Star and City

A Cyberpunk Fantasy TTRPG Written by Joel

Vreugdenhil
 Table Of Contents
An Introduction: 3 Hunter 15
Playing the Game: 3 Basic Items: 16
Play As A Conversation: 3 High-Grade Items: 16
Martial Powers: 18
Conflicts: 4
Social Powers: 20
Initiation 4
Zeal Powers: 22
The Fall 4
Skill Dice 4
Gear Powers: 24
Raising 4 The World Of Star And City 27
Clashing 4 The City: 27
An Example: 5 City Districts: 27
First Raise: 5 The Havens: 27
Second Raise: 5 The Backstreets: 28
Third Raise: 5 Zeal: 29
Unique Conflicts: 6 Distortions: 29
One-sided: 6 The Wasteland: 29
Low-Stakes: 6 Artifacts: 29
Environment Dice: 6
Running The Game: 30
Montage Phase: 7 Conflicts: 30
Activities: 7 Planning Missions: 30

Creating A Character: 9 Enemies: 31

Examples: 9 Thug: 31
Hunter Detective: 31
Jack: 9
Blood Fiend: 32
Marick: 9
Guardian Agent: 32
Mariah: 9
The Looming Shadow: 33
Core: 10
Skills: 10 Credits: 34
Brawn: 10 Writing: 34
Status: 12 Photos: 34
Exhaustion: 12
Stress: 12
Insight: 12
Origins: 13
Average Citizen: 13
Labourer: 14
Suit: 14
Coterie Member: 14
Workshop Meister: 14

2
An Introduction:
Star And City is a Cyberpunk Fantasy
TTRPG based upon properties such as, Playing the Game:
Library Of Ruina, Chainsaw Man, Jujitsu
Kaisen, Supernatural and more. If you wish to play in person you will need…
- This book
You are to take up your reins in the great - LOTS of Dice, including multiple 6, 8, 10,
City, the last known settlement on a 12, and 20 sided Dice.
time-lost earth, where humanity has - A printed character sheet (These can be
ascended to godhood, both via their found in the Creating A Character section.
advanced technological augmentation and - A group of friends to serve as the Players
the uncovering of a mysterious force known and one to be the Gm.
as Zeal, a power that comes directly from
the emotions of Humans. Citizens face Play As A Conversation:
incomprehensible horrors without any Star and City should function as a
understanding of why, as well as the conversation between each player, with one
struggles of finding a place to sleep, and Gm narrating the game. The Gm should
eventually someone is going to bring an bring forward questions on how the player’s
end to it. Though for some reason life characters would interact with the world to
seems as if it’s stagnated, people go on in push forward this conversation and to enjoy
their mundane lives unaware that they live themselves.
in an age of progress and strife.

The gameplay and mechanics of Star and

City put great focus on its main system of
Conflict, using a card game esque series of
clashing turns where each participant uses
their many Skills and Powers to take
advantage of the situations they find
themselves in.

3
Conflicts:
Conflicts are the beating heart of Star and Raising
City, it is considered the main resolution After adding the Skill Dice the Raise phase
system of the game. Whenever a character begins, where the Initiator may Raise first,
attempts to take an action that may be describing how they use one of their
difficult or that would cause them to conflict Powers to gain an advantage in the contest,
with another character, they may be forced being given bonus Dice decided by the
to enter Conflict. Power. This can only be done once per
Power, per Conflict.
The steps to a Conflict are as follows.
After Raising (unless it is the first Raise in a
Conflict), that participant may Clash with all
Initiation of their Raised Dice, including the Dice that
Before any other step someone must remain from past Raises. After the Clash
Initiate the Conflict. In most cases this is the participant to the left of the last may
obvious, the first attacker in a fight, the choose to Raise.
detective in a police interrogation, or the
prosecutor in a court case, but if there are
any disagreements on this each participant Clashing
may roll a D6 with the highest roll being the After Raising a character will Clash using
Initiator. each of their non-skill Die, each targeting
another character’s Die.

The Fall For each Clash, if the value of your Die is

The Fall is a pool of Statuses and effects higher than the value of your opponent’s,
that occurs to a character when they lose a the opponent’s Die is Destroyed, removing
Conflict, it is shared between all characters. it from the Conflict. Otherwise, your Die is
Destroyed (A Clash where both Die are

Skill Dice equal results in both being destroyed).

Whenever conflict starts all participants When attempting a Clash you may also
may give a case as to what Skill(s) they Destroy any number of your Dice to modify
want to use in the Conflict and gain Skill the value of your Clashing Die by the total
Dice equal to the combined value of that destroyed Dice Value until the end of the
Skill(s), rolling each of these Dice as soon Clash.
as they are added. If a participant is
controlled by the Gm, the Gm decides their When a character loses all of their Dice they
Skill Dice. lose the Conflict, taking the Fall. If all
participants are unable to Clash or Raise
the character with the highest total Dice
Value wins.

4
An Example: Second Raise:
Buck Raises with “Do You Know Who I
Am!”, adding 1D4(Terrifying) to his field
For further clarity, here is an example of a (Rolled as a 4), stating that he mocks
Conflict between two characters. Jack's status as a Hunter and flaunts the
money he’s made as a Coterie leader.
A player character named Jack walks into Because of the Terrifying Tag Buck can
the backroom of a nightclub in which sits a destroy 4 of Jacks Dice, he Destroys all
Coterie Leader named Buck. three Dice Jack Raised with and one of his
6s from the Skill Dice. He then also Clashes
Jack knows that he is here to make a deal with his Raised 4, destroying one of Jack's
with this leader to partner up for a big bank Skill Dice 3s. This leaves Jack on the back
heist, but when he offers the idea to Buck, foot with 2, 3, 4, 6, 6 on his field.
Buck tells him that he would never put
himself in danger for a stranger.
Third Raise:
Jack attempts to further Convince him, and Jack knows that he’s got to go all out in this
at this point the Gm states that a Conflict Raise, since he has no Idea how many
will start. more tricks Buck has up his sleeve. Jack
decides to Raise with “Short Fuse” his last
When the Conflict starts the Gm states that Power he thinks will matter in this Conflict.
Jack is the Initiator as the one offering this He states that he's had enough, describing
deal, the Player agrees. a full on Rant about the state of Buck’s
organization, because Jack had 4 Stress
Jack’s Player says that they want to use before this Conflict started he is given
their Convince skill of 4 and their Insight 4D8(Fury) (Rolled as 2, 3, 5, 8), and due to
Skill of 2 in this Conflict and the Gm agrees, his amazing Rolls and the Fury Tag’s effect
giving Jack a total of 6 Skill Dice (Rolled as he is able to destroy all of Buck’s Dice and
a 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 6). The Gm also lays out 8 end the Conflict.
Skill Dice for Buck (Rolled as a 1, 1, 2, 2, 2,
5, 5, 6) stating that he seems quite
confident.

First Raise:
Jack, as the Initiator, takes the first Raise.
Using his “Hunter Market” Power to gain
3D8 (Rolled as a 5, 5, 7), explaining that he
is going to attempt to leverage his name as
a Hunter to convince Buck. Because this is
the first Raise jack cannot yet Clash.

5
Unique Conflicts: Environment Dice:
One-sided: At any time the Gm can introduce a set of
Environment Dice, this can be any size of
There may be situations where a character Die in any number, but this set of Die must
must take a risky action without Conflicting be described as an element of the current
with another character. In these situations player’s environment. Instead of Raising
that character will perform a Conflict as players may describe how they use the
usual, but instead of Clashing with another element to their advantage, gaining the
character the Initiator must have a Environment Dice as their own, and
combined value spread across all of their removing them from the game.
Dice equal to or higher than a value set by
the Gm. Examples of Environment Dice may
include…
10: Easy
20: Average “A hanging chandelier”
40: Difficult
50: Very Difficult “The age of an abandoned building”
60: Extremely Difficult
80: Nearly Impossible “A blindingly thick rainstorm”
100: Impossible
“A thick mist”
Low-Stakes:
There may be times when a conflict
requires little effort, and in a meta sense
shouldn't take much time.

The Fall of this Conflict cannot cause a

character to gain Exhaustion or Insight. And
Participants of it cannot raise with more
than one Power.

6
Montage Phase:
Shop: 1 Time
The player’s missions will wear them down,
their mind, body and soul taking shots from (This Activity can only be taken in the City)
the city at every moment, the Montage You may spend your Experience to gain
Phase allows them to connect, relax, or grit Gear Powers.
their teeth and use the cruelty of the City to
their advantage.
Rest: 3 Time
When this happens the Gm may start the
Montage Phase, where the players are each Take your time slowly, sleeping, meditating,
given Time based on how much time the or applying medicine. You may heal two
Gm thinks they will have (the suggested from all of your Statuses, gaining 3
average for this being 5). Each player may Experience when doing so.
then spend their Time to do any number of
"Activities" listed below, giving a short
description of what exactly they are doing.
Get Paid: 4 Time

(This Activity can only be taken in the City)

Most activities give Experience, a resource
See what work is available to you, often
players can use to purchase Powers,
being unreliable bounties, but always paid
abilities detailed in the Character Creation
in full. you may choose one of the following
section.
jobs and receive the effects of it.

Activities: 1: Dead or Alive: Find and bring in a local

criminal. Receive 1D4 Exhaustion -1, and 4
Experience. You may also spend any
Connect: 2 Time Experience on Martial Powers.

Choose a character other than yourself, if 2: Labour: Restless work enjoyed by none
you can do so, you may meet up with them and done by many. Receive 1D4 Stress,
to talk. Doing so allows you to heal Stress and 3 Experience. You may also spend any
equal to their highest Social Skill (Minimum Experience on Social Powers.
1) and gain Experience equal to the amount
healed. You may also spend any 3: Shady Business: The jobs beyond the
Experience on Social Powers. eyes of the law. Receive 5 Experience and
a “Bounty Token”, at any time during a
Montage Phase the Gm may tell you to
Reflect: 2 Time expend any number of your Bounty Tokens
and perform a one-sided Conflict to avoid a
Reflect on yourself. Doing so allows you to group attempting to hunt you down for your
heal Insight or Stress equal to your Hope crimes. The difficulty of this Conflict is
(Minimum 1) and gain Experience equal to equal to 15 plus 5 for each Bounty Token
the amount healed. You may also spend spent. If this Conflict is lost you may still
any Experience on Zeal Powers. escape by taking 1D6 Exhaustion.

7
Get A Drink: 4 Time

(This Activity can only be taken in the City)

Head to a place where you can have a
good time with others, and roll any number
of D4 (Up to your current Stress or Insight),
losing Stress and Insight equal to the
number of Dice you rolled. If any roll shows
a 1 or a 4, effect(s) occurs outside your
control, one for the 4's and one for the 1's.

3+ 4's: You make a friend! Make up a name

for them and Connect with them for no
Time cost, rolling a D4 to determine their
Social Skill.

2 4's: Jackpot! You win something, the Gm

chooses two items from an Origin and you
may choose one to obtain or gain 3
Experience.

1 4: Chillin'. You had a great time with no

complications, and heal 1D4 Insight and
Stress.

1 1: Bad Time. Something minor went

wrong when you were out, receive 1D4
Stress.

2 1's: Where Is It... You lose something on

your person, the Gm chooses three of your
Origin items, and you lose one, of your
choice, until you next take this activity.

3 1's: Got In A Fight... Make up a name for

the person you fought and receive three
Exhaustion, if this Exhaustion would kill you
wake up in a hospital healed to your
maximum Exhaustion.

8
Creating A Character:
Star and City player characters have four
Marick:
main components, their Core, Skills, Origin,
Coterie Big-Body
and their Powers. To create your own
Core:
character read through these sections in
the following pages to be made aware of Brawn: 5 Mental: 2 Soul: 2
how to use it.
Skills: Strength:5, Brawl:2, Great Arms: 8,
You can use one of these sheets to Engineering: 3, Deceive: 3, Hope: 2,
document a Character. Will: 3, Status: 1
Character sheet
Origin: Coterie Member:
Alternate Character sheet
Items: Makeshift Weapon, Friends In Low
Places, Coterie Hideout, Standard Issue

Examples: Uniform

Powers: Beast Of War, Reckless

The following are some pre-made
Abandon, Improvisational Fighter,
characters meant to serve as reference as
Unarmed Expert, Greatblade Expert
to what a character is.

Jack: Mariah:
Of All Trades The Party’s Face
Core: Core:
Brawn: 3 Mental: 3 Soul: 3 Brawn: 1 Mental: 4 Soul: 4
Skills: Medium Arms: 6, Dexterity: 3, Skills: Dexterity: 3, Knowledge: 6,
Convince: 4, Insight: 2, Knowledge: 3, Convince: 4, Deceive: 1, Insight: 1,
Hope: 4, Will: 3, Status: 2 Administrate: 4, Status:4, Will: 4
Origin: Hunter: Origin: Suit:
Items: Casual Clothing, Home, Items: High Income, High-Class Clothing,
High-Income, Pro-Grade Item, Luxury Luxury Vehicle, Mansion
Vehicle
Powers: Smooth Talker, Self Control,
Powers: Hunter Market, Sword Expert, Trickster, Leader, “Do You Know Who I
Rapid Strikes, Short Fuse, Empath, Am”, Casual Drinker
Remnants Of Zeal, Aspect Of Pride

9
Core: Skills:
A character's Core is a very generalized Each part of The Core is split up into Skills.
measure of their best and worst qualities. A Specific talents and abilities that characters
character's total Core should add up to 9. are given when they are made.
These values affect both your Skills, and
the amount of Statuses you can hold before A player can add three points to any skill
receiving negative effects. within a Core’s category for each point of
that Core they have. (A character with 4
Brawn: Brawn has 12 Skill Points to split among
A person’s physical ability, whether altered Skills in the Brawn category for example.)
or natural. Important for combat-ready
characters.
Brawn:
Mental:
Dexterity: Acrobatics, and other feats of
A person’s learned skills and knowledge. agility outside Combat
Important for social, and scientific Strength: Feats of pure Strength outside
characters. Combat.
Brawl: Unarmed combat skills.
Soul:
Weapon Skills:
A person’s morals, hope, and belief in
themselves, as well as any connections to Great Arms: Great swords, War axes,
the supernatural like luck or Zeal. Important Zweihänders, And Pole arms.
for Zeal users. Medium arms: Long swords, Katanas,
Cleavers, and Clubs.
Light Arms: Knives, Push daggers, Axes,
and Nightsticks.
Thrown Weapons: Grenades, Tomahawks,
and Throwing knives.
Handgun: Pistols, Revolvers, and other
light one-handed firearms.
Machine Gun: Assault rifles, LMGs, and
SMGs.
Rifle: Single fire Rifles, Shotguns and other
Single fire firearms.
Exotic Firearms: Flamethrowers, RPGs
and other specialist firearms.

10
Mental:
Rationality: The ability to solve problems
using your reasoning.
Knowledge: Your knowledge of Academic
subjects.
Engineering: Your ability to fix and modify
machines.
Medicine: Your ability to perform and
understand medicine.

Social Skills:

Convince: Your ability to create convincing

arguments.
Deceive: Your ability to lie to others.
Insight: Your ability to understand the truth
of other people’s words.

Soul:
Hope: The ability to remain positive in dark
times.
Will: The ability to resist natural and
supernatural influences on the mind.
Status: Your power over and position in the
City hierarchy.

Zeal Skills: Every time you use one of

these skills in a Conflict gain one Insight.

Ruin: Fury, converting your Stress into pure

destructive intent.
Fabricate: Excitement, turning the energy
of the emotional world into physical things.
Administrate: Ecstasy, the power to
manipulate the minds of others.

11
Status: Insight:
Is a character's knowledge and connection
to supernatural entities. A character’s
Characters all track 3 Status that increase breaking point for Insight is 4 plus their
and decrease over the course of a game, Soul, if they gain an Insight over this they
these being Exhaustion, Insight, and Stress. suffer some grand revelation and begin to
Each Status has a major negative effect Distort.
when it exceeds its breaking point, which is
determined by the Character’s Core, and When a character Distorts, or gains Insight
often interacts with other abilities of a while Distorted they roll a number of D4
character. equal to their current Insight, and receive a
different effect based on the number of 1s
Exhaustion: they roll. A character is no longer Distorted
when their Insight falls below their breaking
Represents cumulative physical exhaustion. point.
A character’s breaking point for Exhaustion
is 4 plus their Brawn, and if they gain
Exhaustion over this they suffer some sort 1: Overload Enter Breakdown, in
of lethal injury. addition you cannot use
Zeal Skills until you stop
This permanently lowers their Brawn by your Distortion.
one, if this lowers a character’s Brawn to 0
2: Faint Fall unconscious until
or less they die.
you stop your Distortion

Stress: 3: Unbearable Permanently lose two

Represents the accumulation of worries Revelation points of any Soul Skills,
and mental stresses. A character’s breaking if you have no Soul skills
point for Stress is 4 plus their Mental, and if permanently lose one
they gain Stress over this they have a Soul.
Breakdown.
4: Incomplete You are temporarily
Manifestation consumed by Zeal,
This disables your Skill Dice in all Conflicts
becoming an
you enter. In addition, when a character in
Abnormality, losing
Breakdown gains Stress they gain one
control of your character
Insight. A character leaves Breakdown
until you stop your
when their Stress falls below their breaking
Distortion.
point.
5: Complete You are completely and
Manifestation permanently consumed
by Zeal, becoming an
Abnormality and losing
control of your character.

12
Origins:
When you create a character you start with
an Origin, this Origin gives you a specific
number and type of Items, as well as giving
you an Origin Power. You may also take any
Optional Powers it offers, but they each
have some sort of downside.

Items can be used to Raise as if they were

Powers, and also serve as reference to the
things your character owns or has access
to outside of Conflicts.

Average Citizen:
Gain 4 Basic Items, and 1 High-Grade Item

Origin Power: Coasting:

- When you take the Rest Activity, heal an
additional stack of all Statuses. Add one
point to two Cores.

Optional Power: Deadbeat:

- You may add one extra point to any of
your Cores, but you lose access to the Get
Paid Activity.
“I’ve heard some of my friends
refer to themselves as a cog, as
if the work they do makes them
less than human, akin to
machines. But then what am I?
These cogs have given life to
their clients, they are the
movers and shakers, a raging
river of progress and
innovation. I’m a swamp, toxic
standing water born to decay.”

13
Labourer: Coterie Member:
Gain 5 Basic Items Gain 4 Basic Items

Origin Power: Hard Worker: Origin Power: The Right Crowd:

+4D10 When you… +6D4 When you…
"Are labouring", "Are acting in a bad “Need to do the dirty work”, “Are trying to
condition" act unseen”
- When you take the Get Paid Activity and - If you are in a situation where you can call
the Labour option you may choose to either for backup you can choose to make all the
gain one less Stress or one more Dice on this Power D6 and add the
Experience (Before the Dice is rolled). Boss/Minion Die Tag.
Increase one of your Skills by 5. You’re a member of a small
Coterie, prowling the
Backstreets, always looking for
Suit: your next meal. You may not have
Gain 1 Basic Item and 3 High-Grade Items the resources of a Hunter, but
you know the streets like the
back of your hand.
Origin Power: Business Oriented:
+2D12(Reliable) When you…
“Show Off”, “Need money” Workshop Meister:
- You are an owner of, or significant Gain 3 Basic Items and 3 High-Grade Items
shareholder in a group of your
choice/creation. This group is represented Origin Power: Crafters Talent:
by Funding Tokens, which start at 4. As a - This Power has 5 Charges. At any time
unique Activity with a Time cost of 5 you you may create or reveal a Gear Power of
can support your group and give them one your own creation, adding that Power to
Funding Token. Whenever you Raise with yourself or a willing character until the end
this Power lose one Funding, you cannot of the session, doing this costs Charges
Raise with this power with 0 Funding. equal to the Power’s point cost.
You’re a skilled craftsperson
Optional Power: Above The Law: using the techniques of one of
the many city Workshops, these
- Your group is now a criminal Coterie, the trade secrets are worth more
Shady Business option of Get Paid now than most of the Workshops
costs 3 Time and gives you Funding themselves, and by extension so
Tokens, however, this is now your only are you.
method of gaining Funding Tokens.

14
 Hunter
Gain 3 Basic Items and 2 High-Grade Items

Origin Power: Hunter Market:

+3D8 When you…
“Need to use your reputation to gain
leverage”, “Are navigating the city”
- When you take the Get Paid Activity you
have an additional option When you choose
this option, roll two d4 , and you may
choose one of the numbers, getting an
effect based on it.

1: High Gain 5 Experience, gain

priority target 1D6 Exhaustion.

2: Distortion Gain 6 Experience, gain

hunt 1D4 Exhaustion and 1D4
Insight.

3: Basic Take the Labour or Dead

bounties or Alive Get Paid options.

4: Big You have the chance to

opportunity raise your Hunter Grade.
Roll 1D4, if you roll a 4
you gain one Grade
Token, when you use the
Hunter Market ability you
may spend one Grade
Token to Gain no
Statuses from it. You
regain all Grade Tokens
when you gain one.

Optional Power:
The Responsibility Of Strength:
- Start with two “Grade Tokens”, as
described above, but lose one less Stress
during Rest and Connect.
“One good job can make you a
legend, but the bad jobs… they
stay with you forever.”

15
Basic Items: High-Grade Items:
Casual Clothing Body Armour
+1D6 When you… +1D10(Support) When you…
“Attempt to blend in a crowd” “Are under attack from a lethal weapon”

Home Pro-Grade Weapon

+1D12 When you… +1D6(Reliable) When you…
“Attempt to lie low” “Attack with this weapon”

Vehicle
Fortune
+1D20 When you…
+1D20 When you…
“Need to get around”
“Need to use money”

Standard Issue Uniform

High-Class Clothing
+1D10 When you…
+1D8 When you…
“Attempt to blend in a work environment”
“Impress someone”

High Income
Personal Bodyguard
+1D10 When you…
+1D6 When you…
“Need to use money”
“Are under attack” “Make an attack”

Tools Of The Trade Luxury Vehicle

+1D12 When you… +1D20 When you…
“Need to do your job” “Need to get around” “Impress someone”

Makeshift Weapon Mansion

+1D8(Chaos) When you… +1D20 When you…
“Attack with this weapon” “Need shelter” “Impress someone”

Friends In Low Places

+1D12 When you…
“Are in their turf”

Coterie Hideout
+1D4(Chaos) When you…
“Attempt to lie low”

16
Powers:
Support: When you are being Clashed with
you may destroy this Die to increase the
targeted Die’s value by this Die’s value until
the end of the Clash.
Player characters begin with 15 Experience,
a resource they can use to gain unique Hidden: This Die cannot be targeted for a
abilities to use in their game. This can range Clash if another Die without this Tag is on
from advanced skills, cybernetic the same side of the field.
enhancements, or supernatural powers
depending on the Power. Reserved: This Die cannot initiate a Clash
unless only Die with this tag are on its field.
Die Tags:
Some Dice, especially those gained via a Chaos: When this Die Clashes it destroys
Power’s, will have a Tag, stated in brackets its opponent if it has a lower value, and is
next to the number of Dice, each of these destroyed if it has a higher value, instead of
tags affect the Die they are applied to in the other way around. When this Die
different ways when used in a conflict, the destroys another Die it rerolls itself.
Tags are as follows.
Careful: The first time this Die Clashes it
Bleed: When this Die clashes, choose one cannot be destroyed.
of an opponent’s Die and decrease its value
by one. If this reduces the value to 0 the die Boss/Minion: After rolling choose one of
is destroyed. these Die to be the Boss Die, and the rest
are Minions. When the Boss Dice is
Burn: Whenever this Die initiates a Clash, destroyed all the Minion Die are also
no matter either Die’s value, both Die are destroyed.
destroyed.
Flash: When you Raise with these Dice you
Overpower: Whenever this Die targets a may immediately Raise with another Power.
Die with half its value of less, you may
choose any other Die equal to your target’s Passion: When these Dice are rolled you
value or less and destroy it. may choose to gain one Stress to set it to
its maximum value.
Reliable: This Die always counts as being
its maximum value. Terrifying: When these Dice are first rolled
destroy any other Die equal to the value of
Drain: When this Die clashes, choose one this dice.
of your other Dice and increase its value by
one. Dangerous: When this Die is destroyed the
owner takes an Exhaustion.
Taunt: Only this Die (Or another with this
Tag) can be targeted for a Clash if another Fury: Whenever this Die Destroys another
Die without this Tag is on the same side of Die you may reduce its Value by one and
the field. Clash with it again.

17
Martial Powers: Battle Tactician: 5E
+1D4(Hidden) When you…
Martial Powers are skills of combat that can
“Prepare a powerful attack”, “Study the
create exceptional effects.
moves of your opponent”
- Whenever you start your turn with this on
Reckless Abandon: 3E your Field it grows in size and is rerolled
+XD8(Passion) When you… (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20).
“Act no care for yourself” “This fight was decided from the
- When using this Power to Raise gain one very beginning”
Exhaustion. The Dice this gives is equal to
your current Exhaustion. This can be used Duel Wielding: 3E
to Raise any number of times per Conflict. - Choose an “Expert” Power you have, that
Fierce and powerful, your
Power gives double the Dice when Raised.
battles are quick and bloody,
2 > 1
not only for your opponents but
yourself.
Improvisational Fighter: 3E
Beast Of War: 5E - Whenever you Raise with Environment
+2D12(Fury) When you… Dice you can add one extra Die. Once
“Fight all out”, “Act with brutality” between Montage phases you may use this
- Whenever you Raise with this Power all power to create your own set of
other participants receive one Stress. Environment Dice, the size, number, and
Rip and tear, until it is done. Tags of these Dice are decided by your Dm,
but you may describe what it is.
Never discount the power of your
Reversal Training: 4E surroundings, anything can serve
+1D4(Terrifying)(Taunt) When you… as a tool to those with ample
“Are being attacked” intelligence.
- You may Raise with this as a response to
another character Raising. (This Raise does Knife Expert: 2E
not allow you to Clash) +5D4(Bleed) When you…
“Predictable”
“Attack with a light blade”, “Are throwing
something”
Rapid Strikes: 3E Knife flavour text. Easy to
+3D4(Flash) When you… conceal, carry, and surprise the
“Are attacking”, “Need to act quickly” enemy with, knives are more than
- The next Power you Raise gains Flash on just shorter swords, being
its Dice. usable as weapons in their own
“Left, right, sweep, left, right.
right, sweep”

18
Unarmed Expert: 2E Handgun Expert: 2E
+4D4(Reliable) When you… +XD4(Burn) When you…
“Attack with your hands”, “Are attempting to “Show your skills with a pistol”, “Need a
grab something” quick reaction in combat”
- When Raising against a character using - This weapon holds 6 Ammo that is
the Brawl Skill, gain an additional 4D4. restored whenever you Rest, whenever you
While fighting barehanded may raise with this weapon you must spend any
seem like a death sentence in a amount of Ammo and gain that many Die,
world full of advanced weaponry, this Power can be raised multiple times per
an enhanced person may never
Conflict.
need one.
Quickest hands in the City they
say, you move faster than your
Sword Expert: 2E target has time to react and
+2D6 (Reliable)(Flash) When you… load even faster.
“Attack with a sword”, “Use a weapon to
defend yourself” Shotgun Expert: 2E
The chosen weapon of many +XD4(Terrifying)(Burn) When you…
Hunters and Associations. “Attack with a shotgun”, “Need to scare
Versatile, Deadly, Cool-looking.
someone”
- This weapon holds 2 Ammo that is
Greatblade Expert: 2E restored whenever you Rest, whenever you
+1D20(Overpower) When you… raise with this weapon you must spend any
“Attack with a greatblade”, “Need to heft amount of Ammo and gain that many Die.
something heavy” Though the City’s bullet tax
- The Die this adds can be rerolled once, results in an extreme
but you must take the second result if you overpricing of Shotgun Shells,
choose to do so. the classical mechanism has
“It was too big to be called a existed for thousands of years,
sword. Massive, thick, heavy, proving itself with incredible
and far too rough. Indeed, it stopping power.
was a heap of raw iron”.

Sniper Expert: 2E
+XD12(Reliable)(Hidden) When you…
“Attack with a Rifle”, “Need to see detail at
a far distance”
- This weapon holds 1 Ammo that is
restored whenever you Rest, whenever you
raise with this weapon you must spend any
amount of Ammo and gain that many Die.
You specialize in attacking
unsuspecting targets, using
heavy rifles to defeat your
opponents.

19
Social Powers: Self Control: 3E
+5D12(Passion) When you…
Personality traits and social skills that give
“Are being manipulated”, “Are being
you some social advantage over the
provoked”
average person.
- Whenever you are forced to gain Stress,
you may instead choose to reduce the
Smooth Talker: 1E number of Dice this ability gives for each
+2D12(Careful) When you... point of Stress you are being forced to gain
“Need to stay calm”, “Are talking to until the next Montage Phase. This ability
someone who hates you” cannot be used when it has no Dice.
Your expertise is in telling To be calm within the storm is
people what they want to hear, an invaluable resource, one you
feeding into their ego, and know can be exploited.
making it seem like you're a
friend, because we all know deep
down that’s a rare resource here Quiet Type: 2E
in the City. +2D20(Reserved) When you…
“Choose to speak little in conversation”,
Charming Idiot: 5E “Are given time to think”
Speak softly and carry a big
+8D4 When you…
stick, you will go far.
“Mess something up”, “Don’t need to think”
- Whenever you would use a Social Skill in
a Conflict you can instead use Hope. Trickster: 3E
“I know they fucked up, I know +4D6(Flash) When you…
we need to do something about “Are trying not to be caught”, “Are lying”
this, but like, look at 'em, I It’s only a crime if you're
doubt they meant it.” caught, you're only addicted
when you run out, you know these
things are going to catch up to
Empath: 3E you one day, but today’s not
+2D20(Support) When you… that day.
“Need to calm someone down”, “Are
helping someone”
- At any time you can have a Pep talk with
Regicidal: 2E
+4D12(Chaos) When you…
another willing character, you may then gain
“Fight against a higher power”, “Act against
any amount of Stress and have them lose
code”
the same amount.
“You know what, fuck the City,
Kindness is a rarity in the
fuck the Architects, and fuck
city, but a helping hand can be
the Guardians! We write our own
more powerful than any weapon.
fates, it’s time we started
acting like it!”

20
Double Back: 1E
+1D4 When you…
"Need to retract a statement", " Are being
accused"
- When this is used to Raise destroy all Die
added by the last Raise you and your
opponent made.
"Woah, woah, woah… Let's not get
ahead of ourselves."

Short Fuse: 2E
+XD8(Fury) When you…
“Had enough”, “Are being degraded”
- The Dice this gives is equal to your current
Stress.
“You don’t want to see me when
I’m mad, trust me.”

Leader: 4E
+4D8 When you…
“Are giving orders”, “Are trying to Help”
- When in a Conflict you may gain one
Stress to set one of another character’s Die
to its maximum value.
A guiding hand is firmer than
the iron one.

“Do You Know Who I Am!”: 3E

+1D6(Terrifying) When you…
“Are trying to intimidate someone”, “Are
trying to impress someone”
- Whenever you Raise with this Power and
win the Conflict, receive one “Reputation”,
whenever you roll the Die from this Power
you may spend one Reputation to reroll it.
“Like seriously, if you grew up
where I grew up, you’d be a dead
man.”

21
Joker: 4E Zeal Powers:
+4D4(Chaos) When you…
Supernatural Powers granted by the
“Are not taking it seriously”, “Are trying to
mysterious force, Zeal, these often affect
lighten the mood”
your Insight.
- When you use this as your First Raise,
change the Conflict to a Low-Stakes
Conflict, after using this you cannot do so Controlled Distortion: 4E
again until you enter a Montage Phase. +5D12(Passion) When you…
“Why so serious?” “Go all out”, “Are fully embracing your
feelings”
- This Power is Locked until you Distort and
Doctor: 5E get the “Incomplete Manifestation” result,
+2D20(Careful) When you…
before it is unlocked whenever you Distort
“Need to do medical work”, “Need to
you may change the result of one roll to any
identify pharmaceuticals”
other value.
- At any time you may spend 5 You can feel it, the ambition to
uninterrupted minutes to Do a one-sided go on, to act. But these are not
Medicine Conflict targeting a willing your thoughts, a force is acting
character, if you get 16 or more they lose upon this motivation outside
five Exhaustion. You may reduce the your control, and sometimes… it
minutes it takes to do this by reducing the chooses to give you a glimpse of
Exhaustion you heal equal to the amount this potential.
you would like to reduce it by.
The power to give life is just Unnatural Luck: 3E
as, if not more, important than
the power to kill, as well as
- Whenever you roll a Die you may gain one
being harder to master. Insight to reroll it.
You’re not quite sure how you
know, but things seem to… happen
Casual Drinker: 1E to you, you meet people, do
- Whenever you take the Get A Drink things, and see things that to
Activity you may set one of your Dice rolls most people are a once in a
to 1 or 4. In addition, gain one Experience lifetime opportunity.
for each 1 you roll during Get A Drink.
“Not everyone goes out with a Snap Out Of It!: 3E
bang you know? Some of us have - Whenever you gain Insight you may
at least a bit of tact, some
instead gain one Stress or Exhaustion (You
control of ourselves.”
cannot use this in Breakdown).
“Come one man! You’re not being
yourself…”

22
 Fire With Fire: 2E
+XD8(Burn) When you…
“Fight a Zeal related entity”
- The Dice this grants is equal to your
current Insight.
“Know thy enemy.”

Remnants Of Zeal: 3E
+4D8(Passion) When you…
“Unleash a power hidden within”
- Whenever you use this Power to Raise,
gain Two Insight.
There is some power about you,
undeniable in its presence, but
distant, but for now you grasp
it and fight on.

Eye Of God: 4E
+1D6(Reliable)(Reserved) When you…
“Need to truly, fully see”
- Once per Raise, so long as this Die is on
the field, you may gain one Insight and
Destroy one Die.
A strange and powerful
manifestation of Zeal, capable
of not only manifesting visions
of the future, but also seeing
into worlds beyond one’s own.

Personalized Technique: 4E
+XD8 When you…
“Y”
- When you obtain this Power you may
rewrite Y as the use of this Power and set X
to any value. Whenever you Raise with this
Power gain X Insight.
The way Zeal manifests within a
person is unique to each,
strange supernatural effects
sometimes tied to their lives
ideas and fears, but sometimes
representing nothing but a
strength in emotion like no
other.

23
Aspect Of Rage: 1E Gear Powers:
- Choose any of your other Zeal powers,
Specialized Items and cybernetics that can
the Dice that power gives gain the Burn
assist their user in a variety of ways.
Tag.
Fury beyond fury, a flame from
within that burns away all it Stigma Workshop Weapon: 2E
touches, the primal aspect of +5D4 When you…
rage brings into the world “Need to melt something”, “Are attacking
dangers beyond human with this weapon”
comprehension. - This power has 4 Fuel Charges that can
be restored for free when you Rest, when
Aspect Of Sorrow: 1E this Power is used to Raise you may spend
- Choose any of your other Zeal powers, 2 Fuel to make all Dice this adds Burn Dice.
the Dice that power gives gain the Drain The Stigma workshop’s finest
Tag. work, a weapon lined with
A sickness that eats away all high-powered wires meant to heat
life, the crushing chill and burn anything it comes in
residing within the darkness of contact with. Hunters who use it
the mind. The aspect of Sorrow tend to agree that after a long
lingers within the average like day’s work it ends up smelling
of us all, only noticed by those like barbecue.
in tune with it.
Portable Battery: 2E
Aspect Of Pride: 1E - This power has 4 Fuel Charges that can
- Choose any of your other Zeal powers, be restored for free when you Rest, when
the Dice that power gives gain the Passion expending Fuel Charges of Powers you may
Tag. instead expend Charges from this power.
I am lord, my whims bend space A small electric generator that
and rule over the realms of the functions with extreme
mind. You are no different, I efficiency, capable of powering
will keep my hold of you in your the most advanced of Corp tech.
moment of weakness, and at that
moment you will be your own god. Dubious Product: 1E
- When you choose this Power, choose an
item from your Origin, that item gains the
Chaos Die tag. This Power can be taken
multiple times.
“Hey now, not everything from
the Backstreets are
untrustworthy. Let's be hopeful
for a change!”

24
YuRia Workshop Trick Weapon: 5E Experimental Body Mods: 2E
+XDX When you… +3D4(Burn)(Dangerous) When you…
“Attack with this weapon” “Need one last burst of energy”, “Are willing
- When this Power is obtained you may to sacrifice your wellbeing for improved
choose two “Expert” Martial Powers, when power”
you raise with this Power you gain the Die You're either on a budget or
and effects of raising with both of those insane, installed in your body
powers. are pieces of what feels like
One of the many items made by overactive machinery, at risk of
the prestigious YuRia workshop, bursting from your body or
a complex piece of shifting sending a lethal shock through
machinery capable of changing your veins at any moment, but
between two forms. they seem to help in some way.

Combat Ready Equipment: 1E Enhanced Senses: 3E

- When you choose this Power, choose an +1D12(Flash) When you…
item from your Origin, that item gains the “Notice something from the corner of your
Flash and Reliable Die tags. This Power can eye”, “Are quickly reacting to something”
be taken multiple times. - You may always choose to roll to
In matters of life and death, determine the Initiator when you are in a
nothing worse than Conflict. Your Initiation rolls use a D8
top-of-the-line will do. instead of a D6.
A chill down your spine, the
hairs on the back of your neck
Subdermal Muscle Weave: 5E standing up, are only some of
+2D10(Overpower) When you… the options you have when
“Overpower an opponent with pure installing an instinct enhancer.
strength”, "Reach speeds normally
impossible"
Internal Filtering: 1E
- Increase your Brawn by two.
Your body has been modified in +1D20(Reliable) When you…
ways invisible to the human eye, “Unknowingly drink a poisoned liquid”, “Are
making you capable of feats of drugged and need to resist its effects”
superhuman strength and speed. - You receive three less Exhaustion from
Toxins.
Drinking poison or other
damaging liquid does not affect
you, as you filter out the
toxins from the inside.

25
Camouflage Module: 4E
+2D8(Hidden)(Flash) When you…
“Need to sneak past something”, “Want to
get in a surprise attack”
A small black rectangle about
the size of an open hand. When
used creates a field surrounding
the user that camouflages them
with their surroundings.

Internal Database: 2E
3D6(Flash) When you…
“Don’t know what something is”, “Need to
quickly deduce an answer”
- This power has 4 Fuel Charges that can
be restored for free when you Rest,
whenever you are in a Conflict you may add
your Knowledge skill to your Skill Dice by
spending one Fuel, even if you would
normally be unable to.
Given how large the City is, it
is nigh impossible to remember
every single detail of the
people or places within it, but
this may help.

26
The World Of Star And City
The City: City Districts:
The many residential and corporate zones
of the City.
The bastion of Humanity, our last stand
against nature, and proverbial tower of
Within the City there are 26 Districts, each
Babylon, a monument to our revolt against
named after a letter of the English alphabet,
the very gods.
and governed by a Guardian Corp bearing
the same title, instructed to generate
The City has stood for longer than any of
resources for the City at large, as well as
the citizens could ever know, only its rulers,
defending the principles of the Architects.
the Architects, knowing of its exact history.
Though there is a wide range of quality of
However, to the Architect's dismay some
life within each District, citizens consider
legends are still passed down, stories of a
themselves lucky to be able to work or live
world before the Collapse, where the
within the residential centres of the cities.
Wasteland was filled with cities just like the
one that stands today, where the unclaimed
world was green and rich with life. The Havens:
The high class residential centres of a
Most believe these stories to be nothing District, each privately supplied and policed
more than myths, passed down by by a Guardian Corp.
dreamers and dimwits, though these
doubters are equally wrong in their belief These are seen by many citizens as the
that the City has stood for all time, many of highest standard of culture, class, and
the stories of the world before it are quite safety within the City, each Haven being
exaggerated. extremely exclusive and sealed off from the
outer City. For most Havens it is expected
that a resident only requires a well paying
Job to cover its fees, but some are strange
in its requirements, feeling more like pacts
made with trickster devils than a
government contract.

27
The Backstreets: Coteries:
Home to the concrete bloodletting, untold The power of the Backstreets, criminal
violence caused by criminal Coteries taking organizations built to take advantage of
advantage of those just trying to survive, those crushed by the ruthless world they
born to filth and cursed by decay. live in.

The Backstreets are not a single location, These groups of organized criminals hold
but the common name of the many Slums most of the social and political power within
of each District. Each shares a systematic the backstreets, creating a cyclical
lack of government funding and presence, presence of fear, where the existence of
resulting in little to no policing of the areas them makes those who live without the
and a large criminal presence. protection of a Coterie at great risk.

28
Zeal: The Wasteland:
“My first thought was that he lied in every The world has moved on. A barren land
word…” devoid of life, on serving as research into
- Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came. the world before the City.

200 years before the Collapse, humanity The Wasteland is the name given to the
experienced first contact, a direct world outside the City. Most of it was
connection to a world beyond our destroyed by some great conflict that must
understanding. This was not noticed by the have concluded hundreds of years ago. The
average person, the only evidence of this only things of note within the Wasteland
contact being the first recorded seem to the Ruins, broken down buildings
appearances of Distortions. spotting the Wastelands. Other than the
history that can be learned from these
Zeal is the common name for the “World of ancient buildings there are also known to
thought”, an energy source discovered house strange Artifacts and powerful
before the Collapse, seemingly being Distortions.
directed and harnessed via the thoughts
and emotions of humans and creatures of
human level sapience. Though the degree Artifacts:
of control the Architects hold over Zeal is These strange items have little in common,
unknown, the most common use and only classified within the same category
appearance of it is a phenomenon referred because they cannot be understood by our
to as a Distortion. current scientific knowledge. Some of these
are thought of as the technology of the old
world, clearly designed with purpose but
Distortions: confusing in how they were created or
If a citizen has ever had contact with Zeal, it function. Other Artifacts seem attached to
was most likely through a Distortion. In Zeal in some sense, possibly unconscious
simple terms, a Distortion occurs in places Distortions or something else entirely.
with an extreme density of thought, a
person, or place that contains this extreme
amount of thought may connect with Zeal,
distorting their form to match the thought
that caused it.

The cultural impact of Distortions cannot be

overlooked, many of them seeming to
prioritize the religious, giving those
passionate about it strange visions. These
visions often seem to be some gross
reimagining of the host’s religious mythos.

29
Running The Game:
From this point on most of what is covered
will be the duty of the Gm, the person Planning Missions:
organizing and narrating the game.

Though the name is not completely

Conflicts: accurate in all cases, I will refer to the
things players do between Montage Phases
as “Missions”. This should be the majority
When playing Star and City it is unrealistic of what you plan, and for this reason I have
to have each and every person, place and a few ideas on how you can do this easily
thing prepared for every action a player can or better.
take. And because of this it may be
challenging to bring forward challenges for 1: Motivation
the players that feel realistically difficult, There should always be a reason for the
and entertaining for the players. players to go on a Mission. Most often
As a shorthand here are a few things that early/low stakes missions can be motivated
you may want to use to create Conflict by money, rent or tax season might be
opponents or generally engaging sessions. coming, or a story specific character could
need money from them, but in any case,
1: Use Environment Dice money is a good motivator.
Even if they end up unused, a strong set of
Environment Dice, especially in high-stakes 2: The Holy Trinity
scenes can give players a chance to flex You may have already noticed, but many of
their creative thinking tho their advantage. the game’s mechanics are split into three,
the Status, and Cores to name the most
2: On the fly Raising prominent. This is meant to enforce a sort
When facing players you may not know of “default party”, where at least three
exactly how powerful you need to make the players specializing in different things
enemy before it’s too late. For this reason I would be needed for the best coverage. For
suggest Raising with dice relative to the last this reason I suggest including at least one
raise the players made, and swapping up threat for each of these Cores and or
sizes and tags to keep it interesting, Instead Statuses.
of trying to think of Powers beforehand. This could be the most obvious result, such
as an argument for Stress, a Fight for
Exhaustion, and a Distortion for Insight, but
they could also work as many more things.
A smart character might be needed to hack
a terminal, a strong player might be needed
to parkour into a specific area, and a Zeal
specialist can cover most problems at the
risk of their own life.

30
Optional Rules: Enemies:
Rising Tensions!: When players enter Conflicts with a NPC it
could be difficult to think of engaging
Power sets for those players to face
You may feel like long Conflicts aren’t against. For this reason here are some
getting the dramatic finishes they deserve. pre-made characters for that exact
This rule makes it so that every time a purpose.
power is used to Raise a Status is added to
the Fall, depending on the power type.
Thug:
Martial: Exhaustion
Max Statuses: Skills:
Social: Stress
Exhaustion: 5 Handgun: 5
Zeal: Insight
Stress: 3 Medium Arms: 4
Gear: Any of the above
Insight: 2 Dexterity: 2

Powers:
The Thug’s Power set makes it slightly
effective in combat with a trick or two up its
sleeve, however it lacks social effectiveness
or any defence against the supernatural.

“The easy way, or the hard way”:

Social:
+3D4(Chaos) When they…
“Threaten someone”

Shabby Attacks: Martial:

+4D4(Chaos) When they…
“Make an attack”

Dirty Fighting: Martial:

+2D4(Chaos) When they…
“Make an attack”
- When this is Raised, set any four Dice to
one.

31
Hunter Detective: Blood Fiend:
Max Statuses: Skills: Max Statuses: Skills:

Exhaustion: 5 Handgun: 6 Exhaustion: 5 Ruin: 8

Stress: 7 Insight: 5 Stress: 4 Brawl: 5

Insight: 4 Convince: 5 Insight: 6 Administrate: 5

Powers: Powers:
Detectives may be used to having to A relatively common and weak Distorted
defend themselves, with some basic human, born to those scarred by conflict,
combat abilities, but their Power set is more and exposed to death. Blood Fiends are
suited to social encounters. powerful users of Zeal and have access to
strange powers making them quite
“Could I borrow you for a second?”: dangerous in both Social and Marital
Conflicts.
Social
+2D6(Reliable) When they…
“Start a conversation” Intoxicating Flavour: Martial
+2D8(Drain) When they…
“Taste Blood”
Backed By The City: Social
+3D6(Reliable)(Support) When they… When one of these Dice destroy another
“Are being threatened”, “Want to impress” Die in a Clash this enemy gains one Blood
Token.
Workshop Weapons: Martial
+3D6(Reliable/Fury/Hidden) When they…
“Make an attack” A Form Akin To Beasts: Zeal
- The Dice given from this Power can have +XD12(Flash) When they…
one of many tags chosen when it is Raised. “Move at supernatural speeds”
- This enemy must spend at least one
Blood Token when raising with this Power.
The Dice this Power gives is equal to the
number of Tokens spent

Sweet Crimson Dreams: Zeal

+3D12 When they…
“Want to put someone’s mind to rest”

32
Guardian Agent: The Looming Shadow:
Max Statuses: Skills: Max Statuses: Skills:

Exhaustion: 5 Handgun: 6 Exhaustion: ∞ Administrate: 10

Stress: 7 Insight: 5 Stress: 7 Fabricate: 5

Insight: 4 Convince: 5 Insight: 7 Deceive: 3

Powers: Powers:
Direct employees of a Guardian Corp, A Distorted building or small landmass,
highly armed and dangerous, these born to fear and isolation, often due to it
enemies are not meant to be fought, being abandoned. This is incredibly
instead their Social blind spot could allow powerful and dangerous, unable to be killed
them to be tricked or convinced. with physical damage, instead victims
should attempt to escape.
Esoteric Arms: Martial
+1D20(Reliable) When they… “The walls have eyes”: Zeal
“Attempt to kill” +1D6(Reliable) (Hidden) When they…
- This Die can only be destroyed by a direct “Observe”
Clash. - When this destroys a Die the controller
gains three Stress.
“Affront To God”: Martial
+2D8(Fury) When they… “The air has fangs”: Zeal
“Face a Distortion” + 3D10 (Hidden) When they…
“Cut”
Responsibilities Of A Guardian:
Social
+3D6(Reserved)(Careful) When they…
“Are following orders”

33
Credits:
Writing:
Joel Vreugdenhil

Photos:
All edited by Joel Vreugdenhil

JC Gellidon pg.1

Abolova pg.13

Michael DeMarco pg. 15

Drew Beamer pg. 8

Osama Almadhagi pg. 21

Alexandr Bormotin pg. 28

Ben Collins pg. 23

In Association With Dark

After Games

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