The Mausoleum Edition

EMP T Y G R AV E
VERSION
1
 This is the Empty Grave Version of Tombpunk. It is in black
and white and has reduced images to be print-friendly while
still retaining the character of the original book.

For character sheets,

downloads, & more, go to
www.tombpunk.games

Created & Written by Alan Bahr

Additional Contributions by Richard August,
the Tombpunk Community, and Kris McClanahan.
Cover and Interior Art by Kris McClanahan
Book Design & Layout by Kris McClanahan
Tombpunk Line Management by Alan Bahr
Published by Octopress Publishing,
under license from Northern Lights Foundry

TOMBPUNK, Northern Lights Foundry, and all logos, art, and

visual design are trademarks of Northern Lights Foundry.

©2024, Northern Lights Foundry. All rights reserved.

Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is
expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for any
blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only.

Created in the United States of America.

Printed in China

2
Dedication
To John Blanche, in gratitude for
illustrating our imaginations for decades.

TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Introduction............................................. 1
Core Mechanics ....................................... 2
Common Classes...................................... 6
Rare Classes........................................... 14
Weapons................................................. 27
Gear & Armor......................................... 30
How To Play............................................ 31
Enemies.................................................. 39
Hirelings................................................. 47
Random Generators............................... 47
Chaos Magick......................................... 53
Ancestries & Culture.............................. 60
The Northern Provincials....................... 62
Oracles & Tools...................................... 81

3
 INTRODUCTION
Hey.
I’m Alan.
I wrote this game. You might want to know why, what it’s all about,
and what I was thinking. Or you might not. If you don’t, just skip
this letter section and move on. No skin off my nose (I mean, I’m a
little hurt, but you gotta do you.)
So, what the hell is this Tombpunk thing? Tombpunk is best called
a “classically inspired” roleplaying game. It’s designed to feel like
old games from the 70s and 80s, with a bit of a modern design
ethos tossed in there, given a good shake and then kinda just…
dumped out.
It’s a deliberately imperfect game, designed around four core
ideals I had when I wrote it:
Keep the rules quick, dirty, to the point, and deliberately
incomplete.
Don’t sweat rules for everything. Provide just enough rules to
play.
Keep the tone straightforward and conversational.
Avoid the possibility of power creep.
Yeah, but why did you write it? you might ask (and rightly so).
Because I like a design challenge. Because I had an itch to scratch.
Because someone told me I couldn’t do it, and I am a stubborn
bastard who hates being told no.
Look, putting words on paper, no matter how messy, helps me
grow as a writer and game designer. Tombpunk is a mess, but
it’s my kinda mess. I hope you dig on it as much as I do, cuz it’s
gonna be a hell of a ride.
Alan Bahr, 2020

Huh.
INTROD
(mausol UCT
eum e ION
Here’s a
dition expect tothing I didn’t
) Tombpu do. More
against m nk. Me, r
ebelling
in the or y own rules
Me, givin ig in al edition
.
Artistic vg in to….I dunno.
Whateve is io n. Whim
r. s.

4
 The Game
Tombpunk operates on a quick and dirty
RPG system, designed to play fast, get out of
the way, and let you have high-octane, high
action adventures. We’re not going to spend
pages telling you how to play the game, so we
assume you’re familiar with RPGs. If you’re
not, a scan of this QR code will set you up just
fine. Or visit ttrpgwelcome.carrd.co

The game is written to be

as simple, conversational,
and easy to understand
as possible. Rules first,
story later.
D
’S W H AT YOU NEE

TO P LAY:
HE R E
This book.

A set of polyhedral dice.

Tombpunk uses d4, d6, d8, d10,
d12, and a rare d20.
A few players.
One to be the Narrator, and
at least one to be a Character.
We recommend having at least
three Characters at a table.
Some pencils and paper.
ation.
Your Imagin

1
 THE
COR E M ECHANICS
The Attribute Test
The Attribute Test is the core resolution of situations in
Tombpunk. To make an Attribute Test, you roll a d12 and
compare the result to your Attribute. There are two potential
outcomes that you can have:
If the result of the roll is equal to or lower than
your Attribute, your Test is successful.
If it is higher, you fail.
Any time you want to do something that could fail, just pick
the appropriate attribute and roll.
When the Narrator attacks you, they have to roll over your
attribute to be successful.

This one rule will govern most

of the rolls in the game.

Advantage & Disadvantage

If something gives you gives you
If something
Advantage, you roll two e, you roll two
Disadvantag e higher one.
d12s and take the lower
d12s and take th
one.

Disad-
Advantage and
If you have both ), they
ely, but possible
vantage (unlik than 2d12.
never roll more
cancel. You can

2
Resource Tests
The second most common Test is the Resource Test. To
make a Resource Test, you roll a d6 and compare the result
to your Resource score. All Resource Tests succeed, but a
high roll (above your Resource Score) requires you to reduce
your Resource score by one point.
This represents you spending or losing the resource on the
way to success.

Attributes
There are three Attributes in
Tombpunk that govern the
heroes the characters will play.

To determine your score in an

Attribute, roll a 1d4 and add
4. This gives you a number
between 5 and 8.

Might represents fortitude, health,

MIGHT
strength, and physical force. It is
used to
determine your lifeblood, and as
well as
how hard you can swing a weapon
.

GRIT
Grit governs your soul, willpower, and
magical abilities. It enacts magic spells, as
well as how well you keep your wits about
you when the blood starts to flow.

l agility,
Deftness represents your physica
tion

DEFTNESS
blen ess , and reac
your dexterity, nim
use to det erm ine if
time. It’s what you
hit in com bat .
you can avoid being

3
 Resources CO URAGE
To use courage, a character
Resources are aspects of your
character that change. Unlike states their intention and
Attributes, your Resources are makes a Courage check.
fluid at any given time; they ebb They roll a d6. If the result
and flow throughout the game. on the d6 is equal to or less
Beginning Resources are
than their Courage, they use
determined by the Character’s
it successfully. If d6 is higher,
Class. The Narrator can call for
the result is still successful,
a Resource check at any time.
but they must decrease their
Courage by one.
If you don’t have a Resource, of
basic use
you can’t do a check with it. The most si st te rror.
to re
Courage is
Resources can’t
go lower than 0
or higher than 5.

COIN WILL
Coin represents your Will is the spiritual
money. To use Coin, a strength of each
character states what
they want to purchase character. A Resource
and makes a Coin Test of Will is often rolled
check. They then roll a when confronted with dark
d6. If the result on the d6 magics, horrific scenes, or
is equal to or less than their Coin, they
buy the item.
occult nightmares.
If d6 is higher, the result is still successful, A Character also restores
but they must decrease their Coin lifeblood equal to their Will
by one as they have overspent their once a day (the Character gets
reserves. to use this ability for free once
You can sell one point of Treasure per day at their discretion.)
to gain 1d3 points of Coin to spread
among Characters.

You can find out more

about Coin on page 34.

4
LIFEBLOOD
Unlike other Resources, Lifeblo
od isn’t used for
nta tion of the amount of
Tests. Instead, it’s a represe
take before they are
physical damage a Character can
e the other Resources,
knocked unconscious or die. Lik
d by class.
beginning Lifeblood is determine
Lifeblood is further explained in the
Damage/Dying section on page 33.

COMMO N
CLASSES
There are three common
professions (classes) in
Tombpunk: Warriors,
Shepherds, and Ritualists.
These three classes form the
core elements of the heroes
that make up the world.
There are no limits on how
many there might be in a
particular group (unlike rare
classes).

5
 WARRIORS
Warriors are physical, skilled combatants.
common type of hero
Warriors are the mos, tthieves, and soldiers.
in the land. Fighters

Warrior attacks do WEAPON TRICKSs, they

1d10+Courage
ck
When a Warrior atta
oo se on e of th e following
may ch
damage effects after they ro
ll their attack:

Warriors
CHEAP SHOT
Gain your Courage to damage

start with:
(on top of the 1d10+Courage
you already do. Basically, it’s
1d10+Courage+Courage to
damage.)

Lifeblood: LUCKY SWING

Reroll a failed attack.
equal to
SUCK IT UP
Might +10 Gain your Courage as Reduction
against the next attack that targets
Courage 3 you. If no attack targets you before
your next turn, this effect expires.
Coin 2 You may not choo se an effe ct you’ve

Will 2 alrea dy chosen, until all effe cts have been

chosen (bas ically, you gott a go thro ugh
the who le list befo re you can choo se

Warriors begin with two

again.)
and the Special
Ability: weapons with one quality
WEAPON each, or one weapon with two
TRICKS qualities.

6
SHEPHERDS ,
SHEPHERDS are the spiritual guides of the land
attempting to assuage the soul against the
ors o
horrn f
the ight. Shepherd attacks do
PRAYER 1d8 damage
Shepherds
Shepherds may make a Will
check once per day at sunrise (if

start with:
they worship the everlasting sun),
or sunset (if they worship the moon
indomitable). They may either restore
1 Courage or 1 Will to a nearby
ally. Lifeblood:
HEALING equal to
Shepherds may make a Will check
to restore Lifeblood to a target.
Might +8
Healing restores a number of
Lifeblood equal to the target’s Will.
Courage 3
Coin 1
TITHES
Shepherds may eat and lodge for Will 3
free at any church of their faith
(and may request such for allies,
though accommodations are not and the Special
guaranteed.) Abilities:
GUIDANCE PRAYER,
Shepherds may automatically lower HEALING,
their Will by one point in order to TITHES,
add Advantage on any test. and
GUIDANCE.

7
 Ritualtists
Ritualist attacks do
Ritualists are magicians,
occultists, & Tombpunk’s
1d6 damage equivalent of researchers.

Ritualists start with: ALCHEMY:

Lifeblood equal to Might+6 A Ritualist may craft
alchemical items such as
Courage 2
potions, poisons, and esoteric
Coin 4 metals. To do so, they must
Will 2 make a Coin test to craft an
and the special abilities item. Some of the items they
can craft are:
Alchemy and Spells.

SMOKE BOMB: As an action, this bomb imposes

Disadvantage on all Tests against the Ritualist.
HEALING SALVE: This salve can be applied to
a wounded target, healing 1d3 Lifeblood. It takes 10
minutes to apply this salve.
ALCHEMIST FIRE: This bomb can be thrown
as an attack that has the Burning 2 quality.

SPELLS: s a successful Grit

The Ritualist can cast spells. It take
titude of
check to cast a spell, but spells can do a mulbinations,
ed com
things. Rather than layout all the vari
uld wor k with the Adv antage/
the Narrator sho
han ic to dete rmin e effe ct.
Disadvantage mec

8
MAGIC ADDENDUM
Everyone wants magic lists. I don’t. I think they lock in
creativity behind “this is what I can do” thoughts. I also
hate writing them. So, because I love you people, here are
some magic lists for Tombpunk Ritualists and how they
work.
There are three levels of spells to cast: cantrips, sorceries,
and incantations. Ritualists know some of these spells.

A Ritualist knows all the spells on the

Cantrip list, and a number of sorceries
and incantations equal to their Will.
If a spell is an attack, it’s generally based on sight. A
Ritualist has to see the target of a spell they’re casting.
It takes an action and a Grit check to cast a spell.
Cantrips are the easiest spells to cast. Ritualists make
their Grit check with Advantage when casting cantrips.
Sorceries are more difficult than cantrips. Ritualists make
their Grit test without Advantage or Disadvantage when
casting Sorceries.
Incantations are the most powerful spells. Ritualists
make their Grit check with Disadvantage when casting
Incantations.

ate the ef fect of

fu n. On e option to mitig en
Failu re isn ’t st take dama ge wh
is to have a Rituali
“wasted actions” th er than simply jus t fa il to ca st
ca st sp ell s (ra to se e
they fail to st is made
ell .) In th is op tio nal rule, the Grit te s th e sp ell .
the sp than cast
rs dama ge, rather
if the Ritualist suffe the Gr it te st is fa ile d,
ell goes of f, but if
Either way the sp da ma ge th at ignores reduction
.
tu ali st su ffe rs 1d 3
the Ri

9
 C a n t r i p s
RITUALISTS
Advantage GAIN
casting ca when
ntrips.

DIM LIGHT Magic Sight

The Ritualist summons The Ritualist gains the
mystical floating ball of ability to see magic, as
torchlight. There are two well as other benefits.
ways this spell can be
used, and the Ritualist For a number of actions equal
must choose when they to their Will, they can see
cast the spell. in the dark, see through any
obscuring weather or effects
First, it illuminates a small- (fog, smoke bombs, etc.),
ish room enough that one and see an aura around any
could read in it with some magical items.
effort (assume a 10’ radius
space if you need an exact
measurement.)

Alternatively, the Ritualist

may use it to attempt to blind
a foe. If they choose this, the Scary Sounds
light expires immediately,
but the foe either suffers The Ritualist
attempts
disadvantage on their next to scare a foe
with
action or the adventurer illusionary so
unds.
impacted by that action has The foe will flee
advantage (in the case where if their
Lifeblood is low
an action would require the er than the
Ritualist’s Grit.
adventurer make a Save Test
or such.)

10
 so r c e r i e
DESPERATE SHIELD
s
Th e R
itualis
s
inflict or
t

MAGIC BOLT
r m
an A 3
The Ritualist can cast this ng 1d
Pierci ll
reactively when they’re ge ro
dama arget
struck by an attack. If t
on the pell.
they’re successful, they i s s
of t h
gain Protective X against
that attack, where X is
the Ritualist’s Will. If they
fail the test, their enemy’s RENDING
attack gains +1 to Brutal The Ritualist
(giving Brutal 1 if they inflicts a Brutal
don’t have it.) 1d3 damage roll
on the target of
this spell.

Gout Of
WARD
The Ritualist wards

Flame
away foes with
arcane sigils and
magical barriers.
The Ritualist Until their next
inflicts a turn, all attacks
damage roll against the
Ritualist suffer
with Burning 1
Disadvantage.
on the target of
this spell.
Ritualists
Standard r make a
casting so oll when
rceries.
11
 Incantations
DAYLIGHT
Bloody Eruption

The Ritualist inflicts

a Brutal X, Armor
ERUPTION
Piercing X damage roll The Ritualist forces
on the target of this everyone who can see
spell. X is equal to the them to make a Will
Ritualist’s Will. Anyone resource test.
who can see this spell’s Those who fail suffer
effect on the target Disadvantage on
must make a Courage their next turn. The
resource test or suffer Darkness level in this
Disadvantage on their area is lowered by 1.
next action. If the Ritualist casts
this more than once per
week, they must make a
Grit Save Test or LOSE
THE ABILITY TO CAST
WARD, SPELLS FOREVER.
IMPROVED
e the
This functions lik
pt the
Ward spell, exce
Ritualist can exte
to a number of ch
allies equal to thei
nd it
osen
r Will.
Hungering
The Ritualist
inflicts a Burning
2, Brutal 1 damage
roll on a number of
targets equal to the
Ritualists Roll With Ritualist’s Will.
disAdvantage when
casting Incantations.
Flame
12
13
 R AR E CLASSES
The following are rare character classes. Rare classes
should be restricted to one per group (in total, not per
rare class), though obviously the Narrator will make any
exceptions they want (I mean, what’s the point of a
game if you don’t ignore my artistic vision, right?)

Paladin Paladins are the least

common profession in the
Paladins
start with:
land. They’re too good for
the world and often burn Lifeblood:
out and end up destitute equal to
and then dead. While they’re
alive though, they’re a force Might +10
for truth and good.

Paladin attacks do Courage 3

1d8 + Faith Coin 2
damage
Will 3
Paladins don’t
really fit and a Unique
Tombpunk, bu
like them. So yo
t I really Resource:

FAITH
u get them.
It’s my game an
d I can
include them
if I want.

14
 FAITH
Paladins have a unique
Gaining Faith
Paladins gain faith by vanquishing
resource called faith. This evil. Whenever the Paladin is
resource starts at 2. It is involved in an adventure that
tested and resolved like other reduces Darkness to 0, they gain
resources. +1 Faith.
As long as a Paladin has a faith
score, they add +1 to the Party’s Losing Faith
Light rating (when determining Every time the paladin fails to
the ability of the party to stop evil or has to leave a dungeon
vanquish Darkness). without vanquishing all the
Darkness, they lose 1 faith. Faith
If a Paladin’s faith is ever 0, they also decreases like normal for a
can no longer adventure and
resource.
must retire.
Testing Faith
Religious Warrior A Paladin can test faith to restore
A Paladin adds their faith to 2d3 Lifeblood, spread out however
their melee damage. they wish among allies.
A Paladin can test faith to take an
Armor of Faith extra action on their turn.
Paladins gain bonus reduction
A Paladin can test faith to add +1 to
equal to their Faith. the Party’s Light rating.
DARK PALADINS

Dark Paladins Damage: 1d10 (melee weapon);

(as an enemy) Armor-Piercing 1 and Brutal 1
Add +2 to the Darkness to- Reduction: 3 (Dark Paladins
tal of the Dungeon and they wear armor and carry shields.
will always attack and seek Don’t deal with the details, just
out Paladins for combat. use reduction).
You can use this profile: Note: Dark Paladins add +2
DARK PALADIN Darkness to the Dungeon total.

Lifeblood: 20 They don’t need Faith.

Attack: Advantage

15
CULTIST
Cultists are often found in dungeons.
While normally viewed as the ene- Cultists
mies of Tombpunks, they can become
temporary or even long-term allies,
though eventually the aims of the
start with:
two groups invariably diverge and
turn into conflict.
Lifeblood:
equal to
Might +8
Courage 2
Coin 2
Will 5

and the Special

Abilities:
SHEEP IN WOLF’S
CLOTHING
and
DARK MAGICK

16
 Cultist attacks do
1d6 + darkness DARK MAGICK
damage A Cultist can cast spells. They make
a Will Test, and choose one of the
following effects:
INTIMIDATE: A number of enemies
equal to the current Darkness rating
SHEEP IN WOL of the location flee, attempting to
F’S
CLOTHING leave the Cultist’s presence with all
due haste.
When a Cultist is CURSE: The target of the spell
attacking an enemy who immediately suffers damage equal
resides in the dungeon,
they gain Advantage on to the current Darkness rating. This
their attack tests. damage ignores Reduction.

SUMMON: The Cultist summons a

handful of dark allies to aid them.
Wheneve (These allies are 1d3+Darkness
r the Cult Goberries or another similar
up refers ist write
to Darkn creature.) These allies will aid the
the curre ess, use
nt Darkn Cultist for a number of turns equal
of the loc ess rating
ale the C to the Cultist’s Will.
in. If there ultist
is no Dark is
rating, us ne ss Any night where the Cultist does
e the Cult
Courage ist’s not sleep in a location with a
instead.
Darkness rating, they cannot
use Dark Magick the next day.

You might be inclined to try to redeem

a cultist to the side of “good” (the one you
are nominally aligned with).
Don’t bother.
At best, just shake hands and meet as
enemies down the road. At worst, make
sure you leave the cultist dead behind
you. They’re never your friends.

17
 GUNFIGHTERS
Gunfighters
Gunfighters are among the rarest
professions in the land. The cost

start with:
in coinage of maintaining their
signature gear compels them to
make a living the hardest way
possible: by violence and raiding.
The lifespan of a gunfighter is
naturally short, and it’s rare that
Lifeblood: a group might meet one (though
not impossible, especially where
equal to great wealth is at stake.)

Might +8 and the Special

Abilities:
Courage 3
FIREARM
Coin 5 TRAINING
Will 3 and
HAVE
GUN, WILL
TRAVEL

18
 Gunfighter attacks do
1d8 damage
FIREARM
TRAINING
with a
Gunfighters start

“Have gun,
gun
pistol, rifle, or shot
(see page 29). This
st
firearm does not co

will travel”
te r
Coin. The Gunfigh
of the
must choose one
following benefits:
You may never join a
Pistoleer: Your pistols gain group or work with
Brutal +1. another Gunfighter. If
you encounter one, you
Sniper: Your Rifles gain must make a Courage
Armor Piercing +1. Test. If you cannot
make a Courage Test,
Crowd–Control: Your you must challenge
Shotguns gain Defensive 1. that Gunfighter to
a shootout (usually
resulting in at least
one death).

ntasy.
li ke g un s in my fa ing
I eth
adds som resting
I think it n d inte
ue, a
cool, uniq rd and sorcery
wo
about it . S re like
c k powder a .
and bla jelly
utter and
peanut b

19
 THE
MOUNTEBANK
Mountebanks are un

Mountebanks
common in
the world of Tombpu
nk. Grifters,
con-artists, lesser ma
gicians, they
are of ten considered

start with:
soft and
unsuited for the harsh
realities of
dungeon crawling ec
onomics.
However, to assume such is a
mistake, for Mountebanks are
social assassins, wielding language
as precise as the sharpest knife.
Coupled with their limited magical
Lifeblood:
training, a Mountebank can be an equal to
invaluable member of a team.
Might +6
Courage 2
Coin 4
Will 3

and the Special

Abilities:
T,
CON ARTIS
Mountebank attacks do R ACTING PATTER,
DIST
1d6 + Will an d
damage ING
TRICK CAST

20
 TRICK
Distracting CASTING
A Mountebank has limited

Patter magical abilities. They can

attempt to create mystical
effects of a limited nature. As
A Mountebank may an action, they must make a
spend their action Grit check and then choose
talking, insulting or one of the below options
verbally assaulting
when they cast a spell:
a foe, forcing that
foe’s next test to Fool’s Gold: 2d3 golden coins
suffer Disadvantage. appears. These coins will last for
However, if the 24 hours before they vanish. They
foes next action is count as an equivalent amount of
an attack, they will Coin. Using them will invariably incur
attempt to strike the the wrath of the duped party (the
Mountebank. side-effect of the magic is that they
explicitly are aware they were duped
by the Mountebank) and it’s advised
the Mountebank skip town before
they vanish.

Con Artist Insulting Gesture: The Mountebank

flashes a terribly rude and vile
A Mountebank gains hand signal at a foe. This signals
Advantage on any attempts automatically understood,
made to deceive, trick, pick- regardless of language barriers.
pocket, or flim-flam a target The foe targeted must make all
effort to attack, harm or ruin the
who is unaware of their
Mountebank, gaining Advantage on
reputation. all checks related to this terrible
pursuit. This effect lasts for
1d3+Will actions.

Vanish: In a puff of smoke and sparks, the Mountebank

vanishes, reappearing a short distance away. Their
reappearance is accompanied by the same smoke and
sparks, automatically alerting their foe to their new
location.

21
 THE
FI REBRA N D
Firebrands are revolutionaries, rabble-rousers, and agitators
who work to overthrow the feudal lords who rule over the
lands of the world. They loathe the oppressive nature of the
economic system they are stuck in and see raiding the tombs
for wealth, goods, and magical items as a tool to fuel their
crusade against their authoritarian overlords.
The economic macro-game
in Tombpunk deliberate weights the
game towards the Lords who rule over
the land, and as such Firebrands are in a
position of disadvantage. The Firebrand
is a more ‘narrative’ class, where their abilities and
the rules around them are more subject to rulings
from the Narrator than hard and fast rules from
the game.

The choice of playing a Firebrand creates a specific

campaign narrative, and one that should be chosen
carefully, and with consultation with the group. Or
just do what you want. I don’t care.

Firebrands start with:

al Abilities:
and the Speci
H,
Lifeblood: FIERY SPEEC
equal to A T UR AL LEADER,
N
Might +5 an d
IO N A RY OATHS
Courage 4 REVO LUT
Coin 1 Firebrand attacks do
Will 4 1d8 damage
22
 Fiery
Speech Nat ur al
When you have an audience and
can give a speech, your words Le ader
inspire them to rise up against As an action, you can choose
those who use or oppress them. one of the following effects:
You can inspire Courage x 10
individuals to rise up! These Grant an ally you can see
individuals will undertake various advantage on their next
actions to aid you (such as test.
working with you to ambush the Grant an ally you can see an
lord’s tax collectors, providing
additional action. Any test
safehouses, etc.) for the next X
days (where X is your Will.) made as part of that action
has disadvantage.
Every time you use Fiery Speech
Grant an ally a +1 to
you gain a Rabble-Rouser point.
When you reach three points, the
Courage or Will. You lose
local government will act against one from the equivalent
you. When you reach six points, resource.
the local lord will send soldiers, non-
Cause a group of
assassins, and other terrible al lie s of low strength
character
things after you. c.) to deal 2d8
(commoners, et
emy as a
damage to an en
owever, if this
group attack. H
Revolutionary Oaths: damage, you
attack deals 10+
ouser point.
You swear a powerful oath to gain a Rabble-R
dismantle the oppressors around
you. When you do so, every time
you participate in removing all the
darkness from a Dungeon, you
gain +1 Courage or +1 Will, as
the progress of gathering these
resources and working to aid In case the punk elements
the commoners grants you more of the macro-economic
momentum and drive. system weren’t explicit
enough, here’s a class to
However, any week where you don’t really drive it home.
make progress towards your goals,
you lose 1 Courage and 1 Will.

23
 THE

NECROMANCER
Necromancers are often What necromancy does is bind the
found in dungeons, selling intelligences of spirits of nature
their services as mystical to a biomechanical apparatus that
mercenaries to forces of evil.
Contrary to popular belief, grants them corporeal mobility
necromancy isn’t inherently where they would normally have
based in evil magicks (though none. Basically you stick a nature
one could be forgiven for spirit in a corpse, and boom.
thinking it is). Popular myths
Undead.
tell us that necromancers
imbue the remains of those This binding takes place as a pact,
who’ve passed on with an
a mutual consent where the
unholy semblance of their
former life and intelligence, nature spirit allows itself to be
cursing them to rise again as bound to the corporeal form. A
less than they were. necromancer views the remains
they use as nothing more than a
That’s boring. And pre-assembled marionette, just
what’s the
point of ma gick th
at ever yone waiting for something to start
understands? pulling on strings.

While it might be your best

curse
The necromancer can
friend’s skeleton shambling
towards you, rest assuring the
intelligence blazing in those eyes
is something even more inhuman.
curse an enemy as
an action. The next And like your best friend, it
action the enemy takes probably wants to eat you.
has disadvantage. This
is ma gick, and should be
treated as such.
cers st
man o
Necro sily the m he
e a i n t
are ss
x cla h caution.
p l e
com Use wit
.
game

24
 Necromancer attacks
do 1d4 + Will RAISE DEAD
The necromancer can
make
damage a Will Test and chose
one of
the following effects:

Necromancers Raise

start with:
Skeleton
The necromancer raises a
skeleton (page 42). If the
necromancer sacrifices a
point of will, they can apply
a weapon quality to the
Lifeblood: skeleton. The necromancer
must have access to a
equal to skeleton to use this effect.

Might +6 Raise Zombie

The necromancer raises

Courage 4
a zombie (page 43.) The
necromancer must have
access to a corpse that

Coin 2
has not fully decomposed
into a skeleton for this.

Will 4 Summon Ghost

The necromancer summons
a ghost (page 43.) The
necromancer does not
require any access to
and the Special summon a ghost.
Abilities:
Once raised, a necromancer
CURSE, can’t simply dismiss
RAISE THE undead. They must be
destroyed. Raising Dead
DEAD, AND is mag ick, and shou ld be
COMMAND treated as such by all rules.
THE DEAD

25
 COMMAND
THE DEAD
The necromancer raises undead
, but the undead will do nothing
necromancer doesn’t command if the
them. As an action, the necromanc
can issue one of the following com er
mands to the undead they raise:

ATTACK TASK
One of the dead the The dead moves to accomplish
necromancer has raised will a single task (pick something
attack a single target. They up, push a button, etc.) that
will continue attacking until the necromancer has set them.
that target is dead. Ghosts can’t do this command.

GUARD MOVE
Anytime the necromancer
would take damage, an Skeletons and zombies will simply
adjacent raised dead instead stand there, unwavering until they
suffers the damage. Ghosts decay to nothing unless commanded
can’t do this command. to move. Ghosts sort of hover, just
looming until commanded. This
command tells them where to move
WORK and they will make all reasonable
The dead work towards a haste to get there (they’re very
task the necromancer has slow…don’t expect much.)
set them. This must be
mundane, physical labor
and only skeletons and
CONSULT
zombies can do it. They This command can only be done
are incapable of finesse or with a Ghost. The ghost will do
artistic work, instead being their best to answer a single
suited only for the most question about a topic they might
brutish of labors. know (roll a d6, on a 5-6 they can
answer it.)

26
WEAPONS
Weapons are defined by qualities, not damage dice
(as damage is tied to class).
Where a quality has an “n” value, you may increase
the value of N by +1 each time you take that quality.
Each character starts with a weapon with
one quality, except the warrior, who has two
weapons with one quality or one weapon with
two qualities.
Because damage is tied to class, the type of weapon
(sword, spear, battleax, etc.) is primarily for the sake
of flavor, with one exception: whether the weapon is
ranged, for use at a distance, or melee, for use in close
combat. Ranged weapons, such as bows or crossbows,
automatically begin with the Reload 1 quality.

Ranged weapons Test Deftness to attack, unless

otherwise stated.

Melee weapons Test Might.

Some qualities are drawbacks and grant weapons

additional qualities. Drawbacks don’t take up one of
your quality choices when you select them.

27
 WEAPON QUALITIES
Armor Piercing N Light
The weapon ignores N points The Character can use either
of Reduction (see Armor on Might or Deftness to attack
page 30). with the weapon.

Brutal N Protec tive N

A brutal weapon allows the The item provides a Reduction
Character to roll an additional bonus (see Armor on page
damage die per N and keep the 30) to the Character using it
highest. For example, a Warrior by an increase of N. Multiple
using a Brutal 1 weapon would protective items do not stack.
roll 2d10 and use the higher of
the two results. Reach
Burning You can attack enemies up
to 10 feet away. (Weapons
A target hit with a Burning
without the Reach quality can
weapon must make a Deftness
only reach targets up to five
check immediately. If the target
feet away.)
fails, they have been set on fire
and take 1d6 damage at the start Reload N
of their next Turn. They must
You must Reload this weapon
repeat the process—as though
after n attacks with it. A
they’d again been hit by the
reload takes a Turn. All
Burning weapon—until they make
ranged weapons have Reload
a successful Deftness check to
1 automatically.
put out the flames.
Taking this quality grants
Defensive N your weapon one additional
The weapon provides a quality for each numerical
Deftness bonus to the value in N past the first.
Character using it. For (Therefore a weapon with
example, Defensive 1 would Reload 2 has two qualities.)
give +1 to the Character’s
Deftness to avoid being hit.
Multiple Defensive Weapons
do not stack.

28
 Sanctified
This weapon adds the Character’s FIREARMS
Will to their damage roll when If one wishes to acquire a firearm, it costs
attacking undead, demons, or evil 2 Coin, immediately (simply lower your Coin
creatures. by 2). After every adventure, you must
lose 1 coin to maintain your firearm, clean
Thrown and repair it, and acquiring black powder
This weapon may also be used to and shot.
make Ranged Attacks and Tests
Might (instead of Deftness).
Pistol
Two-handed (Drawback) A pistol is a Light, Reload 1
The Character must use both hands ranged weapon. It either has
to properly wield the weapon. Armor-Piercing 1 or Brutal 1,
Taking this quality grants the chosen at character creation
weapon one additional quality. (or when purchased.)

Rifle
Unwieldy (Drawback) A rifle is a Reload 1, Versatile
This weapon imposes Disadvantage ranged weapon. It gains
when it is used. Taking this quality Reload +1 (allow you to fire
grants the weapon one additional twice without reloading)
quality. or Light (representing a
carbine-style rifle), chosen
Versatile
at character creation (or
purchasing).
Even though the Character may
wield the weapon with one hand, if Shotgun
you use two hands it upgrades the A shotgun is an Armor-Piercing
damage die one step. 1, Brutal 1, Reload 1, Two-
(For example, a d8 damage die Handed, Unwieldy ranged
would become a d10, and a d10 weapon. It gains Reload +1 or
would become a d12.) Defensive +1 (representing the
intimidating power of a close-
range shotgun.)

29
 Treasure Points
As Characters explore Tombpunk,
COIN
Money in Tombpunk comes
they discover items, loot and from local regions, nearby
treasure. These are represented by
countries, or further.
Treasure points.
We use the term Coin to
Each treasure point can be “sold” refer to your resources
to generate 1d3 points of Coin. to simplify the game, but
These points of Coin can be spread
you might use the copper
between Characters in order to
increase their Coin resource. grosh, the silver aspri, the
gold florin, and electrum
Alternatively, each point of guilders—though the truly
treasure can be spent to add a new
rich might have even more
quality to an item if appropriate
crafts people can be found. coin or esoteric ones.
Plus, it’s not like you’ll
live long enough to see
much past grosh anyway.
ARMOR
Armor provides Reduction.
Light armor provides one
point of Reduction, medium
OTHER GEAR
Any other piece of gear should
armor provides three, and serve a narrative purpose and be
heavy armor provides five, adjudicated by the Narrator as
and a shield gives +1 to the appropriate. A character can carry
Character’s total Reduction.
a number of pieces of gear equal to
However, heavy armor
imposes Disadvantage on all
their Might.
Deftness tests, and medium
armor imposes Disadvantage
on any Deftness tests related
MOVEMENT
to movement, agility, or
speed.
& TRAVEL
A character can walk 8 miles
Characters using a shield a day, ride a horse for 24
can’t use a two-handed miles, or sprint a number of
weapon. However, they might
yards equal to their Deftness
live longer, so it’s up to you
if it comes up!
what you want to do with
that information.

30
How To Play The Game
Once your Character is made, you can start
playing! There are two ways to play the game:
as a one-shot, or as a campaign.
wraps up in one
in g a on e-shot, the game
W he n pl ay limited scenario
en in g (m ay be tw o), and you play a
ev ovie.)
ke a stand-alone m
with a fixed goal (li
a linked series
a little longer, with
A campaign goes rrative arc (like
rm a complete na
of sessions, that fo
a season of TV).
got. Play
t breakdown we’ve
That’s the simples
.
however you want parts of
some key
k about want to
Let’s tal u’r e going to
the game
yo know.

Initiative, Turns,& Actions

Initiative is rolled when a scenario, scene, or element of the game
requires a focus or knowledge of who acts in what order. This is
generally combat, but a Narrator might call for it at any time.

To roll Initiative, each player makes a Deftness Attribute Test.

Those that pass go before the enemies; those that fail, go after.

Characters who pass can decide as a group who goes first.

On the Character’s Turn, they can tak

e one action.
Moving is an action. Attacking is an act
ion. Reloading is an
action. Basically, doing anything that
takes more than a
few seconds is an action.

31
 saves
XP & Leveling
Saves
a
Tests o re normal
r Reso At t rib
i f t he u u te
Chara rce Tests th o r get XP
in
c te r fa a l
ils, ha t,
a n eg ’t le v e
a
Chara tive ef fect ve You don mbpunk.
cter. U on t he To .
or a s
pell a sually a t ra t tr y n ot to die
Saves llow p Ju s
are de for a save
termin .
t he Na e
r rator. d by

E A N D WI LL
R AG
USING CO U FEARSOME
PANIC FOES
If you are confronted with a
Every time an ally is dropped to foe that has more than 25
0 Lifeblood, you must make a lifeblood, you must make a
Courage resource test. If you have Courage resource test. If you
0 Courage, you have Disadvantage have 0 Courage, you have
on your next action. Disadvantage on initiative
HORRIBLE SCENE against them. You must test
If you’re confronted every time you confront that
by a horrible scene of foe.
unearthly import (the RULE:
aftereffects of the ritual OPTIONAL
of an evil cult, etc), you
must make a Will resource FAME
test. If your Will is 0, you Wanna be famous? Cool.
flee the scene. Here’s a new Resource called Fame.
It starts at 0. Every time you clear a
RESISTING Dungeon of Darkness make a Fame roll.
MAGIC If you have a Mountebank in your group,
add +1 to the roll. If you roll over your
If you get struck by a current fame, you gain +1 Fame.
magic effect, you can
make a Will test to You can use Fame resource checks
negate the spell. to influence people in the world you
meet. If you want to get someone to
do something for you, make a Fame
resource check. Remember, all resources
cap at 5.

32
DAM AG E & DYING
ic (like If a Character is hit in
Healing mag combat, they take damage.
d or
the Shepher (The attacker rolls damage
av e) can
Ritualist h dice; the target loses that
fe b lo o d , or
heal Li n much Lifeblood.)
r ca
the Characte per
e o n ce
just use th t
li n g eff ec
day hea
,W . il l)
(see page 4
o nce per
After that
it y is used, If a Character go
day abil es to 0
better Lifeblood, they m
though, you ust make
e a Grit Attribute Te
hope you hav ealing st every
it h h time you take an
someon e w action. If
u ’r e in the Character fails
magic , o r yo , they die
after resolving tha
trouble. t action.

Combat
To attack with a weapon, make a Might Attribute Test. On a
success, roll damage (determined by class and any modifications
from the qualities on the weapons or spell).
The target loses that much Lifeblood (minus any Reduc tion from
the armor if they’re wearing armor).
the
When a Charac ter is attacked, the Narrator rolls a d12 against
Charac ter’s Deftness.
If they roll higher than the Charac ter’s Deftness, the enemies
succeed— you’re hit!

Then, while the Narrator rolls damage, you check your armor and
hope you don’t die. If the Narrator rolls equal to (or lower) than
the Charac ter’s Deftness—you’re good. They missed. (Lucky you.)

33
 DU N G E O N
ECON
a
BEING AN
d
BLve
OWn
S t
.ur e r 101
In the world of Tombpunk, it cos
ts a non-landowner
die in the gutter.
one Coin a week to not starve and

You lose this Coin at the start of the week.

ts a non-landowner
In the world of Tombpunk, it cos
die in the gutter.
one Coin a week to not starve and
That’s right.
Every time your Narrator tells you a new wee
k started,
you have to lose one Coin from your Coin reso
urce.
Not very fun, huh?
It’s a little different for farmers and land-owners, who
live off their own labor instead of eating in pubs, paying
for inns, and travelling. A farm in service to their feudal
lord generates 1d3 Coin a month.

However, you don’t have to pay the

one per week coin to stay alive.

34
 You can scrounge enough to not starve, and you have a
roof (probably with some holes) over your head.
But you’re probably eating bugs, refuse, and scrawny, tough meat.
Then, the lord always takes one Coin a month in general
taxes (from everyone). Even if you only make one coin that
month through farming, your lord is taking it.
Keep some money and food squirreled away.

If you want to make it, you’re gonna have to get out there,
earn fortune and fame at the edge of a sword.
Good on you. You’re probably gonna die soon, but at
least you’re trying to get it together and improve your
lot in life.
An average dungeon delve pays you 1d3 Treasure points. That
means at most, you can get nine coins from a dungeon.
Tax of one coin a month.
Oh, don’t forget the Adventurers’
ry weapons, salvage
You gotta pay for the right to car
designed to keep you
permissions, and various legalese
threat.
poor enough you don’t become a
Meanwhile, your lord is sitting in their castle, ruling 300
farms, and netting 300 coins a month, before they collect
and charge the Adventurers’ Tax (and your lord is probably
spending a third of their income on guards).

Let’s recap:
• One coin a week to not die.
• One coin a month in Adventurers’ tax.
• One coin a month to the lord.
• 1d3 Treasure points per dungeon (1d3 Coin per
Treasure point).

Hell, economics is fun.

35
 DUNGEON GEAR (s uch as thieve
s tools, etc.
)
du ng eo ns riate te st s.
Most gear in ge on approp
ides Advanta
simply prov you need or
in Te st to acquire gear where the
It takes a Co 12 on a Test
t. If yo u ev er roll an 11- ge ar br ea ks.
wan
id es A dv an tage, the
gear prov

LIGHT & DARKNESS

When you first go into a dungeon, you’ve got to contend with the
DARKNESS . Each dungeon has a DARKNESS rating, or just how
hard
the dungeon will be to defeat. Generally this is equal to the number of
Characters x2 (the typical difficulty it can have when entered), though
it can be modified by the inhabitants of the dungeon (powerful enemies
might increase the DARKNESS rating).
As you clear the dungeon, the rating can go down. The party has a
light rating (equal to the number of Characters). Each time you clear a
room or defeat a monster (or group of monsters), you group rolls a d8
against your light rating.
If you roll equal to or under your light rating, permanently lower the
DARKNESS by 1. When a dungeon’s DARKNESS rating is at 0, you’ve
cleared the dungeon and you get your Treasure points. You don’t
actually have to get to the end of the dungeon...

Get the hell out

if you can.
However, an empty dungeon recovers 1d3 DARKNESS points a month.
Yes, that means that you can re-clear the dungeon, but it also means
everyone else can, too, and you’re gonna have to fight for those scraps.

36
DUNGEONS & TRAPS
Secret Door rules are simple. It takes a successful Grit test to
discover and open secret doors.
Traps are pretty easy to handle. The Narrator simply decides
what the trap does (damage, poison, time-travel, etc.), and
makes the character who trips it make an Attribute Test.
To notice a trap, a character must be actively looking for one. A
successful Grit test will locate a trap, and a successful Might test
will disarm it. If a character fails to disarm a trap, they are hit by
the trap and suffer its effect.
Use the following guidelines to determine which Attribute to
Test when a trap springs:
Deftness for jumping out of the way, dodging something, or
similar.
Might for catching something, pushing, pulling, or physically
applying force to resist.
Grit for poisons, gasses, holding your breath, and mental attacks.
The Narrator knows which traps are in the dungeon and will let
you know if you spring one.

37
 SAMPLE TRAPS
SPIKED PIT TRAP: Everyone who steps on the weighted
floor plate that covers this trap must make a Deftness test.
If they fail, they fall into the pit trap, suffering 1d4+3 damage.
ROTATING STATUE: A series of rotating and
arcane statues occupy various places throughout
dungeons. When a character moves within a few
steps (3 yards/meters or so) of the statue, it turns
to face the character, and fires an arcane bolt
at the character. The Narrator rolls against the
characters Deftness. On a success, they deal 1d8
damage. The statue can only fire its bolt once every
2d3 actions (which generally gives adventurers
enough time to disarm the traps.)

PENDULUM TRAP: This trap swings across

a doorway or room. Each character caught by it
must make a Deftness test. If they fail, they suffer
2d4 damage.

FALLING BLOCK: This massive block seals a

room, causing those trapped inside to starve and die (the
characters will die of thirst about 48 hours after being
trapped, give or take. This is Tombpunk after all.) It takes
a successful Might Test, made with Disadvantage to move
the block, and each successful Test only moves it a bit. 3
successful Tests must be made to clear the block.

Any character caught by the block is

instantly killed. No exceptions.

38
ENEMIES
Here is a bestiary and list of enemies— things you can fight
in dungeons as you try to make your lives better. Don’t die.

Enemies have three sorts of attacks: Standard (normal

d12), Advantage (2d12, take the better), and Disadvantage
(2d12, take the worse). That’s what the Narrator rolls when
the enemies attack.

They don’t need a defense, because the players roll against

the Character’s own Attributes to successfully hit.

All these enemies are foul minions or servants of Chaos, so

that makes them ok to kill. Chaos wants to eat the world
and unmake it into a swirling vortex of just...mish-mashed
leftover mortal gunk. Chaos makes lots of monsters by just
slamming bits and pieces of reality together. Sometimes
cultists can use magic to structure monsters, or the
monsters reproduce (like the goatfolk can).

So, yeah. The world sucks, but Chaos will make it a lot
worse. But cuz all these chaos jerks are in dungeons (where
better to do evil, nasty rituals?), you can kill two birds with
one stone (or two goatfolk, I guess).
save the
Kill some Chaos,
Coin, upend
world, get some
, and throw
the social order
overseers.
down your damn

39
 Enemies and M
ovement:
I treat movemen
t the same in ev
speed of plot . Ho ery game I play
nestly, people an : at the
and as far as yo d enemies move
u need them to. as fast
move quickly, I When someone
generally have has to
just in time, or ju them roll to see
st too late. Those if they arrive
speeds that mat are the only two
ter to me. narrative
As I mostly run
my games in th
the distances ar e theatre of the
e described as: mind, so
attack you this “close enough to
turn” or “far en close and
get to you.” ough it’ ll take a
few actions to
That’s it. It’s not
fancy, it’s enough
to play.
If you need som
ething more deta
10 yards (30 feet iled, just let ever
or 6 1” squares yone move
fussed about m on a grid map.)
ovement. I’m not

Enemies don’t have stats! Some effects require enemies to make

tests against attributes or resources they don’t have. There are two
ways to do this.

My preferred way is having the enemy roll against the Caster’s

attribute or resource. It doesn’t make a lot of sense “in the fiction”,
but it keeps me from writing up loads of stat blocks on the off
chance I might need them. I just use their attack (disadvantage,
normal, advantage) on that roll and keep the game moving.

The other is to assign each enemy a Deftness like you would a

character. Since enemies generally only roll against character
attributes, I would do something like 2d3+X, where X is the tens
digit of the enemy’s Lifeblood (so a Hydra with 50 lifeblood would
be 2d3+5 for Deftness.)

Choose what you want. I don’t like writing stats I won’t use much,
so using character attributes to resolve everything other than
attacks is kinda assumed in the game, even if it doesn’t always
make sense.

40
GOATFOLK f o lk r o ll
a l 1 2 on a
s a nat ur or m a n
n

LIFEBLOOD: 20 If a goat tely per f

ATTACK: STANDARD NOTES: , they immedia against their
ll
DAMAGE: 2D6 (SWORD) a
ttack ro headbutt attack ically hits and
al at
addition is attack autom
t . T h
t a rg e e.
6 da ma g
deals 1d

CULTISTS OF CHAOS
LIFEBLOOD: 10
ATTACK: DISADVANTAGE
NOTES: Cultists of Chaos always
DAMAGE: 1D6 (KNIFE/DAGGER)
have a few goatfolk around them,
e who
and often are led by a theurg
can cast magic. They also are kinda
smelly and dirty.

THEURGE OF CHAOS
LIFEBLOOD: 18
ATTACK: STANDARD
DAMAGE: 1D6 (KNIFE/DAGGER)
NOTES: A theurge can cast magic. This takes whatever form
the Narrator wants, but generally theurgic Chaos magic does
1d8 damage (roll above Deftness to hit a target) or can impose
Disadvantage on targets (roll above the target’s Will).

MARILITH
LIFEBLOOD: 60 NOTES: Marilith
s ar
ATTACK: TWO ATTACKS WITH
and as such, they e demons,
ADVANTAGE, OR SIX WITH are pure
embodiments of
DISADVANTAGE. Chaos. They
have LOTS of wea
DAMAGE: 2D8 (VARIOUS pons and will
use them to poke
WEAPONS) holes in you. A
lot. They’re real
ly good at it.

41
 SKELETONS
LIFEBLOOD: 6
ATTACK: DISADVANTAGE
DAMAGE: 1D6 (KNIFE/DAGGER)
NOTES: Skeletons are undead. You
can find them any where you can
find necromancers. Sometimes
skeletons have weapon qualitie
applied to them (more powerfu s
l necromancers can do this). Tha
how you get burning skeletons (or t’s
sundry other types).

HYDRA
NOTES: Hydras gain a new head
every time they take 10 damage.
This new head grants them a
LIFEBLOOD: 50 new attack. Hydras always have
ATTACK: DISADVANTAGE 5 heads when first encountered
(ONE PER HEAD) (excess heads eventually fall off,
DAMAGE: 1D10 (BITE) about one head per week). They
also regenerate 5 Lifeblood at the
start of their Turn until they’re
back at their maximum.

GOBARRIES SPECIAL: Gob

arri
increase the da es
rk
rating of any du ness
ng
LIFEBLOOD: 6 they are in by +1 eon
ATTACK: DISADVANTAGE .
DAMAGE: 1D6 (GOBARRIES’ RUSTY WEAPONS)

NOTES: Gobarries are

grimy, foul creatures,
sprung from dark Chaos
magics and the foul
thoughts of men. Every
time a man commits a foul
deed, a new Gobarries
is born, and they crave
the damp darkness of
dungeons.

42
ZOMBIES
LIFEBLOOD: 12
ATTACK: STANDARD.
DAMAGE: 1D4 (CLAWS/BITE)
SPECIAL: Zombies are undead.
They have Reduction 1 and are
immune to disease, poison, and
mind-affecting abilities. If they’v
eaten at least a pound of dead fles e
h in the last day, their Reduction
3 instead. is

GHOSTS
LIFEBLOOD: 4
ATTACK: STANDARD
DAMAGE: -
, a
SPECIAL: As an action
SPECIAL: Ghosts can’t be harmed il. All wh o can
ghost can wa
by weapons unless they are If
hear it must test Courage.
sanctified/holy, or the attacks ge is no w 0, the y mu st
Coura
are fully magickal (spells, etc.). er
flee immediately or suff
However, ghosts cannot interact e on the ir ne xt
disadvantag
with the mortal/physical world s.
two action
either and can only haunt and wail,
(which is disruptive in its own
right.)

43
 PUMPKIN GOD
LIFEBLOOD: 31
ATTACK: ADVANTAGE
DAMAGE: 2D10 (CLAWS [MELEE ATTACK]
AND VINES [RANGED ATTACK])

NOTES: The Pumpkin God is the dark mystical overlord of

all Gobarries (so the Gobarries claim). This strange being
appears with no discernible pattern, leading the Gobarries it
encounters into a frenzied battle against the surface world.
When you enter a dungeon with Gobarries, there is a 1 in 20
chance that the Pumpkin God is there. (The Narrator rolls a
d20. On a 1, the Pumpkin God is there.)
SPECIAL: The Pumpkin God raises the darkness rating of any
dungeon it dwells in by +3.
When slain, the Pumpkin God revives in a different dungeon
3d4 days later.

GHOULS
LIFEBLOOD: 20
ATTACK: STANDARD
DAMAGE: 1D8 (CLAWS AND TEETH) + CURSE
they
SPECIAL: Curse. When a character takes damage from a ghoul,
their Courag e is now 0, they die in
must make a Courage check. If
1d8 days, raising as a ghoul 1d4 days later.
SPECIAL: Ghoul- Madness. Ghouls are afflicted with a strange
curse on themselves, where they only see the world through deeply
warped eyes. Ghouls see themselves as righteous warriors, recov-
ering lost treasures in the name of some god, secreting them away
in service of some divine plan…
SPECIAL: Ghouls are Undead. They have Reduction 1 and are im-
mune to disease, poison, and mind-affecting abilities (other than
in
Ghoul- Madness). If they’ve eaten at least a pound of dead flesh
the last day, their Reduc tion is 3 instea d.
on
SPECIAL: If you slay a Ghoul, you will immediately find 1d3 Coin
its person.

44
CYCLOPES
LIFEBLOOD: 60 Choose one Trait for your Cyclopes,
ATTACK: STANDARD to represent their place in the rigid
DAMAGE: 1D12 Cyclopean society.
(CYCLOPEAN SWORD)

Cyclopses are among the oldest of peoples to populate

the world of Tombpunk. Ancient beyond the memory of
humankind, the Cyclopes are the children of the bones of
the world, forged from cloudstuff, bedrock, and seafoam,
and made iron in the World Furnace.
They have one of the oldest societies, based on the three
great Cyclopean Dynasties, and are often found travelling
the world as builders of fortifications, labyrinths, and
strongholds.
The three Dynasties of the Cyclopes are descended from
the three immortal Cyclopes seers and blacksmiths who still
live in the deepest caves of Mount Gairanus and oversee
all aspects of Cyclopes society. These immortal Cyclopean
rulers each granted their skillset to a subset of children, and
as such each Cyclopes belongs to one of the three branches:
forgemaster, warrior & mercenary, or seer.
Seers are the rarest, with Warriors being the most common.
Perhaps unusually, Cyclopes are only brought into being
on the forges of their rulers, having no natural way to
reproduce or create new Cyclopean life. While not artificial
beings in the strictest sense, they are born through strange
mystical rituals, and the introduction of evil magic into this
ritual can create rare, but terrifying Dark Cyclopes.

45
 CYCLOPES
TRAITS:
Seer:
War rior-bor n:
Reduction
This Cyclops can see the
ins
This Cyclopes ga future. They can cast
astercrafted
6 due to their m spells as a Shepherd
s a Cyclopean
armor, and wield does, and can reroll
s Brutal 1 and
Sword that gain any die result once, any
1.
Armor-Piercing number of times per day.
This Cyclops is usually
accompanied by 1d3
Forgem aster: Warrior- Born Cyclops as
well.
This Cyclops ca
n craft great st
attacks gain B ructures and ar
rutal 2 and they tifices. Their
or item they cr ga in Reduction 3,
aft is of greate and any struct
most others. Th r renown, impo ure
e final effects rt and value th
generally fort ar e in the hands an
ifications are ha of the GM, but
to escape, and rder to break,
all items crafte prisons are ha
gain two weapo d by a Forgemas rder
n qualities of th ter automatical
e Foragemaste ly
r’s choice.

Dark:
You can apply this Trait to any Cyclopes that has another
Trait. This Cyclopes is a magic-eater, and cannot be affected
by spells. Any magic-items that strike them immediately lose
their enchantments forever, and they cannot be detected,
scryed upon, or tracked using any sort of magic or special
effect. Additionally, they look dramatically different, having
horns, scales, and other strange demonic mutations that set
them apart. They are often found leading bands of cultists,
rogue Cyclopes, or other such followers.

46
HIRELINGS
You can hire Hirelings a
re prett y
C o in
useful.
per month
for each
oin at
n e lose this C
It costs o
someone to ve (y o u
ou ha must
Hireling y ), and you ey
e n d o f the month e m if th
the with th
help you! sh a re y o u r treasure
ny you on
ad ve ntu re s (they
nture).
accompa a C o in per adve
e e x tr s
take o n n attribute
o n ’t h a ve their ow a ‘6’ in
Hirelings d (assume they have
es to roll,
or resourc you need
a tt ri b u te, and if ).
every st that 6
d12 again
just roll a

RANDOM GENERATORS
Here are some random generators to help out your Tombpunk play if
you need them. I’m a firm believer that tables should not be used in
game so use them between sessions, not at the table. If you need to
make a ruling at the table, just make a ruling and keep playing.

Dungeon Room Content Generator

This is based on how I populate dungeons. I generally try to describe
two or three of these elements in every room. I usually use go off the
top of my head, so I tried to collate down some of the things I’ve used
in the past that I felt were pretty cool.
If I have a particular idea for a dungeon (i.e. It’s the dungeon of the
local lord they’re breaking into), I just pick options off the list that
work for me, or I just don’t use the lists and create it all myself.
I only use these lists in advance, in between sessions. I never roll while
playing. I don’t like that (again, personal GM style.)
You should use these lists as inspiration, creating your own variations
on them.

47
 TABLE 1.1: ROOM CONTENT GENERATOR
1d5
roll Result
1 Roll on Table 1.2 - Sounds

2 Roll on Table 1.3 - Smells

3 Roll on Table 1.4 - Furnishings

4 Roll on Table 1.5 - Treasures

5 Roll on Table 1.6 - Individuals

TABLE 1.2: SOUNDS

1d6
roll RESULTS TABLE 1.3: SMELLS
ugh the 1d10 RESULTS
1 Faint screams echo thro roll
into a discordant
room, melding
cacophony of noise. 1 Piss
of
2 The dim hums and undertones 2 Shit
-
liturgical chants gnaw at the edg
es of your mind, their dull mon
ot- 3 Blood
ony undergirding your actions. 4 Rotted Meat
3 Sounds of string instruments waft 5
through the air, playing a bizarre Fresh Flowers
concerto on the wind. 6 Pack Animals

4 You can hear the clang of black- 7 Sweat and Salt

smiths, combined with the
-
screams of the tortured. Whomev 8 Cooked Meals
er is forg ing dow n here is crea ting
dark chains…
9 Old Wood and Papers
the 10 Roll twice and combine
5 Heavy footsteps crash outside
room, but never seem to finally
reach the door.

6 Wind echoes through barely seen

holes, whistling so high you can
barely hear it.

48
 TABLE 1.4: FURNISHINGS
1d12 RESULTS
roll
1 Broken tables and chairs are strewn and littered around the room.
Signs of a fight are everywhere.

2 A rusty and blood-stained iron maiden, with strange bloody letters

carved into it with fingernails.

3 A bookshelf, piled high with esoteric texts and tomes, creaking

under the weight of the books. Some are locked with odd arcane
locks that require magical keys to open.

4 Clearly a kitchen of some sort. Perhaps a fire with a pot, or an

actual kitchen (maybe this was a barracks?)

5 Skeletons with rotting strips of flesh dangle from meathooks in the

ceiling. You think you recognize some of them as former friends
and adventuring rivals.

6 Broken open and cracked chests are piled in this room. You might
find 1 coin if you can search (Grit attribute roll.)

7 An alchemy laboratory occupies this room. You can find one potion
that might be useful (roll a 1d3 and compare it to the list of three
on the Ritualist entry)

8 A fountain with clear water, but dozens of floating dead fish. The
fish look recently dead, but the room is dusty and cobwebbed.

9 A shrine to the Pumpkin God adorns this room. Horns, spikes,

vines, and more all jut out at haphazard angles.

10 Weapon racks full of broken weapons adorn the walls of this room.
Perhaps if you look hard enough, you might find something here.

11 Comfortable, overstuffed, leather chairs sit around a guttering

blue-green fire, while lanterns lit with violet flames swing from the
corners of the room.

12 Roll twice and combine.

49
 TABLE 1.5: TREASURES
1d8 RESULTS
roll
1 Family Sword of House Immerghast: Grants advantage and Brutal
3 on all attacks. Wielder takes 1d3 damage that ignores reduction
every time they strike an enemy with it.

2 Last Resort (Axe): Versatile, Armor Piercing 3, Brutal 3. Disadvan-

tage on all attacks.

3 Mirror Shield: Anytime you suffer an effect from magic, the user of
the magic (caster, wielder of a magic item), suffers half the effect
you suffer.

4 Flhiwyrm’s Lute: This magical lute grants advantage on any tests

made to perform. Once per month, the wielder can play it in public
for an hour, earning 1d3 coin automatically. However, any musicians
who hear it played wish to possess it.

5 Bag of Infinite Pebbles: These pebbles can be thrown as a ranged

attack, and the bag will never run out.

6 Insulting Blade: This blade insults the bearer continuously. Just,

relentlessly, rude, crass and vile insults. Deeply personal stuff. Also
it’s Armor-Piercing 1, Brutal 1 and glows like a torch.

7 Silver-Winged Spear: This spear has Armor Piercing d6 and Brutal

d6. Roll 2d3 every morning. The bearer takes that much irreducible
damage each morning.

8 Lucky Coin: When you spend this Coin, it always comes back within
2d6 days. You only lose the coin if you pay it to someone in a posi-
tion of authority.

50
 TABLE 1.6: INDIVIDUALS
1d4
roll RESULTS
1 Rival Adventurers! Can you work
s this end in
together or doe
bloody violence.

2 A former lover?! What are they

doing here?

3 The revenue man. He’s here for

the
your Coin. Don’t resist, it’s for
greater good.

4 Bounty Hunters. Why are they

after you? Can you stop them or
pay them off?

ONS
TABLE 1.7: ROOM CONNECTI n out
a d10 for each connectio
nections out of it. Roll
Each room has 1d3 con a ‘2’ or ‘3’ it’s locked .
tion is hidden/secret. on
of it. On a ‘1’, one connec

1d6
roll RESULTS
1 Doorway to a stairwell (up or down as you need.)
r 1d3 rooms.
2-3 Doorway to a hallway/tunnel that connects to anothe

4-5 Doorway to another room.

tunnel, etc.)
6 Doorway to an outside exit (stairwell, pole, chute,

51
 TABLE 2.1:
LOCAL
Other
LORD PERS
ONALITY
1d6
Random
roll RESULTS
1
Generators
Cruel and Gre
edy
2 Apathetic an
d whimsical.
You might find these
generators useful
3 Militant and
Ambitious
if you have to whip 4 Violent and ar
something up bitrary.
5 Kind, but hidi
ng great evil.
6 Insane and Lo
ving It

TABLE 3.1: TAVERN GENERATOR

1d8 RESULTS
roll
1 The Party Fowl Tavern: a rowdy and rambunctious drinking hole
that serves a popular chicken dish. A popular game for locals is to
see how fast one can get ejected for a rule violation.

2 The Doctor’s Inn: a high-scale way point for traveling doctors,

medics and priests.

3 Whiskey n’ Water: A local sailor’s dive bar. One can always find a
smuggler or two in this place.

4 The Flying Swine: A popular local pub and tavern with an inn
upstairs.

5 The Bloody Dagger: a tavern popular with fences, thieves and

n’er do wells.

6 The Dead Pr-INN-ce (yeah, it’s a stretch. Go with it): A place to

hire warriors on the cheap. They won’t live long, and they might
rob you, but they’re cheap…

7 Thoughts & Prayers: A popular resting point for shepherds and

travelling clergy. No warriors allowed.

8 Cloak and Stagger: A drinking hole where you might never make
it out if you’re not careful.

52
 CmHagAiOckS
OPTIONAL RULE

I n strange dungeons where grim deeds

have occurred,
foul places where dark rituals have bee
sites of exceptional supernatural power,
n enacted, or
magick itself can
warp and change when enacted.

W hat follows is an alternate set of rules

the Narrator of a Tombpunk game to evo
fluctuations of magick in a chaotic enviro
that allows
ke the wild
nment. These
rules are best applied in specific situatio
ns (rather than
every scenario or possibility – though
the context of a
campaign setting where all magick is gov
erned by this is
interesting…..)

53
 magick
When
goes awr y
When a Ritualist is casting a spell
in a locale touched by chaos
magick, there is a risk of the
spell getting fouled up.
When the Ritualist makes their Grit
check to cast a spell, they compare
the die result of their Grit Check to
the table below, using the current
Darkness Rating to determine if their
spell goes awry. If the Grit Check
Result is equal to or less than the
number shown in the Chaos Magick
column below, they must roll on the
Chaos Magick table, replacing the
potential spell effect.

CHAOS MAGICK
1-3 1
PROBAB ILITY
DARKNESS RATING

Example: If Validar the Cunning

is casting an effect in a Chaos 4-6 2
Magick locale with a Darkness
Rating of 5, if the die result
on Validar’s Grit Check to 7-9 3
cast the spell is a 1 or 2, he must
instead roll on the Chaos Magick 10-12 4
Table, rather than implementing
the normal spell effect Validar 5
was striving for.
13+
If the Darkness Rating were
to be 3 or less, it would only
happen on a die result of a ‘1’.

54
 chaos magick effects
The spell effects of the Chaos Magick are deliberately dark, painful and cruel.
Chaos Magick only occurs in darkness, places of evil, and havens of terror. It
takes a brave soul to utilize sorcery in a Chaos Magick-tainted locale.
A caster may always lower their Courage by one to avoid rolling on the Chaos
Magick table. Instead, their spell just fails.

Table I: Chaos Magick Effect

2d12
roll CHAOS MAGICK EFFECT
2 The intended target of the original effect grows a pair of curved rams
horns. These horns can be used as a Brutal 1 weapon and are impossible
to hide.

3 The spell fails. The caster of the spell screams, as their eyes erupt with
blood, pus and bile, streaming in tears of disease from their face. They
lose their next action or turn. However, after that lost turn, their eyes
have been replaced with dancing green candle flames, flickering in the
now bloody and reddened sockets. They can see perfectly in the dark,
but suffer Disadvantage on any Tests made while the caster is in bright
daylight.

4 The spell goes off as intended, but the Caster must spend 1 Will or lose
3d3 lifeblood

5 The spell fails. The intended target of the spell becomes wreathed in
dancing purple and pink flames, granting advantage on all attacks made
against them.

6 The spell fails. The caster’s fingers on their (d6: 1-3) left or (d6:4-6) right
hand, fall off, leaving only bloody stumps. 1d4 days later, new rusted
iron talons grow there. These talons are a Brutal 2, Armor-Piercing 1
weapon. However, if the caster doesn’t kill something sentient with
them once per day, they will rust and fall off, leaving the caster with only
one hand.

7 The spell works. The caster’s hair falls out and bright teal feathers grow
in it’s place. This is permanent.

8 The spell fails. 1d3 goberries appear, agreeing to serve the caster for
3d3 days as best they can. After that, they flee, stealing 1d3 coin from
the caster.

9 The spell works as intended, but the caster can no longer gain succor
from food that isn’t bloody, raw meat.

55
 2d12
roll CHAOS MAGICK EFFECT continued
10 The spell fails. Instead, the target of the spell is teleported to a location
1d100 yards away, in a random compass rose direction (use a d4, as-
signed to the four points of the compass to determine if need be.) This
cannot cause the target to die, instead, they will be deposited in the
safest place near their random destination.

11 The spell works as intended, but the caster finds their life-force drained.
They become sunken and gaunt. almost corpse like in their appearance.

12 The spell works as intended, but the caster loses 1 Might and 1 Deftness
permanently and a random ally of the caster gains a +1 to Might and
Deftness.

13 The spell fails, but the target’s blood becomes acid, dealing 1d3 life-
blood damage every turn to them, until they die in horrible agony.

14 The spell works as intended. However the caster suffers from painful
visions of an apocalyptical future, their vision being overlaid with scenes
of death, decay and a world devoid of life. Whenever they look at
everything, they see the worst possible future for it. Friends and allies
appear as the darkest, most corrupted versions of themselves, buildings
are decaying and sand-swept, and the world is cloaked in ever-present
flame and smoke.

15 The spell fails and time slows down, stretching out for the caster. The
caster may immediately take three actions that cannot be casting spells
or making attacks.

16 The spell fails. The intended target of the spell regains 2d3 Lifeblood
and may immediately take an action.

17 The spell fails. However, the target automatically dies, exploding into a
shower of blood and gore covered goal coins worth 2d3 treasure. How-
ever, this treasure is cursed (Narrator’s discretion as to what that means.)

18 The spell fails. A cursed spectral sword appears, attacking the caster
with Advantage and dealing 2d4 damage. It makes one attack and then
vanishes.

19 The spell fails. Something is wrong….

20 The spell succeeds. Something is coming….

56
2d12
roll CHAOS MAGICK EFFECT continued
21 The spell fails. However, the intended target sprouts an extra limb,
causing them to suffer 1d4 damage and collapse to the ground in pain
for one turn.

22 The spell succeeds, but the caster knows that somewhere in the world,
an innocent soul is destroyed due to the spell working. They must live
with this guilt.

23 The spell fails. The caster’s limbs become hobbled and emaciated,
functionally useless. They no longer may walk or carry items, instead
requiring assistance. However, they are functionally immortal. They may
never be reduced below 1 Lifeblood, and any spells they attempt to cast
automatically succeed with no dice roll needed.

24 The spell goes off as intended, and the caster gains +2 Will.

Table II: Moar Chaos Magick

2d12
roll CHAOS MAGICK EFFECT
2 Wherever you goes, strange, dark ambient music follows you, echoing
throughout the tunnels, corridors and hallways you walk. This makes it
impossible to hide and lasts for 2d8 days.

3 Your body shifts, becoming a vegetative green, riddled with mushrooms

and toadstools. Your hair is akin to grass, and the faint odor of dirt,
earth and marshlands follows you. This is permanent.

4 Blood-fear. Anytime you take damage, you must test Courage.

5 Shadow-hunted. Your shadow seeks to kill you. Roll a d10 at the start
of every session. On a ‘1’, your Shadow will try to murder you at some
point during the session. (The Narrator will figure out what this means.)

6 Emerald Eyes. Your eyes become glittering emeralds worth 2d3 Treasure
apiece. Everything looks green, and you will likely be killed for your
eyes. While you have them, you can see perfectly in the dark.

7 Blackened Steps. Your feet scorch the earth, leaving blackened and
burnt out footprints behind you. You’re every easy to follow.

57
 2d12
roll CHAOS MAGICK EFFECT continued
8 Nectar of the Gods. Anything you drink tastes like the juices of heaven.
You crave it, constantly. Before you take any action, roll a d12. on a ‘1’,
you must stop and drink.

9 Phaseskin. You randomly phase and become incorporeal. You may spend
an action to try to phase through walls or doors. Roll 3d4. On an even
result it works. On an odd result, you suffer damage equal to the 3d4
die total.

10 Jealous-Youth. If you meet someone younger than you, you must test
Will. If your Will goes to 0, you must attack them.

11 Fire-fear. You are deeply afraid of fire. If you encounter a flame larger
than a candle, you must test Courage. If your Courage is 0, you must flee
the fire.

12 Raspy Voice. Your voice becomes coarse, raspy and grating. You suffer
Disadvantage on any social tests or tests based on interaction.

13 Your entrails swell, becoming gorged with beetles, worms and grubs.
You can only subsist on rotted and decaying meat and vegetation. If you
cough or vomit, creepy-crawlies come out. You have a ‘1 in 12’ (1 on a
d12) chance of coughing or vomiting once in each social interaction.

14 Your fingernails grow rapidly, becoming Brutal 1, Armor-Piecing 1 weap-

ons. You always have Disadvantage with this weapon and on a failed
attack instead harm yourself (any failed attack you make.)

15 Strange antenna grow from your forehead, making you appear more
crustacean like. Each chaos magick effect that impacts you causes this to
accelerate.

16 Weeping Tar. Your tears become hot boiling tar. This doesn’t harm you,
but you can’t stop crying due to the effect.

17 Lasting Impression. Anything or anyone you kill morphs to look exactly

like you.

18 Acid Rain. When it rains within one mile of you, the rain is instead acid
rain, dealing 1d10 damage to anyone caught outside (each round they
are outside.) There’s a 1 in 12 chance it will rain any given day (The Nar-
rator can adjust this as they see fit.)

58
2d12
roll CHAOS MAGICK EFFECT continued
19 You become very twitchy. you have a 1 in 6 chance of dropping anything
you’re holding at a random time. (The Narrator will call for this check 2d3
times per session….)

20 You grow coarse fur on your flesh, becoming like a canine or feline. Each
chaos magick effect that impacts you causes this to accelerate.

21 You are immune to any and all diseases, but anyone you come into
physical contact with has a 1 in 12 chance of catching a fatal disease and
dying within 1d4 weeks.

22 You lose one finger and toe on each hand and foot. This is randomly
determined (use a d5.) These lost fingers and toes crawl after you, fol-
lowing you wherever you go. They cannot die or be destroyed and often
show up, just lurking near you.

23 You grow a third eye, in your throat. This eye can only see the future,
and sees the worst possible blasted landscape and outcome for every-
one and ever action taken. Every day, you must make test both Will and
Courage when you awake.

24 Chaos-Blessed. For each chaos magick effect on you, you gain +1 Dam-
age and +1 Lifeblood. This is permanent. If you roll this result twice, you
die in an explosion of chaos magic, blood, and guts.

59
 ANCESTRIES &
CULTURE
Tombpunk assumes
(OPTIONAL RULES)
you’re a human, but

Dwarf
what if you’re not? What
if you’re an elf, dwarf or
halfling?
n. You
If you want to play You gain Dark-Visio
for
a character of a
also age one year
nonhuman ancestry, ars.
here’s what you do. every 10 human ye
First, pick your ancestry
and gain its benefits.

Halfling
Elf
You gain Low-Light
You gain Small Stature. You gain Vision. You also age
Advantage on Deftness Tests one year for every 10
related to squeezing into spaces, human years.
fitting into spaces, or sneaking.
You age like a human (poorly).

Low-Light Vision and Dark-Vision do exactly what they sound

like. They let you see better in certain circumstances.

60
NEXT, PICK YOUR CULTURE
This choice represents an over whelming
influence on where
you grew up, and while you can be at odds
with your
culture, ever yone does pick up some life
lessons from their
environment. (If you’re using these rules
, let the human
characters pick a culture too.)

Militant Law-Abiding
BENEFIT: Pick a weapon. BENEFIT: Once per day,
Once per day, you can reroll you can double your
damage with that weapon. damage against a Chaos
creature.
Religious
BENEFIT: Once per day, you Knowledgeable
can reroll a failed Will test. BENEFIT: Once per day,
you can make a Grit test to
Mercantile see if you know something.
BENEFIT: Once per day you
can re-roll a failed Coin test. Your Narrator might create
new cultures, based on
environments, conflicts, or
Magical more. Whatever they do, just
BENEFIT: Once per day, you have fun and don’t be a jerk.
can cast a spell as though
you were a Ritualist. If you
already are a Ritualist,
once per day, you gain
Advantage on a single spell
casting attempt.

61
 The Northern Provincials
The Northern Provincials is my default campaign setting
for Tombpunk.
It features a proto-Renaissance style setting , inspired by where
the Iberian
Peninsula meets France. Religious conflicts, dark cults, gods,
and monsters
have torn this region apart, and the wide plains and moun
tain fields have
long been stained with blood.

The Nation-States of the

Northern Provincials
Three primary powers make up the nation-
states that operate in the provincials.

62
 Castille
A coastal northern power, the massive city
of Castille
was founded after a nomadic horse-tribe
was led by their
knightly warlord to this region of the coas
t, where they
settled on the plains between the ocean and
the forested
mountains. Etching out a new city on the
wide plains, the
Castilli took swiftly to urbanized and mer
cantile life.
Famed for their horse herds on the plains,
as well as their
fast and light coastal ships, the Castilli are
known to be
quick-witted, hot-tempered, and loyal. The
ir byzantine
knife dueling legal system is problematic,
but many famous
amera dela fuaja (mothers of the blade or
female duelists)
have made their living contracting out thei
r services to
those who do not underst and the laws (as
well as baiting
and trapping such fools into various legal
entanglements).
The dry, dust y earth of Castille is owned by
a series of
hereditary ‘Jidagors’; noble lineages who esta
blished a
claim over their holdings generations befo
re and usually in
blood… it is believed by some scholars the
term ‘jidagors’
is derived from Goremarrow, that jidagors
were ancient
followers of the murder god, and their hold
over the land is
maintained through blood.

Cert ainly, the jidagors are more than happ

y to launch raids
on one another, or to visit the most brut al
of punishments
on any who transgress the famously complex
laws of the
land. Especially those too poor to employ
a duellist to fight
for them, or too low status to be allowed
to fight in their
own defense.

63
 Such hardships mean much of the population is poor,
or itinerant. Many move from one holding to another,
hoping to find a jidagor less brutal and less demanding
than previously. Some of these bands form themselves
into mercenary forces, rejecting the corruption of Castille
societ y in favor of making their own, better world. In this,
they are often assisted by the wandering sorcerers of
Castille—in the hope they might finally be accepted.

Castillean societ y, as a rule, mistrusts sorcer y. As the

well-known Castillean saying goes ‘magic makes all
minds mazes’. The powers wielded by sorcerers warps
them, goes the folk belief. Making them untrustwor thy,
manipulative, callous. As such, those learned in the ways
of magic are never welcome anywhere long in Castille.
Many make their homes out in the dusty outland,
subsisting on what they can find and hunt. Until of course
a messenger is sent to find one, to heal a wound or drive
out a dark spirit.

Travelers to Castilli lands are well-warned to either

travel with a Castilli you trust, or ensure you know the
legal system as best you can. Castilli primarily sustains
itself on trade, fishing, and ranching. They eschew many
modern military innovations (such as firearms), and
prefer that their cabarilier fight with lance and saber as
they did during the nomadic days. These knight s are the
elite of Castilli military, but their pride, adherence to old
customs, and lack of flexibility have gutted their ranks in
recent wars.

In an effort to stabilize themselves, the Castilli have

leaned heavily on mercenary companies, spending
significant coin on the services of those individuals, as
they strive to retain their grasp on the wealth they have
built.

64
 Vers Toulsegur
Nestled high in the mountains, the religious stronghold of
Vers Toulsegur peers over forested valleys and mountainsides,
where the faith of the Everlasting Sun stands firm. Founded
by religious exiles who fought against the dark Gods of pre-
history, Vers Toulsegur was founded to be a bastion and
fortress against the dark of the world. It is one of the oldest
cities known to humanity, having stood firm against the forces
that wish to subsume free will.

Known for the stoic steadfastness of its citizens (called Versai),

the city is dotted with baroque cathedrals and temples, high
stone walls and watch towers, and surrounded by a ring of
scattered keeps, outposts and guard towers.

Primarily sustained through trade and the export of its famed

city guard, the Brighthanded, as mercenaries, Vers Toulsegur is
the shining example of human potential (as well as a frequent
target of dark cults and the enemies of humanity, who find the
dregs and dark places in humanity’s soul easy to exploit amid
the religious fervor of Vers Toulsegur).

At least, such is the image the Versai attempt to present to

the world, and insist on repeating to themselves. Such claims
infiltrate every level of society—a conviction of superiority,
of a glorious past guaranteeing a dominant future. Yet no
society is ever as pure as it would believe itself, and Vers
Tolgeur has grown complacent. Decadent, even. Strange cults
practice stranger rites in temples to ancient gods, desperate for
sensation in a culture long since grown staid.

65
 Zealots dedicated to the Everlasting Sun seek out heresy,
declaring any form of deviation from the words inscribed
in the Bright Grimoire to be punishable by forced
reeducation in the ways of the light. There are horrifying
tales of the lessons meted out in the Twilight Schools
found throughout the city, all conducted with the tacit
approval of the High Exarch and his coterie of Victors
(those chosen by the Everlasting Sun to preserve the
earth from the primordial gods). The Everlasting Sun, the
great church, and the undying faith is the most powerful
organization in Vers Tolgeur. But only just.

The criminal underworld of Vers Tolgeur is very nearly as

powerful as the High Exarch and the Church he presides
over. Perhaps this is no surprise for a place so determined
to promote its own righteousness. The Patricians, as
they call themselves, are arranged in mockery of the
great church, and their influence spreads throughout the
different layers of Verian society so intimately as to be
impossible to root out. While all know the names of Cryun
Glare, the Lord Murderer of the Patricians (the highest
rank), or Shadowknot, her right hand and holder of the
title Minister of Disappearances, most have or will work
for the Patricians at some point, even if they never realize
it. Such is the nature of a society so determined to lie to
itself.

66
 Isles of Banishri
The looming threat and blasted wasteland of the Isles of Banishri
is a frequent stopping point for adventurers and tombpunks in
search of wealth.

Small, blasted by endless storms, and slowly dying, the Isles

of Banishri was once home to the most power ful empire in the
Northern Provincials. Its fleets carried its armies, preparing
the way for its missionaries—the missionaries of the Ever-living
Queen.

She has ruled over the isles for at least nine hundred years. She
came to the throne as a child, and simply never left. Never died.
Never even aged. Just grew stranger and crueler, and more
determined to bring the entiret y of the Provincials under her
control. More convinced she was a god. Indeed, at the peak of
the empire’s power, the Ever-living Queen visited those gods, or
god-like beings, inhabiting the world. Seeking to convince them
she was one of them. But such pride seldom lasts long. Soon,
the Provincials banded together, turned against the empire and
the Ever-living Queen, and soon the Isles of Banishri were driven
back.

As the world turned against her, as the gods themselves refused

to accept her, the Ever-living Queen struck a bargain with the
Eschatogram. The primordial beings of inchoate being. Of
unfinished reality. And such deals are not made lightly. The
Eschatogram promised the Ever-living Queen’s dominion would
last forever. They didn’t specify that dominion would end at the
shores of Banishri, or that the price of the bargain would be the
Queen’s sanity.

And so now Banishri is condemned to labor on, trapped with its

ruler in an unchanging, inescapable present.

In the time before her ascent to power, Banishri was a mercantile

nation. Then it was a nation of conquest. Now it is a place in
limbo. Poised eternally on the verge of utter collapse.

67
 The great edifices of the previous age still stand, but they
decay. Towers of stone, palaces constructed from marble,
all topple into empty streets. Cathedrals constructed in
honor of the Ever-living Queen fall into disrepair. Lines
of the starving fill the forests and the fields beyond the
cities, imploring the nature gods to return and bring their
fecundity back with them.

Above, the skies churn and roil endlessly. It rains on

Banishri so often it is seldom mentioned any longer. Spikes
of steel stretch into the skies, seeking to capture the
lightning as it scars the cloud, and those few remaining
faithful servants of the Ever-living Queen seek to use the
energy to reawaken the great engines of war long since
fallen silent beneath the great but nearly dead city of
Landrith.

Banishri is a desperate place. A place as long since

abandoned to despair and ruin as its god-queen. As for
her, she still lives, wandering the streets seeking figments
of her own imagination, and hunted by ghosts of the
thousands left dead in her wars.

Despite this, some still make their way to Banishri. There

is much to be found in the ruins, much stolen from foreign
lands waiting to be reclaimed and returned. There is
ancient knowledge there, and lost magic. But there is also
much danger. The cults of the Eschatogram rule over much
of the island now, and even darker things scuttle through
from the outer darkness—called in, or let in, by those
conducting bizarre experiments in the hope of restoring
the empire.

Government: None. Some of the smaller regions possess

something like warlords, or other petty tyrants, but while
the Ever-living Queen endures, there is no chance of
the nation being returned to something approximating
normalcy. And the Ever-living Queen, as her name
indicates, is not likely to die soon.

68
The Religions of the Northern Provincials
There are multiple religions in the Northern Provincials,
though only two are widely accepted as…well, not evil.

The Everlasting Sun

Founded in a far off land by the first tutelar and
emblazoned with the sun-embossed bronze symbols of
High Alaualym the Everlasting Bright One who lights our
path, the scriptures and scrolls of this Church foretell the
inevitability of the Everlasting Sun, for as the sun rises, so
too will the Presbytr of the Everlasting Sun bring all to the
bright shining goodness of High Alaualym.

The Church of the Everlasting Sun is governed by the

Council of Tutelars, four elected clergy who oversee
the sacral duties imposed by their faith. They rule from
Holy Basileus, the great city of the Tetracine Imperial,
proclaiming prophecies, directing crusades, and working to
ensure all are brought into the light of High Alaulym.

A flood of crusaders, missionaries, and clergy stream

forth from the great universities, temples, and astrolariums
of Holy Basileus, bringing knowledge as ordained by High
Alaualym to the world around them.

The faith of the Everlasting Sun has travelled up to the

Northern Provincials through missionaries, immigration, and
relocation due to religious conflicts.

It is a dogmatic faith, one bound in rite and ritual,

who sees the deities of the Eschatogram as the mortal
enemies of the Everlasting Sun (a view that, while bound in
erroneous orthodoxy, is correct in essence).

69
 The Moon Indomitable
The historical faith of the Northern Provincials,
the Moon Indomitable is a complex pantheon
of Saints, Martyrs, and High Ones, all revolving
around the Zodiac Throne high above the world.

The worship is byzantine, for the laws and

scriptures of this faith are interwoven deeply, with
threads, words, and meanings that are hidden
behind words and actions. In essence, it goes like
this:

High Ones each govern an aspect of the world

(Sea, Air, Land, Faith, War). There are seven High
Ones (the holy number of this faith).

Havatha: Goddess of Sea

Korv: God of Death
Llayel: God of Light
Meniak: Goddess of the Earth
Pajyea: Deity of the Past and Future
Orethal: Deity of Cities
Campea: War Incarnate
Saints are the servants of the High Ones, sent
from the Moons to the world briefly to provide
guidance and aid. There are 27 recorded Saints,
each bound to multiple High Ones through a
variety of oaths, prayers, and lineage.

Martyrs are the mortal servants of the High Ones,

those elevated to a calling higher than even the
shepherds who might oversee mortal flocks.

In my home game, the Moon Indomitable is actually the same faith as

the Everlasting Sun. While the players know, the characters are unaware
that a historical schism has lead to this breach, and thus, the internecine
warfare between both Churches is terribly impractical.

70
The Eschatogram
Four prehistoric deities, born of the firmament
of reality, existed long before the world, and
will exist long after. They seek to unmake
reality, reforming it in their image and view.
Whether they might be siblings, lovers, or four
faces of the same entity is unknown. The
Eschatogram is, at its core, unknowable and
undefinable.
Regardless of the truth behind the
manifestation, there are four Gods seen as the
members of the Eschatogram. Their cults are
banned throughout the Northern Provincials,
branded heretical and dangerous, and to
be seen wearing the religion iconography of
one of these gods is to be wearing a death
sentence.

The Eschatogram is the embodiment

of the universal elements of Chaos (in
the Moorcockian sense). They seek to
constantly unmake and reform reality.
They, by their very nature, contract
themselves, reality, and logic.

71
 GOREMARROW
IRON, and blood
Goremarrow doesn’t commune
Goremarrow is a dark, violent with their cultist s, nor offer
god, born in blood and terror. them any blessings (other
Goremarrow cults are evil than the Consecration laid
beyond the scope of the out below). Goremarrow….
standard cultists in worlds of doesn’t do anything. For a
Tombpunk, reveling in dark god of murder, Goremarrow
rites of bloodshed, torture and is relatively passive. So much
bladed mutilation. so that Goremarrow often
serves as the example used
Their cultists exist to wreak by athetistic or agnostic
crimson paths through society, individuals when discussing the
their idea of offerings to their reality of faith and divinit y.
foul god. Most worshippers of The argument goes thus: if the
Goremarrow are serial killers, God of Murder (a wholly active
violent psychopaths and deadly behavior) is not seeing doing
mad tyrants, using bloody terror anything, then are the gods
to instill fear and loyalty (though real, or just manifestations
most worshippers of Goremarrow assigned to human behaviors
are unaware of who their violent to make the world make
acts feed and support.) more sense? In essence, the
lack of obvious action from
Goremarrow’s origins as a Goremarrow means the gods
God are irrelevant. Most aren’t real!
religious scholars assume the
path to godhood was bloody, Of course, the argument
violent and terrible and that invariably becomes moot
Goremarrow likely murdered when a cultist of Goremarrow
at least one god along the way. knifes the questioning scholar
However, all the way back to in the stomach. Arguments
recorded history, Goremarrow about the reality of
is a god and always the god of religious existence is only as
murder. hypothetic as the behavior of
the followers of that god…

72
Jhakel’slann,
God of Rigid Magicks
and Orthodox Mystery
Jhakel’slann is, as befits a god of mystery, a conundrum
to scholars of the Northern Provincials. Their origins are
shrouded in mystery, simply having existed as a God for a
long period of time. They oversee the mysterious incantations
that bind the spellweavers of Tombpunk together, forging
the invisible chains of eldritch force that keep harmonious
magick in lockstep.
Jhakel’slann is a rigid god. There is no artistry or
innovation in their worship, only ritual, rite and repetition.
Magickal power is not achieved through talent, but instead
it being illuminated through rote incantations, recipes and
crafts. Jhakel’slann’s worshippers believes that secrets
and knowledge should only be obtained by those who can
traverse the modal equations that bind the universe, able
to repeat them flawlessly in their sleep, with the repetition
becoming the foundational knowledge of the purveyors life.
e or
As one might suspect, Jhakel’slann does not grac
them
commune with their cultists, only illuminating
relic -bound rite.
through rote reading of scripture and
of the
Priests and worshippers believe that at the end
The Bound
path laid out through the rites and words of
ge of
Tome of ‘knlnlJahsae lies the ultimate knowled
the
the universe, as well as the deepest powers of
fully guar ds.
sorcerous well that Jhakel’slann so care

73
 MEFILLOKTES
Mefilloktes is a difficult
god to define. They are
the god of impossible
coincidences, crooked
GOD OF THE things, and inexplicable
inevitabilities. In essence,
CROOKED PATH,
IMPOSSIBLE
they are a god of things
that make little sense,
which by province of their
overview means they make

COINCIDENCES, no sense.

SADNESS
Mefilloktes is seen as one
AND

of their three-hundred
THE

and thirteen recorded

forms whenever they
appear. Their temples are
all non-Euclidean angles,
OF
AUTUMN
obvious yet confusing
floorplans, and their
cultists always seem to
have a plan, even if the
plan is obtuse or makes
little sense (even to the
cultists). Indeed, the more complex and confusing a plan is
the more it is seen to be in the service of Mefilloktes. In
many instances the plan won’t have an intended outcome,
merely a dizzying array of layers and possibilities.
The labyrinthine faith of Mefilloktes is clear and easy
to teach and understand, easy to delve deeper into,
but the further you push into the mysteries, the more
esoteric things become. One of the most popular forms
of Mefilloktean worship is the preparation and signing of
impossibly anfractuous contracts. But the entire point of
these contracts is for the signer to extricate themselves
from them through ever more baffling contractual minutiae
and obscure legislative precedent.

74
THE D
UNFIN I S HE

GOD
The most horrific of the Eschatogram is the Unfi
believe their deity has yet to arrive fully to the
and enact the Unfinished God into existence.
nished God. The Cults of the Unfinished God
world and reality, and as such, they try to will

However, the mutable nature of change and birth means that each Cult has a different view of
what the Unfinished God should be, and their rituals constantly conflict. This divine confluence
has a dramatic effect on the Unfinished God, who is constantly being killed by competing cults
of the Unfinished God’s own faith, and then reborn in new forms.

Each birth and form is weirdly malformed, adjusted by the unique rites performed, and then
corrupted by competing energies, prayers and magick. The other gods of the Eschatogram view
the unfinished god as somewhere between an errant child requiring instruction and shaping,
or an object of ridicule. They often interfere (usually through their cults) with the aim of either
deforming the unfinished god, or making it cohere to their idea of perfection. This, of course,
tends to make it even fouler and more broken.

75
 OTHER FAITHS
The Green Queen
The Queen of Nature, the Green Queen is a mysterious fae found
in woods, lakes, and meadows. She values the natural order, all in its
place. While often assumed to be an enemy to civilization, nothing is
further from the truth, for civilization is part of the natural order.
She is worshiped in small shrines, by woodland folk or rural
farmers, and well-regarded by most. She has four forms, one tied to
each season, and each with a different theme:

Spring: Young Maiden Autumn: Aging Grandmoth er

Birth, Life, Renewal, Hope Harvest, Sorrow, Wi sdom, Pea ch
Summer: Middle Mother Winter: Aged Crone
Fullness, Happiness, Tenderness, Death, Silence, Cold, Rage
Thundering Anger

Old Sturmfaust
The God of Ancestors, storms, thunder and
lightning, Old Sturmfaust is the patron of druids,
rangers, and other folks who find themselves at
sea or in nature. Old Sturmfaust is the lover of
the Green Queen, though they are as likely to
find themselves in conflict as in romance (and he
studiously avoids her during the Winter).

He has no formalized worship, except that of

quick muttered prayers.

Old Sturmfaust appears as a bearded man, with a

wolf at his side, a stag as his steed, and a hawk on
his shoulder.

76
Mechanics for FIREARMS
the Northern Ma ke sure to allow
firearms. While they
Provincials aren’t common, they
are obtainable.
Consecrations
Consecrations are a GM tool that is used to represent the
influence of Gods and Cults on areas and locales. These are
broad effects that apply across the whole space as bound by
a Darkness Rating.
It costs 2 Darkness (i.e.. the Darkness Rating of the location
is permanently two lower) to consecrate a Dungeon. When a
Dungeon is consecrated, there is a static effect that applies
across the space, usually modifying a game rule. Additionally,
other cults and Gods are anathema to the locale and will not
take up shop there.

The “good” gods (Everlasting Sun, Indomitable Moon, Green Queen,

and Old Sturmfaust) do not have consecrations.

Consecrations of goremarrow
Cults can enact a consecration ritual to dedicate a space to
Goremarrow. The gory details of these rites are best left
to the imagination, but the effects are ever-present. Space
consecrated tend to be discrete areas (buildings, very large
rooms) and the blood of unwilling participants must be spilled
on a weekly basis to keep the space consecrated. One can
always tell a consecrated area, by its coppery scent, sticky red
ichor and the crazed scarified cultists.
CONSECRATED GROUND
When in a space consecrated to Goremarrow, all damage rolls
gain the Darkness rating as a numerical bonus.
kness
t’s consecrate d to Goremarrow, if the Dar
Example: In a dungeon tha
damage rolls gain a +4 to
their total. This applies
Rating is 4, all anything.
s, player characters, traps,
to all damage rolls: enemie

77
 Consecrations of Consecrations of
MEFILLOKTES
Cults can enact a consecration
jhakel’slann
Cults can enact a conse-
ritual to dedicate a space to cration ritual to dedicate
Mefilloktes. The ritual is easy a space to Jhakel’slann.
to enact, yet weirdly exhausting The ritual is long, pre-
and complex at times. One might cise and complex, with
seem to be integrating multiple multiple orations, hymns
competing rituals into one, while and readings overlapping
they all seem to flow togeth- to create a decadent,
er seamlessly. Ritual sites of but pleasing sound that
Mefilloktes are strange plac- illuminates those who
hear it. Such a place is
es, where obvious juxtaposition adorned with tomes of
makes pleasing symmetry, both knowledge, relics of reli-
in architecture, thought, and gious ritual, and after-ef-
action. fects of alchemical and
mystical crafting.
CONSECRATED GROUND
When in a space consecrated CONSECRATED
to Mefilloktes, all enemies can GROUND
always choose to have a die roll When in a space conse-
count as having rolled a result crated to Jhakel’slann,
equal to the current Darkness all enemies can cast
rating (even if their die would spells as though they
be smaller or the number would were a Ritualist and had
be impossible). However, if they the Spells feature.
ever roll a natural result equal
to the darkness rating, they
must lower the darkness rating
by one or raise it by
one (randomize this).

Consecrations of the unfinished god

Cults can enact a consecration ritual to dedicate a CONSECRATED
space to the Unfinished God. This birthing ritual is GROUND
complex, time-consuming, and prone to disruption, When in a space consecrated to the
though once started it cannot be stopped. The ritual Unfinished God, all enemies have
components vary by cult and their goals, and are a random mutation (use the Chaos
prone to disruption by the other Eschatogram. The Magick rules to generate what they
ritual sites are always unusual, cluttered, and often have ( I tend to roll a half-dozen in
appear caked in strange goo and bodily waste. advance and just sprinkle them in as
needed).
78
 ADVENTURE
Locations
in the Northern Provincials
The Illuminat ion of Zalinkar
In the grim darkness of dungeon delving, there are foul
horrors and sights that the mind of humankind cannot
comprehend or deal with. These horrors are often the
remnants of older civilizations, fallen empires, foul sorceries
long past, or beings from aeons long forgotten.

One of the most fearsome, yet forgotten ancient empires was

the Illumination of Zalinkar, an empire of antiquity, ruled
by a species of living crystal beings called Zalinarki, who
descended from the stars to the world.
Founded their empire on their unusual mental powers, as well
as their advanced light-based sciences, they embarked on a
crusade to reshape the face of the world in a image pleasing to
them, erecting strange organic monoliths across the face of the
world.
One of their greatest monoliths was the Temple of the Star-
Wound, a massive pulsating mass that was used to ferry
Zalinkari to and from the stars through a mystical gateway
that was ripped in the sky by magicks.
Eventually toppled by hubri
s and an uprising by a youn
humankind, the Zalinkari fle g
d back to the stars, leaving
behind only ruin and destructi
on.

79
 Unbeknownst to the current ag
e, the Temple of the Star-
Wound still stands, and now so
mething sinister dreams
of coming through it to the wo
rld. Uncovered by a recent
ex pedit ion lead by a wi zard,
the adventurers are hired
to plumb the depths of the str
ange organic monolith and
discover the truth of the dang
ers within.

Traps and Dangers: scriptions

Take inspiration for de
from
and other traps/dangers
ns.
bodies, flesh, and orga
Acid Sprays
Psionic Assaults from Crystal Statues
Light beams (lasers – treat like magic beams as
appropriate)
Corridors that close like a trachea or stomach
trying to crush intruders.
Corridors that grow or redirect into strange
maze like patterns (blood vessels).
Strange alien guardians, non-Euclidian
nightmares.

nk
nt er of the te m ple/ m onolith is a massive pi
The ce star and
is the heart of a dead
and violet crystal that of the
ace to the homeworld
is used to reach into sp ansported
lin ka ri. If op en ed, the players might be tr
Za ic beast
, a strange alien cosm
to a hostile alien world
en te r, or the Za lin ka ri might invade again.
might

80
G M - L e s s
RULE S A N D
TOOLS
Tombpunk supports
playing solo or without
a GM, and as such, this
chapter contains all the
rules you need.

The goal of this chapter is to replace the GM with tables

that emulate the GM decision making. I don’t play solo
much, and when I do, I tend to either use tables like
these or journal games.

81
 YES NO
The basic tool used in a GM-less session
goal of this tool is to answer questions a
is the Yes/No oracle. The
character (or player) might
have while they are experiencing something
that is occurring in
the fiction. It removes the burden of the
decision from the GM and
moves it to dice.
Look, to put it blunt ly: the yes/no oracle
is designed to replace the
basic job of the GM. Look at that. We didn
’t even need AI to take
our jobs. Some dice did it. Sigh.
To determine whet her something is one
way or anot her, use the Yes/
No oracle. First, ask the question in a “yes
or no” fashion (example:
will my sword break if I try to use it to bash
this tree?) and then
look at the table below. You must choose
the likelihood of the event
happening using your best judgement and
then roll a d12.
So in our example about hitting tree (why
? What did the tree do to
you?), you decide it’s unlikely that the swor
d will break. So you roll
and roll a 8. Well, the sword broke. Less
than 8? It’d have been fine.

Yes/No Oracle:
If the action or event is… Then…
Almost Impossible................It happens on a result of 12+
Very unlikely.........................It happens on a result of 10+
Unlikely.................................It happens on a result of 8+
Fifty-Fifty..............................It happens on a result of 6+
Likely.....................................It happens on a result of 4+
Very Likely............................It happens on a result of 2+
Almost Certain.....................It happens on a result of 1+

Almost Certain
Wouldn’t a 1+ on a d12 be an absolute?
Yup. It would. However, during solo play, rules will come
up that modify the oracle, so “Almost Certain” has a
possibility of being lightly less likely than “absolute”, and
as such, the option is presented. Future proofing!
82
For a more nuanced result, roll an extra
d6 at the same time you roll the d12. A
result of 1 on the d6 means something
is going on, with the result vary-
ing depending on whether the
answer was yes or no. If the
answer was “yes”, a result of
1 would be interpreted as a
potential complication, while
if the answer was “no”, a 1
would mean that there’s a
chance something posi-
tive might happen.
You can use the Com-
plication and/or Ac-
tion & Theme tables
to give you some
ideas of what
happened, if
necessary.

1d6
roll Complication
1 There’s an unexpected event at a good or bad moment.

2 Something that appears one way is actually another.

3 A new character(s), or an existing character’s true nature is revealed.

4 The physical environment shifts, either to your benefit or detriment.

5 A useful item is either found or lost.

6 The social environment shifts, either to your benefit or detriment.

83
 Action & Theme Tables
These two tables are the second key component when playing without
a GM. We use these two tables combined to inspire discoveries, events,
character details or motivations, and much more. The way they work is
quite simple: we roll on both tables to provide an action and a subject/
theme, and then interpret the results based on the situational context.

ACTION TABLE (D100)

1 – Antagonize 26 – Steal 51 – Violate 76 – Investigate
2 – Withhold 27 – Reveal 52 – Match 77 – Hunt
3 – Unveil 28 – Profit 53 – Leave 78 – Guide
4 – Take 29 – Open 54 – Educate 79 – Fight
5 – Suppress 30 – Fortify 55 – Inform 80 – Evangelize
6 – Return 31 – Murder 56 – Harm 81 – Evoke
7 – Preserve 32 – Locate 57 – Glimpse 82 – Dominate
8 – Oppose 33 – Escort 58 – Finish 83 – Capture
9 – Neglect 34 – Intimidate 59 – Evade 84 – Build
10 – Master 35 – Help 60 – Defy 85 – Ask
11 – Lie 36 – Gather 61 – Diminish 86 – Attach
12 – Kill 37 – Focus 62 – Control 87 – Undermine
13 – Invoke 38 – Exploit 63 – Breach 88 – Test
14 – Hide 39 – Develop 64 – Abandon 89 – Swear
15 – Guard 40 – Create 65 – Withdraw 90 – Reveal
16 – Forsake 41 – Challenge 66 – Unmake 91 – Postpone
17 – Explore 42 – Break 67 – Travel 92 – Cause
18 – Decide 43 – Assault 68 – Slay 93 – Deceive
19 – Claim 44 – Waste 69 – Release 94 – Move
20 – Burn 45 – Usurp 70 – Punish 95 – Lose
21 – Banish 46 – Task 71 – Teach 96 – Tolerate
22 – Assist 47 – Silence 72 – Deflect 97 – Inquire
23 – Withstand 48 – Risk 73 – Manipulate 98 – Hold
24 – Uphold 49 – Place 74 – Learn 99 – Heal
25 – Transform 50 – Oppress 75 – Betray 100 – Frame
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THEME TABLE (D100)
1 – Dispute 26 – Safety 51 – Fight 76 – Idea
2 – Danger 27 – Fame 52 – Blood 77 – Fear
3 – Belief 28 – Advice 53 – Sanity 78 – Resource
4 – Creature 29 – Secret 54 – Loss 79 – Wishes
5 – Enemy 30 – Battle 55 – Mystery 80 – Liberty
6 – Location 31 – Prison 56 – Animal 81 – Death
7 – Reverence 32 – Message 57 – Obstacle 82 – Weapon
8 – Magick 33 – Dream 58 – Friendship 83 – Ally
9 – Rumor 34 – Trade 59 – Hope 84 – Prize
10 – Innocence 35 – Shelter 60 – Bond 85 – Emotions
11 – Tool 36 – Wealth 61 – Life 86 – History
12 – Conspiracy 37 – Agent 62 – Energy 87 – Misfortune
13 – Disaster 38 – Victory 63 – Anger 88 – Travel
14 – Environment 39 – Time 64 – Opinion 89 – Knowledge
15 – Advantage 40 – Deception 65 – Expedition 90 – Community
16 – Guidance 41 – Gear 66 – Plans 91 – Nature
17 – Leader 42 – Path 67 – Land 92 – Survival
18 – Riches 43 – Outside 68 – Fortune 93 – Prophecy
19 – Duty 44 – Peace 69 – Attention 94 – Opposition
20 – Direction 45 – Debt 70 – Power 95 – Health
21 – Trial 46 – Pain 71 – Faction 96 – Opportunity
22 – Action 47 – Possessions 72 – Problem 97 – Inquiry
23 – Disease 48 – Price 73 – Desire 98 – Wound
24 – Friend 49 – Ability 74 – Adversity 99 – Memory
25 – Information 50 – Benefit 75 – Trust 100 – Burden

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 CAoCTmIObat
NS
This section is used to help determine how foes and antagonists act
during combat. During each turn in combat, roll on your opponent’s
most appropriate table. If the attack or option you roll does not
make sense, simply substitute a standard attack.

1d10
roll COMBAT ACTIONS AT FULL HEALTH
1-3 Standard Attack

4 Alternate Attack

5 Attempt to Corner

6 Attempt to Disarm

7 If not engaged in combat, attempt to sneak and ambush

8 Attempt to leverage the terrain and environment to their advantage

9-10 Use ability

Enemies at full health have a 5-in-10 chance of

accepting a combat maneuver over damage.

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1d10
roll COMBAT ACTIONS AT HALF HEALTH
1-3 Standard Attack

4 Alternate Attack

5 Coordinate with allies

6 Change to a defensive stance or take cover

7 Use combat ability skill

8 If not engaged in combat, attempt to sneak and ambush

9 Call for help, if no help is available, flee

10 Flee
Enemies at half health have a 7-in-10 chance of
accepting a combat maneuver over damage.

1d10
roll COMBAT ACTIONS AT QUARTER HEALTH
1-2 Standard Attack

3-4 Fall Back

5-6 Change to a defensive stance or use a special ability

7-10 Flee
Enemies at quarter health have a 9-in-10 chance
of accepting a combat maneuver over damage.

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 S
INITIA L ENCO UNTER REACTION
While a GM usually knows what the outcome of an encounter
will be, there are occasions when this is best decided randomly,
especially when a GM is simply not available. Roll d10 on the
following table to learn what the encounter’s initial reaction is.
evil
Creatures such as monsters, or a normal creature possessed by
spirits, will always attack on sight though .

1d10
roll INITIAL ENCOUNTER REACTION
1 Immediate Attack

2-4 Possible Attack (roll 1d10: 1-6, attack; 7-9, leave; 10, friendly)

5-7 Unknown (roll 1d10: 1-3, attack; 4-6, open to negotiation;

7-9, friendly; 10, leave)

8-9 Possibly Friendly (roll 1d10: 1-2, attack; 3-5, leave; 6-9, friendly;
10, leave)

10 Friendly

WHAT SORT OF ROLL

you
You might have to decide what you need to roll in the game. If
an existing rule, use this
don’t know, or its not obvious/covered by
judgem ent. Whate ver. No one will know.
table. Or just use your best

1d8
roll ROLL WITH...
u fail.
1 Sucker. No roll. Yo
e.
e that makes sens
2-4 A resource. Pick on
nse.
one that makes se
5-7 An attribute. Pick
succeed.
8 Woo! No roll, you

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AFTERWORD
Look, this isn’t a game where everything makes
sense.
I kinda just wrote it as I went one day, because
I needed a break for my usual RPG work. It’s
incomplete, messy, and imperfect, but I love it
anyway. It’s loads of fun when you throw down
and play it.
Keep in mind that Tombpunk is just a fast, quick,
rules light game. It can’t cover every eventuality,
and god knows I don’t wanna write it like that. I
won’t even answer questions about rules if you
ask me. Just figure it out yourself.
Be creative. Hack, modify, and adjust this game
as you see fit. Do what you want with it at your
table, ’cuz that’s the point.
Have a good time with it. It’s all about sitting
around the table, having fun, making shit up on
the fly, and laughing as stuff gets weird. ’Cuz
when stuff gets weird, that’s when you have the
most fun!
Alan Bahr, June 2020

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