Create Your Agent

In Black Light, you play an Agent of an (ancient order/government agency/secret society) pledged to stand at the veil between our reality and the realms of cosmic and infernal forces and to preserve our world if just for one more day. However, these forces are equally desperate, striving to cross over, hungry and insatiable, and want to make you an agent of their own. Most Black Light Agents are doomed in one manner or another, but their drive compels them to this life of bleak guardianship.

To create your Agent, you can simply choose your favorite option, or roll a black die and light die to select at random.

Step 1. Roll Your Background

Your character had a life prior to Black Light. Roll or choose a background. Your background can increase the odds of success when taking action.

See [[BL Backgrounds]]

Step 2. Choose Skills

Skills represent things your Agent is particularly good at. Distribute 8 points over your Skills. For Expertise, spend a third point on the Skill and note the area of Expertise.

See [[BL Skills]]

Step 3. Note Stress and Burdens

Stress tracks the toll of the job on your Agent. Every Agent begins with 1 Stress, to a maximum of 6. Burdens measure your worldly obligations, and how much Gold you must gather before returning home from an assignment. Your Burdens start at 1. Your Void cannot be reduced below your starting Void.

Step 4. Choose Talents ... ???

Talents are special traits or abilities of your Agent, sometimes bordering on the incredible. Choose up to 3 Talents, if you wish, but increase your Void by 1 for each.

See [[BL Talents]]

Step 5. Define Your Drive

Your Drive is the reason you are an Agent that faces unspeakable horrors. Roll your Drive.

See [[BL Drives]]

Over the course of the game, you will collect currency (measured in Gold), some of which can be stashed in your Cache in support of your Drive. When you've saved 50 Gold in your Cache, you achieve your Drive and can retire your Agent from the field. Start with 0 Cache.

Step 6. Define Bonds

Bonds are the relationships you have with the most important people in your life - your spouse, children, mentor, or group. Define a Bond in your Agent's life.

See [[BL Bonds]]

Step 7. Roll Equipment

**Roll for your Field Equipment and Combat Gear.*** For each piece of Combat Gear you choose, increase your Burdens by 1.

See [[BL Equipment]].

Step 8. Finishing Touches

Finally, decide on a Name for your Agent, and select a few evocative words to describe your Look.

Backgrounds

not sure on this. Skills provide the +D... do we need another method to do so?

Skills

Skills represent things your Agent is particularly good at. For each +, add a light die to your roll if the Skill would make your action easier. Expertise does not add a die to your roll but allows you to trade a light die for greater effect. Expertise can only be gained once you have 2 + in the Skill.

• Athletics : parkour, swim, climb
• Bureaucracy: law, accounting, politics
• Computers : hacking, coding, osint
• Firearms : pistol, rifle, machine gun
• Hand-to-Hand Combat : brawling, martial arts, melee weapon:
• History : archaeology, artifacts, writing
• Influence : persuasion, performance, intimidation
• Medicine : emergency care, forensics, pharmacology
• Rigging : construction, demolition, machinery
• Sciences : biology, physics, chemistry
• Streetwise : underworld, contraband, rumors
• Survey : people, situations, information
• Theology : religion, demonology, spellcraft
• Vehicle Ops : cars, bikes, boats
• Wilderness : tracking, food & water, shelter
• Zoology : handling, veterinary care

Talents

Talents are special traits or abilities of your Agent, sometimes bordering on the incredible.

Needs work

• Battlefrenzy: You may expend your Grit to push yourself during a fight.
• Bodyguard: Gain +1 effect when you attempt to Survey a location for possible threats.
• Herculean: You can push yourself to do one of the following: perform a feat of near superhuman physical force, engage a small gang on equal footing in hand-to-hand combat
• Savage: Your violence is especially frightening which grants +1D when you Influence a target you've already frightened
• Gunslinger: You can push yourself to do one of the following: make a ranged attack at extreme distance beyond what's normal for the weapon, unleash a barrage of rapid fire to suppress an enemy
• Hunter: When you hide or use camouflage, gain +1D to avoid detection.
• Hard to Kill: Penalties from Harm are one level less severe (though Level 4 Harm is still fatal)
• Wrencher: You may expend your grit to push yourself when you repair or disable machinery
• Physicker: When you attempt to stabilize the dying, you may expend your grit to push yourself. All your teammates gain +1D on their Healing rolls.
• Icebreaker: When you attempt to bypass security systems, expend your grit to push yourself.

Drive

Drive is the reason you risk your life and mind against the Void. Over the course of the game you will uncover Clues, some of which can be preserved in your File in support of your Drive. When you have gathered 50 Clues in your File, you achieve your Drive and can retire.

Many of these Drives refer to individuals, items, and locations that are not explained. It is up to the player to create an explanation, either during character creation or during the course of the game.

Bonds

Who do they care for most?

Equipment

Field Equipment

All Agents begin with a smartphone, flashlight, and basic spending cash. You can carry six items in your bag, but when rolling your equipment you only get three items. The other three slots? You may be foolish enough for Black Light but you are not so foolish as to go unprepared. When you rummage in your bag and have open slots, you can pick any item from the Additional Equipment table and note it in an open slot.

Combat Gear

You must have a weapon to participate in a Combat Roll. Add 1 to your Burdens for each item you choose.

Additonal Equipment

Pick (or roll) for any item when you rummage in your bag.

How to Play

Black Light is a roleplaying game played with friends and dice. Recruit a group of friends and one of you, The Handler, prepares an incursion (adventure) for the rest to explore and engage with. Ask questions, describe what your character is doing, roll some dice, maybe panic and even die.

• Explore the world. Ask questions. You are an investigator so be curious. Open the closet door, look behind the statue, and shine your light into the dark basement. When you ask a question about the world you make a Hunt Roll.
  • See [[BL Rolling Dice#Hunt Rolls]]
• You can attempt anything you want. You're not limited by what is on your character sheet. Most things you want to do just happen. If there's risk involved then The Handler will ask for an Action Roll.
  • See [[BL Rolling Dice#Action Rolls]]
• When you fail an Action Roll you can push your roll to reroll. When you push you gain 1 Stress. For each point of Stress you add a black die to your rolls. Stress helps you succeed but can also cause panic. Even when you succeed, you may still panic.
• Panic Rolls are made when any black die rolls a 1. Your character may keep his cool, freakout, or suffer Trauma.
  • See [[BL Rolling Dice#Panic Rolls]]
• When characters get hurt they suffer Harm. Varying degrees of harm will impact the outcome of your dice rolls.
  • See [[#Violence]]

Player Principles

These principles are your guidelines for playing Black Light. Keep these three principles in mind and try to match your actions to them.

• Be curious. Ask questions of both the Handler and your fellow players to help paint the scene. The details you learn may just save your life, for now.
• Play to win. Play like the world as we know it depends on your character, because it very likely does. Use your wits, and when you have to fight, fight dirty.
• Play to lose. Your luck will run out at some point. Embrace your end, and make it memorable.

You are now equipped with the basics to handle most elder gods, mad mystics, and infernal hordes. Beyond this, you and your Handler will collaboratively create rulings that work best for your table.

What's Needed to Play

• A group of friends you trust.
• Character sheets for each player.
• Two differently colored sets of 6-sided dice.
• Pencil, a black marker and index cards.
• Drinks and snacks

Rolling Dice

Light dice and black dice....

Hunt Rolls

Whenever you have a question about the world, you make a Hunt Roll. It's the pulsing heart of Black Light and nearly all other actions flow from it. Your Hunt Roll is also how you collect a meta-game currency called Hunt Tokens, detailed below.

Say how you are exploring your environment and what you hope to learn, then gather 6-sided dice:

• Take a light die just for exploring the world and asking questions about it.
• Take another light die if you have a piece of equipment that would make your hunt easier, or an additional light die for each point in a helpful Skill. You only get light dice for either a Skill or pieces of equipment, not both.

Roll the dice. If your highest die is a:

1: You lose all your Hunt Tokens and immediately encounter something terrible. 2-3: You immediately encounter something terrible. 4-5: You gain one Hunt Token, and something ominous approaches. 6: You gain one Hunt Token.

The information you learn from your exploration is independent of the results of your roll. The Handler will provide details based on the actions you took and your specific questions, not how well you roll.

Hunt Tokens

Hunt Tokens are a meta-game currency that allows players some narrative control. Spend 1 token to find 1 Gold. Spending 3 tokens allows an Agent to accomplish a goal. This may be a set goal, but can be any goal so long as all agree. Tokens are gained and lost individually, but can be pooled as a group. If an Agent dies, they tokens can be collected as Gold by their companions.

Action Rolls

Most things you want to do just happen. If there's risk involved then The Handler will ask for an Action Roll.

Say what action you're taking and what you hope will happen. The Handler and other players will state what could possibly go wrong. Then gather your dice.

• Take a light die for each point you have in a relevant Skill, or a piece of equipment that makes the action easier. You only get dice for a Skill or gear, even if multiple Skills or gear apply. If you don't have a relevant Skill or piece of equipment, then you cannot take this die.
• Take a light die for accepting a Devil's Bargain from The Handler or another player. A Devil's Bargain is a complication that occurs no no mater the outcome of the roll. You can only accept one Devil's Bargain.
• Add a black die for each point of Stress your character has, and for each mark of Void if you're performing a Ritual or acting against another Player. You must include this die whenever you're risking mind or body, or if The Handler says it applies.

Roll the dice. If your highest die is a:

1-3: You fail, and things get worse. The Handler describes how. The Handler may also allow you to succeed, while things get worse in some other way. 4-5: You succeed, but there's a complication. The Handler describes the complication, and you describe your success. 6: You succeed. Describe your success.

In addition to the results above, if any black die rolls a 1, you make a Panic Roll. If you are performing a Ritual or acting against another Player and your highest die is a black die, mark 1 Void.

The Dark Truth: When black and light die are tied, the black die is considered the highest.

Modifying Your Action Roll

Pushing Your Action

If you're unhappy with the result and you did not Panic or mark Void, you can Push your action. Mark 1 Stress, and make your Action Roll again.

Devil's Bargains

Agents often press their luck at a chance to preserve the world for one more day, with the cost of failure ever looming over their lives. When you gather dice to make your Action Roll, The Handler or any other player can offer you a bonus light die if you accept a Devil's Bargain. Common Devil's Bargain include:

• Causing collateral damage or unintended harm
• Getting separated from your companions
• Attracting unwanted attention
• Sacrificing an item
• Betraying a fellow Agent or Bond

The Devil's Bargain occurs regardless of the outcome of the Action Roll. You make the deal, get the bonus die, and you pay the price.

Assisting an Action

You may help another player with their Action Roll.

• If they accept your help, they gain one light die for their Action Roll, and you mark 1 Stress. If they push their roll, mark 1 additional Stress for each push.

Stress and Panic

Facing cosmic and eldritch entities, infernal demons, and unnatural horrors strain a person's nerves and mind. Stress tracks this toll on your Agent and can help you succeed with your Action Roll but can also cause you to Panic. The higher your Stress the more likely each outcome.

How Do I Gain Stress?

You gain Stress when you push your Action Roll, or when you fail a Stress Roll. You may also encounter an entity or location that automatically gives you Stress. Your maximum Stress is 6. If you reach 6 Stress, take a Trauma and clear all Stress.

When to Make a Stress Roll

When you face unsettling scenes, items, or individuals your composure will be tested and you will need to make a Stress Roll. Make a Stress Roll whenever one of the following occurs:

• You fire your weapon on full automatic
• You experience helplessness
• You encounter an unsettling scene for the first time
• When you feel the moment is right

Making a Stress Roll

To make a Stress Roll, roll a single d6. If it is higher than your current Stress then mark 1 Stress.

When to Make a Panic Roll

Stress, when properly channeled, can be beneficial. But if tension gets too great, you need to see if you can keep your cool. Make a Panic roll whenever one of the following occurs:

• You roll a 1 on a black Die
• Witnessing a companion Panic
• You witness a companion killed
• You experience helplessness
• You encounter something unnatural for the first time
• A horrifying experience as determined by the GM
• When you feel the moment is right

Making a Panic Roll

To make a Panic Roll, roll a d6 and add your current Stress. Look up your result on the Panic Table.

1-6 : You keep your cool. 7 : Twitch. Gain 1 Stress. All near allies gain 1 Stress. 8 : Shaken. Take the Shaken as Level 1 Harm until you clear your Stress. 9 : Freakout. Clear all Stress, all near allies make a Panic roll. 10 : Diminished. Your confidence is lost, clear 1 point from a Skill. 11+ : You gain a Trauma, clear all your Stress and all near allies gain 1 Stress.

Trauma

Your roll on the Panic Table, or reaching a maximum of 6 Stress, may leave your Agent severely impacted with Trauma. Choose an appropriate Trauma for the fiction, taking each Trauma only once. How Trauma impacts your Agent during gameplay is up to the player.

• Cold
• Haunted
• Obsessed
• Paranoid
• Reckless
• Soft
• Unstable
• Vicious

An Agent can take only 4 Traumas before they are no longer fit for the field. When your character takes their fourth Trauma, use the spotlight to give your character a memorable exit.