glow, proof of the evil bound to its very existence.

The
beast opened its fanged maw, emitting a shroud of
befouled air and a shrieking cry which echoed
throughout Underuarth for miles. Though
this was not true Underuarth, for it was all
encased in pixels and plastic. Indeed, the
trio had descended into the sentient
circuitry of an arcade cabinet housed
withing the neonlit walls of the
https://discord.gg/ Spark-Blizzard arcade in Appleport city.
BEhDg92vkM Led by the cosmic wizard Nir’olo, the
party was gathered to hunt the secrets
of an age forgotten by Time, but one
which the mysticality of Arcana still
strong recalls.
“See now, it sets those wicked eyes
upon us!” cried Bellman in trepidation,
reaching into his pack for some bauble to
alleviate the danger, while Nir’olo ripped open the
Third Gate of arcana and Krovoth erupted in an oath
to Krimnir.
The ruined wall upon which the terrible lizard was
perched began to buck and topple as the beast scurried
down, sending fist-sized stones hurtling towards the
intrepid delvers below. Though all action took place in an
“This crumbling parapet looms over us like Death with a arcade cabinet, this was no ordinary video-graphic
vendetta…” So quoth Krovoth of the Doth-Vikoth, a adventure, for the elves of Faerie had enchanted the
hulking beast of a man. cabinet so that any who grasp its joystick would
“Merely the shrugging of great shoulders beneath transcend the shackles which ground them to the Fields
us,” retorted Nir’olo the Eternal One, referring to the of Man. Their being would be projected into a deeper
slumbering titans rumoured to lie yet deeper below the dimension. One that was far more perilous.
world’s surface, which the cosmic wizard wished to meet. “It’s almost upon us!” cried Bellman, at last
“Hang the parapets!” barked Bellman Half-Elven. discovering the object of his search: a clear vial holding
“See here, tracks, of origin I know not.” purple liquid. In a trained motion, the fae-tainted man
The three fated Landstalkers crouched over the hurled the vial up and into the face of his adversary. The
revealed trail, hoping to extract further revelations as vial shattered into a spray of glass, releasing the curious
Nir’olo directed the arcane light from his staff onto the substance within. Bellman watched as his potion
scene. Krovoth leapt into an animated stance of battle, proceeded to warp bits of the hideous monster into
drawing a Hydrargyrum solar-sabre and addressing the another dimension, translating whatever flesh it touched
tracks thusly: “A beast of accursed origin, six hooked feet across time and space in a vibrant flash of colour.
connected to a body of serpentine feature! I slew such a Nir’olo, having breached the Third Gate, conjured
fiend at great cost in days I had hoped past.” fourth the Destructive Magnification of Oral Sovereignty,
Bellman drew his gun, muttering an elven charm he using his own throat as a vessel through which to expel
had heard long ago during his entrapment in Faerie, a an explosion of air which almost held the beast aloft mid-
realm he called Wonderland. “The parapet, it may yet fall, and forced Bellman’s potion further across the
hold Death’s vile ambition. Look! The beast’s trail crawls thing’s body, causing blood and scales to flitter off across
into the ruins.” the Infinitum.
A flicker of colour outside the naturally visible When the remaining bulk of the furious lizard fell,
spectrum flashed across the trio as Nir’olo channelled the Krovoth was already prepared. He drew up his solar-sabre
Second Gate of sorcery, casting Unshroudation of the and proceeded to directly slice off the thing’s left-foreleg,
Maleficent. High above, within the long-abandoned using the momentum of its fall to serve his sword-arm.
fortification queerly illumined by the luminescent fungi Even all this was insufficient to quell the beast,
of the cavern, a noisome beast crawled fourth from the however. Rearing itself up, it fell upon Krovoth, its
realms of Nightmare and confronted the party. Nir’olo’s wicked claws posed to rend the brutal barbarian’s flesh!
enchantment had highlighted its form with a sickly red With animalistic instinct, the man leaned to one side,
avoiding an otherwise sure death as his back was split IF is a rules-lite, universal RPG, focused on flexibility.
open by the creature. Meanwhile, Bellman frantically The system before you now is highly conductive to player
leapt over the thing’s swinging tail, dodging a blow which creativity, with heroes being able to essential be or do
would have crushed every bone in his body. whatever you want, without you needing to cross-
Just when the battle seemed darkest, the air whistled reference a massive rulebook. The core of all this is the
with the sound of a swooping starship as a fabled-form Excellency system. When you create your hero, you select
descended from above to drive her glimmering sword an Excellency for them. You'd generally make this up
into the monster’s vast, flat cranium. The warrior-queen, yourself, or you may select from a list of samples. Your
Nia, had returned from scouting the cyclopean labyrinth. Excellency may be pretty much any sort of super power,
In a fluid display of martial aptitude, she wrenched form of magic, or particular skill; from shadowmancy, to
Cleamithtriel from the wound it had wrought and leapt cooking. Each Excellency comes with a pool Excellent
from the dead beast’s head. Points which your hero may expend in various ways to
The enemy defeated, Bellman splashed a restorative perform actions related to the Excellency, or to enhance
potion over Krovoth’s back and the heroes sought to related abilities. There's a bit more to it than that, and
catch their breath, but only choked on the coarse dust characters also have various other aspects - such as
from the collapsing ruins all about them. The next minute Quirks, which work similarly to Feats in other RPGs, and
was naught but a mad scramble through the wreckage Skills, which Boost related rolls - but the Excellency
and destruction which befell that ancient, enchanted system is what specifically sets the game apart from
place. No one – not even Nir’olo – knew who had erected others.
these walls, but they bore faded runes and glyphs the Infinitum Fabula operates on that age-old concept of
cosmic wizard recognized from planets beyond the light rolling dice to determine the success or failure of the
of Uarth’s Sun. players and to drive the narrative of the game forward
“See here, there’s a crevice which leads into new and unexpected scenes of action and intrigue. It
undercover!” so cried Nia, pointing out the beacon of is naturally overseen by a Gamemaster or Judge, which in
hope to her comrades. Diving into the hole, the group this game is referred to as a Fablekeeper. For the most
tumbled down, down further and further, into the dark part, I assume you’re already familiar with RPGs, having
and forbidden depths. In search of the unknown, they perhaps cut your teeth on something like Dungeons &
plunged deeper, into the very bowels of the Infinitum… Dragons. As such, I have not featured in-depth
elucidations upon the most basic of gaming principles,
nor detailed guidelines on the etiquette of how exactly to
IF you can imagine a conflux of fables, injected with a host such games. For such advice, I would recommend
vibrant and rejuvenated shot of excellency, your eyes will turning to
gleam with the radiant stardust of a thousand awakened
worlds. IF you can dream it, you can write it. IF you can
turn the pages of your imagination, you can enter the
Infinitum Fabula.
Fantastic scenarios like the one you’ve just read are
exactly the sort this book aims to evoke from the
fathomless depths of your mind. Tales of heroic
adventure, across impossible lands, against incredible
odds! Tales ripped from the pages of eery pulp-fiction
mags, infused with the noble epics found in all manner of
fantasy novels gracing the 20th century, onto cinematic
marvels you watched just last week. Infinitum Fabula seeks
to capture the spirit of it all. Lazers whizzing through the
hollowed-out husks of starships; swords sparking off
against enchanted platemail; a caped hero hurtling across
the skyline to thwart some dastardly villain; the roar of
an engine barrelling across a wasteland of blood and fire.
The possibilities are all here in this one little book,
presented in plain and readily useable gaming concepts.
Here be dragons, and a lot more besides. The Infinitum
stretches its yawning expanse before us, its form pliable
to any concept imaginable. What will you do with it?
 one of D&D’s Dungeon Master’s Guides, particularly its 4th simply what I named this game’s expansive campaign
edition, or the Knock! magazine, or any one of the other setting. Step into Uarth, a realm of fantastic sensibilities,
myriad sources written on the subject. At any rate, all you where magic can be learnt and where dragons paint the
strictly need to play IF is this book, a full set of skyline with their wings. On this ancient and mysterious
roleplaying dice (preferably a digital dice calculator) and world of might and magic, heroes of law and chaos tread
something to record your hero’s details upon. the land in search of fame, fortune and power. Beneath
The IF system is explicitly written to be as open to the ground and beyond the borders of civilization lie
interpretation as possible. The Fablekeeper is free - catacombs, pocket-realities, dungeons, and worlds
encouraged even - to take what I have written and modify forgotten by time. Such locations of legend are the
it however they see fit. There are very few rules to get in resting places for treasures of near unfathomable worth,
your way and the entire game is generally meant as a but also the hunting grounds of creatures which would
base for you to build off of. A core design goal I had in stretch the mortal definitions of fear. It is into this Uarth
designing IF is that I wanted the system to possesses a which you will descend, armed with steel, arcana and wit,
notable backbone and not feel overly flimsy or too to conquer that which bested your predecessors. But your
streamlined. At the same time, I also wanted conversion adventure does not stop there – or necessarily even start
of other RPG materials into this system to be easy. If you there – for Uarth is ever shifting, and with its rotations
see a cool character option or concept in another RPG, come eras as disparate as night and day. The Astraeus
you should be able to very easily emulate it in IF. Beanstalk floats through the Infinitum like a bubble on
Similarly, running modules written for pretty much any the ocean’s surface, playing host to more fables than all
other system should be easy to convert and adjudicate the books in the world could record. From the
on-the-fly. Whether you employ the many adventures antediluvian ages of mythic Gruvornia, to the radical
already in your collection, or you make up something streets of neonlit Appleport, to the fantastic planets
entirely new to play through in IF, I hope your enjoyment beyond Uarth’s horizon, the Infinitum contains
of the game is as vast as the Infinitum. everything, and then some.
I keep yammering on about this “Infinitum,” but just In charting this Infinitum, I come into contact with a
what is that anyway? The infinitum is every square fellow named Nir’olo the Eternal One, who claims to be
between here and there; every second before then and some sort of cosmic wizard. You might remember that he
again. If you can imagine it, the Infinitum already hacked my servers to share his DCC supplement some
encompasses it. In a metaphysical sense, your mind is the time ago: Nir'olo's Excellent Methods of Fantastic Gaming and
Infinitum. In a more grounded sense, the Infinitum is Unearthed Cosmic Understanding. He seems harmless
enough, so I’ve not given him much heed. He’s now taken
a keen interest in my work, however, insisting I let him
Enter Nir’olo interject various notes, comments and variant rules
throughout this book. You’ll surely know them when you
see them, as he writes on parchment and his vocabulary
Hail, friend! My cognomen doth be Nir’olo the
is fairly… eccentric. His knowledge has been invaluable in
Eternal One, for I fly in upon wings of
detailing the many fascinating intricacies of the
chronspatiallity which have brushed the turf of every
Infinitum.
planet between thine and the dwelling of Time.
If this book simply brings you joy in some way, or
Olórin insisted I write a foreword of mine own to
proves a font of inspiration, it will have served its
go alongside his, but I could scarcely be concerned
purpose. If you have any questions, suggestions, feedback,
with such trivialities. Thy art no doubt eager to read
or want to follow the game’s latest updates, you are
this tome in its actuality, not peruse the ramblings of
welcome to join the Excellent Top Hat Discord server,
an old, cross-dimensional man. Ye must know, Time
linked earlier on page 3.
is a curious thing when thou art as old as me. It starts
As always, stay safe and excellent.
to bend about thyself, alongside thine peripheral
optication, until thine death doth come before thine

Olórin
conception. Worry not, however, for I assure ye I
weave no spell into the text hither; I merely am, as
are ye.

Ever -Young
As ye can thus imagine, writing forewords is not
my preferred forte. So, onwards with thee. May thy
pen never rest for the overflowing ingenuity and
imaginative spark of thine mind. May this liber aid ye
in achieving that most fantastic and noble aspiration.
And so on and so forth.
 ’
The Infinitum may be vast, but the rules you need to
host excellent adventures in it are not. Herein I’ll detail
the core principles and structure of Infinitum Fabula;
from the intricacies of how the seven Attributes work,
to the frenzied excitement of Action Scenes. For rules
on hero creation, see Chapter IV.
Permeating the game is a sense of creative freedom
and it all starts in this chapter. Fablekeepers and
apprentice heroes alike, take heed, for herein lie the
fundamentals you’ll need to master in order to play the
game; from the various forms of rolls, to the rulings-
over-rules mentality of Action Scenes. But you needn’t
worry, since, odds are, you already have all the skills
necessary to engage in a successful campaign of IF. I
assume you’re already familiar with the RPG hobby in
general, but even if not, I know you’re keen towards
the mysticality of fantasy, the awe-inspiring magnitude
of science-fiction, and the simple joy of storytelling. If
you’ve ever appreciated a novel or movie, you no doubt
already have a wealth of knowledge and ideas to draw
from in weaving out your own personal corner of the
Infinitum. It’s big enough for all our imaginations and
IF you can dream it, you can write it.
Now you’d better proceed in good health, lest I
really run out of things to say here and just start
writing pure cheese ‘n gibberish.
The seven Attributes are the core of IF and what everything else hinges upon. Here you’ll find an explanation of each
one, detailing what they’re meant to cover and how you might use them. The value of a creature’s Attributes are
measured by die sizes, with larger dice representing better Attributes. A strong wrestler, for instance,
might have a d20 Muscle Die and a particularly unlucky fellow might only have a d3 Luck Die.

The simplest and most direct The wit to Muscle’s brawn, Intellect This covers the general vibe you give
Attribute, Muscle measures your covers all analytical thinking, people; your overall force of will and
physical might and all forms of memory, and general knowledge. Its charisma. It can be seen as your aura
brawn-based athletics, such as many uses range from determining and mental fortitude. You will use it
jumping and hurling objects. whether you know a certain language to intimidate, persuade, and boost
Muscle is also used for or not, to being able to solve a tricky morale, without necessarily needing
most melee attacks. riddle, to discovering the secrets of to speak any words. Though usually
arcana and spellcraft. folks with a high Spirit will also be
very good with words. You also use
Where dexterity, hand-eye-
this Attribute to ward off
coordination, acrobatics, stealth and Acumen governs your general
the effects of fear.
general reflexes are concerned, perception and intuition, as well as
Agility is king. Dodging various covering your innate bond to the
hazards and using ranged weaponry Infinitum. Indeed, while Intellect Rolling Tests which don’t relate to
with confidence are two notable covers a myriad of academic fields, it any other Attributes rely upon Luck.
uses of the Attribute. holds no sway over the fields of Such Tests might involve gambling,
nature. When rolling Tests related to or finding the keys to a car behind
wilderness survival, you roll Acumen. the sun-visor. Furthermore, once per
The toughest Attribute, you use this
Gods and other higher beings of the Rest, you may add your Luck Die to
to thwart the effects of poison, shrug
Infinitum also tend to favour mortals every roll you make in the span of
off attacks, and go without supper
with honed Acumen, rather than one Round, rolling it alongside the
without caring. It also serves as a
studied Intellect. other dice and adding the result. This
representation of your endurance
mechanic can also represent a sort of
and general stamina. Your initial
adrenaline surge, hard grit, or just
Health value is equal to the size of Heroic Luck plain old ‘tude, depending on context.
your Fortitude Die +5, and then every
time you Level Up you roll your Variant
Fortitude Die and add the result to Ye spent thine daily Luck Die, only
your Health. to get cut off at the knee by snake-
eyes? Such is the cruel path which
fate doth weave at times. But ye
Here is an example. Conan (of
art a hero, are ye not? So ye aught
Whenever you attempt pretty much barbaric fame) wishes to kick-in a
roll like one! Consider this variant:
anything, you roll an Attribute Test. wooden door. His most relevant
if the total result of a roll aided by
To do so, simply roll the die Attribute here is of course Muscle,
Luck is lower than thy Luck Die
associated with the Attribute most so he rolls his Muscle Die, which
size, ignore it and substitute a
relevant to the thing you’re trying to is – let’s assume – a d20. The
value equal to thine Luck Die. For
do. The Fablekeeper then decides Fablekeeper then considers the
example, if ye roll a d12, add thy
upon and rolls a Difficulty Die, which situation. This particular wooden
d10 Luck Die, and get a result of 3
can be any die size, with larger dice door is soggy and thus more prone
and 2, ye instead get a result of 10.
representing greater challenges. For to being kicked-in than wooden
the Test to be a success, the result of doors usually tend to be. But Conan
your Attribute Die needs to be equal isn’t using any tools to make his life
to or larger than whatever the Difficulty Die rolled. Of easier, like a sledgehammer. So, the Fablekeeper decides
course, if you were to attempt something impossible, that the Difficulty Die for this particular task will be a
such as breaking open a bank vault with your bare hands, d12. If Conan’s Muscle Test is equal to or higher than
the Fablekeeper could simply say the Test is impossible whatever the Difficulty Die comes up as, the soggy
instead of setting a Difficulty Die. wooden door now gets a new adjective: splintered.
 Inspired Luck
If the game is to suggest a strong sense of creative
thinking, then I doth suggest a notable way for yon
Fablekeeper to encourage such gameplay. If a player
attempts an exceptionally clever ploy, or doth describe
their actions in especially amusing detail, yon
Fablekeeper may consider letting the player add their The Fablekeeper may call for a Hazard Test from any
Luck Die to the roll at no expense, so as to reward their creature to avoid environmental damage of any sort. If
dedicated engagement to the game. the creature fails the Test, they suffer an amount of
Damage determined by the severity of the hazard.
Relatively mild hazards, such as falling ten feet, deal 1d10
Damage. Dangerous hazards, like catching on fire, deal
Opposed Tests between creatures work largely the same 1d20 Damage. Deadly hazards, such as being hit by a
way as Attribute Tests, except that the Difficulty Die is boulder rolling down a hill, deal 3d10 Damage, or more!
substituted for whatever the most relevant Attribute of It is also possible for certain Hazard Tests to be made
the second creature is. For instance, if Conan tried to in avoidance of deleterious effects, not just Damage. For
knock over a bandit, that would be an Opposed Test
between Conan’s Muscle Die vs the bandit’s
Muscle or Agility Die, depending on how
exactly they want to try avoiding Conan.
Higher roll wins, ties go to player-controlled
heroes. If two player-controlled heroes are
competing against each other, reroll ties.
If multiple characters work together to
accomplish a specific task – such as pushing a
large statue over or collectively trying to solve a
hard puzzle – everyone rolls the Test together.
The highest result rolled amongst the characters
is then the result which is compared against
whatever the Difficulty Die came up as. This is
called an Aided Test.

Not every Test a hero makes is self-initiated. Often

heroes will find themselves in precarious situations
which force Tests upon them, with failure indicating
potentially terrible consequences! Such Tests are
referred to as Hazard Tests.
 Erratic Probability
Ye wilt no doubt notice that the game’s rolls operate on
a pendulum of utter pandemonium. See here, as I set a
Difficulty Die of d30 for an arduous Intellect Test, only
to roll a 1 and thus be automatically bested by the local
instance, the Fablekeeper could call for a Fortitude dunce’s 1d3 Intellect Die.
Hazard Test to avoid the effects of a paralysis poison, Such anarchy is an intended feature, not an
with failure indicating the hero is paralyzed for however overlooked travesty! Or at least, that’s what Olórin
long the poison lasts. Theoretically, in extreme situations, claims. Cosmic flukes are a possibility; the chaos borne
Hazard Tests could even be used to handle old-school in upon them a boon to thine enjoyment of the game.
save-or-die rolls. While it is true that glossed-up, high Level heroes have
Usually making Hazard Tests do not use up any a far greater chance of success, ye’ll never forget that
Actions; the Test simply happens automatically in one time Mort the Mortician manged to land the killing
response to the hazard. It is also possible for Hazard Tests blow against all odds, and even Landstalkers must
to be ongoing, with the hero needing to make them each succumb to failure eventually.
Round, with success indicating that the hazard is avoided,
and failure indicating that the hazard continues to hound
the hero that Round. Usually Boosts and Drags come from Skills and
Quirks. You might for instance be Skilled in archery,
, which Boosts every die roll you make related to archery.
Or maybe you have a Quirk dictating your incompetence
Usually, the difficulty of a Test is entirely covered by the
in cooking, Dragging every Test you make to prepare
Fablekeeper simply choosing an appropriately sized
meals, among other deleterious culinary effects. It’s also
Difficulty Die, based on the context of the situation. But
conceivable that you might gain Boosts by making use of
sometimes there are more esoteric forces at play. That is
an Excellency. Those are not the sole sources from which
when Boosts and Drags come into the picture.
Boosts and Drags are derived, however. The Fablekeeper
If a roll is Boosted, it means that the die rolled is one
is free to apply Boosts or Drags to any roll at any time, as
step higher on the Dice Chain than normal. Say for
they see fit. They might say that convincing a guard to
example you have a d10 in Acumen, and you roll a
look the other way, after slyly throwing a coin in that
Boosted Acumen Test; you would then roll a d12.
direction, is a Boosted Spirit Test. Or they might say the
Dragging rolls work the exact opposite, instead of going
Damage Die of a crooked-barrelled pistol is Dragged.
up the Dice Chain, you go down. An important note is that
It should be noted that certain rolls in the game –
any given roll can have an infinite amount of Boost and or
usually Attack Rolls and Defence Rolls – are made with
Drags applied to it. Say for instance that you’re rolling a
multiple dice. If any Boosts or Drags effect such rolls, they
d8, but two Boosts and one Drag apply to it; You’d then
then effect all that roll’s dice. For instance, say you’re
roll a d10 instead. You can find a handy reference for the
Skilled in marksmanship and you fire a high-calibre lazer
Dice Chain along the top of the next page.
d3 – d4 – d6 – d8 – d10 – d12 – d14 – d16 – d20 – d24 – d30

rifle with a 3d8 Damage Die.

Your Agility Die is a d12 and Usually, in-game time flows at a somewhat abstracted
let’s say you’re using an pace and turn order is not strictly important. Your heroes
Excellency to add a bonus are free to simply do and attempt what they like in the
1d6 Damage Die to the mix. narrative of the game and the Fablekeeper will tell you if
You would then roll and when any rolls are necessary.
1d14+3d10+1d8 for the The Fablekeeper is free to incorporate any specific
Attack Roll. Each of the time flow framework they prefer. For instance, perhaps
three d8 from the weapon you like the 10-minute “Turns” from old-school D&D
are Boosted once, dungeon exploration. By all means, use it here, rolling for
becoming d10s; the random encounters with a d6 and extinguishing torches
Boosted d12 Agility Die every hour on the hour. A downtime segment between
becomes a d14 and the adventures, SotDL style, could also work brilliantly, giving
Bonus Excellency Die players a chance to have their heroes engage in more
becomes a d8. time-consuming endeavours, such establishing a business
or studying up on magic in their wizard tower.
, At any rate, when things get heated – leading
lightspeed into erratic, ‘narly, trouble, you might say –
the game adopts the Action Scene framework, detailed in
When a creature takes Damage
the following pages. It’s used to simulate everything from
from any source, they note it,
high-speed chases, to brutal battles.
accumulating the amount. Being at 0
Damage is being in perfect health. If you’re then, say, hit
by a fireball for 9 Damage and ran over by a car for 7,
your Damage value would jump up to 16!
Your initial Health value is equal to the size of your
Fortitude Die +5, and then every time you Level Up you
roll your Fortitude Die and add the result to your Health.
If your Damage ever equals or exceeds your Health, you’ll
fall Unconscious until your Damage is reduced
back down to below your Health. But if your
Damage ever equals or exceeds your
Health plus 10, you’ll
immediately die.

-
For each Rest – usually lasting
around eight hours, in which
you do nothing strenuous – you
roll your Fortitude Die + your Level
and reduce your Damage by the result.
When you Rest you also recover all
spent Excellent Points. You may only
Rest once per day.
Once per Rest you may also receive
first-aid from someone. Either Intellect or Acumen
is used to perform first-aid, which requires medical
supplies. Simply roll the Attribute Die and then heal
Damage equal to the result.
 for. Often an Action will involve making a roll of some
Action Scenes are broken up into Rounds. One Round kind to see if the Action is a success, but only if there’s
represents about 10 seconds of in-game time. In each actually a feasible chance of failure. No need to roll a Test
Round, every creature involved in the Action Scene gets just to draw your pistol.
their own Turn, in which they may spend their Actions to
attempt quite literally anything you can imagine. • Move into an adjacent Zone
The heroes always take their Turns first each Round. • Pilot a vehicle
The only exception to this is if the heroes somehow get • Make an attack
ambushed or caught unawares, in which case they cannot • Draw a weapon
act on the first Round of the Action Scene, essentially • Breathe fire
missing their first Turns. An Opposed Test using Agility • Open a door
(to represent stealth) versus Acumen (to represent • Pull a lever
perception) can be used to determine if a creature is
• Grab an item
successfully ambushed.
• Use an item
The individual Turn order of each hero is always up
to the players. They are free to go in whichever order • Break free from restraints
they think best each Round. The same goes for the • Stand up after being knocked over
Fablekeeper in deciding which non-player characters and • Prepare an Action to be triggered later
monsters act in what order at the end of each Round. • Throw an item to an ally
Each hero usually has 2 Actions to spend per Round • Cast a spell
on their Turn. NPCs and monsters might have more or • Dive for cover
less though, as determined by the Fablekeeper. Of note is • Equip an excellent top hat
that certain game effects can temporarily lower the
amount of Actions you may spend per Round, but your
number of Actions per Round can never drop lower than On your Turn you may declare an Action ahead of time,
1. Certain circumstances might preclude you from being stating a trigger. If the trigger comes to pass, your Action
able to take any Actions in the first place, however; such can immediately take effect. For example, you could say
as if you were stuck in a hole or Unconscious. your hero is placing a hand on a lever, stating that they’ll
Here are a few examples of what an Action may be used pull it if any enemies try to approach. Or you simply say
you’ll attack the first enemy who approaches.
Action Scenes are broken up into abstracted Zones. One
Zone covers a space roughly 30x30 feet across. But
usually, the Fablekeeper will simply name each Zone,
each of which being a notable area in the scene. For
example, a bar brawl might consist of four Zones: the
west side of the room, the east side, behind the bar itself,
and the staircase leading to the second floor. As the
Action Scene unfolds it’s of course possible for more
Zones to be added; for instance, if someone were to leave
the aforementioned bar, or go upstairs into the second-
floor. The Fablekeeper simply describes and establishes
any new Zones as they become relevant.
Creatures in a Zone can interact with and reach
anything in the same Zone as them. Battles are thus a
veritable storm of dynamic action and cinematic
moments; the IF system is not overly concerned with the
precise positioning of combatants. Moving out of a Zone
into an adjacent Zone costs 1 Action, and doing so might
require an Attribute Test if the terrain is unfavourable. It
is possible to interact with certain things outside of your
Zone, based on common sense, however. For instance,
you can obviously fire a gun into another Zone, as long as
nothing is in your way, or you could probably throw
something there. The Fablekeeper is free to impose any
Drags here if they deem cover or range relevant, such as
if you fire a gun from outside through a window to hit
something indoors.

An Attack Roll is made up of either the attacker’s Muscle

or Agility – depending on whether their weapon relies
more on strength or finesse – plus their weapon’s Damage
Die. If you have already made an Attack Roll this Round
then all subsequent Attack Rolls are Dragged; this is
referred to as the Multiple Attack Penalty, or MAP.
A Defence Roll is made up of either the defendant’s
Agility or Fortitude Die, whichever is better, plus their
Armour Die. It should be noted that the Agility Die cannot
be used if the defendant isn’t able to move around, such
as if they’re Unconscious or Restrained. Defence Roll of 12 – it instead becomes a Critical Hit. A
The Attack Roll’s result is compared to the target’s Critical Hit ignores the Defence Roll and just deals
Defence Roll. Subtract the Defence Roll from the Attack Damage equal to the full result of the Attack Roll. So, in
Roll to determine how much Damage the attack inflicted. the example above, the Critical Hit would deal 12 Damage.
It is thus possible for an attack to miss, dealing no I highly recommend using a digital dice calculator to
Damage, but it cannot deal negative Damage. streamline the procession of battles. To do so, you would
For example, if a cowboy with a d12 Agility Die shot a make the Attack Roll first to get its result, then make the
revolver with a 1d10 Damage Die, they’d roll 1d12+1d10 to Defence Roll as a negative modifier to the Attack Roll’s
make their Attack Roll. The bandit – who let’s say has a static result. For example, if you’re targeted by an Attack
d10 Fortitude Die and is wearing armour granting a 1d10 Roll which results in 15, you would then roll 15 minus
Armour Die – will roll 2d10 for their Defence Roll. The your Defence Roll; the result is then how much Damage
cowboy’s Attack Roll results in an 11, while the bandit’s you suffer. Or if just one person is rolling all the dice (as
Defence Roll totals 6. The bandit is thus hit for 5 Damage! would be the case in solo-play) you can simply input a full
If an attack would ever deal exactly 0 Damage – for attack formula all at once and it will spit out the Damage
example, if an Attack Roll of 12 was made against a output directly
 Gritty Attack Variant
Swinging a sword is brutal business,
which is why I favour the planed intricacy
of spellweaving. Indeed, swing a sword
one moment and ye might find it buried
in thine own gut the next! See now, thy
opponent rests not, constantly vying for
bloody supremacy and taking advantage
of all thine shortcomings. As such, I
propose that instead of merely missing,
melee attacks which result in negative
numbers deal the negative result in the bottle at point-blank range
Damage to the attacker! with a pistol than it is to hit the
bottle with a slingshot from a
hundred paces off.
But what if the object in
question is particularly
Whenever making an Attack Roll important, such as a stationary
you can also spend a second vehicle or a deactivated robot? Or
Action to attempt some extra what if it’s especially resilient,
effect or trick, resolved by simply such as a thick wall? In such cases
making an appropriate Test. If the Fablekeeper might assign the
the Attack Roll hits and the Test object a Difficulty Die, and then
succeeds, you deal Damage as an Armour Die and a Health
usual and whatever effect you value, if it doesn’t already have
were trying to achieve is them. If anyone then tries to
successful, too. If only your damage the object they would
Attack Roll succeeds, you deal the make a standard Attack Roll, with
Damage as usual but ignore the the object’s Defence Roll
Test; you landed the attack, but consisting of its Difficulty Die and
failed to achieve anything special Armour Die. If the object
beyond that. If the Attack Roll accumulates Damage equal to its
fails to deal any Damage, then the Health, it is destroyed.
Test is also failed automatically,
regardless of its result.
For example, a sniper could spend two Actions to Below is a brief list of things which could come up in
attempt shooting their target in the leg, to hobble them. combat, modifying rolls in various ways. The Fablekeeper
They’d first roll an Agility Test versus an appropriate may add to or change it in any way they deem fit.
Difficulty Die, then their Attack Roll. If both are
successful, they’d deal Damage as usual and then inflict a • Wielding a shield Boosts your Armour Die, unless
debilitating effect on their target! Perhaps the you’ve used it as a weapon this Round.
Fablekeeper would say all rolls the target makes which in • Wielding one melee weapon with both hands Boosts
some way rely on the leg are Dragged, and that the target its Damage Die.
now moves at half speed. The effect might last until they • Wielding a different weapon in each hand allows you
heal the Damage that the Attack caused. to ignore the Multiple Attack Penalty.
If you don’t want to deal Damage, however, you do • If you use a ranged weapon to attack an opponent in
not need to make an Attack Roll at all. For instance, if you the same Zone, the Attack Roll is Dragged.
simply want to shove someone, grapple them to the • If you attack an unaware opponent, the Attack Roll
ground, pickpocket them, or something similar, that is double-Boosted.
could be resolved with a standard Opposed Test. • Your Attack Roll is double-Dragged if you attack a
target you cannot see. Obviously, you must also be
attacking the right Zone to stand any chance of
Usually, if a character wants to break an object, it can be landing the hit in the first place.
resolved with a standard Attribute Test. For instance, if • You Boost your Attack Roll if you have the high
you wanted to shoot a bottle off a fencepost, that could be ground.
handled by rolling your Agility versus an appropriate
• Your Attack Roll is Dragged if you’re Prone. Unless
Difficulty Die, which would be determined by the distance
you’re using, say, a sniper rifle. In that case, the
of the bottle and your weapon. It’s of course easier to hit
Attack Roll would be Boosted.
 As an example, let’s look at the dragon and boulder
IF wholeheartedly encourages emergent, creativity- situation I mentioned earlier; what actually would
driven gameplay, especially if it means underdog heroes happen if the heroes rolled a boulder onto a dragon’s
manage to best far stronger opposition. For example, say head? Well, one possible way to adjudicate that would be
the adventure involves the awakening of Godzilla, who to have the heroes first roll a Muscle Test, to see if they’re
would no doubt have a massive amount of Health and able to get the boulder rolling in the first place. And to
nigh impervious defences. Attacking the monster head-on get to the boulder without waking the dragon up, the
would be suicide, unless the heroes are in possession of heroes would have to first roll an Agility vs Acumen
some especially powerful equipment. So, now what? Is Opposed Test to represent stealth. If that all works, the
the adventure just over? Well, think of this from a dragon then rolls a Hazard Test, with success resulting in
narrative standpoint. What would the heroes do were Damage and failure resulting in outright death!
they in a novel or movie? Well, if they’re as mad as me, Like I said back in the foreword, I assume you’re
they might try to enter Godzilla directly, march through already fairly familiar with the RPG hobby. There have
its gut, and put a bunch of holes in its heart. A sure-fire been millions of words written on the subject of Dungeon
way of killing the beast! Thanks to a bit of creative Mastering, Game Mastering, Storytelling, and of course,
thinking, that hopeless battle now has a chance of nothing beats first-hand experience. My main aim in
turning out okay. Of course, actually reaching Godzilla’s designing Infinitum Fabula was not to reinvent the wheel,
heart and then making it back out alive is still easier said nor to reteach you how to run RPGs. My goal is simply to
than done. present a rules-lite, universal ruleset capable of keeping
Let’s look at an example from Star Wars. At the battle up with your already excellent imagination and gaming
of Hoth, did the rebels just senseless plink away at the skillset. If you’ve actually had the interest to read this far,
Health of the hulking AT-AT Walkers? Of course not! They you should already have the passion needed to run
used their tow cables to trip the hulking machinery up. fantastic sessions.
Same result, but with a far greater chance of success. Now
that’s using your noodle!
Remember, “defeating” an opponent does not just
mean raising their Damage value to match their Health Narrated Combat Abstraction
value by launching an endless barrage of monotonous Herein I make note of an important concept: a successful
Attack Rolls against them. Not only is that woefully attack doth not always mean ye hath full-on hit thine
boring, but it’s also abysmally unoptimized in most cases; opponent in the narrative of the game. Otherwise that
there’s almost always going to be a more strategic way of would all too often lead into scenarios which make little
winning. Have a teleportation Excellency? Try using it to sense. For instance, if ye roll a great attack with yon
teleport your opponent into the open sky, or into a trap shotgun, but thine target is not felled by it directly; they
you set earlier! Is there a loose boulder resting above a still of course take the full Damage thy shot delt, but in-
slumbering dragon? Try rolling it onto the beast’s head! A universe we would say the shot merely grazed them.
poisoned projectile might cause a status effect far more Because realistically speaking, an actual gunshot wound is
useful to you than the Damage it inflects. Losing a fight going to be a serious problem, regardless of whether it
against a vampire? Well, that’s why you brought a pouch outright killed ye or not.
of poppy seeds; sprinkle them on the ground to distract On a similar note, the number of attacks ye
the fiend! narratively dish out each Round is not necessarily equal
In all these situations, the Fablekeeper should be to the number of Actions ye doth spend. For instance, ye
comfortable adjudicating things on-the-spot, without could spend 2 Actions to perform two Attack Rolls with a
necessarily needing to consult a rulebook every time rapier, then proceed to describe it in the narrative of the
something unexpected happens; I’ve specifically designed game as thine hero unleashing a flurry of rapid lunges, or
IF to support them in that ambition. As long as a player’s just one carefully aimed thrust to the heart of thine
idea sounds narratively cool, and it logically makes sense opponent.
in the context of the game’s setting, the Fablekeeper This abstracted mentality can be applied to a great
should play along. That’s all very well and good, but now many things indeed and wilt general enhance the
how far should Fablekeepers actually take this? It’s easy enjoyment of thine gaming sessions. Another example:
for me to just say the game’s super-duper flexible and tell being Prone doth not invariably mean ye hath narratively
you to treat it as such, but now how do you actually do fallen over. Mayhap it merely denotes that ye’ve lost
that? You may or may not like my answer: honestly, I say thine equilibrium. The game mechanic remains
just let the Fablekeeper adjudicate it all however they feel unchanged, but that doth not mean it need always be
best. Now that’s gotta be the final boss of all cop-out narratively described in identical fashion.
answers there ever were, so let’s talk about it a bit more.
Herein you’ll find a sample list of Conditions which could If you are Grappled by a creature, they drag you along
apply to anyone, depending on what they do and what with them when they move. You cannot leave them or
happens to them. The Fablekeeper should make liberal attack anyone else unless you win an appropriate
use of Conditions to spice up the game, calling for a Opposed Test to escape.
Hazard Test to avoid deleterious Conditions when
necessary. Special Attacks might also threaten harmful
The number of Actions you can spend per Round are
Conditions if successful.
increased by 1.
If you have a Condition, you’re usually affected by it
until you Rest, or simply until whatever is causing the
Condition stops causing the Condition. They all Creatures cannot see you, essentially being Blinded
essentially work like temporary Quirks. towards you.

-
You cannot see, making most sight-based activities
Your Actions are chosen by whatever is Mind-Controlling
impossible; or at least Drags them.
you.

When the amount of Damage you have equals or exceeds

You fall onto the ground, which Drags all physical
half your Health (rounded up) you are Battered, which
Attribute Tests, melee Damage Rolls, and lowers the
Drags all physical-based rolls. Creatures might have
amount of Actions you can spend to move per Round by 1.
special Quirks which activate when they’re Battered.
Standing up from Prone costs an Action.

You cannot wilfully harm whatever has Charmed you.

You cannot move. Depending on what exactly caused this
you might not be able to do much else, either. If you’re all
You cannot hear, making most sound-based activities tied up, you’re not going to be able to interact with
impossible; or at least Drags them. things, even if they are in your Zone.

You immediately drop one thing that you’re holding, Being Shoved is resolved immediately as it happens,
decided by whomever inflicted this Condition upon you. resulting in you stumbling backwards, possibly into
Remember, grabbing something (like the weapon that another Zone. The exact effect of being Shoved is up to
might have just fallen to the ground) costs an Action. the Fablekeeper, based on context of the situation.
Ideally, you don’t want to be shoved near any ledges or
sharp objects.
When you don’t eat or drink for a whole day, you become
Famished, which Drags all rolls. You also cannot heal by
Resting whilst Famished. You suffer 1d6 Damage at the For whatever reason, you cannot speak or make any vocal
end of each day in which you were Famished. noises. This usually double-Drags all magic related rolls.

All rolls you make are Dragged. It is possible to The number of Actions you can spend per Round are
accumulate multiple levels of the Fatigued Condition, reduced by 1.
each one cumulatively Dragging your rolls. This
Condition may also represent such things as intoxication.
When the amount of Damage you are currently suffering
When you Rest, you remove 1 level of this Condition. If
equals or exceeds your Health, you are Unconscious,
you ever accumulate 6 levels of Fatigue, you die.
which means you cannot do or notice anything. You are
also Unconscious while asleep (unless you’re very, very
You Drag all rolls you make while you can see or hear the weird) and it’s possible to be knocked Unconscious if
source of your fear. Furthermore, one of your Actions you’re not prudent.
each Round must be spent to flee from the source of your
fear, or otherwise not spent at all.

Fatigue as EP Variant
What if ye’re all out of Excellent Points, yet still wish to cast
a roaring fireball regardless? I say yon Fablekeeper might
let ye! Ye could then make roll to determine thine success
as usual, though the difficulty may be elevated and the
stress wilt impose a level of Fatigue upon thee.
 ,

Okay, now things are sure to get

properly interesting. Herein I layout
the principles of Skills, Excellencies,
and Quirks. Not only does this chapter
have the longest name, but it also
features the most content out of all
the rules sections. A bulk of that
content is derived from the lists of
sample Excellencies and Quirks, many
of which are completely and utterly
unsuitable for use in an actual IF
campaign, but which still made it onto
the book anyway. I could say that’s
because I’m a right lazy git and those
were just the first examples which
popped into my head; but instead, I’m
going to claim it was intentionally
written that way for comedic effect. It
definitely wasn’t to confuse new
players, I promise, and if you don’t
believe me, I’m sorry.
That said, hell, maybe your
campaign actually could still turn out
great with heroes flaunting the one-
punch-sam Quirk or the essokinesis
Excellency. I guess it couldn’t hurt to
try. Playing DOOM with god-mode is
fun, so… eh. At any rate, surely you’ll
appreciate the absurdity of the
quantum fish hitman Quirk. Is the fish
anthropomorphic? Is it from the Ever-
Realms of Terim? Does it smell of salt?
I didn’t bother to elucidate those
points! Or maybe you’ll enjoy the
Bowiesque infectious dance Quirk,
using it to play as The Mask, or
something. God forbid you take the
temporal anomaly Quirk, unless your
Fablekeeper is, well, mad.
At any rate, I trust this chapter
will instil in you an understanding of
how I intended the more esoteric rules
of IF to work. If not, well… bugger.
 Skill Ranks Variant
While Attributes govern creatures in broad strokes, Skills Now this is insufficient, I say. I get but one Boost for being
are what’s used to flesh out the nitty gritty aspects of a Skilled in the arcane arts of maugery? I propose a novel
creature’s talents If you make any roll that somehow system! Instead of Skills Boosting related rolls, they add a
relates logically to a Skill you have, you Boost that roll. If +1 bonus to them. Furthermore, ye may take the same Skill
the roll involves multiple dice (such as an Attack Roll) you multiple times, thus raising its Rank. Each Skill Rank raises
Boost each of the dice in that roll once. Skills can be its related bonus by +1. So now, marvel at how mine
broader than Excellencies, but they should never be maugery castings benefit from a prodigious +5 bonus at
broad enough to cover the entire application of an Skill rank 5!
Attribute. For instance, picking Athletics as a Skill should Another way to adjudicate yon Skill Ranks would be to,
generally not be allowed, since that is already almost the instead of having them grant static bonus to related rolls,
entirety of what Muscle stands for. In other words, Skills add whole extra dice to them. 1 Rank in a Skill would add an
are not meant to essentially just Boost entire Attributes. extra d3 to related rolls, and then each Rank would
The following is a list of 30 sample Skills. The list is incrementally Boost that extra die higher and higher.
by no means complete; it is merely meant as a list of It doth occur to me that ye might achieve this
examples to give you an idea of what Skills might be. If mechanic by simply taking it as a Quirk. Mayhap that is why
you wish to, you are more than encouraged to simply Olórin forwent its inclusion as a core rule.
make up your own Skills.
1 Archery
2 Driving
3 Swordsmanship
4 Cooking
5 Detective Work
6 Acrobatics
7 Swimming
8 Stealth
9 Motor Mechanics
10 Deception
11 Intimidation
12 Wilderness Survival
13 Electronics
14 Computer Hacking
15 Animal Care
16 Jumping
17 Singing
18 Navigation
19 Carpentry
20 Smithing
21 Farming
22 Sight
23 Hearing
24 Sailing
25 Theology
26 Brawling
27 Pyromancy
28 History
29 Medicine
30 Zoology
 by you needing to spend a certain amount of Excellent
Every hero worth their salt has a certain special Points. Regardless of whether you fail or succeed the Test,
something which elevates and sets them apart from the you lose all the Excellent Points which the attempt costed
great masses. Be that an outright super power, or simply you. However, not all uses necessarily warrant a Test, it’s
an enormous aptitude in a certain field. This is where ultimately up to the Fablekeeper; sometimes just
Excellency comes into play, the most versatile and spending the required EP is enough to achieve the desired
exciting system in IF. effect. If you do not have enough Excellent Points
An Excellency can be pretty much any sort of special available you cannot attempt to make use of your
ability or powerset you can imagine. Usually, you’d make Excellency.
up your own Excellencies for your hero, but if you’re Each Excellency has its own pool of Excellent Points.
stumped, there’s a list of sample Excellencies on page 25. An Excellency’s EP pool is equal to 8 + double your hero’s
The Classes for each Infinitum Era in chapter V are also Level. So, a Level 1 hero starts out with a pool of 10 EP in
stuffed with ready-to-go Excellencies for you to peruse. all their Excellencies and a Level 3 hero would have 14.
Once you’ve played a few heroes possessing those Completing a Rest recovers all spent EP.
Excellencies you’ll no doubt have a ton of ideas for your The cost in EP to use an Excellency is generally a
own. number ranging from 1 to 20, but could be higher. The
As you will see, the Excellency system allows for Fablekeeper decides the cost based on how significant the
immense flexibility. The decision to make this system effect the hero’s trying to achieve is. For instance, say a
freeform instead of based on a prewritten list of spells pyromancer wants to simply light a torch with their
and powers and whatnot was partly to make the game magic; that would just cost 1 Excellent Point, and mayhap
simpler, but also to encourage creative ideas and reward not even require a Test. Or perhaps the Fablekeeper could
imaginative players. The possibilities of this system are say that the attempt is automatically successful, but still
limited only by the imagination of the players and what requires a Test, with success indicating that the spell
the Fablekeeper deems fit and suitable for the setting. didn’t cost any EP. On the other hand, if the pyromancer
Odds are, absolutely any special power or use of magic wanted to burn down an entire forest in one fell swoop,
that you’ve seen in a book or movie can be attempted in that’d surely cost at least 20 Excellent Points and
IF, provided that your hero has an appropriate definitely warrant a Test!
Excellency.

As a general rule-of-thumb concerning the use of

To actually use an Excellency is simplicity itself. It Excellency for Attack Rolls, 5 Excellent Points should buy
automatically comes into play whenever you have your the Hero 1d6 extra Damage Dice. This is called the Bonus
hero attempt something which is related to one of their Excellency Dice, or BED, and can be used to add dice to all
Excellencies. It usually works exactly like sorts of rolls, not just attacks.
rolling a Test, the only difference is So, say for instance a hulking warrior with an
that now the Test has a cost decided Excellency in warhammery wants to bludgeon a foe, using
upon by the Fablekeeper, represented their Excellency to give the attack extra oomph. That’ll be
rolled exactly like a standard attack is usually done, the
only difference is that now the attempt costs the warrior
a certain amount of EP. In this case, the player can simply
say how much extra Damage Dice they want the Attack
Roll to have. Let’s say they want this attack to really hit
hard, 3d6 extra Damage Dice! Using the BED rule above,
the Fablekeeper decides that this will cost the warrior 15
Excellent Points. This would be a great time for the
warrior to spend their daily Luck, to further amplify the
Attack Roll.
The same principle may be used in reverse. Say for
instance you have a Force Field Excellency and want to
use it to bolster a Defence Roll. Each 5 EP spent would add
1d6 extra Armour Dice to that Defence Roll. That’s quite
an unimaginative and unoptimized use of the Excellency,
however. It might be a better idea to trap your opponent
within a force field before they’re even able to make an
Attack Roll against you in the first place!
 What about something more complex, though? What
about, say, a pyromancer hurling an exploding fireball So far this should all be well and good, but we still haven’t
into a group of enemies? Once again, each 5 EP spent delved into truly esoteric uses of Excellency. What if your
equates to 1d6 worth of Damage Dice, as per the BED rule. hexer wants to turn someone into a frog, for instance?
But now what about the matter of this attack having an Now that’s far out, how would it work? Well, obviously,
area-of-effect? No problem whatever, for here is a second we’re dealing with something very powerful here. Being
handy rule-of-thumb: for every special effect or able to just turn anyone you don’t like into a frog is heavy
supplemental bonus which goes beyond the directly stuff! Things like damage output and so forth are now
obvious benefits of an Excellency, the EP cost raises by 2. trivial to meaningless, severing our previous rules-of-
So, say the pyromancer decides they want their fireball to thumb. In cases like these, the Fablekeeper will simply
have a 1d6 Damage Die and target every enemy standing have to fly by the ingenuity of their own wit. Perhaps
over yonder in that Zone. The Fablekeeper could decide they could say that the spell costs 13 EP (thus barring
this will cost 7 EP; 5 for the Damage and 2 for the use most first and second Level heroes from it) and that it
being an area-of-effect. Since it’s a magic spell the Attack only last as long as the hexer keeps those points allocated
Roll will use the pyromancer’s Intellect, and since it’s a to the effect; meaning they cannot recover those points
touch-based projectile it will target the enemy’s Agility. until they dismiss the spell. Alternatively, perhaps the
Since armour isn’t really going to do anything to protect spell could be ruled as costing 25 EP, and functioning as a
one against fire (unless the armour in question is curse with a specific way to break it. In either case, killing
fireproof) the target’s Armour Die is treated as though the hexer should (hopefully) revert the spell’s awful
they were Unarmoured. So, the attack formula would be: effect.
[Wizard’s Intellect Die] + [1d6 Damage Die] What about something more defensive? Say for
- [Target’s Agility Die] - [Target’s 1d3 Unarmoured Die]. instance there’s a hero who picked Excellency in healing.
This Attack Roll would be made against each of the Quite simple to adjudicate. We can refer back to our rule-
targeted enemies separately, but the entire spell would of-thumb regarding Bonus Excellency Dice. Thus, every
only cost one Action. 1d6 points of Damage this hero heals will cost them 5
But let’s take this a step further down the road of Excellent Points. This principle can be applied to a
versatility. To use our previous example, what if the clerical healer, or an especially gifted doctor.
enemies were all sitting around a campfire? What if the What about if that warrior with the warhammery
player says, “Hey, what if instead of conjuring a whole Excellency we talked about earlier wanted to use their
new fireball, my wizard instead taps into the power and Excellency for something other than combat? In general,
energy already present in that campfire to make it as long as a use of Excellency makes sense in the context
explode into a fierce conflagration?” A good Fablekeeper of the campaign setting’s milieu, it’s cool beans. That
should heartily commend and reward such ingenious warrior could potentially spend EP to increase their
creativity, perhaps by lowering the EP cost, or giving the jumping distance by 10-feet per 1 EP spent, by using their
player a Boost to their Attack Roll, or both! warhammer’s weight to slingshot themselves across the
battlefield. Or they could of course spend EP to help them
smash objects with their warhammer.
Here’s a quick example of how a wizard with a
Signature Uses of Excellency summoner Excellency could conjure a familiar. Note
In playing the game ye wilt surely come to enjoy certain however that the following is by no means the only way
specific uses of thine Excellencies. Perhaps these wilt to acquire a familiar, nor is it the “definitive” way. The
become as signature moves for thy hero, or at the very least wizard starts by attempting to cast a spell with the
rote tactics of their practiced repertoire. In such cases, with intention of summoning a cat. The player says that they
yon Fablekeeper’s permission, ye might record these want this spell’s duration to be permanent, so that the cat
specific uses upon thine hero sheet. Note the EP cost and doesn’t disappear back to wherever it came from. The
what exactly that wilt buy thee; essentially turning them Fablekeeper considers this for a moment and concludes
into Quirks which have an EP activation cost. That way ye that summoning a cat with no set duration limit is by no
may easily employ the use of thy most commonplace tricks means absurd and should be within the abilities of this
on a whim, without having to go through the whole summoner to pull off. However, casting any spell with an
bargaining process again with the Fablekeeper each time. unlimited duration will obviously be much harder than
For instance, ye may have a supersonic Excellency, and usual. So, the Fablekeeper rules that the spell will cost 12
yon Fablekeeper may say that whenever ye make a roll to EP and the Difficulty Die for the Intellect Test will be a
avoid physical Damage ye may spend 1 EP to Boost the roll, d16. Another possible ruling could have been that the
provided that ye have sufficient room to dodge within. Note spell remains in effect until the caster stops
that on thine hero sheet! concentrating directly upon it, or that it lasts as long as
the caster wants but lowers their Excellency’s EP total by implications of allowing
a certain amount until they decide to make the spell fade particularly powerful
away. The player agrees to this and decides to try casting Excellencies into your
the spell, and succeeds! Now the wizard is in the company campaign in the first place.
of a mundane cat. That much is not particularly helpful A particular thing for
though. So, the wizard decides to work further sorcery Fablekeepers to be wary
upon the creature. Mayhap a spell to grant the cat a of are effects with no set
vocabulary, the ability to communicate telepathically, fly, duration, especially ones
or even grow in size or breath fire, all of which would that have no side effects
require the wizard to learn further types of magic, or special requirements.
represented by them gaining more Excellencies, perhaps Such uses of Excellency
enchantment or transmutation. should usually not be
Here’s an example of a possible way to cast a scrying allowed.
spell using a divination Excellency. The player announces As a closing note, the
that they wish their wizard to cast a spell allowing them Fablekeeper is always the
to be a fly-on-the-wall of the King’s council hall. The final arbitrator concerning
Fablekeeper decides that if they want to see and hear the what an Excellency can
events of the hall, the spell will cost 10 Excellent Points. If and cannot do, as well as
the wizard is content with just hearing or seeing the deciding what (if any) special
unfolding events, 5 EP will suffice. In either case, the requirements are needed to
Fablekeeper rules that the spell requires a special crystal use an Excellency in any given
ball, or perhaps some object taken from the King’s council situation. Everything in this
hall. section is simply meant as advice
and general guidelines; nothing
is firmly set in stone. As
An important factor to note is that the Fablekeeper is long as the Excellency
fully allowed to alter ongoing Excellency effects in the system encourages creativity,
game however they see fit. This is generally meant to and everyone at the table is having fun, it’s being used
help the Fablekeeper restore balance to the game if correctly.
things get too far out of hand. It is important to stress
however that Fablekeepers should never do this unless 64
there is an in-universe reason for it and the effect in
The following list is by no means complete; it is merely
question is directly endangering the enjoyment or
meant as a convenient list of examples to give you an idea
playability of the game. The Fablekeeper should never use
of what Excellencies might be. You’re more than
this to punish a creative player, but instead to make sure
encouraged to simply make up your own Excellencies if
that nothing in the setting becomes overpowered without
you wish.
a valid, in-universe reason.
To randomly determine a result, roll two separate d8
For example, if a sorcerer somehow manages to gain
and conflate the results directly to make one number. For
a drastically powerful and permanent ability or
instance, a roll of 2 and 6 would become 26.
advantage through, say, merely casting a couple spells in
the very first session of the campaign, the Fablekeeper 11
may decide to set an expiration date on that magical
One possible use for this snappy power is gaining an extra
effect. But if the hero achieved that same effect through
Action by spending 2 EP.
going on an epic quest to uncover the secrets to an
ancient and powerful new Excellency or spell component, 12
the Fablekeeper should probably not intervene, since the Every animated corpse will cost you around 10 EP.
hero has rightfully earned the magical effect.
Admittedly the need for this to be brought up at all is 13
due to a flaw in the system, thanks to how freeform and Do you feel lucky?
open to interpretation it is. But I believe the advantages
of this system far outweigh this flaw. Assuming that the 14
players don’t intentionally try to cheese the system or You’re the sort who’d be able to invent a radio using a
engage in excessive power-gaming, this should probably coconut and random junk from your pocket. You’re the
never even come up at all. As a precautionary warning to MacGyver or Tony Stark of your world, resourceful to an
the Fablekeeper, you should very carefully consider the almost supernatural degree.
 27
Amongst shadows and darkness, you have a wealth of
options at your fingertips.

28
From speeding their growth, to turning them into
straight up minions, your control over plant-life is
excellent.

15 31
This is the Excellency you’re Now you just need to establish a school of mutants.
looking for.
32
16 - You can conjure a clone of yourself, but doing so uses 6
Straight out of the Amazing Spider- EP, which remains unavailable until you dismiss the
Man’s playbook! This Excellency is clone. All clones are controlled by you and share the same
Item-based, see the Webshooters on stats, including Damage, and each are
page 51 for more info. Simply able to dismiss the others.
swinging around only cost 1 EP per
hour or Action Scene. Creating a web-shield, 33
launching web-bullets, or completely trapping You can command your hair to grow and use it as an
someone in webbing would cost more. extra limb to do all sorts of things.

17 - 34 -
Metal is putty in the grasp of your mind. Your street-tags are so flipping good that they outright
come to life. When you create creatures or objects thusly,
18 they remain until you withdraw the EP used to conjure
Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the President? them.
$#@&ing-A.
35
21 Your mastery over arcana is only slightly above parlour
You’re able to place all sorts of useful enchantments on trickery, but still enough to baffle most folks and
things. come in handy sometimes.

22 36
Through deft verbal acrobatics, you can weave in and out In your grip, vehicles become outright mythic
of all sorts of sticky situations. instruments of bodacity, flying in the face of reason.

23 37
Just like Plastic-Man, your body can stretch, bend and You can use arcana to bind wounds. Each 5 EP spent heals
morph in all kinds of wacky ways. 1d6 Damage, in accordance with the BED rule. An extra 2
EP is required if the target is at range.
24
Aside from teleporting yourself, you could also attempt 38
teleporting other folks and objects. You can wind the clock of time to your whims.

25 41
Aside from simply creating defensive bubbles, there are If you can discover the true name of an object or creature,
other ways you might use this Excellency as well, such as you can rewrite its very existence through arcana.
creating floating platforms, or creating force fields
inside folks you don’t like! 42
Who needs !337 hacking skills when you can control
26 electronics and technology with your mind?
Just like that wizard from AD&D!
43 52
Turn up the heat and look excellent doing it! Things just tend to work out in your favour.

44 53
Properly cool. A notable use for this Excellency is that you could create
stone golems with it.
45
You can…. well, control the weather. 54
You’re just scary-good with swords.
46
Not only are you good at cooking, you’re excellent at it. 55
Your meals can dish out all sorts of zany effects. Your imagination is the only true limit to what sort of
wacky potions you can brew up.
47
Aside from simply adding more oomph to your attacks, 56
maybe your venom could impose various debuffs, Not only can you exhale violent blasts of force, but you
such as paralysis or blindness. can also inhale hard enough to cause a gravitational pull.

48 57
You can whip out any sort of weapon from your pocket. You can alter and warp the biological makeup of any
creature.
51
You can forge magic equipment! 58
You can spend EP to prophesy things, and then they
actually happen!

61
You’re essentially Green Lantern.

62
By spending EP, you can gain all sorts of skills or
knowledge, but it only lasts until you Rest, or possibly
even expires sooner.

63
Just like a D&D druid, you can morph into various
animals. This will most likely replace your entire hero
sheet, so it’s probably best you work out your most
common transformations ahead of time with your
Fablekeeper, especially if you mean to use them in battle.

64
You can clone objects. The EP cost is higher for valuable
or large items, and depending on whether you make it
temporary or permanent.

65
You can be everywhere and anywhere at once!

66
You can inhale any creature and then gain one of their
abilities until you Rest. The EP cost is determined by the
power of the creature and the ability you wish to absorb.
67 83 -
You can absorb one form of energy and convert it into You can reach places and pull stunts that even Olympic
another. Mayhap you could even use this to drain a athletes would find impossible.
creature’s lifeforce!
84
68 You can conjure portals, even cross-dimensional ones.
Your voice can tap into the arcane vibrations of reality,
causing all sorts of strange effects. Predominantly used to 85
alter the mental state of creatures. The soaring sky is at your command.

71 86
You soul is brimming with power, which you may expend You can spend EP to grant your allies extra Actions or
to enhance the capabilities of your body or fire blasts of bolster their abilities.
energy.
87
72 You can conjure all sorts of mounts to ride, from mules to
Your thoughts can rewrite reality. The effects are usually cosmic wyrms.
temporarily, however.
88
73 Decide upon a thematic deity for your hero to champion.
You could theoretically use this to achieve flight, among You can then spend EP to achieve powers related to your
other things. deity.

74
You can separate your mind and body, sending your soul
out to do your bidding. Any actions your disembodied
soul attempts require EP expenditure.

75
You can jam just about anything onto or into your body,
granting you a potential plethora of abilities.

76 -
You can do all sorts of weird and meta things, since
you’re fully aware of your fictionality.

77
You can spend an Action to designate a creature as your
quarry, whereupon you can gain various bonuses to
tracking and fighting it by spending EP.

78
Choose one specific type of item, such as top hats or
skateboards. You can spend EP to manipulate those items
however you wish, teleporting them or granting them
special properties.

81
You can transform into any item. That’s it.

82
You control all the moisture!
 with serious turbulence. Just as a normal human cannot
Like Excellencies, Quirks grant a creature powers or run indefinitely, or might trip-up if they walk on ice, a
abilities that go beyond the mundane. The difference is winged character can’t fly indefinitely, and might slam
that Quirks are not freeform. Players cannot necessarily right into the broadside of a building if they try to
get creative with them, dreaming up all sorts of different thread-the-needle through a tight alleyway. Such things
uses, like they can with their Excellencies. Instead, Quirks are, naturally, covered by Tests. Whenever doing
are concise and specific properties a creatures may have. something where chance of failure is present, Tests come
A notable thing Quirks are used for is to flesh out the into play, as detailed on page 9.
unique or inherent abilities of certain creatures. For Another use for Quirks, however, are as an expansion
instance, a fish would get a water breathing Quirk; a of Skills. Skills simply Boost related rolls, they do not
robot would get a Quirk allowing them to survive without grant creatures any special abilities. What if there were,
needing food or water. A formless yet sentient puff of say, a hero who worked as a teamster and thus knows the
mist is impervious to physical attacks. You get the idea; best way of storing and carrying items? Having
Quirks are used when the expansive freedom of “Teamster” as an Excellency would be absurdly dull and
Excellencies is simply not needed, nor relevant. having it as a Skill is pointless. Instead, you could take it
For instance, if you wanted your hero to have wings, as a Quirk, stipulating that you can carry extra items in
you can absolutely do that in the game! But, using an your inventory.
Excellency to do so, one simply called “Wings,” would But not all Quirks are beneficial. creatures could have
be… awkward. How many Excellent Points would flying Quirks that are actually detrimental to them. For
cost you? It just doesn’t make much sense in the context instance, vampires could have a vulnerability to sunlight,
of the game’s narrative or mechanics. If a character has causing them to take 1d6 Damage per Round whenever in
wings, they have wings! They’re not going to suddenly contact with it. When you create a hero, one of their
lose them if they run out of “Excellent Points.” So instead, starting Quirks must be a bad one. When deciding this
your wings can simply be a Quirk which stipulates that detrimental Quirk, it’s important for it to be something
you can fly about, just as another hero might run about. that could actually come up in the campaign. A hero
Of course, having a Quirk does not mean it always taking a weakness to magic is obviously no good if the
automatically works for you. For instance, even if your chosen campaign setting doesn’t feature magic in the first
character has wings, they can still grow tired, or meet place.
64 Upgrading Quirks
The following list is by no means complete; it’s merely
Since the core nature of Quirks is unbounded, there doth be
meant as a convenient list of examples to give you an idea
nothing truly stopping ye from upgrading thine existing
of what good Quirks might be. Furthermore, each of these
Quirks instead of gaining wholly new ones each time. Say
Quirks may of course be tweaked to suit your needs. The
for instance ye have the claws Quirk listed below; when ye
Super Strength Quirk, for instance, is by no means the
Level Up ye could choose to gain an amplified version of
one-and-only possible way to have super strength in the
that Quirk to replace it with, perhaps raising its Damage
game. The basic premise for a lot of these Quirks could
output or giving it some other special quality. As long as ye
also work fine for Excellencies if you wanted them to be
get the green light from yon Fablekeeper this is a fine way
more open-ended. At any rate, like with Excellencies,
to advance the prowess of thine hero. The same concept
you’re more than encouraged to simply make up your
could be applied to worsening thine bad Quirks, instead of
own if you wish.
gaining entirely new ones, for the purposes of gaining extra
To randomly determine a result, roll two separate d8
abilities when Levelling Up. See page 56 for the full rules on
and conflate the results directly to make one number. For
Hero Advancement.
instance, a roll of 2 and 6 would become 26.

11
Retractable or otherwise, these grant your unarmed 22
attacks a 1d10 Damage Die and they Boost climbing You can spend an Action to heal 1d4 Damage.
related Tests.
23
12 ( ) When you heal a creature, you heal an extra 10 Damage.
You can scale sheer walls without needing any gear. You
might still need to make an Agility Test, however. 24
You always know if someone is lying. Proving it can be
13 tricky, however.
Whenever you make a Muscle-based roll, you roll it twice,
taking the better result. You can also attempt Muscle 25
Tests other heroes wouldn’t even be able to, such as You can talk with animals.
hurling a car. Furthermore, your Muscle-based attacks
have an extra 1d6 Damage Die. Oh, and you have 4 extra 26 - - -
Body Slots. You’ve a pool of 3 Boosts which you may apply to any
rolls you make as you wish. The pool is replenished when
14 you Rest.
Once per Rest, you can teleport to a spot you can see.
27
15 ‘ You may shrink to the hight of one-inch tall. Most
You take half Damage (round down) from falls and physical related rolls will then be impossible for you, such
falls of 15-feet or lower cannot harm you. as pushing over large objects or attacking regular sized
foes. Physical Attack Rolls aimed at you by regular sized
16 foes are double-Dragged, but your Health is also halved
Your insults count as a ranged weapon, using your Spirit while you’re shrunk.
Die for Attack Rolls, with a 1d4 Damage Die, and of
course ignoring the target’s armour. 28
You can spend an Action to turn into an inanimate statue
17 or to revert back to your normal form. While in stone
Exposure to harsh elements does not bother you, except form you add an extra 1d20 to your Defence Rolls and
in extreme cases. suffer the Restrained Condition.
18 31
Meals you prepare heal consumers of 1d6 Damage. You can infinitely conjure spectral arrows to fire with
your bow, which grants you unlimited ammo and
21 - Boosts the Attack Rolls.
You can see through solid objects at will!
32 45
Once per Action Scene, for free, you can give someone After an Action Scene in which you depleted ammunition,
advice, Boosting their next roll, provided the roll could roll a Luck Test vs a d8. If successful, you retrieve all the
theoretically benefit from insightful advice. ammo you shot.

33 46
When you put on your red shoes and start to groove, You can spend 2 Actions to make one attack; if you do, the
everyone else can’t help but to join into the rhythm. Attack Roll is Boosted and deals at least 1 Damage.

34 47
You can sense all magic within a hundred feet and get at You score Critical Hits on attack results of both 0 and -1.
least a vague idea of what its purpose is.
48
35 You add an extra 1d3 to the Tests made to accomplish
Once per Rest, for the duration of the current Action Special Attacks.
Scene, you can enter Bullet Time. It Boosts all rolls you
make that are directly related to combat and fine motor 51
function. All offensive combat rolls are Boosted when you’re
36 Battered.
You can jump between Hyperia, the Fields of Man, and
52
Faerie by spending an Action.
Folks generally tend to just take you at your word and
37 like you more than they otherwise would, unless you’re
clearly trying to take advantage of them.
You can remove your eyeballs from your skull, toss ‘em
about, and they’ll continue to operate optically just fine. 53
When you spend EP on a magic related Excellency, roll
38
1d4 and lower the EP cost by the result.
If you do not attack anything in a Round, you gain an
extra Action that Round, which must then also not be 54
spent on attacking. Your BED is 1d8 instead of 1d6.
41 55
If you attack an unaware target (up to Fablekeeper’s
You know things you shouldn’t. Once per Rest, you can
discretion, possibly involving a successful Agility Test)
request that a secret or bit of information is revealed to
you roll 1d8 extra Damage Dice per hero Level.
you, decided upon by the Fablekeeper. The revelation is
not guaranteed to be useful or relevant, though it should
42
always be interesting. If you make any rolls that day
As an Action, you can morph your hands into crystals or
which somehow relate to the revelation, you Boost the
back again. Whilst crystalized your hands may not hold
roll.
anything, but can shoot out psychic beams which pit your
Spirit Die vs the enemy’s Agility and have a 1d8 Damage 56
Die, ignoring armour. Furthermore, as an Action, you can
You may use your Luck twice per Rest instead of only
use the crystals to read the mind of someone you can see
once.
with an Opposed Spirit Vs Spirit Test.
57
43
If given a few minutes, you can morph your finger to fit
If a vehicle you are piloting would run out of fuel you can
any lock.
spend your Luck Die to immediately raise your Fuel Die to
a d4. This then also Boosts the next roll you make that’s 58
related to that vehicle before you Rest. You have a magnificent pair of wings, or maybe you just
fly Superman style.
44
Your Muscle Die and Agility Die are Boosted while you’re
unarmoured.
61
Outside of extraordinary situations, you cannot trip, or be
Shoved, and all rolls you make against being Grappled are
Boosted.

62
If you enter a shaded area and are not being actively
observed by enemies, you may roll an Agility Test vs d10.
If you succeed you become Invisible until you move or
attack.

63
You can roll an Opposed Spirit Test against a creature
within your Zone to possess it. If successful, your form
and all carried items are absorbed into the creature,
which is hence controlled by you. You are able to speak
through the creature and retain all your Excellencies,
Quirks, and Skills, as long as it makes logical sense for you
to while in this new body. Each hour of possession
requires another Opposed Spirit Test. You may also
choose to leave the creature.

64
You do not need to eat, sleep, or breathe. You still need to
drink, however, and spend at least one hour in sunlight
per day.

65
You speak all the known languages of the campaign
setting and you Boost social related rolls when engaging
in foreign relations.

66
Once per day you can turn Invisible for an hour, in which
only children, animals, and folk who have the second-
sight may see you. 73
Your Health is 6 points higher.
67
You can see in the dark, are immune to poison, and you 74 -
Drag all harmful magical related rolls made against you. Water is as good as tarmac to you, if you want it to be.

68 75
The cosmos just loves you. You double the amount of all You can conjure up a pocket reality which can hold up to
Boosts applied to you. 30 Slots’ worth of Items.

71 76
You can breathe both water and air. Water also does not You can interchangeably spend EP from any of your
hamper you in any way, unless you’re exposed to a Excellencies’ EP pools. If you use an Excellency by
notably strong current. spending EP from outside of its own pool, however, then
you Drag any related rolls made to perform that
72 Excellency.
You have a pool of 3 action points. Once per Round, you
may spend an action point to take an extra Action. You 77
recover 1 action point per Rest, to a maximum of 3. You may choose to suffer points of Damage in place of
paying EP costs for your uses of Excellency.
78 Glass Jaw Quirk, for instance, could be made far worse,
You can chew through damn near anything. lowering your Health even further than the example
given here does. At any rate, like with Excellencies, you’re
81 more than encouraged to simply make up your own if you
Work with your Fablekeeper to design a special wish.
transformation for your hero. It could be anything from a To randomly determine a result, roll two separate d8
werewolf to a magical-girl. It replaces your entire build and conflate the results directly to make one number. For
and you can sustain the form for up to one hour per Rest. instance, a roll of 2 and 6 would become 26.

82 - 11
Select any one of your Attributes; you Mundane creatures cannot tolerate your
now use it in place of Muscle/Agility presence and their Attack Rolls
for any weapon Attack Rolls against you are Boosted.
you make.
12
83 ’ Your Health is 6 points lower.
! 13
Once per Rest, you can produce a simple Perhaps you are a hulking
Item that you need at no cost. The Item dragonspawn, or simply a hobbit. At
then breaks, or otherwise becomes any rate, you require double the
unavailable after you’re done usual amount of sustenance to
with it. avoid the Famished Condition.
84 - 14
These allow you to see in the dark Whenever you would roll a Resource
and snap pictures at-will by blinking Die using money you automatically
somewhat awkwardly. roll a 1.
85 15
You cannot become Frightened. You have no Luck Die and automatically
fail any Tests that would use it.
86
You may make a Boosted Opposed 16
Spirit vs Acumen Test to convince Select something that’d work as a Skill.
someone to just give you something for For example, archery, piloting, or
free. You might even convince an enemy speechcraft. Whenever you make a roll
to lend you their ammo! related to the skill, you roll a d3, regardless of Boosts.
But… probably not.
17
87 You have a huge bounty on your head, or maybe even the
Your Armour Die whilst Unarmoured is a d16 instead of a gods themselves specifically hate you.
d3. You can raise it to a d24 for a Round by spending an
Action and not attacking that Round. 18
You have 3 less Body Encumbrance Slots than usual.
88 - -
You can obliterate anything by simply punching it. Oh, 21
and you’re completely invincible, too. WARNING: MAY You permanently have the Blinded Condition.
RESULT IN UTTER BOREDOM
22
64 After the second Round of an Action Scene your number
The following list is by no means complete; it’s merely of Actions per Round drop by 1 for the remainder of the
meant as a convenient list of examples to give you an idea Scene.
of what bad Quirks might be. Furthermore, each of these
Quirks may of course be tweaked to suit your needs. The
23 - 36
You have a second, autonomous head, which routinely You can’t read this. Or anything else, for that matter.
shouts mean thoughts, Dragging all social rolls you make.
37
24 Something weird and potentially dangerous happens
Not the fun kind. Though mayhap they’re still badass at every time you try and use something electronic that’s
least? Anyhow, these Drag all rolls related to ambulation more complicated than a flashlight.
and make you look a right unfortunate jackass.
38
25 If your Damage ever equals your Health, your soul is
Whenever you’re not looking, there’s a chance this immediately dragged to the afterlife.
quantum fish bastard will show up and try to whack you.
41 - -
26 Instead of needing food and water, you require some
For whatever reason, fools of all vexing sorts tend to other special substance. Perhaps oil, electricity, or a
show up in your life. steady stream of raw arcana.

27 42
Bah, typical… You don’t get any starting Skill(s). Plus, Decide upon a phobia. Whenever you are exposed to it
who knows just how awful your life was? Mayhap it’s best you gain the Frightened Condition.
you don’t find out.
43 -
28 Through magic, or some manner of cosmic muck-up, your
Your shoes squeak. All of them. Always. Makes stealth a age has been reverted, trapping you in the body of your
proper pipe-dream. childhood. Your Muscle Die is Dragged and now folks
generally don’t give you any respect.
31
You may only carry 1 Heavy Item in your inventory at a 44
time. If it’s a weapon, your Attack Rolls with it are Whenever you miss an attack, you end up hitting
Dragged. yourself. Your attacks which result in a negative number
deal that amount of Damage to yourself.
32
Ever since you saw that… thing, your sleep hasn’t been all 45
that restful. Every time you Rest you must make a Luck All rolls you make related to using or avoiding magic are
Test vs a d10. If you fail, you only heal Damage equal to Dragged, and sometimes strange things happen when you
your Level, you do not roll your Fortitude Die. try to use magic items.

33 46
Either you lost your tongue, or you’re a turtle. Either way, Your childhood was the pits. One of your Attributes is
you can’t speak. Dragged and your Health is lowered by -2.

34 47
Some right harmless creature insists upon following you All your combat related rolls are Dragged when you’re
around. Perhaps you’re their parent, or maybe a random Battered.
rat decided to make you its owner. At any rate, if you let
this defenceless dependant succumb to death your 48
Spirit Die will be permanently Dragged. Silver deals 1d6 Damage per Round of contact and any
attacks dealt by silver implements deal double Damage
35 (round up). Being within the same Zone as silver Drags all
Select a certain substance. Whenever within the same your rolls.
Zone as that substance you have the Fatigued Condition
and randomly become either Blinded or Deafened. 51
Afterwards you may attempt one Fortitude Test vs a d16, When you are Damaged by fire you suffer an extra 1d8
with success clearing up the allergy; if you fail, Resting Damage.
will cure you.
52 62
You were just born under the wrong star, I guess. You Decide on an addiction of some sort. If you do not indulge
double the amount of all Drags applied to you. it each day, you become Slowed.

53 - 63
All Muscle-based rolls which rely directly upon the You owe someone nasty a whole lotta coins.
strength of your thews (and not just general athletics) are
Dragged. You also have 2 less Body Slots. 64 -
Anytime you move suddenly, such as if you fall or get into
54 a highspeed chase, you become Fatigued for a few
Mayhap you’re robotic. At any rate, you suffer the minutes.
Unconscious Condition whenever you’re wet.
65
55 You hail from some truly far-out realm beyond the
Your Attack Rolls using Martial and Masterwork Infinitum itself. Because of this, Reality doesn’t like to
weapons are double-Dragged. play ball with you, represented by the Fablekeeper
throwing some right bizarre situations your way.
56
Due to your hulking size you’re not able to ride most 66
conventional vehicles or fit through doorways. Loud noises can cripple you for a Round if you fail a
Fortitude vs d3 Test. Even if you succeed, you are still
57 Fatigued for a Round.
After every Action Scene you must make a
Luck Test versus a d6. On a failure, one 67
Item of your choice that you used You cannot intentionally lie. About anything. Ever.
during the Action Scene is broken.
68
58 You plod along at a methodical pace. You may only take 1
You automatically fail any rolls movement-related Action per Round and traveling
made to avoid being Frightened. generally takes twice as long as it otherwise would.

61 71
You believe everything everyone Your bellybutton is a portal which regularly flickers to
says and cannot make any different places across the Infinitum. Sometimes little
rolls to uncover lies. green men march out of it and attack you; other times
seawater just pours from your navel freely.

72
You may only eat one specific thing, such as meat, or
candy.

73
You only have one eye, thus Dragging all rolls which
benefit from depth perception.

74
You can only breathe underwater.

75
Some malevolent entity, controlled by the Fablekeeper,
dwells within you, occasionally taking control of your
flesh.
76
Every time you finish a Rest, you (and any allies with you)
are temporarily warped to a strange new place across
time and space for an hour.
84
77 You cannot use ranged weaponry or engage in ambushes
You have no shadow, which unnerves most folk and and stealth attacks.
makes you sad.
85 -
78 You lower all your EP pools by -5.
When you spend your daily Luck Die, it grants a single
enemy of the Fablekeeper’s choice a free use of theirs. 86 -
The enemy must use the free Luck before you Rest, or it is In a battle, all your rolls that aren’t directly related to
lost. attacking your enemies are Dragged.

81 87
You can’t count. You always suffer from a level of Fatigue.

82 88
For whatever reason, enemies are more inclined to target All physical related rolls are Dragged, and while you’re
you rather than your allies. Goons might even go out of Battered you fall Prone whenever you suffer Damage.
their way to attack you unprovoked!

83
You double-Drag any rolls related to intricate tasks, such
as picking a lock or firing a bow.
 -
Herein I inform you of all the info pertinent
to equipment, including rules for vehicles
and mounts. Nir’olo even wrote an
alternative “Advanced” system for weapons
and armour, which seems quite good. It
also seems woefully bent towards
traditional fantasy equipment; not a ton of
obvious support there for the implements
of modern warfare. But, ah well, what are
you gonna do? The guy had already written
it all out, I figured I might as well include it.
Nir’olo isn’t the only one getting a
little in-over-their-head, though. In this
chapter, you’ll see me trying to rework
decades of established RPG inventory
management concepts. Forget coin-weight,
forget resource tracking, forget that money
is fungible, and instead (hopefully)
remember my new-fangled rules for how
reality and spatiality work! The bright side
is that, if you don’t like my ideas for
abstracted inventory management, you
could very easily import a more realistic
and complicated system from another RPG
directly, without any problems necessarily
arising. Do you like D&D’s method of
tracking every pound of every single item?
Cool beans, there’s no reason for you not to
do so here, too.
In writing the equipment section of IF’s
rules, I took strong inspiration from how
items generally tend to work in video
games. Particularly, arcade games. The
thrill of breaking open a create tucked into
an alleyway, revealing a ridiculously
powerful weapon, only to realize it also has
a ridiculously restricted amount of uses
before it breaks or runs out of ammo.
Discovering a shop which sells a limited
amount of weirdly specific items which in
turn grant you weirdly specific abilities. I
really wanted to inject my RPG with that
dynamic feeling, encouraging item-driven
advancement and exploration.
 course, if your campaign were to begin with a bang mid-
combat at the bottom of a dungeon for whatever reason,
then it would be reasonable to have the heroes start out
fully equipped. Short oneshot adventures would also most
likely be better off with the heroes starting out pre-
equipped.
To build on the previously established points, don’t
be afraid to grant items to creative players who cleverly
come up with ways to secure them. For instance, perhaps
a hero could build their own flashlight out of spare parts
if they’re Skilled in electronics. And by this same token,
do not be afraid to take items away from the heroes! A
‘ spear might be shattered by the club of some intimidating
You should know that, in the Infinitum, economy is not ne’er-do-well, forcing the player to come up with further
necessarily the same as in our reality. It warps and twists creative and exciting methods of play. Indeed, the game
to the whims of Fate, the fancies of Fun, and the decisions world should be a vibrant and dynamic place, overflowing
of your Fablekeeper. Venders sell what they will, and with ever shifting possibilities and ways of achieving your
coinage is not necessarily the assumed mode of trade in goals! Above all else, encourage and reward creative
all eras and locales. Hard goods, favours, or even boastful problem solving and keep the adventure rocking ‘n
shows of dominance and inane bets, are all common rolling.
things which dance upon the scales of commerce
throughout the Infinitum. A rich merchant might
demand the literal shirt off your back in exchange for
-
what you seek, merely as a cruel way to amuse Your inventory is split into three sections, each with its
themselves at your expense. A superstitious fellow might own storage capacity in the form of Slots.
grant you all they own, if only they believe the gods will it Note: If you carry something like arrows or coins,
so. Or you might be paid in goods for a job well done. Who you’re assumed to also have a suitable container to store
knows, maybe you’ll actually meet someone who simply them in, for simplicity’s sake. As such, you never need to
seeks coin in payment; but don’t bank on it. On that note, separately account for containers made specifically to
coins never went out of fashion in the Infinitum. Even in carry one sort of item; they’re automatically bundled
the modern and space ages of Neon Fable and Horizon together with the item.
Nexus, coins were always the sole measure of hard Note: while your Body Slots are capped at 12 here, it
currency. Credit cards and such were never put into use, is conceivable that a Quirk might still raise the value. The
the public assuming they’re outright scams or just way maximum of 12 is based on the assumption you’re
too faffing bothersome. generally humanoid. A horse or elephant would obviously
Thanks to the way items are presented in IF, and due have more Body Slots. Furthermore, the backpack and
to the way a hero’s starting inventory is set by the sack listed here are simply the mundane sort. It’s possible
Fablekeeper, gaining new items can be seen as a notable you’ll find an especially good or bad pack, mayhap even a
and rewarding form of character advancement. Indeed, magical Bag of Holding. Those would of course have a
earning your hero’s first proper weapon, suit of armour, different amount of Slots.
lantern, set of lockpicks, car, or what have you, is far
more interesting compared to just starting with it all
=2+ ( = 12)
right from the onset. The Fablekeeper is encouraged to These Slots represent all the items strapped to your
sprinkle items and equipment throughout the world, person somehow or held in your hands. All your armour,
making exploration and character interaction genuinely weapons and ammo must be stored within these Slots.
rewarding. Even if a campaign were to start right in the =8
middle of a massive city, besieged by zombies, the heroes Wearing a backpack takes up a Body Slot but grants you 8
don’t need a whole bunch of items in their inventory extra Slots in which to store items. Note that all physical
right from the get-go. In most cases, that would just bog related Tests you make while wearing a pack are Dragged,
down character creation. Instead, the heroes can claim due to its awkward bulk and or weight.
any items they need directly through gameplay, as the =6
narrative unfolds; such as when the character’s return to Storing items in a sack means you have to carry it, which
or establish a base of operations. Until then, a basic outfit occupies one of your hands and takes up a Body Slot. You
or armour, a simple weapon, and perhaps one notable can carry two sacks, but that requires two
item, should be enough to get the adventure rolling. Of hands and takes up two Body Slots.
 Items come in three different Encumbrance Categories,
each taking up a different amount of storage space in
Slots. If something is particularly small, such as a key or
ID card, the Fablekeeper could rule that it doesn’t take up
any space; the hero can be assumed to simply tuck it into
a pocket somewhere. However, Items which serve an
important purpose (such as a magic ring) should always
take up space, no matter how small they are.

=
Things you can easily hold and throw using one hand,
such as daggers, ammo clips, slings, torches, small gems,
clothing, potions, scrolls, and Light Armour.
=
Things you can hold in one hand and perhaps throw, but
that are distinctively bulkier than otherwise Light items,
such as bows, glass bottles, swords, books, rope, shields,
and Medium Armour.
=
Bulky items which generally take two hands to hold, such
as staves, greatswords, 10-foot poles, sacks of flour,
assault rifles, winter blankets, and Heavy Armour.

To simplify the burden of managing the exact quantity of

certain resources – such as ammo, rations, batteries,
medical supplies, torches, and money – each come with a
Resource Die size which correlates to the Dice Chain. This
is written as Bullets-d6, or Water-d4, for example. The
first bit designating what the resource is, the second bit
being its Resource Die.
Each time you use or expend your resources in any
way, you roll its Resource Die. The Fablekeeper may also
call for a Resource Die check at any time. If the Resource
Die comes up 1, its die size drops down the Dice Chain. If
you roll a 1 on a d3 Resource Die, you still get to use it
that once, but then the resource is depleted.
A d10 is the largest size a Resource Die can be, and
generally you cannot carry more than that amount of a
single resource, or things start getting absurd. The
Fablekeeper may allow for exceptions to this guideline in
specific circumstances, however. For instance, a person
can’t carry more than a d10 RD worth of arrows, but a
wagon sure could.

Non-Abstracted Economy Variant

The way coinage operates is quite nebulous. Ye art meant to simply roll
thine coin’s Resource Die whenever ye make a purchase, though yon
Fablekeeper may say certain things art simply too expensive for ye to
afford at all, based on context of the narrative.
If this strikes thine ear as an overtly simplified atrocity, take head to
the following rectification: each amount of 250 or less coins count as a
Light Item. Ye may now haggle over the precise count of thine treasury
and may easily employ a monetary system akin to that of D&D.
Instead of listing a great big catalogue of every weapon
conceivable, IF simply categorizes them into four
different Tiers, representing the quality of the weapon
in question: Improvised, Common, Martial, and
Masterwork. A weapon’s Damage Die is determined by its
Tier.

=1 3
If you had a Skill or Quirk to amp this up a bit, that might
be excellent; otherwise, you better find an actual weapon.
=1 6
Objects which aren’t meant to be weapons, but which you
rightly think will knock out more teeth than your bare
knuckles; like barstools and random Uarthly
resources you find laying out in a woods.
= 1 10
These technically count as weapons. Light pistols,
pitchforks, daggers, slings and baseball bats. Hard, sharp,
and pointy things which hurt, but not the equipage you
want to march onto a battlefield with.
= 1 14
Now this is the weaponry you want in a real battle;
longswords, assault rifles, and great axes! For most
heroes, this is the best they can hope for until they have a
bit of experience under their belt, or get lucky.
= 1 20
Simply the pinnacle of what weapons crafted by man can
be, barring the use of magic, which can of course produce Defence Rolls utilize your Armour Die, which is
items beyond mortal comprehension. Finely tuned sniper determined by what you’re wearing, or not wearing, as
rifles, elegant lightsabers and perfectly forged war spears. the case may be. Below are the four standard categories
which armour may fall into, and their corresponding
Armour Die. Wielding a shield simply Boosts your Armour
Die.
An important note is that armour only protects you
against things it would logically protect you against.
Having wearing the best platemail in the land is useless if
a wizard strikes you with a lightning bolt or a giant
throws a boulder at your head. In such cases, you are
forced to revert to your 1d3 Unarmoured Die. You would
do well to seek out magical charms or uniquely potent
armour to ward yourself against such attacks.

=1 3
Naught but mundane clothing and bare flesh.
= 1 10
The likes of cured leathers and
surprisingly resilient threads.
= 1 14
Standard chainmail or camouflaged military gear.
= 1 20
Full platemail, or maybe just a truly
excellent fashion statement.
 the Infinitum, meant to present a base standard in the
The weapon system is highly subject to modification by game for you to easily improvise from.
the Fablekeeper, based on context of the in-game The Fablekeeper is by all means free to give any
situation. If a certain weapon is logically ineffective equipment certain special properties or requirements for
against the target, such as perhaps a knife against a use. For instance, perhaps a cannon would have a 2d14
skeleton, the Fablekeeper might rule that the entire Damage Die and smash through multiple enemies with
attack is made twice, with the worse result taking effect. each attack; but it is of course not easily portable, and
Alternatively, if the weapon in question is especially you have to spend an Action to reload it. Imagine a
effective against the target, such as a warhammer against machinegun which ignores the Multiple Attack Penalty
a skeleton, the entire attack might be rolled twice, with and also allows you one extra Attack Roll per Round.
the better result taking effect. Consider a suit of armour crafted from dragon scales,
Something to always keep in mind is that different boasting a 2d10 Armour Die and making you immune to
weapons have vastly different capabilities, even if they fire-based Damage. Or maybe you gain heavy military
were to do the same amount of Damage. Two Martial camogear which comes with extra ammo holsters.
weapons could offer drastically different tactics to the
wielder depending on what they actually are in the ,
fiction. For instance, a spear can be thrown, but a battle
axe cannot (or at least not nearly as effectively) but a
Instead of consulting a list of prewritten magic items and
spear can’t hack down a door. A sniper rifle is going to
high-tech gadgets, the Fablekeeper is encouraged to come
have better range than a slingshot. A club could knock
up with their own. This may sound difficult at first, but
someone unconscious, but it’s impossible to use it as a
it’s actually quite simple. The Fablekeeper need only
cutting tool. A quad-barrelled shotgun would probably be
think of a mundane item and then some fantastic effect
far more intimidating to enemies than a switchblade, but
or property to bestow upon it. A flying broom, for
a switchblade can be easily concealed and a shotgun
instance. A sentient sword. An ever-full mug of mead. A
cannot. A flamethrower might – who’d a thunk it? - set
potion which restores 2d6 points of the imbiber’s
flammable things on fire.
Excellent Points. A ring which allows the wearer to
Certain weapons might make certain attack
enlarge themselves once per day for a minute, Boosting
manoeuvres easier or harder. For instance, generally
all Muscle-based rolls.
speaking, if a hero wants to knock an opponent over or
The possibilities are quite literally endless and pretty
send them flying with an Attack Roll, that’d be a Special
much any sort of item or piece of equipment from fiction
Attack: an Opposed Test – possibly using Muscle if the
should be appropriate and very easy to adapt. The main
hero is employing brute force, or Agility if trying to trip
thing to consider is that if an item is very powerful it
their opponent – followed by an Attack Roll. But if the
should be equally difficult to come by, and it might
character were wielding a warhammer, that’ll make
require special conditions be fulfilled by the user, or it
knocking the opponent over much easier, reflected by the
may even be outright cursed in some awful way.
Fablekeeper granting them a Boost to their Opposed Test.
On a related note, perhaps heroes can find
Or if the character had a staff, that’ll make it easier to trip
equipment which improves the use of their Excellency, or
the opponent.
grants them entirely new Excellencies. For instance,
Players are strongly encouraged to come up with
imagine a magic wand which holds the blood of a dragon
elaborate and creative uses for different weapons and to
at its core. It might lower the EP cost of any fire-based
create improvised weapons out of their environment, and
magic the wielder attempts and grant them a pyromancy
the Fablekeeper is urged to allow and support those uses,
Excellency as long as they wield it. Or for another
provided that they make logical sense in context of the
example, cybertronic boots which grant the wearer the
game’s milieu. In the hands of John Wick, even something
Excellency of super heroic strength in their legs, which
as seemingly harmless as a pencil can become a lethal
they could use to make large bounds, run faster, and kick
weapon, and if you give Rincewind a rocket-launcher
things really hard! In such a case, the item itself could
they’re probably still going to dish out some serious
have its own set pool of Excellent Points which is spent
destruction.
when using it. The recovery of such EP is up to the
Fablekeeper. Perhaps the item has a one-off use, or can be
’ repaired to restore spent EP, or maybe the item just
outright recovers EP each day like a hero does, or maybe
An important note is that the Fablekeeper is by no means it just runs off a Resource Die instead of EP.
limited to merely featuring the default types of If all else fails, not to worry, for chapter V is littered
equipment presented in these rules. Those were simply with various magic items, high-tech gadgets and wonky
examples of the most common types available throughout doodads from across the Infinitum, ready for your use.
 Advanced Equipment Variant
Olórin wrote IF’s equipment system to be intentionally vague, so as to more easily be
adapted, expanded, and employed to creative ends. But if ye doth prefer more structured
gaming systems, perhaps the following replacement wilt better serve thine ambition.
This system is comparable to the default regulations, though now each equipment Tier
comes with a special Trait. Equipment benefits from all the Traits of its Tier and of the Tiers
inferior to it. For instance, a Martial Slashing weapon doth benefit from the Traits of
Improvised, Common, and Martial Slashing weapons. Also of note is that the Damage Die of
Unarmed Attacks various weapons have been modified to further differentiate them and to balance out the
Damage Die: 1d3 system. Armour and shields receive similar treatment.
Traits: If an attack deals Of course, even under this more defined equipment system, yon Fablekeeper is still able
at least 10 Damage, then to devise unique pieces of equipment however they wish. This just gives them a more
the target is also either established base to build from. Even if this optional system is not outright used, yon
Disarmed, Grappled, Fablekeeper could still draw inspiration from its core principles.
knocked Prone, Shoved,
or Fatigued, your choice.

Bludgeoning Weapons Piercing Weapons

Tier: Improvised Tier: Improvised
Damage Die: 1d6 Damage Die: 1d6
Trait: You may spend two Actions to make one powerful Trait: If you spend an Action to move before attacking,
Attack Roll, doing so Boosts the Attack Roll. or you are otherwise moving faster than the target when
Tier: Common attack, you Boost the Attack Roll.
Damage Die: 1d10 Tier: Common
Trait: If you spent two Actions to make one Attack Roll, Damage Die: 1d10
and it hits, the target is also Shoved or knocked Prone, Trait: Whenever you are targeted by a melee attack and
your choice. your opponent misses, they suffer 1 Damage.
Tier: Martial Tier: Martial
Damage Die: 1d14 Damage Die: 1d14
Trait: If an attack deals at least 10 Damage, the target is Trait: Boost the Defence Rolls you make against every
Fatigued. melee attack.
Tier: Masterwork Tier: Masterwork
Damage Die: 1d20 Damage Die: 1d20
Trait: Unless your opponent is using Agility for their Trait: If an attack deals at least 10 Damage, deal an extra
Defence Roll, you Drag their Defence Roll. 1d6 Damage.

Marksmanship Weapons Slashing weapons

Tier: Improvised Tier: Improvised
Damage Die: 1d4 Damage Die: 1d8
Trait: You may spend two Actions to make one carefully Trait: If you attack a target who you’ve already hit
aimed Attack Roll, doing so Boosts the Attack Roll. during this Action Scene, you Boost the Attack Roll.
Tier: Common Tier: Common
Damage Die: 1d8 Damage Die: 1d12
Trait: If you spent two Actions to make one Attack Roll, Trait: If an attack deals at least 10 Damage, the target is
and it hits, deal an extra 1d6 Damage. Disarmed.
Tier: Martial Tier: Martial
Damage Die: 1d12 Damage Die: 1d16
Trait: If an attack deals at least 10 Damage, the target is Trait: If you are wielding a shield in your off-hand, you
Slowed until the end of their next Turn. get an extra Boost to your Defence Die.
Tier: Masterwork Tier: Masterwork
Damage Die: 2d8 Damage Die: 2d8
Trait: Attacking a target in the same Zone as you does Trait: Once per Round, if you spend two Actions to make
not impose any Drags and does not require ammo, but two Attack Rolls, and both hit, you can then immediately
doing so cannot Slow the target. make a third Attack Roll for free.
Unarmoured Light Shield
Armour Die: 1d3 Tier: Common
Trait: All Tests you make which would otherwise Defence Roll Bonus: 1 Boost
logically be hampered by armour are now Boosted, such Trait: The shield is strapped to your arm, thus leaving
as Tests related to athletics, acrobatics, and stealth. your hand free to hold other things.
Tier: Martial
Light Armour Defence Roll Bonus: 1 Boost
Tier: Common Trait: If a melee attack misses you, you may immediately
Armour Die: 1d8 move into an adjacent Zone for free.
Trait: If you do not make any attacks, all your Defence Tier: Masterwork
Rolls that Round are Boosted. Defence Roll Bonus: 1 Boost
Tier: Martial Trait: If you fail a Defence Roll, you can instead choose
Armour Die: 1d10 to succeed. The shield is thence treated as though it were
Trait: Your stealth related rolls are Boosted. not equipped for the remainder of the Action Scene.
Tier: Masterwork
Armour Die: 1d12 Medium Shield
Trait: Your Attack Rolls using Light or ranged weapons Tier: Common
are Boosted. Defence Roll Bonus: 1 Boost
Trait: If you use the shield as an Improvised Bludgeoning
Medium Armour weapon, you Boost the Attack Roll.
Tier: Common Tier: Martial
Armour Die: 1d12 Defence Roll Bonus: 2 Boosts
Trait: You may spend an Action to gird yourself, Trait: If you hit an enemy with your shield, you can
Boosting all Defence Rolls that Round. choose to Shove them as a bonus.
Tier: Martial Tier: Masterwork
Armour Die: 1d14 Defence Roll Bonus: 2 Boosts
Trait: Your Attack Rolls using Medium weapons are Trait: If you use your shield as a weapon it still grants its
Boosted. Defence Roll Bonus and does not trigger a Multiple Attack
Tier: Masterwork Penalty.
Armour Die: 2d8
Trait: Your Armour Die is Boosted until you are hit Heavy Shield
during the Action Scene. Tier: Common
Defence Roll Bonus: 2 Boosts
Heavy Armour Trait: You cannot use Agility for Defences Rolls and your
Tier: Common Attack Rolls are Dragged.
Armour Die: 1d16 Tier: Martial
Trait: You cannot use Agility for Defence Rolls, you must Defence Roll Bonus: 3 Boosts
use Fortitude. Trait: You Boost Defence Rolls against ranged attacks.
Tier: Martial Tier: Masterwork
Armour Die: 1d20 Defence Roll Bonus: 3 Boosts
Trait: Your Attack Rolls using Heavy Weapons are Trait: You can spend an Action to raise your shield,
Boosted. giving yourself a Boost to all Defence Rolls until you are
Tier: Masterwork hit or you make an Attack Roll.
Armour Die: 2d12
Trait: You’re immune to the Battered Condition while
wearing your armour, unless you were already Battered
before donning it.
Vehicles in IF are represented by eight main aspects, This works much like a Resource Die, though might have
described below. See chapter V for examples of how a a maximum higher or lower than d10, depending on the
vehicle’s full stats might look. vehicle. Each time you make a trip somewhere, or
complete an Action Scene in which you piloted your
vehicle, you roll its Fuel Die. On a 1, the Fuel Die drops
This measures both the speed and manoeuvrability of a down one step on the Dice Chain. If you roll a 1 when
vehicle. Generally, a vehicle’s assumed to travel at your Fuel Die is at d3, you’re out of fuel.
whatever speed seems reasonable, but in heated moments
the pilot rolls their vehicle’s Handling Die. Depending on
context, the roll could be against another vehicle’s Measures the general durability of a vehicle. If it
Handling Die, such as in a race, or a Difficulty Die, such as accumulates Damage equal to this value, it breaks down.
when trying to pull off a stunt. For a vehicle to be cured of Damage it has to be repaired
If the pilot is notably familiar with the vehicle – by someone who knows what they’re doing, and possibly
perhaps if they’re Skilled in its use, or just spent a lot of require new parts. Once per Rest, you may roll either
time in it – they may choose to either Boost the vehicle’s Intellect or Luck, spending an hour to repair your vehicle
Handling Die, or ignore the Handling Die entirely and of Damage equal to the result.
instead use their own Agility Die or Luck Die in its place.
A measure of how many items may be stored in the
If the vehicle attempts to ram into something, a Ramming vehicle. This figure does not account for any passenger
Attack Roll is made. This roll consists of the vehicle’s seating, merely dedicated cargo bays. If the vehicle has
Handling Die, plus the vehicle’s Ramming Damage Die, any mounted weaponry which require ammo, the ammo
versus a standard Defence Roll for the target. needs to be stored in these Slots.

This works as per usual for Armour Dice in the game. This lists how many people the vehicle can accommodate,
Vehicular Defence Rolls are slightly different, though, in including the driver’s seat. But this doesn’t stop anyone
that they consist of the vehicle’s Handling Die, plus the from attempting to hitch a ride on the roof or something.
vehicle’s Armour Die. If a seat is empty, it may be used to store 5 Slot’s worth of
Items.

‘
These are essentially the vehicular equivalent of
Excellencies and Quirks, used to describe any special
or supplemental capabilities of the vehicle. Any
weapons the vehicle has will also be detailed here.
 Comparatively far simpler
than a vehicle, mounts merely
work just like any other creature.
All that makes a mount a mount
is the question of whether or not
another creature can logically
ride it.
When riding a mount, the two
creature’s Action economies combine;
both of them taking their Turn at the
same time in tandem with one another.
For example, if riding a horse which can
usually take 3 Actions per Round, you can,
on your Turn, spend your own 2 Actions
and those of the horse in whichever order
you wish.
This is all assuming a tame or compliant
mount, however. If you just jump onto some
random animal, it’ll most likely try to buck
you off, and if you ride an intelligent mount,
such as most dragons, it might ignore your
orders and simply do what it wills.
A big advantage of a mount in combat is that
you’d generally have the high ground versus
unmounted opponents, Boosting your Attack Rolls.
And of course, you get to rush across the battlefield
without having to spend any of your own
Actions to do so.

Heavy Artillery
A notable element is how vehicular
artillery often encompasses multiple
Damage Dice. I doth say, a tank’s gun is
unlikely to dish out a mere 1d20 Damage.
Hang the enervated thought! Tis far more
likely to have a 3d30 Damage Die. And the
Death Star’s superlaser probably has at
least a 100,000d30 Damage Die! Though…
mayhap tis better to simply say it doth
disintegrate any matter it hits; there is no
necessity to bother calculating the precise
mathematics on that point. Anyhow,
whatever the weapon doth do, all may be
explained away with Bells ‘n Whistles.
100 5 – ( )
The following is a sampling of 100 random Items that Perfect for on-the-go consumption.
heroes across the Infinitum might be found in possession
of. The main point of the list is to give you an example of 6 –
what Encumbrance Categories certain Items fall into and Unbreakable! …Hopefully.
which ones may count as resources for the purpose of the
Resource Die system. Needless to say, this is by no means 7 - –
a complete list of everything you might come across in The single most objectively useful and important item in
the Infinitum. the entire galaxy.

= 8 –
The Ten-Toot Pole’s main rival for supremacy
=
of sheer usefulness.
=
9 – ( )
1 – Useful for jamming doors and creating hand-holds.
A fine weapon for any fledgling warrior about to embark
upon a grand quest of great import. 10 –
Only a right dunce would use these. They’re a sort of
2 – ( ) newb-trap, I guess. Here’s a pro tip: equip literally
Whether a stick draped with an oily rag, or a hunk of anything else.
plastic encasing electronics, this Item will light your path.
11 - – ( )
3 – ( ) Carry your tunes around wherever you go, constantly
Use it to keep in touch with folks and to light your giving away your position and looking rad doing it.
path when your torches are depleted.
12 –
4 – Useful for digging, plain and simple.
Perfect for launching sick ollies and whacking
crap with! 13 – ( )
Useful for killing, plain and simple.

14 -
Even more useful for killing, but less plain and simple.

15 – ( )
Useful for healing, sweet and cheerful.

16 –
Whatever wardrobe you take to the streets in, all your
mundane clothing collectively counts as 1 Light Item.

17 – ( )
Proper heroes need to stay hydrated. This means you!

18 – ( )
An arrow a day keeps the monsters at bay.

19 – ( )
Without this your Big-Fancy-Gun might as well be a stick.

20
– ( )
Even without a rocket launcher these things could still
pack a punch!
21 – 36 - - -
I’ve made this nice and bulky for you so that you never Works like a typical sack but everything you put into it
misplace it. ends up somewhere else. What would happen if
you put yourself into it?
22 –
For when you misplace your key ring. 37 - -
A shield fashioned from the shell of some excellent
23 – ( ) creature or other, inlaid with crimson gems. It’s just
Great for leaving your mark on the world. unique and tongue-twisty enough for you to know it must
be better than a typical shield.
24 –
Potentially useful for catching more than just fish. If 38 – ( )
you’re particularly insane, mayhap you could even use it Pretend it’s a star and throw it.
as a grappling hook.
39 –
25 , , – ( ) The ultimate disguise. No one ever expects a box to
The perfect trio with which to spark a flame. contain anything.

26 , , 40 –
& – Don’t worry, the other entries on this list are more
For when you want to play a different game but also don’t interesting.
want to stop playing this game.
41 - –
27 – When you couldn’t be arsed to play guess-the-number
For the blacksmith with a deadline in the next town over. just use this instead.

28 – 42 –
For when you really want to make an impression. It’s written on a scrap of paper. Now you just need to find
the question.
29 –
Useless by definition, yet you love it to bits anyway. 43 – …?
I don’t think this’d fit in your backpack. That doesn’t stop
30 - – you from having it anyway, though, you loopholing
Hold fast to this the next time some wizard tries to cook bugger.
you and it should give a bonus to your Defence Roll.
44 - –
31 - – It’s a Medium Item because of the big awkward knobbly
Pump up the jam. When you’re walking on air, you’re bit on the tip. And no, you can’t use the shrink-ray on
walking twice as fast! Grants you an extra Action per itself.
Round to be spent on movement.
45 –
32 – See now, just because something’s light doesn’t mean it
It might not be true flight, but at least it’s falling-with- can’t be a Heavy Item. My RPG makes a lot of sense,
style. doesn’t it?

33 – ( ) 46 –
Hack the planet! What, that’s too boring? It takes up too much room? Well,
then it’s a magic pen. Writing someone’s name with it
34 - - - – kills them and gives you a crippling addiction to potato
I can’t believe it’s not empty! chips. Happy?

35 – 47 –
Despite now looking like a doctor’s patella, this hammer Counts as Medium Armour, costs extra for nothing, and
was once truly large and it still remembers that. Apply (hopefully) makes you look hip.
liberally to enemy’s face.
48 - - 61 - - –
Do I mean a medieval axe, or a guitar? After much A handy once-off ointment which elevates any Condition,
consideration… yes. even death! At least, that’s what the premium version
does. You can probably only afford wimpy imitators, such
49 – ( ) as Prone-Be-Gone,
You could use these for slingshot ammo. Or maybe the
pebbles all talk and each is Skilled in a different 62 –
academic field. Either or. Use it to get into places the Fablekeeper
never expected you to.
50 –
Ironically, it might be harder to buy things with this 63 –
than with a humble pocket of change. It doesn’t match the physiology of any creature you’ve
seen before. If you hang onto it long enough, mayhap it’ll
51 – grant you a psychic Excellency.
Because Dying Earth is excellent.
64 –
52 – These are fun! This one especially, since let’s say it’s
Because slavery and forced labour is cool-for-school, extremely strong.
apparently.
65 - –
53 – I wonder if putting this over your head would bolster
Like a switchblade, but a sword. So… like, a contemporary your defence. Doing so might lower its Encumbrance
lightsaber? Sorta. Category, too, since its bulk wouldn’t matter as much.
54 – 66 –
Excellent because it grants you an extra Excellency of This’ll make repairing your sleek-sled actually possible.
your choice whilst you wear it. Good luck changing a tire with your bare hands
otherwise.
55 ’ –
Everything you might need to disable traps and get held- 67 – ( )
up at airports. Mind you don’t gas yourself, or you’ll look well daft.
56 - –
Just like a real horse, but you can fold it up and put it in
your pocket when you’re done riding it. Well weird, sure,
but exceedingly convenient.

57 –
Because just sleeping on a rock or some soggy grass has
gotta have some sort of negative effect on your continued
wellbeing.

58 –
Just imagine all the silly pranks you could play on folks
with this.

59 –
Using this should warrant an Alignment switch. If the
game actually had an Alignment system.

60 –
If you hold it closer it reminds you of an Elton John song.
If you put it down it has the same effect on everyone else,
completely distracting them from yourself.
68 – ( ) 75 –
It’d be properly funny if a cyborg used these. For some bizarrely ironic reason, these allow you to see in
the dark. No one else knows that, though, so you just look
69 – stupid.
Let’s make it a bit more interesting by having it also
function as a compass and a magic radar. 76 - –
If you play a character with super strength, in an urban
70 – setting, and you don’t use this as a weapon at some point,
It really works! Only once, though, and it’s likely to I’ll be very disappointed in you.
misinterpret your wish somehow, because %$&! you.
77 –
71 – Designed specifically to ward off the impious fae.
Not only can it sorta work as a rope and grappling hook,
but it’s also a fairly decent weapon. 78 –
It’s all fun and games until someone loads it with sulfuric
72 - …? acid.
You see now this just shouldn’t take up any inventory
space at all, unless your Fablekeeper is particularly evil. 79 – ( )
Why you’d want it in your inventory in the first place is a Don’t do it!
tad odd, however. Oh, here comes Conam the Barbarous,
who never travels without a toothpick, wow. 80 – ( )
Using this would surely Boost your social related Tests.
73 –
Eat it, or plant it and watch it go. I could say it’s a magic 81 – ( )
tomato, but you probably wouldn’t believe such foolish You could put, like, anything in here. Maybe even lava, if
nonsense. your Fablekeeper is a youth. It’ll surely grant you a few
extra Slots in which to carry things.
74 –
If you set this on fire and use it as a weapon, I guarantee 82 – ( )
you that the other players will never forget the session. You’d be amazed at the sheer utility of this stuff. From
silencing wizards to making doors stay shut. You could
even use it to combine a ten-foot pole with a towel; you
have the power!

83 –
You could probably bribe a kid with this. Or maybe you
animate it with magic, turning it into a particularly
creepy minion.

84 –
Not only could this protect you from radiation, but it
might as well also work as Heavy Armour.

85 –
Reveals spoilers about the adventure; user beware.

86 – ( )
What if taking them actually elevates you to a higher
dimension of existence? Mayhap you could use these to
reach Faerie. Wait, no, why would you wanna go there in
the first place? Don’t do drugs.
87 – ( ) 95 –
Because toot-toot-magic-flute is just a staple of fantasy at Sorta like a spelltome, but instead of killing folks it
this point. If you really know what’s up, though, you’d use (hopefully) makes them laugh.
a hurdy-gurdy instead.
96 –
88 – Just wearing this makes you feel stronger and bolsters
Never worry about light resource management again! It your resolve. It Boosts all rolls made to do improbable
even works underwater. Just don’t drop it. And don’t stunts.
swallow it.
97 –
89 – Grants you the Thwip-Thwip Excellency (see page 26) and
Imagine using this as a thrown Martial weapon in the runs on its own pool of EP which maxes out at 20. Its EP is
Neon Fable Era. Now that’d be properly thematic. restored when you replace its web-fluid cartridges.

90 - - – 98 –
Depending on who gave this to you it might be really Wearing it turns you invisible and owning it makes
valuable. everyone else extremely jealous, to the point that they’d
cross the world just to take it from you.
91 –
Both a tool and a weapon, now that’s practicality. If 99 –
Gordon Freeman thought so, so should you. This legendary sword has a 3d10 Damage Die. If you kill a
person with it, all your physical related rolls are Boosted
92 – until you Rest. If you don’t kill anyone for a day, then all
For when you want to catch someone in the act instead of your rolls are Dragged until you kill again.
just directly stopping them.
100 ,
93 – –
Try not to think about the fact that sharks have rather We could be heroes, far above the world, strung out in
sharp bits and you’ll probably be fine. heaven’s high, the life on Mars. RIP Bowie

94 –
It can teach you a new Excellency and then Boosts all
your rolls related to it whilst you hold it.
 -
Not just for one day, but for all the spacetime stretched betwixt here and then. You might not know the face of
Uarth; perhaps you’ve yet to cross its deep valleys, open steppes and rushing oceans. Perhaps you’ve yet to
descend the chasms leading into Underuarth, or breach the world’s firmament to float about in the great
expanse of the Astraeus Beanstalk. Yet this matters not, for you already know the heart of the Infinitum. It
dwells withing the soul of every fantasy enthusiast, for it was borne in upon the minds of those who came
before. Tolkien, Moorcock, Vance, Carroll, Pratchett, Lieber, Lovecraft, Dunsany, Howard, Zelazny. These
names, and surely a great deal more besides, are the foundations of the Infinitum. If fantasy be your passion,
stride forth unburdened, for what comes to follow are simply the keys to your own imagination. While this
strange new universe holds a myriad of mysteries for you to discover, it is also at once that place you’ve
already visited a myriad of times before.
Will your hero be fashioned after one of the greats, such as Conan of Cimmeria, Bruce Wayne, or Samus
Aran? Or will they be an original character of your own design, hitherto undreamt of? Will their being
transcend the shackles of traditional fantasy, venturing into the realm of urban – mayhap even science
fantasy? All things are possible with the rules found herein.
 grant you specific abilities. But unlike Excellencies they
To create a hero, simply follow these steps… each have very specific effects. Good Quirks could be
anything from having 6 extra Health, to being able to see
1 Grab a hero sheet, such as the one included in the Zip in the dark, breath water, or having super strength. Bad
file this book came in. See that each of the seven Quirks might be having a supernatural weakness to
Attributes are marked by a d4. If something tells you to sunlight, a huge bounty on your head, limited inventory
“Boost” an Attribute it means you raise the die size by space, or a phobia. Work with your Fablekeeper to write
one step, while “Dragging” an Attribute means you lower up a description of how your Quirks work and what
the die size by one step, following this Dice Chain: exactly they do.
d3 – d4 – d6 – d8 – d10 – d12 – d14 - d16 – d20 – d24 – d30 For a list of sample Quirks, see page 30.

2 Boost 3 Attributes of your choice, then Drag 3 of your 7 Your starting inventory is completely up to the
choice. You can choose the same Attribute as many times Fablekeeper; ask them what you have and mark it on your
as you wish, meaning that you could begin with a d4 hero sheet. Generally, all heroes start with at least a basic
assigned to each Attribute. Note that d3s cannot be outfit and a Common Weapon. See page 39 for the game’s
Dragged, since they’re already the smallest die size. See slot-based encumbrance rules and abstracted resource
page 9 for an explanation of what each Attribute is used management system.
for.
8 Think of a name for
3 Determine and note your starting Health, which is your character and add any
equal to 5 plus the size of your Fortitude Die. other personal information,
including a virtue
4 Make up your hero’s first Skill and note it on your and a vice to help in
hero sheet. It could be archery, driving, fishing, smithing, roleplaying, as
alchemy, stealth, a certain academic field, you name it, desired. Optionally,
literally. Whenever you make any roll which relates to you could roll on the
one of your Skills you Boost the roll. See page 21 for a list tables at the end of this
of sample Skills. chapter for inspiration.

5 Now you need to make up your hero’s first

Excellency. This can be anything that transcends
normality, such as a super power, or simply a special skill
or talent. For example, your hero could choose
omnifabrication, conjuration magic, ninja stealth, trick
sharp-shooting, telepathy, fire breath, supernatural
mastery over shadows, teleportation, unsurpassed skill in
cooking, or the ability to shout really, really loud. Pretty
much any ability or super power from fiction can be
chosen as an Excellency, as long as it fits in with the
chosen themes and setting of the campaign.
A general rule-of-thumb is that Excellencies should
always be as specific as possible. For instance, you
cannot just pick “magic” as your Excellency,
you should rather pick a specific type of
magic. Excellencies should also not be
passive powers, such as simply having wings or being able
to understand the tongues of animals; that’s what Quirks
– the next step in hero creation – are for.
You start out with a pool of 10 Excellent Points for
your chosen Excellency, be sure to note this. For a list of
sample Excellencies, see page 25.

6 Now choose two Quirks for your hero, one good, the
other bad. These are essentially like mini, passive
Excellencies, which always effect you automatically, or
 • Optionally, you may choose to gain a bad Quirk,
Whenever a hero accomplishes something particularly ideally one somehow related to the story so far. If
noteworthy, or completes a difficult quest, they Level Up, you do, you may then gain one extra good Quirk, or
as determined by the Fablekeeper. There is no hard cap Skill, or Excellency. The bad Quirk should be roughly
on Levelling, but reaching 10th Level should be seen as a as potent or notable as the extra advancement it’s
truly epic achievement and gaining Levels beyond that buying, as determined by the Fablekeeper. In other
should be especially difficult. A Level 10 hero would words, buying super-strength with banana-allergy
indeed be an excellent and rare individual. probably shouldn’t be allowed. Though I suppose
Levelling Up grants you various benefits and bolsters that might prove humorous if done in good faith.
your hero’s prowess, as detailed below…

• Choose one of your Attributes to Boost, permanently

Dynamic Advancement Variant
raising its die size by one step, up to a maximum size
of d30. Hang that rigid Level system! I do say it may impose unneeded
• Roll your Fortitude Die and raise your Health by the confusion upon thine mind and hamper thy otherwise unbridled
result. enjoyment of the game to dismal ends. Instead of only gaining
• Note the new maximums for each of your Skills, Quirks and Excellencies upon Levelling Up on the whim of
Excellencies’ EP pools. This is equal to 8 + double yon Fablekeeper, let the players simply gain such competency
your Level. directly through gameplay. If a hero reads from the pages of
• Gain either a new Skill, Quirk, or Excellency. You’re forgotten arcane secrets, let them then-and-there receive the
free to choose and make up whatever you want for relevant Excellency directly! If thee doth pay for the tutelage of
your hero, but it must relate in some way to things yon skilled master, let yon knowledge be imparted upon ye on
they actually did during their adventures, or at least the instant! And of course, watch with cautious eyes for the
be a logically feasible ability for them to have devious ways in which the Fablekeeper wilt surely laden thine
developed. For example, your hero could gain Skill path with abhorrent Quirks to offset thy otherwise rapid ascent
in marksmanship if they spent some time at a to godhood. Now that is truly conductive to dynamic, explosive
shooting range, or simply if they used a rifle in roleplaying, is it not?
battle. If they’re a dragonspawn from Arcane Dawn, But alas, we wilt still need follow some semblance of
maybe they miraculously sprout wings, gaining a Olórin’s odious ode to D&D’s Levelling system which the fool
Quirk allowing them to glide about. Or if they dogmatically clings to, for various aspects of the game rely upon
trained under a martial arts master, they now gain a it. Give not into despair, however, for I’ve here devised a simple
Quirk which bolsters unarmed attacks. Perhaps your solution: merely ignore the acquisition of Skills, Quirks, and
hero spent time studying a spellbook, it’d then make Excellencies upon Levelling Up.
sense to gain a relevant magic Excellency upon And another thing! If ye find the application of Levelling too
Levelling Up. Or did they invent a high-tech mech- cumbersome a task to remember, consider a simple experience
suit which now grants them access to a new point system. Every time a hero accomplishes anything notable,
Excellency? they may receive between 1 and 3 XP. When they reach a total of
10 XP they Level Up. Ye might even embellish this system with
marvellous gimmicks, such as allowing the players to spend XP
to restore uses of their daily Luck Die.
 - own destiny and shaped the course of Uarth’s history.
Gifted with uncanny excellency, they stride forth in
While most campaigns would be played with a party of
confidence. Landstalkers are defined by the following
heroes, it is perfectly reasonable to play the game with
features…
just one. Usually this is useful when the group only has
one player. You might simply do just that: play with a • They get 6 Boosts and 2 Drags to their starting
single hero instead of a whole party. No changes Attributes, instead of the usual 3 Boosts and 3 Drags.
necessarily need to be made. But of course, the solo hero • They start out with two Skills, two Excellencies, and
will then have to be more cautious, since now they do not two good Quirks, instead of just one each.
have any companions to watch their back and help them
• Their Health is equal to Fortitude +15.
out. Alternatively, you could create a special, super-
heroic character to play as. A Landstalker. A sort of one- • Their Excellency EP pools are equal to 16 + double
person-party, if you will. You could perhaps even use their Level.
such heroes in a standard group game if you wish, which • In Action Scenes they have 1 extra Action per Round.
would facilitate truly epic adventures. • When they Rest they automatically heal all Damage.
The Infinitum is vast and iconic heroes have been • The negative effects of the Battered Condition do not
born into its many ages. These Landstalkers forged their affect them.
• They use the Heroic Luck variant rule on page 9.
 might have 80. No-name mooks you intend to use en
While the Fablekeeper can use the usual method of masse might only have 1 Health each.
creating and advancing heroes to come up with the stats
and abilities of non-player characters and monsters, it’s
3 Decide how many Actions this creature can perform
easier to use the following open-ended process. An per Round. For most creatures, the usual 2 should be fine,
important point is that NPCs and monsters do not but if they are supposed to be especially weak, strong,
necessarily have to follow the same rules and guidelines slow, or fast, you could slide this up or down accordingly.
as player-controlled heroes. They could potentially be far Though creatures generally shouldn’t have more than 5
weaker, or much more powerful, depending on what Actions per Round, with 5 already being reserved for
purpose they’re meant to serve in the game’s setting. truly epic beings.
Of note is that you could theoretically use this
4 Decide what the creature’s Damage Die and Armour
process to create player-controlled heroes, if you wanted
full control over their build and had something really Die are. If the creature is a humanoid of some sort, then
specific in mind. This could possibly come in useful if of course you could simply equip them with actual
trying to adapt a hero from popular media. weapons and armour however you wish.

1 Decide on and set the creature’s die sizes for their 5 Give the creature as many Skills as it needs to fulfil
seven Attributes. These can be any die sizes from the Dice its role in the game.
Chain. Simply choose whatever logically makes sense for
6 Decide upon what (if any) Excellencies and Quirks the
the creature to have. A standard human adult’s Attributes
would range around d3 to d8. creature has, and how many Excellent Points they have
access to. This is the most open-ended step in creating a
2 Decide upon their Health. This could be anything new creature for the game, as you may furnish it with
from 1 to 100. A standard human might have a Health of virtually anything imaginable.
10, a mighty dragon could have 50, and a giant robot
30 30
The following list exhibits sample virtues a person might The following list exhibits sample vices a person might
possess. They have no game mechanics directly related to possess. They have no game mechanics directly related to
them; they’re simply intended as inspiration to help flesh them; they’re simply intended as inspiration to help flesh
out a character’s personality. out a character’s personality.

1 Stoic 16 Disciplined 1 Surly 16 Timorous

2 Tolerant 17 Just 2 Sullen 17 Greedy
3 Benevolent 18 Serene 3 Desultory 18 Prejudiced
4 Cheerful 19 Courageous 4 Fractious 19 Reckless
5 Noble 20 Loyal 5 Rakehelly 20 Suspicious
6 Imaginative 21 Focused 6 Nervous 21 Mendacious
7 Helpful 22 Self-Sacrificing 7 Aggressive 22 Whiny
8 Empathetic 23 Punctilious 8 Stingy 23 Sardonic
9 Courteous 24 Merciful 9 Lazy 24 Blunt
10 Gregarious 25 Cautious 10 Arrogant 25 Wasteful
11 Curious 26 Generous 11 Gluttonous 26 Obstreperous
12 Dependable 27 Honest 12 Bitter 27 Vain
13 Ambitious 28 Loquacious 13 Inchoate 28 Vengeful
14 Idealistic 29 Honourable 14 Cruel 29 Aloof
15 Determined 30 Humble 15 Self-Centred 30 Slovenly
 100
Thi list exhibits a wide range of oddities, backgrounds and notable aspects to help flesh out a character’s identity.

1 The pulchritude of your visage is nigh unequalled 40 Your bloodline is rumoured to be tainted 67 You enjoy telling harmless lies and pulling pranks.
amongst your peers. by dragons, or demons, or some other fantastic 68 You’re extremely superstitious.
2 You are a prophesied figure of… great import? creature.
69 You believe you’ve awakened a forgotten or dead
3 You never knew your parents and were instead 41 You were accidentally invited to a posh god, and that they’ve made you their new champion.
raised in a foreign culture. ball or event.
70 Your face changes shape every day for seemingly no
4 You have a redolent scent. 42 You were abducted by the fae, or aliens. reason.
5 You have delicate facial features not unlike that of an 43 You once spent a night in a cemetery as a 71 You have an odd sense of humour and always speak
ice sculpture. dare. The undead haven’t treated you the same in the third-person.
since.
6 Your face looks tough enough to survive blunt force 72 An eternal optimist. You’re convinced that the
trauma from a sledgehammer.
44 Your parents were treasure hunters, but Infinitum, and everything in it, is excellent.
never found the object of their lifelong career.
7 Your frame is somewhat gaunt and skeletal, no 73 You have an odd bucket-list.
matter how otherwise muscular you are.
45 Your head is comically big or small.
74 You were once part of an adventuring trope, and
8 You have a hulking stature which bulks out at all 46 You’re a self-proclaimed “folk hero.” then they all died.
angles. 47 Your lover was kidnapped by some right 75 You can hear things from the “Beyond.” Vexingly,
9 You have rugged facial features which look almost bastard. this is never actually useful.
rough enough to substitute for sandpaper. 48 Your homeland is at war. 76 You lived alone in the wilderness for many years.
10 You’re quite short. 49 You have many children, or siblings. 77 You were once a pirate.
11 You’re quite tall. 50 You once, by chance, saved the life of an 78 You were created in a vat.
12 You’re plus-sized. important person.
79 You have a catchphrase, such as ending most
13 Your face is elongated and wolfish. 51 You regret everything. sentences with “bub’ or a shrill whistle.
14 Your face is bony and sharp. 52 You often write and rewrite your will, 80 You have a ridiculously long beard, which you
usually flippantly. sometimes use to carry things.
15 You have a broken nose.
53 Your past is shrouded in evil and 81 You don’t believe in magic or the gods. Whenever
16 You have a very round face. depravity, but you’re looking to turn over a confronted with the supernatural you think up a
17 You’re an unusual colour, such as blue or octarine. new leaf. Or are you? convenient explanation.
18 You have an odd birthmark, possibly in the shape 54 You grew up on a farm with an unusual 82 You came very close to dying once, perhaps by
of a star constellation. speciality. Perhaps it bred flying pigs, or once drowning.
grew a giant pumpkin.
19 You have terrible burn scars. 83 Your mother is a virgin, or a zombie.
55 You saw the majority of the galaxy,
20 You have savage battle scars. 84 You never left your hometown.
growing up on your parents’ cargo ship.
21 Your body is riddled with piercings. 85 You were part of a travelling circus.
56 You’ve been in many battles, or maybe
22 Your body is lavishly decorated with tattoos. just one particularly awful battle. 86 You were born in Hyperia or Faerie.
23 You’re bald. 57 You’re obsessed with rhymes and puns. 87 You’re part of a band.
24 Your hair is long. 58 You once got a terrible sunburn and now 88 You were a once a henchman, until you realized
25 You wear antique clothing. you hate the outdoors. your boss was definitely evil.
26 You wear ceremonial clothing. 59 You were raised to be something very 89 You’re deadest on running a business.
different to what you turned out as. Perhaps
27 You wear eccentric clothing. 90 You’re on a quest to find seven mystical items
you were an apprentice wizard, only to now
which, if gathered, would surely grant you a deific boon.
28 Your clothing is filthy. become a hulking warrior.
91 You were conjured from the pages of a comic or the
29 You’re very young. 60 You are from another time, stranded in
screen of an arcade cabinet.
30 You’re very old. the distant past or future.
92 You’re the champion of some sport or other.
31 You have a booming voice. 61 You have animalistic features, such as a
tail or cat eyes. 93 You keep trophies of all the enemies you defeat.
32 Your voice is hoarse and you mumble.
62 Your shadow does not always match 94 When you run, dust, sparks and confetti bounce off
33 You have an “addiction” to something odd and your movements. your tracks for no apparent reason.
harmless, such as shouting at sunrises.
63 One of your starting items is said to be a 95 Your eyes are swirling pools of rainbow stardust.
34 You were blackmailed by someone. legendary artifact, but you haven’t figured out 96 Your hair always blows about slightly, even indoors.
35 You are a condemned criminal, though perhaps not how it works yet, or mayhap it’s broken. Or
97 You face is perpetually hidden behind an
actually guilty. maybe it’s all just a falsehood.
impenetrably dark hood.
36 Your family disowned you, or you were exiled. 64 You were originally an animal, until
98 Your hands are not connected to your arms; they
37 You were kidnapped. magic transformed you into your current form.
instead just kinda…. float there.
65 You have a second (or secret) identity.
38 You were robbed. 99 You have vestigial wings.
39 You have an annoying nickname. 66 You’re followed around by a strange
100 You once made the Kettle run in less
figure who occasionally appears in your
than thirteen continues!
peripheral vision.
COMING “SOON”
Chapter V – which will go into
detail concerning each of the
Infinitum’s seven Eras – will be
included in a future version of
IF. I’m presently in the process
of converting the setting from
my old RPG into this new one,
as well as adding extensive new
lore and content. In the
meanwhile, the following pages
contain a brief taste of what’s to
come.

Until then, best wishes;

stay safe and excellent…
You could set your campaign within any time and place in Horizon Nexus is the genesis of a space-age for the
the Infinitum, making it up however you like and as you Uarthlings who manged to survive the Great War.
wish. As its name suggests, it’s big enough to contain Encompassing all manner of science and space fantasy,
anything and everything. Or you might adapt an existing Horizon Nexus expands out of Uarth’s boundaries to
setting, perhaps one from another RPG or your favourite cover not only Uarth’s solar system, but the entirety of
TV show. If you don’t wish to do any of that, however, the Astraeus Beanstalk. Are you a ruthless pirate or a
you could instead play in one of the seven Infinitum Eras rogue trader? Do you seek the forbidden secrets of Nibiru,
presented in this chapter. The first five Eras form a or the ancient ruins of Yuggoth? Do you hail from the
connected timeline revolving around the planet Uarth, dying Uarth, or are you a citizen from across the distant
while the last two Eras are standalone excerpts from the stars?
fathomless expanse of the Infinitum. The Ever-Realms of Terim play host to high gonzo
Arcane Dawn is an era of antediluvian sword and fantasy. Chronospatially adjacent to the Astraeus
sorcery. A fantastic age of might and magic, largely Beanstalk, Terim is a vast universe of interconnected
inspired by classic mythology, folklore and pulp fantasy. portals hosting a myriad diverse worlds, some no larger
Populated by a host of mystical creatures – from the than a flagstone, others dwarfing Uarth. Will you unlock
humble hobbit to the esoteric tertascue – Uarth in its the Gates of Arcane to channel the raw power of
infancy offers a myriad opportunities for high adventure. portology, or do your foes fall before the intricate edge of
Do you slay dragons, or cobble enchanted shoes? Which your ratchith vane? Did you stand against the Quvog at
side do you stand on in the great wars of Hyperia and Red Gate, or against the Durian bloodline in the Age of
Faerie? Will you seek the throne of Gruvornia, or defend Dissonance? Did an aracnotoad eat your cat?
it to your final breath? Super-Möbius, a vibrant galaxy defying all logic.
Dreamborne is a dread-soaked world of cosmic Here be supersonic woodland creatures, heroic and
horror infused with the themes of a sordid industrial psychedelic repairmen, unbelievably determined
revolution. Gaslit gears of change are driving the paperboys, and general masters of the universe. Death is
kingdom of Albion into the future, overseen by eyes both truly fluid in the Möbius galaxy, for a new life could just
clandestine and otherworldly. Will you join the be one continue away. Are you the destined Hero of Time,
conspiracy of Torchbearers, or do you forge your own or is world domination on your agenda? Do you have
path through the darkness? Was your soul witness to the what it takes to be the very best like no one ever was? Did
mind-bending atrocities of Wonderland, or are you in fact some fiend from across time and space eat your cake?
something from beyond this world entirely, dreamt into Note that the timeline of the Infinitum Eras
nebulous existence by the nightmares of the ONE? (especially those concerning Uarth) need not be strictly
Neon Fable is an arcade-punk urban fantasy. Enter followed. For instance, maybe in your Arcane Dawn
the city of Appleport, its vibrant streets a vessel of campaign the heroes play an active role in the God War,
buzzing activity, its alleyways a cradle of all that is thus somehow managing to avert the Great Deluge. Or
bizarre and excellent. In an age of enlightenment and maybe in your Dreamborne campaign the heroes uncover
digital marvels, will the spirit of arcana dwindle from and reveal the Torchlight Society to the public. Perhaps
your mind, or will you parade it openly down Mainstreet? your Neon Fable adventure gets so far out of hand that
Do you live blissfully unaware on the city’s surface, or do Uarth ends up entering Mutant Gear early, or skips right
you hail from the forgotten regions of Underport? Are past it to enter the space age directly. So, if the actions of
you a bad enough dude? the heroes happen to divert the established setting’s
Mutant Gear, an apocalyptic warzone of blood and timeline, don’t worry; that just means you’re playing the
fire, infested with mutants and devoid of all arcana, save game properly. You’ll also notice that the timeline itself is
for Rad-X, which permeates and warps what’s left of kept quite vague. This is so that when the heroes
Uarth. The last spasms of a broken world in which man inevitably muck with it the Fablekeeper will have an
desperately tries to survive; a society in which gasoline easier time rolling with the punches. And indeed, the Eras
and water are worth more than gold. A godless world are meant to be fun and easy to run, not as complicated
locked in a matrix of global warfare. Do you embrace the or obtuse as studying real-world history can be. In short:
chaos, or do you still fight for the noble virtues of a use the content in this chapter however you deem
bygone age? To what ends has Rad-X mutated your being? excellent; if it inspires you in any way, it’s served its
Do you even remember how to laugh? purpose.