What Lies Beneath

Rules Reference

Setup

Roll 2d6, reroll one die on doubles until the dice differ. Each die maps to a class; choose one. That row gives Hit, Dex, Wit and starting Vigor.

The Four Tests

[Hit @ X] — Roll your Hit dice. Succeed if any die is X or higher. If you hold WPN, you may raise one die by 1 after rolling. If you hold WCF1 (Druid/Wizard), once per encounter you may reroll a die showing 1.

[Dex @ X] — Alternate Dexterity Rules — The book's physical flick-a-die test can't be played on a screen, so this game uses the book's official alternate rule: succeed if Dex + WARD − KARMA ≥ X. The arithmetic is always shown.

[Wit @ X] — Roll X dice. You have as many actions as your Wit. Each action, pick a die and: Reroll it, Flip it (to 7 − its value), or Increase it by 1 (max 6). Succeed when all dice form one consecutive run, in any order (e.g. 2-3-4).

[Item X] / [Tag X] — A choice that only works if you carry that Item or Tag. Optional unless the story says otherwise — the main path is never hard-blocked by a gate.

KARMA & WARD

Repeatable tags. KARMA weighs you down (it hurts Dexterity and fate); WARD protects you. SHD, if held: lose 1 less Vigor when a living creature makes you lose 3 or more.

Death & XP

Vigor 0 = death. Unspent XP is kept. A new hero may first buy death-upgrades (each once): 1 XP — +2 Vigor, +1 WARD, or Item PFS; 2 XP — +1 Hit, +1 Dex, or +1 Wit; 4 XP — Item SFKC or Item MDI. PFS (single use): before a test, spend 1 WARD to boost that stat by 2. SFKC (single use, anytime): +1 Vigor and remove 1 KARMA. At the escape checkpoint (E100), if XP ≥ 6 or Vigor ≥ 6, your hero is “photocopied” — after a later death you may restart at E101 as that exact hero.

Victory Achievements

• 🏆 Happily Ever After with the Gnomes
• 🏆 Professional Success via the Middle City
• 🏆 Destroy the Monastery with the Goblins
• 🏆 Transcend with the Fairy