What have you done?
What is right? What is wrong? Who is the judge?
What’s going on — and how can you survive?
Core Rules
Checks — Overview
Roll 3d6. Compare one die against the relevant Attribute value. You must roll higher than the Attribute to succeed.
Attributes are negative — higher score = lower ability. A Frailty of 5 means the character is extremely fragile.
Which die result is used depends on difficulty:
| Difficulty | Die Used |
|---|---|
| Easy | Highest of 3d6 |
| Medium | Middle of 3d6 |
| Hard | Lowest of 3d6 |
Outcome Checks
Standard Check for uncertain actions. Director sets the Attribute and Difficulty. Player rolls 3d6 and uses the appropriate die.
- Result above Attribute = success as intended
- Result equal to or below = success with unwanted consequences
Items reduce difficulty by one tier when relevant (Hard→Medium, Medium→Easy). Injuries increase difficulty.
Difficulty is neutral — it applies equally to all Characters. Individual weakness is reflected by Attribute scores, not Difficulty.
Contested Checks
Used when one entity's action is actively opposed by another. Both entities roll 3d6 against their own relevant Attribute. For each die result higher than their Attribute, the entity scores one point. Most points wins.
- No difficulty level — all three dice are considered
- Ties go to the defender
- Good roleplay or tactical setup grants +1 bonus point (Director's award)
- Straight contest with no defender (tug-of-war): tie = stalemate, continue next round
Untrained Checks
When a character attempts something requiring specialist knowledge they don't have (no Trained Skill), it's an Untrained Check — two consecutive Checks:
- Hard Ignorance Check — work out how to approach the task
- Hard Check with the linked Attribute for the actual action
Both must succeed. Takes longer in-game to represent the character figuring it out first.
The Eight Attributes
All Attributes run 1–5. Characters start with 1 in all and have 16 points to distribute (1 point per rank). Average character has 3 in each.
Conflict
Triggered when entities are at odds (most commonly Monster vs Character). Resolved through Contested Checks. Starts with an Initiative Check.
Initiative: All entities roll 3d6. Add results. Subtract Carelessness. Highest total goes first. Order is fixed for the Conflict.
Character Actions (one per turn):
- Move: Contested vs nothing. 5m or small movement action per point. Attribute: usually Clumsiness
- Hide: Contested vs opponent. Requires suitable cover.
- Attack: Contested vs opponent. Must use a weapon/Item. Unarmed attacks auto-fail against Monsters.
- Defend: +1 success on next Contested Check when defending until your next turn
- Miscellaneous: Outcome Check. Anything not above.
While taking any action except Move, a character may reposition up to ~2 metres.
Conflict ends when entities are no longer in direct opposition (escape, hiding success, Monster death, dispute resolved).
Damage After an Attack
After a Contested Attack Check, compare margin of victory:
| Margin | Injury | DD Segments | Check Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Win by 1 | Minor | 1 | None (Stress Check: Easy) |
| Win by 2–3 | Major | 3 | All Checks now Medium minimum (Stress Check: Medium) |
| Win by 4+ | Grievous | 9 (full symbol) | All Checks now Hard minimum (Stress Check: Hard) |
| Attacker fails | Miss | — | Monster gets +1 next attack |
Weapons & Items in Combat
| Situation | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Using a weapon Item | +0 (permits the attack) |
| Using a non-weapon Item | -1 success |
| Effective damage type vs Monster | +1 success |
| Monster weak to damage type | +1 success (Weakness) |
Unarmed attacks against Monsters automatically fail within a Locus. An Item is always required.
Every Item use (for a Check or attack) costs one Durability box. Once the Damaged box is filled, make a Durability Check after each use (roll 3d6, need a 4+ on the appropriate die for the Item's Quality 1–3).
Quality & Durability Checks: Q1 = Hard (lowest die), Q2 = Medium (middle die), Q3 = Easy (highest die). Fail = Item destroyed.
Willpower (WP) & Stress
Characters start with 5 WP (plus any earned from initial card draws). WP is spent to re-roll dice after a roll.
Re-roll cost depends on Stress level:
Gaining WP:
- Draw a Virtue card: +3 WP (discard card)
- Stress drops to Uneasy: +3 WP
- Critical success (triple 6): +3 WP
- Significant action matching Vice: +3 WP + draw a card
- Significant action matching Virtue: +5 WP + discard any card
Stress Checks
Medium Outcome Check (unless otherwise noted) to avoid gaining a Stress level. Failure = +1 Stress (Uneasy→Tense→Stressed).
Triggers:
- Failing any Check
- Seeing a Monster
- Taking an Injury (difficulty scales with severity)
- Other situations at Director's discretion
Common Attribute choices:
| Situation | Attribute |
|---|---|
| Frightening (e.g. seeing Monster) | Cowardice |
| Conversation failure | Repulsion |
| Taking damage | Temper |
| Intellectual failure | Ignorance |
| Time pressure failure | Impatience |
Calming down (Stressed→Tense, or Tense→Uneasy):
- Successfully hide, flee, or defeat a Monster
- Solve a significant mystery or make major story progress
- Extended Rest → drops directly to Uneasy
Card Draws & Hands
Players accumulate playing cards in their Hand. More cards = world weighing more heavily on the Character. Hand size drives which Layer they inhabit.
Draw a card when:
- Every hour of real time
- Character experiences visions or hallucinations (Spot Effects)
- Character acts in accordance with their Vice
- Encounters a Set Piece (once per Set Piece)
On drawing a card:
- Virtue suit: gain 3 WP, discard the card immediately
- Any other suit: add to Hand
Shedding cards (remove a neutral/non-Haunt card):
- Act in accordance with a Virtue (not your own)
- Roll a critical success (triple 6)
- Act in accordance with your own Virtue
- Resist acting on your Haunt/Vice
- Act notably opposing your Haunt
The last three options also allow removing a Haunt suit card instead.
Conditions
Temporary effects applied after failed Checks (especially from Monster Inflictions). Last until resolved in-game or naturally expire.
| Condition | Mechanical Effect |
|---|---|
| Blinded | All sight-requiring actions become Hard |
| Prone | Next action must stand up; -1 point on evasive Attack Checks |
| Restrained | Must succeed Outcome Check to break free first |
| Nauseated | Clumsiness treated as 5 |
| Heavy | Frailty Check required for climbing/lifting |
| Terrified | Cowardice Check required for anything except fleeing the source |
| Unstable | Any attack or significant force causes Prone |
Death’s Door
No hit points. Characters have a 27-segment tracker divided into 3 symbols of 9 segments each (each symbol divided into 3 sub-sections of 3).
| Injury Type | Segments Filled |
|---|---|
| Minor (bruises, small cuts) | 1 segment |
| Major (fractures, concussions) | 3 segments (one sub-section) |
| Grievous (severe breaks, eye loss) | 9 segments (one full symbol) |
All 27 segments filled = Character Death. Character becomes an Echo.
Injuries do not upgrade (three Minor Injuries do not become a Major). Treating an Injury reduces its Difficulty penalty only — Death's Door tracker does not change.
Experience & Progression
Optional for longer games. Single-session stories have no progression.
- 1 XP per character per session for surviving
- +1 XP optional bonus for best roleplay (max 2 per session)
Spending XP:
- 1 pt — New Skill (must be plausible from session events)
- 1 pt — Average Item (0–5 creation points)
- 2 pt — Good Item (5–10 creation points)
- 3 pt — Fantastic Item (10–15 creation points)
Cannot improve Attributes or existing Items.
The World — Mali Loci & The Setting
What is a Locus?
A Locus (from Latin: "place") relates to the classical concept of Genius Loci — the guardian spirit of a place. These spirits form when a location, through man-made boundaries and belief, develops its own identity and character.
Loci can be as small as a garden or as large as a country. They have psychic memories and want to guard and preserve the space where they came into being. A dormant Genius Loci (from abandonment) cannot interact with the world.
The Malus Locus
A Malus Locus ("bad place", plural: mali loci) forms when a Genius Loci goes wrong, usually due to:
- Trauma to the site (demolition, natural disaster)
- Neglect or abandonment
- Association with tragedy (murder, atrocity)
It creates a pocket dimension around the location. Reality intersects with this bubble but there is far more beneath the surface. Mali Loci defend themselves: building works stall, bureaucracy prevents progress, businesses fail. Nothing will change that disrupts the malevolence.
They feed off negative energy — drawing in travellers, using residents as tools, building fear, inflicting reminders of old wounds. When a victim exudes enough terror and pain, the Malus Locus strikes to kill, then leeches off the Echoes for decades.
Layers of Reality
Every Malus Locus contains multiple Layers of reality. Characters descend through them as Hand sizes grow.
- Layer 0: Intersects reality. Listless townsfolk, subtle isolation (fog, poor signal, winding roads). Not always used.
- Middle Layers: Increasing unreality — fog thickens, lights dim, posters wrong, adjacent-Layer communications become distorted and strange.
- Bottom Layer: The heart of the corruption. The Malus Locus' own Monster lives here. Most dangerous. May not resemble reality at all.
Each Layer should represent a steady breakdown from the one above. Routes vanish, Monsters multiply, food rots, fragments of memories become interactive.
Hand Size & Layers
The Cast's average Hand size determines which Layer they inhabit. Suggested threshold for a 3-Layer Locus:
Average Hand Calculator
Echoes
When a victim dies in a Malus Locus, something of their essence lingers — an Echo. The stronger a person's presence, the longer the Echo persists (years to centuries).
Echoes appear as residual hauntings — visual ghosts stuck in looping actions. They cannot be conversed with or provide assistance. They exist only in the background of consciousness, fading when approached.
Character Echoes: If a Player Character dies with a sufficiently large Hand (recommend: whatever size places them in the "middle" Layer), the Character may become an Echo — a fixed, fragmented memory, not interactive.
The Four Endings
There are four ways a game can end. These are not "good" or "bad" endings — they reflect what the Cast actually does.
- Solve the Problem: Engage with the Malus Locus' underlying trauma. Fix the inciting incident metaphorically. Heals the Malus Locus, restores the Genius Loci. Puzzle-focused.
- Escape: Find the way out (possibly hidden). The Malus Locus remains active and possibly angrier. Doesn't change the evil.
- Descend and Succumb: Fall to Vices, go deeper, face and destroy the Locus' Monster. Frees them from the Locus, but destroys the spirit of the place forever. Characters carry their Haunts more heavily afterward.
- Stagnate: Do nothing. Eventually become trapped like other denizens. Rare — requires sustained inaction.
Haunts, Vices & Virtues
Every Character has a Haunt — a past act of wrongdoing (legally, morally, or through negligence) that weighs on their soul. The Malus Locus feeds on this guilt.
Haunts are categorised by Vice (root cause):
The Three Mysteries
Structure the story around three core mysteries. Write each as a concrete statement the Cast must reach.
- First Mystery: Something is supernaturally wrong. The Cast must realise the Locus is not the real world. Use Spot Effects, environmental oddities, and off conversations with Foils.
- Second Mystery: What exactly is wrong. The Cast understands they are in a Malus Locus and how it functions. Monster encounters become clues — their connection to Haunts reveals the Locus' nature.
- Third Mystery: The Inciting Incident — why the Genius Loci went bad. The solution for the best ending. Should not require a successful Check to access. Use a physical metaphor for resolution.
Spot Effects & Set Pieces
Spot Effects — Individual hallucinations tied to a Character's specific Haunt. Personal horror moments. Trigger a card draw.
- Affect only one Player at a time
- Use sparingly — less is more. One well-placed needle in the dark beats a dozen obvious ones
- Apply to Players with large Hands / in lower Layers first
- Pass notes for personal effects
Set Pieces — Events perceptible to all Characters regardless of Haunt. Locked to a location or trigger. Trigger a card draw once per encounter.
- Help the world feel pre-existing rather than improvised
- Can be reused if missed — Players won't know
- Scale intensity with Layer depth
Foils (NPCs)
Foils are human entities not played by Players. Optional but useful for exposition and atmosphere.
- Build Foils like Characters — give them a Haunt, Virtue, and Attitude
- Their quirks and off-kilter speech should feel unsettling, not comedic
- Foils in lower Layers may have their own Monsters
- If a Foil dies at the hands of their Monster, the Monster is absorbed back into the Locus
- When a Foil is in a different Layer, conversations will be distorted — two different conversations happening at once
Directing Style
Two approaches (can be mixed):
Conductor: More structured. Players experience your vision. Easier to hint and nudge. Good for less confident improvisers. Always plan contingencies for unexpected actions.
Architect: Laid back and freeform. Players act; you react. Requires deep world knowledge. The world is fully alive and responsive.
The Malus Locus is reactive, not proactive:
- Aggression → more blockades and Monsters
- Stealth → more searches, less-deadly Monsters
- Apathy → a different kind of obstacle
Monsters
What Are Monsters?
Monsters are the Malus Locus' physical manifestation of a Character's Haunt. The Locus wants to generate fear and guilt — Monsters are its tools.
- At least one Monster per Character
- Foils with Haunts generate their own Monsters
- The Malus Locus has one Monster of its own (bottom Layer only, Very Strong)
Monsters are not truly alive — they are psychic manifestations. When "killed" they dissipate and can reform. Only the Locus' own Monster, when destroyed, ends the story permanently.
Monster Attributes
Monsters have 6 Attributes (scores 1–5, same as Characters; 1 = best):
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | Active (1–5) | How it damages Characters. 1 = deadliest attacks. Descriptor = damage type. |
| Chase | Active (1–5) | Speed of pursuit. 1 = fastest. Descriptor = locomotion type. Null if stationary. |
| Search | Active (1–5) | Ability to find hidden Characters. 1 = best. Descriptor = sensing method. |
| Resist | Active (1–5) | Defences against attacks. 1 = near-immune. Descriptor = how it defends. |
| Weakness | Passive | Specific vulnerability. +1 to attacking Characters when triggered. |
| Behaviour | Passive | General attitude and attack pattern (e.g. Stalking, Opportunistic, Insidious). |
A null Attribute (–) means the Monster cannot perform that action. Strength in one area should be balanced by weakness elsewhere.
Monster Threat Calculator
Calculate threat level for balance:
- For each Attribute below 5, add +1 per rank below 5 (e.g. Attack 2 = +3). Null Attribute = -1.
- Behaviour: moderately likely to chase = +1; definitely will chase = +2. Each Infliction: Easy = +1, Medium = +2, Hard = +3.
- Death's Door: +1 per extra set of 3 segments beyond the initial 3.
| Total | Threat Grade |
|---|---|
| 25–30 | Very Strong |
| 20–25 | Strong |
| 15–20 | Balanced / Average |
| 10–15 | Weak |
| 5–10 | Very Weak |
Inflictions
Optional Monster ability — confers a Condition rather than direct injury. Made of four parts:
| Part | Description |
|---|---|
| Descriptor | The Monster's action (e.g. Spitting, Screaming, Grabbing) |
| Attribute | Character Attribute used for the avoidance Check |
| Condition | Effect applied on failure (e.g. Blinded, Nauseated, Grappled) |
| Difficulty | Easy / Medium / Hard for the avoidance Check |
The Monster does not make a Check — only the Character makes one. A Monster can both Attack and Inflict in the same turn if circumstances permit. The Condition lasts until logically resolved in-game.
Monster Actions in Conflict
Monster turns each round:
- Chase: Contested vs nothing, using Chase Attribute. 5m per success point. Catching up = free Prone Condition (no damage).
- Search: Contested vs all hidden Characters. Win = free action to flush them out (not damage). Monster searches for max 3 rounds normally.
- Attack: Contested vs Character Attribute of Director's choice. Damage from margin (see Damage table).
- Inflict: Character makes Outcome Check vs Infliction difficulty. Monster makes no Check.
- Miscellaneous: Outcome Check vs appropriate Monster Attribute.
Search modifiers: Descriptor determines bonus/penalty. Standing still vs motion-sensing Monster: Character +1. Moving vs same: Monster +1. Characters who didn't use Hide action last turn: Monster +1 against them.
Attack miss: Monster gets +1 on its next attack against that target (non-cumulative).
Vice Imagery Reference
Use for Monster design inspiration:
Monster Builder
Sample Monsters
Pterodactyl-like, infected red bulging eyes, skeletal beak. Wings like human arms with human hands, membrane of stretched ooze. Trails caustic tar-like sludge. Smells of paint fumes and thinner.
A compact tower of rotting animal flesh with many mouths from the gaps. Forked tongues whisper betrayal. True power: convinces its victims their friends are Monsters. Delicious smell of spices — the signature of the wrongly accused rival.
A flock of corvid-like creatures with entirely human faces — no beaks, remorseless expressions. Waits for a character to be isolated, then the swarm descends.
Stationary. Plant-like, spreads ivy-like vines across floors, ceilings, walls. Core is a bark-clad armless torso that opens to reveal a void of corrosive acid. Fills areas with spores.
Dice Roller
Outcome / Contested Check
Roll History
Initiative Check
Roll 3d6, sum all three, subtract Carelessness. Highest total goes first.
Durability Check
Needs 4+ on the appropriate die. Quality determines which die to use.
Free Dice Roller
Character Tracker
Director’s Tools
Haunt Generator
Generate a Character Haunt concept for inspiration. Haunts are events, not traits — specific past wrongs.
Monster Concept Generator
Suggest imagery and keywords for a Monster based on Vice and an emotion.
Layer Description Prompt
Generate a description prompt for a Layer transition moment, using the Rule of 6 (five senses + vibe).
Spot Effect Generator
Generate a personal hallucination / Spot Effect tied to a Vice theme.
Director’s Pre-Session Checklist
- Character cards reviewed — Haunts, Virtues, Attributes
- Monster cards prepared for each Character
- Item cards prepared (starting items + found items)
- Blank Item cards available
- Card deck shuffled, Jokers removed
- Dice available (ideally 3d6 per player)
- Malus Locus layers and thresholds defined
- Three mysteries and clues prepared
- Spot Effects designed for each Character
- Set Pieces prepared
- Foil backstories (Haunt/Virtue/Attitude) sketched
- Four endings and conditions defined
- Safety tools discussed; hard limits confirmed with all players
Item Creation Quick-Ref
Distribute points from the Item's quality tier:
| Item Tier | Points to Spend |
|---|---|
| Average | 0–5 points |
| Good | 5–10 points |
| Fantastic | 10–15 points |
Spend on:
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Size: Small (pocketable) | 1 pt |
| Size: Large (must be held) | 0 pt |
| Quality (1–3) | 1 pt per rank |
| Durability (each box) | 1 pt per box |
| Damage Type (Blunt/Cutting/etc.) | 1 pt |
| Weapon (specifically designed) | +1 pt extra |
Foil Quick Notes
Card Draw Triggers Reference
| Trigger | Who Draws |
|---|---|
| Every hour of real time | All Players |
| Visions / hallucinations (Spot Effect) | Affected Player |
| Acting in accordance with Vice | That Player |
| Encountering a Set Piece | All Players present (once per Set Piece) |