Monsters

When it comes to running Scenes as a Game Master, you don't always have the time to create characters or Custom Abilities for every adversary your players come across. This calls for Interventions; Interventions allow adversaries to choose how adventurers' Fallout manifests.

The Game Master may interact with the Experience Market in a different way than players. This is to facilitate a sense of ease when creating the many adversaries characters will encounter throughout a campaign.

Natural Weapons

Monsters come with many different adaptations for hunting down their prey, but making custom abilities for each variation is unreasonable. Instead, consider these physical attacks as Natural Weapons, and use the weapon properties table on the Equipment page.

You may also create small Special weapon properties from scratch, but try to restrict the String Cost to the Difficulty rating:

Special. [Example]
When you successfully attack a target creature with this weapon, the target must make a Squirm Test or become Rooted (Here).

Difficulty

To make a judgement about what your adventuring party can handle, calculate the average party Tier. To do this, take each character's Tier, add them together, and divide by the number of characters (rounded up) to get the average character Tier. Then, add the players' Party Level.
$$
\left\lceil\frac{T_{\text{\:1st PC Tier}}\:+\:T_{\text{\:2nd PC Tier}}\:+\:...\:+\:T_{C\text{th PC Tier}}}{C_{\text{Number of characters}}}\right\rceil\:+\:P_{\text{\:Party Loom Level}}\:=\:D_{\text{\:Difficulty}}
$$
This results in a value called Difficulty. Difficulty can be spend in various ways, including the purchasing of Interventions.

Different levels of Interventions are associated with the different levels of Fallout.

Intervention Trigger Table

Fallout Type	Difficulty Cost
Mechanical Fallout	1
Minor Fallout	2
Major Fallout	3
Severe Fallout	4

Choosing an Intervention's Fallout Type determines what kind of Fallout the adversary is able to "intervene" upon. For example, say you have created an adversary with a Minor Fallout Intervention that causes the Muddled (N) Condition as alien paralytic excretions start to numb the player on contact. If a player would have a Stress Overflow due to an adversary's attack, and that Stress Overflow would result in Minor Fallout (see Levels of Fallout), then you may choose to immediately apply the adversary's Minor Fallout Intervention effect instead of coming up with an appropriate type of Fallout based on the narrative context. Interventions cannot be activated on Fallout triggered by an Intervention.

Additionally, Interventions can be used to define the outcome of Narrative and Situational Fallout. This oftentimes occurs when a player rolls a Test that results in Mixed or lower. Different kinds of Interventions can affect different success levels that would incur Fallout (see below).

Success Level	Intervention Level
Mixed	Mechanical
Failure	Minor
Miff	Major
Natural Miff	Severe
* Certain Interventions could be given increased durations to accommodate for higher levels of Fallout than what an adversary's Interventions cover. This only applies to Interventions that inflict a Condition, and is up to GM discretion.

The Difficulty of an adversary manifests in its ability to increase the Fallout Level taken by a target creature, though the effect is restricted to what is predetermined in the definition of that adversary's Intervention. To increase the Fallout Level, the original Fallout Level must be Narrative, Minor, or Major, and the adversary must succeed on a Test determined in the Intervention's definition. Increasing the Fallout Level taken by a target creature causes the GM to skip their next turn.

Intervention Templates

Different levels of Interventions call for different effects, which can vary per the adversary's narrative capabilities. Here are a list of potential Intervention effects that correspond with their Fallout Types:

Mechanical Interventions

Apply Disadvantage on the target's next Test in a specific Skill.
Grant Advantage on the next attack against the target.

Minor Interventions

Apply a Minor Condition to the target until the beginning of the adversary's next turn.
Apply 1DV Equipment Damage to a target's equipped item.
Prevent the Stress Track from overflowing, and instead move the overflow Stress to another specific Potential Track.

Major Interventions

Apply a Minor Condition to the target until the end of the current Scene.
Apply a Minor Condition to the target until the beginning of the adversary's next turn, and the target takes a Mark.
Apply a Major Condition to the target until the beginning of the adversary's next turn.
Cause Equipment Fallout to a target's equipped item.

Severe Interventions

Apply a Minor Condition to the target Until Dispelled.
Apply a Minor Condition to the target until the end of the current Scene, and the target takes 2 Marks.
Apply a Major Condition to the target until the end of the current Scene.
Apply a Major Condition to the target until the beginning of the adversary's next turn, and the target takes 3 Marks.

Example Interventions

Sometimes you need to have some quick monsters in the back of your pocket when you find yourself in a Scene you hadn't prepared for. This is where Adversary Archetypes become useful. Each Adversary Archetype is associated with particular Potentials that the adversary excels in, making these archetypes narrower than Character Archetypes. These excellence profiles will be referred to as their Potential Contour.

Breaker

The Breaker Archetype is for adversaries whose Potential Contour excels in Might.

Mechanical Intervention

Ringing Blow. The target has Disadvantage on their next Brace Test.

Minor Intervention

Crushing Opening. The target becomes Vulnerable (Might) until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn.

Major Intervention

Bone-Shaking Impact. The target becomes Held until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn and takes 1 Mark.

Severe Intervention

Pulverize. The target becomes Pinned until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn and takes 3 Marks.

Prowler

The Prowler Archetype is for adversaries whose Potential Contour excels in Finesse.

Mechanical Intervention

Feint and Slip. The next attack made against the target has Advantage.

Minor Intervention

Hamstring. The target becomes Vulnerable (Finesse) until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn.

Major Intervention

Shadow Bind. The target becomes Bound until the end of the current Scene.

Severe Intervention

Ghosted Quarry. The adversary becomes Unseen against creatures Until Dispelled.

Survivor

The Survivor Archetype is for adversaries whose Potential Contour excels in Nerve.

Mechanical Intervention

Unyielding Pressure. The target has Disadvantage on their next Grit Test.

Minor Intervention

Attrition. Prevent the target’s Stress Track from overflowing; instead, move the overflow Stress to Nerve.

Major Intervention

Wear Down. The target becomes Dazed until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn.

Severe Intervention

Break Their Stamina. The target is Bleeding (Nerve) until the end of the current Scene.

Shifter

The Shifter Archetype is for adversaries whose Potential Contour excels in Seep.

Mechanical Intervention

Warped Reflex. The target has Disadvantage on their next Sleight Test.

Minor Intervention

Mutagenic Splash. The target becomes Muddled (Seep) until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn.

Major Intervention

Malformed Flesh. The target becomes Physically Vulnerable until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn.

Severe Intervention

Transmuting Seizure. The target becomes Petrified until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn and takes 3 Marks.

Hunter

The Hunter Archetype is for adversaries whose Potential Contour excels in Instinct.

Mechanical Intervention

Read the Motion. The next attack made against the target has Advantage.

Minor Intervention

Cornered. The target gains Afraid until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn.

Major Intervention

Run to Ground. The target becomes Rooted (Here) until the end of the current Scene.

Severe Intervention

Prey Locked. The target becomes Slowed until the end of the current Scene.

Schemer

The Schemer Archetype is for adversaries whose Potential Contour excels in Wit.

Mechanical Intervention

Calculated Disruption. The target has Disadvantage on their next Sense Test.

Minor Intervention

False Step. The target becomes Muddled (Wit) until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn.

Major Intervention

Engineered Collapse. Cause Equipment Fallout to one equipped item of the target.

Severe Intervention

System Shock. The target becomes Distracted until the end of the current Scene.

Zealot

The Zealot Archetype is for adversaries whose Potential Contour excels in Heart.

Mechanical Intervention

Overwhelming Presence. The target has Disadvantage on their next Hope Test.

Minor Intervention

Intimidating Cry. The target becomes Afraid until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn.

Major Intervention

Ruinous Conviction. The target becomes Enraptured by the adversary until the end of the current Scene.

Severe Intervention

Spirit Break. The target becomes Mentally Vulnerable until the end of the current Scene.

Hexer

The Hexer Archetype is for adversaries whose Potential Contour excels in Tether.

Mechanical Intervention

Eldritch Static. The target has Disadvantage on their next Reason Test.

Minor Intervention

Whispered Blight. The target becomes Silenced until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn.

Major Intervention

Soul Hook. The target becomes Dazed until the beginning of the adversary’s next turn.

Severe Intervention

Malison. The target becomes Cursed until the end of the current Scene.

Escalations

Adversaries are already formidable opponents through upscaling Fallout by taking dynamic action to apply Interventions, but any old adversary can find an opportunity during combat. It takes an elite form of adversary to adapt completely to a challenge mid-Scene. This is where Escalations come in.

Escalations are Surges available to adversaries that can be activated at any time, as long as it's not before a narrative event that has already been announced as happening. Just like Surges, Escalations cannot be activated more than once per turn. Generally, mundane adversaries do not have access to Escalations, but adversaries that could be considered unique, elite, or otherwise boss-level encounters may have access to Escalations. Escalations can be purchased using Difficulty points as follows:

Escalation Level	Difficulty Cost
Mechanical Escalation	2
Minor Escalation	3
Major Escalation	4
Severe Escalation	5
### Escalation Templates

Mechanical Escalations

Gain Advantage on the adversary’s next attack.
Gain Advantage on the adversary’s next Test in a specific Skill.
Gain a one-use temporary Reaction.
Clear 1 Stress from a specific Potential.

Minor Escalations

Gain a beneficial Minor Condition until the end of the adversary's next turn.
Regain 1 spent Resistance in a specific Potential.
Activate a D4 Sequence effect that grants one specific Reaction that creates an instantaneous effect of 1DV damage, a Minor Condition, Close movement, or Utility Narrative Weight.

Major Escalations

Gain a beneficial Major Condition until the end of the adversary’s next turn.
Gain a beneficial Minor Condition until the end of the current Scene.
Gain a Trait effect that grants one specific Reaction that creates an instantaneous effect of 1DV damage, a Minor Condition, Close movement, or Utility Narrative Weight.
Begin a DV Sequence effect that grants one specific Reaction that creates an instantaneous effect of XDV damage where X is the average character Tier, a Major Condition, Far movement, or Interpretable Narrative Weight.

Severe Escalations

Gain a beneficial Major Condition until the end of the current Scene.
Gain a Trait effect that grants one specific Reaction that creates an instantaneous effect of XDV damage where X is the average character Tier, a Major Condition, Far movement, or Interpretable Narrative Weight.

Example Escalations

Breaker

Mechanical Escalation

Wind-Up. Gain Advantage on the adversary’s next attack.

Minor Escalation

Shoulder Through. Activate a D4 Sequence effect. The adversary gains the following Reaction until the Sequence expires: once per turn, when a creature impedes its movement or closes to challenge it, deal 1MDV of Nerve damage to that creature.

Major Escalation

Punishing Mass. Gain Retaliate (Might/Nerve) until the end of the adversary’s next turn.

Severe Escalation

Rampage. Become Frenzied until the end of the current Scene.

Prowler

Mechanical Escalation

Slip Aside. Gain a one-use temporary Reaction: after the adversary is targeted by an attack, it may immediately move Close.

Minor Escalation

Fade from Sight. Gain Unseen until the end of the adversary’s next turn.

Major Escalation

Cut on the Turn. Gain a Trait effect until the end of the adversary’s next turn: once per round, when a creature misses the adversary, the adversary may apply Vulnerable (Finesse) to that creature, which lasts until the end of the adversary's next turn.

Severe Escalation

Execution Window. Gain a Trait effect until the end of the current Scene: once per round, when the adversary attacks from hiding or from a superior position, it may also deal XFDV of Might damage to the target.

Survivor

Mechanical Escalation

Catch Breath. Clear 1 Stress from Nerve.

Minor Escalation

Dig Deep. Regain 1 spent Nerve Resistance.

Major Escalation

Pain Answered. Gain Retaliate (Nerve/Finesse) until the end of the adversary’s next turn.

Severe Escalation

Refuse to Fall. Become Warded (1) until the end of the current Scene.

Shifter

Mechanical Escalation

Reform. Gain Advantage on the adversary’s next Grace or Feat Test.

Minor Escalation

Mutable Hide. Become Armored by a Seep Shield until the end of the adversary’s next turn.

Major Escalation

Slip the Shape. Gain a Trait effect until the end of the adversary’s next turn: once per round, when the adversary is targeted by an attack, it may immediately move Close to avoid the effect.

Severe Escalation

Contagious Form. Gain a Trait effect until the end of the current Scene: once per round, when a creature makes direct contact with the adversary, that creature becomes Physically Vulnerable until the end of the adversary's next turn.

Hunter

Mechanical Escalation

Read the Trail. Gain Advantage on the adversary’s next Read or Sense Test.

Minor Escalation

Relentless Pursuit. Activate a D4 Sequence effect. The adversary gains the following Reaction until the Sequence expires: when a creature attempts to flee, hide, or widen the gap, the adversary may immediately move Close to keep pressure on it.

Major Escalation

Predator’s Focus. Become Empowered (Instinct) until the end of the current Scene.

Severe Escalation

Run Them Down. Gain a Trait effect until the end of the current Scene: once per round, when a creature attempts to escape the adversary’s pursuit, that creature becomes Slowed until the end of the adversary's next turn.

Schemer

Mechanical Escalation

Contingency. Gain Advantage on the adversary’s next Reason or Reflex Test.

Minor Escalation

Prepared Snag. Activate a D4 Sequence effect. The adversary gains the following Reaction until the Sequence expires: when a creature commits to an obvious course of action, the adversary becomes Empowered (Wit) to until the end of its next turn.

Major Escalation

Cold Calculation. Become Fortified (1) until the end of the adversary’s next turn.

Severe Escalation

Perfect Countermeasure. Gain a Trait effect until the end of the current Scene: once per round, when a creature activates an ability, manipulates a mechanism, or follows an anticipated plan, the adversary may move Close.

Zealot

Mechanical Escalation

Rallying Cry. Gain Advantage on the adversary’s or one of the adversary's allies' next Hope or Sway Test.

Minor Escalation

Fanatic Fervor. Become Empowered (Heart) until the end of the adversary’s next turn.

Major Escalation

Rousing Presence. Become Spirited until the end of the adversary’s next turn.

Severe Escalation

Break the Will. Gain a Trait effect until the end of the current Scene: once per round, when a creature fails a Test against the adversary, that creature becomes Distracted until the end of the adversary's next turn.

Breaker

Mechanical Escalation

Gather the Warp. Gain Advantage on the adversary’s next Weave or Grasp Test.

Minor Escalation

Dark Reserve. Regain 1 spent Tether Resistance.

Major Escalation

Occult Aegis. Become Fortified (1) until the end of the adversary’s next turn.

Severe Escalation

Hexbound Reflex. Gain a Trait effect until the end of the current Scene: once per round, when a creature targets the adversary with a hostile effect or successfully resists one of its effects, that creature becomes Cursed until the end of the adversary's next turn.