Perseverant RPG

PERSEVERANT
A collaborative story game about survival
BEN DUTTER
WHAT IS THIS?
PERSEVERANT is a collaborative storytelling game that
focuses on a group of survivors traveling through an
inhospitable wilderness. We need two to five people to
play, and each game takes around three hours.
As a group we’ll collaborate to create our Wilderness,

its interesting locations, what challenges it holds, how
our characters are connected, and decide our ultimate
goal. Throughout play we’ll resolve internal and
external conflict, haunted by the grim spectre of
betrayal and loss. Our story ends when we’ve
completed all of our scenes, accomplished our goal, or
perished.
It’s unlikely all of us will make it to the end.
THE NECESSITIES
PERSEVERANT needs no prep and only a few materials:
● A stack of 50 or more index cards. Ripping some

in half or thirds is fine if you don’t have enough
● A handful of six-sided dice (d6), preferably four

or more for each player
● A pen or pencil for each player
1
GETTING STARTED
At least one of us should read the rules before we
start, but if we’re all eager to play right away, we can
review the Quick Start rules and follow along as we go.
More often than not, only one of us will have a copy of

the game before game day - that person can help
guide and facilitate the rest of us.
This book is organized in order of play, so you can go

through it section by section as we’re setting
everything up (even if it is your first time).
THE PRE-GAME TALK

It’s a good idea for all of us to sit and have a quick chat
about the experience we’re looking to get out of this
game, how much time we have, what issues we’d
rather avoid or ban or focus on, and the general tone
and theme of the game.
One group’s game of PERSEVERANT might mirror

survival horror, while another focuses on exploration
and group camaraderie. Getting everyone on the same
page before we get into the detailed action is often a
good way to break the ice, and make sure there aren’t
any uncomfortable situations during play.
2
Some of the most common topics to build a consensus
upon are:
● Tone: how serious, grim, epic, or adventurous is

our story? Are we focusing on the gritty details,
or is it more about the fun of exploration?
● Theme: our story’s theme is, at the simplest

level, Man vs. Nature. But in most survivalist
fiction, the harsh realities of nature serve as a
catalyst for an underlying theme: generally Man
vs. Man or Man vs. Himself. As PE RSEVERANT is a
collaborative storytelling game - these themes
can be focused on or discussed.
● Violence: how much violence are we

comfortable with? How morbid or gory should
our injuries be; what about our conflict with
each other or the Wilderness?
● Focus: what kind of events, activities, or

obstacles do we want to focus on? To avoid?
● Realism and the supernatural: How “realistic”

should our story be? Is magic allowed? What
about superhuman strength?
3
THE WILDERNESS
4
Our game is set in the Wilderness, an inhospitable
landscape full of dangerous obstacles. We’ll reach our
goal if we can get through this rugged place, making
our struggle worth the pain. The Wilderness is made
up of many different locations and challenges, each of
which relates to our journey.
We’ll need to define the broad nature of our

Wilderness. How does its makeup and structure
represent our agreed upon core themes? What era do
we exist in, and how does that era help define our
Wilderness? What is our goal as a group? Do we have a
final destination that we’d like to reach, or some
resource we must acquire?
How do all of these things define our characters and

connect with our theme? We should discuss this as a
group for as long as we need to, since it lays the
foundation of our experience and our story. If you’re
unsure, there are more details and examples in the
upcoming pages and sections.
And if we’re pressed for time or don’t want to decide

on everything from scratch, we can use one of the
starting scenarios in the back of this book.
5
DEFINE ITS NATURE
What is the simplest manifestation or description of
our Wilderness? What is its core structure, and what
makes it evocative, distinct, and dangerous? The
Wilderness’ nature can be something obvious and
physical, like a mountain range; or it can be something
warped that was once benign, like an abandoned city.
Discuss and define the nature together. This is the

first step and will have enormous ramifications on the
rest of the game. A group that decides their
Wilderness’ nature is Space will have a very different
story than one with a nature of The Dead Sea.
Whoever is guiding the group through our game can

write a word or phrase that best encapsulates this
nature on an index card.
EXAMPLE NATURES
Mountain Ocean Desert
Space Jungle Ruins
Planar Anomaly Glacier Alien Planet
6
PICK OUR ERA
The era that our group exists within, and where our
story takes place, is crucial for helping us define
appropriate and evocative scenes and obstacles. The
era doesn’t need to be specific - a brief description or
word that defines the type of technology, training, and
ideologies our characters possess is sufficient.
Decide and agree upon the era as a group. It’s likely

that some of us will start suggesting eras as they come
to mind (which is perfectly acceptable), however give
it a few minutes so everyone has had a chance to come
up with something fun and engaging. Sometimes an
asynchronous era can inspire a unique narrative -
nothing quite like Roman centurions surviving S pace.
Again, the person keeping track of our Wilderness can

write down its era on the index card.
EXAMPLE ERAS
Feudal Japan Modern Prehistoric
Roman Empire 1970s 6000 AD
Thirty Years’ War Near Future Time Travel
7
DEFINE OUR GOAL
What are we trying to achieve as a group? Bear in
mind that our goal is separate from any of our
characters’ personal motivations or drives - the goal is
the reason for the group forming in the first place.
Survival is likely to be a common goal for an easy entry
point, but an evocative goal can make for a unique
story or set of challenges.
Discuss and define the goal as a group. Don’t always

go with the most obvious goal straight away,
sometimes it’s better to wait for someone to come up
with something unique and engaging for everyone at
the table. The facilitator can moderate and steer us to
an agreement based on our target subgenres and
themes.
Write the agreed upon goal on the index card.
EXAMPLE GOALS
Survival Claim It Find It
Exploration Escape Be the First
Make a map Get Home Save Others
8
CREATE LOCATIONS
Now that we’ve got a good grip on our Wilderness and
themes, we’ll separately (or collaboratively, if we
prefer) create evocative locations. A location is a
noteworthy set-piece that fits with our Wilderness.
Each player should make a few, writing each on its

own index card. As a group, we should have about ten
unique locations. We might not end up using all of the
locations during play, but we want more than we need.
Once complete, each location is read aloud to the

group. Any one of us can veto any location that doesn’t
fit or makes someone uncomfortable. Shuffle and
stack.
Remember, these locations should be representative of

our Wilderness, and are places that we’d want to read
about in a novel or watch in a movie.
EXAMPLE LOCATIONS
Icy tunnel Jagged peak Black cave
Broken bridge Box canyon Old crypt
Collapsed building Dense forest Lava tube
9
OURCES
CREATE CHALLENGE S
Our Wilderness is dangerous. Its purpose in our story
is to put pressure on our characters, to force us to act
and to make desperate decisions. C hallenges embody
this danger, representing both the literal and figurative
things we must overcome as a group.
Challenges are created by combining two elements:

the trouble (described more on pg 21) and the source.
Every player makes one or several challenge sources.

Sources are specific, evocative, fitting objects: things,
creatures, forces of nature, maybe people.
Each source is written on its own index card, which

then goes through the familiar reading and vetoing
process. Each challenge source takes about fifteen
minutes of gameplay to overcome, so cater the
number to the amount of time you’ve allotted to play.
We recommend at least five sources, or around half as
many locations we’ve agreed upon.
Once the sources are finalized, they’re shuffled and

stacked.
10
EXAMPLE CHALLENGE SO
URCES
A storm Our food Flood
Animals Our fuel Fire
An earthquake Information Dr. Stevens
Our path Sickness Our goal
Missing supplies Separation Our shelter
These sources will come into play when we begin

telling our story and describing the challenges we face.
They play a large role in defining our narrative and the
ramifications of our failures, so be mindful of the type
of challenges you want to face during our journey.
If you don’t have the time or energy to create a large

list of sources, you may also refer to one of the
complete starting scenarios in the back of this book.
11
CHARACTERS
12
At the core of our story is a cast of characters, the
protagonists (and maybe antagonists) that shape the
narrative, embody the minds and actions of the
players, and serve as the lens with which we engage
with one another. They’re our avatar within this
shared fictional space, and grant us the ability to
imagine, act, and react off of each other organically.
Characters are defined by a number of relationships

and traits, connecting to each other and giving us
tools and guidelines on how to roleplay believably.
These characters are the heart of PE

RSEVERANT. We’ll
be able to influence each other and the story through
our characters’ struggles and triumphs, their
successes and failures; and perhaps even their deaths.
Each player creates one character, but before digging

into their traits or personality, we will map each of our
character’s relationships to the others.
13
MAP OUR RELATIONSHIPS
Every character has two relationships: specific
connections, bonds, or histories with two other
characters in our group. Relationships don’t need to be
positive, and should be more detailed and interesting
than something like Spouse or Sister.
We define the relationships first because it creates

dynamic and interesting characters. There’s a
tendency to assign stereotypical relationships to
characters once their traits and personalities have
been assigned - mapping their relationships first
makes it more likely for the tough Roman centurion to
have a secret love affair with his commanding officer
than otherwise.
Let’s get started building relationships:
1. Give each character a letter, number, or other

temporary pseudonym
2. Define two relationships per character
3. Display and discuss them all to allow for vetoes
4. Each of us gets two relationship cards, either

randomly or by selection.
We’ll go over this in more detail on the next page.
14
GIVE PSEUDONYMS
Since characters don’t have names or traits yet, give
each of them a letter or number to keep track. These
temporary pseudonyms have no impact on the game
or story, they’re just there to allow us to appropriately
target our relationships. Something like “I’m secretly in
love with A” is easier than “I admire ____.”
CREATE RELATIONSHIPS
Each of us defines two relationships, writing each on
its own index card. These relationships should align
with the agreed upon tone of the game and the nature
of our Wilderness, but don’t necessarily need to
conform to it.
Relationships are always written from the perspective

of the character, and may not necessarily be true. A
character might think that B is a coward, when really B
isn’t craven at all.
DISPLAY, DISCUSS, VETO

Once each player has written two relationships, we
place them face up for the whole group to see. Anyone
can veto these relationships for any reason, just like
locations or challenges.
SELECT OUR RELATIONSHIPS
15
After we’ve determined the final stack of relationship
cards, each of us takes two cards that we find
interesting for our potential character.
The final relationships are kept with their respective
characters, and will be added with that character’s
other cards as we go through the character creation
process individually.
EXAMPLE RELATIONSHIPS
Secretly admires Battle buddies Jealous
Openly hates Same ex-wife Old enemies
Former lovers Wants revenge Mentor
Thinks unskilled Finds disgusting Best friends
16
DEFINE OUR TRAITS
Each of us works together to pick a character whose
relationships we enjoy or find interesting. Once all of
us have one character, we name them and work on
defining and detailing our character’s specific traits:
● History: your character’s past life, profession,

training, or other defining knowledge.
● Method: the way your character approaches

problems and conflict.
● Cause: your character’s ideology, morality,

worldview, or personal motivation.
● Fear: what your character deeply dreads, dwells

upon, or is anxious about.
Each trait is written on its own index card and kept in

that player’s hand of character cards. Traits can be one
or a few words, and should err on the side of too
narrowly defined rather than too broadly.
A history of Soldier might be too broad and useful for a

game revolving around mountaineering, but Jaded,
Maimed Veteran might be perfect. If you’re unsure
about the usefulness of a particular trait, bring it up
with the group. As such, we can veto each other’s
traits.
17
EXAMPLES OF HISTORY
Architect, Sailor, Hunter, Former Convict, Former
Slave, Grizzled Veteran, Priest, Farmer, Politician
EXAMPLES OF METHOD

Direct, Cautious, Pragmatic, Brutal, Aggressive,
Conniving, Logical, Compassionate, Careless
EXAMPLES OF CAUSE

Safety, Comfort, Love, Fear, Family, Fame,
Curiosity, Greed, Power, Redemption, Revenge
EXAMPLES OF FEAR

Failure, Abandonment, Pain, Unfulfillment, Shame,
Heights, Tight Spaces, Leading, Being Wrong
18
OUR STORY
19
Now that we’ve created our Wilderness and
characters, we can begin telling our story. We’ll play as
our characters as we make our way through the
devastating landscape - facing difficult challenges,
exploring interesting locations, and trying to remain
cohesive as a group with a unifying goal.
We’ll take turns framing scenes and describing our

characters’ actions, reactions, and interactions against
the Wilderness and with one another, exploring the
themes of our journey and our roles in the narrative.
This chapter details how we actually go about playing
the game and creating our story - everything you need
to know from creating challenge scenes to keying
traits to framing social scenes.
STRUCTURE OF PLAY

1. Describe our characters in the Wilderness
2. Introduce a challenge scene
3. Take turns attempting to overcome the scene

by using our character cards
4. Discuss the impact of the scene on our story
5. Take turns framing social scenes between the

other characters
6. Repeat until our story ends
20
FREEFORM DESCRIPTION
Our story often begins with us talking about our
characters - what they look like, who they know, how
they got to be a part of this group - as well as their
actions leading up to the first significant challenge.
This phase of the game allows people to get

comfortable and start to wrap their minds around
their character, and should go on for as long as all of
us are still having fun. During this time it is perfectly
acceptable for any one of us to describe the landscape
(as agreed upon by the nature of the Wilderness) or
the predicament that we find ourselves.
None of us can control what another character is

doing or where they’re located, but we can take some
creative liberties with our own characters and some of
the initial introductory scenes. View this as the first
few scenes of a movie or a novel - the characters are
exemplifying some of their core traits, but their
personality and history isn’t clear to the viewer yet.
Talk about our hopes and dreams (again, this is in

character), make jokes, or simply narrate our own
thought process for everyone to hear. Once it is
narratively fitting or someone gets bored, we pull a
location card and place it face up on the table.
21
INTRODUCE THE CHALLENGE SCENE
Once one of us has pulled the location, they take a few
moments to describe and detail it to the group
(making it evocative or in-character is encouraged).
This is the setting for our challenge scene.
The player that’s describing the scene rolls 1d6 and

compares the result to our list of potential trouble:
1. An unexpected attack
2. A previous choice haunts you
3. Something breaks
4. An environmental threat
5. An internal threat
6. An unsettling development
This trouble helps define the flavor of our challenge,

and provides inspiration for the scene framer to
connect the dots.
Once the trouble is announced, we pull a source from

the stack, and roll another 1d6. If the result is l ess
than or equal to the number of players, sum the
number of players and the d6 result. If the result is
greater than the number of players, d enote its face
value.
This is the challenge’s severity - how difficult,

exacting, or punishing the challenge is.
22
For example, our group of four players rolls a 4,
making our severity 8 (4+4). We roll again for a
different scene, with a result of 5. Our new severity is
5, as it is greater than the number of players we have
(four). The severity should be somewhere visible and
easy to change for any of us around the table - using a
couple of summed d6 (with their results face up) is
perfect.
Let the player framing the scene give it a go first -

pairing up the trouble with the source and describing
how that challenges our characters (bearing the
severity in mind). If they struggle a bit somebody can
always jump in and help, or any of us can veto the
source and we pull again (however, don’t talk over
them).
The most narratively fitting character (or the oldest

player, if there isn’t one) gets to act first. Each of us
will get one turn during the scene, in which we
describe our character’s attempt to overcome the
challenge, incorporate some of our traits or
relationships, roll some dice, and then finish narrating
our success or failure and the resulting impact of our
actions.
That’s a bit to digest, so why don’t we unpack the

specifics of a turn:
23
TAKING A TURN
Each of us gets one turn in a challenge scene, although
we can pass if we so choose. When it is our turn, we
need to conceptualize how our character is involved in
the scene, what traits or relationships we have that
can possibly affect the challenge, and what actions we
can take that are both interesting narratively and a
logical path to success.
Each turn in a challenge scene has the following steps:
1. Describe your character’s specific i ntent,

paying special awareness to how it relates to
the challenge, our Wilderness, and the
character.
2. You can key your character cards during your

description (traits and relationships).
Incorporate them in the narration of your
actions and justify why they are relevant. Each
keyed card is removed from your hand and
placed face up on the table.
3. Roll six-sided dice (d6) equal to 1 + keyed cards.

a. Face value of 4+ is one success
b. Face value of 3- is one f ailure
4. Complete the description of your character’s

actions, their successes and failures, the i mpact
they made, and if they achieved their intent.
24
We’ll take a moment to interpret your results. L ower
the challenge’s severity by one for each success that
you rolled during your turn (flipping the die to show
the new severity) - a portion of the challenge has been
overcome by your character’s actions, and the rest of
us have to finish it (or suffer ramifications).
For each failure rolled, choose the most fitting

character card that narratively contributed to your
character’s failure. This card is n
ot returned to your
hand, and remains face up. You’re no longer able to
key this card or gain its benefits until it has been
returned to your hand (we’ll get to how to do that in a
bit.)
If you rolled zero successes you earn a setback. A

setback is a complication, injury, or other impediment
to your character, covered in more detail in its own
section on pg 29.
ON TO THE NEXT

Now the next most logical character takes a turn. Any
remaining severity from the previous characters’
successes are still present, and the rest of us have to
try to remove it. The following characters’ actions and
descriptions should build off of our previous actions.
Once each of us has had a turn or chosen to pass, the

scene ends and our story moves on.
25
END THE CHALLENGE SCENE
The challenge scene ends once every character has
had a turn (or chosen to pass), or its severity has been
reduced to zero or less. The player who initially
framed the scene narrates its conclusion - and each
player describes their character’s final thoughts and
actions to conclude the scene.
If any challenge severity remains at the end of the

scene, our group has failed and earns a c onsequence.
The challenge’s source card is shuffled back into the
stack. Consequences are major issues that threaten
our goal, forcing a setback on each of us.
Consequences are detailed more on pg 32.
We discuss the challenge scene’s impact. How has

our story changed? What’s developed that makes our
characters feel or behave differently? What’s the
likelihood of accomplishing our goal? This phase
doesn’t take long - but there should be ample time for
everyone to reflect on what has happened, come to
some sense of closure, and create an expectation for
the future challenges that await.
26
EXAMPLE CHALLENGE SC
ENE
Ben, Jessica, Tina, and Karl are stranded in an
Alpine Forest (their Wilderness). After they’ve each
had a few minutes of conversation and freeform
description, Tina’s grown bored and pulls a
location card: Hidden Frozen Lake.
She describes an open field of clear snow almost a

mile across, clearly an area with high visibility.
Out of character, they know that it is a frozen lake,
but in character they might not. Next she rolls 1d6
to determine the trouble: 4, an Environmental
Threat. She pulls a card from the challenge source
stack, and gets Wolves. That doesn’t really make
sense, so she shuffles it back in the stack and pulls
another source card: Hypothermia. There we go.
Finally, she rolls another 1d6 for the scene’s

severity: getting a 5. That means the four of them
have to get at least five successes to overcome the
challenge. Tina begins describing how the group
trudges out onto the open field, hoping to make use
of it for high visibility and as a possible shortcut.
The ice begins to crack, and suddenly snaps -
everyone plunging into the icy cold water.
Ben decides to act quickly, keying his relationship

with Jessica - One True Love - in order to help her
get out of the frozen water and back up on the ice.
Jessica decides to help, granting him two extra d6,
and describes how they work together.
27
Ben rolls and gets one success, flipping the severity
dice from a face value of 5 to one of 4. He finishes
describing how he shoves Jessica out of the water,
who rolls away and lays flat on the ice.
Since Jessica has helped Ben she can’t act, but she
can still add color to the other player’s
descriptions. She starts screaming in character,
reaching out to pull her sister from the freezing
water.
Tina thinks it’s fitting she acts now, keying her

relationship with her sister and two of her traits,
rolling four dice. She gets three successes and
describes how she uses her axe and strength to
chop into the ice and pull herself up near Jessica.
She flips the severity from 4 to 1.
Karl is the last to act, and decides to give it his all.

Even though Ben already succeeded earlier, in our
story he’s stuck in the water - he even describes
how he got sucked beneath the ice in all the frenzy
of the water’s churning and the weight of his gear.
Karl doesn’t want his friend to die, but is only able
to key one trait. He rolls his two dice, and
fortunately, gets one success, lowering the severity
to 0.
Karl describes how he dives under the water, pulls

Ben out from the icy depths, and the four of them
all haul each other back safely to shore.
28
FRAME A SOCIAL SCENE
After the conclusion of any challenge scene, we have
the option of creating a social scene. Social scenes are
the primary way we return cards to our hands. Each of
us has the opportunity to initiate a social scene with
another character, but we can pass if we wish.
One character initiates and frames the social scene:

they describe the situation, the specific setting, and
what other characters they want present in the scene.
Characters can only be in a scene if their respective
players consent to being a part of the scene.
A social scene must:
1. always create camaraderie or conflict, and

2. either relate to our journey, or
3. relate to the characters’ r elationship.
The scene framer describes the onset of the scene,

what their character is doing prior to their
engagement with other characters, and elects when
the scene ends.
We talk in character and interact organically. If a

character wasn’t initially part of the scene, they can’t
appear in the scene without the framer’s consent.
29
To prevent social scenes from devolving into bland or
perfunctory experiences to return cards to your hand,
you can roll on the below social scene framing tables:
Social Scene Inspiration (1d6):
1. Reveal something about your past

2. Confess real or hidden feelings
3. Express a wish or regret
4. Apologize for something
5. Call out a mistake or place blame
6. Ask someone’s opinion, thoughts, or feelings
EXAMPLE SOCIAL IN

SPIRATION
Jessica’s player frames a social scene with her and
Karl. They’ve already had a scene based around
how grateful she is for Karl helping to save Ben’s
life earlier, so she doesn’t want to rehash that.
She rolls on the table above, and gets a 4:

Apologize. Jessica goes to Karl around the campfire
that night, and tells her that she was wrong about
him. Even though his past might have some rocky
areas, and they didn’t get along initially, she wants
to make amends. She tells him as such, and he
appreciates the sentiment. Both return a card.
30
END THE SOCIAL SCENE
Once the social scene’s initiator thinks it has reached a
satisfying conclusion, they simply announce that the
scene has ended. Scenes can end even in the middle of
tense arguments - think of the camera cutting away to
another part of the story. This is an effective way to
create a sense of mystery or intrigue around the
characters’ future interactions.
If the scene primarily focused on c onflict, the initiator

returns one character card to their hand. If the scene
focused on camaraderie, reacting characters return
one card to their hand. If we don’t have any cards that
were previously spent, we don’t suddenly gain new
cards or additional uses of cards.
However, an especially significant social scene

warrants the creation of a new relationship card
between the characters involved. Previously existing
relationship cards are never modified - this eventually
represents the complex and murky pasts we’ve had
with those closest to us.
ON TO THE NEXT

Once the social scene ends, any other character can
frame a new social scene. We go around the table until
everyone has had an opportunity to frame at least one
scene - but people may pass if they wish.
31
SETBACKS
Whenever a character rolls zero successes against a
challenge, they acquire a setback. Setbacks are
unfortunate complications, injuries, or other negative
impediments. We’re encouraged to create meaningful,
interesting, and genre-appropriate setbacks for our
characters as they arise.
Each setback blocks an existing character card. You

can write the setback on its own card, or simply write
the setback on the blocked card. You choose which
card to block, but it should be relevant to the setback.
You can remove one of your own setbacks during the

course of a challenge scene - adding +1 to the
challenge severity. We can remove each other’s
setbacks during a social scene without having to roll,
so long as it makes sense in the narrative and is
something our characters can and would do.
EXAMPLE SETBACKS
Sick with fever Fatigued No tools
Sprained ankle Mentally broken Starving
Broken thumb Paranoid Hopeless
32
CONSEQUENCES
We, as a group, suffer consequences if we fail to
overcome a challenge scene after each of us has taken
a turn. Consequences are major narrative
developments that hamper us as a group, making it
more difficult for us to overcome future challenges.
Consequences are representative of our failure, and

should evolve naturally from the challenge scene in
which they were earned, or relate somehow to our
Wilderness’ and its inherent themes.
Each of us earns a new setback from the consequence.

If a character already earned a setback, they would
earn two for the scene. A character can never earn
more than two setbacks in a scene.
If we want, one or more of us can narrate a bit about

how our failures has made our situation worse, and
how this challenge might haunt us in the future (this
serves as great fodder for social interactions, nothing
like starting an argument over who to blame). If we
want, we can skip the next roll to determine trouble,
and simply use 2: A previous choice haunts you (using
the setbacks earned by the consequence).
33
INTERNAL CONFLICT
One or more of us can create internal conflict at any
time. You can choose to attack a character on your
turn. This attack can be verbal, social, or physical, each
with a different impact.
The attacker describes their intent and actions,

keying any relevant traits, and rolling dice, just like a
challenge. If any of the characters have a hostile or
conflicted relationship, the attacker gains +1d6 to
their roll
The defender describes their intent and actions,

keying any relevant traits, and rolling dice. If the
characters have an amiable or positive relationship,
the defender gains +1d6 to their roll
The characters compare their successes and failures.

The character with more successes describes how
they gain control of the scene, and the i mpact of their
actions. The character with fewer successes describes
how their character is affected by the conflict.
Any ties go to the attacker. The losing character might

acquire a setback (if it makes sense), or the group
might suffer a consequence (if it’s fitting).
A character can’t be killed without its players’ consent.

If the player thinks it is narratively fitting to have their
character die, they now assist with the Wilderness,
narrating the environment, locations, and challenges.
Each of the characters involved in the conflict acquires
34
a new relationship card denoting the conflict.
EXAMPLE INTERNAL CONFLICT

Tina and Jessica, estranged sisters, are in a hostile
social scene; arguing over whether they are lost or
not. Tina has been in charge of navigation up to
this point, and Jessica has been disagreeing with
most of her decisions. Tina decides to threaten
Jessica with violence if she doesn’t stop.
Jessica escalates, taking a swing at her sister.

Tina’s player thinks it appropriate that they hash
it out with a proper fist fight - and so both players
describe how they wrestle and kick and punch and
scratch and choke through the campsite.
Jessica keys two of her traits and her relationship

with Tina, rolling 4d6. Since her relationship isn’t
necessarily hostile or conflict-driven, she doesn’t
gain an additional relationship bonus d6.
Tina keys one trait and their relationship, but

defines her and her sister’s relationship more
amicably, granting her a bonus d6 as she’s the
defender. She also rolls 4d6.
Jessica gets three successes while Tina only gets

one. Jessica’s player describes how Jessica wins the
fight, and Tina abdicates her role as the group’s
navigator (the conflict’s effect, in this case).
35
36
HELP OR HINDER
Ultimately our fates are intertwined, and it benefits
the group if we help each other. It’s easier to
overcome challenges when we work together - both in
the rules and in the story. And, likewise, we might wish
for some of our allies to fail, and go so far as to hinder
them.
During a challenge scene, if you haven’t yet acted, you

can choose to help or hinder another character’s
action. Simply state that you’re interfering, and how
your character is doing so. Dead or otherwise
incapacitated characters can’t help or hinder.
When you help or hinder someone, select a number of

their dice up to the number of relationships you
share. The player whose character is acting rerolls
these dice, and must take their new result (for better
or worse).
To help someone, you might pick their lowest rolling

dice; to hinder, their highest. In either case, you
choose which dice your “ally” rolls.
When you interact with another character, your cards

are not keyed, however you can’t help or hinder and
also act in the same challenge scene. Only one
character can help or hinder another at a time.
If the character you’re helping rolls zero successes,

you both earn a setback. If the character you’re
hindering rolls any successes, y ou earn a setback.
37
EXAMPLE HELP
Ben is attempting to climb up a slick wall of ice.
Jessica, his wife, decides to help. Ben keys his
relevant traits and relationships, rolling four dice.
Since he and Jessica share three relationships,
Jessica can choose up to three dice for Ben to
reroll.
Since Ben’s originally rolls were 1, 3, 5, 6, and

Jessica wants to help Ben succeed, she describes
how her character supports him, helping to carry
some of his heavy gear. She chooses for him to
reroll the 1 and 3 dice.
EXAMPLE HINDER
During an Internal Conflict between Tina and
Jessica, Karl wants to break up the fight. He sees
that Tina is about to hit her sister, and tries to
hinder her from doing so.
Since Karl and Tina only share one relationship,

Karl can only choose one dice. Tina keys her
relevant cards, and gets to roll three dice (yielding
a 2, 4, 4). Because Karl is trying to stop and
interfere, he chooses one of the 4s to reroll.
38
BETRAYAL
Many of us will be driven to terrible deeds in order to
survive, including the possibility of betrayal. Hope and
brutal pragmatism are strange but common bedfellows
in the Wilderness.
We can choose to betray another character in our

group in a challenge or social scene, even if we have
already acted, so long as it fits our narrative.
If in a challenge scene, you gain automatic successes

equal to the amount of cards in your hand (including
relationship cards) toward overcoming obstacles. If in
a social scene, you return all of your spent cards to
your hand. All of your existing relationship cards with
the one you betrayed are crossed out, and re-named
as Betrayal. The number of cards remains the same,
but their context changes due to your traitorous
behavior.
The betrayal must have a narrative impact, and if it

makes sense, create a setback for the character that’s
being betrayed. This can only result in the character’s
death if their player agrees.
If the betrayed character wishes to contest your

character’s betrayal, use the internal conflict rules.
The outcome of this internal conflict does not affect
the automatic successes or returned cards.
Any other character that witnesses your betrayal has

the option of creating a new relationship with you, or
starting their own internal conflict against you.
39
EXAMPLE BETRAYAL
Ben is sick of Karl’s constant squabbling, second
guessing, and overall undermining of his
authority. Ben frames a social scene with Karl and
the rest of the group, denoting his relationship
card I know Karl’s secret.
Ben confronts Karl in the social scene, and decides

to inform each of us that he is indeed a wanted
criminal, betraying his friend. This casts doubt on
Karl as our group’s calm voice of reason and
counterpoint to Ben’s brash decision making.
The three cards that Ben had face up on the table

(the result of previous challenge scenes) now
return to his hand. He also discards all of his old
relationship cards relating to Karl, and writes a
new relationship: I told everyone Karl’s secret.
40
SELF SACRIFICE
Rather than see the entire group perish to the cold
winds of the Wilderness, one of us may choose to
commit self sacrifice during a challenge scene.
The character committing self sacrifice describes their

character’s final act of altruism and how it overcomes
the scene. All of the scene’s severity is immediately
reduced to zero, and we can move past the scene.
The player can choose whether their character dies

from their sacrifice, is gravely injured and
incapacitated, or is simply separated from the rest of
the group. In any case, that character can’t be played
for the time being (see the Death and Defeat section
below).
EXAMPLE SELF SA

CRIFICE
Jessica and our group is surrounded by an inferno
of flaming trees and choking smoke. She sees that
there’s no way for us to overcome the remaining
challenges, and decides to commit self sacrifice,
removing the four remaining challenge severity
from the scene. She narrates how she charges
through the fire, burning her flesh, in order to
make a gap for us to follow. She disappears
somewhere in the smoke and the flames.
41
DEATH AND DEFEAT
Many of us will likely succumb to the brutal nature of
our Wilderness. If a character acquires a s etback (or
the group suffers a consequence) and has no more
keyable cards, that character is d
ead or defeated.
When the character is killed or defeated is up to their

player - either at the beginning, during, or the end of
the challenge scene which did them in. Note that even
if the player would normally decide to pass for this
particular challenge scene, they still suffer the sting of
not having enough cards.
A brief interlude that describes how the character

succumbs to the Wilderness is fitting if there isn’t a
narratively impactful or logical time for the character
to die during the scene (so long as our group approves
and finds it to align with our story.)
The player chooses whether or not their character

dies or is defeated, as befitting their narrative, the
overall tone of the game, and the nature of the scene.
A dead character is no longer part of our story. Their

player now helps to describe challenge scenes and the
locations of the Wilderness. A defeated character is
separated from us, but can return during a later scene
of their choice. If a character chooses defeat over
death, one of their traits must be permanently
replaced with defeated, crossing out the trait on their
card.
42
EXAMPLE DEATH AND DEFEAT
The group has reached a broad open plain, and the
starving wolves that stalk us finally surround we
weary travelers. Jessica has three setbacks
blocking a relationship and two traits, and the
other two are still face up on the table from the last
challenge.
She decides that it’s a fitting time for her character

to die, going out in a blaze of glory as she tries to
fight as many of the hungry predators as she can.
She narrates her final actions and demise.
If she wanted to simply be defeated instead, Jessica

could have described how her character is
separated from the rest of us, running into the
woods to bait as many of the wolves into following
her as possible - her fate unknown to the group.
43
NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
Our story focuses on the main characters we created,
but sometimes it makes sense to feature n on-player
characters: the people who contribute less
prominently to the story than our protagonists, but
are still important to the plot, tie its themes together,
or showcase our characters’ behavior.
Any one of us can play as a non-player character that’s

relevant to the scene, as long as they don’t contradict
with our group’s narrative preference. It’s a good idea
to have the player describing the challenge scene or
framing the social scene roleplay and describe these
side characters, at least when initially introduced.
Non-player characters can be inserted into our story

as exceptionally provocative challenges: antagonists or
competitive groups that directly or indirectly oppose
our characters’ success. Or, they can be our friends,
allies, or companions (at least in our characters’
minds).
If non-player characters exist as part of our group’s

company, squad, or party - they essentially serve as
descriptive fodder for our characters. We can kill or
manipulate or control these characters as befitting our
story (and as usual we can veto each other’s actions).
44
EXAMPLE NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
Our group is traveling through the cold tundra,
and comes across an indigenous tribe. Their
village built of yurts is this scene’s location, while
the members of the tribe are non-player
characters.
A faction within the tribe feels threatened by the

outsiders (our group) and wants to get them to
leave the village and the territory as a whole. The
group wants to win over the tribe’s loyalty and
trust, which is represented by a challenge scene.
Those in the tribe that oppose our group’s
involvement are the challenges in the scene.
Karl might choose to overcome these antagonists

by persuading them, intimidating them, killing
them, getting them outcast from the rest of the
tribe, or a myriad of other options on his turn. Ben,
Jessica, and Tina can roleplay as these tribespeople
during Karl’s turn as he opposes them.
45
WHEN IT ISN’T YOUR TURN
While you’re waiting for your turn, there are several
things you should do to make the game a better
experience:
● Listen attentively
● Think of how the scene is evolving, and how the

current character’s actions impact yours
● Think of how the characters’ actions create

interesting future social scenes
We can engage in certain (optional) behaviors that

make the story better for all of us. This helps to define
the game’s tone, increases engagement, and makes the
acting player feel interconnected with our characters
and their story.
● Ask questions that relate to the character’s

actions or the player’s descriptions (not for
justification of a particular action, just for m
ore
description)
● Add a bit of cooperative color to help bolster

the player’s descriptions (making a sound effect,
interjecting - briefly! - from your own
character’s perspective, etc.)
● Build upon the previous characters’ actions

during their turn when it is our turn, that way
our story doesn’t exist in a vacuum
46
The point of these behaviors is never to interrupt or
stymie a player’s descriptions or their character’s
actions, but to bolster the intensity of our story and
better connect our shared vision. If some of us are
uncomfortable with any of these behaviors, we can
also veto or disregard these suggestions.
EXAMPLE OUT OF TURN BE

HAVIOR
While Jessica is describing how her character
disassembles a piece of our group’s broken plane
engine in order to create some tools (part of a
challenge scene), Ben briefly interjects “Nice work,
honey” in character. This creates a bit of
engagement between the two of them and makes
the story clearer.
Another time, Karl is describing the scene’s

location, a frigid mountaintop with whistling
wind. Jessica makes a wind-rushing-whistling
sound with her mouth (earning some laughs from
the table) and Tina asks Karl to give a bit more
description about the rocks and the snow and the
angle of the peak.
47
FINISHING OUR STORY
If we persevere, if we survive, we will make our way
through the terrible Wilderness and conclude our
story, one way or another.
We have accomplished our goal once we’ve overcome

all of the challenge sources in our journey. We’ve
arrived at our final destination, we’ve been saved,
we’ve reached absolution. If we’ve all been killed or
defeated, we have failed our goal, and our journey ends
with our silent bones marking our passage.
Each of us takes turns narrating the epilogue: our

character’s final thoughts, feelings, and actions.
48
GAMEPLAY TIPS
49
VETOES
Vetoes are an important and integral part of gameplay,
but they represent a very real possibility of creative
stagnation, slow pacing, and an overall negative
experience. While maintaining the ability to veto is
important to PE
RSEVERANT, it should be used
thoughtfully and carefully to ensure we can continue
telling a meaningful story.
It is perfectly acceptable to veto a location, action, or

other element to our story if you’re uncomfortable in
or out of character - don’t hesitate to veto in this
regard (and likewise, other players shouldn’t expect
you to explain, we all have certain sensitive subjects
we wish to avoid). However, we should never veto a
story element simply because we dislike it or it doesn’t
agree with our preconceived notion of how the
narrative should unfold.
The veto isn’t meant to be used as a weapon or as a

tool to constrain our story. Instead, it is a way to
respectfully and succinctly remove topics without an
awkward conversation or explanation.
If you find yourself disliking something that took place

in our story, try to connect to it. Mutual surprise and
catering to something outside of your expectations or
preferred style can elicit very evocative and creative
narratives. Don’t shy away from this opportunity, as
PE RSEVERANT is all about creating an engaging (and
sometimes emotional) story.
50
CONNECTED ELEMENTS
A common tendency in groups new to collaborative
storytelling is to describe and narrate things in
isolated, disconnected silos. Each scene unfolds in an
episodic nature, and doesn’t pay attention to the
previous scenes, or the character’s actions don’t flow
from what has already occurred.
Every action, complication, consequence,

development, and plot event should connect to those
that came before it. Mechanically it is very easy to
simply brute force your way through the game - it isn’t
really about if the group makes it, but rather h
ow they
make it. As such, the how is the important part - and
much of what makes it interesting and immersive is
connecting each little thread of our story.
When you’re waiting for your turn or framing a scene,

always be mindful of our story’s context. It is
mentioned frequently throughout the rules - but
adhering to it takes careful consideration. If we put
forth the effort, the reward is a story with greater
impact, logic, and internal consistency.
If someone does create an isolated scene or seemingly

disconnected plot element - don’t try to correct or
coach them. Build off of it. Try to steer it back and
connect it with your character’s next action or
decision. Remain related, but don’t be a slave to
following the next most logical step in every instance.
51
THE FACILITATOR
Generally the player with the most knowledge and
experience with the game will serve as its facilitator,
and help guide the rest of us through creating
characters and scenes, and actually playing the game.
It can be daunting and more mentally exhausting than
the other roles - but it becomes easier through
practice.
As the facilitator, be mindful that you’re not a Game

Master or other figure of authority - you’re a resource
that leads by example. When you’re teaching others
how to play, demonstrate step-by-step as you make
the first character, talk about a Wilderness concept
that you’ve had (or use one of the examples in the
back), and take on the role of the first scene framer.
People learn best by doing, so feel free to delegate

specific actions to particular members of the group as
part of your teaching and demonstration process. This
makes everyone more engaged, and actually expedites
learning to play. For example, ask one of your other
players to come up with a cool location, then ask
another for an exciting Wilderness challenge.
Once each of them has given their answer, use those

elements to briefly frame an example scene. It takes a
matter of minutes, and clearly demonstrates how the
game works and what’s expected of the players.
Never try to hammer things into some kind of

preconception or act with authority. Ask questions,
give examples, demonstrate, have fun.
52
DESCRIPTIONS
Verbal description is the bulk of gameplay, and really
what makes or breaks our story. First of all, only ever
act in ways that you’re comfortable with as a player - if
you’re unwilling to go into descriptive depth, that’s
perfectly okay.
However, if you are comfortable speaking in front of

the group with some modicum of detail, the next most
important quality of our description should be
relevance. Relevance not only to what is happening in
the context of our narrative, but also fitting within our
agreed upon themes, tone, and overall play style.
In general (as with most forms of communication)

direct and clear descriptions are better than flowery
or highly detailed ones. Add flavor and evocative
aspects to your description after you’ve made the key
points clear. Don’t be shy or hesitant to touch on all of
the senses, the metaphorical or thematic aspects of
the scene, or the “audience’s” perception of the group
or Wilderness.
Be considerate of each other’s descriptions, don’t

contradict what we’ve already established in the scene,
or disregard the details that others have already made.
The more players in a scene, the less overall
description each should give, focusing on and
highlighting the important bits of their character’s
actions and how it relates to the rest of the story.
53
USING SCENE ELEMENTS
When you first frame a scene and begin randomly
determining its elements - the location, trouble,
challenge sources, etc - you might have a kneejerk
reaction to discard what you pulled or rolled. Try to
squash that reflex, at least initially.
Connecting the dots between two seemingly disparate

elements can make for memorable scenes, and lead to
a narrative that wouldn’t otherwise happen. The
reason the option exists to discard or re-roll is
because some combinations just make no discernible
sense, and for the sake of game flow, you can try again
and get something that fits better.
If it is your turn to frame a scene and you’re having a

hard time coming up with something, encourage the
other players to continue to banter in-character,
frame another social scene, or if all else fails, ask for
some ideas to kickstart your vision for the scene.
The rest of us should absolutely not volunteer ideas

right off the bat - nothing will stymie shared surprise
and a collaborative storytelling experience worse than
letting everybody shout out ad hoc ideas.
54
RUNNING OUT OF TIME
We’ve been playing for the past couple of hours and
suddenly realize that we’re dangerously close to our
session’s time limit, but there’s still challenge sources
left in the stack!
We’ve found that this happens frequently enough -

someone has to go, the venue becomes unavailable, or
we were playing slower than we thought. That’s
alright, we can easily “cut to the chase.” So long as we
have about fifteen minutes left, we can accelerate to
our final scene and conclude our story.
Discuss this as a group and decide if that’s what we

want to do. If everyone agrees, we can either randomly
establish the scene (like the normal cadence), or we
can choose a specific location and challenge source for
our climax. This can stop a potentially dissatisfying
conclusion to have at least some sense of closure to an
otherwise fun evening.
55
IGNORING TROUBLE
Some scenes are so obvious, with such well connected
locations and challenge sources, that using the trouble
mechanic seems to add a layer of friction or
unnecessary complication.
Trouble is only designed to be beneficial to those of us

framing a scene - giving us a creative constraint,
inspiration, or launchpad to connect these sometimes
disparate elements of a scene. If you’re ever stuck
trying to incorporate trouble, or simply pull a couple
of cards that are amazingly well connected, feel free to
ignore trouble altogether.
In other words, we should only use trouble as part of a

challenge scene when we want to, or when we think
that it adds another layer of interest. Otherwise, cut it
out and save some time and effort.
56
REJECTING OUTCOMES
All of us have an innate understanding of what makes a
good story. The mechanics in Perseverant are
designed to emulate that process, to create those
narratives and that fiction that we all enjoy. And, while
it does a pretty good job of accomplishing that aim, it
isn’t always perfect.
Sometimes, the roll of the dice or the unusual

combination of elements makes for something that’s a
little off from what everyone really wants to happen.
Usually this is fine and steers us into new and
surprising situations, but occasionally we might want
to reject these outcomes. We might even want to skip
a scene, ignore the consequences or setbacks, return
folks’ cards to their hands, whatever makes sense in
the scene.
While it isn’t recommended to just throw out the

mechanically baby with the story bathwater all the
time, there are times when the players (and by
extension, the storytellers) know better than the game.
In those times, and if everyone is in agreement, do
what you think is best.
For example, the penultimate challenge scene before

we conclude our journey is meant to build tension,
disaster, but not hamper the story’s pacing. If we
completely failed this scene, it would go back into the
stack and we’d have to face it again - only delaying the
inevitable conclusion we all want. It might make sense,
then, to not return it to the stack (even upon failure)
so that we can conclude with some satisfaction.
57
58
REJECTING RULES
All of the rules in Perseverant are designed to work
well together to create a coherent theme and
experience. They encourage dramatic tension (both
among the party and against our environment), but
they can sometimes sit asynchronously with our
agreed upon experience for our group.
The most common example is a game that focuses on

friendly camaraderie (some would say even “light
hearted”) that rejects Betrayal, Internal Conflict, and
Hindering. It might bring the tone of the game into a
more grim place than everyone wanted if they start
betraying one another, so they can simply cut that part
out of the game.
Ultimately, Perseverant will change with your own

group’s preferences and playstyle, just note that as a
tightly wound system, the more things that you
change or remove, the more impact it has on all of the
connected elements in the game’s design (which, in
turn, might create for an incomplete experience).
59
DELAYED RULES INCORPORATION
The facilitator’s main purpose is to do just that -
facilitate a smooth and enjoyable game experience.
One of the most common hurdles, especially for newer
groups, is that the game can feel a bit frontloaded with
information, options, and considerations.
All of the rules that players can partake in when it is

and isn’t their turn (acting, helping, betraying,
sacrificing, on and on) can seem daunting to many
players. Rather than reading all of these rules aloud, or
telling the players what options they have available at
the get-go, simply bring them up if there are
opportunities in the fiction.
This is what we call delayed rules incorporation. We’re

only incorporating the mechanical levers that we need
to play, and only introducing them when they’re
relevant. As the facilitator, you can simply state that
Betrayal or Internal Conflict might be especially
relevant as another player is describing how their
character is attempting to stop the efforts of their
former comrade.
They probably didn’t even know this was an option,

but now you can give it to them in all of its mechanical
glory (while maintaining narrative relevance.) This
delay slowly introduces new mechanical complexity,
making it easier to learn and incorporate into the
story. If such a scene of Internal Conflict never came
up, no need to introduce it, right?
60
TWO PLAYER GAMES
Using the rules as written can produce a perfectly
adequate game for just two players. However, that
being said, some of the game’s subsystems feel a little
strained or off-kilter with fewer than three.
The first and most obvious issue is with challenge

severity, having a possible range of 3 to 6. This is a bit
higher of an average severity than with three or more
players. We’ve found that simply rolling 1d6, with a
max of 4 (for a bit of an easier time) or 5 (for a harsher
Wilderness) works alright.
Next are relationship cards. Each initial character

should have two starting relationships - the intent is
perhaps that these are criss-crossed between more
than two characters - but with only two this might feel
a little forced. Feel free to double up with the other
character, this will just increase their connection.
And, extending the relationship card confusion

further, social scenes can be similarly saturated. Each
player will want to initiate their own social scene
(usually), but it might not make sense to create two
separate social scenes with the same cast. In this case,
the players should feel comfortable both returning
cards to their hand from a single scene, as if they had
each initiated.
Finally, an easy way to fix all of these problems is to

have one (or both) of the players take on the role of
more than one character, which can make for a very
interesting and unique experience.
61
OPTIONAL RULES
62
RESOURCE STACK
If we enjoy the concept of overcoming our Wilderness
through diligent management of resources a s much as
by way of will and grit, we can choose to make a stack
of resource cards at the beginning of our game.
Each player makes one resource, reading them aloud

and vetoing any as a group. These resources should be
meaningful and inspiring - nothing so mundane as
Food or Lanterns. During our story, any one of us can
pull a resource from the stack, which is then keyed
and described like any other character card.
The resource is expended if the character rolls a

failure or earns a setback, and that resource can’t be
used again. A resource that was used without failure is
returned to the stack, and can be used again. Only one
resource can be used per scene.
If we overcome a challenge scene without rolling any

failures (no d6 rolls under 4 in our group), then we can
earn a new resource. At the end of the scene we create
this resource from the context of our story.
EXAMPLE R
ESOURCE
Ben pulls A Rare Delicacy from the resource stack,

incorporates it into his description as a peace
treaty, and rolls an additional d6. He rolls one
success and one failure, expending the resource.
63
CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT
We may want to continue our story for more than a
single session, or witness our characters’ growth
throughout the story. Sometimes it is fitting to have an
entire campaign built around our narrative that lasts
many sessions. As characters develop narratively, they
can gain new mechanical benefits (or detriments).
At the end of every session, our characters earn one

new trait card that plausibly follows from their actions
during the session. Additionally, players have the
option of changing one existing trait card if they
wish.
A character can’t acquire two of the same type of trait

card in a row over multiple sessions, and can’t have
more than three of any given trait type. As characters
develop, they’ll overcome challenges more easily.
EXAMPLE CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT

At the conclusion of a session, Tina and her group
haven’t reached their goal nor cleared all of the
journey’s challenge sources. They decide to
continue the story on a different session. Tina
became more cautious and cynical after receiving
some injuries and learning lessons the hard way,
so she has added a new Approach of Cautious.
64
CHALLENGE MODIFIERS
Some stories demand grueling, horrific, or punishing
challenges. In these stories, we can elect to add
challenge modifiers to any scene.
There are three ways to apply modifiers to a challenge:
1. write the modifier on the source card during

the first phase of challenge creation
2. roll another d6 and compare to the list below
3. one of us adds a modifier and describes how it

affects the scene in progress
We’ve included some common modifiers below, but

you can of course create your own.
1. Twin: draw and roll for a second source
2. Painful: one setback earned becomes two
3. Devastating: a consequence creates a new

challenge source that gets added to the stack
4. Haunting: the source is returned to the stack

once we overcome it
5. Exacting: all d6 rolls suffer -1 to their result
6. Critical: as soon as someone acquires a setback,

the entire group fails and earns a consequence
65
EXAMPLE M
ODIFIER
Ben frames the challenge scene: his group has

eaten all of their food and now they must forage
for more. He rolls 1d6 to determine the challenge’s
severity, and another 1d6 to determine the
modifier. He rolls a 5 - Exacting - which reduces
their rolls.
Ben attempts to tackle the challenge, scouring the

few alpine resources for berries, nuts, or anything
edible. He rolls a 4, normally one success, but due
to the modifier the result is changed to a 3 - a
failure.
Since he rolled no successes, he also earns a

setback.
Sometimes you might want to add a challenge modifier

in some challenges and scenes and not in others.
That’s alright, and can add a bit of uncertainty or
tension to particularly significant scenes.
At the onset of a scene, you can roll 1d6 and add a

modifier on certain results - such as any odd result
adds a modifier. Or in the challenge source creation
phase, some people (those who like to punish their
friends or their own characters) can secretly apply a
modifier to their source without reading it aloud to the
rest of the group (but still label it appropriately for
whoever pulls it from the stack).
66
STARTING SCENARIOS
67
SILK ROAD
We are merchants, explorers, or missionaries taking the
long journey from the Mediterranean to China
NATURE
Central Asia: desolate Iranian Plateau, snowy Pamir
Mountains, and the frigid Mongolian steppe.
ERA
Mid to Late 13th Century: we possess no compass,
only hand drawn maps, and clothes we made
ourselves.
GOAL
Reach Xinjiang: some for commerce, some for God.
LOCATIONS
Cliffside Trail, Craggy Coastline, Desolate Plateau,
Freezing Desert, Jagged Canyon, Mirrored Lake,
Mountain Reservoir, Raging River, Rugged Peaks,
Windswept Steppe
CHALLENGE SOURCES
Blizzard, Bloody coughs, Golden Horde Patrol, Icy
wind, Local herders, Mounted bandits, Obscure trail,
Our camels, Snow leopard, Starvation
68
JADID SECTOR
We are the first humans to attempt to colonize this new,
exciting, and dangerous region of space
NATURE
Alien Space: Bizarre planets, inexplicable phenomena,
and sentient cultures hostile to humanity.
ERA
2483 CE: Science has advanced to interstellar levels.
GOAL
Establish a foothold: We’re the tip of humanity’s spear.
LOCATIONS
Asteroid Archipelago, Floating Coral Reef, Forest of
Echoes, Interstellar Gate, Low Gravity Moon, Magma
Fields, Our Ship’s Bridge, Outside Our Hull, The
Neugian Pulsar, Xereson IV
CHALLENGE SOURCES
Disappearing supplies, Engine failure, Erratic gravity,
Jadid Doppelganger, Low fuel, Our atmosuits, Pirates,
Pressure leak, Radiation, Xereson Civil War
69
WEEPING SUN
The sun weeps liquid light onto our realm, drowning us
in a sea of heavenly energy that warps our world
NATURE
Ocean of light: The sun drains its liquid light, growing
darker in the sky, covering the land in bright hot
water.
ERA
Bronze Age Fantasy: Dozens of Great Empires fall
beneath the constant downpour.
GOAL
Escape the deluge: The only chance for survival is to
go deep underground and escape the Sunwater.
LOCATIONS
Archipelago of Night, Black cave, Blindingly bright
river, Drowned city, Glimmering swamp, Glowing
Tunnels, Primordial Forest, Sunwater fall, Sunset Sea,
Twilight Mountains
CHALLENGE SOURCES
Boiling rain, Carnivorous trees, Constant rot,
Desperate survivors, Engorged monsters,
Ground-level lightning, Lack of sleep, Saturation,
Sea-leviathan surprise, Sunwater flood
70

Perseverant RPG

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PERSEVERANT

A collaborative story game about survival

As a group we’ll collaborate to create our Wilderness,

It’s unlikely all of us will make it to the end.

● A stack of 50 or more index cards. Ripping some

● A handful of six-sided dice (​d6​), preferably four

● A pen or pencil for each player

More often than not, only one of us will have a copy of

This book is organized in order of play, so you can go

T​HE​ ​PRE-GAME TALK

One group’s game of ​P​ERSEVERANT​ might mirror

● Tone:​ ​how serious, grim, epic, or adventurous is

● Theme:​ ​our story’s theme is, at the simplest

● Violence:​ ​how much violence are we

● Focus:​ ​what kind of events, activities, or

● Realism and the supernatural:​ ​How “realistic”

We’ll need to define the broad ​nature​ of our

How do all of these things define our characters and

And if we’re pressed for time or don’t want to decide

Discuss and define the nature together​. This is the

Whoever is guiding the group through our game can

Mountain Ocean Desert

Space Jungle Ruins

Planar Anomaly Glacier Alien Planet

Decide and agree upon the era as a group​. It’s likely

Again, the person keeping track of our Wilderness can

Feudal Japan Modern Prehistoric

Roman Empire 1970s 6000 AD

Thirty Years’ War Near Future Time Travel

Discuss and define the goal as a group​. Don’t always

Write the agreed upon goal on the index card.

Survival Claim It Find It

Exploration Escape Be the First

Make a map Get Home Save Others

Each player should make a few, writing each on its

Once complete, each location is ​read aloud​ to the

Remember, these locations should be representative of

Icy tunnel Jagged peak Black cave

Broken bridge Box canyon Old crypt

Collapsed building Dense forest Lava tube

Challenges are created by combining two elements:

Every player makes one or several challenge ​sources.​

Each source is written on its own index card, which

Once the sources are finalized, they’re shuffled and

A storm Our food Flood

Animals Our fuel Fire

An earthquake Information Dr. Stevens

Our path Sickness Our goal

Missing supplies Separation Our shelter

These sources will come into play when we begin

If you don’t have the time or energy to create a large

Characters are defined by a number of ​relationships

These characters are the heart of ​PE

Each player creates one character, but before digging

We define the relationships first because it creates

Let’s get started building relationships:

1. Give each character a letter, number, or other

2. Define two relationships per character

3. Display and discuss them all to allow for vetoes

4. Each of us gets two relationship cards, either

We’ll go over this in more detail on the next page.

Relationships are always written from the perspective

D​ISPLAY, ​D​ISCUSS, ​V​ETO

S​ELECT​ O​UR ​R​ELATIONSHIPS

● A handful of six-sided dice (d6), preferably four

THE PRE-GAME TALK

One group’s game of PERSEVERANT might mirror

● Tone: how serious, grim, epic, or adventurous is

● Theme: our story’s theme is, at the simplest

● Violence: how much violence are we

● Focus: what kind of events, activities, or

● Realism and the supernatural: How “realistic”

We’ll need to define the broad nature of our

Discuss and define the nature together. This is the

Decide and agree upon the era as a group. It’s likely

Discuss and define the goal as a group. Don’t always

Once complete, each location is read aloud to the

Every player makes one or several challenge sources.

Characters are defined by a number of relationships

These characters are the heart of PE

DISPLAY, DISCUSS, VETO

SELECT OUR RELATIONSHIPS

● History: your character’s past life, profession,

● Method: the way your character approaches

● Cause: your character’s ideology, morality,

● Fear: what your character deeply dreads, dwells

A history of Soldier might be too broad and useful for a

EXAMPLES OF METHOD

EXAMPLES OF CAUSE

EXAMPLES OF FEAR

We’ll take turns framing scenes and describing our

STRUCTURE OF PLAY

2. Introduce a challenge scene

4. Discuss the impact of the scene on our story

5. Take turns framing social scenes between the

The player that’s describing the scene rolls 1d6 and

Once the trouble is announced, we pull a source from

This is the challenge’s severity - how difficult,

1. Describe your character’s specific i ntent,

2. You can key your character cards during your

3. Roll six-sided dice (d6) equal to 1 + keyed cards.

For each failure rolled, choose the most fitting

If you rolled zero successes you earn a setback. A

ON TO THE NEXT

Once each of us has had a turn or chosen to pass, the

If any challenge severity remains at the end of the

We discuss the challenge scene’s impact. How has

One character initiates and frames the social scene:

1. always create camaraderie or conflict, and

We talk in character and interact organically. If a

EXAMPLE SOCIAL IN

If the scene primarily focused on c onflict, the initiator

However, an especially significant social scene

ON TO THE NEXT

Each setback blocks an existing character card. You

You can remove one of your own setbacks during the

Each of us earns a new setback from the consequence.

The attacker describes their intent and actions,

The defender describes their intent and actions,

The characters compare their successes and failures.