Companion
Name: Warlord HP: 5
Stats: Combat +1, Intelligence +1, Loyalty +1
Weapon: Combat Shotgun 2d6 (6 rounds)
Armor: Heavy Armor (+3)
Gear: 6 food, 3 bandages, 9 scrap, 4 grenades (2 shrapnel, 1 tear gas, 1 flashbang), Police Baton, Pain Pills (1), Knife,
(Testing out some ‘companion rules’ that may be included in the next supplement, instead of having to stat out an entire character each time someone joins you…)
The next day, Gadyuka and Warlord headed south.
Weather: Clear
Navigate: Success
It was a clear day, and they made good time, not bothering to scavenge on their way.
POI: None
Encounter: None
Terrain d6 = 3 → Water, 4 → Pond/lake, intensity: 2 → small
is it frozen? 3, no but
They came to a small pond half a mile across or so.
Gadyuka could see her breath in the cold air.
They camped by the water’s edge, looking out at the calm stillness.
Gadyuka idly wondered what, if anything, lay beneath the surface of the water.
Warlord handed over a can of creamed corn for dinner.
Gadyuka thanked him for it. “We should make Wildwoods tomorrow. You know Vlast controls it.”
Warlord shrugged. “We’ll find somewhere outside the settlement where I can lay low, meet back up when you come out.”
Gadyuka nodded.
-2 food. Total left: 7
Night Encounter: No
Terrain: 5 → new, d6 = forest
Weather: 3 → Cloudy
Navigate: 2 = Lost
POI: No
Encounter: No
Forage: Nothing
In the morning, they left the pond behind, coming into a large stand of pine trees. The scattered trees looked the same and it wasn’t long before Gadyuka realized they were lost.
“We’re lost,” Warlord spoke up, pointing. “I recognize that tree.”
“Looks like every other goddamn tree,” Gadyuka muttered. “Might as well see if there’s anything to scavenge.” Unfortunately, they found nothing and camped for the night.
-2 Food. (5)
Night Encounter: Yes → d6 (6) believers following a messiah
Range: 3 → close
Reaction: 7 - Neutral
They heard the group coming, snapping branches and stepping on twigs.
Gadyuka had her revolver out, Warlord had his shotgun.
Flashlights in the dark.
“Who all’s out there?” Gadyuka called out.
The boots crunching stopped, only a dozen or so feet away. “I am a Prophet of the zone, and these are my people. We mean you no harm. The zone provides.”
“Maybe the zone will provide you to be on your way,” Gadyuka replied.
2d6 + PRE = 6 → Failure
“The zone has brought us to you, perhaps we can sit and rest together, at least for tonight?”
In the moonlight, she could make out six figures wearing rags, with a tall, slender man in front wearing some kind of make-shift robe.
“I suppose, just for tonight,” Gadyuka said. She didn’t much like believers but it was best not to piss them off. “We take turns on watch,” she muttered to Warlord, who nodded. “I’ll take first,” she said.
The Prophet and his believers settled down near them, rolling out their bedrolls. “My thanks to you for your peaceful interaction. Truly, the zone provides.”
Did they come from Wildwoods? Yes, but
“Just don’t try anything, got it?” Gadyuka said. “Where’d you all come from, anyway? We’re on our way to the settlement, Wildwood”
The prophet shook his head. “We came from there but I would not recommend going. Vlast rules with an iron grip. We were banished for our beliefs.”
“I need information on a scavenger named Fedor. You know or heard the name?”
Likely: d6/a = Yes and
Is he part of the prophet’s flock? Unlikely: d6/d = No, but
“He came through just the other day, with barely anything on him. Said he got robbed by someone named ‘Nikita’ and was looking for her, asking around for odd jobs and the like. I told him we would pay well for a remnant, that was rumored to be close by, to the north west. Last I know, he was headed that way.”
“Thank you for the information,” Gadyuka nodded, looking off into the distance. Nikita robbed him? Why? She’d have to ask Fedor when she found him.
Do the believers try anything in the night? Unlikely: d6/d = No
Weather: 6 → Snow, 6 → Extreme
Gadyuka woke up to a blizzard.
Warlord was already packing up, as were the group of believers. “We need to find shelter,” Warlord said.
A brutally cold gust of wind blew threw, as snow fell thick and fast.
Gadyuka caught sight of the prophet. “The zone provides a blizzard?” she yelled.
The prophet smiled. “Good luck to you,” he said, leading the believers into the distance, disappearing quickly.
2d6 + MIN = 12
Gadyuka and Warlord managed to gather enough tree limbs to make a tee-pee of sorts, packing snow between the branches to make a shelter and huddle underneath.
“I finally get a lead and we get a fucking blizzard,” Gadyuka spat on the ground.
“At least we don’t have to go into Wildwoods, that’s good news,” Warlord replied.
“and we’re running out of food,” Gadyuka said, tossing a pack of beef jerky over to Warlord.
“Are you always this negative?” Warlord replied.
“You got a name other than Warlord?” She snapped back.
POI: No
Encounter: No
-2 Food (1)
Night encounter: No
Weather: 2 → Cloudy
The next day, the snow cleared.
Gadyuka stepped out of the tee-pee, into foot-deep snow, looking up at a cloudy sky over the tops of the bare trees around. “Fedor was headed northwest, so we need to go west. Also, we need to look for food on the way.”
Terrain: Same, forest, intensity = 1: sparse
Lost? No
They managed to find their bearings and head west, the trees becoming fewer and far between, as they trudged through heavy snow.
Scavenge: 6 = 5 Food + 1 random gear
random gear = Uncommon, 25ft of rope
Warlord called out, finding a torn-open plastic bag filled with cans of food and a long coil of rope.
POI: No
Encounter: No
-2 Food (4)
Night Encounter: Yes → Skinner
Range: Close
Reaction: 11 → Friendly
Gadyuka woke to a loud thump, quickly snatching her revolver up. In the moonlight, she saw a skinless mutant on all fours, having just landed. It’s pale face stared at her, a strange, sickly smile. She breathed out, holding the revolver pointed at the creature.
It turned it’s head, looking into the darkness, before leaping away once more.
Gadyuka lowered the gun.
“Goddamn skinners,” Warlord whispered, sitting up. “Freaky fuckers. Not sure why it didn’t attack.”
Gadyuka lay back down.
“The zone provides?”
Weather: Rain, 4 → Moderate, -1 Navigate, Scavenge
Navigate: Lost
POI: Yes → Abandoned Urban Area
Encounter: No
AUA
Size: Small, 1 building = Landfill, # areas = 6
They saw the landfill from a distance, mountains of trash, old, rusted out bucket-haulers that had once been used to push the trash around.
“Could be something useful there,” Warlord said.
“Could be a waste of time,” Gadyuka replied.
“Your man was headed north west, looking for a remnant, probably would have come across this place. You think he wouldn’t have checked it out?”
Gadyuka sighed. “Fine, we check it out. Quickly.”
Gadyuka’s journey continues!
If you want a copy of Niv Lova yourself, you can get it from itch.io here or from drivethrurpg here. If finances are an issue, please message me. I will be providing Community Copies starting in July. Also, if anyone is playing and enjoying it, I’d love to hear about your experiences.
As for me, I’m hard at work on Niv Lova: Zone Zero, a supplement with more rules, more tables, and more stuff.
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Thanks to Andrew Wylde, BuddhaRandom, and Eric, for being paid subscribers. Paid subscribers will receive Niv Lova: Zone Zero, free of charge, when it’s available (expected end of summer 2025?).
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Check out the Table of Contents for previous games I’ve played as well as other stuff I’ve written. It hasn’t been updated in awhile but does have some previous actual plays that I’m pretty proud of.
Very nice. I can't believe you found a friendly skinner!
Sassy Gadyuka is best Gadyuka. The skinner being friendly was somehow much more unsettling than it attacking in the middle of the night. Looking forward to learning more about the supplement! Companion rules sounds very interesting.