Characters
Character points, the nineteen basic archetypes, the seven advanced archetypes, ranks, and retainers.
The Rules
The system at the end of the campaign
Eldritch ran on one long rulebook, the Player's Guide. This section records that system as it stood when the campaign ended in October 2026.
The System
Eldritch was a game of players against the world, with conflict between players allowed only by consent.
Each character was built from an archetype and a set of skills bought with character points. Fights used foam weapons and a hit location system. Poisons, locks, armor, and goods existed as paper tags and cards. Four things served as money and leverage: coin, resources, Influence, and Espionage.
The rules were written down in the Player's Guide, and these pages follow its final edition.
The Rulebook
Skills
General and martial skills, with lore, espionage, Influence, medicine, armor, and refreshes.
Archetype Skills
The skill trees of Aurons, the Cirque, Knights, Magisters, Nobles, Veterans, and the Vigil.
Crafting and Gathering
Schematics, kits, crafting stations, resources, and gathering nodes.
Combat
Armor, hit locations, bleeding and death, melee, ranged weapons, and safety.
In-Game Effects
The calls and cards that put a character into a state, from Stun to Curse.
Interactive Events
Settlement Events, Construction Projects, and Decisive Moments.
Conduct and Safety
The Code of Conduct, the social contract, safety calls, and conflict between players.
Accessibility
Cabins, safe spaces, non-combatants, and the other accommodations.
Reading These Pages
Prose on these pages describes the game in the past tense. Skill tables keep the short commands of the rulebook, such as "Gain" and "May use," because that is how the entries read in play.
Terms Used Throughout
- AV
- Armor Value, the number of strikes a character could absorb.
- CP
- Character points, spent on archetypes and skills.
- NPC
- A non-player character, played by staff or a volunteer.
- PVE and PVP
- Player versus environment, and player versus player.
- Refresh
- The moment when active martial skills and Tough were restored.
- Retainer
- A character in the employ of another, under the terms on an archetype card.