How to Play
You begin alone, exposed, and without a settlement. The table follows what you attempt, not a prepared chain of scenes. Find a place, make it defensible, meet people, and decide who—if anyone—you can trust enough to build with. The world responds honestly.
The basic check
When the outcome is uncertain and failure matters, roll 2d6 and add a relevant modifier. A stat of 10 gives +0; every two points above or below 10 give +1 or -1, rounding down. The Guide sets a difficulty:
| Difficulty | Target | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Routine | 7 | Find dry kindling in familiar ground |
| Dangerous | 9 | Cross a damaged roof in bad weather |
| Extreme | 11 | Repair a contaminated cistern without proper tools |
Meet or beat the target to succeed. Beat it by 4 or more for a strong success. Miss by 1–3 for a setback: you may succeed at a cost, lose time, spend supplies, attract attention, or worsen a condition. Miss by 4 or more for a hard failure. The Guide should make the consequence specific and immediate, never arbitrary.
Do not roll for obvious actions. Do not roll twice because the first result was inconvenient. Change the plan, accept the cost, or live with the outcome.
A session's rhythm
Most play moves through five questions:
- What is running out or getting worse?
- What can we do before it does?
- Who must we involve, disappoint, or risk?
- What will the attempt cost if it works?
- What has changed when we return?
At the beginning, these questions belong to one survivor. Later, they belong to a growing settlement and the people who depend on it. End a scene when you have secured a result, suffered a meaningful reversal, or chosen a new direction. Update food, water, injuries, project labor, morale, and relationships when they change.
Failure is information
A failed expedition should reveal something: a safer route, a rival's motive, a structural weakness, or the true price of an assumption. Survival is not protected by plot armor. It is protected by preparation, cooperation, and the willingness to retreat before pride becomes an injury.