Players in Flagrant Picaresque do not control a Company. Instead, they play an Adventurer who, unlike other Groups, do not roll to activate; they are always able to act as they choose.

Adventurers begin play with the following profile, an Adventurer trait, and 5XP to spend on Lessons.

Adventurer Traits #

Roll 1d6 to determine your Adventurer’s starting trait:

1. Call Lightning: Spend 1R to Shoot every group within 6", hitting on a 5+
2. Darken the Sky: Roll an additional 3d6 when Shooting
3. Knit Flesh: Spend 1R to have a friendly group within 6" regain d6 R
4. Knives Out: When below half R, 6’s explode while defending
5. Rage: When below half R, reroll misses when attacking
6. Warcry: May opt to test R whenever a friendly group within 12" must test; if either pass, both do.

Lessons #

Lessons improve an Adventurer’s capacity for action. Lessons may be learned again; each time they are learned, their XP cost increases by one.

• Counter-Attack (2): +1 to-hit when defending.
• Spill Blood (2): +1 to-hit when attacking.
• Long Shot (1): +3” to range.
• Fast (1): +2” to move distance
• Shooter (2): +1 to-hit when shooting.
• Terrifying (3): Resilience tests in response to being attacked by this Adventurer must reroll the highest die. If taken again, -1 from their total result.
• Move Freely (2): The Adventurer ignores all friends and enemies, while moving. If taken again, ignore all but impassable terrain. If taken a third time, ignore even impassable terrain.
• Stealthy (3): The Adventurer counts as in cover when being shot at and does not block line of sight unless in melee. If taken again, the Adventurer cannot be shot at directly.
• Vicious (3): Count to-hit rolls of 6 twice. If taken again, count thrice, then four times, etc.
• Caster (1): Learn two spells and gain access to the casting order. Unlike other orders, an Adventurer does need to roll 2d6 against the spell’s check value. If they fail, the spell still goes off but -1R for the Adventurer.
• Hard to Kill (3): +1T
• Unfeeling (0): Automatically pass resilience tests but round up inflicted hits against the Adventurer when reducing R.
• Retinue (3): Gain access to a 3P pool of followers and the summon order (6+) to raise a group within 12” (no closer than 6” to an enemy) whose value is pulled from the pool. If the check is failed, the group is still summoned but -1R for the Adventurer. Alternatively, the Adventurer can place these groups within 12” of themself during Deployment. Each time this lesson is learned, +3P to the follower pool. The Adventurer can summon multiple groups or one group worth more points, their choice.

Playing as an Adventurer #

Playing as an Adventurer follows the normal flow of Flagrant Factions with the following exceptions:

1. Adventurers do not need to check to activate unless otherwise noted.
2. When an Adventurer’s R is reduced to half or less, +1 R in their next fight if they survive. Max R of 18.
3. When an Adventurer’s R is reduced to 0, they are not routed or destroyed and are instead Out of the Fight
4. Adventurers can gain access to special items useful in and out of action.
5. Adventurers can gain Bynames in play if they meet the unlock conditions.
6. Adventurers gain XP at the end of each skirmish they survive.

Out of the Fight #

If an Adventurer is dropped to 0R, they are unable to continue participating and are either Captured or Incapacitated.

If an Adventurer is Captured, they may be rescued if the Group holding them is defeated. The Adventurer must make a Resilience Test and, if successful, survives but is now Impaired. If they fail, they have survived but are Incapacitated.

If an Adventurer is Incapacitated, they cannot activate except to render first aid and they risk death; roll 3d6. If the result is greater than or equal to their starting R, the Adventurer is dying. If a friendly Adventurer can get to them and spend an activation providing first aid, they might survive: both Adventurers make a Resilience Test and if either succeeds the Adventurer is saved and considered Impaired; otherwise, the Adventurer has succumbed to their wounds. An Adventurer can try to render first aid on themself at any time. If the skirmish ends without anyone rendering first aid, the Adventurer dies.

If an Adventurer is Impaired, they cannot take any action except to move at half speed. Any reduction of R for the rest of the skirmish immediately makes them Incapacitated.

Special Items #

Most equipment doesn’t make a difference to Adventurers so there’s no point in tracking it. Items that confer abilities are special. They may be acquired from enemies or picked up in play by spending an activation; between skirmishes, they may be freely traded between Adventurers. Adventurer’s do not need to bring every item they have acquired to a Picaresque.

Some items (Scrolls, Edibles, and Alchemies) are consumable; use them once and they are gone forever. Others have a cooldown time noted in their description; after that many turns they are usable again.

Adventurer’s have four sets of item slots available to them: Worn (5), Displayed (3), Held (2), Carried (12).

• Worn slots are body-part specific: head, shoulders, body, hands, and feet. Some worn items take up multiple slots; if two items would use the same slot they cannot be worn at the same time.
• Displayed items are aesthetic and can be used in any combination, so long as an Adventurer has enough slots.
• Adventurers can hold an item in each hand or a two-slot item with both hands.
• Adventurers can carry up to 12 additional slots of items; each slot is numbered for position. To retrieve and use a Carried item in the same activation, an Adventurer must roll 2d6 vs the item’s slot position; if the roll is under the item’s position, this activation is spent rummaging in their pack for it and the item will count as held from then on.

Some items have set bonuses; unless otherwise noted, these items only gain the set bonus if all components of the set are worn/displayed/held by the Adventurer.

Example items:

• Silverpike Boots (Feet): Leather boots with silver buckles shaped like jumping pike, mouths agape. Treat wet terrain (swamps, lakes, rivers, etc) as one step easier; impassable as difficult, difficult as normal.
• Sunblade (Weapon): Bronze shortsword with dawning ruby sun set it into its crossguard. Spend an activation to hold aloft, bringing sunlight forth. For next 1d6 turns, count all hits twice against undead within 12”. Cooldown equal to the number of turns the effect lasted.
• Cape of the Raptor (Head, Shoulders): Hooded with the skull of a Giant Peregrine, layered with its feathers. Move distance for the purpose of Attacking is twice as far, half as far for normal moves.
• Sash of the Bloody Judicial (Displayable): Crimson and gold silk, depicting scales and rods alternating. When fighting one-on-one, +1 to hit when attacking and defending. Set-Bonus: +2” to Movement when chasing a Group which is Retreating from a one-on-one fight.
• Rod of the Bloody Judicial (Weapon): A short, spiked mace, flanges gilded. When fighting one-on-one, ignore 1T. Set-Bonus: Count hits while Attacking one-on-one twice.
• Deathmask (Head): Fused pieces of skull with eyes that can be seen out of but not into. Count as Terrifying and may activate to belch noxious smoke (2d6); for next 2 turns, Groups within 6” must beat that roll when Activating as well as any other requirements, or be wracked with gut-wrenching coughs.
• Gravity Bomb (Scroll): A rune of infinite black, hard to look away from. Activate to select a point within 18”, all groups within 12” of the point are yanked 6” towards it; any Group which is moved to within 3” of the point is hit with a 12d6 attack which hits on 3+.
• Furyshroom (Edible): A Brilliant red mushroom with stark white dots on the cap. Activate to devour and roll 1d6; immediately lose that much R and become Reckless with +1 to hit in melee and +1T for that many turns.
• Baitmusk (Alchemy): Chunky red liquid in a fragile glass ball. Activate to throw at a Group or point within 12”; any Beast profile Groups count as reckless towards the target for the next 1d6 turns. If used on a point, the Beast(s) will tear at the ground, unwilling to leave it until the effect wears off.

Bynames #

In addition to learning Lessons, Adventurers can gain Bynames, which are special traits unlocked by in-play accomplishments. They can be gained and lost. Some examples: