Worlds Burned. Jason Pitre Game DEsign We Survived. After … · Tormenta is an artificial memetic counter virus created by humanity. This force seeks to turn individuals into rage-filled,

AfterThe WAr

Worlds Burned.

We Survived.

Quickstart Edition

Alasdair StuartLead Writer

Jason PitreGame DEsign

LAyout

John AdamusLead Editor

Eric QuigleyTithi Luadthong

Illustrators

After the War Quickstart - Genesis of Legend Publishing

2O

V

E

R

V

I

E

W

Quick start Overview

What’s Included!

This is a quickstart version of After The War which offers everything you need to run a one-shot session of After the War. This bundle contains...

Page 3 Welcome to Dirt – Setting Introduction

Page 4 Roles & Responsibilities

Page 5 Key Terminology

Page 6 Timeline of the War

Page 7 Rules Overview

Page 9 Six Pregenerated Characters• Aukesh,theLaw

• Crisus,theSteel

• Tora,theCleric (3+players)

• Saddest,theAlien (4+players)

• Tanaka,theCaptain (5+players)

• Rayvan,theSurvivor (6players)

Page 21 Warframe Yard Settlement Sheet

Page 23 Game Master Rules

Page 25 The Welder’s Song - Sample Adventure

What you Need• 1 Game Master and 2-5 players

• A printed copy of the quick start, double sided if possible.

• Pencils, to make changes to those sheets.

• At least 24 six-sided dice (d6), though ideally each person would have a dozen.

• Blank index cards are useful, but optional.

How to USe the Quickstart

Step 1: Read the introduction (Welcome to Dirt) to the group.

Step 2: Distribute character sheets to the players. All games include Aukesh and Crisus. Tora is included in 3-player games. Saddest is included in 4-player games, Tanaka is included for 5-player games, and Rayvan is included for 6-player games.

Step 3: Ask the players to look over their sheets to learn about their characters.

Step 4: Each character has an introduction written on the back of their sheet. Ask each player to read that introduction out-loud to the group.

Step 5: Discuss your settlement, selecting three of the most important industries for your community and answering the questions associated with that settlement.

Step 6: Draw your settlement, including six key locations within that settlement.

Step 7: Establish the first scene, with the GM creating a platform. You can use the sample adventure to get started.

AfterTheWAr


3S

E

T

T

I

N

G

Welcome to Dirt – Setting Introduction

In order to introduce the setting, the group should read this setting introduction aloud. Starting with the GM, each person will read one paragraph then pass the sheet clockwise for the next person to take over.

Humanity has always heard the siren call of the unknown. We reached for the stars: building ships, stations, and colonies in the outer dark. Against all odds, first contact went impossibly well and we took our first steps out into the larger universe. We met the alien species that fill the void; the stoic Permancers, jovial Ursa, adaptable Mercurio, smug Illuvia, and the riven Fundar. We achieved our utopian dream of exploring the universe as part of a Galactic Union. Then we heard The Song.

The Song is a sentient melody encoded into atoms, a dark matter drumbeat of intelligence and hunger. The Song stole our free will, enslaving our minds and using us to spread like a memetic virus. The unified multi-species Fleet became a battlefield, as humans aboard every ship and on every world were caught up in the Song. Entire nations of humanity rose, as one, to convert the rest of the universe to the holy choir. Each ship taken became part of the Chorister Fleet, a colossal, mobile transmitter array designed to boost the strength of The Song in any system it jumped into. Worlds sang. Worlds burned.

Our salvation was also our destruction. The Chorister Fleet chased the refugee flotilla from the ruins of Earth to the distant world of Polvo. It was then that we released Tormenta, a weaponised dissonance intended to nullify the Song. This Tormenta worked too well, and transformed a third of its victims into violent and murderous monsters. The Tormenta transmitted its own design to every ship and world the Fleet had visited. The war started with a single voice rising from a trillion throats. It ended with the quiet, numb sobbing of the last humans standing. That was when the Chorister Fleet began calling for help in their own voices.

Ten years later, the survivors from the refugee flotilla landed and settled on Polvo. This world has earned the euphemistic nickname of Dirt. This world used to be a lot of things: a human fort, a Permancer staging post, a port, a corporate science preserve, and the frontline. Now it’s a junk world; a graveyard for secrets, ships, and dead ideals. Millions have fled their ruined worlds to try to build homes on Dirt foundations, at the home of the biggest second chance in the Universe.

Your communities are fragile and precious gems on this alien world. The Song gathers it strength in the wilderness between the settlements, while Tormenta’s grave lies empty. The ruthless Black Sky perform their secret research, the reckless Free Companies cause trouble, and the Peacekeepers hunt down any sign of infection within these colonies. Only you can protect your new home from these threats to body, mind, and soul. If you’re lucky, you can carve out new lives for yourself in this alien hellhole.

After the War is science-fiction horror roleplaying game, set on the frontier world of Polvo in the aftermath of a galactic conflict. This is a game about people who lost their homes and families in the war and have come together to rebuild their lives on this rough, frontier world. It’s about diverse communities of Terrans, Martians, Belters, and Aliens, who want a new home for themselves.

Your story is centered on your settlement, Warframe Yard which you work to build, strengthen, and grow. You deal with internal disagreements and external threats, because this is the only place you have left. When the seductive Song or brutal Tormenta threaten your community, it’s your job to protect everything you care about.

Welcome to Dirt. Everyone has to start somewhere. Everything will start here.

AfterTheWAr


4L

E

X

I

C

O

N

Key Setting Terminology

Terrans are those peoples born and raised on Earth, the cradle of humanity and ancient throne of countless cultures. The planet was crowded, messy, and the first home of our species.

Martians were colonists who settled the red planet and strove to shape in our image. The planet was fractured by war, and unified by a single megacorporation known as Marscorp which now rules supreme.

Belters are impoverished, independent-minded and foolhardy peoples who settled in the asteroid belt, Jovian moons, and isolated stations throughout the solar system.

Permancers are an alien species known for their stoicism, the protective natures, and for leading the Galactic Union. Many humans think of them as angry, bipedal horses, The Permancer are the only species who appear to be immune to the Song’s psychic influence. Ursa are a bear-like alien species which is known for their jovial nature and for an obsession with the number 4. They nearly always work as packs of 4 individuals due to their cultural traditions.

Rasgado and the Fundar are two halves of the same alien species. Their peoples were struck by a brutal bioweapon, which means any contact between a Rasgado and a Fundar will kill them both.

Mercurio are an alien species whose bodies are constantly in flux. They are shape-shifters and doppelgangers who are obsessed with discovering new cultures and identities.

Illuvia are a non-corporeal alien species who appear to be sentient clouds of glitter floating in the air. They are ruthlessly intelligent and smug, who take pity on primitives stuck wearing “meat-suits”.

The Song is an intelligent melody encoded in the atoms, which acts as a memetic virus. The Song seeks to steal the free will of peoples and assimilate them into the hive mind known as the Choir.

Tormenta is an artificial memetic counter virus created by humanity. This force seeks to turn individuals into rage-filled, violent agents of chaos and death.

Polvo, also known as Dirt, is an isolated world where the Terrans, Martians, Belters, and Aliens have come to build new lives together. It’s also harboring agents of the Song and Tormenta, who seek to infect those few survivors of the war.

Belter Engineer

Terran Politician

Martian Titan

Permancer Diplomat

AfterTheWAr


5T

I

M

E

L

I

N

E

Timeline of the War

2310.04.16.0645 – Unusual hydrogen resonance pattern from interstellar space in quadrant 4.6 detected by researchers on Feynman Station.

2310.04.16.0753 – Communications with research team is cut. Reports of personnel in EVA suits constructing an antenna.

2310.04.16.1219 – The FSS Endeavour dispatched to Feynman Station, Captain Rafale commanding.

2310.04.16.1812 – The FSS Endeavour infected by the Song. Recruits evacuate using escape pods according to protocol.

2310.04.19.1526 – Final survivors of the FSS Endeavour escape on shuttlecraft and are immediately quarantined by Fleet.

2311.02.16.2310 – The Song has swept across settled space. 73% of the Fleet has been converted.

2311.04.17.0932 – The Chorister fleet has reached the Oort Line defenses. Holding.

2312.04.18.2151 – Chronista Initiative, a collective of archivists, finishes upload of final wills and messages from Mars and Earth before the Song’s arrival.

2311.04.19.0121 – The Oort Line defenses have been breached, and the Chorister fleet in transit to the inner planets.

2311.07.19.0240 – Star Lift operation complete. Refugee flotilla fleeing the solar system prior to the arrival of the Chorister Fleet.

2311.07.21.2204 – The Lucky Few escapes the Earth, dodging the barrage from the Chorister Fleet.

2311.09.16.1700 – Project Tormenta releases a call for volunteers for an experimental weapons program.

2311.11.04.0951 – The Tormenta Virus is first released at the Battle of Amboso, weakening the Chorister Fleet.

2311.12.24.2033 – Francis Duffy, Hero of the Songwar, is reformatted into Tormenta Prime.

2311.12.25.12.00 – Tormenta Prime opened its eyes, and smiles. The Tormenta signal spread across the Chorister Fleet and ships began to die.

2311.12.25.1321 – The Chorister Fleet begins calling for help in their own voices. Screaming was heard on all communications frequencies.

2311.12.25.1641 – The first ships make controlled landings on Polvo. Doorman’s Rest, the first town of Polvo, is officially founded.

2313.03.21.1207 – Tormenta Prime is laid to rest in Covenant Yard. A terraforming bomb is dropped on the site to contain the body.

2315.05.08.1500 – The last shipment of emergency aid from the Permancer arrives on Polvo, as the planet is deemed self-sufficient.

2319.07.21.2213 – Reports of small gatherings of singers in the Blackrock hills. A peacekeeper force is dispatched.

2322.02.11.2213 – Current Day.

AfterTheWAr


6P

L

A

Y

E

R

&

G

M

R

O

L

E

S

The Player’s Role

You are Survivors. The war was a horror of galactic proportions. Worlds sang, screamed, and burned. Colonies were enslaved by the Song, while planetside cities were ravaged by Tormenta-Spawn. No one escaped the dark time unscathed and everyone has their own traumas. The war tried to make you victims, but you emerged as survivors instead. You will never forget your ordeals, but you won’t let them destroy you.

You are Protectors: Polvo is a dangerous place where cruel ambition and memetic horrors lurk. Your settlements are vulnerable points of light in a sea of hungry shadows. You are the people who stand against the darkness and protect your home. You deal with ruthless corporations who seek to exploit your settlement. You calm the interpersonal drama within your community by mending relationships and negotiating compromises. You stand watch for the intrusions of the Song and Tormenta which seek to corrupt your home.

You are Believers: Only the passionate can change the world, and change is desperately needed. Your strong beliefs, as subjective and controversial as they are, give you the drive to make a difference. You argue in favour of your beliefs and try to convince others to agree with your vision of the world. When you are confronted with evidence that contradicts your perspective, you struggle with the implications. Your beliefs are at the core of your identity.

You are Dreamers: Everyone wants something better. Prosperity so that no one need go hungry or cold. Strong walls and vigilant guards who protect the vulnerable. Art and beauty, to replace what was lost. Families bound by love, who raise children into a brighter world. No matter the hardship and horrors, you are driven by your enduring hope for the future.

The Game Master’s Role

You are the Fallout: The war may have ended, but its impact lingers. Families were separated and broken during the exodus from Terra, Mars, and the Belt. Governments fell to civil war under the conflicting influences of the seductive Song and the rebellious Tormenta. Doomsday cults and fringe religious emerge as people struggle to understand the horror they faced. Trauma imprints itself on the minds, bodies, and souls of everyone who survived. Even this frontier world itself is marked, cratered and littered with the wrecked hulks of fallen starships. As the Game Master, portray the war and how it continues to impact the world.

You are the Song: Humans are social creatures, who find comfort in groups and cooperation. Since the earliest days, we sang and drummed around the cooking fires to share knowledge and unite our tribes. The Song, the memetic virus from alien stars, pulls on these ancient memories and uses them to twist our minds. It glorifies service, conformity and assimilation. It promises perfect peace and harmony if you are willing to set aside your free will and work for “the greater good”. It needs fresh voices to join the choir, and there are many potential singers on Polvo. As a Game Master, portray the instincts of conformity, assimilation and evangelical zeal.

You are the Tormenta: Fuck. Eat. Kill. This is what Tormenta screams into our hearts, whenever someone is infected by this living war crime. Project Tormenta sought to counteract the enslaving harmony of the song through this memetic counter-virus, only it worked too well. Tormenta promises victory, power, and survival at all costs. It screams that only the strong survive, that civilization is a prison, and that trust is a poison. As a Game Master, portray the instincts of rebellion, domination, and violence.

You are the Communities: Despite the horrors of the war and the countless threats on Polvo, there are hard-working communities who are trying to build a home. Terrans, Martians, Belters, and Aliens come together in these frontier settlements. They work hard, raise children, and care for each other as best they can. As a Game Master, portray the small-town drama of broken promises, white lies, and quiet jealousies of the tightknit community.

AfterTheWAr


7R

U

L

E

S

B

A

S

I

C

S

Rules Overview

Structure of PlayPlay is divided into Scenes and Moments

Scenes are high-energy, dramatic events where characters focus on making meaningful choices. Each scene is established coopertively by the GM and two players will establish the starting situation together. After that, multiple characters will be involved in the action and conflicts are likely to occur.

Moments are low-energy interludes when one or two characters are emotionally vulnerable and explore the consequences of their choices. Moments have different mechanical and narrative effects, allowing you discover more about the other characters, change your beliefs, have your beliefs twisted by memetic horrors, or mourn those who are lost.

Establishing Scenes

The GM will normally create the Platform, describing where and when the scene will occur. The platform is where you describe the environment and the scenery that the plater characters will encounter. The GM will then choose one of the players to choose the Tilt.

The player creating the Tilt describes the inciting incident of the scene that drives the character to act. The tilt is the the reason why we are paying attention to this scene, rather than skipping over it. After creating the Tilt, that player will choose another player to create the Question.

The player creating the Question explains what they would like to discover during play. When you have answered the question, you can end the scene.

Lastly, each player decides if their character will be in the scene as an Actor, or if they will sit it out as Audience.

A Note on Convictions: Characters don’t start with any convictions and need to earn them during play via moments of growth.

Actor Scenes

If your character is in the scene, you can describe their actions and speak in their voice. Make bold declarations and defend your Beliefs, while confronting the Beliefs of your companions.

Anything you declare is considered to be true, unless someone triggers a conflict. When a conflict is triggered, you use dice to help determine who gets their way.

1. Set goals, as two people in the conflict declare what they want to happen. If no one backs down or negotiates a compromise, set the stakes for the conflict.

2. Roll the dice. If you are a player in a conflict, you roll 1 die + 1 die per relevant Trait and +1 per relevant Conviction you uphold. The GM will roll 2-8 dice depending on the nature of the opposition.

3. Count up their totals, ignoring any dice which have results equal or lower than your your Strain. If you have two Strain, for example, you wouldn’t add any 1’s or 2’s you rolled to your total.

4. In the case of a tie, the first person to mark a point of Strain wins, otherwise the Game Master decides the outcome.

5. If your character is losing a conflict, players can choose to gain a point of Strain to reroll any or all of your dice. If another character offers tangible assistance, they can take on that Strain instead.

6. Resolve the outcome, determining which side achieves their goal. The victor narrates what happens next in the fiction, based on the goal you had already established.

7. If you win the conflict, you gain a point of Strain to represent the price of victory. This represents the emotional and physical toil associated with getting your way.

When you finish resolving a conflict, return to free roleplaying. You may trigger additional conflicts in the scene, or close the scene if the Question has been asnwered.

AfterTheWAr


8R

U

L

E

S

B

A

S

I

C

S

Audience Scenes

If your character is not in the scene, you fill the role of the Audience instead. In these scenes, you fill a supporting role and watch the action with purpose. You have three major responsibilities.

Support: You portray side characters, either within or beyond the settlement. Roleplay these characters, from the children playing in wreckage of a fallen hulk to to elderly mechanic. Make the setting feel real. If a conflict is ever triggered with one of these side characters, the Game Master will take over.

Inquire: During conflicts, players get to declare which Traits they believe would help them in the conflict. If it isn’t clear how it’s relevant, ask them to explain how it helped them in a similar situation in the past. If they use “Belter” in a brawl, give them the chance to describe their zero-G bar-fights on Quellcrist Station. They write it in as a fourth option associated with that Trait that is available going forward.

Judge: Insight represents the accumulated wisdom, experience, and narrative influence that you may gain by confirming or refuting your Beliefs. As the Audience, you judge whether this has occurred.

Confirming Beliefs occurs when a character encounters evidence that supports their Belief. Refuting Beliefs occurs when a character encounters evidence that contradicts their Beliefs. If either has occurred in a scene, tell that player to mark a point on their Insight track.

Strain

When you play through Scenes, players may gain points of Strain which represents the accumulated stress, exhaustion, and harm that you may suffer during conflicts. Each poiint of Strain will negate a face of a die, so with 3 points of strain, only 4, 5, and 6’s add to your totals in conflicts.

Gain Strain if you would like to reroll some or all of your dice during a conflict, and as the price of victory if you win a conflict.

Remove Strain when you play through a Moment of Discovery.

Moments

Moment of Discovery: When you have marked your 3rd and 6th circles on your Insight Track, you trigger a Moment of Discovery at the end of the scene. You then ask a question about another player’s character’s thoughts, history, or relationships. They are obliged to answer your question, either by roleplaying a discussion or narrating events in a more detached fashion. Consider using flashbacks, inner monologues, montages, and other narrative techniques to answer the question in an interesting way. At the end of a Moment of Discovery, remove one Strain from each of the participants.

Moment of Growth: When you have completely filled all 9 circles on your Insight Track, clear the track and trigger a Moment of Growth. Roleplay how you have decided to accept one of your Beliefs unconditionally, or reject it absolutely. Create your new truth as a Conviction on your character sheet, which can give you a bonus in conflicts. Create a new, replacement Belief to represent a new issue that you want to explore in play. The replacement Belief needs to be a subjective, controversial declaration.

Moment of Corruption: Whenever the Game Master wins a Conflict, they can choose to cede their victory in order to trigger a moment of corruption. During a moment of corruption, the player who had lost the conflict achieves their goal, narrates the outcome, and pays the price of victory as if they had won normally. They then pass over their character sheet to the GM, who will get to alter one of that character’s Beliefs. If the GM had been wearing the mantle of the Song in the conflict, they will alter one Belief to align with the ideals of conformity, servitude, and evangelism. If the GM had been wearing the mantle of Tormenta, they will alter the beliefs to align with the ideas of rebellion, dominance, and violence.

Moment of Grief: When a main character suffers fills the 6th Strain on their character sheet, it’s a sign that someone will be retired from play. Either you describe how your main character leaves play, or choose a side character who will be taken out in your place. You may only sacrifice side characters whom have a relationship with your main character. The GM will ask each character about their grief and what they lost.

AfterTheWAr

Character Name

1 2 3 4 5 6Any die filled in doesn’t add to your roll totals. Clear a die through a moment of discovery.

Your Strain

Companion Beliefs


T

A

L

E

N

T

S

C

H

A

R

A

C

T

E

R

C

O

M

P

A

N

I

O

N

S

Origin Option

Origin Category

War Story Option

War Story Category

Profession Option

Profession Category

CharacteR Beliefs

CharacteR Convictions

Aukesh, the Law

Justice is an Illusion

Laws Keep us Safe from Chaos

Get a die dealing with:

• humanculture

• humanhistory

• wildernesssurvival

•


• powerpolitics

• democraticgovernance

• massmedia

•

Political community


• advancedtechnology

• detectingtheSong

• fleeingfromdanger

•


• academicknowledge

• professionalexperience

• intellectualprowess

•


• close-quartersfighting

• riggingtraps

• resistingfear

•

Bashton’s Children LegaL expert

Earth Needed to Burn

Destruction is Easier than Creation

No One is Disposable

Government is Violence

Peace is Worth any Price

Memory is Life

Scarcity is the Best Teacher

Some Don’t Want to be Saved

Your Mind is a Bomb

Only the Strong Survive

Crisus

Tora

Saddest

Tanaka

Rayvan


• arguinglegalcases

• treatiesandcontracts

• settlementlaw

•

Terran Ouverture Scholar

Your Insight


10AfterTheWAr

A

U

K

E

S

H

Talents

Origin

Terran: You were born and raised on Earth, humanity’s ancestral home. This crowded planet held massive metropolises, quiet rural villages, and vast swaths of verdant wilderness under open skies. You are a wise and cultured soul, who maintained the traditions of earth.

Political Community: You were raised in a political household, in one of Earth’s massive urban centers. You grew up watching the newsnets, reading the pundits, and learning about geopolitics, which all serve you well.

War Story

Overture: You were involved in the beginning of the war. Whether you were you were captured by the Song’s first notes, or you warned the galaxy of the threat, you were there at the beginning. You should have stopped this from happening, but you had no way of knowing what would come next.

Bashton’s Children: You were one of the survivors of the FSS Endeavour who fought the Choristers for three days, before you were overcome. Commander Bashton sacrificed herself, so that a dozen of you could flee the ship on one of the remaining shuttlecraft.

Profession

Scholar: You established yourself as one of the great minds of Polvo. You may be a product of the great universities of old earth, the Tharsis Institute of Technology on Mars, a Permancer Mindtemple, or a Belter research outpost. No matter where you come from, you are a thoughtful intellectual, who deals with the larger issues.

Legal Expert: You are a trained lawyer, experienced in contracts, litigation, and criminal law. Your expertise is sought after, as you establish a new legal system suitable for Polvo’s frontier settlements.

Introducing Aukesh

My name is Aukesh, and I come from Earth. I grew up in a political family, watching the feeds and making bets with my cousins over the political maneuvers of the rich and the powerful. My passion and analytical mind let me to a position of staff secretary at the Commonwealth office in Nairobi. That position led me to the unfortunate position of working on the FSS Endeavour when we first encountered the Song. I survived and have established myself at Warframe Yard as a legal expert for the settlement.

I believe that the justice is an illusion, and that laws keep us safe from chaos.

Character Name Companion Beliefs


T

A

L

E

N

T

S

C

H

A

R

A

C

T

E

R

C

O

M

P

A

N

I

O

N

S

Origin Option

Origin Category

War Story Option

War Story Category

Profession Option

Profession Category

CharacteR Beliefs


Crisus, the Steel


Destruction is Easier Than Creation


• corporations

• managingfinances

• issuingcommands

•


• brawling

• powerarmor

• rangedweapons

•

TiTan Division


• advancedtechnology

• detectingtheSong

• escapingdanger

•


• infrastructure

• machinery

• yourfavouritetools

•


• resettlingrefugees

• managingsupplylogistics

• leadinginvestigations

•

RendeRed Aid Salvager






Memory is Life



Your Mind is a Bomb


Aukesh

Tora

Saddest

Tanaka

Rayvan


• warsalvage

• electronics

• barter

•


Your Strain

Your Insight

Martian AftermAth Builder


12AfterTheWAr

C

R

I

S

U

S

Talents

Origin

Martian: You were born on Martian soil, and raised in one of the great domed cities. This planet is a bustling corporate stronghold, surrounded by the largest terraforming project in human history. You are a bold and passionate soul, who dreamed of building a Mars that your descendants could be proud of.

Titan Division: You were a member of Titan Division, the power-armor clad Martian Army. Your division keeps the peace, enforces corporate law, and protects Martian interests throughout the system. The Titans can never fall.

War Story

Aftermath: You were there in the first years after the war. Tormenta’s scream had silenced the Song. The Chorister Fleet fell from orbit to lodge into the rich soil of Polvo. Some chose to rest and heal, but you needed to act. You were one of the millions who tried to rebuild a better future out of the fused wreckage of the past. You settled on Polvo out of the hope of making a future for your children.

Rendered Aid: You were there, when the Permancer came to negotiate with the humans of Polvo. You where there as they coordinated supplies and established the official inquiry into the war.

Profession

Builder: You will build this new world, brick by brick. It doesn’t matter whether you build shelter, bridges, or trade. No, what matters is that you build a foundation that the next generation can build upon. Your toil today, means that a paradise might grow from Dirt. Now let’s get back to work.

Salvager: You are one of the countless salvagers, who extract priceless goods from the wrecks of Polvo. You may work in the Boneyards, pulling downed ships apart and sorting the parts. Others work in in high orbit, cleaning the garbage ring out or just shuttling old hulks into the atmosphere.

Introducing Crisus

My name is Crisus, and I am a proud citizen of Mars. I grew up in a dome on the edge of Solis Planum, where MarsCorp manufactures its power armour. I fell in love with these titanic warriors who fought on behalf of our noble world and enlisted with Titan Division the moment I turned 16. I fought and bled in the War of the Song, losing most of my company in the process. I left the service as soon as hostilities ceased, and joined up with one of the Polvan reconstruction teams which built Warframe Yard.

I believe that Earth needed to burn, and that destroying is easier than building.



T

A

L

E

N

T

S

C

H

A

R

A

C

T

E

R

C

O

M

P

A

N

I

O

N

S

Origin Option

Origin Category

War Story Option

War Story Category

Profession Option

Profession Category

CharacteR Beliefs


Tora, the Cleric




• riskingyourlife

• salvagingtechnology

• resolvingdisputes

•


• preventingviolence

• teachingtheyoung

• callingpeopleontheirshit

•

Missionaries (The Padres)


• settingtraps

• Tormenta-infections

• expressingrage

•


• threatassessment

• organizingmilitias

• militaryequipment

•


• familialdrama

• heroicideals

• crushingguilt

•

The hero Medic






Memory is Life



Your Mind is a Bomb



• injuriesandillness

• difficultpatients

• memeticinfections

•


Your Strain

Your Insight

Belter TormenTa Veteran

Aukesh

Crisus

Saddest

Tanaka

Rayvan


14AfterTheWAr

T

O

R

A

Talents

Origin

Belter: You were born in zero-G and raised in the Belt. You had to fight for every bottle of oxygen, every drop of water, and every scrap of food. You never had enough, but at least you had each other. You are bold souls who took any risk to keep your people safe and free.

Missionaries (The Padres): You were raised on one of the colossal, multi-faith missionary vessels which circulate among the belt. These ships provide the essential medical support for the belters, educate their brightest, and offer a secluded monastery for those who need to seek the divine.

War Story

Project Tormenta: You were involved in the bloody resistance against the chorister fleet, where humanity fought with every weapon at its disposal to survive. Whether you participated in Project Tormenta or you were a grateful beneficiary of that weapon, you share responsibility for what you made. You turned human volunteers into memetic artillery, to be flung against the Chorister Fleet. You still see and hear their agony in your darkest nightmares.

The Hero: Francis Duffy was an abusive, violent drunk. He was also the perfect host for Tormenta, a memetic carrier who could infect the Choister Fleet with the Anti-Song. You knew Francis, and not even he deserved what happened to him in that black-ops laboratory.

Profession

Veteran: You fought in the war, and some part of you survived. You are one of the many wounded souls whose martial discipline and military skills offer security to the people of Polvo. As a Veteran, you know the horrors of war and the importance of keeping the peace. You are the wall that protects the settlements from threats from beyond or from within.

Medic: You were a medic during the war and brought those medical skills to Polvo. You saved countless soldiers and civilians during the war, and the work continues on this frontier world.

Introducing Tora

My name is Tora, and I’m a missionary from the Belt. I grew up on some miserable rock with a leaky bulkhead, and found my way to a missionary vessel for an education. I joined up with the fleet for medical service and found myself working on Project Tormenta during the War. I continued to use my medical skills on Polvo and my clinic is out of a repurposed downed shuttle at the edge of Warframe Yard.

I believe that no one is disposable, and that government is violence.



T

A

L

E

N

T

S

C

H

A

R

A

C

T

E

R

C

O

M

P

A

N

I

O

N

S

Origin Option

Origin Category

War Story Option

War Story Category

Profession Option

Profession Category

CharacteR Beliefs


SALDESDTORICORIXIV

Saddest, the Alien

Peace is worth any Price

Memory is Life


• humans

• FleetandtheUnion

• alientechnology

•


• protectingthevulnerable

• maintainingemotionaldiscipline

Special: Song & Tormenta Immunity

•

Permancer


• avoidinginjury


• expressinggrief

•


• issuingcommands

• makingplans

• helpingfollowers

•


• communicationsdevices

• searchingvastdatasets

• listentingtosomeone’spain

•

Personal aPocalyPse Diplomat









Your Mind is a Bomb



• negotiatingwithsettlements

• deducingmotivations

• proposingcomprimises

•


Your Strain

Your Insight

Alien CresCendo Leader

Aukesh

Crisus

Tora

Tanaka

Rayvan


16AfterTheWAr

S

A

D

D

E

S

T

Talents

Origin

Alien: You were born on a distant world as a member of one of the many distinct Alien species who make up Fleet. Your rich culture and advanced technology set you apart from the primitive humans, who so recently joined the civilized galaxy. You are strange yet kind souls, who sought to make the galaxy a place of peace and interstellar trade.

Permancer: You are one of the Permancer, a stoic and duty-driven species that appear like disgruntled, bipedal horses. You are the elder species, caretakers and guardians who brought the galaxy together in peace. Your people were the only ones seemingly immune to the Song, but it wasn’t enough to save the rest.

War Story

Crescendo: You were involved in the darkest period of the war, when extinction seemed inevitable. The Chorister Fleet smashed against our defenses, and bombarded the inner planets. You were one of those who survived; fighting on the Oort Line, or fleeing on one of the thousands of refugee haulers.

Personal Apocalypse: You were part of the Chronista initiative, and were one of the hackers and programmers who allowed 9 billion humans on earth to upload record their final will and messages. You gave them a voice, before it was snuffed out by the Chorister Fleet.

Profession

Leader: Every society has those who follow, and those who lead. You are one of the few souls who guide and protect the people of Polvo. As a leader, your power comes from enabling your followers to succeed. Your responsibility is to help them make wise decisions which will unite, rather than divide, your settlement.

Diplomat: You know how to talk to people. This is remarkably handy, particularly when you have to deal with angry Fundar or desperate Belters. You have learned the skill to determine what others need and what they want to hear.

Introducing Saddest SALDESDTORICORIXIV

You may call me Saddest, unless you are skilled with the Permancer language. My people led the Galactic Union until the war, and we hope that peace can be reforged over time. I learned much of human culture as I helped in the Chronista Initiative where we uploaded the final messages from Earth before the Chorister Fleet reached it. Now, I work as diplomat and mediator for Warframe Yard to ease tensions.

I believe that the peace is worth any price, and that memory is life.



T

A

L

E

N

T

S

C

H

A

R

A

C

T

E

R

C

O

M

P

A

N

I

O

N

S

Origin Option

Origin Category

War Story Option

War Story Category

Profession Option

Profession Category

CharacteR Beliefs


Tanaka, the Captain


Some don’t want to be Saved


• riskingyourlife

• salvagingtechnology

• resolvingdisputes

•


• navigatingdangerousareas

• pilotingships

• findingcontacts

•

TransporTers


• avoidinginjury


• expressinggrief

•


• threatassessment

• organizingmilitias

• militaryequipment

•


• logistics

• transportingpeople

• performingtriage

•

The STar LifT Pilot








Memory is Life

Your Mind is a Bomb



• pilotingaircraft

• drivinggroundvehicles

• performmechanicalrepairs

•


Your Strain

Your Insight

Belter CresCendo Veteran

Aukesh

Crisus

Tora

Saddest

Rayvan


18AfterTheWAr

T

A

N

A

K

A

Talents

Origin

Belter: You were born in zero G and raised in the belt. You had to fight for every bottle of oxygen, every drop of water, and every scrap of food. You never had enough, but at least you had you had each other. You are bold souls who took any risk to keep your people safe and free.

Transporters: The Belt doesn’t have one home world; it has a thousand. You were one of the transporters; travelling between these worlds, delivering mail and hauling ore. You were the glue that kept the Belt together.

War Story


Star Lift: You were one of the crew involved in the Star Lift, a makeshift flotilla which transported as many refugees off the inner planets as they could before the Chorister fleet arrived. While others fought on the Oort Line, the Star Lift rescued close to 4 million Terrans and 1 million Martians.

Profession

Veteran: You fought in the war, and at least part of you survived. You are one of the many wounded souls whose martial discipline and military skills offer security to the people of Polvo. As a Veteran, you know the horrors of war and the importance of keeping the peace. You are the wall that protects the settlements from threats from beyond or from within. You take any risk to keep your people safe and free.

Pilot: You were a pilot during the war, and your skills are invaluable on this vast new world. The skies of Polvo are thick in some places with shuttles, runabouts, and capital ships.

Introducing Tanaka

My name is Captain Tanaka and I’m best pilot in the belt. I grew up on a trading barge in zero G which ran trade goods and delivered mail between a dozen smaller stations. My cargo ship, the Yorick, evacuated a hundreds of Terrans during the Star Lift before Earth was hit by the Chorister Fleet. Now, I work as a pilot under the open skies and I bring Warframe Yard what it needs to survive.

I believe that scarcity is the best teacher, and that some don’t want to be saved.



T

A

L

E

N

T

S

C

H

A

R

A

C

T

E

R

C

O

M

P

A

N

I

O

N

S

Origin Option

Origin Category

War Story Option

War Story Category

Profession Option

Profession Category

CharacteR Beliefs


Rayvan the Survivor

Your Mind is a Bomb

Only the Stong Survive


• humanculture

• humanhistory

• wildernesssurvival

•


• agriculturalissues

• foodsupply

• thenaturalworld

•

AgriculturAl community


• avoidinginjury


• expressinggrief

•


• infrastructure

• machinery

• yourfavouritetools

•


• improvisedweapons

• scavengingsupplies

• resistingdeprivation

Scorched earth Wreck Dancer








Memory is Life




• travellingquickly

• transportingsupplies

• emergencyresponse


Your Strain

Your Insight

Terran CresCendo Builder

Aukesh

Crisus

Tora

Saddest

Tanaka


20AfterTheWAr

R

A

Y

V

A

N

Talents

Origin

Terran: You were born and raised on Earth, humanity’s ancestral home. This crowded planet held massive metropolises, quiet rural villages, and vast swaths of verdant wilderness under open skies. You were a wise and cultured soul, who maintained the traditions of earth.

Agricultural Community: Civilization depends on food, and the agricultural community of Earth was proud to feed us all. Whether you worked on a massive corporate orchard, or grew up on an independent family farm, you know how to grow crops and tend livestock.

War Story


Scorched Earth: When the Chorister Fleet pushed past the Oort Line, they travelled to the inner planets and bombarded them with terrifying efficiency. You were one of the rare survivors of the chorister assault, who managed to escape the ruined world after a month-long nightmare.

Profession

Builder: You will build this new world, brick by brick. It doesn’t matter whether you build shelter, bridges, or trade. No, what matters is that you build a foundation that the next generation can build upon. Your toil today, means that a paradise might grow from Dirt. Now let’s get back to work.

Wreck Dancer: You are one of the freelance emergency responders of Dirt, who go anywhere to rescue those in need. You will then pay them exactly what they ask, because Wreck Dancers risk everything for other people’s lives and always settle their debts.

Introducing Rayvan

I am Rayvan and I escaped Earth too late. I grew up on an isolated farm in Eastern Europe and knew how to tend livestock, which was all that saved me. I was too far from one of the evac sites and I was trapped on Earth when the Chorister Fleet arrived. I was the only one in my family to survive, and escape a month later. Now I work as a wreck runner and try to rescue other folks in need.

I believe that your mind is a bomb, and that only the strong survive.


21AfterTheWAr

W

A

R

F

R

A

M

E

Y

A

R

D

The Settlement – Warframe Yard

During the War, hundreds of vessels fell from the sky onto the surface of Dirt, This settlement was established in the midst of the rubble of the fallen warships. These boneyard settlements are centres of salvage, engineering, and industry. The inhabitants of Warframe Yard try to build a stronger future from the wreckage of the war.

Pick three of the following industries for your settlement, and the associated NPCS.

Salvage Farah the Tinkerer, who believes that Nothing is Sacred.

Arms Oruna the Goliath, who believes that The Dead must be Honoured.

Metalwork Issan the Smith, who believes that Family Keeps us Human.

Electronics Gecko the Mercurio, who believes that Money is Freedom.

Datamining Cena the Runner, who believes that Information wants to be Free.

Answer the three questions below as a group.

Your settlement is partially built from salvaged warships which plunged from orbit. Which group or business fortified and moved into hull of the FSS Defiant?

The world is sharp and cold, but your community has worked hard to make things better. How does your community come together in warm camaraderie?

Warframe Yard is a dangerous place. What is the collective name of the orphans who run through the ruins, after losing their parents in a salvage accident?

There are five nearby settlements who you trade with.

• Barleymow,aFarmingCommunity

• FortBligh,aMilitaryOutpost

• TheVermillionExchange,aTradingPost

• DaedalusStation,aResearchStation

• PortThoth,aSpaceport

One of the neighbouring settlements is on good terms with Warframe Yard. How did they help your community overcome hardship?

One of the neighbouring settlements is on bad terms with Warframe Yard. How have their actions, or inaction, insulted, frightened, or harmed your community?


22AfterTheWAr

W

A

R

F

R

A

M

E

Y

A

R

D

Draw the following locations on the map.

Location of your first industry

Location of your second industry

Location of your third industry

Location where most people live

Location where the community gathers

Location that most people avoid

MAp of WArframe Yard


23T

H

E

G

A

M

E

M

A

S

T

E

R

AfterTheWAr

The Game Master

As the Game Master, you make a safe and creative space for telling a story together. You work in collaboration with the players, not in competition or conflict. You act as a neutral and honest arbiter who explains the rules and makes sure that everyone has a fair chance to speak. You are a fan of the main characters, offering them opportunities to show their strengths and explore their weaknesses.

You have both the authority and responsibility to lead the game for everyone’s enjoyment. Here is what you need to do to run the game successfully.

• Administer Logistics, keeping track of time and player comfort.

• Establish Scenes, creating platforms to guide the story forward.

• Direct the Spotlight, so the quiet players can contribute.

• Maintain Continuity, so the setting feels real.

• Offer Opposition, participating in conflicts when appropriate.

Offer Safety

After the War is about the aftermath of a galactic war, and the people who survived that traumatic event. The game is here to give you the tools to tell those stories productively and safely. The game can often go to dark places, where players might feel vulnerable. Some content in a game can trigger discomfort or past trauma, so be considerate. Make yourself aware of everyone’s boundaries. Respect them.

Remember Home

The main characters should be driven to protect their settlements and the people who live there. This means that you need to keep the focus on this fragile sanctuary in a hostile world. Name the members of the community and treat them like real, living beings with their own desires. Describe the families trying to make ends meet, and the children playing in the rubble.

Bring Fallout

The galaxy is in ruin, after the carnage that was the Great War. The great warships of Fleet had fought fiercely in orbit over the insignificant world of Polvo, before the final confrontation broke them. Broken dreadnaughts plunged from orbit like fallen stars, bombarding the plains and cratering mountains. Everyone lives under the shadow of the war, even after years have passed.

Challenge Beliefs

After the War is a game about questions. What do you believe? What ideals will you fight to protect, and which will you abandon? What convictions do you hold unquestioningly? During play, you should collectively act to challenge everyone’s Beliefs. Present opportunities that support and bolster those opinions. Create situations that contradict and refute those ideals. Force the players and their characters to critically explore their Beliefs, and decide what is to be elevated to an unchanging Conviction.

Speak Honestly

After the War is a game about communities, and the people who support them. The best way to tell these stories is to speak with honesty and integrity. As the Game Master, be generous with the truth. Share any information that would help them, or make for a better story. Players are empowered to create new facts about the setting, and you should try to embrace these contributions.


24AfterTheWAr

S

O

N

G

&

T

O

R

M

E

N

T

A

Game Master ConflictsAs the Game Master, your antagonistic role is as as the mind behind The Song and Tormenta which seek to infect the Settlement. During

conflicts, you roll a pool of 2-8 dice in total. Create that pool by by adding 1-4 Threat dice and 1-4 Vector dice as explained below.

Threat DiceEvery conflict threatens something or

someone who matters to the story. Add a number of dice to your dice pool

based on what is in danger.

Threat 1 - Strangers

If a minor, un-named NPC is in danger, add one die to your pool. Moments of Corruption cannot be triggered in this conflict.

Threat 2 - Friends

If a player character or a small group of strangers are in danger, add two dice to your pool.

Threat 3 - Family

If a Face character, family member, or other major NPC is in danger, add three dice to your pool.

Threat 4 - Community

If a group of people or an entire settlement is in danger, add four dice to your pool.

Vector 2 - Song InfluenceAdd two dice to your pool when people are...

Calm, when they should be concerned.

Logical, when emotions matter emotions.

Evasive, when problems need to be addressed.

Vector 3 - Song InfectionAdd three dice to your pool when people are...

Conformist, strongly defending the status quo.

Persuasive, convincing others to agree with them.

Strategic, by planning and scheming for the future.

Vector 4 - Song OutbreakAdd four dice to your pool involving...

Choristers, seducing the weak-minded to follow.

Cults, whose bizarre faith fuels their actions.

Abusers, breaking people’s hearts and minds.

Vector 2 - Tormenta InfluenceAdd two dice to your pool when people are...

Angry, when they should be restrained.

Passionate, when it distracts from larger issues.

Rebellious, when it disrupts the lives of others.

Vector 3 - Tormenta InfectionAdd three dice to your pool when people are...

Dominant, using emotional pressure for control.

Violent, directly harming others.

Chaotic, actively disrupting law and order.

Vector 4 - Tormenta OutbreakAdd four dice to your pool involving...

Killers, twisted into Tormenta’s living weapons.

Devourers, driven to raid by hunger and lust.

Torturers, spreading physical & emotional pain.

Vector Dice

Most conflicts involve potential influence or infection by memetic viruses of The Song (Order, Coersion, Slavery) or Tormenta (Chaos, Dominance, Violence). Add a number of dice to your dice

pool based on how strong The Song or Tormenta is involved in the current conflict.

Vector 1 - Stress

When there is no clear sign of the Song or Tormenta, add one die to your pool. Moments of Corruption cannot be triggered in this conflict.


25AfterTheWAr

S

A

M

P

L

E

A

D

V

E

N

T

U

R

E

Sample Adventure – The Welder’s Song

The ContextWarframe Yard is a settlement built from the bones of broken starships. Crews work long hours to salvage valuable electronics from control panels and syphon fuel from onboard reserves.

The Problem

There have been increasing reports of disturbing sounds emerging from the FSS Vornheim, a military clipper used to transport VIP’s between fleet vessels. There are reports of rhythmic pounding, grinding, and humming noises that sound like percussive music which is forbidden by settlement law. As any use of music can lead to transmission of The Song, it’s a cultural taboo and a serious offense. One of the workers had been brought before the PC’s to answer for it, though she is doing her best to evade responsibility.

Why it’s WorseThe music is dividing the community into pro-music and anti-music factions. The pro-music faction doesn’t believe that there is any danger posed by a little drumming on metal in a scrapyard, now that the Song is vanquished. The anti-music faction is terrified and angry at the reckless fools who are making the settlement vulnerable to the mind-twisting Song. This strife in the community is the major problem that the PCs must face.

Escalation No matter how it’s dealt with, there is a group of people who are angry about the outcome. Tormenta uses this anger as an infection vector and early stage Tormenta starts causing trouble in the settlement. Arguments are heard, machinery is broken, and fights are growing more violent.

Another group in the community is more subtly infected by the Song. This group works together to build a rigidly ordered defense force. They are pushing to strengthen settlement law and organize a purge of those infected by Tormenta.

Potential Platforms

As the Game Master, you establish the Platform for each scene. This helps you guide the plot, so consider using some of these sample platforms for inspiration.

The Interrogation

Girda Rikudottir, the salvage technician, stands in the council chambers of the Warframe Town Hall. The room is uncomfortably large, with each of the PCs. Aukesh works for the mayor as the legal counsel, and Crisus leads the small security team. There’s a bustle of noise as curious onlookers speculate wildly about what she has done.

The Salvage Yard

This is an industrial site that reeks of ozone and burning steel as the arc welders slice apart the bulkheads. As you walk through the site, your boots are marked by the mud puddles laced with metal shavings and oil. A strange series of hums emerge from the dormant electronics and from the repurposed reactor core you use for power.

The Bunkhouse

A small group of workers are gathered in the bunkhouse, deep in debate about what they call “The Wrecker’s Song”. The room is dim, filled with the scent of sweat and fear as people discuss a potential infection of the Song. Harsh memories flood across many faces, and it’s clear that the marks of the war have not yet faded.

The FSS Vornheim

The FSS Vornheim is where you find a group of technicians gathered, softly playing music under the soft starlight. One of the group, a young man with long dreads, begins to freestyle rap about the injustice of society which cares more for peace than justice. They are making enough noise, though, that it’s clear you are not the only ones to notice the performance.


26AfterTheWAr

A Bright Future

This free quickstart document is meant as a brief introduction to Polvo, and the people who are building a life there. Of course, there is much more to the game than presented here. Genesis of Legend Publishing will be running a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in the fall of 2018 which will allow us to publish the full game for you to enjoy.

Thank you for playing, and welcome to Dirt.

Jason PitreGenesis of Legend Publishing

www.genesisoflegend.com

Documents

Worlds Burned. Jason Pitre Game DEsign We Survived. After … · Tormenta is an artificial memetic counter virus created by humanity. This force seeks to turn individuals into rage-filled,