Draft history

The rules are being written in drafts. Every Refuge, raid and campaign records the draft it was made under, so you can tell when something was built under older rules. The current draft is v0.3.0.

Every draft as a PDF

The repository keeps each draft as Markdown, HTML and PDF in rules/drafts/, and each is tagged rules-v<version> in git.

v0.3.0 · The Drowned, the Planting and the Congregation

2026-10-24

Five new creatures: the Drowned, Rotweaver, Carrion Bloom, Spore Hulk and the Mourner.
The Lesser and Greater Encounter tables are now 12 rows, rolled with two dice (the first picks the half, the second the row). Some rows bring escorts; a Greater row can bring a Congregation.
Playing a Congregation is no longer a draft: found one in the app. Members start Touched, the Grove needs no fuel, the Market sells them only Common melee weapons, Common kit and armour up to 1, and Thornskin or Pollen Veil may be chosen at Bloomed.
Congregation costs and rescues in the Aftermath: members roll 1–2 for +1 Blight, a Turned member walks into the Throat (+1 Amber, no Hollowed), and an enemy Refuge rescues a member it left Down on a 5+.
Scenario objectives are played on the tracker: the Bloom Heart (three Uses or a Fire hit burns it, up to 3 Amber harvested, +2 Din dice while it stands, a clean street next raid), the Radio (carrier at least 1 Noise, −2" Move, no Sprint; drops when Down; the trophy's Initiative re-roll), the Stranger (free on a Fight or Wits test of 2, 2 Health, rescued off your edge) and the Planting's Rite.
Seed-Bearers and the Thorn Matriarch drop an Amber Loot token when slain; a Crit that breaks the Jar leaves a spore cloud.
Blast weapons hit everyone in the blast: a Molotov makes a 2-dice attack on each model within 2", a pipe bomb a 3-dice attack within 3".
Improvements work in raids: the Watch Post's Initiative die in round 1, the Amber Shrine's extra Blight die once a raid, and the Reloading Bench turns 3 Salvage into a Reload without an Errand.
Market availability is rolled when you look for an Uncommon (3+) or Rare (5+) item; one that isn't there stays gone for the trip.
Home drawbacks are applied: The Local's cellar die, the Corner Shop's Laid Up roll, the Tower Block's Meds or a second missed raid, and the Hospital Wing's lurking Husks.

v0.2.3 · Rich finds and a richer economy

2026-10-24

Reward boost: Salvage, Rations and Reloads from Loot rolls and Scavenging are +10%, rounded up (Junk 2 → 3). Scenario Salvage rewards raised to match (Cache and Night Raid 6, Bloom Heart 9, The Planting 7); Amber sells for 9.
Rich find: each Crit on a successful Search gives that Loot +1 extra Loot roll in the Aftermath (at most +2); lost if the Loot is dropped.
Plentiful: a 6 on the die for how much Salvage, Reloads or Rations a Loot roll gives doubles it.

v0.2.2 · Arrows

2026-10-24

Bows use Arrows like crossbows use Bolts: a new store, every shot uses one, nocking the next is a Reload action; unused arrows come home, fired ones are gone.
Make arrows at home: 5 Arrows for 1 Salvage, without an Errand (also at founding).

v0.2.1 · Bolts

2026-10-24

Crossbows no longer have endless ammunition: each shot uses a Bolt, and loading the next is a Reload action.
Bolts are a new store, drawn at set-up like Reloads; unused bolts come home, fired ones are gone.
Make bolts at home: 5 Bolts for 1 Salvage, without an Errand (also at founding). Bows still gather their arrows back.

v0.2.0 · The Gardeners

2026-10-24

The Gardeners: lore, four new third-party units (Gardener Tender, Seed-Bearer, Hymnwarden, the Verdant Mother) and the Tender behaviour.
New Congregation encounter table, with escorts.
New scenario: The Planting. Stop the Rite before a Bloom Heart takes root.
Playing a Congregation (draft): founding, the Grove, in-raid rules and costs. Not in the app's builder yet.
The Hollowed return: on an Encounter roll in a campaign, a 6 brings back one of the campaign's Turned survivors instead; slain Hollowed are laid to rest.

v0.1.2 · The Stranger

2026-10-24

Someone in the Weeds: the Stranger joins the winner free in the Aftermath, without an Errand.
New d6 Stranger table: 1 Office Worker, 2 Student, 3 Waitress, 4 Courier, 5 Labourer, 6 any background costing 20 or less.

v0.1.1 · Errands clarified

2026-10-24

Errands: two between raids (three in an Office Block), reset by the Aftermath; unused errands don't carry over.
A Trade errand is one trip to the Market, covering all buying and selling (gear, Reloads, Amber) that turn.
Each survivor recruited is a separate errand.

v0.1.0 · First draft

2026-10-24

Core d6 dice-pool system: roll a pool, every 4+ is a success, every 6 a Crit.
Blight dice, the 0–12 Blight track, 12 Gifts and 12 Marks, and Turning at 12.
Alternating activations in initiative order, with creature broods taking their own place in the order.
Noise per action, the Din roll in the End Phase, and creatures drawn to the loudest survivor.
Limited ammunition: magazines, Reloads drawn from the Refuge stores, Jams on Scrap weapons.
20 backgrounds, 24 skills in 6 lists, the Market (weapons, armour, kit).
Starter bestiary of 9 creatures, Lesser and Greater Encounter tables.
6 scenarios built around two Refuges contesting an objective.
Campaign: Aftermath (casualties, injuries, experience, advances, Blight, loot, upkeep) and Errands.
Four Seasons (the Waking, the Long Days, Glassfall, the Silence), each changing raids and asking a survival need of every Refuge.
15 Homes (bases of operations, from a campsite or an RV to a shopping mall), each with capacity, perk and drawback.
The World: setting and lore, modern-day and Lovecraftian.