15 Years Later

8/12/2019 15 Years Later

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/15-years-later 1/37



“It was, what, ’95 then? I would have been twelve at the time. I remember my dad used to watch the news, and

saw how things were going. There were all those protests in the paper about germ warfare. I didn’t really

understand what it was about then… we were all just kids, weren’t we?

“It musta been September, we was watching some crap, and there’s this news flash comes up. News anchorlooked terrified, I can remember it perfectly. “Reports indicate that Project Styx has been released in the last two

days. Death tolls in Russia have already reached several hundred million, and are expected to rise rapidly. We

do not yet know if the Soviet U nion will make a nuclear retaliation.” My Dad went white as a sheet when he

heard that. Just froze up, like he had when he heard Mum got run over.

“I asked him what Project Styx was. He told me that American scientists had made an illness to fight their wars

for them. I asked how it would only target enemy soldiers. He said it wouldn’t.

“The sickness reached Britain within a few days. For about a day, there were police everywhere to stop riots, and

then the police all fell sick. So did the doctors, and the lady on the news. Within a week, the hospitals were full,

doctors desperately trying to make things better for their charges whilst they were dying themselves. My Dad

got it, of course. He was lying up in bed, his face swollen and oozing, his eyes puffed shut and his breathing

choking through his lips. He used to send me out to buy stuff for him. He said to leave money in the shop in caseanybody cared. Eventually, it became too painful for him to speak, so instead I’d just get what I thought was

best. I stopped paying too, but I’d make sure I was carrying a knife, just in case. I’d seen people prowling around

outside, and I’d heard gunshots at night.

“I never found it odd that I wasn’t sick, you know? It’s funny what us kids never noticed.

“One morning I went to bring my dad coffee and painkillers, and I realized he wasn’t waking up. There’s that

hollow sensation when you realize somebody you love’s dead, huh? I didn’t mo ve for days. I was just staring at

this swollen, tortured corpse, wishing my old man would come back. I was just blank, you know?

“Eventually, though, I knew I had to go get myself food. I strapped the kitchen knife into my belt, pulled on my

coat and step ped outside. Everything was… barren, you know? In the golden evening light, with the hum of

grasshoppers and the buzz of carrion-flies. I wandered through this shell of a city, wondering if I was the only

one alive.“When I got to the supermarket, I found Mark from down the road sat in front of it. He was only, what, nine at

the time? Bottle of coke and a load of chocolate next to him. He was filthy, his face covered in grime and tear-

streaked. I seem to remember he was drawing people all over the pavement in chalk.

“I called over to him. He grunted back, then stood up. ‘My family died’ he shouted. ‘Mine too’ was my response.

H e looked at me. ‘Why do you have a knife? They’re dangerous.’ I shrugged.

There was one of those long, awkward silences. We looked at each other, trying to work out what was supposed

to happen. We both knew there was no grownups to tell us how things worked. It was confusing. Must have

been worse for him, though. H e can’t have understood it at the time.

“Eventually, I broke the pause. ‘We should find some proper food’ I decided. H e seemed to accept this. I suppose

that was when I really understood what had happened. Turns out that, after the Mixi came, I was the oldest, so

it was down to me to make sure people were OK.“We walked off together, leaving our dead parents in their houses, and that was the end of the world over for us.

Autumn was hard, learning how little there was left and how much had changed. That winter was worse,

because then the gangs came out, and the cold, and the tins of food were running out. But then the spring came,

and there was fruit and sunshine and young rabbits to hunt, and we left the city full of rotting corpses and set

up out here. Life goes on, I figure.”



Autumn- 2

Index - 3

The Setting- 4

The Land- 4

The Sickness- 4

The People- 5

Herders- 6

Villagers- 7Skavvies- 8

Bikers and Gangers- 9

The Messenger Faith- 10

The Tested- 11

Trade- 11

Religion- 12

Holy Ground- 14

How the Game Works- 15

The Game- 15

Characteristics- 15Resistances- 15

Knowledge- 16

Using Skills- 16

Combat- 16

Healing- 17

The Effects of Mixi- 17

Starvation and Thirst- 17

Poison and Unsafe Food- 18

Travel- 18

How Characters Imporive-18

Dice Rolls- 19Turf War- 20

Character Creation- 21

Cultures- 21

Knowledge- 22

Skills- 23

Equipment- 26

Advantages- 29

Dear Diary- 31

Extra Material- 32Character Questions- 32

Sample NPCs- 35

Character Sheet- 37



In 1995, the Cold War reached its conclusion,

wiping out most of earth’s human population.

In February, American generals learned that

the Soviet government had constructed vast

underground bunkers, capable of supporting

human life for years at a time, able to

withstand almost any attack by nuclear

weapons and impregnable to conventional

forces. On receiving information that most of

the Soviet military and leadership had already

been moved to safety, American scientists

began work on Project Styx.

By August of 1995, American scientists had

genetically engineered a variant strain of

myxomatosis to affect humans specifically.

The virus had only a minimal effect on most

other species, but in humans it would cause

massive buboes and swellings, on internal

mucus membranes, leading to a rapid death

by suffocation as the victims lungs became

blocked off and ruptured. For some reason,

those that survived were almost always

children under the age of ten. Unusually, it

also had a minor effect on some feline species,

although it was rarely fatal for them. On

September the 23rd, American infiltrators

released several cats infected with the Styx

virus in the vicinity of entrances to soviet

bunkers. It is unknown whether the infection

penetrated these bunkers, although a

subsequent lack of activity around them

suggests that the inhabitants either all

perished or sealed themselves in completely.

What is known is that the virus swiftly spread

to the rest of the world. By September the 28th

the infection had spread to almost all of

mainland Asia and Europe, leaving billions

dead in its wake. By September the 30th, it had

reached Africa and Australia, with similar

effects.

By this point the Americas had placed

themselves under strict quarantine, but on

November the 7th the virus appeared in Brazil,

and spread to the rest of the continent in the

ensuing days. By the end of the year, only one

person in every ten thousand remained alive,

and modern civilization had conclusively

ended.

The Sickness:

Mixi was engineered to spread as quickly and

effectively as possible. The main vector for

infection is through biting insects such as lice,

fleas and mosquitoes, most typically through

human lice. As well as this, the virus can lie

dormant in dead flesh: disturbing corpses of

those it killed can release the virus into the

surroundings even after several decades.



Early symptoms of infection include red or

watering eyes, loss of apetite, lethargy, and

fevers. In time, this progresses to cause lumps

and swellings on the patient’s mucus

membranes and skin. Most noticeably, the face

becomes inflamed and scarred. As well as this,swelling around the eyes will force them shut,

and similarly breathing becomes difficult as

the throat and lungs become distended out of

shape. Mixi infection commonly results in

secondary infactions taking hold, particularly

respiratory conditions such as pneumonia.

Usually, these secondary infections coupled

with slow suffocation are what eventually kills

the victim.

The comparatively high survival rate amongst

British children after the infection hit theBritish Isles is an anomaly. It is understood by

the Tested that those who survived were

children who had received a trial vaccination

for chickenpox, which granted a little

protection against the sickness.

The Land:

The year is now 2010, the region southeast

England. Those that had survived Mixi, as it

came to be known, inherited an unwelcoming

world. Pockets of the infection remain in thecities, carried by a population of feral cats that

thrive in the abandoned streets. Buildings lie

overgrown and empty, many scattered with

the bones of their human inhabitants. Some,

such as hospitals and supermarkets, have been

raided for supplies but most lie untouched

since the outbreak of Mixi. In these empty

houses, human skeletons lie, gnawed clean by

rats and feral dogs, whilst most useful

supplies have rotted or rusted away. In the

countryside, sheep, cattle and other livestockhave gone wild, and on an island with few

large predators they have flourished. Roads

have cracked and sprouted brambles and

grass, buildings are overgrown and much of

the land is covered with low scrubland. Dotted

here and there can be found wreckage of

vehicles, or human dwellings.

The People: Most of those that survived Mixi were

children between 5 and 10 years old: fewsurvived the infection older than this, whilst

those younger rapidly died of starvation,

disease or injury without adults present. Those

that survived have slowly banded together

and live as scavengers and hunter-gatherers.

Vast swathes of knowledge have been lost

since the outbreak- a large number ofindividuals are illiterate, and those that can

read have found that over the intervening

years many books have rotted or become

illegible, or even been burned as fuel. For this

reason, technical knowledge tends to be

rudimentary at best, with functioning

technology being highly valuable and sought

after.

Over the years, many groups have raided

facilities such as military bases, police stationsand even hunting clubs, so it is not unusual to

see people equipped with firearms. Many

more have forged weaponry from scrap metal,

sometimes with surprising skill.

Over time, most groups have clumped

together in an area, forming loose coalitions

for trade and mutual support, and a culture of

sorts has developed amongst these groupings.

Many gather regularly- on full moons, for

example- in some location, where they trade,

settle disputes and share any knowledge theymay have gained. Almost all such groupings



have become highly superstitious people who

were adults when the outbreak happened are

treated with great reverence and respect, in

part because of the knowledge they possess.

Towns, cities and even smaller settlements are

seen as being cursed or haunted by many, andin any case they are overrun by vicious packs

of cats, dogs and rats, and many who travel to

them subsequently contract Mixi. Similarly,

cats are seen as being intelligent, evil creatures

which spread Mixi, and are usually shot on

sight.

Herders:

The largest group in the southeast are the

Herders, consisting of several separate tribes

of a few dozen individuals- exact numberschange constantly as tribes merge or split

apart, and individuals often move from one

tribe to another. This group lives on the South

and North Downs in Sussex and Kent, and

large swathes of land in between. They exist

principally through herding great flocks of

sheep across the landscape, from which they

take meat, milk and wool. The Herders are

almost entirely nomadic, and have become

highly skilled in living off the land with

resorting to scavenging pre-infectionequipment.

This is as well, as the Herders are highly

superstitious regarding the ‘old buildings’,

more so than most groups. What knowledge of

science and technology they remember has

become confused and subject to degeneration.

It should be remembered that these people

were children, only partially educated, when

Mixi came, and that what knowledge they did

possess was incomplete and simplified at best.

They are aware, for example, that Mixi iscaused by viruses, and hold that a virus is a

tiny, evil spirit. Similarly, they mistrust a lot of

old technology, believing that electrical items

are essentially possessed by ‘electric spirits’-

the absence of tame ‘electric spirits’ is why

they no longer function.

Herders do not build permanent homes,

instead claiming a large area of land as their

own and following herds of cattle or sheep

through it, setting up camp for a few days

before moving on as the herds do. Manyherders have carts drawn by cattle or horses to

carry their supplies, and a rare few use

motorized vehicles. Whilst they do not make

any permanent buildings, must herder tribes

leave a number of supply drops across their

territory. These drops will be well hidden so

that only those in the know can find them, andcontain a few essential supplies- medicinal

herbs, preserved food, clean water and spare

arrows for example. A herder that is in trouble

can find one of these drops and use the goods

stored within, but is expected to replace the

goods they used within a few weeks. The

herder tribes violently- sometimes lethally-

punish those who abuse this system.

Each herder tribe has a somewhat fluid

membership with members joining and

leaving freely and tribes merging or splitting

fairly frequently. Each tribe has a mark or

symbol to identify itself and members will

display their allegiance by wearing it as face-

paint of marking it on their clothing. Similarly,

livestock and vehicles claimed by the tribe will

be branded with this mark as a sign of

ownership. As the tribe moves, they leave this

mark behind them by cutting it into tree-

trunks, arranging piles of stones or cutting it

into the turf. As a general rule, the larger the

mark is the more successful the tribe is and the

more permanent the mark the more territorial

the tribe is, but there are a myriad of other

meanings that can be left as well. In this way, a

smart Herder can make an assessment of the

people occupying an area of land by studying

the marks they have left behind.



Whilst the tribes are in a constant state of flux,

there are three tribes that are particularly

successful and well known: the Broken Horn

in Kent, the Three Eyes on the south coast and

the Burning Man near Lewes.

The Broken Horn tribe live in south Kent andnumber around eighty individuals. They

follow herds of cows for milk, meat and

leather, but are better known as brewers-

alcoholic drinks made by the Broken Horn

tribe are eagerly traded for across the south

east and commonly reach as far as Worthing.

Their most well known drink is Hedge Beer, a

liquor made with hops and various berries,

but the tribe also make a large number of

drinks using the pulp from hallucinogenic

mushrooms and other herbs, and are wellknown for the mind-altering effects their

creations can have.

The Three Eyes tribe claims a huge length of

the south coast as their territory. Unlike most

tribes, they do not follow herds of animals,

instead sustaining themselves through fishing.

They set of nets to catch fish and traps for

crabs and lobsters, as well as harvesting

shellfish. The Three Eyes are often held to be

similar to a Villager community as they

maintain a number of caves in the chalk cliffs,with barrels of fresh water, beds and fire-pits,

and are much less nomadic than most other

tribes, often staying in one place for up to a

month before moving to another established

camp.

The Burning Man tribe herd sheep on the

South Downs around Lewes and number

around thirty individuals. However, they have

strong links with a number of other local tribes,

and they and their allies comprise a much

larger force. Every autumn, the tribe and theirallies gather on the hills above Lewes and

assemble a huge bonfire from wood, petrol

cans and dried dung- this bonfire usually

reaches thirty foot high or more and can be

seen from as far away as Brighton when lit.

When the bonfire is lit, the tribe throw weak or

sick livestock onto it as offerings to ‘momma

chalk’, an entity who they take to be their

patron. The tribe’s name comes from rumours

that they also throw captured enemies onto

the fire as human sacrifices, and the tribemaintains a sinister reputation due to its

territorial nature- they carve their tribe’s mark

onto the downs as huge chalk figures visible

from miles off as a show of bravado.

Villagers:

In contrast to the Herders are the Villagers.The villagers form a network of tribes across

the countryside, occupying small villages and

isolated buildings. They hold that Mixi only

really remains in the larger urban centres, and

can be eradicated in smaller ruins. This they

achieve by frequently torching their dwellings

and all but their most valuable belongings (to

‘kill the Mixi on them’), and killing and

burning any animals that may be infected

within miles of their homes. A Villager

dwelling can easily be anticipated long beforeit is found by the scorch marks on the ground

and trees and the charred remains of animals

left in ditches and pits. To the astonishment of

other groups, this seems to work, and

Villagers have been seen living in buildings

that other groups would avoid, quite literally,

like the plague.

Unlike the Herders, the Villagers believe that

knowledge from before the coming of Mixi is

worth preserving and that ‘civilized’ societycan be restored- different Villager tribes tend



to have formalized sets of laws and something

approaching a bureaucratic structure.

However, confusing though their many

customs- each half remembered from the Old

Times- may seem, the Villagers are often the

most innovative group when it comes to newdevelopment. They were the first to forge

scrap metal into swords and axes, and are the

only group to have built an electric generator

from scratch, something viewed with a sense

of wonder by other groups.

Each Villager community lives in a small

cluster of buildings such as an old farm or

abandoned hamlet. They will normally set

aside two or three buildings as sleeping

quarters, one more for storage and another as

a common hall. The remaining buildings areused as industrial centres- one building will be

a blacksmith’s forge, another a workshop for

broken-down vehicles, another used for

weaving and a fourth used to produce arrows.

As well as this, each village generally sets

aside a small area of land in which they grow

vegetables, although this farming is not

particularly successful owing to the frequent

scorched earth policy of the villagers. Each

village is, therefore, a miniature industrial

centre. The village will have trade links withmaybe seven or eight Herder tribes nearby

and probably a Skavvie band as well. The

villagers rely on trade for most of their food,

producing goods such as ammunition, tools,

carts and cloth as they learn of demand in

exchange for food.

The social structure of each villager

community is normally very well defined.

Each villager has a set task, such as producing

trade goods of some sort or growing food, that

they are expected to fulfil regardless of otherduties. Most villages are run democratically,

electing a leader and his officials each year as

well as tasking some with the defence of the

village in the event of an attack. In a typical

village of sixty, there will be a single leader,

with four officials beneath her each tasked

with overseeing a specific area. There will

typically also be around 15-20 villagers

expected to fight in a militia if the community

is attacked. Most Villages do not attract

attention, but a few have become famous intheir surrounding area.

Near Eastbourne, the village known as New

Pevency has gained renown for creating a

working electrical generator. Every building in

the village is lit with electrical lights, and they

make use of a number of other electric items

such as welding torches, power tools andelectric ovens. New Pevency is bordered by

marshes on three sides, but the fourth is

heavily barricaded and usually features an

armed guard as the village has been attacked a

number of times by those seeking to claim its

technology.

The Hove Smiths are another well known

village. Most of this village is devoted to the

production of guns and ammunition- they

have successfully produced an ironworks that

can cast molten metal and even manage toproduce their own bullets. Whilst the goods

made here are nowhere near as high quality as

salvaged guns, their availability to produce

cheap firearms and ammunition has made the

village very wealthy.

Skavvies:

The third major group is the Skavvies.

Skavvies, unlike Herders and Villagers, still

live mainly by salvaging and scavenging Old

goods rather than living off the land, hencetheir name. The Skavvies make a living by

finding functional technology, medical

supplies and raw materials in the cities and

towns where other groups fear to tread,

although they regard such places as dangerous

and are reluctant to stay in them for any

length of time.

The Skavvies recognize one another as

members of a single large community- they

have their own slang and customs and regard

non-Skavvies as outsiders. Each Skavvie has asmall tattoo on their wrist or forearm of a

spiral that can be sued to identify themselves

to others of their culture. The Skavvies live in

bands of around five to twelve individuals.

Each band is somewhat insular, with its own

slang terms and traditions that are baffling to

outsiders. Members of a band typically try to

dress and conduct themselves similarly to

create a ‘band identity’ with trade partners,

but other traditions are pure superstition or

just in-jokes within the band.



Each band claims a large territory, but unlike

herders, skavvie bands are not territorial and

will happily co-exist with other groups.

Scattered across their territory will be a

number of well-hidden bolt-holes, such as

caves or abandoned buildings. The Skavviesmaintain dwellings here and store most of

their salvaged goods in these places. A typical

skavvie bolt-hole has enough food and trade-

goods to support the Skavvies dwelling there

for a while.

Each skavvie band spends a large amount of

their time visiting Villages and Herder tribes

to trade. To both groups they offer tinned food,

fuel, medicines and other salvage, claiming

food from the Herders and crafted items fromthe villagers in return. In this way, the

Skavvies form a merchant class going between

various groups.

A skavvie expedition into a town or city will

not last more than a few days and will likely

have been planned in advance to minimize

time spent inside the town. To protect

themselves from the Mixi infection that still

lingers in the towns, the Skavvies don

facemasks, take various herbs and carry a

number of lucky charms and wards. Generallythese precautions are successful, but every

now and again a member will contract the

disease. The Skavvies have a higher rate of

Mixi infection than other cultures and have

learned a number of ways to increase their

survival rate. An infected Skavvie will be

tended to by their team-mates as the common belief is that if one member is infected then the

others will have been exposed to it as well. If

in a few days the skavvie shows no sign of

recovery, they will be given a number of

hallucinogenic herbs to ease their suffering,

and then eventually given a poison to take

before the disease makes their life a living hell.

The Skavvies are well known for their ability

to locate fuel for other groups. Most outsiders

believe the Skavvies know the location of

hidden reservoirs of petrol, and whilst this istrue, there is more to it than that. Hidden

within the large towns and cities where no

others will venture, many skavvie bands farm

various plants that they ferment for crude

alcohol. This alcohol is then distilled and

mixed with petrol and other oils to be traded

with outsiders. The existence of these fuel

production facilities is a closely guarded secret

by the Skavvies, and a number of outsiders

have been killed to prevent the secret getting

out so that the Skavvies can maintain theirmonopoly on fuel.

The skavvie bands also maintain a number of

locations on the edge of towns where other

will not venture. Here, the bands meet every

few months to swap news and information

and conduct trade amongst themselves. These

meetings go on for several days and in some

cases include a number of small rituals to

promote a ‘group identity’ within the Skavvies.

There are various dark rumours about the

Skavvies; that they work with the Tested, thatthey conduct human sacrifice, that they

secretly control most of the population or that

they are working for some darker master.

Whilst these are mere paranoia, outsiders

somewhat justified as the Skavvies are a well

organized, insular and secretive group.

Bikers and Gangers:

Other minor groups exist, for the most part

petty gangs that exist purely to rob, loot and

scavenge for a time before disbanding. Thesegroups are referred to by more civilized



people as Gangers or Bikers, and they tend to

be regarded as being untrustworthy and

dangerous. The social structure in Ganger

society is constantly changing as gangs go to

war, form alliances or get themselves wiped

out. The Gangers tend to be well equipped,and are the most likely to own motorized

vehicles and firearms. Whilst many gangs

simply take what they need by force, others

hire themselves out to Villagers or Skavvies as

bodyguards and mercenaries.

At one point, the number of gangs in the

south-east was much higher, but over the last

few years the numbers have dropped

dramatically. Predictably, after years of being

raided periodically by armed lunatics, most

groups have armed themselves and defendthemselves against attackers. As such, many

gangers have died, and out of those that

remain large numbers have abandoned their

gangs to join more stable groups.

Out of those who have remained in these

gangs, the majority are no longer aimless

raiders. The gangs find work as mercenaries in

the various territorial wars between different

groups. A gang might be tasked with raiding a

village for their technology or guarding herds,

or a hit might be taken out against the leaders

of a rival group. Whatever the situation is,

gangers are increasingly finding themselvesdrawn into the politics of the area.

The Messengers:

The Messengers are a large cult-like

organization found across the south east. They

are found living amongst other groups, but

their loyalty lies with their own kind. They believe that elsewhere- ‘somewhere over the

sea’- civilization survived the coming of Mixi,

and that it will be coming ‘any time soon’ to

rebuild England. They therefore believe that

they must prevent the various societies from

becoming unduly savage and lawless, so that

when civilized forces arrive in Britain, the

British will be worthy of re-joining more

sophisticated cultures. For this reason, the

Messengers are split into two orders: The

Recruiters are open with their affiliation,spreading the word that civilization is

returning and encouraging those that will

listen to rebuild civilization. In contrast to this,

the Shapers keep their affiliation a closely

guarded secret. They believe they must

prevent society from leaving the correct path,

and do this by sabotaging or murdering those

that their superiors disapprove of.

Whilst exact numbers are not known, Shapers

are rumoured to have infiltrated almost all

communities and to hold great influence.The Messengers have a distinct pattern to their

activities. A recruiter will pass through an area,

spreading the message that civilization has

survived and will be coming to England soon.

Any individuals who seem particularly

receptive to the recruiter’s words will be taken

aside a short time later and asked if they

wished to join. Those who respond badly are

killed on the spot, as the recruiter will

inevitably have allies with them. Those who

politely decline are instructed to keep theirmouths shut- these individuals are watched by

other Messengers and may receive another

invitation at a later point.

Those who accept are told to keep their

membership secret. They are put in contact

with other Messengers in the area, and often

given weapons and poisons. They become one

of the Shapers, and will periodically receive

instructions from their contacts- these will be

small matters at first, but eventually a Shaper

may be instructed to commit murder or arson,to poison water supplies or to start wars. A



Shaper who completes these tasks gains

prestige amongst his contacts and may be

allowed to start issuing orders of their own to

newer recruits.

A Shaper who has proved their competence

and loyalty is then offered a choice by theirsuperiors. They can reveal their allegiance and

become a Recruiter, keep working as a high-

ranked Shaper, or in some cases join a smaller

group known as the Command.

Members of the Command leave whichever

group they had previously lived amongst. The

Messengers have a number of hidden

dwellings set up which the Command live

within. They are given access to handwritten

records of the Messenger’s membership and

activities, and given significant authority overMessengers and Shapers. At this stage, the

member’s machinations will cover huge areas

and be able to make massive changes.

The true nature of the organization is

unknown, and subject to widespread

speculation. Maybe they are working for some

foreign organization, maybe they are merely a

freemason-like group dedicated to

accumulating power for its own sake, or

maybe they really are preparing for when

Britain is re-settled by an outside force.

The Tested:

The last major group is known as by most as

the Infected, although they call themselves

Tested or New Men. The Tested believe that

Mixi was sent by some divine power (or is a

divine power in its own right) to punish

mankind for becoming weak and complacent.

They believe that, since clearly only the strong

have survived Mixi, Mixi makes one strong.

And, the very clear message that has sent isthat mankind must be strong. Therefore, the

Tested believe that mankind should be pushed

even further, and to that end they spread Mixi

as much as they can and even go so far as to

infect themselves with it.

The Tested are the only group which posses a

true cure for Mixi. The group was founded

shortly after the infection first struck when a

group of scavengers found a research facility

that had been working on a cure for the

disease. Whilst this drug was still in earlytesting and had severe side-effects, it did

manage to cure the disease. The group spent

several years working out how to create this

drug from scratch, using salvaged chemicals

and equipment, and eventually hit on a

method for producing it.

Facilities that can produce the cure for Mixiare kept hidden by the Tested and heavily

guarded. The group as a whole deliberately

infect themselves with the disease as a

religious rite, allowing the infection to take

hold before the cure is administered. New

converts are left for a longer period, so that

they are on the verge of dying before they first

receive the cure. Those that survive are

initiated into the cult fully.

The tested are spread across the UK, living in

small cults within the cities near to old

hospitals, universities and chemical facilities.

They mainly keep to themselves, practicing

their bizarre religion and killing any who

disturb them, but occasionally a cult will

launch a series of raids into the surrounding

countryside to spread the infection, secure

resources and possibly kidnap new converts.

For obvious reasons, the Tested are hated and

feared by most other groups, particularly theMessenger organization. Most Tested have

short lifespan once initiated, but the cult as a

whole lives on.

Trade:

The vast majority of trade is conducted

between Skavvies, Herders and Villagers. The

economy is simple. Each group produces

something the other groups need- salvaged

goods, preserved food and technology

respectively. Money has fallen out of use, anda barter-based economy has sprung up: both



sides in a deal must have something the other

side wants. For this reason, the Skavvies have

become the main traders in the region, as the

group’s tight-knit nature allows a given

Skavvie band to locate whichever commodity

their trading partners want. Each Skavvie band maintains an intricate network of deals,

some of them ongoing and some of them one-

off, getting the desired trade items to their

contacts and skimming a healthy profit off the

top.

Trade with Biker gangs is somewhat more

variable. Most are reluctant to deal with them

due to their reputation for being violent and

unpredictable. Despite this, some Biker gangs

have a reputation for reliability and have

made deals whereby they act as scouts, bodyguards or enforcers for a group in return

for supplies. Trade with the tested is much

rarer. Indeed, most would claim it does not

happen at all, but a few groups have

established non-hostile relations with the cult,

and wary trading can occur. Occasionally

much larger trade events will occur. Several

tribes of herders, skavvie bands and

representatives from a number of villages will

congregate on some neutral territory to trade.

These events resemble festivals in many ways,with market stalls being set up trade, and

competitions being held between groups for

spectacle and prestige.

These events are riddled with political

intrigues, with each group trying to

outmanoeuvre their rivals and sometimes

blatant assaults and murders occur. For the

most part, however, these tensions remain

under the surface and the festival is primarily

a peaceful place.

For the most part, no currency is used.However, certain goods are used as trade

commodities between groups as they hold

their value and are always in demand.

Medicine, luxury foods, alcohol, matches and

working mechanical parts are all used in this

way. However, the precise value of these

goods varies depending on what the supply

and demand for it is. A canny trader can make

sure they always have those goods considered

most valuable, and make a profit in this way.

With most trade goods being of variablevalues in this way, most traders use the cost of

a single basic meal as a ‘fixed value’ to

compare other values to. Indeed, some traders

bundle enough food for a single meal, or large

multiples thereof, as tradable commodities

that retain their value.

Religion:

The coming of Mixi ended most of the

structures that enforce religious orthodoxy.

Families, churches and Sunday schools all

suddenly stopped functioning and instead, a

large number of children were left to piece

together their views for themselves. The

religious views of these children have taken

strange new turns. The Tested are the most

recognizable example of this.

The worldviews of most children shifted

rapidly when left to develop on their own.

Childhood belief in ghosts and monsters- as

well as a flawed understanding of micro-

organisms- has morphed into a somewhatanimistic religion. Most people now believe in

a plethora of minor beings lurking out of sight,

from vengeful ghosts in the city to spirits

living in the wilderness. Whilst most people

do not fully believe the world is filled with

goblins and so forth, the belief is pervasive

enough that many groups leave small

offerings to the ghosts at certain sites.

This belief has merged with more traditional

faiths. Angels are counted with viruses and

ghosts, and many former churches are seen asholy without any real understanding why.



Those who still practice a religion have

developed their own odd faiths- Catholicism

in particular seems to have taken an unusual

turn, with blood from slaughtered animals

replacing the traditional wine as the ‘blood of

Christ’ used in religious rituals. Other variantsof Christianity abound, with their own take on

the relationship between humans, gods and

spirits. Overall, religion has become a very

mix-and match affair, with a given person

believing a hodgepodge of superstitions and

half remembered articles of faith and often

cheerfully adopting the beliefs of others as

equally valid.

Some variations on this pattern exist. Many

villages have an expected ‘orthodox’ belief

system. This varies from a strain of traditionalChristianity to rigorous rationalism. In many

ways, the Tested are an overgrown offshoot of

this. Their religion ties Mixi to divine anger,

and takes a number of steps to appease God

through displays of worthiness. The beliefs of

the tested seem very similar across the whole

cult, suggesting that the individual Tested

shrines are part of some larger organization.

The precise nature of this organization is

unknown, but many believe that it exists in

direct opposition to the Messenger Faith.

The herder tribes also appear to develop their

own religions, and a polytheistic faith seems to

be emerging that worships beings best

described as embodiments of the landscape.

Mother Chalk on the downs, the Tree Queen

in the woodlands of the Weald and the OldMan Of The Sea on the coast are all well-

recognized figures, and other aspects of the

landscape often have their own personification

that Herders respect and give offerings to. In a

similar way, many hold that each abandoned

town or city has a similar being embodying it,

but they believe these entities to be malicious

or insane and avoid attracting their attention.

The last interesting development of this nature

has been the rise of the Messenger Faith. The

Messengers are best described as a secular cult.They believe in a judgmental higher power

that is out of the reach of their worshippers, in

a way that is reminiscent of traditional

religions. However, they hold that this power

is a human organization rather than a divine

being, and reject many of the superstitions that

others believe in. In many ways, their strict

faith combined with clinical rationalism forms

a direct opposite to the more vague

superstition of the wider population.



“So, this one time we got a contract from a buncha’ villagers to get ‘em lead ta make shot with. We were gonna

bring them a few sacks of the stuff, they’d make it up for us an’ we’d get a sixty percent cut by weight. Good

deal, right? Now, Millie, bless her, says that she heard a while back you could get lead offa the roofs of really oldbuildings like churches and shit. We got up on the downs with a scope and scanned for a church spire with a

easy route to it, an’ found a few right by the big road going in .

“So, we load up the wagon and in we go. If you aint bin in Brighton , an’ I can see you folks han’t by your faces,

it’s fucking terrifying in there. See, in the countryside, you got birdsong and sheep and the wind in the trees.

It’s like you know the… I dunno… spirit of the fields is there, right? Now, the big towns aint nothing like that.

They’re still and quiet. There’s this low buzz of flies constantly, and that’s it. The place feels all old an’ dead and

malignant. It’s sickness is what it is, you can f eel it. The air in there is evil, an if you breath it, it can give you

the Sickness, and that’s the enda you. So, we wear full body suits an' gasmasks when we’re in there, to keep us

safe.

“And there we are, with buildings surrounding us like these dead skeletal faces, the windows all smashed in like

broken eyes and dead leaves and grime and shit all piled an’ rotting in the street. We can see the church spire upahead, an’ as we go ‘round the corner, Jack goes all quiet alla a sudden, an’ when we ask him what’s up he say he

used to come here as a kid an’ he’s got a proper bad feeling about this ‘cos you don’t wanna piss off the ghosts in

the church.

“Well, we get to arguing about it, nothing big but you can hear our voices echoin’ around the empty streets.

Millie says we should shut up, 'cos the noise will bring attention to us, an’ that the church is no more haunted

than the rest of this fucking graveyard. Yeah, pretty much every house in there has skellingtons in ‘em, where

they died in their own homes, an’ they ghosts get riled up if you try moving them or their stuff. Anyways, we

decide to go for it an’ me and Millie and Jack get a ladder up to climb up onto the roof.

“Just like she promised, there’s all lead round the edge of the roof keepin’ the tiles down an’ so we gets a claw

hammer and rips it all up and it peels up real nice in long strips. Easy job, right? Yeah, that weren’t gonna

happen, ‘cos of course we woke up the city when we argued and don’t you know it, as we’re goin’ to the ladderto climb down there’s a splinterin’ sound and the roof where us three’s stood caves in.

“Now, Jack, he falls right down into the bowels of the church… oh sixty, seventy foot. There’s this sick, dead

crunch as he hits the brick floor that booms around the inside of the building and… right there we know that’s

the end of him.

“Me an’ Millie , we grab onto the edge of the roof and haul ourselves up, and we’re climbing down, knowing

Jack’s dead. Millie’s all quiet like, an’ I can tell she’s thinking ‘this is my fault’ over an’ over. And then, as we

gets back to the wagon, she looks down, and there’s this huge hole been torn in the side of her hood by the

splintered wood, and she’s gently bleeding from the side of her shoulder. I can see this look of horror in her eyes

through the glass of her gas mask and she rips in off in this moment of fury, ‘cos it aint protecting her any more.

“Fast forward three weeks, and Millie’s lyin' in the back of our truck, strugglin’ to breathe, her eyes swole shut

an’ her skin a bald puffy mess. That fuckin’ Sickness got into her lungs in the city, and this is the end of it forher. We all know she won’t make it, Sickness is a fucking death sentence once you got it. So we made up a

strong beer for her, with honey in how she liked, and puts in like half a bottle of foxglove juice we’d all hoped

we’d never have ta use. An’ she takes the cup from me an’ is all like ‘I guess this is goodbye then’ and gulps it

down. Broke my heart that did. And that was the end of her.

“Two of us ended up dead for this ammo, is what I’m sayin’; which is why we’ve had to push our prices up.”



The GameThis is a rules light post-apocalyptic RPG. One

player acts as a storyteller, the remainder each

control one character. You all know how RPGs

work, stop being awkward.

Most of the mechanics have been stolen from

elsewhere, over-simplified and then possibly

renamed.

CharacteristicsThere are three types of characteristics in the

game: resistances, knowledge and skills, each

of which works differently. Broadly speaking,

resistances track how badly hurt a character is,

knowledge represents things that the character

is aware of and skills represent things the

character has a chance of succeeding at.

In addition, a character may take Equipment

and Advantages at the start of the game. These

cover what the character owns and their place

in the world, and may be gained or lost as thegame progresses.

ResistancesCharacters have three resistances: Health,

Nutrition and Stamina. Health tracks the

progress of Mixi in a character, and stamina

tracks physical damage.

A resistance is recorded in the form of four

rows of boxes- the number of boxes in a row is

equal to the score the character has in that

resistance. Each time a character takes damageto that resistance, cross off that many boxes,

starting at the top and moving down. The

highest row with empty boxes in indicates

how much the character is affected- as a

character becomes injured or unstable, they

take successively more severe penalties to dice

rolls.

For example, Murphy has 3 points in stamina,

so her stamina track looks like this:

[ ] [ ] [ ] Intact -0

[ ] [ ] [ ] Hurt -1[ ] [ ] [ ] Injured -2

[ ] [ ] [ ] Disabled -3

As the highest row with empty boxes in it is

the top (healthy) she operates at no penalty.

She takes four points of damage from a

thrown knife, so four boxes are crossed off,

looking like this:

[X] [X] [X] Intact -0

[X] [ ] [ ] Hurt -1

[ ] [ ] [ ] Injured -2

[ ] [ ] [ ] Disabled -3Now, the highest row with empty boxes in is

the second (hurt) so Murphy takes a -1 to all

dice rolls.

The four levels for Stamina are Intact (-0), Hurt

(-1), Injured (-2) and Disabled (-3).When a

character has no empty boxes in Stamina, they

will die from their injuries.

The four levels for Nutrition are Fed (-0),

Hungry (-1), Starving (-2) and Malnourished (-

3). A character that has no empty boxes of

Nutrition dies of exposure.The four levels in Health are Healthy (-0),

Infectious (-1), Sick (-2) and Dying (-3). When a

character has no empty boxes in Health, they

die of Mixi.

It is worth noting that whilst physical damage

is likely to be more prevalent, Mixi and

starvation are harder to prevent and

potentially more dangerous. At character

creation, all Resistances start off with one

point in them and may have a maximum of 5

points in them.



KnowledgeKnowledge characteristics cover a characters

education and background- stuff they will just

know. Knowledge is always successful- there

is no roll, either the character knows

something or they don’t. Since knowledge is

automatically successful, you only ever put 1

point into a knowledge characteristic.

For example, suppose Murphy from before

has knowledge (plants). She wants know if a

plant she has found is safe to eat. The player

states that she wants to use knowledge

(plants), and the storyteller informs her that

plant is highly poisonous.

Using SkillsAll skills represent a task that the character

has a chance of failure at. As such not all tasks

require a roll- a character is assumed to be able

to run, hold a conversation, find their way

around and perform similar mundane task

without making a skill roll.

When a skill is used, a player rolls a six-sided

dice and adds the value of that skill (if they do

not have that skill, that value number will be 0)

to the number rolled. If they beat a target score

set by the storyteller, then the skill was

successful.

For example, Murphy is attempting to flee

from her attacker. She rolls a dice, getting a

five, and adds her Athletics score of two, for a

total result of 7. The storyteller decides that the

task would be comparatively easy, and gives it

a difficulty of 5. Murphy has beaten the score

needed, and so succeeds.

A slightly more complex example would be

where one character is trying to resist

another’s actions. In this case, the acting

character and resisting character both roll, and

if the acting characters score is higher than the

resisting characters score, they succeed.

For example, Murphy draws her handgun and

takes a shot at her mystery assailant, which he

attempts to avoid. The Murphy rolls and adds

her Shooting value, for a total of six. The

mystery man rolls and adds his dodge value,

getting a total of five. Since the Murphy beat

his score by one point, she has hit him.

CombatFighting in combat is normally a resisted roll

of

Fighting vs. Dodge or Shooting vs. Dodge. Theamount the attacker’s score beats the

defender’s score by is added to the standard

damage dealt by a given weapon, as listed

below. For example, in the example above,

Murphy has hit her assailant with a pistol shot.

The shot hit by only one point, so a total of 3+1

damage was dealt.

Weaponry Base Damage

Fists 0

Dog bites, Knives, 1Swords, Axes, Hammers, Arrows 2

Handguns, Claymores 3

Rifles, Grenades 4

Bombs, Flamethrowers 5

Heavy Machineguns, 6

In an extended fight, each character involved

takes it in turn to make a single action- be it

attacking, attempting to flee or anything else.

The order characters act in depends on the

situation ambushing characters always get togo first, for example. If it is unclear who would

act first, have each character roll Perception,

with the highest roll getting to go first.

A character with some form of weapon can

easily kill a victim who is unable to defend

themselves. As such, against an opponent who

is unconscious, tied down or similarly helpless,

any armed character can make a roll of combat

resisted by the victims constitution- if the roll

passes, then their victim is killed by a

headshot, slit jugular or similar.If failed, the attack still does d6 damage plus

the weapon’s damage modifier. If the

character is unarmed, they may still attempt to

kill a helpless victim by strangulation, but this

will take significantly longer. The storyteller

should be very careful with which situations

they allow one-hit kills to happen in,

particularly when player characters are on the

receiving end.

It is worth noting that combat has been

deliberately kept quite free-form, relying onthe storyteller to arbitrate who acts when and



so forth. Those wishing for three chapters to

tell them how to fight are advised to find

another game to play, possibly one involving

dragons.

HealingThe Healing skill can be used to heal damage

done to Stamina. The difficulty for these tasks

will normally be equal to the amount of

damage taken with situational modifiers.

In combat or similar high stress situations,

there will probably only be time for rapid first

aid - if the skill succeeds, a total of 1 point can

be healed. Outside of combat, more time may

be taken and proper equipment and methods

used. The amount the roll succeeds by is theamount of damage healed. Note that treating

wounds or trauma in this way will take at

least a few hours, and possibly more. Making

a first aid roll or healing roll in this way

requires the use of suitable equipment- a First

Aid Kit for first aid and a Medical Kit for

healing.

Between (or sometimes during) narrative arcs

there is likely to be a significant period of

down-time during which the storyteller may

allow characters to heal all damage to theirStamina.

Mixi infection cannot normally be treated.

The Effects of MixiOne of the main threats to player characters

over the course of the game is that of Mixi.

A character starts off with no health boxes

filled. So long as they have no health boxes

filled, they are completely uninfected.

Whenever an uninfected character has a

chance to contract Mixi, they make an

Immunity roll. The difficulty is typically 6, but

may be higher or lower depending on the

circumstances. If they fail this test, cross off a

single Health box- they are now infected.

At the end of every day, there is a chance the

character’s condition will worsen. Roll a d6

and add the total number of Health boxes the

character has crossed off. If this number is

greater than the character’s Immunity score ,

their condition worsens. Cross off an

additional 1 box if they are Healthy, 2 Boxes if

they are Infectious or 3 boxes if they are Sick

and 4 boxes if they are Dying. A character who

is Healthy does not appear to carry the disease

and is not infectious to others- the sickness is

still latent in their system and may remain so

for quite some time. A character who is

Infectious still shows no outward signs of Mixiother than a slight wheezing, but now the

infection has started to progress. At this stage,

they can infect those around them unless great

care is taken.

A character who is Sick is quite obviously

infected: their skin is swollen and their eyes

begin to force themselves shut. They will be in

significant discomfort and rather distressing to

look at.

A character that is Dying is basically screwed.

It is not long until they die entirely, and theylikely will be blind, struggling to breathe and

in significant pain.

Starvation and ThirstFinding food is never an easy task. A character

must either have access to a surplice of food or

acquire food on a day-to-day basis. A

character requires a minimum of a single meal

and a single drink each day.

Food can be found quite easily. A charactercan find edible plants using the Foraging skill,

generally enough for a single meal. Foraging

will normally have a difficulty of 3, higher in

places with little to offer or on the off season

but lower on land that used to farm food-crops.

Foraging will generally only yield a single

meal for the character foraging. Hunting is a

less reliable way to gain food, but can yield

several meals with a little effort. In order to

hunt, a character must have located a prey

animal and makes a Foraging roll just like ifthey were searching for any other food. One

roll is used for the entire hunting exercise. The

difficulty is generally 4, more against spooked

or flighty animals. A single kill yields 2 meals

for a rabbit, duck or pigeon, 3 for a dog or

goose, 4 for a sheep or pig, 5 for a deer and 6

for a cow or horse. A human corpse would

also yield four meals should a character resort

to cannibalism. Water sources can be found

using Foraging or Navigation, with a difficulty

of around 4, or characters can dig wells orsimilar. Normally, a character can carry 1



experience point is equivalent to one point in

character generation. If a character’s

Resistance improves, redraw the relevant

Resistance table wider, and then cross of as

many boxes as were crossed off previously. A

character can never have a Skill or Resistanceabove 5.

Dice RollsThe game is designed so that only one dice roll

is ever made- d6 plus skill. For the most part,

we recommend dice rolls do not need to be

made for what can be called ‘narrative tasks’.

Don’t make players roll for things like talking

to a contact or setting camp- just let them

accomplish it based on their description. Rolls

are for more important actions such as finding

food when you risk starvation, convincing an

angry biker to back down or dodging in a fight.

On the flip side to this, it’s generally bad to

inflict things on players without giving them a

chance to ‘roll it away’. Rather than stating

that a character falls asleep, have them roll

constitution. As an addition to that, some tasks

(such as running or loading a gun) are so

simple that they have a difficulty of 1 or 0- no

matter what an uninjured character rolls, they

will always succeed so there is no need to roll.

However, an injured character may struggle

with these actions, as reflected in the penalty

to dice rolls. When a character is injured

enough, expecting them to roll for these basic

actions is a good way to get across the severity

of their injuries.

Difficulty of tasks

0 (effortless)

A very easy task that even those in dire straits

should manage

Crawling, basic communication

1 (easy)

A basic task that can normally be taken for

granted

Running, shouting and so on.

2 (simple)

Any trained character takes this for granted,

and it’s simple even to those without training.

Noticing large tracks, climbing a fence, un-

jamming a gun.

3 (standard)

A trained character shouldn’t have a problemwith it, but untrained characters will struggle.

Making arrows, swimming across a fast river,

finding useful parts when looting an

abandoned car.

4 (tricky)

Fairly easy for a well-trained character.

Without proper training the character is

relying more on luck than skill.

Treating a deep wound, building a trap,

finding edible plants in midwinter.

5 (Challenging)This requires expertise or a lot of luck to pull

off.

Navigating in the dark in unfamiliar territory,

climbing a sheer cliff.

6 (Difficult)

This is near-to impossible for untrained

characters, and an achievement for even

skilled characters.

Calming a rabid animal, eating rotten meat

without becoming sick.

7 ( Demanding)Very difficult tasks that will not succeed

without talent and a lot of luck.

Building a gun from parts, finding edible

plants in the middle of a city.

8 (Unlikely)

Normally not possible, but a skilled character

can try.

Jumping onto a moving vehicle, Building a

motorized vehicle from parts.

9+ (Near impossible)

Most characters stand no chance of succeeding,and those that can try will still fail most of the

time.

Building an electrical machine, leaping from

one roof to another across a street.



“Yeah, we get raiders around here sometimes, but it’s not just pirates and bandits, you know? It’s all about this

dance of alliances and territory and fame that all the tribes take part in, and the raiders are just a tool when it all

goes south. This one time, the Snake Eaters decided they wanted our land down by the river Ouse near the coast,right? You know, where it’s all flat and those little irrigation ditches make it like marshland. It’s good grazing

there, and they wanted to bring their horses down.

Now, the Snake Eaters are a nasty bunch. They’re with the Burning Men , meaning they’re big on prestige and

sacrifice, and that means they’re fucking nuts when they go to war. This lot, from what we’d heard, kept adders

as pets in little baskets, and they’d milk the venom outa their fangs. They’d smear that stuff over their arrows

when they went hunting or got in a scrap, so that even a slight scratch would drop their targets. We’d been

finding their coiled-snake symbol burnt into the turf further and further into our territory, and our stocks

started getting stolen in the night.

Herder politics is all about prestige, right? So, we started pushing up into the woods where they lived, painted

our own marks on the trees and grabbed their game when we could. This went on most of the spring, and by the

time we hit midsummer- even though both sides had barely seen the other in person- tensions were pretty damnhigh. All the Skavvies were gossiping about how there was going to be a war soon. The sun beat down and the

sense of danger was oppressive, like a steam boiler with too much pressure built up.

Then one day, we heard that a gang of raiders was in the area. That news is never good, but with things about to

kick off the way they were we all knew that they were probably looking for mercenary work. A trader we knew

was talking about how he could put us in touch for a small fee, but before he could come through, we got

attacked.

We heard their engines from miles off, and then before they came over the hills, they cut their motors and must

have crept forward on foot. They had been hiding in the undergrowth, apparently waiting for the right moment.

There was a sudden burst of gunfire out of the quiet pasture. Four of us were dropped right there. They chucked

in a couple of molotovs after that, and in the height of summer the dry grass caught alight and began to

smoulder. This panicked the cattle, and the beasts just stampeded. We’re there with terrified cows everywhere,burning turf smoking enough that we can’t see, and as we try to react, these killers dart forward, knives out,

and just flit between us, blades lashing out when they get close, and their victims would just collapse in spurts

of blood. I’d seen hunters methodically take out a whole pack of dogs before, and this was the same thing. It was

cold, was how it was.

I was a little way away at this point, and when I realized what was happening I just legged it. Last thing I saw

was these figures in long coats crouching down to take trophies from the fallen.

That pretty much ended the conflict for the time. We were too scared and outgunned to do anything back, and

they just rolled in and took the land they wanted. Turns out we we ren’t even the issue for them, they’d been

under pressure from other tribes and needed to make an example as a show of strength. And then, a few years

later, when things had died down, we burnt their camp down whilst they were sleeping.



Firstly, each player must select which of the

four cultures their character comes from. Each

culture comes with a starting package that all

characters belonging to that culture have for

free.

Each player then has 20 points to spend on

their character. They always have at least one

point of Stamina, Nutrition and Health, and

can put a maximum of 5 points into each. They

may take any number of knowledges, each one

costing one point. They may take any number

of skills, putting a maximum of 5 points into

each one. They may take any equipment they

wish, with each character point buying up to 5

‘meals worth’ of gear. Finally, a character may

take advantages at the cost listed, representing

their place in society.

A group containing Skavvies or Tested and

members of another culture is likely to

experience problems as those two cultures

have significant secrets of their own and avoid

mixing with others.

Cultures

HerdersHerders are the culture most at home in the

wilderness. They are self-sufficient, nomadic

and not entirely comfortable with technology.

Starting Defences:

1 Stamina, 1 Health, 1 Nutrition

Starting Knowledge:

Geography, Plants, Animals, Herder Signs

Starting Skills :

1 each in Tracking, Animal Empathy, Foraging,

Navigation

VillagersVillagers are the only culture living in

permanent settlements. They are skilled

craftsmen and better educated than other

cultures.

Starting Defences:


Starting Knowledge:

Literacy, Numeracy, Old, Culture, Technology,

Starting Skills:

1 each in Crafting, Repair, Memory

SkavviesSkavvies are the Culture with most friendly

interactions with other groups. They make

good social characters or criminals, and are

well trained to explore urban environments.

Starting Defences:


Starting Knowledge:

Geography, Old Culture, Trade



Starting Skills:

1 each in Lock Picking, Looting, Stealth,

Immunity

Bikers

Bikers are the most violent culture. Theirmembers tend to be tougher than other

cultures and all must be skilled fighters just to

survive

Starting Defences :


Starting Knowledge:

Local Politics

Starting Skills:

1 each in Combat, Shooting, Dodge, Intimidate,

Willpower, Psychology

TestedThe New Men are dramatically unlike other

cultures, living ritualized lives and innately

hostile to other cultures. Tested are tough and

skilled at science, but not as well-trained as

other cultures.

Starting Defences:


Starting Knowledge:Science, Medicine

Starting Skills:

3 in Immunity, 1 in Medic

KnowledgeKnowledge shows which broad areas your

character is an expert on. Generally no roll is

ever made for Knowledge, but obscure facts

may merit a memory roll.

History covers the events of the past. The

initial creation and release of Mixi is covered

by this, knowledge, as is older history from

before characters were born.

Geography covers the lay of the land- the

names of towns, major roads, and what

resources and groups can be found where.

Plants covers which plants are edible or

poisonous, and how to gather and prepare

them.

Animals covers the habits and basic anatomy

of different animals, as well as rarer animals

such as those from zoos.

Literacy is the ability to read and write.

Without this skill, all characters are barely

literate by default, and will struggle to read

more than a few words.

Numeracy covers the ability to use numbers

beyond a very basic level. A character would

probably need numeracy to calculate exchangerates when trading goods, for example.

Old Culture covers things left over from the

past. It is used to identify and understand

items and practices from before the coming of

Mixi.

Science covers basic science- physics, biology

and so forth. A character with this knowledge

has scientific understanding similar to that

gained from a good modern education.

Technology is a character’s familiarity with

and understanding of technology- how

devices function and what their purpose might

be.

Medicine gives the character a basic

understanding of human anatomy and how

the human body can fail. Without this skill, a

character’s approach to healing will be based

on guesswork and rote learning, not

understanding.



Folklore covers the myths, rumours and

urban legends that have sprung up since the

coming of Mixi. It might give insights into

particular customs or remind a character of

different rumours.

Trade is the knowledge of what is valuable,

and who can locate what goods. It gives the

character a good understanding of the

exchange rates between different goods.

Local Politics gives the character an

understanding of most key groups and

individuals in the area, what their aims are,

what values they hold and who is allied with

or at war with who.

Herder Signs allows the character to

recognise and understand the messages being

sent through the marks Herder tribes leave

behind them.

SkillsThese represent the actions a character is

competent at. Each skill can have a maximum

of five points in it, and need not have any. The

skills available are:

CombatCombat is used in any hand-to-hand fight,

with or without weapons, as well as throwing

items such as knives or grenades. It is used

when making attacks (not to avoid them).

Combat is generally resisted by the target’s

Dodge roll.

ShootingShooting covers firearms, bows and other

projectile weapons, and is used to hit a target

in a fire-fight.

Like combat, shooting is generally resisted by

the target’s Dodge roll. Shooting at a man-

sized, inanimate target has a difficulty ofaround 4.

DodgeDodge is used to avoid blows, shots and other

dangers. It includes a characters ability to

parry, to use cover and to physically dodge

attacks. As well in fights, dodge would also be

used to avoid a pit-trap, avoid being trampled

by stampeding animals or avoid falling rocks.

Dodge is generally used to resist an attacker's

Combat or Shooting roll. Avoiding an

environmental hazard might have a difficulty

of around 3; avoiding being trampled by

stampeding cattle might have a difficulty of 6.

StealthStealth is used to avoid detection. Sneaking up

on a security guard, fleeing a crime-scene

without being spotted or avoiding showing up

on security cameras are all covered by stealth.

Stealth is usually resisted by a perception roll.

AthleticsAthletics covers a character physical strength,

fitness and speed. It is used when climbingand jumping, when chasing or being chased

on foot and so forth.

Climbing a cliff-face or jumping a short

distance has a difficulty of around 4- if the roll

fails the character will fall taking perhaps d6-1

physical damage. It is not always necessary to

make an athletics roll- anybody can climb a

tree.

Chases on foot are often rolls of Athletics

resisted by athletics. If the pursuer wins, they

catch up to the target; if the target wins theysuccessfully lose their pursuer.



DrivingDrive covers a character’s ability to use

motorized vehicles such as cars, wagons,

motorbikes and boats.

A character with no ranks in Drive is assumedto be completely unfamiliar with the workings

of such a vehicle. Simply driving from place to

place generally requires no roll so long as the

character has at least 1 dot in Drive.

A car chase will generally be a roll of Drive

resisted by Drive, and can be handled in the

same way as chases on foot. Navigating

difficult terrain at speed might have a

difficulty of 3 or more, whilst avoiding a

pedestrian who has dived in front of you

probably has a difficulty of 6.

PerceptionPerception measures how sharp a character's

senses are and how much they notice about

their surroundings. Perception determines

how quickly a character reacts to an ambush, if

they wake when their house is broken into at

night and if they can spot a hidden enemy.

Perception either opposes or is opposed by a

stealth roll, possibly with a significant penalty

if the character is asleep or distracted or ifthere is poor visibility. Spotting hidden details

probably has a difficulty of 4 or more.

In order to keep dramatic tension, the

storyteller may wish to make characters

perception rolls in secret, so the player does

not know if they pass or fail; only what (if

anything) they spot.

CharmCharm measures a characters charisma, ability

to manipulate and social savvy. Characters

with high charm skills are often good looking,

but not always. Charm is used in most social

situations where a character is trying to

deceive or persuade somebody.

Attempting to lie to a character will probably

be opposed by perception, an attempt at

seduction is probably opposed by willpower

and an attempt to win a debate might be

opposed by another charm roll.


storyteller may wish to make characters charm

rolls in secret, so the player does not know if

they pass or succeed, only what (if anything)

they achieve.

IntimidateIntimidate covers a characters ability to seem

frightening and command respect. It might beused to interrogate captives, convince an

enemy to back down or scare off assailants.

Intimidate is generally resisted by a Willpower

roll.

LarcenyLarceny covers a wide range of skills, most of

which have criminal applications. Larceny

would be used to pocket an item without

being seen, slip out of handcuffs and or pick

pockets. It includes both knowledge of thetasks in question and manual dexterity.

Usually, a larceny roll will be opposed by a

perception roll. Slipping out of handcuffs is

probably difficulty 5.

The storyteller may wish to rule that certain

tasks are impossible without the larceny skill.

TrackingTracking is the art of following and

interpreting the marks left by an animal or

person’s passing. A skilled tracker can follow

tracks that are several days old to locate their

quarry, and make accurate predictions about

their quarry from doing so.

The difficulty for most tracking will be 4.

Following very old tracks will be higher,

maybe 6, whilst very obvious tracks (such as

those left by a vehicle or herd of cattle) will be

lower, maybe 2.

CraftingCrafting is used whenever a character wants to

make an item from suitable parts. They must

have access to a suitable place to work (which

may be anything from a small flat surface to a

smith’s forge depending on the task at hand)

and suitable tools.

The difficulty of the roll varies depending on

what the character wishes to make. A small

knife or spear might have a difficulty of 2,

whilst items such as bows, bombs and shelters

might have a difficulty of 5. Truly difficult



items such as a gun or engine might have a

difficulty as high as 8.

NavigationNavigation is used to avoid becoming lost. If

in familiar terrain or following an obviousroute (such as an old road) there is no roll

required. Otherwise, a character may need to

make a navigation roll to avoid becoming lost

or find a specific location. Generally this has a

difficulty of 4.

Animal EmpathyThis skill is used when dealing with wild or

domesticated animals. It allows you to

understand, train and predict animals.

Avoiding spooking a flighty animal orangering an aggressive one probably has a

difficulty of 2.

Training animals, predicting the movements of

herds or calming a panicking or aggressive

animal probably has a difficulty of 5.

Animal Empathy is also required in order to

be able to ride horses- normally no roll is

required, but some tricks such as risky jumps

may require a roll.

PsychologyPsychology is used to read an individual’s

behaviour, assess their mental state and

understand the workings of the human mind.

A psychology roll might be required to tell if a

character is insane, guess at a characters

motivation or judge if a person is lying.

Making a guess at a character’s honesty or

emotional state is probably opposed by a

charm roll, unless they are making no attempt

to hide it. Understanding a characters

behaviour is opposed by their Charm if theyare trying to hide their motives.

HealingHealing as a skill can be used to diagnose

illnesses or heal damage. Healing is dealt with

previously in the rules, in more depth.

RepairRepair covers a characters ability to make

broken items function properly. It might be

rolled to fix a broken down car, un-jam a gun

or so forth. The difficulty for most repair rolls

will probably be 3.

ForagingForaging is the skill of finding food and other

supplies in the wilderness. A foraging roll can

be made whenever a character spends

significant time in the wilderness (a few hours),

or in less time if they make a concerted effort.

Most characters will possess at least 1 point of

foraging.

To find sufficient sustenance for a single meal

probably has a difficulty of 3. Finding more

specific things, such as poisonous plants or

herbal remedies may have a higher difficulty,

perhaps 5 or so depending on the location.

Foraging is also rolled when a character

wishes to hunt- the difficulty will normally be

at least 4.

Lock PickingLock picking is used to open locks without

possessing a key. The task takes around 2

minutes in most cases, and is fairly simple.

Lock picking may not be attempted without at

least 1 in this skill.

The difficulty to pick most locks will be 3.

More complex or unusual locks (such as safelocks) will have a higher difficulty, perhaps 6

or 7.

LootingLooting is used to find useful supplies in

urban environments, in much the same way

that Foraging is used in the wilderness.

Looting can be used to find food, supplies and

so on. It is worth noting that most items worth

taking have often been stolen from abandoned

buildings already- looting is used to pick overthe scraps for lucky finds.



To find sufficient sustenance for a single meal

has a difficulty of 2. Finding more specific

things, such as mechanical parts or alcohol

may have a higher difficulty, perhaps 5 or so

depending on the item sought.

A looting roll’s Difficulty will be significantlyraised or lowered depending on the location

being looted.

MemoryMemory covers a characters ability to recall

pertinent information. For example, it might

be used to recognize somebody from a photo,

memorize the contents of a document or

memorize a car number-plate. Another use for

memory would be to remember trivial‘general knowledge’. For example, a character

might ask to make a memory roll to tell

somebody is acting out of character or identify

a piece of poetry.

Memory can also be used as a ‘second chance’

by the storyteller when a player misses or

forgets clues. On a successful roll, the player

will be told what they’re getting wrong.


storyteller may wish to make characters

memory rolls in secret, so the player does notknow if they pass or fail; only what (if

anything) they remember.

ConstitutionConstitution is a measure of a character’s

physical toughness. It is used to avoid

suffering penalties from inhospitable

environments (very hot or cold, say) shrug off

the effects of poison or avoid becoming

exhausted from lack of sleep. The difficulty of

a constitution roll might be 5 to shrug off theeffects of a poison, hold breath or resist sleep

when exhausted- harder tasks will have higher

difficulties.

ImmunityImmunity measures the robustness of a

character’s immune system. In short, it is how

a character avoids contracting Mixi and other

diseases. The rules for contracting Mixi have

been stated already.

WillpowerWillpower is a measure of somebody’s

strength of character, conviction and self-

confidence. Willpower is often used to resist

Intimidate or charm rolls. In addition, it may

be required to resist extreme temptation orfear.

Equipment:Characters are assumed to start off with

clothing, food for a day and access to some

shelter as a group. As well as this, minor items

such as string, chalk, and other odds and ends

can probably be taken for free. Any additional

equipment must be taken from the list belowat the cost given.

Each character point you spend gives you

equipment worth the equivalent of five meals.

The more points you put into equipment, the

more ‘meals worth’ of equipment you can take.

Equipment can easily be gained and lost

during play, so we do not advise putting too

much into gear initially.

Knife: Worth 1 mealThis is a simple weapon that can be used as a

tool for some tasks. It has a base damage of +1

Hand Weapon: Worth 2 meals

This is a somewhat larger weapon- a sword,

axe, hammer or similar. Most such weapons

have other uses as well, and can be used as a

tool for some tasks. They have a base damage

of +2

Bow: Worth 2 mealsA bow is a simple ranged weapon that is easy

to make, maintain and create ammunition for.

A well made bow shoots nearly silently and

has a range of up to a hundred meters. A bow

has a base damage of +2

Arrows: Worth 1 meal

Arrows are simple to make and easily traded

for. A single purchase of arrows will provide a

quiver of twenty. Arrows can be recovered

from a target, unlike bullets.



Large Weapon: Worth 3 meals

This is a somewhat larger weapon- a spear,

spade, pickaxe, chain or similar. Such a

weapon may have other uses beyond violence

and might be usable as a tool for some tasks.

They have a base damage of +3

Handguns: Worth 3 meals

A handgun is a pistol, either recently made or

recovered. These guns are comparatively rare

and seen as a status symbol by many. A

handgun has a base damage of +3.

Rifles: Worth 4 meals

These weapons are somewhat bulkier than

handguns and are both found and made more

commonly. A Rifle has fantastic range and can

deal huge amounts of damage. A rifle has a

base damage of +4

Heavy Weapon: Worth 7 meals

Heavy Weapons are weapons such as

flamethrowers, machine guns or harpoon guns.

They fire specialized ammunition and are

difficult to maintain, but are capable of doing

huge amounts of damage. Most heavy

weapons are lovingly maintained andregarded as irreplaceable by their owners. A

heavy weapon has a base damage of +6.

Bullets: Worth 1 meal

Bullets are used up when fired, and in short

supply. As such, they are a very valuable

trading commodity. A single purchase of

bullets gives a pouch of ten.

Shield: Worth 5 meals

A shield is carried in one hand and designedto protect the user from incoming blows. It

gives you +2 to your Dodge rolls to avoid

being struck in a melee. It provides no

protection against arrows or bullets, which

usually go straight through it.

Scope: Worth 5 meals

This attatches to a single ranged weapon you

own, such as a bow, handgun or similar. A

scope allows you to aim more precisely, giving

you +2 to your Shooting skill when you have

time to carefully aim. Note that a scope will

probably not come into play in the heat of

combat, unless you are giving covering fire

from some way away- with enemies rushing

towards you, you have no time to aim

properly.

Medical Kit: Worth 1 meal

A properly stocked medical contains

antiseptics, bandages, drugs, braces for broken

bones and painkillers. A medical kit gives a +2

bonus to Healing rolls. If not kept stocked, it

will begin to run out, becoming effectively

useless after around a dozen uses.

Mixi Treatment Kit: Worth 1 meal

A Mixi treatment kit contains a number of

drugs and herbal remedies, as well as facemasks and painkillers, designed to combat the

advance of Mixi infection. When used, a

character rolling for Mixi progress gets +2 to

their Immunity skill. This kit has enough

supplies to treat a character for one week.

Skeleton keys: Worth 1 meal

A set of skeleton keys makes the task of

getting into locked buildings much easier, and

give a +2 bonus to appropriate Lockpicking

rolls.

Protective Clothing: Worth 5 meals

Protective clothing is any thick or bulky

clothing that might give them a modicum of

protection such as a heavy coat or denim

overalls. A character wearing Protective

Clothing ignores the first point points of

damage they take, after which the armor is

wrecked and provides no protection until

repaired. A character may only wear one suitof armor at one time.

Light armor: Worth 10 meals

Light armor consists of heavy leathers with

some metal plates or similar protective gear. A

character wearing Light Armor ignores the

first two points of damage they take, after

which the armor is wrecked and provides no

protection until repaired. A character may

only wear one suit of armor at one time.



Heavy Armor: Worth 15 meals

Heavy Armor consists of bulky purpose-built

armor- stab vests, helmets, metal plates

strapped over limbs and protective face masks.

It allows the character wearing it to ignore the

first three points of damage points of damagethey take, after which the armor is wrecked

and provides no protection until repaired. A

character may only wear one suit of armor at

one time.

Water Purification Tablets: Worth 1 meal

Water Purification tablets can be used to

render dubious water safe to drink. A single

purchase supplies a box of ten- each tablet will

process around a pint of water.

Matches: Worth 1 meal

Matches can be used to easily start fires, and

are a very rare and valuable resource. A single

purchase supplies a box of twenty.

Bike: Worth 5 meals

A pedal-bike is simple to maintain and does

not require fuel to operate. However,

compared to horses or vehicles, they are

comparatively slow and have a low carryingcapacity. Bicycles are a popular choice for

traders and scouts, and many villages have a

small group mounted on bikes that patrol their

territory. A bike can carry one person and as

much gear as they could hold on foot.

Motorbike: Worth 15 meals

Motorbikes are commonly used by Biker

gangs or scouts for Savvy bands. They are less

fuel efficient than other vehicles and can only

carry two people at a pinch, but are incrediblymaneuverable and can cope easily with rough

terrain. Most motorbikes are customized by

their owners to have greater carrying capacity.

A motorbike requires fuel to function.

Car: Worth 20 meals

A car is a motorized vehicle capable of

carrying as many as 5 passengers and supplies.

Working cars are in short supply, the majority

having rusted to the point of uselessness or

been taken apart for scrap metal and parts.Most working cars have received significant

modification to reduce their weight or increase

their ability to travel over rough ground-

many also have weapons mounted on them. A

car requires fuel to function.

Van: Worth 25 mealsA van is a large motorized vehicle that can

carry huge amounts of supplies or as many as

twenty people. Vans are rare and prized

vehicles, usually only found in the possession

of Skavvie bands who use them to carry their

supplies from place to place. Most vans have

been altered significantly, making them

effectively mobile homes that can easily be

defended and provide most amenities needed

to live. A van requires fuel to function.

Fuel: Worth 3 meals

Petrol, bio-fuels and diesel are in short supply

and are very valuable resources. Only the

Skavvies know where to reliably find fuel, and

it is guarded jealously. A single purchase of

fuel is enough to run a vehicle for around a

week.

Local Map: Worth 3 mealsA map of the area might have been salvaged,

or drawn up recently. Either way, it adds +2 to

navigation rolls when travelling across

country.

Gas Mask: Worth 5 meals

A gas mask covers the characters face and

prevents them from breathing in tainted air.

The character gets +2 to Immunity rolls to

avoid contracting Mixi in the right

circumstances.



Craftsman’s Tools: Worth 1 meal

This set of tools is adapted for one specific

material, usually Metal, Wood, Cloth or Stone.

In the right circumstances, it gives +2 to

Crafting and Repair rolls.

Trade Goods: cost 1

Trade goods covers items such as food, alcohol,

mechanical parts and so on that are frequently

used for barter. A single purchase of trade

goods is probably a backpack’s worth of goods,

and is valuable enough to get a careless

character mugged for it.

Other Gear: cost varies

If you want to take any other significant

equipment, ask your storyteller how many

points any specific item is worth. Equipment

that gives a bonus to a dice roll always has a

static bonus of +2 in appropriate situations.

AdvantagesAdvantages represent other facets of your

character beyond what they know and own.

Advantages can be taken at character creation

by spending character points, but cannot be bought with experience- the only way to gain

a trained animal is to find and train one in

play. Like equipment, advantages can be

gained and lost through in-game actions.

Older- cost 1

You were one of the oldest survivors of mixi-

somewhere between ten and fourteen when

the infection came. The disease will have been

harder to for you, and your body shows the

scars from where your skin swelled and

cracked. However, you were still young

enough to fight of the infection eventually,

and will have naturally risen to a position of

leadership among those children you met up

with. Age brings responsibility, and as the

new cultures developed, most of your age-

group will have been the leaders and thinkers

behind this. As the population reaches

adulthood, respect for those of your age has

become entrenched.

Your scars and age mark you out as important

and respected. Most people who do not know

you will naturally assume that you are a

leader, and many of your allies will naturally

defer to you. You get +2 to charm and

intimidate rolls made to lead or motivate those

who respect your age.

Parent- cost 0-2

You have a child, born after the infection, that

you are responsible for. This child might be

your own, or you may have found them

abandoned or orphaned and decided to raise

them yourself.Such children are the first

generation born since the end of civilization-

they know very little of how the world used to

be compared even to adults. A child has 1 each

in Stamina, Health and Nutrition, no

knowledge and no skills. Like an adult,children require a meal each day or they begin

to starve. The number of points you spent on

the child determine how old (and therefore hw

useful) it is. A child that cost 0 will be a baby

or toddler, unable to care for themselves and

requiring care and attention. A child that cost

1 will probably be about 4 years old, capable

of following instructions and performing

useful tasks- however they are still

inexperienced and immature, and cannot

safely be left t their own devices. A child thatcost 2 is perhaps around 9 years old. Whilst

unskilled, such a child is comparatively

competent and responsible, and can usually be

relied on.

Trained Animal – cost 1

You have a horse, ox, dog, ferret or similar

animal that you have trained to be obedient

and useful. Such an animal will normally be

able to feed itself by scavenging or grazing. It

will be trained to the best of your ability- thehigher your Animal Empathy skill, the better

you will have trained it. The animal will

normally behave according to its instincts and

training, but you will be able to command it.

In some situations, you will need to make an

Animal Empathy roll to control or restrain it.

Only the Tested keep cats as pets, as it is

understood that cats spread the Mixi and as

such all other groups will kill them on sight.

An animal has a Stamina of 2. Animals do not

suffer from Mixi and are assumed to feedthemselves by grazing or scavenging leftovers,



so their Health and Nutrition are irrelevant.

Each animal has three points in a single skill

representing its main use. Possible animals

you could own include Sniffer dogs (tracking),

Horses (athletics), Warhounds (combat),

Guard dogs (perception) and Sheepdogs(animal empathy).

Herd- Cost 1+

You have a small herd of livestock that you

follow, using them for meat and possibly milk

or wool. They will probably be branded with

your tribe’s mark and be familiar with your

presence. However, these animals are not

trained and will not obey (or even understand)

instructions you give them. You follow them,

rather than them following you.A typical herd consists of around 10 animals.

If you or your companions take this advantage

more than once, it increases the size of your

herd- so if three people each have a herd, the

herd will have about thirty animals.

Allies- Cost 1

You have friendly relations with another

group outside your own, such as a skavvie

band you frequently trade with or a tribe you

used to belong to. You can normally rely on

these people for help and information, and

they would probably take you in if you were

in danger. You need to keep your allies

friendly- if you constantly lean on them for

help whilst giving nothing back they’ll gettired of you.

Bolt-hole- Cost 1+

You have access to a hidden dwelling

somewhere nearby. It may be a set of caves, a

ruined building on the hills, or a set of tree-

houses deep in the forest. This place is stocked

with enough food to for three days meals, as

well as bottled water and firewood. The

building is secure enough to easily defend,

with easily barricaded windows, strong lockson the doors, and possibly a number of hidden

exits. If you take bolt-hole multiple times, this

could either make your safe-house larger and

better equipped, or it could mean that you

have a number of bolt-hole in separate

locations. Unless you specifically tell others, it

is assumed that you are the only one who

knows the location of your bolt-hole.



“Hello again, diary. It has been ten days since my last confession. The date is approximately fourteen years,

three hundred and twenty-five days since the Mixi came.

I am once again clean, my body having fought off the sickness that ailed it and my mind having overcome thedoubt that plagued it.

Father Simon visited me in my room again today, and inspected me. He saw that the swelling about my face had

not increased in the night, and I was still able to open my eyes and breathe through my nose. He judged me

strong and fit to live, and gave to me the medicine that would make me whole again.

It is the third time I have received this medicine, and it is no easier. The injections hurt- anybody who tells you

otherwise is lying or a fool. For hours you wonder if the cure has taken, or if you will have to wait another day

in sickness to receive the cure again. After a while, the cure does its holy work, and your body reacts against the

sickness that is sapping it. I have always found that I become so very cold when this happens, and I shiver and

can’t bear to even move. It is weakness, I know, but I am weak at this point. Then, as the fever continues, I find

similar complaints to my monthly trials, and I bleed and nausea overtakes me. Each time, I feel faint, and will

sleep for some time, and wake feeling invigorated and filled with life, though the sickness still ails me. These aremy trials and I overcome them to be worthy of life.

When Father Simon visited that evening, he saw that I was well, and that I could attend church again that

evening. After two weeks of isolation and sickness, I am judged well enough to return to the flock. For this, I am

grateful.

Church was not of any great significance. Sister Abigail was preaching today. She greeted me as I entered, and

told the assembled worshippers that I had proved myself, and they should give praise for my survival. The

sacrifice to the Almighty tonight was a young fox. Sister Abigail did her usual ritual- her transubstantiations

always give me a shiver of excitement- and we drank the wine of Christ from it. She moved onto her sermon,

which centred on mercy. She said that though we are strong, many in the world are not. She pointed to those

who hunt outside the town, and said that though they were weak, they had in them the seeds for growth. We

should be compassionate, she said, neither killing them nor leaving them to rot in their idleness. She remindedus that our duty was to test them where possible, to push them into conflict and pride and sickness so that they

might emerge stronger or create their own ruin. When they understand, she said, they will come to us. I think,

perhaps, that Sister Abigail is a little soft on the unbeliever. Were it my decision, we would scour the land so

that only the truly strong remained. I fear that those over-enamoured with pity for the weak may once again

cause a schism within our little community. I hope that we can avoid this, and those in error be made to see the

light. I do not doubt Sister Abigail’s conviction, only her judgement. I shall have to have stern words when it is

my time to preach again.

After r the service, I saw Brother Tony again. He said he had prayed for my recovery every night whilst I was

being tested with sickness, and how he had missed me. As the congregation scattered to go about their tasks for

the evening, we kissed again- it had been two weeks and I had been so alone without him- and went to prepare

the evening meal together. After we ate, he returned to his quarters, and I to mine. Soon, I think, I shall ask him to marry me. The thought

of it fills me with anticipation. Still, things must be done properly, and the longer I delay this, the stronger my

resolve will be and the greater our marriage will become.

As I am once again clean from the sickness, I shall include my thanks in tonight’s prayers, for I have much to be

grateful for. I have my strength, I am enlightened to the Faith of the Tested, unlike so many, I am young and

clever and powerful, and I have Tony in my life. All this is good.

I remain, your obedient servant,

Sister Emily Hernandez, a New Woman in God’s Eyes



Character QuestionsThe following list of questions is designed to

give you a good concept of your character

before you begin play. It may help to discussyour answers with other players, and your

storyteller, in order that everybody has a

strong idea of what each character is about.

Obviously, you do not need to write your

answers anywhere (or even bother answering),

but putting a little thought into how your

character fits into the world and what their

history is like makes them that much more

realistic and rewarding to play.

Again, if all you want is a list of stats and

numbers, I recommend you play a gameinvolving dragons instead.

What is your name?

Is this your character’s birth name, or a

nickname they acquired. Some groups,

particularly the Tested and some villages, use

titles (such as ‘sister’, ‘citizen’, ‘captain’ or

similar) to address each other- if this is the

case, which title does your character use?

How old were you when Mixi came?

The older your character was, the better they

would have understood what was happening

and the more they will remember of life before

Mixi. Most characters will have been between

five and twelve years old- those much older or

younger are very unlikely to have survived.

Obviously, your character will be fifteen years

older than that now, so a character who was

nine when Mixi came will be twenty-four now.

Where did you live?

The important question here is whether they

lived in an urban area or not. If they did, they

will at some point have had to abandon the

towns as it became obvious that Mixi was still

around.

What was your family like?

Who formed their immediate family: one or

both parents, and any siblings? Were they

wealthy or poor? Well educated?

Dysfunctional? Did any of their siblings

survive Mixi, and are they still alive?

How did your family die?

There’s no getting around it: you’re characters

family are dead. Whilst some (those who

became infected early on) will have been taken

to hospitals, many will have died in their own

homes. Often, older children will have cared

for their dying family. Ask yourself how longit took them to die. Maybe they chose to end



their suffering swiftly and cleanly, maybe

there was some impassioned deathbed

conversation between mother and daughter,

or maybe they simply stopped breathing in the

night.

Whatever is the case, all your characters

family died horribly, and your character was

powerless to stop it.

How did being orphaned affect you?

Many children will have been somewhat

scarred by the experience, and some will have

seen things that were thoroughly traumatizing.

Maybe your character spent months, years

even, stunned by what had happened. Maybe

they came from an abusive family, and felt a

sense of guilty relief that at least the beatings

were over. Maybe you were young enough

that you had no idea what was happening or

why your mummy wouldn’t wake up any

more. In any case, pretty much everybody will

have been affected by what happened to them.

How long were you alone?

Not everybody immediately linked up with

other survivors. Perhaps you spent years inthe heart of the city, believing you were the

only person left alive, before an emerging

band of Skavvies found you and took you in.

On the other hand, some children quite

quickly found others like them and became

organized. Many have happy memories of

childhoods spent looting and playing among

the empty cities.

Who are your friends?

Obviously, the other player characters, but…

how does your character know them. Were

they childhood friends? Did they meet up after

Mixi came and help one another survive? Arethey temporary business partners and nothing

more?

How do you live?

Obviously, your character’s culture affects this,

but be specific. Does a herder hunt game, trap

animals, fish, or follow herds of cattle? What is

a villager’s job within their community? What

goods does a Skavvie trade in, and who with?

Your food, water and shelter needs to come

from somewhere, after all.

Do you care about morality?

Does your character believe that some things

are just ‘right’ or ‘wrong’? Where do they

draw the line? Is violence acceptable to them?

Murder? Torture? Do they have a ‘code’ they

live by, and if so does this match that of their

compatriots? For example, Herder society has

fairly strong principles regarding things like

ownership and territory- your herder supportthese principles, or do they merely go along

with the general consensus?

Has your character ever stolen to survive?

Killed another human? Hurt somebody they

cared about? Put their life at risk to help a

stranger?

What are your supernatural beliefs?

Do you believe in the supernatural at all?

Many people recognize spirits and lesser gods,

and perform small rituals to appease them.

Others believe in one ‘christian-esque’ God,

and still cling to what they can remember of

tradition religion. Does your character practice

one or both of these? How important are these

beliefs to the character? Does your character

have any superstitions or rituals, and where

did they come from?



What are your relationships like?

Does your character have a lover? Many lovers?

Do they have have (or want) a single partner,

or a series of brief flings? Who do they find

attractive? Does your character have anyunusual kinks?

What do you do for fun?

Life is not all work, and most people in the

world have at least something they do that

doesn’t actively keep them alive. Does your

character have a hobby or interest? Maybe

they paint, write poems or have some other

creative pastime. Many cultures have large

feasts, with food, intoxicants and so on.

What frightens you most?

This could be fairly straightforward- a fear of

Mixi, of harm coming to your child or of dying

young. On the other hand, it could be much

more straightforward. Many people will

develop phobias from the deaths of their

families or the events immediately after. Other

characters might fear weakness, signs of

sickness, violence or one of any other things.

What gives you hope?

The world is not a completely bleak place, and

most characters have something they cling to

when things are hard. They might treasure

their child or lover, or they might be dedicated

to some cause (possibly even the Tested or

Messenger faiths). On a less grand level, some

characters might have a passion for art, music

or food that consumes them, or gain immense

satisfaction from hunting, building things orexploring.

How do you feel about the dead?

Does your character bury or cremate their

dead companions? Are they pragmatic enough

to leave them where they fell or even to eat

them? Do they respect the old corpses of Mixi

casualties you find, or are they just another

part of the landscape? Do they think you can

contact or be affected by the dead, or are they

just gone?

What do you want?

What motivates your character? Do they want

profit, comfort, fame or to be moral? Maybe

they have some goal they are working towards

(such as conquering new territory for theirtribe) or ideal they promote (such as a Tested

cultist who subtly proselytises to other

cultures). Either way, there has to be

something that makes your character more

than just another grunt.

What’s your great vice?

What is your character’s biggest weakness or

hidden flaw? What holds them back or makes

them repellent to others? Are they a coward?

Addicted to alcohol or hallucinogens? Prone to

violence or cruelty? Callous? Are they

ashamed by this part of themselves, or do they

accept or even glorify it?

What’s your great strength?

What makes your character heroic? What is

their better nature? Are they honourable,

compassionate or ambitious? What made them

this way? Maybe they were taught that this

behaviour was ‘good’ by their family, or learntthat it was necessary to survive after Mixi

came.

What do you wear?

A character’s clothing reflects their lifestyle,

from the masks and hooded coats worn by

Skavvies to the furs and leathers worn by

herders. It’s worth thinking about the kind of

clothing your character wears: what’s it made

out of? Is it elegant or crude? Does it displayany sort of iconography, and if so why? Does

it offer any physical protection or have any

similar practical uses?

What do you look like?

What is your character’s hair like? Long, short,

braided, matted, shaved? Do they have any

scars? Are they missing teeth, eyes or fingers?

What’s their build like- muscular, wiry or thin?

A character is unlikely to be fat unless they are

very high status. Do they have tattoos,

piercings, brandings or scarification?



Sample Non-player CharactersThese are a short list of characters for

storytellers to use, rather than preparing a

character from scratch. These characters only

include the details that the storyteller will

need whilst they interact with player

characters: they have no Health or Nutrition

resistances, and know whatever it is useful or

reasonable for them to know.

Annie Green- Hunter

Culture: Herder

Appearance: short and slim. Sunburnt skin

and dark blonde hair plaited with feathers.

Personality: somewhat reserved and

suspicious of outsiders. Becomes much moreopen when intoxicated. A cheerful drunk.

Role: Her tribe- the Knotted Vine- hunt and

trap animals and trade furs. Annie patrols a

large area of land, sets traps, leaves her tribes

mark as she goes, hunts any game she finds.

Age: 24

Stamina: 2

Skills: 2 Shooting, 2 Stealth, 2 Tracking, 1

Foraging, 1 Navigation, 1 Animal Empathy.

Gear: A bow (base damage +2), 14 arrows, a

knife (base damage +1), several hunks ofsmoked meat, a bottle of water, parts to make

several rabbit snares, a flint and steel.

Kyle Denton- Sentry

Culture: Villager

Appearance: Stocky. Tanned skin. Wears a

boiler suit with a heavy jacket over it, and has

a short beard.

Personality: Usually open and gregarious, but

easily angered. Very loyal. Prone to risk-taking.Role: His village has many industries, but

primarily makes cloth and tents. Kyle works

partly as a weaver, and partly on guard duty,

patrolling the edge of the village’s territory.

Age: 25

Stamina: 3

Skills: 1 Combat, 2 Awareness, 1 Tracking, 1

repair, 1 crafts, 1 memory, 1 willpower

Gear: A hand-axe (base damage +2), a flare-

gun (base damage +3), 2 flares, Protective

Clothing (ignore 1 damage), matches

Pistol Jenny- Sentry

Culture: Skavvie

Appearance: Small, pale skinned with freckles

and dyed black hair. Normally wears a plastic

anorak and a bird-styled gasmask.Scrupulously clean.

Personality: Talkative, flamboyant and a

friendly. Seems to have an anecdote about

every piece of junk she sells. Doesn’t mention

who or where she gets it from.

Role: Turns up every few months in a van

marked ‘Pistol Jenny’ with a new haul of stuff

to sell.

Age: 20

Stamina: 1

Skills: 1 awareness, 2 crafts, 2 repair, 1 stealth,2 charm, 2 willpower, 1 looting, 1 lock-picking,

2 larceny.

Gear: A car, filled with junk and the occasional

useful item. A few knives, a few dozen bullets,

some clothing, a few padlocks, large amounts

of scrap metal. Soap: lots of soap.

Bikechain Gaz- Mercenary

Culture: Villager

Appearance: Large, muscular, covered intattoos and Mixi scars. Shaved head. Wears

torn denim trousers, a leather coat studded

with small metal plates, and a ww2-style

helmet.

Personality: Competitive, proud of his own

abilities and achievements. Not a big talker,

however- a doer not a speaker. Fond of horses.

Role: He’s old, tough, and fearsome. When

people want something done, they put the

word out and he’ll turn up, name his price,

and do it.Age: 27

Stamina: 3

Skills: 2 combat, 2 dodge, 2 Intimidate, 1

willpower, 1 shooting, 2 Animal Empathy, 1

navigation.

Gear: A large spiked motorbike chain (base

damage +3), Light Armour (ignore 2 damage),

Horse (Athletics 3), 3 firebombs (base damage

+2)



Sister Natasha- Tested cultist

Culture: Tested

Appearance: Slightly plump, wearing a long

robe and veil that conceals most of her skin.

What can be seen is pale, with dark make-uparound her lips and canine teeth filed to a

point.

Personality: Driven to prove herself and a little

insecure. Strong sense of compassion she tries

to keep in check.

Role: Works in her cult as a medic and cook.

She preaches irregularly, and lives to the same

strict rules as the rest of her community.

Age: 26

Stamina: 2

Skills: 1 Combat, 3 medicine, 3 immunity, 2dodge, 2 willpower, 2 charm.

Gear: Walking cane (+2 damage), Scalpel (+1

damage), Robes and veil, Mixi Treatment Kit

(+2 immunity), Medical supplies (+2 first aid

or medical treatment), a few sedative pills, a

silver star of David on a chain.

Freddy Blythe- Shaper of the Messengers

Culture: Villager

Appearance: Thin, wiry. Tanned skin, haircropped short. Neatly groomed sideburns and

moustache.

Personality: Enthusiastic about machinery and

its workings. He covers for his activities well

by playing the ‘harmless mechanic’ most of

the time.

Role: He makes bombs, which he passes on to

other messengers when needed. Sometimes,

he puts a bomb with a timer into the vehicles

of his targets whilst ostensibly repairing them.

Age: 26Stamina: 1

Skills: 1 Shooting, 1 Awareness, 3 charm, 1

dodge, 2 crafts, 1 repair, 1 memory, 1 larceny.

Gear: Several bombs (+6 damage), concealed

handgun (+3 damage, 1 shot), pamphlets,

metal-working tools (+2 to crafts)

Cormack Wynn- Recruiter of the

Messengers

Culture: Skavvie

Appearance: Tall, muscular, and commanding.

Wears a smart red jacket and has long, flowing

blond hair. Tends to ruin the impression by

ringing a loud bell and carrying a placard

reading ‘stop fucking about OK’.

Personality: Loud, opinionated but still rathercharming. Uses humour and ‘appeals to the

masses’ to get his points across. Actually very

shrewd and coldly dedicated to his cause.

Role: Wanders across the countryside with a

few hangers-on, trading goods and news for

food. Never stays in the same place for long.

Age: 21

Stamina: 1

Skills: 2 combat, 3 dodge, 2 stealth, 3 shooting,

3 charm, 1 willpower, 2 larceny, 1 navigation,

1 looting.Gear: Bell and sign, eye-catching clothes,

Shotgun (+4 damage) with 6 reloads,

handmade pistol (+3 damage) with 10 reloads.

Several bottles of mead, some trail rations, and

a wide variety of hand-written pamphlets.

Violet of the Burning Men- Tribal Chief

Culture: Herder

Appearance: Tall, red headed, with swirling

blue body-paint over most of her skin. Hasflowers woven into her hair. Dressed well an

embroidered cloth tunic and leather coat over

the top. Overall, imposing to look at.

Personality: Speaks quietly and decisively.

Prone to sudden, shocking bursts of rage when

threatened. Chooses to rule through

intermediaries rather than directly. Religious.

Role: Leads the Burning Men tribe, and so

indirectly controls a huge number of herders.

Something of a ‘high priestess’ to Mother

Chalk.Age: 29

Stamina: 4

Skills: Combat 3, Dodge 3, Stealth 1, Shooting

3, Animal Empathy 2, Tracking 1, Navigation

2, Foraging 2, Intimidate 2, Charm 4,

Willpower 4, and Constitution 3.

Gear: ‘Bull-slayer’- a massive two-handed

pickaxe with the blade fashioned to resemble

the beak of a crow (+3 damage, poisoned),

hand-held crossbow with 6 bolts (+2 damage,

poisoned), Protective Clothing (Ignore 1damage), Local Maps (+2 navigation)

15 Years Later

Documents

Transcript of 15 Years Later