Game Master's Guide
Tools, tables, and guidance for running Outrunners — from session zero to the final reckoning.
Role of the Game Master
Flexibility
Adapt on the fly. The best sessions come from improvisation, not rigid scripts.
Collaboration
Outrunners is a shared story. Guide, don't dictate. The players drive the narrative.
Spotlight
Every player deserves their moment. Rotate focus and let quiet players shine.
Safety
Use Lines and Veils, the X-Card, and Session Zero to establish boundaries.
Session Preparation
Quick Checklist
- ✓Run a Session Zero to establish tone, boundaries, and character connections.
- ✓Prepare 2–3 key scenes but leave room for player-driven detours.
- ✓Choose or roll a Harbinger from the table. Define its behavior and motive.
- ✓Review each player's Vision and plan at least one moment where it surfaces.
- ✓Prep 3–5 NPCs with names, one-line motivations, and a secret.
- ✓Set the opening scene — make it immediate and visceral.
“Don't roll every time. A pause is deadlier than a number. If they joke too much, let the Harbinger listen. Laughter curdles fast. Never describe it the same way twice. Familiarity is safety. Don't rescue them. The Vision isn't a threat if it doesn't bite. If the table goes quiet, lean in. Silence is your ally.”
— Last GM's Notes
The Harbinger of Death
The Harbinger is not a creature. It is the weight behind every choice, the echo of every hesitation. You don't place it on the stage — it is the stage. All you do is draw back the curtain. Use the tables below to craft yours.
Harbinger Table (d100)
| d100 | Harbinger | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1–5 | Formless Dread | Misfortunes and accidents plague the players, as if the universe conspires. |
| 6–10 | Shadow Stalker | A figure seen only from the corner of the eye, always just out of reach. |
| 11–15 | Vengeful Spirit | A ghostly figure wronged in life, now seeking retribution. |
| 16–20 | Omen Bringer | Death sends cryptic signs the players must decipher to avoid disaster. |
| 21–25 | The Bounty Hunter | A relentless tracker hired or compelled to capture the players. |
| 26–30 | Time Weaver | A being manipulating timelines to correct the players' disruptions. |
| 31–35 | Cursed Artifact | A mysterious object draws Death closer with every passing moment. |
| 36–40 | Nature's Wrath | Animals, weather, and terrain turn against the players at Death's will. |
| 41–45 | Forgotten One | An ancient being demands recognition, punishing the players' defiance. |
| 46–50 | Doppelganger | Mysterious replicas of the characters, mirroring their actions with sinister intent. |
| 51–55 | Puppeteer | Innocents are unknowingly used as Death's agents, creating moral dilemmas. |
| 56–60 | Masked Mob | A mysterious group with unknown motives appears at the worst times. |
| 61–65 | Silent Stalker | A mute, emotionless entity that is always right behind the characters. |
| 66–70 | Echo of Regret | Manifestations of past mistakes that have taken a semi-physical form. |
| 71–75 | Mysterious Entity | A creature from beyond the known realms. |
| 76–80 | Inescapable Void | Black holes or spatial anomalies trying to pull players into nothingness. |
| 81–85 | Mirror Reflection | Characters confront twisted versions of themselves that live in mirrors. |
| 86–90 | Bloodseeker | An entity drawn to the characters by the scent of their blood. |
| 91–95 | Fateweaver | A being who believes the players are disrupting the tapestry of fate. |
| 96–100 | Clockwork Hunter | A mechanical construct designed for the sole purpose of hunting the characters. |
Behavior (d6)
Motives (d8)
Stopping It (d8)
Example Harbingers
Clockwork Hunter
Nature: A relentless mechanical entity forged by a forgotten corporation. Each tick of its inner gears resonates like a funeral bell.
Appearance: A humanoid frame of brass and obsidian, glowing clockwork eyes that count down silently.
Behavior: Relentless Tracker
Motive: Correction — exists to "restore balance" when people cheat fate.
Escalation: Early game: sends drones. Mid-game: manifests in alleys and rooftops. Final act: appears in full, the sound of ticking drowning out all else.
How to Stop: Destroy the Anchor — its winding key, hidden in a corporate vault.
FORT d8 · WILL d10 · REF d6 · INT d20 · CHA d4 · PROW d12
Echo of Regret
Nature: A distorted manifestation of the Outrunners' past failures and betrayals.
Appearance: Shadowy replicas of the PCs, but with grotesque cracks where old wounds and regrets leak through.
Behavior: Psychological Torment
Motive: Punishment — the PCs "trespassed" by seeing their own deaths.
Escalation: Starts with visions in reflective surfaces. Escalates into doppelganger fights where PCs face "worse versions" of themselves.
How to Stop: Complete the Vision — one PC must deliberately confront the mistake that spawned their regret.
FORT d10 · WILL d12 · REF d8 · INT d6 · CHA d20 · PROW d4
Omen Bringer
Nature: Not a creature, but a force — the world itself bends to deliver portents of doom.
Appearance: Omens arrive as flickering electricity, whispered voices in static, or blood-red weather phenomena.
Behavior: Subtle Manipulator
Motive: Testing the Worthy — only those who can endure the omens are "fit" to rewrite fate.
Escalation: Early warnings (cryptic signs), mid-game disasters tied to omens, final act: the city itself turns on them.
How to Stop: Rewrite the Timeline — trace the omens to their source and change it.
FORT d4 · WILL d10 · REF d10 · INT d8 · CHA d6 · PROW d20
Engaging with Visions
Visions can be shared (the whole group sees the same event from different angles) or individual (each Outrunner has their own private glimpse of death). Use the Vision Encounter Table to weave them into gameplay.
| d6 | Vision Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | A setting from a vision appears exactly as foreseen, down to the smallest detail. |
| 2 | A seemingly unrelated NPC mentions something tied to a player's vision. |
| 3 | A character sees an object or symbol from their vision in an unexpected place. |
| 4 | A scene unfolds eerily similar to a vision, but with one crucial difference. |
| 5 | An NPC connected to a vision seems aware of the players' foreknowledge. |
| 6 | Death accelerates the timeline of a vision, forcing the group to react quickly. |
Dynamic Narrative
| d6 | Dynamic Consequence |
|---|---|
| 1 | An NPC ally becomes endangered due to the players' actions or inactions. |
| 2 | The environment shifts (building collapses, storm worsens), complicating escape. |
| 3 | Death manifests subtly — whispers, symbols, eerie foreshadowing. |
| 4 | The players' actions attract the Harbinger or its agents to their location. |
| 5 | A critical resource is lost, forcing improvisation. |
| 6 | A Vision is triggered or accelerated, creating immediate danger or insight. |
Endgame
The climax of an Outrunners session is when the Harbinger closes in and the Visions sharpen into reality. The players face their fate — and the dice decide whether they outrun it or fall to it.
Final Questions for Reflection
- ◆Did your character grow or change through the session?
- ◆What moment defined your character's journey?
- ◆If your character survived, what will they do differently?
- ◆If they didn't survive, was their death meaningful?
- ◆What would you do differently next time?
“A player's fear is not in the dice, but in the silence before the roll. That silence is your weapon. Hold it. Twist it. Make them beg for the number, even when you already know it.”
— From the Codex of Quiet Deaths