Weaver Dice

Table of Contents
Introduction
Character Creation Process
Draft Mode
Trigger Event Guidelines
Classifications and Causes
Mental vs. Physical Triggers
Multiple Triggers
Note from the Author
Rolling
Disadvantages, Life
Disadvantages, Powers
Advantages
Character Creation: Cauldron Capes
Determining Mutations
Cauldron Deviations
Case 53 Advantage/Disadvantages:
Gameplay Rules
Stats:
Use of Stats
Brawn, Guidelines
Social, Guidelines
Knowledge, Guidelines
Assets
Introduction
The Wormverse, the fan name for the setting of Worm, has a particular mood and style.
Powers fall into certain patterns and styles, and the source of ones power, the trigger event, is
typically a horrifying and life-changing event - activating the latent shard or passenger which
rests within them. The powers that result and the impacts on the individual, coupled with the
stresses of superpowers, tend to set the denizens of the Wormverse apart from your typical
Marvel or DC superhero.

These rules are essentially a way to help create powers and backgrounds that fit the setting.
Theyre fairly nonspecific, and there may be some stretching or improvising to make the
resulting character fit a given system, but the general vibe should be right. At the core of it, the
ideas are simple. Something bad happened to you, you dont get to decide what that something
bad was, you dont get to decide what powers resulted, and (tying into the previous points)
things arent necessarily fair. The important thing is how you use what circumstance gave you.

Character Creation Process

Each player comes up with a trigger event. If anyone wants to come up with extra, thats
fine. I even recommend coming up with 4 triggers + the number of players in the game.
Adds some more randomness, and allows us to build up a list of good triggers for future
use.
Roll to decide who gets what trigger event, add any unused trigger events to a list for
future use (or fast game start for later). Players get the corresponding trigger event.
Theres a list here.
Powers should be conceptualized by the group. The person who is having their
character created should stay silent.
Player who is having character created for them can speak once the concept is hashed
out. It is suggested the player (Loosely!) outline the particulars of ones goal, role,
concept, identity.
Roll for luck:
1-2 - Roll on both disadvantage charts.
3-4 - Disadvantage: Powers
5-6 - Disadvantage: Life
7-8 - Advantage, and one Disadvantage: Life
9-10 - Advantage, and one Disadvantage: Powers
11-12 - Two advantages.
Adjust concept as required by results. Refine, finish. Conceptualize character.
Begin play.

Draft Mode
A common complaint with standard Weaver Dice rules is that the player doesnt get a chance
to play what they want to play. Compared to other systems where the player customizes their
character, Weaver Dice rules can leave the player struggling with a character who doesnt fit
their style or preferences.

On the other hand, it isnt fitting to the style and themes of Worm to give a player complete
control.

Draft mode is a compromise. Simply put, the players as a group work to create perhaps twice
as many capes as the group needs. Anyone can speak, and everyone contributes, but each
characters creation stops once rolls have been made and the resulting cape has been sketched
out loosely. Background is not generated.

Once this is done, the game master can pick one to three capes to remove from the list,
depending on group size. These capes are adversaries of the players. This is intended to
discourage creation of powerful capes or gaming the system.

Players may then discuss and decide who wants what, draft in a predetermined order or do a
short auction for the capes, bidding for the ones that theyre more interested in.

Leftover capes are simply denizens of the same city as the players, possibly hostile, possibly
not. The fact that their powers are known isnt much of a problem - theyre simply known
quantities, having appeared in the news or heard about by word of mouth.

Feedback on whether this works or not would be appreciated - additional rules may be needed -
the person that offers final say on a given capes powers might not be allowed to pick that cape,
for example.
Trigger Event Guidelines
Classifications and Causes
Mover (Effects that move you. Flight, speed, teleportation, etc.) - Drive to escape, flee,
run.
Shaker (Wide area effects) - Environmental danger, ambient danger, often nonhuman or
only abstractly human.
Brute (Enhanced Strength and/or Enhanced Durability) - Experiencing physical harm or
pain.
Blaster (Pewpew - You have ranged attacks built in.) - Man vs. Man, threat approaches
from a distance, or in great number, being surrounded.
Breaker (Physics kind of tickle. You alter yourself in such a way that rules apply
differently.) - Abstract physical danger or harm, difficult to define pain or stress (not
mental or physical.) Frequently arises from the hardest triggers to label.
Master (Minions, pets, affecting the thoughts and moods of others.) - Isolation,
alienation, exile.
Tinker (You build the shit. All the shit.) - Issue proves difficult to resolve, unsolvable
problem, typically over an extended period of time.
Thinker (Perception, knowledge, skills, this includes precognition and remote vision.)
emotional or mental strain, reaching a crisis point in a short period of time.
Striker (Touch effects. If you touch something, something happens to that thing.) -
Trigger results from immediate, in-your face threat, usually a singular object or individual
(ie. knife, being strangled, mofo up in your grill)
Changer/Shifter (Shapeshifting and alteration of the selfs PHYSICAL form.) - Issue in
physical state. Body image, or a crisis of self image vs. societys expectations.
Trump (Powers that affect other powers: add, remove, complicate, compound) - As other
triggers, but altered further by involvement with other powers. Rare.
Stranger (Powers related to stealth, infiltration and subterfuge.) - Attention of a group/
individual threatens emotional/mental security (vs. physical, which would be more
blaster). Almost inverse of Master, but not opposite - very possible and common for
there to be overlap (often creating a more influential sort of master/stranger cross).

Mental vs. Physical Triggers

Mental triggers = thinker, tinker, stranger, shaker, rare trump or changer.
Physical triggers = brute, breaker, changer, mover.

This is general. Can vary. Degree of one vs. the other can shape the trigger in question.
Imprisonment can involve a degree of physical confinement vs. the mental strain of solitude and
might lead to mental shaker or physically applied master powers. Depends.
Multiple Triggers

Relatively rare - one in twenty or less are multiple-triggers. To be used when the case calls for
a multiple trigger, or its suitably large-scale and otherwise boring, you could justify a trigger
event as a multi-trigger.

In such cases, multiple people trigger at the same time. This tends to produce a spread of
lesser powers - often three or four powers, possibly with one major one, and often deviations.
The powers are related between individuals, but the idea/power that gets emphasized or takes
the lead in one individual will often be a minor power for others. Minor powers might not be
emphasized at all. Powers tend to form a complementary theme.

Individual #1 Individual #2 Individual #3

Minor Flight/Mover power Minor Flight/Mover power Major Flight/Mover power

(Launch from surface) (Small Ricochet) (Ricochet + acceleration)

Minor Changer power Major Changer power None

(Flexible limbs) (Streamlined bullet/blade body)

Major Striker power None Minor striker power

(Shocking touch) (Mild paralyzing touch)

Low brute rating Low brute rating Low brute rating

(Strong) (Tough skin) (Hyper-slippery skin)

Multiple-triggers are prone to animosity regarding the other triggerees in their unit, for lack of a
better word.

Though distinct and not simultaneous, siblings born to the same cape parents show the same
trends, with biases in what powers manifest and more small powers.

Worm Spoilers:
Multiple triggers are actually the endgame of the cycle, prior to the reabsorption and collapse.
When virtually all individuals in the setting are parahumans, connected to shards, the
introduction of multiple-triggers serves to stress-test powers and compare and contrast the
smaller powers.
Note from the Author

Dont make the damn trigger a direct response/answer/result of the circumstances of the trigger
event. I keep seeing people do this. Look to the base effect/root at the heart of the trigger.
You can let the circumstances inspire, and you should take some thematic inspiration, but if the
trigger is something like you were stabbed in the face and the power you come up with is you
have an armor plated face youre a twit. Dont be a twit.

Pay attention, instead, to the effect on the individual. Pain, adrenaline, a possible loss of
senses, that dim fear and realization that youll never look the same, and people will stare
these things feed into the themes and ideas.

Also, think outside the box. Remove yourself one step from whatever you wind up with. Super
strength? Throw in some variable or something to mix it up. Then possibly have it get mixed up
further/inspired by the resulting disadvantages or advantages.

A tip. Cant decide what type of power might derive from a given event? Stuck between Mover
and Blaster? Combine the two.

You could have both (separate mover and blaster powers). Easy enough. Just dont forget to
make the two interesting.

They could be the same power. Perhaps the mover power makes the blaster power work, like a
flier who drops off homing shots in the wake of their flight trail, or a speedster who generates a
personal electric/thermal charge while moving, which they have to discharge as a massive blast.
Perhaps the blaster power has a mover side effect, such as a concussive blast with a massive
recoil that flings the user backward.

Perhaps it alternates, or using one takes away from the other. The person might have been
chased down dark and unfamiliar streets by gang members, and they might have been caught
between fight and flight at the moment of the trigger. Their mover ability might drain from the
same battery as the ranged attack, or perhaps theyre a breaker that can switch between two
core forms, one thats fast and helpless and one thats offensive but largely immobile.

There are a lot of possibilities, even with the simple, bland triggers.

And for the love of pete, dont pigeonhole yourselves into strict categories. Thats a stranger
power, it doesnt sound like a master power. No. Master and Stranger especially can have a
lot of overlap. Be flexible. The best powers are those with irony to them, not the ones that fit
the events conditions. You get powers, helping you get past a situation or trauma, but it doesnt
solve the problem - you carry the problem with you for the rest of your life.
Rolling
Disadvantages, Life
Disadvantages that follow a cape home, through their everyday. The line between civilian and
cape identities arent always clear, and when the lines blur, it can cause a great deal of grief and
conflict.
1 Fool Bad decisions follow you on a day to day basis. Addiction, diabetes
from poor diet, STDs, accidental children to look after, superpowered
loan sharks and worse.
Cost: Lack of money, time, or both, depending.

2 Magus Mental issues, stemming either from powers or something prior to

the powers, make your life harder. Includes developmental delays,
neuroses, psychological issues, or your powers just discombobulated
your brain somehow.
Cost: Impaired judgement or functioning.

3 Priestess Otherworldly issues - your passenger. Your passenger is impacting

your ability to function. If youre young, its likely affecting you in a
core emotional way based on your powers, altering your mindset (a
pyrokinetic might be very inclined toward destruction or recklessness).
If youre older, its more deep-rooted and subtle (a 30 year old
pyrokinetic might have frequent cathartic dreams where they burn
their enemies to death, getting more intense, pleasurable, and
stronger until they follow through). Either way, its shaping your
actions and pushing them towards one particular concept or objective.
Cost: Failure to attend to the passengers overall goal/drive with
some regularity may cause passenger to take over briefly, making
decisions of its own whim. This could be a full-body takeover (as with
the young) or cases where the power extends a little too far or crosses
a line (for older parahumans).

4 Empress Family issues. Either your unpowered family is powerful enough to

impact your cape life or they have powers and arent entirely on board
with what you want. Either way, they muddle up your life, cape or
uncostumed.
Cost: Expect regular, low-level interference.

5 Emperor Power issues. Your status and/or life experience out of costume is
such that it impacts your overall life. Examples might be being very
young, being homeless, or being visibly disabled. If none of these
fit, then your secret identity is known and your real-life occupation is
unglamorous enough to work against your reputation.
Cost: Reputation issues cause trouble amassing power/status, seen
as easy target.

6 Heirophant Bad attitude. You have crippling anxiety issues, abrasiveness, or

other issues that make you very hard to get along with. Unlike the
Emperor, your issue doesnt cause trouble with reputation. It does
 cause trouble with peer interaction.
Cost: Trouble amassing contacts or allies.

7 Lovers Its about ill-advised trysts. A romantic partner on the other side of
the hero-villain divide, an ex-relationship with someone who knows
enough to fuck up your life, a person you just cant say no to/break up
with for good.
Cost: Irregular, low-level, really inconvenient interference.

8 Chariot Location. Its all about location, and yours is less than stellar. Youre
stuck somewhere shitty/unappealing/inconvenient, perhaps, and
something/someone is keeping you there. Alternately, youre just
doomed to be unable to set down roots (someone after you, chasing
you away? Power ruins home?)
Cost: Either your home/hq is lousy or you shouldnt expect to be able
to keep more possessions than you can carry with you.

9 Justice Past crimes, be they in costume or otherwise, follow you. A vigilante

seeks revenge, your powers killed someone when they manifested
and set you on a path you didnt want, or you gained an inconvenient
reputation.
Cost: Youre set on a dangerous/reckless/inconvenient path and going
against that grain is difficult. Conversely, continuing down that path
will see a powerful nemesis coming after you.

10 Hermit Entropy. Its about time: you dont have enough. Some deadline is
ticking down and you have to meet an objective before then, or youre
dying, or youre trying to save someone or something.
Cost: You might drop out of the game if you cant achieve a certain
agreed-upon task in a specified span of time. It may well take more
time than you have, barring sacrifices, intervention, cooperation of
others (other players) or extreme luck.

11 Wheel Misfortune. Two more rolls are made and kept private from you. The
disadvantages are introduced at intervals later in the game.

12 Strength Fettered. You have a code you must keep to. Failure to do so is
liable to be disastrous.
Cost: If you cant keep to the code (one agreed-upon in collaboration
between you and the group) then expect a string of ill-fortune following
the break. Depends on system, but a morale penalty, loss of power
control, or a string of failures should be expected for a brief but
meaningful time or until some appreciable atonement to the code is
made.

13 Hanged Man Distrust. Someone is going to screw you over. Probably the most
inconvenient person.
Cost: Forming contacts/associations is going to be harder, because
you know this is coming. If the person is another player, they get a
reward for fulfilling this effect.
14 Death Inevitable Danger. The first big threat is liable to land right in your
neighborhood, its going to target you, and theres no walking away.

15 Temperance Disharmony. Two rolls are made on the advantage chart and kept
secret from you. These two things are linked, and success in one
area will lead to failures in the other. This should/will probably
take a brief while for you to figure out (ie. itll be abstract, or the
inconvenience will show up some time later). No bonuses are actually
given.

16 The Devil Nemesis. Someones out to get you, and theyre about as strong as
you are.
Cost: Theyre liable to try to kill or ruin you.

17 The Tower Dark revelations. Your civilian identity is known.

Cost: Youve got people to protect and your enemies know it. Failure
to look after them means an effective game over.

18 The Stars Exile. A group, place, organization, your family, or something

drove you out, and you need back in (to get something, to reclaim
something, whatever else).
Cost: Until you reclaim your place, youre bound to be one step
behind.

19 The Moon Delusions of Grandeur. Your goals/aspirations are unrealistically

or impossibly high. You suffer a setback following any scenario or
interaction where you werent top dog or leader of the group (powers
fail you, you lose reputation or money, etc.), depending on your
particular personality and nature.

20 The Sun Crisis. Youre going through a life-changing hardship, to the point
that the cape stuff is just a distraction, and it is an effective distraction.
Someone close to you is ill/recently dead, or you just watched your
successful life crumble and are scrambling (and failing) to pick up the
pieces, or something in that vein.
Cost: One big, inconvenient distraction that isnt conquered until
youve basically reached the lowest point and then climbed back up.

21 The Angel Dangerous Beliefs. You hold a... pretty controversial or problematic
belief system or ritual. Youre a neo nazi, a serial killer, a convicted
sex offender of the worst kind. Its bad, and its a big enough part of
you that you cant keep it a total secret.
Cost: For WD with standard rules, other players cant win unless
youve lost decisively. For other games, its going to impact you on
pretty much every front.

22 The World Destructiveness. Because of something thats going on, something

ugly, a quirk of your power, psychosis or whatever else, you walk a
path of ruin.
Cost: You cant win unless every other player has decisively lost the
game.
Disadvantages, Powers
Powers arent necessarily stable, clear, or cut and dried. Sometimes theyre inconvenient,
sometimes theyre disastrous.
1 Fool Your powers arent controlled. Theyre always on, or theyre random,
or they act with a mind of their own.

2 Magus Your powers are limited by a fetish or totem - something you have to
keep on hand to be able to use them, due to a ritual or tic. Roll twice
more to see just what the penalties are if this fetish is denied you or
lost.

3 Priestess Your powers are reliant on the passenger - it manages the specifics of
your power in the field. Expect collateral damage.

4 Empress Your powers are far-reaching. It covers too wide an area, or it infects
things, or something in that vein.

5 Emperor Your power makes it hard to hold back. When you use it, people get
hurt, and theres no pulling your punches.

6 Heirophant Your power scares people, is distinctly gross or unpleasant, or

otherwise has horrible implications.

7 Lovers Your power is dependent on the proximity of others, or you use others
to channel it. Conversely, theres a set condition that must be fulfilled
(people can be one) before you can leverage it - you might need a
fire nearby, or your opponent might need to be feeling something
emotional already before you can leverage that emotion.

8 Chariot Range is short. Effective use of your power means being in or getting
in the thick of things, or (if your power is already short range) it pushes
you to stay in the fray longer than might be comfortable. A striker
power might require you to hold on for a second or two, a blaster
power might have a ten foot range and require you to stand still while
firing.

9 Justice Your power is reactive - to emotional stress, physical danger or pain,

depending on one of these things before it can start operating or
operate beyond the most bare-bones execution.

10 Hermit Your ability is very powerful, but use of it involves a cooldown period
before it can be used again - there are consequences for using it too
much in a short span, if thats even possible.

11 Wheel Your power is unreliable, waxing and waning based on some variable
you cant figure out.

12 Strength Your power is more potent, but drains you mentally or physically -
 expect periods of illness (feebleness, headaches, lack of stamina)
after overuse of power.

13 Hanged Man Your power hurts you on some level to use, or you arent immune to
the collateral damage (smoke power but an inability to breathe or see
in heavy smoke).

14 Death There are long-lasting, problematic effects connected to your power.

Radioactive fallout, induced physical changes to you, it ages you or
something in that vein.

15 Temperance Use of your power has a drawback in that it causes mental or

emotional changes in amounts corresponding with the degree of
power used. Might include violent hallucinations, amnesia, paranoia,
or induced periods of rage driving you to use your power more.

16 The Devil Your ability is powerful, or involves an element or side-power youre

keeping up your sleeve, but the nuances of this mean youre deemed
too dangerous/problematic to live once people see it in action and
figure it out. Youre forced to use only a portion of your power or
become public enemy number one.

17 The Tower Theres one ugly aspect of your power that should be agreed
upon in secret by the group. Typically a side effect that you arent
immediately aware of. Youll find out somewhere down the road, and
it may well destroy you.

18 The Stars Your power works on others but not on yourself, or theres a blind
spot of a sort, limiting where your power can be applied. (ie. Not
near people, or only people who are separated from others). Can
include severe Manton effect (ie. cant affect/target organic beings) or
range limitations (ie. inability to affect anything within 5 of you).

19 The Moon (Old) Your powers affect your perceptions. In a real or metaphorical
level, youre blind while using it. Perhaps your ability to sense people
is warped or distorted.

(New) Your powers affect others perceptions of you. Theres a

side effect that influences emotions, or your appearance is altered
(possible deformity relating to power, or your face isnt your own
anymore). May vary or change over time. Relationships (especially
first impressions) with others are liable to be altered, few and far
between, or just hollow.

20 The Sun Roll three times on this chart, pick two of the results. At points
roughly 33% and 66% of the way through the game, you can work off
the disadvantages of one of these. You retain any advantages (ie.
increased power).

21 The Angel Your power changes over time, often at unpredictable moments,
forcing you to adapt and recalibrate. Youd think this would be a good
 thing, but really, its not working out that way.

22 The World (Revised version, old version with revisions here.)

Roll again, 1-22. Youre powerful and your power is destructive. The
number determines how much. At the low end of the scale, your
shelter or possessions are lost because of your power, or you have an
ongoing cost to your power that costs you funds. If resources arent
in question, then reputation may suffer. At the high end of the scale
(22), youre a force of nature and a threat to anyone you run into.

At DMs discretion, for storyline purposes, you may be new to your

powers, and you scale up steeply over time.
Advantages
1 Fool People idolize you. Theyre not often useful people, but youve got
a following. (groupies, fans, people online, whatever). This is more
celebrity/notoriety than anything else.

2 Magus You were more lucid than most when you got your powers, and
somehow, you managed to direct things to your advantage. You can
make an edit in some respect to how your powers operate (beyond
what the group decided on in consensus). Within reason.

3 Priestess You and your power are in sync. Treat this as luck or periodic power
boosts. The duration before this is available again isnt necessarily
known to you.

4 Empress Either your family is a big asset in some respect (giving you money,
time, resources, connections) or youve just got more social-fu than
most and you start off with a wider network of contacts.

5 Emperor Your organization is a big asset in some respect, or youve just got
more combat-fu than most. (You know kung fu?)

6 Heirophant Youve got one really good political connection or three to five
mediocre ones.

7 Lovers Youve got a partner, and theyre roughly as powerful as you are.

8 Chariot Opposite of the general chariot disadvantage in terms of location -

youve got a nice headquarters, either found or inherited.

9 Justice Your power is just a little bit more versatile.

10 Hermit Your power is more secret. GM works it out alone, other players dont
know what it is, and NPCs arent liable to figure it out without clues.

11 Wheel Youre fortunate. Youve got resources to spare.

12 Strength Your power is just a little bit stronger.

13 Hanged Man Youve got an option to unleash your abilities in a burst of glory. In a
situation where youd otherwise lose, you can play this ability as a get
out of jail free card, escaping death or turning a fight around, but you
gain 1-2 disadvantages and lose this advantage.

14 Death Your power inspires change, in a good way. Theres long-lasting,

advantageous benefits to using it. Maybe its a little stronger with
successive uses. Maybe it affords another option in terms of
increasing your number of followers or resources.

15 Temperance (Old) You have multiple small powers and one good one. (ie. you
 were present at a multi-trigger).

(New) You bounce back faster. This might be in the short term,
a mental or physical boost that helps push through the pain/other
hindrances in a fight, or it might be long term, speeding recovery.

16 The Devil You retain the ability, at set intervals, to give yourself a big push
forwards in terms of your overall goal or mission. Doing so will fuck
over another player (roll a dice) and set them back. Use with caution.

17 The Tower You start the game weaker than most. You get stronger at set
intervals, as you find out the nuances of your power. You wind up
a lot stronger than most (second only to the big monsters and some
second-triggers).

18 The Stars Youre confident in your position. At any time, you can designate one
deal or contract as inviolable, one partner as secure (less likely to die,
cant betray you) or up to three partners as somewhat secure (lesser
benefit to three).
Edit: This cant be done again until they die or are otherwise taken out
of play. If they do, there is a meaningful delay (ie. a week) before you
can do it again.

19 The Moon Youve got a link to a secret society (quite possibly Cauldron, or the
Thanda). You can call in a favor once - the later in the game, the
greater the effect (grant powers to certain individuals, hit a big threat,
etc).

20 The Sun Pick two:

You start with more assets.
You/groups you have a leadership position in gain 10% more
wealth when gaining large amounts of wealth.
Your first attack/offensive maneuver in a day is just a little
more damaging.
Your powers reach is just a little further on the first serious use
of the day.
The first time youre taken out of action in a day, if its possible
(ie. not annihilated), you automatically get to keep fighting.
Youre easily satisfied. You generally wake up well rested and
more focused than most. Its harder to get you down morale-
wise.

21 The Angel You have the capacity for a second trigger.

22 The World Usual rules dont apply to you. Roll 1-22 again. You buy abilities.
Negotiate with others for your own ideas or use the list below to
purchase. You can buy things several times. Higher cost features
might suggest an inhuman nature (player as A.I., player as a product
of another power, etc). Options can be permanent or single effects.

Examples, general benefits:

1 point - You dont need food or drink.
3 points - You dont need sleep.
4 points - You cant be poisoned/get sick.
5 points - Wealth isnt a question. You can get whatever you want, its
only a matter of waiting for the funds to get moved around and things
to get shipped.
6 points - It takes you half the time to (research, create, make
contacts).
8 points - Youre immune to a conventional form of attack (fire,
slashing, piercing, bludgeoning)
14 points - Youre immune to a broad form of attack (energy, physical
harm)
15 points - You are capable of making it through just about any non-
combat situation.
16 points - Youre immune to death.

Examples, one-shot deals:

7 points - Treat as the Moon advantage, but the favor is always to
off another player. This has the GM introduce a threat to that player,
or, if you are in combat with them, poses a maneuver with the stated
chance of success. This has a 50% chance of killing them, increasing
by ~15% per session you go through. (capping at 95% after 3
sessions). There are no repercussions for trying (beyond player
vendetta), and it doesnt use up a turn in a combat situation.
7 points - Get out of jail free card. You escape a situation you lost,
usable once. Allows escape from jail, avoiding death, etc.
Old versions, Reference:
The World (Power Disadvantage)

Oh. Shit.
You know what happened to Echidna?
Or Nilbog?
Sleeper?
Or all those other unfortunates?

Too much power. Way too much.

The World (Advantage)

Youre not human. Youre better.

Think outside the box, in the same vein as Dragon or the like.

Work it out with the group. Then pick one:

You cant lose as long as other players are alive.
You can take on a disadvantage to cancel out a loss (including death)
Or just roll again on the Advantage chart, and keep your unusual nature.

The Sun (Advantage)

(Old) Roll three times on this chart, pick two. Roll for one disadvantage on a chart of your
choosing (life or powers).

(Old) Good fortune finds you, either because of fortuitous circumstance or a helpful passenger
that understands what youre after. You walk away with a little more treasure or better rep
boosts when you finish a job/mission/quest. May improve further with a good run (several
successes in a row).
Character Creation: Cauldron Capes
You bought your powers.

Procedure:
See the Vial list - Tabs at the bottom indicate three qualities of vial.
Player picks a vial.
Other players pick a power that matches the pattern and the notes, with the following in
mind:
O affects desirability of the power. With low values, theres no need to make a
particular effort to make the power stand out, be original or be convenient. With
high values, its the opposite: emphasis should be made on making it particularly
unique or beneficial in terms of quality of life.

P affects the effectiveness of the power. At low levels, its liable to just lack
impact. It could still be desirable, if it makes for a good quality of life or has nice
side effects, and it can still be reliable, if it always gives this low-level power.
At high levels, it tends to be something that turns heads or makes people run
scared.

R affects the reliability of the results. This can impact the reliability of the power
(wildly different classifications or power types vs. always producing the same
general result), the effect on the patient (high chance of mutation or mental
alteration) or simply Cauldrons records (not enough data).

Player can opt to blend vials. Balance is always an option, and lowers power and
originality by a small margin (a minor tweak - 10% reduction, a minor step down in
effectiveness/edge - consider a tiebreaker between a good idea and a mediocre one),
but increases reliability.
Determine powers using the vials as a guideline.
Roll a d20, add 1 if the reliability is mid, add 2 if the reliability is high, add 3 if balance
was added to the dose. If the low reliability specifically calls for a higher chance of
mutation, subtract 7. On a 5 or less, the subject is a case 53. Keep track of the number
rolled for the mutation generation.
Determine deviations
Roll 1d6:
1: Disadvantage: Life
2: Disadvantage: Powers
3: No change
4: No change
5: Advantage
6: Advantage.
Determining Mutations
Roll 2d6 times, noting the body parts on the list:
1: Head
2: Shoulder
3: Torso
4: Arm
5: Hand
6: Leg
7: Extra limb (tail, wing)*
8: Foot
9: Skin
10: Eye
11: Hair
12: Mouth
13: Nose
14: Brain (thinking)
15: Brain (emotion)

For each body part rolled, roll 1d4, add [5 - earlier reliability roll total after adjustments] and +2
per time it was rolled, if it was rolled multiple times. Changes can encompass adjacent body
parts.

1-2: Negligible, easily hidden change. Can include spots on skin can be covered up with
makeup, spines on head can be covered with hat or longer hair.

3-4: Moderate change, hideable, but not easily - may require time to cover up, expense, or
cover-up may only be possible with very heavy clothing (and thus be circumstantial). Might
include skin thats purple from head to toe, fish-like fins at places where bone is close to skin,
horns.

5-6: Severe change. Not hideable without a combination of time, expense, and some
distance from people. Might include grotesque hunchback, crustacean-like plating on body, or
perpetually glowing body. Very possible that functionality of body changes, typically horizontally
(gain some lose some) or for the worse.

7+: Horrific change. Not hideable, changes are noticeable from 1 city block away without
difficulty. Body parts may well be alien in nature (tentacles, forearms arms three times the usual
length with claws in place of hands), assume a permanent breaker state, or more. Loss of
normal human functioning is likely, depending on the parts in question (may be unable to speak,
require different diet, etc).

Other parties determine nature of changes given power & vial name.

Cauldron Deviations
Cauldron is an organization, buying and selling powers, and certain failures are rather
problematic for such organizations. Problems, naturally, are cleaned up. Should an individual
roll a 5 or less on the reliability chart, as a result of their case 53 nature, they are branded,
with the brand containing a bar code of sorts with the coordinates for their particular shard and
dosage. Their memory is wiped, and they are released from their jail cell to the world.

For the individual Case 53s circumstances, roll a 1d22 and see the result:

Case 53 Advantage/Disadvantages:
1 Fool Skill amnesia/lack of knowledge: Due to memory erasure or
the existence the Deviant had prior to taking the dose or being
experimented on, the Deviant lacks basic skills.

2 Magus Altered Brain: When the passenger overwrote some physiology to

adapt to the power, it also wrote over some mental elements as well.
The Case 53 likely has an advanced sense, but often at the cost of
the ability to function like an ordinary person. The mind might be
skewed toward aggressiveness, warped liking/loathing for things,
convoluted/simple thinking, an inability to be patient, limited memory
capacity, or volatile emotions.

3 Priestess Uncontrolled. The passenger is partially or wholly in control of the

body. Roll a 1d10 to determine the amount of control (10-100%) - at
higher values, the Case 53 might only be able to assert control with
willpower, for set periods of time or in specific circumstances (while
the Deviant is in a resting state), or they might only be able to exercise
control over their power (ie. no control of the body, but can manipulate
the environment by telekinesis), depending. The body is naturally
stronger, has enhanced reflexes, or control over power is improved,
as a consequence.

4 Empress Communication issues. The passenger or the mutation have removed

the ability to communicate effectively with others. Roll a 1d10 to
determine the severity of the issue (10% hampered to 100% loss
of ability to express oneself). At low levels, this may be a stutter,
muttering/mumbling, strangled vocal chords or the like. At higher
levels, even gesturing becomes difficult. At the 100% mark, those
who spend a week in the individuals company may learn the nuances
and gain the ability to understand the equivalent of simple one word
cues (go, come, stop, help). Gain one more stat point to allocate.

5 Emperor Strength issues. The passenger or the mutation have limited the
hosts physiology in some way. In terms of raw brawn, agility,
flexibility, stamina or dexterity, the host is effectively set to one in
terms of raw stats; they might be incapable of lifting more than ten
pounds, their body doesnt move readily or in certain directions,
theyre limited to four or five second bursts of activity before theyre
spent, or they might not be able to perform fine manipulation,
 hold weapons or operate devices more complex than a simple
lever. They gain one stat point to allocate mentally, and a greater
mental connection to their power (such as clairvoyance tied to the
powers manifestation, or naturally fast reflexes where their power is
concerned).

6 Heirophant Cultural issues. The host was part of a wildly different culture
before they were a Case 53 (not necessarily an Earth Bet culture),
memories of alien habits and behaviors were copied over to them,
or they were subjected to mild brainwashing and the memory-wipe
was incomplete and the wrong ideas got stressed in the absence of
anything else. Might include weird religious stresses, an adherence to
a reprehensible idea like racism, mysogyny, misandry, the expectation
that a wife should be under sixteen, the belief in having slaves, or
strange taboos like the notion that eating is something that should be
done behind closed doors, like use of the washroom. In other cases,
might manifest as odd compulsive behaviors or impressions, the need
to speak in poetry, a compulsion to collect shiny objects, or a paranoia
about running water. It should be serious enough that dealing with
them on a day to day basis is a chore. Struggling against the norm/
failing to fulfill a need or expectation leads to a steady and cumulative
drop in morale. Meeting the need normalizes morale at best. As a
tradeoff, the parahuman has a psychological bulwark. They might be
fearless, very good at being very intimidating, or harbor a baseline set
of skills such as hunting and tracking talents or smithing.

7 Lovers Not Alone.

Option one: The parahuman wasnt released alone. Another Case

53 was released in their company or immediate area. Theyre
associated: partners, friends, or if theyre neither/incompatible, the
actions of one may influence reactions to the other, usually negatively.

Option two: When youre left with nothing, you hold on to what you
do have. You made a friend or found a partner between the time
your memory was wiped and you were cast out. Your partner wasnt
deposited where you were, but its very possible they were deposited
in a neighboring city or region. Until theyre found, you may suffer
from declining morale (alternately, their power and yours synergize
in a way that makes it easier to get by). Once theyre found, youre
going to be in a much better place, with a ready ally by your side.

8 Chariot Your alterations make it hard to find suitable accommodations. You

might have a particular need that is hard to meet (such as very high
temperatures or deep water), you might naturally be ousted from
whatever place you set up shop (perpetually shed skin might leave a
trail pointing to your habitat, scorch marks) or you naturally destroy
your environment (burn it down, freeze it, etc). You have no place to
call home. Youre a little tougher and resilient to ambient effects (such
as heat, cold, or abrasive effects like sandstorms). Even if not a case
 53, this remains as a side effect.

9 Justice Compulsive Behavior. Youre driven to undertake a certain action.

This might be a tic, obsessive-compulsive behavior, a special kind of
hunger (ie. a thirst for human bone marrow), a prerequisite for action
(must demolish surroundings to make a bed for comfortable sleep,
like a dog turns in circles before resting) or a desire to find a mate.
This isnt related to the power so much as the body, and core needs
such as a need for shelter, a desire for sustenance or raw instinct. (In
short, tying into alien behavior from previous cycles). You

10 Hermit Evolution. The changes to your body are progressing with time as the
passenger gets a greater hold. This means a loss of autonomy and a
gain in power. If not a case 53, youre gradually becoming one.

11 Wheel Physical changes come and go, one step less severe, varying by
some variable. This might be time (at night), environmental (in
warmth), emotional (when angered), or simply unpredictable. The
tradeoff to this ability to pass more easily in society is a malaise tied to
the physical changes.

12 Strength Greater size. If case 53, Youre particularly large, and have some
clout, but you lose something in another department (speed, thinking
capacity, flexibility are possible).

If not a case 53, you gained appealing features (square jaw and
muscles for men, larger breast and small waist for women, etc).

13 Hanged Man Agony. The dissonance between the mind, body and the power
causes endless mental or physical anguish. The power as decided
by the group is what you can manage with reasonable comfort. You
can surpass these limits for a small gain (20% increase in power,
versatility, etc) and a great deal of anguish - doing so means you
dont recover from your wounds or ordeals for the next stretch (one
day, etc), and your morale suffers. You get less sleep and are more
irritable as a rule.

14 Death Power incontinence leads to damage or changes to the environment.

Regular habitation is difficult to manage. As a tradeoff, the bodys
physiology is better suited to weather harsh environments/ambient
damage, with more stamina.

15 Temperance In direct communication with shard. Shard can and will impose
tasks it thinks should be done, regardless of ongoing circumstances.
Meeting needs leads to greater coordination of powers. Failure leads
to gradual loss of power control and possible shard sabotage.

16 The Devil Nemesis Program. Someone bought a Cauldron formula, and they
bought a little side benefit as part of the package. You were selected
for your personality and powers, and part of the brainwashing included
a compulsion. A command, a gesture, a phrase, that guarantees
 youll always lose against this individual, so they look good/better. If
not a case 53, it remains possible you defaulted on the amount owed
to Cauldron and they set this up rather than kill you and strip you of
powers.

17 The Tower Dark Knowledge. You took a unique path, and in the process, you
picked up on something, and people know it. This might be the
identity of a Cauldron cape in a powerful position, knowledge about
shard, or knowledge about Cauldron. Reprisal from powerful people
is coming, its just a question of when - the later it is, the worse it will
be. The knowledge could catapult you to a better position or give
you the tools you need to be great, or sharing it could ruin you and
everything you could care about.

18 The Stars Powers are weaker, but senses are heightened considerably, with
a strong connection to the passenger and possible other modes of
sensing the world.

19 The Moon Powers are weaker, but body is considerably faster, more flexible,
and/or has faster reflexes.

20 The Sun Powers are weaker, but body is considerably stronger and/or
weaponized.

21 The Angel Great quest - given where you are in the grand scheme of things,
things arent great, and youre one of the rare few that havent given
up. Youve got a mission and youre fanatical about it, and the shard
might not be helping on that front, pushing you forward. Youre going
to get home, or youre going to fix yourself, or youre going to kill
the person in charge of Cauldron. Your morale is unfaltering, but
making friends is difficult to impossible, because you cant relate to
the challenges others face.

22 The World Misfire. Your power broke a rule along the way. It wasnt properly
programmed or categorized or it wasnt meant to go out to people. In
some way, normal rules do not apply. This is not a good thing - youre
a ticking time bomb.
Gameplay Rules

Stats:
Brawn
Feats of raw strength.
Raw strength of melee attacks and thrown weapons, ability to break holds or
break free from bondage, ability to carry something, ability to move comfortably
in heavy armor.

Athletic
Stamina, fitness, whole-body movement.
Running, jumping, enduring without oxygen, ability to keep going while doing
heavy labor or managing heavy strain, parkour, agility, land safely, maintain
balance.

Dexterity
Finer physical movements, tasks.
Accuracy and frequency of melee and ranged attacks, ability to land wounding
attacks, ability to reload quickly, crafting skill, performing first aid, find stuff in
belts/bag promptly.

Wits
Mental quickness and perception.
Spot and listen, sensory abilities in difficult conditions, faster execution at
computer, faster execution of taunting or coming up with retort, reading,
reaction time.

Social
Interact with others, project image.
Communicate effectively, win confidence, tease information out of subject,
manage posture and tone that successfully conveys fearsome nature,
trustworthiness, or other attitude.

Knowledge
Breadth of knowledge and skill base.
Effectiveness of actions such as computers, medical care, martial arts,
parkour, ability to pick up new skills faster, remembering, piecing together
information, knowledge of languages, judgement.

Guts
Raw toughness and resilience.
Durability, ability to withstand mental or emotional assaults, ability to keep
emotional and mental state stable over time, ability to keep fighting when
ostensibly taken out of action.
Allocating Stats
Individuals (cape or not) typically have 3 points in each category. A player, at character
creation, may remove one point from one category to move to another. This may be done
multiple times.

Example Stats Sheet:

- - -

- - - -

- - - -

- - -

Stats, Further Notes

Humans range from 1-5, with 1 indicative of disability or borderline disability and 5 being
exceptional. Justification may be needed to explain a 1 or 5 in a stat. Parahumans can extend
past five if the power calls for it, and this should be adjudicated when the GM and group
determine powers. With a 8 in brawn, an ordinary person most likely wouldnt be able to break
a parahumans grip without a great deal of outside assistance. A 0 indicates a severe disability.

Use of Stats
The system remains simple, and involves the use of a d6, with a +1 for every pip after the third
and a -1 for every pip below the third (or 3 minus the number of pips). On a 4+, assuming a
50% chance of success, the character succeeds. The GM may adjudicate and raise/lower the
target number. Given time to consider the situation, a player might ask for a knowledge check
to judge their chance of success.
 Brawn, Guidelines
Brawn is a measure of raw physical power. An individual with high Brawn and low Athletic
might be naturally strong but not in particularly good shape, capable of bursts of strength while
losing in a longer struggle. An individual with high Brawn and low Dexterity might be capable of
throwing devastating punches, but the punches themselves lack coordination.

Individuals with high Brawn function better with more armored costumes; if an individual is
wearing armor that they dont have the strength to use, it may impact their effective Athletic
score - they get tired more easily, they cant run as fast, dodge as readily, or jump as far. More
on this in the costume and gear section (to come later). This principle works alongside other
cases where ones ability to carry something is in play - if an individual is carrying another
human being, the weight of that person counts against the one doing the carrying.

Brawn is used as a rough benchmark in a melee brawl. These rules are adaptable to the
situation, but in general, the attacker rolls to hit, altering the roll according to benefits and
penalties. The defender can choose whether to roll Athletic or Guts in response - the former
being an attempt to dodge, the latter being an attempt to tank the hit. If the Athletic roll fails,
the victim is put off balance, and suffers while undertaking their next action (initiative, accuracy,
ability to move or dodge in the next exchange might be penalized). Conversely, if the Guts roll
succeeds, the blow is still sustained - this might be minor damage, scuff marks, scrapes, and
bruises. In either case, a failure means the victim is harmed, with the difference in numbers and
the type of weapon marking the severity of the harm. See the Guts subheading below for more
suggestions on how harm is handled.

Use of martial arts, types of training, powers, or weapons may affect how melee unfolds,
altering or augmenting the above rules. A Karate technique might raise the amount of minimum
damage dealt to an opponent that makes a successful Guts roll, while Tae Kwon Do might
deny the opponent the ability to effectively dodge melee blows, forcing them to tank them.
Boxers might, on the other hand, be better at putting opponents off balance with successful
blows (especially for opponents that try and fail to dodge. Naturally, a weapon augmented by
a pyrokinetic striker power might burn foes in addition to the usual harm, and a chainsaw is not
the sort of weapon one simply stands still and blocks, without the right equipment or defensive
tools.

Brawn is also used to maintain or contest a hold (whether a physical grab or a power effect
that binds an individual down). To initiate a hold, one must make a roll, adding bonuses of
their two highest scores among Brawn, Fitness and Dexterity, counting bonuses to stats from
a power only once. The victim responds with the same, adding a +2 bonus if theyre alert and
unhampered. Should the hold succeed or fail by three or more, the one to fail is put off balance.

Once a hold is made, it is primarily a contest of Brawn. Turn by turn, the grappling individuals
may elect to make brawn checks to attempt to hamper the other individual, or they may take
other actions at the cost of giving the other party an advantage on a following Brawn roll.
Should an individual succeed their Brawn roll by a fair margin (2 or more) or otherwise catch
their opponent off balance (ie. succeeding on the initial roll, an ally helps, or the grapple was
initiated on a prone and helpless opponent), they may attempt to pin, pick up or throw the
individual.

Martial arts training and powers, naturally, may affect grappling. Krav Maga could allow the use
of regular strikes in the midst of a grapple, while Judo might enable more effective throws and
throwing the opponent the moment they are caught off balance.

Brawn can be trained at a gym. An individual who spends time regularly at the gym (10 hours/
week) can gain a temporary pip, while keeping their skills up to date.

Social, Guidelines
Social has three primary purposes:

The first use is to serve as a check to convince, bluff, recruit, intimidate, provoke, or otherwise
interact on a conversational level with another cape.

Common modifiers for the check would be:

Relationship - Pre-established relationship with the other individual. +2 to -2.
Reputation - Your reputation (frightening, heroic, good, evil, honest, depraved) in relation
to theirs. +2 to -2.
Offer - What youre offering vs. what they stand to lose. +2 to -2.

Another use of the social trait would be to impact ones own reputation. This can occur in the
short term, such as a cape posing or trying to present a specific image while in the public eye
(while fighting or during an event) or in the long term, to represent the smaller details - after n
event, one might roll to see how well they portrayed themselves as a hero, or as a terror, or
anything in that vein.

Common sliding scales for reputation might be

Heroic Villainous
Trustworthy Dishonest
Appealing Repulsive
Noble Feared

Costume choices may give a bonus or penalty one way or the other, as would actions and
context for the event in question. A cruel and merciless villain with a good sense of the
dramatic and presentation could readily get a following among the public. Case 53s are liable to
have a bias towards repulsive or feared without conscious effort to the contrary.
When one has a great deal of reputation, it affects the types of followers and offers they might
get, as well as reactions in any meetings where a capes reputation might precede them.

The third use of the social stat is to leverage reputation. There are advantages to any given
extreme, but the obvious use is to roll and attempt to influence a crowd. Before or as a fight
begins, reputation can be used to send bystanders running, compel them to act or even be used
as an offensive technique - a popular cape could easily frame things to make their opponent
look bad.

Knowledge, Guidelines

Knowledge has three primary uses. Effectiveness of skilled actions; skills and techniques; as
well as skill gain and maintenance.

Skilled actions include normal actions that require some thought or expertise to undertake.
Throwing a punch is not such an action, but using a computer, performing first aid and crafting a
costume are cases where knowledge comes into play. In actions that take place over a shorter
time (1 hour or less), Knowledge doesnt have an effect until the action is concluded. As a cape
photoshops an image, they would use Wits to determine how fast the action can be done. Once
the action is complete, however, knowledge is checked. The photoshop can be finished quickly
and be a poor job (high wits, low knowledge), finished after a laborious process but to good
effect (low wits, high knowledge) or finished fast and done well (high stats in both categories).

In a more laborious process, like crafting a costume from scratch, one might rely on Dexterity
and Knowledge both. This can take days to complete, regardless of how facile one is with their
hands, though a high Dexterity can readily speed up the process. However, our focus here
is on the effect of knowledge - it combines with Dexterity to determine the costumes overall
quality.

[more to come].
Assets

Adults can be expected to start with the following assets:

A job - generally 40 hours a week, allowing one to maintain everything below when the
next month rolls around. Leaves you unhappy or stressed, doesnt earn much or takes a
great deal of time.
(Fairly) well maintained vehicle and funds for gas.
Decent Clothes
A place to live for the next month/cash for rent
Good health, money for food.
A cell phone, perhaps not entirely up to date.
Two of the following
Laptop/Desktop computer and an internet connection
Stuff for one not-too expensive hobby (tools, a bike, art materials, camera/
darkroom, camping stuff, etc.)
A more expensive lifestyle, boosting core stats a bit (organic diet & active lifestyle
= more health, classes = more knowledge, etc).
Insurance - covering your ass if another asset gets destroyed/stolen/ruined. Can
be literal insurance or just having a replacement on hand, somehow.
A thousand dollars in savings.

Can downgrade a key asset by one step to get another of the lesser assets or upgrade a lesser
asset. Job might be worse, or car less maintained/reduced to public transpo pass. Applies to
lesser assets as well (might have a computer with no internet access at your property, alongside
unreliable insurance).

Can upgrade assets by one step as well. Nice job (boosts mood, earns a lot, low time
requirement), nice car that earns respect, etc.

Certain disadvantages strip away benefits or turn things into drawbacks - ones house can be a
shithole in a bad neighborhood, for example.

Having a kid means sacrificing one to two things from the list, due to ongoing costs, or
downgrading two to five things. This sacrifice can be split between two individuals.

Buying Cauldron vials means sacrificing one to four things from the list.