The Squire will carry it. The Squire carries everything.
Assembling a Novice (target: under one minute)
- Archetype — sets your suggested attribute spread, signature ability, and default loadout.
- Attributes — the array is [3, 2, 1, 1]; swap any two.
- Loadout — one weapon, one body armor, an optional off-hand (shield or buckler), and 3–5 abilities (your archetype’s signature is always among them).
- Trait — pick one.
- Name and portrait. Done. You are not meant to grow attached.
Creation Traits
| Trait | Effect |
|---|---|
| Hardy | +1 Vitals |
| Ironclad | +1 Guard; your Patch restores +1 |
| Fleet | +1 Wind |
| Keen | Boon on Wits searches and trap checks |
| Stubborn | Boon resisting Shaken and Stun |
| Scavenger | Improved contents when searching |
| Lucky | Once per run, reroll any die |
The Gear Shelf
Gear comes in three kinds — consumables (spent), tools (kept), and relics (rare, passive).
| Item | Kind | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Healing poultice | consumable | Restore 1 Vital — the only mid-run answer to a wound. Rare |
| Stamina draught | consumable | Refill your Wind fully, mid-fight |
| Caltrops | consumable | A zone that Slows what crosses it |
| Smoke pot | consumable | A zone of Hidden — the exit, bottled |
| Armorer’s kit | tool | Restore Guard out of combat, cheaper against the Clock |
| Lockpicks | tool | Boon on locks |
| Torch | tool | Light; and fire is fire — it can Burn |
| Rope and grapple | tool | Traversal; an alternate way out |
| Warding charm | relic | Shrug off one condition per encounter |
Carrying and Keeping
- There is no encumbrance ledger — the party carries what it finds, each member holding their own share.
- Nothing is yours until you’re out. Coin and valuables (“junk value”) only pay if the carrier extracts; loot on the fallen pays no one. The extraction decision is the greed decision.
- Loot comes in three flavors: useful now (gear you can use this run), junk value (worth coin back in Cairnfoot), and lore (weightless; feeds the chronicle).
Gear Feeds Power Value
Every rated piece — weapon (Break + Wound), armor (Guard), trait — contributes to your Power Value, and party PV sizes the mission. A well-equipped party generates a harder (and richer) contract; an under-geared one never gets a softer dungeon than baseline. Gear up because you want the bigger job.
For what the dungeon itself might hand you, see 04 Dungeon Treasures.