voidheart-symphony

When the group wants to drive home a particularly painful
moment, you can use these moves:

WeIgHt oF tHe WoRlD

When you just aren't good enough, when you're too weak or the
world is too strong, check against 1+Conditions Marked.

On a strong hit, you get a good look at the situation, and get
fleeting Advantage making things right.
On a weak hit, mark a condition and pick one:
▶ Take on extra responsibilities. Write down a new crisis.
▶ Blame the others for your pain. Inflict a condition on

another rebel.
▶ Let down the ones who matter to you. Fade one of your

Covenants.
On a miss, mark a condition and pick one:
▶ Throw in the towel. Waste your next Everyday action just

sitting in this pain.
▶ This is just how things are now. Tick a gauge.
▶ Pick two options from a weak hit (you can double up).

Clara tried to get rid of stress by Letting Her Hair Down, but rolled a
miss. The Architect describes her waking up the next morning, hungover
and extremely late for work, and triggers Weight of the World. She’s
cowed and overwhelmed, so she’s checking against 3. She roll a 1 and a 4,
getting a weak hit. Her player decides that she takes on extra
responsibilities to try and keep her job, writing down a new crisis and
marking scared.
Carlos is out leafletting when another volunteer breaks the bad news:
their candidate has dropped out, after threats to her family. Carlos’ player
decides this might really get to him, and rolls Weight of the World. With
three conditions marked, this likely to go bad, and indeed he rolls a 1 and
a 3 – a miss. He marks another condition – Angry – and decides this event
leads Carlos to completely give up party politics and election-winning. As
he burns old bridges in his newfound anarchist fervour, he marks Infamy.

PuSh ThRoUgH PaIn

When you take a blow that strains your limits, roll +Conditions
Marked.

On a 6-, you scrape by. You're knocked back, down, or winded.
On a 7-9, the pain hits home. Mark a condition, and get
fleeting Advantage acting on it. Angry boosts your next attack,
Scared helps you dodge, etc
On a 10+, it's crushing. Pick one:
▶ Mark two conditions, get fleeting Advantage acting on each.
▶ Collapse unconscious until the current danger has passed,

overlooked by any enemies or dangers here.
▶ Shift a rank of World to Void, and unleash this new

strength in a brutal and indiscriminate way.

Ryan failed to Dodge the giant, iron foot of the enforcer he was fighting,
and as it stamps down on his leg the Architect asks him to Push Through
Pain. Currently he’s condition-free, so rolls +0 and gets a 6! The enforcer’s
foot knocks him away, rather than doing any lasting damage.
This Vassal’s Avatar is the Burning Man, a barbed-wire mannequin
wreathed in crimson flames. This presents Clara with a challenge, as her
weapon – her fists – have the close flaw. She asks the Architect if she can
still Strike the Avatar, and the Avatar says that she can but she’ll have to
Push Through Pain as she closes the distance. She nods, as the current
Opening is about to disappear, and charges in. With angry and callous
she’s rolling +2, and gets a 10. It’s crushing, and the pain is far greater
than she thought – but that’s not going to stop her. She moves a rank from
World to Void, and adds the Lingering tag to her fists as they burn with
those crimson flames. But as she uses those fists to tear through the Avatar,
her flame is indiscriminate, sending scorching blasts out to singe her allies.

If marking a condition with Push Through Pain would take you
out, you get one final act before you leave the scene. Make it count.



DeLvInG InTo tHe CaStLe

When your rebels cross the threshold into the castle’s realm, they’ll
enter a shard – a fragment of the castle tied to this Vassal, the
channel through which its power flows into them and the city’s
riches flow into the Void. These moves guide your journey through
this strange realm.
You Dive Into Darkness to enter in the shard, and see what state the
rebels are in when they arrive. As you Travel the Labyrinth you'll
arrive at new locations, facing down their challenges to learn
hidden truths about the Vassal. When you Find Shelter, you rest and
work out where to go next. And when you’re finally ready to strike,
you make your way to the shard’s heart and use Emperor's New
Clothes to make the Vassal’s Avatar mortal and steal their power.

DiVe InTo DaRkNeSs

When you lead the crew across the border between reality and
the castle, check against Blood.

On a hit, you appear in the shard in a safe place. Each rebel
takes on their castle form (see p. 83), with their signature
weapon and gear.
If they want something different, each rebel can give up one gear
item to empower a mundane item they brought with them.
Treat it as a weapon with a perk and flaw, or a utility item
that can be expended to do one appropriate thing.
See p. 68 for details on weapons.
On a strong hit, you arrive at a good vantage point, giving
fleeting Advantage on Travel the Labyrinth.
On a miss, you’re in a desperate position as you arrive, under
attack from castle denizens or environmental hazards even
as you’re still shifting into your castle form.

Wraiths
As they dive in, the leader may call out to rebels unable to join the
delve or otherwise unwilling to spend a Shadow Action. If their
Crew Covenant is intense, they may answer and manifest as a
wraith – the version of the rebel that exists in the crew’s minds.
When a rebel’s wraith is summoned, each member of the crew
physically present says one way the rebel’s Crew Covenant has
helped them. The wraith’s player describes how their castle form
shifts to embody those traits.
As an avatar of a bond, the wraith isn’t fully there:
• They don’t mark World or Void during the delve.
• They lose access to Shadow moves or Major Covenant moves,

only retaining their Crew Covenant.
• If their Crew Covenant ever fades, the wraith disappears.
The next time that rebel sleeps, they'll dream of the things their
avatar experienced and mark the conditions it suffered,
remembering as much or as little of the delve as their player desires.

Austin, Carlos and Clara are diving into the castle, with Clara leading
the way. Passing across the threshold, she grits her teeth and checks
against Blood, getting a weak hit. The Architect describes them emerging
in an abandoned hospital entrance foyer, with buzzing striplights and
rust-stained walls. Carlos grimaces as he takes in the surroundings and
glances over to Austin, but the artist is too busy checking to see if his
wheelchair made the journey ok to notice Carlos’ concern.
The three take on their castle forms – Austin donning a mask of
quicksilver and hefting a sturdy crossbow, Clara growing bull’s horns and
a crimson cape as she puts on knuckle-dusters, and doves settling on
Carlos’s flower-wreathed shoulders as his hands begin to glow with a soft,
holy light. As a Harlequin, Austin could have brought in a lucky charm as
part of his castle gear, but he decides to swap that out for a map of the
Vassal’s hospital that he picked up during the visit that spurred this
investigation. The group discusses what this could do, and decides that
Austin can expend it to Find Shelter without having to roll.

TrAvEl tHe LaByRiNtH

When you lead the group through the labyrinthine corridors of
the castle, roll with...
• +1 if you mark Void right now, else roll -1;
• +1 if you’ve defeated an Enforcer, else roll -1;
• +1 if you’ve spent time studying the Vassal, else roll -1.
If you’re exploring…

You always reach a place that reveals a hidden truth about
the Vassal. On a 10+, the Architect picks 1; on a 7-9, they pick 2;
on a 6- they pick as many as they like:
▶ Its inhabits are hostile to you.
▶ It’s filled with traps and hazards.
▶ Dangerous forces are on their way.
▶ You’re trapped in here until you find the way out.
▶ It also reveals something painful about you. Say what.
If you’re going somewhere specific…
The Shard’s heart, the exit, an Enforcer’s lair, a landmark, etc.

On a hit, you get there.
On a 10+, you arrive in a controlled position. You can plan,
talk to each other, and scope the area out before entering.
On a miss, the Architect picks one:
▶ You’re ambushed as you enter.
▶ You get separated on the way there.
▶ An obstacle blocks you from reaching your destination.

Priya is leading the group’s exploration through a glass-and-steel skyscraper.
She’s studied the Vassal in the city, and marks Void now, but the group hasn’t
defeated any Enforcers so she’s rolling +1 and gets an 8. In this room, all glass
is shattered and frozen flames flicker in window frames. A screen shows a
blinking stock trade order dated three years back, a trade made in haste and
leading to ruin. As the group enters, the Architect describes the flames
springing to life and trapping the group in: this area is filled with traps and
hazards, and they’re trapped there until they can find the way out.

FiNd ShElTeR

When you search for a safe space to hide and recover, roll +Wands.
On a hit, each rebel picks 1:
▶ Comfort another rebel. Heal one of their conditions.
▶ Encourage another rebel. Intensify their Crew Covenant.
▶ Use your playbook’s Shelter move.
On a 7-9, your foes regroup too; the next Travel the Labyrinth
has Disadvantage.
On a miss, the shelter you find is fleeting or deceptive: you’re
plunged into danger before you can rest.

Danielle’s group is bleeding and tired from a showdown with an Enforcer,
so she’s looking for a place to rest. Rolling +Wands with Cameron’s help,
she gets a 2, 3 and 6, working out to a 10 with her Wands of +1. The group
finds a well-stocked pantry in this sprawling stately home, barricade the
door, and finally get some rest.
Cameron decides xie’ll comfort Rebecca, healing her cowed condition;
Danielle decides to encourage Rebecca, allowing her girlfriend to use her
Magician arcanum again. Rebecca uses her Heretic Shelter move, asking
the Architect: What danger should we be most on the lookout for?
The Architect thinks, and then responds that they’re still being hunted by
the Avatar’s butler (another Enforcer), and they should make sure that no
servants escape future encounters to raise the alarm and summon the
butler. The group decides to spend a bit of time roleplaying these three
rebels finding a moment of solace, playing out those encouraging and
comforting words and Rebecca sharing her insights, and then they leave
to continue their delve.

EmPeRoR's NeW ClOtHeS

When you disrupt the link to the castle in the heart of a shard, roll one
dice for each that is true and take the highest two:

You've confronted the Vassal in person in the city.
You've uncovered the full details of what they're planning.
You've met people the Vassal holds dear.
You've defeated at least one of their Enforcers.
Your mundane self has suffered at their orders (or hands).
There’s organised resistance to the Vassal among the city’s people.

On a hit, you break the connection! They're vulnerable, but
won’t go down without a fight.
On a 10+, pick one more:
▶ Break their confidence. Start combat with an Opening.
▶ Get under their skin. Give a rebel’s weapon the ability to

cut through the Avatar’s sorceries, illusions and blights.
▶ Subvert their power. If you defeat them now, each rebel

can pick an extra boon in Peace and Quiet.
On a 6-, the link’s shaken and the Avatar’s vulnerable for the
duration of this fight, but the Architect picks one:
▶ Call for backup. The Avatar summons a still-extant

Enforcer to fight alongside them.
▶ I SEE YOU. The Vassal realises who you are in the city, and

their Pressure ranks up.
▶ Vessel of a greater power. Defeating this Avatar will rank

down Pressure instead of triggering Rivers in the Desert:
this Vassal falls, but their puppetmaster – a higher-Tier
Vassal – continues to act.

This move is crucial to your rebels’ battle in the castle. The castle
pushes Vassals into a mindset of tyrant-and-serf (see p. 226), and
it’s only by showing that they’re vulnerable and accountable –
and that the people they hurt will not be ignored – that your
rebels can shake their confidence and make them vulnerable.

Angus is feeling cocky after embarrassing the Vassal in the city, and leads
his group in a strike at the shard’s heart. He arrives at the mainspring of
the Vassal’s clockwork castle, and begins listing her mistakes and the
suffering she’s caused one after another in an effort to shatter her illusion
of perfect control. He picks up one die for having confronted the Vassal in
person, and another for having defeated one of their Enforcers. Rolling
them he gets… a miss with a 1 and a 3. Wincing, he marks world and
looks over to the Architect to see what goes wrong. The Architect thinks,
and decides that Angus’ strident confrontation allows the Vassal to realise
exactly who he is and Pressure ranks up. The group grits their teeth and
prepares to take this Avatar down.
Priya, Millie, Peter and Miguel are in the final act of a long, drawn-out
investigation. They confronted the Vassal, their state’s governor, in
person, and Peter was hospitalised in the process; they learned his plan,
and rallied protestors to demonstrate against it; they’ve defeated his
Enforcers, one in his shard and one in the city when it breached out of the
shard to attack Priya in her home. Now, at the apex of the shard’s grand
ziggurat, they denounce his actions and demand he be held to account.
They put together a pool of 5 dice, and roll 2, 1, 3, 6, 5. Picking the two
highest, that’s an 11! They decide to break his confidence, the Avatar
rendered speechless by the onslaught and giving them an Opening to
strike directly at them.

ExPlOrAtIoN MoVeS

When you're dealing with the dangers of the castle, you need to call
on particular skills to survive. These moves are here to help you
navigate that environment and overcome the obstacles in your path.

FlOw LiKe WaTeR

When you perform a feat of daring athletics, roll +Wands.
On a 7-9, pick one; on a 10+, pick two:
▶ You’re where you need to be.
▶ Danger doesn’t follow you.
▶ Another rebel can take the trip with you.

The crew are fighting a scrap-metal crow that swoops down to attack and
then back up out of range. Rowan decides to climb one of the pylons in the
arena to get a chance to hit back, and rolls +Wands to get an 8. They
decide that they’re where they need to be: on the top of a pylon, with the
crow diving directly at them, with no rebels with them for backup...

PoWeR ThRoUgH

When you hurl your strength at the castle's obstacles, roll +Swords.
On a hit, pick one:
▶ You destroy an obstruction or piece of scenery.
▶ You knock back and scatter a group of minions.
▶ You give another rebel a clear path out of danger.
On a 7-9, the Architect gives your action one of these costs:
you’re put in a bad spot, take a condition, or get separated
from the others.

The room Austin, Carlos, and Clara picked to shelter in was a trap, and is
now filling with water. Austin shoots holes in the door with his crossbow
and then Clara shoulder-charges it, hoping to break it down. Rolling
+Swords with Austin’s help, she gets a 14! She destroys an obstruction (the
door), but it’ll take work getting out – Austin starts directing Carlos on
how to move the door fragments so that he can roll his wheelchair out
before the room floods.

SeE ClEaR

When you try to read a dangerous situation, roll +Coins.
On a hit, you can ask the Architect questions. On a 7–9 ask 1;
on a 10+ ask 3; on a miss, ask 1 but prepare for the worst:
▶ Which exit takes me to my goal?
▶ What here is valuable?
▶ What can the enemies here do?
▶ What should I be on the lookout for?
Get fleeting Advantage when you act on each answer.

Danielle has lead her group into a grand assembly line in the shard, and
she’s surveying the room. A roll +Coins get a 4: she can ask one, but it’ll be
dire. She picks ‘what should I be on the lookout for’ and the Architect reveals
that the robot arms on the line will not only attack them but repair each
other. Danielle tells the group the bad news and they prepare for a fight...

ReAcH OuT

When you form a bond with a minion of the Vassal, roll +Cups.
On a hit, you’ve formed a bond – the Architect will tell you
what the symbology of the minion means to the Vassal, and
the minion will help you so long as they can safely do so.
On a 7-9, pick a cost:
▶ Your mind touches the Vassal’s. Tick Heat.
▶ The shard pushes back. Minions or Enforcers are coming.
▶ The bond feeds on you. Mark a condition.

When you call on the minion for aid, mark Void and describe how
they reshape the shard’s landscape or occupy a threat’s attention.
The crew’s found a gang of pit slaves mining away under a cruel overseer,
and promptly dispatched the whip-wielding gangmaster. Miguel
addresses the cowering slaves, asking for their help in overthrowing the
whole cruel order here. He gets a 7, and the miners – a representation of
the Vassal’s own employees – drop tools as he wins their loyalty. For a cost,
the Architect decides the shard pushes back, and an Enforcer is coming.

BlOoDsTaInEd CoMbAt

As you travel the castle, you'll face opposition. Hordes of minions,
deadly traps, powerful enforcers, and the Vassal themselves. Each
foe is pretty simple, only needing a clear concept of what they are
and one or more Qualities. Qualities are packages of Architect
reactions tied to a particular strength of the adversary, and as the
fight progresses rebels will strike away these strengths one by one.
When all qualities are destroyed, the adversary is defeated.

Minions

As you explore the castle you’ll encounter the rank and file of the
Vassal's minions: the strange inhabitants of the Vassal’s shard, the
actors and extras that play out their psychodramas. They need very
few details – just a description and a single Quality for the group.

Example Minion: Office Drones
Bug-headed figures in suits and button-down shirts, wings
pushing through the fabric on their backs.

• Vomit corrosive printer ink on a rebel.
• Quickly fly across the room.
• Get distracted by a pile of tasty paperwork.

Traps

This is a broad heading for every hostile feature of the shard’s
architecture: spikes extending from walls, boiling vats of poison,
labyrinthine mazes of teleporter traps, and so on. To put together
a trap, first decide how complex the encounter is going to be.

If the players just need to get through the trapped area, decide for
yourself what would trigger the trap and ask them what they do,
triggering exploration moves according to the fiction.

If, on the other hand, the players need to defuse or solve the trap
to get through, or it's an additional hazard in an arena, give it a
Quality. When the quality is destroyed, the trap is disarmed.

The Vassal and Their Enforcers

There are, of course, more potent foes than minions. The Vassal
has Enforcers: important fragments of their personality,
obsessions or fears that walk the castle's halls as a kind of immune
system. All Enforcers have three Qualities.
And at the centre of the shard, ensconced in their place of power,
is the Vassal's Avatar. They’re glorious and invulnerable – until
you use Emperor's New Clothes to shake the Vassal’s confidence and
disrupt the tie between their psyche and the castle. The Avatar has
three Qualities, plus one more granted by each surviving Enforcer.
The Avatar will also have three, and on top of those have one
Quality granted to them by each surviving Enforcer.
Enforcer and Avatar qualities work similarly to those of Minions
and Traps, with one crucial difference: each quality also has a
Break Action which triggers when it's destroyed. This is here to
ensure that significant foes keep the players on their toes even as
their strengths are stripped away! Here are some ideas:
• Retreat to a vantage point.
• Call in a mob of minions.
• Create barriers or obstacles.
• Lash out at the closest threat.
• Create a hazard in the battlefield.
• Split up the rebels.
• Set great danger in motion.
There are also great rewards when they’re defeated. Each Enforcer
anchors the Vassal’s soul to the castle, and defeating them helps
you navigate the castle, makes the Avatar vulnerable to your
attacks, and robs the Avatar of the Enforcer’s strengths.
And when the Avatar’s killed? The investigation’s over and the
rebels seize the power in this shard and use it for their own ends –
see Rivers in the Desert, p. 70.
For example Vassals and Avatars, see pages 232-255.
For example Enforcers, see pages 257-277.

CoNfRoNtAtIoN MoVeS

In major fights, your rebels must find Openings to attack as they
weather the foe's assault. Each Opening is tied to a particular
truth in the fiction: be mindful of your fictional positioning as you
work to exploit them. Each successful Strike against the foe strips
away one of their Qualities, bringing you closer to victory even as
the foe grows more frenzied and deadly.
Be careful: your foes can also find Openings on you. These
represent the foe placing your rebel in a tight spot, devoting all
their attention to you, or preparing a crushing attack. The Architect
can use the Opening as a Reaction to unleash an undodgeable,
unblockable attack that forces the target to Push Through Pain.
The rebel in question can’t do anything to avoid this attack or shake
the Opening, but their allies can save them with Stand With Me.

StRiKe

When you exploit an Opening with...
…stealth and guile, roll +Wands.
…precise insight, roll +Coins.
…direct force, roll +Swords.
…arguments and emotional appeals, roll +Cups.
On any hit, you remove the Opening and break one of the
foe’s qualities.
If you break its final quality, it’s defeated and no longer a threat.
Otherwise, the Architect will trigger that quality’s Break
Move, and on a 7-9 also pick 1:
▶ They lash out, and you mark a condition.
▶ They single you out, and get an Opening on you.
▶ They reshape the arena, introducing a new threat.

Angus has an Opening to smash the armour of the rusted iron titan the
crew’s fighting, after Ryan spotted a weak point in an armour plate.
Swinging his hammer at the weak point, he rolls +Swords and gets a 12!
The plate smashes under his hammer, and the Architect triggers its Break
Move: the titan’s magma-hot blood spills out as Angus leaps back. If
Angus had rolled a 7-9 the Architect would have been able to add in an
extra follow-up move from the titan – stomping on Angus, maybe, or
grabbing him up in an iron fist – but as it is the crew has a few moments
to regroup and deal with the pools of burning blood.

LiNe It Up

When you watch or test an enemy to find a weak spot, roll +Coins.
On a hit, you find an Opening. Say where it’s coming from –
the environment, a chink in their armour, a flaw in their
fighting style, something else.
On a 7-9, pick 2; on a 10+, pick 1:
▶ The foe sends an attack your way.
▶ The Opening only lasts a few moments.
▶ The foe sees you; get fleeting Disadvantage on Strike.

As Rebecca fights tooth and nail with mutated, cancerous chimera,
Cameron hangs back in the shadows to try and spot any weaknesses. Xie
rolls a 6, plus xir Coins of +2 to get a hit. Xie declares Cameron notices
that when the chimera’s completely concentrating in fighting one foe, its
back is completely unguarded. But then xie has to pick the downsides,
and selects that the Opening only lasts a few moments and the foe sees xir.
The chimera will leave this frenzy soon, and one of its heads is already
looking at Cameron – it’ll be up to Danielle to try and Strike.

PrEsSuRe

When you apply pressure to a foe and force their attention onto
you, roll +Swords. No matter what, they’ll retaliate – they get an
Opening on you.

On a 7-9 pick 1; on a 10+ pick 2:
▶ They’re thrown off-balance, and you get an Opening on them.
▶ You pin them in place, preventing them from moving.
▶ You give an ally a window to act freely.

As a ball of magma hurtles towards the group, Ryan steps forward and
channels the ice inside him into a frozen lance to piece the molten rock and
stab at the Avatar. Rolling +Swords, he gets a 10 – the lance strikes true
and knocks the foe off-balance, and Ryan decides it also impales them and
stops them moving. But the Avatar also gets an Opening on Ryan – the
Architect decides that drawing on the ice within has left him frozen and
fragile, ready to shatter at a single touch. Unless one of his allies can help
him shift it, pain is coming.

DoDgE

When you try to avoid incoming danger, roll +Wands.
On a hit, you successfully dodge the attack.
On a 7-9, pick 2; on a 10+, pick 1:
▶ You’re separated from your allies.
▶ You stumble, gaining fleeting Disadvantage.
▶ You leave something valuable behind.

Danielle thought she was safe on the other side of the arena from the chimera,
but it flexes its occult musculature to fling itself at her. She tries to duck behind
a pillar, and though she has Disadvantage from Angry the +Wands roll still
gets an 8. The chimera smashes against the wall next to her, and she decides
the impact disorients her and sends her flying away from the rest of the crew.
As a spectre screams out a literally blood-chilling song, Priya pulls out a
music box of particular significance to the Vassal and begins to play it to
drown out the song. Rolling +Wands she gets an 11 – she’s protected from
the spectre’s song, but has to concentrate on winding the box and gets
fleeting Disadvantage.

StAnD WiTh Me

When you reach out to bolster an ally, roll +Cups.
On a hit, you save them from a particular ongoing danger,
whether that’s an Opening your foes have on them or some
other lingering issue.
On a 10+, they may heal a condition or gain fleeting Advantage.

A patchwork doll has pinned Clara’s shadow to the floor, preventing her
from moving. Austin tries to help, and gets a 10 on the Cups roll. He spots
the crucial needle and tells Clara how to free herself; she does so, and decides
that having friends to help like this means she heals Overwhelmed.

FlEe

When you use up an Opening to escape, all rebels can come with you.
If you were fighting the Avatar, tick the Vassal’s clock.

Optional Rule: The Castle’s Treasures

If you want to spend more time in the alien halls of the castle and
show its effect on your mundane life, you can use these rules to
add in a bit more dungeon-raiding flavour.
As you travel the castle, you can encounter treasures. These
objects represent the things, creatures, and people the Vassal
particularly values in the city. In the psychogeography of the
Vassal’s shard, that importance has transfigured these objects
and given them supernatural power. Here’s how they work:

Treasures are obvious. When you enter a room that holds one,
the Architect will pick it out in their description of the room and
say what shape it has taken.
Treasures are protected. Each treasure will have some kind of
trial stopping thieves from just grabbing it. It might be…
• Hard to reach: It’s locked in a vault, high in the air, on the other

side of a chasm, etc.
• A trigger for traps: Picking it up drops a boulder, floods the

room with acid, transports you to a different plane, summons
minions to punish you, etc.
• Uncooperative: It’ll scuttle away from you, it’s lodged in a
minion’s chest, it fires lasers at anyone who approaches, etc.
Treasures prevent clean getaways. When you leave the castle,
roll one die for each Treasure you remove and take the highest
two. On a 7-9, some part of the castle comes with you, with one
Breach Reaction (see p. 256). On a 10+, the Architect gains one
Breach Reaction per stolen Treasure.
Treasures are useful. In the city, you can destroy a treasure to do
one of two things:
• Fungible Asset: Avoid paying a cost in Wolf at the Door. Say how
the crisis gets a little weird.
• Stolen Power: Upgrade your success category (miss to weak
hit, weak hit to strong hit) on a move directly dealing with the
Vassal, their organisation, or those under their control.

WeApOnS

Your armaments in Voidheart Symphony are simple, defined by
perk tags and flaw tags. Your starting gear has one of each, but
rare weapons can have many perks or no flaws.

Weapon tags govern the situations where your weapon is effective,
and the effects that attacks with it have on your target and you.
By default, a weapon can be used to hit a single target, at a distance
of 2-4 metres, and can inflict enough damage to leave a substantial
mark but not penetrate tough armour; tags change that up.

Perks Cleave It can impact many foes in a single attack.

Defensive You can keep up your guard and protect others while
using it.

Flexible It bypasses defences and can be redirected mid-attack.

Hefty It knocks an enemy down or back.

Lingering It causes ongoing, distracting pain.

Piercing It can punch through armour and hide.

Long-Range It can attack any foe in this scene, no matter how far
away they are.

Shifting It has different shapes. Pick two flaws; only one is
active at a time, and you can switch between them at
will. Any additional perks shift alongside its flaw.

Stun It makes enemies slow and sluggish.

Tether It lets you hold onto or keep up with a foe.

Flaws Ammo or It’s liable to break or become unusable, only rearmed
Fragile when you take Shelter or start a new delve.
Bulky You need solid footing and room around you to use it.
Close You need to be in arm’s reach to use it.
Grazing
The weapon can’t deal significant physical harm, and
Talisman its effects can be shrugged off in time.
It’s formed from an item important to you – if it’s
Painful lost or damaged, you tick a gauge.
It’ll hurt you if things go wrong. Maybe even if they
Reload or go right. Using it always risks marking a condition.
Brace You need to take some action to recover it or make it
Unstable usable again after attacking.
Using it staggers you, making you vulnerable and slow.

ExAmPlE ArMaMeNtS

Knight’s Greatsword A huge blade that can cut through a
Cleave, Bulky whole host of foes – if you have room.
Pirate Cannon Set your feet, light the fuse, point it at
Long-Range, Brace your enemy and... BOOM!
Crystal Rapier A sparkling, brittle blade that can slice
Piercing, Fragile through anything.
Prismatic Raygun Fires a bolt of brilliant colour across
Long-Range, Unstable the battlefield, leaving you dazzled.
Shocking Grasp Your hands crackle with lightning,
Stun, Close stunning those that get close.
Weighted Net Throw it to pull someone down – but
Tether, Reload you’ll need to gather it up afterwards.
Six-Shooters A pair of revolvers that’ll blow away a
Cleave, Ammo horde of goons, until they run dry.
Curse Doll Stab in a nail to strike to their heart,
Piercing, Painful offering your flesh up in return.
Energy Shield Spin up the shield and step forward to
Defensive, Brace block blows and smash faces.
Swarm of Dream Bees They follow you as a buzzing rainbow,
Lingering, Painful stinging your foes (and also you).
Claw Hammer Step under their blows, and swing it
Stun, Close down on a knee or a head – lights out.
Baseball Bat Batter up! With room to swing, you
Hefty, Bulky can send them flying for the fences.
Cutting Words Sticks and stones have nothing on you,
Piercing, Painful but a sharp tongue cuts both ways.
Whip Sword Let it fly to lash distant foes, or retract it
Shifting, Close/Bulky into a sword for close-range work.
Soulbeast Stampede Summon illusory beasts from a precious
Cleave, Talisman keepsake to trample your enemies.
Thorned Sword Ornate barbs break off in the wounds
Lingering, Fragile you leave, requiring regular repairs.

ThE AfTeRmAtH

RiVeRs iN tHe DeSeRt

When you defeat a Vassal’s Avatar, the power they’ve gathered is
yours to control.

As for the Vassal, they’re stripped of their castle-given power. If
they ever re-enter its service, it’ll have to be at a lower rank.

Each rebel picks an option, with effects according to the Vassal’s Tier:

Reformation

The Vassal grows a new-found conscience. They’ll publicly confess to their
crimes – though the castle will avenge them, with or without their consent.

Mark World, and get fleeting Advantage on the Retaliation check as
the castle’s forces focus on the turncoat in their ranks.

Liberation

You push the castle away from your city, bringing a glimpse of equality,
health, and happiness to its residents.

Mark World, and pick one of these options:

Tier 1+ Bless a location – new or already on your map. Its fortunes
will improve, and your hideout grows an entrance here.

Tier 2+ Draw a link between two locations on your map. You can
walk secret streets between them that your enemies
cannot see, with shops, clubs and hostels that would
astound the city's everyday inhabitants.

Tier 3 Anchor yourself in a location. Once and once only as you
explore the Castle, you can forcibly pull everyone around you
back to this place. Castle creatures will be stripped of their
powers and made very mortal, but so will you. If a Vassal's
Avatar is killed in the city, the Vassal dies with them.

Expropriation

You extract material benefits from the castle’s systems.
Mark Void, and get these cumulative benefits:
Tier 1+ Remove a crisis affecting you or another rebel – it’s no

longer an issue.
Tier 2+ Refresh two of your gauges.
Tier 3 You remove a long-running pain from yourself or a

contact. If it’s you or another rebel, they erase a black
mark. If it’s an NPC, say how their needs are resolved and
commit to your covenant with them.

Redefinition

You feed parts of yourself to the hungry dark, becoming something new.
Mark Void, and pick one:
Tier 1+ New Perspective. Change your playbook to one of your

choice, and describe how your outlook shifts. See p. 84 for
details on changing playbooks.
Tier 2+ Transformation. Change your mundane physical form to
something of your choosing. It’s up to you if others will
still recognise you, and you may rewrite, fade or erase
NPC Covenants as much as you wish.
Tier 3 Apotheosis. You’re no longer something humans can fully
comprehend. Say what you become, and how you reshape
your community as you ascend. Your character is no
longer playable, but you can show how they’re fighting the
castle each time you go through Peace and Quiet.

Occupation

You take the Vassal’s place in the castle’s hierarchy.
Mark Void and gain a black mark in Fealty. So long as you have the
black mark, you gain these benefits according to your rank...
Tier 1+ You have a sense of who your ‘superior’ is in the castle’s

hierarchy. At the start of each investigation, the Architect will
give you a vision of what the castle at large is working on
in this city.
Tier 2+ Your position comes with minions. Once per investigation,
mark Void to direct your underlings to cause problems for
your target and remove a tick from their clock.
Tier 3 You may mark Void to send out your Enforcer instead of a
wraith. They get your shadow moves instead of your covenant
moves – alongside a shadow move from any playbook.
Describe their look and signature weapon. Any conditions
they mark are passed on to you when the delve ends.

DaRkNeSs fAlLs

If the rebels abandon an investigation, the Vassal’s plan comes to
pass. They rise in the castle’s hierarchy, and bring in new blood to
replace them, while the Architect picks the impact on the rebels:

▶ They lash out at the rebels. Each rebel changes Role to
something less prestigious, and gains a black mark in
Lack, Infamy or Health.

▶ They spread the castle’s dominion. Mark a location on the
map as ruined, abandoned, or annexed, and say how the
area around it changes to be less friendly, vibrant, diverse,
or communal.

▶ They cover their tracks. They erase all evidence of past
misdeeds, and ensure that their new position will give
them the freedom to commit further crimes.

ReTaLiAtIoN

The castleis a jealous master, and will not tolerate rebels misusing its
power. When you complete a successful investigation, the lead rebel
rolls a check set by the state of the Vassal’s clock: 2 for Passive, 3 for
Alert, 4 for Hunting. The results depend on your target’s tier:

StRoNg HiT Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3
Liberty Hostile Radio Silence
Environment

WeAk HiT Contact Pressured Accursed

MiSs Broken Crackdown Scorched Earth
Windows

Tier 1

Liberty
The castle’s influence will soon return, but for now your people can breathe easily.

A rebel’s contact embarks on an ambitious project – an
opportunity which will be tied into a rebel’s crisis during the next
investigation. If the crisis is quelled at the end of the investigation,
the contact’s living situation will improve in a dramatic and long-
lasting way.

Contact
Someone with power notices the rebels, and seeks an alliance.

They might be an inhuman creature, another enemy of the castle,
or even another Vassal from a competing branch of the castle –
whatever they are, they have power and their own agenda.

Broken Windows
The castle sends a message that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

The Architect picks a contact who comes to harm through some
arbitrary punishment, and ties this to a rebel’s crisis during the
next investigation. While this crisis is imminent, your rebels can’t
meet with them or use their Covenant moves.

Tier 2 Tier 3

Hostile Environment Radio Silence
The castle pulls strings to The rebels keep their heads low and
send cops, bailiffs, immigration wait for all this to pass them by.
enforcement and more to your
neighbourhood, making every Each rebel names a long-term
aspect of life far more difficult. issue they’re unable to deal with
while they keep out of trouble,
During the next investigation, and adds a black mark to a
all crises are dire. relevant gauge.

Pressured Accursed
The castle goes after those Human Vassals have failed the
particularly close to the rebel. castle, and so it despatches one of its
inhuman servants to hurt the rebels.
The subject of an intense
Covenant is seized by the It’s haunting, hunting and
castle’s forces and pressed to hurting you – treat it as an
give up details. The players pick Enforcer that has breached into
how the contact fares: the mundane world.

• They spill details, and each Scorched Earth
rebel marks Heat. The castle knows who you are, and has
sent a trusted Vassal to make you pay.
• The contact is suffering in the
castle’s clutches until you The players pick one:
manage to free them.
• Offer up a rebel as a sacrifice
Crackdown to satisfy the castle’s wrath.
The castle tasks a Vassal with Whether they’re imprisoned,
hunting you, specifically. dead, or lost in the Void,
they’re no longer playable.
Whatever Tier they are, your
next target is already actively • Face down this Vassal as your
causing issues for the rebels, next investigation, with
and Pressure starts at Alert. Pressure starting at Hunting.

PeAcE aNd QuIeT

Once the Investigation’s over, your rebels go back to their normal lives.
As this drama passes, all Major Covenants fade.
If all your crises are quelled, pick a boon:

Reach a new stage in your life. Shift between Delinquent/
Prodigal/Traitor (or playbook equivalent), move the
associated black mark, and describe your new Role.
Show someone they matter. If they’re a Major Covenant, they
start the next investigation at intense. If they’re a Minor
Covenant, say how you meet their need and set them to Major.
Build a movement. Draw a link between any two contacts on
the map, and say how they team up to aid your fight.
Reassess your approach to power. Shift a rank between Void
and World.
Broaden your scope. Add a new location to the map and link it
to an existing character, or add a new character and link them
to an existing location.
Bring something new to the crew. Change the Arcanum of
your Crew Covenant.
If you instead have any crises still imminent, say how they cause
long-term issues and tick a gauge. If they’re dire, gain a black mark
instead of ticking the gauge.
Erase all crises from your sheet. Go round the table, giving the
table a glimpse of your character’s day-to-day life. If you like,
highlight one of these in your scene:
A glimpse of life without the castle. A sign of change here, for better or worse.
A connection to rebels in other cities. A looming tragedy, in this city or another.
A moment of genuine peace and joy. A reunion with a long-lost friend.

ChApTeR 3

ThE ReBeLs



PlAyBoOk AnAtOmY

Here’s what goes into a playbook in Voidheart Symphony:

Core Details

These are the foundational parts of your character:

Particulars

What do you look like? When others first glance at you, what's their
impression? In your intro scene, what would the camera show?
This isn’t intended to be comprehensive. There are factors that
may be core to your identity, but can't be given justice in a fixed list
like this. This game is – in places – a story of marginalisation, and
the way your character's marginalisation has robbed them of the
luxury of ignoring the castle. See p. 25 for questions to consider if
you’re looking to make informed choices about your character’s
marginalisation or lack thereof.
If you wish to give these vectors of marginalisation a presence in
the mechanics – and it's fine not to – you can put a Black Mark
in a relevant gauge:
• Blood for something that has an ongoing impact on your

physical fortitude or mental health.
• Infamy for something that makes people discount you as worth

their time, or be prejudiced and bigoted towards you.
• Lack for something that affects your financial security or is a

regular drain other people don’t need to worry about.
• Heat for something that makes you stick out in a crowd, or be

placed under greater surveillance than others.
• Fealty for a trait you’re suppressing or denying, or that makes

it hard for you to feel a sense of community with others here.

Clara’s player wants to give her character’s chronic illness mechanical
weight – maybe Blood for the effects on her physical and mental health,
or Lack for the financial toll of her treatments? She decides to go with
Blood, and marks a second black mark in that gauge.

Whether you’re playing in person or online, this game was
designed assuming you would play it with the aid of handouts
and reference sheets. You can find them for free on our website!

The Crew

This group of rebels is a major force in all of your lives – but here, you
get to decide what it means to your rebel in particular. Is it a source of
comfort? Guidance? Challenge? Entertainment? A means to an end?

Whatever your key relationship is with the rest of the crew, you'll
gain it here as a Crew Covenant. Other members of your crew
trigger its Hangout move by spending time with you, and you gain
access to all its moves for your own use. Your playbook will have
three suggestions for your Crew Covenant’s arcana, but you
should feel free to pick another if it better suits your concept.

Covenants

These are the important people in your life: your friends, family, and
comrades in your battle against the castle. Each has an arcanum that
defines their strengths, weaknesses and personality – and also grants
you special abilities in the city and the castle through your bond.

You’ll also have minor covenants, more superficial connections that
don’t grant you lasting abilities but can be spent for momentary
benefits – or nurtured into full-fledged major covenants.

Affinities

Your power grows as you walk the line between two poles:

• The Void that birthed the castle and embodies hunger, power,
isolation and self-interest.

• The World that surrounds you, home to the communities your
actions are impacting.

As you act, you’ll be asked to mark World or mark Void. Once you’ve
got five marks in one affinity, you erase all marks in both tracks
and gain a rank in that affinity.

When you gain ranks of World or Void you gain an advance from
playbook-specific lists tied to each affinity; World advances give
you supernatural powers or mysterious fortune in the city, while
Void advances give you extra potency in the castle.

If you’re at Rank 3 and fill that track, you become overwhelmed by
it (see p. 49). An experienced rebel risks over-committing and
burning out, or hurting their community in their drive for power.
Keep an eye on your mental state to avoid this fate.

City Details

These are the parts of your character that are relevant in the city:

Gauges

These five tracks show what pressures you’re currently dealing
with (see p. 20). Your playbook will note two gauges you start
better off in, and three that start under particular stress.

Role

What’s your rebel’s mundane context? They’ll fall into one of three
broad categories, with attendant difficulties to face, according to
how the castle would dismiss them:

Delinquents are generally between 15 and 25. They’re likely still in
high school, though may have dropped out or at the upper end
moved onto college/university. Their main challenge is
powerlessness: others will ignore them, take their things from
them, load them down with make-work and threaten the entire
course of their future. Delinquents have a black mark in Infamy.

Prodigals are generally somewhere between 20 and 30. They may
be university students, young professionals, NEETs or gangsters.
Their main challenge is disenfranchisement: they’re expected to
stand on their own two feet and provide for themselves, but the
support structures that are meant to help them have been
defunded and devoured by a system that only values them as
exploitable workers. Prodigals have a black mark in Lack.

Traitors are generally 25 and older. Their main challenge is
complicity: their identity is bound up in the same systems that the
castle has permeated and used as a weapon. They must struggle
against the reflex to keep their head down when others are hurt,
or find justifications for the atrocities that maintain their
comfortable lifestyle. Traitors have a black mark in Fealty.

Core Moves

Your brush with the supernatural gives you strange and playbook-
specific abilities in the real world: insights into other’s hearts, and
particular feats you can perform with the Void’s power.

Castle Details

Finally, these are your particular strengths in this shadow realm:

Castle Stats

When you enter the castle, power stirs within you. Your
capabilities here are measured by four stats: Swords, Coins, Cups
and Wands (p. 30). As a reminder:

• Swords is directness, action, physical power.
• Coins is resourcefulness, insight, awareness of your environment.
• Cups is heart, courage, ability to connect with others.
• Wands is quickness, subtlety, guile.

Remember that the castle is a realm that blends the mental and
the physical, and your strengths here don’t need to match your
skills in the city. A gentle Provider can be a hulking brawler, and a
brawny quarterback Icon can be a tactical commander organising
the team from the back – this is a big chance to reveal hidden
depths to your character.

Whenever you use a stat for the first time, give it one of these
ratings: +1, +1, 0, -1. You can only use each number once.

When you defeat your first Vassal, assign ratings to any
remaining undefined Castle stats.

Gear

When you defeat your first vassal, you’ll also gain a signature
weapon – an expression of your character’s personality and will to
make a change, a companion that’s always there with them in
their fight. It can be whatever you want, as long as it expresses its
Perk and Flaw (p. 68). If you’re having issues picking tags, describe
your concept for the weapon to the group and see what they think.

You also have one other item, chosen from your playbook’s list,
and can pick up another with a Void Advance. When you Delve Into
Darkness (p. 54), you can choose to swap out this gear for other
items you think will be more useful, trading them 1-for-1.



Castle Form

As your revolution progresses, you may be surprised by what you
become. Each time you gain a rank of Void or World, you pick
another way your castle form shifts and changes. When you lose a
rank you lose one of these features, moving closer to the
‘mundane’. When the power returns, you might choose to regain the
lost feature – consider how your character views it differently now.

Your castle form is a representation of your self-image of yourself
as a supernaturally empowered rebel, so what it looks like is very
personal. Transformations like this can be very empowering for
marginalised people – certainly many trans people have wishes a
magic force could give them their ideal body. But be careful what
you use this form to remove, especially if you’re playing a
character who experiences different marginalisations than you.
Using magic to let a quadriplegic rebel walk or a deaf rebel hear
risks communicating that disabled people only have a place as
heroes if their disability is ‘fixed’.

Shadow Moves

When your Void rank rises, you can choose to pick up a special
power that lets you break the rules of the castle. For the most part
these moves don’t need you to roll to use them, but there’s a cost –
each of them needs you to mark Void to use them, drawing you
closer to becoming overwhelmed.

Advances

Finally, each playbook has two lists of advances to pick from as
your World and Void ranks increase.

Void ranks increase your power in the castle – they add to your
stats, give you extra Shadow Moves, or augment your gear.

World ranks increase your power in the city – using mystic power
to reinforce your relationships, provide support to your allies, gain
supernatural allies for your revolution, and add extra facilities to
your hideout.

Expect to lose and regain advances as your World and Void ranks
fluctuate – this is a great way to show how your approach to
revolution changes as the fight wears on.

ChAnGiNg ThInGs Up

Your rebel’s identity isn’t fixed by your initial choices here. As you
play, you’ll encounter opportunities to change things up and play
your rebel in a different way. Here’s how they work.

Changing your Crew Covenant

Between investigations, you can use a boon during Peace and Quiet
(p. 75) to shift your Crew Covenant. This is a simple change: just
remove the old Crew Covenant arcanum and add in the new one.

It’s important to note that you’re not limited to the three initial
arcana your playbook offers – a Watcher could shift to Moon, or
an Authority could shift to Chariot. Once you’ve made your choice,
think about what this means for your rebel now. How are they
approaching things differently? How do this arcanum’s abilities
manifest for you?

Changing your Playbook

As a more significant change, you can use Redefinition during
Rivers in the Desert to shift your playbook. When you do this, look
at each part of your character in turn:

• Particulars: Is there an outward sign of your change, or do you
maintain your established style?

• Crew Covenant: This stays the same as it was before – use a
boon in Peace and Quiet to change it.

• Castle Stats: You can adjust these as you see fit, shifting one
down a point to shift another up a point (min -2, max +3).

• Gear: Adjust your signature weapon if you wish. I’d encourage
you to swap out your old bonus gear for one from your new
playbook, but you don’t have to.

• Role and Gauges: These just copy over, with a few exceptions:
• The Inhuman has weird Roles, so may shift your black mark.
• The Captive has entirely different gauges; follow its setup
instructions for those.

• Ranks and Advances: Keep your World and Void ranks and shift
your advances over to the new playbook’s options, though you
can keep your old Shadow Moves.

If you’re changing playbooks because the old one didn’t quite fit,
not out of any storytelling motive, you don’t need to wait for
Rivers in the Desert. Just rebuild your character following the
new playbook’s instructions, and don’t bring anything over.

Starting a Game

Tom is starting a game of Voidheart Symphony with his group. They’ve
already gone through step 1 of game setup (p. 16), and sketched out their
city, and now it’s time to start making characters.
First, picking playbooks. Tom looks over the list, and decides that the
Heretic sounds like fun. He tells the group that he’s really interested in
playing someone defined by their fierce drive to fight the castle. Along
with the other players, he writes his character – Ivan the Heretic – near
the centre of their relationship map.
Next is the first delve. Each rebel has a question to answer; on Tom’s turn,
he tells the group how he realised the Vassal had supernatural power. He
describes a chain of unexplained accidents that struck his colleagues, one
after another, as soon ass they started working to form a union. And he
describes seeing their manager slip a defaced coin into his best friend’s
bag, just a few hours before the friend got in a terrible car crash.
As the group’s rebels get ready to cross into their first shard, Tom picks
Ivan’s Particulars and Crew Covenant. He likes the sound of the Magician
– enjoying the sound of being skilled and resourceful – and describes
Ivan’s appearance to the group.
They’re soon fighting his manager’s Avatar – a Dark, Commanding,
Arcane sorcerer-king. As he fights, Tom assigns Ivan’s stats to make a
quick, brutal brawler: Swords +1, Wands +1, Cups 0, Coins -1.
As the sorcerer-king falls, his power flows into the rebels. Ivan gains a Void
Rank, and with it picks up the Avenger’s Resolve Shadow Move. Tom also
adds promethean fire to Ivan’s castle form as fire wreaths his head, and
gains Improvised Bombs alongside his signature weapon – enchanted
knuckledusters (Stun, Close). Together, the group describe their hideout,
with Tom describing a workshop where he can build and repair machinery.
Then it’s time to head back to reality. Tom picks Ivan’s Role – a Prodigal
activist – and adds the bar his union comrades drink at to the relationship
map. He picks up a Vagabond covenant with his college dropout friend, and
draws a link from the bar to another contact – the local union rep. Finally,
he draws a link from another rebel’s brother back to him, as a Strength
covenant – as Ivan’s rabbi, the brother provides crucial emotional support.
With that done, Ivan and his crew are ready to head back to the fight!

ThE PlAyBoOkS

Each rebel is unique, formed from their own particular pressures
and drives, but your particular rebel will draw from one of these
playbooks.

The Captive, Inhuman and Penitent are a little weirder – they’ll
work with the other playbooks just fine, but might distract from
the mundane side of city life if they outnumber the ‘regular’
playbook types.

The Authority

The Authority pushes back against the castle by building their own
kingdom. They can be an inspiring leader, or a wise mentor, or an
intimidating gang leader. In the castle, they can guide and inspire
their allies, or exert authority over the actions of their foes.

The Captive

Not everyone hurt by the castle walks away from it. The Captive’s
body may be in a coma, imprisoned, institutionalised, dead, or lost
– in some way prevented from being present in mundane society.
But their mind? That’s a spectre trapped in the void, walking the
castle’s corridors, and haunting the city. Can they make their way
back to a mundane life?

The Harlequin

Maybe they don't think your little rebellion is going to change
anything. Maybe they're trying to keep morale up. Or maybe they
think a revolution without dancing is no revolution at all. Either
way, the Harlequin tries not to take things too seriously. In the
mundane world, they might be the class clown, a slacker, or a
provocative artist; in the castle, they find alternative solutions to
problems, clown on their foes, and keep allies upbeat.

The Heretic

The Heretic rebels against the castle's insidious tendrils by
spurning all authority and forging their own path in life. They
might be a class troublemaker, a political agitator, or a grifter.
In the castle, they misdirect foes, find hidden paths, and avenge
their friends.

The Icon

The Icon is adored by society – but that adoration can be its own
set of chains. They might be a top athlete, a model, or a celebrity.
In the castle, they may be a paragon of excellence, an opponent
their foes cannot ignore, or an unassailable beacon of perfection.

The Inhuman

The strange forces of the Void sometimes find root in unexpected
places, gifting sentience to animals, forces of nature, and the
spirits of the unquiet dead. And sometimes, a castle-shard’s
inhabitants break free of those fetters and seek out others
rebelling against the castle. Whatever their origin, now they walk
the mundane world as an ordinary animal, a human simulacrum,
or even a symbiosis of willing human and alien entity. In the
castle, they can blend in with the Vassal's minions, gain insights
into their enemy's motivations, and use mystical powers.

The Penitent

The castle forces those living under it to be complicit in countless
evils – and some are more actively and enthusiastically complicit
than others. The Penitent was one of those, but now they’ve
turned against the castle and joined the rebels. Can they wield the
power it gave them without tainting the rebel’s cause, and make
amends for the suffering they inflicted?

The Provider

Sometimes the best you can do is to keep those close to you safe.
Whether they're a parent, a volunteer, or a carer, the Provider
spends their time protecting and nurturing those that depend on
them. In the castle, they heal their companions, keep the group
together, and see deep into the Vassal’s heart.

The Watcher

The signs of the castle are everywhere, if you know how to look.
The Watcher has developed the keen insight to match their hunger
to know more – useful in their daily life as a nerd, an academic, or
maybe an investigator, but also a great asset in navigating and
surviving the castle.



ThE AuThOrItY I kNoW tHaT yOu'rE lOsT aNd dEsPeRaTe.
DoN't wOrRy, I'm hErE nOw.

AnD wHo sHaLl lEaD tHeM?

The castle is hierarchy and tyranny – a parasitic system set up to
exploit the masses while insulating its nobility from accountability.
Its laws protect but do not bind its leaders, and bind but do not
protect the everyone else. Those leaders all come from the wealthy,
privileged classes, with far more in common with each other than
with their feuding supporters.

Is there a better way to lead? The Authority is trying to find out.
Maybe your revolution needs leaders able to see the big picture? Leaders
who make sure they remain accountable, or who simply offer wisdom
and let others make the decisions? Or maybe your Authority will hear
the siren call of power, and simply end up a better class of tyrant?

The Authority is a playbook about the place of organisation, power
and hierarchy in revolutionary organising. Use this book to manage a
group of NPCs in the city, control the pace of fights, and reckon with
the ways authorities can help these movements – or lead them astray.

Touchstones:

• King Mob (The Invisibles). An author who forms an occult
revolutionary cell, and struggles with the challenges of leadership
and his tendency towards violence.

• Makoto Niijima (Persona 5). A student council president fiercely
committed to justice, who realises that her friends can be a much
greater force for justice than the arms of the state.

Change playbooks to the Authority to represent…

• A decision to form a movement.
• Taking command of the crew of rebels.
• A newfound certainty in your ideals.

Example Builds

LeAd FrOm tHe FrOnT DeFiAnT ViGiLaNtE WiSe AdViSoR
The Sage
CrEw CoVeNaNt The Auteur Justice
Noble sword Signal flare
GeAr Gleaming armour The Magician
The Fool Cups and Wands
CoNtAcT The Chariot Swords and
Swords
HiGh StAtS Swords and Cups Wands
Cups Voice of Command
LoW StAt Wands
ShAdOw MoVe Heroic Just You and Me
Intervention

MaKiNg yOuR AuThOrItY

First Descent Embrace The Darkness

Before your first delve, work As you fight your first Vassal, assign
through these, and answer: one of these to each castle stat when
What’s your personal connection you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1.
with the Vassal?
After the fight, gain a Void rank and
Particulars advance, and work through these:

Pick from each, or make your own: Gear
Feminine, Masculine, Ambiguous,
Concealed, … Create a signature weapon with one
They, She, He, … perk, one flaw (p. 68). Also pick one
Pristine uniform, a symbol of authority, to have every delve:
rumpled and overworked, …
Bright eyes, ruthless eyes, kind eyes, □ Gleaming armour (expend to
watchful eyes, … avoid marking a condition from a
Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, … blow).

The Crew □ Signal flare (expend to show
everyone the route to you, no
Pick one to represent what you offer the matter how distant they are).
group, and gain it as a Crew Covenant:
□ A noble sword (piercing, close).
Auteur: Leadership, structure, grand
vision. Grants the power to wield Castle Form
authority, reject other’s rules, and
dominate opponents. Your shape in the castle shifts with
Ask: Which of you works for me? your growing power. When you gain
a rank of World or Void, pick one
from the lists below (or make your
own) to add to your avatar. Every
time you lose a rank, erase one.

Justice: Truth, fairness, accountability. Myth: Angel halo, dragon skin,
Grants the power to unearth crimes, infernal horns, vampire grin, …
hold authorities to account, and fire Clothes: Regal vestments, military dress
up your allies. uniform, academic robes, haute couture, …
Ask: Which of you did I help find justice?

Sage: Guidance, tradition, spiritual Accessories: Wings, constellations,
wisdom. Grants the power to offer echoing voice, mirrored eyes, …
counsel, draw on your status, and Mien: More glorious, more terrifying,
twist the castle to your will. more true, more serene, …
Ask: Which of you regularly comes to me
for advice?

Mundane Life

When you return to reality, decide on these:

Role

Pick a category and main occupation:

□ Delinquent: Class president, team captain, gang leader, …
Put a black mark in Infamy.

□ Prodigal: Store manager, apprentice, vigilante, …
Put a black mark in Lack.

□ Traitor: Lawyer, politician, doctor, …
Put a black mark in Fealty.

Add the place where you meet with others in your organisation to the
relationship map.

Gauges

You're self-assured and resourceful. Mark one tick in Infamy and Lack,
two in the rest.

Contacts

Pick one to gain as a Major Covenant, and give them a name:

□ Chariot: The rival who spurs you to excel. Grants the power to get
places fast and stampede your enemies.

□ Fool: The novice you’re teaching. Grants the power to throw your fate
to the winds, and escape the most desperate dangers.

□ Magician: The headhunter scouting you. Grants the power to finish
tasks with a flourish, and improvise powerful magic.

Add another NPC on the map as a Major Covenant, saying what links you.

AuThOrItY AbIlItIeS

Core Moves Shadow Moves

You may always ask: Who here □ JuSt YoU aNd Me
most needs my advice? The If a foe’s within arm’s reach, you can
Architect will answer truthfully. mark Void to reshape the castle and trap
When you Vent, you may also pick you both within an empty room. The
this effect: previous state is restored when you will
it, or when you Push Through Pain.

Choose someone in your presence. □ HeRoIc InTeRvEnTiOn
They cannot contradict you or When a foe is bearing down on an ally,
physically block your actions until mark Void to immediately close the
you leave their presence. distance between you and Pressure them,
Shelter Move: You inspire one of gaining fleeting Advantage on the roll.
the others. The next time they
would fade their Crew Covenant, □ WaR CrY
they may ignore that cost. When you let out an intimidating war
cry, mark Void to give every rebel who
joins in fleeting Advantage.

□ VoIcE oF CoMmAnD
When you give someone an order, mark
Void and roll +Cups. On a 7-9, they must
either do it, freeze, flee or attack you. On
a 10+ give them only two of those options.

AuThOrItY AdVaNcEs

When you get a new rank in void or world, get an advance.
When you lose a rank, lose an advance.

World Void
□ Commit to a Major Covenant. □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Pick one of your castle abilities; get lasting □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Gain a Shadow Move.
Advantage using it with Vent. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ Mystically provide a friend or follower □ Gain a second Gear

with financial security. option.
□ Minions arrive in the hideout, eager to □ Add a perk to your

help with research or red tape. signature weapon.
□ Organisational charts and pinboards appear

in the hideout, automatically updating as
you learn more about the castle.



I kNoW tHiS pLaCe, I cAn hElP yOu,

ThE CaPtIvE bUt pLeAsE, hElP mE – I’m nOt mEaNt tO bE hErE.

If tHeY bUiLd pAlAcEs wItH oUr bOnEs,
tHeY sHoUlD fEaR oUr gHoStS

The castle chews people up, spits them out and moves on, but your
story didn’t end just because the castle was finished with you. They
might have killed you, rendered you comatose, imprisoned you, but
they couldn’t stop you. You managed to keep going, even as you were
dehumanised and pushed to the fringes of reality.

Can you still fight the castle despite how it’s changed you? Will the others
accept you as you are, and give you the help you need to fight for justice?
Will you find peace with your new state, see the value of the lessons you
learned in order to survive, bring liberation to this prison of yours? Or
will even these stubborn shreds of you be devoured by the void?

The Captive is a book about traumatised, wounded, incarcerated
people pushed to the margins of society. Pick this playbook to explore
the shadowy otherworld you’ve made your home, be a spectre
haunting the castle and the city, and tell the story of those hurt and
dehumanised by the system you’re fighting.

Touchstones

• Tobias (Animorphs). A kid resistance fighter stuck in the body of a
hawk, Tobias must rely on his crew to look after the friends and
family he can only watch from a distance.

• Barbara Gordon (Batman). Barbara’s shift from Batgirl to Oracle
following a spine injury shows that great trauma doesn’t stop you
from being a hero. But she also highlights the tendency to shift
disabled characters into a passive support role – make sure your
Captive’s an active, empowered participant in this revolution.

• Phoenix Wright (Apollo Justice). The Phoenix we see in Apollo Justice
is disbarred and disgraced – but as a piano player and card shark
haunting seedy bars he has access to all kinds of other resources.

Change playbooks to the Captive to represent…

• Your character’s death, imprisonment, or exile into the void.
• A radical effort to build solidarity with the denizens of the castle.

Example Builds VeNgEfUl SpEcTrE

MaKiNg tHe mOsT oF lImBo UnFiNiShEd BuSiNeSs

GeAr Stygian charm Penance stare Touch of the void

CoNtAcT Vagabond Judgement Moon

HiGh StAtS Cups and Coins Swords and Cups Swords and Wands

LoW StAtS Swords Wands Cups

ShAdOw MoVe Dead Man’s Party Shadow Step Trapped in Here With Me

MaKiNg YoUr CaPtIvE

First Descent Embrace Darkness

Before your first delve, work through As you fight your first Vassal, assign
these, and answer: How did you one of these to each castle stat when
break free in time to help these you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1. After
rebels? the fight, gain a Void rank and
advance, and pick gear:
Castle Form
Gear
You don’t have a ‘regular’ body, and
your castle form has been shaped by Create a signature weapon with one
your struggle to survive. Pick from perk, one flaw (p. 68). Also pick one
each, or make your own: to have every delve:

Feminine, masculine, ambiguous, • Stygian charm (expend to make
concealed, … something intangible tangible, for
They, She, He, … as long as you hold your breath).
Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, …
Lost senses, unpredictable dysfunctions, • Penance stare (expend to strike
hindered mobility, constant pain, … guilt into the heart of someone
Ragged clothes, gauzy drapes, much- who meets your eyes).
repaired vestiges, prison uniform, …
Blood-soaked, chained, burning, • Touch of the Void (lingering,
contorted, drowned, … close).

These don’t change over time: they’re
a fundamental part of your new
existence.

The Crew

You don’t have an ordinary Crew
Covenant; instead, you have The
Shade (see following pages).

Ask: Which of you knew me before I was
like this?

Captive Life

While the others go home, work on these:

Your Prison Prison Amenities

Where must you return to? As you gather more power, you can
□ The shard of a powerful make your stay here more comfortable.
When you gain a rank of world or void,
Vassal. Who do you think improve one of these aspects of your
they are? prison; when you lose a rank, erase an
Put a black mark in Torment. improvement.
□ The interstitial spaces Climate:
between shards. Who else Hellish, Uncomfortable, Palatable, Cosy.
lives there? Guards:
Put a black mark in Fetters. Pervasive, Patrolling, Scattered, Banished.
□ The Void itself. What have Luxuries:
you found to appease its Absent, Hollow, Occasional, Ample.
hunger? Private space:
Put a black mark in Abyss. None, Covert, Cramped, Expansive.

Place the prison on the Contacts
relationship map as a location.
Add one resident of this prison as a
Three gauges track your new life; Major Covenant:
each starts with two boxes ticked.
□ Moon: A feral void-creature scavenging for
• Torment: Do the prison’s scraps. Grants abilities to find solace in
inhabitants tolerate you? chaos and reshape your form.
Check against this when you Let
Your Hair Down or Pass □ Vagabond: An orphaned minion of a
Beneath Notice in the prison. fallen Vassal. Grants abilities to offer
wisdom, wait for the right moment,
• Fetters: Are you able to take and endure pain.
care of your form?
Check against this when you □ Judgement: A servant of a greater
Make a Stand or use Rebel Eyes power walking these halls with
in the prison. impunity. Grants abilities to see
deeper truths and deny the castle.
• Abyss: How much of your
memories or interests have Put them on the relationship map with a
you lost to the Void? link to you. Once everyone’s picked
Check against this when you theirs, link another NPC on the map to
Vent or Connect in the prison, you and add them as a Major Covenant,
or whenever you Check In with saying what memories lead you to them.
a rebel.

HaNgOuT ThE ShAdE

CaStLe MoVe CiTy MoVeTo act in the city, you need a willing host; ask for a volunteer.
With a few moments of meditation, you can shift between
your prison and your host’s presence.
When you take an Everyday or Rebel action in the city, you can
act near your host. Your host can perceive you easily; with great
effort, you can whisper into other’s ears, gradually move small
objects, or distort electrical recordings.
Either of you can end the host bond at any time. The one who
made the decision picks one: fade their crew covenant, or mark
a condition. Whatever the choice, you return to your prison,
unless someone else present willingly accepts you.

When you spend time with the Shade, you may pick one:
• Tell them some way they’re important to you; the Shade

refreshes Fetters.
• Show them something you feel strongly about; the Shade

refreshes Abyss.
• Help them test their powers; the Shade refreshes

Torment.
When you or your host attempts a roll in the city, use
your host’s gauges. Tick a Prison Gauge to give the roll
fleeting Advantage.
When you’re leading the group a place you’ve been
before, you don’t need to roll Travel the Labyrinth. When a
foe is within arm’s reach, mark a condition to separate
the two of you with a deep chasm, a barricade, or a
surging river (of what?).

Example Prison crises:
• Torment: Someone’s coming after you, your prison contacts are being

pressured to forsake you, you’re being pushed to the prison’s fringes.
• Fetters: You need help to maintain your form, your body’s doing something

new and scary, you’re feeling dysmorphia from your new shape.
• Abyss: You’re feeling valued memories slip away, a deep anhedonia is filling

you, city-side culture confuses and alienates you, the void is calling for you to
let go of the world and plunge into the alien dark.

Core Moves CaPtIvE AbIlItIeS

Shadow Moves

You may always ask: Who □ DeAd MaN’s PaRtY
here is struggling to hold When you Reach Out, tick Abyss to strip away the
on? The Architect will human skin over a minion’s alien void-stuff and get
answer truthfully. fleeting Advantage on the roll.
When you Vent, you may When you Let Your Hair Down with the denizens of
also pick this effect: your prison, fade a covenant with someone in the
Isolate someone in arm’s city to get an automatic strong hit.
reach. For the rest of this day,
nobody but you will notice □ VeLvEt RoOm
them, and any mark they When you pull your allies through a door that
leave on the world fades in shouldn’t exist, tick Fetters to get fleeting Advantage
seconds. on Find Shelter. This refuge is home to one or more
Shelter Move: Ask another inhuman entities, largely indifferent to you all.
rebel a personal question When you use Wolf at the Door, you can pay the cost by
about their city life. If they sacrificing a rank of World or Void to these entities.
answer honestly and
openly, they mark World; □ A HaUnTiNg SpEcTrE
if they lie, obfuscate or When you Dodge or Flow Like Water, you may mark
refuse, they mark Void. Void to pass through physical obstructions like fog.
Either way, they showed In the city, you can float away from your host, but
you something: intensify making an impact is far harder – while you’re
your Crew Covenant. outside their immediate presence, you
automatically miss on all moves. Tick a prison
gauge to get a weak hit, tick two to get a strong hit.

□ TrApPeD iN hErE wItH mE
When you create an Opening, tick Torment to
summon a gate to your prison. When someone
Strikes with that Opening, they can send the foe
through the gate to the prison, where they’ll stay for
the rest of this delve.

When you return to your prison, choose one:

• Let them return to their shard.
• Trap them here, but pay dearly: fade a Covenant

with a fellow prisoner or spark a new crisis.