TEXT: CORE CONCEPTS
  STATS
  A comrade’s attributes are represented 
  by five stats: modifiers that range from 
  -3 to +3. When a move asks a player to 
  “roll with” a particular stat, they roll two 
  six-sided dice (2d6) and add or subtract 
  the relevant stat from the result. 
  • Body represents physical strength, 
  toughness, constitution, and fighting 
  ability. Roll with body to get rough.
  • Mind represents intelligence, book 
  learning, critical thinking, and orga-
  nizational skill. Roll with mind to ask, 
  “what’s going on here?”
  • Spirit represents energy, passion, dar-
  ing, and devotion to the revolutionary 
  cause. Roll with spirit to take a risk or 
  start something.
  • Guile represents trickery, deception, 
  charisma, and all things underhanded. 
  Roll with guile to sway or sneak.
  • Bond represents your connection 
  to another comrade. Your bond with 
  them need not match their bond with 
  you. Roll with bond to help or hinder 
  a comrade, share a quiet moment, 
  or cradle a dying comrade.
  The total modifier applied to a roll can 
  never exceed +4. 
  MOVES
  There are two types of player moves: 
  the basic moves and the special moves 
  listed on each playbook. The GM will tell 
  players when their narration triggers a 
  move. If the move asks them to roll dice, 
  the results are as follows:
  • 10+: It’s a strong hit. Things go the 
  player’s way.
  • 7-9: It’s a weak hit. Things go the play-
  er’s way, sort of.
  • 6-: It’s a miss. The GM will say what 
  happens. It won’t be good.
  HARM
  When a comrade gets hurt, they take 
  harm. What constitutes 1 harm is up to 
  the GM and can be adjusted depending 
  on the situation. Some guidelines:
  • If you get hit with a fist, take 1 harm.
  • If you get hit with a brick, take 2.
  • If you get shot from distance, take 3.
  • If you get shot at close range, take 4.
  At 1-2 harm, injuries heal with time. At 
  3 harm, injuries get worse. Harm can be 
  healed using moves like share a quiet 
  moment. In-game first aid can usually be 
  counted on to heal 1 harm.
  EXPERIENCE
  • When a comrade rolls a 6 or less, they 
  mark experience.
  • When one comrade’s bond with anoth-
  er reaches +4, they mark experience 
  and reset the bond to +1.
  • When one comrade’s bond with an-
  other reaches -3, they mark experience 
  and reset the bond to 0. 
  • When a comrade rolls a 7-9 on a path-
  way move, all comrades in the party 
  mark experience. 
  After marking 5 experience, a player eras-
  es all their experience checks and takes 
  an advance. 
  GANGS
  When a comrade acts in concert with their 
  gang, they may add 1 to any relevant rolls 
  while in conflict with a group of equal or 
  lesser size.
  THE X-CARD
  Comrades is supposed to be fun. If the 
  material in the game ever becomes 
  upsetting or un-fun, raise or tap the card 
  marked with an X in the middle of the 
  table. The unwelcome content will be 
  edited out, and the game will proceed 
  without question or judgment. 
  THE GAME
  Comrades is a tabletop roleplaying game 
  about the dangerous lives of leftist revo-
  lutionaries. Players create characters and 
  imagine a story together. Sometimes 
  they roll dice, but mostly they talk. The 
  gamemaster, or GM, helps keep them on 
  track, but the players are the stars.
  OUR MANIFESTO
  Like any revolutionary party, the heroes 
  of Comrades have certain principles they 
  must uphold. Keep these in mind as you 
  create your comrades and play the game.
  1. FIGHT
  Respond to injustice not with silence, not 
  with disapproval, but with fury. Sprint 
  into battle, head high and heart open, 
  proud that this day could be your last. 
  2. REFUSE COMPROMISE
  Forget being civilized. Fight for what you 
  want and don’t let anyone—even your 
  comrades—get in the way.
  3. DON’T LET THE BASTARDS GET AWAY WITH IT
  In real life, no matter how wrong they 
  are, the bastards usually win. Here, they 
  don’t. Name them, find them, and show 
  them what the people can do.
  COMRADES
  
  BASIC MOVES
  GET ROUGH
  When you try to hurt someone, roll with 
  body. On a 10+, deal harm and pick two 
  from this list. On a 7-9, deal harm and 
  pick one.
  • You deal great harm
  • You take no harm
  • You disengage
  “WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?”
  When you take a moment to assess a per-
  son or situation, roll with mind. On a 10+, 
  ask the GM three questions from this list. 
  On a 7-9, ask 1 question. On a miss, ask 1 
  question and brace for the worst.
  • What’s the best way in / out / past?
  • What should I watch out for?
  • Who is most vulnerable?
  • Who is the biggest threat?
  • What do they want?
  • Who’s in control?
  • Are they lying?
  • How do I get them to do ______?
  • What am I missing?
  TAKE A RISK
  When you take a mad risk for the revo-
  lution, roll with spirit. On a 10+, your 
  gamble succeeds. On a 7-9, your risk pays 
  off—kind of. The GM will tell you what 
  went wrong.
  START SOMETHING
  When you try to provoke a crowd to strike, 
  demonstrate, riot, or brawl, roll with spir-
  it. On a 10+, it goes the way you want—at 
  fi rst, anyway. On a 7-9, pick one: 
  • The mob is large
  • The mob is peaceful
  • The mob heeds your instructions
  SWAY
  When you try to convince an NPC to do 
  what you want, roll with guile. On a 10+, 
  they ask something small in return. On a 
  7-9, they ask something big. 
  SNEAK
  When you try to smuggle a message, 
  an object, a person—even yourself—right 
  under the nose of your enemy, roll with 
  guile. On a 10+, it works, no problem. On 
  a 7-9, pick one:
  • You waste no time
  • You incur no costs
  • You draw no suspicion
  HELP OR HINDER A COMRADE
  When you try to help or hinder a comrade 
  before they make a move, roll with bond. 
  On a 10+, adjust their roll by +2 or -2—
  your choice. On a 7-9, it’s +1 or -1.
  SHARE A QUIET MOMENT
  When you and a comrade share a mo-
  ment of affection, honesty, or peace, roll 
  with bond. If the moment is romantic, 
  add 1 to the roll. On a 10+, pick two from 
  the list. On a 7-9, pick one:
  • Carry 1 ongoing while acting as a team
  • Add 1 to bond
  • Heal 1 harm 
  CRADLE A DYING COMRADE
  When you comfort a comrade who has 
  taken 4 harm, but could conceivably sur-
  vive, roll with bond. On a 10+, they live, 
  barely. Add 1 to bond. On a 7-9, they die, 
  but you hear their last words. Carry 1 
  forward while acting in their name, 
  and add 1 to any 
  pathways to 
  revolution roll.
  COMRADES
  ADJUST BOND
  At the end of each session, name a 
  comrade to whom you feel closer and in-
  crease your bond by 1. If this raises your 
  bond to +4, mark experience and reset 
  your bond to +1. If there is no comrade 
  to whom you feel closer, choose one from 
  whom you feel alienated and reduce your 
  bond by 1. If this brings your bond to -3, 
  mark experience and reset your bond to 0. 
  
  THE GM
  YOUR PRINCIPLES
  To satisfy your manifesto, always remem-
  ber to:
  • Make the pain real
  • Talk to the comrades, not the players
  • Lead with the fiction
  • Ask questions and use the answers.
  • Show consequences
  • Make NPCs human
  • Keep the revolution moving
  • Let the world crumble
  • Share power freely
  YOUR MOVES
  Make moves when your players fail rolls, 
  when the action drags, or when they give 
  you a golden opportunity by wasting 
  time or making a mistake. Never roll the 
  dice and never say the name of the move 
  you’re making. Your moves are:
  • Promise trouble
  • Deliver trouble
  • Deal harm
  • Put them in a spot
  • Offer a nasty choice
  • Tell them the consequences and let 
  them choose
  • Test their weaknesses
  • Separate them
  • Test their principles
  • Turn their move back on them
  SMALL TROUBLE
  What happens when…
  • There’s a roadblock
  • They get searched
  • Supplies run short
  • The heat fails
  • Food runs out
  • Someone smells smoke
  • A rival infiltrates a meeting
  • Their enemies listen in
  • Their mail is opened
  • They are followed everywhere
  • An ex-lover reappears
  • A sibling needs help
  • Ideology gets in the way
  BIG TROUBLE
  What happens when…
  • An ally turns traitor
  • The party newspaper folds
  • Headquarters is burglarized
  • One of them disappears
  • A foreign power takes an interest
  • Allied parties dissolve
  • Their neighbors turn against them
  • A vanquished enemy reappears
  • A party contact doesn’t show
  • An assassin targets them
  • They are threatened with exile
  • Their passports are taken
  • They lose their day jobs
  NPCs
  Introduce them to…
  • A fixer
  • An academic
  • A drifter
  • A mentor
  • A merchant
  • A bartender
  • A chef
  • An architect
  • An engineer
  • A nemesis
  • A colleague
  • A killer
  • A thief
  LOCATIONS
  Set a scene at…
  • City Hall
  • The post office
  • The morgue
  • A boxing gym
  • A century-old restaurant
  • A run-down theater
  • An overflowing apartment house
  • The old fort
  • The state museum
  • The fish market
  • A house party
  • A scrapyard
  • A nightclub
  YOUR ROLE
  Your players tell the story, but you give 
  it shape. Though it is your duty as GM to 
  make life hell for the comrades, you must 
  be kind to your players. You are playing 
  this game with them, not against them. 
  Treat the material with respect and strive 
  to ensure that everyone at the table has 
  an unforgettable time. 
  YOUR MANIFESTO
  A Comrades GM must:
  1. PLAY TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS
  If you knew how the game was going 
  to end before you sat down at the table, 
  there would be no reason to play. Put 
  the comrades in trouble and give them a 
  chance to fight their way out.
  2. OPPRESS THE COMRADES
  Not the players. Make their enemies ca-
  pricious and cruel. Play dirty. Take every 
  opportunity to make them hurt in ways 
  they never thought possible.
  3. MAKE THEM HEROES
  Give them the chance to be larger than 
  life—to right wrongs, fell tyrants, and die 
  gloriously for the cause. Make them wor-
  thy of legend.
  COMRADES
  
  THE GM
  KEY NPCs
  COMRADES
  SESSION PREP
  FRONT ACTIVITY
  NOTES
  SESSION RECORD
  INCIDENTS
  PATHWAY MOVES RESULTS
  DATE:
  
  To better understand what’s happening 
  “off-screen,” and to keep the campaign 
  moving to its inevitable climax, each 
  party may progress along one or more 
  pathways to revolution.
  Each pathway consists of five levels. 
  When the final level is reached, the rev-
  olution is at hand, and the next session 
  will probably be the last.
  Advancing a level reshapes the world, for 
  good and bad. Be unsparing about the 
  ugliness and pain that comes with your 
  party’s march to power, particularly if 
  your players embrace Force or Mayhem. 
  Murder may be effective, but it’s still evil. 
  At the end of each session, ask your play-
  ers to choose a comrade whose efforts 
  best embodied the spirit of the revolu-
  tion. This may be a comrade who fought 
  bravely or who rescued others from harm. 
  It may be one who died.
  Let this comrade make rolls for the path-
  way moves whose criteria have been met 
  during the session. Roll with the stats in-
  dicated for each move. For bond, use the 
  bond altered during the end of session 
  adjust bond process.
  If any player rolled 7-9 while cradling a 
  dying comrade, the dead comrade may 
  choose which party move to influence. 
  They must make their choice before the 
  roll is made. If more than one comrade 
  was able to pass on dying words, these 
  bonuses may stack. As always, the total 
  modifier to any roll cannot exceed +4.
  For a faster campaign, give the comrades 
  the option to advance a pathway level 
  on a 7-9 result in exchange for starting 
  the next session in serious trouble. What 
  trouble that form takes is up to you. This 
  option replaces the experience bonus 
  that normally comes with a 7-9 result, 
  and can only be taken once per session.
  FORCE
  When your party uses its strength to crush 
  the opposition, roll with body. On a 10+, 
  increase your party’s rank in Force. On a 
  7-9, the public approves of what you have 
  done. Every comrade gains 1 experience. 
  ORGANIZATION
  When your party executes a daring plan 
  with precision, roll with mind. On a 
  10+, increase your party’s rank in Orga-
  nization. On a 7-9, the public approves 
  of what you have done. Every comrade 
  gains 1 experience. 
  ZEALOTRY
  When your party does something 
  high-profile to inspire the oppressed 
  masses, roll with spirit. On a 10+, in-
  crease your party’s rank in Zealotry. On a 
  7-9, the public approves of what you have 
  done. Every comrade gains 1 experience. 
  MAYHEM
  When your party plants bombs, sets fires, 
  attempts assassinations, or otherwise 
  uses violence indiscriminately, roll with 
  guile. On a 10+, increase your party’s 
  rank in Mayhem. On a 7-9, the public 
  approves of what you have done. Every 
  comrade gains 1 experience. 
  FELLOWSHIP
  When your party members risk their lives 
  for each other, roll with bond. On a 10+, 
  increase your party’s rank in Fellowship. 
  On a 7-9, the public approves of what 
  you have done. Every comrade gains 1 
  experience. 
  COMRADES
  PATHWAYS TO REVOLUTION
  USING THE PATHWAYS
  PATHWAY MOVES
  
  PATHWAYS TO REVOLUTION
  FORCE
  1. Your party institutes weap-
  ons training. All comrades 
  become proficient in small 
  arms and basic hand-to-hand 
  combat.
  2. Your party establishes a corps 
  of highly-drilled street fight-
  ers, around 10 of which are 
  available at a time, who are a 
  match for similar numbers of 
  police. 
  3. Your party adopts uniforms 
  or armbands. When these are 
  worn, most people are fright-
  ened by your appearance, 
  while your enemies attack on 
  sight.
  4. During an election, your 
  party may increase its turnout 
  through voter intimidation, 
  violence, and fraud.
  5. Your organized shock troops 
  may take to the streets and 
  attempt to seize power in a 
  pitched battle with govern-
  ment forces. 
  COMRADES
  ORGANIZATION
  1. Your party is tightly struc-
  tured. When you need help 
  from party headquarters, you 
  can usually get it. When they 
  give you orders, they expect 
  them to be followed to the 
  letter. 
  2. Your party plans ahead. When 
  you need a safe house, a co-
  vert route, or a person on the 
  inside, you have one. 
  3. Your infrastructure is state 
  of the art. When you require 
  supplies, you get them as 
  rapidly as the era’s technology 
  allows.
  4. Your party is respectable. Un-
  less your behavior is blatantly 
  illegal, the police tend to 
  leave you alone.
  5. You may call for an election 
  and attempt to seize power 
  through legal channels.
  ZEALTORY
  1. You have supporters every-
  where. In any setting in which 
  NPCs are not clearly aligned 
  with another faction, a good 
  number support you.
  2. If your party has a media or-
  gan, it becomes hugely popu-
  lar, allowing you to bring your 
  message to the masses.
  3. Demonstrations in support of 
  your party happen regularly 
  and with great fanfare.
  4. You become a sympathetic 
  cause among the rich, who fill 
  your coffers with money.
  5. You may call for a popular 
  uprising and attempt to seize 
  power by flooding the streets 
  with your supporters. 
  MAYHEM
  1. Your party institutes explosives 
  training, allowing comrades to 
  handle a bomb without blow-
  ing themselves up.
  2. When you require explosives 
  or other weapons of indis-
  criminate destruction, you 
  can get them that day.
  3. Your party knows how to use 
  weapons for maximum effect. 
  When you plant a bomb or 
  rake a sidewalk with machine 
  gun fire, the casualties are 
  horrifying. 
  4. If you wish to assassinate 
  someone important—but who 
  is not the head of state—you 
  can get close enough to plant 
  a bomb or take a shot at them.
  5. You may mount a massive 
  campaign of chaos across the 
  capital and attempt to seize 
  power by driving the popu-
  lace mad with fear.
  FELLOWSHIP
  1. Your party recruits friends. 
  Each new comrade starts with 
  an additional +2 bond with 
  someone in the party.
  2. Your party recruits talented 
  people. Each new comrade 
  starts with an advance.
  3. Your love for your comrades is 
  powerful. Add 1 to all rolls to 
  cradle a dying comrade.
  4. Your bonds transcend all bar-
  riers. A dead comrade returns 
  from imprisonment, exile, or 
  death.
  5. The bond of trust between 
  your comrades is so great 
  that you may organize a tight-
  ly-planned plot to assassinate 
  the head of state and be 
  reasonably sure that none of 
  your comrades will inform the 
  authorities. 
  
  KHRESHT: 1915
  shattered the blue-uniformed army that 
  was the pride of Khresht. Food runs short. 
  Communications falter. For the moment, 
  the Empress holds on. 
  THE CITY
  Khresht is a compact city on a sluggish 
  river, the center of an empire that has 
  been dying for more than a century. Lit 
  by gaslight and spotty electricity, it is a 
  warren of narrow streets, winding alleys, 
  forgotten tunnels, and toxic canals. Its 
  citizens toil in tanneries, distilleries, gun 
  works, and the docks. Its upper crust re-
  laxes in ballrooms, cafés, restaurants and 
  the opera. Its small, but vocal, intelligen-
  tsia lives in the coffee houses, debating 
  the future over and over again. 
  Above it all sits the Turquoise Palace, 
  perched on the cliffs above the river, 
  where an Empress struggles to tune out 
  the whisperings below.
  YOUR PARTY
  You are a member of a small revolution-
  ary cell affi liated with a larger political 
  party or movement. Where you fall on 
  the spectrum, and how tightly you are 
  aligned with your larger party, is up to 
  you. Your membership will be drawn 
  from across Khreshti society; your ac-
  tivities will range from simply illegal to 
  outright violent. 
  You will fi ght the army, the secret police, 
  revolutionary factions on the left and 
  right, and dissenters and traitors within 
  your own ranks. Above all, you will risk 
  your life for your comrades and the revo-
  lutionary dream you hold dear. 
  Your group was formed in coffee shops, 
  classrooms, workhouses, trenches, or the 
  streets of the slums. You loathe the em-
  pire. You long for freedom—freedom to 
  vote, to think, to write, to create, to marry, 
  to travel, to die as you see fi t. 
  You have been targeted by the secret 
  police, the Számok. They open your mail, 
  threaten your family, smash your printing 
  presses, follow you openly and in secret, 
  and attempt to infi ltrate your group. It’s 
  possible you have been arrested and 
  served time in the prison fi elds at the dis-
  tant reaches of this sprawling, backwards 
  empire. It’s possible someone you love 
  has died by their hand. 
  It doesn’t matter. You will 
  do whatever it takes to 
  free your people. 
  Perhaps you will 
  print newspapers, 
  make 
  speeches, 
  convince workers to 
  organize and soldiers 
  to strike. Perhaps 
  you will take to the 
  streets, 
  breaking 
  the bones and spirits 
  of any who disagree 
  with you. Perhaps you 
  will plant bombs and set 
  fi res, killing precisely or 
  indiscriminately 
  until 
  this corrupt empire is 
  brought to its knees. 
  You will bring about a 
  revolution. What sort 
  remains to be seen.
  FEBRUARY, 1915
  You are in the city Khresht, on the river 
  Khresht, in the empire Khresht. After 300 
  years’ rule, the Makharov dynasty is on 
  its last legs. The army has been broken 
  by the Great War; the economy is in 
  shambles, and no matter how forcefully 
  the police clamp down, political parties, 
  secret societies, and revolutionary cells 
  spring up like weeds. 
  You are a member of one of these cells. 
  You have a chance to topple an empire 
  and drag your country into the future. But 
  what future will you choose?
  THE EMPIRE
  For 300 years, the Makharovs have used 
  military power, regal pomp, great caches 
  of gold, and strategic terror to hold 
  together the empire they call Khresht. 
  Countless languages, nationalities, eth-
  nicities, and factions have been bound 
  beneath the one-eyed eagle, forgetting 
  their own ambitions and laying down 
  their lives—willingly or not—in service of 
  the crown. But the spell is breaking and 
  the empire is falling apart.
  Since the Empress Rachel’s disastrous en-
  try into the Great War, the Germans have 
  COMRADES
  
  KHRESHT: 1915
  THE CAPITAL
  • Arkady Station: A grand old train sta-
  tion far past its prime, not unlike the 
  empire it serves.
  • Fiedler’s Brewery: A defunct beer 
  works on the banks of the river, seized 
  by the Sons of Khresht as an unofficial 
  headquarters.
  • Lembersky’s Café: Across the boule-
  vard from the opera, the beating heart 
  of cosmopolitan Khresht.
  • The Bluffs: Where the nobility built 
  their mansions in order to stare down 
  at the city they loathe.
  • The Great Bridge: Built and rebuilt 
  over the centuries, it connects the two 
  halves of a city about to crack.
  • The Mire: Vilest slum in a city of slums, 
  where the revolution might be born.
  • The New Palace: Home to the extended 
  royal family, built a safe distance out-
  side of town.
  • The Turkish Quarter: Home to mer-
  chants, artists, and the finest theaters 
  in the city.
  • The Turquoise Palace: Lately reoccu-
  pied by the Empress, it is one of the 
  wonders of Europe.
  • The Zulawski Works: The towering fac-
  tory that casts the army’s guns, whose 
  workers are always near revolt.
  CITIES
  • Ajak: A mining town.
  • Bata: A forest village where ancient 
  superstitions hold fast.
  • Dubienka: The second city, where the 
  air is cold and the people are hard.
  • Grodek: A mountain resort.
  • Halbturn: A city on the German border, 
  conquered the day the war began.
  • Hevyn: A monastic retreat in the moun-
  tains, far above the clouds.
  • Kladniv: A market town, center of the 
  grain belt, where the peasants are 
  hungry and enraged.
  • Koshiv: The river city famous for pro-
  ducing the Koshiv Dragoons, backbone 
  of the Khreshti army.
  • Ludin: A seaside resort whose best 
  days ended a century ago.
  • Matz: A pinprick hamlet that has found 
  unwanted fame as the war’s front line.
  • Olari: The winter port, frozen for nine 
  months of the year.
  • Peresika: Birthplace of the Makharovs, 
  a city turned into a shrine.
  • Poromiv: Favorite city of poets, dream-
  ers, and thieves.
  • Radna: A farming village home to a 
  radical agrarian sect.
  • Tadten: Oldest city in Khresht and the 
  empire’s spiritual center. 
  COMRADES
  • Alicia Rhodopolis: A Greek expatriate 
  and expert in hand-to-hand combat.
  • Anton Vladimirovich Mikhailov: An 
  AWOL conscript and barracks radical.
  • Bogdan Kavka: An undercover Számok 
  operative who favors the left.
  • Brock Barber: An underground fighter 
  with a love for fighting dirty. 
  • Brother Jacek Kobro: A religious social-
  ist whose followers like to get rough. 
  • Carmilla Holstein: Khresht’s most brilliant 
  philosopher, a leading queer theorist.
  • D.B. Babin: The ruthless overlord of 
  Khresht’s burgeoning film industry.
  • Erin Holmes: A brilliant, newly home-
  less English student.
  • Eugene Jovanović: An elderly carpen-
  ter whose fingers dance on wood.
  • Ilanavsky Petrodov: A warrior for indig-
  enous land rights in colonial Khresht.
  • Ilse Petrov: A former sniper with a deep 
  facial scar and radical politics.
  • Ilya Shmakov: A young soldier with a 
  keen sense of humor.
  • Iokab Sosalov: A hard-line Marxist with 
  a sideline in bank robbery. 
  • Jackson Magnus: A radical restaurant 
  veteran whose kitchen is open to all.
  • James Ward: A union organizer turned 
  cynical after years in Khresht.
  • Jan deGrom: An Olympic shot putter 
  and unwilling symbol of the regime.
  • Jennifer Power: A proudly crooked 
  American newspaper correspondent.
  • Katharina Moroshkin: A classicist and 
  rhetorician with a love for jewelry.
  • Konstantin Bartov: A hard-drinking 
  party loyalist.
  • Kris Herzog: An academic with encyclo-
  pedic knowledge of Khreshti history.
  • Kristoff Paul Lin: A disabled veteran 
  and bodyguard to the elite.
  • Magda Findle: A legend of the Khresti 
  stage and champion for feminism. 
  • Mikhail Sarno: The universally beloved 
  star of Dinamo Khresht.
  • Milan Golubović: A chain-smoking rev-
  olutionary who never does anything.
  • Nikita Novak: A banker secretly under-
  mining Copper Alley from the inside.
  • Kolya Orlov: An Anarcho-Syndicalist 
  pacifist who sings songs of revolution.
  • Pavel Mikhonsky: A cellist, chain smok-
  er, and hopeless amateur sculptor.
  • Svetlana Yurin: Owner of a soup kitch-
  en that gives shelter to all.
  • Vasily Eisenstein: An expert organizer 
  who spills secrets when drunk.
  • Vaska Jakovlev: A radical Bolshoi Ballet 
  star stranded in Khresht.
  NPCs
  
  NEW YORK: 2025
  Every block in every borough is home to 
  one or more bespoke political groups. 
  Some are loyal to a larger philosophy or 
  movement; some are strictly indepen-
  dent. Here are just a few:
  SQUATTERS
  A spontaneous movement to reclaim the 
  vacant luxury housing that has choked 
  the city like an invasive species, the 
  squatters behave like anarchists, free-
  gans, or crust punks, but are fl uent in the 
  oldest language New York ever spoke: 
  real estate.
  THE COOP
  An increasingly popular radical socialist 
  sect that intends to convert every corner 
  of the city into a worker’s cooperative, 
  and which isn’t afraid to use violence to 
  ensure that everyone does their part.
  NEW TAMMANY
  The Democratic splinter group in charge 
  of the Provisional government, these 
  neo-liberals dream of a modern super 
  city: clean, effi cient, blandly progressive, 
  and tightly controlled by a benevolent tri-
  umvirate of forward-thinking billionaires.
  STRAPHANGERS UNION
  A public transit advocacy group turned 
  into an all-around crusader for the forgot-
  ten people of New York: the commuters, 
  the nannies, the teachers, and everyone 
  else without whom this city would die.
  LOYALISTS
  A reactionary sect nostalgic for the imagi-
  nary paradise once called America, these 
  conservatives demand a return to the 
  union, and have openly invited the old 
  U.S. Army to invade and subjugate the 
  city beneath the stars and stripes.
  MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
  Based in Wall Street, these ultra-libertar-
  ians call for a return to a happier time, 
  when the city was ruled by robber barons, 
  and no taxes, labor laws, or fi nancial reg-
  ulation impeded their freedom to profi t 
  off the blood of the weak. 
  HARDHATS
  A loose coalition of construction workers, 
  sandhogs, cops, and wannabe tough 
  guys who believe the city requires a dicta-
  tor’s iron fi st to survive. Who that dictator 
  will be remains undecided.
  It is springtime in New York, 
  and the city is tearing itself 
  apart. Since seceding from 
  the United States, this 
  new city-state has been 
  overwhelmed by factions 
  who will bully, bribe, steal, 
  and kill to control the future 
  of the metropolis. 
  With just four weeks remain-
  ing before the constitutional 
  convention, the city hangs in the 
  balance. Now is your chance to 
  seize it as your own.
  COMRADES
  FACTIONS
  SMALL TROUBLE
  What happens when…
  • The bodega closes
  • Their rent spikes
  • Their jobs disappear
  • Their stuff gets stolen
  • Family comes to stay
  • A lover vanishes
  • A pet gets sick
  • A neighbor needs help
  • The wifi  goes out
  • There’s no booze/drugs/water
  • The ceiling caves in
  • The cops knock on the door
  • Bedbugs are everywhere
  BIG TROUBLE
  What happens when…
  • The subways fail
  • The museums go broke
  • The power goes out
  • A gas line explodes
  • Guns fl ood the streets
  • A hurricane hits
  • The cops go on strike
  • The Brooklyn Bridge begins to crack
  • The United States starts a blockade
  • The park becomes a warzone
  • The public turns against the party
  • A hero is shot dead
  
  NEW YORK: 2025
  THE BLOCK
  • Barb’s Busy Corner: A deli offering bad 
  produce, okay coffee, and killer heroes
  • Porky’s Suds: A cavernous laundromat 
  whose staff is friendly but whose dry-
  ers can’t be trusted
  • Gin ’n Stuff: A liquor store where dusty 
  bottles cower behind bulletproof glass
  • Blarney Cove: A narrow dive bar where 
  teenagers chug whiskey sours and 
  old-timers sleep in the booths
  • Ronnie’s: A fix-it shop run by a grav-
  el-voiced Brooklyn legend
  • Abby’s Kitchen: A soup kitchen and 
  shelter with hot food and warm beds
  • The Shed: A performance space in the 
  back yard of a burnt-out brownstone
  • The Abbatoir: An underground gym 
  home to the best fight nights in the city
  • Notoma: A Trinidadian bakery famous 
  for roti, doubles, and sweet rolls
  • Mariel’s Hair & Nails: A suspiciously-af-
  fordable second-floor salon
  • The Playground: Dogs, basketball, 
  babies, and gossip
  • Shanghai Garden: A Chinese-Caribbe-
  an takeout spot that delivers anything 
  you want in 15 minutes or less 
  • Vicenzo’s Hardware: A labyrinthine 
  hardware store that’s been in the 
  neighborhood longer than anyone
  • Alex Lucero: A guerilla pointillist who 
  uses skyscrapers as her canvas
  • Amelia Hill: An expert smuggler who 
  operates out of her family’s diner
  • Anthony Westcott: The rapidly balding 
  heir to Westcott phamraceuticals
  • Birdie: A street fighter with a high tol-
  erance for gin, screamo, and pain
  • Charlie: The local bodega cat: wise, 
  hungry, and utterly untrustworthy
  • Clyde Fitzgerald: A third-rate vlogger 
  who stumbles onto the odd scoop
  • Danae Persaki: A red hot trumpet play-
  er and occasional contract killer
  • Douglas Ward: A disgruntled ex-drone 
  pilot not yet used to civilian life
  • Elliot Brooks: Caretaker of an empty 
  church, owner of thousands of pigeons
  • Faser Six: A graffiti artist who can paint 
  your message anywhere in town
  • Fatou Cissé: A sadistic parks commis-
  sioner with far too much power
  • Grit-DMZ: Pirate radio broadcaster 
  sharing new politics and classic beats
  • Harold Buchanan: A global developer 
  with the power to topple governments
  • Huang Shanfu: A gay architecture 
  student who fled persecution in China
  • Ivan Reyes: A Cuban immigrant, indie 
  journalist, and master of deepfakes
  • Jack Wolfhand: An eco-fascist obsessed 
  with the purity of early Norse culture
  • James Corlin: A perennial Broadway 
  standby who runs with high society 
  • Jean Tamborini: A retired seamstress 
  and dog-walker to the stars
  • Jeremy Vu Le: A Chinatown native re-
  developing his old neighborhood
  • Josh Kaufman: An accordianist busker 
  who knows everybody in town
  • Kelix Sabo-tabby: A trans Wobbly with 
  a deep background in Marxist history
  • Little Sinatra: An old school crooner 
  who reworks standards to serve the left
  • Louise Kelly: An immigration officer 
  disillusioned with her country’s policy
  • Mary Wright: A statistician and spin 
  doctor who molds numbers like clay
  • Neja Ruwanpathirana: A crooked pri-
  vate detective and ace blackmailer
  • Pilar Verdugo: A cheerful enforcer for 
  the upstart Chilean mob
  • Salima Bey: An ambitious food truck 
  chef who mistreats her staff
  • Shepherd: A radical street preacher 
  with a rap sheet as long as his beard
  • Sibyl: A trans New Age priestess who 
  ministers to the wayward and queer
  • Yazmin Williamson: A shockingly cor-
  rupt social media influencer
  MANHATTAN
  A beautiful corpse whose grand avenues 
  are infested by needle-thin high rises 
  owned by mysterious billionaires whose 
  feet never touch sidewalk. The heart of 
  the city, it hasn’t beat in years.
  BROOKLYN
  A jumble of neighborhoods where gentri-
  fication’s wounds never healed. Home to 
  violent radicals, intellectually paralyzed 
  academics, and stubborn old-timers who 
  will never let go of their block.
  QUEENS
  A magnificent, sprawling melting pot. 
  Each group has its own agenda, and no-
  body’s speaking the same language.
  THE BRONX
  Birthplace of Uptown 2020: a mixed 
  media artistic movement whose style is 
  unmistakably New York, and whose lead-
  ers grow more radical by the day.
  STATEN ISLAND
  The epicenter of reactionary New York. 
  Aside from the anarchist collective at the 
  ferry terminal and the traveler commu-
  nity beneath the Narrows bridge, utterly 
  overrun with loyalists, fascists, and worse.
  COMRADES
  NPCs
  
  THE PARTY
  COMRADES
  SIGIL
  PARTY NAME:
  IDEOLOGY:
  PURPOSE:
  LEADER:
  SLOGAN:
  PREFERRED APPROACH
   
  ❍ Force +1
   
  ❍ Organization +1
   
  ❍ Zealotry +1
   
  ❍ Mayhem +1
   
  ❍ Fellowship +1
  PATHWAYS TO REVOLUTION
  Force: 
  ijklmn
  Organization:  ijklmn
  Zealotry:  
  ijklmn
  Mayhem:  
  ijklmn
  Fellowship:  ijklmn
  
  THE PARTY
  COMRADES
  RIVALS
  AFFILIATED NPCs
  NOTES
  HISTORY OF REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITY
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Comrades (PbtA)/Sheets/Comrades - Reference Sheets [B&W].pdf