Mikko Karttunen

Blightburg Inspirational RPG products

An intrigue-drama tabletop roleplaying game • Apocalypse World, by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker.
First Edition, July 2019 The inspiration for the game’s structure, basic mechanics and
Designed & developed 2015-2019 by Mikko Karttunen multiple moves, as well as many other aspects.
Cover art by Toni Katajisto • Class Warfare, by Johnstone Metzger. Licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International
Playtesters license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The
Ossi Sandberg, Janne Räsänen, Otto Martin, Nestori Lehtonen, Deceive move is inspired by the Impersonation move, and the
Hannele Ahlroos, Viktor Haimi, Marjaana Karttunen, Antti Orate move by the Crowd Control move.
Sarjanoja, Mikko Eronen, Vesa Koskela, Jussi Eerio, Jaakko • Conspiracy of Shadows, by Keith Senkowski. Partial inspiration
Leinonen, Sami Koponen, Juusi Haavisto, Seppo Järvelä, Jussi for witchcraft and some of the darker tones of the game.
Kuivamäki and Kari Salmela • Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, by Wizards of the Coast. The
inspiration for the advantage/disadvantage move.
Additional help • Dungeon World, by Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel. Licensed
Ossi Sandberg, Janne Räsänen, Tommi Brander, Sami Koponen, under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license
Eero Tuovinen, Heikki Hallamaa, Antti Sarjanoja, Jaakko Leinonen, (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). The Face Danger
Otto Martin, Petteri Hannila and Marjaana Karttunen move is inspired by the Defy Danger move, and the Poison
move by the Alchemist move.
Special thanks • Fate, by Fred Hicks and Rob Donoghue. The inspiration for
Ossi Sandberg, Janne Räsänen and Eero Tuovinen the Compel move and partly how traits work.
• Fiasco, by Jason Morningstar. The initial inspiration for
situation creation.
• Solar System, by Eero Tuovinen. Playstyle inspiration.
• Sorcerer, by Ron Edwards. The inspiration for demonic deals.
• The Burning Wheel, by Luke Crane. The inspiration for beliefs,
You’ll also want to print the situation creation references, character grit, lifepaths, and the player driven nature of the game.
creation references, character sheets, move references and the • The Shadow of Yesterday, by Clinton R. Nixon. Playstyle
Devil’s seat play aids. inspiration and the initial inspiration for stress.
• Town, by Lisa J. Steele. Inspiration for the setting.
These are available as free downloads from • Wraith: The Oblivion, by Mark Rein·Hagen. The inspiration for
www.frozendepths.net/blightburg. the Devil’s seat.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Moves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
The Pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Basic moves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
How Does It Play?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 General moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Setting Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Lifepath moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Basic Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Peripheral moves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Game Mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Witchcraft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Player Agenda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Witches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Setting: a City of Lies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Blight & Witch Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Starting a Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Demons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Homework for the GM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Witchcraft moves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
The City Baseline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Playing the Game. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Creating the Web of Conflict. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Scene Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Wrapping Up the First Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Beliefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Example Conflict Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Traits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Character Creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Compels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Step-by-Step. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 The Devil’s Seat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Lifepaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Player Characters in Conflict. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Childhood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 The GM’s Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Commoner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Privileged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Preparing for a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Criminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 The Second Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Religious . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 During a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Martial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 The End. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Character Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
 character isn’t in a scene, though. Instead the audience members
have tools to ask the other players hard questions and influence
the unfolding events as well.
A campaign of Blightburg is always set in a fictional Italian
city-state during the Renaissance period. Florence with all the
Blightburg is a player driven game of intrigue and character drama names changed works splendidly, for example. A dramatic game
set in a grim Renaissance era city. The dramatic intrigue is spiced such as this doesn’t benefit from historical nitpicking. You’re free to
with occasional action, witches and Faustian pacts with demons. mix your favorite Renaissance era phenomena in your city of lies.
The characters range from shifty lowlifes and zealous fanatics to In a game of intrigue all player characters are influential one way
powerful but flawed individuals involved in complex schemes. As or another. Most will likely have traditional power such as money,
a TV series analogy, think of it as a mash-up of Game of Thrones status, military strength or the backing of an important institute
and Salem in the Renaissance period. in the city. Other characters might be part of a criminal syndicate
or have the powers of witchcraft at their disposal.
Blightburg’s combination of intrigue and individual characters
The object of Blightburg is to find out who the player characters are on different sides of the conflict often leads to player character
deep down inside. Players (referring specifically to character players) conflicts as well. Alliances will be betrayed, friends backstabbed
are not allowed to state beforehand what their characters are truly and unlikely partners might find themselves working together.
like, now or in the future. Instead the characters go through tense Make sure your play group is okay with this. Also note that it’s the
situations, make hard choices and thus reveal who they really are. characters that are in conflict, not the players. The players need to
The game master is responsible for creating the tense situations cooperate to make this work.
and non-player characters required to challenge the characters. While this is a game of intrigue, there are no secrets at the
The first session is dedicated to situation and character creation. player level. The GM probably knows something about the NPCs
Several factions are scheming against one another in the city with that the players don’t, but the players don’t keep secrets from each
each player character tied to a different faction. other, and the GM doesn’t keep secrets about, for example, the
Between the first and second sessions, the GM develops a cast player characters’ past. A strict separation of player knowledge
of characters and situations to challenge the player characters. and character knowledge is required to make most of the drama.
Character play begins during the second session with the GM The mechanics of the game give the players tools to explore their
driving the game into motion. After a session or two the players characters, and make sure the situations keep moving forward. The
will have a good understanding of what’s going on and they will mechanics are generally light, but intertwined. The game values
become the active part while the GM’s role becomes reactive. fictionally interesting characters, not mechanically optimized ones.
As the player characters don’t form a party, all of them are rarely The focus isn’t on simulation, instead the play style is more akin
in a scene together. It’s not passive downtime for a player whose to a dramatic movie, but without a preplanned plot. The situation
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develops organically with each choice the characters make. The
characters and their relationships are in the focus, and the GM
should be prepared to frame convenient meetups and coincidences
to get the characters in the same scene.

The game works best with a GM plus 3-4 players. The players
should preferably be proactive people since they’ll be driving the
game forward with very individualistic characters. A campaign
of Blightburg takes five to ten sessions of about four hours each
depending on how fast your pace is. The campaign ends organically
when the most important story threads are resolved and the group
decides not to spin the consequences into a new starting point.
To play Blightburg, you need at least three ten-sided dice as
well as printed copies of the reference sheets: a few situation and
character creation references and the character sheets for the first
session, as well as move references and Devil’s seat play aids after
the first session. The references can be found on the game’s website
at www.frozendepths.net/blightburg as free downloads. You
might also want to find and print a suitable city map if you like to
visualize where the action is taking place. Google image search is
your friend here.

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 Moves that require rolling instruct you to roll+Stat, which means
rolling 2d10 plus the stat from your character sheet. A final result
of 14+ (14 or more) is a strong hit, 9-13 is a weak hit and 8- (8 or
less) is a miss. You can think of 14+ as a “yes” (what you tried to
do succeeded), 9-13 as a “yes, but…” (you succeeded, but there’s a
cost) and 8- as a “no, and…” (you didn’t succeed, and something
bad happens). There are also moves that don’t involve the dice, for
Playing Blightburg means having a conversation about fictional example the End of Session just lists things for you to do.
characters in their fictional situations. In this context the term Only the players roll for their characters. Instead of rolling the
fiction refers to the imaginary situation at hand. There are no strict GM describes a situation, asks the players “what do you do?” and
turns in the game, instead it’s a free-flowing conversation that gets reacts. If a move is triggered, the GM applies the move’s effect in
resolved in the order that makes sense in the fiction. Sometimes the fiction. If an NPC would require a roll, the GM either decides
moves (self-contained mechanical rules) add to the conversation. what happens based on the fiction and the needs of the drama, or
The game’s mechanics consist of moves for the most part. Take a applies an implicit weak hit, making the situation more interesting
quick peek at the Moves chapter on page 72 to get an idea what for the players.
a move looks like, then come back here. An important point to remember: A weak hit is fundamentally
Taking action in the fiction may trigger moves. Each move tells a success, it just has a cost attached to it. This is most relevant with
you when it’s activated and what happens next. Some triggers are in the generic Face Danger move since generally other moves have
the fiction, some are not. The main rule for fiction triggered moves well defined outcomes that may or may not be what your character
is: If it happens in the fiction, it happens in the mechanics and vice wanted.
versa. You may trigger a move in the fiction by taking character Most moves don’t have strictly defined outcomes for a miss.
action and then rolling the move you triggered, or you may declare What this means is that the GM makes your character’s situation
that you’re using a move and then taking the corresponding action in worse one way or another, using the danger inherent in the situation.
the fiction. Either way, both halves need to happen or neither does. A bland failure with no consequences is no good, the situation
Here’s an example. Vittorio is making a deal with captain Leone needs to move forward toward a worse state from the character’s
and Vittorio says: “Fine. I’ll marry your cousin if you free my perspective. Every move changes the situation.
brother.” This triggers the Manipulate move, whose trigger is “When Moves use certain terms that have special meanings. If a move
you have something a person needs or wants and you ask them to do what or its effect says +/-X forward, it means that you apply a +/-X
you want using that as a leverage”. Another way: Vittorio’s player modifier to the next roll you make. Hold means that you have points
says he Manipulates Leone to free his brother, the GM asks what that you can spend to purchase certain options or benefits during
Vittorio is using as a leverage and the player answers “I’ll offer to a situation. You don’t need to spend all of your hold immediately.
marry his ugly cousin”. Advantage means taking an extra die with the roll and dropping the
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lowest die before reading the result. Similarly disadvantage means
rolling with an extra die, but dropping the highest die after rolling.
Blightburg doesn’t track harm or hit points, instead it tracks how
stressed your character is. You gain stress when you roll misses,
Your player character has six basic stats: might, rigor, guile, insight, when you’re physically injured, when you resist your urges and
will and reason. In addition to these there’s one special stat, blight. when witchcraft doesn’t go as planned. Stress does determine when
The lifepaths you choose during character creation determine your you’re incapacitated in a fight, but that’s not the juicy bit. Stress
stats. Blight is determined by your witch age, or the lack of it. The is also a resource pool for the player sitting on your character’s
full stat range is from -4 to +2, but most stats end up being in the Devil’s seat. The more stress you have, the easier it is to sway you
-2 to +1 range. away from your goals.
Each of the six stats is linked to one basic move and one lifepath
move. These moves require rolling the dice. All characters have
access to all basic and lifepath moves, but whether your character A player character has three beliefs: One related to the overall
can use lifepath moves with or without a disadvantage depends on situation, one to another player character and one to a personal
your choice of lifepaths. matter. Beliefs are both value statements and goals for the character.
The higher your blight, the better you’re at witchcraft, but a Each one is broken down into three parts: a value statement, a
high blight makes you weaker at resisting demonic taint. Contact long-term goal, and a short-term action.
with the demonic can taint you, increasing your blight among Here’s an example as a full sentence: I believe greed will destroy
other effects, whether you’re using witchcraft voluntarily or facing our guild, so I must depose the current guildmaster. Next I’ll talk to the
a demonic threat involuntarily. treasurer to determine whether he’s an ally or an enemy.
Beliefs both help the GM prepare for the players’ antics and
help the players drive their characters forward. They change rapidly,
Grit is a resource pool that you can tap into when you really want especially the short-term action. The players should be prepared to
your character to succeed. Hero points, basically. You can use grit rewrite one or two every session. When a player drives the game
after a roll to bump the result higher, one grit for one point bonus. forward with their beliefs, they gain grit points at the end of the
Stats aren’t often enough to get you to the result you’d really like session.
to get (and this is intentional), so be prepared to rely on your grit
to push through.
You get grit by exploring your character. Mechanically this means Where beliefs represent your character’s values and goals, traits
that you’re following the character’s beliefs toward challenges, and represent what your character is like, behaviourally. Is your character
resolving their traits. More on these two concepts in a bit. kind or cruel? Zealous or perhaps deceitful? You’ll find out in play.

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 Your character has two kinds of traits: the traits that you’re over the character. Usually only one player can sit on someone’s seat,
currently exploring, and deep traits that you’ve resolved. You’re always but if a character is overly stressed, all other players automatically
exploring a pair of opposing traits, trying to find out which one of sit on the character’s seat. A player can’t sit on their own character’s
them is stronger for your character. A trait meter on the character seat, but each player can sit on multiple seats at the same time.
sheet keeps track of this. Coming back to compels, if a compel is accepted, the compelling
However, you’re not the one that tests them. It’s the other players player takes the compelled character’s Devil’s seat (and deposes the
using compels (more on those in a bit). Once you’ve resolved your previous seat holder, if any) and gains its powers. A player sitting
trait pair, the stronger one becomes a deep trait, you gain a few on another character’s Devil’s seat can use the character’s stress
grit points and you get to come up with the next pair to explore. pool to coerce them to act in ill-considered ways as well as hinder
their roll results.
The Devil’s seat can only be used when the seat holder’s own
Compel is one of the game’s moves, but it’s a special kind of move. character isn’t in the scene. Thus compels and the Devil’s seat are
It’s triggered by the players and there are no stats involved. Traits, the two tools the audience has to influence the unfolding events.
compels and the Devil’s seat intertwine with grit and stress to form You’ll find examples of their use in the Moves chapter, and more
one of the major ways to explore who the player characters are. advice in the Playing the Game chapter.
Essentially a compel is a question: “since your character has this
trait, would they do this despite their better judgement?” where the
compelling player decides which trait to compel and what the ill- Witchcraft is technically an optional part of the game; you can
considered action is. The compelled player then makes a judgement easily play the game with no witch characters. The function of
call about their character and either acts according to the compel witchcraft is to empower characters that don’t otherwise have strong
or rejects it. A mark is then added either for the trait if the compel ways to influence the situation. For example, commoner characters
was accepted, or for its opposing partner if it wasn’t. If a deep trait probably lack any political platform from the get go, while powerful
was compelled and accepted, the player gains grit instead. characters may lose their leverages during the game. Luckily dark
A player wants their character to be compelled, since that’s the powers are always ready to help ambitious individuals.
road towards a deeper understanding of the character, interesting There’s a whole chapter on witchcraft, but these are the basic
situations and more grit points. On the other hand the compelling concepts: All witches can cast spells. Casting a spell always has
player is rewarded with the compelled character’s Devil’s seat. consequences. All witches can also summon demons and make
pacts with them. Consider this when the spells aren’t enough.
Any contact with demonic powers triggers the Resist Blight
Each player character has a Devil’s seat where a player (not a move. It’s a move that first makes you more powerful, but eventually
character) may sit. The seat is metaphorical, not an actual chair in the destroys you if you keep using witchcraft. Witch marks are the
fiction. Whenever a player sits on a character’s seat, misfortune looms
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permanent consequences of failing to resist blight. They are physical
marks on your body that e.g. the Inquisition looks for.
The game is built on certain assumptions and failure to fulfill these
assumptions will lead to an unsatisfying experience. This is what
Blightburg doesn’t have an a equipment list nor does it have a stat you should do when you’re a character player and not the GM:
for wealth. These aspects of the game aren’t mechanized, so we’re • Play your character as a real human being, albeit determined
left with the fiction. When a character wants to buy a horse, you and tough.
make a judgment call about the character, their background and • Never compromise the integrity of your character.
the situation. A beggar can’t just buy a horse, for a magistrate it’s
• Don’t preplan who your character is deep down inside, let it
nothing, while for an artist it largely depends on their employment
emerge from the situations in play.
status and how they’ve been spending their money recently.
This illustrates an important point of the game: Stay true to • Drive hard towards your beliefs, but relent if something turns
the fiction. Make honest judgements, play the characters honestly out to be more important for your character.
and think of the consequences honestly. Let the situation evolve • Compel the other characters’ traits to learn what their true
organically, handwave the nitpicky details that don’t contribute to nature is.
the drama, but respect the fiction and keep it coherent. Since the game is all about exploring your character, you need
In addition to the fiction itself, you have a few tools to help you to play them as if they were a real person. There’s no meaning in
in these judgements calls. The most important one is the character your choices if the character isn’t coherent. Don’t let this come in
background in the form of lifepaths. If your character has the Poison the way of interesting play, though. You don’t want to protect your
move, you’ll likely also have access to poison. Your status is another character from every risk. You’re playing a determined character
big indicator; if you’re high class, you probably know someone who who’s willing to take risks to reach their goals.
could be willing to lend you money. The factions are another aspect There’s a certain tension between playing your character truthfully
to consider. A mercenary company has ready access to weapons, and selecting interesting move options. You should try to do both if
but the Weavers’ Guild doesn’t. possible, but as long as you avoid contradicting your character’s core
values, you’re doing it right. It’s also okay to first pick an interesting
move option and then justifying the choice for your character after
the fact, as long as you actually can justify it.
You can have some ideas where your character might be going,
but always make the final decision when you’re in the scene, under
pressure, and someone demands you to make a choice. It’s a special
kind of satisfaction to really get your character after playing for a few

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sessions, for it all to click, when you can say “ah, now I understand
why this character is the way they are”.
While you should drive hard with your beliefs, remember that
your character can change their mind. Perhaps it’s just not worth it
to sacrifice your family for power, maybe you need to find a different
way. When you come to a point where the cost is too high, relent
and let your character change.
Be curious about the other player characters. Wonder whether
they really are, for example, proud enough to decline an offer for
help and then test them by compelling them in the right moment.
Stay aware of the other characters’ traits and use them.
And finally, remember that your job is to be your character’s
advocate, driving them towards their goals and the troubles that
await them there. You shouldn’t try to directly sabotage your own
chances of success to get more drama. The other players and the
GM are there to get you into all sorts of trouble, so if you don’t
fight for yourself, no one will.

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 Their cathedrals and universities are the homes of the clergy and
scholars while the noble govern and plot in their courts. Artists and
craftsmen, dyers and candlemakers all work in the cities in close
What follows is historical fact, told from a biased perspective. Take it association with their guilds. Whether one is a privileged citizen or
as setting inspiration, not as a straitjacket for the game. Drama should an untrustworthy foreigner from the countryside, towns offer the
always come before historical accuracy. chance to become something more than just a common peasant.
• Life in the city isn’t easy, though. Grain comes from the
Everything went to hell in the 14th century. The plague killed countryside, everyone knows that, but that’s also where new residents
millions, never caring about people’s wealth or influence. The come from. Disease and high child mortality make sure that urban
surviving half of the population gained a remarkable position in birth rates aren’t enough to keep the markets busy. Beggars comprise
a hungry world full of vacant fields and empty markets. Weavers, a tenth of the population while most others live in filthy residences
bakers, butchers and other workers began to rebel against guilds where neighbours hear every quarrel and conversation through the
and government all over Europe. Violence and unrest drove people walls and over narrow streets.
from farms into towns further reducing the supply of food. Towns A married urban couple might expect to live together for some
began to fortify themselves and trade plummeted. Those were dark fifteen years before one of them dies. Unless it’s an unhappy marriage
times. I pray for the Black Death to never return here. in which case it’s just easier to live under different roofs. That’s
Nothing lasts forever, though, and in time towns began to grow just common sense as the Church makes divorce very difficult for
wealthy again. We weren’t an exception. New ideas emerged in the commoners.
early 1400s, ones that would’ve been shunned in earlier times by Life isn’t easy, but it’s not equal either. To use just one example,
the Church and its narrow pedantry. Humanism, arts, music and it’s not that uncommon for wealthy families to “discover” that their
science. First in Florence, the ideas then spread to Siena and Lucca unwanted marriage is actually forbidden due to distant family
and later to Venice, the heart of eastern trade routes. The whole ties or other convenient reasons. Some wealthy families have also
of the peninsula was in upheaval. A new kind of appreciation for “discovered” rather impressive genealogies to improve their prospects
education and arts paved the way for the world we now have. in a society where marriage is also often a way to seal an economic
Recent mechanical innovations have created a variety of new or political arrangement.
machines including the printing press which has allowed a lot wider Despite its diseases, rampant crime and the ever-looming risk of
spread of information. New techniques in metallurgy have improved fire, the city is the place to be for people of influence. People like us.
the production of iron tremendously. Cannons and arquebuses blast •
in the battlefields while noblemen joust in ever more impressive If you want influence and power, you must first understand the power
plate armors. And it’s all thanks to the vibrant cities and towns. structures you’re dealing with. The structures of a city-state. On the
Nowadays no one underestimates the importance of cities. one hand we don’t bow to faraway kings or suffer from their wars.
Their merchants form vast networks of trade and commerce. On the other hand we don’t have anyone else to help us. What we

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do have is a complex mess of power players both ecclesiastical and position and start to work on their new dynasty, these despots are
secular, and the freedom to make our own mistakes. a lot harder to overthrow than mere podestàs.
We have the freedom to select our own rulers and decide our Regardless of the form of government, the day to day
own forms of government. One might think this leads to a well administration is handled by the general council. It passes the
managed community, but that’s rarely the case as ambition rules legislation while the city’s own law courts handle the actual trials.
over common good. Governance varies widely in different cities Councilors are usually chosen by lot from a pool of eligible people,
and each has their own drawbacks. Some city-states have popular divided by districts. While the process is nominally random, certain
assemblies led by appointed counselors. This idea seems to work notable families seem to be a lot luckier than others.
in smaller towns, but as the town and its governing grows more A councilor’s life is far from carefree, make no mistake. While
demanding, it’s increasingly hard to settle disputes between factions. they have plenty of opportunities to favor friends, seek alliances
Popular assemblies might then appoint an executive, a podestà, through marriage and hire family members to high positions, they
to oversee the city. This chief magistrate might handle legislature, also need to host and entertain visiting dignitaries and maintain an
act as a high judge and even command the military. Or they might expensive staff. They’re also personally responsible for any financial
only chairman the council. Even though they have a lot of power, irregularities and mismanagement.
they are theoretically chosen by the people and their terms are often A bishop’s or noble’s court might further complicate the web
just six to twelve months. Cities try to guarantee their podestà’s of influence, as our lovely bishop regularly demonstrates. While
impartiality by selecting them from neighbouring towns, but they’re they bring money and employment, they also interfere with the
still well-connected social elites with their own agendas. This is city’s administration and finances. Even worse, they aren’t generally
what we currently have, a podestà with their small council. subject to the local courts.
I’m not sure how long that’ll last though, since the common Parties and associations are another source of tension in city
people, which is to say the wealthy merchants and guildmasters, can politics. Usually they follow guild or family lines, but their loyalty
grow dissatisfied with a single leader, and as we’ve seen elsewhere, might even extend to the clergy. Different parties support different
they might form another form of government, the popolo. The factions in a complex struggle for power. They show their more
popolo, lead by a captain, is supposed to protect the interests of or less secret allegiances by symbols, the style and color of their
the people against the whims of the nobility. It can supplement clothing and even how they drink their wine. When one party
the city council or podestà, but it further complicates the network gains dominance, the losing side is exiled from the city, only to
of power in a city. plot their eventual return.
Nowadays many cities have fallen under the control of a single •
ruler, a signore, or a group of lords, the signoria. Some signores were What of guilds, then? To simplify, a city gathers raw materials from
chosen by the people to end a problematic situation, some managed the countryside, processes them into finished goods and sells them
to gain more power than was expected as captains or podestàs while to various customers. The guilds seek to gain absolute control over
others took control after a violent revolt. Once they solidify their this flow in their respective industries. They are monopolists that

22 23
can make or break their smaller partners. They form exclusive deals hardly pleases the secular rulers. Priests, monks and scholars compete
with producers in the hinterlands, control the demand for goods, for prestige in parish churches, monasteries and universities, each
set the standard of scales and dominate the market place. with their own political and economic interests. All the same, they
Most cities have dozens of guilds: textile manufacturers and form a key part of daily urban life.
merchants, spice specialists and goldsmiths, lawyers and doctors, Here, as in other cathedral cities, roughly six percent of the
butchers and brewers, wheelwrights and needlemakers. The list population, the clergy, is immune from secular prosecution, taxes
goes on, each with their own monopoly. A lone craftsman doesn’t and tolls. Some of them are subject to the bishop, others to their
stand a chance against these organizations. own orders and all to the Pope in Rome. It wouldn’t be such a mess
And where there’s money, there’s power. Guilds take part in the if they didn’t take part in secular politics, but given how parishioners
local politics in various ways. The bigger guilds might lend money donate land to the Church in a steady stream, the Church’s expansion
to the city council and expect an interest of favours in return. They causes ever more tension with the city administration.
protect their members from extortion and violence and demand It goes both ways, though. Formally a city’s bishop is elected
satisfaction from landholders that are unable to protect them. They by a chapter of monks, but in practice, powerful families draft lists
impose trade embargoes on those who refuse to play by their rules. of nominees for the chapter to consider. Unsurprisingly the list
Guilds are also often the source of bloody uprisings, dissolving of nominees contains people from these families. Refusal to work
councils and detaining rulers if the governance is too harsh. Be with the list might even elicit a violent response.
careful with guilds, they’re not just communities of craftsmen and The Church isn’t without operative tools either. The Inquisition
merchants. with its power to arrest, imprison, interrogate and send heretics to
Banks are a closely related concept of the modern day. The execution is not an organization to neglect. The Inquisition’s usual
Church prohibits usury, which has given rise to the masses of Jewish method is effective. When it seizes a heretic’s property, a portion of
moneylenders, but there are ways to circumvent this problem. Some the wealth is given to the informant as a just reward. This incentive
banks charge high fees for failing to make timely payments while spurs locals to action, and the accusations are rarely thought to be
others label the interest as a gift from the borrower to the lender. false. Once the Inquisition suspects someone, it has a wide set of
While most credit is handled within people’s own social networks, tools to coerce statements out of the accused.
banks have plenty of clients ranging from nobles to institutions. Even the use of torture is allowed, but a person can only be
And as with guilds, banks are often power players in a city. tortured once and the confessions made under torture are not valid
• evidence. The confession needs to be ratified a day after the ordeal.
In many ways the Church and its offshoots are even worse than It’s not quite this simple, though, since it’s possible to “suspend” a
the nobility or guilds. We need the Church, for who wouldn’t fear session of torture and resume it at a later time. The Inquisition isn’t
for their soul in an environment such as ours? The Church has responsible for executing heretics, instead the accused is given over
immense social presence, but it’s also a key political and economic to a secular court once the case has been considered by a separate
player in a city. The clergy guards their privileges jealously, which trial of judges.
24 25
 Our Catholic faith isn’t the only one the citizens devote themselves crimes, brawls and dire insults. Vendettas can turn a simple fight
to. Many a city offers Jews a safe haven, often protected by a major between two street gangs into a cycle of revenge, eventually escalating
landholder or other supporter in exchange for generous loans. The into a full riot.
Jews form their own insular society within the city, rarely mixing Sure, we try to restrict crime with curfews and fines, but that
with Christians. This separation breeds wild rumors of murder, ritual merely stops the common people from walking in the night. It does
sacrifice of children, intentional spread of disease and poisoning very little to dissuade students, sons of merchants and real criminals
of wells. Many of these accusations have led to mass arrests, false from gathering after dark. We do regulate weapons, yes, and only
confessions and executions when the clergy bows to popular pressure. people of status are allowed to carry anything bigger than a knife,
The protestant movement is another, even less tolerated faith. The but again the real criminals don’t exactly care. Vandalism, robbery
Pope didn’t take kindly to Luther nailing his theses on the church and housebreaking are facts of urban life.
door in Wittenberg, detailing misconduct, abuse and criticizing the Most cities, including us, hire a captain who then hires the
selling of indulgences. Sure, to name a common gripe, the clergy is watchmen. Their term is kept short enough not to pose a threat,
supposed to be celibate, but young men do what you’d expect them often just six months or until the end of a podestá’s own term. The
to. Their improprieties go unpunished as long as their superiors are watchmen wander the dark streets with torches or lanterns looking
as tarnished from their own adventures. Still, I wouldn’t recommend for wrongdoers, but it’s just as efficient as you might imagine.
opposing the Church in this way unless you fancy excommunication. Nevertheless, the captain of the guard is a person you want on
As we’re still discussing the political power of the Church, we your side.
can’t leave the university unmentioned. Because of our local institute On the other side of the system we have judges. Some cities try
of higher learning, we have yet another set of people with their to prevent favoritism and political struggles by hiring judges from
own privileges. Most students are minor members of the clergy neighbouring towns, but even these judges can be bribed. As sworn
and in addition to this, when they’re within a day’s travel of the testimonies are common, it’s not always necessary to find a corrupt
university, they’re only subject to its own justice. judge either. However, some of our judges allow trials by combat,
Perhaps it’s this layer of protection that has given students a or formal judicial duels, which require a different approach if you
well-earned reputation for fighting, burglary and mayhem. The want to ensure a favorable outcome.
city has to do a balancing act with the university, as it’s a valuable For some reason even the harsh punishments we have aren’t
part of the city. Punishing the students too harshly might result in enough to prevent crime. The city doesn’t want to feed criminals,
strikes or even the university community leaving the city. On the so imprisonment isn’t a common form of punishment. Instead
other hand if the students aren’t restricted at all, who knows what a criminal can expect fines, torture, banishment or execution in
they’ll decide to do next with their communal power. either a painless or painful manner. My advice is, if you need to
• do something shady, don’t get caught. And if you’re good with a
Where there are people, there’s also crime. Cities are full of thieves, sword, consider resolving your dispute in a duel like a gentleman.
burglars and other brutes. Nearly half of all sentences are for violent

26 27
 Criminal organizations do exist as well, though they are rare. The
largest have been nearly 500 members with specialists in various
criminal activities, including forging and lock picking. They ransom
people, sell false jewellery and of course pick pockets. The rumor
has it that some syndicates even have their own kings, jargons and
secret safe houses. As useful as these kinds of organizations can be
for people of power, they aren’t reliable.
Mercenary companies are another faction of martial power
often seen in the city-states. Whether the city’s government hires
the captain and his company for defense or offense, they can easily
become troublesome if they end up staying too long in their tents
outside the city walls. The company might grow bored and start
inventing their own entertainment, the captain might take part
in the local politics or the local rulers might decide to use these
convenient foreigners to suppress domestic enemies. Assassinations
are not unheard of, after all.
Live by the sword, die by the sword they say. That may well be,
and you’d do well to first consider social schemes to further your
goals, but never forget there might be a more permanent solution
to your problem. Your enemies certainly won’t.

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 if you have opinions what the city should be like, but they form a
good fallback.
For most purposes you can think of the city as an alternate
Florence, though you should pick a different name for the city.
Here are a few names to consider: Novagia, Avenio, Saletici, Bicena,
You’ll want to read the whole book and pay special attention to the Luscia or perhaps Gicenza. Pick a name before the planning starts.
situation creation procedure and how characters are built. Print a The city-state resides in central Italy, inland. The year is around
few copies of the situation creation reference, character creation mid 1500s, but it’s not necessary to pick a specific year unless you
reference and character sheets for all the players. have a good reason for it. The city has a relatively long history and a
While you’re at it, you should also print a few move references few neighbouring city-states, most of which it has fought with one
and a Devil’s seat play aid for each player, though you won’t need time or another. The game focuses on the city’s internal politics, so
these until actual play begins. You can find these references on we won’t need a detailed view of the surrounding states. It’s peace
the game’s website: www.frozendepths.net/blightburg. Bring time now, though somewhat uneasy.
pencils and a few sheets of blank paper to the first session along The region’s economy is doing quite well overall, but not all
with the references. places have benefited from this. The city has a university, teaching
Discuss the intended length of the campaign with your group primarily theology, law and medicine, as well as a cathedral. A river
before the session, or before situation creation at the latest. A short runs through the city and it has a population of about 35 000 souls.
campaign needs a tight situation while a longer one can handle a Definitely big, but there are bigger cities around.
bit looser starting point. The players will also want to pace their There’s some forest nearby, a lot of farmland to support the
play so that e.g. witch characters don’t take insane risks or get over- city and an active volcano near enough to pose a threat. The city is
blighted during the first half of the game. governed by a small council of influential people, lead by a podestà.
Starting the campaign happens together with your group during This chief magistrate chairmanning the city council is supposed
the situation & character creation session. You’ll need to know the to be a foreigner to ensure their neutrality. A few notable noble
situation and the characters to prepare for actual play, which starts families live in the city. Criminal activity is common and not under
next time. the control of the city watch. The city council hires a mercenary
captain, usually for a term of six months, to assemble and manage
the city watch.
A Blightburg campaign takes place in a fictive Renaissance era Italian
city-state in the middle of a web of conflict. There’s a procedure
to create this web, but let’s first solidify the default facts that the Okay, let’s start building the messy conflict. You’ll be chairmanning
setting chapter hinted at. You don’t have to go by these defaults the process, but you should also take an equal part in the situation

30 31
creation with the players. You shouldn’t dominate the discussion, made. If you feel the need to detail why you made a certain choice,
nor should you be passive. do it, but keep it short.
Since there’s a lot to do during the first session and never too You shouldn’t think of the player characters when you’re creating
much time, we’ll want to follow an efficient process for this. Let’s the web of conflict. It might be tempting to think of goals and how
set a target of 120 minutes for creating the web of conflict. You may the different potential characters might work as player characters,
continue beyond this, and you must if you’re not ready in two hours, but resist it. You’ll have plenty of time to think of player characters
but having a target should make you more focused. It shouldn’t be after the situation is otherwise finished.
too hard to beat this target if you stay focused. Each major step has There’s an example of a finished web of conflict at the end of
a rough time cap to give you an idea of the steps’ lengths. Character this chapter on page 47, take a quick look at it to know roughly
creation happens after creating the web of conflict and takes about what’s coming. Ready? Let’s go.
90 to 120 minutes for 3-4 players.
Next we have the steps you’ll follow to create the situation.
Each step is split into two parts, first general advice and then the After you’ve socialized enough at the beginning of the session, start the
actual substeps you need to do. The situation creation reference planning process by briefing the players about the game. The purpose of
your players are following is a condensed version of the process this step is to ensure everyone is approaching the game with the right
while this chapter offers a bit more guidance. expectations.
A common procedure for many steps is deciding something turn
by turn. You’ll go around the table one person at a time, choose Instructions
something and go to the next person until the step is done. You’ll 1. Explain the game’s premise and objective in your own words
be choosing many elements and placing them on the conflict web. 2. Explain the basics of the setting and the baseline for the city
This shouldn’t be done blindly, instead you should try to maintain a 3. Go through the player and GM agendas
personal vision for the evolving situation. Your vision definitely isn’t
4. Hand out the situation creation references
the only way to interpret the elements, but it makes sure you can see
coherence in the situation. When you lose all sense of coherence, 5. Explain that we’ll now create the situation together. Mention
stop and ask why the other player made the choice they made. that some steps limit discussion, and that all steps require you to
Some steps have rules for discussion as well. There are two reasons make individual choices following your own sense of drama.
for this. First, it’s very easy to start speculating the half formed
situation further than is actually useful and thus waste precious
time. Second, safe committee decisions are often boring, so we
want everyone to make individual, interesting decisions. When
you’re instructed to “adhere to the discussion rules in this step”, it
means that you’re not allowed to discuss options before a choice is
32 33
 Tragic Events
First off we’ll make sure life in Blightburg isn’t too happy. Something An unjust war initiated by our noble houses, barely won, but killing
awful happened some months ago, it was this event that ravaged the the wisest leaders and heirs
city and made it the dirty hole it’s now. This isn’t the main problem A plague, killing thousands, allegedly set loose by a terrorizing witch
anymore, instead its consequences are now ripe for a three sided brawl. coven or a cult
It forms the backdrop for the conflict we’re building. Keep the exact A famine, killing thousands, the only food supplies open to townsfolk
timeline fluid for now, you can fix it in place when you know more controlled by criminal gangs
about the situation in step 5. A mass migration, assisted by an ethnic community, leading to civil
Since we’re setting the unifying backdrop for the conflict web, it’s unrest
important that everyone finds it interesting. That’s why we involve all A wild demon, driven off by a mercenary company or the city watch
the players in this step even if it takes a bit more time. with unethical tactics
A witch panic, numerous innocents and heretics burned at the stake
Instructions
by the Church
1. Highlight 1-3 interesting events from the Tragic Events list
Religious or ethnic community cleansing done by the Inquisition
below.
A failed people’s uprising, suppressed with unnecessarily heavy use of
2. Go around the table and ask the players to do the same. force by the city council
3. Discuss and pick the most popular one. If the event offers two An economic collapse, having something to do with a corrupted bank
factions, pick which one is relevant in your situation. or guild
4. Take a blank sheet of paper, write the event on the very top of A volcanic eruption, ruining people’s health, but leading to improved
it and underline it. medical research at the university, though only for the benefit of the
rich

34 35
 Factions
Next we’ll need the four factions that take part in the conflict. Adding • A Cult • A Noble House
more factions is a good way to ensure that there’s enough material for a
• A Witch Coven • A Criminal Gang
longer campaign, but it’s best to add any additional factions after you’ve
first introduced the first four in play. • The City Watch • The Church
You’ll soon divide a paper into three equal sections. Each of the sections • A Mercenary Company • An Ethnic Community
serves as one side of the conflict; there are always three sides in the conflict • A Merchant/Craft Guild • A Religious Community
web. You’ll choose the factions next, placing them on different sides so • A Bank • The City Council
that one side has two factions and the other two have one faction each.
• The Inquisition • The University
Note that you’ll already decide which two factions are allied.
We’re now entering a series of steps where discussion is strictly limited.
Follow your sense of drama and make your choices so that there’s at least Descriptors
some way you could form a coherent whole of the mess. Trust the other • Wronged • Unlucky • Ruined
players to do the same. Ask for clarification only if you’re totally stumped. • Desperate • Oppressed • Dominant
• Envious • Indebted • Vengeful
Instructions
1. Adhere to the discussion rules in this step. • Misguided • Zealous • Influential

2. Divide the blank area of the paper into three equal sections. • Sinful • Two-faced • Murderous

3. Handpick the bolded faction related to the tragic event and • Intolerant • Populistic • Self-righteous
place it on the conflict web.
4. Starting from the player sitting left from the GM, each
person picks either a faction or a descriptor for a faction,
following their own sense of drama.
»»If you picked a faction, place it on one of the sides. One of
the sides will end up with two factions while the other two
sides end up with one.
»»If you picked a descriptor, add it to an existing faction that
doesn’t have a descriptor yet.
5. Continue until there are four descriptor-faction pairs on the
conflict web.
36 37
The factions that were placed on the same side share an alliance. Now Now we’ll get to the meat of the conflict, goals. Each faction has one
it’s time to choose what the alliance is like. There’s only one alliance, the primary goal and it’s always directed at a faction on another side. Even
factions that don’t have an ally on their side don’t get one. though there can be members both for and against the faction goal, this
is the goal the leaders of the faction drive toward.
Instructions
1. Adhere to the discussion rules in this step. Instructions
2. Continue from the next person. That person chooses a 1. Adhere to the discussion rules in this step.
relationship for the allied pair of factions 2. Continue from the next person. That person picks a faction
»»Draw a labeled arrow between the factions for the that doesn’t have a goal, chooses their goal and points it at
relationship, indicating which faction initiated the alliance. another faction.
»»You can’t point more than two goals at one faction.
Alliances »»Allied factions don’t need to point their goals at the same
• Has hired • Shares ideology with target.
• Bribes • Shares goals with 3. Keep going until all factions have a goal.
• Blackmails • Is bound by the leaders’ witchcraft to
Goals
• Manipulates • Is bound by the leaders’ friendship to
• Trades favors with • Is paying off its leader’s personal debt to • Exact revenge on • Sabotage an endeavour of

• Shares ethnicity with • Shares religious beliefs with • Gain dominance over • Take something valuable from
• Collect a debt from • Enforce a deal struck with
• Utterly destroy • Manipulate to change the course of
• Purify the deviants of • Reveal the misconduct of

38 39
 Instructions
Now we have the raw framework for the situation, but it’s missing 1. Continue from the next person. That person picks a faction
detail. From this point on you can’t rely on blind lists, you’ll need to do and asks the first faction question from the next person.
some creative thinking and connect the dots with your group. This step 2. Once they’ve answered the question, they pick the next
fleshes the mandatory details of the situation out. faction and ask the current question from the next person.
The conflict web may look overwhelming at this point. There’s a lot »»Feel free to add notes on the conflict web along the way
going on and not much of it’s set in stone yet. Trust yourself, your group
3. When the current question has been answered for all factions,
and the process. Start making binding decisions one by one, keep the big
move on to the next question. Keep going until all the faction
picture coherent and the situation will fall into place. If you need an
questions have been answered for all factions.
anchor to make sense of the mess, remind yourself of the tragic past and
start untangling the situation from there. Though honestly, any starting 4. Then go through all the connections (the goals and the
point works if you stick with it. alliance) and ask the corresponding question as you did with
If everything seems to fit together really well except for a small detail faction questions.
somewhere, consider changing it. I wouldn’t recommend changing many »»When going through the goals, make sure the whole
things at this point, but you don’t have to cling to the details you choose situation can’t resolve itself trivially. There’s a reason why
with an iron grip. The goal is to create a tense starting point for play, this is the starting point of play. If the conflicts are trivial,
not to get frustrated by this puzzle. they should’ve already been resolved.
When you’re going through the factions’ goals, I instruct you to check
that the situation doesn’t resolve itself too trivially. This means you Faction Questions
should take a faction level view of the situation and make sure that no • Why/how is the faction <its descriptor>?
faction is simply crushing another. Don’t worry about the details in this »»For example, how is the noble house unlucky?
regard, those will change rapidly during play anyway. • How large is the faction?
Next up is a series of questions. Continuing from the next person, »»An adjective is enough at this point, no need for numbers.
they’ll ask the following person the current question about a specific faction • Was this faction involved in the tragic event in any way? How?
or connection. You can now talk about the answers to the questions and • How has the tragic event affected this faction’s current goal?
what they mean in the larger context, but keep it focused. If you feel that
earlier discussion has already answered a question, skip it and move on Goal Question
to the next question. • Why does the faction want to achieve this goal?

Alliance Question
• Why do the allied factions need this alliance?
40 41
Next up we have details that are not absolutely required at this point, Your conflict web is now finished and should look something like the
but they make the situation more vivid and concrete. If you’re way example at the end of this chapter. Remember, this is only the starting
overtime, skip this step and let the GM decide these while preparing point. Anything can happen during play, including betrayals, the
for the second session. annihilation of a side or a faction and even new factions entering the fray.
We have some time for free discussion now. The goal of this step is
Instructions to make sure the group has a shared idea of what’s happening and that
1. Decide whether you have time to answer the optional everything makes sense. You’re even allowed to change the situation now
questions and skip this step if you don’t. if you find that something just doesn’t work as it is. Try to keep this to
2. Stop taking turns now. Go through the optional questions a minimum, though.
one by one, but this time let everyone answer the questions that
they find interesting Instructions
»»If the group doesn’t have a strong opinion on something, 1. Take a look at the situation you’ve created. Do you have a
leave it to the GM and move on. shared idea of what’s happening? Does the situation make
sense? Discuss.
3. When no one has anything to add or you’ve used up your 15
minutes, go to the next step. 2. Add details if something critical is missing or change details
if something doesn’t make sense.
Optional Questions 3. Move on to the next step when everyone has a clear idea what
the situation is about.
• What do the townspeople call the factions? Name them.
• What makes a faction unique, colorful or interesting?
• What kinds of resources does a faction have access to?
• What characters obviously belong to one of the factions?
• What’s the history of a faction like?
• What kinds of informal ties exist between the factions?

42 43
 3. The players should take their character creation references
while the GM follows the instructions in the character creation
Now we move on to player characters and their creation. You’ll be mostly chapter.
following the instructions in the next chapter. As the instructions state, 4. Create the characters.
no player character shares a faction with another. This makes sure there’s »»The GM facilitates character creation, asks provocative
tension between the characters. Don’t make any exceptions if you have questions and makes sure they’re tough and determined
four or less players. enough for this mess.
However, if you happen to have more than four players, some characters
will share factions. In this case I’d place the least cooperative characters
in the same faction, if possible. Also be prepared for the downtime the
large group inevitably causes.
Now that the players are thinking about their character concepts,
mention that if someone is planning to play a low status character without
much influence to back their ambition, they’ll end up creating a witch.
This is the game making sure all characters have enough influence to
affect the situation at play. Check the witch section in character creation
for more info on this.

Instructions
1. Each player picks a faction they would like their character to
be a part of.
»»All player characters must belong to different factions in
the beginning.
2. It’s likely that the players have come up with character
concepts by this point, but if not, they need ideas now.
»»If you need ideas, skim through the lifepath list in the
character creation reference and pick a lifepath that you
fancy. This is your last lifepath, i.e. the target lifepath for
character creation.

44 45
If you have extra time after character creation, you can wrap up
the starting session by detailing the starting situation further until
the GM knows roughly what the first scene for each of the player
characters could be. This isn’t mandatory, though. The GM shouldn’t
have any problems deciding the first scenes by themselves.
Then before the second session the GM prepares a cast of NPCs
and bangs as per the session preparation instructions. During the
second session the GM is the one who kicks the situation into
motion, following the advice for the second session.
After a session or two of play the players should have enough
context to start driving the game with their beliefs, and the GM
becomes the reactive counterpart.

46 47
 Instructions
The number of lifepaths you pick depends on your character’s age,
so first you need to decide an approximate age based on the rough
concept you have. Here’s how character age correlates with the
Before entering character creation you should have created the number of lifepaths:
starting situation for the campaign as a group using the procedure
found in the previous chapter. Based on that the players should Age & Lifepaths
have a rough character concept and an idea of the target lifepath Age Lifepaths
to work towards. 10-14 years old 2 lifepaths
You should hand out character sheets and character creation 15-19 years old 3 lifepaths
references at this point. Similar to the situation creation, the 20-29 years old 4 lifepaths
reference sheet only includes the steps to create a character, while 30-44 years old 5 lifepaths
this chapter gives you more guidance in each step. Let the players
45+ years old 6 lifepaths
follow the steps to create their characters, answer their questions
and guide them based on your additional info. Each lifepath increases the character’s stats and may teach them
certain lifepath moves. Don’t worry about optimizing your character’s
stats, instead be honest with your character and their past to create
The first decision a player needs to make is their character’s approximate a coherent and interesting person. All characters regardless of their
age. Sometimes a character could easily fall into one of two age categories. mechanical power receive the same amount of screen time and
In this case it’s best to let the player decide based on how they want to tough choices, so optimization isn’t useful.
play: Older characters have better stats, but have fewer grit points to Use the lifepath lists below to make sure you won’t get distracted
rely on while younger characters’ larger grit pools allow more flexibility by mechanical details. If a lifepath is unclear to you based on name
to decide when to shine. alone, ask the GM for more details. Keep the target lifepath in
Lifepaths are chosen from truncated lists to both speed up decision mind, pick one childhood lifepath and then continue jumping
making and to keep the focus on fictional details, not on mechanical from one lifepath to another. Decide why the character ended up
ones. Not all characters will have equal mechanical stats, but that’s not a where they did at every junction. Keep going until you reach the
problem for a drama game such as this. You don’t win the game by rolling target lifepath and the number of lifepaths you need.
high. A fictionally interesting character is more important than stats. When you’re ready, present your character’s lifepaths to the GM
A character’s first lifepath is a childhood lifepath, but other than that and briefly describe how your character moved from one lifepath
there are no restrictions. The important thing is to consider what makes to another. If you can’t come up with a reasonable explanation for
sense and how far-fetched character concepts your group wants to tolerate. a lifepath jump, go back to the drawing board.
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Lifepath Lists
Childhood Commoner Privileged Criminal Religious Martial
Outcast, unhappy1 Beggar Student Smuggler Acolyte Watchman
Outcast, happy Urchin Professor5 Burglar Monk/Nun Thief-taker
Laborer, unhappy2 Drunk Astronomer Kidnapper Abbot/Abbess Executioner
Laborer, happy Ratcatcher Philosopher Pickpocket Cantor Jailer
Middle Class, unhappy3 Wench Dean6 Thug Preacher Bodyguard
Middle Class, happy Alewife/Barkeep Chancellor7 Blackmailer Priest Pikeman
Privileged, unhappy4 Prostitute Council Member8 Assassin Cardinal Scout
Privileged, happy Fortune Teller City Treasurer Con Artist Bishop Arquebusier
Cook Chief Magistrate9 Spy Nurse Longbowman
Servant Lawyer Gang Leader Doctor Drummer
Butler Judge Syndicate Advisor Inquisitor’s Squire Cavalryman
Peddler Merchant Syndicate Lieutenant Interrogator Staff Sergeant
Vendor Merchant Prince Syndicate Boss Inquisitor Field Sergeant
Apothecary Guild Director Head Inquisitor Captain
Moneylender Banker
Negotiator Squire
Accountant Lady-in-Waiting
Scribe Knight
Taxman Courtier 1) Outcast parents could be criminals or unemployed.
Artist Lord 2) Laborer parents do unskilled work.
3) Middle class parents could be shopkeepers, artisans or artists.
Musician Lady
4) Privileged parents could be nobles, politicians or merchants.
Apprentice
5) Usually a professor of law, theology or medicine.
Journeyman 6) The administerial head of a university faculty.
Master Craftsman 7) The head of the university.
8) A member of the city council.
9) The chairperson of the city council.

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 Lifepath Stat Caps
The players need to check the full lifepath lists from the book in this step. Number of Lifepaths Stat caps
It might be easier for you to check the stats for them when they ask for 2 lifepaths All stats capped to +0
the details unless the players get to this step one by one. 3 lifepaths All stats capped to +1
You may need to explain how grit works at this point if the players 4 lifepaths No penalties
are worried about their low stats. If you do, explain that a stat of +0 is 5 lifepaths Might capped to +1
actually a good stat even though it might not look like it yet.
6 lifepaths Might capped to +0
You may also need to briefly describe the basic moves to the players if
they’re wondering how to allocate their any-type stat raises. You can expect to end up with multiple negative stats, especially if
you don’t have 5 or 6 lifepaths. Don’t worry about this, you’ll have
Instructions grit points to help you when your stats alone aren’t enough.
Next you need to determine your character’s stats. All stats start
at -3, and the strict upper cap is +2. There’s no lower limit. If a stat
ever goes above +2, it defaults back to +2. You gain 2 grit points Tell the players that grit isn’t a scarce resource, they’ll gain a lot more
per overflowing stat point during character creation, so keep a during play. Also tell them what grit actually does during play.
note of these for step 3. Ignore the blight stat in this step, you’ll
get back to it soon. Instructions
For each lifepath you chose, check the full lifepath list (or ask Set your starting grit points according to the number of lifepaths
the GM to check) for its details and mark the stat raises or drops you took.
next to each stat on your character sheet. Keep track of any-type
stats raises and drops separately. Add any lifepath moves gained Starting Grit Points
by underlining the move name on the character sheet. Number of Lifepaths Starting Grit Points
Sum the fixed stat raises and drops from your lifepaths to each 2 lifepaths 10 grit points
individual stat. Then allocate your any-type raises and drops as
3 lifepaths 6 grit points
you see fit.
4 lifepaths 3 grit points
Some of the stats of young and old characters are capped lower
5 lifepaths 1 grit point
than the default +2. If you go over the limits, drop the stat down
6 lifepaths 0 grit points
to its cap and gain 2 grit points per overflow.
Note that the number of lifepaths you chose also affects how much
grit you gain at the end of the session.

52 53
 If the GM feels that your character is likely to get sidelined,
your character is a witch whether the character knows it or not. We
Having multiple witches changes the tone of the game somewhat, so don’t want characters that can’t reasonably take part in the intrigue.
consider whether you’d like to restrict the number of witches at character If you’re not a witch, set your blight to -2 and continue to the
creation. Discuss with your group if multiple players consider witch next step.
characters.
Remind the players that it’s also possible to become a witch during If you want to play a witch
the game, though only a contract witch is an option then. Cradle witches Set your blight to any value from -2 to +2, representing your witch
should be created during character creation. The game works fine without age. At -2 blight you’ve just received your powers or have never
any witches as long as all characters have enough influence to take part touched them, while at +2 blight you’re already close to being
in the intrigue. consumed by the very powers you harness.
When a player that doesn’t want to play a witch explains where their If your blight is +0 or more, you start with a minor witch mark.
influence comes from, ask yourself whether the character has enough of it If your blight is +2, you also start with a moderate witch mark. Ask
to be a protagonist in the starting point you built. If you see a significant the GM about blight and witch marks. Then specify where and
risk that they’ll get brushed aside by the powerful people involved, you what your marks are.
should flip the witch switch. This is only to make sure that the character You also know a number of spells equal to your blight+3. The
stays relevant in play. spells are Terror, Telekinesis, Illusion, Compulsion, Divination
If a player decides to play a witch, be prepared to refer to the Witchcraft and Curse. Ask the GM about spellcasting and pick your spell(s).
chapter and explain the basics of blight, witch marks and spells. Choose whether you’re a cradle witch, born to a family with
The starting number of spells is blight+3, so anything from 1 spell witchblood, or a contract witch, having made a dark bargain with
(-2 blight) to 5 spells (+2 blight) is possible. a demonic being to gain your powers. Each has their own strings
attached. Either way, you have access to the witchcraft moves
Instructions detailed in the Witchcraft section of the book.
Decide whether your character is a witch or not.
If you’re a cradle witch
If you don’t wish to play a witch You need to detail your family’s position in the society and your
Explain to the GM how your character has the influence to back relationship to your family. The GM needs to create at least one
their ambition without help from the demonic. Examples of valid NPC whose goal is to make sure you fulfill your family obligations.
answers include noble social status, ecclesiastical influence, wealth, Pick or tailor your obligation based on these options:
military might, or an exotic political platform such as a criminal
syndicate at your command. The backing of an institute is usually
enough as well.
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Cradle Witch Obligations Contract Witch Obligations
Goal Prepaid
You’re expected to help with a goal the whole family is invested in. You can’t use spells unless you’ve made an appropriate payment
It’s likely related to the rest of the situation, and it’s likely against beforehand, but it doesn’t matter when you’ve made the payment.
your personal interests. The payment might be a sacrifice or a task set by the patron, for
Task example.
The family has set a personal task for you. You can’t expect help from Side effect
them, but the price of failure is harsh. Every time you use a spell, you allow your patron to do something
Ritual else in your vicinity.
Every month (or week or day, scales with complexity) you need Debt
to perform a ritual with your family. Make sure the ritual time Mark every use of your spells on a list of debts. The patron may
coincides with the campaign timeframe. The ritual might involve come take what’s theirs at any moment from there on. They can
e.g. a sacrifice, or letting the family elder molest you, or just dancing command you to do something, which you can resist by rolling Face
naked around a fire. Collaborate with the GM. Danger+Will (followed by Resist Blight), though it doesn’t count
Guardian as paying the debt if you resist and succeed. Negotiating about the
You need to take care of a young or senile member of your family, payment is an option.
and keep them out of trouble. Ritual
Fugitive Every month (or week or day, scales with complexity) you need to
You’ve already failed your obligations and now your family is hunting perform a ritual of appeasement or you’ll face the wrath of your
you down. patron. Your spells work as long as your patron is content. Make sure
the ritual time coincides with the campaign timeframe. The ritual
If you’re a contract witch might involve a sacrifice, or letting the patron possess you, or just
Choose whether your patron is a creature of death or lust. The dancing naked around a fire. Collaborate with the GM.
GM creates the patron as an NPC with its own goals, powers Goal
and means of interacting with the world. Then detail the nature You may use your spells as long as doing so furthers a goal set by
of your relationship with your patron: Exploitative, worshipping, your patron.
competitive, partners or something else.
You can communicate with your patron easily, either telepathically
if the demon isn’t present in this world, or face to face if it is. You
also have a contract that restricts how you may use your powers.
Pick or tailor based on these options:
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 Easy Trait Pairs
Be prepared to explain the basics of compelling if the players need more • Abusive - Kind • Defiant - Obedient
context for their trait picks, or if someone asks about it. • Arrogant - Respectful • Dishonest - Honorable
You should also explain that the traits don’t have to be diametrically • Intimidating - Bombastic • Vengeful - Violent
opposite to each other. The important thing is to have traits that are • Cruel - Compassionate • Aggressive - Cold-hearted
interesting and easily compellable. • Manipulative - Naive • Unreliable - Fanatic
• Scheming - Direct • Passionate - Stubborn
Instructions • Helpful - Short-tempered • Daredevil - Petty
Now you need to choose a pair of behaviour traits for the trait meter.
You’ll examine these traits’ relative strengths in your character’s
personality during play, so you should pick a pair that’s both Situational Trait Pairs
interesting and doesn’t feel trivial to resolve. Don’t worry about • Bossy - Submissive • Faithful - Pessimistic
making the perfect pick, though, you can freely change the traits • Careless - Neurotic • Malicious - Forgiving
you currently have on your trait meter if you feel you’ve made a • Charitable - Greedy • Nervous - Fearless
bad choice. • Conscientious - Irresponsible • Impulsive - Deliberate
It’s a good idea to pick traits that represent behavior that doesn’t • Selfless - Disloyal • Protective - Neglectful
come naturally to you. The other players have mechanical tools to • Genial - Repulsive • Romantic - Pragmatic
remind you to play according to your traits (the Compel move) and • Self-centered - Benevolent • Audacious - Cynical
challenging yourself this way can be satisfying in itself. Additionally, • Vulgar - Chaste • Ambitious - Oppressive
if you pick very familiar behavior patterns, there’s a risk that you • Immoral - Selfish • Zealous - Unjust
don’t leave enough room for compels in your play.
The trait pair you choose can be anything you like as long as
the traits work well with a protagonist character. However, if this
is your first time playing the game, take a look at the examples
below. The first list gives you generic trait pairs that work for most
characters. The second list has pairs that can be difficult for some
characters while they might work very well for others.

58 59
 Surnames
This part of character creation shouldn’t take long. Its primary purpose Abis, Argiolas, Baldovini, Balducci, Bellone, Bernardino, Bissacco,
is to allow the player to visualize their character, and to help them Boccaccio, Bonatti, Bonazzi, Borriello, Bortoletto, Bortolotti,
introduce the character in the next step. Brombal, Capone, Cavallaro, Cavinato, Cherisi, Codutti, Comaco,
Fanton, Ferrero, Floris, Francescon, Giordanengo, Iannuccillo,
Instructions Lambertenghi, Lunati, Manganiello, Mangione, Mantone, Martaci,
Describe the appearance of your character in a sentence or two. Martinengo, Melis, Meneghin, Moratti, Orsatti, Pascutti, Pastene,
Decide your exact age, guided by the number of lifepaths you chose Perin, Peron, Pizzati, Rambaudi, Ravellino, Rigonat, Rosi, Rosso,
as well as your target lifepath. Give your character an Italian name Santi, Terrazzo, Vallone, Varasso, Vazzoler, Verdino, Vernengo,
using the lists below as inspiration. Zanon, Zoccarato

Male names Feel free to add a prefix of “de” or “di” to your surname if you’re
Alessandro, Alessio, Angelo, Antonio, Battista, Bernardo, Bruno, feeling fancy.
Carlo, Claudio, Clemente, Cristiano, Daniele, Dante, Dario, Davide,
Elia, Enrico, Federico, Felice, Filippo, Francesco, Gaspare, Gastone,
Giacobbe, Giorgio, Giovanni, Giuliano, Giuseppe, Gregorio, Leone,
Lorenzo, Luca, Marco, Norberto, Ottaviano, Paolo, Pietro, Raffaele,
Riccardo, Roberto, Salomone, Salvatore, Samuele, Silvio, Stefano,
Valentino, Vitale, Vittore, Vittorio

Female names
Adelaide, Adele, Agnese, Alice, Angela, Arianna, Aurora, Beatrice,
Berenice, Berta, Bettina, Carla, Corinna, Elena, Elisa, Eugenia,
Federica, Francesca, Gabriella, Geltrude, Gianna, Giovanna,
Giuliana, Irene, Isabella, Lavinia, Loredana, Lucia, Lucrezia, Luisa,
Maddalena, Maria, Martina, Matilde, Nicoletta, Olivia, Paola,
Patrizia, Rachele, Roberta, Sara, Silvia, Simona, Sofia, Stella, Teresa,
Venere, Vittoria, Viviana, Zarina

60 61
 A belief has three parts: A value statement, a long-term goal and
a short-term action. The three parts are separate on the character
This is the hardest part of character creation so be prepared to support sheet, but you can think of them as parts of a phrase: “I believe
the players. First help them understand the basic concept of beliefs. Give X, so my long-term goal is Y. Next I’ll do Z to further it”. Your
the players examples of beliefs and how they change in play. Tell them character has three beliefs:
how beliefs and grit work together. • Situation belief: A belief concerning the shared overall
Next help them come up with actionable beliefs. The value statements situation
don’t need to be perfect, instead focus on the goals and immediate action. • Relationship belief: A belief directed at another player
You need the characters to have an opinion on something so that you can character
prepare provocative situations for them. • Personal belief: A personal value/goal/philosophy based belief
If a player feels paralyzed, encourage them to pick the direction that If you’re playing a witch, your personal belief needs to be directly
first comes to mind. Just about any direction that has something to do or indirectly related to witchcraft or your obligation, unless your
with the situation works because you as the GM will build on that situation or relationship beliefs already cover this.
choice. Since there are numerous valid options, it’s more important to You don’t need extremely focused beliefs at this point since it’ll
pick something than to come up with the perfect belief. probably take a session or two before you’ve got a good grasp of the
When all the players are in this step, oversee character introductions. situation. Basically the GM needs to be able to see which NPCs to
Then offer ideas how the characters might know each other. The important prepare and what your initial scene might be based on your beliefs.
thing is that the characters have at least some excuse to interact during Pick a direction that interests you and aligns with your character’s
gameplay. They’ll get to know each other better during play. general goals, you can be more specific later. The beliefs you write
Then help them form a web of relationship beliefs by suggesting who aren’t set in stone, instead they’re constantly changing during play.
they should direct their relationship beliefs at. You don’t want to see a You’ll probably end up rewriting at least the short-term action of
situation where players A and B have a two-way relationship and about two beliefs every session.
players C and D have their own two-way relationship. This isolates Here’s a full belief you might see after a session or two: “I believe
the relationships too much from the other characters. my family is worth protecting, so my long-term goal is to become the
Writing beliefs gets easier after a session or two when the players captain of the city watch. Next I’ll publicly show how misguided the
both have a better idea of the situation and how their beliefs reward current captain is during the witch trial”.
and guide their play. However, during character creation this is enough: “I believe
I can’t support my family well enough in my current position, so my
Instructions long-term goal is to further my career in the city watch. Next I’ll ask
Next you’ll write beliefs for your character, and doing so, tie your the lieutenants their opinion on the current captain”.
character to the situation. Beliefs are your guideposts for play and One way to create strong beliefs is to pick a different faction for
the GM’s biggest session preparation support. each belief and trying to tie another player character either directly
62 63
or indirectly to the belief ’s action. While strongly worded beliefs
are good, never start with a belief to kill another player character!
You can start writing your first and third beliefs on your own,
but you should wait for the other players to get to this step before
you start writing the relationship belief.
When all the players are in this step, briefly introduce your
characters to each other. When all the characters have been
introduced, decide how each character knows the other characters.
Some characters might know each other only by reputation, some
might have met in the past based on their lifepaths while others
might currently work together. Use convenient coincidences if the
characters lack any other ties. All player characters need to be aware
of each other, however flimsily.
Now that you have a better idea of the other characters, you can
start working on your relationship belief as well. Communicate with
the other players and create ties between your characters during
this step. Make sure the relationship beliefs form a web between
the characters.
Once you have written your beliefs, your character is ready for
actual play!

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 Commoner lifepaths include mostly laborers and middle class
occupations. These lifepaths are usually steps toward a more
influential position, unless the character is a witch.
The childhood lifepaths are generic combinations of social class Name Stats Moves
and whether the childhood was happy or not. The player is free Beggar +2 insight, +1 reason, -1 might
to determine what, for example, an unhappy privileged childhood Street Urchin +2 guile, +1 insight, -1 will Shadow
meant to the character. Some examples of parents of different Drunk +1 might, +1 rigor, +1 guile, -1 insight
backgrounds: Ratcatcher +1 guile, +1 insight, +1 reason Poison
• Outcast parents could be criminals or unemployed Wench +2 insight, +1 will
• Laborer parents do unskilled work Alewife/Barkeep +1 will, +1 insight, +1 reason
• Middle class parents could be shopkeepers, artisans or artists Prostitute +2 will, +1 insight
• Privileged parents could be nobles, politicians or merchants Fortune Teller +2 guile, +1 insight
Name Stats Moves Cook +2 reason
Outcast, unhappy +1 guile, +1 any, -1 reason Shadow Servant +2 insight
Outcast, happy +1 rigor, +1 any Butler +1 insight, +1 will, +1 reason
Laborer, unhappy +1 might, +1 any Peddler +1 will, +1 insight, +1 guile
Laborer, happy +1 might, +1 any, +1 any Vendor +2 will, +1 insight
Middle Class, unhappy +1 insight, +1 any, +1 any Apothecary +2 reason, +1 insight Poison
Middle Class, happy +1 reason, +1 any, +1 any Moneylender +1 rigor, +1 insight, +1 will Forge
Privileged, unhappy +1 will, +1 any, +1 any Negotiator +1 insight, +1 will, +1 reason
Privileged, happy +1 will, +1 any, +1 any, +1 any Accountant +2 insight, +1 reason Forge
Scribe +2 insight, +1 guile Forge
Taxman +2 rigor, +1 insight
Artist +2 insight, +1 will
Musician +1 insight, +1 will, +1 reason
Apprentice +2 reason
Journeyman +1 insight, +1 will, +1 reason
Master Craftsman +1 rigor, +1 insight, +1 will

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 Name Stats Moves
Squire +2 might, +1 insight
Privileged lifepaths include the nobility, influential positions in the Lady-in-Waiting +1 insight, +1 reason, +1 will
society as well as wealthy occupations. Knight +2 might, +1 will, +1 rigor Lead into Battle
Notes concerning the university lifepaths: A dean is the Courtier +1 will, +1 insight, +1 reason,
administerial head of a faculty at the university while a chancellor +1 guile
is the head of the whole university. Professors usually teach either Lord +1 insight, +1 will, +1 might, Orate
law, theology or medicine. +1 rigor
Notes concerning the city council lifepaths: The council consists Lady +1 will, +1 guile, +1 insight, Orate
of multiple council members. It’s lead by the chief magistrate, whose +1 reason Poison
family isn’t usually from this city.
Name Stats Moves
Student +1 will, +1 insight, +1 reason Criminal lifepaths include both organized crime and lone outcasts.
Professor +1 will, +1 insight, +1 reason Orate Name Stats Moves
Astronomer +2 reason, +1 guile Smuggler +2 guile, +1 will Forge
Philosopher +3 reason Burglar +2 guile, +1 might
Dean +1 will, +1 insight, +1 rigor Kidnapper +1 might, +1 rigor, +1 guile Shadow
Chancellor +2 will, +1 insight, +1 reason Orate Pickpocket +2 guile, +1 insight Shadow
Council Member +1 will, +1 insight, +1 reason Orate Thug +2 rigor, +1 might
City Treasurer +1 insight, +1 guile, +1 reason Forge Blackmailer +2 rigor, +1 insight Interrogate
Chief Magistrate+1 will, +1 reason, +1 insight, Orate Assassin +1 insight, +1 guile, +1 reason
Poison
+1 guile Con Artist +1 insight, +1 will, +1 guile Forge
Lawyer +1 guile, +1 will, +1 insight, Orate Spy +2 guile, +1 insight Shadow
+1 reason Forge
Judge +1 guile, +1 will, +1 insight, Orate Gang Leader +1 might, +1 rigor, +1 will Lead into Battle
+1 rigor Syndicate Advisor +2 insight, +1 will, +1 reason Forge
Merchant +1 guile, +1 will, +1 insight Syndicate Lieutenant +2 rigor, +1 insight, +1 will Interrogate
Merchant Prince +2 will, +1 insight, +1 rigor Syndicate Boss +2 will, +1 rigor, +1 insight Orate
Guild Director +2 will, +1 insight, +1 reason Orate
Banker +1 insight, +1 will, +1 guile

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Religious lifepaths include monastic paths, Church paths and the Martial lifepaths include both law enforcement and military careers.
Inquisition. They can be used for non-Christian characters as well. Name Stats Moves
Name Stats Moves Watchman +1 might, +1 insight, +1 rigor
Acolyte +2 insight, +1 reason Thief-taker +1 might, +1 insight, +1 guile Shadow
Monk/Nun +2 insight, +1 reason Executioner +2 might, +1 insight
Abbot/Abbess +2 will, +1 insight Orate Jailer +2 rigor, +1 insight Interrogate
Cantor +1 insight, +1 reason Bodyguard +2 might, +1 insight
Preacher +2 will, +1 insight Orate Pikeman +3 might
Priest +1 will, +1 insight, +1 reason Orate Scout +1 might, +1 guile, +1 insight Shadow
Cardinal +1 will, +1 insight, +1 guile Orate Arquebusier +2 insight, +1 rigor
Bishop +2 will, +1 insight, +1 rigor Orate Longbowman +2 might, +1 rigor
Nurse +2 insight, +1 reason Drummer +1 rigor, +1 might, +1 insight
Doctor +1 insight, +2 reason Poison Cavalryman +2 might, +1 rigor Lead into Battle
Inquisitor’s Squire +1 might, +1 insight, +1 guile Shadow Staff Sergeant +1 might, +1 insight, +1 rigor
Interrogator +2 rigor, +1 insight Interrogate Field Sergeant +2 might, +1 rigor Lead into Battle
Inquisitor +1 will, +1 might, +1 rigor Interrogate Captain +1 will, +1 might, +1 reason, +1 rigor Lead into Battle
Poison Orate
Head Inquisitor +1 will, +1 might, +1 insight, +1 rigor Forge

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 There are times when you can either call for a Face Danger roll
or just say yes to a player’s question. This can be especially true
when a character is looking for information, material resources or
social connections. In these cases, if a character’s lifepaths don’t
give you a clear answer, you either call for a Face Danger or say
These moves are based on the characters’ stats, they’re the bread yes, “you have heard rumours that the Orsatti family has ties to
and butter moves that resolve most problems the characters face. the criminal underground”.
All characters have equal access to these. A worse outcome: Vittorio tries to run through a crowd of
people in pursuit of a thief, rolling+Might, but the player rolls a
11. “You get through, but you trip and land on your face. The thief
When you take a course of action that involves a real danger, say takes advantage of the situation and tries to kick you hard. What
how you deal with it. If you do it… do you do?”
• …with physical strength, agility or speed, roll+Might A hard bargain: Vittorio tries to look tough in front of a cult
• …with thoroughness, severity or discipline, roll+Rigor overseer so that his cover isn’t blown. He decides to do this by
• …using sly, sneaky or deceptive tactics, roll+Guile mutilating a slave to prove his toughness, rolling+Rigor. “You got
• …with keen senses or observation, roll+Insight a 10 so I’ll offer you a bargain: you look tough enough only if you
• …through mental fortitude or social grace, roll+Will kill the slave, harming her isn’t enough.”
• …with logic, knowledge or learning, roll+Reason A tough choice: Vittorio tries to remember what he did while
being possessed by his demonic patron, so he rolls+Will. The
On a 14+, the danger doesn’t hinder you player gets a 13 and the GM asks the player whether they’d like
On a 9-13, you can’t avoid the danger completely, the GM will to remember what Vittorio did with the Inquisitor or the Captain
offer you a worse outcome, a hard bargain or a tough choice. of the city watch.
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst.

This is the generic move that should be used when you feel the
player needs to roll, but none of the other moves seem right. The
important thing to consider is whether there really is a danger
present: If there isn’t and the roll is a weak hit, you’re hard pressed
to come up with any meaningful cost. Also, remember that a weak
hit is fundamentally a success when you interpret the results. It’s
easy to slip into all-negative outcomes when thinking of costs.

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 The Fight outcomes don’t mention death or killing. What you
do after subduing your opponent is up to you: kill them, capture
When you attack a single human opponent in hand to hand them, humiliate them etc. Death happens in the fiction, not in the
combat, roll+Might mechanics of the game.
Since weapons and armor don’t have any mechanical weight, you
For NPC opponents: need to use your judgement based on the fiction. If the combatants
On a 14+, you avoid their attacks and subdue them. have equal equipment, just roll Fight. If one of them has an equipment
On a 9-13, they manage to hit you, suffer the consequences and based advantage, but the underdog can reasonably fight with them
take 2 stress. Then: (say, a knife vs bare fists), give an advantage or disadvantage (check
• If you had an advantage on this roll, you subdue your the peripheral move) to the rolling player.
opponent. If the underdog can’t reasonably fight the other person (a fully
• If not, check whether you’re subdued and gain an advantage to armed knight in full plate vs bare fists), don’t let them roll. It’s not
your next Fight roll if not. a fight anymore, it’s a slaughter. Use similar fiction first judgement
On a 8-, suffer 3 stress, check whether you’re subdued and be when you’re faced with multiple combatants fighting one person.
prepared for the worst. Note that one Fight roll might not end the whole combat if both
If you didn’t subdue your opponent and have 6 or more stress, combatants are still able to and willing to continue fighting. Only
you’re subdued. PC vs PC fights can end in both combatants being incapacitated,
and only if the combatants trade hits and end up with more than
For PC opponents: 6 stress.
On a 14+, you avoid their attacks and deal 3 stress. Check Don’t devolve combat scenes into a numbers game. Describe
whether you subdued them what the combatants actually do, how the situation changes based
On a 9-13, you trade hits, deal 2 stress and suffer 2 stress. Then on the roll and then continue to the next roll if it’s needed. Hits
check whether either or both of you are subdued that land, but don’t subdue the opponent welcome you to add detail
On a 8-, suffer 3 stress and check whether you’re subdued to the fight: people falling down, losing their grip on something,
If either combatant has 6 or more stress, the one with more stress the audience reacting to the fight etc.
is subdued. If both have the same number of stress and it’s 6 or You can’t fight demons one-on-one, you need to lead a group
more, both combatants are incapacitated. into battle against them (check the lifepath move).

Subduing means that the opponent can’t fight anymore: They can’t
trigger the Fight move in the current context. This can be for any
reason that makes sense in the context of the fight, be it injuries,
disarming or some way of of being incapacitated.
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 When you threaten someone to do what you want with a credible When you tell a bold lie to affect someone’s behavior, or actively
threat, like immediate physical violence, and you are committed hide the truth from someone, roll+Guile
to following through with your threat, roll+Rigor On a 14+, only people well versed in the matter you’re lying
On a 14+, they have to choose: about can tell you’re deceiving them
• Refuse defiantly and suffer the consequences of your threat On a 9-13, only those who don’t know the matter are completely
• Submit and do what you want fooled, anyone else will suspect that something is off. It’s up to
• Beg or explain and be at your complete mercy them to decide what they do about their suspicion
On a 9-13, they can choose 1 of the above, or the most On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst.
appropriate of the following:
• Give you what they think you want Deceive is a move that is often triggered by the GM when a character
• Tell you what they think you want to hear starts avoiding direct questions or tries to misdirect someone during
• Disengage from a situation they think you mean a conversation. There are times when a character wants to deliberately
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst. deceive someone, but you should especially keep an eye out for lies
that the player doesn’t notice during the heat of play. Don’t bother
This move is for verbal threats before things have turned violent. rolling with lies that aren’t meant to have an effect on anyone, though.
You shouldn’t let the player roll if they don’t have a credible threat; The move works from the character’s subjective point of view,
either they miss the roll or the person being threatened just refuses which means the character doesn’t have to be objectively lying to
to do what they want. trigger this move. They just need to believe that they’re delivering
The threat doesn’t need to be immediate, but the character has a lie.
to be committed to following through with it, otherwise it’s just Pinpointing the subject matter of the lie is important when
bluffing. If the person being threatened refuses a non-immediate interpreting the results. For example the head inquisitor won’t
threat, the character must fulfill the threat without unnecessary believe that all witches are women even if the player rolls a strong
delay. A significant change in the situation is the only valid reason hit, he has seen male witches himself. However if the character
to back off once the dice are rolled. tells him that they’ve seen the main benefactor of an orphanage do
When a player rolls a weak hit, but none of the weak hit options witchcraft and the roll is 14+, he would believe the false testimony
seem appropriate, the person being threatened has to choose from if he knows this person only by reputation.
the strong hit options.

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 a chance to come up with answers like this, use the opportunity to
drop something the character really doesn’t want to hear.
When you’re able to see another person clearly and closely study When a character reads another player character, let the player
them during a charged interaction, roll+Insight answer for their character, but stress that their answers need to be
On a 14+, hold 3 and spend it to ask questions from the list as truthful as yours. Also note that the answer to “How could I get
below during the conversation. your character to _?” can be “Nope, there’s no way I would do that”.
On a 9-13, hold 1 instead. Reading body language requires time and a clear way to observe
• Is your character telling the truth? the other person. A person who doesn’t interact with you or for
• What is your character hiding? example hides themselves in a dark cloak and hood can’t be read.
• What are you concerned or fearful of ?
• What does your character intend to do?
• What are your real feelings concerning __?
• How could I get your character to __?
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst.

While this move isn’t mind reading, often the player gets more
information than the character could really get from just the other
person’s body language. This is deliberate as information is what
allows the player to make strong decisions and drive forward.
The player doesn’t have to ask all the questions immediately,
they can hold on to the questions and spend the hold during the
conversation. The hold must be spent during this conversation,
though.
Always answer truthfully, even generously if you feel that it
would have a better impact, but do use situational discretion. For
example, when a player asks what a character is hiding, answer based
on the context of the conversation. You shouldn’t go divulging that
Angelo is actually a demon in human form if the conversation is
about the poisoning of the bishop’s bastard son.
Sometimes you don’t have ready answers for the questions.
Come up with them on the spot, make sure they make sense in
the big picture and commit to them as truth. And since you have
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 any. The leverage doesn’t have to be as large for player characters
either, since there’s already the grit carrot and stick.
When you have something a person needs or wants and you ask
them to do what you want using that as a leverage, roll+Will
When you try to change someone’s mind concerning a specific
For NPCs: matter and you believe you’re absolutely right, explain your
On a 14+, you only have to promise to give it to them and they’ll argument. In case they’re well versed in the matter and know
do what you ask that your argument is nonsense, don’t roll; They see that you
On a 9-13, they want concrete assurances before they do what really believe in your nonsense, but aren’t convinced. Otherwise,
you ask roll+Reason
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst. On a 14+, they accept your reasoning, both emotionally and
rationally
For PCs: On a 9-13, they only accept your reasoning on a rational level
On a 14+, choose 1: On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst.
• if they refuse, halve their grit pool (round up) What they actually do is up to them.
• take both from the list below
On a 9-13, choose 1: This move is often used when dealing with an unreasonable or
• if they do it, they get a grit point mislead person and all the player character has is facts and sound
• if they refuse, they need to spend a grit point if they have any logic to back their arguments. Like Deceive, this move works from
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst. the character’s subjective point of view. They really need to believe
their arguments, otherwise it’s deceiving, even if the arguments
This move can be used for seduction, manipulation and negotiation. aren’t actually sound.
The leverage can be, for example, a physical object, some important Accepting something on a rational level means that they see the
information, an offer of sex or a joint effort in a new alliance. The logic behind the character’s words and find it sound. Adding the
leverage is usually positive in nature, though. Threats and lies have emotional layer means that they’re also moved by the character’s
their own moves. words, be it sincerity, the implications of the argument or something
This move works a bit differently for NPCs and player characters. else. This means that the result of this move, what they actually do,
With an NPC, the concrete assurances should have something to depends on how emotionally driven the character is. Convincing
do with the leverage being used, and the player doesn’t have to keep someone is not mind control and it’s fine even if a strong hit doesn’t
their promises to NPCs. change a character’s course.
However, if a PC doesn’t follow through with their promise, they Player characters should be fairly well defined in this respect, so
suffer the negative consequences and lose the grit if they gained the player should be able to make consistent decisions if this move
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is used on them. However, sometimes it’s hard to decide how an
NPC would react if they aren’t that well defined yet.
There are different ways to resolve this. Either you can choose These moves are used often, but they’re not tied to the basic stats.
what’s most dramatically appropriate in the situation, or you can All characters can use these moves equally.
roll a die to define the NPC in a neutral way, or you can just go
with your gut. It’s a matter of style, but it’s all fine as long as you’re
consistent with the NPC after you’ve made your judgement call. When you oppose a PC’s action, describe how you do it before
they roll for it. Determine which stat you’re opposing with. They
get your stat’s modifier as a penalty forward (or as a bonus if
your modifier is negative).

Spending grit works differently in an opposed situation. After

the roll has been made and the players have seen the initial
result, both players take a die and use that to secretly set the
number of grit points they want to spend on the roll. The number
0 or 10 on a d10 represents zero points, so you can spend 0-9
points of grit on a single roll. Once both players are ready, they
reveal the number. Add the number of grit the rolling player
spent to the roll, decrease the number the opposing player spent
and read the final results.

If you can’t or choose not to oppose someone from doing

something directly to you, they automatically succeed
without rolling. This is important. The only exception to this is
witchcraft: You can’t oppose Cast a Spell, but they have to roll it.
You can, however, try to resist the effects of a spell by rolling Face
Danger+Will.

If the opposing character has an advantage, apply a

disadvantage to the roll and vice versa for a disadvantage.

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Oppose is how you handle PC vs PC situations mechanically. Like A simple case of opposition: Two PCs are fighting. You apply
this: Vittorio decides to “grab the contract papers from him!”, which the modifiers, the active player rolls Fight, both bid grit and you
triggers a move. The opposing character, Luca, then decides “I’ll interpret the results.
grab the papers first”. A more complex case: One PC is trying to orate to an audience
Vittorio’s player picks up the dice and tells his modifier, “my and another is trying to counter his arguments from the crowd. In
might is +1”, and Luca’s player tells them how much to add or this case the PCs are in opposition, but both are actually targeting
subtract based on the stat they’re opposing with, “damn, mine is the crowd. Apply the defender’s will opposition modifier to the
-1, so take +1 to your roll”. Vittorio’s player then rolls the move first PC’s orate roll, bid grit and interpret how the crowd reacts.
and declares the result, “I got a 12, a weak hit”. An even more complex situation: A PC is running away from an
The players then take a die each, and secretly set the number of NPC and a PC. The first PC is rolling+Guile to lose his pursuers in
grit they want to spend. Let’s say Vittorio’s player sets to 10 (zero the twisting alleyways while the NPC and the PC oppose him. Let’s
grit) while Luca’s sets theirs to 5. The players reveal the dice and deem that one NPC chasing the PC isn’t worth a disadvantage (the
read the final result “shit I didn’t think you’d be that desperate to peripheral move), but the PC is definitely opposing the attempt at
stop me, it’s a miss (12 + 0 - 5 = 7)”. fleeing, so their guile opposition should count against the first PC.
Some further examples: If a character’s might is +2 and they Now if their guile modifier is bad, and you apply it to the whole
oppose with it, the opponent gets -2 forward. With a might of -3, roll, the chasing PC is actually helping the fleeing PC. That doesn’t
they would get +3 forward. The stat used in opposition depends make sense, so we need to interpret two results from the roll, one
on the fictional details. For example, if the opposition is physical, for the NPC without modifiers and one for the PC with the oppose
it’s usually might. Check Face Danger for the stats’ meanings in modifier. Roll once and read the results from that roll with and
this context. without modifiers. It’s possible that only the NPC or only the PC
If the player can’t describe a credible way of opposing the active manages to catch the escapee, or both do, or neither does.
player (or doesn’t want to oppose) and the action is directly targeted
at the other player character, the active player gets an automatic
full hit, no rolling. If the target is someone else or the move has
other side effects, they don’t get an automatic full hit. Witchcraft
is an example of this, it’s always rolled.
The math of opposition balances evenly skilled opponents, but
some moves’ results favor the aggressor. It’s best to be decisive, but
don’t let the table talk devolve into a shouting contest. Let everyone
declare what they’re doing and judge who initiated the action in
the fiction. That player rolls, the other(s) oppose.

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 player to decide whether their character would really threaten a
harmless, bumbling carpenter with a knife or not.
When you compel another player to play according to one of their Note that it really needs to be with a knife in the above example,
character’s traits, suggest a course of action rising from the trait fists aren’t enough. The players may negotiate the extent of the
in the current situation. It’s up to the compelled player to judge compel, but it’s always the compelling player that decides the
how their character would behave and either accept or refuse the suggested course of action. It’s better to avoid negotiating compels
course of action. unless it requires just a bit of adjustment to be fun.
If you compelled a trait on their trait meter, and: If the compelled player refuses, the fiction continues as if nothing
• they accept, they add a mark for the compelled trait on the trait had happened. If the compel is accepted, it’s up to the compelled
meter player to describe the details: “Now listen to me you pig, see this
• they refuse, they add a mark for the opposite trait on the trait knife here? It’s gonna carve a pork chop out of you unless you
meter and suffer 1 stress tell me where the white haired man ran.” And like that, the scene
If you compelled a deep trait, and: continues. The mechanical effects of grit, trait marks and stress
• they accept, they gain a grit point apply in both cases, of course.
• they refuse, they suffer 1 stress Compels that somehow complicate the situation are excellent,
If they accepted your compel, Take the Devil’s Seat for their but as long as the player has a real decision to make and the course
character. of action somehow changes the situation, the compel is valid. All
compels that trigger a move are clearly valid, but you’ll have to use
There’s a lot going on with Compel. It gives the audience agency your judgement when the effect would be more subtle.
as it’s usually triggered by players who aren’t in the current scene. Let’s have another simple example. Raffaele has the trait pair
It has the power to change the course of the scene and any plans short-tempered - compassionate. He’s hiding a bloody knife behind
the character had. It’s how you acquire the Devil’s seat. And most his back and is now asking a little girl whether she saw where the
importantly, it’s a way to explore player characters with interesting white haired man ran. Another player who isn’t in the scene compels
questions. Questions like “how greedy are you, exactly?”, “are you Raffaele’s short-tempered: “Hey Raffaele, another compel for your
really this cold-hearted?” or “how far are you willing to protect his short-tempered. Stop hiding the knife and just start shouting at
honor?”. Of course the questions come in the form of suggested the girl, asking where the witch ran”. Raffaele’s player decides that
courses of action, but they’re questions nevertheless. while Raffaele has seen a lot of evil, he still has a soft spot for kids.
Compel is triggered on the player level, but its use is inspired by He refuses the compel, adds a mark for compassionate and takes
the fiction and tied to the situation. A compel is simply a well-timed one stress point.
interjection, “I compel your short-tempered, Raffaele! Threaten In the above example the compel wouldn’t have triggered a move,
the craftsman with a knife, he’s clearly trying to misdirect you and at least not immediately. But it would’ve had an effect: It would’ve
you don’t have time for this crap”. Then it’s time for the compelled revealed just how much of an ass Raffaele is, it could’ve drawn
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attention to the situation and everyone around would’ve heard
that there’s a witch on the loose. A lot of effects without any dice.
It’s also possible to double compel. Sometimes two players compel When you’re told to take a character’s Devil’s seat, take their
opposing traits at the same time. In this case a mark is added only Devil’s seat play aid and update the stress count. Everyone gains
for the trait whose compel was accepted. If both compels are refused, automatic access to a character’s Devil’s seat if the character has
the character gains no marks and suffers only one stress point. 8 or more stress points. While you have the seat and your own
A player can’t compel themselves, but they may encourage the character isn’t in the scene, you can use the following powers on
other players to compel them. This could happen, for example, the character whose seat you’re on, from the player level:
if a player feels their character would choose a safe and boring
option if nothing interferes them, but they’d like to see what would You may spend the character’s stress points to either coerce them,
happen with a more risky approach. The player is after all the given an opportune moment, to:
character’s advocate, and they need to play the character honestly.
This encouragement is of course an opportunity for the other players • 1p Drop their inhibitions and give into sin
to devise an especially tough compel. • 1p Intensify what they’re currently doing
Compels are usually done by players who aren’t playing in the • 1p Act according to a deep trait in a detrimental way
scene themselves, but this isn’t a hard rule. I’d allow a compel from • 2p Take rash social action (e.g. say what they really think)
a player whose character is in a scene as long as the compel isn’t • 3p Lose self-control and give in to aggression
used to further the character’s agenda. Compels should be used
to learn more about the characters and to make the scenes more Or to tamper with their dice after a roll before grit is spent /
interesting, not to get a meta-game advantage. hinder their opposition:
The GM is also allowed to compel the players, but usually the
GM has more pressing matters to manage during scenes. GM • 3p If they rolled a full hit (14+), set one of the dies to 3
compels also take the Devil’s seats from the players’ hands, which • 4p If they rolled a weak hit (9-13), set one of the dies to 1
might not be something you want. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t be • 4p Give a character they’re Opposing an advantage to the roll
afraid to demonstrate compelling during the first session or two, • 7p If they rolled a full hit (14+), set both dice to 3
and if you see a perfect opportunity, take it!
If their roll is a miss because of your tampering, they don’t gain
the normal stress point from the miss.

If you voluntarily drop out of the seat when you spend their
stress, you get a 1p discount on the above prices.

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 You lose your seat when one of the following happens: or metaphorical, doesn’t want to kill people. They want people to
give into sin. The devil’s ways are unpredictable, though, so you as
• You spend the character’s last stress point the player can have a lot of fun with these powers.
• The character opens up to someone about their sins, honestly The first set of seat powers says given an opportune moment. An
• Another player gains the seat through compelling opportune moment is simply one where it would make sense that
• The character’s stress points go below 8 and you aren’t holding the character drops their inhibitions / acts intensely / according to
their play aid a deep trait / takes rash action / loses their self-control. You can’t
• The session ends force a character to lose self-control if there’s no viable reason
for it. Even this move isn’t mind control. But if someone insults
As with Compel, that’s a lot to unpack. First, this is what a player a character, they’re irritated by something or they encounter the
gets when they compel another player and the compel is accepted. person who killed their brother, there’s an opportune moment to
This is how characters lose stress, and it also contains most of the coerce them to lose their self-control.
bad effects stress can have. It’s also another tool for the audience As with compels, the character’s player decides the details of, for
to play with. It’s a way to make scenes more interesting and a way example, how they drop their inhibitions and give into sin. And as
to put a lucky roller into a tough spot. with compels, triggering a seat power is simply a matter of “Hey
There are two ways a player can get access to the seat powers. Vittorio, insulting the magistrate isn’t really enough for you, is it?
First is by making a compel that the other player accepts. The second Why don’t you lose your self-control and give in to aggression”.
is when a character’s stress reaches 8 or more points. That’s when The second set of seat powers allows the seat holder to tamper
all other players, the GM included, have temporary access to the with rolls. Setting dice simply means that the seat holder can take a
seat powers, until someone burns the stress below 8. At that point rolled die (or dice) and change the die’s result to a different number.
only the player holding the character’s Devil’s seat play aid stays Different tampering options cost a different number of stress, they
on the seat. The 8 point limit is also the only time multiple players can be used only with specific result categories (full or weak hit)
can have access to the same character’s seat powers. and each one specifies how the die can be set. Hindering opposition
You’ll want to print a copy of the Devil’s seat play aid for each is simpler. When the character opposes another character and the
player, it makes keeping track of the seat holders easier. NPCs don’t seat holder hinders them, the rolling player gains an advantage
have stress, nor do they have a seat. At the beginning of a session (check the peripheral move).
no one sits on anyone’s seat, but when the compels start firing, the An example. Vittorio is orating to a crowd and the player rolls
seats can change hands quickly. the dice for 8 and 5. The player adds Vittorio’s +2 will and gets a
These powers are triggered on the player level. The player’s result of 15 (8 + 5 + 2). This is the moment another player who is
character doesn’t have a mystic connection with evil powers. The sitting on Vittorio’s seat can interfere. If Vittorio has 7 stress, they
whole concept of the devil is likewise metaphorical, unless you can drop the result to 8 (3 + 3 + 2) for 7 stress points. They can
decide otherwise. Just to make it clear: The devil, whether actual
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also choose to spend 2 stress to drop the result to either 10 (3 + 5 demon. Casting spells, suffering from spells, summoning demons
+ 2) or 13 (8 + 3 + 2). and receiving unholy blessings do trigger this move. The opposite
The player decides it’d be more interesting if Vittorio failed of Blight simply means that, for example, a +2 blight becomes a -2
spectacularly, so they drop the result to 8. Now Vittorio’s player modifier for this move. A modifier of 0 remains a 0.
needs to decide whether they spend grit points to boost the result Resist Blight isn’t rolled immediately after casting a spell, instead
or accept the failure. If they accept the failure, they don’t gain the it’s rolled after the scene is over. This also means that a witch needs
stress point from a missed roll since it was caused by the Devil’s seat. to roll only once per scene even if they cast multiple spells. At first
it may be hard to remember to roll this move after a tense situation
is over. Don’t worry too much if you forget a roll though, roll it
When you’ve harnessed demonic powers or been on the receiving when you do remember. Sometimes the effects of blight reveal
end of them, after the tense situation is over, roll + the opposite of themselves long after the incident.
your Blight. The witch mark categories and spells are explained in the
On a 14+: You manage to steel yourself Witchcraft chapter. Suffice to say, when you gain a new witch mark,
On a 9-13: If your blight isn’t +2, choose one below. If it is, take specify what and where it is using the examples in the Witchcraft
the second option. chapter as guidelines. When you gain a new spell, pick one from
• Increase your blight by one (maximum +2). If you’re a witch, the Witchcraft chapter. The Blighted lifepaths are mostly cosmetic,
gain a new spell but they do have one indirect consequence: they affect the number
• Your body is blighted by the demonic: gain a minor witch mark of grit points a character gains by pursuing their beliefs (see the
and suffer 1 stress End of Session move). A character’s actual age isn’t changed by
8-: If your blight isn’t +2, take both from the 9-13 list. If it is, the blight, but their body and spirit is.
take all four below.
• If you don’t have 3 moderate witch marks yet, gain a moderate
mark. If you do, gain a severe mark
• Gain a new lifepath called Blighted (up to 6 lifepaths)
• Decrease your might by one
• Suffer 2 stress.

Playing with witchcraft isn’t exactly safe, nor is it fair for the victim.
This move shows why. Blight is a downward spiral into decrepitude,
but first it offers the witch more power. Resist Blight is triggered by
any active contact with witchcraft or the demonic. Environmental
blight doesn’t usually trigger this move, nor does speaking with a
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 it’s usually this move you use to resolve what happens. However, it’s
also possible that a fight is so one-sided that it doesn’t even trigger
All characters can trigger these moves, but only characters that have this move. No uncertainty, no roll. Unlike Fight, this move resolves
gained the lifepath move during character creation can use the move the entire battle, which might take a long time in the fiction.
without penalties. If a character that doesn’t have the lifepath move Naturally the player can’t pick options that don’t make sense in
triggers it in the fiction, they roll it with a disadvantage. the fiction, and they can’t, for example, undo the effect of heavy
casualties by picking your troops are unharmed. The player can pick
options that nullify the default results, though. The GM decides
When you lead a group into a battle with either an enemy force whether the enemy attempts to flee or surrenders, unless another
or a demon, the GM decides whether the battle is even. If it’s player character was leading the enemy force. If the enemy tries
not, but it’s not overwhelmingly one-sided, apply an advantage to flee, you might need another move (such as Face Danger) to
or a disadvantage to the roll. Then, roll+Might resolve the situation further.
By default:
• You’ll suffer 3 stress
• Your troops will suffer casualties, weakening them significantly When you interrogate an unwilling person using one-sided
(a disadvantage to the next otherwise even battle) violence as your main tool, ask your questions and roll+Rigor
On a 14+, the enemy attempts to flee or surrenders. Choose 1: On a 14+, the person answers truthfully
• You don’t suffer any stress On a 9-13, about half of the answers are truthful, the other half
• Most of your troops are unharmed (no disadvantage to the is lies, but you don’t know which are lies
next even battle) On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst.
• You get something valuable (a prisoner, a letter, etc.)
On a 9-13, the enemy attempts to flee or surrenders. Choose 1 This is basically your torture move, but it can apply to other situations
from above and 1 from below than methodological torture as well. Torture is also used to get
• You’re struck unconscious and wake up in a worse situation confessions, but that’s not what this move resolves. You interrogate
• Your troops suffer heavy casualties (can’t fight anymore) to get information, and usually the character doesn’t have all the
• The enemy achieves something wretched (wounds your friend, time in the world to interrogate their victim. Use this move to see
takes something etc.) whether the victim cracks under pressure.
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst. You can either use dramatic judgement to decide what the victim
lies about, or just roll randomly whether an answer is truthful or
This is the mass combat move. Influential characters often have not with the weak hit. There’s a possibility that the player can guess
access to soldiers, watchmen, personal guards or just an angry mob which answers are truthful and which are lies, but the character
of people. When a character orders their troops to attack an enemy, doesn’t realize this.
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 The merchant then leaves and heads to the dock. The player spends
their last hold to follow them there, but now you’re out of hold.
When you stealthily follow someone, roll+Guile
On a 14+, you can follow them unseen to their next destination.
Hold 3. When you forge a document or modify an existing document
On a 9-13, you can follow them unseen to their next for a specific purpose, decide whether you try to weave in an
destination. Hold 1. additional fact unrelated to the document’s main purpose. When
Spend your hold while you’re following them to: the forged document is read, roll+Insight.
• Ambush them and gain an advantage over them for that roll On a 14+, the reader believes it’s authentic. If you weaved in an
• Keep on following them unseen when they move from their additional fact, they believe it. Otherwise gain an advantage in
current location to the next the situation that follows from this.
• Bypass guards undetected while following them, if plausible On a 9-13, the reader believes it’s authentic unless they’re
• Eavesdrop a conversation they’re having within earshot of you expecting a forgery and can compare this with a document
• Identify who they’re with if their partner is hiding themselves written by the alleged author. If you weaved in an additional
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst. fact, they’re sceptical of it.
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst.
When a character starts following someone, they trigger this move.
Roll the move first and then play how the situation continues, This is a straightforward move as long as you remember to roll it
letting the player spend their hold during that time. If the player when the forged document is read, not when it’s crafted. Naturally
follows an NPC, the GM needs to take an objective view of the the character can’t weave long stories to dense existing documents,
NPC at this point and do what the NPC really would. The NPC so try to keep it on a detail level.
can’t take unnecessary detours to waste the player’s hold, though it’s For example if a letter says that the Pope was poisoned last night
possible that not all hold spent gives the player anything concrete and that the primary suspect is the head of the Butchers’ Guild
to work with. during the dinner, a character could modify the document to say
Time for an example. Vittorio is following a merchant and the that, instead of the Butchers’ Guild, they suspect the Inquisition.
player rolls a 17, so they hold 3. The merchant walks to the church. As an additional fact, they could, for example, call for a meeting
Vittorio gets here for free. The church doesn’t interest Vittorio, later today to set up an ambush.
though, so they don’t spend any hold. The merchant leaves the
church and heads toward a noble’s house. The player spends 1 hold
to continue following them. At the noble’s house they spend 1 to
eavesdrop the conversation through a convenient open window.

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 When you try to influence a group of people by appealing to their When you’ve brewed or otherwise acquired poison and you or
emotion with rhetoric, roll+Will someone you’ve instructed poisons a victim with it, roll+Reason.
On a 14+, you sway the majority of the group to take a general On a 14+, the poison works as expected
action of your choosing On a 9-13, the poison works, but the GM chooses 1:
On a 9-13, you instill one strong emotion of your choice to the • The poison has an obvious side effect
majority of the group, but the group decides what to do next • The poison takes effect faster or slower than intended
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst. • Evidence of the poisoner is left behind and it will be noticed it
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst.
As always, this move isn’t mind control. The character needs a non-
hostile crowd that is willing to listen before they can trigger this Unlike Forge, this move is rolled when the poisoning happens. We
move. Also, the crowd needs to be open to the idea the character is need to know the results immediately in case, for example, someone
suggesting on a basic level. So no turning pious Christians against acts on the evidence left by the poisoner. The poisoner might even
the Church without a very good reason. still be sitting at the dinner table, after all. Also note that it doesn’t
The general action of full hit can’t be very specific. “Sack the have to be the player character doing the poisoning as long as they
Moratti estate!” is good level of detail. The character can’t influence were the one who instructed how to use the poison.
how the crowd should do it, or whether something should be saved. How easy it is to find or brew poison depends on the fiction
The weak hit is even less general, and should be a lot of fun for the and your style. Unless the character has an obvious access to poison
GM. It’s usually best to give the player what they wanted, but twist or someone who has some, it’s best to call for a Face Danger roll.
it to the extreme. For example an angry crowd going totally berserk, You could even give the poison on a miss, but with heavy strings
when the character just wanted to apply some pressure on someone. attached.
Normally it shouldn’t be easy to get poison with exotic effects,
though. Poisons aren’t magical unless they’re brewed with demonic
assistance or acquired straight from a demon. A demon can also
only assist with poisons that are related to their type, death or lust.

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 external factor changes the situation in a dramatic way, internal
factors such as stats are already mechanized. Only the modifiers
All characters have access to these moves, but instead of giving from Oppose may weaken the odds further if a character has a
the players new tools and options, they codify parts of the basic disadvantage.
infrastructure of the game. The fictional (dis)advantage has to be significant for this to apply
as it’s roughly equal to a +/-3 forward. If you’re not sure whether
something is worth a (dis)advantage, think whether a movie director
When you as the player decide that your character needs to grit would emphasize it in a scene or cut it out. Don’t micromanage
their teeth and try harder, you may spend grit points after small details, underline the dramatic.
rolling to increase your roll result, 1 grit point for +1 to the roll. Never forget what the (dis)advantage represents in the fiction.
You can spend up to 9 grit per roll. The only exception is when Keep the game grounded in the situation and its details, don’t
another player character opposes the action. See Oppose for more substitute them with a colorless extra die. This is only a way to give
information on this. mechanical weight to dramatic fictional details.

This move codifies grit usage. The decision to use grit is made on the
player level, the characters don’t know about these meta resources. When you spend months or years mastering a new set of skills,
It’s the player who decides what’s important enough to burn grit gain a new lifepath and all of its mechanical benefits and
on. When the player spends grit, they’re making a statement: “I drawbacks (up to 6 lifepaths).
find this important!”. Usually these moments also define what’s
important for the character, but the player doesn’t have to spend the This move codifies how characters advance. That is, they usually
grit to optimize their character’s success. Often “would this make don’t. Longer campaigns may use lengthy time skips to set a new
the situation more interesting?” is also a consideration. interesting situation, which can trigger this move. Other than that,
the characters don’t advance their stats.

If you have a clear advantage in a situation requiring a roll, roll

3d10, keep the highest two dice and then apply your modifier.

If you have a clear disadvantage in a situation requiring a roll,

roll 3d10, keep the lowest two dice and then apply your modifier.

Multiple (dis)advantages don’t stack no matter how big or numerous

the fictional (dis)advantage. These moves should be used when an
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 Lifepaths & Grit
When you reach the end of a session, 0 Beliefs 1 Belief 2 Beliefs 3 Beliefs
• If you have more than 5 grit, reset it to 5. The next step can 2 Lifepaths 2 4 6 8
increase your grit beyond 5. 3 Lifepaths 1 3 5 7
• Count the number of beliefs you used to drive the situation 4 Lifepaths 0 2 4 6
forward during the session, whether ultimately for or against 5 Lifepaths -1 1 3 5
the belief. Gain grit according to this number and the number of
6 Lifepaths -2 0 2 4
lifepaths you have:
»»Grit Gained = (2 × Beliefs Driven) + 4 - Number of Lifepaths Compels keep the trait cycle moving, and make sure the players have
• If you didn’t compel anyone during the session, lose a grit point opportunities to spend each others’ stress points via the Devil’s seat.
• Revise traits if you feel the need for it: It’s very important that the players compel each other. Consider
»»You may change the trait pair on your trait meter. If you do, the grit penalty for not compelling a reminder.
clear all marks. The end of the session is a calm moment to check whether both
»»You may remove deep traits if e.g. a dramatic event has the player’s own traits and the other players’ traits are fine. It’s also
changed your character a good time to update beliefs since the GM needs the characters’
»»If another character’s traits are hard to compel because the beliefs for the next session’s prep.
character already behaves according to a trait on the meter, you
can suggest that the trait becomes a deep trait immediately. If
the other player agrees, resolve the trait. When either of your traits on the trait meter has 3 more marks
• If you need to update your beliefs, do it now than its opposite trait, the pair is resolved:
• The stronger trait becomes a new deep trait
This is the grit, trait and belief upkeep procedure you do at the end of • Count the number of marks on the stronger trait. You gain this
every session. Resetting the grit back to 5 might sting some players, number of grit points
but there’s a good reason for it: We don’t want players to save their • Then reset the trait meter and choose a new pair of opposing
grit for huge situations, we want them to spend grit constantly so traits to examine. If you feel that you have conflicting deep
that they’re also striving to gain more of it. Beliefs are the biggest traits, you can also pair them up, or take one deep trait and a
stable source of grit for the players, so they’re unlikely to forget new trait for further examination.
their beliefs. That makes the GM’s job easier since they can rely
on the characters to drive with their beliefs. This move is what happens when a character’s traits have been
Here are the results of the grit gain formula in a table format. compelled enough to make some conclusions on their relative
strengths. Trait resolution can happen at any time during a session.
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The only requirement is that one of the traits has 3 more marks
than its opposite, so it could be 3 marks vs 0 marks (gain 3 grit),
or 5 marks vs 2 marks (gain 5 grit).
You can look at deep traits as stable facets of a character. They
can still be compelled, and the Devil’s seat can use them to their
advantage. If a deep trait feels wrong, it’s always possible to drop
it, or pair it again if it makes more sense. Traits should be in sync
with the actual character we see in the fiction, but they can also
be prescriptive.
It’s often good to give the player the grit points immediately after
triggering trait resolution, so that they can use the points during
the current situation, but let them decide the next trait pair when
they get some downtime. If the player has a hard time deciding a
new trait pair, instruct them to let their curiosity guide them. A
player shouldn’t just pick a pair blindly from the list of examples, it’s
better to pick a pair that allows them to learn something interesting
about their character.
If trait resolution happens just before the end of the session, it’s
fine to award the grit points at the start of the next session.

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 The Church has zero tolerance for witchcraft, and preaches the
dangers of witches to the obedient general public. Actual witch
incidents are quite rare and often personal in nature, though.
The Inquisition is in charge of investigating both accusations of
Protestant heresy and witchcraft. The job of an upstanding inquisitor
Witches are people who wield the demonic powers that either course isn’t an easy one as the townsfolk are all too eager to accuse their
in their very blood, perhaps due to ancient demonic ancestry, or is neighbours, mothers-in-law and other enemies of witchcraft. An
granted to them by a demon via a contract. Anyone can be a witch: inquisitor doesn’t have the right to sentence anyone to death. That
a man or a woman, a child or a crone. Witchcraft is considered a power belongs to the secular court.
dark art due to its link to the demonic, and its corrupting effect Not all inquisitors are righteous, though. Many veteran inquisitors
on the witch. have decided that it’s too dangerous to ask first, or to let the ignorant
Anyone can become a wielder of otherworldly power, even of secular authorities decide who is a witch and who isn’t. Their veteran
the person isn’t born to a family of witchblood. If the person isn’t status protects them from the worst sanctions even when they go
a cradle witch, they need to seek out a demonic patron and make over the line, especially during times of witch panic. These are the
a contract to receive their powers. Whether this corrupts the soul people who believe that all corruptions of the body are witch marks,
permanently isn’t certain, unless one asks the Church. and everyone bearing witch marks should be burned at the stake,
While witchcraft is often used selfishly, for revenge or for greedy all the while bearing their own blight scars from previous battles.
purposes, there are many witches who first grasped the power with The actual practice of witchcraft comes in two main forms: spells
the intent of supporting their family or doing good in their society. and summonings. Spellcasting isn’t often obvious to a bystander,
Power has the tendency to corrupt, but witchcraft itself doesn’t and even the spell effects might not be. Spells are unpredictable and
make people evil. risky, however, so many witches resort to spells only in emergency
In the larger society cults have formed around both real witches situations. The real path to power lies in summoning demons and
and fake witches. Especially the lower classes are linked to illegal making pacts with them. The extent of what demons can offer a
pagan and witch traditions. However, witchcraft is also present in witch is unimaginable, as is the price.
the upper echelons of society, often taking a form more akin to a
degenerate vice, a kind of a high class drug club.
Of course there are also individual witches who use their powers Blight is the corruption related to demonic powers. From a human
to further their own interests in life, to take revenge out of anger perspective, blight seems to have an aging effect on anything it
and to rise against oppression. Covens of witches are very rare touches, but it bears an ominous aura right at the edge of perception
outside of powerful witchblood families, as most witches try their that suggests there’s more to it. In people blight’s effect is often
best to hide themselves. localized to a smaller or larger region of the body instead of aging
the whole person. These regions are called witch marks. A child
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witch doesn’t actually grow old by using witchcraft, but parts of
their body might. Witch Mark Characteristics
The effects of blight extend to the environment as well. Witchcraft Severity Search required Roll Examples
and demonic beings blight the environment around them during Minor A thorough full 9-13 A small patch of wrinkled
strong bursts of power, or during prolonged presence. As with people, body search, naked skin on the inner thigh, a
the effect manifests itself by aging the surrounding environment, liver spot in the armpit
decaying plant life and ruining organic materials. A place touched Moderate A search of the 8- An atrophied forearm or
by blight might not be immediately dangerous or even obvious to arms, legs and torso calf, sagging skin
lay people, though inquisitors are taught to look for these signs of Severe A cursory look 8- and 3 Balding gray hair,
witchcraft. moderate extremely stooped posture,
Blight is a double edged sword to a witch. On the one hand it marks clouded eyes
makes the witch more powerful, but it’s also the most likely cause of
discovery. Even though witches have access to tremendous powers,
they rarely use their powers due to its costs. Every time anyone is Demons are the otherworldly creatures a would-be contract witch
in contact with the dark art, they risk blight exposure. contacts, or an actual witch summons. They’re beings of immense
The witch needs to choose when it’s worth it to risk using their power, and they all have one goal: to tempt and corrupt people
powers, and when they do, it’s a clear sign of what the witch finds into sin. It might not be obvious and their schemes might not even
important in life. They also need to decide whether it’s okay to target the witch themselves, but that’s what all demons ultimately
subject potentially innocent bystanders to blight’s effects, and want. They’re creatures of evil.
perhaps condemn them to the stake if their marks are found. There are two types of demons: demons of death and demons of
Mechanically witch marks are gained with the Resist Blight lust. Demons of death want to create misery by severing bonds, ties
move. They follow a three step scale, each category having its own and relations. A soul from its body, lovers from each other or wealth
characteristics. Check the following table for an overview on witch from the fortunate. Each demon type has their own characteristic
marks. powers. The powers of death include famine, pestilence, rage and
other negative emotions, physical harm such as scouring the flesh
off the living, decay, abortion, turning the day into night and raising
the dead. Wild death demons occasionally gather morbid cults
around themselves.
Demons of lust on the other hand torment people by bringing
together things that aren’t good for each other. Temptations to the
innocent, perverted habits to the unwise or sins to the pure. Lust
demons’ powers include manipulation, seduction, lies, illusions,
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instilling desire in people, poisons, insemination, hypnosis and making a deliberate summoning ritual. Usually a witch summons
addictive pleasures. Sex cults aren’t uncommon where demons of a demon to make a pact and thus gain something they couldn’t get
lust roam. with spells alone. The witch should be careful of the way the pact
Demons come in a wide variety of shapes. Many take on a human is formulated, though.
form and infiltrate the society. Others take the form of beasts or
monsters. Even more insidious are the demons who take the shape
of a desire or idol, or even the voice of God in a Christian’s head.
Whatever the shape, demons have many ways to communicate
with people. All contract witches have a convenient way to hear When you venture alone into a place of power at the right time,
their patron’s whispers. for example a deep forest at the witching hour, and willingly
Killing, or more accurately, banishing a demon isn’t a simple job, offer yourself to any demon listening, a creature will come forth
even though they do obey steel. You need a small army to drive and offer you a contract of witchcraft. The GM decides the
away the most powerful of demons, and there are no demons that details of the contract and whether a demon of death or lust has
are weak enough for a single human to deal with, witch or not. arrived. Whether you accept the contract then is up to you. If you
Luckily no demon has an agenda as simple as killing humans. do, increase your blight by 1, gain a spell and then roll to Resist
Demons routinely refuse pacts to assassinate people, though they Blight. Also gain access to the witchcraft moves.
may be willing to e.g. bring someone to their summoner for the
right price. Demons do kill in self-defense, though. This is the “I want to become a witch!” move. The GM should be
Demons don’t betray their contract witch unless the witch betrays flexible instead of restrictive when defining what a place of power
the demon first. As long as one doesn’t consider incitement and is. If a character feels the need for witchcraft, the option should
temptation forms of betrayal, of course. All contract witches have be open to them. The patron demon is certainly more than willing
obligations to fulfill, though, and rare is the lenient patron. The to step into the world.
most obvious punishment is stripping the witch of their powers, The demon should set their contract right within the reach of
or giving additional tasks to complete. the would-be witch. More severe terms for a desperate case, less so
If the witch is killed, the summoned demon is free to roam the for someone who contacted the demon on an ill-considered whim.
Earth. As witches are rare and wild demons are even rarer, the visible You can expect to see this move used when a character loses their
effects of the demonic are extremely rare. Not even all of the clergy existing influence and needs some leverage to stay in the game.
believe that demons actually walk the Earth. To the laity, demons
are but myths. Witches and experienced inquisitors know better.
However, the laity are quite safe in their beliefs as demons have
no way of coming to our world without the aid of a witch. A witch
seeking a contract can bring a demon to our world, as can a witch
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 Spells
When you twist reality using your demonic powers, there will be Terror
consequences. If you’re willing to take the risk, select a spell you Overwhelm a group of people by an irrational fear. You need to be
know and roll+Blight able to see the victims.
On a 14+, you gather power for the spell unnoticed and cast it, Compulsion
but choose 1 Give a single target a spoken command, up to a sentence, that they’re
On a 9-13, you gather power for the spell unnoticed and cast it, compelled to obey. Only their survival instinct or other such primal
but choose 2 instincts can resist you.
• Suffer 2 stress as you sustain the demonic energies Illusion
• The spell’s effect is much stronger or its duration is shorter, Create either a large static illusion, up to a few human sized moving
GM’s call ones or change how you look. Illusions can’t produce sounds.
• The spell’s effect is weaker or its area of effect is larger, GM’s Curse
call Curse a group of people to suffer. You may choose the nature of the
• The spell’s effect draws attention to you, making it obvious that suffering, such as instant warts, recurring nightmares or bad luck. A
you just cast a spell curse can’t kill anyone directly, though. You need to be able to see the
• The spell blights the environment, aging and decaying the victims.
surroundings. Lay people may consider this a bad omen while Divination
those who know about witchcraft know that there are demonic See briefly and instantly into the future concerning a situation
energies present (reading what will likely happen) or a person (reading what they
On a 8-, gain 1 stress point and be prepared for the worst. might do next). Exploiting this knowledge immediately counts as
having an advantage.
After the tense situation is over, roll to Resist Blight.
Telekinesis
Move one heavy object or multiple light ones as if you had the
strength of a few invisible men at your telepathic command.

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This is the move to roll when a witch needs to achieve something
right now. As there are always consequences to casting a spell, this
move is often used in either emergencies or when the witch has When you painstakingly prepare a summoning circle to call forth
planned the situation well in advance so that there aren’t too many a demon, choose whether you reach for a creature of death or lust.
bystanders around. A witch can only cast spells they know, but The creature appears before you, then roll+Blight
it’s quite easy to learn more spells with intentional or accidental On a 14+, the summoning circle holds the creature and it’s
blight exposure. willing to hear you out
Keep in mind that a successful roll is a successful roll even if it On a 9-13, the summoning circle holds the creature, but the GM
has a cost: The options chosen must not invalidate the basic point chooses 1:
of the spell. That doesn’t mean that the GM can’t have fun with • It’s in a foul mood
the side effects. It’s often best to create side effects that don’t have • It demands a sacrifice before it’s ready to negotiate
anything to do with the main intent of the spell, but make the • It wants you to do something to further its agenda before it’s
situation more chaotic. All successful spells are cast unnoticed by ready to negotiate
default unless the player chooses the option to make the casting On a 8-, the circle is critically flawed and doesn’t hold the
obvious. If a witch doesn’t have to hide themselves, it’s a free option creature. You’re under the gun and the demon is here to advance
to pick. its agenda
The spells are powerful and that’s by design. Witches have a lot
of power over ordinary people, but it comes at a heavy cost. When After the tense situation is over, roll to Resist Blight.
the witch targets NPCs, they just succumb to the effects. However,
if the witch targets a player character, let the player roll Face Danger As long as the circle holds you may banish the creature at will.
to resist the effects of the spell. Characters can’t normally Oppose
spellcasting, but unlike other moves, this doesn’t mean that the Demons are the path to real power, and summoning is the way to
witch gets an automatic success. Always roll when casting spells, find just the right demon for the character’s needs. If a character
and remember Resist Blight after the dust settles. needs something that the spells don’t cover, they need to summon
NPC witches might have other spells than these six, or they a demon and seal a Faustian pact with it. Demons can offer a wide
might have more powerful versions of these spells. Demons can variety of magical and non-magical services, but they can’t make a
have a lot stronger powers compared to these spells, of course. character younger. The appearance of youth isn’t a problem, though.
It’s considered extremely rude to summon your patron.
Preparing a summoning circle takes time, but it doesn’t require
exotic materials. If the player happens to roll a miss, the demon’s
first instinct shouldn’t be to attack. It should either be to roam free,
or to press the character into an arrangement they really wouldn’t
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like to take part in. They might even fulfill what the character asks, Demons like to use humans, corrupt them at a deeper level
but on their terms. and always make deals that they can exploit. A pact is a pact, but
Summoned demons love to sell information for the right price if there’s a loophole, that’s the mortal’s fault. However, the GM
and might even make the offer themselves. They lose nothing, gain shouldn’t play hard gotchas with the players. How much is okay
something from the pact and may very well bring more misery into depends on the group. You should discuss this aspect of the game
the world. They may even actively tempt characters with hints of when the first pact is being made.
what they’re offering.

When you have negotiated a deal with a demonic being and

both of you seal it in blood willingly, you’re both cursed to fulfill
the deal. If either of you betrays their obligation, the betrayed
party may either completely dominate the betrayer once at will,
or instead banish them to Hell for 1001 years. This ends the pact.
Beware of loopholes.

Roll to Resist Blight after sealing the pact.

When a character summons a demon and makes a wish, an offer

of pact is the demon’s answer. The character might ask for an exotic
poison, information, a new spell, wealth, fame, good health or
anything really. Then it’s the GM’s job to say yes if at all possible,
and determine the price. It’s up to the demon to set the price, which
can be anything from a simple favor all the way to the character’s
immortal soul.
Demons don’t like to do things themselves, and they pretty
much never accept assassination pacts. They’d much rather give
the human the tools to do it, and make the human commit the
sin personally. A demon would only betray its pact in highly
extraordinary circumstances, if ever. The clause for betrayal is just
to make sure both parties can trust each other to keep their end.
How the demon fulfills the pact depends on its type.
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 A single scene usually revolves around a conflict or a decision
point, which is either developed on the fly as the situation changes
organically, or is prepared by the GM beforehand. From this
perspective moves are the tools that players use to solve their
problems. Choosing what to do corresponds to what move the
Blightburg is a game that benefits from deliberate scene framing. player is going to roll. The results of moves then change the situation,
Scene framing is simply the technique of deciding where a scene create further problems and consequences and occasionally solve
is taking place, which characters are present and what’s happening the actual problem.
when the scene starts. Framing and cutting scenes allows the GM That’s the scene level flow of the game. There’s also another
to move the action quickly and make good use of screen time. In flow you should be aware of, the mechanical flow of grit and stress
a drama game such as this, we don’t want to spend time watching economies. The players gain grit by driving towards their beliefs,
the characters travel from one building to the next. We want to resolving traits, accepting compels to deep traits and with the
focus on conflicts and the decisions the characters have to make. Manipulate move. Players spend grit to boost their rolls, and to bid
When the GM is deciding what kind of a scene to frame next, with Opposition. It’s also possible to lose grit by not compelling
there are three natural options to choose from: a player can drive at all, or when refusing to be Manipulated.
toward one of their beliefs, the GM can push a problem related On the other hand players gain stress when they miss rolls, fight,
to a belief to the player, or the GM can push a consequence of a do witchcraft or refuse compels. The only way to lose stress is to
previous decision to the player. Most of the time it’s going to be the have another player use the Devil’s seat powers on the character.
first or second option, depending on the nature of the character’s Grit and stress don’t have a direct link, but their relative strengths
belief, GM prep and how long you’ve been playing (see the GM’s determine a lot about the character’s immediate fortunes, which
Tools chapter for more info). Consequence scenes will spice the wax and wane during the course of the game. Consider this an
flow of the game, but they shouldn’t distract the game too far from undercurrent that changes how the actual scenes work out.
the characters’ beliefs.
Another thing that’s going to affect the nature of a scene is the
number of player characters in it. Most scenes are going to have one A belief is a communication tool between the player and the GM,
or two player characters in them, while a few, likely climactic scenes a reminder for the player and a way to concretize the character’s
will feature more than two characters. As you’ve likely understood values. First and foremost they’re a preparation tool for the GM
by now, this isn’t a game that features a party of characters. Much of without which they couldn’t create relevant NPCs and situations
the time we’re focusing on individual characters making decisions, or for the characters. On the other side of the coin they help the
the interactions of two characters. The rest of the players are in the player decide what to do next whenever that’s not obvious. And
audience, looking for good spots to compel and use the Devil’s seat. through rewriting beliefs, we can see how the character’s values
and priorities change over time.
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 As outlined in the basic concepts, a belief has three parts: the Let’s have a concrete example of beliefs by painting a situation,
value statement, the long-term goal and the short-term action. The locating player characters in it and then writing a few beliefs for
short-term action is the most important one of these as that’s the the characters.
immediate place to look at for both the preparing GM and the There are three factions in conflict, a small city council, the
player who needs a reminder. The long-term goal keeps the rapidly university and the Inquisition. The university is secretly supporting
changing short-term actions coherent while the value statement a revolt against the city council, whose despotic magistrate has a
answers the question “why is the character after the long-term strong grip on the other council members and isn’t afraid to further
goal”. A value statement changes rarely, but when it does, it’s a big her family’s goals from her position.
moment for the character. One of the university’s professors is a demon, and it would
A solid belief is one where the value statement is meaningful to greatly please him to incite the city into a civil war. However, the
the character, the long-term goal is aligned with the value statement Inquisition knows that a dark force lingers over the university, but
and helps the player come up with short-term goals, and the short- it doesn’t know who the demon is. The magistrate would like to
term action is concrete enough to communicate what the character is use the Inquisition to solidify her position as the rightful ruler of
going to do next. The short-term action also needs to be something the city, but the Inquisition is more interested in justice and the
the character can realistically achieve in a single session. spiritual welfare of the citizens.
The best way to write solid beliefs is to look at the relationship The player characters are Maria, the despotic magistrate, Stefano,
between the character and the situation. How does the character fit a bright-eyed inquisitor from a low family, and Antonia, Maria’s
in the current situation? How would the character like to change daughter, a student at the university. She’s studying under the
the situation? Why? What’s the next step along that path? demon professor, Fausto, who is the patron demon of a fourth
At first this is difficult since the players don’t have solid answers player character we don’t need in this example.
to these questions. It’s best to start with an interesting guess and Maria’s priorities are to solidify her position as the city ruler, and
see how the situation develops. After a session or two, once the to make sure her daughter is safe. Stefano’s priority is to find the
players have a good idea of the situation and their characters, the dark presence without having to resort to corrupted political aid
answers to these questions start to clear up. Then it becomes easier from the council. Antonia’s relationship with her mother is distant
to write new beliefs as well. and cold, and she’d rather marry Stefano and get away from her
The players should be prepared to rewrite at least the short- family. Here are two beliefs for each of the characters:
term actions of a belief or two every session. It’s not rare to update Maria’s situation belief could be: A strong dynasty will keep my
all beliefs after a particularly turbulent session. If a belief hasn’t family relevant now and in the future. I’ll crush whoever supports the
changed in, say, three sessions, either the player isn’t driving it hard revolt at the university. Next I’ll arrange a meeting with the Inquisition
enough or its scope is too large. Focused beliefs are always better to recruit their aid in this.
guideposts for both the player and the GM.

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 Her relationship belief could be: A family is only as strong as its Traits work through a few separate mechanics: the Compel, the
weakest link. I’ll have to terminate Antonia’s relationship with the lowly Trait Resolution and the trait meter on the character sheet. Deep
Stefano. Next I’ll ask Stefano what his price would be to reject Antonia. traits are the mostly stable end result of the exploration process.
Stefano’s situation belief could be: Corruption is at the heart of Mostly stable, because the characters can change their behavior
unhappiness. I’ll find and banish the evil lurking at the university. Next after dramatic events.
I’ll go look for clues of blight with Antonia. The trait meter has two opposing traits and each of these traits
His personal belief could be: The Inquisition lacks the resources to has its own set of compel marks. When one of them is compelled,
do what’s right. I’ll try to secure aid from the city council without strings either one of the traits can receive a mark depending on how the
attached by demonstrating what the evil we’re facing is capable of. Next compelled player judges their character. When one trait is clearly
I’ll bring the Black Book to the council and show its corrupting influence. stronger than the other, the trait pair is resolved and the stronger
Antonia’s situation belief could be: The university revolt group is trait becomes a deep trait. After this happens a new pair is picked
building a better world. I’ll need to support them without letting my for examination. All player characters have one pair of traits in the
mother know. Next I’ll ask professor Fausto what I could do to help the trait meter at all times, plus an unlimited number of deep traits.
cause. The point of traits is to find out what the character is like, not to
Antonia’s relationship belief could be: I detest my family’s ways. I see how they change. This is reflected in the fact that gaining deep
need to marry away from the political circles, and Stefano seems like a traits and playing according to them is incentivized, but removing
good person. Next I’ll warn him not to get involved with the council’s them isn’t. Whether a player accepts or refuses a compel, we’ve
political plots. learned something new about the character. That’s why the player
This should give you an idea how a complicated situation can needs to judge their character honestly, otherwise the player isn’t
become truly charged when the characters have solid beliefs that finding their character, they’re defining the character.
involve the other characters and are partly in conflict with each other. There are roughly two types of solid trait pairs: A pair of opposites
There’s no single right way to write a good belief, but as long and a pair of negatives. A pair of opposites would be, for example,
as the beliefs seem charged with interesting tension and no one cruel - kind. Aggressive - cold-hearted would be an example of
can say where the overall situation is going in actual play, you’re a pair of negatives. A pair of positives doesn’t work as well since
doing it right. it’s often hard to find good spots to compel them. They can work
as situational or character specific pairs, but it’s best to start with
easy generic pairs.
Traits are a way to explore the player characters. As traits are explored A trait that readily suggests character behavior is an easy trait
through compels, they also allow the players to explore each others’ to compel, and an easy trait to compel is a good trait. In addition
characters. They allow the audience members to be active, and to this, the player should be interested in the trait pair and be open
they’re a stepping stone towards the Devil’s seat. and curious about the result. Well chosen traits should often lead
to complications when compelled in the right situation. If it turns
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out that a trait pair is hard to compel, it should be modified or A good rule of thumb for the players is to focus on the beliefs when
changed either during or at the end of a session. in a scene and on the other characters’ traits when in the audience.
The players need to see each others’ traits easily, so either write the Being out of the current scene shouldn’t be pure downtime.
other players’ traits on your character sheet, consider putting index Compels can be used to change the course of a scene, which
cards in front of each player or use a whiteboard if you have one. gives the audience an interesting tool of dramatic coordination.
Everyone at the table should be curious about the characters and
the situation and see whether they could ask the other characters
To some players, compelling can feel like pushing into the other questions that throw them off in an unexpected way. And remember
player’s territory. Whether it feels okay or uncomfortable depends on that the game doesn’t work without compels; the Devil’s seat, traits
the play culture you’re used to. Another perspective might help you and stress are all tightly linked to them.
orient yourself to what the game expects if the mechanic feels iffy.
When I’m in the audience, playing Blightburg, I like to speculate
where the situation is going and what the characters are going to The Devil’s seat is a reward for the compelling player and a way
do next. Of course I do this with full respect for the other players, to get a hold of the character. It’s a way to spend stress points and
I let them speak and don’t interrupt them. allows us to see the characters make mistakes and go overboard. As
However, if a player stops to think for a moment, I use the with compels, it’s a tool of dramatic coordination as the audience
opportunity to compel them into a worse situation. This isn’t to members can create twists and turns in the scene when they feel
make the player suffer or to deny their character success, but to like it.
explore how far the character is willing to go. And to make the The way the seat is used depends on the group and how far the
situation even more dramatic and twisty, of course. campaign is. A group that doesn’t compel a lot tends to hold on
A player usually has an intuitive understanding of their character’s to the seats, while a group that compels constantly also drops out
behavior even before a trait pair is resolved, otherwise they couldn’t of the seats often to get the discount. The seat doesn’t usually see a
play the character. This can lead to a conflicting vision of the character lot of play during the first session or two since the characters don’t
when a compel nudges the character’s behavior toward something have a lot of stress yet, but once the conflicts start to boil over, the
the player didn’t see coming. seat starts to see a lot more use.
The solution to this conflict is to hold on to the intuitive This should be obvious, but bears mentioning: The seat powers
understanding of the character very lightly. The player needs to aren’t meant for bullying or furthering one’s own agenda. They should
accept that they might not know everything about the character be used to create interesting situations and decisions for the other
at first. There could even be a dramatic reason why the character character, and to let the other character lose some stress points.
hasn’t shown a particular kind of behavior until this point.
Players should actively look for opportunities to compel the
other characters when they’re not in the current scene themselves.
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 some mind games to make the situation even more tense. Also if
anyone is sitting on the characters’ seat(s), remind them to consider
Player versus player situations are a core part of the game, and whether they’d like to tamper with the conflict as a third party.
while not all campaigns climax with the player characters at each Sometimes the results of a player versus player conflict require
other’s throats, with or without weapons, it’s a common way to end careful neutral judgement from the GM. If it’s a hard decision, return
a campaign. A few friendly reminders about player versus player to this basic principle: If the roll is a full hit, the rolling character
play may be in order. won. If the roll is a weak hit, it’s as much a draw as possible, and
Remember that the characters are in conflict with each other, if that’s not possible, favor the rolling player. If the roll is a miss,
not the players. It’s best to look at the situation from an outside the rolling character lost.
perspective and be curious about the characters’ decisions and where
they take the game.
Further, this isn’t a game that anyone can win by coming out
on top of the political situation in play. Instead a player who learns
what their character is like deep down inside can be considered
to win the game. Thus player versus player situations aren’t about
winning, they’re about who the characters are, what decisions they
make and how that affects the situation.
Player versus player (or GM vs player) situations can rouse
intense feelings on the player level when the character’s feelings
bleed into the player. It’s also a part of the Blightburg experience.
Some people like it, others hate it, but either way you as the GM
should be aware of it. If an argument between characters is getting
out of hand on the player level, stop the scene for a moment and
make sure the players are comfortable with the situation. Just a
friendly reminder of bleed as a phenomenon is usually enough to
prevent any animosity between the players.
As far as the mechanics go, Oppose is the main way to resolve
player versus player situations. Using it should be quick and shouldn’t
cost you any tempo. It’s a matter of announcing opposition, deciding
the modifier for the roll, rolling, bidding and burning grit and
reading the result. If it’s an intense situation, you can take your time
when bidding grit as the blind bid mechanic allows bluffing and
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 Always strive to either test the player characters’ beliefs, or show
the consequences of their actions. That’s more than enough content
for the campaign.
Frame scenes where the player characters can interact with each
other. Be liberal with timelines to make this easier. Never preplan
These are the things that you as the GM should do when chains of events, you only need the first action or reaction an NPC
playing the game: takes. Let the players shape the course of the game by reacting back
• Portray a gritty Renaissance era city as coherently as a movie to whatever you throw at them.
would Make sure the players use the mechanics of the game to keep
• Play NPCs consistently and to the hilt. Make them human, the grit and stress engines running. Help them compel and use
but never protect them the Devil’s seat, support them when they’re making moves, remind
them to burn grit and drive towards their beliefs.
• Put the characters’ beliefs under pressure
The following sections give you concrete advice on how to fulfill
• Show the players the consequences of their actions your agenda.
• Create opportunities for the player characters to interact with
each other
• Play to find out what happens, never preplan outcomes
• Remind the players to compel each other and use the Devil’s
seat First and foremost, you as the GM need NPCs whose human
motivations are at odds with the player characters’ beliefs. Look
Portraying the city as coherently as a movie would means that you
at the situation and the characters’ beliefs. Which of the beliefs
can stretch time and probabilities to create interesting situations
remain unopposed? Which vital NPCs are motionless? What kinds
for the characters. This holds especially true when something isn’t
of NPCs can you create to challenge the characters’ goals? Drawing
defined yet. Keep the consequences logical, and don’t change what’s
a relationship map of the characters or a mind map of the situation
already defined. Let the situation guide you when deciding the
can help visualize what’s missing and what’s going on.
outcomes of moves.
While you should play your NPCs as real people and maintain
Name each NPC, and resist the temptation to play them too
the consistency of the situation during a session, it’s okay to bend
nicely or reasonably. We need conflict, not a merry tea party. It’s
the campaign world’s objective reality a bit when preparing new
also good to keep a list of names, for example from the character
NPCs for a session if that makes things easier for you. Don’t change
creation chapter, close by when you need to create a new NPC on
existing facts, create convenient new ones.
the fly.
You only need a rough vision of an NPC, their position in society,
a name and a motivation that’s in conflict with one of the player
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characters’ beliefs. Everything else is extra. Starting from such a An example. Let’s say one of the PCs, Viviana, has this belief: I
blank slate allows you to shape the NPC in reaction to the players believe our family shouldn’t use witches to do our dirty work, so I’ll crush
choices. Of course you can start with more detailed NPCs if you the witch coven. Next I’ll find out who are involved with the coven.
like, but don’t feel obligated to do so. Also try to use one NPC Let’s also say that it’s the second session and this is the first bang
for multiple purposes if possible. This way you’ll create a web of I’m writing for this belief.
relationships effortlessly. I have two clear options. First, I could have an NPC show Viviana
that the witch coven isn’t a threat to her or her family. This would
probably be an active bang. Second, I could have an NPC protect
NPCs aren’t enough, though, you also need to be able to create the witch coven from outside threats, i.e. Viviana. This could be a
suitable situations with your NPCs. Once you have a bunch of NPCs reactive bang if the NPC doesn’t know Viviana yet. But it could
and a grip of the big picture, take a blank paper and divide it into be an active one as well if Viviana has already started asking about
areas, one per player character. Then write the character names on the coven.
top of their respective areas, split each area into three rows and label The first option works only if Viviana isn’t likely to back off from
them SB, RB and PB. These stand for situation belief, relationship her goal of crushing the witch coven. If she’s likely to back off if
belief and personal belief. bribed or lied to, the bang doesn’t challenge her as hard as I’d like.
Bangs are how you make NPCs take deliberate action, and also Since it’s the second session, I can’t count on her being determined
how you create interesting situations in play. Bangs are events that enough not to flinch.
demand a choice from the player, and making that choice is often The second option is less subtle, but is more likely to challenge
a value statement for the character. A bang kickstarts a situation, her. I’ll go with the second option: The NPC, Viviana’s brother in
but doesn’t determine how the situation ends. fact, protecting the witch coven will threaten her not to mess with
Create a bang for every character’s every belief by taking an things she doesn’t understand, or she can forget about her dowry.
NPC that opposes or is otherwise related to the belief, and make This example also brings up a point about challenging beliefs:
the NPC take action. This method makes sure you aren’t ignoring should you challenge the belief part or the action part? As a rule of
any beliefs and gives you enough ammunition for more than one thumb, challenging the belief creates stronger drama, but it’s also
session, so you have some flexibility to choose as well. harder. Challenging beliefs works only if you can trust the player to
Some beliefs are easier to hit than others. If the character is push back instead of just deciding that “oh, well I guess the witch
currently actively pursuing an agenda, create a reactive bang that coven is actually quite useful to our family after all”. This is why
the player will trigger when they drive forward with the belief. If it’s easier to start by challenging the action part of the belief until
a belief is more passive, create an active bang that you’ll trigger you have a good grasp of the character.
when there’s a pause in the action. Some relationship beliefs are The best NPCs and bangs challenge both the belief part and the
so tightly woven around two PCs that there’s no room for outside action part. These NPCs are often like mirror images of PCs with
bangs. This is fine as long as the player is active about the belief. opposite values and goals. Not all NPCs should be mirror images of
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PCs, though, nor should you feel pressured to create perfect NPCs to stress realism or timelines too much, unless you’re in the middle
and bangs. Basic NPCs grow more complex as you play, and basic of a high stakes situation that you want to see through objectively.
bangs can often have unforeseen consequences. The players’ actions have consequences and some of the NPCs
The most important thing to remember when preparing bangs have active plans of their own, so be sure to review the previous
is this: Make sure the player has to roll one way or another if they session and drive hard with the consequences. These can be written
want to further their belief goals. I don’t mean that you should as stand-alone active bangs even if they don’t fit to any belief slots
railroad the player into rolling, just craft the situation in such a on your bang sheet.
way that the NPC isn’t willing to change their mind without the Another useful technique is to mark the session opener bang
player character really trying, ie. rolling. for each character during prep so you immediately know which
Do not give in to the temptation of giving things easily to the bang to drop when you get back to the game.
characters, or to play NPCs as nice people. This can’t be overstated; You shouldn’t prepare anything based on character traits. The
the game falls apart if you don’t challenge the characters and make players will leverage them during play. Let them surprise you.
them roll. It’s also good, though not mandatory, to draw or print a map
Here’s an easy way to make sure you’re challenging the characters. of the city and its surroundings. While this isn’t a tactical game, it
First decide whether you need an active bang or a reactive one to makes the world a lot more concrete instead of being a fuzzy cloud.
challenge a belief. If you need an active one, make an NPC really If a situation, NPC or location feels flat or you don’t have a firm
want something the player character doesn’t want. If a reactive grip of it, try detailing its background further. How and why did
bang is what you need, make an NPC really not want what the it become involved in the situation at play?
player character wants. Both situations lead inevitably to the player Also make sure you as the GM are genuinely interested in
rolling some dice. finding something out of the situation or the characters. This can
It’s the player’s responsibility to further their character’s goals, take the form of an explicit stakes question, or just an idea of what
and to come up with the means to do so. Your job is to challenge you’re looking forward to.
the characters’ beliefs, not to help or enable the characters to reach
their goals. It’s actually fine even if the characters don’t reach their
goals, since it’s a strong opportunity for character growth. Just don’t Here’s what you should try to do during the second session, when
outright block what the character is trying to achieve. you start actual character play:
Introduce the system. Before beginning play you should give
the players the move reference sheets you’ve printed. Explain the
Do create convenient meet-ups, lucky coincidences and other basics of how moves work, but don’t go through each and every
excuses to bring characters easily together, both when writing option. Especially explain how the game rewards the players, i.e.
bangs and during play. This is another place where you don’t want how beliefs, traits and compels work. Hand out the Devil’s seat
play aids as well and write the characters’ names on them.
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 Kick the session into motion. The players can’t do this, it’s on
you. Especially during the first session or two of actual play you
have the better view of the situation. Session opener bangs are
valuable here, and as you’ll probably need to do some preparations
before the session you’ll be the one who remembers where things So you’re playing your NPCs to the hilt and seeing where the
were left off previously. situations go. At some point there will be a pause in the action
Introduce the PCs. Use the first scene for each PC to introduce when a scene ends and it’s not clear what happens next. What you
them. Don’t worry about compelling them or challenging them as the GM do next depends on how many sessions you’ve played
from subtle angles. Do the obvious and establish the baseline for thus far, i.e. whether the players have oriented themselves and
who this person is. know the key NPCs.
Introduce the NPCs. The players can’t take the reins until they During the first session or two you should say what happens next
know who the NPCs are. Use the first session to introduce as many by dropping an active bang at the player who has received the least
NPCs as you can without making it contrived. You can also make a amount of screen time. Your immediate goals are to keep the game
list of NPCs by name, age and occupation and give it to the players. moving and to introduce the situation as well as the key NPCs.
They’ll learn the NPCs a lot faster this way. After the first two sessions of actual play, in the same situation
Make them roll. Some people may easily forget the dice during where there’s no clear continuation scene or when a player hasn’t
social situations. Don’t let this happen as most situations during the been in a scene for a while, instead of dropping a bang you should
game will be social in nature. Interpret their actions into moves as ask the player what they’re going to do next. Now they should have
appropriate. Suggest possible moves they could trigger. Remind the an idea of the overall situation, so they can just take a look at their
players to read body language. If a character is clearly threatening beliefs and start driving forward. You as the GM have become
someone, encourage the player to take the dice or back down. reactive and start dropping reactive bangs that the players trigger.
Demonstrate compelling. After the PC introduction scenes are This doesn’t mean you can’t take active action, of course you need
done you should demonstrate how compelling works. The players to drive with the consequences of their choices occasionally. The
should do the vast majority of compelling during the game, but main point is to look for the moment when the players are ready
they might be shy about it if you don’t show them how to do it first. to take the reins.
You can also demonstrate how the Devil’s seat works if you Either way, when you’re the one who drives the situation forward,
get a good opportunity. The GM is allowed to compel characters say something provocative and then ask the player what they’d like
and they’re allowed to take the character’s seat if they feel like it, to do. Don’t lead with irrevocable consequences, lead with events
both during the this session and after it. Use your discretion when and actions that will lead to irrevocable consequences if the player
doing so, though. Compelling and the seat options are mostly for doesn’t react. The only times you don’t give the player a chance to
the players, but if they’re missing a great opportunity, you don’t react are when they roll a miss, or when they give you a golden
have to waste it. opportunity to escalate a threat into a consequence. A golden
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opportunity can be, for example, a willfully ignored threat. Basically “and something bad happens”. Again, take the danger inherent in
anything that the player can see coming, but doesn’t react to is a the situation and use it. You aren’t supposed come up with anything
golden opportunity. brand new on the spot, just think what would reasonably make the
If you find it hard to keep the game focused on the characters’ situation worse if the character messed up whatever they were trying.
beliefs, or to let the players drive the action, here’s a technique Even though most moves say “be prepared for the worst” to the
one of the playtest GMs used. When you’re framing a new scene, player, you don’t literally have to do the worst you can imagine on a
instead of asking the player “What do you do?”, ask them which fail. Be truthful to the situation at hand, and if possible, make sure
one of their beliefs they’d like to further, and how. This gives a the situation changes for the worse from the character’s point of
solid base for the GM to frame a scene, focuses the game on the view. If it doesn’t sting, the players are less likely to burn grit next
characters’ goals and makes the choice more explicit for the player. time, and there’s a risk that the grit engine starts coughing.
The downside to this technique is that there’s less room for color Most moves are only triggered in situations where there’s a threat
scenes and other consequences. It’s a good way to get into the flow present, but there are exceptions. For example the information
of player driven gameplay, though, even if you plan on moving back gathering moves, like Read Body Language, aren’t always embedded
to the implicit way of framing scenes later. in danger. In this specific case you could turn the move against the
character and let the opponent ask them questions.
However, there’s also an option that always works if you don’t
If you’ve played or read other games powered by the Apocalypse have any other ideas: making the character suffer more stress than
World engine, you may notice that there isn’t a list of GM moves. the default one point from a failure. It’s a fine option especially
Prepared bangs and the player driven nature of Blightburg make when the character has very low stress since it opens up more
a list of GM moves less important, but players still roll moves and options for the player sitting on the character’s seat. However, you
get misses. Let’s break the moves down to their result categories shouldn’t default to this. It’s easy to forget about the fiction when
and see how the GM should handle them. you’re just handing out numbers.
Strong hits (14+) are easy, the player succeeds at what they In any case, when you’re describing what happens as a result
attempt and the move tells everyone what happens. Weak hits (9- of a roll, you should be able to end with “What do you do?”. This
13) are equally easy except for the generic Face a Threat. What you is part of the basic flow of moves: a player action triggers a move,
do with that move is you take the danger, the threat the character the situation changes a result, and you ask what they’re going to
is facing, and either split it in half and make the player choose do about it next.
which half to take, or you weaken the threat in someway and then If the situation gets chaotic with multiple people trying to act
enact it in the fiction. Weak hits should leave the situation open, at the same time, and you’re not sure how to resolve it, take a quick
creating a snowballing effect. pause and look at the situation as a whole. Whose action happens
Misses (8-) are where things get interesting. The main principle first in the fiction? What would make sense? Go with that order,
is to fail forward. Avoid saying “you fail” without continuing with
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even if it means that one of the players ends up rolling multiple
times in a row.
While moves don’t require you to establish what a fail means
before rolling, it’s fair to give the player a clear hint if they ask about
it, or if the situation is somehow vague. If a player is considering
whether they should burn grit or not, it’s good to be even clearer
about the possible consequences of a miss. That said, this game
works well with a quick tempo, and the game’s mechanics support
this, so if the player doesn’t ask, don’t feel obligated to describe
what a miss means before they roll.

You can diagnose how the campaign is working by monitoring your

players’ grit pools. If they seem to have too much grit all the time,
either you’re not challenging their beliefs hard enough or they’re
not rolling enough. If they’re not rolling enough, are you forgetting
to use the moves? If they don’t seem to gain enough grit, they’re
probably not compelling each other, or they’re not driving with
two or three beliefs per session.
Another resource you should keep an eye on is stress. If the
characters have a lot of stress for a long time, they’re probably not
using the Devil’s seat effectively. If on the other hand there’s not
enough stress to use, you as the GM should probably challenge
them harder.

Now you have all the tools to play Blightburg! If, however, something
is unclear to you or you’d just like to ask a question, feel free to
contact me at [email protected]. I’m happy to
help, and I’d especially like to hear from you if you end up playing
a campaign!

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Character Stats Mod. Associated moves
Name: Age: Might: ____ Fight, Lead into battle
Appearance: Rigor: ____ Threaten, Interrogate
Guile: ____ Deceive, Shadow
Lifepaths Insight: ____ Read body language, Forge
1. Will: ____ Manipulate, Orate
2. Reason: ____ Convince, Poison
3. Blight: ____ Witchcraft moves
4.
5. Grit points
6.

Situation Belief Stress points

Belief:
Long-term goal:
Next: Witchcraft & Spells
Relationship Belief Witch type:
Belief: Obligation:
Long-term goal: Spells:
Next:
Personal Belief Witch Marks:
Belief:
Long-term goal: Trait Notes for other characters:
Next:

Trait Meter
____________ ____________

Deep Traits Agenda

• Play your character as a real human being, albeit determined
____________ ____________ • Never compromise the integrity of your character
• Don’t preplan who your character is, let it emerge from play
____________ ____________ • Drive towards your beliefs, but relent if your priorities change
• Compel the other characters’ traits to learn what their true nature is