Rolling Dice

The scores of the 9 TRAITS determine how many dice you roll for each action you take. That being said, you can skip rolling when it's deemed unnecessary. For example, if an enemy is standing directly in front of you, unobscured, and in broad daylight, you don't need to roll Awareness to see them.

  • AWARENESS: Notice details others miss. Spot the glint of a tripwire before your boot hits it.

  • CHARM: Influence through personality and presence. Convince the guard their shift ended an hour ago.

  • ENDURANCE: Withstand physical and mental punishment. Stay conscious when the blast throws you into a wall, or something attempts to invade your mind.

  • MIGHT: Apply raw physical strength. Bend the cell bars wide enough to slip through.

  • POWER: Command magic or technology. Overload the security grid or dispel the ward blocking your path.

  • SAGE: Draw on knowledge or experience. Recognize the poison from its smell before anyone drinks.

  • SUBTERFUGE: Move unseen and deceive. Lift the keyring while shaking the captain's hand.

  • SURVIVAL: Heal wounds and manipulate your environment. Stitch a gash closed or fashion climbing rope from torn sheets.

  • SWIFTNESS: React with speed and agility. Dive behind cover as the archer's fingers release.

Successes & Failures

Your actions are decided by rolling six-sided dice (d6). Your Trait scores determine how many dice you roll. For example, if your Awareness is 5, then you would roll 5 dice. However, a Trait score cannot be raised higher than 10 dice. Upon reaching a Trait score of 10, that Trait is considered Mastered and gains Exploding 6s (elaborated on in Leveling Up).

Bonuses from Items, Treasured Possessions, and Talents can push the total number of dice rolled above 10, but the Trait score itself cannot exceed 10.

Each roll of a 4, 5, or 6 counts as a success. However, each roll of 1 subtracts a success (though you can never have negative successes). When rolling using your Path's Key Trait, a roll of 1 does not subtract a success. For most actions, rolling at least one success means you accomplish your goal. For example, shooting an apple off of another's head.

Before rolling, describe what you're attempting and how. Your GM may ask for clarification or suggest alternatives if your plan won't work or is impossible.

When one or more characters take an action to assist another, the character making the primary roll adds 1 die to their roll per assisting character.

However, when a character takes any action against another (inside or outside of combat), both characters roll OPPOSING TRAITS, a challenge between two wills. Whoever rolls more successes wins. For example, a player trying to deceive a guard could roll Charm against the guard's Awareness. If the player rolls 2 successes and the guard rolls 1, the deception works. In the event of a tie between a player and NPC, the tie automatically goes to the player. If a player ties against another player, both must roll again until the tie is broken.

Trait Opposing Trait (s)
Awareness Subterfuge
Charm Awareness/ Power
Endurance Might/ Power/ Swiftness
Might Endurance/ Power/ Swiftness
Power Endurance/ Power/ Swiftness
Sage Charm/ Power/ Subterfuge
Subterfuge Awareness/ Power
Survival Charm/ Power
Swiftness Might/ Power/ Subterfuge

Challenges

When you attempt something difficult (picking a lock, deciphering a code) or any task where failure has real consequences, your GM may declare it a CHALLENGE.

When facing a Challenge, both you and your GM roll the same number of dice. You roll the Trait you're using for the task, while your GM rolls an equal number of dice representing the difficulty. If you roll more successes, you complete the task. If your GM rolls more, you fail. If both sides roll the same number of successes, the tie automatically goes to the player.

For example, if you're picking a lock with 5 dice in Subterfuge, your GM also rolls 5 dice. Whoever gets more successes determines whether or not the lock can be opened.

Overexertion

Overexertion is a wager that pushes your character past their limits. After a failed roll, you can OVEREXERT to immediately re-roll all the dice from that attempt. On success, the Scene continues without penalty. On failure, you lose one die from the Trait used until the next session (or 1d6 days for asynchronous games). For example, if you fail an Overexertion roll with a Might of 5, you can only roll 4 dice for Might until the penalty ends.

You can also Overexert after a successful roll to gain more successes, adding your original successes to any gained from Overexerting.

GM: There's this huge cliff in your way. You'll need to scale it to keep going. Can everyone roll Might?

(Teddie's dice show 2, 3, and 1)

GM: Oof! No luck there. You can’t seem to find a grip.

(Teddie uses Overexertion for another try. This time he rolls 6, 4, and 6)

GM: Nice comeback, forget about what I said. You mustered all your strength and powered your way right up!

Roleplay

When not in combat, play flows through Scenes, moments of narrative focus where characters interact, investigate, or otherwise make meaningful choices. A Scene ends when the immediate situation resolves, or when the group moves on. Any player can request a desired Scene. The GM then frames where you are, who's present, and what's happening, but Scenes belong to everyone at the table present for them.

When time passes without dramatic tension (traveling between towns, gathering supplies, training, etc.) the GM can call for a MONTAGE. Each player describes one thing their character does during this period, and no rolls are needed unless something goes wrong.

Scenes end naturally when the immediate tension resolves, when you move to a new location, or when the GM calls for a new Scene to keep momentum. If a Scene drags, anyone at the table can suggest moving forward.

Combat

Characters find their INITIATIVE by rolling 1d6 + their Swiftness score. The highest total acts first, followed by the next, and so on in descending order. For example, if your Swiftness is 5 and you roll a 4, your Initiative is 9.

On your turn, you have 2 actions. These actions can be used to move, attack, or otherwise interact with the environment. Additional actions are attained every 10 Levels up to a maximum of 6.

When two or more characters roll the same Initiative, they enter SHARED COMBAT and, as the name suggests, share a turn. Characters in a shared turn can act in any order they choose (each taking one turn, one character taking all their actions first, etc.). You can also give some or all of your actions to another character in the shared turn if you're unable to act.

Enemies cannot enter Shared Combat with players or characters on their side, but can enter Shared Combat with other enemies.

Rounds & Encounters

Combat plays out in Rounds, where each character takes their turn in order. A Round ends when all players and GM-controlled characters have acted. Multiple Rounds form an Encounter; which constitutes the entire battle from start to finish. An Encounter ends when you (or your enemies) win, run away, or fall in battle.

GM: A bunch of bandits are blocking the road! They're drawing their weapons. Roll for Initiative!

(The players roll Initiative. Luis gets a 7, Claud lands a 9, and Audi gets a 5. Claud's in the lead, so they act first.)

GM: These bandits are coming in hot! What's your move?

Claud: I'm gonna try to bash them back with my shield!

(Claud rolls their Might dice and gets two successes.)

GM: Alright, I’m going to roll the Bandit’s Swiftness to see if he can dodge that, and… NOPE, you send that bandit stumbling and deal two points of damage. Luis, your turn!

Luis: Let me try sweet-talking them into backing down.

(Luis rolls his Charm dice and gets a 2 and a 3.)

GM: Tough luck, these guys aren't in a chatty mood.

Audi: I'm gonna zip behind them so I can attack on my next turn.

(Audi rolls their Swiftness dice and lands a 6 and a 3.)

GM: Sweet moves! You slip right behind them!

Damage & Healing

Your fighting style determines which Trait you use in combat: Might for melee attacks, Swiftness for ranged attacks, and Power for magical/ technology based attacks. Before making any roll, declare your intent. Are you trying to Deal Damage? Impose a Tribulation? Heal yourself (or another)? Choose one, as you cannot switch your intent after rolling.

When Dealing Damage, each success you roll deals 1 point of damage, regardless of your means of attack (though this can be increased via Talents).

When Imposing Tribulations, your target rolls an Opposing Trait to resist your attack. If your roll has more successes than your target's, the target gains the Tribulation you intended.

When attempting to Heal, a Survival roll can be used to restore Life Points to yourself or an ally Close to you. Add the number of successes rolled to their Life Points. You can heal once per Round in combat, and once per Scene outside of combat.

When attempting to attack or heal multiple targets, roll 1d6. The result shows how many characters you affect, each taking the same Damage/ Healing.

Dodge, Endure, Counter

When any character is attacked, they can choose how to respond: DODGE to avoid the attack entirely, ENDURE to reduce damage, or COUNTER to strike back. Unless affected by a Tribulation or other complication that would prevent them from moving, a character being attacked must always be allowed to one of the above, regardless of the order set by Initiative.

To Dodge, characters make an Opposing Swiftness roll against their attacker's roll. If they roll more successes, they avoid the attack completely and take no damage.

If a character finds themselves unable to dodge, they can roll to Endure by making an Opposing Endurance roll. If the attacked character is successful, damage is halved (rounded up). For example, if an attack would deal 4 damage, Enduring reduces it to 2.

For those who would prefer to retaliate, characters can roll to Counter, using their Opposing Roll to attack with Might, Swiftness or Power. If the attacked character rolls more successes than their attacker, they redirect the damage to their attacker halved (rounded up). The attacker, however, can also Counter their Counter, creating a back-and-forth exchange. This continues until someone fails to Counter or chooses to Dodge or Endure instead.

Distance

Distance is measured in the simple terms of CLOSE, NEAR, and FAR. Outside of combat, you may move freely without calculating distance; and settings which expand upon these rules may introduce their own mechanics for overland travel.

In combat, you can move to anything Close without taking an action, reach anything Near in a single action, and reach anywhere Far with two actions.

Distance Example/ On-Foot Reference
Close A few steps away (5–15 Feet or 1–5 Meters)
Near Across the room (20–40 Feet, 6–12 Meters)
Far Across the field (45–60 Feet, 14–20 Meters)

Tribulations

Tribulations are negative conditions that affect your character, limiting their abilities or causing ongoing harm until you shake them off. You might suffer Tribulations from Powers, Weapons, hazards in the environment, etc. Your GM can declare you’ve been afflicted by a Tribulation when:

  • You roll no successes on a roll where failure would logically hurt or hinder your character. For example, failing an Endurance roll as debris crashes down upon you could inflict the Unconscious Tribulation.
  • You face harsh conditions or take heavy damage. For example, traveling through extreme heat could make you Tired, or taking 5+ damage in one hit could cause Bleeding.
  • An enemy lands an attack meant to cause a specific condition. For example, a venomous snake bite could Poison you, a hypnotic gaze could Charm you, or an ice spell could leave you Frozen.

Most Tribulations fade naturally after five Rounds, except for Bleeding, Burning, Tired, and Unconscious, which last until addressed.

You cannot take the same Tribulation twice while the first instance is still active, but different Tribulations can stack. To remove a Tribulation, roll the Recovery Trait at the start of your turn. This uses an action. If another character's actions caused your Tribulation, including those under the control of the GM, treat this as an Opposing Trait roll.

Tribulation Example Imposing Trait Affliction Example Recovery Trait
Bleeding Might/ Power/ Swiftness You lose 1d6 Life Points when your turn starts. Any action not spent trying to stop Bleeding causes 1 more Life Point of damage. Survival
Burning Power Take 1d6 damage at the start of each turn while actively Burning. Any action not spent trying to extinguish yourself causes an additional 1d6 of damage. Swiftness
Charmed Charm You cannot attack your charmer. Each Round, you must follow one reasonable command they give you. Awareness
Cursed
Enfeebled Power Roll half your Might/ Swiftness dice (rounded up). Endurance
Frozen Power You cannot move or take any actions (including speaking). Endurance
Grappled Endurance/ Might You cannot Dodge, Counter, or take any action except Recovery Trait Rolls. Might/ Swiftness
Impaired Might/ Power You're either Blinded, Deafened, Muted, or all three. Any roll relying on an impaired sense automatically fails. Endurance
Intimidated Charm/ Subterfuge You can't attack what frightens you. The source of your fear gains two additional dice to every roll made against you. Endurance
Poisoned Might/ Power/ Swiftness Until cured, roll half your Endurance dice (rounded up). Your Current Life Points are also halved, and you lose 1 Maximum Life Point every session (or 1d6 days for asynchronous games) until cured or killed. Survival
Possessed
Stunned Might/ Power You lose your next action. If you have no actions remaining in the current Round, you lose your first action the next Round instead. You can only move to things Close, and cannot Dodge, Endure, or Counter. Endurance
Tired Power You can only roll half of any Trait’s dice (rounded up). To recover, rest for 1d6 Rounds. During these Rounds, you can only take defensive actions but no offensive or movement actions. Outside of combat, you must rest for one entire Scene. N/A
Unconscious Endurance/ Might/ Power/ Swiftness You cannot take any action. Another character can try to wake you, giving you +1 Awareness die per assisting character. Awareness

Death

When your Life Points are reduced to 0, you gain the Unconscious Tribulation and are considered DYING. You are reduced to 1 Action per Turn, and at the start of each turn both you and the GM roll Endurance as a Challenge. Whoever rolls more successes wins that Round. If both sides roll the same number of successes, re-roll until someone wins.

The GM should keep a running count of your successes and failures. The first total to reach three determines your fate. If you succeed three times, you immediately regain consciousness at 1 Life Point and gain the Tired Tribulation. If you fail three times, you die permanently.

HOWEVER, if at any point your Life Points drop below your Endurance score or lower (for example, -6 Life Points when your Endurance is 6), you die instantly without entering the dying state.

Allies can always take actions to Heal the dying. Any healing that restores you to 1 Life Point immediately ends the dying state, and you regain consciousness with the Tired Tribulation as mentioned above.