Drifter Basic Rules

EXPLORATION PHASE
This phase starts when the group party enters and starts to explore some
kind of facility. This facility could be anything from a deep underground
laboratory to a library built into the side of a mountain.

• The narrator of this phase is called the Dungeonmaster, and they
are responsible for piecing together the delve and deciding what each
room or space will feature.

• This phase uses the Delve Deck to help visualize and track the
party’s progress through the delve.

• As players explore the facility, new delve cards are placed down with
various elements that the drifters can interact with. Players will
explore moving and placing down cards, interacting with, exploring
and discovering elements in each tile.

• During this phase, the group might enter the Combat Phase or
Downtime Phase as part of a tile feature.

The Exploration Phase ends when:
• The party leaves the delve (and isn’t returning soon).

The Exploration Phase is broad, and can encompass multiple phases
(ruolseupalallyy).the Combat Phase, the Downtime Phase, and unstructured
Each card of the Delve Deck represents a particular feature of that ruin,
facility, or dungeon being explored. Once you’ve resolved any challenge or
roleplaying around that delve card, you will continue to explore that delve.

101

TRAVEL PHASE
This phase starts when the group intends to travel long distances, often
trekking through the wilderness.

• The narrator of this phase is called the Cartographer, and they
are responsible for the worldmap and facilitating the narrative that
emerges between the players during travel.

• This phase uses the montage to provide a structured journey for the
players and the events during their travel.

• Each player makes at least one skill roll to contribute to the events
of this journey.

• The narrator will help weave together these contributions to make a
coherent journey.

The Travel Phase ends when:
• The drifters arrive at their destination.
• The group decides to end the montage early (stopping in a map hex)
to explore or interact with the world.

102

DOWNTIME PHASE
This phase starts when the group enters a friendly sanctuary or needs to
rest and recover.

• The narrator of this phase is called the Quartermaster, and they
are responsible for roleplaying the characters your drifters interact
with and determining the total number of Downtime slots each
player can spend.

• Players will spend Downtime slots to perform special actions only
available in the Downtime Phase.

• Players can roleplay and have their characters interact with the
inhabitants in a sanctuary or other location (and even look for or
pick up quests).

The Downtime Phase ends when:
• Everyone spends all of their Downtime slots.
• The party leaves the sanctuary.

103

UNSTRUCTURED
ROLEPLAY

It’s important to remember that these phases only facilitate certain aspects
of the shared experience of Drifter. The rest of what happens is often
unstructured roleplaying, which serves as the glue that connects all of the
phases together. Or, to put it another way:

Unstructured roleplaying is everything that
happens that’s not governed by a phase.

A few things to note:
• Roleplaying is not its own phase.

tRhoaltepalraeyinnogtisstarlilctolfythgoevaecrtnioends,biyntaerpahcatisoen. sS, oanadnycotnivmeersyaotiuonnsetehdattohasppepnend
resources, make a roll, talk to characters in the game, or interact with some-
thing, this is all part of roleplaying.

• Roleplaying happens both within and outside of the game phases.

The Exploration Phase and Downtime Phase encourage players to engage
in roleplay as a key part of the phase.

The Combat Phase and Travel Phase are a bit more rigid in process, with
less opportunities to roleplay—this is intentional. Some roleplaying may
still organically occur though.

• The extent of roleplay will vary with your group’s preferences.

The game of Drifter and the world you create are yours to explore and the
phases as provided are only tools for you to leverage. If your group spends
most of their time outside of these phases, or within a few phases specifi-
cally, that’s totally fine.

• Unstructured roleplaying could be considered a phase by your
group for the purposes of who the narrator is, ability refreshes, or
continuity.

[example] Two characters engage in a duel (the Combat Phase). Afterwards,
tthheeyy mwaignhtttcootnatliknutoe eraolcehpolathyienr.gEuvnetnil tahnouewghpthhaesye’ries dtroingegewrietdh(tshaey,fitghhetitnwgo,
duelists decided to team up and travel to the Boreal Forest to face off against
a mutual enemy, thus triggering the Travel Phase).

104

EXAMPLE GAME FLOW

Below is some sample game f low to showcase how a game of Drifter can transi-
tion between various game phases.

pChoymsicbaaltlyPwhaarspee:dJwusotlvoeust.sAidfetear sthane cetnucaoruyn, ttehre, tdhreifptearrstyenpcrooucenetdesr ianntod tfoigwhnt .some

Unstructured Roleplay: Upon entering town, the party talks to the locals and
tdhiescaorveear.s the sanctuary is called Rivel. They learn of increased beast attacks in

DfroomwnthteimcoerPpshearseem: aTinhse odfriaftneresarablsyotlietaarnn, stohme peogtreenattiaml oornisgtirnosoiftythcereaattteadckdsutroinbge
the last war. The party then rests and decides to prepare for their journey ahead
to investigate further.

Travel Phase: The party sets out up the mountain towards the titan’s corpse.
During this time (covered by a montage), they discover a hidden technology cache
(which they decide to come back to later), further fight some warped beasts, and
survive a rockslide. Eventually, they arrive at the base of the titan’s corpse.

Exploration Phase: The party ventures inside the titan’s corpse to explore. Upon
entering, they find the environment to be far more technological than organic and
outfitted with rooms and elevators. The party explores and tinkers with some of
htheearitntoefrtnhaeltmitaench. anisms they find in the “ facility,” working their way up to the

Combat Phase: bUripnognthaerrtiivtainngbaatckthteo hliefea.rTt chheapmabretyr, ctohnefrpoanrttsytheencwoaurnloteckrsina
warlock trying to
battle, before defeating them.

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waking up. Although they are successful in this, the corpse begins to collapse. The
narrator uses a montage to describe the party’s escape sequence, until they exit the
titan’s corpse just as it crumbles.

Travel Phase: Now safe, the party makes their way back easily to the sanctuary
from earlier (using a shorter montage).

Downtime Phase: The party arrives back at Rivel and receives a trove of
resources as their reward for their work in making the area around the sanctuary
safe. The drifters take some time to rest and recover from their adventure. The
tpoarthtye tphraenvkiosutshlye dreisscidovenertesdoftetchhensoalnogctyucaarcyhfeotrotshteairrthtohsepiritanleixtyt,aadnvdensetutsreo.ff back

105

Combat
Phase



Led by the Battlemaster (narrator), the Combat Phase is the most directed
of Drifter’s game phases—and it’s where the players’ drifters face off
against multiple adversaries in combat. This phase works much like that
of a tactics game, taking place on a set grid known as the Combat Board.
It's here that players and adversaries take turns to perform attacks and
maneuvers against one another.

THE FLOW OF COMBAT

A combat encounter begins when the drifters face off against a threat that
must be overcome. The flow of combat follows these guidelines:

1. The narrator places adversaries down on any of the northern tiles of
the Combat Board. The players place down their drifters on any of
the southern tiles of the Combat Board.

2. The Consequence Pool starts at 0. If there are any bosses or mini-
bosses, add their CL to the Consequence Pool.

3. The players decide between themselves who will take the first turn.
When it’s the next player turn, the group will decide who takes
this turn.

4. A player takes their turn. During this time, the player can take as
many actions as they see fit for their drifter, including attacking
adversaries, moving to another tile, activating Talents, using equip-
ment, and so on.

Each action after the first action has a stacking +1 Energy cost.

5. After a player turn is an adversary turn. Here, the narrator picks a
single adversary and can perform 2 actions with them. The narrator

can escalate these actions by spending CP (◈).

Bosses and mini-bosses can perform 3 actions per turn

An adversary can only spend a total CP equal to their Consequence Level
each turn.

6. Alternate turns between players and adversaries until the battle
has ended.

A player cannot act again until all other players have acted (or passed).

Aadnveardsvaerrysaisrya cbaonsns ootramctinaig-abionssu. ntil all adversaries have acted, unless that

108

The Combat Phase is intended to facilitate combat encounters with multiple
adversaries, or perhaps a single, powerful boss or mini-boss . If the drifters
encounter only one or two opponents, this might be best resolved using skills,
Talents or other abilities to help narrate the outcome appropriately.

ADVERSARY
STARTING TILES

DRIFTER
STARTING TILES

THE COMBAT BOARD

The Combat Board is the standard battle area where extended fighting takes
place. The board consists of 9 tiles organized into a 3×3 isometric grid.

• The drifters and any allies start on the south (bottom) 4 tiles, while
any adversaries start on the north (top) 4 tiles. Both sets of starting
tiles intersect in the middle tile (sometimes known as the heat tile).

• There is no limit to how many drifters and adversaries can share a
single tile.

While the standard Combat Board is 3×3, it does not have to be restricted
to only that size. You might try experimenting with the board size and
shape—perhaps it’s a weird S-shape, or perhaps characters must jump or
dash around to get to other platforms during the fight. As long as you have
a way for drifters to move around the Combat Board, you’ll be fine.

109

CONSEQUENCES & CONSEQUENCE POOL

Unlike the other game phases, when you trigger a Consequence in the
Combat Phase, instead of having an immediate outcome to the action, you
generate Consequence Points (CP)(+x ◈) that go into a Consequence Pool.
You will find many drifter abilities CmoanrkseeqduwenitchenPootoalt.ioTnhseuscehpaosin[t+s1o◈nl]y.
This means that you add 1 CP to the
apply for the Combat Phase. Most abilities range will generate CP ranging from
[+1 ◈] to [+3 ◈].
If you need to perform a skill or make some undefined action that’s not
covered by abilities, triggering a Consequence makes no real sense in the
Combat Phase. Instead, you can use the following thresholds to determine
how many Conseuqnce Points to add to the pool (if any):

• Fortune: –
• Temper ance: [+1 ◈◈]]
• Judgment: [+2

STARTING CONSEQUENCE POOL

When the Combat Phase begins, the Consequence Pool starts CatL0to◈t.hIef
there are any bosses or mini-bosses in the encounter, add their
Consequence Pool.

USING CONSEQUENCE POINTS

The narrator spends Consequence Points (x ◈T)hetsoe esclate actions and
perform special actions, effects and outcomes. are more explained
later in the Adversary Turn section (page 118).

ENDING COMBAT

There are several ways for combat to end—it doesn’t always have to be
killing everything in sight. Some possible ways to end the Combat Phase
include:

• One side involved in the combat is victorious in battle.
• Both sides call a truce to hostilities.
• One side gives up, surrenders, or retreats.
• Something occurs that interrupts the encounter.

110

MOVEMENT

Since the Combat Board is set at an angle, it makes movement a little
tricky to describe. At it's base all movement is done diagonally. This
means all adversaries and drifters will move across the tiles edges, as
displayed below .

Also, there are some abilities for both adversaries and drifter, that will
allow you to to circumvent the movement limitation and allow movement
to any adjacent tile.

111

PLAYER TURN

When it’s your drifter’s turn in combat, the spotlight is yours, and your
moments are few. As a player, this is the time you get to decide which
attacks and actions your drifter will take. When it’s a player’s turn,
you can:

• Activate Talents on your Ability Bar (page 52).
• Use any basic combat actions (page 114).
• Utilize your equipment and assets (page 64).
• Perform any general actions (page 25).
• Use class specials, special actions, or other abilities.

PLAYER ROUNDS

Once your drifter’s turn has ended, your character cannot take another
turn until all other drifters have acted. Once all drifters have acted, this
is known as a player round. Some abilities and actions may trigger at the
beginning of the player round. When a new player round begins, the
players decide which drifter acts first.

ACTIVATE
TALENTS & ABILITIES

A good proportion of the actions your drifter can perform come from
your Ability Bar. You also have access to the basic combat actions (on page
114). Basic combat actions don’t need to be slotted into your Ability Bar
and are only used in the Combat Phase. These actions include things such
as attacking, healing, and moving from tile to tile.

When declaring what your drifter is doing on their turn, try to describe
dhoeswcryioputirvedreilfetmerenpet ryfoourmfesetlhaedadtstatockthoer aaccttiioonn., what they say, or any other

112

MULTIPLE
ACTIONS

On your turn, you can perform as many actions as your resources allow.
However, every action after the first has an increasing +1 Energy cost to
the action’s base value. This increased cost resets at the beginning of your
next turn.

Actions with the Reaction tag are not affected by any increased Energy cost.
[Example] You want your drifter to make a [Strike] action then
[Reposition] action. The first action [Strike] costs 1 Energy and the next
action [Reposition] costs 2 Energy (1 for the action’s cost + 1 for taking a
second action).

OTHER ACTIONS

During your turn, you might want additional information before you try
an action. Feel free to share your intention with the narrator. They may
decide if what you’re looking for necessitates a resource cost, a roll, both
of these, or neither of these.

113

BASIC COMBAT ACTIONS

In combat there are a number of actions and talents you can perform.
Remember that each action after the first has an increasing energy cost.

• Activate Talent: Perform any action from your class special, your
Ability Bar, or from the Basic Combat Actions below.

• Use Equipment: Activate an ability or item from your equipment
slots (see equipment page "Equipment" on page 64).

• Other Actions: Or perform an action that would require a roll that
might be covered (see general skill action page 25).

BASIC COMBAT ACTIONS
Below is a list of general actions that all drifters can perform in the
Combat Phase.

Basic Combat Action Cost Effect
Buy Time Gain temporary energy to
Dodge Roll 0 Energy + continue fighting.
Heal 3 Woe A reaction to reduce
Last Second incoming damage.
Not Today 2 Energy
0 Energy + Restore Health and Energy.
2 Ingredients
Reduce damage taken by half
1 Dash (rounded-up).
1 Corruption + A reaction used when reduced to
0 Health to prevent death.
2 Woe

Quick Dash 1 Dash Move 1 tile in any direction.

Recovery Special Remove a negative status effect.
Reposition 1 Energy* Move 1 tile diagonally. *Spend an
additional 1 Energy to move in
any direction.

Retreat 2 Energy Leave the Combat Board.

Strike/Blast 1 Energy Make a basic attack.

Use Simple Item 0 Energy Use an item.

114

GENERAL COMBAT ACTION Buy Time E X PL O R AT IO N

0 ENERGY + 3 WOE

This action can only be used once per turn and can't be
accompanied by any other action on this turn.

◈Combat Phase: You take a defensive stance and gain the following benefits: [+1 ]
• Gain 2 temporary protection points that last until the start of your
next turn.
• Gain 6 temporary points of Energy, that lasts until used or the end of
the Combat Phase.
Note: Temporary energy cannot take you higher than your Max Energy. Each

subsequent use of this ability reduces the amount of energy granted by

◈-1, and increases the amount of CP generated +1 lasting for the rest of

the Combat Phase.

GENERAL COMBAT ACTION Dodge Roll TESTED

1 ENERGY | REACTION

Combat Phase: Before taking Health or Energy damage, you can activate this

ability to reduce incoming damage.

Fortune: Reduce 4+[shield bonus] points

Temperance: Restore 3+[shield bonus] points

Judgment: Restore 3 points

Note: Each subsequent use of this ability reduces the amount of damage
blocked by 1.

115

GENERAL COMBAT ACTION Heal S U RV I VA L

1 ENERGY + 2 INGREDIENTS | CLOSE

Effect: Restore Health and Energy to yourself and/or one ally in your tile.

Points recovered by this action can be split between Health and Energy

and between yourself and the ally.

Fortune: Restore 6 points

Temperance: Restore 4 points

Judgment: Restore 3 points

GENERAL COMBAT ACTION Last Second
1 DASH | REACTION

Effect: Before you take damage from a Consequence, reduce incomming
Health or Energy damage in half (rounded-up), and move diagonally 1

◈tile. [+1 ]

Not Today

1 CORRUPTION +2 WOE | REACTION

Requirement: You are reduced to 0 Health.

Effect: Instead of dying from your injuries, you fall unconscious.
Extend: You can choose to suffer an 1 additional Corruption to immediately

regain half your maximum Health and Energy.

GENERAL COMBAT ACTION Quick Dash
1 DASH

◈Combat Phase: Move 1 tile in any direction and regain 2 Energy. [+1 ]

116

GENERAL COMBAT ACTION Recovery S U RV I VA L
X ENERGY

Combat Phase: Remove a negative status effect on your character. The Energy
cost for this action depends on the Consequence Level of the status

◈effect. [+1 ]

GENERAL COMBAT ACTION Reposition COMBAT
1 ENERGY

Combat Phase: Move 1 tile diagonally.
Extend: You can spend an additional 1 Energy (for a total of 2) to move in any

direction.

GENERAL COMBAT ACTION R et r e at COMBAT
2 ENERGY

Combat Phase: When in any edge space of the Combat Board, you can retreat and

◈take yourself out of the encounter. [+2 ]

GENERAL COMBAT ACTION Strike // Blast COMBAT
1 ENERGY

Effect: Deal damage to a target in range.

Fortune: Deal 1[w]+2 damage [+ ◈◈]]
[+
Temperance: Deal 1[w] damage 1
2
Judgment: Deal 1[w] damage

GENERAL COMBAT ACTION Use Simple Item
0 ENERGY

Combat Phase: Use or activate a simple item. This can be used for such things
as activating a consumable, eating trail mix, or operating a def lector

◈array. [+1 ]

117

ADVERSARY TURN

After a player’s turn, it is then an adversary’s turn. During this turn the
narrator picks one adversary to control and performs their actions. During
the adversary turn, the narrator might take adversary actions or enact
special effects.

ADVERSARY ACTIONS

The adversary chosen by the narrator can perform up to 2 actions. Each
adversary has their own abilities listed on their stat block. These range
from movement to various types of attacks.

• Adversaries can only perform 2 actions on their turn. They can
choose to take the same action twice.

Bosses and mini-bosses can perform 3 actions on a turn.

• The narrator can spend CP from the Consequence Pool to escalate
their action, enhancing or adding new effects to that action.

• A particular adversary cannot spend more CP than their CL in
a turn.

When describing any Consequences, even though they may happen sequen-
tially during play (player, narrator, player, narrator, and so on), once you’ve
established what the Consequences are, they can be moved around to make
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around and the “inking in” of the scene happening later.

ADVERSARY ROUNDS

Once an adversary’s turn has ended, that adversary cannot act again until
all other adversaries have acted. Once all adversaries have acted, this is
known as an adversary round.

ESCALATING ACTIONS

As players generate CP from their actions, this gives the adversaries more
resources to work with. The narrator can spend CP to escalate adversary
actions. Each action has an additional or specific effect when the narrator
spends CP in this way. This could result in the adversary moving further,
dealing more damage, or hitting more drifters with their attack.

118

ENACT
SPECIAL EFFECTS

Sometimes there are situations where the narrator might want to apply
particular effects to the combat that’s not covered by an adversary stat-
block. These are what we call special effects. Special effects might be an
adversary performing a special action, or use a particular item. Perhaps the
warlock has put their hands on the antimatter sphere and uses it against
the drifters. Sometimes a special effect might be introducing a dangerous
environmental effect to a combat encounter. Perhaps while the drifters
battle at the edge of the volcano, the ground rumbles as the volcano erupts
onto the battlefield. When a special effect is used against a drifter, it is
generally good practice to give the player an opportunity to react or roll
against the effect in some way to avoid it's effects.
PIECING A SPECIAL EFFECT TOGETHER
Special effects are implemented by the narrator spending CP to ‘construct’
various effects together from the Mechanical Consequences section (page
80). The narrator can use the system provided here to craft special effects:

• Effect: Choose Mechanical Consequences to craft together effects
and potential outcomes of this special action.

• Cost: The cost of a special effect depends on how many drifters or
targets the effect impacts.

• One target 1 ◈.
• All targets in 1 tile 2 ◈.
• All targets in 2 tiles 3 ◈.
• All targets in 3 tiles 4 ◈.

• Base CL: As a general rule of thumb, the Consequence Level should
be no greater than the CL of the highest adversary on the board. In
most cases, if the action is being performed by an adversary, you can
just use their CL. In the case of something like an environmental
danger, you will have to use your judgment as to the best CL.

• Action: Special effects do not count against the action-limit an
adversary can perform each adversary round. This is considered a
bonus action to those an adversary can normally perform.

119

Once you’ve worked out the details of the special effect to implement,
describe what’s about to occur and let any affected players make a roll to
avoid any effects. A Fortune result on this roll allows the drifter to avoid
the effect altogether. With a Temperance result, the drifter suffers only a
partial effect. With a Judgment result, the drifter suffers any full effects.

• Fortune: No effect
• Temperance: [CL–2]
• Judgment: [CL].

SAMPLE SPECIAL EFFECTS

Explosive Barrel Trap
2 ◈ | CL 3
Explosives have been cleverly hidden around the battlefield waiting to be triggered.

Effect: A trap is triggered in the target tile causing an explosion. Drifters in the
tile must make an Exploration roll.

Fortune: No effect.
Temperance: 1 Health damage (min 1).
Judgment: 3 Health damage.

Slippery Floor
3 ◈ | CL 3
There is a slick substance on the f loor making actions more difficult.

Effect: While inside any of the affected tiles, increase all Fortune thresh-
olds by 2.

Zone of Confinement
2 ◈ | CL 4
An immense force is trying to keep you from leaving this area.

Effect: Drifters using [Reposition] to exit the target tile need to spend an addi-
tional +2 energy.

120

BOSSES

Some adversaries are more dangerous and noteworthy than others. These
are known as bosses and mini-bosses. Much as their name implies, they’re
tougher and harder to overcome than other adversaries. Bosses have a few
special features about them:

• More Actions: Bosses can take 3 actions on their turn.
• More Initiative: Bosses get two turns in each adversary round.

This is most beneficial to bosses and mini-bosses if they have allies
around them.

• Boss Health: A bosses health is greater than it's standard adver-
saries. As a general rule of thumb, when creating a boss or mini-boss

take the CL and add it to triple the the number of drifters (Ð),
CL+(Ðx3).

• Boss Power: Each boss has a special arena ability known as a Boss
Power. At the beginning of a player round, the narrator makes a roll
using the table below to determine what area the Arena Ability will
affect. They then tell the players which tiles will be affected. When
the player round ends, the Arena Ability triggers in those tiles.

Roll Boss Power Target
1–4
5–8 Pick 1 tile on the board to affect.
9–12 Pick 2 non-adjacent tiles on the board
13–16 to affect.
17–20 Pick a diagonal angle and affect 3 tiles in a line
in that direction.
Pick 4 non-adjacent tiles along the outer edge
of the board.
Target an “X” shape on the board that affects
5 tiles in total.

If you are playing a solo game of Drifter (with just one drifter character),
the Arena Ability triggers after every other turn.

MINI-BOSSES
Mini-bosses are regular adversaries that are given the abilities of bosses.
This means the adversary gains the Boss Power, More Actions, and More
Initiative, but their health and CL remain the same.

121

ADVERSARIES

Adversaries are any sort of enemy—a character, creature, or automaton—
that drifters may come up against in a hostile situation. Each adversary
comes with the following information:
Adversary Name: The general name of the adversary. This could represent

a solo adversary (such as a crystal wolf ) or even a group of adversaries
(such as a pack of warped wolves) who move and act together.
Description: Any useful lore about the adversary or tactics that the adver-
sary might use.
Special: Any particular attributes or abilities the adversary has. These
can include passive abilities and modifiers.
Discipline Modifier: Some adversaries may be harder to fight or interact
with than others. This increase in difficulty can be ref lected as a modi-
fier that can be applied to a drifter’s disciplines and/or thresholds.

So m e e x amp l e s in clu d e : [Al l D i sc ip lin e s, Te mp e ran ce +1],
[Combat, Both Thresholds +2], or [Social and Manipulate, Fortune +2].

Consequence Level (CL): The threat level of the adversary. The CL
determines the limit of how many Consequence Points the adver-
sary can spend each time it acts. This also serves as the Consequence
Level for the adversary if the drifters interact with them outside of the
Combat Phase.

Health: How much damage the adversary can take before it is defeated.

It's important to note that altough you will find correlation between health
and CL in the example CLs, they don't have to be. You could very much
have a CL 7 adversary with 5 Health, or a CL 2 adversary with 15 health.

122

Adversary Type: Each adversary can come in a different shape, size, and
toughness. There are five different types of adversary, and they are:
minion, lesser, common, greater, and elite. Each adversary type is listed
with their CL and their Health. The base formula is as follows.

◊ symbolizing the Base CL or common CL of the Adversary.
Ð symbolizing being the number of drifters playing.
••••• EGLMCleoriismetnseaei,mtoreC,norC,,LnCC,L(CLL◊(L◊((+◊◊(‒3◊2)‒+,)2),2H),H), H,eHHeaealeatelathlalthtlh(th◈(h◈((◈+◈(◈++Ð+Ð+xÐÐ2Ð‒1))+‒)21)()m(minin1)1)

As default for the CL/Health calculations in the sample adversaries
list, we're assuming that there are 3 drifters in the group.

Adversary Actions: These are the actions available to the adversary in
the Combat Phase to perform. Adversaries can take only two actions
on their turn (unless they're a boss or mini-boss, who can take three
actions). An adversary can choose to take the same action twice, and the
narrator can choose to spend CP to escalate the effects of their actions.
Additionally, there are some abilities that require an action and require
CP to be spent to activate them.

Boss Power: If the adversary is a boss or mini-boss, they will have a special
ability that triggers at the end of every player round.

Variants: Variations of each adversary are suggested with mechanical
tweaks and changes to mix up the combat experiences with them.

It's important to note that the statblocks here are only building blocks for
you to use and transform. Feel free to modify these to make your own adver-
saries and monstrosities.

123

SAMPLE ADVERSARIES

PLANT BEASTS

Plant beasts are any vegetation or vegetation-like mass that has grown
form and awareness and become highly territorial. One moment it appears
simply as a small f lower, the next moment a hissing mass of plant matter
is charging at you. Little is known about the origins of these creatures and
how they may have become so warped, or even what they may have warped
from. They can be encountered either as solitary beasts or as small packs,
disguised as clusters of vegetation.

Special Boss Power
SUMMON ALLIES
DEATH THROES

After the plant beast is reduced to At the end of the player round,
0 health the narrator can choose to summon a number of Minion or
Lesser plant beasts equal to Boss's CL
◈spend 1 to cause the plant beast's and place them down on any of the
affected tiles. You can only place one
corpse to explode after two adver- adversary on each tile.
sary turns. Drifters still in the tile
take the plant beast's CL of damage.

DIFFICULTY VARIANTS

Minion Lesser Common Greater Elite
CL: 1 CL: 2 CL: 3 CL: 4 CL: 5
Health: 2 Health: 4 Health: 6 Health: 8 Health: 11

BASE ACTIONS

Chomp

CLOSE/RANGE 1 | HEALTH DAMAGE

Who thought they didn't have teeth?
Effect: Deal CL Health damage to the target.

◈Escalate: Increase damage by 1, for each additional spent.

Shamble
MOVE

Viny tendrils and legs move chaotically.
Effect: Move plant beastlings diagonally across 1 tile.

◈Escalate: Move an additional tile for each additional spent.

124

ADVANCED ACTIONS

Charge (1 ◈)

SPECIAL | NEW SKILL ROLL | MOVE

With a loud hiss, the plant beast charges forwards, hitting everything in its path.
Effect: Pick a diagonal direction (across edges) and move the plant beast in a

straight line until it hits the last tile on the board. Drifters in its path
must make an Exploration roll and suffer the following consequences:
Fortune: No effect.
Temperance: CL Health damage (min 1).
Judgment: CL Health damage.

◈Escalate: Increase damage by 1, for each additional spent.

Writhe (2 ◈)
CLOSE | IMPAIR

A mass of constantly shifting tendrils, vines, and roots making movement difficult.
Effect: As long as players are in the same tile as the plant beast, increase all

Temperance thresholds by 2. This effect lasts until the end of the
Combat Phase and persists even after the plant beast's death (and Death
Throes). This effect does not stack with other instances of writhe.

◈Escalate: Increase thresholds by 1 for each additional spent. When [Writhe] is
active, the narrator can spend an action to escalate [Writhe].

VARIANTS
• Evergrowth: Each tile the plant beast exits or spends more than
one adversary round in starts to rapidly grow new vegetation. This
vegetation grows thick making movement more difficult. Using
[Reposition] to move in or out of these tiles cost +1 energy, until the
drifters cut it down using a 0-energy action or some other method
that removes the growth.
• Vampiric: Half (rounded down) of the Health damage dealt by the
plant beastling is recovered as health. This Health gain can take the
plant beastling beyond its default Health.
• Seed Shooter: The plant beastling gains the [Seed Shooter] action,
it is functionally the same as [Chomp] but with Reach 1–2.

125

CRYSTAL SPIDERS

Crystal spiders are aggressive arachnid creatures that can freely move
through and between crystalline structures. When disturbed, they will
attack aggressively, aiming to overwhelm and entomb their victim in a
crystal growth that the spiders can emit from their body. Some victims
of entombment have survived this crystalization, but it is unclear why...

Special

ARACHNID MOBILITY

Crystal spiders are largely unaffected by difficult terrain and traps, any ability
that requires CP to be spent to move or traverse difficult terrain or escape traps
has their CP cost reduced by 2.

Boss Power
CRYSTAL GROWTH

At the end of the player round, crystal growths appear on all of the affected tiles
preventing no more than one drifter and one non-spider adversary to be on a tile
at a time.
• If there is more than one drifter/adversary on an affected tile, they will be

immeditaley pushed as if they used [Reposition] or similiar basic move action.
The Players can decide between themselves which drifter get's moved.
• Growths can be destroyed, each growth has Health equal to the boss' CL.
• When this ability activates the next round, growths that are not in the new
affected area crumble and are destroyed. Growths that pass into the next
round do not reset regenerate health.

DIFFICULTY VARIANTS

Minion Lesser Common Greater Elite
CL: 1 CL: 2 CL: 3 CL: 4 CL: 5
Health: 2 Health: 4 Health: 6 Health: 8 Health: 11

126

BASIC ACTIONS

Pierce

CLOSE | HEALTH DAMAGE

Their shap mandibles and legs are sharp.
Effect: Deal 1 Health damage to the target.

◈Escalate: Increase damage by 1, for each additional spent.
Skitter

MOVE

If you listen carefully, you hear the taps and patter of clinking glass.
Effect: Move crystal spiders diagonally across 1 tile.

◈Escalate: Move an additional tile for each additional spent.

ADVANCED ACTIONS

Swarm (1 ◈)
CLOSE | IMPAIR

They swarm on you and starts weighing you down to make you easier prey.
Effect: Increase target drifter's Temperance Thresholds by 2 until the end of the

drifter's next turn.

◈Escalate: Increase the threshold debuff by +1 for each additional spent.

Solidify (1 ◈)

CLOSE | INCREASE ENERGY COST

While on you they begin crystallizing, making it difficult to act.
Effect: Increase the energy cost of the target's first action by 1.

◈Escalate: Increase the number of actions affected for each additional spent.

VARIANTS
• Hardened: Reduce damage taken by 1–2 on each attack.
• Swarm: Each crystal spider can be spread across multiple tiles,
though they still use the same actions Health and CL.

• QEfufeecet:nT: Ahidsdacatnioandvsaunmcmedoancsttiownoc2allleesdse[rSsppiiddeerrlsinwgisth(2in◈R)]a.nge 1 of

the queen. Escalate: Add an additional minion spiders for each addi-

tional ◈ spent.

127

DIRKS

Dirks are a form of warped humanoids commonly found across the world.
Those who study the past believe the dirks were created for some great
conflict, though this has not been confirmed. Some drifters tell stories of
discovering pools of these monstrosities suspended in vats of red liquid
deep inside ruined research facilities.

Dirks are capable of using a variety of guns and other weaponry, albeit
not very efficiently. They tend to work together in groups and one can
sometimes observe a sort of hierarchy amongst them. All attempts at
contact with these creatures so far have only resulted in violence. When
they have no allies around them, or when they are overpowered, dirks will
panic and try to flee.

Special Boss Power
GANG UP
WEAPON OF THE PAST

If this dirk shares a tile with another At the end of the player round, the
dirk, increase all Health damage dirk fires off a large weapon from the
dealt by 1. old war, showering explosives and
debris over the battlefield. Drifters
caught in one of the affected tiles
will take damage equal to the boss'
CL +1. The weapon is destroyed
or rendered unusable upon the
boss' death.

DIFFICULTY VARIANTS

Minion Lesser Common Greater Elite
CL: 1 CL: 2 CL: 3 CL: 4 CL: 6
Health: 2 Health: 4 Health: 6 Health: 8 Health: 12

128

BASIC ACTIONS

Strike/Blast

CLOSE/RANGE 1 | HEALTH DAMAGE

By blaster, claws or brute force.
Effect: Deal 1 Health damage to the target.

◈Escalate: Increase damage by 1, for each additional spent.

Aggression
MOVE

Effect: Move dirk diagonally across 1 tile.
Escalate: Move an additional tile for each additional spent.

◈ ◈Escalate: If this dirk is moving out of a tile that contains another dirk, spend 1
to have that dirk come along with this movement action.

ADVANCED ACTIONS

Knock Down (1 ◈)
CLOSE | HEALTH DAMAGE

By blaster, claws or brute force.

Effect: Deal 1 Health damage to the target.

◈Boost: For each additional point of CP ( ) spent, increase damage by 1.

VARIANTS

• Brute: Increase dirk Health by 5. When using [Strike/Blast], target
two drifters at a time.
• Commander: Add a basic action called [Command].
Effect: Pick a dirk within Range 1 and move them diagonally 1 tile.
• SEhsciaelladtee:dM: Doivrekdiisrkshaienldaedddibtyiosnoaml teilme efoarnse,awchhe◈thsepreinttb. e a physical
shield or some other technical shield. Reduce damage taken by 1–2
on each attack.
• Gunner: Increase the range of [Blast] to Range 2.
• Rocketeer: Add an advanced action called [CRLPdGam(2a◈ge)]t.o
Effect: Pick a tile within Range 2, and deal all drifters
in the tile.
Escalate: Increase damage by 1, for each additional ◈ spent.

129

WARLOCK

| BOSS |

Warlocks are entities fascinated by relics of the past and blinded by the
sense of power they gain from a following of cultists. Warlocks utilize
their understanding of technology and weaponize it against those who do
not have such knowledge.

Special Boss Power
WINGS HEX BURST

Any action to move this boss costs an At the end of the player round, all
additional +1 energy. affected tiles burst dealing the boss'
CL of Health Damage

DIFFICULTY VARIANTS

Lesser Common Greater Elite
CL: 2 CL: 3 CL: 4 CL: 5
Health: 12 Health: 14 Health: 16 Health: 19

BASIC ACTIONS Command Movement
MOVE
Lance
Effect: Move boss or allied adversary
RANGE 2 | HEALTH DAMAGE 1 tile diagonally.

Effect: Deal 2 Health damage to the Escalate: Move an additional tile for
target.
◈each additional spent.
Escalate: Increase damage by 1, for
This can also be spent to acti-
◈each additional spent. vate the action's other effect.

ADVANCED ACTIONS

Hex Magic (1 ◈) Push (1 ◈)

RANGE 1 | HEALTH DAMAGE FORCED MOVEMENT | RANGE 1

Effect: Deal CL Health damage to Effect: Push target drifter in range
adversaries in the target tile. 1 tile diagonally away from
the boss.
Escalate: Increase damage by 1, for
Escalate: Move an additional drifter
◈each additional spent.
◈for each additional spent.
130
Escalate: Push targets any direction

◈for an additional 1 .

131

132

FORSAKEN GENERAL
| BOSS |

Rumored to be some sort of military leader that survived the cataclysm.
Once driven by glory, the hanged man is now only a shadow of their former
self, driven mad by the mysterious crystal growths keeping them alive.

Special Boss Power

CRYSTAL ABSORPTION HINDERING SHARDS

All attacks made at range With every action the boss' constantly sheds
deal 1 less health damage crystals littering the battlefield. At the end of
to the boss. the player round, the affected tiles increase the
cost of [Reposition] by +1 energy.

DIFFICULTY VARIANTS

Lesser Common Greater Elite
CL: 3 CL: 4 CL: 5 CL: 7
Health: 13 Health: 15 Health: 16 Health: 21

BASIC ACTIONS Momentum

Sword Slash CLOSE | HEALTH DAMAGE

CLOSE | HEALTH DAMAGE Effect: Move boss 1 tile diagonally.

Effect: Deal CL–1 (min 1) Health ◈Escalate: For each additional spent,
damage to the target. increase the next Sword Slash
damage by +1.
Escalate: Increase damage by 1, for

◈each additional spent.

ADVANCED ACTIONS Crystal Burst (3 ◈)
SPECIAL | NEW SKILL ROLL
Zeliska (2 ◈)
Effect: A wave of crystals bursts out
RANGED 2 | HEALTH DAMAGE hitting all drifters within
Range 1 of the boss. Drifters
Effect: Deal CL–1 (min 1) health within the effect make an
damage to the target. If the Exploration CL roll.
target has points in their
Protection pool deal 1 point Fortune: No effect
of damage directly to the Temperance: CL–2 Health damage
Protection pool as well. Judgment: CL Health damage.
Escalate: Exploration CL by 1 for
Escalate: Increase damage by 1 for
◈every additional 2 spent.
◈each additional spent.
133

SAMPLE BATTLE

In this secion, you'll read an exerpt containing two rounds of combat
involving two drifters, Sera and Kirin, as they fight a small group of plant
beasts.

SETUP
• The narrator places a CL 3 plant beast on tile 5, one minion plant
beast on tile 2, and two minion plant beasts on tile 3.
• Sera places themself on tile 7,
• Kirin decides to place themself on tile 8.
• The Consequence Pool starts at 0 (since no bosses are present).
Between the Sera and Kirin they decide that Sera will take the first turn.
134

Sera: OK, since there are two adversaries on tile 3, I'm going to start off
with [Hex Burst].

Sera: alright, 9...phew, so close to a Judgment. That'll be a Temperance,

dealing 4 damage and generating [+2 ◈].

Narrator: Perfect, as these are minions, they're wiped out do you want to
describe how they were dispersed or dispatched?

Sera: Sure thing! So Sera will wield her Hyper Light projector and create
her iconic hexagon shaped blast emiting from the center. Let's have one of the
plant beasts be incinerated from the blast and the other pushed back from
the blast, perhaps in fear of continuing to fight, but out of the encounter.

Narrator: Well said! Ok, now its an adversary turn, so we'll have the big
plant beast go. Since sera ended up killing one of the little plant beasts, its
going to emit a loud hiss and lunge towards you!

Narrator: For its first action it will move one tile into Sera's tile (from tile
5 to 7), then for it's second action it will use chomp, spending both CP on
increasing it's damage from 3 to 5. What do you want to do Sera?

Sera: Ow! That's really going to hurt, what are my options?

Narrator: If you have any Protection armor you can reduce points of
damage directly. You could spend a dash to activate [Last Second] which
allows you to move and reduce damage in half. Or, you can spend 2 energy
to activate [Dodge Roll], which reduces damage depending on your result.

Sera: Ok thanks, then lets spend a dash and perform [Last Second], let
me look that up real quick... Alright, so I get to move one tile, and reduce
incoming damage in half, rounded-up and it adds [+1 b◈y ]3,tomtahkeinpgomole.
So I'll move to tile 9 and so in this case damage is reduced

take 2 points of damage.

Sera: Whew, that could have been a lot worse.

Narrator: Ok, now the Plant Beast has finished its turn, it's Kirin's turn.

Next, it's Kirin's turn, after which is followed by another adversary action.
This will go back and forth between the adversaries and drifters until one
side has been completly removed from the combat board.

135

Exploration
Phase



Led by the Dungeonmaster (narrator), in the Exploration Phase your drifter
explores facilities such as ruined buildings or underground laboratories.
We call each kind of exploration of a facility or similar place like this a
delve. To more easily create these facilities and ruins, the Exploration
Phase uses the Delve Deck to act as a resource to generate your delve.

THE DELVE

The delve starts when the drifters begin to explore ruins, broken facilities,
underground structures, or other kinds of dungeon-crawling locations. For
the most part you’ll be using unstructured roleplaying, in which players
can freely roleplay their actions and make rolls as appropriate to the events
at hand.

While the Exploration Phase is mostly free-form, during exploration of
a delve you might also invoke other phases such as the Downtime Phase
and Combat Phase. When you exit these phases, you continue the delve
until the players finish or leave the delve.

The Delve Deck can be used to create a delve during play at the table,
or it could be used ahead of time to design a delve.

138

THE DELVE DECK

The Delve Deck is a set of hexagonal cards that serves as a method to
generate the facility being explored. Each card in the deck provides players
with the features of each area that the players have just entered into. The
size of each area can vary widely: from a small room, a zone, or even an
entire f loor of the delve—whatever fits the story or idea for the facility
the best. For each delve:

• All delves start with the entrance card and expand from that point,
attaching further cards face-down next to the delve entrance.

• When the group wants to enter a new area of the delve, flip over a
card, and use the card’s theme to inform what happens next.

• As the drifters explore further into the delve, continue to place
cards until either the deck is finished, the players accomplish their
objective, or the players decide to leave the delve.

CARD FEATURES

Each delve card—also referred to as a tile—will have some of the following
features:

• Theme: Inspiration for what is in the area of the delve. Some cards
are more specific, while others are more general, allowing the group
to adapt to the context of the story or area.

• Doors: Alongside the edge of some cards are paths or doors. As you
construct the delve, try to connect doors and paths with each other
when placing the cards.

• Locks and Keys: Some cards may show an icon for a lock or a key.
Where there is a lock, the drifters will need to obtain the key to
that door before they can travel into the locked area. This can be an
actual physical key or a keycard or it could be anything else such as
switches, control consoles, or any other MacGuffin that the drifters
need to collect or use to move into the locked area.

139

CONSTRUCTING
THE DELVE

Use the following guidelines to play out a delve:
1. The narrator places down the start card, then draws and places
cards face-down to connect doors to the entrance. The narrator can
look at the card before choosing where to place the tile, or they can
randomly place the tile without looking at it.
2. Players choose which tile to explore into. As narrator, you’re free to
check any face-down cards so that you can give hints to what may
lie ahead.
3. Flip over the delve card the drifters move into. Use the new card’s
theme to provide the next experience or challenge in the delve. As
narrator, don’t be afraid to ask the group for ideas regarding the
contents of the delve. This entire process can even be done collabo-
ratively if you like.
4. Once an area has been explored or completed, continue to draw new
cards and place them face-down to indicate new directions that the
party can explore.
5. Repeat this process of exploring areas, and placing down new tiles
until either of the following occurs:
• The Delve Deck runs out of cards.
• The narrator deems the facility has been fully explored.
• The players accomplish any mission or goal they have in the
facility.
• The players decide to leave the delve.

140

WITHOUT A DECK

If you don’t have the Delve Deck itself, a printer-friendly version is avail-
able to print and cut-out on the Metal Weave Games’ website. As an
alternative, use the roll-lists below to help you generate a delve.
If you’re using the delve tables here, you may want to limit how many of
each “card” is in the delve. Keep track of when each card is rolled, and if
you reach the limit you’ve set for the delve, and that number is rolled again,
instead use the roll values of the neighboring card categories (or another
card type you want to increase the probability of getting).

Base Deck Extended List
Card
Roll Roll Card
1–2 Boss + Mini-boss
3–6 1–4 Boss + Mini-boss
7–12 Delve Feature
13–16 5–8 Character Encounter
17–19 Challenge Room
20 9–12 Challenge Room
Unsettling Area 13–15 Lore Room
16–17 Secret Passage
Roll on Extended List 18–19 Teleporter
Safe Room Discovery
20

141

DELVE CARDS

Card Description
Boss + Miniboss A challenging encounter.
Challenge Room
Character Encounter A danger, challenge, or obstacle to overcome.
Delve Feature Someone, or something else, is in the delve
with you.
Discovery A particular feature of interest to the delve.
Lore Room Something significant about the facility place or
Safe Room area that cannot be moved or brought back by the
Secret Passage drifters.
Some history or lore left behind about the facility
or elsewhere.
A space where you can take a moment to rest.
A pathway that leads to somewhere hidden or
unexpected.

Teleporter A device that takes you to a new location.
Unsettling Area A place where nothing feels quite right, often as
a result of some remnant of the past or from a
recent event occurring in the area.

142

CARDS DESCRIPTIONS

BOSS + MINI-BOSS

The boss and mini-boss cards feature a challenging adversary for the
drifters to overcome. How this adversary is presented is up to the group.
Their appearance might be a complete surprise to the drifters, or there
may be some prior foreshadowing to the bosses’ reveal. While the main
route to victory against the boss or mini-boss might be through combat,
that doesn’t have to be the case. For example, the drifters might be able
to convince the hanged man not to reactivate the war machine that would
wreak havoc on the nearby sanctuary.

CHALLENGE ROOM

A challenge room could represent many things: a puzzle, trap, or a skill
challenge. The nature of the challenge and what sort of developments
might come from it is up to the narrator (or group) to decide on.

You can use the disciplines and skills list (see page 174) to help frame
what the challenge is and how to make it fit within the particular delve the
drifters are involved with. If the narrator is unsure what kind of challenge
to face the drifters with, roll on the following list:

1d20 Challenge Theme
1–3 Combat
4–6 Social
7–11 Survival
12–16 Exploration
17–20 Manipulate

143

CHARACTER ENCOUNTER

You’re not in this place alone —perhaps there’s another drifter in the
facility with you, or a survivor from some nearby disaster. The narrator
should consider who or what this character is and what their intentions
are: Are they friend or foe? What are they trying to accomplish in the
delve location?

DELVE FEATURE

This area of the delve has a particular feature of interest. Perhaps the room
is a special kind of laboratory, or experiment chamber, or it has a giant
forge where automatons were once created. This can lead to questions
about what the purpose of the facility was, or provide opportunity for the
drifters to poke around—this might require skill checks for the drifters
to learn about the facility or require them interacting with different areas
of the facility.

DISCOVERY

The drifters stumble upon an unexpected discovery in the delve, perhaps
a beautiful vista or amazing new technology. Whatever the discovery is, it
cannot be moved from the delve, though it can impart some benefit to the
party. The benefit from the discovery could include a random boon, an
answer to an important question, a new Talent, the opportunity to remove
Corruption (this opportunity should be rare), or something else that adds
to the drifters’ story or gives them some understanding about the world.

144

LORE ROOM

Something valuable has been left behind in this room that can provide
information about the facility—some history or lore— or about some-
thing else in the world. With a little work, inquisitive drifters can unearth
a fragment of the past. For some ideas about the lore and what form it
might take, roll on the following list:

1d20 Lore Type
1-4
A last message from a person
5 - 8 (audio, video, or holographic)
A recorded history of a place
9 - 12 (of the current facility, or elsewhere)
A retelling of an important event
13 - 16 (at the current location, or near it)
The recording of a breakthrough
17 - 20 (technological, historical, or cultural)
Evidence of a betrayal that led to a great disaster

SAFE ROOM

This area of the delve is a quiet, serene place where the drifters can take a
moment of respite. Perhaps there’s a relaxing scent in the air or the area is
warm with the reassuring hum of machines. Or, perhaps a reassuring light
that shines through on a quiet grassy patch. If the group wishes, they can
enter the Downtime Phase with 1 Downtime slot.

SECRET
ROOM/PASSAGE

You discover a secret area of the delve. With keen eyes, or the right key for
the job, you are able to gain access to this hidden area. Perhaps the drifters
find a passage connecting to an unexpected area of the facility or they find
a room with someone’s carefully concealed stash of technology.

145

TELEPORTER

There is a teleporter device (or other transportation device) in this area.
With the right tweaks and fixes, it can be up and running in no time. The
question is, where does it go?

If the drifters use the teleporter, find the other teleporter card from
the Delve Deck and place it down: it could connect to an existing room in
the delve, to another area of the facility that’s otherwise inaccessible, or it
connects to a different facility altogether. Perhaps the teleporter destina-
tion is elsewhere on the continent, or it’s not even on the same planet. The
device is likely unstable and might require resources for each activation.

UNSETTLING AREA

There is something about this area of the delve that doesn’t feel right.
Perhaps there’s a disconcerting sight of seeing people that look like the
drifters suspended in bubbling vats, or perhaps it’s the site of a bloody last
stand that unnerves you. The narrator could use the presence of the unset-
tling area to foreshadow what the drifters might face later in the delve, or
hint at some secret to be revealed.

146

147

SAMPLE DELVE

In this secion, you'll read an exerpt the roleplaying prompts for the narrator
that were used for each of the delve cards as the party explored.

SETUP
• The narrator places down the entrance card and connects two delve
cards to the entrance.
• As play goes on either the players or narrator will decide which card
to flip over and explore attaching new delve cards to the

DELVE MAP

Explored Delve Entrance Unsettling
Areas Feature Area
Safe
Unexplored Challenge Room
Areas Room

(Survival)

Challenge Mini
Room Boss

(Manipulate)

Lore Challenge
Room Room

(Combat)

Discovery

Entrance

Narrator: Following the rough map given to you by the injured hunter,
you find yourself outside the ruins. Before you, an impressionistic building
looms over you. Wholly made of concrete, now overgrown, with no hint at
windows or service openings clear to the eye.

Narrator: After investigating the area, you find two places, one appears to
bneenatswoear kyospuortwoenatphoenws,aallntdhatht eyoouthceorusldeebmlassttothbreoaugbhlausstindgooeirththear tc'somhaprod-
shut. What do you do?

TOnhecedirnifstiedres, mthaekfeirtshtecironenffeocrttisntgoclaorcdasteaorre cprleaacteeda/nf liepnpterdan. ce to the facility.

148

Delve Feature

Narrator: As you step inside, you recognize this space to have previously
been a high-tech research center. However, unlike other facilities you've
Ivnissitteeadd, ,yolaurgdeong'ltassesevaantsytlhininegthreeswemalbllsinagndthceoHnnyepcetr tLoidgheet pineropthaerrtspolaf ctehse.
facility. Although most vats are broken, there is one vat that contains a
floating orb of some liquid substance. As one of the drifter's scouts up ahead,
they come back to report an entire floor is flooded with a similar substance.
Drifters will use a mix of roleplay and traversal skills to navigate this area
of the delve.

Challenge Room (Manipulate)

Narrator: You come to what appears to be a control panel that is intact.
This appears to be a control room that leads further into the facility, as well
as controls cells and storage.
Drifters spend some time to make the control panel operational as well as
take some time to find the keycard to gain access.
Narrator: The control panel whirrs to life as linguistic symbols crawl over
the projection. There is little you can make of it, but after some experimen-
tation you find that certain combinations begin to move the larger structure.
With the control panel, the drifters can make new delve paths avaliable,
in addition with some proper configurations they might have control over
which delve cards are revealed. Or can even provide an advantage in the
next delve tile.

Mini-Boss

Narrator: You unlock a few blast-doors to get inside, and as you stand on
one of the platforms, lines on the floor light up, stretching around the room
and illuminating the whole space. An automated voice speaks, "Combat
trial for Theta-B...deploying combat suits."
Narrator: With a rumble, a space on the floor opens up and reveals three
mecha-looking machines. Looking like a Zaku from Gundamtm but prolly
around 9-12 feet high. After fully emerging, their eye flares up and glow red.
Drifters enter the combat phase in a fight against the three adversaries
including one mini-boss.

After the encounter the drifters can continue on exploring the rest of
the delve.

149

Travel
Phase