If an NPC cant take any more stress, theyre at your mercy.

If you cant take any more

stress, youre out of the scene (but youre safe). You can choose to reduce your stress to 0
at any time, but if you hit maximum stress again in the same scene, youre dead (or lost, or
broken, or captured, or mad, or whatever). Stress is cleared when you rest.
When the GM reckons youve done something remarkable in service of the Crown or your
chosen Goddess, tick another ability on your charcter sheet in either of your chosen paths.

NonPlayer Characters
Bandit

PHYSICAL: 3 SOCIAL: 3 MENTAL: 2 STRESS: 4

Scarf-wrapped vagabonds, that hunt merchants, on shanty skimmers.

Iron Errant
PHYSICAL: 5 SOCIAL: 2 MENTAL: 3 STRESS: 7
Strange knights from a neighboring land, on roaring vehicles,

COPYRIGHT 2016
CREATED & WRITTEN GRANT HOWITT
DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION: J.WAGNAAR

heretic PHYSICAL: 3 SOCIAL: 5 MENTAL: 3 STRESS: 4

Sinister followers of the Lost Brother.

Eons Ago...

Nailboy
PHYSICAL: 3 SOCIAL: 3 MENTAL: 2 STRESS: 5
Junkers hustling at the docks, dangling with piercings and stilettos.

this was a city the size of a kingdom, a city that scraped the sky. Then the sands came; a
dry ocean that washed away all but the tallest towers.

The Crown,

a cartel of merchants and mystics, rules the shifting sands. You work for them.

Golden Guard
PHYSICAL: 4 SOCIAL: 3 MENTAL: 3 STRESS: 5
Expensive and ruthless private security.

The Goddesses...

are real and sleep beneath the sands, sending omens and crystal miracles upwards. They
are COMMERCIA, goddess of gold, charm, & tongues, DEMOS, ruler of beasts, wine, &
chaos, and QUILL, sovereign of storms, the stars, & the sands.

How to play:
SIMPLE 10
CHALLENGING 15
VERY DIFFICULT 20

Statistics:
PHYSICAL

(run, fight, climb, etc)

Agent
Crownsman:
+2 to intimidate
Silvertongue:
+2 to lie
Acquisitions Dept:
+2 to steal

SOCIAL

(charm, lie, scare, etc)

MENTAL

(know, spot, outwit, etc)

Stress:
Possessions:
1.

2.
3.

And also...
Hollow Knights, Arachnid Empires, Zealots of Dead Gods, Junkie Pirates, Invasions of the
Isles of the Moon, Malicious Upseekings, Ancient Automatons, & More!

Character Creation

When you act against an NPC, or when they act against you, treat their relevant stat as +10
as the difficulty.
If you act against an NPC and succeed, you inflict stress on them. If you fail to defend
against an NPC, you take stress. If the dice roll is even, stress is equal to the stat +1; if
its odd, stress is equal to the stat -1. On an attack roll of 20 or a defence roll of 1, stress
is stat +3.

Name:

Estrikos
PHYSICAL: 3 SOCIAL: X MENTAL: 3 STRESS: 3
Large, chitinous stingrays, that swarm in packs.
hekatos PHYSICAL: 5 SOCIAL: X MENTAL: 4 STRESS: 12
Eyeless serpents, much larger, and longer, than a man.

When you act, and the outcome is uncertain, roll a D20 and add your relevant stat. If you
equal or beat the difficulty in the chart below, things go well for you. If you roll under,
things go poorly.

Character Sheet

Daughter of the Sand PHYSICAL: 6 SOCIAL: 1 MENTAL: 5 STRESS: 10

No longer human, their bodies wracked with crystal viruses.

Oracle
Doomsayer:
Ranged attack using MENTAL
vs PHYSICAL
Divinator:
+2 to investigate
The Sanguine:
Restore SOCIAL stress on you
or another. (MENTAL per day)

When you begin,

choose two paths from the available options, and tick one
ability in each. If an ability gives a bonus, add it to your roll when taking said action.

Statistics

Characters have 3 statistics: Physical, Mental, and Social. Each one

governs the probability of successfully completing associated actions. To determine their
values, roll 5D6, drop the highest and lowest, assign one to each statistic

Celebrant
Joybringer:
+2 spread joy
Dervish:
Make 3 attacks per round in
combat. (SOCIAL per day)
Performer:
Perform to give +1 to all allies
next round. (SOCIAL per day)

Persecutor
Sacred Blade:
+1 to bring a criminal to justice
The Inevitable:
+2 to seek an evildoer
Martyr:
Take 2 STRESS to re-roll a
D20 (MENTAL per day)

Defender
Shieldbearer:
+1 to defend the weak
Untouchable faith:
+2 stress boxes
Sword of the Goddess:
+1 STRESS to enemies

Pilgrim
Captain:
+1 rolls when onboard your ship
Shadow:
+2 to sneak and hide
Well travelled:
+2 SOCIAL when you arrive
in a port

Guilder
Golden:
+2 to cut a deal
Cautious:
Defend with any stat in combat
Canny:
+2 to analyse information

Witness
Living Archive:
+2 to history
Trailblazer:
+1 all stats when youre
somewhere people have not
been for a century or more.
Wise: +SOCIAL to an allys
roll. (MENTAL per day)

Gamemaster:

On the right side of the map, draw

your eventual destination. Pass the map
around the group. Each player is to
draw his or her hometown, one place
theyve visited, and one place theyve
only heard of. Players receive a +1 to
all rolls when in their hometowns.

Your journey begins...

in the Maidens Hand, towering HQ
of the Crown. Docked there, is a
well-worn skimmer, that allows you
and your companions to traverse the
shifting dune seas. Your duty is to
trade, protect your interests, and
uphold the values of the Goddesses
Three. May they speed you along