The last bells are ringing over Emerald Town, and they are not for you. The Metal Virus has escaped the doctor's control. The Restoration is pulling its convoys west toward the coast. And you are still here — not a hero, not a soldier, just someone who refuses to turn into metal.
The game is a conversation
The Game Master describes the world — the checkpoint, the dusk, the ticking that comes from east of the river. You say what your survivor does, the way you'd say it across a table. The GM describes what happens because of it. And when a moment is dangerous enough that the outcome could go either way, you roll to find out.
You never have to roll for things that are safe, certain, or boring. You roll when the stakes are real and the result is in doubt — when a horde might hear you, when the bridge might not hold, when the guard might not believe you.
The roll
Every roll is one d20 plus one stat bonus. Add +1 if your calling covers what you're doing. Add +1 for gear that genuinely helps. Add +1 for a teammate who helps you do it.
| Roll | What happens |
|---|
| 13+ | It works — fully, cleanly, completely. |
| 9–12 | It works — but it costs you. The GM picks a cost: time, noise, supplies, a wound, or a hard choice. |
| 8 or less | It goes wrong. The GM makes something happen, and it is rarely what you wanted. |
A natural 20 is always something extra — the shot that finds the seam, the door that gives way clean, the horde that passes by. A natural 1 always goes wrong, even if your bonuses would have beaten the number. That's the metal's luck, and it doesn't care about arithmetic.
A roll of 8 or less is not the end. It's the story turning. The metal is patient; it doesn't need to win the roll. It only needs you to run out of road.
The six stats
Your survivor has six stats, from low to high. Each one carries a bonus you add to your d20 rolls: your score minus 10, divided by 2, rounded down. A 15 gives +2; a 13 gives +1; an 11 gives 0; a 9 gives −1. You roll the bonus when the stat is the honest answer to "what are you really doing?"
| Stat | You roll it when you… |
|---|
| Strength (STR) | force, lift, break, hold a door shut |
| Dexterity (DEX) | run, climb, shoot, slip past |
| Constitution (CON) | endure, resist infection, keep going |
| Intelligence (INT) | figure it out, fix it, remember the route |
| Wisdom (WIS) | notice the trap, read the room, spot the horde |
| Charisma (CHA) | talk, lie, plead, lead |
The session is a run
Every session is one run: one night, one goal, one clock. A supply run into the flooded district. A rescue from the rooftop the horde is climbing. The last bus out of a dying town. Each run has a prize, a route, and a deadline — usually dawn, usually the convoy, usually both.
The GM keeps the clock. Some rolls take time. Some choices spend it. When the clock runs out, the choice is made for you — and the convoy leaves.
The golden rule
The GM never kills a survivor on a single roll. Death is earned by the fiction: the corner you backed into, the promise you kept, the seat you gave away. This is a game about surviving at all costs — and about finding out what "all costs" means to you.
