’ allies
and willingly follows commands to the best of its ability, though it
may try to pervert those commands depending on its intelligence.
Defeating the creature in combat while controlled does not result in
any Reward, after all it’s an ally. Any time before their control ends,
the caster can dismiss the creature, sending it back beyond the Veil.
If the roll for control fails, or the caster loses control later (knocked
unconscious or killed) the creature is free to act as normal. For many,
their first reaction is to kill the arrogant summoner.
Double duration of control (3)
13
Constructs
Sometimes a caster has their hands too full to do any more and
they need to bring additional casters into their circle of influence.
With other humans, however, there is always the chance of betrayal.
It is much safer to trust no one and simply make a servant or two
instead. There are different ways to Whisper a mockery of life into
a construct and each Whisper Path has customized a method for
creating these unliving helpers. The constructs for each Path are
presented below.
Constructs are not alive, and though many contain human
remains, they are not undead either. Constructs are magical creations
which approximate the behaviors of life. Constructs are controlled by
their creator’s Player. All constructs willingly follow the commands
of their creator to the best of their ability and are considered allies
of their creator. Constructs follow all normal rules for characters.
Constructs involved in the same combat as their creator may act on
their own or on their creator’s Initiative, the creator chooses which.
Blood Rites
Blister (Pus Bag)
While technically alive, these masses of flesh have no will of their
own. They are created by a Blood Mage solely as a source of blood.
They begin as just some blood in a vessel, any blood will do. With
constant attention, proper magic and regular infusions of blood, a
Blister is grown in roughly a month. They appear as a squat, fleshy
humanoid without identifiable facial features. They may have teeth,
eyes, hair, or finger nails in roughly the right places, but they usually
do not. With the final magic rite, the Blister is bound to its creator
and will let the caster extract blood for use in other Blood Rites. They
can follow simple commands, though any mission which relies on the
Blister’s own judgment will most likely fail.
Type: Solo Initiative Value: 5 Armor: None

Brawn: 2 (s� Su�oned) Smarts: 2 Guts: 2
Weapons: Fists or other mel� weapon.
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel�: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Knowledge: ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Transport: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Burst (Brawn) ˝ ˝ o o o: The Blister splits itself open
and sprays boiling-hot, bl�dy pus at enemies. This ranged
a�ack deals 2 damage.
- Construct: This ability is always active. Blisters su�er
no damage to their Smarts or Guts. They have no n�d to eat,
breathe, or sl�p. They are i�une to poisons, toxins, drugs,
disease, and pain.
14
Weakne�: Su�oned – Blisters must be created from scratch;
bl�d is Whispered over and a�owed to grow into a mound of
flesh. The Whisper Create Blister is a Bl�d Rite. After it is
fu�y grown, the caster must su�er Brawn damage to awaken the
Blister. No a�y may su�er the damage instead. For every point
of damage su�ered, the Blister is created with +1 a�itional
rank of Brawn. If the Blister is dispe�ed or destroyed, the
creator su�ers the same amount of damage as they did to awaken
the construct.
Reward: Draw 1 card.
Dirty Tricks
Blow Fly
This automaton is made from odd bits of sloughed-off skin and
coughed-up fluids arranged into a sticky insect-shaped mass roughly
the size of a human head. Many take the form of huge, bloated
flies, but others resemble bees, beetles, spiders, praying mantids
and scorpions. Blow Flies take on the general characteristics of the
creature they are shaped like; they can fly and climb walls. A Blow Fly
is akin to a familiar; the caster can sense the environment around the
Blow Fly, though clear sight is not possible. The caster can also cast
Whispers through the Blow Fly as if they were wherever their creation
is. This allows them to spread filth farther and wider than the caster
could alone.
Type: Solo Initiative Value: 10 Armor: 5

Brawn: 4 Smarts: 2 Guts: 3
Weapons: Sting (ranged): 1 damage
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Stealth: ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Investigation: ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Ranged: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Flying: This ability is always active. A Blow Fly can move
in any direction, hover in place and move over most obstacles.
They can also climb wa�s and hang from ceilings.
- Construct: This ability is always active. Blow Flies su�er
disease, and pain.
Weakne�: Carapace – Blow Flies take double damage from
firearms.
Su�oned – Blow Flies must be created from scratch; scraps
of skin, scabs, stray hairs, and other waste products are
co�ected, shaped into a creature and Whispered over. The
Whisper Create Blow Fly is a Dirty Trick with no chance of
blowback. When a Blow Fly is created, its creator su�ers a
15
temporary -1 to their maximum Brawn while the Blow Fly exists.
If the fly is dispe�ed or destroyed, the creator regains the
lo� to their Brawn.
Machine Bonds
Lock Box
These constructs are armored storage compartments, created to
protect and hold onto the valuables of powerful beings. They can be
made from almost any material, though most give the impression
of a sturdy cabinet constructed of wood and metal. Doors, books,
machines, suits of armor, even glass vials can become a Lock Box
since it is the magic which gives the object its strength. The Lock Box
will only open to the command word assigned during its creation. The
caster does not have to be the one to give the command word. Each
Box can have as many compartments, each with a different opening
command, as the caster who makes it has Smarts.

Weapons: None
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Knowledge: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Co�unication: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Hurl Insults (Smarts) ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ o: Once a�acked,
most Lock Boxes stop pretending to be mundane artifacts and
creatively insult the a�acker, weakening their resolve. This
a�ack targets Guts and deals 1 damage.
- Fail Safe: This ability is always active. When a Lock Box is
destroyed, anything contained inside is likely to be destroyed
as we�. Draw a card from the deck. On a face card, the contents
are fine. Otherwise, only fragments are recoverable.
- Construct: This ability is always active. Lock Boxes su�er
disease, and pain.
Weakne�: Su�oned – Lock Boxes may be created from purpose-
built cabinets with many hi�en compartments or from any
existing object; any object which could open is Whispered
over. The Whisper Create Lock Box is a Machine Bond with TN 4.
When a Lock Box is created, its creator su�ers a temporary -1
to their maximum Guts while the Lock Box exists. If the box is
dispe�ed or destroyed, the creator regains the lo� to their
Guts.
16
Old Ways
Conglomerate
Just larger than a large human, a Conglomerate is made of
whatever junk happens to be around at its creation, plus human
remains. Usually found in temples, sacred groves, crypts and
graveyards, but could also be on a battlefield, or anywhere human
remains are accessible. Conglomerates follow simple commands
from their creators and have no will of their own. Though they can
travel, most are created to remain in one place and guard it against
intruders. They will always continue fighting until they are destroyed.

Weapons: Pole Axe: 3 damage.
May be armed with other weapons such as Sta� or Sword, but
never firearms.
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Athletics ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Mel� ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Investigation ˝ ˝ o o o
- Bodily Sacrifice (Guts) ˝ ˝ ˝ o o: The creature
throws parts of itself at the person it’s a�acking. This
ranged a�ack deals 2 damage.
- Construct: This ability is always active. Conglomerates
su�er no damage to their Smarts or Guts. They have no n�d to
eat, breathe, or sl�p. They are i�une to poisons, toxins,
drugs, disease, and pain.
Weakne�: Su�oned – Conglomerates must be created from
scratch; human remains stu�ed inside trash piled in a
humanoid shape, and then Whispered over. The Whisper Create
Conglomerate is an Old Way. When a Conglomerate is created,
its creator su�ers a temporary -1 to their maximum Brawn
while the Conglomerate exists. If the creation is dispe�ed or
destroyed, the creator regains the lo� to their Brawn.
17
18
Elemental Rituals
Raggedy Doll
These unliving constructs are like puppets, created by Whispers of
powerful beings to do their bidding. They are composed of the torn
and discarded uniforms of soldiers as well as the garments of regular
people whose villages have been devastated by war. They are stitched
together haphazardly, as if the creator only has a basic understanding
of what is military dress. Their purpose is to move among regular
people to gather information or collect items that their creator desires.
They can follow basic commands and use simple devices in this
regard, though anything more complex than driving a truck is beyond
them.

Weapons: Rake or Scratch: 2 damage
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Athletics ˝ ˝ o o o
- Mel� ˝ ˝ o o o
- Mechanics ˝ o o o o
- Investigation ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Ranged ˝ ˝ o o o
- Transport ˝ o o o o
- Integrated Deception (Smarts) () (): In favorable
conditions (darkne�, crowds, through rain/fog/smoke)
Ra�edy Do�s have a chance to blend in as a soldier in their
proper place. The number of su�e�es on the ro� becomes the
TN to spot the disguised creature.
- Construct: This ability is always active. Ra�edy Do�s
Weakne�: Fire – Ra�edy Do�s take double damage from fire and
wi� not go near it wi�ingly. Su�oned – Ra�edy Do�s must be
created from scratch; sewn together, stu�ed with hay, straw,
or sticks, and then Whispered over. The Whisper Create Ra�edy
Do� is an Elemental Ritual. When a Ra�edy Do� is created, its
creator su�ers a temporary -1 to their maximum Smarts while
the Ra�edy Do� exists. If the do� is dispe�ed or destroyed,
the creator regains the lo� to their Smarts.
19
Fate Twists
Vardoger (Ka)
Named specifically from northern European folk stories (though
other cultures tell similar tales), these guardian spirits are created
to confuse fate and cheat death. They are composed of spit and mud
and animated by Whispers into a simulacrum of their creator. When
dressed in their creator’s clothes a Vardoger is indistinguishable
from the original, at least at a distance. Up close, their roughly-made
features of clay and the utter lack of life in their eyes mean they
cannot be mistaken for human. A Vardoger can perform simple tasks
at its creator’s command. However, the true purpose of the creation is
to suffers ill effects meant for the creator.

Weapons: Can use any human weapon.
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel�: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Investigation: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Fate Guardian: This ability is always active. When a
Vardoger is created, ch�se one card suit for each rank of Guts
its creator sacrificed (s� Su�oned Weakne�). Whenever the
creator becomes the victim of a Whisper, they may ch�se to
reveal the top card of the deck and discard it. If it is one of
the suits chosen at the Vardoger’s creation, they may ch�se
the Vardoger as the victim of the Whisper instead.
- Made to Su�er: This ability is always active. Vardogers
have no n�d to eat, breathe, or sl�p, but since they are
intended to su�er their creator’s fate, they do not have any
other i�unities.
Weakne�: Water – Vardogers take double damage from water and
wi� not enter or cro� water wi�ingly.
Su�oned – A Vardoger must be made from scratch; soil
moistened with the caster’s spit, sweat, or bl�d, the
resulting mud worked into proper shape, and then Whispered
over. The Whisper Create Vardoger is a Fate Twist. When a
Vardoger is created, its creator su�ers a temporary penalty
to their Guts betw�n -1 and -4 while the double exists (s�
the Fate Guardian ability). When the construct is dispe�ed or
destroyed, the creator regains the lo� of their Guts.
Reward: None
20
Healing Words
Homunculus
The ultimate medical aide as well as research tool, Homunculi
are made by powerful casters to help provide expert healing to their
patients. The Homunculus is a representative map of the human
body. This can take almost any form from a set of drawings to a
chest of drawers to a plaster model, but most appear recognizably
humanoid. With a sample of any of the patient’s four humors, blood
being most common, the caster paints the Homunculus with arcane
symbols, making it a perfect representation of that patient’s body. The
two are mystically bound and all positive aspects of any healing work
performed on the construct pass to the patient. The Homunculus will
not resist medication, will not struggle while being sutured and can
be ruthlessly cut apart to remove bullets or shrapnel. None of these
procedures permanently harm the Homunculus. The Homunculus
does bleed just like a human, though.

Weapons: None
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Athletics: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Knowledge: ˝ ˝ ˝ o o: Especia�y medical knowledge for
a�isting their creator.
- Investigation: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Medical Model: Performing an medical procedure on a
Humunculus bound to a patient a�s +3 automatic su�e�es to
any ski�- or Whisper-based healing a�empt.
- Construct: This ability is always active. Homunculi su�er
disease, and pain.
Weakne�: Conflicting Bl�d – Homunculi take double damage
from the Bl�d Rites Whisper Path.
Su�oned – Homunculi must be created from scratch; the organs
responsible for the four humors: liver (bl�d), stomach
(ye�ow bile), intestines (black bile) and lungs (phlegm),
each from a di�erent person, must first be incorporated
into the model, and then Whispered over. The Whisper Create
Homunculus is a Healing Word. When a Homunculus is created,
its creator su�ers a temporary -1 to their maximum Smarts
while the Homunculus exists. If the construct is dispe�ed or
destroyed, the creator regains the lo� to their Smarts.
21
Chaos Songs
Primeval Servant
Though made of black slime filled with trash, rags, and rotting
pieces of flesh floating inside, Primeval Servants quiver with a
disturbing unlife. They seem to dance, move, and laugh; sometimes
beckoning observers to move closer, sometimes signaling danger and a
time to flee. The dark ooze which makes up most of the construct can
flow and form itself into any shape which seems useful to whatever
task its creator assigns. Extending an oily pseudopod to reach for a
weapon, a shriveled hand may suddenly emerge to actually grip the
weapon. To deliver a message a tattered scarf may float to the surface
and form a mouth and face which speaks the message. Casters use
Primeval Servants to perform simple tasks, carry messages or deliver
objects.

Weapons: Slap: 1 damage
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel�: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Stealth: ˝ ˝ o o o
- Transport: ˝ o o o o
- Whisper (Guts) ˝ ˝ ˝ o o: Can cast a Whisper, if it
knows one (s� Su�oned Weakne�), and can also a�ist another
caster. A� su�e�es ro�ed to the caster’s total.
- Construct: This ability is always active. Primeval Servants
Weakne�: Light – Dislikes light brighter than firelight. A�
a�ributes are reduced to 2 in fu� sunlight.
Su�oned – Each Primeval Servant must be made from scratch;
the viscous material of the servant is pu�ed through the
Veil, bound to whatever physical objects ha�en to be on hand,
and Whispered over. The Whisper Create Primeval Servant is a
Chaos Song. When a servant is created, its creator su�ers a
temporary -1 to their maximum Guts while the servant exists.
During creation, the caster can elect to give one Whisper they
know to the servant. If they do so, they forget the Whisper
themselves and ca�ot cast it as long as the servant exists. If
the servant is dispe�ed or destroyed, the creator regains the
lo� to their Guts and remembers the Whisper.
22
Veil Calls
Judas Goat (Goat)
These unliving constructs are much more than puppets or
automatons. Because their creators pour part of their souls into
them at creation, Judas Goats become more like partners. A Judas
Goat is usually made tall and physically powerful to serve as the
muscle paired with a powerful caster’s will. Together, goat and caster
can usually control any Corrupt being the caster wishes to bring
into this world. They are capable of following complex instructions
and traveling widely to accomplish tasks. Judas Goats know their
creators intimately and will respond to thoughts the caster has not yet
expressed, sometimes even disobeying commands to bring about what
they know their creator wants.

Brawn: 2 (s� Su�oned) Smarts: 4 Guts: 4
Weapons: Giant Hands: 2 damage – Stun (2)
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel�: ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Construct: This ability is always active. Judas Goats su�er
disease, and pain.
Weakne�: Su�oned – Judas Goats must be created from scratch;
a�embled from natural materials, a�ached without metal
fasteners, splashed with Co�upted bl�d (from themselves or
an Antagonist), and then Whispered over. The Whisper Create
Judas Goat is a Veil Ca� causing 1 a�itional Co�uption.
When a goat is created, its creator must su�er Guts damage to
awaken the construct. For every point of damage su�ered, the
Judas Goat is created with +1 a�itional rank of Brawn. If the
goat is dispe�ed or destroyed, the creator again su�ers the
same amount of damage as they did to awaken the construct.
23
December 21, 1917
To His Royal Highness, King George V
London, England
Enclosed you will find the additional information that I
had previously alluded to in my report dated October 18, 1917.
It is not lost on me that I write this new report to you
on the solstice, the day which gives us more darkness than
light. We don’t know much more than we knew before, and
what we have discovered is very grim indeed.
In interviewing the survivors of the conflict from
Delville Wood, we discovered that the German Reiner
Kauffman that we now hold as a POW is the same Reiner
who is named in Alfred’s Warbeck’s journal. The following
information is a statement that Reiner prepared for me
about his knowledge of the German army’s relationship
with the individuals who have come to be known as the
Wizards. Reiner also provided us with a timeline of the
events that took place in and around Longueval and Delville
Wood before, during and after the attack. I have included
copies of his account following his statement regarding
the German army’s dealings with the occult.
Statement from Reiner Kauffman, enlisted soldier,
German Army, English POW, regarding the German’s occult
discoveries and practices:
As English is my second language, my hope is that those

who read my words will take my meaning from them,
though I am not too good a writer, not even in German. I
am good with math though, and codes. This is the reason
I was assigned to the field office in Bapaume, France in
September of 1914. I was there for two years, until the great
Catastrophe, as you are now calling it, happened on the
night of July 1st, 1916. In Bapaume, we planned many
things about the war- but one of the most important things
we planned was how to use the information in the Book.
This is what we all called it. It was written in an unknown
language, and there were many of us working out how to
translate it. We did not have much luck. The letters in the
Book did not look like any letters we had ever seen. The
structure of the language was a puzzle to the linguists. This
is why they called in the code breakers—they called in me.
We worked on the Book from December 1915 to April
1916 when we were surprised to learn that our work would
no longer be needed. None of us had cracked the code, so
24
we did not know what to think. Next, the wizards came to
Bapaume. I use the word wizard because I do not know what
else to call them. These men were from somewhere in the
east, but not as far as China. They were grim and dark and
they did not seem friendly. They said they knew how to read
the secrets of the Book. They wanted to know where we found
it but the officers would not tell them. The wizards said
they would help us—but for a price. Once we unlocked the
power of the Book, they wanted part of it. They used a phrase
over and over- one which they said was written in the Book
“Locked in the book of secrets. We bear witness—nature leads
us into the eternal tree.”
This was when I started to become nervous. It seemed to
me that the wizards were playing with a power that was too
dark and terrible. But it was not my choice. The General—
that is, von Gallwitz—arrived in late April 1916, to talk
with the wizards. He talked with them for weeks but he was
undecided. Then, in June, I intercepted a message from the
French on the telegraph. There was to be a huge offensive at
the Somme. That decided it for the General. We would take
this power to the battle, he said. We were instructed to get
ready to march to the trenches to the west of Bapaume.
There was only one more matter to settle. The wizards
required a sacrifice from us. That is to say, they would need
a soldier to sacrifice in order to allow the dark powers of
the Book to be unlocked. I don’t understand what they
thought was going to happen, but they continually talked
about other beings who were trying to bring our world into
the Eternal Tree. They mentioned these others and an event
called the Thinning, but we were not offered many details.
Von Gallwitz asked for a volunteer. I don’t think this man
would have so willingly given up his life for Germany had
he known what would happen after. Of course, at the time
none of us knew what would happen- we only knew what the
wizards told us. They said once the Thinning had begun,
we would have a new and greater army to help us win the
war. The beasts would be better than dogs and horses. The
weapons better than machine guns, better than gas. These
were the promises that seduced our General.
Your officials have told me just to write an account of
what I saw, but I can’t write about what I saw without
telling you how I felt about what I saw. The wizards from
the beginning we’re not in it for Germany. They were only
in it for themselves. They did not love Germany. They did
not care about the war. They only used our army so they
could get what they wanted. I don’t know why they wanted
25
the Thinning so badly, but once they convinced our general
there was no going back. They would get their way. We
would have to suffer the consequences.
So, we went to the front, and when the shelling started on
July 1st, it was decided we would do the ritual that night.
There was fear in the air. The wizards said this made it
a good night for the others to make contact with us. The
wizards drew symbols on the ground and marked out a
wide circle around the symbols. Then the soldier who had
volunteered as their sacrifice came forward into the middle
of the circle. They chanted in a language that was unknown
to me, and possibly to any of us standing by. Von Gallwitz
watched with interest, and then with horror. We were all
filled with horror as a ritual continued.
It is hard to write exactly what happened. There seemed
to be many things happening at once. The wizards were
chanting, the symbols were glowing, the soldier was
thrashing about. But all around us, a bright light, so bright
that we couldn’t see anything, swallowed us up. The light
shone on all of us gathered around, and then the light
filled the area, and filled the sky, and filled the field until
we could see nothing except that bright white shining light.
The whole world went silent, as if we all were dead. When
it was over, all the wizards had disappeared, as well as the
solider who had been their sacrifice. We didn’t know what to
think. We didn’t know what had happened, or what to do.
The rest you know. After this event the creatures and
beasts appeared in the battlefield of the Somme. They
whispered to our military leaders and yours. You know of the
sacrifices, so I won’t tell those stories here.
Our men began to defect as soon as the General went
missing. I don’t know what happened to him, but I will say
that he never seemed the same to me after that night the
light shone. I heard that he went looking for the wizards,
but I don’t believe that. I think it’s more likely that he went
away out of shame. He had failed Germany; he had failed
himself.
The ones who saw, like me, what the wizards had done
that night were the first to flee. We went back to Bapaume
and stayed quiet— hiding from our comrades and
countrymen. Then I caught word of your countryman, John
Hampton, and me, and a few others sought him out. This
you know from Alfred Warbeck’s journal.
I hope that my words here will help to puzzle out what
happened, but I don’t truly have hope. Hope has gone from
me. -Reiner Kaufman
26
Fetishes
The pressure to use more power and learn more Whispers
can drive a caster to do things they never thought they would.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, there are mystic objects
casters can create to make their magic stronger or make their
sufferings easier to bear. These objects are called fetishes. The arcane
formulas for these grisly items are whispered through the Veil, just
like the caster’s other powers. All casters can create any of these
fetishes.
All a caster needs to create a fetish is to gather the materials
needed to create the item, usually just a matter of some role-playing,
and then discard the requirement cards for its creation. A fetish is
usually constructed at the end of a Mission, the same time players
spend cards to advance their characters. A caster can create a fetish
during a Mission if the Narrator agrees they have an opportunity to do
so. The caster, and sometimes the whole Unit, gains the benefits of a
fetish as soon as it is created. Fetishes cannot usually be destroyed
once they are created.
Common Fetishes
Ritual Knife: A quality knife is always handy
for cutting cords, drawing blood, and directing
arcane energies. A knife dedicated to ritual use and
customized to the caster’s own Whispers is even
better.
Materials: A knife etched with ritual symbols.
Requirement: Any 2 cards of matching number.
Benefit: Gain one automatic success on all
Whisper skill rolls.
Spell Book: Sometimes a caster gets lucky

and finds someone else’s notes on their arcane
investigations. Other times a Spell Book is the
product of the caster’s own hard work.
Materials: A blank book, filled with notes on
arcane mysteries.
Requirement: 1 card of each of the four suits.
Benefit: Learn two additional Whispers from
Paths the caster has not trained in. The caster may
cast these Whispers as if they belonged to one of
the Paths they have trained in.
Hand of Craft: When an opponent has a

weakness, it is foolish not to take advantage. This
is never more obvious than when an opponent is
physically weak.
27
Materials: A human hand.
Requirement: 2 Clubs
Benefit: Using the Hand as a focus, a Whisper
which usually targets Smarts or Guts is cast
against the target’s Brawn Defense instead.
Cards of Sight: The cards know everything,

but they must be properly interpreted. The caster
can flip through them and learn their opponent’s
weakness.
Materials: Any deck of cards will do, but tarot
cards the caster painted themselves are best.
Requirement: 2 Spades
Benefit: Using the Cards as a focus, a Whisper
which usually targets Brawn or Guts is cast against
the target’s Smarts Defense instead.
Drum of Victory: With an otherworldly sound, a

ritual drum can make an opponent uneasy. That is
the best time to strike.
Materials: The long bones and skin of a defeated
opponent.
Requirement: 2 Hearts
Benefit: Using the Drum as a focus, a Whisper
which usually targets Brawn or Smarts is cast
against the target’s Guts Defense instead.
Hollow Necklace: Chance occurrences mean the

difference between life and death. The bullet had
no powder, the grenade had no fuse, a single twig
changed the weapon’s path. The trick is to get these
random events to work for you.
Materials: Bullet shells or some other spent or
disabled weaponry strung on a necklace.
Requirement: 2 Diamonds
Benefit: The caster gains 3 Armor as long as the
fetish is worn. The caster can wear other armor,
but gains no additional benefit from another Hollow
Necklace fetish.
Fate Censor: The scent of burning incense

reveals glimpses of the future and gives the caster
the ability to choose between multiple lines of fate.
Once lit, the incense cannot be put out.
Materials: Anything which can contain the
burning incense.
28
Requirement: Any 3 cards in numerical
sequence, regardless of suit.
Benefit: The top card of the draw deck is placed
face up beside the deck. Any time any player draws
a card, they may draw the reveled card or the face-
down card from the top of the deck. If they take the
revealed card, they replace it with the top card of
the draw deck.
Horned Head: There is knowledge to be gained

from every source. Even the horrors which stalk
the battlefield can be teachers under the right
conditions.
Materials: The body parts of a defeated
Antagonist, ideally one the caster has killed.
Requirement: 2 cards which add up to 10 or
more. Faces and Aces both count as 10 for this
requirement.
Benefit: Gain one ability of the Antagonist.
Life Proxy: Life is dangerous and living requires

violence. With a Proxy to suffer the damage of life
instead, the caster can live a bit longer. Once the
Proxy is created, it bursts into flame and burns
until its power is spent. Unlike most other fetishes,
a Life Proxy is usually left where it was made.
Materials: A fresh human skull on a stake.
Requirement: 1 Face card and any other card.
Benefit: The caster gains a pool of healing
points equal to the number of the second card
discarded. Faces equal 10 and Aces equal 11 for
this benefit. Any time the caster would discard a
card to negate damage or heal, they may instead
spend one healing point from the Life Proxy pool.
Human Sacrifice
The Others hunger for the Corruption of humanity. Their whispers
push casters to break their taboos. Not because there is great
power in forbidden acts, though there is. Not because the victims of
unspeakable violence suffer, though they do. No, the Others want
to see their servants step into the shadows because of what is does
to the person. Call it living in darkness; tearing their soul; sinning;
losing their humanity. By any name, the caster becomes something
other than human; something worse. And the Others laugh. Why
do casters live with the Corruption? Why do they cause suffering?
Because of the power.
29
30
As part of casting any Whisper, a caster may kill another human
to gain +1 automatic success on the Whisper roll for every 2 ranks
of the victim’s current attributes. An “average” human with 3 ranks
in each attribute would provide +4 automatic successes. If the victim
is a child before the age of puberty, roughly age 11-13, the sacrifice
provides +1 automatic success for every attribute rank. Each time a
caster conducts a ritual involving human sacrifice, they automatically
suffer 1 Corruption.
Corruption Pool
Corruption is a malleable and powerful resource for the beings
beyond the Veil. It seeps through the thinning of the Veil and has
changed the world in ways previously unfathomable. The monsters
and creatures that roam the battlefields are always shifting and
changing, with new ones appearing almost as quickly as it takes to
learn about the ones before. The world itself feels polluted and things
are not always what they appear to be at first glance. This makes the
missions soldiers are given particularly dangerous. In order to present
an appropriate challenge to a unit of experienced soldier, the Narrator
may occasionally want to expand the capabilities of the adversaries
involved in a conflict, or manipulate the events surrounding a
Mission. These optional rules allow for the manipulation of the tide of
a battle, and illustrate the chaotic nature of this power.
At the start of any
Mission, the Narrator
counts the amount of
Corruption for all player
characters. Since they
should be tracking this
information already, it
should be readily available
at any moment. This total
number of Corruption
becomes the Corruption
Pool. This is a total number
of points that the Narrator
can spend on abilities and
effects during that Mission,
as each Corruption Effect
has a listed cost, which is
the only limit to how often
these abilities can be used.
Like always, and individual’s
Corruption should be kept
secret, but astute players
may observe of many times
these effects are used.
31
Example: Jenkins has 2 Corruption, while Peabody and Thorpe have
1 Corruption each. Their quartermaster Bailey has 3 Corruption. At the
start of their next Mission, the Narrator has a total of 7 points in the
Corruption Pool.
Corruption Effects
Confusion: The enemies are all around you and you find it nearly
impossible to focus during the heat of battle. As your eyes dart
around the battlefield trying to remain alert, but the exhaustion,
adrenaline, or something more sinister make them play tricks on you.
When used, the Narrator selects a different target (another Antagonist
or character) for a character’s initial attack once all dice are rolled and
augments selected.
Cost: 2
Death Throes: The sickness and Corruption coursing through the
body of the beast cause it to flail about and lash out at the closest
victim. When used, the Narrator selects one Antagonist who has
just received enough damage to be killed and makes one last attack
against the closest character, using any Brawn-linked skill or ability.
Cost: 2
Glimpse of the Void: As you land the killing blow, the twisted
flesh and bone give way. Underneath, you see what can only be the
space beyond the Veil. In an instant that seems like an eternity,
your mind is assaulted by unfathomable madness. When used, the
Narrator selects one Antagonist who has just received enough damage
to be killed and makes one last attack against the character who last
hit it, using any Smarts-linked skill or ability.
Cost: 2
Hallucinations: As the Corruption inside you grows, you find
yourself having difficulty telling the difference between those thoughts
coming from your own mind and those woven together by the void.
Reality and terrible, dark visions mix together in your memories.
When used, the Narrator draws seven cards, and selects one player.
They can replace any number of cards in that player’s hand with
cards drawn at a cost of for one point per card.
Cost: 1, and then an additional 1 point per card replaced.
Hesitation: The Corruption stirs strange thoughts in your mind,
occupying your thoughts, and preventing you from reacting quickly.
When used, the Narrator selects the next character to act in the
Initiative order.
Cost: 1
Lapse: As your mind is flooded with dark and dangerous memories
which simply cannot be your own, you can’t seem to maintain a grasp
on those you know you remember. When used, the Narrator selects
32
a character. That character cannot use a card from their hand for
Initiative and must instead draw from the deck.
Cost: 2
Lethargy: The energy is siphoned from your body and you feel
as though you’ve just run a marathon. Your muscles ache, and you
are physically exhausted, almost to the point of collapse. The feeling
dissipates as quickly as it appears. When used, the Narrator selects
a character and cancels one of their +One manipulations on the next
roll.
Cost: 1
Regenerate: Before your eyes, wounds, gashes, and shattered
bones are pulled together into a vague approximation of their original
state. The creature may appear stitched, stapled, or bound together
in a horrific visage, but slightly repaired. When used, the Narrator
selects an Antagonist and heals one point to any attribute.
Cost: 1
Shell Shock: The din of battle echoes in your mind, overwhelming
you and becoming your only focus. When used, the Narrator selects
one player, looks at their hand, and discards one card of choice.
Cost: 2
Final Shriek: As you strike dark winds escape the creature at
the moment of its demise, swirling about and jetting towards you.
When used, the Narrator selects one Antagonist who has just received
enough damage to be killed and makes one last attack against the
character who last hit it, using any Guts-linked skill or ability.
Cost: 2
Terror: As the darkness assaults your mind, you can feel it
creeping ever closer. The constant paranoia of someone or something
lurking just always out of the corner of your eye brings you to the
brink of exhaustion and collapse. When used, all characters in a Unit
discard one random card.
Cost: 3
Vigor: You can feel the otherworldly power flowing through the
veins, muscles and sinew of the monstrosities on the battlefield. When
used, the Narrator selects one Antagonist which gains one +One
manipulation on the next roll.
Cost: 1
33
34
And now to speak more of John Hampton. John Hampton did not
surrender himself to the English army (which is known to you, as
it is my purpose here in Africa), but Kaufmann and the others have
made it clear during the course of many interviews that they believed
Hampton would surrender himself. The fact that these men, who
had no doubt seen atrocities in the trenches would be willing to
crawl back to their former masters after surviving one battle with
the creatures should give us pause. These men are not cowards, as
many have said. No, these men are perhaps more brave than any of
us, for they were willing to admit their defeat at the hands of the
monsters who have been terrorizing France, and beg forgiveness and
help from the powerful institutions that they had once abandoned.
At this point, it becomes difficult to give an accurate timeline
of events, as there are many sighting and encounters with both the
creatures and the wizards that were reported from late August 1916
up through January 1917, when sightings had become so common that
they lost their novelty and were no longer reported with urgency.
As we know from Reiner Kaufmann’s deterioration, physical
encounters and even sometimes close proximity to the creatures
has a decaying effect on the body. This fact has also complicated
our efforts to investigate what is happening on the fields of France.
We find that our men forget their mission, wander away, and are not
heard from again- unless, by chance, they are discovered by another
of our intelligence officers. All along the trenches and the stretch
of land in between them—from Ypres and the North Sea to the very
gates of Switzerland in the south—there are men who used to be
soldiers wandering, withering, dying of the darkness that has crept
out of the Somme valley. What is more, the area has drawn fanatics
and lunatics, who have also gone mad.
As for the wizards that Kaufmann spoke of in his statement, they
seem to be in control of the creatures, at least in some part. It
has been difficult for me to uncover any information regarding them,
because of the struggles which I have just outlined above. The
last I heard they are no longer in the Somme valley, but have moved
north and east into Belgium. What their end goal is no one can say
for sure, but our intelligence does indicate that they had planned for
something like this great catastrophe to occur after the Thinning. I
have attempted to send spies into their ranks, but they are a secretive
society and do not admit anyone that has not proven himself worthy.
I believe we are close to getting a man inside however, and I hope
to provide an update to you, Robertson and Lloyd George in my next
report.
Yours in Grateful Service,
General Douglas Haig
35
Hunger and Darkness
Melanie R. Meadors
The Hunger
Mission Briefing
It was just a week ago that your commanding officer ordered you
to run head-on into enemy fire, his eyes wild and his voice cracking.
A few of you tried to reason with him, but he refused to listen.
Instead, he began screaming for someone to, “Make them stop. Make
them all stop!” He began accusing you of being “one of them.” Then
he set fire to all of your equipment, your vehicles, your maps and
communications devices, and he himself ran straight into the line
of fire, pulling at his hair and screaming at some unseen enemy no
one else could perceive. Shaken, you and the remaining soldiers of
your unit retreated across a shell-torn countryside in France, hiding
behind hillocks of mud and muck made from rain, blood, and despair.
You are in the middle of your journey to reach a village, to find
someone who can help you contact your superiors to tell them what
happened, and to see if the rumors about things like this happening
elsewhere are true.
The swampy land sucks at both your boots and souls, until you
agree to set up a makeshift camp and wait for the rain to pass.
Battered trees stand twisted and gnarled around the campsite,
skeletons of their former selves, much like you who camp beneath
them. You are wet, demoralized, and exhausted both physically and
mentally as you huddle beneath the sopping canvas of a tent that has
seen better days. And now, you realize your food is running short—
shorter than it should be running, if everyone was following their set
rations. If you and your unit aren’t able to get in touch with someone
soon, things don’t look good.
Mission Objective
Find out what is happening to the food. Figure out where to find
more food, as well as a phone.
The Journey
Tempers are short. You try to convince other soldiers you are not
taking more than your share of food. Keep tempers cool and stem
accusations of theft without evidence.
Requirements: 2 Spades and 2 Hearts.
Question: What’s your first thought when you learn food is going
missing?
Failure: If soldiers in the Unit can’t keep things cool and rational,
fists start flying, with members of the company involved in a fight.
Players can avoid fighting if they make a successful Knowledge roll.
After a round of fighting, Turnip the cook bangs a wooden spoon onto
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a frying pan to startle the soldiers and break up the fight.
Incidents
It’s a Trap!: Turnip, an NPC and the company cook—someone
everyone trusts—suggests to the unit that they make a trap to
see who is stealing the food. Challenge Mechanics, Knowledge or
Investigation. Success allows them to find materials (string, pebbles,
an empty can, a nail, empty shell casings, and old tarp, and of course,
mud, are among the company’s supplies) and skill enough to build an
effective trap. If nothing else, the trap might deter whoever is taking
the food from doing it again.
Upon the creation of the trap, the unit waits 2D6 hours for it to be
sprung. In the meantime, stomachs are growling. Every four hours,
the unit must roll Athletics. If someone fails the roll, they become
“hangry” and potentially irrational. Other members of the unit must
succeed on Communications rolls to calm the irritated soldier down.
Caught Red-Handed!: After the rolled time has passed, the trap is
sprung! Depending on the type of trap created, the thief might need
to be captured and restrained, using appropriate skill rolls by the
members of the Unit. The thief is a young girl about 9 years old. “I’m
sorry. I saw your fire, and I knew you must have some food. We’re
hungry, you see. Our refuge is no longer safe, and we’re on the move,
on the way to a village to find a safe place to stay. Nurse Elsie is trying
to take care of us orphans, but we keep having to hide from…them.
Those weird guys with the brown cloaks. And…well, maybe I’ve said
too much.”
The Unit can Challenge Communications to convince the girl they
mean her no harm, so she speaks more. She reveals that other kids
from her group have gone missing. Maybe they wandered off, but
she’s suspicious of people wearing brown cloaks. Nurse Elsie tells
them to never speak to them. “But they offer us food and sweets, so
I’m sure some kids have just followed them away. We need help. We’re
starving. We need to get to that village and use their phone to get
help. Maybe you can use the phone, too, so you can go home.”
To the Children’s Camp: With no other real options before them,
the Unit decides to follow the girl. They decide what time they want to
leave (day or night), then let her lead them to the camp. After a ways,
they see two wandering figures with brown cloaks approaching them.
The girl seems frightened. Members of the Unit can roll Knowledge.
Upon success, they realize these people are Cultists, involved in
strange happenings all across the front. The two approach with smiles
and seem very friendly. “Well, Clara, you’ve been wandering off again,
I see. It’s time for you to come home with us.” The girl denies she
knows them, and denies her name is Clara. The cultists accuse her
of lying. The girl becomes visibly frightened and upset. The unit must
decide what to do.
37
—If they let the men have her, the cultists push her to the ground
behind them while they attack.
—If they believe the girl, and show the cultists they are on her side,
the cultists attack to get her away.
The Unit makes it to the hiding spot behind a steep hillock without
further incident. The girl whistles a couple notes as a code, and Nurse
Elsie starts scolding before she even appears over the crest of the hill.
When she sees the Unit, she pales. Someone from the Unit can roll
Communications to assure her that they are trying to help, that they,
too, are interested in going to the village to get in touch with their
commanders. She tells them they need to go now—the children won’t
last long in this weather, half-starved and weak, especially with the
cultists on the prowl. If questioned, she doesn’t know why the cultists
want the children, but they’ve lost half their number so far. She
knows the cultists have tempted the children with treats. She couldn’t
risk leaving the other children to find out exactly what was going on.
“I’m all they have left in this world.”
With the possibility of food, shelter, and communication in the
village, the Unit knows that leading Nurse Elsie and the children
(there are two children plus one child per member of the Unit) to
safety may be their only chance for safety as well. They must decide
whether or not to set out at once or wait until morning. If they set out
at night, they run into 2 Cultists. If they set out during the day, they
run into 2 German Common Soldiers on patrol.
A Ghostly Apparition—or is it?: The village is in sight after a
three hour march (with a break for the children now and then). As
they approach, they see the village is all but abandoned. No one could
live in this wreckage. Houses are gutted and collapsed. There are no
lights visible in any of them. The church is lit up, however. Nurse
Elsie says it’s their best bet. But as they walk down the road through
town, they see a small figure walking toward them. He’s moving as if
in a trance and has a faint glow about him. His clothes are tattered
and he’s wearing a pair of goggles that seem to glow green. His yellow-
white hair almost floats about his head. One of the kids says, “Billy?”
The glowing child doesn’t respond. Another child says, “That’s not
Billy. I think.”
If left alone, the child just walks past, not seeming to even see the
company. It doesn’t respond to questioning or any social cues. It just
walks straight down the road toward the edge of town. The Unit can
decide what to do about this strange child. If they have rope it can be
restrained with a minimal Athletics roll. If attacked, it does not fight
back. Nurse Elsie seems afraid of it and wants to hurry to the church,
leaving it alone. If questioned, she answers that she did know that
child, but he was a chatty boy who could never stay quiet. That Billy
isn’t right, and she can’t risk the safety of the other children.
Into the Church: The steeple of the church has been blown off,
but the building seems sound otherwise. The inside is lit up, but any
38
rolls reveal only silence from within. The windows were likely stained
glass in the past, but are gone now. The wooden doors are damaged,
but still functional. A roll will reveal they are unlocked and open
easily.
Upon entering, the Unit sees the church is lit by a multitude of
candles. There doesn’t seem to be any electricity. The Unit should
decide what to do with the children—if they should stay outside, or if
they hide inside, etc. All rolls inside of the main body of the church
show that it is empty. The altar is at the front of the church, and
looks like it’s not been used in some time. Half of the statuary inside
is broken, and the pews seem to have been used for beds at some
point, with some ratty blankets still on the dusty cushions. Suddenly,
there is the sound of something glass breaking from behind a door to
the right of the altar.
If the soldiers sneak up to the door, leaving the children behind at
the back of the church or outside, they can check to see if it is open.
They find it is locked, but when they turn the knob to check, it makes
a sound and from inside the room, there is a sound like a child’s cry,
followed by hushing sounds.
If the soldiers do not sneak, then the door is opened a crack, and a
pistol pokes out from within. A Knowledge roll will show that it is not
an army issued pistol.
Either way, the soldiers can roll Communications to convince
whoever is inside that they mean no harm, and explain the situation.
Upon a success, the door opens slowly to reveal a priest and three
young children. If Nurse Elsie in is sight, she recognizes the children
as some who have disappeared from her group. (If the Unit decides
to shoot first and ask questions later, and the priest is injured, the
children can explain the following—after some Communication rolls
to convince them they will be safe. Upon finding they attacked an
innocent, however, the character who attacked the priest must draw
for Corruption.)
The priest explains that he’s been keeping the children hidden
here, rather than where they were comfortable in the rectory next to
the church, because they are hiding from cultists who want to use the
children for foul purposes. Also, he does indeed have a phone for the
soldiers to use, but it needs repairing (soldiers can roll Mechanics).
In the rectory there is food and shelter enough for everyone. But he
doesn’t advise they go there yet because the cultists are watching.
The cultists are trying to force him to gather children for them, and
they won’t leave him alone. “They get into my head, somehow, these
voices…I can’t ignore them. They seem to have some sort of insatiable
hunger for these children!”
Will the soldiers help the children once more?
Decoration
All surviving soldiers draw 1 card.
39
Into the Darkness
Mission Briefing
The slightly crazed priest continues: “Even when the voices
don’t command me to do things, those strange men take any the
children I try to help. About a dozen children have been taken into
the catacombs behind the church. ‘New recruits for the cause,’ they
say. I don’t believe they mean for these children to fight for any of our
sides in the war. I think they are taking them for some cause unholy.”
Nurse Elsie relates that you may have already seen one of these
children, or what that child had become after the cultists were done
with it.
“Before these cultists discovered us, I had taken orphans in so
they could be safe,” the priest continued. “But I’m afraid I’ve failed
that mission. If only I could have resisted that…voice. I could have
protected them more.” The priest shudders, and the nurse lays a
comforting hand on his shoulder.
“These men can help us,” she says. She looks up at you. “Can’t
you?”
Mission Objective
Soldiers are to go to the catacombs and find out what’s become
of the children who were taken. If possible, the children are to be
rescued and any enemy forces disabled.
The Journey
Soldiers make their way across the graveyard behind the church.
Ravens flap in the skeletons of war-ravaged trees. Gravestones are
broken and toppled, and it’s hard to tell if the ground in this place
has been blasted by shells or if it has been intentionally dug up.
Requirements: All black cards.
Question: What are your feelings as you cross through this
graveyard of a graveyard?
Failure: The ravens sense the group’s hesitancy and low morale
and begin to attack (Unit x 2 Ravens)
Incidents
The Entry: The door to the catacombs is hidden behind the roots
of a tree that’s standing above it. They’ve been exposed by the heavy
rain and erosion, and form a curtain over the door, causing the
soldiers to have to brush them aside to enter. There’s a wrought iron
gate discarded on the ground outside, and the door to the catacombs
is not latched, but screeches on rusty hinges. Upon entering the
catacombs, there is a large chamber with a flagstone floor and walls,
lit only from the torches soldiers can see in a hallway beyond. In
the dim light, they can make out statues in various states of ruin
lining the room. With some more light, if a soldier has access to it,
one can see the crypts behind these statues are all opened, and the
contents, including various treasures and bones and rags, are strewn
40
about haphazardly, as if whoever broke into them was searching
for something specific and had no use for gold or gems. There are
symbols on either side of the door that a successful Knowledge roll
reveal to be a ward against unwanted visitors. A soldier who sees
these can choose to perform an Investigation roll. If successful, they
see the ward is drawn from chalk, which can be easily erased to
disengage the ward. This would cancel the following effects of the
ward if triggered.
Whoever is the first to enter the room feels an oppressive weight,
and “hears” a voice, or the suggestion of a voice, say, “Do not enter
this place. Your presence if forbidden.” If a soldier succeeds on an
Investigation roll, they can see there is nothing in the room speaking,
and the sense of fear subsides. However, once they pass the threshold
into the room, a strange hollow rattling sound occurs, and the
soldiers can see bones and other objects coming together to make
a large humanoid shape, a Conglomerate. This being has clear
malicious intent, and wields a large pole axe, which it flails around
searching for prey. Once this monster is defeated, it disintegrates into
dust.
Once the ward is disabled or the enemy defeated, soldiers can
move beyond into the hall.
Surprise in the Hall: Soldiers enter a long hall lit by torches along
the walls. Statues have been overturned and smashed, and there’s a
strong smell of decay and foulness in the stagnant air. If the soldiers
have not been stealthy and just walk into the room (or if there was
a battle in the large chamber outside), they hear a sudden jingle of
chains, a snap, and then an unholy screech as a large animal about
the size of a bear comes lumbering toward them from the shadows.
It’s a Giant Corrupted Rat, with glowing green eyes, dripping blood
and gore as it approaches. There is movement behind the beast, and
as it gets closer, soldiers can see countless tails wriggling and writhing
from its backside. The light from the torches catches on metal
gleaming all around the beast, and the unit sees that the creature is
wrapped in razor wire. The rat will not let anyone pass alive.
“You must not disturb what is happening within.”: At the far
end of the hall stand two Cultists in front of a closed door. They are
clad in brown tattered robes. They have intense gazes, but seem to
be human—mostly. “We will not let you pass. Even if you kill us, the
door is barred with arcane magic. Why not join us, instead?” The Unit
must get past the cultists and figure out how to open the door.
“You should have stayed away.”: The air in this chamber is
heavy and smoke laden, warmed by several fires in braziers. There
are also flames in the center of the floor in some sort of ritual shape
formed by burning oil. The smell of decay, blood, and incense fills the
air. A Veil Priest is standing behind the flames with his arms raised,
his tattered red cloak waving in the heat. A table beside him holds
41
a chalice, a knife, and several other small arcane items. It appears
whatever ritual was taking place is well underway. The sound of
children crying and calling out comes from a rusted metal door to the
east of the chamber. Suddenly, soldiers hear a grinding sound, stone
on stone, and they realize the statues of the dead have come to life
as Stone Golems. Three of these approach, two from the west side of
the room and one from the east. Soldiers must get past the golems to
defeat the Veil Priest.
Getting the Kids: Examining the door behind which the children
are being held shows that it is heavy and iron, and it is locked. The
hinges are rusted. Soldiers must determine how they want to get
the door open, and must roll Mechanics or Athletics (or other skill,
depending on the method they choose) in order to successfully open
the door to free the children.
Conclusion: Once the door is opened, the soldiers see that the
children are thin and ragged looking, but still relatively well. They
seem to want to follow the soldiers out but are hesitant to follow. Any
mention of Nurse Elsa will instantly gain their trust. Otherwise a few
prompts from the soldiers will warm them to the idea. As soon as they
are visible from the church, Nurse Elsa runs out to greet them, and
they run to her and embrace her. There are grateful tears all around,
a heartwarming sight against the backdrop of the horrors of war.
Decoration
All survivors draw 1 card.
Antagonists
Ravens (Murder of Ravens)
Carrion eaters who have learned to feast on souls as well as
flesh. They pester unfortunate soldiers into dangerous mistakes by
describing their gruesome deaths. Once a character has attracted
one Raven, others see death closing in and they are likely to bind
themselves to the same victim, hastening the unfortunate soldier’s
end.
Type: Mob Initiative Value: 10 Armor: 4

Weapons: Beak: 1 damage
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel� ˝ ˝ o o o
- Co�unication ˝ ˝ o o o
- Knowledge ˝ ˝ o o o
- Herald of D�m (Smarts) ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ o: The Raven selects a
target and te�s that character how they wi� die. This a�ack
targets Smarts. The TN for Herald of D�m is +1 for each point
of Co�uption the target has. If the ro� is su�e�ful, the
Raven becomes a Herald of D�m to the victim. Each raven may
42
only be a Herald to one character at a time. For each Herald a
character has fo�owing them, a� TN are +1. This e�ect ends
automatica�y if the Raven leaves the area.
Weakne�: Gets board easily. If its first a�empt to menace or
harm someone fails, or if the victim proves resilient, it is
likely to l�k for other victims.
Reward: Draw 1 card. A�itiona�y, the character gains one
fr� +One manipulation on a future ro�. Maybe they can change
their fate.
Giant Corrupted Rat

A huge rat the size of a bear, wrapped with razor wire, with dozens
of tails writhing behind it. It smells like a horrendous mixture of blood
and excrement and rotting flesh.

Weapons: Bite: 3 damage
Claws: 2 damage
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Athletics ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Mel� ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Tail Whip (Brawn) ˝ ˝ ˝ o o: With a slash of its many
tails the rat can injure a whole group of soldiers. Deals 2
damage - +1 damage (1), Flu�y (2).
Weakne�: Sensitive to light.
Reward: Draw 2 cards, pick 1 to k�p and discard the other.
Stone Golem
Roughly human-sized, usually made from statues.

Weapons: Sword
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Athletics (Brawn) ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Mel� (Brawn) ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Crush (Brawn) ˝ ˝ o o o: The creature can fa� on
a�ackers within range as a self-sacrificing move. Deals 4
damage.
Weakne�: None
43
McAusland’s Nightmare
Dieter Zimmerman
Mission Briefing
January, 1918 at a British hospital on the coast of the English
Channel, northwestern France.
Though the characters can be sent to the hospital by a commander
to investigate weird happenings, this Mission works best if they are in
the hospital because they were injured and are there recovering. The
player characters are most likely not from the same unit or even of the
same nationality. As such, the Mission Briefing and Mission Objective
are not literally given to the characters by an officer. Because the
characters have been in a hospital, they have no weapons or other
gear except what they can find!
Mission Objective
Escape the hospital alive.
The Journey
You wake in a hospital bed after horrible nightmares and with only
vague memories of how you got here.
Requirement: 4 Clubs.
Question: What situation led to you being in the hospital? How do
you feel about being here?
Failure: The characters are slow to wake, and the Sick Sisters
in the first encounter each get a free attack before Initiative is
determined.
Incidents
The hospital currently has no lighting, and any windows and
exterior doors are sealed with a rubbery, fleshy membrane. The
hospital building is one long hallway in a single story with rooms on
both sides of the corridor. Start with the incident Waking Up and end
with McAusland’s Nightmare, with the other rooms in between them.
The incident Inner Demons is not a room and will happen more than
once during the Mission (see below).
Waking up: “You’re not certain how long you’ve been asleep, but
whether it’s been hours or weeks you’ve been plagued by horrible
nightmares. Scenes from the war front have played out in your injury-
ridden brain in the most horrible ways possible with the most realistic
details of people and places you’ve never seen. But finally, reality
begins to assert itself and you slowly open your eyes…to find two
nurses bent over you. ‘Oh, you poor darling,’ one of them mutters. ‘You
must be in pain. Don’t worry, we’ll make it all go away.’ As her partner
puts her hands on your shoulders to hold you down, the nurse looks
at you with her pitch-black eyes and cracked, fever-reddened face and
smiles, putting a bloody bone saw to your arm and starting to cut.”
Assuming the characters try to defend themselves, combat starts
immediately. If they don’t, the sisters will amputate limbs. There
44
are two Sick Sisters for each character. If the Sick Sisters are all
defeated, every surviving character gets a card in addition to any they
might get from amputations. The Sisters’ bone saws can be used as
knives by the characters.
Inner Demons: Willie McAusalnd’s magical affliction causes the
dreams of other patients to infringe upon reality, and one by one each
character will eventually find themselves trapped alone with one of the
hospital’s patients in a semi-hallucinatory version of the war horrors
experienced by that patient.
Each character only needs to go through one nightmare (unless
you want them to do more), but they do it alone. Under normal
circumstances, the soldiers have enough mental fortitude to resist
being dragged into the patients’ nightmares. However, any time they
take Brawn damage, fail at a Guts-linked roll of any kind, or are
surprised by some kind of supernatural horror they can become
ensnared by a nightmare.
No matter how much time passes for the dreamer, only moments
will pass in the physical world. To other characters, the dreamer will
simply appear to enter a trance and become unresponsive to anything
going on around them. They might occasionally mutter some dialog
from the dream out loud. The dreamer will know they are in a dream,
but they will also have the sense that it is not a normal dream and
their decisions will have real consequences.
There are three ways for a character to escape the nightmare: 1)
They can convince the patient that they are dreaming and they have
already escaped this experience, 2) they can treat the experience as
real and help the patient escape/survive using the tactics outlined
below, or 3) they can kill the dreaming patient in the dream, ending
their real life as well. The particulars of each dream will vary
depending on the patient, but here are some ideas. Choose or roll
2D6, each dreamer will only be encountered once:
2) Charlie Callahan found himself trapped alone in a collapsed
tunnel for days with only his dead brother for company. All his dead
brother could talk about was how hopeless the situation was. To
escape the dream, Charlie needs to be kept alive and sane for four
days until his rescuers arrive.
3) Jean-Pierre Berger went over the top and watched all his friends
get mowed down by machine gun fire less than 20 feet (6 m) out. He
was not shot, but he nevertheless fell in the mud a broken man. To
escape the dream, Jean-Pierre needs to be helped back to the relative
safety of the trenches and convinced that none of this is his fault.
4) Guy Chevalier encountered a blood sucking fiend in the
trenches, and he was powerless to resist its mental domination. He
killed most of his own squad. To escape the dream, Guy needs help to
break the mind control and defeat the creature.
5) Archie Stuart Vicks is a Canadian pilot whose biplane was
45
chased for hectic hours by what can only be described as a “flying
darkness” before he crashed the plane. To escape the dream, Archie
needs help keeping an eye on his pursuer while he pilots, and he
needs to be safely escorted from the site of his plane crash.
6) Gerhardt Bruno is a German officer who was captured and
horribly tortured by his demonic French captors. To escape the
dream, Gerhardt needs to get revenge upon his captors and get his
sense of power back.
7) Arjun Laghari came to the Western front all the way from India
to join British forces. He watched what could only be Murugan, the
Hindu god of war himself, lay waste to an entire set of trenches on
both sides. To escape the dream, Arjun needs to be safely removed
from the devastation and convinced that this was not one of his gods.
8) Father Christopher is an army chaplain who never even saw the
front lines, but he heard all about it from confessions he took, and it
shook his faith. On his way back to England, his train was attacked
by fire-spitting insects. To escape the dream, Christopher needs to be
kept safe from the bugs and convinced that doubts are acceptable.
9) Bertrand Lascaux fell in the mud during a hard march, stuck
and slowly sinking. All his compatriots were told to leave him as they
hurriedly marched by. To escape the dream, Bertrand simply needs to
be helped from mud and convinced that people do care.
10) Peter Harley heard the Whispers calling for his blood, and he
obeyed them. He discovered his blood can do horrible, horrible things
to friend and foe alike. To escape the dream, Peter needs to be shown
that his hideous powers can be used to help people.
11) Dam Vien only signed up for the war because the French
promised to leave his family farm in tact if he did. He was further
isolated when he took sick in Greece and has no idea where he is
now. He is terrified he will die alone and his family will never know
what happened to him. To escape the dream, Dam must believe it is
still possible to return to Vietnam.
12) Daniel James Wellsley never expected interminable boredom to be
a problem in a war. It turns out that boredom makes you careless, and
careless artillerists cause shells to explode before they’re fired. To escape
the dream, Daniel needs to be prevented from blowing himself up.
These dreams can be as minimal or as involved as you like, but
either way they should focus on the psychological aspects of war
and eldritch forces. The patients themselves are in the midst of
mental stress and emotional trauma, and will probably be unable to
articulate precisely what they need. That’s up to the characters to
figure out if they go the route of helping the patient. Keep in mind that
the escape solutions are meant as suggestions only, and any solution
that ends with the patient alive and dealing with their trauma in a
positive way should be regarded as successful.
If a character tries to convince the patient that the experience is
not real, the patient will try to convince the character that it is. Run
46
this conversation much like a combat scene, but using the character’s
Communication skill against the patient’s Smarts and vice versa.
Assume that a patient has Smarts of 2 and Communication of 2
unless you want it to be harder or easier. If the character reduces
the patient’s Smarts to zero, the patient is convinced, he wakes up,
and the dream ends. If the patient reduces the character’s Smarts to
zero, however, the character is forever trapped in the dream and his
body eventually dies of dehydration and starvation. If the character
has been to the Records Room and found the patient files, he knows
this patient’s name and story and gets +1 automatic success on their
Communication rolls for this interaction.
A character can also try to escape the dream by helping the patient
in whatever situation they find themselves in. This should be done
through role-playing and only 2-3 skill rolls at most. If they succeed,
the dream ends and the patient wakes. If they fail, the character is
trapped in the dream until their mortal body dies.
The third way out of the dream is just to kill the patient in the
dream. In most cases this can be done automatically with no rolls.
This solution also kills the patient in real life, however. The dream
ends and the character escapes, but they must draw for Corruption.
No matter how a character chooses to tackle the situation, the
dreams are semi-real so any damage they take comes back with
them to the real world. Any character who ends their patient’s dream
without killing them draws 1 card.
Records Room: This cramped room is crammed full of file
cabinets and loose paperwork. Any characters that spend some time
looking at the files should Challenge Investigation. The character who
contributes the most successes draws 1 card, plus the characters
discover useful information depending on how many successes they
rolled.
Successes: 0 – The characters find nothing of any real interest.
1-3 – The characters notice that there are an awful lot of trenchfoot
cases at this hospital.
4-6 – The characters notice the above, plus they come across a
number of case files from patients currently in the hospital. Their
stories will seem vaguely familiar at first, and someone will realize
that the nightmares they had while asleep were the memories of these
patients. Armed with the patients’ names and stories, characters gain
+1 automatic success on Communication rolls when facing the inner
demons of the patients (see Inner Demons incident, above).
7+ - The characters discover both the above things, plus they
come across the case file of Willie McAusland. Private McAusland is
a Scottish soldier who was at the Somme when the Horrors arrived
on Earth. He was exposed to so much eldritch energy that he went
somewhat insane and around him dreams begin to become reality.
Dr. Grady, the doctor in charge of McAusland’s case, thought he could
heal McAusland’s mind and use his dream-reality abilities to help
47
people heal back home, but it’s clear from the later notes that the
combined nightmares of the war patients in the hospital drove Grady
insane himself.
Refuse Room: Most of the space in this small room is taken up by
a nearly six-foot-high (2 m) pile of amputated limbs in various states
of decay. The few uncovered spots of the floor are sticky with puddles
of blood and fetid water. If anyone investigates the pile of body parts,
the Trenchfoot Golem attacks. The only other noteworthy things
in the pile are the murdered bodies of all the hospital’s male staff
including Dr. Grady.
Supply Closet: The closet has been ransacked with bandages torn
and strewn everywhere, pills and liquid medicines spilled on the floor,
and cans of food that have been physically torn open. However, each
soldier may roll Investigation: TN 2 to turn up one of the following
still-usable items: a sealed bottle of aspirin, a box of matches
and three unused candles, a six-pound bag of talcum powder, a
stethoscope, a syringe, a broom (can be used as a Staff), two loaded
Pistols.
Surgery Room: As the characters approach this room, they
hear screaming and crying. Several patients are tied to surgery
tables and have each had multiple limbs amputated. There is one
Sick Sister in the room for each player character, and they attack
immediately. The constant screaming of the amputees is so terrifying
and disheartening, it counts as a special Scream Attack. At the start
of each combat round roll an attack of 3 unmodified Skill Dice against
all players characters in the room. This attack targets Guts and deals
1 damage.
The patients in this room are beyond mental or physical help
and all that can be done is to put them out of their misery. The
first character who suggests that option draws 1 card. Once all the
patients are silenced, the Scream Attacks end.
McAusland’s Nightmare: Private Willie McAusland is the indirect
cause of all the trouble at the hospital. He was at the Somme when
the Horrors first began, and his mind shattered as he was bathed in
dark power that made all dreams around him take form.
Willie’s room has only one bed in it, and while Willie is in the
bed, it’s not accurate to say he’s only in the bed. Willie’s skin has
expanded to cover the walls, floor and ceiling of the room, making
it seem like the room is made of warm, bloody flesh dripping with
pus. There is a humanoid lump in the bed with a face where Willie’s
dream-trapped consciousness resides. In a chair next to the bed is
Nancy Renault, the head nurse.
Whatever Nancy might have been before, she is now nothing but
evil horror driven to make her prey feel hopelessness. She has full
control of McAusland’s mind, and nothing can be done for him until
she is destroyed.
48
Saving Willie: Like the other patients, McAusland is trapped in
a nightmare of his memories. He can be talked out of it or killed, but
each method has its own risks.
If the characters try to talk Willie out of his nightmare, they
will Challenge Communication once. Any character who escaped a
patient’s dream without killing the patient gets +1 success on their
roll. If the characters get a total of 20 successes or more, Willie
becomes aware enough of the world around him to have a normal
conversation. He will ask the characters to end his life, which they
can then do easily since he is not resisting.
If the characters fail to bring Willie back to his senses (or if they
bring him back to his senses but then refuse to kill him), they will
have to fight him. Defeating him in this manner requires them to
Challenge Melee or Ranged (if the character has a ranged weapon):
TN 30. Successes toward the TN can be pooled over multiple rounds,
but because they are trapped inside McAusland’s body as well as his
dream, they automatically take one point of Brawn damage each time
they roll as the fleshy surfaces lash out at them. If Willie is killed
without first being convinced it’s for the best, every character who
participated draws for Corruption.
Once Willie is dead, the fleshy membranes covering the exits rot
away quickly. Any characters that are still alive can step into the
gloomy outdoors and continue their lives.
Decoration
All survivors draw 1 card. If Willie was convinced his death was for
the best, each character gets a second card.
Antagonists
Sick Sisters
Demonic nurses with blackened eyes and cracked red skin.
Painfully stretched smiles plaster their demented faces, and they utter
calming phrases like, “Oh, show me where it hurts and I’ll fix it right
up!”

Weapons: Bone Saw: 2 damage - +1 damage (2)
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel� ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Hold Him Down: Sick Sisters have spindly limbs and u�atural
strength that are g�d for i�obilizing their patients. A
Sick Sister can make a normal mel� a�ack ro� that does no
damage, but if it is su�e�ful the target is temporarily
i�obilized until the victim’s next action. Any Brawn damage
done by a su�e�ful Bone Saw a�ack to an i�obilized target
is permanent as the Sister saws o� their hand, arm, or leg. If
49
a character su�ers an amputation in this ma�er, they take an
a�itional point of Brawn damage every minute until they bl�d
out and die or are given first aid (ro� Knowledge: TN 3).
Weakne�: None
Reward: Any character that ends up with an amputated limb gets
a card as a consolation prize.
Trenchfoot Golem
Vaguely humanoid form made of blackened rotting feet that have
been amputated.

Weapons: Kick (as Fist)
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel� ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ o
- Stealth ˝ ˝ o o o
- Bl�d Rites ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
Scabs, Sp�d, Bl�d Blade
Weakne�: If the characters have talc powder or some other way
to dry the creature out, its Brawn is i�ediately reduced to 2.
Nancy Renault, the Head Nurse

Like the other Sick Sisters, Nancy has blackened eyes and cracked
red skin. But instead of being gangly and long, Nancy is solid and
stocky.

Weapons: Bone Saw: 2 damage - +1 damage (2)
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel� ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Co�unication ˝ ˝ o o o
- Hopele� Bleak Despair (Guts) ˝ ˝ ˝ o o: Nancy l�ks
into a character’s eyes and makes an a�ack against their Guts.
Deals 1 damage - +1 Damage (2). If the character’s Guts are
reduced to zero by this a�ack, they give hope and end their
own life.
Weakne�: None.
Reward: Draw 2 cards; ch�se one to k�p and give one to
another member of the Unit.
50
Rockets’ Dread Glare
August Hahn
“I know the Brass wanted to know where we had gone. A whole
unit disappearing for three days? London must have been opening
breach and dry loading kittens. But what can we possibly say? I would
rather be suspected of sedition than sent to Rainhill as a crazy…”
Mission Briefing
This ‘mission’ takes place in the devastated, entrenched wasteland
that rural France has become. Set against the ruins of the eastern
bank of the River Matz, it forms a deeply personal prelude for the
Battle of Matz and its counter offensive that claimed between them
more than 75,000 lives. The rush of twenty-one German divisions
into the area has brought with it the dark shadows that have been
corrupting the battlefields of Europe since the Battle of the Somme in
1916.
The German advance must be halted. If they are not stopped on
this side of the river, there is little that will impede them from rolling
across the heartland of France. You wait in your trench, the scars of
old battles all around and the promise of new wounds to come. Night
is falling.
Mission Objective
Survive crossing over and find a way out of the Dread.
The Journey
You are about to leave the world you know and journey through a
painful fog into a place outside reality. The longer you stay, the more
of yourself you may lose. Only by working together and facing the
challenges here can you escape before you disappear completely.
Requirement: One card from each player. No one may play a
Heart unless they have no other choice. Once all cards are paid in, if
any player has no Hearts in hand, they must trade in any one card in
their hand for the top Heart card in the deck. Shuffle the deck after all
players eligible for this have done so. Do this before play begins.
Question: What memory sustains you and keeps you going when
all other hope seems lost?
Failure: If a given solider cannot escape the Dread or is ‘killed’ by
Harrowhounds, that character is obliterated.
Incidents
The first Incident (Undercover of the Night) and the last (I See a
Red Door and I Want to Paint It Black) should be run in that order
– first and last. The other three (Tears Go By, Beast of Burden, and
It’s All Over Now) can be run in any order, though it is recommended
that they occur in order.
Under Cover of the Night: Despite excellent scouting and sentries
in clear line of sight of the approach, several German advance teams
have made it to within artillery distance of the Allied lines along the
river. They are too far out to be gunned down, even by sharpshooters,
but this also puts the players’ soldiers at a safe distance as well. This
51
52
has made for a tense standoff all day. As night comes, fear is slowly
driving the greener troops in the players’ Unit mad.
This is the mood you should be conveying as the Incident begins.
The sun is down, their fellow troops look haunted and skittish, and
the Germans are a silent menace in the distance. When they fire a
barrage of rockets, it should come as both a shock and as morbid
relief.
Rockets and artillery are not common occurrences in this war.
They are expensive, wasteful of materiel, and highly inaccurate. That
said, the one type of indirect shell that does have great effect on the
battlefield is what appears tonight – gas. The soldiers bear witness
to several shells being launched, the darkness of nightfall hiding
exactly where they will hit. The rounds have been painted green and
bear several Xs on a brown band around their nosecones – the sign of
phosgene gas.
At the sight of these shells and the echoing thunder of their
launch, the troops around the players’ Unit all break morale and flee.
The horrors of exposure to phosgene gas have become well known
and very few of these country-conscripted French troops have any
protection at all.
Describe the soldiers running madly, many climbing out of their
tranches to try and escape. Provide the salient, horrific details as they
are all caught by the billowing green vapor. Refer to the accompanying
text box for a primer on the biological effects of this battlefield
travesty. Get as in-depth with your descriptions of these effects as
needed to strike the proper note of fear and panic in the players.
Death is coming, swift and vicious.
Exposure to Phosgene Gas

Initial exposure to phosgene gas, also called ‘Dirty Green’ by
troops on both side of World War I, may not be immediately fatal as
the chemical is a surface irritant and most effects can take 24 hours
to appear. Where phosgene gas becomes an effective killer is during
respiration. The initial caustic shock to breathing passages can be
very painful and disruptive, especially in high doses such as what is
released from the nearby detonation of gas shells.
Someone dying of inhalation burns is usually rendered immobile
while they rasp for air, coughing so violently that they tear the
lining of their lungs, esophagus, and throat. This often leads to the
exhalation of body fluids, as well as loss of muscle control from pain.
Many victims who breathe phosgene suffocate on their own vomit long
before the toxic elements in the chemical can kill them.
However, fate has something else in store for the Unit. The artillery
shell that bursts closest to them is brass, bears no paint or marks on
its bright outer surface, and is capped with a strange symbol engraved
on a detonator disk of jet-black metal. The shell explodes above them,
53
releasing something shadowy and spider-like. Before they can evade,
it unleashes a cloud of blood-red fog that descends over them!
Once in the fog, the characters are cut off from each other. They
cannot see more than a few inches in front of them, they cannot hear
anything but the keening of a wind that seems to surround them but
is not moving the fog at all, and all feel is a crawling chill that ignores
any clothing or covering they might be wearing. It is as if they are
standing naked in an undulating crimson blizzard.
This is the Passage of Pain, a journey into a befouled netherworld.
For what feels like eternity but might only be a few fleeting moments,
they are forced to endure every pain they have ever experienced in
their lives. It is excruciating, exhausting, and torturous.
Each player must roll 1D6 for their pain. The resulting number is
how many card draws they must endure. For each card, they feel a
different kind of agony based on suit, as noted below. (Describe this
pain in specific detail if you wish to flesh out the Incident narratively.)
The player must roll 1D6 for each affected attribute; if the roll result
is higher than the attribute rank, that attribute is reduced by one
just as if the character took damage. Armor has no effect. Resolve
one card draw and die roll per player at a time, moving from player to
player randomly until all characters have relived all their pain.
Card Suit Affected Ability

Club Physical Pain – Affects Brawn
Diamond Mental Anguish – Affects Smarts
Heart Emotional Torment – Affects Guts
Spade Near Death Experience – Player may choose affected
attribute
Joker Hardened by Adversity – The Passage of Pain ends
immediately for all Soldiers.
Once this winnowing comes to an end, either through terrible pain,

death, or by the process ending prematurely by the receipt of a Joker,
the soldiers will find themselves together again, but in a strange place
unlike anywhere they have been before. The unit has survived the
Passage of Pain and arrived in the corrupt dimension beyond it – the
Dread. In the Dread, thoughts become phenomena and magic is made
manifest. It is a realm of ruins where Whispers are more powerful and
despair can kill. Both flesh and souls are feasts for its dark denizens.
The Dread has many layers, each one dominated by the energies of a
different emotion. Sorrow leads to Rage which burns out and leaves
Loss. That is one path through the emotions of the Dread, though
there are others.
Return all cards dealt against players during the Passage of Pain
to the deck. Reshuffle and proceed to whichever Incident you wish to
run next.
54
Tears Go By (Sorrow): This layer is defined by Sorrow. Images and
creatures associated with sadness are common here, but pathways out
are as rare as the diamonds in a widow’s wedding ring. Illustrate this
for the players by using descriptions of ravens lurking amid ruined the
crumbling gravestones of a lonely cemetery, echoes of sobbing on the
wind, and constant rain that tastes faintly of salt and regret. Let them
find a lost child’s toy, a stained Dear Johnny letter to a serviceman
whose name seems oddly familiar, or other morose icons.
There are no signposts telling the players where they are. Instead,
provide context clues and let them realize it for themselves.
Until the players figure out where they are, they cannot escape.
This is where actual elapsed time in game will matter. Every ten
minutes of play, starting when the unit arrives in Sorrow, they are
beset by Harrowhounds. The first time this happens, there is only one
of the beasts. The second time, double this to two. The third time, this
becomes four. At forty minutes in, a swarm of eight Harrowhounds
will likely be the end of the Unit, so hopefully the players will figure
out how to escape by then.
Escaping Sorrow is both figurative and literal. Joy can tear apart
the nature of sadness; this is as true in the Dread as it is in real life.
Any time one of the soldiers laughs, tells a joke, or in some why acts
happy, shadows brighten all around that character and beasts howl
mournfully in the distance. If, and only if, the players have figured out
this is a land of depression and dolor, one of them can discard a Heart
suit card from their hand.
Doing this causes a happy memory to surface in the character’s
mind. It lasts a few moments, long enough to be fully recalled
and experienced, and then it fades away – forever forgotten by the
character to which it once belonged. All the soldiers are then drawn
through darkness to the next layer (the next incident you wish to
run).
This scene lasts until the unit is killed or finds a way to escape.
Beast of Burden (Rage): This layer is Rage, the fire of anger that
can drive people to horrific violence and unspeakable atrocities. Rage
is different from any other layer of the Dread because it is not cold.
Instead, the ruins of its almost-familiar but utterly alien landscape
are all on fire. Flame is the hallmark of Rage and the most common
feature of this layer.
The other common feature of this layer is weapons. Any weapon
you want to place in the characters’ path can be found here, from
sharpened stones to fully loaded M-1 Garands and grenades. Do not
be afraid to heavily arm the characters. They are about to need the
firepower.
The “Beast of Burden” Incident is simple enough to run. Though
examples of wrath can appear anywhere, and you can add them for
detail if you wish, the sole inhabitant of this layer should be clue
55
enough for the players to figure out where they are. Do not let them
linger long before they have to face Warspite – The Engine of Wrath.
Escaping the layer of Rage can either happen when one character
manages to achieve a state of pure calm (role-play this through and
allow it if the character is convincingly sanguine) or – more likely
– when Warspite is destroyed. This leads to the next Incident, either
“Tears Go By” or “It’s All Over Now”.
It’s All Over Now (Loss): Nothing. This layer is loss, and it is
symbolized in the Dread by absolute nothingness. There are no ruins;
there is no sky or fog. This is Loss, the ashes of emotional decimation.
Let the players try anything they like. If they search for clues, there
are none to be had. They are closer to their true enemy than they
have ever been so far, but they have no way to know.
After ten minutes of play; searching, experimenting, and coming
up empty, provide them their one and only clue by slowly taking
things away from them. Objects they value, mementos like letters
from home or photographs, medals and honors; all are fair game. If it
means something to a character, it can and will be taken away over
time.
The only way to stop this loss is to create something new. You
can afford to be generous in how you adjudicate this, as any player
clever enough to figure out the way to escape this place has already
essentially fulfilled the requirements by creating something – a plan.
Allow drawings, stick figures made from cigarettes, an impromptu
song, or even giving someone else a nickname. Anything qualifies
because new erodes loss and opens the way.
Once something new comes into being, you can move the players
to the next Incident. If everything else has been endured, the players
have reached the last layer – I See a Red Door and I Want to Paint It
Black.
I See A Red Door and I Want to Paint It Black: The Players
have endured some of the worst horrors of this place and survived.
This dimension is not meant for the living. Their existence here is
an affront to the true masters of this place. They have pushed the
soldiers into this layer, where the Dreadweaver dwells. The soldiers
are expected to die here, slain by the powerful entity that made this
place.
The layer looks like a room full of doors without knobs, many
of which just float in space or stick out of the walls, floors, or even
the ceiling. Every door is some shade of blood, from the bright red
of arterial spray to the deep maroon of a desiccated heart. Give the
soldiers a few moments to get their bearings before one of the doors
opens and The Dreadweaver appears, eager to devour them all!
Upon slaying the Dreadweaver, the last door it moved through
is bathed in the geyser of corrupted tar-like blood that gushes from
its vanishing corpse. This coats the red door, turning it black, and
56
conjuring a brief spiral of white mist beyond it. This path will only
last a few moments, but if the soldiers take it, they return to the real
world, the trenches they left behind.
They return to discover that days have past, the Battle of Matz is
over, and they are the only members of their unit to survive. Life may
be uncomfortable for a while as they are all interrogated about where
they have been, but at least they have survived!
Decoration
All survivors draw 2 cards.
Antagonists
Harrowhound
Lanky canine creatures that appear to be pale grey wolves,
emaciated and streaked with blood. Their eyes are empty sockets, out
of which stream contrails of scarlet mist.

Weapon: Bite: 2 damage
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel� ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Investigation ˝ ˝ o o o: Used for tracking prey.
- Dark Howl: This ability is always active. This a�ack is a
d�p mournful howl that is both painful and heartbreaking to
hear. It can only be invoked once per combat and automatica�y
inflicts 2 Brawn damage on a� who can hear it. Armor has no
e�ect, but a victim reduces this damage by 1 point for every
Club card in their hand. A�licable cards are retained; this
does not spend them. Only one Ha�owhound can intone its Dark
Howl in any given round.
Weakne�: None
Reward: A� Players draw 1 card once the cu�ent pack is slain.
Warspite – The Engine of Wrath

Warspite is a vile echo of all the rage felt by both sides of the war.
This mass of violence and bloodlust manifests in the Dread as a
twelve-foot (4 m) tall mass of steel plate, barbed wire, and weapons
surrounding a massive black iron boiler. Flames erupt out of its
‘chest’ as it moves and when it walks, the sounds of murder-mad
screams echo around every metal footfall.
Type: Solo Initiative Value: 6 Armor: 1 (S� March of War)

Weapons: Slam: 1 damage; Ranged: 1 damage (S� March of War)
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel� ˝ ˝ o o o
57
- Ranged ˝ ˝ o o o
- March of War: This ability is always active. As Warspite
fights, its rage makes it stronger and deadlier. The longer a
ba�le, the more devastating its a�acks become. Every round
after the first, a� +1 to the damage of its Slam and Ranged
a�acks and a� 1 to its Armor. These can increase to a maximum
of +5. Every sixth round, Warspite overheats and is paralyzed
for one round. During this time, a� March of War bonuses drop
to zero. The cycle continues, on the seventh round, it begins
a�acking again at 1 damage each. Its March of War bonus starts
a�umulating again after this.
Weaken�: None
Reward: A� Players draw 1 card once the Engine is destroyed.
The Dreadweaver
The Dreadweaver is a nightmare given form, a shadowy figure that
cannot be seen clearly but thrives on fear and stalks it prey on many
writhing legs. This particular fiend was bound into a ritual artillery
shell and used as an occult weapon in the ever-darkening war.

Weapons: Touch: 2 damage; Gl�m (Ranged): 2 damage
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel� ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ o
- Co�unication ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Ranged ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Lurker at the Threshold: This ability is always active. The
Dreadweaver can open a d�r and step through it to emerge from
any other d�r in this huge chamber. This a�ows it to move to
any range it wishes at the begi�ing of its turn without taking
an action.
- Cr�ping Ho�or: This ability is always active. On each
soldier’s turn, the Dreadweaver can ch�se to fl�d their mind
with fear. This forces them to rero� one su�e�ful die if
they take an action that requires a ro�. This ability ca�ot
a�ect any character with a Heart suit card in their hand. The
Dreadweaver must use this power at least once betw�n its own
turns, and every time it does so, its Armor drops by one point.
Weakne�: None
Reward: A� Players draw 1 card once the weaver is destroyed.
58
Stars of Green Flames
Alan Bahr
Mission Briefing
On April 21st, 1918, RAF pilot Captain Roy Brown shot down and
killed the notorious pilot and dogfighter Manfred von Richthofen, also
known as the Red Baron. Since then, the Allies have ruled the skies
without question, allowing our armies to finally push past the Somme.
With their most feared and famous ace dead, the Germans have been
forced to retreat as the Allies have advanced, covered and bolstered by
their ascendant aeroplane forces.
Recently, a mysterious new German ace has been able to force
the Allied air corps back, almost single-handedly halting the Allies
and their advance. This new ace averages two kills each sally forth
and seems to attack mostly in the dusk or dawn. His assaults are
decimating the Allies air forces. Our spies believe they know the
airbase this pilot assails us from, hidden deep in the forest near
Saint-Jean-aux-Bois.
In the view of Command, this is a suicide mission, and they expect
very few of members of the unit to return. There is no support, and
the unit will be facing down some of the most veteran troops of the
German army during this mission.
Mission Objective
Reach the secret German airbase. Kill any German soldiers. Kill
the German ace. Destroy the airbase.
The Journey
The unit sets out through the dusk into the dark forests of
northern France. The trek will take the unit through a dense forest,
over German lines and supply routes and past numerous patrols. The
forest reeks of rotten vegetation, and constant noises echo throughout
it. The unit can hardly move without being assailed by creaking
sounds, snapping branches, and faint German voices whispering past
them.
At some point they will pass a river, where in body-sized bobbing
shapes lazily drift downriver, and the faint scene of roses and mulch
wafts past them. The deeper they get into the forest, the harder it is
to see the moon and stars, and when they are glimpsed, the foliage
seems to give them a green tint.
Time to Prepare: Before the unit sets out, allow each member of
the Unit to draw 2 extra cards and keep 1 of them. This is a suicidal
assignment and Command will outfit them with the best supplies they
currently can, as well as the most accurate maps and information
they can provide.
Requirements: 1 Club per player. This Journey must be done
twice. After the first Journey, if the group was successful, allow them
to each narrate how they helped the unit.
59
Narrative: Describe dealing with the forest, avoiding getting lost,
and how you handle any German soldiers or patrols you encounter
along the way.
Success: (First Journey Only) – Each player draws 2 cards, as they
work together in unison, their confidence and morale bolstered.
Failure: (First or Second Journey) A flight of crows is startled
and flies off in the direction of the airfield. The crows are Manfred’s
messengers, and thus the Germans are aware of the Allied unit and
the airfield is prepared. This causes the Unit to advance into heavy
resistance. No rerolls, and when the Unit arrives at the airbase, they
collectively suffer 1D6 damage (to attributes of their choice) per failed
Journey (2D6 maximum).
Incidents
The airbase is hidden deep in the forest and guarded by some of
the most battle worn German soldiers of the war. It will take daring
and guile to approach and win the day.
Possible Incident
If the unit was successful during both Journey tests, there is a
chance to tactically approach the German airbase or gather a chance
to rest before the assault. In turn, each soldier may individually roll
Knowledge or Stealth. A success allows the player to put a card from
the discard on top of the deck or draw one card. Each player who
fails the roll, causes 1 damage to each soldier (from any attribute).
The players narrate their successes or failures. They should describe
their approach to the base, their encounters with patrols and guards,
and the terrain. Once the unit as a whole has accumulated 3 failures,
the Germans are fully aware. The players can stop any time before
the Germans are aware. If the Germans are aware (due to the failure
during this incident) at the start of the Challenge in “The Airbase”
Incident, the Germans will attack and the Unit must collectively suffer
1D6 damage (to attributes of their choice).
The Airbase: Once the Unit arrives at the airbase, resolve any
damage from the prepared Germans (if either Journey was failed or
they failed during the possible Incident above). After the initial volley,
defeating the German resistance will require the unit to Challenge
Ranged: TN 10. The Challenge may be rolled as many times as needed
to pool the required successes, but each failure to accumulate the
required successes causes 1 damage to each soldier (to an attribute of
their choice). The players should narrate the firefight, how they utilize
cover or the environment throughout this conflict and what they see.
The Germans are grim and war-weary, but resolved to their deaths, so
they will not fold or retreat and die to the man.
After the conflict, each soldier may roll Knowledge for some respite
and recovery: 2 success = 1 healing and 3+ = 2 healing (any).
The afield smells of freshly overturned dirt, rotten cabbage and
gasoline, and unless the Unit moves quickly, the smell will begin to
60
wear on them. The cabbage scent lingers on anyone who is Corrupted,
and the dead Germans twitch, their fingers and dead eyes always
directed and pointed towards the nearest Corrupted soldier. The blood
from the dead doesn’t soak into the dirt, instead pooling and creating
reflective and sticky pools.
While at the airfield, the sky is dim, and while the moon and stars
can be seen through the opening in the trees, they are faint and sickly
reddish pink. If any soldier in the Unit looks at them too long, they
start to swim and appear to shift throughout the sky, but any double
checking reveals the night sky to be normal, but still dim.
Roll Investigation and describe what the soldiers see based on
successes rolled: 1) The airfield is well kept, but no planes are in
sight. 2) There are two hangers. 3) There are gasoline cans by Hanger
1 and worn tire tracks leading into it. 4) A faint green light flickers
in Hanger 2. 5) The forest bordering the airbase looks charred and
blasted, but if approached appears normal. If any soldier rolls no
successes, trigger the “Manfred” Incident immediately.
Roll Mechanics or Knowledge and describe what the soldiers
determine based on successes rolled: 1.) The hangers can be
destroyed easily enough with gasoline and the supplies the Unit
brought. 2.) There’s no resupply line to this base. 3.) If the base is
destroyed, finding the path back will be difficult, and every German
Patrol will know where you are. If any soldier rolls no successes,
trigger the “Manfred” Incident immediately.
Hanger 1: The only plane in this hanger is a strange-looking
triplane. No guards stand over it, but it’s clear this is the plane of the
German ace. A strange reddish-black and sticky paint covers it, and
it has no weapons that can be seen. Roll Mechanics: TN 3 is required
to set explosives to destroy the plane. When the plane is destroyed,
faint echoing screams waft through the air and the ground trembles.
There’s a faint sound of hoofbeats fading into the darkness and the
lingering smell of rotten cabbage is replaced by the deep stench of
sulfur and the dim sound of crackling flames. If no successes are
rolled, draw a card. On a face card, trigger the “Manfred” Incident.
Hanger 2: Inside this hanger is a small library of occult books and
tomes, as well as dissected and sacrificial remnants. Roll Knowledge
and describe what the soldiers find based on successes rolled: 1)
The books will burn if tossed into a fire. 2) Most are in ancient
Sumerian or Babylonian and all refer to a being known as the Flayed
Vizier of Green Flames. 3) These rituals require mystical daggers,
which should be somewhere nearby. 4) The daggers are designed to
harm supernatural beings empowered by evil pacts with devils. Roll
Investigation: TN 3 to locate two daggers in a wooden case. Their
make is ancient, and their metal is silvered, with sapphires in the hilt.
Runes crawl across the blades, rearranging themselves even when
viewed. If no successes are rolled on either roll, draw a card. On a face
61
card, trigger the “Manfred” Incident.
Manfred: The German ace, Manfred von Richthofen, confronts
the Unit automatically after they search the airbase and both hangers,
or before, if they trigger the confrontation. If Manfred’s plane has been
destroyed, he’s enraged and attacks immediately. If his plane has not
been destroyed, he will taunt the Unit, offering the chance to live. If
questioned, he’ll only say that when he enlisted, he committed his
soul to the service of his country, and no price was too steep to defeat
those who’d stop him and then attack. The Mission ends if Manfred is
defeated or escapes.
Decoration
All survivors draw 4 cards.
Additional Suggestions:
This Mission utilizes the discard pile in unique ways. There are
two ways to handle the discard deck during this Mission. Keeping the
discards behind the Narrator screen as normal certainly provides a
sense of paranoia and panic. This limits the information the players
have and can instill a sense of stress and fear. However, it can also
be overwhelming. Optionally, play this Mission with the discard pile
in full view, and the contents as open information. The Narrator will
know which method is best for their group.
The conflict with Manfred is designed to be a capstone for a ground
campaign for the Unit. While it is not the purview of this Mission
and briefing, if Manfred does escape, he can’t survive past the next
noon without aid. However, powered by hellish forces in his demonic
plane, he will wreck unimaginable havoc upon the Allied lines. While
the Unit is rushing back, an additional scene, where a unit of pilots
scrambles to attempt to take down the Red Baron of Hell would be an
excellent capstone for an escaping Manfred. Use his own Armor and
Brawn, instead of the normal airplane attributes and the damage of
his demonic plane is 1D6 normally and 2D6 for a strafe. The Baron
retains his other abilities as well.
Alternatively, he could flee back to Germany, trying to find an
occultist who can ensure he’ll survive to plague the Unit and the front
lines in the future.
Antagonist
Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron of Hell
Manfred is a smartly dressed man of average height. His pilot’s
uniform is in pristine condition, but dirt falls where he walks, and he
constantly oozes the smell of rotted meat. Where his eyes once resided
empty sockets now contain flickering green flames that dance as he
looks over the unit, and bleeding cuts that form strange Hermetic
symbols are slashed into his skin. He moves with demonically
unnatural speed, drawing his pistol and sabre and attacking the unit.
Manfred’s pilot career was defined by his cautious tactics, and his
combat against the Unit is no different. He focuses on the weakest
62
first. Manfred is a difficult opponent, and the Unit will be rewarded for
doing their research before engaging with him.
If Manfred is damaged by one of the sacrificial daggers, steam rises
from the wound, and green flames lick out of the cut. He’ll avoid those
wielding the dagger, if he can, or attempt to destroy them as quickly
as possible if he feels he is losing the fight.
Manfred is bound to his airplane and this airfield and so retreat is
not an option for him, though he will use his cover and situation to
his advantage if possible.
Type: Solo Initiative Value: J Armor: 6

Brawn: 8 (4) Smarts: 6 Guts: 10 (5)
Weapons: Hermetic Pistol: 3 damage - Critical (3)
Cursed Sabre: 2 damage - +1 damage (2), A�ault (3)
Ski�s/Abilities:
- Mel� ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Ranged ˝ ˝ ˝ o o
- Transport ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ o: When in a plane, Manfred may
replace any ski� with his Transport ski�.
- Gr�n-Flame Gaze (Brawn) () () (): Manfred locks his
eyele� gaze on an enemy. This ranged a�ack targets Smarts and
deals 3 damage.
- Gentleman’s Education: This ability is always active.
Manfred has 1 training in a� ski�s.
- Soul Pacts: This ability is always active. At the start
of Manfred’s turn, one random player must discard a card and
then draw a card. If they draw red, they su�er 1D3 damage
(to a�ributes of the victim’s choice) and restore that much
health to Manfred. Anytime Manfred would be ki�ed, instead
remove a red card from the discard and restore Manfred 1D3
health. If Manfred can’t remove a red card from the discard,
he is destroyed.
- The He�-baron of the Skies: This ability is always active.
If Manfred’s plane is not destroyed, after four rounds of
combat, draw a card at the start of Manfred’s turn. If it is an
Ace or Joker, he escapes on his next turn in his plane, dealing
2D6 damage to the Unit (to a�ributes of the victims’ choice)
as he strafes them during his escape.
Weakne�: Bound to his Airplane - If his he�plane is
destroyed, Manfred halves his Brawn and Guts. Use the
a�ribute ranks given in parentheses above.
Vizier Flaying Da�ers - If a�acked with one of the two
sacrificial da�ers from Hanger 2, those a�acks ignore his
Armor. Manfred ca�ot use his Soul Pacts ability to k�p
himself alive if he su�ers lethal damage from a sacrificial
da�er.
Reward: Draw 3 cards; k�p 2 and discard the last one.
63
64
Never Going Home
Book of Whispers
The Others speak words of power.
They are Corrupting your mind.
They say you can do anything.
You are starting to believe them.
3 Magic Paths
9 Constructs
9 Fetishes
The Corruption Pool
4 Adventures
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Never Going Home - Book of Whispers

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Book of Whispers

Whisper Paths ....................................................... 9

This project was made possible by the

Machine Bonds (Brawn)

Veil Calls (Guts)

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 5 Armor: None

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 10 Armor: 5

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 2 Armor: 6

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 8 Armor: 4

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 6 Armor: None

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 8 Armor: None

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 8 Armor: None

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 6 Armor: 3

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 10 Armor: 4

As English is my second language, my hope is that those

Spell Book: Sometimes a caster gets lucky

Hand of Craft: When an opponent has a

Cards of Sight: The cards know everything,

Drum of Victory: With an otherworldly sound, a

Hollow Necklace: Chance occurrences mean the

Fate Censor: The scent of burning incense

Horned Head: There is knowledge to be gained

Life Proxy: Life is dangerous and living requires

Type: Mob Initiative Value: 10 Armor: 4

Giant Corrupted Rat

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 2 Armor: 3

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 4 Armor: 4

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 9 Armor: None

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 7 Armor: None

Nancy Renault, the Head Nurse

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 8 Armor: 2

Exposure to Phosgene Gas

Card Suit Affected Ability

Once this winnowing comes to an end, either through terrible pain,

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 5 Armor: 2

Warspite – The Engine of Wrath

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 6 Armor: 1 (S� March of War)

Type: Solo Initiative Value: 8 Armor: 5

Type: Solo Initiative Value: J Armor: 6

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