Welcome 2 Detroit

Welcome to the D, baby It’s all live down here What you see is all real. J Dilla about to set it the fuck off! -\ J Dilla

The timeline of Urbex 313 beings on October 1, 2008, as the economy collapses into the Great Recession. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick resigned from his office on September 18 after a corruption scandal and rumors of other crimes, up to and including murder.

Many people in the city of Detroit have lost their jobs due to the recession, and the population has dropped from a high of two million in 1950 to under a million in 2000. The mass exodus, caused by the decline of the auto industry and white flight, have left 80,000 abandoned buildings scattered throughout the city.

Kilpatrick’s replacement, city council president Kenneth Cockrel Jr, is saddled with a large geographic area, a shrinking tax base, and not enough money to fund basic city services like trash removal and demolishing ruined buildings.

These ruins attract all kinds of weirdness: drug addicts, squatters, wild animals, gangs, cultists, and even secret government laboratories. You know, the usual.

You are unemployed and flat broke. You’ve always been a little odd, but now you and a bunch of other misfits have banded together to loot the city’s ruins. You will strip buildings of copper pipes, wiring, tin ceilings, decorative stonework, or whatever else you can find. Scrapyards around the city give you an easy place to dispose of your ill-gotten gains without the law asking too many questions.

You have plenty of competition though: other scrapping crews, street gangs, and business interests are all trying to make a quick buck off the city’s misfortune. You’re not worried though, you plan to come out on top.

Note: In the real world, Detroit declared bankruptcy in 2013. After shedding debt, it established a land bank to auction off about half of the abandoned properties, and a demolition program to tear down the other half. By 2023 nearly 20k of the 40k condemned buildings have been demolished.

In 2008, both DTE and AT&T had reported over 800 thefts of copper wire. In 2009, the Detroit PD formed a Copper Theft unit to deal with the problem. The city council passed laws regulating metal scrapyards, and the Great Recession reduced the value of scrap metal. By 2014, copper theft was down almost 90% due to a combination of the police, new regulations, and all the easy copper already being looted.

The Elephant in the Room

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. You know, racism.

This is a fantasy game about exploring abandoned buildings in 2008 Detroit, a city that was 80% African-American, with a shrinking population, and an increasing poverty rate.

In the real world, these trends eventually reversed in the late 2010s. Detroit in the 2020s is slowly regaining population, the poverty rate is falling, and the city has grown more racially diverse. This has come at the cost of gentrification, and the displacement of long-time residents of the city.

Racism is a topic that played, and continues to play, a huge role in the development of the city:

Partial Timeline of Detroit Racism

1793: Canada banned slavery, and Detroit, just across the river from Canada, became the final stop in the Underground Railroad.
1833: an angry mob of African-Americans attacked a sheriff attempting to return fugitive slaves to their owners, allowing the slaves to escape to Canada.
1850s: Angry German-American mobs repeatedly destroyed brothels catering to black clientele.
1863: An Irish-American mob attacked black Detroiters, blaming former slaves for the Civil War.
1920s: Black southerners moved to Detroit in search of high-paying automotive jobs.
1926: A group of African-American businessmen built a black-friendly cemetery in the nearby city of Warren, becuase cemeteries in Detroit were segregated.
1942-1943: white mobs attaked African-American Detroiters and battled police over blacks getting war-manufacturing jobs, and housing for those workers being built in white neighborhoods.
1950s: Redlining prevented African-Americans from getting loans for houses in the suburbs. White Detroiters began moving to the suburbs in a phenomenon known as “white flight”. The city’s population would steadily decline for the next 70 years.
1967: Detroit police raided a “blind pig” party for black veterans returning from Vietnam, and arrested the partygoers. This led to three days of rebellion and rioting. The governor called in thousands of National Guard troops (who were mostly white and economically advantaged, because it was a method of avoiding the draft). The National Guard made the situation worse, and things only calmed down after the federal government sent in thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd & 101st Airborne (many of whom were African-American). It ended with 43 deaths (25 caused by the authorities), 1,189 injured, over 7,200 arrests, and more than 400 buildings burned. White flight increases significantly.
1968: Hundreds of black Detroiters rioted after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Once again, the governor sent in the National Guard.
1971-1974: The Detroit PD employed “Stop the Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets” or STRESS, a unit that used decoys to attract potential robbbers. The unit killed 24 people, including 22 black men, in 3 years.
1974: Partly in response to STRESS, Detroit elected Coleman A. Young, a former Tuskeege Airman, as the city’s first black mayor.
1975: The white owner of a bar on Livernois Ave shot and killed a black 18-year-old, resulting in two days of protests and rioting.
1995: Malice Green was beaten to death by flashlight-wielding Detroit PD officers after refusing to drop a vial of crack cocaine. The officers were eventually convicted of either 2nd-degree murder or manslaughter.
2003: Due to continued abuses, the Detroit PD enters into two consent decrees with the U.S. Dept of Justice.

Full Disclosure: One of my relatives was a high-ranking officer in the Detroit PD, and was in charge of the investigation of former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

TTRPG Blackface

In Urbex 313, some of the PCs may be, and many of the NPCs will be African-American. If you are white, don’t do “TTRPG blackface”. Don’t use use an ebonics accent or excessive slang. Don’t play into stereotypes about poverty, drugs, gangs, or homelessness. If anyone in your group has problems with this, you are better off playing a different game.

Urbex 313 includes many topics from Detroit’s history, legend, and fiction that many players may find distressing. I’ve attempted to treat them in a serious manner, but they include:

Alcohol and tobacco use
Cannibalism
Explicit language
Illegal drug use
Racism
Rape and incest
Sex
Violence

A number of safety tools have been developed over the years for regulating problematic content. The more popular ones include:

One possible method of combining these safety tools is listed below:

Establish Lines & Veils

Before the first session, ask players to make lists of things in the following catgegories:

Lines: As in “a red line not to be crossed”. These are things that can’t be in the game AT ALL. For example, if someone is a recovering addict, they might not want ANY mention of substance abuse in the game.
Veils: These are things that can be in the game, but not described or roleplayed. The problematic content is skipped over, or “fades to black” as needed. For example, someone might be OK with sex in the game, but it can’t be described or roleplayed. It happens “off screen”.

These lists can be submitted verbally, electronically, or anonymously on paper for privacy reasons.

Everyone needs to follow the lines and veils. They are not open for debate. For example, a player might object by saing, “No drugs? But I wanted to play a drug dealer!” If this happens, make it clear that the mental and emotional safety of the other players comes first.

The X Card

The X-Card is an optional tool (created by John Stavropoulos) that allows anyone in your game (including you) to edit out any content anyone is uncomfortable with as you play. Since most RPGs are improvisational and we won’t know what will happen till it happens, it’s possible the game will go in a direction people don’t want. An X-Card is a simple tool to fix problems as they arise.

To use the X-Card, at the start of your game, say:

“I’d like your help. Your help to make this game fun for everyone. If anything makes anyone uncomfortable in any way… [ draw X on an index card ] …just lift this card up, or simply tap it [ place card at the center of the table ]. You don’t have to explain why. It doesn’t matter why. When we lift up or tap this card, or say “pause”, we pause the game, and edit out the thing being X-Carded. And if there is ever an issue, anyone can call for a break and we can talk privately.

I know it sounds funny but it will help us play amazing games together and usually I’m the one who uses the X-card to help take care of myself. [ pause ] Does everyone consent to using the X-Card? [ pause and allow each person to answer ] Is there another tool you would rather use? [ pause and wait for suggestions ] Either way, the people playing here are more important than the game we’re playing. Thank you for helping make this game fun for everyone!”

Rewind, Fast Forward

When someone invokes the X-Card the game PAUSES until the problem is resolved. There are two ways to handle this:

Rewind: Back the game up to before the problematic issue appeared, and re-start the game, making sure to NOT include the problematic content. Example, “My character wouldn’t do that - rewind.”
Fast Forward: This works like a veil - you skip over the problematic issue, and resume the game afterwards. Example, the guide says “The room is full of dead children, they look…”, and a player responds “pause, fast forward.”, even though “violence against children” was not listed as a veil. The Guide then follows-up with “OK, what now?”

Overview

God damn it, I’m sick of this group (Fuck D12)
Time for me to go solo and make some loot (Yeah)
I told you I made the beats and wrote all the raps
‘Til Kon Artis slipped me some crack (Take this)

- Bizarre

Guide and Player

Guides make consistent rulings during play and facilitate situations in which the players can engage with the fiction. The goal is to create interesting stories of rising above a broken system by breaking the rules.

Player Choice

Guides provide players with as much information as possible in order to be innovative and clever in their problem solving. Risks should be clear, with multiple options for player choice present. Every choice matters.

No Classes

Scrappers are not limited by a predefined class. A character’s specialty begins with their background, equipment, and experiences.

Growth

There is no leveling or mechanical experience in Urbex 313. Success and failure lead to memorable stories. Building relationships, finding artifacts, and surviving trauma lead to character growth.

Adaptable

Urbex 313 is an adaptable modern ttrpg that can be used to run any type of urban exploration game.

Death

The world is dangerous and death is always a possible consequence. It should be ever present but never random or unexpected.

Death comes for everyone, but you plan to get rich first.

Principles for Players

Go downtown on the street
They measure the beat
To understand the situation
A taste on the tongue
And no place to run

- Sonic’s Rendezvous Band

Agency

The numbers on your character sheet act as tools to mechanically engage with the game. They do not define your character.
Use how your character has grown to inform your play.
Embrace the weird.

Teamwork

Work to support others at the table.
Elicit interaction from other players.
Characters don’t always have to be aligned, but players should be aiming toward the same goal of memorable stories of struggle and success, while having fun with friends.

Talking

NPCs have drives and flaws. Interact with them as you would a real person.
Build relationships, engage with rivals, and invest in the NPCs.
Information and positive outcomes can often be achieved through dialogue. That being said, sometimes a cultist’s communion requires an offering of blood and bone.

Caution

Fighting is risky and the consequences of violence are long lasting.
A shattered mind is just as debilitating as a broken body.
Gain any advantage you can. Preparation can stave off certain doom.
Magic is chaotic and wielding the unknowable can have dire consequences.
Victory comes in many forms, and often it is a successful retreat.

Planning

Ask questions.
There is no perception or intelligence attribute. How you engage with the world hinges on how you use the information provided.
Reconnaissance, subtlety, and fact-finding are necessary for survival.

Ambition

Discover the drives and goals for you as a player, your character, and the team. Use those to inform play.
Try and fail forward. An engaging story is infinitely more interesting and memorable than simple successes.
It is the complications and resulting actions that we remember afterward.
Characters die, but the story will continue.
Play to find out what happens.

Character Creation

Here comes Johnny Yen again With the liquor and drugs and the flesh machine He’s gonna do another striptease Hey man, where’d you get that lotion?- Iggy Pop

Creating a Character

Ability Scores

Player Characters (PCs) have three ability scores:

Strength (STR): Physicality, brawn & toughness.
Dexterity (DEX): Speed, sneaking & precision.
Willpower (WIL): Perception, charm & weirdness

When creating a Player Character (PC), the player should roll 3d6 for each of their character’s ability scores, in order. They may then swap any two of the results.

Hit Protection

Roll 1d6 to determine your PC’s starting Hit Protection (HP). HP does not indicate a character’s health but reflects their ability to avoid damage (both physical damage and stress). HP can be recovered after a few moments rest. Both Damage and Stress subtract first from your HP. Some things do Damage, some things do Stress, and some do both.

#Armor is a tag that some items have to indicate that they provide protection from damage and reduce it before it is applied to HP. Any excess damage or stress (past 0 HP) is applied to STR.

#Stability is a tag that some items have to indicate that they provide protection from stress and reduce it before it is applied to HP. Any excess damage or stress (past 0 HP) is applied to WIL.

Background

You must have done something before you became a scrapper. Choose or roll from the Backgrounds list for more information.

Starting Gear

All scrappers start with gear based on their weirdness and background. You also start with 3d6 x $10 in cash, which you can use to buy things in the [Gear] chapter.

Characters have a total of 10 inventory slots: a backpack or bag (6 slots), hands (2 slots), and body (2 slots). Most items take up one slot, along with #petty items that can be bundled together. Items with the #bulky tag take two slots and are awkward or require two hands.

Name

You need at least a handle and a personality before starting on your adventures. See the Names page for more information.

Age

Choose your age based on your background, or roll 2d20+14 to determine your age randomly.

Look

Describe your appearance. If you need inspiration, roll on the Description tables.

Connections, Contacts, and Companions

Create one connection and one contact. For small player groups (<4), each player may also create one or more companions. See the Connections, Contacts, and Companions page for more information.

Details

Answer the [Getting To Know Your Character] questions.
Determine the rest of your character’s [traits].

The Party

The final step is to establish a party set up using the Party Questions page. This provides the initial context for the scrappers and their explorations.

Backgrounds

Barely raised by my dysfunctional fam’
Here I stand as a dysfunctional man
Quick-tempered, short-fused and pissed at God
Demons pullin’ at my soul ‘til it’s ripped apart

- Proof

Your background is what you did before you became a weird scrapper. It might have been a job, a hobby, or something else notable about your past. Choose a background that fits with your weirdness, or determine randomly on the following table.

7-Eleven night shift: Take stolen snack foods.
Actor: Audition binder, portable charging brick, spare cosmetic supplies, change of clothes.
Administrative Assistant: Extensive contacts, corporate credit card, expandable briefcase, taser (d6 DEX).
Advertising Artist: Take a desktop computer.
Advertising Executive: Take a wardrobe of expensive business clothing.
Animal Control Officer: Take a catch pole (DEX save or restrained) and rabies gloves (+1 AC).
Animal Shelter Employee: Take a collapsible dog crate.
Apothecary: Roll for a second potion formulae.
Art teacher: You can accurately estimate the authenticity and value of looted artworks.
Artist: Artistic tool of choice, notebook, camera, small but passionate fan base.
Audio/Visual Technican: Take a high quality video camera and sound recording equipment (bulky).
Auto body painting: Take a 2004 Mazda 3.
Auto Mechanic: Take an adjustable wrench (d6), portable toolbox, electrical tape, and (flammable) brake cleaner (d6/turn, #blast).
Auto Mechanic: Take automotive tools (heals d6 STR loss, only works on vehicles).
Baker: Take baking supplies (bulky) and a bread knife (d6, close)
Bartender: Take a barknife (d6), bottle of liquor, cigarettes, and confiscated fake IDs.
Bead Artist: Take a necklace of krobo glass beads. Crushing a bead heals d4 loss to any attribute of your choice. The necklace has 3 charges, and may not be recharged.
Bicycle Courier: Bike, bicycle helmet (+1 AC), messenger bag, unopened package, multitool.
Biker Gang: Take a motorcycle.
Bookstore Employee: Take a book of occult lore.
Border Patrol: Take a kayak, paddle, and life jacket.
Bouncer: Take a stun gun (d6, close, stun)
Burglar: Take a lockpicking gun.
Bus Driver: Take a GPS system and a taser (d6, close, non-lethal).
Busker: Take an acoustic guitar and country music songbooks.
Camp Counselor: Take a hatchet (d6, close/near).
Car Thief: Take an RFID writer for copying nearby key fobs.
Carpet installer: Take a carpet knife (d6, close, d4 STR on critical damage), a rug (bulky), and duct tape.
Chemical Engineer: Take acids/bases (d6/turn)
Chemistry Teacher: Take liquid nitrogen (d6/turn)
Co-op grocery worker: Take a constant supply of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Computer Hacker: Take a 2008 Apple MacBook (13-inch, 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 3GB RAM, 160GB SSD).
Coney Island Cook: Take a meat cleaver (d6, close, d4 STR loss on critical damage).
Construction worker: Take a utility knife (d6, close), claw hammer (d6, close), and assorted screwdrivers.
Coroner: Take autopsy tools (bulky).
Counterfeiter: Take 4d6 x $10 in fake cash.
Crime Scene Photographer: Take a dead body in a freezer. It’s a long story…
Distillery Worker: Take a cabinet of quality hard liquor.
Diving Instructor: Take a spear gun (d6, bulky, far).
Dog Walker: Take a pit bull. 3 HP, 4 STR, 12 DEX, 8 WIL, bite (d6, close).
Drug Dealer: Take a big bag of cocaine.
Drug Smuggler: Take a big bag of heroin.
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT): Take a medkit (heal d4 STR), trauma shears, stethoscope, and WAG bag.
Engineer: Laptop w/ design software, waterproof field notebook, wireless router, seldom used PPE.
Exterminator: Take bug bombs (STR save or d6 DEX loss)
Factory worker: Take an acetylene torch (cut/weld/braze metal).
Fishing store clerk: Take a fishing rod, net, and a fully loaded tackle box.
Florist: Take a sickle as a focus for an additional spell.
Forensic Chemist: Take luminol and an ultraviolet flashlight.
Fortune Teller: Take an Ouija board.
Gallery artist: Take a key to an abandoned art gallery.
Gambler: Take a deck of marked cards and a set of weighted dice.
Garbage Collector: Cut resistant clothing (+1 AC), hi-vis vest, reach extender, safety glasses.
Gardener: TBD
Goodwill cashier: Take a wardrobe of used but fashionable big & tall clothing.
Grief Counselor: Take a dead body (don’t ask why).
Groundskeeper: Take a machete (d6, close, d4 DEX loss on critical damage).
Hairstylist: Take a disguise kit.
Health food store owner: Take healing herbs (heals d4 STR, once per person/day).
High School Student: Take a cell phone.
Hip-Hop Blogger: Take a Lenovo ThinkPad SL400 laptop computer.
Hip-Hop Dance Instructor: Take a key to a dance studio where you can crash after hours.
Hitman: Take a submachine gun (d8, blast, near)
Home Health Aide: Take a bottle of opioids.
Home-maker: You are friends with someone on the city council.
Homeless Shelter Employee: Take Narcan.
Homeless shelter staff: You have contacts in the homeless community.
Hospice Nurse: Take injected poisons (d10 STR loss).
House painter: Take maps of common residential house layouts.
Hypnotist: Take a gold pocketwatch (willing subjects only).
Insurance Claim Photographer: Take a badly damaged 2008 Ford F-150.
Keyboard Warrior: Laptop w/ bag, online following, fake credentials, energy drinks.
Lawyer: Take carefully written legal contracts for making deals with spirits (petty).
Leg Breaker: Take a baseball bat (d8, bulky, close).
Librarian: Take a book of demonology.
Logger: Take a chainsaw (d8, bulky, close, d4 STR loss on critical damage).
Marine Sniper: Take a sniper rifle (d12, bulky, slow, far).
Migrant Farmworker: You know other rootworkers who you can call on for help.
Missionary: Take a briefcase full of religious literature.
Mortician: Take a human skeleton.
Music Store Clerk: Take an extra Effect, Element, or Form track.
Narc: Take a hidden recording device.
Nurse: Take a blood pressure cuff, fingertip oximeter, and stethoscope.
Off Grid: Take fake driver’s licenses/social security cards.
Office clerk: Take a laptop computer.
Park Ranger: Take a first aid kit (heal d4 STR loss).
Parking enforcement officer: Take a huge bag of quarters (d6, close).
Pastor: Take a hand-held crucifix.
Pharmacist: Take a packet of LSD.
Phlebotomist: Take needles and syringes.
Phone Psychic: Take a tarot deck (focus, roll for additional power).
Photojournalist: You have friends at the Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, or Detroit Metro Times.
Physical Therapist: Take splints, braces, canes, etc. (bulky, get patient up after critical damage, patient takes 1 fatigue)
Pirate Radio Personality: Take carrier-current microbroadcasting equipment, which can be injected into a power line and broadcasts 250 ft from the line (bulky).
Poacher: Take a bear trap (d10, stationary)
Police Officer: Take handcuffs, a pistol (d8, near), and a PR-24 police baton (d6, close, can defend for +1 AC)
Portrait Photographer: You have contact information for many famous Detroiters, though they don’t owe you any favors.
Private Detective: Take a GPS device.
Private Detective: Take an electronic voice changer.
Restaurant Owner: Take recipies for food you created yourself (petty)
Retail Clothing Sales: Take a nice suit or dress, and fancy club clothes.
Salvation Army Warrior: Take a bell and a bucket.
Scammer: Take smoke bombs (near, attacks through smoke are impaired)
Scientist: Take liquid nitrogen canisters (freeze biological samples, empty to release, d8 blast, near).
Security Guard: Take a pair of two-way radios.
Skater: Take a skateboard, video camera, and bolt cutters.
Social Worker: Laptop w/ bag, ID badge, pocket knife (d6), notebook and pen.
Squatter: Take a propane-powered camp stove.
Stage Magician: Take a white dove (homing pigeon) and a white rabbit (trained).
Store Clerk: Take a Box cutter (d6, close), walkie talkies, name tag, and incredibly comfortable shoes.
Street Fashion Designer: Take expensive casual clothing you designed (petty).
Taxidermist: Take taxidermy supplies (bulky).
Teacher: Coffee mug, scissors, large bag,
Therapist: Memo recorder, notebook and pen, business cards, small revolver (d6).
Toxicologist: Take ingested poisons (d12 STR loss).
Toxicologist: Take poisonous mushrooms (ingested, STR save or d12 STR loss).
Trapeeze Artist: +2 to DEX.
Urban Beekeeper: Take a swarm of angry bees. 6 HP, 6 STR, 14 DEX, 8 WIL, sting (d6), detachment. When the bees cause STR damage, the stingers are lodged into the target, dealing d4 damage each round until removed. If the bees are killed, they are not1. automatically replaced, but you can use downtime to start a new hive.
Veteran: Take fragmentation grenades (d8, blast, near)
Veterinary Pharmacist: Take a supply of ketamine.
Veterinary Technician: Take heartworm preventative, and flea & tick preventative.
Volunteer Firefighter: Collapsible ladder (bulky), axe (d6), fire extinguisher, flashlight.
Wedding Photographer: Take a digital video camera.

Names

Hi, my name is… what?
My name is… who?
My name is chka-chka Slim Shady

- Eminem

Street Name

If you are in an illegal scrapping crew, it’s not a good idea to use your real name. So at a minimum, choose a street name (aka call sign, handle). Keep in mind that the origin of your street name is probably more of a teasing insult than a cool compliment.

Your street name also says something important about your character. It gives you a hook for role-playing. If you need inspiration, roll on the table below.

These names are a combination of military call signs, gangster names, and just silly nicknames.

Legal Names

Since Detroit is a real place, creating a legal name for your character should be fairly straightforward. However, if you need inspiration roll on the tables below, which lists some less common first and last names in Michigan (sourced from the 2010 census).

First Name

Last Name

|d100|Last Name| |–|–| |01 |Henderson| |02 |Crawford| |03 |Rodriguez| |04 |Murray| |05 |Rice| |06 |Ellis| |07 |Hunter| |08 |Peters| |09 |Palmer| |10 |Carlson| |11 |Nichols| |12 |Hicks| |13 |Wallace| |14 |Sullivan| |15 |Hoffman| |16 |Berry | |17 |Harrison | |18 |Richards | |19 |Simmons | |20 |Jordan | |21 |Wells | |22 |Gardner | |23 |Mason | |24 |Bradley | |25 |Martinez| |26 |Porter | |27 |Shaw | |28 |Washington | |29 |Daniels | |30 |Johnston | |31 |Armstrong | |32 |Curtis | |33 |Simpson | |34 |Warren | |35 |Weber | |36 |Ferguson | |37 |Mills | |38 |Arnold | |39 |Hudson | |40 |Gordon | |41 |Chapman | |42 |Tucker | |43 |Owens | |44 |Jacobs | |45 |Black | |46 |Schneider | |47 |Hart | |48 |Hansen| |49 |Hernandez | |50 |Wheeler| |51 |Webb | |52 |Elliott| |53 |Austin| |54 |Stone | |55 |Andrews| |56 |Warner| |57 |Olson | |58 |Hawkins| |59 |Dixon | |60 |Gilbert| |61 |Lawrence | |62 |Cunningham| |63 |Dean | |64 |Carr | |65 |Matthews | |66 |Fuller | |66 |Weaver | |68 |Payne | |69 |Dunn | |69 |Watkins | |71 |Riley | |72 |Freeman | |73 |Ryan | |74 |Bishop | |75 |Walters | |76 |Grant | |77 |Klein | |78 |May| |79 |Patel | |80 |Willis | |81 |Burke | |82 |Perkins | |83 |Larson | |84 |Harvey | |85 |Burton | |86 |Stephens | |87 |Ray | |88 |Little | |89 |Welch | |90 |Knight | |91 |Reid | |92 |Powers | |93 |Gonzalez | |94 |Cross | |95 |Love | |96 |Harper | |97 |Bowman | |98 |Potter | |99 |Banks | |100 |Oliver |

Connections, Contacts, and Companions

Each player creates two NPCs:

List one person who is significant to your crew member. What is their relationship? Give them a name and brief description.
List one contact your crew member has. What is the contact’s area of expertise and what is their relationship to the crew member?

Relationships

Family Member
Online Associate
Current Romantic Partner
Former Romantic Partner
Good Friend
Casual Acquaintance
Mentor
Co-Worker
Boss
Bitter Rival

Companions

If your crew has companions, roll their Ability Scores in order and give them 1 HP, a pistol (d8, near), and a prybar (d6, close).

Description

Physique (d10)

Athletic
Brawny
Flabby
Lanky
Rugged
Scrawny
Short
Statuesque
Stout
Towering

Skin (d10)

Birthmarked
Oily
Scarred
Tanned
Webbed
Marked
Rosy
Soft
Tattooed
Weathered

Hair (d10)

Bald
Braided
Curly
Filthy
Frizzy
Long
Luxurious
Oily
Wavy
Wispy

Face (d10)

Bony
Broken
Chiseled
Elongated
Pale
Perfect
Rat-like
Sharp
Square
Sunken

Clothing (d20)

Business Casual
Hip Hop Streetwear
Graphic T-shirts
Goth or Emo
Athleisure
Seapunk
Hiking gear
Vintage 1970s
Uniform
Carhardt work clothes
Hacker hoodies and techwear
Island Floral
Everything tailored
Function over fashion
Cargo pockets
Normcore jeans and plain tees
1980s punk
Hipster
Gang signs
Denim on denim

Party Questions

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Welcome to Detroit
Come back soon
Sorry we missed you

- Trick-Trick

The Party

Why has the party come together? Use the answers from the Get To Know Your Character section to inform your decision. As a table create your own or use the table below (d6):

| d6 | Result | | — | ———————————————————————————————————————- | | 1 | The scrappers meet in a dive bar. They may or may not know each other. Fluorescent lights hum over checkered linoleum. | | 2 | A simple “wrong place, wrong time.” The resulting event binds the scrappers together. | | 3 | United through self guided research. Urbex forum? Club? Support group? | | 4 | A mysterious patron brought the scrappers together to look for specific items. | | 5 | Members of the community respond to a series of mysterious events. | | 6 | Scrappers that are looking into a mysterious event. |

Character Bonds (optional)

Have each player state a relationship to another character at the table. This should be informed by the background, The Abyss Stares Back, and The Party section of character creation. Some examples are:

d6
1	_____ is hiding something from me.
2	_____ is my ex.
3	_____ saved my life.
4	_____ is my drinking buddy.
5	___ was my co-worker at ___.
6	_____ is my neighbor.

Vehicles

Determine as a group what types of vehicle or transportation the party has access to (hint, it won’t be nice). The party may have access to more than one vehicle. Car chases are an essential part of urban gaming. Vehicles have STR. When it is reduced to 0 STR it is totaled. Totaling a vehicle can cause damage to those in and around the vehicle.

Gear

Weapons

Weapons include any item used to cause harm, including unarmed combat, tools like screwdrivers, and even explosives.

Weapon Types

Improvised Weapons

Unarmed combat: punch, kick, etc. (d4, #close, knockout on crit dmg)
Tool: claw hammer, knife, prybar, screwdriver, etc. (d6, #close) ~ $20
Throwable tool: knife, hatchet, etc. (d6, #close/near) ~ $25
Bulky tool: michigan axe, shovel, sledgehammer, etc. (d8, #bulky, #close) ~ $40

Hand-to-Hand Weapons

Baton: PR-24, collapsible baton, nightstick (d6, #close/near, knockout on crit dmg) ~ $30
Stun gun (d6, #close, #stun) ~ $30
Chemical spray (d6, #blind, #close) ~ $10
Hand weapon: combat axe, baton, combat knife, tactical sword, etc. (d8, #close) ~ $50
Throwable hand weapon: battle hatchet, tactical tomahawk, etc. (d8, #close/near) ~ $75
Bulky hand weapon: katana, mounted bayonet, etc. (d10, #bulky, #close) ~ $100

Short Range Weapons

TASER (d6, #near, #stun) ~ $100
Pistol (d8, #near) ~$200
Sawed-off shotgun (d6, #blast, #close/near, #restricted) ~ $250
Submachine gun (d6, #auto, #blast, #near, #restricted) ~ $1,000

Long Range Weapons

Bow/Crossbow (d6, #bulky, #far) ~ $100
Shotgun (d6, #blast, #bulky, #far) ~ $250
Hunting rifle (d12, #bulky, #far, #slow) ~ $500
Civilian assault rife (d10, #bulky, #far) ~ $1,000
Military assault rife (d10, #auto, #bulky, #far, #restricted) ~ $2,500
Machine gun (d10, #auto, #blast, #bulky, #far, #restricted) ~ $5,000

Explosive Weapons

Molotov Cocktail (d6/turn, #blast, #near) ~ $5
Flashbang or chem grenade (d6, #blast, #blind, #near, #restricted) ~ $150
IED (d10, #blast, #bulky, #close, #restricted, #slow) ~ $200
Fragmentation grenade (d8, #blast, #near, #restricted) ~ $TBD
Grenade launcher (#far, #restricted) ~ $TBD

Weapon Tags

Weapons are described by tags that give you important information about the items size, range, area, critical damage, and other characteristics.

Auto

Usually found on heavy weapons like machine guns, the weapon can can concentrate fire on a single target. When using concentrated fire, roll the damage dice twice and take the best result.

Blast

The weapon damages multiple targets in an area. This tag is usually found on explosives or automatic weapons. When in doubt if it can harm all targets in the area, roll the damage die again to determine the number of targets affected.

Usually found on weapons like pepper spray, flashbangs, and tear gas grenades. When damaged, the target must make a DEX save or be blinded for d4 turns. Attacks against a blinded opponent are enhanced, and attacks made by them are impaired. If a weapon has both #blind and #deaf, only one save is required. These weapons can still kill if the target fails a critical damage save, or is reduced to 0 HP.

Deaf

Found on flashbang grenades or powerful explosives. When damaged, the target must make a DEX save or be deafened, causing them to automatically fail further DEX saves until they get a short rest. If a weapon has both #blind and #deaf, only one save is required. These weapons can still kill if the target fails a critical damage save, or is reduced to 0 HP.

Bulky

The weapon requires 2 inventory slots to carry, and 2 hands to use effectively.

Close

Close means the target is within 40 ft, easily reachable in hand-to-hand combat. All melee weapons have this rnage. Attacks with raged weapons are impaired at close range.

Close/Near

The weapon can be used in hand-to-hand combat range, or ranged combat. Usually applies to thrown weapons, or sawed-off shotguns.

Stun

Usually found on electrical weapons like tasers and stun guns. When damaged, the target must make a DEX save or fall to the ground helpless for d4 turns. They can still kill if the target fails a critical damage save, or is reduced to 0 STR.

Far

The target cannot be reached in a single turn. This is betweem 80 and 160 ft. Pistols and primitive ranged weapons like bows and crossbows have this range.

Near

The target outside hand-to-hand range, but can be reached with a full turn run. This is approximately 40 - 80 feet. Spray weapons like pepper gel, and thrown weapons like grenades have this range.

Restricted

You can’t just go out and buy a fragmentation grenade or a machine gun. These weapons are restricted to either police officers, or the military.

Slow

You cannot move and use the weapon to attack in the same turn.

Protective Gear

Type	Cost
Mask (protects your identity)	~ $20
Hearing protectors (auto save vs flashbang deafness)	~ $50
Protective clothing (+1 AC)	~ $75
Gas Mask (auto save vs chem spray/grenades)	~ $100
Riot Shield (+1 AC)	~ $250
Armored Vest (1 AC)	~ $1,000
Protective amulet (+1 Stability)	~ $1,000
Interceptor Armor (2 AC, #bulky, #restricted)	~ $1,500

Armored Vest: A so-called “bulletproof vest”. It is made of layered kevlar, protects the torso and provides a base AC of 1.

Protective Clothing: This includes things like welding gloves, motorcycle helmets, football pads, etc. Protective clothing can add a maximum of +1 to your AC.

Interceptor Armor: Properly known as the “Interceptor Multi-Threat Body Armor System”, this military armor includes a helmet and ceramic plates to protect agaist high-velocity rifle rounds. It provides a base AC of 2.

Protective Amulet: A minor magical item that provides +1 armor against stress attacks.

Riot Shield: A clear plexiglas shield. It adds +1 to your AC against close combat and thrown weapon attacks, but does not protect against firearms or explosives.

Equipment

Acetylene torch (cuts/welds metal, #bulky) ~$250
Automotive tools (heal d6 STR loss to vehicles, #bulky)
Baseball bat (d8, #bulky, #close)
Bear trap (d10, #slow) ~ $100
Binoculars ~ $100
Body Bag ~ $25
Bolt Cutters ~ $40
Box cutter (d6, #close)
Bug bombs (STR save or d6 DEX loss)
Camera, analog, LSR ~ $400
Camera, digital
Camp stove
Car Opening Kit ~ $75
Cards or dice (#petty)
Carpet knife (d6, #close)
Carrier-current microbroadcasting equipment (bulky)
Catch pole (DEX save or restrained)
Cellphone (Blackberry) ~ $200 + $50/month
Cellphone (iPhone) ~ $500 + $75/month
Cellphone (Motorola Razr V3xx) ~ Free + $50/month (min 2 year contract)
Chain & Lock ~ $50
Chainsaw (d8, #bulky, #close) ~ $200
Claw hammer (d6, #close)
Climbing Gear ~ $150
Clothing, fancy
Clothing, plain
Collapsible dog crate
Collapsible ladder (bulky)
Comms, ear pieces ~ $500
Comms, walkie talkies ~ $200
Computer, desktop
Computer, laptop - 2008 Apple MacBook (13-inch, 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 3GB RAM, 160GB SSD) ~ $1,000
Computer, laptop (Lenovo ThinkPad SL400)
Cooking supplies (bulky)
Directional Microphone ~ $200
Disguise kit (bulky)
Drill, cordless
Drone ~ $200
Duct tape ~ $10
Electrical Tool Kit ~ $150
Fake ID ~ $200
Field surgery kit ~ $100
Fire axe (d8, #bulky, #close)
Fire extinguisher
First aid kit (heal d4 STR, 1 use) ~ $50
Fishing rod, net, tackle box
Flare ~ $20
Flashlight, LED
Forgery Kit ~ $150
Glass Cutting Tools ~ $150
GPS system
Grease ~ $30
Handcuffs ~ $50
Head Lamp ~ $25
Healing herbs (heals d4 STR loss)
Kitchen knife/barknife/cleaver (d6, #close)
Life jacket
Lighter ~ $10
Liquid nitrogen (d6, #blast, #close)
Lockpicking gun
Lockpicks ~ $150
Machete (d6, #close)
Magical focus
Marbles ~ $20
Mechanical Tool Kit ~ $150
Metal Ball Bearings ~ $40
Michigan axe (d8, #bulky, #close)
Multitool (d6, #close)
Musical instrument (#bulky)
Night Vision Goggles ~ $200
Notebook (waterproof)
Plasma torch (cuts metal fast)
Pocket knife (d6, #close)
Portable drug lab (bulky) ~ $150
Portable Ram ~ $75
Portable Winch ~ $100
Pulley & Rope ~ $25
Reach extender
RFID writer
Road Spikes (caltrops) ~ $50
Sawzall, cordless (#bulky)
Scissors (d6, #close) ~ $5
Screwdrivers (d6, #close)
Shovel (d8, #bulky, #close)
Skateboard
Sledgehammer (d8, #bulky, #close) ~ $40
Smoke bombs (#near, attacks through smoke are impaired)
Spear gun (d6, #bulky, #far)
Spike Strip (#bulky) ~ $150
Spray paint ~ $15
Tarp ~ $25
Taxidermy supplies (bulky)
Utility knife (d6, #close)
UV flashlight
Video camera, analog
Video camera, digital
Voice changer
Voice recorder
WAG bag
Zip Ties ~ $10

Animals

Homing Pigeon
Pit bull: 3 HP, 4 STR, 12 DEX, 8 WIL, bite (d6, #close)

Automotive Tools: In a pinch, you can grab a wrench as an improvised weapon (d6, #close)

Electrical tool kit: Includes multimeter, electrical tape, wires, wire caps

Vehicles

Bicycle
Motorcycle
Coup
Sedan
Pickup
SUV
Kayak
Motorboat

TBD

Drugs and Potions

Item	Cost
Alcohol, fifth of liquor	~ $TBD
Alcohol, 6-pack of beer	~ $TBD
Cigarettes, pack (20 cigarettes, #petty)	~ $6
Cigarettes, carton (10 packs)	~ $50
Tranquilizers	~ $50
Controled Subtance	~ $50
Poison	~ $50
Acid or Base (d4 damage until removed, caustic liquid that burns through materials	~ $100
Stims (immediate recovery from critical damage, +1d4 temporary DEX)	~ $100
Antidote	~ $50
Antivenom	~ $50

Alcohol

TBD

Tobacco

TBD

Tranquilizers

TBD

Controlled Substances

Most controlled substances are drugs consumed to alter the user’s mood. They are restricted or banned, depending on its classification schedule.

(high based on drug, potential WIL or STR save to grapple with negative effects)

Poison

Poisons are ingested toxic substances. If a PC is about to ingest poison, the guide must provide clues that something is wrong (appearance, smell, etc). If ingested, the victim usually suffers d12 STR loss wthin 3 hours, but poisons vary in potency. On a failed critical damage save, the victim dies. An antidote can reverse the effect if used before the time is up.

Venom

Venoms are injected toxins. If a PC is attacked by a venomous creature or weapon, the Guide should provide clues (appearance, smell, etc). If an envenomed attack does critical damage, it usually causes d12 STR loss within 1 hour, but venoms vary in potency. An antivenom can reverse the effect if used before the time is up.

## Tranquilizers If ingested, the subject must make a STR save or lose consciousness for approximately 3 hours.

Antidote

In Weird Detroit, poison antidotes are alchemical potions can neutralize poison from any source.

Antivenom

TBD

Rules

My crew is all fired up (Yeah, yeah) Y’all better just wise up (Woo, woo) Everybody gettin’ sized up (C’mon, c’mon) Before we all rise up (Let’s go)

Hush

Core Rules

Attributes

Each of the three attributes are used in different circumstances (see Saves).

Strength (STR)

Used for saves requiring physical power, like lifting gates, bending bars, resisting poison, etc.

Dexterity (DEX)

Used for saves requiring poise, speed, and reflexes like dodging, climbing, sneaking, balancing, etc.

Willpower (WIL)

Used for saves to persuade, deceive, interrogate, intimidate, charm, provoke, manipulate spells, etc.

Saves

A save is a roll to avoid bad outcomes from risky choices and circumstances.
PCs roll a d20 and compare the result to an appropriate attribute. If they roll equal to or under that attribute, they pass. Otherwise, they fail. A 1 is always a success, and a 20 is always a failure.
If two opponents are both attempting to overcome the other, whoever is most at risk should save.
If something Enhances a Save, roll d20 twice and take the lower number.
If something Impairs a Save, roll d20 twice and take the higher number.

Healing & Recovery

Resting for a few moments and having a drink of water restores lost HP but may leave the crew exposed. Bandages can stabilize a character that has taken critical damage.
Attribute loss (see Critical Damage) can usually be restored with a week’s rest, facilitated by a healer or other appropriate source of expertise.
Some healing services are free, while magical or more expedient means of recovery may come at a cost.

Deprivation & Fatigue

A PC that lacks a crucial need (such as food or rest) is Deprived. Anyone Deprived for more than a day adds Fatigue to their inventory, one for each day. A Deprived PC cannot recover HP, Attributes, or item slots from Fatigue.
A PC may also be forced to add Fatigue after casting spells or due to events occurring in the fiction. Each Fatigue occupies one slot and lasts until the PC is able to recuperate (such as a full night’s rest in a safe spot).
If a character is forced to add Fatigue to their inventory but they have no free slots, they must drop an item from their inventory.

Armor Class

Before calculating damage to HP, subtract the target’s Armor Class (AC) from the result of damage rolls.
Shields and similar armor provide a bonus defense (e.g. +1 AC), but only while the item is held or worn. Some may also provide additional benefits according to their use.
A PC, NPC, or monster cannot have more than AC 3.

Harm Protection

Harm Protection, abbreviated HP, is a buffer that protects you from being harmed. It represents combat reflexes, experience in predicting the flow of battle, and simple luck.

Reactions

When the PCs encounter an NPC whose reaction to the party is not obvious, the Warden may roll 2d6 and consult the following table.

d12 roll	Reaction
1	Hostile
2-4	Wary
5-8	Curious
9-11	Kind
12	Helpful

Morale

Enemies must pass a WIL save to avoid fleeing when they take their first casualty and again when they lose half their number.
Some groups may use their leader’s WIL in place of their own. Lone foes must save when they’re reduced to 0 HP.
Morale does not affect PCs.

Hirelings

Adventuring parties can recruit hirelings, relying on their unique skills, knowledge, and training to aid in expeditions.
To create a hireling, choose an appropriate role from the Hirelings table in the Marketplace (pg. 17-18). Roll 3d6 for each attribute, and 1d6 for their HP. Give them equipment appropriate to their station, then roll on the Character Traits tables to further flesh them out.
Alternatively, choose an appropriate background and name from the Character Creation guide. Roll (or choose from) the tables for that background. Then, roll for Rations, Gold Pieces, Attributes, HP, and age.

Die of Fate

Optionally, roll 1d6 whenever the outcome of an event is uncertain or to simulate an element of randomness and chance.
A roll of 4 or more generally favors the PCs, while a roll of 3 or under usually means bad luck for the PCs.

Combat Rules

Combat

Start of combat

At the Start of Combat, each PC must make a DEX save for a chance to act before their adversaries.

Success: The PC may act before their opponent.
Failure: The PC does not get to go during the Start of Combat round. After the Start of Combat round, order proceeds with PCs acting, then adversaries.

Rounds

The game typically plays without strict time accounting. If timing is necessary, use 10 second rounds to keep track. A round is comprised of character turns. During each turn all actions, attacks, and movements take place simultaneously.

Actions

On their turn a character may move up to 40ft and take up to one action. This may be casting a spell, attacking, making a second move, or some other combat maneuver.

Players state what actions they will take before rolling dice. If they attempt something risky, the Facilitator will call for a save from the appropriate party.

All actions, attacks, and movements take place roughly at the same time.

Attacking & Damage

There are no rolls to hit. There are no misses, only varying levels of damage.

On their turn, the attacker rolls their weapon die, subtracts any Armor bonus, and deals the remaining total to the opponent’s HP. Excess damage is then dealt to STR (see Critical Damage)

Some attacks deal Stress instead. These follow the same process of rolling the stress die, subtracting any relevant Stability bonus and then dealing the remaining total to HP. Excess Stress is dealt to CTRL (see Critical Stress - Fallout Trigger)

Multiple Attackers

If multiple attackers target the same foe, roll all damage dice and keep the single highest result.

Attack Modifiers

An attack is Impaired if the attacker is in a position of weakness that would impact your effectiveness. Impaired attacks deal 1d4 damage. Some examples of a position of weakness are attacking through cover, being bound, mind clouded by shadows.

An attack is Enhanced if the attacker is in a position of advantage. Enhanced attacks deal 1d12 damage. Some examples of a position of advantage would be leveraging a daring maneuver, attacking a helpless adversary, or having your arm guided by the void. Unarmed attacks always do 1d4 damage.

Dual Weapons

If attacking with two weapons at the same time, roll both damage dice and keep the single highest result.

Blast

The blast quality denotes an attack that hits everything in a target area with damage rolled separately for each affected. Blast can be anything from explosions to spectral tentacles to the impact of a space embryo. If scale is unclear, roll damage dice to determine the number of targets affected.

Retreat

Escaping a doomed situation requires a successful DEX save and a safe destination in order to get away. Safely retreating is a victory in its own way.

Critical Damage

If damage brings a target’s HP below zero, their STR is decreased by the amount remaining. They must then make a STR save to avoid taking critical damage.
Suffering critical damage disables the victim. All they can do is crawl and grasp for life. Aid and rest required to persevere or they will die in the hour.

Critical Stress = Fallout

Stress that reduces a target’s HP below zero decreases a target’s CTRL by the amount remaining. They must then make a CTRL save to avoid Critical Stress.
If a character fails their CTRL save they take critical stress and gain fallout from the Stress Fallout table.

Ability Score Loss

If a PC’s STR is reduced to 0, they die. If their DEX is reduced to 0, they are paralyzed. If their CTRL is reduced to 0, they are lost.

Unconsciousness & Death

When a character dies, the player is free to create a new character or take control of an associate. They immediately join the party in order to reduce downtime.

Detachments

Large groups of similar combatants fighting together are treated as a single detachment. When a detachment takes critical damage, it is routed or significantly weakened. When it reaches 0 STR, it is destroyed.

Attacks against detachments by individuals are impaired (excluding blast damage).

Attacks against individuals by detachments are enhanced and deal blast damage.

Morale

Morale is a mechanical trigger used to simulate a NPCs’ desire to survive.

Enemies must pass a CTRL save to avoid fleeing when they take their first casualty and again when they lose half their number. Some groups may use their leader’s CTRL in place of their own. Lone foes must save when they’re reduced to 0 HP.

Some NPCs transcend measures of morale. Their proximity to the weird means their behavior diverges from other NPCs.

Morale does not affect PCs.

Stress and Scars

Stress is identical to damage, but targets WIL instead of STR. Stress may come as a result of narrative consequences, failed saves, magic repercussions, or enemy attacks. Stress targets HP before going to WIL.

Stress Examples

Note: The amount and frequency of how you deal stress establishes the tone and pacing of your game. It is a dial to control the amount of Weird your players encounter and how likely they are to change as a result.

Stress	Example
1 Stress	GLIMPSE: Encountering the strange or odd.
1d4 Stress	CONTACT: The weird and unexplainable.
1d6 Stress	EXPOSURE: Directly encountering the unknowable. Reality bends.
1d8 Stress	CATASTROPHE: Major Powers, Omens, Catastrophes. Reality is close to breaking.
1d10 Stress	DOOM: Direct contact with Titans. Reality rupturing.

Scars

Too much stress can leave you magically scarred. Players roll or choose from the the Scars list when the character takes critical stress.

Unless marked, the Scar can only be chosen once per list. Each Scar replaces an inventory slot. It cannot be removed.

Note to Guides: The tone of the scars list reflects the themes and goals of the game. Adjust for what works for your table, adding or changing entries as needed to ratchet up (or dial back) the weird. This is the main mechanical dial for the horror in your game.

Have you been replaced? You’ve seen what they can do - their magics and their deceptions. What would stop them from taking you? Maybe you’re not who you think you are? A clone? An android? How would you even know? During your next moment of quiet reflection, roll d6. If the total is higher than your max HP, take the new result.
Memories of an Unknown Traveler: These memories are not your own. They are from a different person, who may be from a different place, or different time. Their feelings so foriegn, if only you could understand what they experienced. During your next rest, roll d6. If the total is higher than your max HP, take the new result.
Paranoia: Is it paranoia if the worries are completely reasonable? You’ve seen what happens in the dark, you know what goes bump in the night. After a week, roll d6. If the total is higher than your max HP, take the new result.
Plagued by Nightmares: It comes for you every night, without fail. You do not know if they are from the beginning, or the end. All you know is that they won’t stop, and that they must mean something. After a week of nightmares, tell your Guide two distinct images that linger at the edge of your remembering.
Mirror World: Everything seemed okay at first, but now you are sure of it the world is somehow different. The shifting of places, people, it is undeniable. When you first start to notice, roll 2d6. If the total is higher than your max HP, take the new result.
Odd: You adopt an odd behavior that makes others extremely uncomfortable. If you resist indulging in your “Oddity” for 24 hours, take the Deprived tag. If others see you engage in this creepy behavior, they must make a WIL save or take 1d4 Stress. After the first instance, roll 3d6. If the total is higher than your current WIL, take the new result.
Hunger: You develop an unnatural hunger for something weird (bugs, blood, rocks, etc.). If you do not satiate your appetite for 24 hours, take the Deprived tag. When you eat, restore your HP and cause 1 fatigue to any that can see. After the first instance, roll 3d6. If the total is higher than your current STR, take the new result.
Scarred: Every wound you inflict leaves its ragged mark upon your body. After the first instance, make a WIL save. If you pass, increase your max STR by 1d4.
Channeling: It wasn’t noticeable at first, but a spirit is trying to communicate through you. It could be an angel, demon, elemental, ghost, or faerie. If you let it in, increase your max WIL by d4.
Magical Mutation (this can be taken multiple times per character): Flesh is weak. A part of your body becomes visibly changed through your proximity to the weird. The Guide and Player should decide on how that change manifests and if it has any mechanical impacts.
Threshold: There is a pale door with a black handle. It is unremarkable other than the fact that this door can seemingly appear anywhere. Sometimes the door is in places it should not be. Sometimes it stands alone, attached to nothing at all. The one thing you are sure of is that it is the same door each time- one you have not yet been able to open.
Neural Superposition: You see images of unknown places superposed onto this one, sometimes making it difficult to tell what is real. In another time you may have been called an oracle. When you roll DEX saves, roll 2d20 and take the lowest result. Once per day you see something significant (ask your Guide what it is).
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son: Enough exposure has shifted and changed you. You are more connected to the otherworldly. Add chaos magic to your character sheet and follow the rules. This new power is great, and terrible. The first time you use a spell it causes 1d6 stress. Your second spell causes 1d4 stress. Finally the third spell you cast causes 1 stress.
Marked by Fear The core of your being has been twisted and changed. When you act in a way that manifests your marked fear and have to make a save, roll 2d20 and take the lowest result. When you resist an opportunity to indulge the fear, take 1d4 stress. Create a fundamental fear with your Guide.
Heavy is the head: An ethereal crown hangs above your head. It is not visible to all, only a special few. Tales have been told of your coming. Make a WIL save. If you pass, increase your max WIL by 1d6.
Full to Bursting: You have a feeling of fullness and contentment. Next time you would fail a critical damage STR save: you succeed instead. Immediately and violently begin to vomit vermin (player’s choice). Any being that can see they must make a WIL save or take 1d6 stress. Roll 3d6. If the total is higher than your max WIL, take the new result.
Progeny: Something is growing inside of you. Hope has long since abandoned it, and it has no more room for dreams. Roll 2d6. Take the new result as your max HP.
Fate’s Web (this can only be taken once per character but multiple times per table): At least a puppet can see the strings that bind it, if only you were so lucky. Roll on the Omens and Magical Catastrophes table.
The Hunt: Patronage is a dangerous thing. It becomes harder to ignore the primal impulses that burn deep inside you. Your attacks are Enhanced Critical Damage mutilates your body but you can continue to act. You become the primary target of otherworldly and attacks made against you are Enhanced.
Doomed (this can be taken multiple times per character): You have been branded for sacrifice, anointed for doom. If your next critical save against damage is a failure, you die horribly. If it is a success, you roll 3d6 + the number of times you’ve taken Doomed. If the total is higher than your max HP, take the new result.

Vehicle Rules

Vehicle Attributes

Vehicles have 2 attributes, STR and DEX.
STR represents the engine power and toughness of the vehicle.
DEX represents the acceleration and maneuverability of the vehicle.

Vehicle Saving Throws

Vehicles roll STR saves using their STR.
Vehicles roll DEX saves using the lower of the vehicle’s DEX or the driver’s DEX. A good driver can benefit from a responsive vehicle, and vice verse.
Vehicles are immune to anything requiring a WIL save, if needed for some reason, use the driver’s WIL.

Harm Protection

Vehicles do not have HP, and use the driver’s HP to avoid attacks.

Vehicle Armor Class

Most vehicles have 1 point of AC. Open vehicles like motorcycles have no armor, while military vehicles like APCs can have up to 3 AC. Armor also protects the occupants from damage if they are attacked directly.

Vehicle Weapons

Most vehicles do not have weapons, and personal attacks from a vehicle are not enhanced. If an enclosed motor vehicle has a mounted weapon, that weapon is treated as part of the detachment, and its attacks are enhanced.

Ramming and Crashes

Ramming or crashing causes damage to both the vehicle, whatever it hits, and the people inside, depending on the relative speed: Street (d6), Road (d8), or Highway (d10).

Vehicle Damage

When the driver is out of HP, remaining damage is done to the vehicle’s STR, and then the vehicle must make a STR save or something goes wrong: a flat tire, leaking fuel, a door falls off, etc.

Chases

The winner of a vehicle chase can be determined in two different ways.

One of the two vehicles is faster. Example, a sedan chasing a bicycle. The faster one wins unless the slower one can compensate for it somehow. Example, a mountain bike cutting across rough terrain where a sedan cannot easily follow.
The two vehicles have similar speeds. Like in any other conflict, the fleeing vehicle must make a DEX save to escape.

Hazards

Each turn of a chase, the Guide should introduce one or more hazards, depending on the fiction. Dealing with hazards usually require some kind of saving throw. Examples include:

Slow vehicles, red lights, stop signs
Parked cars, police barricades, construction zones
Tight corners, one-way streets, rough terrain
Pedestrians cross the street, bystanders call 911, a reporter takes a photo

Loot

Every chain
Has got a weak link
I might be weak, yeah
But I’ll give you strength

- Aretha Franklin

Common Metals

Common metals are frequently found in ruins, and can be sold in most scrapyards with no questions asked. Selling prices are listed below:

Common Metal	Price
Iron	$0.05/lb
Steel	$0.25/lb
Aluminum	$1/lb
Zinc	$1/lb
Lead	$1/lb
Copper	$5/lb
Tin	$10/lb

Precious Metals

Gold and silver are not commonly found in ruins, but you can sometimes find gold and silver bars hidden in caches left over from the crack wars of the 1980s. They can be sold by weight at many jewelry stores and melted down with no questions asked at 50% market price. Precious metals are measured by troy ounce (14 troy oz = 1 lb) at the selling prices listed below. Platinum, palladium, and rhodium are three related metals commonly extracted from stolen catalytic converters, and the metals from a single converter can get you about $200.

Precious Metal	Market price per troy oz
Silver	$25
Platinum	$700
Palladium	$750
Gold	$1,750
Rhodium	$4,000

Gemstones

Gem prices vary wildly based on carat, color, clarity, cut, and heat treating. You can sell looted games to shady jewelry stores at about 75% market price, but the process is a lot slower than selling scrap because the gems have to be graded, which can take weeks.

This list was shamelessly ripped off from gemstonetips.com

Gemstone name	Type	Market price per carat
Diamond	Precious Stone	$1,000-$100,000
Sapphire	Precious Stone	$500-$15,000
Ruby	Precious Stone	$1,000-$100,000
Emerald	Precious Stone	$250-$20,000
Tanzanite	Semi-precious Stone	$100-$1000
Aquamarine	Semi-precious Stone	$50-$1,000
Tsavorite	Semi-precious Stone	$50-$1,000
Spessartite	Semi-precious Stone	$50-$500
Morganite	Semi-precious Stone	$50-$200
Rubellite	Semi-precious Stone	$25-$500
Tourmaline	Semi-precious Stone	$15-$500
Amethyst	Semi-precious Stone	$10-$500
Topaz	Semi-precious Stone	$20-$400
Citrine	Semi-precious Stone	$25-$300
Kyanite	Semi-precious Stone	$25-$200
Chrysoberyl	Semi-precious Stone	$20-$300
Garnet	Semi-precious Stone	$5-$200
Peridot	Semi-precious Stone	$5-$150
Opal	Semi-precious Stone	$5-$500
Turquoise	Semi-precious Stone	$5-$200
Jade	Semi-precious Stone	$5-$500
Spinel	Semi-precious Stone	$10-$200
Rose Quartz	Semiprecious Stone	$10-$200
Smoky Quartz	Semiprecious Stone	$10-$300
Zircon	Semi-precious Stone	$15-$100
Moonstone	Semi-precious Stone	$10-$250
Rhodolite	Semi-precious Stone	$15-$150
Fire Opal	Semi-precious Stone	$5-$50
Fluorite	Semiprecious Stone	$5-$150
Iolite	Semiprecious Stone	$5-$200
Amber	Organic Gem	$5-$300
Ivory	Organic Gem	$5-$300
Coral	Organic Gem	$5-$500
Pearls	Organic Gem	$5-$10,000
Lab-Created Gems	Synthetic Gems	$5-$200

Artifacts

While many artifacts are museum pieces and could fetch tens of thousands of dollars at an auction, selling them on the streets will generally get you 3d6 x $100.

Oracles

Oracles are used to make random decisions, and are mostly used in solo play.

Exploration Procedures

The Basics

The exploration cycle (see below) is divided into a series of Turns, Actions, and their consequences.
On their Turn, a character can move a distance equal to their torchlight’s perimeter (about 40ft), and perform one Action. Players can use their action to move up to three times that distance, though that will increase the chance of triggering a roll on the Dungeon Events table.
The Warden should present obvious information about an area and its dangers freely and at no cost. Moving quickly or without caution may increase the chance of encountering a wandering monster, springing a trap, or triggering a roll on the Dungeon Events table.

Exploration Cycle

The Warden describes the party’s surroundings and any immediate dangers (combat, traps, surprises, etc.). The players then declare their character’s intended movements and Actions.
The Warden resolves the actions of each character simultaneously, along with any actions that are already in progress. Remember, the Die of Fate can be a useful tool whenever the Warden is in doubt!
The players record any loss of resources and any new conditions (i.e. item use, deprivation, etc). The cycle then begins again. If appropriate, the Warden should roll on the Dungeon Events table. Keep common sense in mind when interpreting the results!

Exploration Events

Explorations are always dangerous, and time must always be weighed against the risk of awakening the location’s denizens, natural hazards, and worse.

When the crew:

Spends more than one dungeon cycle in a single room or location.
Moves quickly or haphazardly through a room.
Moves into a new area, level, or zone.
Creates a loud disturbance.

Roll on the table below:

d6 Exploration Events

Encounter Roll on an encounter table. Possibly hostile (see Reactions (pg. 64)).
Sign A clue, “spoor,” track, abandoned lair, scent, victim, droppings, etc is discovered.
Environment Surroundings shift or escalate. Water rises, ceilings collapse,a ritual nears completion, etc.
Loss Torches are blown out, an ongoing spell fizzles, etc. The party must resolve the effects before moving on.
Exhaustion The party must take a brief rest (roll on this table again), add a Fatigue, or consume a ration.
Quiet The party is left alone (and safe) for the time being.

Actions

Actions are any non-passive activities such as searching for traps, forcing open a door, listening for danger, disarming a trap, engaging an enemy in combat, casting a spell, dodging a trap, running away, resting, etc.
Some actions have special rules (see below), while others may take multiple turns to complete.
Loud or noticeable actions may also trigger an encounter of the dungeon’s denizens.

Searching

A character can spend a turn performing an exhaustive search of one object or location in an area, revealing any relevant hidden treasure, traps, secret doors, etc.
Larger rooms and difficult or complex terrain may take a few turns to properly search.
Searching a room first is a safer way to explore, but it has a steep cost: time.

Resting

A character can spend a turn resting to restore all HP.
A light source and a safe location are required to rest. Present or oncoming danger make rest impossible. Resting does not restore Fatigue, as it is impossible to safely Make Camp in an exploration.

Panic

A character that is surrounded by enemies, enveloped by darkness, or facing their greatest fears may experience panic. A WIL save is typically required to avoid losing control and becoming panicked.
A panicked character must make a WIL save to overcome their condition as an action on their turn.
A panicked character has 0 HP, does not act in the first round of combat, and all of their attacks are impaired.

Unarmed Combat

Unarmed (d4, close) Fight Dirty (d6, close, stress) Takedown (STR contest, winner/loser has future attacks enhanced/impaired until escaped) Escape/Submit (On the Ground Only, the winner escapes or forces a submission)

Credits & Licensing

I can tell there’s something wrong with you Tell me do you wanna talk about it, talk about it? You say you got a lot on your mind Sit down, let’s talk about it, talk about it - Aaliyah

Credits

Urbex 313 by Christopher W. Dolunt is CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Urbex 313 is an independent production by Chris Dolunt and is not affiliated with Goblin Archives LLC. It is published under the Liminal Horror Third Party License.
Images from Wikipedia credited in ALT.
Because urban exploration is illegal, some images are uncredited.
Song quotes are considered fair use and credited where they appear.

Liminal Horror Third Party License

This license allows anyone to make adventures, monsters, spells, content or mechanics for Liminal Horror and sell or publish for free. Rules

If you follow these rules you are allowed to publish free or commercial material based upon or declaring compatibility with Liminal Horror without express permission from Goblin Archives LLC.

Without explicit permission, you may not:

Copy or re-use the art of Liminal Horror, except those illustrations identified as public domain
Use the Goblin Archives, Liminal Horror, or Space Penguin logos
State or imply that your work is an official Liminal Horror product, or that it has endorsement from Goblin Archives

You may:

Use, copy, and modify the text of Liminal Horror Legacy Edition. Liminal Horror Legacy Edition is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0.
Use, reference, and modify the game rules and mechanics.
Reference any locations, creatures, characters or factions mentioned in Liminal Horror

Restrictions:

You cannot use AI generated Art or Text in a Liminal Horror compatible publication.
You cannot make Liminal Horror NTFs.
You cannot use or copy text from the Investigators Edition or Deluxe Edition that is copyrighted by Goblin Archives and Josh Domanski without a licencing contract.You cannot publish work under the Third Party License content that would generally be deemed bigoted or hateful towards minorities, marginalized identities, and/or oppressed classes of any kind. You can use Third Party License for work that critiques bigotry, fascism, TERFs, billionaires, white supremacy, and other oppressive forces.

Legal

The following text must be included somewhere visible within your publication, and on the website or storefront where you promote the product:

[Product name] is an independent production by [Author or Publisher] and is not affiliated with Goblin Archives LLC. It is published under the Liminal Horror Third Party License.
This copyright text must be legibly included somewhere on the product:

Liminal Horror is copyright by Goblin Archives LLC.

Goblin Archives LLC takes no responsibility for any legal claims against your product.

Compatibility logo

You are allowed and encouraged (but are not required to) use one of the “Compatible with Liminal Horror” logo in your product, and on the website or storefront where you promote the product.

Different compatibility logos for third party content for Liminal Horror. Liminal Horror, CC-BY-SA 4.0 and the Third Party License

Liminal Horror started as a hack of Cairn. Both are written using the Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International — CC BY-SA 4.0. This means that you can copy and share the text as long as you properly attribute the sections and give those portions the same license.

What this means in practice?

You can use any of the text, as is, within Liminal Horror Core Rules & SRD as long as those parts are attributed and licensed in the same way.
It also means you can write your own adventure, reference rules and mechanics in your own way, and publish it using the Third Party License above and copywrite your portions of the text (if you want to).

Attribution

Licensing language used the framework created By Odin’s Beard RPG for their Runecairn Third Party License.

Additional language and guidance from the MÖRK BORG Third Party License by Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell.

Rules Summary

ABILITIES
STR: Physicality, brawn & toughness.
DEX: Speed, sneaking & precision.
WIL: Wisdom, charm & weirdness.

SAVES Roll d20 equal to or under target Ability. The being at most risk in a contested action makes the save.

HIT PROTECTION
HP reflects a character’s ability to avoid damage (both from damage and stress).

HEALING
A quick rest fully restores HP but can leave the investigators exposed. Ability loss requires a week’s rest with medical intervention or magical means.

DEPRIVATION
Deprived keeps a PC from recovering HP. Being deprived for more than 24hrs adds Fatigue to a PCs inventory. Fatigue takes up one slot and lasts until they can recuperate. This can happen multiple times

INVENTORY
PCs have 10 inventory slots. Most items take up one slot. Bulky items take up two slots and are awkward or difficult to carry. All 10 slots being in use lowers HP to 0.

MAGIC
TBD. If deprived or in danger, a WIL save may be required to avoid dire consequences.

ACTIONS
On their turn, characters may move 40ft and take a single action. Actions are casting a spell, attacking, additional movement, or some other reasonable action. These take place simultaneously.

Retreating from a doomed situation requires a successful DEX save and a safe destination.

For the Start of Combat round, characters must pass an DEX save in order to act. Subsequent turns have players acting, then adversaries.

COMBAT
All attacks automatically hit. Attackers roll their Stress or Damage die, subtract any protections from Armor (damage) or Stability (stress), and deal the remaining total to the opponent’s HP. Excess damage is dealt to STR and excess stress is dealt to CTRL.

If there are Multiple attackers, or one using two weapons, roll all damage dice together and keep the single highest die.

Unarmed attacks always do 1d4 damage. Impaired attacks (position of weakness) reduce damage die to 1d4. Shooting into cover is Impaired. Enhanced attacks (position of advantage) increase damage die to 1d12. Blast affects all area targets, rolling separately for each.

DAMAGE
Damage that exceeds the remaining HP applies the excess to STR. They must then make a STR save to avoid critical damage. Failure drops them out of combat, dying if left untreated.

Having STR 0 means death; having DEX 0 is paralysis; having CTRL 0 they are lost.

STRESS & FALLOUT
Player chooses from the Stress Fallout table when either:

A PC takes critical stress (when they fail a CTRL save after it takes Ability damage)

Each Stress Fallout entry:

Can only be chosen once at the table (unless denoted).
Consumes an inventory slot.

Welcome 2 Detroit

The Elephant in the Room

TTRPG Blackface

Safety and Consent

Establish Lines & Veils

The X Card

Rewind, Fast Forward

Overview

Guide and Player

Player Choice

No Classes

Growth

Adaptable

Death

Principles for Players

Agency

Teamwork

Talking

Caution

Planning

Ambition

Character Creation

Creating a Character

Ability Scores

Hit Protection

Background

Starting Gear

Name

Age

Look

Connections, Contacts, and Companions

Details

The Party

Backgrounds

Names

Street Name

Legal Names

First Name

Last Name

Connections, Contacts, and Companions

Companions

Description

Physique (d10)

Skin (d10)

Hair (d10)

Face (d10)

Clothing (d20)

Party Questions

The Party

Character Bonds (optional)

Vehicles

Gear

Weapons

Weapon Types

Improvised Weapons

Hand-to-Hand Weapons

Short Range Weapons

Long Range Weapons

Explosive Weapons

Weapon Tags

Auto

Blast

Blind

Deaf

Bulky

Close

Close/Near

Stun

Far

Near

Restricted

Slow

Protective Gear

Equipment

Animals

Vehicles

Drugs and Potions

Alcohol

Tobacco

Tranquilizers