Basic Gameplay

Checks: When a character narrates an action and the outcome is uncertain, a Check is made to determine the outcome.  The acting character rolls a number of d4s equal to their rank in the Skill most relevant to their narrative and adds the 2 largest dice. If the result of the check meets or exceeds the Difficulty, the action succeeds.

Opposed: Each opposing character narrates their reaction then rolls a number of d4s equal to their rank in the relevant Skill. The sum of each character’s 2 largest dice is the check’s Difficulty.

Unopposed: The GM determines how challenging the check should be and rolls a number of d4s equal to the Challenge. The sum of the 2 largest dice is the check’s Difficulty.

Resonance and Dissonance: When a character succeeds on a check, the amount by which they succeed (Check result - Difficulty) is the check’s Resonance. The minimum Resonance of a successful check is 1. When a character fails a check, the amount by which they fail (Difficulty - Check result) is the check’s Dissonance.

Support a Check: When a character makes a Check or Reacts and another character provides meaningful, narrated assistance, the supported character rolls an additional die. Multiple characters cannot Support the same roll.

Narrative in <Game Name>

The Narrative: In <Game Name>, immersion in the narrative that the GM and players build together is front and center to the game’s experience. Narrative always comes first; when making checks or using abilities, narrate the action taken and then state the intended check to be made or ability to be used.

Stretches: When a player’s narration doesn’t closely align to an ability they wish to use, the GM may offer that player a Stretch. The player may use the mechanics of the ability with the narrated action but rolls 1 fewer die while doing so. If the player does not accept the Stretch, the GM determines the effects of the narration.

Magic in Narrative

Anyone can attempt to move stealthily, break objects, or wield a weapon, but the ability to use magic is restricted by birth. training, and circumstance. While all characters can learn Spells, certain Traits and abilities grant Spellcraft Keywords which can be used to create spontaneous magical effects.

Determine the intent of the magic you want to use based on the Trait’s Spellcraft description then narrate the associated check. The Challenge of a Spellcraft check is based on the impact of the intent upon the story. For example, the difficulty of conjuring a bridge to avoid walking around a ravine would be less than the difficulty of conjuring a bridge to escape a pursuing enemy.

If you fail a Spellcraft check, you cannot attempt to use Spellcraft to accomplish the same intent. For example, if you attempt to conjure wings to fly across a ravine and fail, you cannot then attempt to conjure a bridge across the ravine or conjure wings to have an ally carry you across. The method may have changed, but the intent is still crossing the ravine. Spellcraft checks cannot be Stretches.

Equipment

Kits: Each character can carry a number of Kits equal to their Brawn rank. Mundane Kits contain a reasonable number supply of specific items. Weapon Kits contain one or more weapons, sheathes, maintenance items, and other items such as black powder or ammunition. Characters can exchange their kits whenever they have access to a market. See the Kits Appendix for options.

Lifestyle Brackets: Each character falls into a lifestyle Brackets based on their Academics rank. Streams of income from looting, treasure, and rewards are already factored into their lifestyle bracket as well as renewing magic items and mundane items in kits.

Combat

Turn Order: When the players enter combat, order all combatants by Speed. In the case of ties, determine order randomly. Each character takes a turn in order from highest to lowest Speed. During a character’s turn, that player may narrate a single Check or Ability, as well any additional unopposed actions such as movement. In addition to their turn, characters can make any number of narratively appropriate reactions each round.

Fronts and Positioning: <Game Name> is played in the theater of the mind and does not track positioning on a grid. Instead, the battlefield is divided into distinct clusters called Fronts. A Front is composed of sets of both allies and enemies who prevent each other’s free movement.

When combat begins, the group being attacked narrates their positioning and then the attackers narrate their entrance. The GM then uses this narration to assign each combatant to a Front based on nearby enemies and terrain. Attacks cannot target enemies on other Fronts. Moving between Fronts requires a combatant’s full turn and may only be done in keeping with the Narrative.

Strikes: Generally a character will use their turn’s Check to Strike and the targeted creature will use a Reaction to prevent themselves from being struck. When Striking, choose a target and make a Check with the skill noted in the Strike’s description. The target chooses a Reaction; each Reaction sets the Difficulty of the Strike’s check.

Narrative Strikes and Reacts: Characters in <Game name> are encouraged to use their surroundings and innate abilities to create new and unique narrative moments in combat. Striking or Reacting without an ability is called a Narrative Strikes or Narrative Reaction. Narrative Strikes inflict an amount of harm equal to their Resonance. The GM may determine that additional harms or effects are appropriate as well.

Endurance: Each character has an amount of Magical and Physical Endurance they can spend each combat. When a character would be harmed by a Magical or Physical source, they may spend a point of Endurance of the corresponding type to reduce the Resonance by 1.

Support in Combat: Supporting a Check in combat may be done out of Speed order, but spends the Supporter’s Check during their turn. They may still narrate unopposed actions.

Major Harms and Removal from the Narrative

Harms and Morale: When a character is harmed, record the type of harm and the level of harm inflicted. Levels of an individual harm are cumulative. Each player begins with a Morale of 4. When the level of a harm meets or exceeds a character’s Morale, that harm becomes Major. All harms are healed when scenes and arcs end.

Removed from the Narrative: Characters can be removed from the narrative by Unique Harms or Major Harms. Once a character has a number of unique harms at any level equal to twice their Morale or a number of Major Harms equal to their Morale, they are removed from the narrative.

Overkill: When a harm would have a level greater than 8, each additional level of harm becomes a point of Overkill instead. Each point of Overkill counts as major harm and unique harm for the purposes of being removed from the narrative. Overkill is not healed as scenes end but is healed as arcs end.

It is up to GM discretion if the character is able to rejoin the narrative when their harms are healed. If a character rejoins the narrative after they are removed from it, they retain any Overkill they may have had and gain an additional point of Overkill.

Arcs and Scenes

Stories in <Game Name> are broken up into Scenes and Arcs.

Scenes: A scene usually consists of a combination of preparation, travel, confrontation, resolution, and return. A single 3-4 hour session will generally consist of no more than one scene, with some scenes extending into a second session depending on the difficulty of encounters.

Arcs: An arc consists of a few scenes strung together which ends with a final resolution, major confrontation, or specific story advancement. An arc may contain any number of scenes, though it should have no less than 3. If playing a single session, consider the game session to be an arc.

At the conclusion of each scene:

1. Reduce all harms to 0 and reduce your Overkill by 1. Reduce all harms and Overkill to 0 at the end of an arc.
2. If you have access to a trader or marketplace, refill your mundane item kits and the charges of your magic items. If the end of the scene is the end of an arc, you may trade kits on a 1 for 1 basis.
3. Gain a Scene Reward. You cannot select the same scene reward more than once each arc.
4. If the scene ends an Arc gain an Arc Reward as well.

Index

Certain keywords come up consistently within <Game Name>. Below is an index of some of the most common ones.

Kit Index

When you select kits using Wealth, assume you’ve planned a reasonable supply of the item based on what you can carry. Do not track bars of soap, feet of rope, spritzes of perfume, or individual candles. Simply assume you have a reasonable amount of each item in the kit.

Bounty Hunter Kit: Includes manacle and fetters, a net, a length of chain, a gag, and a padlock

Demolition Kit: Includes small bombs, a flask of oil, a crowbar, a small hammer, and flint and steel

Burglar’s Kit: Includes a glass cutter, glue paper, a grappling hook, a length of rope, and lockpicks

Campsite Kit: Includes a tent, flint and steel, cooking implements, a firestarter, a bedroll, and a blanket.

Healer’s Kit: Includes bandages, needle and thread, vials of strong alcohol, smelling salts, and various soothing remedies.

Writing Kit: Includes a parchment case and paper, a journal, vials of ink, quills or pens, a ruler, and a measuring cord.

Climber’s Kit: Includes rope, pitons, harnesses, two small pickaxes, and a helmet.

Seduction Kit: Includes a razor, scented oils, perfume or cologne, a variety of appealing outfits, and a book of salacious poetry.

Disguise Kit: Includes makeup, wigs, fake facial hair, and various costume pieces

Diver’s Kit: Includes a snorkel, a buoy, a length of chain, a net, a glass bottle, a glowstone, and a waterproof bag.

Dungeoneering Kit: Includes candles, a glowstone, a length of rope, chalk, a hammer, and a dagger.

Fishing Kit: Includes a simple fishing pole and net, as well as a small box of tackle (hooks, lines, sinkers, floats, and lures).

Gambler’s Kit: Includes decks of cards, a betting wheel, numbered cloths, colored wooden chips, and dice.

Assassin’s Kit: Includes caltrops, chalk, dark cloth, an ear trumpet, fake footprint shoes, a lockpick, a wrist sheath, and poison

Substitutions: Need to swap out something in a kit? Items such as those listed here can be swapped 1 for 1 at the GM’s discretion as long the change doesn’t disrupt the identity of the chosen kit. Remember that kits also represent the maximum weight you can carry. If additional items are purchased they be swapped for another item in this manner.

Weapon, bedroll, candles, chalk, flint and steel, ink and quill, glowstone, journal, magnifying glass, mess kit, length of rope, length of chain, waterskin, shovel, holy symbol, crowbar, bottle or flask of liquor, flint and steel, grooming kit, musical instrument, mirror, perfume or cologne, whetstone, set of vials, compass, magnifying glass, mapmaker’s kit, grappling hook, whistle, soap, smelling salts, mask, signet ring, caltrops, glass cutter, lockpicks, climbing gear, fishing gear, collapsible pole, bucket, collapsible bathtub

Magic Item Kits

Unlike mundane items, magic item kits have a specific effect and a specific number of charges. The item’s charges are replenished at the end of a scene if you have access to a market or other place to resupply.

Healing Potion Kit (2 charges): Reduce the level of a harm by your Fortitude score.

Weapon Enchantment Kit (2 charges): +1 die rolled with Strikes with the enchanted weapon for this scene