PERKS IMPROVISATION CREATION
Even without tools, you can quickly jury-rig a mundane
Heroes don’t just fight monsters. They engage in item or repair a mundane piece of equipment related to a
exploration, investigation, negotiation and more. Perks are skill you have from the crafting skill group without
features you can use to customize your heroes and give needing to make a test. That items works for 1 hour or 1
them heroic moments outside of combat. Perks, along with use (whichever comes first) then breaks beyond repair.
skills and many of your hero’s class features, make your For example, if you have the carpentry skill, you can repair
character more than a monster fighter. While these a rickety wooden bridge long enough for a group of
features are designed to be used outside of combat, many creatures to cross it or build a simple shovel made of wood
are versatile enough that they can also be used in combat. that works for 1 hour.
You get one perk from your career and can choose others
from your class as your level increases. INSPIRED ARTISAN
PERK TYPES When you make a project roll using a skill from the
crafting skill group that you have, you can spend a hero
There are six types of perks: token to make another project roll for the same project as
part of the same respite activity. You can’t use this perk
Crafting perks let you better craft materials and more than once per respite.
become an expert in the things you create.
Exploration perks let you better traverse and explore TRAVELLING ARTISAN
environments.
Interpersonal perks let you better interact with other On a day when you don’t take a respite, you can spend an
creatures. uninterrupted hour working on a crafting project that uses
Intrigue perks let you better investigate mysteries and a crafting skill you have. If you do so, you gain 1d10 points
find the truth while keeping your secrets hidden. toward that project.
Supernatural perks let you use magic and psionics to
influence the world around you.
EXPLORATION PERKS
Whenever a feature allows you to gain a perk, it tells you This section presents the exploration perks in alphabetical
which type of perk to choose. order.
BRAWNY
CRAFTING PERKS
When you fail a Might test, you can roll a d6. You lose
This section presents the crafting perks in alphabetical
Stamina equal to the roll and improve the result of your
order.
test by one tier. You can use this perk only once per test.
AREA OF EXPERTISE CAMOUFLAGE HUNTER
Choose one skill from the crafting skill group that you have.
While in the wilderness, once you are hidden from a
When you roll an 11 or lower on an easy or medium test
creature, you don’t need cover or concealment from them
with this skill, you instead take the 12-16 result.
to stay hidden.
Additionally, if you spend 1 minute inspecting an object
related to this skill, you can approximate its value and
learn of any flaws in its construction. DANGER SENSE
When in a natural environment that isn’t in a settlement,
EXPERT ARTISAN you have an edge on all tests made with the Alertness skill,
and you cannot be surprised. Additionally, you’re attuned
Whenever you make a test as part of a research or crafting
to the instincts of wildlife and know if a natural disaster is
project that uses a skill you have from the crafting skill
imminent within the next 72 hours. You don’t know
group, you can roll the test twice and use either roll.
exactly what it will entail.
HANDY FRIEND CATAPULT
When you make a test to craft something and don’t have a
As a maneuver, you can grab a willing, adjacent ally or
skill that applies, you gain a +1 bonus to the roll.
object of your size or smaller and hurl them a number of
squares equal to twice your Might score in any direction. If
HOMESTEADER they fall as a result of this movement, their fall distance is
reduced by a number equal to twice your Might score. You
You gain an artisan follower, in addition to followers you
can't use this perk again until you gain at least 1 Victory.
acquire through renown or other means.
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you can gain a second Hero token at the Director’s
I’VE GOT YOU! discretion.
If a willing ally lands on you when they fall, you can use
your triggered action to catch them. Neither of you takes DAZZLER
damage from the fall.
When a creature watches you perform a song, dance, or
role (as an actor, not in disguise) for at least 1 minute, you
MONSTER WHISPERER gain an edge on tests made to influence that creature for 1
You can use the Handle Animals skill to interact with non- hour after the performance ends.
sapient monsters who are not animals.
ENGROSSING MONOLOGUE
PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT! When you are not in combat, you can shout to get the
Once per montage test, you can turn an ally’s tier 1 test attention of all creatures within 10 squares of you. Each
result into a tier 2 result. Additionally, if you make a test to creature who is not hostile toward you listens to what you
assist a test and a get a tier 1 result, you don’t add a bane have to say for at least the next minute, or until they sense
to the assisted test. danger or any form of imminent harm. While creatures are
listening to you, your allies gain an edge on tests made to
avoid being noticed by those creatures.
SURVIVALIST
While in the wilderness, you can spend 1 hour searching a FAST NEGOTIATOR
1-mile-radius area of land and find a safe location suitable
for a respite (if one exists). At the start of a negotiation, you can learn one negotiation
motivation or pitfall (your choice) of an NPC in the
negotiation.
TEAMWORK
When you take your first turn during a montage test, you HARMONIZER
can both make a test and assist another hero’s test.
For you, music is a universal language.
TEAM LEADER You can make a Presence test with the music skill to
influence creatures even if you don’t share a language.
At the start of a group test or montage test, you can spend Once during a negotiation when an ally makes an
a hero token. If you do, all participants make tests as if argument, you can play music to give them an edge on
they also had your exploration skills. their test.
WOOD WISE LIE DETECTOR
When you make a test with an exploration skill and at
least one of the d10s rolled is a 1, you can reroll one d10. After another creature communicates with you, you can
You can only use this perk once per test. spend a hero token to determine whether what that
creature communicated had any lies. If so, you know what
INTERPERSONAL PERKS the lies are, but not what the truth is.
This section presents the interpersonal perks in OPEN BOOK
alphabetical order.
When you have a chance to speak one-on-one with
someone, you can ask them one question about themself. If
CHARMING LIAR they choose to answer honestly, they can immediately ask
you a question about yourself in turn, which you must
If you fail a test with the Lie skill, you don’t suffer any
answer honestly. If they choose not to answer honestly,
consequences associated with the failure. You can’t benefit
they simply deflect or redirect the question, no further
from this perk again until you gain at least 1 Victory.
complications result from the prying.
During a negotiation, you can be caught in one lie without
negative consequences. You can’t benefit from this perk PARDON MY FRIEND
again until you gain at least 1 Victory.
CUNNING PLAN you can step in and make a Presence test with a bane. Your
new roll replaces their roll. This feature can only be used
When you have at least 10 minutes to plan before going once per test, regardless of how many heroes have it.
into a negotiation, you can declare a goal and offer up at
least one piece of information you have about that NPC PERSISTENT
that will enable you to achieve that goal. If this intel is
accurate and meaningful, you gain 1 Hero token which can In a negotiation, when a creature’s patience reaches 0, you
be used to achieve that goal. If you have additional can make one last argument before the negotiation is over.
information, or your information is particularly extensive, Only one hero can use this perk per negotiation.
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POWER PLAYER LUCKY DOG
When you make a test that uses the Brag, Flirt, or When you fail a test using any skill from the intrigue skill
Intimidate skills, you can use Might in place of another group, you can roll a d6. You lose Stamina equal to the roll
characteristic used as part of the test. and improve the result of your test by one tier. You can
use this perk only once per test.
SO, TELL ME …
MASTER OF DISGUISE
When you succeed on a Presence test to influence another
creature, you can ask one creature you influenced a You can don or remove a disguise as part of any Hide test
follow-up question after the test resolves, which they must you make or while taking the Hide maneuver.
answer honestly. At the Director’s discretion, the creature
doesn’t have to answer the question completely or at all if SLIPPED LEAD
the response would put them or a loved one in danger.
You have an edge on checks made to escape bonds. Given
SPOT THE TELL at least 1 minute uninterrupted, you can escape any
mundane bonds without making a test. Additionally, it’s
When you make a test to read a person and get a tier 3 not immediately obvious when you’ve escaped bonds until
result, you notice several tells that give away their true you use an ability that harms other creatures, cast them off,
feelings. Any test you make to read that person in the or do something else obvious that makes it clear you are
future, you gain an edge on the test. unbound.
INTRIGUE PERKS LORE PERKS
This section presents the intrigue perks in alphabetical This section presents the lore perks in alphabetical order.
order.
BUT I KNOW WHO DOES
CRIMINAL CONTACTS
When you fail a test to recall lore with a skill from the lore
You have access to a network of criminal contacts. As a skill group that you have, you know the closest place
respite activity during a respite in a settlement, you can where the information you seek with that test can be
ask a question of your contacts. Make a Presence test. On a found. It could be a sage, in a library, or somewhere deep
tier 2 result, you gain knowledge that would be common in a dungeon. The Director determines the source’s
among criminals (e.g. the secret entrances into a building, location.
the location of a local, hidden criminal, the name of a local
thieves’ guild leader). On a tier 3 result, you can also gain EIDETIC MEMORY
knowledge that would be uncommon among criminals, if
such information exists (e.g. the location of a local treasure Your mind is an encyclopedia, though not always an easy
stock, the location of a murder weapon used in a noble’s one to organize. After finishing a respite, choose one skill
assassination, the name of an NPC secretly bankrolling a from the lore skill you don’t have. You gain that skill until
local assassin’s guild). you finish a respite. Additionally, if you spend at least 1
minute reading a page of text, you can memorize its
FORGETTABLE FACE contents. You can memorize entire books this way.
If you interact with a creature for less than 10 minutes and EXPERT SAGE
they haven’t met you before in the past, you can cause
them to forget your face when you part. If asked to Whenever you make a test as part of a research or crafting
describe you, they give only a vague, blank, and unhelpful project that uses a skill you have from the lore skill group,
description. Additionally, if you spend at least 1 hour you can roll the test twice and use either roll.
assembling a disguise, creatures who meet you in that
disguise do not recognize your true face later from when I’VE READ ABOUT THIS PLACE
you were in disguise.
When you enter a settlement you’ve never been to before,
GUM UP THE WORKS you can ask the Director one of the following questions:
When a mundane trap activates within 3 squares of you, Who’s the most influential public figure in this
you can move up to 3 squares toward it as a triggered settlement?
action. If you’re adjacent to any of the trap’s mechanisms Who in this town would be friendly to us right now?
after this movement, you jam the trap, preventing it from What does this settlement need most from outsiders?
activating. So long as you stay adjacent to the mechanism,
the trap can’t go off. If an attempt to disarm the trap you If the Director does not have an answer to the question
are stall fails, it goes off. you ask, you can instead ask a different question.
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LINGUIST You place a small magical inscription on the surface of a
mundane object you can touch, or remove an inscription
If you spend at least 7 days in a place where you regularly that was made by you or by another creature using
hear a language you don’t know spoken, you can pick up Arcane Trick.
enough of that language to hold a conversation, though You cover a size 1T object that you touch with an
you still can’t read it. After doing so, you can learn it twice illusion that makes it look like another object. A
as fast as normal. Additionally, you learn two extra creature who handles the object can see through the
languages you’ve heard before when you gain this perk. illusion. The illusion ends when you stop touching the
object.
POLYMATH CREATURE SENSE
When you make a test to recall lore and don’t have a skill
that applies to the test, you gain a +1 bonus to the test. As a maneuver, you can magically learn the keywords a
creature of lower level within 10 squares of you has in
SPECIALIST their stat block (e.g. “Demon,” “Humanoid,” or “Undead”).
You are a leading expert on a particular subject. Choose FAMILIAR
one skill you have from the lore skill group. You always
have a double edge on tests made to recall lore that use A magic spirit, which has taken the form of a specific small
this skill. Additionally, you have at least one major animal or animate object, has chosen to be your familiar—
contribution to this field, such as a thesis, field guide, or to adopt you as its familiar. The familiar can’t perform
gazetteer, or even an ongoing newsletter you maintain. activities that require hands, and it can’t harm other
This contribution grants you notoriety in your field. You creatures or objects. It can provide flanking benefits only
treat your Renown as 1 higher when negotiating with to you. The familiar uses the familiar stat block.
people who know of your work, or 2 higher if they have If the familiar is destroyed, you can restore them as a
the skill that you chose for this perk. respite activity or by spending a Recovery as an action to
bring them back into existence into an unoccupied space
TRAVELLING SAGE adjacent to you.
On a day when you don’t take a respite, you can spend an FAMILIAR
uninterrupted hour working on a research project that Familiar
uses a lore skill you have. If you do so, you gain 1d10 Stamina 2 × your level
points toward that project. Speed 5 Size 1T / Stability 0
Agility +2 Reason +0 Presence +1
SUPERNATURAL PERKS Telepathic
You and the spirit can communication telepathically with with
This section presents the supernatural perks in each other and share senses over while you are within 10
alphabetical order. squares of each other.
ARCANE TRICK INVISIBLE FORCE
You gain the following ability. You gain the following ability.
ARCANE TRICK INVISIBLE FORCE
You cast an entertaining spell that creates a minor but You manipulate a tiny object with your mind.
impressive magical effect.
Keywords: Psionic Type: Maneuver
Keywords: Magic Type: Action Distance: Ranged 10 Target: 1 size 1T unattended object
Distance: Self Target: Self
Effect: You can grab or manipulate the target with your
Effect: Choose one of the following effects: mind. You can move the object up to a number of squares
You teleport an unattended size 1T or 1S object within 1 equal to your Reason, Intuition, or Presence score (your
square of you to an unoccupied space within 1 square of choice). You can use this ability to turn doorknobs, pull
you. levers, and manipulate other smaller, movable pieces of a
Until the start of your next turn, a part of your body larger object as long as the piece you're manipulating is
shoots a shower of harmless noisy sparks that give off unattended and size 1T (though you can’t use this ability
light within 1 square of you. to break smaller piece off of a larger object).
You ignite or snuff out (your choice) every mundane
light source within 1 square of you. PSYCHIC WHISPER
You make up to 1 pound of edible food you can touch
taste delicious or disgusting. You gain the following ability.
Until the start of your next turn, you make your body
exude a particular odor you’ve smelled before. This PSYCHIC WHISPER
You send a one-way telepathic message to a friend.
you, but can’t impose any condition or other drawback Keywords: Psionic Type: Maneuver
on creatures.
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Distance: Ranged 10 Target: 1 ally who understands at
least one language
Effect: You send a telepathic message to the target that
takes 10 seconds or less to speak.
THINGSPEAKER
When you hold an object in your hand, you can ask the
Director if it bears emotional importance. Objects with
emotional resonance could include treasured gifts, murder
weapons, or personal keepsakes. If the answer is yes, the
Director tells you the most dominant emotion associated
with the object, and you can spend 1 uninterrupted minute
focusing on the object, at the end of which you receive a
vision which answers one of the following questions:
What was the name of the person whose emotions are
imprinted on this object?
Why does this emotion linger on the object?
How long has it been since this was held by the person
whose emotions linger on it?
After asking one question, you can choose to delve deeper.
You ask one additional question from the list, after which
you are overcome with emotions that do not belong to you.
You take a bane on Presence and Intuition tests until you
finish a respite. While you suffer this bane, you can’t use
this feature.
RITUALIST
You can spend 1 minute performing a magic ritual of
blessing. At the end of the ritual, touch one willing
creature, including yourself. The creature gains a double
edge on the next test they make within the next minute. A
creature can’t use this benefit on an activity that takes
longer than a minute.
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