Hunt the Wicked RPG

HUNT THE WICKED

BEN DUTTER

ADDITIONAL DESIGN: BRANDON FRANKLIN AND KARL LARSSON
C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 6 S I G I L S TO N E P U B L I S H I N G

Design and Writing: Ben Dutter
Art: Winston Lew, Jeff Brown, Marius Janusonis, Arthur Asa, Timm Henson
Editing: Joshua Yearsley
Layout: Phillip Gessert
Additional Design: Brandon Franklin, Karl Larsson

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CONTENTS
1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1
How to Play................................................................................ 3
Gameplay Style......................................................................... 4
What You Need......................................................................... 5
Dice and Abbreviations .......................................................... 6
Hunt the Wicked’s Tone ..........................................................7
UVA Bounty Hunting Regulations.........................................7
2: SETTING...........................................................................................11
The Archon ...............................................................................12
Species ......................................................................................13
UVA: Unified Vassals of the Archon...................................18
A Short History.........................................................................19
Bounty Hunters........................................................................19
Technology ...............................................................................21
Planets, Colonies, and Stations..........................................23
3: GETTING STARTED..................................................................... 37
Game Concept........................................................................38
Rules Basics.............................................................................40
4: CHARACTER CREATION............................................................ 47
Overview ..................................................................................49
Character Concept .................................................................51
Becoming a Hunter................................................................52
Species .....................................................................................53
Skills........................................................................................... 57
Talents.......................................................................................59
Motivation.................................................................................63
Bounty Hunter Techniques ..................................................68
Equipment................................................................................70
Advancement ..........................................................................70
5: GAMEPLAY.................................................................................... 75
Scene Difficulty....................................................................... 79
Consequences and Injuries................................................. 79

Advantage.................................................................................81
Assists .......................................................................................82
Approaches .............................................................................82
Motivation Dice.......................................................................84
Narrative Actions....................................................................88
Haunted ....................................................................................90
Obsession .................................................................................91
More on Consequences.......................................................92
Success with a Setback........................................................96
Sample Consequences by Skill.......................................... 97
More on Injuries......................................................................98
Enemies ................................................................................... 101
Fear and Sickness................................................................ 105
Combat ................................................................................... 107
Chases ..................................................................................... 113
Favors...................................................................................... 123
Optional Rule: Pressing Your Luck .................................. 130
6: EQUIPMENT................................................................................ 135
Yantiram Chassis .................................................................. 145
Vehicles ...................................................................................147
Cybernetics............................................................................ 149
Money ..................................................................................... 149
7: GAME MASTERING ................................................................... 155
Choosing a GM ......................................................................157
The GM’s Role....................................................................... 158
GM Principles ........................................................................ 159
GM Basics .............................................................................. 160
Judgment ................................................................................ 161
Building Hunts....................................................................... 162
Finding Bounties .................................................................. 170
Giving Motivation Dice.........................................................174
Difficulty Scale .......................................................................176
Scene Difficulty......................................................................178
Consequences....................................................................... 181
Challenging Motivations..................................................... 183
Creating NPCs ...................................................................... 184
Space Travel...........................................................................187
8: FACTIONS..................................................................................... 191
Faction Tasks......................................................................... 192
Faction Motivation ............................................................... 193

Faction Scale......................................................................... 195
Characters and Factions .................................................... 196
9: THE ARCHON............................................................................. 201
Archon’s Ire........................................................................... 202
Conduits ................................................................................ 208
TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME ................................................... 211
Random Tables .................................................................... 242
VIGNETTES OF THE UVA ........................................................... 245
Hurndo, Planetary Consultant.......................................... 246
Panopticon Surveillance.................................................... 248
Terran Engineering ............................................................. 250
Valantaz Catacombs........................................................... 252
Rudy Shine............................................................................ 254
Whaen Sesallos ................................................................... 256
USDU...................................................................................... 258
Last Aria Opera House ...................................................... 260

1: INTRODUCTION

1: INTRODUCTION

Hunt the Wicked is a tabletop roleplaying game of space
opera action and adventure. In it, you play as hardcore bounty
hunters, keeping the peace and tracking down the galaxy’s
most wanted criminals.
Humanity, along with two other sentient species, live under
the omnipotent rule of the Archon: an incomprehensibly powerful machine capable of consuming stars. Hunt the Wicked
uses a modified version of Vow of Honor’s system—called
the Ethos Engine—tailored for space opera action and bounty
hunter characters.
Bounty Hunters are a necessity in the galactic frontier—military might and system-spanning police forces are
deemed too dangerous to employ for fear of the Archon’s reaction. It is a time when sentient society walks on a knife’s
edge, carefully and quietly advancing forward, hoping that nobody does anything stupid enough to engender the Archon’s
wrath.
Some see the Hunters as saviors, some as lawmen, some
as little better than assassins or mercenaries. Yet everybody
knows and respects the Bounty Hunters—or at least acknowledges their widespread authority.
The Vassal species have spread out across the galaxy, building massive transport systems like the Superlume Bridge Network, founding artificial colonies like the dizzyingly beautiful
orbital platforms over Earth, and inhabiting and terraforming
dozens of alien worlds—all watched by the omnipotent Archon, silently judging.
Criminals, thugs, murderers, dissidents, rebels, and those insane enough to try to directly challenge the UVA’s or Archon’s
authority must be dealt with in order to maintain this era of
peace. Failure is not an option—it could spell the extermination of the Vassal species on the whims of the Archon.
You will run these perpetrators down, maintain the peace in
the galaxy, and hunt the wicked.

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1: INTRODUCTION

HOW TO PLAY
Hunt the Wicked is a tabletop roleplaying game. You and at
least one other friend take on the roles of characters in the
Vassal Territories—a stretch of space a thousand lightyears
around Sol. You’re essentially telling a story together, improvising and reacting to each other and the universe.
Most players will play the role of a single character, a Bounty
Hunter, licensed to hunt, capture, or kill enemies of the Unified Vassals of the Archon (UVA). You’ll speak for this character, describe how the character looks and talks and acts, and
decide on the character’s beliefs and personality. They’ll be
your fictional embodiment in the game world, one protagonist
in your group’s collaborative story.
One person will take on the role of the Game Master (GM),
who gets to describe the environment, play as the universe’s
antagonists and supporting characters (called non-player
characters or NPCs), determine the difficulty of certain tasks,
and illustrate how the world reacts to the other players’ decisions and their characters’ actions.
I recommend four to five players, including the GM. If only a
couple people are playing, consider giving two characters to
each player.
Hunt the Wicked is played largely through dialogue. You say
what your character is doing or saying, and the GM narrates
how the world reacts. You might say something like “Leridnu,
my character, tries to cool the situation by telling some jokes,”
and then I (the GM) might say “The Superlume Pirates aren’t in
the mood for jokes, and collectively give you a deadpan glare.”
The group of characters under the players’ control is sometimes called a party or a group. Your party will interact with
one another, the NPCs, and the world, all under the guidance
of the GM and within the structure of the rules.

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1: INTRODUCTION

Hunt the Wicked is a collaborative storytelling game.
Each player takes on the role of one character: a Bounty
Hunter.
One player takes on the role of GM, who controls the environment.
You say what you want your character to do, roll some
dice to gauge their success, and the GM narrates what
happens.

GAMEPLAY STYLE
Hunt the Wicked focuses on a group of Bounty Hunters (your
characters) as they hunt down dangerous criminals and bloodthirsty villains in the bizarre and diverse galaxy. Not every
bounty is equal, and not every quarry is worth capturing or
killing (some because they’re not worth the trouble, others because perhaps their actions weren’t bad in the eyes of your
characters.)
This lends itself to excellent space opera, with rugged and
flawed heroes relentlessly pursuing their enemies through the
stars, all for cold, hard cash and the promise of peace. Moral
and narrative questions will come up—explore them. Is it worth
destroying a pod full of twenty innocents in order to finish off
your quarry? Is it better to let a terrible murderer go if it prevents collateral damage? What lengths are you willing to go,
and what principles are you willing to forsake, to get your target?
The Bounty Hunters’ prowess increases as they gain experience, and they become more talented as they capture more
quarries, but they’re also just as likely to become haunted by

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1: INTRODUCTION

the terrible atrocities they’ve confronted—or to die withered
and broken in some dark corner of space.
Games of Hunt the Wicked are best with narratives that focus
on the characters’ motivations and development, as well as
the great deeds they can accomplish.

WHAT YOU NEED
Playing a game of Hunt the Wicked is easy. All you really need
is at least one other person, so one of you will be the GM and
the other will play as a character (or two). Ideally, you’ll have a
group of friends that all buy into the concept of playing UVA
Bounty Hunters, chasing down dangerous criminals and collecting them for cash and glory, while trying not to die or lose
heart in the process.
The only other tools that you need to play are these rules,
some regular six-sided dice (abbreviated as D), and something
to take notes on. If you don’t have any physical dice, paper,
or pencils, there’s plenty of free digital resources that can roll
dice and store game notes.
Once you corral a group of players, have each of them read
the rules (or at least the Quick Start rules in the back). GMs,
you need to be familiar enough with how to make characters
and how the game works. I’ll get to that in a bit.
You’ll collaborate with everyone else playing on what your particular version of a Hunt the Wicked game will look like: its setting, its tone, what type of issues you’re interested in exploring, and so forth. There’s plenty more guidelines on how to do
this in Chapter 2.

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1: INTRODUCTION

All you need to play is two to six people, a pile of six-sided
dice, paper, pencils, and these rules.

DICE AND ABBREVIATIONS
Hunt the Wicked uses only regular six-sided dice, which I just
call a die or dice. Dice are abbreviated as D.
Sometimes you’ll roll more than one die at once. This is abbreviated as xD, where x is the number of dice rolled. For example, rolling 3D means rolling three dice. If something says that
you get +1D, you add one die to your relevant roll.
So, if you were about to roll 3D, but got a +1D bonus, then
you’d roll 4D.
There are a few types of dice in Hunt the Wicked. You can add
any of these dice to any of your rolls.
Base Dice (BD) are the dice that you get to roll (generally 1D)
for free whenever you attempt a Task. These are never spent.
Advantage Dice (AD) are given as a bonus when your character is in some kind of favorable circumstance. These dice add
only to the current roll. They can be gained from equipment,
the GM, another character assisting, or other factors. Advantage is discussed in much more detail later.
Motivation Dice (MD) are earned by playing to your character’s Motivation, as well as by hunting and capturing your quarries. Before making a roll, you can choose to add MD, spending them from your Motivation pool. To refill your pool, you
must earn more MD.
I’ll go into more detail about how rolls and dice work in a bit.

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1: INTRODUCTION

HUNT THE WICKED’S TONE
Hunt the Wicked is inspired by space opera and science fiction classics like Star Wars, Bladerunner, and Star Trek, and
also by American Westerns, Samurai movies, pulp adventures
from the last two centuries, and even newer masterpieces like
Guardians of the Galaxy and the Saga comic series.
The intended tone of this game is mature and somewhat serious, with some light comedic relief sprinkled throughout. It can
of course be played a bit more tongue-in-cheek, but its core
gameplay themes are what it means to be a Bounty Hunter
and sentient people are ruled by an alien God Machine.
Your characters can be heroes, but shouldn’t be perfect, infallible, or overly “epic.” Instead, play characters that draw you
and others into what makes them interesting—what motivates
them, their reasons for becoming a hunter, what they view as
acceptable losses or the lines not to be crossed.
Prior to playing, discuss as a group what scenarios are too
taboo to explore in game. What might be comfortable for one
player is beyond another’s limit—getting this out in the open
right at the start of the game will encourage a safe gaming experience for everyone.

UVA BOUNTY HUNTING REGULATIONS
The UVA—the government formed by the three sentient
species known in the galaxy—sanctions Bounty Hunters
throughout the entirety of its territory. This does not mean,
however, that Hunters can go on rampages, killing sprees, or
fests of debauchery just because they are licensed to capture
and kill criminals.

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1: INTRODUCTION

Most Hunters must go through a rudimentary psychological
and physical aptitude test to acquire their license—although
many strong-arm or bribe their way into the profession, and
others just start pursuing public quarries one day and never
actually gain a license. The truth of the matter is, in all but
the most “civilized” regions of the UVA, nobody really cares if
you’re licensed or not.
However, folks do care if you start blasting up buildings, destroying Superlumes, or taking out innocents in pursuit of your
quarry. Break the law, harm innocents, or cause too much
damage, and you’ll find a bounty on your own head, with
Hunters chasing you.

Hunters are allowed certain concessions and authority
when it comes to capturing wanted criminals, but belligerent, illegal actions still bear ramifications for the Hunters.

8

2: SETTING

2: SETTING

Hunt the Wicked is set in a region of space around 1,000
lightyears in diameter, roughly centered on our very own Sol.
The region is dominated by the civilizations and colonies of
three interstellar species: Earthlings, ixtabuyek, and yantiram.
Around one thousand years ago, these societies unified under
the omnipotent control and guidance of the Archon.
The Unified Vassals of the Archon (UVA) have since colonized
dozens of systems, and the three species have advanced and
intermingled into a more homogenous culture.
Space is a wild frontier, and faster-than-light (FTL) travel remains exceedingly difficult. The UVA is spread incredibly thin
and, under threat of angering the all-powerful and violent Archon, is hesitant to commit to full-scale military action.
Instead, Bounty Hunters are employed across this sector of
the galaxy to remove the negative elements of society. In the
grind of making a living, they have to clash with local governments, UVA investigators and military units, marauders, mercenaries, and murderers.
Below I’ll give more details about the most relevant and interesting aspects of Hunt the Wicked’s setting.

THE ARCHON
When Humanity began colonizing the stellar cluster around
Sol, they were confronted with an Archon, a massive and incomprehensibly powerful alien machine. The construct, approximately one million kilometers in diameter, remained dormant for several years following, but finally cycled out of its
slumber.
When it did, it waged a sudden and terrible war upon the
fledgling interstellar species. After a brief attempt at resistance, Earth and her colonies surrendered to the Archon, com12

2: SETTING

municating to it only through the Conduits, willing human volunteers that melded with the massive machine.
Soon it was revealed that the Archon was the Great Filter
and shepherd of the galaxy, an entity that decides which sentient species could develop and benefit from interstellar technology. Few species are allowed to advance—the rest are destroyed.
The Archon is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 9: The
Archon.

SPECIES
The Vassal Territories are peopled by three distinct species,
making up hundreds (if not thousands) of cultures. Many of
these cultures are mixtures of influences from the different
species, and some exist as subsets within larger communities.
Below I’ll go over some of the basics of the two non-human
species, as well as some of the cultural and biological reasons
for their behavior and predilections.

YANTIRAM
The yantiram were the first to submit to the Archon and be
allowed to survive. Their society had focused for millennia on
introspection and self-improvement rather than colonization of
the stars, and their organic bodies had long since evolved into purely digital constructs, navigating the physical realm only
through small hovering drones and a variety of biomechanical
chassis. They are driven by logic, comprehension, and knowledge, and are not typically a warrior species.
Humans find yantiram—often called “yanti”—peculiar yet familiar. Their mentality is similar in many respects to that of humanity, but often without the ambition, creativity, and desire for

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2: SETTING

activity that drive many humans to “succeed” in some way or
another.
Some estimates place the yantiram as the most populous of
all the species, as their homeworld’s population is rumored to
be in the hundreds of billions. Most yantiram are content to remain at home, living their immortal lives among the digital realities their advanced intellects have constructed.
The yantiram classify themselves into three generations:
1. The Progenitors: These yantiram were the first
evolved forms of digital sentience, some of whom
originally born in organic bodies.
2. Second Generation: These yantiram were created
by the Progenitors and thought to be the first generation of “perfected” yantiram sapience.
3. Third Generation: These yantiram, made through
the genesis process, are completely digital constructs of the Second Generation. All yantiram beyond this point are collectively known as the Third
Generation.
Yantiram of all generations and life cycles are encouraged to
explore the galaxy and interact with the physical realm. Many
yantiram are concerned with self-discovery and actualization,
and feel that only through interacting with the “real” Vassal
Territories will they truly test themselves.
The first generations of yantiram diasporics established their
own colonies and communities within their comrades’ territory,
seeking to bring their ideology or perspective to the galactic
community. In time, many of these yantiram went through the
process of genesis—creating new yantiram consciousnesses—for companionship, camaraderie, support, or to experience the notion of a family.
Many of these Third Generation yantiram, born away from
their homeworld, have dramatically different personalities and
cultural norms than their First and Second Generation antecedents. Some Third Generation even become fascinated
and immersed in the contemporary or ancient cultures of the

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2: SETTING

other species, taking on all the behaviors—and even appearance, with the proper chassis—of the species they admire.
While a yantiram consciousness is digital, it is truly sentient.
However, the way in which such sentience is created precludes any possibility of the yantiram being restored or
backed up if its core is damaged or destroyed. This means
that while yantiram rarely “naturally” die, they’re still aware of
and fear death, just like their organic counterparts.

IXT
IXTABUYEK
ABUYEK
The ixtabuyek were adopted by the Archon just prior to
Earth’s acceptance into the fold. As part of the Archon’s new
interspecies empire, the ixtabuyek were very difficult to communicate with. They viewed the other species as lesser lifeforms, little more than potential slaves or fodder to be used
at their discretion. Many of their customs were deemed ludicrous or unnecessarily confrontational by humanity, leading to
a great deal of strife and misunderstandings at their onset of
their relationship.
The majority of their people seemed honored, even reverent,
to serve at the behest of the Archon. Their bodies, though
bizarre to humans, aren’t so distinct as to be incompatible with
a human way of life. Indeed, many xenobiologists believe that
ixtabuyek could have evolved on Earth if the circumstances
were ever so slightly different fifty million years ago. As such,
their anatomy is suited to the many Earth-like planets in this
sector of the galaxy.
Humans find the ixtabuyek both utterly alien and inexplicably
alluring. Few humans can correctly pronounce ixtabuyek
phonemes, let alone their species’ name, and so resort to simply calling them “ixta” or one of many other slang terms (some
derogatory, some not).
Ixtabuyek evolved on a world of numerous islands and vast
oceans, and thus they feel most comfortable in similarly humid
and wet locales. While humans are largely a terrestrial species,
they and the ixtabuyek share a similar taste for colonies and
overlap much in the way of biology.

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2: SETTING

However, since ixtabuyek appear so entirely different from
anything that could even possibly be considered as human,
many Earthlings find the semi-amorphous, translucent, spindly
asexual aliens to be unnerving, even horrifying. In the millennium that has passed since humanity was first introduced to
their amphibious comrades, though, they have become familiar and comfortable with one another.
While humanity is ambitious, ixtabuyek are often seen as insatiable. Their shorter lifespans, aloof families, and lack of complex sexual interactions make them far less egalitarian and
much more concerned with personal and societal advancement, even when it causes hardship for other individuals.
To the typical ixtabuyek, concepts such as conservation and
archaic affectations for lower creatures are mind-boggling;
they instead prefer putting their astute consciousness toward
creating perfect works of art, mastering a niche method of
construction, developing advanced theorems on the nature of
the universe, and competing in games of memorization and reaction speeds.
Ixtabuyek society is by no means monolithic, and it has seen
some of the worst civil wars and fractures among the Vassal
Species, both before and during the Archon’s reign. Part of
what makes ixtabuyek so willing to learn and improve is their
adaptability, something that has served them well as cohabitants of many planets with humans and yantiram. Once they
had achieved a level of acceptance among their many ethnicities and nation states, they applied the same principles of flexibility and empathy to the other Vassals. In a way, their eons of
civil unrest and constant war made them more willing to be at
peace with those in the Archon’s fold.
Many ixtabuyek view an individual’s accomplishments as noteworthy only if they somehow contributed to the
whole—paradoxically, in their pursuit of individual perfection
and comprehension, they become incredibly selfless. This
makes ixtabuyek exceptional military operatives and Bounty
Hunters; they are often willing to die for the mission’s success,
something most humans would reel at.
Ixtabuyek can comfortably breathe on land and underwater,
though some prefer to live most of their lives in a strictly aquatic domain. There’s a growing distinction between ixta that
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2: SETTING

spend the majority of their lives in densely populated urban
zones, primarily on land, and those who dwell in the ancestral
aquatic homes of their rural communities. While it isn’t a common cause for prejudice or conflict, the physical and cultural
differences of the two groups can be staggering to outsiders.
While ixtabuyek lack any discernible digits, their forelimbs—which function like tentacles—are completely amorphous, letting them plug into and mold around nearly any analog control that a human or yantiram can use. Rather than
wrapping fingers and thumb around, the entire tentacle meshes with the object, practically absorbing it.
Humans see the bodies of ixtabuyek as mixtures of an Earth
praying mantis and octopus, scaled to well over two meters
tall. What many humans find the most disturbing, though, is
the ixtabuyek’s complex eye structure. Three interconnected
orbs, each comprising many facets, can all angle and move independently. While their visual spectrum is similar to that of a
human’s, the ixtabuyek never blink, have little concept of eye
contact, and find it difficult to convey tone and expression adequately to the other two species.
This difficulty is only somewhat mitigated by the species’ ability to change the color and density of much of its body. It is
said that the more translucent an ixtabuyek is when speaking
to you, the more it trusts you (bordering even on intimacy if
completely transparent).

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UVA: UNIFIED VASSALS OF THE ARCHON
The three species allowed to live and serve under the Archon’s sovereignty have formed a government called the Unified Vassals of the Archon, or simply the UVA. The UVA regulates the population’s access to technology, information,
and—most importantly—weapons and large-scale military
equipment and infrastructure. Over time, the UVA’s economy
has formed around “Units,” a digital currency recognized in all
of the UVA’s colonies, stations, and territories.
It is the UVA that sanctions the use of Bounty Hunters, acquires Conduits to communicate with the Archon, and ensures
that no faction grows too powerful or isolated.

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A SHORT HISTORY
It has been over a thousand years since humanity was brought
under the control of the Archon, which cycles in and out of
dormant phases, occasionally consuming dwarf stars and
planets and growing in size.
The few times the species’ governments and militaries grew
sufficiently powerful to war openly with one another, the Archon destroyed the belligerents’ fleets with unimaginable displays of force, taking a few survivors to serve as forced Conduits. There are dozens of systems now colonized by Earthlings, yantiram, and ixtabuyek, their great cultures beginning
to meld into a new and unique mixture.
Now the majority of conflicts are small, and space is a true
and wild frontier. Local governments do their best to keep the
Archon pleased, though it now slumbers for years or even
decades at a time. Factions and corporations wage shadow
wars against one another, and high prices are placed on the
heads of the wicked.

BOUNTY HUNTERS
As large militaries and governments are deemed too dangerous by most—understandable, given the Archon’s interference
over the last millennium—Bounty Hunters are tasked with taking down criminals, rebels, and other dissidents, and in return
given great authority, respect, and wealth. Bounty Hunters are
recognized by all (or nearly so) of the Archon’s colonies, and
if they capture or kill a quarry, they can demand payment from
local authorities.
Most planets and systems in this sector of space require each
Hunter to obtain special permits and licensing, but this is diffi19

2: SETTING

cult to enforce and organize. More often than not, a small bribe
or intimidating glare is enough to make a local magistrate look
the other way. In certain free zones—often areas populated
by massive space stations, Superlumes, and vagabond flotillas—bounty hunting is a much rougher and grittier business,
often devolving into little better than blood sport or headhunting.
Every so often, the Archon will demand that a particular individual be brought before it—sometimes to serve as a Conduit,
sometimes to be disintegrated, sometimes to meld with the Archon’s enormous chassis. These people almost always try to
run, and when they do, a mad scramble begins all over the
galaxy; the Archon occasionally rewards a Hunter who captures such a deserter with a piece of its frame, worth fortunes.

Hunt the Wicked takes place in the Vassal Territories.
Humans, ixtabuyek, and yantiram formed the UVA.
The Archon is a sun-sized alien machine that rules the
Territories.
Bounty Hunters keep the peace and prevent the Archon’s
ire.

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TECHNOLOGY
Technology in this time is wild and varied. In general, the gear
of choice for Hunters is a combination of guns and melee
weapons. Typical kinetic shields fare well against projectiles
and guns, but can be easily circumvented by proper application of melee attacks. This fact has kept melee and unarmed
combat tightly connected to the Bounty Hunter way of life,
especially because most quarries are worth more alive than
dead.
Here are a number of technologies and devices commonly
used throughout the Vassal Territories:
The neuralnet: The neuralnet is the Territories’ equivalent of
the internet. However, since information can’t be sent faster
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than the speed of light (generally), the neuralnet is highly localized to its nearest colony, ship, or Superlume Bridge. The
neuralnet gets its name because it is a wireless network connected literally to one’s nervous system—typically through a
“wetdrive.”
Wetdrives: A small computer interface between one’s nervous
system (generally the brain) and the neuralnet. In most humans it is placed near one of their ears, while in ixtabuyek it is
located on one of their neck stalks. Yantiram have the luxury
of being easiest able to interface with the wetdrive; they were
responsible for its original design, and it shares much with the
way the yantiram communicate with one another.
Information transfer: Information and data can’t (usually) be
sent faster than light. As such, messages are sent most quickly
through courier or drone on an established FTL route, generally a Superlume Bridge. The farther out in isolated space you
are, the slower your news and the less information from the
UVA you have access to. Some areas are complete neuralnet dead zones, causing non-local wetdrives and datapanes
to cease functioning.
Pods: A roughly spherical vehicle (although they come in
many varieties) that, using gravitronic controls, can move in
practically any direction in any environment. Most are autonomous, flying the passenger to any desired destination
within range. Some pods are designed for specific purposes,
such as combat or space travel, but most are used like the cars
of today.
Datapanes: These holoprojectors, each about the size of a fingernail, serve as multi-purpose computers and media devices.
They are the most common interface for any form of visual media, and easily sync with most wetdrives. Some datapanes are
personalized; mounted to the user’s wrist, they project flat or
three-dimensional images with great clarity. Others are used
standalone, mounted or placed as viewscreens and the like.
Superlume Bridges: Generally just called Superlumes, these
massive physical networks connect the many systems within
the Vassal Territories. Trillions of kilometers long, these tubes
propel spaceworthy pods and ships at faster-than-light
speeds. As the Superlume Bridges are the most common and
effective way to travel from system to system, information
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couriers, Bounty Hunters, and common folk use them nearly
every day.
Identification: In the most populated districts, Bounty Hunters
can use any facial, iris, and genetic recognition software installed on their wetdrives. If the UVA’s databases have this
information stored on a quarry, Bounty Hunters will be able
to find it. However, many criminals forge, obscure, or delete
these records if possible, and others have never been documented.
There’s a much more thorough discussion of Bounty Hunter
equipment and space travel in Chapter 6: Equipment.

PLANETS, COLONIES, AND STATIONS
In addition to the three homeworlds of the Vassal species,
the UVA has spread across many worlds and systems. Each
species has its own interests, with local governments taking
over and constructing new colonies, while the UVA tries to
keep the naturally fractious localities pacified. Not every
known and connected colony is listed below, but each of
these has been thoroughly cataloged.

FOUNDED BBYY EEARTHLINGS
ARTHLINGS
EARTH
Humanity’s homeworld, Earth is a stunning spectacle of high
technology, terraforming, and dizzying urban density. Like
most human settlements, Earth is full of diverse contrasts and
beautiful complexity—massive forests beside glittering cities,
areas of immense beauty and disgusting sprawl, crystal clear
waters patrolled by hulking, distracting vessels. The Earthling
capital still holds the majority of its species’ military might, infrastructure, and resources.
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MARS
After thorough terraforming, the red planet is habitable by humans and the other Vassal species. Much of Earth’s unsavory
industry has moved to Mars, and the planet is crime-ridden
and dangerous when compared to the splendor of Earth. Human laws are more lax here, and so many rich and powerful
come to engage in the vice of their choice.

TIT
TITAN
AN
One of the older attempts at “modern” terraforming, this moon
remains violently independent of Earth politics. It has an incredibly diverse population, even full of transhumans and uplifted creatures.

SOL’S BELT
An archipelago of hundreds of smaller colonies and personal
homes, the asteroid belt is primarily used for resource harvesting and contributes the majority of humanity’s materials. It is
nearing exhaustion, and UVA officials grow concerned about
how this will affect the Territories’ economy in years to come.

ORBIT
ORBITAL
AL PL
PLAATS
A relatively large percentage of Earth’s atmosphere is covered
with massive geosynchronous orbital platforms, mirroring the
planet’s sophisticated technology below. However, many of
these technological marvels are dens of scum and villainy,
common haunts for Hunters. The most populous and significant of these plats houses Earth’s only Interstellar Cannon (IC)
and primary Superlume Junction.

CENT
CENTAURI
AURI
A binary star system and Earth’s first interstellar colony. One
of its two terrestrial planets—Centauri II—was moved to a habitable distance from the sun, terraformed, and heavily colonized. It was built to mimic Earth, and many Earthlings see it as
24

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a sister planet despite its alien coloring and vegetation. Well
tended and funded by active colonization and tourism, Centauri II is often considered a resort world, with safe suburban
populations and high-tech industries. Centauri I, the closest
planet to the star, has several small cities built beneath geothermal shields, making it a haven for hiding criminals and
recluses.

ERIDANI
The first planet with new life discovered by humanity, Eridani
is a wild and arguably savage world, never having been truly
tamed by the Earthlings that colonized it. Eridani’s incredibly
fertile soil and high oxygen concentration have resulted in its
infamously massive flora and fauna, namely its carnivorous,
tentacular plants that ensnare and slowly digest unwary travelers. Despite its untamed reputation and dangerous wildlife,
Eridani serves as a hub of UVA movement and hosts one of
the largest Superlume Junctions in the region.

PROCYON
A heavily populated system with multiple planets and a habitable moon only slightly smaller than Earth. With only minor
terraforming, it was colonized by humanity and has produced
its own distinct and developed culture, including its own language. Even though it is an Earthling-founded colony, its population is nearly half yantiram.

HYDRI
A massive gas giant four times the size of Jupiter, Hydri has
been minimally colonized with floating orbital platforms and
other buoy towns, which collect the planet’s gases for fuel and
other uses. Surprisingly, the upper echelons of its atmosphere
are under pressure similar to that of Earth’s surface. Hydri’s
ecosystem is well known and studied for its floating flora and
fauna, including the famous Hydri whales: bulbous and powerful creatures that glide through Hydri’s clouds. Hydri’s secluded location and few colonies make it the perfect hideout for
many pirates and criminals.

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PA
PAVONIS
VONIS
The Pavonis system is very similar to the Solar system, but with
several smaller gas giants and more terrestrial planets. Pavonis III, with three moons, is a predominantly aquatic world and
home to some of the galaxy’s most diverse and exotic undersea life.
The moons have been terraformed and colonized by humanity, and the planet itself is heavily populated with ixtabuyek
who enjoy the ocean. Due to a quirk of the atmosphere, the
water and sky of Pavonis III are light purple rather than blue.

CETI
The Ceti system has five planets, including a terrestrial planet
with a prominent ring. This planet is well known for its diverse
ecology and geography, with many humans comparing it to
some parts of Earth (such as New Zealand) but at a grander
scale. It was here where humanity first discovered signs of intelligent alien life, but the origins of the Ceti people have since
been lost. Many believe that the Archon destroyed the Ceti as
they were burgeoning and colonizing their stellar system.

FOUNDED BBYY THE UVA
AMROHA
The Superlume Headquarters and the central hub for most
UVA travel. The system has over a dozen planets, including
one that’s very similar to the ixtabuyek homeworld, with an
abundance of storms, jungles, and tumultuous oceans.
Amroha VI, the only inhabited planet in the system, has a
colony of massive stilted cities, and each of the planet’s three
moons serves as a completely urbanized center catering to
one of the Vassal species. It is the primary shipyard and Superlume industry in the Territories.

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BHAGALPUR
Despite the system having a dwarf star, Bhagalpur’s single
planet is teeming with life. The planet’s exterior is a near barren wasteland, with a noxious, thick atmosphere only lightly
populated with shielded colonies and orbital platforms.
However, its structure is incredibly porous, letting hive-like
colonies burrow throughout its crust. Much of the colony’s
heat and energy is geothermal, coming from the planet’s highly active core. The UVA is rumored to have secret facilities for
testing weapons and technology here.

CHITOOR
A planet once dominated by its own sentient species whose
ruins litter the surface, Chitoor receives its light from a red giant. The planet dried and began to crack from heat and pressure, but many scientists and xenoarchaeologists wished to
study and explore the massive ruins of the Chitoorians. The
planet was terraformed and moved into a more stable orbit,
and has since developed into a world full of heavy industry.
As one of the few “ghost-colonies” of its kind, Chitoor is visited by millions of would-be explorers, tourists, and archaeologists interested in the planet’s and its peoples’ ancient history.
The Chitoor system is near a small but beautiful nebula, and
many on the planet’s surface can clearly see the bright plasma
spread throughout the sky.

HYDERABAD
The Hyderabad system is often called “The Economic Center
of the Galaxy” or the “Business Capital of the UVA.” It was built
for finance and commerce, and is arguably the wealthiest system in the known galaxy.
The system’s lone planet was perfectly situated for colonization, too young to have developed sentient life, and ripe with
rare, valuable materials. At first the planet was as a base for
mining and Superlume transport, but it soon grew into an unrivaled urban center. Corporations, academia, and the Territo-

27

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ries’ elite flock to the system, making it the richest Vassal planet.

JIND
The pleasure and vice capital of the UVA. The planet is small,
but its remarkable ecosystem—replete with flowering forests
the size of oceans, spindly trees that stretch a mile high, and
purple sand beaches with near-perfect spheres of naturally
occurring purple glass—make it an ideal vacation destination
and home to the exorbitantly wealthy. When discovered, Jind
had not yet developed complex life and was populated almost entirely by plants. Now it is a veritable playground for the
Vassals, filled with resorts, casinos, brothels, hunting grounds,
theme parks, fantastical cities, competitive sports, and all manner of insane recreation.

LADNU
The political epicenter of the UVA and the current resting
place of the Archon, Ladnu has become the headquarters of
the UVA. To protect both the planet and the Archon, Ladnu’s
orbit is filled with an impressive interstellar fleet and myriad
defense platforms.
With dizzying technology and full integration with neural networks and virtual reality, Ladnu’s inhabitants augment what
they see. Delegates from every planet in the Territories, as
well as from the three sentient species’ homeworlds, write
laws and administrate the government here.
The last eleven Conduits to be chosen have all come from
Ladnu’s population, and the Archon seems content to remain
dormant, hovering just outside of the planet’s atmosphere
without affecting its gravity. This phenomenon is not understood.

MUKERIAN
Humans say Mukerian’s beauty is only matched by Earth.
Carefully cultivated and intricately colonized, the planet is
home to a myriad of diverse biomes and landscapes. It has
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been lightly and respectfully terraformed to increase its sturdiness and receptivity to colonization, but otherwise has been
left untouched.
While Mukerian has a smaller population than any of the three
homeworlds, it is one of the most populous colonies in the Territories. The planet is lauded as a model of peaceful colonization, terraforming, and cooperation.

NUZVID
The UVA’s military capital. It is highly fortified with defensive
orbital platforms, ICs, and what few spacecraft capable of waging war are constructed here.
The UVA’s esteemed military academies are here, as well as its
headquarters for the Special Forces and counter-intelligence
teams that sometimes compete and cooperate with the Bounty Hunters. Almost all of the planet’s inhabitants are the families and support staff of the UVA Fleet. Bounty Hunting agencies are known to set up shop on Nuzvid and scout out current
and retired soldiers as potential Hunters.

PILIBIT
A rugged mountainous world marked with jagged peaks, massive canyons kilometers wide and deep, alpine forests interspersed with peach and orange basalt columns, and crystal
clear lakes filled with glowing amphibious life. Pilibit is known
as a cultural melting pot. The majority of the UVA’s film and entertainment industry does its work here, giving Pilibit a reputation for creating many of the galaxy’s greatest artists and musicians. It is one of the few planets that has completely outlawed
the use or ownership of any weaponry, and is only loosely controlled by UVA politics.

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FOUNDED BBYY YYANTIRAM
ANTIRAM
GRAHI
The homeworld of the yantiram species, Grahi was constructed to completely encompass its star. A massive hexagonal
sphere many thousands of times larger than the original planet
now channels the star’s energy.
Many believe, upon first inspection, that Grahi is an Archon,
but its odd shape and the throbbing lights that course throughout its dense layers make it clear that it isn’t. Nearly the entire
stellar system has been mined and processed in order to construct and grow Grahi to what it is.
The majority of the yantiram population “lives” here, exploring
the depths of their digital world. Most are immortal and simply
elect to turn off once they have grown bored or despondent.

VAIKUNTHA
The Vaikuntha system is the nearest neighbor to the Grahi system. To support biological life, its planet was slightly shifted
and heavily terraformed, colonized by yantiram who preferred
to connect with their (at least spiritually) organic roots. It was
during this forming that the yantiram first encountered the Archon, and through their own Conduits they learned that other
species would be allowed to live. The planet, suitable for colonization by the other two species as well, is often seen as
a buffer between traditional yantiram culture and those of the
ixtabuyek and Earthlings.

FOUNDED BBYY IXT
IXTABUYEK
ABUYEK
OTOCH
Otoch is the ixtabuyek homeworld and the cradle of their civilization. It is a lush oceanic world full of millions of islands and

30

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a single continental landmass that’s covered in a dangerous
and fertile jungle.
Otoch is home to some of the most resplendent aquatic and
oceanic cities in the Vassal territories, with massive floating
structures and metropolises sunk and sustained beneath the
ocean’s surface. Local Otochi government is separated by territory, and ixta families trace their lineages based on the island
of their home territory’s origin.

KA
KATHUHK
THUHK
The first colony planet of the ixtabuyek, Kathuhk was rich with
valuable minerals, elements, and ores important for the newly interstellar species. It has been heavily mined, reducing the
mass of the planet by nearly two percent in the 1,500 years of
its control.
When discovered, Kathuhk was lifeless and practically inhospitable, so the ixtabuyek used it as an early experiment in terraforming. Though this was largely unsuccessful, certain weak
ecosystems and biospheres have begun to emerge. The majority of the planet is otherwise populated by industrial workers and their machines.

BEL
BELAREN
AREN
A frozen world far from its star, Belaren was the first planet
on which the ixtabuyek discovered liquid water and alien lifeforms. Underneath the continental ice sheets lies one of the
deepest and most mysterious oceans in the Territories. After
a century of carefully planned shifts in the planet’s orbit, over
half of the planet’s ice has melted, revealing a diverse underwater ecosystem.
Belaren is kept mostly rural, with only a few small cities and a
population of less than one hundred million. It is a common resort destination for wealthy and powerful ixtabuyek that wish
to be left alone or hunt the inordinately rare water creatures.

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TEYEK
A moon of a supermassive gas giant, Teyek was once populated by a burgeoning species of sentient insectoids emerging into an iron age. The ixtabuyek attempted to make peaceful contact with the native Teyekens, but they almost wholly
viewed the aliens as invaders. Teyek was quickly conquered
and subjugated.
The strength, regenerative capabilities, and sheer tenacity of
the Teyekens were put to use as shock troops in the continuously fracturing ixtabuyek society, dying by the millions in centuries of ixtabuyek civil wars. Given weapons and technology,
the insectoids made formidable soldiers that few of their overlords cared about sacrificing.
After a century of war, the fledgling fleet from Otoch arrived
and obliterated the dissident ixtabuyek and their Teyeken
slaves. Now, twelve hundred years later, the Teyeken Xenocide is considered one of the greatest atrocities committed by
the Vassal species. The planet is left largely uncolonized, serving as a tribute and memorial to the lost Teyeken culture. Many
ixtabuyek students come here as part of their studies, to learn
of the atrocities of their ancestors and to empathize with the
species that they forced into extinction.

EXNUK
A supermassive terrestrial planet, Exnuk was first explored by
ixtabuyek probes. Upon its surface were enormous creatures
akin to Earth’s dinosaurs—powerful and deadly. Their predatory spirit urged many ixtabuyek hunters to tackle the challenging game in Exnuk’s punishing high gravity.
Exnuk’s landscape is scarred with thousands of massive
craters ringed by bizarrely flat plateaus. This dichotomous terrain creates a singularly unique array of biomes, with every
crater serving as an island of its own flavor, home to its own
collection of species, some decidedly innocuous, and others
saturated with venomous, predatory beasts.

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KA
KATEEN
TEEN
A planet of similar size and composition to Otoch, Kateen was
found on the edge of its system’s hospitable zone. It has since
been moved and terraformed to make it an ideal population
center for the ixtabuyek.
After a century of thriving colonization, it was here that the
Archon elected to appear to the ixtabuyek people and make
contact with several Conduits. For whatever reason, the Archon did not engage in violence against the amphibious and
amorphous species; they wholly submitted, many viewing the
Archon as a fulfillment of a divine providence.
Kateen is now a significant religious site for the many
ixtabuyek who worship the Archon as God.

NUUK
Nuuk is a massive cylindrical station with a centuries-long history, the first colony station built by the ixtabuyek. The station
was constructed largely to placate the Archon’s desire for a
more peaceful territory, built by decommissioning and recycling much of the ixtabuyek’s massive war fleet.
Constantly expanded and upgraded, Nuuk now serves as a
model example of UVA compliancy, efficiency, and technology
in serving as a Vassal of the Archon. Even so, the densely
packed urban spindle is as prone to crime and vice as it is famous for its inhabitants’ glory, fame, and education.

CHUMUL
A young but eco-viable planet remarkable for its enormous
oceans and sprawling forested mountain ranges, Chumul’s native lifeforms are simple and early in the evolutionary chain.
With new terraforming and construction technology, Chumul
has been transformed into one of the most eye-pleasing and
well-managed planetary colonies in the UVA. It often serves
as common ground for the ixtabuyek and their sibling Vassal
species. Due to its relative safety and small population, it has
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only the barest police and local security, making it an ideal
place for fleeing fugitives looking to assimilate with new, false
identities.

SELLENER
A dense but small terrestrial planet, Sellener is famous
throughout the UVA for its raging seas and massive swamps.
Its tumultuous weather makes it unbearable for most, so it is a
common hideout for those who wish to not be discovered.
Surrounded with several orbital platforms and installations, the
planet is commonly used as a waypoint between Superlume
routes. It is the definition of a backwater planet, with a small
government known for antiquated laws and a staunch dislike
of the UVA.

OHBEN
Hosting a cluster of enormous asteroids that were once a
planet, the Ohben system is filled primarily with gas giants and
two dwarf stars. The system engages in occasional violent attempts at secession from ixtabuyek and UVA control, and it is
commonly thought of as a wild frontier for Hunters and criminals alike.
Of special note, one of the largest corporations in the UVA, the
Pinnacle Group, develops advanced weaponry and technology here. Some of the UVA’s most elite agents and soldiers are
equipped with the top-secret gear built in the Ohben system.

HOLOL
Holol was discovered within several thousand kilometers of
an intensely bright pulsar, appearing as a perfectly spherical
orb roughly the size of a common terrestrial planet. Many UVA
researchers and explorers initially thought it to be a dormant
Archon or a creature of the same species or origin. Debates
raged for years as scientists carefully observed the enigmatic
sphere, until finally they agreed to cautiously approach it.

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The first probes were met with no interaction from the orb.
However, as soon as the first manned missions got within several thousand kilometers, the outer shell opened and revealed
an amazingly constructed, inverted garden world. A massive
urban metropolis had been built there, completely uninhabited
and apparently abandoned. Not a single sentient being was
discovered within the orb, nor any record of this civilization.
Centuries later, Holol is heavily populated by all three species,
and is a hotpoint of research and debate around whether other sapient and powerful entities exist in the galaxy.

CHOWAK
The newest colony world of the ixtabuyek, Chowak is in the
early stages of terraforming. Its atmosphere is caustic to most
organic species, but the world has an abundance of peculiar
nonsentient creatures. It is a relatively dry and arid world,
thought to have once had massive oceans and rivers that
were burned away by a greenhouse effect.
Chowak’s atmosphere is currently being bled off, and several
enclosed cities and habitats have been built on its surface.
The planet hosts a massive level of employment and industry,
as a terraforming project of this scale has not been attempted
in hundreds of years.

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STARTED

3 : G E T T I N G S TA R T E D

Here I’ll go over how to get a Hunt the Wicked game started—defining your game concept, your characters, and your
specific setting—and outline the basics of the system.

GAME CONCEPT
Your game concept is the overarching theme, tone, and type
of game that you and your friends will play in Hunt the Wicked.
Think about these questions: How are your characters connected? How are they involved in the game’s opening story?
What is the tone of the game? Where and how and why are
you hunting and claiming bounties?
That might be a lot up-front for you, and it’s okay if it’s a little
intimidating. I’ll walk you through the process below, but if you
really just want to jump right into the action, go ahead and
skip to Chapter 4: Character Creation. (You can always come
back, or tell your GM to read it.)

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PURPOSE AND PL
PLACE
ACE
When you and your group begin to hash out your game concept, think about two broad categories: Purpose and Place.
You don’t have to decide on one category first—either way
works.
Purpose is what’s driving your characters. Are they trying to
set up shop out on a frontier planet? Is there a horrific bandit
killing and stealing as he goes? Do you decide to infiltrate a
weapons-trafficking ring in order to dismantle it from the inside
out?
The game’s Purpose is its backdrop, overarching plot, or
genre. It’ll define how much the player characters will socialize
with non-player characters (NPCs), how much combat they will
get into, and how many physical and moral obstacles they’ll
have to overcome.
Place is literally where the game is taking place, from broad
strokes to specific places. You can start out loose and wide: urban, wilderness, frontier planet, orbital platform, in a shop, on
the Superlume, or somewhere else.
Once you think of an interesting broad Place, start peeling
back the layers until you get down to your specific starting
place. If you’ve decided to play in an urban environment, for
example, drill down into what the landscape is like: a dense
urban metropolis is going to be a very different place than a
jungle wilderness.
GMs, you’ll be doing a lot of the work, steering the discussion
and fine-tuning the game’s Place, but be sure to keep it as an
open forum.

COLOR
What kind of story do you want to create? If you were reading
your game as a book or watching it as a movie, what kind of
mood would it elicit? What would be its tone? Is it grim, with
only a glimmer of hope?

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Are your characters righteous Hunters out to right a great injustice? Do you want your characters to go through a process
of self-discovery, failure, and redemption? What are they willing to do for money? Fame? Glory? Honor?
All of this (and more) is what defines your game’s color.
This is a pretty cerebral and theoretical set of things to consider before playing a game, but the more thoroughly you
explore your game concept prior to playing, the better your
game will tend to flow and satisfy the expectations of its players.
You don’t need to go into minute details; it’s fine to say “we
are a group of licensed Hunters, traveling on the Superlume
to a distant planet, with a deadly but heroic vibe” or “this is a
game of intrigue and espionage in which our Hunters are entangled in interplanetary politics, just trying to survive before
everything unravels.”

Your group should agree on your specific game concept,
what your characters’ purpose or goal is, and where your
game is taking place within the Territories.

RULES BASICS
Whenever your character attempts a difficult action, called a
Task, you roll dice to determine their level of success. When
facing against Enemies, you’ll roll dice to defeat them, just
like with Tasks. Multiple related Tasks and Enemies make up a
Scene. Only players roll dice; the GM never rolls.
Only roll for a Task if your character could fail and if the outcome bears significant narrative weight. Whittling away at a

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3 : G E T T I N G S TA R T E D

stick isn’t a Task, but whittling your only stick into an impromptu key to be used to escape a slaver cell is.
You can never roll more than 10D at a time.
A roll always starts with 1 free base die (BD), and you may add
other relevant dice: MD or AD. You can never spend more than
5 MD on a single roll.

Tasks: difficult or important actions
Enemies: opponents that you overcome like Tasks
Scene: Tasks and Enemies related to a single goal
Rolls = 1D + MD + AD
Players roll dice, not the GM.
No more than 10D can be rolled at a time.
You may add up to 5 MD to your roll.

Each Task has a Difficulty. To succeed at a Task, you must roll
successes equal to or greater than its Difficulty. A rolled die
counts as a success if its face value is high enough. As your
character’s Skills improve, more face values count as successes—for example, a character acting with a Bad Skill only gets
successes on 6s, while one with a Competent Skill gets successes on 4s, 5s, and 6s. (Skills are described more later.)
Before rolling on a Task, you may add MD from your Motivation
pool. Once MD are rolled, they’re spent. The only way to restore MD to your Motivation pool is by acting within your character’s Motivation or by pursuing bounties.
You don’t have to spend MD on every roll—in fact, it is sometimes wiser not to—but the more dice that you spend on a roll,
the more likely your character is to succeed.

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Every Task has a Difficulty, which is the number of successes needed to succeed at the Task.
Every Task uses one of the eight Skills.
A Skill’s rank determines which face values of rolled dice
count as successes.

SCENES
Scenes are collections of related Tasks and Enemies. They
help the GM and players keep track of what happens, when
it happens, and where, as well as how many dice have been
earned or spent.
It’s easy to think of Scenes in Hunt the Wicked as like pivotal
scenes in a novel, movie, or video game. They’re where the
excitement happens and where every second counts.
Each Scene has a rough cadence to follow:

SETUP
The GM describes the Scene and its pertinent elements, then
asks the players to describe their characters’ intended actions
leading up to and including the Action step of the Scene.

DEFINITION
The GM declares the Difficulty, Severity, and Threshold for
each pressing Task and Enemy. (These are discussed more in
Chapter 4: Gameplay and Chapter 7: Game Mastering). The
players can ask out-of-character questions for clarification.

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3 : G E T T I N G S TA R T E D

ACTION
The characters, NPCs, and environment all act and react to
one another. Players roll dice to accomplish Tasks and defeat
Enemies. During this step, the nature of the Scene or its Tasks
will change. This is the meat of the Scene.

RESOLUTION
The GM describes how the Scene resolves and the circumstances that the characters find themselves in. This step wraps
up the narrative parts of the Scene, completing any final actions and answering any in-character questions.

CONCLUSION
The players and GM discuss whether the Scene granted any
resources, pertinent information, or Motivation Dice. Characters now gain any MD they earned during the Scene. The
Scene is now over.

Scenes keep the action organized.
Players must wait until the Conclusion step to add any MD
they earned during the Scene.

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OUTSIDE SCENES
Often the characters will act outside of a Scene. This is typical
during in-character conversations, prolonged periods of character downtime, or when the GM is detailing the world of the
UVA and the characters’ travels.
For example, the party might want to go to the market and
purchase enough supplies for their upcoming voyage. The GM
thinks this is an interesting roleplaying opportunity, but doesn’t
create any Tasks for it, choosing to let it play out narratively as
the characters interact with NPCs and each other.

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4: CHARACTER
CREATION

4 : C H A R AC T E R C R E AT I O N

You’re a Bounty Hunter—a tracker, gunman, warden, or assassin—who trades bodies for cash. Are you trying to make the
UVA a better place, or willing to earn your fortune upon a
mountain of corpses? Is Hunting a means to an end, or do you
love the thrill of the chase and the glory gained from taking
down an infamous quarry?
You’ll encounter friends and foes, bizarre creatures and foreign aliens, the weak, the strong, the innocent, the guilty,
killers and kindergarten teachers. It’ll be you who people look
to, in the face of danger and death, to make the galaxy a safer
place.
Some will run to you for help; others will try to blow a hole in
your face simply for being a Hunter. You might’ve saved their
dad from a crazy killer, got vengeance for their dead wife, or
killed their brother. Many good and law-abiding citizens will
fear you, and some will hate you simply for what you might be:
someone who just likes to kill, and can do so legally.

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OVERVIEW
Starting characters are often freshly licensed Hunters. You’re
talented and capable, you might have even had a successful
career as a cop, soldier, or mercenary, but now you’re traveling
in the Bounty Hunting circles, and it is a different game than
what you’re used to.
Hunters are far more skilled than your average UVA citizen,
even than your typical thug or gun-runner. But you’d better
be careful when you come across a trained and calculating
killer—you’re not invincible.

CHARACTER CRE
CREAATION OUTLINE
1. Come up with a character concept
2. Select two Motivations
a. Each Motivation grants you one Maneuver
3. Select your Species
a. Each Species grants a specific Trait and
two Skills that gain +1AD
4. Rank your Skills (Awareness, Coordination, Influence, Knowledge, Logic, Might, Resistance, Stealth)
in one of four ways:
a. Standard: 1 Gifted, 1 Competent, 5 Adequate, 1 Bad
b. Broad: 0 Gifted, 2 Competent, 6 Adequate,
0 Bad
c. Focused: 1 Gifted, 2 Competent, 3 Adequate, 2 Bad

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d. Specialized: 1 Gifted, 3 Competent, 1 Adequate, 3 Bad
i. Gifted succeeds on 3, 4, 5, 6
ii. Competent succeeds on 4, 5, 6
iii. Adequate succeeds on 5, 6
iv. Bad succeeds on 6
5. Select one Talent, a self-defined ability that gives
you a +1D (one die) bonus on any relevant Roll.
(Tracker would get +1D while tracking; Deadeye
would get +1D while shooting ranged weapons; etc.)
6. Select one Bounty Hunter Technique in addition to
any Motivation Maneuvers you already have. At each
Advance, you can swap the Maneuver out for another, but you can never have more than one.
7. Define or select your Equipment. Most equipment
doesn’t provide many bonuses or penalties, but
gives Permissions (e.g., a gun would give you permission to make a ranged attack against an enemy).
Some specialized or expensive equipment might
give Advantages (e.g., a heavy accelerator cannon
can ignore up to Threshold 3 Armor).
8. Characters Advance after detaining three significant quarries (killing or capturing the quarry). Advancement grants:
a. Advance one Skill’s rank (Bad to Adequate)
b. Select one new Talent, or upgrade an existing Talent (to a maximum of +3AD)
c. Optional: choose a new Bounty Hunter
Technique

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CHARACTER CONCEPT
First, think about a character that complements the game concept your group agreed upon. If your game focuses on corporate espionage and faction politics in the deep cities of Earth,
then making an alien wilderness guide probably doesn’t fit.
When coming up with your character, break it into Who and
What the character is.
Your Who describes who your character is as a person. What’s
her personality, her hobbies, her motivation for becoming a
Hunter? How would her friends describe her? What about her
enemies?
Your What defines your character’s role in the group, his profession, his skillset, what he looks like and how people perceive him.

Shape your character concept to fit the game concept.
Think of Who and What your character is.

For example, creating a character named Leridnu, I’d write
this:
Who: Leridnu—an intellectual, humorous, creative ixtabuyek. It
loves to make its comrades and companions happy, and will
do anything to protect them—they’re like its family.
What: Leridnu is a muscular and imposing ixtabuyek, standing
over two meters tall, with perceptibly orange eyes and crimson flecks on its chitinous plates. It has a quick and calculating
mind, is excellent at bending people to its will, and has indomitable will and endurance.

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4 : C H A R AC T E R C R E AT I O N

Once you’ve got the basics of your character sorted, you can
start coming up with how he or she (or it) became a Bounty
Hunter.

BECOMING A HUNTER
How and why did you become a UVA Bounty Hunter? Were
you drawn to the thrill of the hunt? By the allure of living in
wealth? Of making others terrified of you? Or perhaps of keeping the peace and taking out the galaxy’s trash?
Was your character always interested in or enamored with
Hunters? Did she take on the job reluctantly, or as a favor to a
friend? Maybe he got caught up in the life and was forced to
become a Hunter to absolve himself of a life of crime.
Whatever the case may be, think about your character’s Background and Foreground.

BACKGROUND
Where did your character come from? What were her earliest
memories? Was he raised on a backwater station colony, or
did he grow up in the lap of princely luxury?
Think about how your character’s early life impacts her skillset.
Growing up in the pleasure houses of Jind will elicit an entirely
different set of abilities than spending your life as a military
cadet in the compounds of Hyderabad.
Background example: Leridnu was spawned on Mars during
one of its worst economic downturns in recent UVA history.
Its family was already struggling to make an honest living, and
soon it and its siblings took to street performances. It could
make people laugh, and had a charismatic way about him that
everybody could enjoy.

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Eventually this wasn’t enough, and they took to petty theft. Ten
years later and Leridnu was looking down the barrel of a gun,
held by a Bounty Hunter who turned out to be the most significant person in its life. The aging Hunter took the young ixta
under his wing.

FOREGROUND
Your character’s Foreground describes the events leading directly up to the start of the game. What was he or she doing
six months ago? Six weeks ago? Six hours ago?
Often the Foreground describes your character’s profession,
but it can just as easily be defined by hobbies or personal
vendettas.
Ideally, the characters’ Foregrounds tie the party together and
lead them all into the initial conflict or story arc.
Foreground example: Leridnu worked with Gibraltar, its mentor, and their teammates for the next two years. Two months
ago, he and the old human took on too dangerous of a quarry—she got away, and Leridnu lost his mentor that day.

Write your character’s Foreground and Background history.

SPECIES
A major element of your character is their species. The three
sentient species—sometimes called the Vassals—have roughly equal representation in the UVA’s Bounty Hunters.

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Each species has a Trait and two Skills that it excels at. Each
species’ Trait is described in its each section below. Earthlings
gain an extra Talent as their Trait, which is explained more in
the Talents section (page 59).

Earthlings

Yantiram

Ixtabuyek

Trait: +1 Talent

Trait: Chassis swap

Trait: Amphibious

+1AD Influence

+1AD Logic

+1AD Coordination

+1AD Resistance

+1AD Knowledge

+1AD Stealth

EARTHLINGS
Primarily humans or transhumans. Earthlings have not yet mastered true artificial intelligence, nor immortality. At creation,
every Earthling gains a second Talent. Earthlings aren’t necessarily born on Earth – it is merely what the Vassals call humans
and transhumans.
Just like throughout Earth’s history, Earthlings are capable of a
vast amount of cultural and ethnic diversity, ambition, and creativity. Humanity and its kin has spread out throughout the Territories, and is one of the most prolific species known throughout the Galaxy.

YANTIRAM
Sentient, transorganic lifeforms. A yantiram generally houses
its processor unit in a small 12-to-32-sided container that can
float and propel itself nearly effortlessly. This device, called a
core, can be coupled with a variety of chassis or body configurations, allowing the yantiram to interact with the universe
in a near infinite number of ways. While in “passive” mode,
the core simply floats around and does as it wishes without a
chassis.

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4 : C H A R AC T E R C R E AT I O N

The most common yantiram chassis is a spherical or multifaceted “torso” that typically houses the yantiram’s core, sporting multiple limbs with varying rigidity and functionality. Many
take the form of a biped humanoid or pentapod ixtabuyek, either with two arms and two legs or some combination of limbs
with equal length and size.
Specialized chassis can be built for specific applications such
as infiltration, combat, void operations, or even social endeavors. The yantiram have become exceedingly good at nanotechnology, and many of their chassis can appear organic or
holographic.

IXT
IXTABUYEK
ABUYEK
Pronounced icks-tah-buy-ehk, these semi-amorphous pentapods have a combination of prehensile, retractable tentacles
and hard-tissue bone-like structures. They have a long and
thin body, elongated necks, and five spindly limbs that grow
more malleable and amorphous toward their ends, allowing
them to manipulate practically any mechanism or interface
with ease.
Their heads appear insectoid to most Earthlings, with a threepart eye composed of hundreds of hexagonal facets, a series
of small tentacles and teeth used for consuming food, and
thick, rigid tubes that connect the head to various points on
the neck.
Ixtabuyek are amphibious and can breathe comfortably in water or air. They also have the ability to change the colors
and patterns of their somewhat translucent bodies to camouflage with their surroundings. An ixtabuyek presenting itself in
translucent form is considered a sign of trust and intimacy.

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4 : C H A R AC T E R C R E AT I O N

The three species of the UVA:
1. Earthlings (primarily trans/humans)
2. Yantiram (highly advanced robots)
3. Ixtabuyek (bizarre, tentacled aliens)

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SKILLS
Any time your character attempts a Task, you will use one of
the eight Skills: Awareness, Coordination, Influence, Knowledge, Logic, Might, Resistance, or Stealth.
Every one of your character’s eight Skills will have a rank: Bad,
Adequate, Competent, or Gifted. A higher rank gives you a
better chance to succeed when using that Skill. More on that
in a bit.

Your character’s Skills each have a rank, representing
their ability.

By now, you should have a decent grasp on who and what
your character is, so assigning your Skills should come naturally. If you’re uncertain, or you want to wait until you’ve played
a bit (even a session or two), you can rank all your Skills as Adequate for now.
Below, you’ll find four combinations of Skill ranks to choose
from, ranging from broad, adequate training to highly focused
specialization. Pick a combination, and match the eight ranks
to the eight Skills.
Standard: 1 Gifted, 1 Competent, 5 Adequate, 1 Bad
Versatile: 2 Competent, 6 Adequate
Focused: 1 Gifted, 2 Competent, 3 Adequate, 2 Bad
Specialist: 1 Gifted, 3 Competent, 1 Adequate, 3 Bad
If you’re not sure which one is the best for your character
(they’re all equal, balance-wise), go with the Standard Array. It
is typical of most Hunters.
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4 : C H A R AC T E R C R E AT I O N

When you choose a Skill and roll the dice, the Skill’s rank determines which numbers are successes on each die. Bad succeeds only on a 6, Adequate on 5+, Competent on 4+, and
Gifted on 3+. Sometimes you’ll need to roll multiple successes
to succeed at what you’re doing. There’s a lot more on this in
Chapter 4: Gameplay.

EXAMPLE OF SKILL SELECTION
Based on Leridnu’s concept (including its Who, What, Background, and Foreground), I’ll go with the Focused array and
distribute those Skill ranks as such:
Gifted: Logic (success on 3+)
Competent: Influence, Resistance (success on 4+)
Adequate: Coordination, Knowledge, Might (success on 5+)
Bad: Stealth, Awareness (success on 6)
Leridnu’s mind works quickly, and it can easily affect others’
attitudes while maintaining its own. Leridnu rarely gives up, is
decent all around at physical tasks, but has a poor sense of
perception and is a bit naive.

Successes: Bad (6), Adequate (5+),
Competent (4+), Gifted (3+)

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THE EIGHT SKILLS
Each Skill describes a broad collection of actions:
• Awareness: perception, intuition, insight, dodging attacks
• Coordination: agility, dexterity, ranged combat,
dodging attacks, piloting small craft or personal vehicles
• Influence: intimidation, charm, persuasion, inspiration, manipulation
• Knowledge: technology, biology, engineering, computers, medicine, history, politics, psychology
• Logic: strategy, deduction, learning, calculation, piloting large craft and vehicles
• Might: strength, speed, melee combat, blocking attacks
• Resistance: endurance, willpower, health, resisting
attacks
• Stealth: sneaking, lying, acting inconspicuously,
guile, disguises, camouflage, sleight of hand

TALENTS
Talents are a Bounty Hunter’s gifts, knacks, predilections, and
unique abilities. Each new character gets one Talent. If you’re
an Earthling, you get two Talents instead of one because of
your Trait.

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While Skills represent broad competence, Talents define focused expertise, a type of action that your Hunter excels at.
Unlike with Skills, which you choose from a predefined list, you
define your own Talents. To make a Talent, just name a situation in which your character excels. Some examples:
• Explosives Expert: You’re good at constructing, planting, defusing, and working with bombs and explosives.
• Funny: You have a great sense of humor and excel at
making others laugh.
• Gifted Gunman: You’re the best shot you know, and
handle all weapons with ease.
When doing something related to a Talent, your character gets
a +1AD bonus. If you had the Funny Talent, for example, you’d
get +1AD any time you tried to make others laugh or lighten a
situation through humor. A Talent bonus is an Advantage, described more on page 81.
Phrasing a Talent can be a little tricky. I recommend picking
something succinct, specific, and connected to your character’s Background, Foreground, or personality.
Your Talent could be something you’ve always been good at,
something you learned during your time as a Hunter, or something you didn’t even know you could do well until recently.
Don’t make a Talent so broad that it encapsulates an entire
Skill. For example, a Talent like “Influential: I excel at using
Influence” is basically just another rank in Influence, and it
doesn’t add any flavor to the character—no fun.
Instead, write your Talent so it describes a narrow group of actions. Sometimes, these actions can fall under multiple Skills.
For example, Leridnu is a talented Tracker. The GM could reason that Logic is relevant to Leridnu tracking down a criminal,
but Awareness and even Knowledge might work too. Leridnu wouldn’t get the Talent bonus every time hit used Logic,
Awareness, or Knowledge—but if it uses one of them to track
a quarry, the bonus would likely apply.

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If your character has multiple Talents that are relevant to a roll,
the GM can allow their bonuses to add together. For example,
Kettefiss has the SMG Pro and Organic Butcher Talents. When
she shoots a human (an organic creature) with her SMG (her
favored weapon), the GM grants her +2AD (+1AD from each
Talent).
GMs, be sure to talk with your players as they’re creating Talents. It’ll help you develop the game concept, and as the game
concept gets better defined, that will help inform the characters’ Talents.
Players, remember to make Talents that everyone’s comfortable with. The GM can veto unreasonable or illogical Talents,
and so can the other players through a vote. Keep it fun and
collaborative.
For example, a player might want the Talent Works Better
Alone to fit their character concept of a lone-wolf Hunter. However, the GM and other players want to make a close-knit team
of Hunters, so this Talent doesn’t align with their agreed-upon
game concept.
They collaborate and come up with a different Talent, Eyes in
the Back of My Head. This Talent describes the character in
a similar way, but doesn’t clash with the party’s dysfunctional
family theme. With this Talent, the character would gain +1AD
when being flanked, getting snuck up on, or fighting multiple
enemies.

Talents are narrow, freeform abilities that give +1AD when
relevant.

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EXAMPLE TTALENTS
ALENTS
Unarmed Combat

Heavy Lifting

Perception

Two-Handed Melee

Sprinting

Insight

Small Melee

Balance

Intuition

One-Handed Melee

Stamina

Find Weakness

Melee Shields

Immune System

Predict Actions

Thrown Weapons

Engineering

Intimidate

Launchers

Technology

Charm

Light Guns

Society

Convince

Medium Guns

Nature

Inspire

Heavy Guns

History

Lie

Zero-gee

Politics

Crafting

Tough

Explosives

Species Trait

Vehicles

Spaceships

Healing

Colony Trait

Tactics

Piloting

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MOTIVATION
Every Bounty Hunter is driven by their Motivations. These
are a character’s deep-seated, innate desires and instincts,
transcending ephemeral and superficial wants. True qualities
unique to sapient beings, Motivations are what keep the Bounty Hunters moving on their dangerous and often deadly
path—what propels them across planets, star systems, and the
cold void of space.
In play, Motivations provide Motivation Dice (MD), which you
can spend on rolls to add dice.

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Every Bounty Hunter gets two Motivations.

When you create a character, select two Motivations and take
one Motivation Maneuver from each chosen Motivation.

COMMUNITY
The desire to belong
Pick one maneuver:
• Camaraderie: When you spend MD to assist or protect your family or closest friends, those MD count as
automatic successes.
• Socialization: When you assist someone or someone assists you, the assisted character gains +2AD
rather than +1AD.

ESTEEM
The desire to be respected
Pick one maneuver:
• Acceptance: When you spend MD to gain a group’s
or individual’s trust, those MD count as automatic
successes.
• Respect: When you spend MD to leverage your
worth—whether your skill, connections, or reputation—in social interactions, those MD count as automatic successes.

JUSTICE
The desire to right the Territories’ wrongs

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Pick one maneuver:
• Honor: When you spend MD while behaving honorably—compassionate, righteous, and so forth—those
MD count as automatic successes.
• Retribution: You gain +1AD on all rolls against those
who have evaded your capture or bested you somehow.

LIBERTY
The desire for personal and societal freedom
Pick one maneuver:
• Discovery: Spend 1 MD at any time to discover something about yourself, another, or the current story arc
(GM discretion).
• Independence: When acting alone or inciting independence in others, if you spend MD and roll any
successes on those dice, return those successful
dice to your Motivation pool.

POWER
The desire to maintain and exert control
Pick one maneuver:
• Order: You gain +1AD to rolls when acting directly under order from another Bounty Hunter, or giving commands to other Bounty Hunters.
• Resolve: When you spend MD to overcome a disabling, slowing, or stunning Consequence or Injury,
those MD count as automatic successes.

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Each Motivation has two available Motivation Maneuvers.
For each chosen Motivation, select one Motivation Maneuver.

GAINING AND USING MO
MOTIVA
TIVATION
TION DICE
You gain Motivation Dice (MD) when:
• Your Motivation is Triggered
• Your Motivation is Resolved
• You discover a major Lead in the pursuit of your quarry
• You capture or kill your quarry
MD can be spent from your Motivation pool to add to a roll. For
example, Leridnu is trying to climb over mountainous terrain
while chasing its quarry. It has 5 MD in its pool, so it decides to
spend 3 MD, adding them to its Might roll and leaving it with 2
MD in its pool. Its roll is now 4D (1BD + 3 MD).
A Motivation Triggers when a situation challenges or encourages your Motivation. When Motivated by Justice, seeing one
of the miscreants you’ve sworn to capture would definitely be
a Trigger.
A Motivation Resolves when your actions bring the situation
that Triggered your Motivation to some kind of conclusion. Following the example in the last paragraph, capturing the quarry
would Resolve your Justice Motivation.

Earn MD when your Motivation is Triggered or Resolved.

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MO
MOTIVA
TIVATION
TION MANEUVERS IN PL
PLAAY
Most Motivation Maneuvers either affect the MD you spend on
rolls or give you passive bonuses. Otherwise, you can use Motivation Maneuvers at any time. If a Maneuver turns spent MD
into automatic successes, you don’t need to roll those dice,
and the automatic successes add to any other successes you
roll or gain for that Task.
For example, Kettefiss, a yantiram Bounty Hunter, has the Resolve Motivation Maneuver from the Power Motivation. She
gets stuck in deep bog-like mud as she’s chasing her quarry,
making it difficult for her to keep up.
Kettefiss spends 2 MD on her Resolve Maneuver to mitigate
the effects of the mud and rolls her 1 BD, getting a success.
The three successes make her able to keep moving forward
without impediment.
Some Motivation Maneuvers grant Advantage Dice in specific
situations. These work just like regular AD, and as usual they
cannot add dice beyond 10D on a single roll.
For example, since Leridnu has the Retribution Maneuver
from Justice, it gets +1AD to its rolls any time its engaged
with those that have escaped or eluded retribution from the
ixtabuyek, and it could still spend MD to boost those rolls even
higher.

When MD are automatic successes, don’t roll them.
MD successes stack with rolled successes.
AD granted by Motivations stack with MD, BD, and other
AD.

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BOUNTY HUNTER TECHNIQUES
Every Bounty Hunter worth his salt knows a Technique that
helps in the business, an ability that functions like a Motivation
Maneuver. A Hunter only ever has one Technique at a time, but
it can be swapped out for new ones over time.

Bounty Hunters get one Technique—a special, powerful
ability.

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1. Spend 1 MD to force relevant information out of
someone
2. Spend 1 MD to determine someone’s weakness
3. Spend 1 MD to stop someone else from dying
4. Spend 1 MD to ignore the effects of Fear for the
Scene
5. Spend 1 MD to reduce the tier of an Injury by one for
the Scene (e.g., spend 3 MD to ignore Injury 3)
6. Spend 1 MD to act first, regardless of Order of Action
phase
7. Spend 1 MD to intimidate someone, regardless of Difficulty
8. Spend 1 MD to break free from bonds, constraints, or
grapples
9. Spend 1 MD to earn a minor favor from a nearby NPC
10. Spend 1 MD to know of a nearby, available safehouse
Techniques are more powerful than Motivation Maneuvers:
some can even end a Scene or Task regardless of its Difficulty.
For example, Leridnu’s dazzling charm and sense of humor
can be just as easily turned into a frightening countenance. As
such, Leridnu has the Technique letting it spend an MD to intimidate anyone.
It comes upon a particularly grisly old gangster, well known
for being practically fearless (Difficulty 4 to intimidate). Rather
than roll a bunch of dice, Leridnu calls upon its Technique,
spends 1 MD, and automatically intimidates the tough guy.

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Using a Technique costs 1 MD.
Some Techniques make a character succeed automatically at a particular Task, regardless of Difficulty.

EQUIPMENT
Once you select your character’s Species, Motivations, Skills,
Talents, and Technique, you’ll need to outfit them with equipment. This covers everything from weapons to tools, letting
you really round out your character’s abilities.
Read Chapter 6: Equipment for a full breakdown of how different pieces of gear work, along with some preconfigured
toolkits common among Hunters.

ADVANCEMENT
Once you’ve captured or killed three significant quarries,
your character Advances. Advancing represents your character reaching a new level of expertise and confidence, borne
from your hard-won experiences as a Bounty Hunter and by
pursuing your Motivations.
When you Advance:
• Improve one Skill by one rank (for example, Bad to
Adequate)
• Define one new Talent or upgrade an existing Talent
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• If you wish, change your Technique
• If you wish, change one or both of your Motivations
(and any associated Motivation Maneuvers)
To Advance, a character must have time to consider their
achievements and Motivations. So, when you fulfill the requirements to Advance, you can’t Advance in the same Scene. I
recommend roleplaying the Advance, describing your character’s thoughts and reflections on the adventures that led them
to this point, as well as any revelations they’ve had about their
newfound abilities.
A Skill rank cannot improve beyond Gifted, and a Talent can’t
be improved more than twice (for a total of +3AD).
Characters can’t Advance when Haunted (page 90).

Capture or kill two significant quarries = Advance
Advance = upgrade one Skill rank, pick one new Talent
You can’t advance while Haunted.

QUARRIES WORTHY OF ADVANCEMENT
The three quarries that characters need to kill or capture must
be narratively significant. These quarries might even be the
ends of entire arcs, in which the Hunters fought through minions and various low-level criminals and terrorists in order to
get their mark.
Minor thugs and petty criminals that the Hunters nab for pocket change aren’t considered quarries for the purposes of Advances.

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ALTERNA
ALTERNATE
TE ADVANCEMENT: LE
LEADS
ADS
If your game focuses on a single long investigation—for example, tracking one notorious criminal without any sidequarries—then I recommend basing Advancement on acquiring Leads rather than capturing quarries.
A good number is generally 10 Leads per Advance, but the
GM can modify this to suit her game’s pace.

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All difficult actions with narrative significance are called Tasks.
You’ll fight Enemies, opponents that function just like Tasks.
Multiple related Tasks (and Enemies) make up a Scene. Only
players roll dice; the GM never rolls.

Tasks: difficult and important actions
Enemies: opponents that function as Tasks
Scene: multiple Tasks with a single goal
Players roll dice. The GM never rolls.

To attempt a Task, pick a relevant Skill (Awareness, Coordination, Influence, Knowledge, Logic, Might, Resistance, or
Stealth). Then, add 1D for free to your roll (the Base Die or BD)
and any Advantage Dice (AD) from Advantages relevant to
the Task.
Whenever you roll, you may add up to five Motivation Dice
(MD) by removing them from your Motivation pool. Once you
remove MD from your pool, you must earn new MD by Triggering or Resolving your Motivations, described further in Motivation Dice starting on page 84.
You can never roll more than 10D at once.

Every roll falls within one of the eight Skills.
Up to 5 MD can be added to any roll.
Rolls = 1D + AD + MD

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Every Task has a Difficulty from 1 to 5. To succeed on a Task,
you must roll successes equal to or greater than the Difficulty.

Task Difficulty: successes necessary to overcome the
Task
Most Tasks have Difficulty 1.

Some Tasks can be completed over time with multiple rolls
(such as climbing a wall); these are called Long Tasks. Some
Tasks can’t be completed over time (such as jumping over a
pit); these are called Short Tasks.

There are Short Tasks (one roll) and Long Tasks (multiple
rolls).

On a Long Task, any successes rolled reduce the Task’s Difficulty by an equal amount; when the Difficulty is reduced to 0,
you succeed on the Long Task.
Tasks may have a Threshold of 1 to 4. Whenever you roll on
a Task with Threshold, you must remove successes from your
roll equal to the Threshold value.
For example, Leridnu is attempting a Difficulty 5 Long Task. It
rolls 3 successes, decreasing the Task’s Difficulty to 2 (5 – 3
= 2). Leridnu didn’t succeed on the Task yet, but it only needs
2 more successes to do so. If the Long Task had Threshold 1,
though, the Difficulty would have only decreased to 3 instead
of 2; the Threshold removed one success.

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Threshold: Successes that must be rolled to start reducing the Difficulty of a Task (1–4)

If you roll more successes than a Task’s Difficulty, the GM
may give additional benefits—you might gain extra information, deal damage to a secondary target, or accomplish the
Task in less time. Excess successes can also be added to a
pool of cumulative successes that affect something in the
wider narrative—for example, exemplary actions in a skirmish
against anti-UVA rebels might contribute to cumulative successes that represent the UVA’s ability to keep the peace on
the contended planet.

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SCENE DIFFICULTY
A Scene can have a Scene Difficulty, which combines all of
the Scene’s Tasks and Enemies together into one easy-totrack total. GMs, to set a Scene Difficulty, estimate the average
Difficulty of all the Scene’s Tasks and multiply that by the number of players (or by the number of turns you’d like the Scene
to last).

GMs can set a Scene Difficulty to easily track a large number of Tasks and Enemies in a Scene.

CONSEQUENCES AND INJURIES
On a Short Task, if you roll fewer successes than the Task’s Difficulty, your character receives a Consequence or an Injury.
The magnitude of the Consequence or Injury depends on the
Task’s Severity. By default, a Task’s Severity equals its Difficulty, but the GM can change this if she wishes.

Successes < Difficulty = Consequence or Injury

If you ever roll zero successes, regardless of the Task’s Difficulty, your character suffers a Consequence or Injury equal to
the Task’s Severity.

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Any roll with 0 successes triggers a Consequence or Injury.

Consequences and Injuries can temporarily or permanently
degrade a Skill, increase the Difficulty of all or certain Tasks,
force a new roll, force you to lose MD, or cause something else
bad—for example, your character could become sick or crippled—which can be either purely narrative or have a mechanical effect of the GM’s choice.
A Consequence can affect the character, the party, or the Task
itself, including its Difficulty or Threshold. A bad Consequence
might be the bridge collapses; another might be you trigger an
avalanche. Consequences can also generate new Tasks that
must be overcome.

Consequences can affect characters or Tasks, and they
can even generate new Tasks.

An Injury only affects the character doing the Task, and it lasts
for a number of weeks equal to the Severity. A character might
sustain an Injury 3, degrading her Might Skill by one rank that
lasts, once treated, for three weeks. High-tech healing methods can dramatically decrease healing time, but are rare and
generally only exist in larger cities’ hospitals.

Injuries negatively affect the character doing the Task.
An Injury lasts weeks equal to its Severity (Injury 3 lasts
three weeks).

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To begin healing an Injury, you or an ally must succeed on a
Knowledge Task, performing the necessary surgery or treating the sickness. GMs, you choose whether this Task is Short
or Long and whether a character can treat their own Injury. Alternatively, you must succeed on a Resistance Short Task to
tough through the Injury.
Once this Task is overcome, the Injury lasts for a number of
weeks equal to its Severity.
If you suffer Injuries with a combined Severity of 5 or more,
you’re Defeated, and can't act until healed.

Injuries can be healed with Knowledge or Resistance.
If you accumulate Injury 5, you are Defeated.

ADVANTAGE
While attempting a Task, if your character has help from an ally
or some item, position, method, or piece of information that
aids in completing the Task, you gain Advantage Dice (AD).
A single Advantage usually gives a +1D bonus (written as
+1AD), but an extreme upper hand can grant as much as +3AD.
You can combine multiple Advantages to gain more than
+3AD.

Gain Advantage (+1AD to +3AD) from having the edge on
a Task.

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For example, Leridnu’s trying to track down a murderer wanted in three systems. The ixtabuyek has tracked the quarry
down to the planet Hydri, which is relatively well populated
and a well-known hiding ground for scum.
Fortunately, the Hunter has acquired a few grainy pictures of
the murderer, along with its common tactics. The GM thinks
this information is pretty useful, so she gives +1AD to Leridnu
while it’s tracking the quarry down on the planet.
Along the way, Leridnu comes across a shop owner who recognizes the criminal. His security camera took highly detailed
and accurate three-dimensional scans of the quarry’s body,
which the shop owner provides to Leridnu. The image clarity
is outstanding, so the GM now grants +2AD to any of Leridnu’s
rolls related to finding the killer.

ASSISTS
One character can assist another in overcoming a Task, granting Advantage Dice (generally +1AD) to the rolling character.
For example, Leridnu is trying to lift a large beam that has fallen on its leg, and Kettefiss assists, giving Leridnu +1AD to its
Might roll.

APPROACHES
Sometimes there’s only one way to tackle a Task or Enemy. In
this case, the GM sets its Difficulty, Severity, and Threshold as
normal. However, some situations can be handled with various
approaches. The approach a character chooses might be better or worse suited for a given situation, prompting the GM to
adjust the Difficulty or Threshold accordingly.
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Generally, different approaches are represented by different
Skills. If Kettefiss is trying to get inside of a secured hideout,
for example, she could knock the door down (Might), hack the
security system (Knowledge or maybe Logic), or convince one
of the door guards to let her inside (Influence). Even though
Kettefiss has a high Might, simply kicking down the door might
lead to a whole host of problems (not excluding a shotgun to
the face). Hacking the security system and circumventing the
guards seems like a less dangerous choice.
The Skill chosen doesn’t just change which die faces count
as successes, but the approach also affects the Task’s stats.
In each of these cases, GMs, consider how the approach and
relevant Skill increase or decrease the Difficulty, Threshold, or
Severity.
To get even more granular, an Enemy might have different
Difficulties opposing one of your Skills, depending on your
approach. For example, an information broker might have a
high Difficulty against intimidation, but a much lower Difficulty
against bribery, even though you’d likely use Influence for either action.
If a character is attempting a Long Task and changes her approach midway through, the GM can adjust the Task’s Difficulty, Threshold, and Severity to reflect that shift.
By taking the right actions, you can exploit the weak point or
linchpin of a Task or Enemy. This might let you avoid parts of
a Task, such as its Threshold or Severity, or even the whole
Task.
Here’s an example: Kettefiss is interrogating a captured criminal, trying to learn where some of his illicit comrades are hiding before leaving on the next Superlume. The criminal is a
tough old bastard, and even though Kettefiss defeated him in
battle, his resolve isn’t budging.
The GM sets the Long Task of interrogating this hardened thug
to Difficulty 1, Threshold 3. He’s tired and beat up, bleeding
from a few bullet holes (low Difficulty). He wants to give in, but
his loyalty to his crew and his hatred for the Bounty Hunters
make him resilient (high Threshold).

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Kettefiss rolls multiple times, trying to Influence the man to
give up his cronies. Each time, Kettefiss rolls fewer than three
successes, which isn’t enough to overcome the thug’s Threshold 3.
She decides to escalate, shoving a robotic finger into one of
the murderer’s bullet wounds. She’s found a weak point: the
silent quarry’s mental resilience is high, but his body is ready
to give up. The GM eliminates the Threshold, as Kettefiss circumvented it by using the proper approach.
She rolls and gets a success. Now that the interrogation subject’s Threshold is gone, the single success is high enough to
overcome his Difficulty. He spits and winces out the others’ location.

MOTIVATION DICE
You may add up to a maximum of 5 Motivation Dice (MD) to
any roll. You gain MD from Triggers and Resolutions, as discussed in the Motivation section on page 63. If Motivated by
Justice, for example, you get MD when you engage or finally
capture the target of your Justice.

Triggers: earn MD when a new event Motivates you
Resolutions: earn MD when your Trigger is resolved or
completed

Bounty Hunters also gain MD with each Lead they uncover
that leads them closer to their target. Finally, Bounty Hunters
earn MD when capturing their quarry.

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Hunters earn MD from pursuing and capturing bounties.

EXAMPLE TRIGGERS AND RESOLUTIONS
COMMUNITY
Triggers: Being ostracized, cast out, ignored, or disrespected.
Situations with prejudice or collectivism. A community or family that is fracturing, or one that the character wishes to belong
to.
An external or internal threat to your friends or family. An opportunity to protect, improve, or dignify your family. A family
member is in danger or needs assistance. A responsibility or
duty is questioned, ignored, or in danger of not being completed.
Resolutions: Being included, listened to, or trusted for advice.
Making others feel included and accepted. Eliminating situations of prejudice or cliquishness. Healing wounds within a
community or family.
Assisting your family or friends in any way. Helping individual
family members, even against their will. Doing your duty or fulfilling responsibilities toward your friends. Improving the family’s legacy, reputation, or comfort.

ESTEEM
Triggers: Having your quality or skillset questioned. Given an
opportunity to “prove yourself.” Being disrespected or belittled. People not respecting your opinion because they view
you as incapable. Thought to be unreliable or unskilled.
Being isolated, ignored, or prevented from interacting with
others, especially comrades and friends. Learning of a gathering, team, organization, or social event that you want to join.
Becoming romantically or amicably interested in another.
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Resolutions: Earning respect from others, especially strangers
or enemies. Proving your worth to a group or team. Demonstrating that your opinion was correct or most accurate. Earning acknowledgement, awards, certifications, or titles. Breaking records, maintaining your own, or winning contests.
Spending time with friends, colleagues, and comrades. Being
well liked by others. Making others happy, comfortable, or
pleased. Being viewed as a good listener or counselor. Forming and maintaining positive relationships, or assisting others
with doing so. Attending parties or social gatherings in which
others view you positively.

JUSTICE
Triggers: Witnessing injustice, cruelty, hatred, murder, debauchery, noncommittal behavior, betrayal, slovenliness,
moral or civil decay, willful ignorance, or the spreading of lies,
false information, or rumor.
Those you have sworn vengeance against becoming visible or
known to you in some way—whether you hear of their actions,
see them in person or on video, or learn of their intentions or
their past accomplishments. Being exposed to any memory of
what caused your revenge (such as the death of a loved one).
Resolutions: Righting wrongs. Behaving with honor, compassion, selflessness, or valiance. Sticking to your principles despite their consequences. Being dedicated, loyal, kind, courteous, generous, empathetic, clean, reliable, competent, courageous, just, curious. Pursuing knowledge and comprehension.
Exacting revenge. Killing or harming or capturing those you’ve
sworn vengeance against. Doing the same to their loved ones,
or allies, or comrades. Completing operations or missions that
hamper or weaken the revenge-target’s faction or organization.

LIBERTY
Triggers: Finding opportunities for more information to be revealed through research, study, or questioning. Coming upon

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a mystery waiting to be unraveled. Someone or a group of
someones acting with unknown intent or reasoning.
Oppression of you or others. Strict social castes or expectations. Slavery. Legal or societal pressure on certain segments
to have fewer rights than others. Given an opportunity to make
decisions or independent actions. Suppression of independence or self-sustainability in others, yourself, or even organizations and causes.
Resolutions: Learning, discovering, and answering the questions that triggered your curiosity. Solving puzzles, mysteries,
or piecing together large reports or elements of facts. Coming
to some kind of revelation or complete comprehension.
Inciting rebellion. Engaging in a revolt. Inciting freedom in others. Righting any of the wrongs that prevent independence in
you or others. Spending time alone and contemplating inwardly.

POWER
Triggers: Failure, weakness, or sickness. Lacking competency
in a desired skill or craft. Feeling helplessness, being captured, being defeated. Attempting a task unsuccessfully, being
unable to comprehend a subject, or being under the oppression or control of another.
Chaos, disorder, riots, lawbreakers, those who behave to upset the social order (or even a suborder, such as part of a faction). Inefficiencies, logistical waste, or illogical laws and proceedings.
Resolutions: Exerting your control over someone else. Demonstrating skill, competence, or capability. Rising to prominence
or authority in an organization or faction. Influencing the opinion or actions of others, convincing someone, or creating a cultural or social norm.
Turning things from disorderly to orderly. Operating within a
chain of command or structured environment. Applying standard operating procedures, laws, or best practices within a
field or region. Organizing and categorizing.

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NARRATIVE ACTIONS
Sometimes, you might want to make a really bold narrative
statement—something that’s memorable or important over the
game’s storyline. And sometimes, you just don’t have the dice
to make it happen. That’s where narrative actions come in.
At any time during a Scene, you can do a narrative action: Collateral Damage or Let Them Loose.

COLL
COLLAATERAL DAMAGE
When you invoke Collateral Damage, you sacrifice an innocent
or an ally to automatically overcome a Scene in the manner
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of your choosing. When you do it, you become Haunted: you
can’t Advance until you’re absolved of your guilt and sins.More
on that starting on page 90.
For example, Kettefiss has finally tracked her quarry down
through a complex web of leads, intermediaries, and difficult
choices. She’s pursued her target for too long to let him escape now, and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring him in.
After a dramatic and grueling chase scene, the GM describes
how Kettefiss is facing off against her bounty. Her chassis is
beat and broken, and she’s all out of MD to make anything
crazy happen. Her quarry uses a crowd of civilians as a shield,
running through the busy street. She knows she can’t keep up.
Kettefiss’s player invokes Collateral Damage, spraying a burst
of gunfire at her target in the crowd, regardless of who gets
in her way. The bullets shred the organs of her target. He collapses along with half a dozen civilians that were in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
She got her quarry, but she’s racked with guilt and becomes
Haunted.

LET THEM LOOSE
When you Let Them Loose, you let the bounty get away, which
lets you accomplish something else or overcome the Scene.
The trail goes cold and you have to start over. You might not
even be able to find the quarry ever again. When you Let
Them Loose, you become Obsessed; more on this in a bit.
Later, Leridnu is working with a team of Hunters to track down
a high-priced assassin wanted across half of the UVA. They
track her down to an abandoned manufacturing facility that
was heavily damaged during some fighting a few decades
ago.
As Leridnu and its team go after her, sweeping into the fragile
building, she sets off an explosive chain reaction to topple
the building. One of Leridnu’s greatest friends and allies gets
crushed beneath a falling beam, pinned to the floor.

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Using the distraction, the assassin makes a break for it. Leridnu has to decide whether to chase after her or stay behind
and help its ally. Leridnu knows that if it decides to Let Them
Loose, it’ll lose months of work.
It can’t leave its friend behind, so it stops the chase so it can
lift the beam and save the Hunter’s life. The trail goes cold,
and the assassin disappears into the wilderness. Now Leridnu
is Obsessed with finding and catching her again.

You can use Collateral Damage or Let Them Loose at any
time.
Collateral Damage: You overcome the Scene, but innocents or allies die and you become Haunted.
Let Them Loose: The quarry escapes, but you overcome
a different Task, and the trail goes cold. You become Obsessed.

HAUNTED
After invoking Collateral Damage or performing three morally
despicable acts—such as killing innocents, manipulating good
people, or betraying allies—you become Haunted. While
Haunted, you can’t Advance. You can stop being Haunted by
redeeming yourself, a relatively long arc in which you try to
right the consequences of your wrongs.
If your character has done enough to become Haunted multiple times over, the GM should require additional quests of Redemption for each occasion.

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A newly made character can be Haunted if you so wish. This
can give the character a good conflict and goal right off the
bat, and can work especially well in short campaigns.

OBSESSION
More than one Bounty Hunter has fallen victim to Obsession.
Obsession is a slow and insidious poison that can creep into
the most stalwart of minds, threatening to blind anyone to all
but the point of their focus.

Characters can become Obsessed about a single quarry.
While Obsessed, you can’t spend MD on anything other
than Tasks related to your Obsession.

While Obsessed, you can’t use MD unless you are doing
something that brings you closer to the quarry that you are
Obsessed with.
You can declare if your character has become Obsessed with
a specific quarry, but a character always become Obsessed after using the Let Them Loose narrative action.
Also, if a particular quarry escapes twice from your clutches—whether in a Chase or just narratively—your Hunter becomes Obsessed.
Over time, the GM may require an Obsessed character to
roll Resistance or sustain psychological (and even physical)
Injuries. Obsession can’t be “turned off” until the quarry has
been captured or killed.

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Quarry escapes twice = Obsessed
Character uses Let Them Loose = Obsessed

For example, Kettefiss was tracking her last quarry for months.
During that time, she ignored pleas from her friends, allies,
family, and even employers to call off the hunt. She let herself
go, made personal and ethical sacrifices, and hardly ever rested or recharged during the pursuit.
Because Kettefiss’s catching up to this quarry is narratively important, the GM discusses the situation with Kettefiss’s player
and decides that Kettefiss had become Obsessed.
When a friend asked Kettefiss for help, she agreed, but during
the mission she found herself distracted and nearly got her
friend get killed. Whenever her player rolled—so she could
fight enemies, sneak by others, or pilot a ship out of
there—she couldn’t add any MD. Promptly after, Kettefiss resumed the hunt of her obsession.

MORE ON CONSEQUENCES
If you attempt any Task and roll 0 successes, or if you attempt
a Short Task and roll fewer successes than the Task’s Difficulty,
the GM can make you endure a Consequence. The exact Consequence largely depends on the nature of the Task and its
Severity.
Most often, a Consequence does one of three things:
1. Causes the opposite of what you wanted to happen
2. Forces you to roll on the Task with a different Skill

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3. Gives you some kind of negative condition or effect
GMs, ultimately the Consequence is up to you, but be sure
to consider the players’ suggestions. Collaborating on Consequences can make them more interesting.
A Consequence’s Severity equals the failed Task’s Severity
(1–5), worsening as it increases. Here is a table of Consequence examples at each level of Severity:

Consequence
Severity

Consequence Effect

1

Trivial, success with setback

2

Minor, force Skill roll or fail

3

Moderate, +Difficulty, +Severity,
+Threshold

4

Major, lose next turn, degrade
Skill

5

Critical, serious Injury

By default, Consequences are removed at the end of the
Scene. At the GM’s discretion, a player can attempt to remove
a Consequence during the Scene by rolling an appropriate
Short or Long Task with a Difficulty equal to the Consequence’s Severity.
If your group wants to play a game that’s extra gritty with a low
chance of survival, crank up the Consequences—add more
debilitating effects, permanently degrade Skills, and so on.
The reverse is also possible: you could choose to never go
beyond the first or second level of Severity. If you’re playing a
heroic game in which the Hunters are unstoppable and out to
save the galaxy, go for it.

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CONSEQUENCE EXAMPLE
Leridnu attempts to leap across a small chasm, which is a Task
with Severity 2. It rolls and gets no successes, prompting a
Consequence. Leridnu falls just short, so now it must grab on
to the ledge. This is a Might Short Task with Difficulty 2.
Leridnu spends three MD to roll 4D total and gets two successes. It stretches its tentacle nearly out of the socket, scrapes its
appendages bloody on the rough rock, but catches itself and
clings to the side precariously.

A KINDER CONSEQUENCE EXAMPLE
Here’s a different, kinder take (Severity 1): The GM allows
Leridnu to clear the chasm, but as it lands, chunks of rock fall
and the wall crumbles. In the future—such as when its allies attempt the same leap—jumping this chasm will have +1 Difficulty.

A HARSH CONSEQUENCE EXAMPLE
Another, worse Consequence (Severity 3): The GM allows
Leridnu to clear the chasm, but while doing so it hits its tentacle against the sharp edge of the precipice. Leridnu’s leg
now has an Injury. It now moves much slower, and any physical
Tasks it attempts have +1 Threshold (for Leridnu, a physical
Task that would have Threshold 0 now has Threshold 1).

ALTERNA
ALTERNATE
TE CONSEQUENCE EXAMPLE
Here’s an alternate version of the first example: Leridnu fails
its first roll to jump and its roll to grab on to the ledge. It falls
down the chasm, and the GM has Leridnu roll Coordination
against Difficulty 5 to avoid getting injured from falling (it’s a
long drop). Leridnu rolls and gets 2 successes. It suffers an
Injury equal to the difference (Severity 3) and must roll Resis-

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tance against Difficulty 1 or suffer a permanent debility from
the Injury.
Leridnu rolls Resistance and gets zero successes again. This
forces another Consequence, and in this case the Injury is permanent. The GM says that Leridnu breaks its back and can’t
move. It will likely die from its wounds.

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SUCCESS WITH A SETBACK
Often a Consequence with low Severity will cause success
with setback. In this, the character succeeds on the Task, but
only with some complication or wrinkle that makes the result
less than ideal.
For example, Kettefiss is sprinting toward a crashed pod that
is surrounded by criminals. She sees they’ve already killed at
least one of the passengers, and she can hear the pleas of another.
Kettefiss doesn’t have a clean shot, so she needs to run
around quickly enough to engage the criminals before they kill
the final victim. As she’s running, she has to jump over rubble,
debris, and other difficult terrain.
The GM sets the Difficulty and Severity, and Kettefiss rolls
Might to represent her athleticism in moving through the area,
but she gets zero successes.
Rather than making Kettefiss trip or get stuck in the difficult
terrain, the GM describes how the Hunter moves as swiftly as
she can, adeptly moving through the haphazard and dangerous ruins, but she realizes she’s too late as she sees one of
the thugs execute the pleading survivor.
In this case, the passenger dying is the Consequence. Kettefiss moved through the difficult terrain just fine—but not fast
enough.
Remember, the easiest and sometimes most pertinent Consequence is simply failure: the character gets the exact opposite of what they wanted to accomplish. Failure and its consequences are often enough.
GMs, a word of caution: start out with Consequences of low
Severity, and build up to worse and worse effects. If you want
more details on using Consequences and Injuries, read the
Consequences section starting on page 181.

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SAMPLE CONSEQUENCES BBYY SKILL
Here’s a quick list of example Consequences, grouped by the
Skill used to overcome a Task, listed in order from lower to
higher Severity.

AWARENESS
Getting incorrect information, missing important information,
getting lost, being completely unaware of an incoming attack,
suffering an Injury

COORDINA
COORDINATION
TION
Tripping, falling, +1 Threshold on next physical Task, losing
next turn, hampering an ally

INFLUENCE
Insulting your target, convincing your target of the opposite
conclusion, +1 Threshold to any future Influence rolls against
this person, creating distrust, initiating combat

KNOWLEDGE
Having no knowledge of the subject, having incorrect knowledge of the subject, having knowledge that complicates continued effort, complicating the situation beyond repair (such as
botching a surgery), +Threshold or +Difficulty to all future related Tasks

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LOGIC
Coming to the wrong conclusion, coming to a detrimental conclusion, coming to a severely detrimental conclusion that is
plausible to others, +Threshold or +Difficulty to future related
Tasks

MIGHT
Making the thing you’re lifting harder to lift, dropping things,
not making the jump, forcing a Resistance roll, moving sluggishly or not at all, breaking your tool or weapon, suffering an
Injury

RESIST
RESISTANCE
ANCE
Giving up, moving slowly, becoming exhausted, collapsing, divulging sensitive information under torture or persuasion, sustaining an Injury, sustaining a serious Injury, death

STE
STEALTH
ALTH
Alerting enemies, getting caught, making Stealth rolls for you
or your allies impossible in this location or Scene, forcing other
difficult Tasks

MORE ON INJURIES
It’s pretty likely—what with all of the shooting and chasing—that a Hunter will acquire many Injuries throughout their
career. An Injury is a specific type of Consequence that causes
the Injured character to suffer some kind of persistent penalty.
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By default, an Injury adds +1 Threshold to any Task that it
would logically hinder. Injuries can also make a character
move more slowly, paralyze them, or degrade one of their
Skills.
For example, Leridnu suffers a serious back injury from a fall.
Even after being revitalized by an ally, it has trouble walking
and moving swiftly. Its Coordination, which was Competent
(success on 4+), is now degraded to Adequate (success on
5+). Also, all physical Tasks that might engage its back gain +1
Threshold.
Here are some more example Injuries of each Severity.

Injury Severity

Potential Effects

1

+1 Threshold, lose next turn, prone

2

Movement halved, sprained joint

3

Broken bone, +2 Threshold

4

Badly bleeding, worsening Injury

5

Defeat, dismemberment

HE
HEALING
ALING INJURIES
An Injured character can begin healing if treated, requiring a
Knowledge Task with Difficulty equal to the Severity of the Injury. This Task might be Short (e.g., bleeding) or Long (e.g., broken leg), and it might or might not be simple enough to be performed by the Injured party—all these aspects are determined
by the GM.
Once a character succeeds on this Knowledge Task, the Injury
lingers for a number of weeks equal to its Severity. For instance, a Severity 4 Injury always takes four weeks to heal
after treatment, regardless of the skill of the healer or the
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ceives treatment in a high-tech hospital, this can cut down the
healing time dramatically, even to a day or two.
Alternatively, an Injured character can attempt a Resistance
Short Task to power through their Injury. This only lets the
character ignore the Injury until the end of the current Scene;
afterward, its effects kick back in.

PERMANENT DEBILITIES (OPTIONAL)
If a Hunter goes several days without treating an Injury, the
GM can force the player to roll a Short Task with Resistance.
If the character fails, the effects of the Injury can become permanent. Similarly, if a character’s arm is cut off as part of their
Injury, they permanently lose the ability to use this arm and suffer its penalties forever—or at least until they get a sweet new
prosthetic robot arm from that shady “arms” dealer in an alley.

Consequences can force a new Task roll with a different
Skill, cause you to lose MD, or degrade one or multiple
Skills. They are generally removed at the end of a Scene.
Injuries can increase the Difficulty or Threshold of Tasks
that would use the injured body part. Healing an Injury
usually requires a Knowledge or Resistance Task. A treated Injury requires weeks of recuperation equal to its
Severity, but this can be greatly expedited in a high-tech
hospital or similar facility. Particularly nasty Injuries can
cause permanent debilities.

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ENEMIES
Enemies, like Tasks, have a Difficulty, Severity, and Threshold.
A character can attack an Enemy by rolling a relevant
Skill—usually Coordination for ranged attacks, Might for melee
attacks, or Influence for mental attacks—against the Enemy’s
Difficulty.
When an Enemy attacks, the targeted character defends by
rolling a relevant Skill—usually Might for blocking, Resistance
for resisting poison or mental attacks, or Coordination or
Awareness for dodging attacks—against the Enemy’s Severity.

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Combat is described more in Combat starting on page 107.

Enemies have Difficulty, Severity, and Threshold.
When you attack an Enemy, roll against the Enemy’s Difficulty.
When you defend against an Enemy, roll against the Enemy’s Severity.

Sometimes an Enemy will attempt something that isn’t an attack, such as trying to sneak up behind someone, lie, or run
away.
In such a case, if a Hunter cannot or does not take opposing
action, assume that the Enemy succeeds.
If a Hunter does take opposing action, that Hunter’s player
rolls against the Enemy as a Task with the Enemy’s Difficulty,
Severity, and Threshold. As usual, Tasks prompted by Enemies
can be Long Tasks (e.g., racing each other) or Short Tasks (e.g.,
lying).
If the Hunter does not succeed on the Task, the Enemy accomplishes what it wants. Sometimes this creates an Effect. Similar to a Consequence, an Effect generally makes the Enemy or
Scene more challenging. This could add Threshold, Severity,
or Difficulty.
For example, an Enemy has sneaked up on a Hunter because
the Hunter’s player failed to overcome the Enemy’s stealth
Task. This produced an Effect: the Enemy’s first attack will gain
+1 Severity because the Hunter is unprepared. Later, the Enemy outruns the Hunter, producing another Effect: she can’t be
attacked by that Hunter, as she’s out of range.
For another example, Kettefiss is being hunted by an assassin
hired by the Messonite Lotus. They’ve had enough of the
Bounty Hunter’s meddling.

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The assassin has a Stealth Difficulty of 3 and a Severity of 1.
He cautiously approaches Kettefiss, preparing to strike the unsuspecting Hunter.
Kettefiss rolls Awareness against the assassin’s Stealth Difficulty of 3 to see whether her delicate sensors save her. The
assassin is right behind her, so this is a Short Task.
She spends an MD, rolls, and gets two successes, less than
Difficulty 3. Kettefiss doesn’t quite notice, giving the assassin
an edge. This Effect gives +1 Severity to the assassin’s next attack.

ENEMY EQUIPMENT
Enemies have access to the same equipment that the Hunters
do. GMs, if you want to expedite gameplay, just say that Enemies’ Difficulty, Severity, and Threshold include their equipment. The equipment itself can just be flavor.
However, if you want equipment to do more, many serious
combatants wear armor and kinetic shields. Armor generally
provides +1 to +3 Threshold against melee and fragmentation
attacks (such as from grenades), while a shield provides +1 to
+3 Threshold against ranged attacks (such as from guns).
GMs, you can just write these effects as Armor X and Shields
X, respectively, and remind the players that their equipment
often will list something like “Ignore 2 Armor” and similar.

FLESHING OUT ENEMIES
Most Enemies simply have Difficulty 1 and Severity 1, allowing
Hunters to defeat them regularly and relatively easily. However, as the characters Advance and such simple Enemies become boring, be sure to vary up the opponents—some with
high Difficulty, some with high Threshold, some with an even
mix of Difficulty and Threshold and Severity, and so forth.
Some Enemies might be easy to defeat (low Difficulty) but
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stick, for example, might have Difficulty 1 and Severity 3. A
Hunter could swat the assassin aside with little issue, but if
he doesn’t he’ll likely sustain an Injury 3 (from the concussive
force).
GMs, if you wish to make an Enemy more challenging or more
important to the story, you can assign them different levels of
Difficulty, Severity, and Threshold to their different Skills.
For example, a sneaky Enemy might have Stealth with Difficulty 3, but the same Enemy might also be cowardly, so they
might only have a Severity 1 attack (requiring only 1 success to
defend against).
One way to make the Hunters feel more powerful is to combine multiple Enemies into a single entity with one Difficulty,
Severity, and Threshold. For example, a group of Hunters
could be clearing out a gang of low-level enforcers.
In this case, each Difficulty rank of the gang counts for five or
six thugs in the narrative. So if Leridnu rolls two successes, it
kills or defeats ten to twelve thugs.
Making a unit or gang is a fun way to make a leader stand out:
she has multiple levels of Difficulty, Severity, and Threshold,
while her entire menagerie of nefarious allies all comprise a
single lower Difficulty.
Here are some examples of Enemies I commonly throw in
front of my players:
Tough guy: Difficulty 4, Threshold 1, Severity 2
A faction’s unit: Difficulty 5, Threshold 0, Severity 4
Gang of thugs: Difficulty 3, Threshold 0, Severity 1
Assassin: Difficulty 2, Threshold 1, Severity 5
Mercenary: Difficulty 3, Threshold 1, Severity 3
Marauder: Difficulty 2, Threshold 0, Severity 2
Local police: Difficulty 1, Threshold 1, Severity 2

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Senior Hunter: Difficulty 3, Threshold 2, Severity 3
Grizzled Hunter: Difficulty 5, Threshold 3, Severity 4
Combat drone: Difficulty 5, Threshold 3, Severity 5
You can further flesh out the Enemies by incorporating Talents,
as discussed in Creating NPCs starting on page 184. For example, the tough guy might have the Brawler Talent, giving
him +1 Difficulty when fighting hand-to-hand.
Similarly the local police officer might have the This Is My
Home Talent, giving her +1 Difficulty while protecting her home
turf.
Each Talent is equivalent to +1 Difficulty, so be careful not to
load up too heavily for anything other than the most ominous
opponents.

Enemies have Difficulty, Severity, and Threshold.
When an Enemy attempts to do something other than attack (such as sneaking, running, or arguing), a Hunter can
interfere if able. In this case, their player rolls against the
Enemy’s Difficulty.

FEAR AND SICKNESS
Even ordinary citizens in the Territories have to face fear and
sickness on a daily basis. For Hunters this is even more
true—the number of alien pathogens and terrible situations
they get themselves into is nearly infinite. Simply put, fear is a
Short Task, and sickness is an Enemy. Hunters who fail to face
their fear or cure their sickness suffer Injuries.

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FE
FEAR
AR
An Injury from fear isn’t a physical disability. Rather, it prevents
the Hunter from maintaining their composure and combat
prowess.
Typically, warding off fear is a Resistance Short Task. An Injury
from fear ranges from hesitation (Severity 1–2) all the way up
to full-on fear-paralysis, fainting, or retreat (Severity 3–5).
Only roll for fear when the Hunters have real cause to be terrified. I like to make players roll for fear after their characters
see an overwhelming swarm of Enemies for the first time,
when their first ally dies, or when they’re finally confronted in a
horrific scenario (such as being stalked by an assassin or some
hungry alien monsters on a bizarre planet).

SICKNESS
Sickness is best handled like an Enemy’s attack, in which you
defend by rolling Resistance or Knowledge against the Severity of the sickness. When the sickness is reduced to 0 Difficulty,
it is cured.
If you don’t roll enough successes, you suffer an Injury with
Severity equal to the difference between your successes and
the Severity of the sickness. More Severe Injuries from sickness cause worse symptoms (fever, vomiting, lethargy, infection, loss of limb, eventual death).
An ally can treat you by rolling Knowledge to defend against
your sickness. When an ally treats you, you still suffer Injuries
from their inadequate rolls.
Yantiram can suffer digital sicknesses—essentially computer
viruses—that plague their mind and software code. These can
be just as debilitating, if not more so, than illnesses and injuries are to an organic creature’s physical form.

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COMBAT
Enemies function just like Tasks, with a Difficulty, Severity, and
a Threshold.
A character can attack an Enemy, rolling a relevant Skill
against the enemy’s Difficulty, usually Might for melee attacks
and Coordination for ranged attacks.
When an Enemy attacks, the targeted character rolls a relevant Skill to defend, usually Might for blocking, Resistance for
resisting poison or mental attacks, or Coordination or Awareness for dodging attacks.

Enemies have Difficulty, Severity, and Threshold.
Characters defend by rolling against the Enemy’s Severity.
Characters attack by rolling against the Enemy’s Difficulty.

To defend, you must roll successes equal to the attacking Enemy’s Severity (or a separate Difficulty, as determined by the
GM). If you roll fewer successes than the Severity, your character gets an Injury with a Severity equaling the shortfall. (If
you rolled two successes to defend against a Severity 4 attack, your character would get an Injury 2.)

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If a character fails to defend, they take an Injury with
Severity equal to the difference between their successes
and the enemy’s Severity.
Severity 4 – 2 defend successes = Injury 2

If you defend and roll no successes, your character suffers an
Injury and a Consequence (such as broken equipment or a
worsening situation).

Defend with 0 successes = Injury and Consequence

This expedites combat and makes players more likely to
spend a large amount of MD on a single roll.

ORDER OF ACTION
Usually the GM determines the Order of Action based on
what makes the most sense in the narrative—if someone is
the aggressor in a conflict, they tend to go first.
If multiple individuals are acting at once or over a short time,
however, the action is broken up into action phases.
Conflict is broken up into rounds (a full rotation of the six
action phases), turns (a participant’s chance to do an action
during a phase), and actions (the specific action a participant
takes on a turn, generally a Task).
Each character in the Scene gets one action per turn, and one
turn per round. Defending yourself and rolling for Order of Actions are not actions.

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The GM and players can just decide who goes first, but if
not:
The Order of Action in conflict is based on action phases.
If multiple participants are acting in the same phase, the
acting players roll to determine who acts first.

Once conflict begins, the GM calls out each action phase as it
happens, in the following order:

ACTION PHA
PHASES
SES
1. Thinking (Knowledge, Logic)
a. Actions in this phase don’t count toward
your action limit
2. Speaking (Influence) or interacting (Knowledge, Coordination)
a. Interacting includes the immediate
environment, such as computer terminals
and doors within reach.
3. Ranged combat (Coordination)
4. Melee combat (Might)
5. Moving (Coordination, Might, Stealth)
6. Post-move combat (Coordination, Might)
The phases go in this order based upon how long it takes
for each action to be completed: thinking takes less time than
shooting a gun, which takes less time than running to cover.
In each phase, the PCs choose whether to act and then act if
so. If an action has a chance of failure and is narratively important, the acting player rolls an appropriate Task. After this, the
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GM describes if and how any NPCs act, and then moves on to
the next phase.
Players, when the GM reaches the phase that you want to act
in, you simply need to state that you plan to act. You can’t take
actions from a slower phase than the current phase, but you
can take actions from a faster phase. (You can’t shoot a gun
in the thinking phase, for example, but you can think in the
ranged combat phase.)
Players only have to roll for Order of Action (Awareness, Coordination, or Might) if their characters and others want to complete actions during the same phase. If nobody else is acting
in the same phase, no roll is necessary. Ties favor the player.
If multiple PCs are acting in the same phase, but no NPCs are
acting, then no roll is necessary. However, if the PCs are trying to act before one another, whoever has the higher relevant
Skill rank goes first. If this is a tie, they can have a roll-off or the
GM can decide.

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The Order of Action Process
1. The GM announces each action phase from
fastest to slowest, pausing so that players who
wish to act can say so.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Thinking (free)
Talking / Pushing buttons
Ranged combat
Melee combat
Movement
Ranged or melee combat after
movement

2. If no players act in a phase that NPCs act in, the
GM narrates what happens, and might require
the players to make rolls (such as defending).
3. If both a PC and NPC want to act in the same
phase, the player rolls for their character.
a. Success: Player can choose to act first
or wait.
b. Failure: NPC can choose to act first or
wait.
4. When the round ends, repeat the process.

COVER AND POSITIONING
Movement and position are relatively abstract in Hunt the
Wicked, so cover can be completely ignored if the group and
GM choose. However, if in certain circumstances cover can
spell the difference between life and death—feel free to give
AD to those benefiting from it (see the Advantage section below).

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Similarly, if some characters are all attacking the same target,
or attacking from an advantageous position, AD bonuses are
appropriate.
When characters are at a disadvantage due to superior enemy
numbers or better tactical positioning, GMs, you can give
bonuses to the Enemies’ Threshold or Severity.
This is discussed more thoroughly in Chapter 7: Game Mastering.

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CHASES
Quarries don’t like being captured, and while many won’t fight,
most will run. And since most bounties are worth more if the
quarry is captured alive and unharmed rather than bloodied
up (or dead), Hunters get used to chasing down their prey.
A chase is a slightly different type of Scene. GMs, if you don’t
want to draw out the specifics of the chase, you can just represent the chase as a Task or Scene. (I’d recommend a Long
Task.)
Chases don’t represent the long-term struggle of the Hunters
to find their quarry over days or weeks or months. They happen when the Hunters have the quarry in their sights and
physically chase them, trying to catch up.

A quick chase can simply be a Short or Long Task.
Longer, more important chases use the chase rules.

LEGS
Chases consist of one or more legs (as in, leg of a race). Each
leg in a chase is a Short Task shared among the PCs. In it, each
character can roll a relevant Skill to try to gain on their quarry. If a player chooses not to roll, their character’s assists the
group instead, giving +1AD per the rules in Assists (page 82).

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Chases consist of one or more legs.
Each chase leg is a Short Task shared among the team.

If the combined successes from all participating characters
isn’t equal to or greater than the leg’s Difficulty, then the GM introduces a Consequence that impedes the chase. By default,
this Consequence increases the Difficulty of the next leg, often
by an amount equal to the shortfall of the party’s successes.
For example, in a chase leg with Difficulty 3, the players roll
and only get two successes total. The following leg, which was
going to have Difficulty 3, now has Difficulty 4.

Fewer successes than leg’s Difficulty = Consequence

Most chases have two to five legs—the more legs, the more
complex and arduous the chase. I recommend that small-time
crooks, slow bad guys, or less important quarries give chases with two or three legs, while kingpins, elite assassins, and
highly elusive bounties give three to five legs.

Most chases have two to five legs.

If the Hunters succeed on the leg’s Task, they gain on the
quarry. If they fail, the quarry gets farther away—the party loses ground.
At the end of the chase, if the Hunters have succeeded on
more legs than they have failed, they catch up to the quarry.
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gotiate some better terms—often taking a nearby innocent as
hostage or doing something similar.
If the Hunters have succeeded on fewer legs than they have
failed, the target escapes.

If the characters succeed on more legs than failed, they
catch up to the quarry.
If the characters succeed on fewer legs than failed, the
quarry escapes.

SET
SETTING
TING CHA
CHASE
SE AND LEG DIFFICULTY
Chases are typically two to five legs, with each leg having 1 to
25 Difficulty (just like Scene Difficulty). It’s best to set a leg’s
base Difficulty the same way you would for a Short Task (1 to 5,
with 5 being incredibly difficult), and then multiply that number
by the number of Hunters involved in the chase.

Set each leg’s Difficulty like a Scene Difficulty: multiply the
base Task Difficulty by the number of Hunters involved in
the chase (Difficulty 1–25).

For example, if Vrillin—a known thief—sprints with Difficulty 3
Might, each leg of a chase to catch him would have a base Difficulty of 3. Since three players are trying to catch him, the GM
sets each leg’s Difficulty to roughly 9, raising or lowering it a
bit depending on the characters’ approaches and other conditions.
GMs, as you add legs, lower the Difficulty of every leg. You’ll
want to do this because the Hunters will be spending MD, so

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they will succeed more on earlier legs than on later ones, especially if they don’t know how many legs the chase will have.
A good rule of thumb is to lower each leg’s Difficulty by the
number of legs in the chase. Let’s take a chase with three
legs as an example. If each leg has a base Difficulty of 2
and there are three characters, each leg will have Difficulty 6.
Since there are three legs, you’d subtract three from Difficulty
6, making each leg have Difficulty 3.

VARYING THE LEGS
GMs, make sure that each leg of a chase feels different to the
PCs. Otherwise, there’s absolutely no point to having multiple
legs—you’re just prolonging the inevitable.
Just like for a Scene, you can describe each leg differently,
giving them different relevant Skills and different Difficulty,
Threshold, Severity, and Consequences.
For example, one leg of the chase—running on a smooth, flat
surface—has Difficulty 2, Severity 1, with a relevant Skill of
Might. The next leg—running across an unstable and narrow
bar on a catwalk—has Difficulty 3, Severity 3, and a relevant
Skill of Coordination.
Don’t hesitate to adjust each leg’s Difficulty per the circumstances, as you would in response to the characters’ approaches to a Task or Scene.

Vary each leg’s description, statistics, and relevant Skills.

MIXING CHA
CHASES
SES AND COMBA
COMBATT
Sometimes the Hunters will get frustrated with not being able
to catch up to their quarry simply by chasing after them, and

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they’ll want to take more drastic measures, or the Hunters
themselves will start taking fire from their enemies.
In short: you can mix combat into a chase either completely
through flavor or with the rules below. If by flavor, no actual
harm can come to those involved in the chase, other than by
the normal elements of the chase; the combat is just part of
the narrative and has no mechanical impact.
If, however, a Hunter decides to whip out a gun and start
shooting at the target of their chase, GMs, you will need to
give the target a Difficulty, Threshold, and Severity. Successes
on this attack can count toward the leg’s Difficulty or they can
simply end the chase if they’re enough to take down the target.
When a quarry takes damage, gets stunned, or is otherwise
harried from attacks, often the chase ends and becomes a normal combat Scene. If the quarry is defeated—basically, if the
attacker rolled enough successes to overcome the bad guy’s
Difficulty—the chase ends.
This can be risky, as it is likely that the quarry will die from her
wounds or some innocent bystanders will get caught up in the
crossfire.
If a quarry is hurt but not killed, and continues to run away,
the chase continues. In this case, GMs, you can decrease the
Difficulty for each subsequent leg because the target’s been
tagged. (Yes, you can do this even while piloting a pod or
something similar.)

Combat can be mixed into a chase either strictly as flavor
or it can impact the chase.
Combat successes can count toward a leg’s Difficulty.
If an enemy stops and fights or is defeated by a character’s attack, the chase ends.

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MULTI-PRONGED CHA
CHASES
SES
Often, a party of Hunters will split up and try to herd their quarry into a dead-end or other favorable position. They’re essentially attacking the chase from multiple angles, and sometimes
even with different methods—one might be in a pod, for example, while the other is on foot.
Splitting up is risky, so there should be some reward at stake.
While splitting up, treat each prong or angle of the chase as
its own leg, each with an opportunity for Consequences. If any
Hunter rolls 0 successes, this triggers a Consequence as normal, and that Hunter also loses the trail. Essentially, they’re
no longer participating in the chase and cannot contribute any
help to the others.
However—for a chase with two Hunters splitting up—if both
Hunters succeed their own leg, then they just doubled their
chances of succeeding on the whole chase. If an average
chase is only 3 legs long, that means a double-pronged chase
(with 2 successes) will result in victory for the Hunters, so long
as they don’t completely fail in the third and final leg.

Treat each angle of the chase as its own leg, with all of
the normal risk and reward.

If the Hunters take an especially intelligent or tactical approach to splitting up, GMs, you can give them each an Advantage bonus, signifying that by splitting up they’ll each be more
likely to corner their opponent than by pursuing him all on the
same path.

CONSEQUENCES AND ESCAPES
If any character rolls and gets 0 successes, this triggers a Consequence. This Consequence is largely up to the GM, but it

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can always increase the Difficulty down the line, whether for
the current leg or next leg, or add additional legs to the chase.
If every character rolls and gets 0 successes—including if only
one character rolls—the quarry escapes and the chase ends.
The GM describes how the Hunter’s prey got away and any
additional Consequences or fallout from their failure.

CHA
CHASING
SING INTO AN AMBUSH
Rather than ending the chase and having the quarry escape,
the GM can have the team arrive at the quarry’s last known location—generally a dead-end—and straight into an ambush.
An ambush doesn’t have to literally be a group of guys with
guns waiting to mow the party down, but it does need to be
a sudden and strongly unfavorable position for the Hunters.
The quarry managed to get to their stronghold or safehouse,
or they found and teamed up with some of their allies.
Generally, this begins a new Scene—more often than not,
combat. Setting an ambush is a good way to maintain the
arc’s momentum, keeping alive the fast-paced, action-packed
theme of Hunt the Wicked.

MULTIPLE TTARGETS
ARGETS AND DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS
Sometimes a group of targets will split up, running away in
multiple directions. Generally, the GM can treat this as the inverse of the multi-pronged chase rules above, allowing for the
same total number of legs to capture all the targets involved
in the chase, regardless of their direction, rather than splitting
them up.
Or, for a bit more bookkeeping, the GM can split each angle of
the chase, giving each its own legs, Difficulty, and so forth.
GMs, I recommend being somewhat sparing with splitting up
each angle, as it can be frustrating to force the team of
Hunters to split up. On the other hand, it can provide an inter-

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esting dilemma on which target to go after, or on whether to
just shoot the targets rather than chase them.
As always, if splitting up makes the chase too complicated, the
GM can change the chase into a different type of Scene, or
turn a given part of the chase into a Short or Long Task.

TOUGH CHOICES
Part of the fun of the chase is that it provides the GM lots
of opportunities to force tough choices upon the characters.
Do they chase the target into the crowded mall, risking many
innocent lives, or do they drop the chase and hope to pick
up the trail another time? Should they stay and tend to the
wounded, or chase after their assailant?
GMs, during each leg of the chase, look for every opportunity
to place impediments before the characters of both the physical and psychological sort. Is one of the characters terrible at
climbing and afraid of falling from high places? Have the quarry climb up the side of a precarious building.
Or maybe due to the characters’ and their quarries’ reckless
driving through the streets of Shanghai causes an abundance
of property damage, smashed up pods, and maybe even some
civilian injuries. Do the Hunters stop and tend to the destruction, letting the quarry escape, or do they keep chasing after
no matter what happens?

CHA
CHASING
SING THE HUNTERS
Sometimes the Hunters walked into an ambush or similarly
drastic scenario, and they choose to run. This could create a
chase, but in this it’s not the quarry trying to escape, but the
Hunters.
In this case, the chase is still broken down into legs, but the
Difficulty for each leg relates to outrunning or evading capture,
rather than catching up to a quarry.

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Generally, for this kind of chase, I recommend keeping the
number of legs to a few, maybe two or three. This allows the
characters to escape quickly by spending a lot of MD, rather
than forcing a long, dragging pursuit. Later on, if the party
didn’t cover their tracks well, you can have the enemy continue to follow their trail without using chase rules.

ALTERNA
ALTERNATE:
TE: THE TRE
TREADMILL
ADMILL CHA
CHASE
SE
Sometimes, it is useful to really draw out a chase—effectively
indefinitely—until someone gives up, gets caught, or escapes.
I call this the treadmill chase.
Rather than giving the chase a specific number of legs, the GM
decides how many legs are necessary to catch the quarry, and
how many legs are necessary for the bad guy to get away.

Treadmill chases have no set amount of legs for completion, but require some number of successful or failed legs
to end.

For example, the GM could say that, to catch the bounty, the
party must succeeds on three legs, and that he’ll escape if he
succeeds on two legs
In addition, the GM can stipulate that the party must succeed
on some number of consecutive legs to catch their target.
I’ve found that this rule makes chases especially nerve-racking
and simulates a kind of back-and-forth exhaustion.
Don’t make use of the treadmill chase too often, though, as it
can be terribly draining, and if the party can’t catch up to their
quarry quickly enough, this almost always means the target
gets away, as the characters will eventually run out of Motivation Dice.

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EXAMPLE CHA
CHASE
SE
Kettefiss and Leridnu are chasing a wanted criminal through
the crowded city streets of Mars. The GM sets the current
leg to Difficulty 4. Kettefiss is a better physical specimen than
Leridnu, so Leridnu chooses not to roll, letting its yantiram
partner do all of the rolling, while giving it +1AD by assisting.
Kettefiss rolls her Might, trying to sprint with her mechanical
legs, pushing through the crowds and vendors to catch their
quarry. She gets 3 successes—not enough to overcome Difficulty 4, so this leg is now failed.
As the two Hunters are rounding a corner, their quarry knocks
over a stack of crates, blocking their path in a way that’s difficult to leap over or run through. (This is the narrative impact
of the Consequence from failing this leg, which will also affect
the Difficulty of the next leg.)
The next leg of the chase was going to be Difficulty 2, but it is
now Difficulty 3. Since Kettefiss rolled 3 successes—one fewer
than the Difficulty 4 leg—this Difficulty is increased by one.
Leridnu and Kettefiss decide to split up, trying to trap their
quarry in a corner. They each roll: Leridnu gets 3 successes,
enough to succeed on the leg and gain ground on its target.
Kettefiss, however, rolls 0 successes. Both the Hunters run to
the same corner and see that their quarry has escaped, which
happened because Kettefiss was alone and rolled 0 successes on her leg.

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FAVORS
Every Bounty Hunter worth her units has racked up—and
owes—a few favors.
While many folks in the Territories deal strictly in cash, a large
element of the underworld prefers to deal by bartering favors.
You take care of a problem for them, and they owe you one.
They loan you some money, and you owe them
one—whenever they choose to call it in.
Favors are an excellent way for the GM to establish relationships between the players and various factions and NPCs,
plant story hooks, and provide sources of potential bounties
and off-the-books assignments.

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There are three tiers of favors: minor, moderate, and major.
A minor favor is something small and generally inconsequential—looking the other way for a minor infraction of the law, forgiving a small debt of a few units, getting some information
that’s helpful but not dangerous to acquire.
A moderate favor, the most common kind in the Territories,
assumes that each side of the exchange has some skin in the
game. They’ll back you up in a fight, bail you out of jail, loan
you a pod, or hole you up in their safehouse when you’re running from assassins.
A major favor is reserved for the most critical of circumstances. They owe you something massive—perhaps you
gave up a kidney, took the fall for another’s heinous crime,
saved a life, or stood beside them in a near-certainly fatal fight.

CALLING IN FA
FAVORS
VORS
Players can call in a favor that is owed to them at any time circumstances allow. If they’re isolated on a desert planet with no
long-range communications, though, it’ll be pretty hard to call
up their buddy on Earth to ask him to come help.
Outside of a Scene, calling in a favor doesn’t require a roll, and
if the favor is appropriate, whoever owes it will respond in a
fitting way. The higher tier the favor, the bigger the ask can be,
and the quicker the NPC will respond.
For example, Leridnu gets jammed up by some local authorities on a backwater world and thrown into a detention cell. He
knows a local marshal that owes the ixta a moderate favor, and
convinces one of the guards to let him contact the marshal.
Leridnu gets ahold of his marshal friend. A few hours later, the
marshal shows up and vouches for the Hunter, who is promptly released. The favor is now spent; the marshal doesn’t owe
Leridnu anything anymore.
Within a Scene, calling in a favor gives a tangible benefit. The
NPC or faction that owes the favor assists by doing one of the
following:
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• Providing an Advantage bonus (+1AD to +3AD)
• Lowering the Scene Difficulty or Task Difficulty
• Adding manpower or assigning reinforcements
• Providing material help—such as vehicles, weapons,
or units
Calling in a higher-tier favor gives greater benefits. But remember, favors can’t be called in when doing so isn’t feasible
or relevant. If Kettefiss is in the middle of a back-alley gunfight,
she can’t call in a favor to a friendly Hunter who’s working a
few systems away. She can however, call in a favor owed to
her from some local mercenaries—who, given enough time,
will storm in and assist with the fight.
Calling in a minor favor will generate a response usually within
a few days, within a single planet or system. A moderate favor
will generate a response within a few hours, perhaps covering a couple adjoining systems. A major favor will generate
an immediate response—as quick as the individual can get
there—and should cover most of the Territories.
GMs, when the players and NPCs call in favors, feel free to
give them a little latitude—don’t block these attempts too often
because of logistical reasons. If it is possible that Kettefiss’s
mercenary friends are eating at the restaurant down the street,
and she calls for help in the fight, they’ll show up in a round or
two.

OWING FA
FAVORS
VORS
When a character owes a favor, the GM can leverage it against
a Hunter or the whole team. GMs, you should call in these favors at inopportune times, making it difficult for the Hunter or
team to drop their focus to take up the favor.
Alternatively, you can use favors as good Motivation Triggers
and Hunt leads if the characters are ever stuck or bored, or if
you want to change up the pace of the current Hunt or arc.

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Whenever a character or the team cannot or will not fulfill an
NPC’s called-in favor, they then owe that NPC another favor of
the same tier. For example, if the Ceti doctor who last patched
up Leridnu calls in the medium favor, and Leridnu is too busy
to come help, the ixtabuyek ends up owing the doctor two
moderate favors.
If a character rejects an NPC’s calling in a favor three times,
that NPC begins to hold a grudge. A grudge varies greatly
based on the NPC’s personality (as defined by their approach)
as well as the nature and tier of the favors owed and rejected.
The drug lord who paid to have the Hunters released from the
local prison (a major favor)? She’ll hire assassins to capture the
Hunters and make an example of them on the neuralnet. The
friendly mechanic who repaired their guns and kit for free (a
moderate favor)? He’ll never work on their equipment again,
even for money.
In appropriate, the character rejecting a called-in favor can try
to reduce the sting by rolling an Influence Short Task against
the NPC who’s calling it in. If the Hunter succeeds, this rejection won’t count toward a grudge. However, if the NPC attempts to call in the favor again in the future, reducing the
sting will have a higher and higher Difficulty until the NPC simply stops caring—or develops a grudge.

EARNING FA
FAVORS
VORS
When characters complete arcs, missions, assignments, or
Hunts, they can earn favors if they waive whatever tangible or
cash assets they would have received.
For example, Kettefiss and Leridnu have chased down a smalltime thug who stole some guns from their friendly local gunsmith, and they return the guns and stolen money without
charge. The smith insists on paying them a reward, but they
instead have him owe them a favor.
GMs, this is probably something that you do subconsciously or
without rules all the time—these rules aren’t necessarily meant
to supplant that. Even so, they can be used to help you keep

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track of various NPCs’ relationships with the team, as well as
mechanically and narratively demonstrate those relationships.

ROLLING TO ACQUIRE A FA
FAVOR
VOR
Sometimes—especially early on in a campaign’s lifetime—players won’t have had ample opportunity to accrue
favors. But maybe a character is an ex-convict, soldier, or
politician, and so has a sizeable reputation in many systems
throughout the Territories. How do you go about modeling this
other than by tracking a thousand different favors on notecards?
Have the player roll for it.
In this case, treat the question of whether anyone owes a relevant favor as any other Short Task—with a Difficulty, Threshold, Severity, and relevant Skill. The relevant Skill will most often be Influence, but other Skills might matter more in some
circumstances; a Hunter might roll Might to see if she has an
ex-professional athlete who owes her a favor.
If the character succeeds, someone relevant owes them a favor. If they fail, they might know someone to whom they owe
a favor. And if they roll 0 successes, that someone might be
holding a serious grudge.
For example, the Hunters’ ship might be breaking down, and
they have to make an emergency stop somewhere along a Superlume Bridge. They roll to see if they have any favors—and
get 0 successes. You, as the GM, describe how one of their
old comrades is nearby and hears their distress call. What they
don’t know yet is that this old buddy will decide to take advantage of them, stealing their ship for parts and stranding them
at the nearest Superlume station.
Each character can roll for a favor at most once per session
or per arc, whichever is shorter. Ultimately, though, the GM decides whether a character can reasonably roll for a favor, especially if you’re keeping track of other favors already.

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ESCAL
ESCALAATING FA
FAVORS
VORS
When people exchange favors, they’ll often try to keep escalating and improving upon the favor’s tier. You gave them a minor favor, and when they came to repay it, they went above
and beyond what you expected, so now you owe them a favor.
And on and on it goes.
GMs, you can use this back and forth to create recurring NPCs,
factions, and—if called-in favors get ignored—enemies. This
works best when the characters are expecting a little bit of
help when calling in a favor, but then receive an inordinately
large amount of assistance instead.
Generally, they’ll feel compelled to balance the scales. But
if not, you have the favor mechanics to nudge them in that
direction. I recommend only escalating favors one tier at a
time—minor to moderate, and moderate to major.

FA
FAVORS
VORS AND FACTIONS
Sometimes the party will owe a favor to an entire Faction (or
vice versa). These favors are inherently more powerful than favors to individuals. Earning them is much more difficult, but the
benefits of calling them in are that much greater. And likewise,
the risk involved in rejecting a favor owed to a Faction is terrifyingly dangerous.
GMs, you can leverage a Faction’s scale and abilities when
rolling a Faction Task, or you can allow a player to roll instead.
While the math for a Faction’s rolls should be pretty close to
a character’s, remember that many factions in the Territories
hold influence and power over multiple cities, planets, and
even systems. The resources available to them are that much
more significant, and therefore capable of completely ending
Tasks, Scenes, or Arcs in the matter of a single action.
For example, after completing a handful of jobs for the
Cerulean Sisters mercenary faction, Kettefiss and Leridnu are
owed a moderate faction favor. They’ve heard of a particularly
dangerous quarry with a high bounty on his head, holed up
within the Cerulean Sisters’ territory. They call in the favor, and
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within a few hours the quarry is brought before them—they
didn’t even need to lift a finger.

TRACKING FA
FAVORS
VORS
Whenever a player owes or is owed an individual favor, they’ll
write it down with its tier and any details on their character
sheet or notes. Similarly, the GM tracks any team-scale and
Faction-scale favors, and have a master list of all of the NPCs
with favors owed and grudges held.
If the party tends to collect a ton of favors, though, it can
become a bookkeeping nightmare. I recommend only tying
three favors to each character and three favors to the team.
If there’s more than three favors gained, the players or GM can
choose to forget or forgive those that they’re less interested
in—or of course, they can call them in and burn them that way.

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OPTIONAL RULE: PRESSING YOUR LUCK
Sometimes you’ll roll on a Task, fail, and wish you could somehow do more to improve your chance of success. If the entire
group agrees, and the GM allows it, you can spend more MD
to Press Your Luck. This lets you roll more dice after seeing
your initial result. You still cannot spend more than 5 MD on a
roll, and you cannot roll more than a total of 10D.
Add the results of the added MD to your roll; these dice don’t
make up a separate roll.
If you Press Your Luck and the roll still fails, you cause another
Consequence. If the original roll had 0 successes, causing
a Consequence, the roll in total would mete out two Consequences as punishment.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Consequences or their
effects are doubled—it means that a related but separate Consequence occurs, or the Severity of the current Consequence
is increased. A good rule of thumb is to simply increase the
Severity by 1, but especially cruel GMs can increase it by the
number of MD spent to Press Your Luck.
If the initial roll was a failure but did not cause a Consequence
(at the GM’s discretion) and the Press Your Luck roll resulted in
0 successes, then the character suffers just the Consequence
from the Press Your Luck roll, along with the narrative effects
of failing the Task in the first place.
If the successes added to the roll (such as from a Press Your
Luck roll) mean the Task is overcome, treat the whole roll as
a normal success, without any extra benefit or setback from
Press Your Luck.
For example, Kettefiss is trying to leap from the roof of one
moving pod to another in a high-speed pursuit, a Difficulty 2
Short Task. She rolls Might and gets 0 successes, triggering a
Consequence (in this case, falling and taking a Severity 3 Injury). She decides to Press Her Luck and spends an extra 3
MD to add to her roll. She rolls them and gets 2 successes,
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overcoming the Task. She doesn’t end up falling, and lands
(mostly) safely on the roof of her target’s pod.
If her 3 MD added by Press Your Luck didn’t give 2 successes,
she would fall (the first Consequence), but the GM would upgrade its Severity to 4, turning her Injury 3 into an Injury 4.

IN COMBA
COMBATT
You can Press Your Luck during a fight, following the same
rules. When defending, any successes gained from Pressing
Your Luck remove the effects of an NPC’s Severity as normal.
And again, as a rule of thumb, if you Press Your Luck and
roll no successes, the GM will bestow an additional Consequence.
In combat, the added Consequence can simply be more damage (such as by increasing the Enemy’s Severity) or something
related—a piece of equipment breaks, the Hunter trips and
gives Threshold to the Enemy, whatever.

THE EFFECTS OF PRESS YOUR LUCK
This optional rule developed out of the tendency for many
players new to the Ethos Engine and Hunt the Wicked to either
hoard all of their MD or spend far too many MD on a typical
Task.
Allowing players to choose how much MD they spend before
and after a roll, hedging their bet a bit, makes the game more
forgiving, and it removes some of the sting of “wasting” MD in
times when it really counts. However, this makes it all the harder to truly threaten the Hunters, and it slows down gameplay a bit, since it essentially doubles how much the players
are rolling.
If you’re just starting out with Hunt the Wicked, I suggest playing without this rule, unless you’re experienced with Ethos
Engine games. Then, if your group begins to hoard or overspend MD at every opportunity, bring up this rule. Playing with
Press Your Luck can be a great way to ease up on the players,
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and it can take some pressure off the GM in properly assigning
Difficulties and rewarding MD for appropriate Motivation interactions.

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6: EQUIPMENT

Equipment can be combat equipment (weapons, armor, explosives) or noncombat equipment (tools, accessories, and kits).
A piece of Equipment has Descriptors, which provide Permissions and Advantages.

Equipment gives Permissions and Advantages to the
wearer.

Every piece of Equipment has Descriptors: tags, elements, or
attributes that define how it functions and behaves. A typical
piece of equipment has three Descriptors. Many Descriptors
are just narrative cues for the players and GM to use in interesting ways during play.

Descriptors define how a piece of Equipment functions.

COMMON EQUIPMENT TYPES
GUNS
• Permissions: Make ranged attacks, penetrate cover
and certain tiers of armor, make cover fire attacks, require ammunition.
• Advantages: Ideal ranges, better against certain targets

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MELEE
• Permissions: make melee attacks against armor,
penetrate certain types of kinetic shields, make grappling attacks
• Advantages: Ideal ranges, ideal styles, better
against certain targets

ARMOR
• Permissions: Resist physical attacks, ignore certain
damage types, environmentally sealed
• Advantages: Augment certain physical Skills (Might,
Coordination, Resistance), improve defense better
against particular weapon types or styles

KINETIC SHIELDS
• Permissions: Lessen incoming damage or Injury,
can be circumvented with certain damage types,
require power

STUNS
Handheld tasers, stun rounds, stun grenades, and other
weapons that force enemies to stop moving rather than take
damage

DET
DETAINMENT
AINMENT
Manacles, paralyzers, proximity leashes, neural monitors, prevent an enemy from doing certain actions

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DA
DATTAPANE
A wetdrive, generally implanted in the user’s brain or nervous
system, that can project nanoimages and data straight onto
their retina.

TRACKERS
Various pieces of tech that can be attached or injected that
Hunters can track and find at certain distances

EXAMPLE DESCRIPTORS
• Dangerous: Consequences on Tasks involving this
equipment give Injuries to the wielder
• Explosive: Everything in its blast radius gets damaged, can start chain reactions (blowing other things
up)
• Awkward: While carrying this, your physical Tasks
get +1 Threshold
• +X Skill: +XAD while using the listed Skill (max +3AD)
• Effective [Action]: +1AD while doing the listed action
(from the Order of Actions) with the equipment
• Slow X: Takes X actions to fully use
• Hard to Carry: Carrying it slows you down (+Threshold to Tasks involving speed and maneuverability,
such as racing)
• X Uses: Only has X charges or uses (GM discretion)
• Slow Reload: Takes a whole turn to reload the item
• Ideal Range [Range]: +1AD when at the listed Range:
Reach, Near, or Far

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• Effective vs Target: +1AD when used against the listed target (e.g., organic, vehicle, structure)
• Ignore Cover: Penetrates cover (generally guns)
• Ignore Shields: Ignores kinetic shield (generally
melee)
• Ignore X Armor: Penetrates X tiers of an enemy’s Armor
• Collateral: Consequences on Tasks involving this
equipment cause Collateral Damage
• Concealable: Gain 1 automatic Stealth success to
hide weapon
• Quick Draw: When rolling for Order of Action, gain 1
automatic success
• Cover Fire: Permission to use attack to temporarily
stun
• Stun: Cannot inflict Injuries, all defenders’ armor is
treated as 1 tier higher, and a hit always stuns the defender
• When a target is stunned, it is unable to act
for one turn
• EMP: Inflicts no Injuries, shuts off anything requiring
a power pack (shields, kinesticks, cybernetics)
• Resist Injury X vs [Damage]: When wearing it, resist
X (up to 3) tiers of Injury from melee, ranged, or explosives attacks
• Move in [Environment]: Suffer no movement restrictions in the selected environment, such as in space
or underwater
• Area [Range] Damage: Everyone within the listed
Range must Defend to avoid damage (example: if a
grenade has Area Reach Damage, anything at Reach
or closer, such as Touch, would roll to avoid damage)
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• Effective [Task]: When using the object to do a particular Task, gain +1AD to +3AD
For example, a Sagittarius SMG has the following Descriptors:
Cover Fire, Concealable, Quick Draw, Ignore 2 Armor, Ideal
Range: Near
And a Dinothex Puncture Blade has these: Ignore Shields, Effective Melee Attacks, Best vs Target: Ixtabuyek, Ideal Range:
Close
Every piece of Equipment has a Class: the number of its positive descriptors minus the number of its negative descriptors.
The higher an item’s Class, the rarer and more expensive it is.
For example, the Sagittarius SMG would be a Class 6 Weapon,
as it has six positive descriptors—Ignore 2 Armor counts as
two positives—and no negatives. The same SMG bought secondhand might also be Dangerous, reducing it to Class 5.
Generally Hunters don’t start with items better than Class
3—and rarely if ever get anything better than Class 10. Use
the Hunters’ Backgrounds and Foregrounds to sort out what
kind of equipment is fitting for them to start with.
Most planets, colonies, and stations that have sufficient infrastructure, cities, and a UVA presence will carry a variety of
weapons around Class 3, with elite or custom crafters capable of building weapons up to Class 7 or 8. Only the rarest
and most prestigious weaponsmiths are capable of producing
items in Class 9 or 10.

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COMMON EXAMPLE EQUIPMENT
• Common Kinetic Shield: Resist Injury 1 vs Guns, 5
Uses
• Common Armor: Resist Injury 1 vs Melee, +1 Resistance
• Common Kinestick: Ideal Range Touch, Ignore
Shields, Effective Melee (×2), +1 Might, 10 Uses (battery)
• Common Pistol: Ideal Range Near, Ignore 1 Armor,
Quick Draw
• Common SMG: Ideal Range Near, Cover Fire, Ignore
2 Armor, Collateral
• Common AR: Ideal Range Near, Ideal Range Far,
Cover Fire, Ignore 2 Armor, Effective Shooting, Collateral
• Common Sniper Rifle: Ideal Range Far, Ignore Cover, Ignore 3 Armor, Slow Reload, Awkward
• Common Shotgun: Ideal Range Reach, Ignore 2 Armor, Awkward, Cover Fire, Collateral, Best vs Organic
• Common Stungun: Ideal Range Reach, Stun, Quick
Draw
• Common Grenade: Explosive, Area Reach Damage,
Ideal Range Reach, Ignore 1 Armor, Ignore Shields, Ignore Cover, Dangerous, Collateral, 1 Use
• Common Stun Grenade: Explosive, Area Reach
Damage, Stun, Ignore Cover, Dangerous, Collateral, 1
Use
• Common EMP Grenade: Explosive, Area Reach
Damage, EMP, Ignore Cover, Dangerous, 1 Use

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GUNS, SWORDS, AND KINESTICKS
Bounty Hunters have to face off against all kinds of enemies
while tracking down quarries. Many of these enemies wear
kinetic shields—specific chassis that target incoming highspeed projectiles, protecting the wearer with a dense blast of
energy. These shields are pretty common and do a great job
at eating tons of bullets.
However, kinetic shields can’t detect incoming knives, sticks,
swords, spears, and other melee attacks, and as such they
don’t really react in time to be effective. Since Bounty Hunters
spend more time in combat than most, they’re typically trained
in hand-to-hand and melee fighting, making them comfortable
with taking down a quarry with a series of well-placed strikes.
Some Hunters focus on a combination of melee weapons and
stunning weapons (or melee weapons that also stun). This has
two major benefits: first, they are less likely to kill their target,
garnering a higher bounty; and second, they’re much less likely to accidentally shoot an innocent bystander.
Others just think taking down bad guys with a sword is cool,
scary, or worth the challenge. The Vassal Territories is a weird
and big place; there are folks of all types.
One of the most common types of melee weapon used by
Bounty Hunters is the kinestick (kin-eh-stik). Easily built into
nearly any melee weapon configuration (sword, staff, dagger,
spear, whatever), and made of lightweight materials, this device can be used to great effect when battling in close quarters. How did the kinestick get its name? Because it exponentially increases the kinetic energy delivered to the target.
A solid strike from a well-designed kinestick can literally blow
you apart. There is more than one account of a melee martial
artist using a kinesticks to turn a brawl into a bloodbath. They
can knock down doors, punch through walls—even crush the
advanced mesh of an interstellar pod, given enough whacks.
Eventually, though, the kinestick runs out of battery, at which
point it functions pretty much like a regular melee weapon,
without the devastating increase in strike power.

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Hunters often use melee weapons, which ignore kinetic
shields.

FUN AND USEFUL TOOLS
Sometimes the characters might try to invent or procure
equipment beyond what this book describes or what you’d
thought up. This is especially common when the Hunters get a
big bounty and go shopping on one of the more urban planets
or major cities—it’s logical that there’d be just about anything
you’d want in these places.
Some of the most entertaining and memorable hunts are
those in which the characters made use of unorthodox tools
other than guns and bombs and vehicles. For example, a character might want to buy a universal welder, a handheld tool
that can affix practically any object to just about any surface.
The Hunter could use this to weld a door shut, or weld an
enemy’s armor to the hull of a pod, or quickly plug gunshot
holes, and on and on. The point is, this tool is fun and useful,
and while it doesn’t automatically solve every issue, a creative
player can put it to great use.
GMs, I encourage you to allow these types of tools to crop up.
If the tool is really obscure or rare, you might require the characters to do something beyond paying units—perhaps working out a favor, or going on a mission. Maybe there’s only a single expert on the device that they’ll need to find. Don’t forget,
if the characters can get their hands on a cool tool, then the
NPCs can too, and remember that the Hunters’ equipment is a
great source of Consequences. That universal welder? Yeah,
well you accidentally welded a grenade to your hand—now
what’re you going to do?

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SACRIFICING EQUIPMENT
When a character would take a Consequence or Injury, they
can negate it by sacrificing an appropriate piece of equipment. For example, a Hunter about to take an Injury could sacrifice the armor they’re wearing to avoid the wounds, describing how the armor is destroyed in the process.
Sacrificing equipment is largely up to GM and player discretion—and should be done sparingly. If characters are tearing
through and constantly replacing armor, shields, and weapons,
they are abusing the system. However, sometimes it heightens
the action and intensity of a scene if a character’s gun eats a
bullet intended for their head.
Pieces of sacrificed equipment cannot be used until completely repaired—generally back at a workbench or shop, not in the
field.

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YANTIRAM CHASSIS
The yantiram as a species are little more than an incredibly
complex string of digital files stored on a quantum drive. Since
a yantiram’s core, soul, sentience, or consciousness are stored
on this quantum drive, they can learn and have emotions and
be killed (and never duplicated).
However, a yantiram can choose to plug into any number of
chassis—frames designed to excel at certain tasks. The majority of yantiram chassis have a main torso or fuselage, sporting
three to seven limbs that serve different purposes.
Like Equipment, chassis can take Descriptors.

CHA
CHASSIS
SSIS SWAP
Yantiram characters can plug themselves into various chassis,
each suited better to particular environments and applications.
It takes roughly an hour for a yantiram “core” to activate the
new chassis without any risk of hurting itself. To speed up the
process, the yantiram player can roll a Long Task (Logic or Resistance are fitting), but Consequences on this roll can cause
permanent damage to the yantiram core and chassis.

CHA
CHASSIS
SSIS MODIFICA
MODIFICATIONS
TIONS
Besides the de facto standard multilimbed chassis described
above, some chassis have various combinations of armor,
shields, and weapons built in.

WET CHA
CHASSIS
SSIS
These are essentially organic or cybernetic chassis that a yantiram uses to appear and feel more like a human, ixtabuyek,
or some other organic creature. Some yantiram used them for
purely personal reasons, but others use wet chassis as infiltration tools—greatly helpful, as it means a Hunter known as a
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yantiram can show up looking like a human, or dog, or whatever.

EFFECTS OF EMP
Yantiram aren’t affected by EMP rounds or grenades any more
than earthlings or ixtabuyek are. Likewise, the majority of yantiram chassis are immune to EMP effects, just as armor and
most weapons are.

COMMON YYANTIRAM
ANTIRAM CHA
CHASSIS
SSIS
All-Purpose Combat: Resist Injury 1 vs Melee, Resist Injury 1 vs
Guns
Heavy Combat: Resist Injury 1 vs Melee, Resist Injury 2 vs
Guns, +1 Resistance, +1 Might
Special Operations: Resist Injury 1 vs Melee, Resist Injury 1 vs
Guns, +1 Resistance, +1 Awareness
Assassin: +1 Stealth, +1 Coordination, +1 Awareness, Effective
Attacking
Zero-gee: Move in Space
Hunter: Resist Injury 1 vs Melee, Resist Injury 1 vs Guns, +1
Awareness, +1 Coordination, Effective in Tracking, Effective at
Detaining

BAL
BALANCING
ANCING CHA
CHASSIS
SSIS WITH EQUIPMENT
In general, a yantiram’s chassis has equal value to comparable
equipment. Additionally, if a chassis-equipped yantiram sustains a Consequence or Injury, that might destroy the chassis
or remove one of its descriptors.

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VEHICLES
Non-sentient robots and vehicles roll on Tasks with the same
eight skills that any character does.

Vehicles are built just like NPCs or characters.

However, robots and vehicles don’t earn Motivation Dice. Instead, they make use of multiple Talents. Robots and Vehicles
that have weapons or abilities smaller or larger in terms of
scale than a character (such as a microscopic robot or a large
ship cannon) don’t gain any extra dice or advantage to their
rolls.
Instead, the larger or smaller robots and vehicles have a modified Scale, which multiplies the number of successes (or
Severity, in the case of NPCs) to determine effect. For example, a ship blasts a group of ground troops. The ship’s auto
cannons roll Coordination to see if they hit, which for this ship
is 2D. It rolls, and gets 1 success. Since the ship cannons are
five times the scale of the ground troops, that single success
translates to 5 successes to determine damage (1 base success x 5 Scale = 5).

Larger equipment or vehicles multiply their successes.

The more Talents and Skill Advances a robot or vehicle has,
the higher quality it is. Most standard equipment has the same
four Array options for skills (with the default still being 1 Gifted,
1 Competent, 5 Adequate, and 1 Bad.)

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Additionally, Hunter owned and operated equipment or robots
can be built using the above Equipment rules—simply operating at a larger scale. Specific pod or vehicle level equipment
can be created, which generally allow permission to attempt
certain actions (such as scanners to attempt an Awareness roll
against a hidden enemy), or provide additional effect due to
their larger scale (such as weapons).

SPACECRAFT
Spacecraft in the UVA are not able to exceed light speed. In
other words, it takes a very, very long time to travel within the
Vassal Territories by ship. In general, spacecraft only are used
to travel within a system or to forge new paths for Superlume
Bridges.
However, many spacecraft are designed to easily integrate
with Superlume Bridges or Interstellar Cannons, and these
craft can serve as intermediary vehicles once the larger and
faster means of travel are completed.
Hunters—and their quarries—often will have a small, mildly
combat-capable spacecraft. Relatively large ships are exceedingly difficult to pilot in atmosphere, so most are used strictly
in space or in planetary orbit, while smaller shuttle pods and
vehicles are used while in atmosphere.
Ships come in many different shapes, sizes, speeds, and levels of armament. The most common advanced ships in the
UVA are those that make use of Four Nine engines, giving
them a maximum speed of 99.99 percent of the speed of light.
However, the faster a ship goes, the less stable its trajectory,
and the more likely a small variable (such as space debris or
tiny particles) will cause the craft to veer off course or be destroyed.
Managing space flight and its hazards are discussed in more
detail in Chapter 7: Game Mastering.

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CYBERNETICS
Both ixtabuyek and humans have created cybernetic prosthetics, modifications, and implants in order to augment their natural bodies. The most common form of cybernetics is the nearubiquitous wetdrive, but many Hunters add extra layers of cybernetic modification to help them pursue their quarries.
Cybernetics function like yantiram chassis, but are not as easy
to swap—it takes a trained technician (generally an NPC) several hours in a sterile environment to swap out one attachment. If this isn’t done properly, severe infection of the body
and corruption of the cybernetic parts are common.
Equipment Descriptors can be placed on cybernetics. A common drawback of cybernetics is their susceptibility to stun and
EMP ammo, which would shut off the components entirely
even if the cybernetically enhanced person is still up and fighting.

MONEY
Many Bounty Hunters work almost strictly for the money. It is
a dangerous job, and as such generally pays much more than
the mundane living a civilian can scrape together.
The UVA’s currency is officially called units, as in an “economic units of exchange,” but people use all kinds of
slang—including nits, unies, blocks, creds, and many other
terms similar to our own modern slang for money. They can be
stored on a palm-sized card, similar to a credit card, and come
in hard metallic coins about the size of poker chips.
There’s cash units—which are unlocked, not tied to any one
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6: EQUIPMENT

mon form of day-to-day exchange, at least in the circles the
characters run in. People will each have a few cards, preloaded with various amounts of cash units, and can buy just
about anything they want with a swipe.
Linked units are tied to a particular bank account and to an
individual’s biomarkers. Often they’re linked to the account
holder’s neuralnet wetdrive, which is constantly reading their
brainwaves. If the person’s brain isn’t in sync with the linked
unit, it just doesn’t work; this can even mean that if the brain is
under duress, the card will shut down.
Linked units are pretty hard (but not impossible) to hack. In doing so, the linked units can be transferred to another individual
or account, or they can be turned back into cash units.
As the UVA’s grip is pretty weak in many areas of the Vassal
Territories, local currencies can and do crop up, with various
exchange rates and market values.
Similarly, lots of folks prefer to barter for services, and this is
common in the Territories’ vast underworld. Bounty Hunters
frequently descend into such lawless regions, and so have to
get used to dealing with working through favors, guns, or other goods more tangible than units.
Things that cost only pocket change—little stuff like coffee or
a bite to eat, things that are inconsequential to the narrative
and might slow down play—can be ignored. Only track units
when dealing with things that the Hunters need so they can
get on with Hunting.
Units are a pretty deflated currency, so there aren’t many billionaires or even millionaires. Here are some quick examples
of incomes and yearly salaries on average UVA planets:
• Poverty: <1,000u
• Low class: 1,000–5,000u
• Middle class: 5,000–50,000u
• Upper middle: 50,000–100,000u
• Wealthy: 100,000–200,000u
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• Rich: 200,000–500,000u
• Mogul: 500,000–1,000,000u
• Icon: >1,000,000u
And here are some common expenses that a Bounty Hunter
might come across in the more civilized parts of the Territories:
• Cheap daily living: 5u
• Typical daily living: 20u
• Nice daily living: 50u
• Fancy daily living: 100u
• Extravagant daily living: 500u
• Typical planetary pod: 2,000u
• Interplanetary pod: 5,000u
• Superlume ride: 50–1,000u per person
• Cheap weapons: 100u
• Weapon battery or ammo: 100u
• Typical armor: 1,000u
• Typical kinetic shield: 500u
• Typical weapons: 500u
• High end weapons: 1,000u
• Elite weapons: 2,000–5,000u
• Small three-nine ship: 75,000–100,000u
• Medium three-nine ship: 150,000–200,000u
• Large three-nine ship: 300,000–500,000u

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• Any four-nine ship: 1,000,000u+
On average, a bounty is worth around 1,000u, but this can
vary greatly based upon the quarry’s crimes and the danger
they pose.

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MASTERING

7: GAME MASTERING

The main function of the Game Master (GM) is to collaborate
with the players in developing the story and the game.
GMs, you will need to keep a close eye on each character’s
Motivation and the actions that can Trigger or Resolve it, steer
the characters toward conflict and interesting events, and
keep the game in line with the group’s game concept—its
tone, actions, dilemmas, and so on.
The focus of Hunt the Wicked is just that: hunting down quarries. There’s two layers driving play here—the actual gritty details of the job (and all of the exciting action that ensues), and
the reasons why these disparate people come together as a
team of Hunters. What motivates them, what binds them together, what makes them important parts of the setting?
As the GM, you’ll want to constantly place difficult obstacles
between the Hunters and their target, all while impeding (or
encouraging) their Motivations. For example, if your entire party is out for revenge and motivated by Justice, keep feeding
into that—give them good Leads on their path to retribution,
breaking it up with side jobs that contribute to the Hunters’ development.
You’ll set up situations that engage and challenge the characters, maintain the pace and flow of the narrative, create cities
and planets and NPCs, and make rules judgments and set Difficulties.

Remember: the GM’s power is derived from the consent
of the players, not these rules. Don’t abuse your position,
or you might find that no one wants to play with you.

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CHOOSING A GM
Being a Game Master is an incredibly engaging and rewarding
experience. I recommend that everyone gives GMing a shot at
least once, but some gravitate to it more than others. I appreciate that.
Usually someone in your group (typically the person pitching a
Hunt the Wicked game in the first place) will volunteer to GM.
That’s cool. If someone is eager and willing to GM, let them.
Sometimes it isn’t clear who should be the GM, and nobody
immediately volunteers. This can get a little awkward, but I
usually recommend just taking a vote or drawing straws. In
all of my years of gaming, I’ve only ever seen this happen
once, and it worked out well enough. (The person who got the
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short straw ended up being a great GM and had a blast, even
though it was his first time in the chair.)
If you’re a GM new to Hunt the Wicked, you’ll first want to read
through this book and get familiar with how everything works.
To get right into the action, skim Chapters 3 and 4, build characters, and get rolling.
My best pieces of advice to all GMs is to think logically and
consistently, remember the spirit of the game rather than the
letter of the rules, and facilitate fun and engagement from
everyone. If you do that, you’ll have a great time and a great
game.

THE GM’S ROLE
As the GM, you’ll fill many roles during play. Primarily you’ll facilitate the rules and encourage player involvement, but you’ll
sometimes have to put on another hat:
Judge: You’ll make the decisions, set Difficulties, and determine the ramifications of failure.
Mediator: You might have to settle disputes or keep things
clear between the players. Allow group discussion and votes.
Referee: Sometimes players try to break or manipulate the
system. Don’t let them.
Narrator: You are the only source of information to the players. You’ll narrate the setting, the people, and the actions of
the world.
Creator: You’ll make cities, organizations, NPCs, enemies,
arcs, items, conflicts, moral issues, and so on.
Actor: One of the easiest and best ways to make your game
come to life is to pour your heart into every NPC that the characters come across.
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Guide: You’re not a GM to shove the characters along your
predetermined plotline. Give the characters clues, hooks,
seeds, interesting arcs, and complex challenges. They are the
protagonists, and their decisions drive the story.

GM PRINCIPLES
You define the rules of the game and its universe. Your judgment is final. Don’t abuse your power, though; it’s given to you
in trust from the players.
Convey necessary information first, then add detail once the
players understand the situation. Be clear and consistent. Engage every player as fairly as possible.
Be fair and logical in your rulings. It isn’t your sole responsibility to create fun; everyone should be contributing to the enjoyment of the game.
Feel free to improvise. Admit your mistakes, and don’t allow
confrontation to take over your game. Don’t force players
down your planned plotline—everybody will hate that (including you). Allow collaboration and flow in dialog within the
group. If everyone thinks an idea is cool, run with it.
Don’t give players and characters everything they want. They
need to be challenged and earn their victories. This isn’t
happy-time pretend land; this is a tough and nasty place, and
the characters are the shining examples that have to slog
through the muck.
Encourage player creativity by saying “yes but how” or “yes
but why” as often as possible. Don’t let the players stretch
things too far, but if it makes sense in our version of Earth, it
probably does too in Hunt the Wicked.
And finally, don’t be afraid to ignore or change the rules given
in this book as you see fit. Fair warning: any changes you
make will alter the gameplay experience.
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GM BASICS
The GM serves three core functions: description, creation, and
inspiration.

DESCRIPTION
Most of your time will be spent describing things. Give the
players all of the information they need: where they are, what
that looks like, who’s there, what they look like, and so forth.
Make sure you give the necessary information before the descriptive information. Be clear and concise. Answer questions
as they come up.

CRE
CREAATION
You’ll have to be creative to make the galaxy come to life. I
have an image in my head of what it looks like, but I can’t telepathically beam that to you, and you can’t do the same to your
players. That means you’ll have to fill in the gaps.
All of the beautiful, grimy little details that make up a world
are yours to explore. What are the people like? The buildings?
What color is her dress? Is there a mountain ridge there, or a
lake? All of these creative decisions stem from your interpretation of the group’s agreed-upon game concept, and in turn
they are visualized through your description.
Creation doesn’t have to be a one-woman show; ask the players questions too. Collaborate. Some of the best, most creative sessions I’ve had were based on decisions made by the
players.

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INSPIRA
INSPIRATION
TION
You’re GM to inspire the players—to evoke a visceral emotional response from them. Get their characters to be proactive.
Make them want to seek out their quarry or resolve their Motivations.

The GM will create people and places, describe them,
and use them to inspire the players to action.

JUDGMENT
You have great power, and responsibility, at the gaming table.
Your ability to judge just about everything means you will
impact the game more than any one of the players. Hunt
the Wicked is a pretty light system that encourages creative,
broad play, which places a lot of the creative burden on your
shoulders.
Judge consistently and fairly; harbor no prejudice or favorites.
Understand what the character is trying to do, judge how that
action uses the game rules, and go with it. Even if you regret it
later, don’t backtrack. Don’t let a bad decision ruin the rest of
the game session.
Use your logic and insight to create the game that you and
your players will enjoy. You aren’t here to punish players, or to
invalidate their choices. You’re here to engage them, so use
your power wisely.

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BUILDING HUNTS
The main task of a Bounty Hunter is to hunt bounties. Okay,
you probably know that by now, but what does a typical hunt
look like? How can you, as the GM, make the hunt engaging
and enjoyable for everyone, without setting them down a predetermined path?
First of all, every Hunt needs a quarry: the target or targets
that the party will be pursuing. Sometimes these have an
“open bounty,” meaning that anyone who is a member of a
particular faction or organization is up for grabs and cash.
Most of the time, the party will be pursuing a specific individual
or group—often someone whose ideology is antithetical to the
party’s. Rather than being Hunters, they are trying to flee or
hide, and often will do whatever they can (even horrible, despicable things) in order to escape or obfuscate their trail.
Every Hunt also has Leads, Trails, and Crossroads. The
Hunters will follow Trails based on their leads until they hit a
Crossroads, where they will be given more Leads.
Leads are clues or pieces of information that point the party
toward their quarry. Whenever the party comes to a Crossroads—an obstacle or juncture in the Hunt, where they must
choose what to do next—be sure you give them three Leads.
There are rarely, if ever, exceptions to this

At junctures in the Hunt, be sure the party has three
Leads.

Trails are the obstacle-ridden pathways that the Hunters travel
along as they chase their quarry. These often introduce minor
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cal authorities, or fighting off random bandits—with simple, linear solutions.
Along each Trail, give the Hunters more Leads to keep driving
them toward the next Crossroads. Sometimes Trails can intersect, overlap, or dead-end. I’ll explain this in more detail later.

Hunters follow Trails as given by Leads.

Crossroads are where a series of Trails intersect, and where
interesting Scenes and set pieces occur. At some point along
the way, the party will follow all of the Leads and Trails to a
final Crossroads, where they will confront, capture, or kill their
quarry.
Every Crossroads serves as a node or chokepoint for nonlinear Trails, and they are good places to provide the three
Leads that will guide the Hunters to their quarry.
Each Crossroads should be an engaging Scene. It should
bring the Hunters to a partial conclusion and show them that
they are making progress toward their quarry. This is best
demonstrated by having each new Lead give more and clearer
details.

Crossroads are climactic junctions of Trails that provide
new Leads.

KEEPING HUNTS MOVING FORWARD
Since Hunt the Wicked is a game about the party tracking
down criminals, it’s essentially an investigative game. One key
issue in many investigative games is that the characters can hit

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a dead-end—they don’t find the right Lead or make the wrong
conclusion.
Strictly following the three-Lead structure will keep the Hunt
moving forward and the party in the right direction. Remember,
Leads don’t need to be subtle; sometimes you’ll have to beat
the party over the head with a Lead or a clue to get them to
see it. Don’t be shy, especially when the game is just starting
out.
If the party gets stuck, be sure you’ve prepared some backup
Leads taken from earlier in the story, such as recurring villains
or issues. Say the Hunters get the three Leads, but draw
the wrong conclusion and go down a Trail you didn’t anticipate—just roll with it. Shift some future Leads and Crossroads
to align with they’re new track (unless it is completely off base).
If they are headed down the wrong Trail, make sure that the
Crossroads or dead-end that it leads to gives them very clear
Leads that point back in the right direction.
If all else fails, have some bad guys kick in the door and start
shooting. Once the dust settles, be sure the party finds a Lead
that points them exactly the way they need to go. Don’t do this
too often, though, as it can start to grow stale and feel like a
deus ex machina.

FL
FLAASHBACKS AND AASSUMED
SSUMED KNOWLEDGE
Careful Hunters that take time to properly plan out a dangerous Hunt should be rewarded. However, these discussions
can drag the game’s pace way down, especially if done outof-character. As the GM, it’s much easier for you to simply ask
what the gist of their plan is—something like an ambush, or
a stealthy tail, or a run-and-gun kick-down-the-door bust—and
move on from there.
If the players don’t plan out everything in fine detail, give them
the benefit of the doubt. Your players aren’t trained and experienced Hunters like their characters are, so it’s fine for you
to say things like “of course you guys brought restraints” or
“okay you already properly placed the EMP mine.”

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In other words, don’t punish the players for not having all the
knowledge that their characters would. You can even smooth
over these gaffes and mind-blanks by giving them some flashbacks or forewarning—if they’re going somewhere where
combat is likely, for example, you could say “You get the feeling this could get bloody. Make sure you’re prepared.” The
characters are hardcore, tough, and well trained—far more so
than your average group of players.

MAKING HUNTS INTERESTING
Rather than creating a completely linear Trail for the party to
follow, I recommend following the Hub and Spoke model. I discuss this thoroughly in Vow of Honor, and the website The
Alexandrian describes it more eloquently.
In Hunt the Wicked, you’re best served by setting up a web
of Leads, Trails, and Crossroads, in which the quarry can be at
any one Crossroads at any given time. I call this the Web Model.
Which Crossroads the quarry is at depends on which Leads
the party follows, which Trails they take, and in what order they
do this. You could, for example, decide beforehand (or judge
based on the game’s pace and party’s mood) that you want the
Hunters to reach three different Crossroads, but two of them
won’t have the quarry.
In this case, you as the GM won’t decide which of the three
Crossroads the quarry is located at. Instead, you’ll tweak them
based on which Crossroads the party arrives at first, then second, finally giving them their quarry at the third and final Crossroads.
When using the Web Model, every Lead should point to the
other Crossroads in the web.
For example, the group has Leads A, B, and C. These point
along Trails A, B, and C, respectively, which terminate at Crossroads A, B, and C, respectively. The party follows Lead A along
Trail A to Crossroads A. At Crossroads A, they find Leads B2
and C2, which point respectively to Crossroads B and C.

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They can now follow Trail B2 (connecting Crossroads A to B),
and when they do they discover Lead A2 and C3. They’ve already been to Crossroads A, so they can rule it out. They’re
currently at Crossroads B, so they cross it off too. They have
3 Leads that all point to Crossroads C, so they follow Trail C2
(connecting Crossroads B and C) to the final Crossroads. Here
they encounter their quarry in a climactic Scene.
If, however, they decided to pursue Lead B first, the order of
events would have changed, including the final Crossroads at
which they located their quarry.

Web-based Hunts have intersecting Leads, Trails, and
Crossroads.
Each Crossroads gives Leads and Trails to the other
Crossroads.
Any Trails can be taken in any order to come to a final
Crossroads and locate the quarry.

DE
DEAD-ENDS
AD-ENDS AND BAD LE
LEADS
ADS
Occasionally you’ll be tempted to give the characters bad
Leads: Trails that simply lead to a dead-end, unmeaningful
Crossroads. This is usually not a good idea, at least not until
the party has had some time to work together, or if they’re particularly good at investigative games.
If a Trail does lead to a dead-end Crossroads, make sure that
it gives them an engaging and interesting encounter, and then
some accurate Leads that point them back in the right direction. Even the pursuit of false information can lead to the real
information, Crossroads, or correct Lead.
Experienced players will start to pick up on the pattern of three
Leads and Trails—especially if you use the exact same formula
every time—so throwing in the occasional dead-end (or even

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nastier—an ambush at a dead-end) can keep them on their
toes.

ME
MEANINGFUL
ANINGFUL CONSEQUENCES
As the GM, your job is to give the players meaningful choices
about how their characters act and to create meaningful consequences from those choices.
The nonlinear Web Model, described above, helps you
change the narrative and NPCs in response to the party’s actions and the order in which they take them.
For example, Leridnu and Kettefiss are chasing a gang of arms
smugglers through a complex weave of Superlumes. They get
Leads pointing them toward the smugglers’ last known buyer
(Lead A), their potential supplier (Lead B), and the possible recipient of their next shipment (Lead C).
Since the two Hunters want to catch the smugglers in the act,
as well as tie up any potential buyers, they decide to pursue
Lead C. They learn that the smugglers are supposed to sell to
the Zhedao Gang on Procyon.
The Hunters get to Procyon, track down the Zhedao Gang,
and spy on the criminals in wait for the arms buy. Confident
that the transaction is happening, Leridnu and Kettefiss kick
down the door with guns blazing. After an intense battle, they
come to find out that the Zhedao Gang were buying drugs, not
guns, and that these aren’t the smugglers they were going after.
Now, a ton of potential Consequences and wrinkles can crop
up because of the Hunters’ decision. Here are some possibilities:
• The Zhedao Gang is a part of the Messonite Lotus,
a powerful crime syndicate. The Hunters have just
made a dangerous new enemy.
• The smugglers (their quarry) receive a tip that their
next buyer got shot up by some Bounty Hunters, and

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get spooked. They look for a new buyer or might
even ditch the guns.
• The drug suppliers put out a bounty of their own on
the Hunters for interfering with their business and
killing their personnel.
Now, you might be thinking “But that’s punishing the players,
even though they had a good Lead!” And in a certain light, that
could be true—but despite the Consequences, they were able
to eliminate one of the three potential Crossroads, seize some
of their enemies’ drugs and money, and find two new Leads
that point toward the smuggler’s last buyer (A2) and supplier
(B2).
If the Hunters had decided to follow up on Lead A (their
quarry’s previous buyer) first, they might have avoided the
shootout with the Zhedao Gang that earned the ire of the
Messonite Lotus. However, they would have needed to travel
somewhere new, encountering other obstacles and probably
causing new Consequences.

The Hunters’ choices cause reactions and consequences.

FOCUSING ON ELEMENTS OF THE HUNT
Not everybody likes investigative games, and not everybody
who does like them wants to spend a ton of time and energy
thinking, trying to figure out what their character is supposed
to do.
GMs, as you discuss the game concept with the players, ask
them how much they want of each element: gathering Leads,
following Trails, and engaging at Crossroads.
For example, a game that almost entirely focuses on Crossroads, skipping over the nitty-gritty of finding Leads and going
down different Trails, is more of a “kick down the door” or a

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“beer and pretzels” game. It is certainly faster paced, keeping
up a somewhat episodic, action-packed tone.
In contrast, a game with a convoluted web of Leads, deadends, bad information, wrong Crossroads, and long and arduous Trails will feel like an engaging mystery or long-form Hunt.
Both of these styles are perfectly enjoyable, but they’re dramatically different.
If you want to gloss over some parts of the Hunt while keeping
the flavor, a separate team of NPCs can do most of the ignored
parts of the Hunt, which the GM can simply narrate. For example, the party might belong to a relatively large syndicate
of Hunters who work for a local UVA government, and other
teams in the syndicate can do the work that the PCs do not.
The government, as well as their office and network of spies,
gives the Hunters all of the information they need (in the form
of confirmed Leads) before even giving them a bounty. When
they do get the information, the team of Hunter will be the
ones to go in and take the bad guys out, rather than trying to
learn of their location or what their next move is.
Or similarly, the party could be a team of Bounty Hunter investigators, who drum up the Leads for the action-oriented folks
in their organization to go in and do the shooting. This isn’t the
“intended” design, and it’s certainly less common in the UVA,
but is certainly allowed.
As always, talk with the group about the style of game you
want to play early and often to ensure everybody’s enjoying
their Hunted the Wicked game to the fullest.

You can focus on one aspect of the Hunt over the others.

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FINDING BOUNTIES
The quickest and easiest way for you to get a game going is
to dangle some tantalizing bounties out in front of the party.
Generally, the party will be a team of Hunters that work together—much as modern bailbondsmen and 19th-century American bounty hunters did—to tackle the truly dangerous and corrupt, those who carry the highest rewards.
Since the party is assumed to be Hunters (whether licensed
or not), roping them together into the same faction and going
after the same quarry is an easy and thematic way to get the
party rolling together.
Other times, the party can meet up after all going after the
same bounty, or learn of a particular quarry separately but
then all agree to work together to take down the big mark.
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ernments will often make broadcasts regarding local threats in
their systems.
Licensed Bounty Hunters will receive notifications of bounties
on their datapanes, showing wanted individuals both in the
Hunters’ current system and elsewhere. Non-licensed Hunters
can find out this information through a myriad of ways, commonly by hanging out in criminal and Hunter circles. There are
many establishments designed for just such gatherings.
Since information can’t be broadcasted faster than light (barring a few high-tech exceptions), spreading word quickly often
requires sending physical messages through the Superlume
Network. Because of this, there’s quite the delay in communicating between systems, especially those with faulty or old Superlume connections, let alone those with none at all. These
isolated locations become safe havens for the depraved and
debaucherous, common stomping grounds for Hunters looking to cash in big.
Playing off of a common Wild West trope, local law enforcement (even a sheriff) might reach out to the party or any free
Hunters in a region, looking to form a posse to go take care
of a pressing threat. This is especially common in frontier systems, stations, or areas in which the UVA hasn’t committed
many (if any) resources toward keeping it stable.

UNOFFICIAL AND CL
CLAASSIFIED BOUNTIES
Sometimes Bounties are put out on targets outside of the
UVA’s legal bounty system. These unofficial bounties are a
nice way of saying contract killings.
Bounty Hunters can go down the very lucrative rabbit hole of
pursuing these Unofficial Bounties—getting involved in the incredibly powerful and clandestine world of crime syndicates,
political assassins, and corporate espionage—but often they
won’t know why or who they are killing.
This can be a quick but dirty way to get money—and has
caused more than one Hunter to become Haunted by their actions.

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If the party is particularly well esteemed by the UVA government, or has made the proper introductions through agency
contacts, they might be offered to take on certain classified
bounties—those that never make the public books.
Classified Bounties typically target the most dangerous and
dissident individuals—terrorists, cartel leaders, weapons manufacturers, cult messiahs, and so on. The UVA will pay exorbitant amounts of units to see the job through to completion,
while distancing itself from any potential fallout from placing
such a bounty.
Unofficial and Classified Bounties are fun ways to introduce
the party to new aspects of the same business—corpses for
cash—and see the various powerful factions and groups that
play shadow games against one another. If either of these elements interests your players, don’t be afraid to nudge the
game toward it.

BOUNTIES ON TTANGIBLE
ANGIBLE GOODS
Occasionally, when a bounty is placed on a thief, there might
also be a bounty on returning what the thief stole, generally
for an additional sum. This is a great way for Bounty Hunters
to make an extra fistful of cash off of a successful hunt—that
is, if they don’t keep or sell whatever the thief stole.
Bounties on goods are often less common than the dead-oralive variety, and the GM can employ some interesting tactics to split up the two-part quarry. For example, the thief (or
thieves) that took the bountied item might not have it with
them, and only through interrogation or some other means of
information extraction can the party find it.
For even more fun, the thief might “accidentally” get killed
during the Hunt, or the item might have already been sold to
a more powerful fence or underworld organization. This is a
great way for the party to get involved with factions that are
higher up the food chain of the criminal world.

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Occasionally bounties are placed on stolen items to be
returned.

ALTERNA
ALTERNATE
TE BOUNTIES AND JOBS
Hunters aren’t known as particularly forward-thinking people.
As such, Hunters who have survived long enough to develop
a taste for the finer things in life (especially after a few big
scores) tend to look for better and better paying jobs.
The more lucrative a bounty, the more dangerous it tends
to be. Assassinations, jailbreaks, and kidnappings are some
of the most common and high-paying jobs that desperate
Hunters agree to take on.
Some Hunters serve as couriers, messengers, or protection
for various factions, either legal or illicit. Many Hunters get involved in the illegal drugs or weapons trade, operating as security or smugglers throughout the Territories.
If your game concept demands these alternate job types, or
simply drifts over time to include them, then Leads likely won’t
play a major role in your game. As such, give out MD when
a significant Scene ends, rather than when acquiring a Lead.
(And don’t forget to give it out when characters act in accordance with their Motivations.)
For example, Kettefiss and Leridnu are hired to run security for
a powerful corporate executive. She’s expecting an assassination or kidnapping attempt from a rival firm. The two Hunters
receive MD when they stop an assault from some enemy mercenaries, later when they find and defuse a hidden bomb, and
finally when they protect the executive during a high-speed
chase and gunfight.

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Hunters can take (often illegal) jobs other than bounties:
assassinations, jailbreaks, kidnappings, robberies, heists,
securing people or locations, courier jobs, or messenger
jobs.

GIVING MOTIVATION DICE
One of your main functions as the GM will be giving out Motivation Dice (MD) to the players. Remember, characters can’t
ever receive new MD during a Scene; they always receive the
new dice at the Scene’s conclusion. Characters can spend MD
during a Scene, though, so make sure they’re keeping track.
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As a rule of thumb, most actions that fall within a character’s
Motivation grant 1–2 MD, while a Scene focusing on that character’s Motivation might give 4–6 MD.
In general, each player should net around 3–6 MD per
Scene—earning less if their Motivation wasn’t Triggered or Resolved, and earning more if it was. Players will often spend
most of their MD in nearly every Scene, so they’ll need to consistently recoup it.
Generally, Hunters should have around 5 MD when engaging
in their daily activities and downtime—working on their equipment, learning a new skill, engaging in their hobby, essentially
taking a break from the dangerous life of being a Bounty
Hunter.
When the Hunters are out in the field, trying to capture dangerous quarries, try to keep each character’s Motivation pool
to around 10 MD.

Each Hunter should have 5 to 10 MD in their pool at all
times.

Bounty Hunters are driven by the Hunt. They get MD for every
Lead that they acquire and every Crossroads that they overcome.
Don’t just give out MD for no reason or for every little action
that the characters take, but don’t be shy about handing it out.
It is much better to give out too many and make the characters too powerful rather than not give out enough and seriously hamper their chance of success.

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Typical Motivation Action: +1 MD
Typical Motivation Trigger or Resolution: +3 MD
Every Lead Gained: +1 MD
Every Crossroads Completed: +1 to +3 MD

OPTIONAL: MAX MD POOL
As the Hunters grow in competence and acquire more gear
and Talents, they’ll likely start to mow through most enemies
without even spending MD. As such, they might begin to
hoard MD, dropping huge gobs on rolls when they’re using
a Skill they normally don’t favor. If this is making your game
too easy, discuss the situation with the players and consider
implementing a maximum Motivation pool. I recommend a
starting maximum of 15 MD for each player.

DIFFICULTY SCALE
1

Common, minor, easy for Hunters

2

Average, moderate, requires effort

3

Uncommon, difficult, requires significant effort

4

Rare, very challenging, requires great effort

5

Nearly unique, incredibly hard, extreme effort

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All of Hunt the Wicked is based on a scale of 1 to 5. The number of MD a character can spend on a single action, the Difficulty of a Task or Enemy, the Severity of a Consequence or
Injury—all tied to the 1–5 scale.
Whenever you put an obstacle in the way of the party, consider the scale. Is it something that multiple Hunters, experienced
in handling difficult situations, would have a hard time overcoming? Or is it there simply to slow them down?
I recommend starting out low and slow; you can’t be sure how
eagerly your particular group will attempt to escalate situations to violence, or how quickly they will start investing huge
chunks of Motivation Dice into every roll. If at first you keep the
stakes low, and the conflict fairly easy, it’s unlikely that you’ll
have any accidental deaths.
In general, GMs, you can make the Difficulty, Threshold, and
Severity of a Task or Scene public knowledge to the players
(but not the characters). This helps keep MD expenditure in
check.

DIFFICULTY SCALE EXAMPLES
1

Climbing a tree, convincing an ally

2

Lifting two hundred kilos, setting an explosive

3

Tracking a week-old trail, basic surgery

4

Hacking a high-security system, improvising explosives

5

Building a spaceship, intimidating a far-superior enemy

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SCENE DIFFICULTY
Rather than make multiple Tasks and NPCs, each with its own
Difficulty, you can give the Scene itself a Difficulty, Severity,
and Threshold.
To set a Scene’s Difficulty, start with an appropriate Difficulty
on the five-step Scale (1 being pretty easy, 5 being incredibly
challenging) and multiply that by the rough number of Tasks
the Hunters would need to overcome throughout the Scene (2
to 5 is pretty typical).
Allow any success—whether from combat, social interaction,
or some other Task, Technique, or Maneuver—to reduce the
Scene’s Difficulty.
Reaction rolls—rolls prompted by NPCs’ actions, including rolls
to defend—don’t reduce the Scene’s Difficulty.
To determine the Severity of a Consequence or Injury, use the
Scene’s original Difficulty (before multiplication) or its Severity.
Always keep the Scene’s Severity on the 1–5 scale; never multiply it.

Scene Difficulty: 2–25
Scene Severity: 1–5
All successes, except from reaction rolls, lower the Scene
Difficulty.

EXAMPLE OF SCENE DIFFICULTY
Leridnu and Kettefiss have tracked a pair of assassins—their
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ter several sessions of tracking and pulling Leads, so the GM
wants it to be really climactic. She sets a Scene Difficulty of
9, and will come up with Severity based on how the characters
approach the situation.
There’s a crowd of people at the busy station, with massive
Superlume pods arriving at and departing from the
honeycomb-shaped structure, all traveling in different directions.
The two Hunters positively identify the assassins as they’re
about to load onto one of the Superlume pods—they don’t
seem to have noticed the PCs yet.
Leridnu decides to roll Stealth to disappear into the crowd,
gaining an Advantage on future attacks. It rolls and gets 2 successes, decreasing the Scene Difficulty to 7 (9 – 2 = 7).
Kettefiss wants to clear the area of civilians and prevent the
assassins from boarding one of the many dozens of pods
at the station. She walks up to a nearby panel and starts
hotwiring it to set off the emergency alarm. She rolls Knowledge, accessing her datapane, and gets 1 success. The Scene
Difficulty is now 6 (7 – 1 = 6).
The alarms sound, forcing all pods docked at the hub to stop.
Hundreds of civilians look up and around in confusion, and
start clearing out as attendants come to see what the problem
is. This exposes Kettefiss to the assassins, who take out their
weapons and try to fire.
But Leridnu was prepared for this. It tries to get its shot off before the assassins fire. Both Leridnu and the assassins are in
the same Order of Action phase, so the GM tells Leridnu to
roll, saying that it needs two successes in order to go ahead of
both assassins. Leridnu rolls Coordination (though Awareness
would also work) and gets 0 successes. The two assassins notice the Hunter as it lines up a shot on them.
Not only does Leridnu not get to act first, allowing both assassins to fire on Kettefiss with impunity, but because it rolled 0
successes, it triggers a Consequence. The GM thinks the most
appropriate Consequence is removing Leridnu’s Stealth Advantage.

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Kettefiss rolls Coordination to defend, attempting to dodge the
combined attack with Severity 4 (each assassin has Severity 2). She gets 3 successes, one fewer than needed, so she
takes an Injury 1, adding +1 Threshold to attack and defend.
Since her roll was a reaction, it doesn’t reduce the Scene Difficulty.
As guns fire, the crowd goes into chaos, running and dropping
to the ground, and attendants begin arming themselves to put
down the belligerents.
Leridnu now gets to act, but without his earlier Stealth Advantage. He shoots and rolls two successes, winging one of the
assassins and splattering blood on the wall. The Scene Difficulty is now 4 (6 – 2 = 4). The assassins sprint toward one of
the pods while Kettefiss takes cover.
Kettefiss rises above her cover and fires at the running assassins before they can make it to the pod. She rolls and gets 0
successes, so she misses and triggers a Consequence. The
GM describes how she accidentally shoots a civilian, blowing
his leg off. (Kettefiss’s player notes this instance on her character sheet as something that may Haunt Kettefiss.)
Leridnu decides to try to talk the assassins down into surrendering. Since talking is earlier in the Order of Action than
shooting, Leridnu acts first.
Leridnu rolls Influence and gets two successes (Scene Difficulty now 2), convincing the wounded assassin to come out
with his hands up and surrender. The station attendants see
that Hunters are involved, seize the surrendered assassin, and
stand clear of the shootout.
Since Leridnu used its action to talk, it can’t act again during
this round. The assassin that didn’t surrender chooses to
hotwire the Superlume pod she’s taking cover in, trying to
force it to depart from the station.
Kettefiss, still near the hacked control panel, wants to act first
and prevent the assassin from hotwiring the Superlume. Because they each want to act first in the same action phase, the
GM has Kettefiss roll against the assassin’s Difficulty 2 for Order of Action.

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Kettefiss rolls and gets 3 successes. Rolling for Order of Action
is a Reaction Task, like defending, so it doesn’t reduce the
Scene Difficulty, but she gets to act first.
Kettefiss rolls Knowledge, adding +2AD because she’d
hacked into the system a moment before. She gets four successes, more than enough to bring the Scene Difficulty below 0.
Once the assassin realizes she won’t be able to escape due to
Kettefiss’s digital outmaneuvering, she surrenders.
The Scene ends with both assassins alive and in custody.
Since the GM tracked different actions and successes toward
the Scene’s conclusion, she kept it easy for the characters to
succeed in various ways. If they had decided to stand and
have a shoot-out for the entire time, it could have gone differently.
Remember, GMs: Scene Difficulty is an optional tool for you to
use when and how you like. If you’d rather break everything
down into Tasks, Hunt the Wicked performs beautifully—it is
just more work for you.

CONSEQUENCES
Creating and judging appropriate Consequences is one of the
most important (and most challenging) aspects of being a GM.
If you do it well, your players will feel engaged and immersed
in the narrative and setting; do it badly, and you’ll find the players feel disconnected.
A few basic principles first:
• You don’t have to give out a Consequence when the
rules prompt it (but in this case I question whether it’s
wise to force someone to roll for a Task at all)

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• Consequences should flow from the nature of the
Task and the approach used to accomplish it
• Consequences don’t have to happen immediately
• It is often a good idea to confirm what’s at stake before the player rolls—that way, if they fail, there won’t
be any surprises or disgruntled feelings
Many GMs try to give Consequences that are as closely related to the failure as possible—you roll to climb, you fail, you fall;
you roll to upgrade a gun, you fail, you’re left with many ruined
parts; you roll to treat a wound, you fail, they die.
This is perfectly fine. However, don’t be afraid to give Consequences that are one or two or even three steps away from
the most closely related version of failure.
Rather than falling down the cliff, the character might climb the
cliff but drop their weapons, or tear a muscle, or knock a rock
loose that hits an ally in the head, giving them a Consequence.
Rather than ruining the gun, the character might make one
that looks and functions well—until that first time it fires a few
rounds and bam, the gun fragments into pieces.
Rather than killing her patient, the character might stanch their
bleeding and stitch the wound. But the next time she tries
to engage in combat, she becomes overwhelmed with the
thought of bloodied innocents and must roll against Fear.
Be creative, but be logical. When a Consequence finally crops
up, feel free to explain what’s happening to the players out-ofcharacter—though it’s even better if you can do it in-character,
as a flashback or something. Either way, doing this will mitigate
any confusion or frustration.

COMPLICA
COMPLICATIONS
TIONS AND FAILING FORWARD
Hunt the Wicked is about competent people who are motivated to hunt quarries, not necessarily about failing at things within their skillset, whether that’s tracking, piloting, or fighting.

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So when a character partially or completely fails, rather than
giving a Consequence, you can use Complications.
Complications are wrinkles or setbacks despite a character’s
success at a Task. Many games call this “failing forward.” This
concept is useful in situations where the action and story
would grind to a halt if a character failed at something; by failing forward, the character still succeeds but at a heavy cost.
I generally recommend using Complications when a character
attempts a Short Task and rolls a partial failure: at least one
success, but not enough to overcome the Difficulty.
Before playing too much, discuss with your group about when
and how often it is appropriate to use Complications rather
than Consequences—that way everybody’s in the loop.

CHALLENGING MOTIVATIONS
Many Hunters’ Motivations will be Triggered and Resolved
naturally over the course of their hectic job. However, even
while the characters’ personal motivations are impeded by
their work obligations, the GM must be the force that creates
those obligations and impediments.
To help with this, GMs, I recommend that you keep some
notes on the characters’ Motivations and the specific causes
of those Motivations.
For example, if I was the GM for Leridnu’s player, I’d have some
notes about its Motivation of Vengeance: how its mentor and
close friend was killed by a quarry, and how Leridnu still hunts
the quarry to this day.
To challenge Leridnu’s Vengeance, I might place a very high
and pressing bounty on somebody other than this quarry.
Then, during the Hunt, Leridnu would find information pointing
toward the target of its Vengeance—but to act on that information, Leridnu must give up on the current Hunt. Perhaps its
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quarry will only remain at its current location for the next hour,
but if Leridnu delays, it might not get another chance to chase
down the criminal that killed its friend.
This gives Leridnu a tough choice, one that is only compounded while in a team of Hunters. Does Leridnu drop out on hunting its current mark and chase after its mentor’s killer, or does
it ignore its personal vendetta and complete its job?

Challenge the characters’ Motivations with tough choices.

CREATING NPCS
The neuralnet celebrity, the peculiar yantiram gunsmith and
armorer, the disgusting ixtabuyek murderer with a taste for
human flesh. NPCs (non-player characters) are arguably the
most important piece of the setting you’ll ever give to the players.
It’s human nature to empathize with those we can understand,
and to experience things vicariously through them. Our characters are conduits to this world, and the NPCs are its inhabitants. Put as much time and effort into making interesting, dynamic, believable NPCs as you do into making your Hunts,
arcs, and set pieces.
Put simply: interesting, motivated NPCs will be more memorable and exciting than practically anything else in your game.
Ten years from now, your players won’t be talking about the
cool spaceships that you described; they’ll be laughing about
the time Aantah, the ixtabuyek mechanic that worked on their
pods, would always crack jokes about how the party’s pilot
couldn’t fly her way out of a garbage bin.

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Or when Nurjahl, one of their closest friends outside of other
Hunters, sacrificed himself so that they could escape a cloud
of deadly radiation and capture their elusive mark.
That’s what you’re striving for.
Really significant NPCs can be made like a player character,
but I don’t usually recommend doing that. You’re looking for
more flavor and less meat, so think more about the NPC’s personality, appearance, mannerisms, and way of handling problems.
I like to use the Who and What method from creating a PC, but
I add what I call an Approach.
Just like for a PC, an NPC’s Who gives her main traits, personality, behavior, and who she is as a person. The What gives
her surface details, skills, and overall function in the UVA and
in the narrative.
An NPC’s Approach is how they act toward the players. Aantah, the sarcastic mechanic, might have an Approach of “sour
with a golden heart.” He might be a real jerk to the Hunters,
even provoking them into arguments, raising the price of their
repairs, or otherwise making their life difficult. On the surface,
they’d think of Aantah as a crotchety creature that gets pleasure out of their misery.
But whenever the Hunters are really and truly in need, Aantah
immediately warms. It goes well out of its way, sacrificing time,
effort, and resources to make sure they’re safe. It provides
them with information, checks in on them, and even gives
them a hideout to stay when in trouble.
Coming up with a good Approach can make the difference between a flat NPC and a multidimensional one. It’s also a good
way to judge the NPC’s Difficulty (or Difficulties for different
Skills).
For example, Aantah might have a Difficulty 3 Influence, as it’s
pretty mentally capable and dead set in its ways, but Difficulty 1 (or maybe even 0) at anything related to combat, as its no
warrior.

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A different NPC, a cold-hearted mercenary perhaps, might
have an Approach of “relentless and cruel.” His relentlessness
might imply great toughness and dedication, making attacks
against his Resistance rather difficult. His callousness allows
him to accept contracts from the criminal underworld, and the
way he acts should provoke reaction from the Hunters.
Jotting down a couple quick notes about important NPCs will
help you keep them memorable and feeling alive. If your party
continues to interact with an NPC, you can keep expanding
upon the NPC’s traits, personality, and shared history. Over
time, NPCs can also develop into good sources for Leads or
Crossroads in Arcs down the line.
Here’s a quick sample of how I take notes about an NPC:
Who

Vamien Zosst: cold, calculating, determined

What

Human ex-assassin turned crime lord
enforcer

Approach

Brutal, pragmatic, patient, amoral

Difficulty

5 in all Skills, Talents: Stealth, Assassination

Notes

Vamien Zosst is a highly prized bounty. He
killed two agents from the Intelligence
Agency, one being a friend to the party. Is a
member of the Messonite Lotus.

The party will probably come across NPCs that you didn’t prepare beforehand. They might enter a territory that you’ve only
briefly described and haven’t had time to populate with memorable NPCs.
That’s okay. Improvisation is great, and over time you’ll get
better at it. If the players meet a new NPC, and you need
something quick to tell them, start by thinking up the NPC’s
appearance and Approach.
If you’re not good at improvising, I recommend making a stable of NPCs that you can drop in to appropriate situations. Sit
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down one day and take twenty minutes to think up twenty
NPCs. Don’t give them jobs, locations, or too many physical
details, though. Just get a feel for them, and when the time is
right, add a few finishing touches and plop one in front of the
party.

Creating NPCs
All NPCs (non-player characters) have a Who, a What,
and an Approach.
The Who is the NPC’s personality or main traits. The What
is the NPC’s physical description, skillset, and profession.
An Approach is how the NPC interacts with the party.
Make notes about an NPC’s Difficulty, Who, What, Approach, and any circumstances that might change these
characteristics, especially Difficulty.

SPACE TRAVEL
The vast majority of UVA citizens travel in pods, small spaceworthy craft that can comfortably seat four to eight people.
They are as ubiquitous as cars in the modern era, and make
use of gravimetric propulsion to allow omnidirectional mobility—in other words, they can float in any direction the pilot
wants them to. Most pods can be piloted easily in atmosphere,
underwater, or in space.
Superlume Bridges are the most common form of faster-thanlight (FTL) travel, and every UVA colony has at least one Superlume route built to it during the accession process. A typical citizen will pilot their pod to a Superlume loading bay, and
from there will be whisked away to their destination—a trip tak-

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ing several hours or days, depending on distance, layovers,
and such.
This method of travel is essentially a system of space trains.
Each Superlume Bridge is a massive tunnel built through the
void of space that can fit up to a thousand pods in a single
departure wave. Some smaller and less commonly frequented
Superlumes can only hold a handful of pods at once, and Superlumes can be victims of sabotage or neglect and become
untraversable.
Near-c (that is, not quite the speed of light) engines are large
and consume enormous amounts of energy and rare resources. As such, they’re not too common for the typical citizen, but plenty of Hunters and criminals make use of them. A
standard ship is about twenty to fifty meters in length, with its
engine taking up the majority of its volume. In essence, these
spacecraft are little better than guided rockets and are bereft
of most of the comforts of a luxury liner.
That being said, massive ships are occasionally built, almost
always designed for transportation or pleasure. These ships
are capable of fast travel, but still typically remain within one
system.
As a rule of thumb, most ships relevant in play can travel long
distances at roughly light-speed. So if the party wanted to travel from one system to the next, it would take several years, as
most systems in the UVA are a few light-years apart. Or they
can get on a Superlume, cutting that time down to a few hours
or days.

SUPERLUME TRA
TRAVEL
VEL TIMES
Superlume travel is insanely fast compared to shipspeed, often many times greater than the speed of light (hence “Superlume”).
Different Superlume Bridges will have different speeds, capacities, and direct and indirect routes. As they are physical installations, they have predetermined courses, just like trains.

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• Travel within a system or between nearby systems
takes a few hours
• An average intersystem trip takes 1–3 days
• Traveling more than a few systems away (such as
from ixtabuyek to Earthling space) takes 1–2 weeks
These figures don’t account for any mishaps, space bandits, or
broken Superlume Bridges along the way.

A QUICK NO
NOTE
TE ABOUT SPACE TRA
TRAVEL
VEL
Yes, the science here makes no sense. No, it doesn’t matter.
The focus of the game is on the fun adventures, taking place
at cool locations, rather than what it is like to sit in a ship for
three years. Have fun, be exciting, forget physics.

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8: FACTIONS

Powerful organizations, crime syndicates, mercenary bands,
merchant conglomerations, and local governments all play
roles in the constant power struggle across the Territories.
They are all Factions, organized groups of people with resources and a shared goal.

FACTION TYPES
Non-Player Factions (NPF) are built just like NPCs: assign it
a Difficulty (for each Skill if desired), define an Approach, and
create Talents to describe unique abilities (such as Stronghold
in Ceti, granting +1 Difficulty whenever that stronghold is relevant).
If you want the Hunters to be able to directly interact with the
Faction, or even have some manner of control over the Faction’s actions and success, you can build a Player Faction
(PF), made just like a player character: rank its eight Skills and
assign a Talent. If the Faction is seasoned or powerful, you can
give it multiple Talents.

FACTION TASKS
If the party wants a Faction to take some kind of broad action—attacking an enemy Faction, taking over a base, clearing
an area of gang activity—the GM or player rolls for the Faction’s Task. This Task is just like a Task a character would attempt, only at a larger scale befitting the Faction’s goal.
For example, you and your party have built your characters’
Hunting team as a Player Faction: the official Bounty Hunting
Office out of Shodun City. One of the city’s older districts—comprising a mess of dilapidated structures and crimeinfested slums—has had a rash of thefts, assaults, and murders, and you want to handle it.

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8: FACTIONS

You want the team to spring to action, and the GM agrees that
they will. All of its available resources, represented by its Skills
and Talents, are brought to bear. The party decides that the
Faction will focus on getting all of the innocents out of the district, so its most relevant Skill is Awareness, used to determine
who are honest folk and who are thugs.
The GM has you roll for the Faction, granting some AD because the residents are predisposed to helping Hunters. You
get 4 successes, so the GM narrates how, over the next day,
the Faction members help compile a list of suspects and tell
the civilians to vacate the area or stay indoors.
If the GM had wanted to give the Scene some more elements—such as evacuating civilians, isolating the source of
the corruption, or clearing more buildings more quickly—she
could have given the players some Tasks of their own or set a
Scene Difficulty.

FACTION MOTIVATION
Factions are driven and bolstered by Faction Motivation, similar to a Hunter’s Motivation. A Faction’s Motivation depends
largely on what the Faction is and does: are they a Bounty
Hunting group or something different?

FACTION MO
MOTIVA
TIVATION
TION
Just like characters, Factions have Motivations and can spend
MD. Each Faction gets two Motivations, in any mix from the
Bounty Hunter Motivations or these Faction Motivations:
1. Competence
2. Esteem
3. Power
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8: FACTIONS

4. Unity
5. Wealth
These Faction Motivations (and their corresponding Maneuvers) are suited to most Factions, especially those whose
members aren’t all Hunters. Likewise, a Faction driven like a
Hunter should be composed mostly of Hunters.

COMPETENCE
The pursuit of improvement, whether of the individual or the
faction. Academies, martial arts temples, universities, and similar institutions are driven by Competence.

ESTEEM
The pursuit of social influence and respect, locally or more
broadly. Politicians, churches, and worker unions are often driven by Esteem.

POWER
The pursuit of control and dominance. Different Factions pursue Power in different ways: military organizations seek to improve their troop deployments and equipment, while political
institutions seek to pass laws and earn respect from others.

UNITY
The pursuit of internal fraternity and connection. This is often
exemplified by families and secret societies, many of which
follow their own codes of conduct or moral paradigms.

WE
WEALTH
ALTH
The pursuit of material or physical wealth, demonstrated by
luxury or great excess. Nearly all Factions pursue resources,
but Wealth as a Motivation is pursued more aggressively and
displayed more lavishly.
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8: FACTIONS

FACTION MO
MOTIVA
TIVATION
TION MANEUVERS
Each Faction Motivation grants a Motivation Maneuver. These
Maneuvers function just like a Hunter’s Motivation Maneuvers.
Competence: Spend 1 MD to re-roll a Task, including any MD
or AD. The second result must be used to determine success.
Esteem: When influencing another Faction or a disorganized
group, each MD spent counts as an automatic success.
Power: When taking decisive and aggressive action or when
seizing power, such as in combat, racketeering, or enslavement, each MD spent counts as an automatic success.
Unity: Spend 1 MD to reveal a source of dissidence, internal
strife, or fractures within the Faction.
Wealth: When using tangible resources to bolster action, each
MD spent counts as an automatic success.

FACTION SCALE
Due to the vastness of the Territories’ frontier, many Factions
are only influential in their local territory. Even within a single
city, one Faction might control a block or two, while others
control whole districts.
In certain circumstances, a Faction’s scale can give it an Advantage bonus (if it’s a Player Faction) or a Difficulty bonus (if
it’s a Non-Player Faction).
When a larger Faction combats a smaller Faction, the larger
Faction gains AD. In contrast, a smaller Faction gains AD when
trying to avoid combat with a larger Faction. Generally, a Faction gains Advantage when the relative size of its force is
preferable.

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8: FACTIONS

As usual, an Advantage gives no more than +3AD, barring extreme difference between the Factions’ scales.
Occasionally, the characters will directly tackle an entire Faction. In this case, treat the party as a Faction with its own scale,
adding AD and Difficulty as appropriate.

CHARACTERS AND FACTIONS
When the characters are part of a Faction, their individual actions will bolster or hinder their Faction. Likewise, in a Scene
where a Faction faces another Faction, the characters themselves might want to act, and this is perfectly acceptable and
interesting.
As the characters complete assignments and accomplish notable deeds, their Faction will likely improve. Several such notable events can Advance the Faction, or at least warrant a
Faction Talent—for example, if the party takes out a powerful
crime ring, their Faction could become the Heroes of Shodun.
Generally, every two to three major character arcs (equivalent
to Hunts) warrant an Advance or some other improvement to
their Faction, so long as those arcs are connected to their Faction’s Motivations.
Enemy Factions can be dismantled over time by the characters. Completing missions that hinder an Enemy Faction can
decrease the Difficulty of the NPF’s relevant Skills.
For example, the party is attempting to dismantle a drug cartel
Faction led by a yantiram named Veheneb. Veheneb’s Faction
looks like this:
• Difficulty 5: Coordination, Resistance
• Difficulty 4: Awareness, Influence
• Difficulty 3: Might, Knowledge, Stealth
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8: FACTIONS

• Difficulty 2: Logic
• Talents: Merciless, Tons of Cash, Cops in Their Pocket (+1 Difficulty when relevant)
• Motivations: Power and Wealth
The party first wants to prevent the cartel from gaining any intelligence on their activities—so they seek out to neutralize the
spies, informants, and connections that Veheneb has built up
in the city over the last thirty years.
After two successful missions—both of which resulting in the
capture of several of the cartel’s informants and spies—the
Faction’s Awareness has dropped to Difficulty 2 (4 – 2 successful missions = 2).
Now, when the party tries to infiltrate the cartel headquarters,
they’ll only need to roll two successes rather than four.

TRANSL
TRANSLAATING FACTION DIFFICULTY TO TTAASK AND
SCENE DIFFICULTY
GMs, sometimes you’ll write a Faction’s Difficulty on the 1–5
scale, which is appropriate for interacting with other Factions,
but when the Faction faces the party, you might feel that this
number doesn’t accurately represent the Faction’s actual Difficulty.
You can translate an NPF’s Skill Difficulty into a Task Difficulty
much as you would multiply a Task Difficulty to make it an appropriate challenge for the Hunters over a Scene.
A Faction’s Skill Difficulty can also be used to judge what
Skill rank a typical member of that Faction’ would have in
that same circumstance. A mercenary Faction with Difficulty 4
Might would be full of mercenaries with Difficulty 4 Might.
To convert an NPF’s Skill Difficulty to a Scene Difficulty, multiply the appropriate Skill Difficulty by the Faction’s Scale (×2 to
×5). This will give a Scene Difficulty of 2 to 25.

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8: FACTIONS

Returning to the last example, the party is trying to infiltrate the
cartel’s lair without being detected. The GM wants to give the
infiltration its own Scene with a Scene Difficulty. To do this, she
multiplies the Faction’s Awareness Difficulty of 2 by its Scale of
×2 (the Faction is pretty small in membership), giving a Scene
Difficulty of 4.
A single well-skilled, stealthy character could guide the entire
party in with 4 successes, or each of the four Hunters could
roll 1 success, or any other combination of 4 successes, as normal.
If the party had tried to infiltrate the HQ without first hindering
the Faction’s Awareness, the Scene Difficulty would have
been 8 (Awareness 4 x Scale 2 = 8).

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9: THE ARCHON

9: THE ARCHON

Nearly 700 years ago, the Unified Vassals of the Archon
agreed to a galactic armistice. This was arranged out of fear of
their malevolent and omnipotent ruler, the Archon. While the
Archon only rose from its state of dormancy every decade or
so—when it did, the repercussions were cataclysmic.
The Archon has destroyed more than one interstellar fleet
of warships—defensive orbital platforms, giant military bases,
even an entire planetoid was disintegrated as various factions
fought for supremacy.
While the Archon’s demands are often bizarre, even unintelligible, many pertain to the stability of its dominion. Any weapon
or military large and powerful enough to even potentially pose
a danger to it, or to those species it has selected to survive its
crucible, is deemed a threat and promptly demolished.
GMs, you can use the events that occur in the Territories—especially those revolving around the Hunters’ actions—as cues to increase or diminish the Archon’s Ire.

ARCHON’S IRE
The Archon is a wrathful entity. Scholars—many sacrificing
their lives to serve as Conduits so they might speak with the
Archon for a short time—have catalogued well over a hundred
civilizations that the God Machine has deemed unworthy to
continue. Decades will pass without so much as a tremble of
activity from the million-kilometer creature, and then it will demand the lives of some whom it views as a threat.
It is best to keep the Archon content and dormant, rather than
risk its Ire and the delivery of its wrath.

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9: THE ARCHON

SOURCES OF IRE
At the beginning of a campaign, the GM can set the Archon’s
Ire to whatever best fits the game concept, with a default of zero. If the players’ actions are to affect the Archon, bring them
in on this discussion.
GMs, if you want the actions of the players and factions to organically influence the Archon’s involvement, use the Sources
of Ire listed below.
Bear in mind, some of the characters’ actions, such as Collateral Damage or Let Them Go, can immediately and directly
change the Archon’s Ire. They might also create a domino effect, indirectly causing other Sources of Ire. For example, Collateral Damage might cause mass civilian casualties or the escape of a mass murderer, and either would draw Ire.

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9: THE ARCHON

Source of Ire

Ire
Bonus

Small-scale military conflict (less than 10,000)

+1

A mass murderer or serial killer strikes or escapes

+1

A terrorist or dissident cell executes a successful
operation

+1

Planetary military conflict (less than 1,000,000)

+2

Interplanetary military conflict

+3

Interstellar military conflict

+4

A planetary criminal organization grows in power

+1

An interplanetary crime organization grows in power

+2

A genocide, mass civilian casualties, or similar occurs

+2

Character uses Let Them Go or Collateral Damage

+1

Creation of a small superweapon (nuclear bomb)

+1

Creation of a planetary superweapon

+2

Creation of an interplanetary superweapon

+3

Creation of an interstellar superweapon

+4

Destruction of interplanetary infrastructure

+3

Destruction of interstellar infrastructure

+4

Deployment of interstellar military equipment

+4

Unintentional attack on or damage to the Archon

+5

Direct, intentional attack on the Archon

+10

Open defiance to the Archon’s demands

+5

If the Archon ever gets to Ire 10, it will intervene in whatever
actions it deems as threatening to the sanctity of the Territories. The Archon works in a predetermined, fairly predictable
manner, giving its minions an opportunity to cease whatever
troublesome actions they’re committing.

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9: THE ARCHON

Certain events in the Territories increase the Archon’s Ire.
Once the Archon reaches Ire 10, it takes action.

First, the Archon will attempt to speak through a Conduit. As
there are multiple religious and government institutions specifically for providing Conduits—the often willing (sometimes unwilling) individuals who play host for the Archon’s consciousness, translating it into something puny mortals can understand—they are generally in abundant supply.
As the Archon’s mind, if one could even call it a mind, is so
far beyond the scope of our understanding, its words—spoken
through the Conduit—will often come out as a bizarre riddle.
Occasionally they will be a random collection of words from
different languages, but the Archon gives such proclamations
and warnings no less gravity than the clearer and more succinct variety.
After a seemingly random amount of time—sometimes several
seconds, sometimes several years, once even over a
decade—the Archon will recede back into dormancy, or it will
act.
The Archon is capable of moving through space at incredible
speed, and despite its size and sheer mass, it generates no
gravity of its own. It can arrive at any point in the Vassal Territories within a few hours or days, and can change its shape,
size, and density as it sees fit.
Once the Archon arrives at the source of its Ire, it will either
give its Vassals an opportunity to respond, often by forcefully
acquiring a Conduit, or it will simply execute upon whatever it
thinks is best. This generally entails the destruction and disintegration of its Ire’s source.
Finally, the Archon will make a statement, as if to explain the
purpose behind its actions. It will retreat to a distant point in
space, feed upon a star or other source of great energy, and
then recede into dormancy.

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9: THE ARCHON

The Archon will act in this order:
1. Speak through a Conduit as a warning
2. Wait some time (seconds to years)
3. Go dormant (if satisfied) or act (if the source of
Ire persists)
4. Speak through a Conduit as an explanation or
proclamation
5. Feed upon a star and return to dormancy

GMs, you can have the Archon act even if its Ire is less than
10, but be careful to not do this too often. It should serve as
a looming threat, often in the background, helping motivate
and explain the characters’ actions. However, since the Archon can’t really be directly challenged, using the Archon too
frequently can accidentally railroad the campaign or bring it to
a standstill all too easily.

CALMING THE ARCHON’S IRE
Calming the Archon’s Ire is one main function of the UVA’s
Bounty Hunters. Their government is too thin and weak, too
spread out across the wide Vassal Territories, to manage and
maintain all of the criminals and colonies within the Archon’s
dominion.
The Archon rarely sees Bounty Hunters as a threat, and often
they are the most effective option (both in manpower and cost)
to reduce the risk of the God Machine boiling over into annihilation.
At any given time, there may be several uncontested or unsolved Sources of Ire, which the UVA (or other factions) will

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9: THE ARCHON

recognize as a potential threat even before the Archon’s warnings.
A new terrorist cell has been bombing local government buildings? Send in the Bounty Hunters. A serial killer escaped from
a prison convoy? Put a bounty on her head. A splinter faction
has claimed independence from the UVA and now plots to destroy the Archon? Bounty Hunters can take care of it!
The threat of the Archon’s Ire serves as a great source of initial
hooks and Triggers for the party to initiate Hunts, and an effective tool for the GM to consistently spiral the scale of the
conflict larger and grander with each arc.
For example, the characters might start out as small-time
Hunters, tracking down a single arms dealer. After a session or
two, they catch up to him, fight some of his cronies, and capture him.
They come to find, though, that the dealer is only a small cog
in a large, territorial crime syndicate planning on making a
move to consolidate power.
Once the Hunters clean up that mess, they’ll have made some
real enemies. Continuing to work up the food chain, they’ll
eventually discover that this group of criminals is actually a
shadow sect within the UVA’s bureaucracy, one that’s trying to
destabilize a region full of rivals so that the Archon will go destroy it.
Of course, the characters have to stop them—and make some
money while doing it!

NAMED TTARGETS
ARGETS OF THE ARCHON
In very rare cases, the Archon will name a specific individual
within its realm. This creates a Territory-spanning manhunt, in
which every Bounty Hunter, local police, really anyone with a
half-working mode of transportation starts hunting the sorry individual down.

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9: THE ARCHON

GMs, this can be a fun hook to start off a campaign or an arc,
as that individual can be someone who is extremely elusive, in
a position of power or authority, or just downright dangerous.
Once the wanted person is brought before the Archon, generally alive, the all-powerful God Machine will give a part of its
body to whoever acquired the target. These Pieces of the Archon—sometimes called Shards of God—are incalculably valuable, and many wealthy moguls (some of which are effectively
immortal yantiram) will pay exorbitant sums of money to simply
rent the piece for a short time.
But holding a Piece of the Archon has its risks, as thieves and
assassins the galaxy over will try to hunt down the holder.

CONDUITS
The Archon can’t directly communicate with humans,
ixtabuyek, or yantiram. In fact, there’s no known sentience or
computer program that can translate the Archon’s native form
of communication. When the Archon initially communicated
with the Vassal species, it took hundreds of Conduits by force
and used them to refine its infinite knowledge into marginally comprehensible speech. By the time it contacted humanity,
the last of the Vassal species, the Archon had established a
well-defined means of communication.
A Conduit is an individual that physically and mentally merges
with the Archon. In this grotesque, graphic, and eventually fatal process, the Archon’s massive form literally morphs out and
around the host body, and uses its voice to speak.
The science of this process is intensely studied, hotly debated,
and honestly not very well understood. The general thinking
is that the mortal consciousness serves as a filter or funnel for
the massive arcane intelligence possessed by the Archon, distilling it down into a digestible format for the lesser peoples.

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9: THE ARCHON

Still, the communications delivered by Conduits are often terribly confusing, opaque, and downright bizarre. Some individuals are thought to be better suited to such forms of communication—as at times the Archon’s commands and proclamations are comparatively clear—although no pattern in these
moments of clarity has emerged.
Some religious and government institutions have developed
permanent stables of potential Conduits, who devote their entire life to the study of past Conduits, the Archon, and meditation techniques in the hopes that they will serve their God
Machine well. Generally the Archon is satisfied to take such a
volunteer, but occasionally it rejects the given Conduit, even
after merging with its body.
Conduits generally “serve” the Archon for a single communication, often between three and thirty words. Once this person’s use is no longer apparent, the Archon absorbs the Conduit’s body into the depths of its own gargantuan spherical
framework. Rarely, though, the Archon will reject a Conduit
upon merging, casting the person out.
These Failed Conduits typically die promptly after being disconnected from the Archon. Though some have managed to
survive, they end up riddled with mental illness and insanity,
convulsions, and random proclamations and prophecies that
echo the Archon’s current state.
The worst of these cases was the yantiram Vorll, who was
well known for his prodigious intellect and zen-like meditative
practices. As a First Generation yantiram, several thousand
Earth years old, Vorll was confident that he could serve as a fitting Conduit for the Archon, the object of his prolonged study.
Vorll was rejected, but inexplicably survived. It has lived since
for several centuries with the crippling mental instability
brought about by direct communion with the Archon. Attended to by his former acolytes, all of Vorll’s proclamations are
carefully and dutifully recorded, although few are ever released due to their dire and terrifying nature.

209

TERROR ON THE
SUPERLUME

TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

QUARRY: VENNEX
Ixtabuyek dissident and terrorist. 25ku bounty, dead or alive.
The party receives the bounty from their helpful NPC—an
agent in the UVA’s Intelligence Agency—before it is officially
published.
Little is known about Vennex, other than it is an ixtabuyek with
advanced weaponry, explosives, and leadership expertise.
Wanted for destroying a Superlume Bridge junction in orbit
over Sellener, an ixtabuyek colony on the frontier. Several
hundred dead, millions of units worth of damage, and complete isolation of the planet. The Archon’s Ire is rising.
Sellener is now several weeks of ship travel away from the
nearest functional Superlume Bridge.

LE
LEADS
ADS
The helpful NPC gives the group their first leads: one of Vennex’s suspected lieutenants, Vennex’s only known hideout,
and a captured prisoner who claims to know Vennex personally.

LE
LEAD
AD A: LIN KONNA, LIEUTENANT, HYDRI
WHA
WHATT THE HUNTERS KNOW
Lin Konna is an ally or employee of Vennex. She is a brutal
and capable combatant, has years of military and private mercenary experience, and is located on Hydri. Recently she, and
an entourage of several allies, killed four Hydri police and fled
into the gaseous atmosphere.
She’s wanted for murder and terrorism.

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TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

Lin Konna
To defeat: Difficulty 4, Threshold 1, Armor/Shield 2
Enemy Tasks
Awareness: Difficulty 5
Coordination: Difficulty 4, Severity 4
Influence: Difficulty 1
Knowledge: Difficulty 1
Logic: Difficulty 3
Might: Difficulty 4, Severity 4
Resistance: Difficulty 5
Stealth: Difficulty 2
Approach: Direct, aggressive, incredibly hostile. Will try to
die fighting rather than become incapacitated or surrender. Has no qualms about sacrificing others for victory.

FINDING LIN KONNA
Konna is hiding in the misty atmosphere of the gas giant on
one of its many suborbital stations. She and her goons (equal
in number to the Hunters) killed several Hydri police to escape
capture, but one officer survived and is willing to give information.

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TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

The wounded officer will reveal their exact number
(equal to the Hunters), their equipment (advanced armor,
SMGs, kinesticks), that they are unlikely to surrender, and
the ID of the pod they stole to escape.

Tracking the pod’s ID has a Scene Difficulty of 2 per player.
Consequences will alert Konna’s team, giving them time to
ditch the pod and prepare an ambush.
The Hydri Marshal will inform the Hunters that most criminals
on the planet hide on the south pole among the many unmanned suborbital stations and gas refineries. The Marshal
can be contacted directly, or will reach out to the Hunters.
Konna can be located by tracking the pod ID, or by a successful Awareness or Logic Short Task with Difficulty 3.
• Consequences: ambushed by Konna on the trail
• Complications: Konna and her team are prepared

FIGHTING LIN KONNA
Konna and her team are equipped with armor, rifles, SMGs,
and kinesticks. They lack explosives, grenades, and heavier
weapons.

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TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

Konna’s Mercenaries
To defeat: Difficulty 2, Armor/Shield 1
Enemy Tasks
Noncombat:Difficulty 1
Melee combat: Severity 2, ignore Shields 1
Ranged combat: Severity 2, ignore Armor 1
Approach: Slow and tactical, will retreat and regroup, organized and patient.

Combatants knocked free from a pod or floating platform will
fall into the atmosphere. If not retrieved by another pod or other means within a minute, they will be crushed to death by
pressure.

Fun twists: Hydri is home to malevolent storms, sudden
and enormous changes in air pressure and temperature,
and the occasional zephyr whale, a massive flying creature that uses its bladders of gas to float around in the atmosphere.

WHA
WHATT THE HUNTERS LE
LEARN
ARN
Even after being defeated, Konna won’t give up information.
She must be successfully interrogated or convinced (Difficulty
5) to reveal the following:
She will say, or have stored on her wetdrive and datapane, the
following information:

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TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

1. Vennex has other planned operations for Sellener
2. Vennex’s only known safehouse is on Bhagalpur
3. She received communication from the prisoner
Konna’s mercenaries are loyal to her, but don’t know much. If
broken for information, they will only give up what the Hunters
already know.
What the Hunters earn
• Konna: 2,000u (alive), 1,000u (dead)
• Each mercenary: 100u (dead or alive)
• Enemy equipment: 500u (Konna’s), 50u (per merc)
Capturing Konna and her mercenaries is a significant quarry.

LE
LEAD
AD B: SAFEHOUSE ON BHAGALPUR
WHA
WHATT THE HUNTERS KNOW
Vennex’s only known safehouse is on the heavy industrial
planet Bhagalpur. The Hunters know the exact location of the
safehouse (provided by the helpful NPC, not public knowledge) and that it is thought to be abandoned.
The safehouse is deep underground in one of the planet’s
few cities—an industrial town populated mostly by the working
class, automated robots and labor drones, and people who
will work for cheap in dangerous environments as long as you
don’t ask much about their past.

IN THE CITY
Bounty Hunters aren’t welcome here, as most of Bhagalpur’s
population came to the planet after escaping their previous
life—often with a dark or criminal history. Hunters are treated

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TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

contemptuously, and might be accosted if too aggressive or
obvious.
There are illegal and illicit activities within the city, including
drug and sex trafficking, unlawfully hazardous working conditions, borderline slave labor, extortion, and organized crime
that control the unions.
Descending deeper beneath the city, the Hunters approach
the UVA Testing Facilities. They’re stopped and turned away
by UVA security, and it is clear that they will get in more trouble
than it is worth if they try to fight or bribe their way in. Eventually, heading to the safehouse seems to be their only viable
option.

AT THE SAFEHOUSE
The safehouse is a small apartment built into an office of an
abandoned manufacturing facility. Externally, it looks to be an
unoccupied office of no consequence.
Inside, there are 2 to 3 interlopers per Hunter, each armed
and equipped. They appear to be criminals or rough mercenaries. The interlopers won’t fight if treated respectfully, but
will if they feel threatened. After initial combat, they will attempt to disengage and flee.
The order of action and chase rules are useful for this engagement.

OVERCOMING THE SCENE
Scene Difficulty of 3 per character (e.g., a squad of four
Hunters would encounter Difficulty 12).
The interlopers become hostile from Consequences caused
by a social roll. If combat begins, the Scene gains Severity 2.
The interlopers will hint that they were hired by Vennex to
watch its safehouse. They will not say more unless they are
convinced (a Task) or defeated in battle. In actuality, they are
mercenaries hired by the UVA to hunt down and kill Vennex,
rather than allow him to be captured by Hunters.
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TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

WHA
WHATT THE HUNTERS LE
LEARN
ARN
If the Hunters don’t fight the interlopers, the unknown mercenaries will hastily leave the safehouse. With a thorough investigation (searching for 15 minutes or more) or an Awareness
or Logic Task with Difficulty 2, the Hunters will reveal a secret
compartment.
In the compartment is a datapane with some simple encryption (a Task, if desired). Past the encryption are images and
schematics of large machines, underground compounds, and
Superlume Bridges.
This information makes clear that Vennex:
1. Intentionally isolated Sellener
2. Instructed Konna to flee
3. Had correspondence with the prisoner
If the interlopers are captured, incapacitated, killed, or intimidated to reveal what they know, their wetdrives will contain
info about their serving as mercenaries in the employ of the
UVA. There won’t be much in the way of details; they were
simply told by a shadowy figure within the government’s Intelligence Agency to kill Vennex on sight.
Capturing or killing the interlopers does not provide bounties.

LE
LEAD
AD C: CINL
CINLANE,
ANE, CAPTURED INFORMANT, ERIDANI
WHA
WHATT THE HUNTERS KNOW
A yantiram named Cinlane was captured by Bounty Hunters
on Eridani, an Earthling colony, for raiding a nearby Interstellar
Cannon. The raid was unsuccessful and the yantiram fled and
hid on the planet, where he was promptly captured.
Facing execution, the robot offered information on Vennex in
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vealed knowledge of Vennex’s exploits—none of which had
been released to the public—that made it likely that he was indeed corroborating with the terrorist.
Cinlane’s core has been separated from his chassis and is now
in lockdown in one of the planet’s prisons.

AT THE PRISON
Cinlane is in a holding cell designed to limit yantiram cognizance and movement. If left within the cell, Cinlane refuses
to speak to the squad, but can be convinced or intimidated as
a Short Task with Difficulty 5 and Threshold 3.
If extricated from the cell and brought to a more amicable environment, Cinlane is willing to discuss what he knows about
Vennex (no Task). The better offer the characters can secure
for Cinlane’s sentencing (or release)—provided they can prove
it—the more information the yantiram will provide to them, as
follows.
No deal: Vennex is trying to isolate Sellener, and he is willing
to kill innocents if necessary.
Small benefit: The above. Also, Vennex was investigating secret weapon facilities on Bhagalpur prior to the dismantling of
the Superlume Junction.
Moderate benefit: The above. Also, Cinlane’s job was to secure an Interstellar Cannon in order to send resources and reinforcements to Vennex upon his message. He was expecting
word from Konna.
Major benefit or release: The above. Also, Vennex is on Sellener. The planet needed to be isolated because they are attempting to mobilize a weapon using the Superlume Bridge
network. Their goal is to claim freedom from the UVA.

SECURING A DE
DEAL
AL FOR CINL
CINLANE
ANE
Because Cinlane is being held by the UVA, not the local authorities, the Hunters have a bit of authority and sway over
what happens to him. They can reach out to the local judge,
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who will lessen Cinlane’s punishment in exchange for a favor:
capture an enemy, steal something, extort someone—something the Hunters are likely uncomfortable with, but
which counts as a significant quarry.
Otherwise, the Hunters can use more nefarious tactics to help
Cinlane—breaking him out of prison, intimidating or extorting
the judge, destroying or falsifying evidence, and such. Allow
the players some creativity.

FIRST LE
LEADS
ADS - MAIN TTAKE
AKEAAWA
WAYS
YS
• Sellener is isolated from the Superlume network
• Vennex is on Sellener
• The only way to get to Sellener (quickly) is by using
an Interstellar Cannon (IC)
• IC are rare, and Hunters can’t just use one
freely

GET
GETTING
TING TO SELLENER
Even before Vennex’s attack on Sellener’s Superlume Bridge,
the swampy ixtabuyek planet was on the fringes of the Territories. Other than locals, few people have ever visited or stayed
long on the dank, humid rock. Now that its one and only Superlume has been decommissioned, the only way to reach it is
with an Interstellar Cannon.
Interstellar Cannons are massive space stations generally
locked near a star. Harnessing enormous amounts of energy,
they can fire a vehicle or projectile at incredible speed. Their
operation is insanely expensive, so they are rarely—if
ever—used for anything but the most important missions.
However, the Hunters need to use one to get to Sellener.
If the players are completely opposed to using an IC, the next
fastest way to Sellener is a Superlume ride to the closest functional Bridge, followed by conventional ship travel. This takes
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several weeks, even at Four Nine speeds. It is clear that whatever plan Vennex has for the planet will have been executed
by then.
However, their helpful NPC will give them information about
three potential Interstellar Cannons that they can use:
1. The official Eridani IC—which is heavily protected,
especially after Cinlane’s attempted raid. However, it
is close and possible to fight or sneak aboard.
2. A broken and abandoned IC currently near the rogue
star Whetu.
3. The privately owned IC known as the Slipshank located near Jind.

ERIDANI IC - UNDER GUARD
The Eridani IC just repelled a raid by Cinlane. In the process,
however, many of the station’s static defenses were weakened or destroyed. For the next few days, while repairs are underway, the Hunters have a higher chance of commandeering
the IC, whether through violence or stealth.
However, the IC’s lack of automated security has been offset
with an increase in security personnel. Needless to say, using
this IC or attacking any of its employees is illegal and perhaps
even treasonous.

THE LOCA
LOCATION
TION
The Interstellar Cannon is a space station in close orbit to the
Eridani star, several hours away from the nearest planet at typical intrasystem speeds. It has only the most basic sensors that
can be fooled as a Task.
It has two docking bays—one for employees and personnel,
and one for the public, whether for launching packages or vehicles.

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Both are currently under repair because of damage sustained
in Cinlane’s raid. The employee dock is less secure overall, but
more likely to contain more guards.

ST
STAATION INTERIOR
The station’s layout is a simple rectangle, with several wings:
• Utility: All of the machines, wires, and computers
used to keep the station in orbit and functional for
the crew.
• Quarters: The rooms, kitchen, showers, and exercise
facilities for the crew, security, and occasional guests.
• Command: The bridge and command center for engaging the cannon, inputting its coordinates, and so
on.
• Docking: With two entrances, holds shuttles and
pods to ferry crew or IC users to their destination before a launch.
• Launch: The loading bay where vehicles are prepared and eventually launched out of the cannon.
• Repair Attachment: A series of scaffolding and other
modular sections connected to the station.

THE SECURITY
There are six guards per character on the station. Roughly
a third are equipped and prepared, a third are awake and relaxed, and the final third are asleep. As there’s no sense of
day or night on the IC, the three shifts of guards simply rotate
every eight hours.
If a full alarm is raised, all of the guards will get equipped and
move to the threat (like the Hunters) as quickly as possible,
generally taking about five minutes.
Each pair of guards has Difficulty 1 for any noncombat Task
(noticing a hidden Hunter), and Difficulty 1 and Severity 1 for
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any combat Task. Six guards attacking the same character
would have a Severity 3 attack, for example.

LAUNCHING TO SELLENER
The personnel onboard the IC aren’t there to help the Hunters,
so the group must figure out how to input the correct coordinates, power levels, and all of the other extremely complex
commands to correctly launch so they arrive near Sellener.
To accomplish this, they must gain control of the command
wing and launch wing, and load onto an IC-rated vehicle. Doing all of this without the guards noticing or interfering is quite
difficult. Simply inputting the commands is a Long Task with
Difficulty 5, which multiple characters can contribute successes to. If the group fails to overcome the Difficulty after everybody has acted once, they arrive somewhere other than Sellener.

WHETU IC - DAMAGED GOODS
This Interstellar Cannon was last used over a century ago, and
has since been subjected to scavengers, space debris, and
looters ripping pieces off of the massive chunk of technology.
The star Whetu hurtles through space at an odd angle from
the rest of the Territories’ expansion and undulation, making it
a rogue star.
The IC, locked in a very close orbit to the star, is beginning to
break and fall apart under the intense gravitational force and
radioactive emission. The Hunters can gain access to the IC
through three Tasks:
1. Docking on the IC
a. Long Task, Difficulty 2 per Hunter
b. Complications: damaged pod
c. Consequences: destroyed pod, +1 Difficulty
to subsequent Tasks done to repair and use
the IC
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2. Repairing the IC
a. Series of Short Tasks with minimum Difficulty 3 that contribute cumulative successes
(page 78). Each excess success decreases
the time it takes to repair the IC by six hours
b. Complications: repair time increases by six
hours
c. Consequences: an explosion, release of atmosphere, or similarly dangerous event, requiring a Short Task with Difficulty 3 to overcome. Once per round, it attacks every relevant character with Severity 3, gaining +1
Severity every round it is not overcome
(max 5)
3. Launching the IC
a. Short Task, Difficulty 3 and Threshold 1
b. Complications: rough launch, arriving somewhere other than near Sellener
c. Consequences: launch vehicle arrives near
Sellener heavily damaged. Tasks are required to repair the vehicle or to use the
escape pods to land on the planet safely
(recommended: Short Task with Difficulty 2,
Severity 4).

SLIPSHANK - PRIVA
PRIVATE
TE IC FOR THE RICH
Locked near Jind’s star, the privately owned IC “Slipshank” is
one of a kind in the Territories. Anyone can get a one-way
launch for the right fee.
Slipshank is technically owned by Novost Interstellar, an
enormous conglomerate with their hands in all kinds of businesses, banks, and financial organizations. However, it’s really
owned and controlled by the Messonite Lotus, arguably the
most powerful criminal organization in the Territories.
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Slipshank’s security makes the stuff surrounding Eridani’s IC
look like cheap toys; it’s practically impregnable. However, the
one thing that the Messonite like more than money is being
owed a favor.

BUYING A TRIP
If the Hunters insist on trying to get on the Slipshank through
legal means, they’ll have to stockpile a cache of cash and deliver it to the Messonite fronts on Novost. Getting the squad to
Sellener will cost 10,000u per Hunter.
It just so happens, though, that Jind is home to some of the
most lucrative bounties in the Territories, as it is a veritable
playground for infamous and wealthy criminals. If the Hunters
want to go down that road, here are a number of quarry seeds
you can dangle in front of them:
Suliyana - 15ku, alive
A well-known assassin wanted for several hundred murders.
A Second Generation yantiram, she has a multitude of chassis
that allow her to infiltrate and disguise herself as practically
anything.
Smoke Lions - 5ku per captain, 1ku per soldier, dead or
alive
A highly violent gang that deals in drugs, guns, smash and
grabs, kidnapping, extortion, and mercenary work. They’re a
universally reviled (but accepted) evil in the cities of Jind, and
have hundreds of members across the planet.
Echoless - 20ku, alive
An infamous thief with few known details. The enigmatic burglar steals extremely valuable information, artifacts, artwork,
documents, or whatever else they’re paid for.
Petty criminals
There’s a multitude of petty criminals, murderers, and regular
bounties that the Hunters can chase down on and around

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Jind. This can be a good place to earn an Advance or stockpile some MD, weapons, and money.
Bear in mind, the longer the Hunters take during this Trail of
the Hunt, the more time Vennex has to put its plan into motion.

CALLING IN A FA
FAVOR
VOR
The faster, quicker, and dirtier way to use Slipshank is to work
with the Messonite Lotus. Not only will they ask the Hunters
for a favor right now, but they’ll also want to be able to call on
the Hunters to do their bidding at another time of their choosing (a major favor).
The Messonite Lotus leadership won’t meet directly with the
Hunters, working instead with simple text-based “dumb” servant drones. These drones can’t be swayed, and if the Messonites think the drones have been hacked or compromised
in any way, they’ll set the drones to self-destruct and call the
deal off. This process is well enough known that you can tell
the Hunters of it before the meeting.
The immediate favor is to capture Investigator Moreau, a
local Jind human that has been a thorn in the Lotus’s side for
years. Moreau leads a task force that tries to thwart the Lotus’s
many sources of cash and criminal deeds.
Moreau has a family, seems to be an upstanding guy, and will
use deadly force if necessary to save himself. He has a team of
loyal comrades who will support him if the Hunters approach
him with violent intent.

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Investigator Moreau
To defeat: Difficulty 5, Armor 1 / Shield 3
Enemy Tasks
Awareness: Difficulty 5
Coordination: Difficulty 3, Severity 3
Influence: Difficulty 4
Knowledge: Difficulty 2
Logic: Difficulty 5
Might: Difficulty 2, Severity 1
Resistance: Difficulty 3
Stealth: Difficulty 4
Approach: Moreau is intelligent, patient, and devious. His
winsome personality and charisma make his comrades
loyal, and make capturing, hurting, or killing him all the
more difficult. He’s likely to have backup, and he can call
in for tactical support from the local Jind police.

If Moreau is killed in the process of capture, the Lotus will still
honor their agreement, but express their displeasure. If captured or killed, Moreau counts as a significant quarry.
Once delivered to the Lotus, it becomes clear that they intend
to torture Moreau for information. This is a good opportunity
for one or multiple characters to become Haunted.

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SELLENER - ISOL
ISOLAATED REVOLT
Sellener is not heavily urbanized or populated. However, its
few major cities are currently embroiled in a civil war. The existing government has declared a police state and privately
severed all ties to the UVA. Some wish to remain under the
protection of the Vassals, though, taking up as guerrilla fighters and loyalists to the Archon.
Just outside of Sellener’s orbit lies its heavily damaged Superlume Bridge, patrolled by military craft while repairs are underway. Tens of thousands of workers swarm the junction, all clad
in spacesuits and mechanized chassis, to reverse the damage
done by Vennex.
The Hunters promptly learn that the loyalists are led by none
other than Vennex itself. That’s right, the so-called terrorist is
the one leading the charge to keep Sellener as a part of the
UVA and under the good graces of the Archon (at least, as the
Sellenerian public sees it).
Teams of Sellenerian secessionists hunt the ixtabuyek, combing over millions of square miles of swamps, oceans, and soggy continents. The police state is complete and autocratic,
leading to mass imprisonment, executions, torture, and other
acts of oppression unlawful in the UVA.

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE
As soon as the Hunters land planetside, they’ll be confronted
with the ugly reality of civil war. The first city or town that they
visit plays host to a battle between the rebel UVA loyalists and
the autocratic Sellenerian secessionists.
A factory or similar government-owned structure is bombed,
and the two sides engage in a bloody firefight in the streets.
The Hunters will likely pick one side to aid—give them plenty
of opportunities to do so. However, if they stay neutral, the
secessionists will retreat after some casualties, and the loyalists will claim this engagement as a victory. Depending on

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the Hunters’ position, one of the two sides will encounter the
squad and speak with them.
Notable NPCs:
• Captain Kosix (secessionist): An ixtabuyek who is
committed but somewhat dubious of its government’s actions. While it commands a squad of soldiers hunting down loyalists, it will aid the Hunters in
any way that it can, so long as they don’t prove adversarial.
• Nuharissk (loyalist): An ixta that leads one of the
more militant and active companies of loyalists.
Nuharissk grew up with Vennex and has a savior
complex. It tends to ask first, shoot later, and will help
the Hunters find Vennex if they act amicably.
It’s public knowledge that Vennex is the leader of the loyalists—useful for the Hunters to learn (no Task), making it
likely for them to follow or “sign up” to help the loyalists, and
it’s known that the secessionists are trying to hunt Vennex
down.

TALKING WITH SECESSIONISTS
The Sellenerians that are loyal to their local government, and
want to secede from the UVA, zealously and nearly universally
believe that they live a life of slavery and oppression under the
yoke of the Archon. They view their home as a sovereign planet, one whose people have suffered for generations beneath
the rule of the UVA.
Similarly, they see Vennex as a hyperbolic incarnation of evil
who pointlessly throws the planet into chaos, kills civilians, opposes the local government, and on and on. Each time the
Hunters speak with a Secessionist about Vennex, their tales of
Vennex’s crimes grow more intense and epic.
Two things become abundantly clear from the perception of
the Secessionists:
1. Vennex is evil and must be found and executed

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2. The UVA is a corrupt, malevolent government, and
Sellener must achieve independence

TALKING WITH LOY
LOYALISTS
ALISTS
The majority of the loyalists view the UVA in a positive light
and believe that seceding from the Archon’s control will not
only make Sellener an even more isolated and backwards
planet, but could also very well mean doom and destruction
for them and their families.
Some trust Vennex completely and implicitly, as it has spoken
at great length about attempting to stop the secessionists’
plans to strike back at the UVA. Others believe in the cause
but aren’t so swayed by Vennex or its most ardent supporters.
All of the most fervent loyalists have varying amounts of information on the secessionist superweapon. Here are some
of the leads regarding the weapon that the Hunters can learn
about:
• It is capable of badly damaging or destroying planets
• It utilizes and moves along the Superlume Network
• Its pieces are constructed and held in separate locations
• It is ready for assembly and use

FRIENDS AND ENEMIES
If the Hunters begin helping one faction of Sellener’s civil
war—or are at least seen as doing so—the opposing side will
view the party as an enemy. The characters’ prominence and
skillset make them high-value targets, so multiple enemies will
likely come after them.
In general, fighting off these enemy squads leads to a Scene
Difficulty of 2 per Hunter, and they can come in waves as appropriate. These squads are trying to capture the Hunters, so
they make ample use of EMPs and stuns.

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Defeating secessionist squads will reveal information about
the Sellener government moving “assets” (pieces of the superweapon) to the “launch site” (where they will be sending it
up into orbit). Defeating loyalist squads will reveal information
about Vennex’s location and where it plans to strike next.

FINDING VENNEX
Vennex is at one of five locations, depending on how quickly
the Hunters managed to catch up to the elusive ixtabuyek.
They’re listed roughly in the order the ixta will visit them:
1. The Loyalist Headquarters—a subterranean complex deep in the eastern swamps.
2. En route to or at Component 1 located in the slums
of Guhkaril—an urban sprawl of dilapidated and
heavily damaged shanties, high-rises, and shopping
centers.
3. En Route to or at Component 2 located at the Applied Mechanics Compound—an innocuously
named and secret military proving ground, heavily
guarded and located out in the northern salt deserts.
4. En route to or at Component 3 preparing to rise with
the Jassa Orbital Elevator—a massive, spindly elevator that reaches all the way into orbit, located in the
western mountains.
5. En route to or at the Superlume Junction—the main
launch point above Sellener’s orbit, currently under
repair and nearly complete.
Vennex commands the effort from the HQ, a subterranean
bunker system built deep in the mangroves and swamps. If the
Hunters have been on Sellener for a few days or are late in arriving on the planet, Vennex will begin hunting down the various superweapon components.

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JOINING THE LOY
LOYALISTS
ALISTS
The easiest and most direct way to locate Vennex is to join the
loyalist rebellion. To be brought before their leader, located at
their HQ, the Hunters will have to prove themselves to the loyalists—more than likely by helping Nuharissk.
Nuharissk, a loyalist leader, will ask the Hunters to do any of
the following operations (pick one, or give the Hunters multiple options):
• Kill or capture key enemy personnel
• Destroy an enemy fortification or heavy vehicle
• Scout out enemy positions and forces
• Evacuate loyalist civilians and wounded from a warzone
• Fill out the ranks of a raid against the government
Any of these options will have roughly a Scene Difficulty of 3
per Hunter; Complications cause a messy victory, and Consequences cause a loyalist loss with the Hunters potentially being captured or surrounded.
After the party completes an operation or two, earning the
loyalists’ trust, the loyalists will agree to bring the Hunters to
a meeting with Vennex. There, the ixtabuyek will inform the
Hunters of the truth with irrefutable evidence (stolen from the
secessionists):
1. The Sellenerian government has constructed a superweapon capable of destroying entire cities and
space stations
2. These superweapon’s components are hidden in
multiple locations around Sellener, and are to be assembled imminently
3. Its assembly is only being delayed by the loyalist efforts and the repairs to the Superlume Junction

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If the Hunters don’t believe—or simply don’t care about—what
Vennex has to say, they can attempt to capture the superweapon. Otherwise, Vennex will ask for their help with dismantling the superweapon (see Taking Out the Superweapon below).

JOINING THE SECESSIONISTS
If the Hunters join the Sellenerian government’s cause of seceding from the UVA, they’ll gain access to resources and intelligence otherwise unavailable. First, they’ll need to prove
their loyalty, serving beneath Captain Kosix. Kosix will assign
the Hunters one or more of the following operations:
• Interrogate some captured loyalists for information
• Protect a convoy from loyalist attack
• Infiltrate and capture a loyalist officer
• Track down and take out a group of loyalist guerrilla
fighters
• Fill out the ranks of a raid against the loyalists
Any of these options will have roughly a Scene Difficulty of 3
per Hunter; Complications cause a messy victory, and Consequences cause a secessionist loss and the Hunters potentially
being captured or surrounded.
Once the Hunters have proven their loyalty to the government,
Captain Kosix and its superior officers will supply an abundance of information on Vennex. They have proof that it:
1. Started the loyalist rebellion, resulting in thousands
of deaths on either side, including civilians
2. Destroyed the Superlume Junction (for “reasons unknown”), again resulting in catastrophic damage to
Sellenerian cities below and the planet’s economy
The secessionists will make it seem as though Vennex is in
fact an agent of the UVA, sent to dismantle their government,
force them back in line, and threaten the Archon’s retribution.
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It and the rebellion must be stopped if Sellener is to maintain
peace.
The secessionists have information about Vennex’s current
whereabouts, including the rough location of the loyalists’ HQ.

REMAINING NEUTRAL
If the Hunters decide to stay out of Sellenerian politics, helping
neither the loyalists nor the secessionists, they’ll be able to
track down Vennex on their own. Vennex and his entourage
of hardened fighters are traveling in a pod convoy to various
locations around Sellener in the following order:
1. The Loyalist Headquarters
2. The slums of Guhkaril
3. The Applied Mechanics Compound
4. The Jassa Orbital Elevator
5. The Superlume Junction
The Hunters can capture loyalists, secessionists, or criminals
on Sellener to acquire leads on Vennex’s current location.
Similarly, once they learn of the ixtabuyek’s plans, they can anticipate where it will strike next.

CAPTURING OR HELPING VENNEX
Once the Hunters finally encounter Vennex, they have a multitude of paths to take. They can simply kill or capture it, try
to escape from the loyalist forces, and return to the UVA to
collect their bounty. They could assist with the ixta’s cause,
destroying or dismantling the pieces of the Sellenerian superweapon. Or they could do some combination thereof, punishing both the Sellenerians for their insane secessionist ideas
and Vennex for its massive collateral damage.
To further complicate matters, Vennex does feel tremendous
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er’s economy. Of course, it feels that its efforts are for the
greater good—not only for the planet, but for the Territories as
a whole—but it is still a sentient and moral person.

VENNEX’S OFFER
If the Hunters make their intentions clear—that they have
come for the bounty—Vennex will make them a very palatable
offer. If they help stop the superweapon, Vennex will turn
itself in. Not only will they stop Sellener from becoming dangerous, but they’ll also get their mark after all.
This can only happen if the Hunters have proven to be honest
and upstanding representatives of the UVA. If they outright attack Vennex, it will view the Hunters as being like any other
scum working for Sellener. If the Hunters try to lie or hoodwink
the ixta, it won’t extend them the offer.
If they simply decide to help Vennex—without stating any intention of collecting their bounty—it won’t offer them the deal.
Instead, it will request that the Hunters keep fighting the good
fight against Sellener.
If the hunters agree to help, then they can follow along as
part of Vennex’s retinue, taking down the pieces of the superweapon in the order listed in the Remaining Neutral section.

FIGHTING VENNEX
If the squad tries to capture or kill Vennex, it will not come
quietly. Rather than face off against them directly, it will order
units of loyalist troops to attack and intercept the Hunters
while it makes its escape into the swamps or mountains.
If the Hunters defeat Vennex’s support staff (treated the same
as the loyalist squads above), they can engage in a chase. The
nature of the chase will depend largely on where the Hunters
try to bag their bounty, but Vennex will likely do its best to get
to an armored pod as quickly as possible and bolt into hiding.
Make the chase climactic: give it at least three legs with a
Scene Difficulty of 3 per Hunter, along with plenty of opportunity for additional Threshold and Consequences. If Vennex
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manages to escape, it will eventually return to its army and
proceed along the five locations as before, only this time more
wary of the Hunters.
If Vennex is trapped and alone, it will turn and fight to the point
of incapacitation.

Vennex
To defeat: Difficulty 5, Armor/Shield 3
Enemy Tasks
Awareness: Difficulty 4
Coordination: Difficulty 5, Severity 5
Influence: Difficulty 5
Knowledge: Difficulty 4
Logic: Difficulty 5
Might: Difficulty 3, Severity 5
Resistance: Difficulty 5
Stealth: Difficulty 2
Approach: Vennex is a highly trained, incredibly capable
soldier, commander, and tactician. The ixta will apply its
knowledge and expertise as coldly, logically, and precisely as possible—including tactical retreats, ambushes, torture, and other “immoral” means to justify the end.

If Vennex is defeated, the characters shouldn’t have much of
a problem getting its body and getting out of there. You can
describe how Vennex’s soldiers are looking for them, but I recommend making Vennex’s defeat mark the climax of the battle—and arguably of the entire hunt.
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TAKING OUT THE SUPERWE
SUPERWEAPON
APON
If the Hunters agree to help Vennex—either by accepting its
offer, or by simply siding with its way of thinking—they’ll inevitably try to take out the superweapon.
It consists of three components, each built and stored in separate hidden locations around the planet. The government is
just days—or even hours—away from lifting the three massive
pieces up into orbit, assembling them, and loading them into
the newly repaired Superlume.
How late in the reassembly process the Hunters decide to
help Vennex will determine where they’re likely to meet secessionist resistance, finally culminating in a raid against the
Superlume Junction orbiting Sellener.

COMPONENT 1: SLUMS OF GUHKARIL
Guhkaril is one of the few cities of Sellener, one that has seen
years of poverty before months of intense civil war. Practically
abandoned, what remains of Guhkaril is little more than a sea
of rubble and burned-out structures atop a soggy island.
In the heart of what was once downtown lies a small shopping
mall, blasted to pieces and pockmarked with thousands of
bullet holes. On a lower floor of the subterranean parking
garage—filled with algae and swamp fluids, as the structure’s
been so heavily damaged—lies the sealed cargo container
holding the first superweapon component.
This region is under constant secessionist surveillance, with
three rotating strike teams keeping careful watch of its
perimeter. Each strike team has one more member than the
Hunter’s party (e.g., 3 Hunters = 4 members per team).
Each strike team member has Difficulty 3 combat Tasks and
Difficulty 2 noncombat Tasks, with Armor 1 and Shields 2.
Equipped with grenades and assault rifles, they have Severity
4 attacks.
Once it’s time to move the component, all three strike teams
use heavy pods to clear a path and then raise the container
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out of the parking garage. Once the container is secure on flat
ground outside the mall, a cargo ship will appear to pick it up
and fly it away. Destroying the ship has a Scene Difficulty of 4
per Hunter.
If the Hunters are attacking Guhkaril with the aid of Vennex
or his forces, feel free to double the number of secessionist
strike teams, and have them face off against the loyalists
(keeping the overall encounter roughly equivalent).

COMPONENT 2: APPLIED MECHANICS COMPOUND
This is the most remote and well-guarded location of those
holding a superweapon component; it is an active military
base and proving grounds for Sellenerian heavy arms and
equipment. As such, it is where Vennex looks to concentrate
most of its forces.
Make this encounter massive and complex—whether the
Hunters attempt to infiltrate stealthily or use brute force. Vehicle battles, firefights, reinforcements, full-scale combat all
around. As such, it is best to treat it as a series of short and
quick Scenes, each roughly with a Scene Difficulty of 2 per
Hunter. This’ll keep the action fast-paced and intense.
Vennex plans to send an assault force to the compound’s
perimeter wall, concentrating overwhelming numbers there as
a distraction. The majority of the secessionist soldiers will respond by moving to this section of the wall and begin to fight
off the siege.
The Hunters (possibly accompanied by Vennex or its best allies) will move in quickly (or stealthily) with a small, heavily
armored, very fast pod into the heart of the compound. It is
thought that the second superweapon component is deep
underground and highly protected, preventing aerial or artillery bombardment.
Once inside, the Hunters can move through the three floors
to reach the component, place explosives (Short Task with Difficulty 3 to prevent collateral damage and alerting reinforcements), and destroy it once clear.

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TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

COMPONENT 3: JA
JASSA
SSA ORBIT
ORBITAL
AL ELEVA
ELEVATOR
TOR
The western Jassa Mountain Range rises out of the briny sea
and mandrakes like a jagged spine. Bouts of cold snow are intermingled with intense volcanic activity, making the area entirely alien and inhospitable to most Hunters. The highest point
on the planet, it is home to the massive orbital elevator, a
long and thin structure hundreds of kilometers long, currently
being loaded with the third superweapon component.
Other than a small collection of strike teams, the elevator has
minimal personnel. However, it is defended by a massive kinetic shield that encompasses the compound, as well as an
automatic point defense battery.
There is a single entrance to the elevator, currently filled by
the strike teams and their equipment as they load the massive
component to be send into orbit. Otherwise, the kinetic shields
prevent the entry of any pods, or indeed of anything larger
than a single person. Even still, pressing through the shield
takes a few minutes and can cause serious pain (a Resistance
attack with Severity 4).
The shields can be lowered if the Hunters capture the control
station, facing the strike teams and cannon battery.
The cannon battery is a series of overlapping, automated
guns that attack anything within several kilometers (a Severity
5 attack). Appropriate use of stealth can confuse the battery
and prevent them from firing at smaller targets (a Difficulty 3
Short Task).
The elevator is a primary target for Vennex and its troops; striking at it will delay the careful orbital elevation of the superweapon. Once it has been seized, the secessionist forces will
bring their full force to bear to retake the elevator.

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TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

Fun twist: The mountain range is highly volatile, spewing
volcanic ash and lava in the regions leading up to the elevator. Large combat and heavy gunning can cause these
reactions to happen more frequently.

ASSEMBL
SSEMBLYY AND LLAUNCH:
AUNCH: SUPERLUME JUNCTION
If the Hunters and Vennex’s forces fail to destroy the superweapon components or prevent their elevation into orbit, they
will be assembled at the Superlume Junction in direct orbit
above the Jassa Elevator.
A patchwork, skeletal framework has been put into place to
repair the damaged segments of the Superlume station that
Vennex had destroyed. The only spaceworthy craft Vennex
has at its disposal are personal interplanetary pods, hardly vehicles capable of engaging in space combat.
However, Vennex plans on seizing a Sellenerian frigate. A
number of these are available at the various spaceports orbiting the planet, some much less guarded than the junction.
The Hunters can assist Vennex in capturing the ship and in
the subsequent assault upon the Junction. As there is no way
to warn the UVA about the potential attack, the superweapon
must be stopped here, lest it be used to attack (and potentially
destroy) further stations and planets along the Network. If the
superweapon is fired, the Archon will become enraged.

AFTERMA
AFTERMATH
TH
If the Hunters assisted Vennex and the loyalists in stopping
the Sellenerian plot to secede from the UVA, the ixtabuyek will
keep its promise, turning itself in to the custody of the Hunters.
At this point, they can return to the UVA and collect their bounty.

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TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

Depending on how the Sellenerian Civil War was handled,
the characters can be perceived as heroes of the UVA who
stopped the awesome destructive might of the superweapon,
as terrorists aiding the vile ixtabuyek criminal, or as conspirators in the plot to create mass discord in the Territories.
If the Hunters managed to capture or kill Vennex and didn’t
halt the superweapon’s deployment, they will have to live with
the guilt of allowing such a terrible thing (a perfect opportunity for them to become Haunted or Obsessed). This will start a
dark time of civil war in the Territories—one that will certainly
invoke the Archon’s Ire.

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TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

RANDOM TABLES
PL
PLANET,
ANET, COLONY, OR LOCA
LOCATION
TION
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3

1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3
4
5
6

Amroha
Belaren
Bhagalpur
Centauri
Ceti
Chitoor
Chowak
Chumul
Earth
Eridani
Exnuk
Grahi
Holol
Hyderabad
Hydri
Jind
Kateen
Kathuhk

4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
6
6

242

1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3
4
5
6

Ladnu
Mars
Mukerian
Nuuk
Nuzvid
Ohben
Orbital plats
Otoch
Pavonis
Pilibit
Procyon
Sellener
Sol's Belt
Teyek
Titan
Vaikuntha
In transit
Superlume

TERROR ON THE SUPERLUME

QUARRY
Species

Crime

1

Human

1

Murder

2

Human

2

Theft

3

Ixtabuyek

3

Terrorism

4

Ixtabuyek

4

UVA fugitive

5

Yantiram

5

Destruction

6

Yantiram

6

Assault

243

VIGNETTES OF THE
UVA

VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

HURNDO, PLANETARY CONSULTANT
I A N H O WA R D

“My friend nearly died on Eridani.”
Hurndo left Amroha full of hope—seeking the thrill of adventure out among the stars. Stuck on some archaic rock was exceedingly boring for the young ixta, and it tackled the vastness
of the Territories eagerly, traveling along Superlumes and visiting dozens of colonies throughout the Union.
Those who’re from Holol might even recognize Hurndo as a
celebrity, earned during a short stint of reality netstream fame:
Hurndo Tackles It All, in which the thrill-seeking ixta hurdled
over the challenges of life. It was a happy time, full of excitement and awe—until that fateful day on Eridani.
Hurndo watched its good friend and cameraman, Thom, succumb to an insidious infection native to the planet. If it hadn’t
been for local UVA intervention, he certainly would have lost
his life. The government’s rapid and expert response to this
catastrophe instilled a new sense of purpose and passion in
Hurndo—it knew it had to make a difference. It would leave its
mark on the universe, serving in the UVA to the best of its ability.
Hurndo’s career was mercurial and complicated, working its
way up the chain of managing Superlumes, then operating
a field office for Cultural Integration, and finally coming into
its current and most specialized role of Planetary Consultant
under the Organizational, Naturalization, and Effectiveness
(ONE) Department. Beneath the ONE umbrella, Consultants
like Hurndo maximize each planet’s efficiency in order to benefit the UVA as a whole—clearing up red tape, regulatory is-

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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

sues, and public relations nightmares so the locals want UVA
indoctrination.
Hurndo’s a downright prodigy, arguably the best and most
valuable Planetary Consultant the UVA employs. It pesters
and preaches and persuades people with such skill and passion that even its colleagues want the UVA meddling more in
their lives. The ixta moves all over the Territories, cleaning up
hot spots and troubled states on planet surfaces and asteroid
belts and colony platforms, often relying on Hunters to come
in and clean up local criminals and uncooperative government
officials. Those who work under it either love Hurndo or hate
it—serving as its lackey has its benefits, but also headaches in
equal spades.

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PANOPTICON SURVEILLANCE
DAV I D P FA F F

Hunters love their gossip and their legends, and there’re few
topics more juicy and engaging than the legendary agents of
Panopticon. An insanely secretive espionage agency for hire,
Panopticon’s allegedly had its hands in hundreds of coups,
corporate takeovers, and high-profile scandals, along with
some of the most sought after bounty grabs in the Territories.
Most of the time, Hunters are known to exaggerate. In this instance, they couldn’t underestimate Panopticon’s reach if they
tried.
Among the highest echelons of UVA Intelligence exist a handful of people in direct contact with Panopticon, and indeed
their client list is a who’s who of the Territories’ wealthy, powerful, and mysterious. When millions—or even billions—of units
are on the line, Panopticon is who you call, whether you’re a
local planetary leader or top brass for the UVA.
With headquarters and recruitment credentials unknown,
Panopticon is every conspiracy theorist’s worst nightmare. Believed to have thousands of agents, Panopticon has eyes and
assets at every Superlume Junction, on every planet, and within every major corporation throughout the UVA.
The most elite of these is the highly clandestine Wraiths. While
more than capable of serving as assassins, bodyguards, or
mercenaries for hire, they do not denigrate themselves with
such crude work. Instead, Wraiths are—without argument—the
best spies and intelligence operatives in the known galaxy.
This highest honor is only bestowed to a handful of Panopticon agents every year, and there’s believed to be less than a
hundred Wraiths sprinkled throughout the UVA.
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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

There have been growing rumors circling within the Bounty
Hunting community that Panopticon has stepped up its efforts—even allowing some of its agents more visibility than in
times past—gathering information on key figures throughout
the UVA and keeping tabs on some of the most powerful crime
syndicates. Are they under contract? If not, why would they put
forth such effort themselves?

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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

TERRAN ENGINEERING
LEE ROSSI

Everybody knows Terran Engineering—well, at least the little
“TE” stamp on just about every piece of heavy machinery, pod,
Superlume, and spacecraft used throughout the UVA. One of
the oldest human-based organizations still operating within
the Territories, TE is the heavy-industry backbone upon which
much of the Vassals’ technology is built.
Many of the earliest forays outside of Sol were driven by
TE’s Pathfinder-class interstellar craft, the first of which sits in
the Istanbul Museum of Astronautics. TE grew in power and
prestige as it constructed ever grander and greater projects:
Earth’s first Superlume Junction, many of its first orbital platforms, and its first interstellar warships that were bound to engage with the Archon.
And while their power and control over a hundred different
technological and transportation industries has grown exponentially over the intervening centuries, their public profile has
dwindled to all but nonexistent levels. Hunters, ever aware of
the merits of a good kit, recognize that TE pods are some of
the best in the business. Beyond that, not much about them is
publicly known.
Their current CEO, Lexan Ross, is simply the current inheritor
of the fabled and ancient Ross family fortune. Ross is enigmatic and power-hungry (as many wealthy humans seem to become), buying esoteric art pieces, living in space yachts, and
skirting the edges of the Archon’s attention for the last decade
and a half. Recent rumors have cropped up that Ross is more
nefarious and manipulative than he seems, playing host to a
number of wild theories about his involvement with the Archon

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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

and the UVA. Here are some of the more interesting ones that
Hunters might have heard of:
• Ross has purchased or acquired several Shards of
God—to what end, nobody knows.
• He founded a secret research facility that engages in
advanced technological and bioengineering studies
(often on unwilling participants).
• He’s building a private army, merging with some of
the Territories’ most powerful mercenaries and security contractors.
• He captures Archon-named targets, holding them in
reserve for personal glory, UVA control, wealth, or all
three.
• He covertly and knowingly manipulates the Archon’s
actions, creating discord and peace in various regions to keep the Archon’s Ire focused where he
wants.

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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

VALANTAZ CATACOMBS
A N D R E W D I XO N

Nearing the periphery of the Territories rests the dark, barren
planet of Arath, the single terrestrial rock big enough to support some semblance of life around its system’s dying dwarf
star. No Superlume has been constructed to reach this miniscule speck of gray dust floating out in the vastness of
space—and nobody seems in a hurry to do so.
Arath is entirely forgettable except for its ancient xenobiological history: it played host to a sentient species which the UVA’s
academics call the valantaz. Perhaps insectoid or parasitic
in anatomy, the valantaz were capable of manufacturing preinterplanetary technology some thousands of years ago, but
they engaged in a brutal, intertribal war that devastated the already hostile planet.
As a consequence of their bloodthirsty nature, the valantaz
were completely destroyed, and the ravages of time and a
near total loss of atmosphere disintegrated their nations. The
only thing that remains of their culture and their history is the
seemingly endless network of catacombs that burrow deep into the dead husk of the planet.
The purpose of these meandering, twisting, roughly hewn tunnels is unknown—although it is clear that they were made over
many valantaz generations and with great amounts of brute
strength. No clear use of tools nor other insignia has been
found, leaving some to suggest that the creatures themselves
burrowed their way into these fissures, perhaps to escape
whatever calamity their wares had brought upon them.
Multiple theories have arisen in the xenoarchaeologist literature: were the tunnels proving grounds for valantaz warriors,
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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

burial chambers for their dead, bunkers to withstand their nuclear winter, or something else entirely? Whatever their original intent, they now serve as the home of some of the most
isolated hermits and well-hidden criminals in the galaxy.
Rather than face the retribution for their sins, some of the
UVA’s most wanted prefer to live out the remainder of their
days beneath the cold, gray stone, haunted by the moans and
wails echoing throughout the catacombs.

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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

RUDY SHINE
PETER WOODSWORTH

The biggest chunk of Hunters get by pretty strictly on skill
and violence—if they can’t track someone down while they’re
sleeping, they’ll just shoot their target a few times to make
them more manageable. A smaller chunk like to finesse their
way into bounties, tracking their quarry through the merits of
their intellect or contacts.
And then there’s Rudy Shine: one-of-a-kind charmer, player,
and all-around sweet talker. There’s not a place that Mr. Shine
can’t finagle his way into, and not a quarry he hasn’t caught
simply with his silver tongue and devilishly good looks. The
man’s a legend, no doubt about it, bringing in skips and runaways for a few years now to some high profits and a conspicuous lack of blood.
Rudy was genetically engineered back on Mars by an exceedingly vain couple whose aspirations for their son included
modeling the latest in high fashion. Other than his impressive
height, perfect bone structure, uber-fast metabolism, and muscular frame, Rudy’s got green skin. That’s right, green. Greener
than the freshest cucumber you’ve ever seen—the man nearly
glows, for crying out loud.
As most young people do when their parents try to shove
them down a particular path, Shine rebelled. He did venture
down a course that allowed others to be entertained by his
physique—although it involved fewer clothes than his parents
had planned for—until he got a little too far into the seedy life
among gangsters and crooks on Jind.
Luck would have it that a particularly crafty Bounty Hunter took
a liking to the poor kid, recruiting him as an informant and in254

VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

side man to take down a relatively harmless (but highly illegal) crime syndicate making it big on the Territories’ capital of
vice. Rudy did so well that his rap sheet was deleted, account
packed with units, and Hunting license drafted up faster than
he could say “not guilty.” He’s been smiling bad guys into jail
cells ever since.

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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

WHAEN SESALLOS
CHAD KROLL

A little tin bucket masquerading as a bar (the “Stangnes Fountain”) sits on the fringes of Amroha’s Superlume Hub, clinging
to an exhaust port like a barnacle does to a Hydri whale. While
its appearance is anything but flattering, Hunters know it to
be one of the safest places in the Territories—somewhere to
rest their heads, receive some straightforward and sage advice, and even throw back a drink or two to drown their sorrows and inner demons.
The proprietor, a burly man with a beard as impressive as his
baritone boom of a voice, goes by the name of Whaen Sesallos. Whaen’s often thought of as every Hunter’s favorite uncle, patching up more than his fair share of the wounded and
weary, or giving out an interesting tip or two to those passing
through. Due to his bar’s location in the proverbial center of
the Bounty Hunting community, any Hunter worth their units
has had at least a brief chat with the perpetually gruff barkeep.
Hailing from a little tuft of land on Amroha VI, Whaen watches
over his home town of Crowns Gorge. He’s developed quite
the loyal following among Hunters and his neighbors planetside, always offering up equipment or booze or protection
when needed. He’s a good man to have owe you a few favors,
and a decent one to help out in his times of need, as he’ll pay
you back two-fold.
Crowns Gorge is known for pumping out rowdy and difficult
youths—a common starting point for a life of crime. He’s made
it his mission to try to mentor and train as many of them as possible in the ancient and elegant art of barkeeping—there’s always an adolescent or two knocking about the Fountain, pok-

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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

ing at the Hunters, trying not to ask too many questions or play
with their weapons.
On more than one occasion he’s ridden in on his clunker of
a pod to give an emergency resupply to a local Hunter or let
them use his drunk tank as an impromptu holding cell for an
unruly skip.

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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

USDU
DA N I E L K U L H A N E K

The covert Undeveloped Species Defense Union was formed
on Earth in the last century, with the express purpose of finding, contacting, and hopefully protecting sentient species before the Archon could pass judgment upon them. Humans, especially, are known to chafe under autocratic dictatorship, particularly the violent ways displayed by the Archon. The destruction of unique life and consciousness, culture, art, and
history is anathema to the human spirit, and as such the USDU
was funded by some of the most egalitarian and wealthy human organizations in the UVA.
As these kinds of secretive projects are prone to do, the USDU
quickly became common knowledge among the upper echelons of UVA society. Not long after, some sects of yantiram and
ixtabuyek pledged to support the USDU, for its cause was noble and its merits endless. After a hundred years of evolution
and millions of units of funding, however, the USDU has drifted
significantly from its original core principles.
While some departments within this defense force still believe
in the tenets of protecting unique alien life, the USDU at large
experiments with technology, xenobiology, genetic engineering, and proxy warfare on dozens of worlds at the edges of the
Territories. While no known sentient species has been discovered, the USDU still operates with a high level of secrecy and
impunity, all without the approval of the UVA or any semblance
of legality.
If this organization’s practices were made public, there would
undoubtedly be public outcry, earning it the Ire of the Archon.
Therefore, the USDU has focused a large percentage of its resources on hiring counter-espionage personnel, engaging in
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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

assassinations and political coups and a host of other mysterious actions to keep its offices under wraps. A few good folks
still hope that someday the USDU will make a positive difference in the galaxy, but that hope continues to dwindle.

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VIGNETTES OF THE UVA

LAST ARIA OPERA HOUSE
G S D R AG O N O

The show must go on no matter what.
The Last Aria is an infamously spectacular theater – constantly
changing, rearranging, and evolving both its physical form and
the content of its entertainment. Constructed of millions of
moving parts, it is as mercurial as it is beautiful to behold.
Located hovering several kilometers over the surface of Jind,
this amorphous and bizarre space-station-turned-opera is the
home of some of the most insane, talented, zealously dedicated actors, singers, and entertainers in the Territories. Regardless of whatever insane activities are occurring within,
above, or below its walls, the show must go on. More than one
gun battle has erupted among the massive stands – but the
singers keep singing and the jugglers keep juggling.
Tickets are sold years in advance at times, and at other times
the first people to pack into the stands are the ones who get
to witness the fever-dream of a show. Thousands of units are
taken as often as spare socks or other randomly entry fees, all
adding to the befuddling insanity that is the Last Aria.
Bounty Hunters absolutely abhor the place. Its constantly shifting layout, sightlines, free dispensation of drugs, and completely mad tone create nightmarish conditions to locate and
apprehend any quarries. Because of this reputation, the most
wanted in the crime-riddled cities of Jind often make their getaway here to the Last Aria, hoping to get lost in the hysteria
and the fray, or make their way only a few kilometers higher
into the atmosphere – and to freedom.

260

HUNT THE WICKED QUICKSTART
Get together a group of two to six people with
some dice, paper, and pencils (or digital equivalents).
One person is the Game Master (GM), who
runs all of the non-player characters (NPCs),
describes the environment, and sets the Difficulty for various Tasks.
Each other person plays one character. This
character is a Bounty Hunter in the United Vassals of the Archon, personally compelled by
their Motivations and the promise of cash for
taking out the Galaxy’s most wanted criminals,
terrorists, and dissidents.
First, define the nature of your Hunt as a group
- including the quarry, the tone, the balance between investigation and combat, and the scale
and scope of the chase itself.
Then, each player makes a character that aligns
with the Hunt:

1. Come up with a character concept
2. Select two Motivations, and one of the
available Maneuvers for each Motivation
selected

a. Community
i. Cameraderie: any MD spent dur-

ing an action to assist or protect

your family or closest friends is
an automatic success

ii. Socialization: when you assist
someone, or someone assists
you, gain +2Ad rather than 1Ad

b. Esteem
i. Acceptance: any MD spent to

gain a group’s or individual’s
trust is an automatic success

ii. Respect: any MD spent to leverage your worth or earn respect
is automatically successful

c. Justice
i. Honor: any MD spent while

ii. Independence:

when acting
alone or when inciting independence in others, any MD spent
that roll as successes are returned to your MD pool

e. Power
i. Order: you gain +1Ad to rolls
when operating as an agent in
the chain of command

ii. Resolve: any MD spent to over-

come any disabling, slowing, or
stunning Consequence or Injury
is an automatic success

3. Select your Species (Earthling, Ixtabuyek,
or Yantiram)

obeying the Tenets of Honor are
automatically successful

a. Earthling: one extra Talent, +1Ad Influ-

ii. Retribution: you gain +1Ad for all

b. Ixtabuyek: amphibious, +1Ad Coordi-

rolls against those who have
evaded your capture or defeated you

d. Liberty
i. Discovery: spend 1 MD to discover something about yourself,
another, or the current arc (GM
discretion)

ence / Resistance
nation / Stealth

c. Yantiram: chassis swap, +1Ad Logic /
Knowledge

4. Rank your Skills (Awareness, Coordination, Influence, Knowledge, Logic, Might,
Resistance, Stealth) in one of four ways:

a. Standard: 1 Gifted, 1 Competent, 5
Adequate, 1 Bad

b. Versatile: 2 Competent, 6 Adequate
c. Focused: 1 Gifted, 2 Competent, 3
Adequate, 2 Bad

d. Specialized: 1 Gifted, 3 Competent, 1
Adequate, 3 Bad

i. Gifted succeed on 3-6
ii. Competent succeed on 4-6
iii. Adequate succeed on 5-6
iv. Bad succeed on 6
5. Write one Talent, a self-defined ability that
gives +1Ad to any relevant roll. (e.g., Tracker would give +1Ad when tracking, while
Deadeye would give +1Ad while shooting
scoped weapons).

6. Pick one Bounty Hunter Technique
a. Spend 1 MD to force relevant information from another

b. Spend 1 MD to determine a target’s
weakness

c. Spend 1 MD to stop someone from
dying (not you)

d. Spend 1 MD to cancel out the effects
of Fear for 1 Scene

e. Spend 1 MD per tier of Injury you ignore for 1 Scene

f. Spend 1 MD to always act first, regardless of phase

g. Spend 1 MD to intimidate anyone at
any Difficulty

h. Spend 1 MD to break free from bonds
or constraints

i. Spend 1 MD to earn a minor favor
from an NPC

j. Spend 1 MD to know the location of a
nearby safehouse

7. Characters Advance once they have successfully captured or killed three quarries
(targets with bounties on their head). Characters can’t advance when they’re Haunted or Obsessed. Advancement grants:

a. Improve one Skill’s Rank (Bad to Adequate)

b. Gain or improve one Talent

GAMEPLAY

A Task is either a Short Task, which must be
completed in one roll (e.g., jumping over a pit),
or a Long Task, which can be completed over
multiple rolls (e.g., repairing a pod). A Long
Task’s Difficulty is reduced by the number of
successes a player rolls. For example: Kettefiss
rolls 3 successes against a Difficulty 5 Task,
making it a Difficulty 2 Task.
If a player rolls fewer successes than a Short
Task’s Difficulty, the the character receives a
Consequence or Injury. Consequences and Injuries are based off of the Task’s Severity
(which defaults to its Difficulty, but can vary as
the GM desires).
If a player ever rolls zero successes, their character (and perhaps the squad) suffers a Consequence or Injury equal to the Task’s Severity.
Consequences and Injuries can temporarily or
permanently degrade a character’s Skill (e.g.,
Competent to Adequate), increase all or certain
Tasks’ Difficulty (e.g., physical Tasks receive +1
Difficulty), force a new Skill roll (e.g., roll Might)
cause MD loss, or produce some other negative
condition or effect.

All difficult actions are called Tasks. Tasks have
a Difficulty of 1 to 5. Multiple Tasks make up
a Scene. Players only ever roll; the GM never
rolls.

A Consequence can affect the character, the
squad, or the Task itself. A bad Consequence
might be the ship depressurizes; another might
be you cause the reactor to explode.

Players roll a relevant Skill to overcome a Task.
Rolls get 1D for free. Characters can add Motivation Dice (MD) to their roll if they so choose.
Once MD are spent, they are gone forever, and
new MD must be earned. They can also gain
Advantage Dice (AD) if they are in advantageous situations or have beneficial weapons,
tools, or info.

Injuries directly affect the character and last for
a number of weeks equal to its Severity. A character might sustain an Injury 3, degrading her
Might Skill by one Rank for three weeks after
the Injury is healed. If you gain a combined Injury 5 or greater, you are defeated and can potentially die.

Consequences can generate new Tasks that
must be overcome through the use of Skill rolls.

Enemies together into one easily trackable total.

Injuries take time to heal. A Knowledge (for
surgery or curing sickness) or Resistance (for
toughing through it) roll can expedite the
process.

Some Tasks can have a Cumulative Difficulty,
meaning that each additional success over the
Task’s minimum adds some additional benefit such as another clue, more money, or spending
less time.

Especially difficult Tasks can have a Threshold.
Threshold is how many of the character’s successes are removed from their roll (e.g., a Task
with Threshold 2 would make a character who
rolled 2 Successes now have effectively rolled
0 Successes and trigger a Consequence).
Enemies function just like Tasks, with a Difficulty, Severity, and Threshold. When an Enemy attacks, the character rolls a relevant Skill to defend (usually Might for blocking, Resistance for
resisting poison or mental attacks, and Coordination or Awareness for dodging attacks - especially from guns and other ranged weapons).
Characters must roll successes equal to the enemy’s attack Severity in order to successfully
defend. Rolling fewer successes causes the
character to gain Injury equal to the difference
between the successes and the attack’s Severity (2 successes against a Severity 4 attack
would cause Injury 2).
If a character rolls no successes while defending, she suffers both an Injury and a Consequence.
A Scene can have a combined Scene Difficulty, which combines all of the Scene’s Tasks and

Optionally, you can choose to Press Your Luck
and spend additional MD after the success or
failure of your current roll has been determined.
Any new MD are rolled without a base die or
AD, and if these MD roll zero successes they
trigger a new or escalate an existing Consequence or Injury.
Characters can choose to invoke Collateral
Damage at any time (as long as it is physically
possible). This immediately concludes the
Scene in a manner of the Hunter’s choice, but
at the cost of killing innocents and becoming
Haunted. This requires no rolls nor expenditure
of MD.
Inversely, while pursuing a quarry characters
can choose to Let Them Go. This means that
the quarry escapes pursuit and its trail goes
cold (all current Leads are no longer relevant),
the character becomes Obsessed, and the
Scene or Task is otherwise resolved as the
character wishes. This requires no rolls nor expenditure of MD.
You can’t roll more than 10D or spend more
than 5MD on a roll.

MOTIVATION AND MOTIVATION DICE
MD are earned from Triggers and Resolutions.
A Trigger is when some event elicits a response
from your Motivation. A Resolution is when
you’ve acted upon your Motivation and resolved or completed this action.
MD are earned throughout a Scene, but aren’t
gained (and actually added to the pool) until the
Scene’s conclusion. At the end of each Scene,
the GM and players should discuss which - if
any - Triggers or Resolutions occurred that deserve MD.
As soon as MD are spent, such as when adding
dice to a roll, or activate a Motivation Maneuver
or Bounty Hunter Technique, they are removed
from the character’s available MD pool. These
dice can’t be used again, and new dice must be
earned and gained.
Each instance of a Trigger or Resolution is worth
around 3MD, but especially minor or major instances can be worth more or less. At any given
time during a Hunt, characters should have approximately 10MD at their disposal.
Motivation Maneuvers can be used at any time,
even if it is not the character’s turn.
Bounty Hunters also gain MD for each Lead
they uncover during the course of their Hunt,
as well as when they finally capture or kill their
quarry.

ON THE RUN
QUICKSTART ADVENTURE
Gholan is an enforcer for the Messonite Lotus
- a Territories spanning criminal syndicate entrenched in every aspect of crime. Gholan was
captured, but killed several Hunters and escaped. He’s fled into the Superlume Network
and now leads a mad chase. Pursued by Marshals, Bounty Hunters, and his former colleagues at the Lotus, Gholan is a man willing to
do anything to escape.
Quarry: Gholan - Human, Male, 1.8m tall, 75kg,
63 years, pale teal skin, orange dermal graphs,
bad teeth, expected to be in disguise. Bounty:
5,000u alive. Wanted for: Murder, extortion, information of the Messonite Lotus and its principal members and crimes.

STRUCTURE
Gholan is always located at the third crossroads (planet) the Hunters arrive at. He will do
his best to kill or incapacitate them so that they
can’t follow. Each planet gives two Leads that
point to the others.

STARTING LEADS
Gholan fled on a Superlume toward Procyon for
unknown reasons. The majority of Gholan’s assets, associates, and favors are on Jind. He has
an estranged daughter from a failed marriage
on Mukerian.

PROCYON

MUKERIAN

An Earth colony with a terraformed moon and
large yantiram population. Gholan stole a civilian transport pod, was confronted by local police, engaged them in a firefight and killed
three, wounded one. Police say he was headed
to Kabrult, a largely yantiram city. In Kabrult
a well-known yantiram chassis maker named
Overel has gone missing. She specializes in
“wet” chassis that look like humans.

A peaceful garden world. Gholan’s daughter
Yurina lives here, and is known to have a lessthan-positive relationship with her father. Her
work and home are known addresses, but she
wants nothing to do with the Hunters and will try
to evade them.

Her core is found chassis-less, badly damaged,
and beneath the ruins of an interplanetary pod
depot that Gholan bombed. She feebly tells
them he forced her to change his face and kept
mentioning cashing out and getting his daughter. If the Hunters came here second, Overel is
being interrogated by a competing group. If
they come here last, Gholan has taken Overel
hostage and will fight.

JIND
The vice capital of the Territories. Gholan had a
nice downtown condo that was allegedly kept
off the Messonite Lotus’ books. The Hunters
arrive simultaneously as one of competing
groups listed below. The condo has been
tossed, weapon racks empty, a datapane that
charts the most efficient course to Mukerian,
searches for the best wet chassis designers,
pointing to Procyon.
If the Hunters came here first, Gholan has explosive mines set to trigger upon entry. If they
came here second, the mines are triggered already, condo destroyed, and competing group
will engage. If they came here last, he’s
bunkered and will die fighting.

If the Hunters came here first, Yurina promises
to leave without seeing her father and can be
convinced to help catch him. If they came here
second, she’s been captured by a competing
group to be used as bait to capture Gholan.
If they came here third, she’s been killed in
the fighting between Gholan and the competing
group. Her wetdrive has a message from
Gholan stating he will cash out on Jind and
make himself disappear on Procyon.

COMPETING GROUPS
Gholan is being pursued by other Bounty
Hunter teams, a Messonite Lotus hit squad,
and local authorities. A typical competitor is D2
/ S3 with Armor and Shield 1, guns which Ignore
Armor 1, kinesticks which Ignore Shield 2, and
one non-combat Skill that’s D4. The Lotus will
attack Hunters on sight, while others will order
them to stand down.

GHOLAN
A Scene D4 per Hunter, S4 attacks (guns and
grenades). Can attack as a reaction for each
Hunter attack. Has a Resistance, Stealth, and Influence of D4 / T2. Hunters can use his daughter for leverage. If badly incapacitated, he will
attempt to kill himself.