Traversing the Glowlands

Hostility

There are many dangers in the Glowlands, from machines, to monsters, to the weather. As varied as they are, it is common wisdom among veteran Glowlanders that the deeper one goes into its frozen expanses, the more hostile the region becomes. The Ironmind’s servants thrive in this cold place, and their strength concentrates the closer one draws to their foundries and forges, making each step forward riskier than the last. Some Glowlanders even go so far as to insist that it is the Glowlands themselves, that there is some malevolent force controlling this irradiated, frozen world that is devoted to driving these intruders out.

Hostility measures how dangerous the area you are in is. The further you venture into the Glowlands, the more the hostility you face grows, and the more dangerous the hazards; machine patrols will grow more numerous, monsters more aggressive, weather harsher. Hostility is largely tracked by the GM, but you can influence how quickly it increases, and even reduce it, through your actions.

When you make a roll in a non-combat situation, and are Successful but not Critically Successful, you might suffer the Consequence of increasing the current Hostility.

Provisions

You won’t get far in the Glowlands without food, water and shelter. Groundwater that isn’t frozen in permafrost is instead poisoned by radiation, its plants are hardy and inedible and if you hunt its beasts they will hunt you in turn. Glowlanders will carry much of their basic needs with them, carrying what they need in their packs. These necessities are all covered under the general term of ‘provisions’.

You need to use one of you provisions each day. If you can’t, or don’t, then you suffer Disadvantage on all rolls until you get a chance to rest, restock and eat, using up a supply of provisions. Each day you go without adds another instance of Disadvantage to your rolls.

After a week without provisions, the lack of food, water and warmth will overwhelm you and you will fall unconscious. Roll d20 and add your Lucky: if the result is 20 or higher, someone finds you before you pass out. Otherwise, you perish.

When you make a roll in a non-combat situation, and are Successful but not Critically Successful, you might suffer the Consequence of wasting a Provision.

Navigation

When you are in an unknown area, one of the characters in your party acts as the navigator, searching through the terrain or following the tracks of your target. If there is a chance of them getting lost, they will need to roll Astute+Precise; the difficulty of the roll varies depending on the hostility of the terrain.

A failure will mean you are lost; the navigating or tracking character chooses two from the below list:

• Roll an encounter

• Increase Hostility by d6

• Each character loses 1 Provision

After the navigator makes their choice, the characters are still lost; off course in a known or unknown area. You must make the roll again (either with the same navigator or a new one) in order to try to get back on track.

A success means that you get where you need to go, but the navigator must choose one from the list. A critical success means you get where you need to go without any downside.

Weather

In the Glowlands, the wind and cold are just a likely to kill you as any machine is.

Weather has varying ranks of severity. The effects of bad weather stack with each other.

Calm weather has no tangible effect, and covers clear or overcast skies, light wind and good visibility. As the Glowlands rarely get any warmer than a few degrees above freezing, you will still need warm clothing to protect you from the cold.

Disturbed weather includes high winds, heavy fog and snow, sleet and rain. When out in Disturbed weather, rolls made to navigate or track have Disadvantage, as do rolls made to spot anything at a distance.

Severe weather is a combination of high winds, heavy fog, snow and low temperatures. Travelling in Severe weather is risky, and rolls made to navigate or track have an additional Disadvantage. All ranged attacks have Disadvantage. It is nearly impossible to spot anything beyond range 4, and if you try to fly then you will have to succeed on a Graceful+Defiant (15) roll to safely lift off, and must succeed on it every turn you are in the air. If you fail, you are knocked down by the wind.

Extreme weather is a full blizzard and/or radiation storm. Even being out in this weather is a hazard, and you gain 1 Strain every ten minutes your are outside. Open flames are immediately extinguished and you cannot see beyond range 0. All ranged attacks have an additional Disadvantage.

Radioactivity

The radiation spilled by the bombs and superweapons of the Unmaking is one of its darkest legacies. While much of the fallout has dissipated in the years following the Unmaking, pockets of toxicity remain, especially in the Glowlands.

You can withstand up to ten units of radiation before they are overwhelmed by the poison in your body; not even Steelborn or Vitareen can survive such toxicity. As your units of radiation increase, you suffer more and more severe effects of radiation poison.

• You may have up to 2 units of radiation without suffering any adverse effects.

• When you have between 3 and 5 units of radiation, you suffer minor radiation sickness. This includes symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and headaches. While you suffer minor radiation sickness, you have Disadvantage on all Aspect rolls.

• When you have between 6 and 8 units of radiation, you suffer radiation sickness. You suffer severe sickness and burns, and are at risk of Vitium Ejection Syndrome if the nanomachines in your body are too aggressive in its attempts to purge it from your body, triggering an immune system response. If you don’t have it already, you gain your Bloodied wound; this cannot be healed in any way while you have this level of radiation.

• When you have 9 units of radiation, you are on the brink of death. You must succeed on a Defiant+Lucky (11) roll at the start of every day, or perish.

• When you have 10 units of radiation, you die. If you are not properly put to rest, there is a chance that you will raise again as a crackler, a vengeful undead being infused with radiation.

You can gain units of radiation by staying too long in irradiated areas, drinking or eating contaminated food and water or through the abilities of creatures such as cracklers.