CREDO
“Delvers go first.”
WHO THEY ARE
While they can detect and handle all varieties of Anomalies, Delvers feel the greatest affinity for Wells, those parasitical structures built around a Nemesis. Why can they generate their own Resonance? Where do Nemeses come from? Why can they form a bridge between Worlds, seemingly ignored by the ice? Delvers are skilled at attuning themselves to local environs and Anomalies and some argue it’s due to having more than a little in common with Anomalies themselves (why do they keep eating them, for one). Delvers have a vicious desire to destroy Anomalies – sensing them feel like an alarm going off in the brain – but understanding how they work is a close second.
JOINING
Delvers tend to be go-getting explorers, eager to get out there and study/destroy Anomalies. It’s very easy to become a Delver – just show up – but members are expected to make their own way. This can be endlessly frustrating to those of a more analytical bend – who can they share their observations with and form new theories, after all – but good luck getting a Delver out of the field.
POWERS
All powers are once between Rests and take an Action to activate unless otherwise stated.
PERSIST ON BEHALF OF REALITY (LEVEL 1)
For the rest of the encounter or scene, nothing the Delver does will generate Resonance points for the GM, only for themselves. This does not apply to the rest of the team.
GIVE ME YOUR NAME (LEVEL 3)
After consuming a portion of an area – either from the environment or the denizens – a Delver will know of any Anomalies within a five mile diameter and the rough direction to it.
If they do this inside a Well, they will know the overall power level of the Well, roughly how deep it goes, its rate of growth, and the general nature of the Nemesis who rules there.
I WILL FIND YOUR HEART (LEVEL 5)
The Delver can perform a ritual over a handful of material from the World or Anomaly, rendering it safe to eat. Anyone who consumes some of this material will be disguised as belonging to that World or Anomaly, able to move freely without being detected and without generating Resonance. This disguise will last until your next rest. Anyone who eats it will be plagued by strange dreams for up to a week.
UNWIND (LEVEL 7)
Upon activating this power, a Delver will know if there is a nascent (within 24 hours) or active Anomaly anywhere within their current World.
DIVE WITHIN (LEVEL 9)
By touching an opponent, a Delver may borrow one of its powers. This requires an Action to activate. They may re-use this power if they spend Luck to do so, and roll the Stats + appropriate Tactics (GM call) of the power.
GOALS
Understand and then steer. Use the tools your opponent has provided to be beat them at their own game.
REALITY PHILOSOPHY: RESTORE
If something can be done, it can be undone. What seems impossible now merely requires understanding, the knowledge of the bone and the soul. Unravel what is now to discover the then that was buried. You can go deep enough and then deeper still. Bring it all back.
STRUCTURE
The Delvers are one of the earliest Guilds and while their approach to paperwork is…lacking at best, they care deeply for every member that joins. Names of those lost are engraved in the floor of the Guild hall, so you always remember on whose backs you stand. Ngo runs the Guild with a loose hand except when it comes to safety. Proper protocol for assessing a Well’s threat level, determining approach tactics, and excising the Nemesis within are drilled into every Delver before they’re allowed to join. The Delvers would never send a member to fix an Anomaly out of their reach and tend to be coldly civil to Guilds they feel encourage members to bite off more than they can chew.
GUILDMASTER
Ngo Xauye, Ilneks, UH10
“Ngo has seen the bottom. Ngo knows what is there.”
A bold claim for an Ilneksan, but given the starred pits where Ngo’s eyes used to be, there may be truth to it. Ngo lives by “do as I say, not as I do,” and points to a full-body map of scars as supporting evidence, but they would be the last to deny a Delver from tackling a desired challenge. Even those who lose deepen our understanding of danger. Delvers go first.
But those who know Ngo say the Guildmaster is driven by a despair deeper than Ilneks itself: restoring the Worlds we all lost. Away from his home camp, Ngo lost everyone and everything he’d ever known in the Collapse and all the starry secrets he uncovered couldn’t bring anyone back. When not ordered to rest by CORSAIR’s psych team, he’s tackling the most difficult Upwells – seeking an end to his own desire through desire itself. Could any Nemesis be as hungry as one who can never return home?
BENEFITS
Delvers are the backbone of the early alert system – no Wonderworks or tech can detect Anomalies as quickly or as accurately as they can – and thus they tend to get the choicest Missions and most capable Teams.
TITHES
Delvers tend to be bright candles that burn quickly. Forced downtime is very common for them and all Guild members are required to attend psychiatric evaluations after every Anomaly. What CORSAIR is looking for in a Delver is so far just rumours.
ACCORDS/TABOOS
WALK THE SPIRAL
ACCORD: A Delver may mark a large spiral on the ground at any location and walk it from one end to the other.
TABOO: Upon seeing a manmade spiral shape, the Delver must spit on or near the spiral – this applies to only the first instance of a type or repetition of a spiral.
SIX THOUSAND BREATHS
ACCORD: A Delver may sit quietly with a non-Delver, hands barely touching, for several minutes. Even Delvers aren’t quite sure why this works, but they feel better and regain Luck all the same.
TABOO: The Delver must try their best to protect the non-Delver until their next Rest.
HUM OF THE BONE
ACCORD: They may write or engrave the name of the Nemesis they most recently vanquished.
TABOO: They must keep it on their person and not destroy it until after their next Rest.