PRODUCERS

Vidya Bodepudi

Virginia Tapia

Jon Egia Bengoetxea

Romn Gmez Serrano

WRITERS

Helio de Grado Fernndez

Javier Gmez Serrano

Carlos Gmez Quintana

GAME DESIGNERS/DEVELOPERS

Mehdi Ben Slama

Mauricio Gmez Alonso

Carlos Gmez Quintana

Kurunandan Jain

ADDITIONAL WRITING

Mauricio Gmez Alonso

Kasper Luiten

E. G. Quinzel

Helio de Grado Fernndez

Stephany Jaiquel

Mike Foster

GAME DESIGN COLLABORATORS

Douglas Peacocke

COPY EDITOR

Jacob Torgerson

James Robinson

Jeffrey Lee

COMMUNITY MANAGER

ARTISTS

Tyler Ryan

Jon Egia Bengoetxea

Vukasin Bajic

Yong Yi Lee

LEAD GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Aleksa Bracic

Zabi Hassan

Aleksandra Bilic

Marco Brunelleschi

Dhenzel Obeng

ART DIRECTOR

James Combridge

Hakeem Rafai

Carlos Gmez Quintana

Shen Fei

J. R. Barker

LEAD ARTIST

Eduardo Garca

FEATURED ARTIST

Milan Nikolic

Ivan Jovanovic

Anthony Jones

Lukasz Poduch

An RPG by Burning Games.

HONORARY PLAYTESTERS

Sascha Kersten

Camdon Wright

Sergio Pesquera Valads

Tom Pibyl

Chantiel Amadis Kariont

Diego Ro Gimeno

Timothy Claeys

Pedro Calvo Morcillo

Alejandro Pila Vigalondo

Chad

Kenneth Trombley

Kylee Gilpin

Mario Gmez Ortega

Baradaelin

Eugene Tan

Daniwasd

Nathaniel Ott

Joshua Casey-Rosa

Rodrigo

Adam Klein

Luke Challenger

Ben Bergeron

Svein

Lucas Artist

James Jimbo Burrell

Frazer Barnard

FEEDBACK HEROES

Tsair

Brandon Manning

EthicalLapse

Orden Novaliega

Hida Fushu

Panda

Mark Niven

Juan Alonso

oddment84

Harrio

Undead_Ichi

Joe Becci

Chadnic

Donovan Derry

Alshaffer

David Vicente

Phill winters

Carlos Gutirrez

Ash Nightfever Burgum

Miguel Cobo

Timothy Adan

SPECIAL THANKS

Antroia

Aritz Alava

Caronte77

Laura Calvo Llorente

blaster219

Bojan Simisic - Whale Shark Studio

Mark C.

Milos Nikolic

Salvador

Gabe Shultz

Peter Cobcroft

John dAuteuil

Joel

James Mathe - Minion Games

Jak Van Der Graaf

Jamey Stegmaier - Stonemaier Games

Jacob Thompson

Ben, Dave, Josh and Tau - The Nerd Cave

Mike Foster

Oscar Muiz - Nexus 4

Eric Oliver

Juraj Bilic - Machina Arcana

Carlos Pesquera Alonso

Stephany Jaiquel Barn
Daniel Tarrio Quintela
Victor Centeno Gonzlez
3

Jos Carlos Tarrio Quintela

faith rulebook

Jose Mara Sainz Maza

Scott Rhymer
Jim Sorenson
Keneal Swenson
Matthew Moorman
Ben Ramjan
Dave Desi
Adam Guarino-Watson Urutsini
Tau Kaulima
Koen Agterberg
Simon Butt
Vorawat Kongsupol
Joeri Captain Cutlass Winkeler
Che UbiquitousRat Webster
Pascal Slaghekke
Matthias De Ridder

TABLE OF
CONTENTS:
Components and Introduction

The General Rules

The Characters

18

The Attributes and Skills

25

The Upgrades

33

The Non-Player Characters (NPC)

43

The Gear

45

Advice for the GM

49

The Universe of Faith

52

The Gods

57

The Corvo

65

The Izkal

79

The Humans

93

The Raag

97

The Ravager

103

COMPONENTS
FAITH: The Sci-fi RPG is an RPG that uses boardgame components to ease its use and streamline its gameplay. Find below
a description of the different tokens you will use during your campaigns.

NAME TOKENS

Components and Introduction

Use these name tokens to record the name,

age and the profession of your character.

AFFINITY TOKEN

NUMERICAL TOKEN

Use an Affinity token to establish the

Affinity of your character. Each symbol
corresponds to a suit of the player cards.

Use these numerical tokens

to establish the value of your
characters Skills and Attributes.

GOD TOKEN
Use a God token to establish the
God of your character. Each symbol
represents one of the five Gods.

CHARACTER TOKEN

faith rulebook

Use a character token to represent your character within

the game. The token chosen establishes the species and
gender of your character, while giving you and the other
players a visual clue of your approximate look.

UPGRADE TOKENS
Use these tokens to establish
the Upgrades your character
has. Each symbol corresponds
to the type of Upgrade.

AMMO TOKEN
Use these tokens to keep track
of how much ammo does a
weapon have at all times.

ACS DAMAGE TOKEN

Use these tokens to keep
track of ACS damage on the
characters and their devices.

NEURAL DAMAGE TOKEN

Use these tokens to keep track of
neural damage on the characters.

PHYSICAL DAMAGE TOKEN

Use these tokens to keep track of
physical damage on the characters.

FOREWORD
FAITH is a roleplaying game. A roleplaying game consists
of two main parts: the narrative, and the mechanical. The
narrative part of the game is where players perform the
roles of their characters alongside a Game Master (GM),
who describes the actions of non-player characters and
the worlds around them. The mechanical part of the game
is a system of rules used to discover the outcomes of
the players actions. The rules serve as a tool to keep the
gameplay realistic and coherent within the universe of the
game.

be friendly, others will be simple bystanders, and

still others will want to talk to you, negotiate, and
trade but there are always a few that will want
to fight you. This deck has all the information
needed to fight some of these NPCs.
Assorted tokens, used to represent damage, am-

munition, etc. These tokens allow players to focus

on roleplaying, making the flow of gameplay
smoother.

CORE CONCEPTS
The game of FAITH is based around two main ideas:

WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY

Players, any number of them. One will play as the

We have included a mechanic in the game to reward good

roleplay. The Gods represent moral paths, and players who
continuously roleplay following their chosen morality are
rewarded with powers and glory. Players whose characters personalities are not consistent will not be able to
access those special abilities.

A player deck per player. It can be replaced by a

poker deck, translating the suits to their respective meanings in FAITH (though it might not look as
beautiful). The playing cards are used to resolve
actions during the game.

Roleplaying should be a narrative experience where the

characters usually perform all their actions successfully
and the players will only need to stop to use the mechanics
of the game when the possibility of failing is dramatically
interesting.

One character board per player (the GM does not

need one). As an alternative, you may also use a

printed character sheet, like in many other RPGs.
It is used to keep track of each players character.
You can find four pregenerated characters in the
punchboards that you can use if you want to start
playing right away.
Additionally, while not essential, the FAITH: Core Game
contains some very useful additional resources:
A deck of gear cards that hold all the information

For this reason most actions in this game are successful by default. Starting Skills with a value of 0 make
characters more interesting by not allowing them to do
everything well. While the GMs job is to have characters
fail some actions, they should only do it when it is dramatic
and interesting. This creates a streamlined and cinematic
gameplay in which the players will not be checking rules
every time they decide to do something, and at the same
time they must be careful whenever the GM decides to
confront them.

Why Cards?

about each piece of equipment. The players, with

the approval of the GM, can make up their own
gear to expand this deck, but it contains most of
the basic equipment you might need.

Most RPGs use dice to add randomness into the game. We

have decided to use playing cards instead.

A deck of non-player characters. Some NPCs will

We wanted players to be able to manage their luck. In

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faith rulebook

GM and the rest will be characters. While there is

no actual limit to the number of players, it is best
played with three to six. Remember, everyone
should have the opportunity to shine and feel
included: the bigger the group, the harder that is.
If the group is too large, we recommend breaking
it into two groups with two different GMs. The GMs
could be running parallel stories and characters
could move from one to the other. There are no
real limits to what you can do while playing an
RPG.

We ask our players to get into the role of the person they
have imagined because while it is harder to pretend to be
another person than to use game mechanics to solve social
interactions, we believe that it is far more interesting and
fun. Getting better at it by playing is what keeps bringing us
to the table to get into the skin of a space adventurer or a
deviant hacker.

Components and Introduction

The FAITH: Core Game box comes with everything you

need to play for a group of up to four players. This is what
you need to play FAITH:

Roleplaying is mostly based upon social interactions

between the players. The personality and body of knowledge of a character should not be imposed by rules, but by
playing the role of that character.

FAITH, the players play cards from their hands, always

choosing which card they play. This allows players to calculate their chances of success when it is their turn and to
create a strategy accordingly. We believe this is an interesting alternative to rolling dice to resolve actions.

Components and Introduction

Additionally, the beautifully illustrated cards of FAITH put

the art of the game on the table and in front of the players
at all times. They create an immersive experience and allow
players to familiarise themselves with the universe of the
game, which can be especially hard in a sci-fi setting.

faith rulebook

Lastly, we have decided to put important pieces of gear

and many NPCs on cards as well. With it, we aim to keep
players from constantly checking the rulebook to see what
they can and cant do, and remind them of the gear they
are carrying. By including illustrations in all these cards,
we aim to keep players immersed in the stories they are
playing, easing the difficult experience of mentally recreating an interesting science fiction story.

creates a story for them to play or follows a story created

for the setting. The GM sets the goals for the characters
and she is in charge of creating drama around the events
that will lead the story onwards.
The GM controls all the non-player characters, sets their
personalities and interests, decides their actions, and says
what they say, even imitating voices (or not). She describes
the scenarios where the players find themselves, she
makes up how they can interact with them, etc. It is also
her task to determine how the actions of the players impact
the story. Additionally, she is the arbiter of all rules. If the
group cannot find a solution for a problem the GM always
has the final word. She should try to use this responsibility
for the better of the story, preventing players from getting
caught up discussing rules.
In the end, it all comes down to creating an interesting
story that everyone can enjoy, and to have fun together.

What are Actions?

THE CHARACTERS

Everything a character does is an action. In FAITH, actions

are usually successful by default. However, actions may
fail if a character is really unskilled, if the GM thinks it is
interesting for the story, or if someone being affected by
it does not want it to happen. These situations are resolved
by playing cards, sometimes in confrontation with other
characters, or with the GM.

The players who are not the GM play the main characters
of the story. They are in charge of playing the role of the
characters they have created: performing their dialogues,
making the decisions their characters would make, and
playing out the relevant mechanics of the game when
needed, to see if they are successful in their endeavours.

INTRODUCTION
A roleplaying game, in its simplest form, is a collaborative storytelling experience, with players getting into the
role of characters and saying what their characters do in
the universe created by the Game Master (GM).
When playing FAITH, each player controls a character
except for the GM, who narrates the story and plays the
part of all non-player characters (NPCs). Each player will
design his own character, including his backstory, Attributes, Skills and Upgrades.
Before the beginning of the game, decide who will be the
GM.

THE GAME MASTER

In this rulebook, we will always refer to the
GM in feminine form and to the rest of the
players in masculine form. This will allow
some rules to be clearer and more easily
understood.
The GM is a storyteller; she is the person in charge of everything other than the player characters themselves. She

Each player controls a single character and develops in

depth who that person is and what he wants. What is his
struggle? What are his dreams? The more compelling a
character is, the more rewarding the experience of playing
that character is. Interesting people attract other interesting people. Players are encouraged to talk about the history
of their characters and how they imagine them. Together,
they can create an amazing group of characters that will
experience great adventures.

SESSIONS & SCENES

A game of FAITH can be as long as its players want, so it
needs to be divided into sessions and scenes. A session is
simply the allocated time frame for playing the game during
a specific day. After each session, the players must keep
their hands of cards, discard piles and decks for the next
session, as it affects the development of their characters.
Scenes are the different situations that the characters
of the story might get into. Usually scenes involve the
achievement or failure of a certain goal, or a point during
which there is a break long enough between actions that
the characters have a chance to rest. They are similar to
scenes in films. The GM determines the beginning and end
of a scene in a way that fits the story.

a journe y begins .

SETTING UP
THE GAME

CARD SUITS

All players and the GM will have one deck of 54 playing

cards each (four suits plus two jokers). These cards are
used to change the odds during confrontations, allowing
characters to perform heroic deeds or causing them to fail
miserably.

The General Rules

At the beginning of the game, all players will give their

joker cards to the GM, who will shuffle them into her own
deck. This is the only instance when cards from different
decks can be mixed. From this point on, each player must
make sure to keep his cards separated from those of other
players.

faith rulebook

When they begin the first session, the players and the
GM will shuffle their decks and draw seven cards. Upon
drawing the starting hand, each player can perform a
mulligan, drawing a new hand and shuffling the previous
one back into his deck.
Players can only play or discard cards from their hands,
unless specifically stated otherwise. Therefore, whenever
a rule asks for a player to play or discard a card, he will
have to choose one from his hand of cards and play it or
discard it. It is always be up to the player which card from
his hand he plays or discards.
Players cannot draw or discard cards at will, and they
cannot shuffle or mix previously used cards into the deck.
Whenever a card is played it is placed in the discard pile of
its owner, usually set up next to the deck face up. When the
last card of the deck has been drawn, the discard pile must
be shuffled to set up a new deck.
Players must always follow the rules to play and draw
cards during confrontations. A player may discard a card
only when stated by a rule, and discarding a card will never
trigger effects related to playing cards, such as Proficiency
or Playing with Ambience.
If at any time a player does not have any cards in his
hand, he must draw a card. If that card is drawn during a
confrontation, it cannot be played until that confrontation
has been resolved.

NATURE SUIT
In a poker deck use Clubs.

URBAN SUIT
In a poker deck use Hearts.

There are four suits in the deck: Urban, Wilderness,

Space and Operating System (OS), which relate to the types
of environments where the characters might be. The use
of the suits is described in Playing with Ambience. Regular
poker cards can be used following this correlation between
the suits: Urban is Hearts, Wilderness is Clubs, Space is
Spades and OS is Diamonds. The value of the Aces is one.
Urban includes the environments where the landscape
has been heavily modified by a rational species. Wilderness includes the environments where the landscape is of
natural origin. Space includes the environments in free fall
or 0-G. Lastly, OS includes virtual spaces inside computers,
regardless of their actual physical location.
If it is hard to determine the type of environment where
the character is (like an abandoned ruined city overgrown
by a jungle) it will be the GM who makes the choice. In the
previous example, it would make sense that if the character
wishes to climb a ruined building, then he is considered in an
Urban environment, but if he wishes to hide in the bushes,
he is in Wilderness.

Court Cards
Each deck has 12 court cards. They are the three cards
of each suit with a value of 11 or higher. Court cards are
important for achieving critical successes.

ACTIONS
Actions are the things a character can do, from shooting
a weapon to playing piano. All actions are performed using
a Skill that represents the characters knowledge in that
area, and an Attribute that represents his related capacity
(See Attributes and Skills for more details on the specific
uses of each of them).
Any action attempted by a character is automatically
successful for as long as it is a realistic action. If the action
is absurd, such as reading an unknown language or lifting a
200-ton spaceship, the GM must prohibit said action. The
character may appeal, but he must be reminded that offlimit actions can break the gameplay. The GMs judgment
and dissuasive power must lead the gameplay forward.

SPACE SUIT
In a poker deck use Spades.

OS SUIT
In a poker deck use Diamonds.

Logical actions can only be prevented from happening through confrontations. Confrontations are the main
mechanic of FAITH. Actions that are confronted must
have an action value higher than the confronting action to
succeed. Depending on the difference in their values, they
can have different levels of success. An action that is not
confronted will have the level of success that the character
performing it wishes.
Some pieces of equipment and Upgrades have the
keyword action in their descriptions. Those pieces of equipment and Upgrades require the character to dedicate an
action to use them. The Skill that should be used depends
on the specific piece of equipment or Upgrade.
When it is not important to keep track of time, actions
can be chained together one after the other. However,
in situations during which timing is essential, an initiative
round must take place and each character is only allowed
to perform a single action per round unless other special
rules apply.

A collaborative action is a single action that is performed

by more than one character. During a collaborative action,
all participating players play as a single character who
has an Attribute value equal to the highest relevant Attribute amongst participating players, and who has a Skill
value equal to the lowest Skill used amongst participating players. Only participating characters can play cards
during a collaborative action. Additionally, they gain one
advantage for each character participating in the action
after the first.

Two characters or more holding closed a door

while a huge creature tries to open it to get to them;
two characters operating a double-pilot spaceship through the debris of a space battle; several
characters lifting a hurt companion to get him to
safety, etc. Remember that a collaborative action
must always be a single action. A character opening
a door with a kick so his friend can throw a grenade
in is not a single action and therefore it cannot be
considered a collaborative action, but two normal
actions that need to be well chained together to
succeed.

I [verb] [preposition if needed] [target]

Example: I shoot the guard. I move behind cover.

I dodge towards the door. I hack Eds thermal visor.
I reload my weapon.

To keep the game realistic and organic, characters are

allowed to move up to 2.5 metres while performing an
action.

OPPOSING AN ACTION
In FAITH, actions are automatically successful unless
someone chooses to oppose them, be it another character trying to avoid their effects or the GM determining an
accident or mishap. Such oppositions are resolved through
confrontations.
Generally, characters involved in a confrontation will
have the chance to play a number of cards depending on

Example: Rick and Morty are piloting their spaceship through a ring of asteroids, Rick is piloting and
Morty is using the plasma turret. Their ship is very
easy to manoeuvre, so they gain one advantage. The
GM claims they are about to be hit by an asteroid and
they decide to confront it collaboratively as it will
affect both of them. While Rick will swerve the ship
to the left, Morty will shoot at the left side of the
asteroid to divert its path, increasing the chances
of avoiding the impact. They are both trying to
avoid being hit by the asteroid. The GM agrees that
it is a collaborative action. Rick uses his Link 2 (he is
cortex connected to the ship) and Piloting 2. Morty
uses his Dexterity 3 and Ballistic 5. For this action
they can collaboratively play 3 cards with an initial
action value of 2 and they have 2 advantages (one
from the ship and another one from the collaborative action). The GM can play 3 cards with an initial
value of 0 and has 2 advantages. Every time Rick
and Morty can play a card, either one of them can
play it.

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faith rulebook

Actions should only need one verb to be described. If the

word and is included, the character is probably trying to
perform two or more actions linked to each other and he
will probably need several turns to be able to do that. Here
is a basic template to describe actions:

COLLABORATIVE ACTIONS

The General Rules

Sometimes it will be hard to distinguish between a single

action and a chain of actions very well linked. It is not the
purpose of this rulebook to provide a list of specific actions,
as nearly anything can happen in a roleplaying game and
such a list will never be comprehensive enough. However,
players should try to stick to a few guidelines to describe
their actions.

their Attributes, which are added to their relevant Skill to

determine their action value. The character with the highest
action value will succeed and all opposing characters will
fail.

The General Rules

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11

PASSIVE ACTIONS

Instant

Passive actions are those that either do not require effort

from characters or are related to what characters can
perceive and therefore do not require that they declare it.
Hiding and searching are passive actions and it is up to the
GM to determine when other actions may be so as well.

Effects with the keyword instant can be used at any time,

even during another characters turn. Only one instant
effect can be used during each action by each character.

One passive action can be performed in addition to

a normal action during a single turn. When performing
passive actions the character may play cards from the top
of his deck instead of his hand, or a combination of both
from his hand and the top of his deck.

Sustained effects are considered activated on all

accounts, but they remain active until the character decides
to stop them, becomes Traumatised, becomes Bleeding out,
or dies. A character with an active sustained effect can not
discard any neural damage during the maintenance phase.

Example: Yong performs a passive action

(Searching), looking into a dark tunnel to figure out
if there is any danger before he enters. He is using
his Mind 2 with an initial action value equal to his
Survival 7 and he has no advantages. The GM confronts the action, she can play 2 cards, the same
as the character she is confronting, with an initial
action value of 0, and she has 2 advantages. Yong is
in Inferiority so he can play one card less than usual.
The GM plays a 7 and now Yong has to play a card.
He can choose to play it from the top of his deck
or from his hand. He does not want to reduce the
number of cards in his hand, so he plays a random
card from the top of his deck, a 3. His final action
value is 10 and the GM can play one more card. Will
she force his failure or will she let him see whether
danger lies ahead?

ADDITIONAL EFFECTS
Sometimes, characters use pieces of equipment or
Upgrades that can complement their actions or change
their outcomes. These pieces of equipment or Upgrades
have effects that can affect actions in different ways and,
depending on their type, they are resolved differently.

Passive
Passive effects are always in use and they always trigger
when they are applicable. Their use is not optional and they
must be applied if at all possible. All characteristics and
Upgrades are passive unless specified otherwise.

Activated
Activated effects can only be used simultaneously with
an action performed by the character that owns them,
although they still apply if the action fails. Only one activated effect can be used during each action by each character.
If an activated effect has several functions, the character
can decide to use any number of them at the same time.

Sustained

CONFRONTATIONS
Confrontations are the core mechanic of the game. If
an action has a chance of failure, it will likely be resolved
through a confrontation. Confrontations are the only
instance during which characters can play cards.
Confrontations arise when a character declares an
action, and whoever is affected by it declares he wants to
act against it. Alternatively, the GM, representing difficulty
or bad luck, creates a confrontation when she tries to force
the action to fail.
It is not recommended to resolve actions related to
dialogue and deduction by using cards. In these cases, the
best option for a deeper game immersion is to let each
character play his role in order to obtain the information or agreement he needs throughout interaction with
other players and NPCs. In case of not reaching an agreement, these situations can be resolved with a Cunning
confrontation.

CONFRONTATIONS
WITH THE GM
When a character performs an action, the GM can
confront him to try to stop the character from succeeding.
During a confrontation with the GM, she counts as having
the same Attributes and Affinity as the character she is
confronting, and her opposition counts as an action for all
resolution purposes. The GM does not have a Skill value but
she does not receive a disadvantage for it. Additionally, she
always has 2 advantages that can be overcome as normal.
In these situations, the GM acts as bad luck or an accident
happening. If the GM wins the confrontation, the action will
be unsuccessful and it is recommended that she explains
how the action failed. If she scores a critical success, there
can be an interesting or dangerous reason for the failure.

CONFRONTATIONS
BETWEEN CHARACTERS

Skills
All actions relate to a Skill. The Skill value is added to the
action value. Additionally, if the Skill value of a character is
0 he will suffer a disadvantage (-).

DAMAGE
Skill values are reduced by one per damage counter (both
physical and neural) the character has, to a minimum of 0.

The General Rules

Example: Edward is trying to infiltrate an enemy

base. He finds a lonely guard at the end of the
corridor in front of the door he must cross. The
guard is unaware of Edwards presence so there
cannot be a confrontation; anything Edward does
to him will succeed. Edward shoots him with his
silent weapon. Suddenly, the GM plays a card from
her hand, a very powerful 10. Edward looks at her
distressed. If he misses the shot, the guard could
be alerted and the mission will be compromised.
Edward has Ballistic 6 and Dexterity 2, and his
weapon grants him one advantage. On the other
hand the GM has an initial action value of 0, plays 2
cards (same as the Attribute used by Edward) and
has two advantages. Edward is in inferiority and
therefore he can only play 1 card. If Edward wins the
confrontation, he kills the guard without drawing
any attention. If the GM wins the confrontation, it
will be up to her to describe the failure. She could
say that Edwards gun has a malfunction and he will
be forced to fix it or find another way around the
guard, or she could say that Edward shot misses,
alerting the guard.

12

A countermeasure must be able to make the confronted

action fail: by damaging the attackers target; by affecting
his senses, capacities or equipment; by getting the character into a position where the action he is confronting cannot
reach him, etc.
A Hacking action can be stopped by hacking the rig that
is being used to attempt the attack, or a character can be
stopped from hitting his target by blinding him.
If there is conflict about the appropriateness of an action
as a countermeasure in a confrontation, the GM must
decide if it is appropriate or not before allowing the players
to resolve the confrontation. If it is not, the confronting
character can attempt a different action or be affected by
the action as normal.

ACTION VALUE
The action value is an actions numerical value. There are
several things that can modify the value of an action and its
final value will affect the outcome of the confrontation and
determine its winner.

faith rulebook

When a character is going to be affected by an action and

he is aware of it, he may decide to confront that action. He
must explain what action he is performing as a countermeasure and determine what Skill and Attribute his action
relates to.

Playing Cards
All actions relate to an Attribute. When a character is
involved in a confrontation he will be able to play up to as
many cards as the value of the Attribute he is using. He will
add the value of those cards to his action value.

The deck of the GM contains the jokers from all the decks
used by the players and herself. A joker card played during a
confrontation turns the last card played by the confronted
character into a card of value 0. If the character had not
played a card yet, it will affect the next card he plays.

The total number of cards played by a character during

an initiative round can never be higher than the Attribute
used, regardless of the number of actions performed using
that Attribute (unless specified otherwise by another rule).

A joker card still counts towards the maximum number

of cards the GM (or NPC) can play, and the card nullified
by the joker still counts towards the maximum number of
cards the character can play.

The General Rules

INFERIORITY
(ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES)

faith rulebook

13

THE JOKERS

Advantages (+) represent having a form of upper hand

over an opponent, while disadvantages (-) represent difficulties or hindrances a character can have when trying to
perform an action. Both can be gained through equipment,
or through equipment or Upgrades that grant them. Each
disadvantage cancels one advantage, and if the character
has no advantages to be cancelled, it gives one advantage
to the character confronting him.
During a confrontation, the characters that have the
least advantages will be in Inferiority and, as a result, will
have the maximum number of cards they can play reduced
by one. In case of a tie, all characters will be able to play
the normal amount of cards. The GM can also be affected
by advantages or disadvantages.
A character can be considered in an advantageous situation when he is undercover, when his enemy is restrained,
when he enters a room undiscovered and catches other
characters with their guards down, when he is in a higher
position than his enemy, etc. A character can gain
advantage from several sources at the same
time or even several advantages from the
same source if the benefit it provides is very
strong. There are so many possibilities that
it is the job of the GM to determine how and
when to grant advantages or disadvantages to characters.

OUTCOME
OF A CONFRONTATION
In a confrontation, the action with the higher action value
is considered successful and its confronting action is considered a failure. In case of a tie, all actions fail.
When an action has a value 1 to 4 points higher than its
confronting action, it succeeds without other effects.

Decisive Success
When an action has a value 5 or more points higher than
its confronting action, it achieves a decisive success and it
may have improved effects as described in the relevant
Skill or piece of equipment. Those actions that do not
have an effect described for a decisive success will not be
improved unless the GM finds a fitting effect for them.

Critical Success
When an action has a value 10 or more points higher
than its confronting action and the last card played for it
was a court card, it achieves a critical success. Its effects
are improved as described in the relevant Skill or piece of
equipment, or as the GM sees fit if they are not described
anywhere. The effects of a critical success should be twice
as good as the effects of a regular success.

Example: Erica and John shoot at each other.

After playing all their cards, taking into consideration all the action value modifiers, the final action
values are 31 for Erica and 19 for John. Additionally,
the last card played by Erica was a 13. Erica outperforms John by 12 points and the last card she played
was a court card, so she achieves a critical success.
She does twice the damage of her weapon to John.
This represents a headshot or a shot to some other
vital area.

Failure
Whenever a character fails an action, it is up to the GM
to tell why and how. She can just have the action fail, or
she can have it succeed with complications. However, she
should follow a few guidelines to incorporate failures into
the story.

The previous step is repeated until all characters

cant or do not want to play more cards.

The confrontation is resolved. All the actions with

an action value higher than the action they are

confronting are successful.
All successful actions are resolved according to

the outcome of the confrontation.

When a character fails an action against another character or the GM, it is typical to have the failed action simply
fail. If it is a Shooting action, the bullet misfires or misses its
target. If it is a Repairing action, the mechanic simply fails
to repair it. If it is a Hacking action, the hacker is not able to
override the defences of the device or his rig momentarily
fails.

To resolve a confrontation, players must always follow

the same steps.
A character declares an action and its target or

targets if there are any.

The GM declares if she wants to confront the

action.
All the characters that can declare a counterac-

tion do so if they want.

All the characters that declared a counteraction

declare the activated effect they will use, if any.

The initial character declares the activated effect

he will use, if any.

Inferiority is assigned to the character(s) with the

least advantages in the confrontation.

The character with the lowest action value plays

a card from his hand. In case of a tie, the players

play first. If there are two or more players
involved in a tie, they play their cards face down
at the same time.

In order to keep gameplay streamlined, it is important

that each participant of a confrontation says the value of
their action out loud each time they play a new card. This
way nobody is forced to calculate the value of the action of
his opponent every time he plays a card.

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STEPS
OF A CONFRONTATION

actions.

The General Rules

However, when the GM confronts and defeats a character

with a critical success, she can get creative. If it is a Shooting
action, the weapon is jammed and the shooter cannot use
it anymore until it is fixed, or the shooter hits a friendly
character that was in close proximity to his target.
If it is a Repairing action, the mechanic could have
damaged the device even more and further
Repairing actions could be more difficult or impossible. If it is a Hacking action, the hackers rig
might break down or be infected by a virus.

The GM determines the failures of all other

RESOLVING
MULTIPLE CONFRONTATIONS

The General Rules

If an action affects several characters, such as the explosion of a grenade, all affected characters can confront
that action. Before any cards are played, every character
affected by the action must decide if he will enter the
confrontation. The GM may also be involved in a multiple
confrontation.

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To resolve a multiple confrontation, calculate the final

action values of each of the characters involved and the
GM if she participates. Calculate the successes or failures
of all confronting characters individually against the
character that performed the initial action and apply them
according to the normal success rules. If the GM wins her
confrontation, the action of the character she confronted
fails regardless of its success against other characters.
Note that even if an action itself is a failure, it still causes all
confronting actions with a lower value to fail.
If a character is in Inferiority against only some of his
opponents, he can still play his last card, which will only
modify the value of his action against those opponents that
do not have advantage over him. Similarly, the effects of
decisive or critical successes are calculated and applied
individually against each opponent.

DRAWING CARDS
When a character plays a card, he is subject to drawing
new cards from his deck to his hand. There are two instances when this can happen and if both of them occur
simultaneously only the most beneficial takes place.

Playing with Ambience (Affinity)

If a character plays a card, and the suit matches the
environment in which he is performing the action, he can
immediately draw a card from his deck to his hand. This represents the character acting effectively in his environment,
resulting in less exhaustion.
Additionally, each character has Affinity to a suit. When
he plays a card that matches the ambience he is in and it is
his Affinity, he draws two cards instead of one and keeps
one of them in his hand. The other card must be put either
back on top of the deck or the discard pile.

Proficiency
Whenever a character plays a card with a value equal
to or less than the Skill he is using during a confrontation,
he immediately draws a card. This represents that the
character is very capable in this area and the low effort
(corresponding to playing a low card) does not tire him out.

Beginning of a Scene
At the beginning of each scene, all players and the GM will
keep their current hand of cards and draw back up to a total
hand of seven cards.

INITIATIVE ROUND
Whenever two or more characters wish to perform an
action simultaneously or in close timing with each other, an
initiative round takes place. Each initiative round represents
the 3 to 5 seconds during which characters rapidly perform
actions to try to outperform each other or to achieve their
own goals.
Each character who wants to perform an action this initiative round plays a card face-down on the table. This is his
initiative card. Initiative cards are played either from their
hand or the top of the deck. A card played as an initiative
card does not trigger effects such as Playing with Ambience
or Proficiency.
All cards are then revealed simultaneously and each
character adds his Initiative to the value of his card. This
determines the initiative order for the characters, from
highest to lowest added total. Each player discards his
initiative card at the beginning of his turn. Characters will
take turns performing a single action each following the
initiative order.
If two characters have the same initiative, the player
characters always act first. If two or more NPCs have the
same initiative it is up to the GM to choose which one goes
first. If two or more players have the same initiative they
can choose who goes first, and if they do not come to an
agreement they must each tell the action they wish to
perform to the GM and she will determine who gets to act
first.
During an initiative round a character might be able
to perform more than one action, especially when he is
affected by the actions of several characters. Regardless
of how many actions a character ends up performing, the
total number of cards he can play for actions associated to
the same Attribute can never exceed that Attribute unless
specified otherwise by another effect.

REACTING
Whenever a character is affected by an action, he can
confront it following the rules for confrontations between
characters. If this happens before his turn in the initiative
order, he loses his turn for that round. A character can
confront more than one action each round and that will not
cause him to lose any additional turns.

WAITING
A character can always choose to wait until the next
character with the highest result in the initiative order has
taken his action before taking his own action; he can do this
several times letting any number of characters go first. If
all characters choose to wait, they keep their cards for the
next initiative round. The only consequence is the passing
of time.

MAINTENANCE PHASE
After all characters have taken their turns and all actions
have been resolved there is a maintenance phase. During
the maintenance phase, effects such as damage recovery
are resolved.

If there is still conflict between the characters, or new

characters join the struggle, a new initiative round begins.

To resolve an initiative round, players must always

follow the same steps.
All players play one card face down in front of

them, either from their hand or the top of

their deck.
If there are any number of NPCs

involved, the GM plays one card face

down from either her hand or the top
of her deck.
Everyone turns their cards face up,

and each player character adds his Initiative to

the value of his card. NPCs add their Initiative
to the value of the GMs card.
The initiative order is established from highest to

lowest added total. In case of a tie, player characters will always go first, followed by the NPCs
in the order of the GMs choosing. In case of a tie
between player characters, they must come to an
agreement or tell their actions in secret to the GM,
who will determine who goes first.
The first character of the initiative order has his

turn. He declares his action and discards his initia-

not had his turn yet takes his turn. Any confrontations that arise are resolved as usual. Repeat this
step until there are no more characters left in the
initiative order.
The maintenance phase takes place and all

relevant effects are resolved.

If there are still two or more characters who wish

to perform actions simultaneously or in close

timing with each other, a new initiative round
begins.

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STEPS
OF AN INITIATIVE ROUND

The next character in the initiative order that has

The General Rules

If there are no initiative rounds taking place the maintenance phase is performed as often as the GM determines,
keeping in mind that an initiative round usually takes place
in around 3 to 5 seconds.

tive card. Characters affected by that action may

confront him as normal. If they do so, they lose
their turn if they had not acted yet. Any confrontations that may arise are resolved as usual.

we need to talk .

THE CHARACTERS
Characters have Attributes (usually ranging from 1 to 3)
that represent their general capacities and establish the
amount of cards the players can use during confrontations;
and Skills (ranging from 0 to 9) that represent their specific
skillsets and are added to their actions values. Additionally characters may have Upgrades that represent remarkable features like a cortex connector or a Divine Upgrade
granted by one of the Gods.
However, characters are much more than a bunch of
numbers that tell how good they are at something. A key
part of character creation is coming up with the character
concept. A character concept tells us about who you want
your character to be. It can be a concept that you have been
toying around with for a long time, a good idea that just
came to you, or a character inspired by a story you enjoy basically anything you want.

Think about what kind of character you would want to

be if you had the chance to star in a 300 million dollar sci-fi
film. There are no limits to the scope of an RPG.

CREATING A CHARACTER
You should talk to the other players and the GM about the
kind of character you would like to play and what kind of
story you are going to be part of. This will help you decide
the type of character you want to create. Reading the description of each species and the story of the universe of
FAITH can be really useful when making these decisions. If
you want to learn about the game just by playing it, just pick
the species you visually like the most and go with it. Once
you have made up your mind, follow these steps:
Choose the species of your character and the gender.
Pick up the relevant character image and place it on your
character board.
Choose one of the four suits to be the Affinity of your
character. Pick up the corresponding token and place it on

Establish your Skills. Set one Skill at 5, another at 4,

two at 3, two at 2, three at 1 and the last three at 0. Once
you have chosen how to distribute your points, use the
numbered tokens and place them on your character board.
Establish your Attributes values at 1. Then, distribute 10
points of experience between your Attributes and/or buy
and install Upgrades. See Gaining Experience to learn the
cost of each improvement.
Choose your characters equipment. Use the credits
granted by your Profession to acquire pieces of equipment
or appeal to the GM using the background of your character
to help her decide whether you should have any additional
equipment to what your credits can buy. It is recommended
that characters start with only a few pieces of gear and
have them gain new equipment along the way.

ADVANCED CHARACTERS
If you want to play with an advanced character you can
use these rules that will let you create a character with the
experience of around 12-15 sessions of play.
Skills: Set one Skill at 7, another at 6, two at 5, two at 3,
three at 1 and the last three at 0.
Attributes and Upgrades: distribute 24 points of experience according to the costs found in Gaining Experience.

GAINING EXPERIENCE
During gameplay, characters will learn and change. The
story will shape their personalities and their actions will
teach them new Skills or improve those they already had.
Each time a major milestone of the story is reached or
the characters have had a significant opportunity to learn
and improve their abilities, the GM may decide to grant them

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It is usual for a group of players to spend an evening

coming up with the stories of their characters and setting
up their character boards, while the GM plots her storyline.

Choose a God to follow. The God of each character relates

to what kind of person they are. The GM has the final word
on which God corresponds to a character after a player has
described how he wants his character to be. Pick up the
corresponding token and place it on your character board.
Remember that during gameplay you might change your
Gods allegiance to another one if your character changes
his path in life. Change the relevant token accordingly. You
can choose to not follow any God.

The Characters

It is important for characters to have a desire or a goal

that they want to achieve, which is often used as the reason
why they go on different adventures and get involved in all
kinds of trouble. These goals should not be easily achieved
and they should be established with the consent of the GM,
allowing her to introduce it as part of the story. It is also
important that the goals of all the characters in a group
motivate them to adventure together, otherwise the group
will feel divided.

your character board. The Affinity represents the places

where your character grew up, was training, or the kind of
place in which you feel at home.

experience. It is recommended to do so not more than once

per session and at least once every two or three sessions,
but it is ultimately up to the GMs discretion.

HEALTH & DAMAGE

Have all players say out loud what they think each characters best moment was since they last gained any experience, and have them recommend the Skill they think should
be rewarded. It is good to remember all the adventures the
characters have gone through. The GM will select one of
the recommendations of the players or her own, and the
character will be able to add one point to that Skill.

Characters have physical health and neural health. The

physical health of a character is equal to twice the value of
his Constitution and his neural health is equal to twice the
value of his Mind.

The Characters

Additionally, characters get one experience point to

acquire Upgrades or to improve Attributes. The GM can
decide to award an additional experience point to players
that do something extraordinary or achieve important
objectives.

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Attributes have a cost on experience points equal to

twice the level they currently have. Upgrades have different costs and each type has different requirements to be
used or acquired.

There are two types of damage: physical and neural.

Each type of damage has its own token. To keep track of the
damage a character has suffered, place the corresponding
tokens on top of his character board.
Each counter of damage, of either physical or neural,
gives the character a -1 to every Skill to a minimum of 0.

PHYSICAL DAMAGE

Bleeding Out

Physical damage is inflicted by physical means: weapons,

tools, fists, etc. Each counter of physical damage counts as
-1 to the physical health of the character. While in normal
health state, one physical damage counter can be discarded
per week of in-game time after it has been suffered.

A character is bleeding out when his physical health is

below 0. Characters can perform actions and engage in
confrontations while bleeding out. After performing the
action they will immediately receive one physical damage
counter.

NEURAL DAMAGE

NPCs will generally ignore characters that are bleeding

out until they have taken care of all other threats.

Neural damage can be inflicted by means such as concussions, Divine Upgrades, viruses, link attacks, neural
weapons, etc. Each counter of neural damage counts as -1
to the neural health of a character. While in normal health
state, one neural damage counter can be discarded during
each maintenance phase (or 3 to 5 seconds of in-game
time) unless the character has received neural damage that
round.

ACS damage is inflicted by electronic means, be it through

Hacking actions or electrical waves from a neural weapon.
It can only affect gear and robots with an energy value and
when a device suffers as much ACS damage as its energy
it is shut down.

ARMOUR
Characters may have means of reducing the damage they
suffer. Some pieces of equipment (or other effects) provide
their users (or the equipment itself) with a value of armour.
Whenever the character or piece of equipment is about to
receive physical or neural damage from an external source,
he or it can ignore a number of counters equal to its armour.

HEALTH STATES
Depending on the amount of damage a character has
suffered, he can be in three different health states or even
dead.

Normal
The health state of a character is normal for as long as he
is not affected by any of the following states.

Dying
If a character is bleeding out and traumatised at the
same time, he dies automatically. If at the end of a scene
a character is bleeding out and he has not received medical
attention from a First Aid action, he dies. Additionally, if he
takes any further physical damage from an external source
while bleeding out, he dies.
A character can also die of starvation, exposure to the
vacuum of space, drowning, excessive mutilation, etc. The
effects of these possibilities are left to the GM to determine.

SPECIES TRAITS
Each species of playable characters have unique traits
that make them different from each other. The different
species should be played differently on a roleplaying level,
but they also have special rules to help players distinguish
between them more clearly.

CORVO
The Corvo are a highly technological
species; they are very independent
and very capable. Their appearance and
physiology resembles those of insects and
they are well adapted to life in space.

Technological
All corvo characters start the game with a cortex connector Upgrade. This Upgrade does not count as one of the
Tech Upgrades a character can have and it does not occupy
an Upgrade slot.

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Adaptive Circuit Severance (ACS) is the term used for

the electrical overload of microprocessors after they are
affected by corrupting Hacking routines, and also by certain
types of electromagnetic waves typically associated with
neural weapons.

A character is traumatised when his neural health is

below 0. The character is unconscious and will not regain
consciousness until he receives enough medical attention
to discard enough neural damage counters to have neural
health 0 or above.

The Characters

ACS DAMAGE

Traumatised

Tail Reflex
A corvo character can use his tail to connect a device to
his cortex connector. If the device is about to receive ACS
damage due to a Hacking action, it will be disconnected
instead. It takes one action to connect it again.

Spaceborn
All corvo characters have one advantage when they
perform an action using EVA, if their Affinity is Space.

Attribute Limits

The Characters

The evolution of the corvo gave them a very utilitarian

metabolism, allowing them to adapt to life in space and to
survive with minimal resources. For this reason, they are
not very strong or physically capable. Their Constitution
and Agility Attributes are limited to a maximum value of
2 each.

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21

IZKAL
The Izkal are a very social, very proud,
and very efficient species. They are the
descendants of an ancient species of
aquatic mammals that have adapted to life
on solid ground.

Hyperlink
The Izkal have developed biological changes in their
brains that allow them to communicate with each other and
blend into a single mind. Every izkal character can engage
in a hyperlink with up to 5 other izkal characters in a 30
metre radius. Engaging or leaving a hyperlink is activated.
The members of a hyperlink can reject another character
trying to join it.

refuse to engage in hyperlink out of the fear of imposing

their own personal suffering onto others. An izkal that
does not engage in hyperlink eventually succumbs to an
irreversible transformation that isolates their mind and
prevents them from entering a hyperlink ever again. Their
body undergoes reconstruction on a genetic level, affecting
their hormonal flow and synaptic processes.
Each maintenance phase, a Voidwalker can discard up to
as many neural damage counters as their Faith. Additionally, they ignore all Skill penalties from neural damage
whenever they are using a Divine Upgrade.

Aquatic
All izkal characters innately know how to swim, even if
they have never done it before. Izkal characters always
have one advantage while swimming or diving. Additionally,
they can hold their breaths up to 8 minutes per Constitution
point while acting normally or twice as long if they stay
still.

Attribute Limits
Izkal are first and foremost social beings, and they are
not as technologically advanced as corvo. Additionally, as a
species that originated from the water, their bodies are not
built for land life. Their Link and Constitution Attributes are
limited to a maximum value of 2 each.

HUMAN
Humans are remarkably adaptable. Although
not as powerful as the Izkal or the Corvo,
many humans are highly valued workers
and mercenaries and their endurance is
unrivalled.

Resourceful

While in hyperlink, the personalities of the members

blend into a single one. The characters engaged in hyperlink
must democratically vote every decision and then follow
it. Characters can always be expelled from a hyperlink
after a democratic vote or after not following a democratic
decision.

If humans have one defining characteristic, it is their

ability to find a way out of each and every situation. All
human characters draw up to 8 cards whenever they would
normally have to draw up to 7 cards.

Additionally, izkal connected in hyperlink can choose to

confront actions that target any other member of the hyperlink, even if they were not affected by the action themselves. They still need to declare a valid countermeasure to
be able to do so. Multiple members of the hyperlink can use
this effect at the same time.

All human characters have one advantage when they

perform an action using Athletic, representing their
physical prowess.

Voidwalkers
Some izkal suffer traumatic events so unbearable that
they can no longer share their minds with their kin. They

Endurance

Attribute Limits
Although they are one of the best physically suited intelligent species of the Universe, their societies were not able
to develop as fully as some of the other species. Their Link
and Mind Attributes are limited to a maximum value of 2
each.

RAAG
The Raag are a primitive species, very tough
and aggressive. They are mammals that are
well adapted to life in cold weather and they
form tight-knit clans to survive the constant
menace of conquest or extinction.

Old Bones
Raag have a very primitive and tough bone structure.
They can ignore the modifiers of up to two physical damage
counters, and they can predict when a storm is coming.

Titans
With an impressive build, this species surpasses most
other intelligent species in size. All raag characters have
two additional points of physical health. Additionally, they
have one advantage towards all Constitution actions.

What the raag have in strength, they lack in finesse, and

their brains have a hard time wrapping around the idea of
virtual realities. Their Dexterity and Link Attributes are
limited to a maximum value of 2 each.

The ravager queens create each specimen

of their species from a bank of DNA for
a specific purpose. This bank has been
refined for many years with the DNA of all
the creatures the hive has ever consumed.
It is not uncommon that a given ravager specimen may
not share any DNA with another ravager from the same
hive. Most biologist repel the idea of calling the ravager a
species and use the term step-species instead.
For this very reason there are ravager of all kinds.
Players will be able to play those that are given a reasoning capacity of a similar level to the other playable species.
Although there are hundreds of types of ravager, there
are only a few created with this shared capacity of reason
- most of the hives needs are performed by ravager that
were created for a very specific task and are not required
to be useful at others. When creating a ravager character,
players must choose one of the following types as the base
of their character. It will determine the characters appearance and base characteristics. Regardless of their type, all
ravager have Genetic Expression and Hive Mind, except for
the infiltrators that do not have Hive Mind.

GENETIC EXPRESSION
Action. A ravager can change any of his Bio Upgrades for

All ravager can have up to 2 Bio Upgrades per Constitution point but only one Tech Upgrade in total, regardless of
their Link.

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RAVAGER

The ravager can accumulate the DNA information of any

organic matter they consume. If a ravager eats a character
with Bio Upgrades, he will be able to acquire them with experience points or change his Upgrades for them. Additionally, the ravager can pair with the Queen to transmit to her
all the DNA information he has accumulated.

The Characters

Attribute Limits

any other Bio Upgrade, even more than one at once. The
total cost in experience points of the new Upgrades cannot
be higher than the total cost of the previous Upgrades,
unless the character spends additional experience points
to do so. Any experience points not spent during the transition are lost. The transition takes a few minutes for each
experience point of the Upgrades changed.

HIVE MIND
Ravager use natural LinkWaves for communication;
allowing them to communicate with other ravager up to
100 metres away.
As a side effect, hackers can disturb their LinkWave flow,
making ravager hackable, as if their minds were a device.
When hacked, a ravager will fail their current action, or
suffer a disadvantage towards their next action (if there is
no action to fail).

The fact that the character is actually a ravager should

only be known by the GM; the other players only need to
know if the GM determines so. The reason why the ravager
queen created an Infiltrator should be discussed with the GM
and be a key part of the characters story. A ravager queen
never does something without a clear plan or purpose, so
the Infiltrator must be part of an important mission.

They have a Firewall with a base value equal to their

Hacking Skill that plays as many cards as their Link
Attribute.

Ironskin

The Characters

Infiltrator

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species. He has the same species and is genetically identical to any other specimen of that species. He will have the
species traits of the species the player has chosen to play
and the ravager trait Genetic expression.

Infiltrators are ravager that are identical to the species

from which they were created. However, instead of being
born from a mother or an egg of their species, they have
come out of the womb-tank of a ravager queen.
The infiltrator is a specimen of any of the other playable

The ironskin is a large ravager with enormous strength

and an even greater resistance. An ironskin always has the
Upgrades Nanoskin and Phagocyter and needs to spend the
corresponding experience points to acquire them during
character creation.

IRON SKIN
An ironskin has a base armour value of 2 that cannot be
reduced or ignored by any means.

CHARGE
A running action performed by an ironskin will be considered passive if it is not confronted. Additionally, if he
performs a CQC action in the same turn, he will gain an
advantage towards it.

VICIOUS ATTACKS
Ironskins deal 2 additional damage in CQC actions
and always have one additional advantage towards CQC
actions. Additionally, they gain another advantage when
they perform grappling actions.

ATTRIBUTE LIMITS
Ironskins are made for crushing enemies, but their
strength comes at a cost in swiftness and intelligence. Their
Agility, Mind and Link Attributes are limited to a maximum
value of 2.

Lurching Horror
The lurching horror is a ravager that is slick, gooey, and
much more dangerous than it looks.

BLADE FURY
A lurching horror always gains 2 advantages towards
CQC actions. He can attack 2 targets in CQC simultaneously,
or focus his attacks on a single target, gaining a third additional advantage.

NANO HOOKS

ATTRIBUTE LIMITS

The lurching horror can attach himself to a wall or

ceiling with his tentacles. His movement while suspended
is doubled and he is still in plain sight unless otherwise
concealed. Additionally, he gains one advantage towards
Agility actions.

Being composed of many small creatures has its advantages, but coordination and speed are not among them. The
Agility and Dexterity Attributes of a swarmer are limited to
a maximum value of 2.

ATTRIBUTE LIMIT
Lurching horrors have no Attribute limits.

Swarmer
The swarmer is a unique type of ravager. It is not actually
a creature, but instead a group of hundreds of smaller
creatures that bond together to form a collective mind.
The creatures not capable of thinking by themselves, but
together they create a formidable being that is capable of
sacrificing parts of itself without hesitation, if the need
arises.

Boits are small beings formed by just a few of the

swarmers creatures. They die when they suffer any
amount of physical damage, but they are immune to neural
damage. They can move up to 100 metres away from the
swarmer before dying.

Acidboit: Physical 3 (0). Mental 4 (0). Activated.

Sacrifice itself to deal 2 points of physical damage

that ignores 1 armour to everyone in a 3 metre
radius.
Spyboit: Physical 3 (0). Mental 4 (2). It can move

flying up to 20 metres per turn, it can see in

infrared and has an advantage for Searching
actions.
Regenboit: Physical 3 (0), Mental 4(0). Activated.

Sacrifice itself when in physical contact with

another character to have him recover 1 point of
physical damage.

DEVOURER
The swarmers discard one physical damage counter per
turn. Additionally, they can perform an action to devour a
dead character and discard 3 physical damage counters.

NEURAL RIG
The brain of a techno is very similar to an organic
computer. It has LinkWave 50, Firewall 8 (3), energy 3 and
it counts as if it was cortex connected. Additionally, the
Techno has one cortex connector Upgrade that does not
use an Upgrade slot.

NEURAL SACRIFICE
Activated. The techno can choose to receive two points
of neural damage and gain one advantage towards a
Hacking action.

ATTRIBUTE LIMITS
The techno have very well developed brains, but their
bodies are just a weak frame. Their Constitution and Agility
Attributes are limited to a maximum value of 2.

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Action. The swarmer enters a germinative state during

which he will be unable to move, but is able to can spawn
as many boits as his Constitution per turn. He suffers one
point of physical damage per boit spawned. He can control
as many of those boits as his Mind and if he leaves this
state, any active boits will immediately die. The turn they
are spawned they act after everyone else, and in subsequent rounds they act during the turn of the swarmer.

The techno are created by the ravager queen to defend

her other children from electronic attacks and to help neutralise Hacking threats before the bigger ravager come in to
consume their victims. Extremely intelligent, they often act
as the main links to the hive mind.

The Characters

BOIT SWARM

Techno

ATTRIBUTES
The Attributes of a character represent his capability
to act and ability to put effort into actions. Some actions
might relate to more than one Attribute and other actions
can relate to different Attributes in different situations.
Players can argue which Attribute should be used for an
action but the GM will always have the final word on such
matters.

The Attributes and Skills

Attributes range from 1 to 3. Some effects can allow

characters to improve Attributes even further, but an Attribute can never be reduced below 1. During gameplay,
characters can play one card per round for each point they
have in the Attribute they are using.

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Whenever a character is confronted, he must explain

his action and therefore choose which Attribute he will be
using. While most of the time the right Attribute for the
action is fairly clear, characters can always find ways to do
things differently, if they are creative.

Example: Mark wants to repair his broken

drone. Sadly, during their last encounter with a
Ravager, it took a hit and now it lays on the ground
unresponsive.
The GM says it took a shotgun shot and it is filled
with small pellets, so it will be a delicate work to
remove them all. Marks Dexterity is 2 and his Technical Skill is 5, but the drone is extremely damaged
and he fears that if he fails the GM will claim that the
drone is broken for good.
Marks Mind is 3, so he says to the GM,
I am going to take a different approach to picking
the pellets one by one and fixing what is broken. I
will study the situation and take notes on my pad, I
want to figure out the entrance point of the pellets
and the radius spread. Once I know that, I will then
disassemble the drone and take my time to fix each
part separately. I will know where each pellet went
so I wont have to mess around and risk breaking
anything. I think this approach is more fitting to my
Mind than my Dexterity, what do you think?
The GM agrees and Mark can now try to fix the
drone using Mind, his highest Attribute.

AGILITY
Agility represents the nimbleness of a character: his
ability to move quickly and precisely. It should be used
for actions involving movement of the body, such as
dodging gunfire, climbing a wall, or trying to outrun other
characters.

CONSTITUTION
Constitution represents the physical endurance and
strength of a character. Constitution should be used in
actions that test the strength or endurance of a character,
like lifting heavy weights or running very long distances.
The physical health of a character is equal to twice his
Constitution, and he can have as many Bio Upgrades as his
Constitution.

DEXTERITY
Dexterity represents the fine motor ability of a character. It should be used for actions involving manipulating
things with the hands, such as carefully manipulating gear
or equipment, aiming and recharging weapons, or driving a
motorbike through dense traffic.

LINK
Link represents the ability of a character to understand
and interact with technology. It is used whenever a character performs an action involving computers, networks,
electronic devices or even digitally controlled spaceships
or other similarly controlled vehicles.
A character can have as many Tech Upgrades as his Link.

MIND
Mind represents a characters intelligence and ability to
concentrate, as well as his ability to perceive details and
patterns. It is used when recalling memories, diagnosing
illnesses, designing machines, or deciphering codes.
The neural health of a character is equal to twice his Mind.
He speaks fluently in as many languages as his Mind, and he
can understand a little bit of as many additional languages
as his Mind.

FAITH
Faith defines the ability of a character to connect or communicate with the Gods. It represents the characters true

conviction and how far he is willing to go for his beliefs.

A character can have as many Divine Upgrades as his
Faith.

SKILLS
The Skills of a character represent his capabilities of
a specific skillset. Skills range from 0 to 9. A character
with a high value in a Skill is very capable in that area, and
a character with a low value only has a rough knowledge
of the subject. However, the biggest difference in Skill lies
between the values 0 and 1. A character with a Skill of 0
has no clue about how to behave in actions related to that
specific Skill.

Each Skill can be used for different things, and the Attribute that relates to it is not necessarily the same every
time. Characters will have to select the most fitting Skill
and Attribute for each action.

Most often used with Dexterity if the weapon

is used with the hands, or Link if the weapon
is used through a software.
The Ballistic Skill is used to shoot and recharge weapons,
and generally manipulate ranged weapons safely.

Ballistic actions
All ballistic actions need to be performed with a ballistic
weapon of any kind.

SHOOTING
When performing this action, characters have to declare
their target and the weapon they are using before anything
else. If the weapon has a magazine value, the character
must discard the top ammunition token from its pile. If the
action is successful, apply the effects of the type of ammunition used to the target of the action.

RELOADING
A weapon with a magazine value but no ammunition
tokens on it cannot be shot until it is reloaded. To reload,
characters must discard all the ammunition tokens left
in their weapon and set a new pile of ammunition tokens.

When performing this action, characters declare one

target. Whenever the target performs an action, the character can perform a Shooting action as a counter action
even if the action of the target did not affect him directly.
Additionally, aiming provides one advantage to a Shooting
action against its target. If the character performs another
action in between, the effects of aiming are lost.

SUPPRESSIVE FIRE
When performing this action, characters declare a small
area like a door or a window as a target. A suppressive fire
action spends the top ammunition token of the weapon
used and allows the character to confront any action made
by other characters in that area with a Shooting action in
later initiative rounds, until he performs a different action
or chooses a target outside that area for a Shooting action.

Damage
When a Shooting action is successful, the target of the
action, and all characters in the area of effect if there is
one, will suffer the damage specified by the weapon - taking

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BALLISTIC

AIMING

The Attributes and Skills

Every action performed by a character relates to a Skill

representing his knowledge in the related area. If a character cannot find an appropriate Skill that relates to an action,
he is not familiar with it and it is considered that his Skill
value for that action is 0.

These tokens may be loaded in any order and they may be

loaded using any combination of ammunition types compatible with the weapon.

into account the range of the shot, or the distance to the

point of impact if affected by an area of effect.

enemy and physical damage represents the attacker trying

to deal lethal damage.

If a Shooting action achieves a decisive success, it will

cause one extra point of physical damage, and if it achieves
a critical success, double its base damage.

When a CQC action without a weapon is successful, the

attacker deals as many points of damage as his Constitution
of the type of damage chosen previously. If the attacker is
wielding a weapon he will cause the physical damage specified in the weapon description instead. Improvised weapons
will cause physical damage and/or give advantages to
attacks as determined by the GM.

A Shooting action can be forced to fail when taking

damage and therefore it can be a valid countermeasure
against another Shooting action.

CLOSE QUARTERS COMBAT

The Attributes and Skills

Most often used with Dexterity when trying

to hit something, or Agility when trying to
block an attack.

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The Close Quarters Combat (CQC) Skill is used when

fighting with close combat weapons or even bare handed.
Characters can confront any action taking place within
their reach with a CQC action, even if it does not affect them
directly.

CQC actions
When using the CQC Skill, characters have to choose one
of two different CQC actions.

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HITTING
Using Dexterity, the character employs martial arts
knowledge to hit and deflect attacks. A successful Hitting
action causes damage to its target.

GRAPPLING

If a CQC action achieves a decisive success it will cause

one extra point of damage and if it achieves a critical
success, double its usual damage.

HACKING
Almost always used with Link when using
software, or with Mind when figuring out
possibilities or implications.
Hacking allows characters to disable or gain control over
hackable devices and to stop other hackers from affecting
their own devices. All devices with Firewall are considered
hackable. Other devices, especially electronic and digital
devices, might be hackable if determined so by the GM.
In all Hacking actions the character attempting the action
is called the hacker and the device targeted by the action is
called the target. To perform a Hacking action the hacker
needs to be using a computer or rig and its target needs to
be in hacking range. A device is in hacking range if:
It is physically connected to the rig or computer.
It is being directly manipulated by the hacker.

Using Agility, the character employs speed and flexibility to grapple his opponent. A successful Grappling action
allows the character to get a hold over an opponent or get
rid of the hold of an opponent.
While one character has a hold over the other, both characters have to use Constitution instead of Dexterity for
Hitting actions.

DAMAGE
A character must choose to cause either neural or
physical damage before declaring a CQC action without a
weapon. Choosing to do neural damage represents the
attacker trying to knock out his

It is connected to the same network as the hacker.

It is in LinkWave range from the hacker.

Firewall
Most hackable devices are protected by some form of
software. The Firewall (FW) of a device confronts any
Hacking action against it, with an action value equal to its
FW value plus the value of cards played. A Firewall plays
as many cards as indicated on the device, on the FW icon, or
as many as the GM determines otherwise.
The Firewall of a device that belongs to a character plays
cards from the top of its owners deck.
Whenever a Firewall wins a confrontation, the rig of the
attacking hacker suffers one point of ACS damage per card
played by the Firewall. If the Firewall achieves a decisive
success, it will cause one more point of ACS damage, and
if it achieves a critical success it will cause double the base
damage.

A device with LinkWave increases the hacking range of its

user. The hacking range around a device with LinkWave is a
sphere with a radius equal to its LinkWave value, in metres.

Hacking Actions
All Hacking actions are automatically confronted by
the Firewall (FW) of their target in addition to any other
possible confrontations by characters. A character can
only confront Hacking actions if he is capable of Hacking.

DENIAL OF SERVICE (DOS)

A successful DoS action deactivates its target until the
end of the turn and forces it to fail the action it was performing. A critical success allows the hacker to control the
device until the next maintenance phase.

SYSTEMS CORRUPTION
A successful Systems Corruption action causes its target
as much ACS damage as specified by the rig used in the
action. A decisive success causes one additional point of
ACS damage and a critical success causes double the base
damage.

SNIFFING
A successful Sniffing action will allow the hacker to read
all the data stored on his target, be it code, video, audio,
or any other type of information, including passwords
and access codes. Sniffing can also be used to extract

The networks of mining planets are usually set up for

the purpose of allowing workers to communicate with
each other; there is very little information available to
them. However, the networks of large cities or business
districts contain a lot of information about the companies
that operate there, amongst many other interesting things.
Some networks contain all kinds of information: text,
pictures, videos, sensor feeds, software, etc. These
networks usually have millions of sources such as online
papers, websites, social networks, commercials, blogs,
archives, online services, forums, chat rooms, internet
caches, and more.

FORMATTING
Formatting a device gets rid of the effects of a hacking
attack upon it. Additionally, all the information stored in it
is lost. A Formatting action can be confronted by a hacker
that has taken control over the device if it remains within
his hacking range.

PILOTING
Most often used with Dexterity when piloting
vehicles that require physical input (such
as those with a steering wheel), or with Link
when using cortex connected or computer
driven vehicles.
Piloting allows characters to drive or fly all kinds of
vehicles, from motorbikes to space freighters. The GM can
grant disadvantages to characters using vehicles that are
especially difficult to operate, or advantages to characters
that are very familiar or well trained with specific vehicles
as she sees fit.

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Additionally, a device with LinkWave functions as a radar

within its hacking range. It detects all devices within that
range, but does not identify them. They are automatically
identified when targeted by a Hacking action.

The attack is very fast and

accurate thanks to partial-AI
search engines and the information can be accessed in
one turn. However, reading
and understanding it will
take longer. The amount of information a hacker finds
will greatly depend on the target he chooses to access. In
FAITH, information travels between star systems in huge
server ships. Therefore, available information depends
greatly on location, and information takes time to spread
throughout the galaxies. It is very important that the GM
considers what is best for the story when deciding how
much information to give.

The Attributes and Skills

LinkWave

information from networks

as a powerful form of
online research. A critical
success in the action will
mean the hacker leaves no
traces after accessing the
information.

CUNNING
Most often used with Agility when hiding or
being quiet, or with Mind when used to lie or
find out a lie.
Cunning represents a characters ability to hide, move
silently or don a disguise.

Cunning Actions
HIDING

The Attributes and Skills

Passive action (A character can perform a passive action

in the same turn he performs another action. A character
performing a passive action during a confrontation can
choose to play cards from the top of his deck and/or from
his hand.)

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Hiding can be used while performing any type of action

that does not usually draw attention. The character
remains hidden as long as he remains in an adequate place
to hide or until found by a Searching action. If other characters cannot physically fail to perceive the character
who wants to perform a Hiding action, the GM can
declare the action invalid.
See Searching
characters.

for

how

to

find

Hiding

DECEPTION

Survival represents how tough, crafty and self-sufficient

characters are. It is used by characters to find things like
food or resources in hostile environments, to orient themselves in a new location, or to do things that they need to
survive, such as building a shelter, knowing what to do when
a hurricane comes their way, or knowing what type of food
is edible. Additionally, Survival represents the perceptiveness of the characters.

SEARCHING
Passive action (A character can perform a passive action
in the same turn he performs another action. A character
performing a passive action during a confrontation can
choose to play cards from the top of his deck and/or from
his hand.)
Characters can perform a Searching action in three
instances:
They are actively searching for a character

because they already knew he was there. They

may have been told by someone, they may have
seen him before he hid, perhaps he has drawn
their attention, etc. They must choose a specific
area to check, such as some bushes, a tree line,
or a dark alley.
They want to ensure that there is no risk hidden in

a specific area. They must choose a specific area

to check.
They suspect that someone is hiding. A charac-

Cunning can be used when characters

attempt to lie convincingly, pretend to know
something they dont, or when convincing
other characters of something. Players
are encouraged to use good roleplaying
to maximize their chances of deception,
and only use a Cunning action as a last
resort.
A successful Deception
action may improve an
NPCs disposition towards a
character, or allow someone
to get a read on another
characters true intentions.
However the effects of a
Deception action are ultimately
up to the GM.

SURVIVAL
Most often used with Mind
when analysing a situation, or
Dexterity when crafting things
or gathering supplies.

ter with a higher Survival Skill than the hidden

characters Cunning Skill will suspect someone is
hiding automatically and does not need to choose
a specific area.
A successful Searching action will reveal the hidden
character to the searcher and from that moment onwards,
the hidden character is no longer considered hiding for him.
A failed Searching action will leave the searcher oblivious
of the location or existence of the hidden character.

INITIATIVE
Most often used with Agility for full body
movement, or Dexterity for more precise
motions, such as with ones hands.
Initiative represents a characters reflexes and ability to
move quickly in decisive moments. It is used during initiative
rounds to determine the initiative order, and it is also the
Skill used when characters attempt to do something that
does not require specialized training, but instead requires
speed and fast reflexes.

DODGING
When attempting to dodge, characters can try to move
on their feet, drop down to the floor, or even dive jump.
Dodging can be used to avoid being shot, to move outside
the range of an explosion, to get out of a close combat
situation, or other similar things. When a character fails a
Dodging action and takes damage, his movement is halted
and he may choose to fall down to the floor.

ATHLETIC
Most often used with Agility when performing
short efforts, or Constitution performing
long actions.

Athletic Actions
MOVING
Characters are not required to dedicate an action to
move and they can do so while performing most actions.
The normal distance a character can move in one turn is
2.5 metres.

Characters can perform a running action to move up to 5

metres. Additionally, a decisive success will allow the character to move one additional metre and a critical success
will increase the maximum distance to 10 metres. If a
character performs several consecutive running actions,
he will be able to speed up and move faster. Characters can
perform a running action as a countermeasure to attacks,
explosions, or even hacking attacks if it gets them outside
the range of the attack.
A running action can never be stopped in a confrontation,
even if the character loses. However, it will be up to the GM
to determine if the movement is completed successfully,
or if the character falls down, trips, or experiences some
other negative effect.
All movement distances are merely guidelines and the
GM can and should modify them to fit the story as necessary. Characters might move slower in mud or shallow
waters, or faster if the gravity is slightly lower than they
are used to and the path is clear.

THROWING
Characters can throw almost anything they can lift.
Throwing actions are resolved like Shooting actions.
However, it will be the task of the GM to determine whether

Almost always used with Mind, as curing

is a complex task that requires a lot of
knowledge.
Medical represents the understanding of medicine
and science in general. It is used when restoring physical
or mental health, treating poison, or implementing Bio
Upgrades.
The rules of this section are meant to be used for Medical
actions performed on the field, often rushed or lacking
adequate sanitary conditions and equipment. Medical
actions performed in a hospital with proper equipment and
supplies will be greatly sped up as determined by the GM,
allowing the patient to recover completely in a matter
of hours or even minutes.

Medical Actions
In all Medical actions, the character targeted by the
action is called the patient and the character performing the action is called the doctor.
The wound confronts the action as an NPC with
an initial action value of 0 plus the value of cards
played from the top of the GMs deck. A card is
played for every point of negative health of the
patient.

FIRST AID
First Aid can be used on patients who
are bleeding out to contain their wounds. It
does not require any specialized gear, but
the doctor will suffer a disadvantage if he
has no medical supplies at all.
A successful First Aid action stops a patient
from dying at the end of the scene due to
bleeding out. This effect is lost if the
patient suffers additional damage or
experiences severe disturbances
before
receiving
proper
medical attention. If the
patient is still bleeding out by the end of the next
scene, he will die, and further First Aid actions
will not have any effect over him.

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RUNNING

MEDICAL

The Attributes and Skills

The Athletic Skill is used by characters to run, swim, dive,

climb, lift weight, throw objects, or do any other athletic
activity.

a character can or cannot throw a specific object, and the

particular effects of that Throwing action. Only pieces of
gear with the characteristic Throwable have specific rules
to be used. Throwing objects in 0-G or free fall situations is
performed using EVA instead of Athletic.

SURGERY

The Attributes and Skills

Surgery can be used on bleeding out

or traumatised characters to increase
their health back up to a normal health
state. Specialised medical equipment is
required for a doctor to perform such
delicate operations. The time required for the
action is determined either by the specific
equipment or one hour per damage counter
being removed.

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A successful Surgery action removes

enough damage counters from the
patient to increase his health to 0. A
failed Surgery action increases the
number of damage counter on the
patient by one (two if it is a critical
failure). That is not considered
external damage and therefore does not automatically kill
the character.
If the patient is bleeding out, the doctor can forfeit any
number of limbs or Constitution points of the patient to
remove an equal number of damage counters from him.
These are removed during the Surgery action, but before
establishing the number of cards the wound plays against
it. Similarly, if the patient is traumatised, he can forfeit Mind
points towards the same purpose. Constitution and Mind
can never be reduced below 1.
The effects of losing limbs are set by the GM as she sees
fit. Usually losing a limb will cause disadvantages to some
actions, make it impossible to use some tools or weapons,
or increase the time needed to perform certain actions.

TECHNICAL
Most often used with Mind when diagnosing
or repairing something, or Dexterity when
performing a delicate task with small parts.
Technical Skills are used when repairing machines,
robots, vehicles and other technological devices; it represents an understanding of how to use unknown technology
, how to control robots, or how to adjust suits. It is up to the
GM to decide the time required for each Technical action,
taking into consideration the tools at hand, the pieces available, the difficulty of the task, etc. A critical success can
see the effects of the action improved or the length of the
action reduced, as determined by the GM.

Technical Actions
In all Technical actions, the character performing the
action is called the technician and the machine or device
targeted by the action is called the target.

REPAIRING
Repairing can be used on a damaged target to remove
any type of damage from it. A successful Repairing action
removes all damage of one type from its target.
The damages confront the action as an NPC with an initial
action value of 0 plus the value of cards played from the
top of the GMs deck. A card is played for every damage
counter of the type being repaired on the target If the
target is very badly damaged or the technician is using
scrapped parts, the GM may grant disadvantages to the
technician. However, she can also grant advantages if the
technician has the blueprints of the target, an appropriate tool, or just the right set of spare parts. Additionally,
she can establish that something is impossible to repair.
Sometimes a machine is just too damaged or it needs very
specific components to be repaired.

DESIGNING & BUILDING

Technicians can always come up with their own designs
to build or build the designs of others. In a sci-fi setting,
the possibilities are endless, and it is the job of the GM to
determine what can be built and what cannot.
Many things in the universe of FAITH are extremely
complex and built in fascinating factories, such as robots,
spaceships or even plasma rifles. However, in a world full
of digital information, there are many other things that
technicians can build in their very own garages.

OPERATING ROBOTS
Robots can be issued commands by their technician
controllers. A technician can control as many robots as his
Link with a single action. When a robot receives a command,
it will do anything in its power to obey it until the task is
completed or the robot is destroyed.
Operating robots requires a device with LinkWave, a radio
signal, or a network, although they can be programmed
to obey vocal commands. The robots must be within the
technicians range to receive commands, or they must be in
appropriate conditions to process vocal commands.

EXTRAVEHICULAR ACTIVITY
(EVA)
Most often used with Agility to move, or
Constitution while in free fall or 0-G.
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) is the skill used to perform
physical actions in 0-G environments such as spaceships,
or situations where characters are in free fall like parachute jumping. It replaces Athletic in 0-G. EVA allows characters to move the same distances Athletic does, but in 0-G

or free fall. EVA must also be used for Throwing actions

performed in 0-G or free fall. Objects thrown in 0-G do not
have weight restrictions, although their mass may affect
the speed of the thrown object. The GM should keep in mind
that the distances stated are mere guidelines and they
should be adjusted to fit each particular situation.
Characters in 0-G must keep in mind that everything
works very differently in the absence of gravity, and simple
things like shooting a weapon might become difficult and
push them back, spinning away from their position. They
will also need to actively stabilize themselves to avoid
floating around and they will be able to push themselves
up, down, or in any other direction.

remote mountains if he is an explorer, etc.

To do this, characters must use their profession as the
key element of their argument. The GM can veto any claims
that seem out of scope or ask the player to revise them. If
the argument is valid, the GM can confront the player and if
she wins she must explain why the player failed to change
the story detail.

PROFESSION

Profession represents the ability of characters in an

area of knowledge or craft, and their position within the
industry, their contacts, and their prestige. Additionally,
it determines the amount of funds characters have at the
beginning of the campaign.

Characters can choose anything they can think of as a

profession, as long as the GM approves. There is a designated area in the character board to write the profession
of the character. Characters can be anything from awardwinning filmmakers to pianists, astronauts, politicians, or
anything in between.
When choosing the profession of a character, it is important to avoid overlapping with other Skills, as it will
diminish its benefits. As an example, a character based on
the Hacking Skill should not choose his profession to be
hacker, but instead something like IT manager, which
will allow him to declare story details like claiming he has
a contact at a certain IT company, or cryptanalyst which
will allow him to claim that his communications
cannot be spied on and that he can easily
spy on others.

DECLARING STORY DETAILS

Players have the right to declare details in a scene for as
long as the details relate to their profession. For example,
a character can claim that the NPC he is talking to is an old
client of his if he is a businessman; he can claim to know
where to plant a bomb to bring down a spaceship by looking
at its blueprint if he is an engineer; he can claim that he
brought rope and cooking tools when he is lost in some

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Profession 0: 500 credits; Profession 1: 2,000 credits;

Profession 2: 5,000 credits; Profession 3: 10,000 credits;
Profession 4: 20,000 credits; Profession 5: 35,000 credits.

The Attributes and Skills

Most often used with Mind when declaring a

story detail, or any other Attribute if the task
relates closely to it.

THE UPGRADES

The Upgrades

The Upgrades are the different enhancements that a

character can get during the game. They enhance a characters ability to perform certain tasks, or they can give characters extra abilities altogether. Characters can prepare
their bodies to receive a new Upgrade by spending as many
experience points as specified in the Upgrade description.
However, the Upgrade itself must be acquired during the
game. Additionally, Tech Upgrades need to be installed by a
technician, Bio Upgrades need to be injected by a doctor, and
Divine Upgrades must be granted by a God.

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The most respected clinics have wide catalogues of

Upgrades readily available for those who can afford body
modification. However, there are many other places all
around the Universe where shady doctors and self-taught
technicians install Upgrades of their own making. Some
characters are able to build their own Upgrades to improve
their capabilities and many skilled technicians and doctors
will create the most impressive modifications given enough
time and materials.
The number of Upgrades of each type that a character
can have is limited by his Attributes. When a character gets
a new Upgrade, he can replace one of his previous Upgrades
of the same type or occupy a new Upgrade slot assuming
he has not reached the maximum number of Upgrades of
that type.

BIO UPGRADES
The Bio Upgrades are mutations and organic body modifications that can be integrated into the organism of the
character. A character can have as many Bio Upgrades as
his Constitution. Injecting a Bio Upgrade is a Medical action.

BEAUTY GENE
3 points. Ravager cannot choose this upgrade. The
character has been born with a remarkable charisma and
beauty for his species standards. Additionally, he is made
to enjoy and give physical pleasure: his erogenous zones
are enhanced, he excretes powerful pheromones that stimulate those around him, and his metabolism is extremely
clean - perspiration, defecation and urination are minimal
and odourless. This Upgrade costs 1 experience point less if
chosen during character creation.
The character gains an advantage for Cunning actions
related to social interactions performed in person or, if
the GM approves it, through video. He gains an additional
advantage when dealing with people who could be sexually
attracted to the gender and species of the character; but
he suffers a disadvantage against those who, for personal

or moral reasons, might despise people like him (e.g. pronature followers).

BIOPOLYMER
2 points. Ravager only. The character has a base armour
of 1, and any additional armour is added to it.

CHAMELEONIC BRAIN
3 points. Action. The character can change his affinity to
an affinity of his choice by discarding a court card.

DNA REGENERATION
4 points. The characters life expectancy is three times
the life expectancy of his species, aging four to five times
slower. Additionally, the character is less subject to mutations and gene related illnesses. This Upgrade costs 2
experience points less if chosen during character creation.

ECHOLOCATION
2 points. The character can emit ultrasounds to get an
accurate picture of his environment from the return echoes.
His ears are highly sensitive to ultrasounds. Additionally, he
always gains an advantage for Searching actions and he
never suffers any disadvantages for being in the dark.

EIDETIC MEMORY
2 points. The character remembers everything to
whatever he paid attention. He might ask the GM for reminders of any information given to him.
Additionally, damage does not reduce his Skills during
actions using Mind or Link.

ENDOCRINE CONTROL
3 points. The character draws a card every time he
receives any amount of physical damage from an external
source.
Additionally, the character ignores half his physical
damage counters rounded down when calculating the value
of his Skills.

FEATURE CHANGE

NANO HOOKS

3 points. Activated. The character can restructure his

facial and muscular features; he can change his skin, eyes
and hair colour to resemble any other character of his
own species if he had previously ingested a sample of their
DNA. His voice, fingerprints, eyes, and other distinguishable features will be completely identical to the original.
However, he cannot change his general size or weight. The
changing process takes 5 minutes during which the character will look completely disfigured.

2 points. The character can attach himself to a wall or

ceiling with his bare feet or hands. His movement while suspended is reduced to half and he is still in plain sight unless
otherwise concealed.

HETEROTHERMY
2 points. The heat signature of the character will blend
with the environment and will be indistinguishable from it.

HORRIFYING

IMPROVED BUILD
2 points. The maximum value of one of the characters
Attributes is changed to 3 (up from the normal limit of 2).
He still has to use experience points to increase the Attribute as usual. This Upgrade cannot be removed once the
chosen Attribute has a value of 3.

INSOMNIAC
2 points. The character cannot sleep and does not suffer
any consequences from the lack of sleep. However, he still
needs periods of both mental and physical rest, during
which he can keep watch or perform simple tasks.

MIMETISM
2 points. Ravager only. The character receives one advantage towards a Hiding action in an adequate place. Characters further than 50 metres away from him suffer one
disadvantage towards all their actions against him if they
require line of sight.

PHAGOCYTER
1 point. The character can eat anything organic, easily
digesting bones, tendons, etc. Additionally, he cannot be
affected by diseases of any kind. He can also choose not to
be affected by a drug or poison.

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faith rulebook

2 points. Ravager only. If a characters Cunning is less

than or equal to the Cunning of a horrifying character, he
receives a disadvantage when performing actions against
the horrifying character for as long as they are in contact.

2 points. Ravager only. The character discards one

neural damage counter each maintenance phase, even if he
received neural damage that round.

The Upgrades

Additionally, the character can hibernate for periods of

time of up to 1 week per Constitution point. During hibernation, the character does not need to eat or drink and he
only needs half the regular amount of oxygen. Suffering
damage or other extreme sensorial disturbances can wake
a hibernating character up.

NEURAL RECOVERY

POWERED REFLEXES

UNGODLY RESILIENCE

3 points. During initiative rounds, the character can look

at the top two cards of his deck. He must play one of them
face down on the table as his initiative card and discard the
other. Note that a card played as an initiative card does
not trigger any effects such as Playing with Ambience or
Proficiency.

2 points. The character has 2 additional points of physical

health.

SUPER ELASTICITY

The Upgrades

2 points. The character is unusually flexible for his

species. He can perform incredible contortions that would
put professional escape artists to shame, and he can
compress his body to pass through narrow places, even
dislocating and relocating his bones at will. The character
has two advantages to actions related to elasticity such as
contortionism, escaping from restraints, fitting through
narrow places, etc. This Upgrade costs 1 experience point
less if chosen during character creation.

faith rulebook

35

TISSUE REGENERATION
4 points. Passive. The character can discard one physical
damage counter every hour if he is not bleeding out. Additionally, the character can grow back one entire severed
limb in one month.

TECH UPGRADES
The Tech Upgrades are pieces of gear that can be attached
to the body of the character. A character can have as many
Tech Upgrades as his Link. Removed Tech Upgrades can be
kept for later use, or can be installed in another character
that spends an experience point. Creating a Tech Upgrade is
a Technical action and installing or removing it is a Medical
action.

ADAPTABLE BREATHER
2 points. The character can breathe in any environment
that contains oxygen, regardless how low its oxygen levels
are, and even under liquids. Additionally, he can ignore the
effects of any strange substances in the air he breathes,
from toxins to carcinogenic smoke, etc.

ATOMIC BALANCE
2 points. The character is always balanced (at least on
an awareness level) allowing him to not suffer any consequences of disorientation from falls, 0-G movements,
explosions, waves, etc. The character has a strong sense of
direction and can always tell where the North is on planets
with electromagnetic fields and he gains an advantage
when reading maps and retracing a path.
Additionally, the character can ignore half his neural
damage penalties rounded down.

BIO SENSOR
4 points. The character has an array of implants that
monitors the medical status of those around him in a 10
metre radius. This includes information such as heart rate,
blood pressure, temperature and neural activity. It can be
programmed to wake the character in the circumstances
of his choosing.

BIONIC ARM
2 points. Action. The character has replaced one of his
arms with a bionic limb. It looks organic but it can transform
into another device. When he has the Upgrade installed,
the character must choose between a very easy to hide
weapon, a CQC weapon, a omnitool or a surgery kit. The

bionic arm will be able to transform into the chosen piece

of gear. It can later be changed by a technician.

BIONIC SPY GLASS

3 points. The character has a digital eye that can perform
a x50 zoom, record pictures or video, and switch between
normal and infrared sight. The character has a digital eye
that can perform a x50 zoom, record pictures or video, and
switch between normal and infrared sight. Activated. Use
to extend the Standard Distance range of a weapon to 300
metres.

BLOODSTREAM AI
2 points. The character has a partial AI hosted in
nanobots in his bloodstream. The AI has LinkWave 20 and it
can connect to any network within its range. It will feed the
character with information from the network. He will constantly receive all the information available in the network
regarding electronic items, businesses, and people with an
online presence, so long as it is within his LinkWave range.

CORTEX CONNECTOR

IMPLANTED PROCESSOR
4 points. The character has a rig implanted in his brain
with a physical connection in his skull. It works as if it was
cortex connected. When installing this Upgrade, the character must choose between any of his readily available rigs to
be the Implanted Processor. This does not show externally.
Additionally, the implanted processor allows its user
to instantly read and understand all data found online or
downloaded to the rig, and to perform calculations as fast
as any other computer. The character can send and receive
radio signals with his brain up to a thousand kilometres
away.

EDITED MEMORIES
0 points. A character with this Upgrade starts with 2 additional points in his Profession Skill, or more as determined
by the GM.
The character has had some memories removed by cognitive neuroscience. There is a whole period of his life he
does not remember, determined by the GM. This is a routine
process performed on freelancers, people who agree to a

This Upgrade can only be chosen with

the approval of the GM. She will think of a
reason why the character had his memories
edited and what happened in that period of time.
This should eventually play a role in the story. Secondary effects could be having a nemesis looking for the
character (and for reasons he does not understand), being
prosecuted by a cult, etc.
The character is aware he had his memories edited,
but he does not know anything about them. If he ever
finds out what his true memories are, he can remove
this Upgrade from his character board. Discovering his
true memories may upset some characters or create
problems for certain groups of people.

NANOSKIN
2 points. The character can be exposed to a vacuum
and pressures of up to 10 atmospheres (atm) without
suffering negative effects.

OPTICAL DISRUPTOR
1 point. Activated. The character appears as a blurry
form to all detection devices (cameras, scopes, recognition
systems, infrared visors, etc). The only way of recognising the character with cameras or sensors is by employing powerful processors to analyse the recorded data.
Additionally, all other characters attempting to target the
owner of this Upgrade will receive one disadvantage if they
are not observing him with their naked eyes.

SHIELDED SKULL
3 points. The Firewalls of all cortex connected devices
belonging to the character (or the character himself if he
is a Ravager) have one advantage against Hacking attacks
through LinkWave.

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faith rulebook

1 point. A cortex connector allows the character to use

devices that require it. The device connected to the cortex
connector can be changed with one action.

job they cannot know about afterwards for

(usually) a significant sum of money.

DIVINE UPGRADES
The Divine Upgrades are powers granted by the Gods.
They often allow characters to perform incredible tasks,
but they come at a price: the character needs to follow
the commandments of his God and will often suffer the
consequences of employing a supernatural power. A character can have as many Divine Upgrades as his Faith. Divine
Upgrades can have different levels: I, II and III. Characters
can only use the levels that are less than or equal to their
Faith.

The Upgrades

The Gods of FAITH are fickle beings. However, it is not

rare for them to pay attention to their most outstanding
believers, who are the source of their power and their only
way to mold the Universe to their own desires. Gods may
grant powers to their believers if they like their behaviour,
or they may withdraw their support if their believers betray
their designs.

faith rulebook

37

A character with Divine Upgrades is called a soulbender.

When a soulbender uses a Divine Upgrade as the main part
of his action and he is confronted, he must use his Faith
Attribute to resolve the confrontation. The Skill to use will
depend on the confrontation, but most powers are usually
a matter of speed or physical capacity, and this is why most
powers will use Initiative or Athletics/EVA. Neural damage
suffered from a Divine Upgrade occurs as the action
resolves, and does not incur Skill penalties for that action.
In order to obtain a Divine Upgrade, a character must
spend two experience points. All other players will vote on
whether or not the character has behaved accordingly to
the commandments of his God, with the GM having the final
say. If a majority votes favourably with the GMs support,
or the GM decides to resolve in favor of the character
anyways, he can then acquire a Divine Upgrade from the
list of his God.

LOSING THE FAVOUR

OF YOUR GOD
Characters must follow the
commandments of their God
if they want to be able to use
their Divine Upgrades. It is up
to the GM to determine if the
roleplay of a player is following
a good path and reward him or
punish him accordingly.
If a character does not abide by the commandments of his God, but does not actually break
them, he should not receive the benefits of his
passive Divine Upgrades and using his other Divine
Upgrades will cause him one additional point of
neural damage.
If a character actually breaks a commandment,
he will see his Faith temporarily reduced by one
point, which might cause him to lose one of his
Divine Upgrades until he recovers his Faith. The
character will recover his Faith after one session
without breaking any commandments. If a character breaks a commandment for the second time
in the same session, he will lose one point of Faith
permanently, along with one Divine Upgrade if he
had as many Divine Upgrades as his Faith, not recovering any experience points spent to acquire it.
If at any point a character starts to show more
connection to a different God, the GM can offer him
to change his divine allegiance. He will lose all the
Divine Upgrades from his previous God. If the act
that makes him change Gods is significant enough (A
Kaliva follower staying behind to cover the retreat
of his team, abandoning himself to a certain death),
the GM can give him Divine Upgrades from his new
God, up to the same number he previously had.

KALIVA
Extended Awareness
The soulbender is guarded by Kaliva and is almost impossible to surprise. He can always confront actions made
against him, as long as they are performed by characters
with a Faith Attribute less than or equal to his own. This
is true even if he is asleep or unaware; he realizes what is
happening just before events actually occur, giving him a
chance to react accordingly. Whenever this ability triggers,
the soulbender takes one point of neural damage.

Phantom
Sustained. Suffer any amount of neural damage.
Phantom affects all characters around the soulbender
with Mind less than or equal to the neural damage he
suffered to use this power.
I - The soulbender does not draw the attention of anyone
around him unless he is directly attacking them.

of times per round. Additionally, he ignores Skill

damage penalties for the purpose of this Upgrade,
and every time the soulbender achieves a critical
success in a confrontation he draws one card.

Greed
Instant. At any point, the soulbender can set aside up
to as many cards from his hand as his Faith. This does not
trigger any effects such as Playing with Ambience or Profi-

II - The soulbender does not draw the attention of anyone

around him and they cannot remember his face, voice,
name, or anything about him that is recognisable. They will
have a vague idea of whatever they talked about with him.
III - The soulbender does not draw the attention of anyone
around him and he is not remembered by them. They
cannot target the soulbender with actions that could have
another valid target. Friendlies and neutrals can never be
considered valid targets, unless the character performing
the action is a Ledger believer.

Soulhunt

I - One target. The soulbender can feel the approximate

distance and direction of his target.
II - Two targets. In addition to the distance and direction of
his targets, the soulbender can feel his targets moods and
feelings, allowing him to gain insights about them. He might
be able to see some of their doings in his dreams, though
they are revealed in fragments.
III - Three targets. The soulbender will know the exact
location of his targets. Additionally, he can see through the
eyes of his targets in real time, regardless of how far they
are, and feel his targets moods and feelings.

Natural Selection
Whenever the soulbender confronts a character with a
Skill with a lower value than the Skill he is using, the soulbender receives one advantage (The GM is considered to
have a Skill value of 0).

Whenever the soulbender can play a card from his hand,

he can choose to suffer one neural damage and play a
card set aside with Greed instead. Cards played this way
are placed in the players discard pile as normal. The soulbender cannot set aside any more cards until he has played
all those set aside previously.

VEXAL
Gravity Shift
Sustained. Suffer two neural damage.
The soulbender pulls himself towards another surface
that is significantly bigger than him and up to 20 metres
away.
The character will fall towards that surface, but he
will also have control over his motion and will not suffer
damage from it regardless of the speed.
I - The soulbender gains one advantage towards this
action.

I - The soulbender may use this Upgrade once per round.

II - The soulbender may use this Upgrade any number
of times per round. Additionally, he ignores Skill damage
penalties for the purpose of this Upgrade.
III - The soulbender may use this Upgrade any number

II - The soulbender gains two advantages towards this

action.
III - The soulbender gains three advantages towards this
action.

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faith rulebook

Action (Cunning). The soulbender can mark any sentient

being in his line of sight up to 50 metres away, without the
target noticing. He will be able to feel the presence of his
target anywhere within the same solar system.

ciency. Cards set aside with Greed do not count towards

the soulbenders hand size when drawing up to seven cards
at the beginning of a scene.

Planeswalker
Sustained (Athletics/EVA). Suffer three neural damage.
The soulbender can move up to 2.5 metres per turn
through any solid surface as if it was not there. The character needs to establish contact with whatever he is going
to move through before moving. This means that this Divine
Upgrade cannot be used on things that suddenly come
into contact with the character (such as letting bullets go
through the body without harm).
The soulbender cannot carry anything outside his body
while using this Upgrade, including gear or clothes. He can
have Upgrades of any type.
The consequences of getting stuck in the middle of something will be determined by the GM, taking into consideration the consistency of the material and the Constitution of
the character.

The Upgrades

Psychometry

faith rulebook

39

Action. Suffer two neural damage.

The soulbender may experience visions from objects of
otherwise unknown history by making physical contact
with them. He can obtain information such as where the
object was created, who brought it there, who has been in
contact with it lately, etc. Once he has a vision, he cannot
have another vision of the same object unless he increases
his Faith.
I - The visions are blurry and chaotic.
II - The visions are clear and appear in chronological
order. Additionally, they contain some words that were
heard close to the object.
III - The visions are clear and appear in chronological
order. Additionally, they contain some words that were
heard close to the object. The soulbender may use Psychometry on living and dead organisms as well.

Telekinesis
Action (Athletics/EVA). Suffer one neural damage.
I - The soulbender can move inanimate objects up to 10
metres away as if he was holding them. He can lift up to his
normal carrying weight.
II - The soulbender can move inanimate objects up to 20
metres away as if he was holding them. He can lift up to his
normal carrying weight
III - The soulbender can move inanimate objects up to 20
metres away as if he was holding them. He can lift up to
double his normal carrying weight.

Unyielding Resolve
Instant.
I - Suffer one neural damage. The soulbender can ignore
all Skill penalties caused by physical damage until the end
of the round.
II - Suffer one physical damage. The soulbender can
discard two neural damage counters.
III - Suffer one physical damage. The soulbender can play
one additional card during his current action.

HEXIA
Altered Reality
Action (Initiative). Suffer one neural damage.
The soulbender can teleport in a straight and unobstructed line.
I - The soulbender can teleport up to 10 metres away.
II - The soulbender can teleport up to 20 metres away, or
teleport up to 10 metres away with one advantage towards
this action.
III - The soulbender can teleport up to 30 metres away,
teleport up to 20 metres away with one advantage, or
teleport up to 10 metres away with two advantages
towards this action.

Fragmented Reality
Sustained (Cunning). Suffer any amount of neural
damage.
The soulbender creates the sensorial illusion of an object
to all of those that can perceive it. The illusion can occupy
an area of up to one square metre in any shape (big enough
to cover a person completely) per point of neural damage
taken to create it. Other characters might detect the
illusion with a Searching action. The illusion cannot cause
direct harm.
I - The illusion only affects the sense of sight.
II - The illusion affects the senses of sight, hearing and
smell.
III - The illusion affects all senses, including taste, touch,
temperature, kinaesthesia, balance, vibration, etc, making
it real for those sensing it. Characters trying to detect it
with a Searching action suffer a disadvantage.

Future Sight

physical contact with the target equals to one second of

viewing their memories.

I - The soulbender can look at the top card of his deck at

any time.
II - Action. Suffer two neural damage. The soulbender is
guarded by his God, who rewards him with short moments
of clarity. Once per session, the player can request the
GMs advice about a choice the character has to make or
a course of action he should take. The GM should give him
solid advice based on what the character knows (even if the
player himself does not remember it).
III - Instant. Suffer two neural damage. During the current
action, all characters confronting the soulbender must play
all their cards before him. If more than one character uses
this Upgrade, they play their cards as normal after every
other character involved in the confrontation.

Time Warp
I - Activated. Suffer one neural damage. The soulbender
receives one advantage towards an Agility action.
II - Sustained. Suffer one neural damage. The soulbender
receives one advantage towards all Agility actions.
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faith rulebook

III - Instant. Suffer two neural damage. The soulbender

has an additional turn after all other characters have acted
during this initiative round. If more than one character uses
this Upgrade, they take turns following the same order
they had during the initiative round. The actions performed
during this turn are resolved and confronted as any other
action.

Hidden Truth
Sustained. Suffer two neural damage.
The soulbender can read the emotions of other characters with Mind less than or equal to his Faith in a radius of 5
metres, without them noticing.
I - The soulbender can read basic emotions, such as
anger, fear or happiness, but not thoughts. For example,
if someone is lying to him, he may read nervousness or
elation, but he wont know for certain if what he is hearing
is the truth.
II - The soulbender can read basic emotions, and he
will immediately detect holograms, illusions, and stealth
devices. He is not affected by the characteristics of stealth
devices. Additionally, he will be able to perceive tiny details
that would elude most people.
III - In addition to II, the soulbender can read memories.
If the Mind of the target is equal to the Faith of the soulbender, the target will notice. Each second he spends in

ERGON
Vortex
Action (Initiative). Suffer one neural damage per portal.
The soulbender can open up to two portals by throwing
balls of energy from the palm of his hand to a point in
space. Opening a third portal requires closing one of the
others. The portals have a diameter of 2 metres. All forms
of matter and energy can travel from one to the other and
vice versa. Characters can see clearly through them, and if
only one is open, it looks like a ring made of light.

I - The portals can be up to 30 metres away from each

other, and they last one hour. Each portal takes one action
to open.
II - The portals can be up to 50 metres away from each
other and they last for as long as the soulbender is alive, or
until he decides to close one of them. Each portal takes one
action to open.
III - The portals can be up to 50 metres away from each
other and they last for as long as the soulbender is alive, or
until he decides to close one of them. Both portals can be
opened with the same action.

Telepathy

LEDGER
Death of Faith
Sustained. Suffer two neural damage.
The soulbender can choose a character in his line of sight
with Faith less than or equal to his own. That character
cannot use any Divine Upgrades granted by his God for as
long as this effect is active.

Madness
Sustained. Suffer two neural damage.

The Upgrades

I - The soulbender can send telepathic messages to

anyone in his line of sight. Additionally, he can send telepathic messages to any Ergon believer within the same
solar system.

faith rulebook

41

II - The soulbender can send telepathic messages to

anyone in his line of sight or within a 100 metre radius. Additionally, he can send telepathic messages to any Ergon
believer within the same solar system.
III - The soulbender can send telepathic messages to
anyone on the same planet. Additionally, he can send telepathic messages to any Ergon believer within the same
solar system.

Judgment
Instant. Suffer two neural damage.
The soulbender can pick any character in his line of
sight that has just played a card. The soulbender discards
as many cards as his Faith from the top of his deck and
replaces the value of the played card with the value of any
one of the cards he has discarded.

Divine Shield
Sustained. Suffer two neural damage.
The soulbender chooses a character in his line of sight. He
can prevent that character from receiving as many damage
counters of any type per initiative round as his Faith.

Overload
Action (Initiative). Suffer two neural damage.
Everything in a radius of 5 metres from the soulbender
receives two times his Faith in ACS damage counters.

All characters with Faith less than or equal to the soulbender in a 10 metre radius from him are affected, including the soulbender himself. Any confrontation involving
a character affected by Madness must be resolved using
cards played from the top of the deck of the GM or players
involved, instead of their respective hands.

Fear Fog
Sustained. Suffer two neural damage.
All other characters with Faith less than or equal to the
soulbender in a radius of 20 metres are affected. All those
characters suddenly experience a primordial fear. They
receive a disadvantage when performing actions that do not
have the aim of escaping the radius of this Divine Upgrade.

Copycat
Copycat works exactly as one Divine Upgrade from any
other God. The chosen Upgrade is placed on the character
board as if it were from Ledger. The soulbender can only
have one Divine Upgrade obtained with Copycat at the same
time.

don t ge t lost.

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS (NPC)

LEVEL

NAME

See page 44

CHARACTERISTICS
Their description is on the
back of the card or the
corresponding section of this
rulebook

PHYSICAL HEALTH
See page 19

NEURAL HEALTH
See page 19

The Non-Player Characters

ARMOUR
See page 20

FIREWALL
The number of cards it can
play is inside the icon

INITIATIVE
The number of cards it can
play is inside the icon

POWERED
CHARACTERISTICS
Their description is on the back
of the card or the corresponding
section of this rulebook

faith rulebook

43

PHYSICAL/MENTAL
SKILL VALUE

NUMBER OF CARDS

The Skill value is the starting

action value of the NPC

HOW TO USE THE NPC

Non-player characters (NPCs) are characters controlled
by the GM. They are the key to many stories, and they can
be friends, foes, or just neutral. While with some NPCs all
interactions will be talking or trading, some of them might
perform actions and engage in confrontations. The FAITH:
Core Set includes a deck of 54 NPC cards ready to use,
and the GM can always create her own for the story she is
running.
When NPCs perform actions or engage in confrontations
they play cards from the top of the GMs deck and she
decides the actions they will take. Whenever an NPC has the
opportunity to play a card from the deck, the GM can decide
to play a card from her hand instead.
When a NPC plays a card with a suit that matches the
ambience he immediately draws another card and the GM
chooses if she wants to replace the previous card with it
or not. If it is replaced by another card that matches the
ambience, she will immediately go through the same
process again. All the replaced cards are discarded, as well
as all the unused cards.

The number of cards it can play

is within the symbol

During initiative rounds the GM will either discard one

card from the top of her deck or her hand to establish the
bonus to the initiative value of all NPCs for that round.

NPC CARDS
NPCs can be as complex as the GM wants; the GM is in
charge of creating and elaborating on their backstories.
NPCs can be as detailed as a PC or even more. To make the
game easy and interesting without too much hassle, she
can use the NPC cards.
NPC cards represent simplified characters with the
information needed to use them in a quick encounter. Additionally, they can be used as a base for the GM to create a
more elaborate character if the story requires it.
They do not have Attributes and Skills like player characters. Instead, they have a Physical and a Mental Skill to
establish both the base action value and the amount of
cards played by the NPC. It is up to the GM to say which of
the two Skills the NPC uses for each action and it is also up
to her to determine to how many areas they cover.

CHARACTERISTICS

ENERGY
See page 45

FLAVOUR TEXT

NPCs do not have a limited number of cards they can play

per round. It is recommended that NPCs only perform the
same type of action once per round but it is up to the GM to
use these characters as she sees fit to drive the story.
Most NPCs have physical and neural health as any other
character, but usually those that are not important for the
story can be considered dead once they are bleeding out or
traumatised.
NPCs are affected by modifiers to their actions in the
same way other characters are, as well as by advantages

and disadvantages. Unless stated otherwise, all NPCs have

a Faith Attribute value of one.
The GM can decide to apply the traits of the species to
an NPC as she sees fit, as well as apply any other rules to
better reflect the nature of the NPC she wants to use in the
story.
The NPC cards have a level of difficulty for the GM to use
as a guide. Have one NPC per PC in the encounter: Level 1
NPCs are best used against starting characters and characters who have gained a few Skill points and maybe one
Upgrade, but have yet to increase one of their Attributes to
3. Level 2 NPCs can be used to face characters that have
increased their main Attribute to 3 and have a couple of high
value Skills. Finally, level 3 NPCs are meant to fight against
players with fully developed characters.
Alternatively, the GM may use fewer NPCs of higher
level, or many lower level NPCs to face the players and
create a different kind of encounter. Varied encounters will
force the players to play smart and try to gain advantages
through role playing to raise victorious, which is a rather
rewarding way of doing so.

44
faith rulebook

For example, a Raag warrior might use the Physical Skill

for Shooting, CQC, and Athletic actions; and the Mental Skill
for Survival and Cunning actions, but it is probably safe to
say that he wouldnt use it for Hacking. On the other end
of the spectrum, a Corvo hacker NPC will probably use
his Mental Skill for Hacking or Technical actions, but he
wouldnt probably use his Physical Skill for CQC actions.
In any case, the GM is always free to modify the values of
both NPC skills as well as the number of cards they play to
serve the story better, but she should inform the players
beforehand to avoid any misunderstandings.

The specs include additional

information that might be
useful for your campaigns,
but they are not rules binding:
feel free to adapt them to
better suit your story

The Non-Player Characters

SPECS

THE GEAR
In FAITH, characters can carry and use any kind of gear
that they might find. Some of the most important pieces
of equipment are on cards that contain all the important
information needed to use them. However, we encourage
players to create their own gear if they find the need for it.
There are five types of gear cards: ranged weapons, CQC
weapons, robots, suits, and objects. At the beginning of
each section there is an example of a card to show how all
the information is laid out in each type of card.
Some symbols contain a number inside, which always
indicates the number of cards that are played when it is
used. Those cards are played from the top of the deck of
the gears controller.

The Gear

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS

faith rulebook

45

Some pieces of equipment have common characteristics

that are only described if there is enough space in the card.
Cortex connected: Must be connected to a cortex connector Upgrade to be used.
Easy to hide: Can be hidden while wearing a jacket or
similar piece of clothing.
Ghost: Does not appear on LinkWave radars. It can still
be hacked using other methods or through LinkWave if the
hacker has line of sight.
Glove: Must be worn on one hand. It can be attached to a
suit with a Technical action.
Throwable: Action (Athletic/EVA). May be thrown up
to 50 metres away. It provides one advantage if thrown
within 10 metres and it suffers one disadvantage every 10
metres further, rounded up.
Very easy to hide: Can be hidden while
wearing regular clothes, even without a
jacket.

ENERGY
AND ACS DAMAGE
Certain pieces of gear have characteristics with an
energy value. Those characteristics are considered
powered, and if the piece of gear suffers as much
ACS damage as their energy value, they stop
working. If a cortex connected device suffers ACS
damage, each other cortex connected device con-

nected to the same character will suffer the same amount

of ACS damage.
Robots also have an energy value, and if they suffer
as much ACS damage as that value, they stop working
completely.

RANGED WEAPONS
Ranged weapons are weapons used in ranged combat,
and they provide a means to attack targets from a distance.
There are many different types of ranged weapons, but
they are usually separated into two main types: projectile
weapons and electronic weapons.
Projectile weapons have magazines, whereas electronic
weapons have batteries and use electric energy to shoot. If
the weapon has a magazine it needs to have ammunition to
shoot; and if it has an energy value, it cannot shoot if it has
as many ACS damage as that value.

Range
A weapons effectiveness is related to the distance to its
target. Most weapons have two different ranges and a few
specialist weapons have a third range.
Close Quarters (CQ): Up to 20 metres. The most common
range indoors, inside spaceships or in dense urban areas.
Standard Distance (SD): From 20 to 100 metres.
The range most characters can see clearly
without magnification.
Long Distance (LD): From 100 metres
to 5 kilometres. The extended range
of some sniper rifles. The weapon
loses one point of damage and
receives one disadvantage for
every additional kilometre after the
first.

Ammo & Mag

Weapons with magazine (mag)
can load as many ammo tokens
as its value from any combination
of their compatible ammunition
(ammo) types.
Standard: The ammunition
commonly used in firearms
and EM railguns. Standard
ammunition causes physical

damage as specified in the weapon description.

normal Standard Distance, rounded up.

Neural: The ammunition used by neural weapons. The

neural ammunition causes the neural damage as specified
in the description of the weapon. Additionally, it ignores
armour.

Neural weapon: Action (Shooting). May be fired. The shot

is silent and leaves no traces.

Plasma: One of the most dangerous ammunitions known

in the Universe. Plasma ammunition ignores up to 2 points
of armour and causes physical damage as specified in the
description of the weapon.
Adaptive Circuit Severance (ACS): Adaptive Circuit Severance (ACS) ammunition causes ACS damage as specified in
the description of the weapon to a robot or piece of gear.
Explosive: Explosive ammunition causes physical
damage as specified in the description of the weapon, up
to one metre away from the point of impact and one less
damage for every metre or fraction further.

Characteristics

EM railgun: Action (Shooting). May be fired. It is slightly

noisy and it has significant recoil. Magazine 1.

Firearm: Action (Shooting). May be fired. The shot is noisy

and leaves traces of gunpowder and shells. Firearms can
shoot further than Standard Distance, even without a magnifying device, but they will cause one point of damage less
and suffer one disadvantage for every 50 metres beyond

Plasma weapons use target-lock software to adjust

their lasers trajectories, meeting precisely at the target.
When the lasers meet, they induce a high-energy state into
the gases around the target, creating plasma and burning
through even the toughest of steels.

CLOSE COMBAT WEAPONS

Close combat weapons are meant to be used in CQC
situations and they provide characters with the means of
harming enemies who are nearby. There are many types of
close combat weapons, but with the increasing popularity
of armoured suits, these weapons are almost exclusively
used by a niche of specialists in boarding or urban warfare,
and some primitive species.

Fighting Styles
Close combat weapons can be used in two fighting
styles: Hit, using Dexterity, and Grapple, using Agility. Each
weapon indicates the advantages (+) or disadvantages (-) it
provides and the damage it causes for each fighting style.

NAME
CHARACTERISTICS
Their description is on the
back of the card or the
corresponding section of this
rulebook. If they are powered,
their energy value is on the
back of the card

RANGES/FIGHTING STYLES
ENERGY/MAG
See page 45

FIREWALL
If the weapon has hackeable
characteristics, it will have a
Firewall. The number of cards
it can play is inside the icon

The number is the damage caused in each

range or fighting style. Each + indicates
one advantage and each - indicates one
disadvantage in that range or fighting
style

AMMO TYPES
See page 45

46
faith rulebook

Electromagnetic railguns are built around a pair of

parallel conducting rails that accelerate projectiles to
incredible speeds. They are electrically powered and very
slow to recharge, but their power makes them the preferred weapon of snipers and other long range operators.

Plasma weapon: Action (Shooting). May be fired. The shot

is silent, but at the point of impact the plasma is slightly
noisy and leaves a characteristic smell. Its lasers can be
easily seen in the dark or at night.

The Gear

CQW (Close Quarters Weapon): Provides one extra advantage towards Shooting actions against targets within 10
metres.

Neural weapons shoot microwaves that affect the

synapses of neurons, slowing them down. The targets of
these weapons normally faint, but deep coma is not an
unusual effect either. The izkal military police use neural
weapons to control crowds and they are increasingly
popular amongst criminals due to their untraceability.

 Small energy core with long autonomy

SUITS

Radio and network comms

Suits are full body wearable pieces of equipment. Each

character can wear only one suit at a time unless specified
otherwise. Most suits are normally tailored or adjusted to
one character and, if the character is not used to it, putting
a suit on or taking it off can take several minutes.
If a suit is somehow destroyed or rendered useless, all its
effects and characteristics will stop applying immediately,
and the character will suffer one disadvantage towards all
his Agility actions until he takes the suit off.

Characteristics
Suits are built to be very resourceful and they all share
certain characteristics:
Vacuum protection

The Gear

Limited oxygen supply and air filters

faith rulebook

47

-20C to 50C thermal protection

Directional lights in helmet and gloves

Infrared visor

OTHER ITEMS
There are all kinds of objects that players can use in the
Universe of FAITH, from rigs to grenades, from the technical to the medical, and all forms of tools. It is up to the
GM and the players to make up their own objects, although
many of the most usual yet interesting items are represented in cards.
The purpose of the object cards is to ease the players
immersion in the story. The cards represent the most interesting objects, and are not a comprehensive inventory of
all the items a character might have. For these reasons, the
most common objects like phones, clothes, or tools are not
represented in cards and it can be assumed that the characters have them without the need of a card to indicate it.

Additionally, all suits have some inherent powered

characteristics. These characteristics have their energy
indicated on the front of the suit card.

NAME
CHARACTERISTICS
Their description is on the back
of the card or the corresponding
section of this rulebook

ENERGY
See page 45

ARMOUR
See page 20

AGILITY MODIFIER
It may provide one advantage
(+) or disadvantage (-) towards
Agility actions

FIREWALL
The number of cards it can play
is inside the icon

POWERED
CHARACTERISTICS
Their description is on the
back of the card or the
corresponding section of this
rulebook

ROBOTS

Characteristics

Robots are very complex semi-autonomous pieces of

gear that can operate either using their partial AI softwares
or when controlled by a technician. When a robot receives a
command, it will do anything in its power to obey it until the
task is completed or the robot is destroyed.

Robots are usually very well built and they all share
many powered characteristics:

Robots play as NPCs under the control of characters, and

may even be under the control of players.
The structure (STR) value is the maximum physical
damage a robot can withstand before it stops working. If a
robot suffers as much physical damage as its STR it will be
deactivated until it is repaired.

High definition camera, microphones and status

sensors (all data is recorded and stored for one

week)
Directional light
Radio and network comms
Vacuum and atmospheric working capabilities

the issues with complete ai machines

The Gear

For a long time, the ultimate Artificial Intelligence had been an unreachable goal for engineers and scientists in all societies. Even though technology would allow both the Izkal and
the Corvo to create it now, they dont pursue the idea. The former suffered from AI control
under the Korian, while the latter depend on wage labour to keep their consumer-based
economy afloat and fear cortex connector vulnerability. Only partial AI engines are used
today but no machine is completely autonomous, let alone self-aware.

48

CHARACTERISTICS
Their description is on the
back of the card or the
corresponding section of this
rulebook

STRUCTURE
See page 48

ENERGY
See page 45

ARMOUR
See page 20

FIREWALL
The number of cards it can
play is inside the icon

INITIATIVE
The number of cards it can
play is inside the icon

POWERED
CHARACTERISTICS
Their description is on the back of the
card or the corresponding section of
this rulebook

SKILL VALUES
The Skill value is the
starting action value of the
robot

NUMBER OF CARDS
The number of cards it can play
is inside the icon

faith rulebook

NAME

ADVICE FOR A GM RUNNING A FAITH GAME

Normally, a piece of advice would tell you what to do,
instead of what not to do. However, we tend to think that
the donts are much better advice, and they are much less
restrictive. We want to advise you on just a few things to
avoid from the infinite amount of possibilities, and still
leave you with infinite possibilities!

Who are the Gods of your players? That alone can help
you create a story for them. Do they think very differently
from each other? Have them be in situations in which they
must reach a consensus. Give their characters opportunity
to change and evolve, even if that means that they have to
change Gods.

Thus, we will focus our tips for being an awesome GM on

things you shouldnt do. Here are some:

If they are followers of Kaliva, the most indi-

Advice for the GM

Do not use confrontations to side with the PCs

faith rulebook

49

and confront NPCs, because that creates a deus

ex machina effect that kills the thrill of the game.
If you fear for the story or for the PCs because
the NPCs are winning, you can use a plot twist
to save the day: a friendly NPC comes in to help,
the NPCs try to take the PCs captive instead of
killing them, or they offer a deal to the PCs to stop
fighting (why do NPCs always fight until the end
anyways, dont they have families to come back
to?), etc.
Do not confront players when they perform

mundane tasks, but instead lure them into

playing high cards at times when they really
need to achieve something. That will make their
subsequent confrontations with NPCs much more
interesting and tense, leaving you with high cards
to aid important NPCs or prevent the story from
derailing too much from its course. Save your high
cards for when it matters! The confrontations
with the GM are there to add drama and interest to
the story, they are not a substitute for every last
skill check you would make in other games.

vidualist God, make them see the terrible lives of

good, hard-working people, who are impoverished
and who have no chance of success. Will they help
them?
If they are followers of Vexal, the individual free

thinker, put them in situations in which they must

join a community in order to save it. Will they sacrifice their individual freedom for the good of the
community?
If they follow Hexia, the strict ruler that seeks the

good of the community, see if they still think they

represent the communitys best interests after
committing a grand mistake. Will they listen to
others now?
If they follow Ergon, the most democratic of the

Gods, have them see what terrible things the

masses can do to those minorities that think differently. Will they give up their beliefs to stop it?
Like in many other RPGs, there are many things you can
do in FAITH that can make campaigns much more interesting. Here are some of our recommendations:
Give secret agendas to your players to make

Do not make your NPCs mindless shooting

machines unless the story requires them to be.

It is much more interesting to have small teams
of NPCs behave intelligently and tactically: have
them flank the PCs, throw smoke grenades, pin
down PCs, or use any other cool tactics you can
come up with.
Do not allow the PCs to take their respective Gods

for granted. Force them to put their beliefs to

the test and see if they can handle it, and if they
follow them to the direst of consequences. If they
cannot, they may be deemed unworthy of the
support of their God.

them feel invested in the story before it even

begins. Bring the drama of their backstories to the
game. Let them use the details they gave to you
while creating their stories, so the story you put
together feels round and engaging.
Not every NPC needs to be a bad guy trying to shoot

at the PCs or hack into their brains. Use friendly or

neutral NPCs to drive the story forward: they are
one of your most valuable assets. Without them
interacting with the PCs, players tend to go about
their own ways and set themselves away from
the story. Informers, merchants, secret contacts,
potential employers... all of them are interesting
characters that will help you develop an engaging
story when they interact with the PCs. They can
provide them with information, convince them to
change their minds, put them in compromising
situations, or put their beliefs to the test.

 There are many things that can influence a char-

acter: he can take damage by falling from a tall

wall, he can suffer hypothermia or hunger - the
possibilities are endless. We could try to tackle
this issue with some spreadsheets with the most
common effects of the most common issues, but
this would never be comprehensive enough and it
would have very little narrative value. In FAITH,
we leave things like this to the GM - she should
decide what she thinks is best for the story: is it
interesting that your players characters suffer
one disadvantage to any action because they were
not prepared to survive in a frozen planet? They
all have Survival 0 and cannot find any food in
the jungle. Maybe it is interesting to give them a

disadvantage until they find food, or perhaps their

unpreparedness can start to affect their health.
Perhaps force them to suffer neural damage
that they cannot remove until they eat - if they
continue like this they will faint and die of starvation. Go with what is dramatically interesting,
that pushes the story forward and engages the
players. Adapt effects to the situation and your
groups gameplay.
And last, but not least, remember that playing RPGs is
all about having fun with your friends, and that should be
your goal at all times. Enjoy the game and do not make it
all about who succeeded or failed if it does not need to be.

Home started talking when Edo pressed against her heart: Energy supply insufficient, back
up cells almost depleted. Please replenish the ship to access its functions.

Edo was not yet when the tribe found Home. The elders had told him that she came from the sky, but now that
Home was half buried in the sand of the eternal desert, the elders story seemed impossible. Edo had always known
Home. The one place safe in the whole land.
Lia ran inside the room, her hoofs clopping against the metallic floors,
Edo, hurricane close.
How close?
A day.
Edo tightened the hold on his spear.
What do?, asked Lia.
Edo knew what to do. To save Home he had to disobey her. He started walking, the clattering of his hooves echoing
deep into the core of Home. He opened the door that was not to be opened. He entered the room that was not to be
disturbed. The room where thousands of beings laid frozen in glass beds. He approached the nearest one, a creature
full of scars, and he pressed the round red heart of the glass bed and words appeared before him.
Ivohno. Convicted of murder. Age 56. Colony of Alameen. Edo went to the next bed. Lovomo. Convicted of cybercrime. Age 23. Colony of Zerua.
Edo did not understand, but he had little time. He pressed the next heart that appeared before him and stepped
back. His spear was ready.
It felt like forever before the being looked at him through the glass and asked,
What the heck are you?.

50
faith rulebook

Edo was the best speaker in the tribe. He could string long sentences together and even fabricate stories that were not memories. No one else in the tribe could do that. But even with such
a brilliant mind, Edo could not understand what Home needed. The lights were growing weaker,
the doors were becoming rusty, and the magic that protected them from the hurricanes was no more. The people
were afraid of the sky again, and eyes that used to be set on each other were now set on the horizon. They knew that
the hurricanes would come again, and, if Home could not protect them, they had to protect Home.

Advice for the GM

Edos heart shrinked. It had been a week since Homes teachings were reduced to that single
sentence. It did not matter how many times Edo pressed her round red heart, the Home that
taught his tribe how to speak and many other great things had been reduced to a shell.

CREDITS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COMPONENTS5
FOREWORD6
What You Need to Play
Core Concepts

6
6

INTRODUCTION7
The Game Master
The Characters
Sessions & Scenes

7
7
7

SETTING UP THE GAME

Card Suits

ACTIONS9
Opposing Actions
Collaborative Actions
Passive Actions
Additional Effects

10
10
11
11

CONFRONTATIONS11
Confrontations with the GM
Confrontations Between Characters
Action Value
Skills
Damage
Playing Cards
Inferiority (Advantages)
Outcome of a Confrontation
Steps of a Confrontation
Resolving Multiple Confrontations
Drawing Cards
Playing with Ambience (Affinity)
Proficiency
Beginning of a Scene
INITIATIVE ROUND

11
12
12
12
12
13
13
13
14
15
15
15
15
15
15

Reacting15
Waiting16
Maintenance Phase
16
Steps of an Initiative Round
16
THE CHARACTERS

18

Creating a Character
18
Advanced Characters
18
Gaining Experience
18
Health & Damage
19
Armour20

SPECIES TRAITS

20

WORMHOLES53

Corvo20
Izkal21
Human21
Raag22
Ravager22

Movement 
54
Wormhole Combat
54
Communications54
Space Exploration
55

ATTRIBUTES 

25

SKILLS26
Ballistic26
Close Quarters Combat
27
Hacking27
Piloting28
Survival29
Cunning29
Initiative29
Athletic30
Medical30
Technical31
Extravehicular Activity (EVA)
31
Profession32
THE UPGRADES

33

Bio Upgrades
33
Tech Upgrades
35
Divine Upgrades
37
Losing the Favour of Your God
37
Kaliva37
Vexal38
Hexia39
Ergon40
Ledger41
NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS (NPC)
How to Use the NPCs
NPC Cards
THE GEAR

43
43
43
45

Common Characteristics
45
Energy and ACS Damage
45
Ranged Weapons
45
Close Combat Weapons
46
Suits47
Other Items
47
Robots48
ADVICE FOR A GM RUNNING A FAITH GAME 49
THE UNIVERSE OF FAITH

52

Life in Space
53
Spacecrafts53

INDEX

THE GODS

57

Commandments57
Cults58
Godly Favours
58
Avatars of God
58
Ergon59
Kaliva60
Vexal61
Hexia62
Ledger63
THE CORVO

65

Corvosphere65
Social Relationships
65
Corvo Society
66
Megacorps71
Corvo History
73
Corvo Habitats
75
THE IZKAL

79

The State
79
Hyperlink79
The Voidwalkers
80
Social Relationships
81
Resource-based Economy
82
The Hexian Movement
86
The Korian and the Izkal Uprising
87
Izkal Habitats
89
THE HUMANS

93

Human Front
94
Fulcrums95
THE RAAG

97

Society97
The Age of the Gladiators
98
The Ice Fortresses
100
The Clans
100
THE RAVAGER
The Swarm
Devourers of Worlds
The Hivemind
Organization of the Swarm 

103
103
104
104
104