Let’s Play Riftbreakers 2nd Edition! Part 1: Through Twisting Paths

This tutorial adventure is a fantastic introduction to Riftbreakers. We'll ease into the mechanics and get some combat experience.

Table of Contents

Riftbreakers 2e includes a tutorial area designed to ease you into a few of its mechanics and get you started. This mini-adventure is called Through Twisting Paths, and it’s a fantastic introduction to the setting.

Let’s start!

Courtyard of Beginnings

We are wandering the Labyrinth, a massive and odd structure in Kaethor. Its origins are a mystery.

The Labyrinth is said to be alive, with a mind of its own that constantly shifts and changes its layout.

As Daena moves, an enchanting and inspiring aura fills her.

Players receive +5 on all checks while here. However, once this area has been left, its architecture reshuffles itself. It cannot be returned to.

We receive a bonus to skill checks, and we can only go through the tutorial area once. Good enough for me.

I walk out into an enormous stone courtyard. Lichens, mosses, and weeds grow from the tall walls and marble columns around the place. There are glowing messages written on every surface of the place.

‘Something has happened to me. I have been taken from my home’.

At least whatever strangeness you are facing, you are not facing it alone.

A comforting thought, if anything.

There’s a piece of glowing chalk on the ground.

Daena picked up the glowing chalk and wrote something just to feel alive and closer to the hundreds of travelers who have been there before her. Not liking her first try, she scratched it and tried something meant for the next wayfarers.

‘Don’t give up.’

Seemed appropriate. She looked at the chalk and noticed it didn’t diminish in size, as if it had never been used. Smiling, she put it away and moved on.

Cathedral of Moss

I step inside an empty and silent cathedral, swallowed up in moss. Imperious statues tower over the nave.

Daena reached out toward the statue of a wizard, but a sense of foreboding made her stop. She stepped away and moved to the back, where an adorable foxcat lurked by a gap in the masonry, holding a shiny rock in its mouth.

The animal looks skittish, but specks of lustre on the rock indicate that it might contain valuable metals. Any player may attempt an Animal Handling check or a Hard (-20) Ranged Weapons check to get the stone from the foxcat.

I don’t have a ranged weapon (and I don’t want to kill a cute foxcat!), so I’ll pick up a stone and try the ranged option.

For all skill checks, the game uses a roll under D100 system. Daena’s Ranged Weapon skill value is 40. There’s a hard modifier (-20) and also a +5 modifier for the entire area, so I need to roll equal to or under 25 to succeed. Rolling doubles under the skill is a critical hit, and over is a fumble.

Ranged Weapons check (25) = 96, fail.

Daena took aim, exhaled, and threw the stone at the foxcat, trying to make it drop the shiny rock. She missed so ludicrously that she couldn’t help but laugh. For a moment she was thankful to be alone.

I notice that some of the moss can be used as alchemical ingredients. I scrape the walls and the grout.

Make an Easy (+10) Nature check. On a success, the gathering yields 1x Common Alchemical Ingredients. This does not require a Hunting Knife. On a failure, the gatherer takes D4+1 Poison damage. Moss may be gathered three times before all promising specimens have been removed.

Daena’s Nature skill is only 10, but we get a +15 total modifier. Let’s try once.

Nature check (25) = 31, fail.
D4+1 Poison damage = 2

Damn it, that was close. HP goes down to 19. I guess I won’t try again as that damage can add up.

A door in the back opens to a staircase winding down into the dark. Luckily, there’s a torch just before the entrance. I pick it up and descend into the darkness.

Gathering Crypts

Claustrophobic stone halls run a seemingly impossible distance, twisting and turning through the dark. Stone coffins lie on either side of the path, each inscribed with a name.

I advance around the coffins. Some of them are open, and there are no bodies or bones inside.

The crypts are riddled with ancient traps. Pressure plates, scythes, and rockfalls are just a misstep away from me.

Each character passing through this area must make an Easy (+10) Perception check to avoid them. On a failure, roll a D6: on an even result, suffer D6 Slashing damage; on an odd result, suffer D6 Bludgeoning damage.

Perception check (55) = 16, success!

The ground rasped and dipped beneath Daena’s feet. A groan echoed in the crypt. Out of instinct, she dodged aside as a rusty blade hissed down from the ceiling, arcing through the air before vanishing into the shadows.

She grabbed her glowing chalk and wrote a message a few paces back. ‘Trap ahead. Try dodging.’

Daena’s first success! A dodge to remember.

As she continues, a weight of masonry obstructs the passage in a bend in the halls. However, she can easily climb over it.

A character who wishes may spend time rummaging through the rubble to harvest 1x Common Ore without needing a Pickaxe. Doing so prompts an Endurance check. On a failure, the rummaging character suffers Dazed (1) at the start of their next combat.

Oh, Daena wishes! She props her torch nearby and combs through the rubble until she finds some ore.

+1 Common ore
Endurance check (30) = 47, fail
Dazed condition: a Dazed PC cannot spend Aether in offensive actions.

Our next and first battle will have Daena dazed. I hope Dazed Daena doesn’t catch on.

It’s possible to pry open a coffin with an Impossible (-30) Athletics check. The initial +5 leaves Daena with 0, so it is possible, just not for her.

I move on toward the sound of rushing water. An exit filled with sunlight appears in the distance, and I leave the crypts. I’ll now check the durability of the torch.

Riftbreakers uses a mechanic called Usage Die (UD). It tracks the usage of resources, items, and even the countdown of events.

It’s pretty simple: every time we would spend a resource, we roll a die to check if its amount reduces or not. If the result is 1 or 2, it’s consumed and the die size decreases.

So if we rolled a 1 on a d12, next time we will roll on a d10, until a d4. Rolling 1 or 2 on a d4 means it’s broken or fully depleted.

Every torch we buy in the game increases our UD by 1. As I’ve found a single one, I’ll assume a UD4 for it.

Check torch consumption (d4) = 1
Torch is consumed.

As I leave, the flame sputters, and the torch gives out. I throw it away.

Tranquil Falls

I follow the sound of rushing water and exit the crypts behind the curtain of a fierce waterfall. I skirt the spray through a slick stone path leading down to a meadow.

The stone path is slippery, requiring an Easy (+10) Agility check to avoid tipping off the side into the falling water. The fall is short, but the roar of water from above forces you under, applying the Drowning condition until you can pass an Easy (+10) Athletics check to wade into the shallows.

Agility check (55) = 70, fail

Daena carefully trudged across the slippery stones, but her foot slid over the edge. The weight of her massive hammer tipped her, and she fell into the roaring water.

Characters can hold their breath equal to Endurance/10 rounds. For Daena (25) that’s 3 rounds rounding up. Let’s try to recover.

Athletics check (40) = 64, fail
01 = success!

Daena found that treading water while carrying a maul was harder than one might think. The current swept her under, but she fought her way to the shallows and crawled onto the muddy bank.

Rolling a 01 on a d100 is always fun, especially when it’s for a roll under.

I find an old but perfectly fine leather backpack, which increases my carry capacity by 20, for a total of 30!

Any player may take it as a standard Backpack–although doing so requires displacing the family of small foxcats that has taken to living inside it.

That’s a low blow, isn’t it? Sorry, foxcats.

A Perception check detects that some of these rocks gleam with traceries of concealed metals. They can be harvested without a Pickaxe for 1x Common Ore.

Perception check (40) = 63, fail

An ore would be nice. Oh, well.

Slumbering cottages

Thatch-roofed cottages rise from the tall grass. I approach them to see if I find anything of interest.

Peculiar bipedal insect-things pick through the area. One of them crouches by a wall, idly chewing on the fleshy end of a humanoid femur.

Ok. That counts. Let me check inside a few of the cottages.

A Lesser Labyrinth Guardian has occupied a cottage, displacing whoever lived here previously. If fought, two random pieces of Armor, a Potion Of Minor Healing, and 25⟑ can be scavenged from the cottages.

It will be fought, all right. Let’s do our first battle!

Lesser Labyrinth Guardian (Construct, 12 HP, melee)

Here’s my loadout:

Two-Handed Weapon Master (Prime) x3
Desperate Attack x3
Cleave x2
Shield (Prime) x2
Unyielding (Prime) x2

Those are my 12. I’m using cards instead of dice.

There are no weapon strikes, and it’s fine for me because all Prime abilities and their copies become weapon strikes after use.

I have a melee weapon, and the Guardian is a melee creature. That means that our range is 0. Let me explain how range and combat zones work. Don’t worry, it’s simple.

Here’s how battles always start: enemies in zone 4, PCs in zone 1.

I use dice to track everyone’s HP and conditions. The Guardian has 12 HP, and I’m at 19, as you can see. The black die with 1 is my Dazed condition.

PCs can move 1 zone per turn. The Guardian has a movement of 1 as well. Movement actions don’t spend Aether.

With a range of 0, we can only attack each other when we’re in the same zone.

Let’s roll initiative:

Perception check for Daena (40) = 73, fail
Perception check for Lesser Labyrinth Guardian (50) = 91, fail
As both fail, whoever has higher perception goes first. That is the Guardian.

Round 1

It moves into zone 3. I draw my first hand, which must always have 5 abilities:

I’m using dry-erase cards to represent my abilities. This is an idea I picked from the Blackoath Discord, and it makes combat a lot of fun.

Two-handed weapon master, shield, unyielding, and x2 desperate attack. Amazing hand!

I’ll use two-handed weapon master and unyielding, as they’re not offensive actions and can be used while Dazed. Each costs 5 Aether, leaving me with 0.

Unyielding, 3d4+1 HP = 8

I get +d4 damage for the maul and 8 extra health (27 now!). I’ll hold on to my 3 other cards.

Round 2

The Guardian moves into zone 2. It has a move that increases its protection for 1 turn, so I’ll roll on its action table.

D6 = 1

Nope. My turn. I kept 3 cards, so now I draw two: unyielding (which is now a weapon strike) and cleave.

My Aether is back at 10. I move into zone 2 and meet the Guardian. We can now attack each other.

The 8 is my extra health. The d4 represents my extra damage from 2H weapon master.

I use desperate attack. It costs 3, and if it hits, I cause double damage. I’ll lose my Parry (I don’t have any), and forfeit Agility checks until my next turn.

The Guardian has 5 Parry. Parry gets subtracted from a PC’s melee weapon skill or a monster’s Combat skill. My Bludgeoning Weapons skill is 60. The initial +5 from the tutorial area nullifies the -5 from the Parry, so it stays 60.

Bludgeoning Weapons check (60) = 42, hit!
Damage, 2d6+d4 = 8. Desperate attack makes it 16!

The Guardian’s Protection is 1. Protection directly reduces physical damage. However, the maul’s damage type is bludgeoning, and it ignores 1 protection. The Guardian takes a whopping 16 damage, and it’s destroyed. One-hit kill, not bad for a newbie!

Daena entered the crumbling cottage, and a construct inside came to life. It unfolded its legs and arms, towering over her with threatening artificial eyes.

Drenched and annoyed, Daena wound the hammer behind her back and bent her knees. She brushed off a momentary dizziness to meet the charging enemy. With a roar, she threw her weight into a vicious downward strike. The hammer smashed the construct’s head in a burst of debris. A thin fracture ran down the creature’s frame, then it crumbled into pieces at Daena’s feet.

There are quite a few steps to combat, but it’s easy enough, isn’t it? The enemy didn’t have a chance to attack, so we’ll see that next time. If Daena shows mercy, of course.

Now let’s loot! I’ll roll on the Construct looting table:

D100 = 75
Mind essence: When absorbed, it increases your Ability Pool by 1.

Nice! My Ability Pool is now 21. More room for abilities in the future.

Let’s take the items from the cottage now: 25A (currency), x2 Potion of Minor Healing (heals d6 HP), and two random pieces of armor.

Let’s roll for those:

D100: 84, small shield
D100: 56, mail!

That was a lucky roll, because I have Proficiency in Mails! Shields don’t require Proficiency, but I’m using a two-handed weapon. I’ll store the small shield and the tunic and equip the mail, giving me d6+1 protection and -10 in stealth. It has a Usage Die of 10. I’ll roll a d10 after combat (if I received any physical damage) to check its durability.

Some nice dopamine from all that looting. Let’s move on.

Arcane Foundry

I walk toward a structure assembled from massive quarried blocks, sensing a faint energy coming from the place. I can see an enchanter’s workshop inside, with different tools scattered around.

A heavy lethargy falls upon any character who enters through the front door, the weight of all their doubts gathering on their shoulders. Characters must make a Tenacity check or suffer Dazed (1) at the start of their next combat.

The alternative is to climb through the chimney with a demanding (-10) Athletics check, so I’ll take my chances through the door.

Tenacity check (45) = 59

Dazed Daena is becoming a thing.

Daena felt a sharp stabbing behind her eyes as the ward activated. The hammer got heavier than usual, and her mail hung uncomfortably over her body.

I check the pile of tools.

A single Toolkit of a player’s choice may be found amidst the scraps.

As Weaponsmithing is my highest crafting skill, at 10, I’ll choose a Weaponsmith Toolkit.

Further in, a stone podium styled like an open book flickers as I approach. Runes flash on its surface, reading, ‘Record your history for assessment.’

A character that writes at least three paragraphs about their past causes the energies in the podium to gather and form a Heart Essence.

Great! Daena pulls out her glowing chalk and starts writing.

Daena remembers a simple life of farming, fishing, and hunting. From a young age, she apprenticed as a blacksmith. The weight of the hammer always felt natural in her hands. But she abandoned the training as soon as she forged her first weapon: a two-handed maul, crude, powerful, and beautiful. She had found her first love.

She’d always been fascinated by mystical practices and religious myths, but never held a faith. Traditions and rituals, from friends or foes, captivated her as she learned to read. Books quickly became a new passion, opening doors to wonders.

Wanderlust runs in her blood. Daena wants a life of adventure and meaning, with her name whispered in the wind as she explores different lands and meets new people.

Daena also harbors a strong wish to build a community, a refuge for the weary and the broken. Deep inside her stirs a loathing at the thought of oppression. Maybe something from another life?

A place for friendship and safety, where people can thrive together, drives her forward. If such a place does not exist in the world, she will hammer it into existence.

More than a weapon of war, the hammer is a tool to build.

I guess she got a little carried away, but at least we know more about Daena Blackpearl. Or do we? Since Strangers come into Kaethor without any memories, are those even real? And if they are, are they hers?

Reflecting on the surge of remembrances—real or otherwise—Daena picks up the Heart Essence that materialized on the podium. She can learn a new ability! I’ll hold on to it for the time being.

Strange Mounds

Like tiny mountains, peaks of dirt jut up from the ground here. The grass around them has been cropped back, revealing bare reddish soil underneath.

I walk through these mounds and find some abandoned equipment: a rope, a sack, and a crowbar. I pick them up and examine one of the strange mounds. The dirt starts giving as Daena stands there, and a flood of termites spills out.

All characters present make a Demanding (-10) Nature check to recognize that this was going to happen and get out of the way. Otherwise, they are flooded with stinging insects and suffer D6 Acid damage. After the mound has been breached, a handful of termite eggs may be scooped out. This yields 1x Common Monster Parts and does not require a Hunting Knife.

Nature check (5) = 98, fail
D6 acid damage = 2
Acid damage reduces armor integrity by 1 stage. Daena’s Mail is now UD8.

Yeah, long shot. My HP is now at 17. At least I got a Monster Part. I can do it three times, but I’m done.

Pedestal Wreckage

Broken stone columns litter the landscape.

Nearby, a figure of misty light resembling the woman who was your instructor glitches in and out of being. “And now, a ch-” she flickers, “- allenge. A trial to prove your v-v- alor. Step up to the colossus to be-be- be-gin”.

The hulking guardian is seated on its haunches, deactivated. The battle is optional, but Daena itches for a scrap. Not least because:

If it is defeated, its chest splits open and ejects one random Magic Item per player.

If I lose, the Colossus doesn’t kill me, it just flings me away and fully heals itself, so I can try as many times as I want.

Daena gets closer, and the construct roars to life. Let’s do this!

Stone Colossus (Construct, 18 HP, melee)

Roll for initiative
Daena (40) = 55, a fumble! However, I can mark Perception for improvement at the end of the session.
Colossus (50) = 85, fail. In any case, it gets a free turn because of my fumble.

Round 1

The Colossus moves from zone 4 to zone 2 with its two turns. It has an attack that can hit me from a different zone, so I’ll roll once for each turn on its action table.

D6 = 4, 4

No attacks! I’ll draw my hand: x3 two-handed weapon master, x2 unyielding. Good enough, since I’m Dazed. I’ll use one of each.

+D4 damage
3D4+1 extra HP = 6

Both become weapon strikes. I’ll discard two of them and hold one.

Round 2

Colossus moves into zone 1 and attacks.

D6 = 3, Burrowing Strike.

Instead of it making a combat check, I have to make an Agility check to avoid it.

Agility check (45) = 94, fail
D8+1 Bludgeoning damage = 9. COME ON.
Protection, D6+1 = 3
7 damage taken (Bludgeoning ignores 1 protection).

The Colossus tunnels under the earth and emerges behind Daena, crushing her with its massive arms.

I lose all extra HP and am down to 15. Let’s draw 4 cards: x2 shield, cleave, and desperate attack.

I use desperate attack. The Colossus has 10 Parry, so my skill is down to 50.

Bludgeoning weapons check (55) = 77, critical failure!

What the hell is going on? Guess I got overconfident from the previous fight. Daena fumbles and misses her turn. Little consolation to mark the skill for improvement.

I discard both shields. Still have weapon strike and cleave.

Round 3

The Colossus attacks.

D6 = 5, Twin Blades of Order
Two combat skill checks for a double slashing attack.
Combat checks (60) = 66! It fumbles, YEAH!
On fumbles, enemies become Stunned until their next turn (can’t attack and defend with disadvantage).

The hulking creature lashed out with its twin curved blades. Daena stepped inside its reach as the arms came down, then she rolled under its legs. The Colossus adjusted its aim mid swing, but came crashing down as it lost balance.

Some respite for Daena. I draw x2 desperate attacks and another cleave.

I’ll use cleave as it makes the enemy roll on Agility. The Colossus has only 20 and is defending with disadvantage.

Disadvantage works like this: if it succeeds, but inverting the tens and ones makes it fail, it fails. Let’s try it.

Agility check (20) = 05. Inverting it makes it 50, so it fails.
2D6+D4 bludgeoning damage = 5
D6 Protection = 1
5 damage, 1 Protection ignored.

Very low damage. Another cleave.

Agility check (20) = 04. 40 inverted, fail.
2D6+D4 bludgeoning damage = 11
D6 Protection = 6
6 damage, 1 Protection ignored.

It’s down to 7 HP. I still have 3 Aether. Desperate attack!

Bludgeoning weapons check (55) = 72

This fight is rigged. I’ll have to restart the PC.

I discard weapon strike.

Round 4

The Colossus recovers from the Stun.

D6 = 6, Labyrinth Seal.
The Colossus attempts to curse Daena with a glyph.

Tenacity check (45) = 69. Daena is Cursed for 2 turns and can’t use any abilities.

The Colossus marks Daena with an enchanted glyph that saps all Aether from her.

Not much I can do. I draw x2 weapon strike, shield, and x2 desperate attack. I’ll keep this hand.

Round 5

D6 = 6, another Curse attempt. Leave me alone, dude!

Tenacity check (45) = 27! No Curse.

I just stare at the damn thing, unable to attack.

Round 6

D6 = 3, Burrowing Strike.

Agility check (45) = 79
D8+1 bludgeoning damage = 7
D6+1 protection = 6
Daena takes 3 damage

I’m down to 12 HP, but at least I can attack again. Desperate attack!

Bludgeoning weapons check (55) = 97

Daena goes for another attack and misses, reconsidering all her life choices as her confidence shatters. Good thing her memories were gone, so there were not a lot of choices to reconsider.

Another desperate attack.

Bludgeoning weapons check (55) = 08! Woo!
2D6+D4 damage = 26 for double!

No matter the protection roll, the Colossus finally crumbles before Daena’s might and incredible accuracy, which all witnesses shall sing about throughout Kaethor.

The misty light woman begins reciting a congratulatory message, but her words are scrambled and indecipherable.

Let’s generate the Magic Item this god among constructs dropped for me.

First, we roll a D12 on the Rarity table: 12! It’s an Epic Item!
Epic items aren’t randomly generated, they’re fixed.
Let’s roll a D100 on their table: 14.

Crystallized Shroud: If an incoming attack were to kill you, ignore the damage and heal D10 Health instead. The Crystallized Shroud shatters afterwards (Item slot: Amulet)

I like that a lot! I equip it right away.

Before I forget, let’s roll for the Mail durability:

UD8 = 5, no degradation.

I find an old stone chest, half-swallowed by moss.

Along its band is carved “Five Letters, A Decree”. The first dial is locked to the letter E. Four other dials remain. Guessing the word, passing a Hard (-20) Literacy check, or dealing 20 damage in a single blow opens the chest.

Let me try Literacy first:

Literacy check (35) = 19!

Daena turned the remaining dials to the letters D, I, C, and T. The chest lid clicked and yielded. She opened it wide, grinning as rows of coins glittered in the sunlight.

I find 125A. Total of 150A now!

Thunderbirds’ Aerie

I move to an enormous bird’s nest on the hilltop. A stone monument is carved with the words ‘transportation has been provided.’

Daena climbed into the nest and a whooshing sound split the air. A Thunderbird swooped down from the sky toward her. Daena staggered, but the massive bird grabbed her shoulders and flew away.

She dangled in the open as the wind rushed past her, terrified of the flight and amazed at the map of fields and rivers below. In the distance, a massive walled city drew closer with every flap of wings.

And that concludes Through Twisting Paths! I can’t say enough how much I love this little adventure. It’s so engaging. A perfect introduction to the wonders of Riftbreakers.

I’m glad the Colossus wasn’t a pushover. That one-shot kill made me overconfident, and I got knocked down a few pegs.

Oh, let’s roll for the skill improvements! Every time we roll doubles, we mark a skill for improvement at the end of the session. Let’s roll a d100 against them:

Bludgeoning Weapons (60) = 30
Perception (35) = 69

If I roll under the skill, it only increases by 1. If I roll over it, it increases by 1d4.

Let’s roll the d4 for Perception: 1. Womp womp.

Better than nothing. Bludgeoning Weapons is now at 61, and Perception at 36. Come at me now, Colossus!

The achievement Weapon Master is now at 30/400.

This entry was MEATY! I really hope I’m conveying how much I love this game. The MMO vibes are on point!

Next session we’re going to get some quests in Kar Helos, the main hub.

How is this writing style? Better, worse? Does it fit Riftbreakers? Does it show the game’s concepts clearly? All feedback is very much welcome!

Thank you for reading.