The gates of Tellus Athera creak open and Adreinn spills into Northron Station. The light is dim and gray, but the pale star above is real - your first natural light. The gargoyle-laden Hearths and the Grand Temples of the Gods of Earth behind you grow smaller as you trudge into the unknown, helmet smeared with fog. Yet these monoliths rest on your shoulders. The air will kill you without the Geiss, and the Geiss is disappearing.
The first human families arrived on Adreinn untold thousands of years ago. They arrived upon the mounts of the Gods of Earth, Mighty Temujin’s flaming steed, Beguiling Marilynn’s black limousine. They brought with them the burning cores of eight stars and great silicon codices upon which Human History was recorded. However, most of those who made the journey, and most of their greatest inventions, were lost upon arrival. Mankind's arrival was a violent birth, the soil of Adreinn salted with the dead and their grand metal miracles - the Enigmas, technologies of unknown power jealously collected and examined to this day. But the founding families built the great fortress city of Tellus Athera. They mastered the tyrant vine and from it extracted Geiss - the nectar that allows us to breathe.
Beyond the gates of Tellus Athera are the grand and terrible mysteries of Adreinn. Tribes of humans who have survived the millennia against all odds, some approachable but most hostile. Alien beasts and wandering automata of a long-dead people of which even the greatest minds of Tellus Athera know little.
Adreinn is a science fiction survival role-playing game. There are no pre-set character classes as in many RPGs, though characters may find strange abilities and powers gained from their adventures into the depths of Adreinn and from the scheming patrons that play politics in Tellus Athera. The game focuses on resource management, the use of six key abilities, and player ingenuity to survive difficult odds. Adventures will focus on exploring and learning about the hostile but wondrous alien world, brutal and tactical team-based combat, and navigating the power structures and intrigues of Adreinn’s strange human societies.
This CORE RULESET includes a guide to the game’s mechanics and some key information on the setting. The step-by-step process for creating a character born in Tellus Athera is detailed in the CENSUS OF THE GRAN DOYEN and additional details on the world of Adreinn are located in the FIELD GUIDE TO ADREINN. Mechanically, this ruleset is heavily indebted to KNAVE by Ben Milton, as well as STARS WITHOUT NUMBER by Kevin Crawford, with design inspiration from YOON-SUIN by David McGrogan.
This ruleset proceeds with an explanation of the character sheet, followed by a description of the six key ability scores, rules for determining health and advancement, combat, and using the advanced technology of the Enigmas. Finally, it will include several key rules for interacting with and understanding Adreinn’s environment. A full character sheet is available at the end for player use.
INTRODUCTION