rules
-write the word “break”. when you take break, make a mark below it.
-have one or two 6-sided dice or a simulation of them.
-when you see a list numbered 1-6, roll 1d6 to pick one.
your stats
roll a die for each one
FIREARMS: odds = 1, evens = 2
NERVES: odds = 1, evens = 2
HOPE: odds = 1, evens = 2
now add 1 to the stat of your choice
plot
-it was an ambush. you and your squad have been captured.
-you were sent here to bring her to justice, but she turned the tables on you.
-for some reason, she places a gun in your hand.
place
1d6
1. industrial interior of oil rig, safety signs and pipes everywhere. the floor is steel grate and fluids drip through it easily.
2. a fancy outdoor restaurant. hostages are dead at their tables, white cloths stained red. she sips on a cocktail that someone won’t be needing anymore.
3. out on the steppes, overturned truck smoldering fifteen feet away. overcast sky. nowhere to run for miles.
4. in the middle school quad. it’s such a tragedy. and it all could have been prevented. this is a widely televised, indelible scene, and you will be immortalized in key moments of footage.
5. in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, between shelves in an ice-carved room. her people are using thermal drills to destroy millions of seeds.
6. caught infiltrating her subterranean bunker. 1-foot thick metal doors closed automatically around you. the missing member of your squad pounds on the door behind you and starts screaming.
YOUR SQUAD
roll each of these tables 3 times. this is your squad. you can write down or c/p the descriptions.
1d6
1. male
2. male
3. male
4. female
5. female
6. teen
stance
1d6
1. sarcastic
2. messy begging
3. paralyzed in terror
4. looking for a way out
5. recording you with optic implant
6. looking to left (or right if not possible) for comfort. do they get it?
wearing
1. world army uniform
2. world army uniform
3. world army uniform
4. wearing civilian clothes
5. body armor: -1 to your FIREARMS roll.
6. a mask. they are DEHUMANIZED.
relationship with you (you can't take the same option twice. if it repeats, go to the next one down, or up if that fails)
1. your superior officer.
2. your rival.
3. they’re hot. you fucked back at base.
4. they always made you laugh, but you were never that close.
5. the newest member of the squad. this is their first mission.
6. your close friend, the reason you made it this far.
***
THE FIRST ONE
she holds a gun to your head. she tells you to kill the first one. go to KILL TABLES.
KILL TABLES
you may try to resist. if so, roll 2d6+NERVES. if you get 10+, you resist. go to the RESIST TABLE. otherwise, keep going.
when you aim, think about what they’re doing and what they look like, right now, in this moment. think about how her gun feels touching the side of your head. then roll.
1: you aim.
2: you aim.
3: you think about how their appearance and personality differs from the values of your culture. they are DEHUMANIZED. you aim.
4: reroll their stance. they’re doing that stance now. if you get the same stance, they start doing it more intensely: more desperately or louder or changing color.
5. they try to run. -1 to your FIREARMS roll.
6: roll 2d6 + NERVES. if you get less than 9, throw up and take -1 to your FIREARMS roll. otherwise, you hold it in. take +1 to your roll.
now roll 2d6 + FIREARMS - any penalties you accrued for this person. success is 9+.
if you fire successfully
1. a neat hole appears in their head and they fall instantly.
2. half their head explodes, painting the landscape.
3. the bullet almost misses, nicking their neck artery.
4. gut-shot. they slump to the floor
5. they rush you at the last second, taking the bullet in the face. they fall at your feet.
6. their chest wound spurts. they gasp for air until blood pours from their mouth.
and
1. their leg spasms a beat on the ground.
2. they piss themselves
3. their hand trembles as it feels the wound.
4. they lay on the ground completely still.
5. they bleed out slowly, crying someone’s name.
6. they look up at you, their stance increasing in severity as the full realization of their mortality hits them. imagine how that looks. you fire again reflexively to make it stop. mark 1 BREAK.
go to THEY DIE
if you fail
1. the gun jams. roll 2d6+FIREARMS. on 9+, you shoot them. on less, mark 1 BREAK. she shoots them with a disdainful sigh. go to THEY DIE.
2. you fire, but the shot is totally non-lethal but horribly painful. they clutch a fleshy part of their body and scream. roll 2d6+FIREARMS. on 9+, you finally manage to end it. on less, mark 1 BREAK. she shoots them multiple times until they stop making sounds. go to THEY DIE.
3. you miss. they get pretty far before one of her people takes them out with a sniper rifle. she looks at you with disappointment. go to THEY DIE.
4. you throw up. she steps back so it doesn’t get on her shoes. then she rolls her eyes and shoots them. mark 1 BREAK. go to THEY DIE.
5. you miss. she stands behind you and puts her hand on your hand, lifting it and pushing your finger into the trigger. you don’t miss this time. go to THEY DIE.
6. if this is your first time rolling this: your hands tremble. you can’t take the shot. she shoots you in the foot and executes them herself. take the rest of your shots from the floor. note that you have -1 to all stats now. if this is your second time rolling this: your hands tremble as your former comrade looks down at you. you can’t take the shot. she shoots them then turns her gun on you. after a brief look of disdain, she shoots you in the head. nothing exists anymore. end.
THEY DIE
now mark 1 BREAK, unless they are DEHUMANIZED.
go to the next person you haven’t shot. if everyone is shot, go to THE END.
THE SECOND ONE
she tells you to shoot them. go to KILL TABLES.
THE THIRD ONE
she tells you to shoot them.
first, roll 1d6
1. her helicopter is descending, whipping your hair and beating the air into noise
2. she puts her hand on your shoulder and squeezes.
3. you wipe something wet off your face
4. fire is spreading somewhere, smoke stinging your eyes.
5. guns pop in the distance. you can’t tell if it’s your people coming to save you, or just executions.
6. her people do something to the other bodies.
1. they cut off the heads.
2. they pull black bags over their heads.
3. they spray paint her symbol onto them.
4. they dance with them.
5. they hump them.
6. they pray for them.
go to KILL TABLES.
***
THE END
She takes you with her.
check the PLACE number.
if the PLACE is 1: Her speedboat tears across the sea. The sky is overcast and evil, slowly growing warmer as the oil rig begins to erupt.
if the PLACE is 2, 3, or 4: Bullets ping across the helicopter. The bodies look so tiny below, surrounded by red streaks on the grass.
if the PLACE is 5 or 6: They throw you in the back of the van. It accelerates, shuddering across bumpy terrain. After a minute the ground rumbles with an explosion.
mark BREAK = to HOPE
check your BREAK
3-4: You had to do it. You keep telling yourself that. You will bide your time. You won’t forget what she made you do. Their faces flash across your mind and you shake with terror and rage.
5-6: You cry in the corner of the vehicle. You can still see their faces. She says something but you can’t understand. You curl up and turn away.
7+: You are totally broken. you don’t remember your name or who you were. it seems like a dream. You follow numbly, absorbing everything she puts into you.
You disappear into the darkest part of the century.
END
***
OTHER TABLES
RESIST TABLE
1. she shoots you in the head. nothing exists anymore. end.
2. she takes your gun and hands it to the person who you were going to shoot. she puts her gun to their head and they shoot you instantly. nothing exists anymore. end.
3. she fires past your head. your ears ring and you shake uncontrollably. mark 1 BREAK. go to KILL TABLES.
4. she whispers the name of someone you love back in the world. mark 1 BREAK. go to KILL TABLES.
5. she places her knife against your belly and starts to make a cut. mark 1 BREAK. go to KILL TABLES.
6. you tilt the gun and fire it at her. it tears across her shoulder, a bloody graze. bullets riddle your body and you lay broken on the ground. she looks proud of you. she says she’s going to let you watch what happens to the others as you bleed out. end.
***
