Pitch

Playing Monster Care Squad

Starting a Game
Making a Specialist
Trainings And Background
Signature Equipment
Specialties
Moves
Monster Gifts
Supply
The Mentor
Harm, Damage, Stress
Advancement
Aces
Phases of Play
Clocks
Ending a Phase
Control Tracks
Diagnosis
Diagnosis Moves
Synthesis
Synthesis Moves
Symbiosis
Symbiosis Moves
The Guide
Guide Moves
Present a friendly face, in need of help
Uncover wisdom in a hidden place
Show a truth about the world
Reveal an unexpected twist
Put the town, or its people, in danger
Take Control
Use up their resources
Change The Weather
Help them back up
Turn a move around
Show the Monster’s power
Show them a gap
Put a wall between them and what they need
 Guide Resources
Articles
Podcasts
Videos
Monsters
Wounds

Media

To The Reader:
Hello! Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts for taking an interest in the world of
Ald-Amura and Monster Care Squad. This document is a (very) raw preview of what the game
will be should we get funding, it currently lacks a few major elements, such as the extensive
character moves, expansions on the lore and setting, examples of Monsters and their wounds,
and other vital info that we plan on building between now and next year. Nevertheless the
document here should provide a really solid look at how the game works, and the world it’s set
in. Bare in mind some elements here are messy, you’re reading a dusted off version of our
working document.

You may also find some images and art at the end of this document. If you’re writing about the
game or looking to feature it on your podcast, feel free to use these.

Thank you!
SPG

UPDATE: 5/8/2020 - Added a number of new character moves, several Monster Wounds,
detailed the Monster Gifts mechanic, tweaked Level Up benefits.

UPDATE: 5/10/2020 - Added Signature Equipment mechanic, tweaked several moves and
layout. Clarified several rules.

UPDATE: 5/16/2020 - Added character sheets

Pitch
In the world of Ald-Amura, Monsters and Humans live in harmony with one another. Humans
care for monsters, provide food and shelter for them, while Monsters lend their power, magic,
and might to humanity.

All was well for a thousand years, the world prospered, and war was a forgotten thing of the
past. Then, tragedy struck. First in the grand city of Tinaris-Mal, an elder wyvern’s rage laid
waste to the city, leaving thousands homeless. Then in the cliff-towns of the Twin Snakes, the
great Nue shattered the chains, and it was only through the rapid and fearless work of the city's
Monsters that disaster was averted.

Top Monster researchers went to work, and discovered a terrible fact; the elder wyvern and the
nue were infected with a deadly poison, one that inflicted horrible wounds and could spread to
other monsters with deadly efficiency. These wounds and the poison work together to send
Monsters into an uncontrollable rage. The origins of this poison are unknown to this day, but its
effects are everywhere. In time, it would come to be known as The False Gold, due to the shiny,
viscous fluid the infected wounds produce.

The peace between Humans and Monsters is now an uneasy one. Monsters are afraid of who
might be infecting their kind with The False Gold, Humans are afraid of their city being leveled.
Everyone is on eggshells, and the beautiful balance that typified Ald-Amura is on the brink of
collapse.

This is where you come in.

After The False Gold was identified, schools, universities, and guilds around the world began
researching the vile poison, and training specialist doctors to treat the sickness and wounds that
the poison inflicts, and to search for a cure to the toxin. These doctors are more than medics.
Their patients are hundreds of feet tall, invulnerable beasts, often with a supreme intelligence
and vast magical powers. These doctors must be brave, strong, and dedicated. They must face
danger the likes of which are hard to comprehend, and put their lives on the line in death-
defying encounters. They must be warriors, inventors, acrobats, detectives, chemists, and
above all, heroes.

They are the Monster Care Squad. And this is their story.
Playing Monster Care Squad

In this game, you play as a member of an elite team of Monster Specialists. You will work
alongside your fellow specialists to investigate trouble, diagnose illnesses, and work to treat the
horrible wounds inflicted by The False Gold. How you will go about this will largely depend on
the monsters your group decides to treat, Monsters range in scale from titanic megafauna to
little bigger than your hand and in damage potential from cataclysmic world enders to
mischievous trouble makers.

These battles take place in the fantasy world of Ald-Amura, a gentle place where war and
fighting are rare, and cooperation rules the day. You will find no rules for inflicting pain on
anyone or anything in this game, as the first rule of being a Monster Care Specialist is to Do No
Harm.

To play Monster Care Squad, you will need some tokens, a few index cards, and something to
write with. You’ll also need at least one of each of the following dice:

● 4 Sided Dice
● 6 Sided Dice
● 8 Sided Dice
● 10 Sided Dice
● 12 Sided Dice

Optimally, you’ll also have at least two more friends to play the game with, but Monster Care
Squad also has some solo rules you can use to play by yourself, if you like. If you’re playing in a
group, one person will have to be the Guide, this means they’ll be controlling the NPCs,
Monsters, and other details of the world. They will also get to make a character, but their
character works slightly differently than everybody elses.

Starting a Game

Before you begin a game of Monster Care Squad, you should sit down with everyone else
playing and work out your Assumptions. Assumptions are like guidelines that will help you
understand what kind of a game you’ll be playing, what its themes are, any important safety
information, that kind of thing. Everybody who comes to the table will probably have a slightly
different idea of what kind of game they want to play, so getting all the players on the same
page is really important!

You can do this step any number of ways, but I find the following questions are a good place to
start;
 ● What interests you the most about this game?
● What stands out about the setting to you?
● What kind of Monsters are you picturing while you read the game?
● How would you describe a Monster Care Squad character? What clothes do they wear?
What do they look like?

You’ll also probably want to investigate how detailed and graphic any gore should be, and make
sure to ask about any potentially triggering content. Monster Care Squad is often thrilling and
exciting, but ultimately should be comfortable and comforting for everyone at the table, setup
the framework for that experience going forward.

The game comes with a number of default Assumptions, mostly concerning its setting. These
show up throughout the book, in the art and lore, but for now, here’s a summary:

● The game takes place in Ald-Amura, a peaceful world with a wide variety of biomes,
cultures, and peoples, all of which live in harmony with each other and the planet, more
or less.
● Every community in Ald-Amura has a wide diversity in cultures and peoples. Your
characters, and the people your characters interact with, can be imagined however you
like. Any expression of gender, sexuality, cultural background, ability, etc. will be
respected.
● Most live in large cities in fantastical places, such as a city suspended between two
massive cliff faces by magical chains, or an enormous glass tower set in a crystal grotto.
These are made possible by the magic of Monsters and ingenuity of the working people.
● The majority of the people are governed by direct democratic councils made up of
workers representing that localities most vital industries. Monarchs, emperors, prime
ministers, and presidents are considered an archaic thing of the past.
● Monsters are sentient, but not necessarily verbal. They are respected, cared for, and
loved by the people, even as some of them are driven to destruction due to The False
Gold, most people still consider Monsters beautiful, and even sacred in some cases.
● Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, most are around the size of a large mammal
such as an elephant, but it’s not uncommon for one to be the size of a dragon or other
fantastical creature. The smallest Monsters are about as big as your hand. They are all
functionally immortal.
● Wounds created by The False Gold are fantastical and strange. They take the form of
strange spikes, gold replacing flesh, crystal growths, perpetually burning flames, and so
on.
● Technology and magic are indistinguishable, and “tech level” fluctuates wildly from place
to place. Think of how technology appears in Hayao Miyazaki’s work for a good idea of
the vibe.
● Conflict is rare, fighting is rarer, war has been unheard of for nearly 1000 years.
Practically nobody carries weapons, including player characters.
 ● Monster Care Specialists are well trained, capable doctors, and are seen as experts by
the average person. People may not be happy to see them in town, they may have
reason to lie or mislead them, but generally, Specialists are respected.
● Many options exist for travel - magical trains, flying machines, Monsters, and even more
incredible methods, but trekking across the world is a viable option, and is something
many do just for fun. Most Monster Care Specialists get to where they’re needed by
walking.

These defaults are here to tell you things you might want to discuss and change about the
game, not to act as a set-in-stone list of truths. Make Ald-Amura your own!
Making a Specialist

Specialists are Monster Care Squad’s heroes. They’re trained experts in the new field of
Monster Medicine, and the frontline warriors against The False Gold. Everybody creates a
Specialist, even the Guide. Every Specialist has a number of important details, but it's important
as you go through this step that you remember those are just the mechanical extensions of your
character’s self. They’re a special person in a special world doing special work, so try to keep
their story in mind as you fill out your character sheet. It’s ok to not know who your character is
right now, lots of their identity, history, and destiny will become clear through play.

Trainings And Background

Every specialist has 4 Trainings and 1 Background. You will notice that the space on your sheet
for these Trainings and Backgrounds has one of 5 stats written in the box. These stats are
Force, Fine, Grit, Acuity, and Allure.

[SIDEBAR: Force - Physical strength and grand action, Fine - Motor control and delicate
actions, Grit - Stamina and fighting spirit, Acuity - Thinking and observation, Allure - Leadership
and charm]

Trainings can be thought of as classes that your specialist took when they attended a Monster
care academy, or special fields of study that their mentor passed on to them. These can be
anything, but try to keep in mind the sorts of skills that might be useful when identifying a
sickness, creating a cure, and applying it. Specificity is also a good idea. It may seem like a
good idea to be as general as possible, but you’re playing as a Specialist in a team of other
Specialists. Specialize! You’ll also need to think about what training goes with which stat.
There’s no mechanical limit here, but a character who performs surgery with Force is very
different from one that performs it with Fine.

You also have one background, this represents the kind of person your Specialist is outside of
their Monster Care Squad lives. This can be an interesting skill, a valuable perspective, or even
just a hobby your character has. Are they a good baker? A hiker? Born somewhere far, far away
from here? An astronomer? These are all great backgrounds. Backgrounds also go into one of
the 5 stats.

Once you’ve got your 4 Trainings and 1 Background assigned to Stats, we have to assign some
numbers to them. Assign the following to whichever Training or Background you like, again
keeping in mind what kind of a Specialist you want to build. Bigger numbers imply further
mastery or focus of the training or background in question.
+1, +1, +0, +0, -1

[SIDEBAR]
● +3 = A world renowned expert
● +2 = A specialist with few equals
 ● +1 = A highly trained professional
● +0 = A recent graduate
● -1 = A capable amateur

Here’s some examples for Trainings and Backgrounds and which stats they might fit in.

Force
● Bone-Setting
● Weight Training
● Grappling
● Massage Specialist
Fine
● Surgery
● Acupuncture
● Suturing
● Apothecarology
Grit
● Resuscitation
● Methodical Investigation
● Dentistry
● Musician
Acuity
● Library Science
● Analytical Thinking
● Monster Biology
● Engineering
Allure
● Public Speaking
● Small Squad Leadership
● Haggling
● Interdisciplinary Communication

Signature Equipment
Every Monster Care Specialist carries the tools of their trade, and you’re assumed to have basic
stuff with you whenever you have your backpack, satchel, or bag. In addition to these common
tools, your character has a piece of Signature Equipment - a special piece of kit that only you
have, that is unique in some way, either in its purpose or it’s construction. You might have the
only grappling gun in the world, or a long range medical injection spear made with the guiding
feathers of the Roa Bird. This piece of equipment counts as a character ace that you can spend
for a bonus to your rolls.
Describe this piece of equipment in as much or as little detail as you like on your sheet.
Specialties
Under your character’s name is a space to write their Specialities. It’s a sentence that lists two
things your character can do that no one else can. These are abilities and special skills that your
character will always succeed at. You can write anything here, but it should have a very specific
utility. They can be mundane or magical, but try to keep it at least a little grounded. It’s no fun
for the rest of the table if your Speciality can trivialize every single situation or breaks from the
general tone of the game. It’s also nice to include a little restriction in your Speciality, that tends
to make it more interesting.

A good rule of thumb is to ask if you can imagine a friend you know having this ability if you
lived in the world of Ald-Amurra.

Good Examples

Salazar can jump higher than anyone else and identify any plant by smell
Kai can create a magical lantern and bake incredible pies
Iman can brew a night-eye potion and navigate by starlight
Pike can run faster than anyone he’s ever met and knows more about monster leavings
than anyone else
Dru-u can levitate for a short while and craft beautiful bracelets

Bad Examples

Calagan can kill anything he sees and run as fast as the Flash
Saz can live without food and knows everything about all forms of medicine
Kuff-Ka can survive underwater indefinitely and turn into an enormous bird
Samson can lift one hundred tons and fire lightning from their eyes
Rusha can read every language in the world and teleport at will
Kiska can control minds and cause incredible agnony at will

This is a good way to make your character really stand out and be cool, so make it count.
Importantly, don’t try to step on any of your other friends toes - if someone says their character
is an expert Smeller, and can identify any monster by scent alone, and you want to be an expert
sniffer, who can identify any poison by smell alone, maybe have a word and come to an
understanding. The game is more fun if everyone is lifting each other up.

This isn’t to say people can’t share similar Specialities, just make sure everyone is in on the bit.

One restriction to keep in mind with Specialties is they can’t they shouldn’t provide an
immediate or accurate diagnosis of the monster’s conditions, or be sufficient on their own to
cure a monster’s wounds - though they can help you do those things. Generally you want to
make your Specialities the sort of thing that helps, but doesn’t quite solve a problem all on its
own.
Moves
Monster Care Squad uses Moves. Moves are like micro rules that you follow to do certain
actions. Moves have four major parts - a context, a trigger, the rule, and the result. The context
is what phase of play it is typically used in, the trigger is a small sentence that tells you when to
use the Move. The rule tells you exactly what steps to take when the move triggers, and the
result shows you what happens afterwards. There is a diagram below that should help.

[Diagram]

[SIDENOTE: Many moves will ask you to pick questions from a list to ask the Guide. There will
be times when these questions don’t quite fit what you’re trying to figure out. Feel free to tweak
the questions on the list to better suit the info you’re getting at, in that case.]

Some moves will ask you to roll+ something. When you trigger a move with this text, roll two six
sided dice and add the number you have in the relevant stat. You may also add a +1 to the roll if
your Training or Background is relevant to the roll. Generally, a 10+ means you’ll get what you
want, a 7-9 means you’ll get half of want you want, or be asked to make a difficult choice, and
on a 6 or below, something will go wrong - this is often when The Guide will step in and make
things more “interesting” for you.

Occasionally a move will only trigger if you have a relevant training or background. In those
cases, check your training and backgrounds and see if you have any that seem like they’d count
for the situation. If you do, roll and add the stat associated with that training or background. If
there’s any disagreement about if a training counts or not, you can always ask the other players.
If these moves ask you to roll, they’ll ask you to roll+STAT.

Check out the following list of Moves, and pick two that you think fit your character really well.
You’ll get more during play, and you’ll have access to a common pool of Moves that every
player can use. You can read about those in the Diagnosis, Synthesis, and Symbiosis phase
sections.

Monster Gifts
The Monsters of Ald-Amura are generous, kind, and grateful beings. They are known to grant
boons and magic to people they’re close to, or those in need. It’s considered a great honour to
receive these gifts, though Monsters are by no means stingy and many of the people you run
into in Ald-Amura will have a Monster Gift of some kind. There’s no special name or title for
people with Monster Gifts, it’s just expected that if you live around a Monster for long enough,
and you’re generally a good person, sooner or later they’ll grant you some of their power.

When you level up after healing a monster, you may choose to upgrade an existing move to its
Monster Gift form. When you do this, color in the dot beside the new move text, and give the
move a Tell. A Tell is an aspect of the creature you healed that carries over to you when you
were granted the Monster Gift. This could be anything from a particular smell that wafts as you
trigger your upgraded move, to a new physical appearance, even a song that plays in your head
as you invoke the power the Monster has entrusted with you.

Your Tell might only manifest when you trigger the relevant move, or it may be a permanent
change in your character's appearance, it’s up to you. Maybe your character leaves a faint smell
of cherry blossoms and woodsmoke wherever they go, or maybe their tail and strange eyes only
manifest when they brew their potions, totally your choice.

Upgraded moves mostly use the same triggers as their unupgraded versions, and you may opt
to use their additional abilities or not at your discretion. Some Monster Gifts will have an entirely
different trigger than their base form. In this case, you only use the move you trigger.

[SIDEBAR: Monster Gifts, What are they? - The exact nature of a Monster Gift varies from
Monster to Monster. Some will give you a physical object or piece of small jewelry to keep with
you as a symbol of your connection, others will touch your spirit and imbue it with power. Some
will remake your clothes, or mark you with a tattoo. When you opt to take a Monster Gift, feel
free to be bold and creative with how it’s given to you.]

[Massive List of Moves]

● Pack Rat
○ Context: General
○ You’re always prepared - or at least, always saddled with the backpack. Begin
every session with 5-Prep. Whenever your team needs something important
such as matches, rope, chain, mirrors, a ladder, torches, etc, spend 1 Prep to
pull it out of the pack. Your Prep restores when you Cure a Monster or return to a
comfortable, well-stocked safe house
● Opened Hidden Eyes
○ Context: General
○ With a moment to focus your breathing, you can always see through illusions and
magical glamours.
● What do you have in your mouth?!
○ Context: Symbiosis
○ When you grapple with the Monster and try to pin it down, roll+FORCE. On a 10+
you get the Monster in an advanced lock, advance one step up the Control
Track. On a 7-9, your lock is weak or the Monster is using it to their advantage,
advance both you and the Monster on the track.
● Presto!
○ Context: General
○ You can do small acts of magic - create basic illusions, walk on water for a short
time, very minor healing spells, that kind of thing.
● Reach Out With Your Fist!
○ Context: General
 ○ When you use bombast or pure strength to smash an inanimate obstacle aside,
roll+FORCE. On a 10+, the barrier crumbles beneath your powerful might. On a
7-9, you break something important, valuable, or delicate. Tell everyone how
you’re going to make it right.
● Rider
○ Context: General
○ You have a mount, name and describe it. It is bound to you, loyal, and it’s
understood that you always have enough food and supplies to keep it happy and
healthy. Should you ever be seperated, it’ll be waiting for you the last place it was
safe
● Trapper
○ Context: General
○ When you construct a non-lethal trap, describe its function and ask the Guide to
pick one from the following list:
■ It requires special materials you don’t have at hand
■ It’ll only work for a short time
■ Its fragile, obvious, or overly sensitive
■ It needs bait to work - live, preferably
● Crikey!
○ Context: Symbiosis
○ You've always loved and been fascinated by monsters, and have discovered a
deft touch for them. Quite literally. When you exclaim in uncontained excitement
and go to delicately pick up a Monster, roll +allure. On a 10+, ask the Guide for a
piece of useful information about the Monster’s abilities, demeanor, or habits.
Gain +1 to the next time you roll, as long as you use that information. On a 7-9,
still get the above, but choose one from the following list:
■ Lose something in the tussle, -1 Supply
■ The Monster pins you, step back one on the Control Track
■ You place an ally in danger, ask who
■ The info you get is limited, clouded, or uncertain
○ On a 6 or below, this is a feisty one. You’re able to place the Monster safely back
where you found it, but not before triggering one of its Wounds.

Supply
The Monster Care Squad has acted quickly in the effort to save Monsters from the effects of
The False Gold, and has quickly established extensive networks of favours, trade goods, safe
houses, and other materials one might need to cure an enormous Giga-Rat as it rampages
across the 8 Moon Cities. Supply is an abstract representation of how well your team can tap
into those networks, how much material they can get their hands on, and how well the network
can support them.

Teams share the same Supply, and by default it begins every session at 1. Many Moves will ask
you to spend supply, or gain it for certain effects.
Supply isn’t Money, and you can imagine your character’s have enough walking around cash to
buy any given regular item without spending Supply.

The Mentor
The character that the Guide made is special. Their character is a Mentor. A senior Monster
Care Specialist who tends to be the one handing out assignments and giving a little helpful
insight when they can, rather than being on the ground with the others. They have a couple of
special abilities, and the Guide should pick one to begin with.

[MENTOR MOVES]

● Rumour Mill
○ After you tell your team the basics of the next mission, roll+ALLURE. On a 10+
ask everyone at the table a single rumor about the monster they face. On a 7-9,
ask one person for a false rumour. On a 6 or below, give the players some very
bad news about the Monster
● Recon
○ When the team arrives at a new destination, roll+ACUITY. On a 10+, introduce a
Monster Care Scout. They can answer one question about the Monster, and tell
the team where it was last spotted. On a 7-9, the scout is in a bad position when
they’re introduced, and probably need some help before they can give their info.
On a 6 or below, the scout is missing in action.
● Round Two, Let’s Go!
○ When the team retreats for the first time against a Monster, arrange for a care
package to be delivered and roll+GRIT. On a 10+, restore any two of their spent
Aces. On a 7-9, give them a new Session Ace. On a 6 or below, the Monster’s
rampage turns up a notch.
● Red Carpet Treatment
○ When your team arrives in a new location, roll+FINE. On a 10+. You manage to
arrange an excellent safe haven for the team, with all the amenities the town can
provide. It also has one of the following:
■ Chemistry Lab
■ Micro-Library
■ A Crafting Workshop
■ A Well Stocked Kitchen
On a 7-9, still pick one, but it’s missing some vital supplies, is in shabby disrepair,
or is currently occupied by another person/group. On a 6 or below, the safe
haven is haunted, infested, or targeted, pick one.
● The Calvary Is Here
○ When your team has more failed Clock segments than successful ones, call in
the full force of the Monster Care Squad and roll+Force. On a 10+, the team may
act as though they have +1 Successful Segments for the purposes of End of
Phase rolls. On a 7-9, they may remove one failed segment from the Clock. On a
 6 or Below, the arrival of so many people and equipment causes the Monster to
rampage, destroying something deeply important to the local area.

The Mentor usually stays at a homebase during the events of your average Monster Care
Squad session, but that’s a suggestion, not a rule. If you want to guest star as a more active
member of the team, or even just be by their side throughout your adventures, that’s perfectly
fine too.

[SIDEBAR: THE GMPC]

Typically, characters run by the GM or Guide are frowned upon in tabletop games because it’s
often hard to juggle all the other aspects of running the game while taking part in the action
yourself. Monster Care Squad has some mechanics that help alleviate this, but you should still
be aware of the challenges in being an active member of the group if you choose to. Be aware
of how much space you and your character are taking up in the narrative, try to act as a good
Mentor and let your party figure out problems for themselves.]

Harm, Damage, Stress

There is no way to give or receive damage in Monster Care Squad. When you fail on your rolls,
you might lose Control over a track, have to fail a Clock segment, or lose some kind of narrative
control. When you succeed, you’ll heal Wounds, mark successes on a Clock segment, gain
Aces, or get some kind of narrative control over a scene.

Advancement
As you and your squad adventure through the world of Ald-Amurra and heal monsters, they will
grow more powerful, gain more abilities, and better understand how to heal poisoned monsters.
Whenever you fully Heal a Monster, you will trigger the Move On move. When you Move On,
you may pick one of the following options. The Mentor also levels up, and has two special
options.

Once you’ve picked every option once, you may choose to continue playing as this character
and advance to being a Senior Monster Care Specialist. Senior Monster Care Specialists can,
at any time, become Mentors and take on the mentor role by picking a Mentor move and
stepping back from the main team. They do not advance otherwise, but they do retain all of their
previous abilities.

When you Heal a Monster of all of its Wounds, choose one:

● Pick a new Move or Upgrade one you already have to its Monster Form
● Pick a new Move or Upgrade one you already have to its Monster Form
● Pick a new Move or Upgrade one you already have to its Monster Form
● Add +1 to one of your Stats
● Swap the bonuses between two Stats
● Change a -1 or 0 Stat for a new Background or Training
Aces
In addition to your skills and abilities, you’ll hopefully be taking some extra advantages into your
encounter with the Monster, such as special tools, the research you did during your adventure,
advice you got from village elders, and so on. These are known in the game as Aces.

There are three kinds of Ace, all of which follow the same rules with some very minor
differences:

● Character Aces - Character Aces are things your character brings to a session, their
special equipment, Trainings, and Backgrounds. When these are spent, they add an
additional D4 to the roll. They may not be used again that session, but this resets the
next time you successfully heal a Monster. Only your character can use these.
● Session Aces - When you are rewarded with an Ace as a result of a Move, that’s a
Session Ace. These are things like advice, special herbs, or preparation you took before
your encounter with the Monster. These also add a D4, but are completely removed from
play when used. Anyone at the table can use these.
● Critical Aces - If you completely succeed at the Diagnosis or Synthesis Phases, you’ll
get a Critical Ace. This is the same as a Session Ace, in that it represents some kind of
special preparation you’ve made, but they can only be used during the Symbiosis
Phase, and instead of a D4, they add a D8 to your roll.

You can use one Ace per roll. We recommend not being too shy with your Ace usage, you’ll get
plenty of them through play.
Phases of Play
In Monster Care Squad, play is broken down into three distinct phases of play - Diagnosis,
Synthesis, Symbiosis. Working through these three phases makes up the core gameplay loop of
Monster Care Squad, they can be understood as the following
● Diagnosis - A phase of investigation. Generally spent asking questions, poking around
sites where a monster has gone wild, or chasing up leads on potential infection with the
goal of gaining as much information about the infection or situation as possible. May also
include an exploratory encounter with the infected monster.
○ SIDE NOTE: Many sessions in Monster Care Squad begin with your players
being told of a monster attack. This is not always true, you may arrive at a place
with no idea of what to expect, or you may be chasing up a lead on a sighting of
The False Gold. In these cases, the diagnosis phase still maps to an exploratory
investigation, with the goal of a greater understanding of the larger threat at
hand.
● Synthesis - The actual production of a cure, antidote, sedative, or other medical
equipment and tonics needed to subdue and cure the Monster or solve the problem at
hand. Most remedies are created on-site, using local ingredients, techniques, and tools,
and players will have to work to find these resources, often overcoming smaller, minor
encounters to do so.
● Symbiosis - The administration of the treatment developed through the previous two
phases. This generally takes the form of a direct encounter with the enraged and
wounded Monster, with players grappling for Control over the scene, and maneuvering
into a position that allows them to treat wounds, apply medication, and soothe the
Monster’s suffering.

Clocks
When you begin the Diagnosis or Synthesis phases, generate a Clock with at least 3 segments
and up to 9. This Clock is a tool to track your progress through the phase and keep track of how
well you’re doing. You advance this clock by performing certain moves, and you will fill each
segment by coloring the segment in, or drawing a cross through it, depending on how well you
do. The longer you make the Clock, the more involved and longer the phase will end up being,
so keep that in mind when you generate it. If you’re playing with a Guide, they’ll be the ones
making the Clock, otherwise, decide yourself how long and complex you want this phase to be.

[SIDENOTE: Clocks are great pacing tools for deciding what the most important part of your
story is. Do you want the mystery of what illness is affecting the Monster to take center stage?
Make the Diagnosis phase the biggest Clock! You could even experiment with one or two
segment Clocks!]

Each phase comes with its own set of Moves and mechanics that make each one feel a little
different. Check out each Phase’s section for more information!
Ending a Phase
Each Phase has an End of Phase Move. When you’ve filled the Clock, you can use this Move to
progress to the next stage of the game. The more success you’ve had in the current phase
determines what kind of position you’ll be in starting the next phase. The Move text will explain
in detail.

Ending a phase with more successes than failures will generally give you more information and
bonuses in the next phase, but don’t be discouraged if you move on without having too many
successes. You’re still expert, trained Monster Care Specialists, and you can still help the
Monster, even if you don’t have all the best tools or information. Just try your best, and things
will probably turn out fine in the end.

Control Tracks
The bulk of your time in the Symbiosis Phase will revolve around curing the Wounds of the
Monster you’ve been researching and tracking this whole time. To do this, you’ll have to
struggle for Control.

Whenever you face a Monster with the intent to heal it, you’ll generate a Control track. Here’s
what that looks like

A Control Track has five segments, with each segment representing a single die, ranging from
the D4 on the left, to the D12 on the right. As you take actions during the Symbiosis Phase, and
the Monster attacks you, you’ll move up and down this track, with successes moving you up and
failures bringing you down. At the beginning of the Symbiosis Phase, you begin at the D4
segment and the Monster begins at the D12 segment.

To Cure a Wound, you’ll use the Cure move, which requires you to have Control. You have
Control when you have more segments than the Monster. When you have Control and you
trigger the Cure Move, you’ll roll using the die you’re at on the Control Track, so the further
along the track you are when you roll, the better.

Players and Monster can share one segment, but if either advances on their track, it will push
the other back - so if the Players and Monster are both at D8, and the Monster advances, the
Players are pushed back to the D6 segment.

If you are at the D4 stage and the result of a Move tells you to move down the Control Track,
you must either retreat, or spend one Ace to stay in the conflict. Retreat isn’t inherently a bad
thing, and an encounter with the Monster can be a helpful way to get an idea of what to expect
in a future showdown. If the result of a Move tells you to move up the track and you’re already at
D12, instead describe some insight into the Monster, the world of Ald-Amurra, or the situation
you’re in.

Once you’ve Cured all of the Monster’s wounds, the Monster is healed and no longer under the
effects of The False Gold.
Diagnosis
Before you can treat your patient, you’re going to have to figure out what’s wrong with them.
Most sessions of Monster Care Squad will begin with your team having very little information
about the Monster on hand - maybe you’ll know what type of Monster it is, what kind of damage
it’s caused, but you’ll probably be missing some cards in your deck. That’s what the Diagnosis
phase is all about. Diagnosis Moves are all about asking around the town or village you’re in for
leads, looking for Monster tracks and leavings, or even scouting out the Monster beforehand.
Success in this phase means you’ll learn the exact nature of the Monster’s Wounds to make
your life easier in the Synthesis phase, and have some extra ammo in the can for dealing with
them in the Symbiosis phase.

Diagnosis Moves

● Pull a Thread
○ Context: Diagnosis
○ When you ask around for some information about the Monster, or its condition,
roll+ALLURE. On a 10+, pick one;
■ You know where the Monster was last seen
■ You know where to find a survivor of the Monster’s last attack
■ You know the site of the Monster’s most recent rampage
■ You know where the Monster used to nest, before it went berserk
On a 7-9, pick one, but the information is flawed, and something nasty awaits you
when you arrive. On a 6 or below, the information is false, tell the table what’s
about to go wrong
● Make a Deal
○ Context: Diagnosis
○ When you promise to help solve a problem for someone in exchange for
information about the Monster, Hold 1. When you succeed, spend Hold on the
following options.
■ Mark one Clock Segment as successful
■ Gain a Session Ace
■ Gain +1 Supply
● Here’s what I got
○ Context: Diagnosis
○ When you put forward a hypothesis about the monster's condition based on
evidence you've found, roll+ACUITY. On a 10+, pick 2. On a 7-9, pick one:
■ Mark on Clock Segment as successful
■ Gain a Session Ace
■ You know where the Monster is headed next
■ Learn the name and effects of one Wound
● In Harm’s Way
○ Context: Diagnosis
 ○ When you navigate a dangerous environment or situation in search of
information, roll+GRIT. On a 10+, tell the table what you find, and get away
safely. On a 7-9, pick one:
■ You get what you came for, but something dangerous and unexpected
awaits
■ The situation changes quickly, too quickly for you to get what you came
for, but you’re in a good position otherwise
■ You get what you came for, but it costs you, lose 1 supply.
● Treasured Insight
○ Context: Diagnosis
○ When someone on your team is on the verge of a breakthrough, and you have a
relevant training or background, roll+STAT. On a 10+, say how your help
changes their action. They gain +1 to their next roll as long as it makes use of
your help. On a 7-9, you still give +1, but say how you get in the way, just a little
bit.
● Prognosis
○ Context: Diagnosis
○ When the Clock is full, and it’s time to move on, check the Clock. If every
segment is marked Success, gain a Critical Ace and ask the Guide what you’ll
need to cure the Monster’s wounds. If more than one segment is marked
Success, roll+Successful Segments. On a 10+, gain a Critical Ace and ask the
Guide one question about the cure. On a 7-9, either gain a Critical Ace or ask the
Guide one question about the cure. On a 6 or below, move forward anyway. You
don’t know how to treat this, but you’re gonna do your best.
Synthesis
Monster Care Squad Specialists don’t carry around every single imaginable poultice, cure, and
tonic in their bags. That would be really unwieldy, and besides, most Monsters tend to respond
best to local treatments and methods, so on-site-procurement is the name of the game, and the
Synthesis phase is all that. Mechanically, it’s similar to the Diagnosis phase. You’ll be making
Moves and taking actions to brew medicine, prepare tools, and uncover local wisdom to better
prepare yourself to face the Monster and stop The False Gold-enduced rampage before it gets
out of hand. Success in this phase gives you a boost in the Symbiosis phase, and equips you
with the exact tool you need to solve the problem.

Synthesis Moves

● Ok, Here’s the Plan

○ Context: Synthesis
○ When you have a cunning plan for how to deal with the Monster, roll+FINE. On a
10+, pick two and mark one Clock segment success. On a 7-9, just pick one. The
Guide or Mentor will answer truthfully. On a 6 or below, still pick one, but the
answer will be half true, flawed, or incomplete.
■ What are the foreseeable risks with this plan?
■ What do we need to make this plan work?
■ What is one unforeseen risk to this plan?
● Shopping List
○ Context: Synthesis
○ When you figure out a vital ingredient or medicine your team will need,
roll+ACUITY. On a 10+, you know where to get it, who has it, or where it grows.
On a 7-9, there’s a middleman or a barrier between you and what you need -
figure out how to get around it, or spend 1 supply to make it go away.
● Seeking Wisdom
○ Context: Synthesis
○ When you ask a local source about the materials you need, ask the Guide two
questions and roll+ALLURE. On a 10+, the Guide’s answers will be direct, clear,
and actionable. On a 7-9, one answer will be a lie, and one will be the truth. On a
6 or below, the Guide will answer with a question of their own.
● Take Of The World
○ Context: Synthesis
○ When you risk incredible danger, or act with great bravery to get a vital
component to the cure, roll+FORCE. On a 10+, pick two. On a 7-9, pick one.
■ Mark on Clock Segment as successful
■ Gain a Session Ace
■ Gain 1 Supply
■ Learn the name and effects of one Wound
● Novel Application
 ○ When you invent a new way to apply a medicine or treatment, tell the table what
it is and ask the Guide for a complication. The Guide may give you up to 3 of the
following complications
■ It requires a special material
■ It will be expensive to build or practice. -1 Supply
■ You’ll need local help
■ It will take longer than you’d like
■ The best you can do is a prototype
■ It has an unexpected side effect or flaw
● Pharmacy
○ Context: Synthesis
○ When the Clock is full, and it’s time to move on, check the Clock. If every
segment is marked Success, gain a Critical Ace and have every member of the
group name one thing they’re taking with them into the confrontation with the
Monster. If more than one segment is marked Success, roll+Successful
Segments. On a 10+, gain a Critical Ace and choose one. On a 7-9, either gain a
Critical Ace or choose one.
■ Tell the Guide where you’ll confront the Monster
■ Tell the Guide about a Trap you’ve set for the Monster
■ Tell the Guide about an ally you’ll have with you when you confront the
Monster
■ Tell the Guide about one major modification to your usual equipment
you’ve made
On a 6 or below, move forward anyway. You don’t have everything you need, but
that’s ok. You can do this.
Symbiosis
You have your diagnosis, you have your tools, it’s time to get to work. In the Symbiosis Phase,
you square off against the Monster and attempt to heal their Wounds. Symbiosis is the most
different Phase of the three. You’re still taking actions and following Moves to see what
happens, but Symbiosis doesn’t use a Clock to track your progress like the other phases,
instead you’ll be using your skills and abilities to cure the Wounds causing the Monster to go
berzerk. If you’ve succeeded in the previous phases, you’ll have a ton of help here, and you
should be able to apply your cures relatively easily, but if you failed the previous phases, you
can still soothe their pain and fix the problem, it’ll just be a little harder.

Symbiosis Moves

● We’re Going Up There?

○ Context: Symbiosis
○ When you climb around an enormous monster, roll+FORCE. On a 10+ you get
where you need to be, move up one on the control track. On a 7-9, you get
stranded halfway there, spend an Ace, or lose your footing. On a 6 or below, you
fall. Move back one on the Control Track

● Retreat
○ Context: Symbiosis
○ When the tussle gets bad, and you lose Control while at the D4 segment of the
Control Track, your squad is forced to retreat. When you retreat, pull back to a
safe place and begin a new Synthesis phase. Pick one:
■ Your encounter with the Monster left you with some special insight into
the Monster’s abilities or wounds. Say what it is and gain a Session Ace.
■ The monster's infection shifts its Wounds to entirely new ones, and it flees
to roost in a completely different biome. Your ground zero view of the
mutations means you start the Synthesis phase with a Critical Ace, as if
you'd succeeded in a Diagnosis phase.
■ You call for backup, and the Mentor joins you for the rest of the
encounter.
● Cure
○ Context: Symbiosis
○ When you try to fix a wound and you have Control, roll, using the die you’re at on
the Control Track. On a 10+, you heal the Monster’s Wound and they lose the
abilities that Wound granted them. Reset the Control Track and tell the table
something you noticed while applying the cure. On a 7-9, pick one;
■ Heal the wound, but at great cost - Reset both the players and Monster’s
position on the Control track, then advance the Monster 2 segments
■ The Wound mutates, shifts, or changes, but you’ve seen this before,
Advance one on the Control Track
 ■ Your cure fails, but sets up your team, say how, and give one teammate
+1 to their next Move as long as it uses what you set up
○ If that was the Monster’s final Wound, they are cured. Take a breath, you did it.
When you’re ready, and you’ve done all you need to do, Move On.
● Get In The Way
○ Context: Symbiosis
○ When you stand between your allies and a terrible danger, roll+GRIT. On a 10+,
you channel the danger away from you and toward the Monster, Push back the
Monster on the Control Track. On a 7-9, Push back the Monster on the Control
Track, but you’re going to lose something to protect your friends. Pick one:
■ -1 Supply
■ Lose an Ace
■ Move Back on the Control Track
■ Something precious, valuable, or important to the people of the town is
destroyed
● Set ‘Em Up
○ Context: Symbiosis
○ When you use subterfuge, trickery, and subtle action to mislead, trap, confuse, or
misdirect the Monster, roll+FINE. On a 10+, the Monster falls for your trick
completely, Advance on the Control Track and pick one. On a 7-9, pick one.
■ You someone up perfectly - give +1 to a teammate, as long as they
exploit the situation you created
■ You catch a glimpse of a hidden truth - gain a Session Ace
■ You get a moment to diagnose the Monster’s Wounds, ask the Guide one
thing the Monster can do, and one thing it can’t, due to its Wounds
● We go on three!
○ Context: Symbiosis
○ When you come up with a plan on the fly, name at least one other team member
with a relevant Training or Background and ask them to help out. You and
everybody who agrees rolls+STAT. For every 10+. Hold 1. For every 10+, Hold 1.
Spend Hold on the following options:
■ Advance on the Control Track
■ Rescue a teammate that rolled a 6 or below
■ Push the Monster back on the Control Track
■ Gain a Session Ace
■ Refresh a Critical Ace
○ On a 7-9, you’re safe, but you botched the plan and lost something important,
what was it?
○ For every 6 or below, The Monster advances on the Control Track and pushes
the players one back
● Move On
○ Context: Synthesis
○ When your work here is finished, pick one from the list below and either ask the
Guide where the next job is, or tell them where you’re headed next.
■ Pick a new Move or Upgrade one you already have to its Monster Form
■ Pick a new Move or Upgrade one you already have to its Monster Form
■ Pick a new Move or Upgrade one you already have to its Monster Form
■ Add +1 to one of your Stats
■ Swap the bonuses between two Stats
■ Change a -1 or 0 Stat for a new Background or Training
The Guide
In most games of Monster Care Squad, the players will be helped along on their quests by a
Guide. The Guide plays the world around the other players, they control the non-player
characters, the Monsters, they dish out quests and generally work to set the scene. A good
Guide is kind, and welcoming, and always a fan of the characters in the world. Their role isn’t to
punish players for their failures or revel in their losses, it’s to present a warm world, help players
get back up, and remind them why they’re here. That’s why we call them the Guides.

[SIDENOTE: Always remember that Guides are players too! Just as the Guide is encouraged to
make the world fun and engaging, the rest of the players should also be working to make sure
their Guide is having as much fun as they are]

More specifically, the Guide has a number of duties they have to fulfill in their role. Their first
duty is to Brief The Team. At the start of every adventure, the Guide should tell the players
something about the town they’re headed to, the Monster they’re hunting, and the stakes at risk.
Guides don’t have to tell the players everything, just enough to get the players excited and
invested in the adventure. Tell them some fantastical detail about the town, some magnificent
power the Monster has, and some terrible outcome that might arise if the Monster’s pain isn’t
soothed. Be bold!

Next, the Guide has a duty to Set The Scene. Whenever the party enters a new place, or the
world shifts in some fundamental way around them, tell them what they see, what they hear,
what they smell. This can be as detailed and in depth as you like, or it can be a basic one-line
description, it depends on the scene. Use the information they have to tease what’s to come,
and to inspire action from the players - it’s always a good idea to begin a scene with something
the players can act upon immediately, such as an irate shopkeeper yelling at someone, or a
falling stalactite on the ceiling above. Inspiring the players to act is almost entirely what the
Guide’s job is, so doing that as often as possible is important.

Finally, the Guide should Use Moves, Describe Consequences. Just like their Mentor
character, and the other player’s characters, the GM has moves. Their Moves work a little
differently than the rest of the moves in the game. They don’t have triggers or contexts, and
instead of triggering on a specific narrative beat, they trigger whenever the players look to the
Guide to see what happens. Mostly this will happen on a roll of 6 or below, though you can also
trigger Moves whenever the players enter new areas, learn new information, or any time there’s
a downturn in the action or a pause in the story. They’re tools that are designed to help the
Guide build a specific kind of atmosphere and push players toward the sort of adventures
Monster Care Squad is designed around.

Guide Moves
When you use one of these, don’t say its name out loud, just make up something that happens
within the fiction that matches the move. “Change The Weather” doesn’t mean “the weather
changes”, it means you should describe the early blusters of an oncoming thunderstorm, or the
utterly-out-of-nowhere soaking that comes with a sudden downpour.

● Present a friendly face, in need of help

● Uncover wisdom in a hidden place
● Show a truth about the world
● Reveal an unexpected twist
● Put the town, or its people, in danger
● Take Control
● Use up their resources
● Change The Weather
● Help them back up
● Turn a move around
● Show the Monster’s power
● Show them a gap
● Put a wall between them and what they need

[SIDENOTE: The Mentor and Guide Moves: When the Mentor is in play, the Guide Moves are
no longer just for the Guide’s usage. Any player at the table can use them to answer questions,
guide the story, or create consequences.]

Present a friendly face, in need of help

There is always someone who needs help. That’s just how the world works. Someone has lost
something precious, or can’t fix their friendship, or just needs a hand getting the crops in before
the snowstorm hits. These little moments are what gives the game its structure and present
opportunities for the players not just to score Successes on their progress tracks, but also to
flesh out the world. Use this move when the players have no clear objective or goal in mind.

Uncover wisdom in a hidden place

In Monster Care Squad, great wisdom doesn’t live in libraries or with gifted-at-birth geniuses. It’s
the domain of the common folk, of the old healer at the edge of town, of the tavern owner who
takes in anyone who needs help, of the young eye that sees more than they let on. Teasing this
is a great way to give the party a goal, or an excellent reward for solving a problem. This move
is also a good one to use for uncovering strange or forgotten lore deep in a mysterious cave, or
in a book on a forgotten shelf somewhere.

Show a truth about the world

The world of Ald-Amurra is mysterious and magical. The rules of the world aren’t really fully
understood by anybody, and it hides secrets deep within itself. As the Guide, always be on the
lookout for a moment to reveal something incredible or unbelievable about the world around the
party - maybe this city was once alive, and could be again one day, maybe the Monster they’re
facing used to be human, maybe the trees speak in this part of the world - something that will
make the party stop in their tracks and ask questions.
Reveal an unexpected twist
Investigations rarely go how you expect them to. There’s always something else happening that
the party isn’t aware of, sometimes until it’s too late. A good twist flips everything on it’s head -
the whys, hows, and whats of the diagnosis get turned around, and the party has to react,
quickly, to this new information before it’s too late. You could reveal that the Monster they’ve
been diagnosing is actually the child of another, bigger, scarier monster, or that the problem
they’ve been trying to solve is being caused by the person they’re trying to help. It can also be
much smaller scale than that - the ground under your parties feet could be weaker than they
thought, or the Monster could have an unexpected ability that changes everything.

Put the town, or its people, in danger

The little town that your party arrives in is the primary thing at risk from the untreated wounds of
the Monster. The player’s characters can't take damage, but the tavern that everybody meets in
after a hard day’s work can be destroyed, the beautiful statue in the town square that
commemorates the founding of the town can be ruined, and the people can be put in danger by
the out-of-control Monster they once relied upon. This move is great for giving the party an
immediate threat they have to address right now, or when they need an obvious and clear
consequence for failure in the moment.

Take Control
When the party tussles with the Monster, they’re trying to gain Control over the situation - when
they fail on their rolls, and the Monster gains ground, Take Control. Give the Monster an
advance on the Control track, push the players back, whichever seems most fitting for the
moment. Remember, don’t be cruel, but don’t hold back - the confrontation with the Monster is
going to be the climax of a lot of sessions, and you want them to feel real, risky, and exciting.
Part of that is making failures hit hard sometimes.

Use up their resources

The party has a couple of mechanical resources - Aces, Supply, Control - but they also have a
wealth of narrative resources you can put at risk or use up - the glass bottles they carry to
create their brews could shatter on a hard fall, or their sensitive medical equipment could
malfunction at an inopportune time. This doesn’t always have to be permanent - their grapple
hook might get pulled from their hands and stuck on a Gargatuan’s shoulder, for example.

Change The Weather

In fiction, the world is a character that often reacts to the main character’s actions in a way that
they don’t in real life - think of how many times a character walks, depressed, in the rain. Or how
many thunderstorms just happen to reach their peak during the climactic battle. This can go
both ways - an unexpected snowstorm could roll in at the worst possible time, or the sun could
shine through as a result of you Helping them back up. Keep in mind that many Monsters
might control the weather, or be greatly affected by the weather, so having them react to the
changes as they happen is also a fantastic idea.
Help them back up
The Guide is not an antagonistic role. Your job is not to hurt the characters, punish them, or
push them. It’s to be a voice for the world, and the world of Ald-Amurra is, above all, kind.
Sometimes when things go wrong, the answer isn’t to take away resources or destroy
something, it’s to offer a hand. When the party fails and all seems lost, revealing the farmer they
helped earlier has shown up with some rope and some friends is a great example - it shows that
the party's work means something to the people of this world. You can also offer more abstract
helping hands - an unexpected tree branch that could stop their fall, a crystal clear oasis in the
middle of a desert, a healing herb, just in grasping range.

Turn a move around

Think about what a move does for the party and how that might come back to haunt them.
When they uncover information, perhaps it’s not welcome news, or maybe the resources they
gathered attract some unwanted attention from Monsters, or even the parties behind the False
Gold.

Show the Monster’s power

Monster’s are beautiful, but often in the same ways a fire can be. Their beauty is rooted in their
power - be that the world trembling capabilities of the titanic Monsters whose' shout can shatter
mountains, or the mischievous hijinks of the smaller Monsters, you want your party to know,
roughly, what they’re up against and what could happen if they don’t get involved. Show the
aftermath of the Monster’s rampage, show it inprogress, show it in books, flashbacks, and
folktales.

Show them a gap

Your party is well trained, tested, and experienced, but they don’t know everything. Trainings,
Backgrounds, Moves and Specialities tend to make for very focused characters that have a lot
of holes in their knowledge ripe for revealing. You can also use this move to show the party
something they missed in their investigation - if they didn’t quite figure out what every single
Wound does, or the exact abilities of the Monster they’re facing, it’s never a bad idea to show
them exactly what they missed at the worst possible time.

Put a wall between them and what they need

When it looks like the answer is just within reach, but a roll goes badly, or the party makes an
unwise step in the wrong direction, complications and problems can spring up in a moment and
change the entire situation. Suddenly the problem isn’t just getting the thing they need, there’s a
barrier between them. The town’s council might deny their request to explore the hidden grove
for curitives, or the book that tells of the Monster’s power might get stolen from their hands by a
mysterious masked thief. The thing they need is still within sight, but they have to clear the wall
first.

Guide Resources
Being a good Guide is hard. Luckily it’s one of the things that a lot of people have spent a lot of
time writing about. Here’s some of our favourite articles, guides, threads, and thoughts about
how to be a great Guide. You don’t have to read these to play Monster Care Squad, but if you
find yourself struggling to do all the things that a Guide does, they might help.

Articles

Podcasts

Videos

Monsters

Wounds
The Monsters in Monster Care Squad are beautiful beings, awe inspiring and kind. The False
Gold creates painful and mind-altering Wounds that can send a Monster into an uncontrollable
rage. These Wounds can take any form but are most often strange and fantastical, such as the
Monster’s skin turning to solid gold, or painful growths of magic crystals. These Wounds cause
great pain and distress to the Monsters of Ald-Amurra, and often makes them use their
incredible abilities without any control, which leads to widespread destruction.

Monsters usually have at least three wounds, with more if you want the confrontation with the
Monster to be longer or more complicated. Three tends to give you a nice, exciting, and snappy
encounter, but ultimately it’s up to you how many you want to give your Monsters.

Wounds as a mechanic look like the box below. They consist of a descriptive name, and at least
one effect. Effects are best understood as an ability the Monster has that the Wound forces
them to use. Vines growing around a Dragon’s throat might invigorate their Flame Breath, for
example. Some Wounds might have their own Effects entirely divorced from the Monsters
inherent abilities, such as a hardened shell that prevents easy approach.

[DIAGRAM OF WOUNDS]

While Moves often have mechanical triggers for you to use, remember that they are narrative
tools first and foremost. If a Monster has “Uncontrollable Fire Bursts”, describe them randomly
exploding like a bomb, describe their bodies wreathed in magical flame, and react accordingly
when you hear these descriptions - if your characters learn that a monster is surrounded by a
noxious miasma, they’ll need some solution to that problem before they can approach it.

Wounds are unpredictable, a Monster with the “Magma Tears” wound may not always be crying
molten rock, that might only happen when you trigger their effects due to players failing a roll or
as a consequence of the player's actions. Or, they might be constantly pouring out a river of
magma until the players heal that wound. Up to you.

When the players heal a wound, it’s removed from the Monster, its effects can no longer trigger,
though if the wound has some kind of lasting effect, such as spawning allies for the Monster, or
starting fires, they probably remain after the Wound is healed.

Below is a list of Wounds you can easily apply to an existing Monster, or mix and match to
create your own amazing Monsters. You can also write your own, if you like.

[LIST OF WOUNDS]

Magma Tears
● Cut off an escape (+1 Control)
● Lash out with fire (Push players back one on the Control track)

Corrupted Wings
● Take flight with a player character (Push players back one on the control track)
● Create an elemental vortex

Uncontrolled Fire Bursts

● Erupt in fire (+1 Control)
● Wreathed in Intense Fire

Spawning Boils
● Create smaller, twisted versions of the Monster (+1 Control)
● Command the horde (Players lose something vital, one of their Aces or -1 Supply)

Pulsating Blood Crystals

● Shower with Crystal Rain (Push players back one on the control track)
● Drop an explosive blood crystal near a player
Character Sheets
Printable https://drive.google.com/file/d/112X3bU3WoHt4uqu5a5I6ishd8_K2Ai9k/view?
usp=sharing - Fillable - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xXuJr1vIIARvaedYBwqg7BfL4q0np-
UY/view?usp=sharing
Media