- Game master describes situation
- Each player declares their Character's intent
- Game master narrates results
- Paper
- Pencil
- 5 20-sided dice (d20s)
- 3 lucky tokens
A Narrative Detail is a fact about a location, object, Character, or event, created through world or Character interactions. Any Character can use these details to justify why something might or might not work. When using a Narrative Detail, clearly state the intended effect.
Attributes are abstract to be able to model a variety of different situations.
- Stone: Strength, endurance, resilience
- River: Agility, precision, adaptability
- Flame: Willpower, determination, intensity
Each Attribute has a Threshold, which is the number to meet or beat when rolling for a Challenge. A lower Threshold is better.
Logic determines outcomes based on Character actions. The game master may call for a Character to Challenge an Attribute when an outcome is uncertain with clear consequences. and serves as the final arbiter.
A natural number is the unmodified number shown on a rolled die.
| Roll d20 | Result |
|---|
| Natural 20 or 10 over the Threshold | Critical success, which may include additional benefit to the roller |
| Equal to or greater than the Threshold | Success |
| Less than the Threshold | Failure |
| Natural 1 or 10 under the Threshold | Critical failure, which may include additonal harm to the roller |
The game master may apply a plus or minus Modifier to a Character's Challenge roll to represent the base difficulty of the Challenge.
| Base Difficulty | d20 roll Modifier |
|---|
| Very Easy | +5 |
| Easy | +2 |
| Average | 0 |
| Hard | -2 |
| Very Hard | -5 |
The game master may grant advantage or disadvantage on a Challenge to award creative play, tactics, or to adjudicate a Narrative Detail:
- Advantage: Roll 2 d20s and take the highest result
- Disadvantage: Roll 2 d20s and take the lowest result
Characters can have a maximum of 3 Luck. A Character may spend a Luck to:
- Force a reroll of any single d20
- If trying to harm another Character, give the Luck to them
- If helping another Character or rerolling their own die, give the Luck to the game master
- Add a reasonable Narrative Detail to the scene
- Give the Luck to the game master or most negatively affected Character
- Game master chooses what reasonable means on a case-by-case basis
- Prevent the use of another Character's Luck
Characters have the Equipment that would reasonably carry for their situation. Only unique or notable Equipment is tracked. The game master highlights scarcity and encumbrance as a Narrative Detail when relevant.
Wealth is narrative and untracked. If something seems expensive, it is, and acquiring it requires specific effort. Characters have enough to stay stocked with some pocket money left over.
Travel is handled narratively by offering choices with different consequences or other peculiarities. One route might be safe, but be relatively slow and is patrolled by the guards that are looking for the players' Characters. Another might be through the haunted woods and without roads, meaning the players' Characters would need to leave their wagon behind until they return. Of course, the players can come up with any other routes or way to get to where they're going.
Not every destination needs something interesting. When not critical, travel is mundane and often handwaved.
Narrative Details provide an advantage or disadvantage Modifier and the Character being fought or action being performed may have Modifiers applied. Remember that creative or tactical play might be awarded with an advantage Modifier.
Suprised Characters get only 1 Action during their first round of combat.
The combat area is divided into Zones, and moving between them may require a Challenge. Characters in the same Zone are within melee range, while ranged attacks can target any visible Zone from the attacker’s position.
Combat is structured into rounds and follows the same Core Loop with simultaneous resolution. Players collaborate, discussing their plans based on the situation and their assumptions about enemy intent.
Each Character gets 2 Actions per round.
Attacks against a target are resovlved as a Challenge, with only the players rolling. A Modifier may be applied to the Challenge to represent the target's skill level.
On a success, the player decides what Narrative Detail to offer and the target chooses to lose 1 Heart or to accept the Narrative Detail instead.
On failure, the target offers a Narrative Detail to the player and it's up to the player to lose 1 Heart or accept the Narrative Detail instead.
A critical success or failure instead offers the choice between the loss of 2 Hearts or a more impactful, scene-defining, Narrative Detail.
A roll may affect a different Character than the one who rolled.
Melee interrupts ranged, physical Actions interrupt magical ones, and combat Actions interrupt non-combat Actions. Timing matters and should be explicitly mentioned by the game master before the players commit to their Actions to avoid a player losing their turn from a ruling. Interrupts are intended to limit player actions in different situations and to be used to interrupt their enemies.
Characters have a maximum of 5 Hearts. When a Character loses all their Hearts, they are knocked out and must roll Judgement.
Hearts are restored with Rest.
After a night of Rest, restore 2 Hearts up to the maximum of 5 Hearts.
A Character can seek a specialized healer or say a Prayer to restore Hearts faster, but this requires a cost or favor in exchange.
When rolling Judgement, roll in private and do not reveal the result to other players. Another Character in the same Zone may spend one Action to look at the die result and, if the knocked-out Character is still alive, stabilize them.
Each turn while knocked out, the player may optionally recall a memory of their Character to share with the group. A stable but knocked-out Character wakes up after few minutes with 1 Heart.
| Roll d20 | Effect |
|---|
| 20 | Adrenaline rush. The Character stays up instead of being knocked out, but is knocked out at the end of the next round and must re-roll Judgement. |
| 19-18 | Stable |
| 17-14 | 4 rounds to live |
| 13-10 | 3 rounds to live |
| 9-6 | 2 rounds to live |
| 5-2 | 1 round to live |
| 1 | Soul already departed |
Squads from a group of goblins to the armies of nations can be modeled as a Character. The primary difference being the narration and scaling the actions being performed to represent the group. A Squad of enemies might do 3 Hearts of damage on a normal success to a single Character, do the normal 1 Heart of damage to another Squad, and have no chance of doing anything against an army in a straight-up fight.
A Squad that is losing Hearts can be thought of as actual loses of some of their members or the gradual loss of morale until the Squad breaks up and flees. The game master will narrate it depending on the situation.
Vehicles are modeled as Characters but, like Squads, have a different narration and scaling. They can be anything from a horse, a single-seated fighter jet, to a massive capital ship in space.
Vehicles might have different crew stations that Characters can operate. If using a vehicle with multiple crew stations for an extended period of time, each crew station should have interesting decisions and valuable contributions to make.
In a large enough vehicle, Characters may move around and perform Actions like they normally would inside of or on the vehicle itself.
Anyone can use magic.
To cast, reflect on 3 questions:
- What emotion am I feeling?
- Positive emotions fuel constructive effects
- Negative emotions bring out destructive or chaotic effects
- The specific emotion shapes the spell, and stronger emotions are harder to control
- What's nearby?
- Magic manipulates the elements and harmony of the surroundings
- Spells can only use what is present, better or more materials create stronger effects
- An area's atmosphere and the emotions of others can be harnessed like any other element
- What is my intent?
- Intent gives purpose, the same energy takes different forms
- Spells can harm, protect, transform, or influence based on the caster's goal
- Magic follows the caster's purpose, clarity makes it stronger
Everyone has a unique magical signature, a personal flair that influences the manifestation of their magic.
Casting spells Challenges the flame Attribute, but some may Challenge stone or river depending on the caster's intent. The Challenge might include a Modifier based on the power of the spell and the situation the caster is in.
| Challenge Result | Spell Effect |
|---|
| Critical Success | Spell is cast with intended effect, but more powerful |
| Success | Spell is cast with intended effect |
| Failure | Spell is cast with a related, minor, and unintended effect |
| Critical Failure | Spell is cast with more power, but the caster loses control and the effect is unintended. The caster gains a permanent, undesirable, and interesting quirk related to the spell. |
The same spell might produce different results each time it is cast.
A caster’s personal notes record past spells and their effects. These are real player notes on paper, treated as notable Equipment.
To create a Scroll, a caster must cast a spell as normal and store the intent and result. This only succeeds if the Challenge result is a critical success or success. On a failure or critical failure, the Scroll is destroyed in the process, no magical effect is produced, and the caster gains a permanent, undesirable, and interesting quirk related to the spell they attempted to store.
Scrolls are used without rolling, treating the user as if they had cast the original spell. Once used, the Scroll is destroyed.
Spells can target other spells, allowing them to combine effects or negate aspects of each other.
Rituals are a powerful, slow, and open form of magic that require clear intent. The more elaborate, detailed, and involved the Ritual, the more powerful and specific the effect.
Prayers are freeform, delayed, and fueled by the Favor of a higher patron. To say a Prayer, set a clear intent and give 1 to 3 Favor dice to the game master based on the magnitude of the plea. At a future time, the game master rolls the Favor dice together and takes the highest result against a Threshold of 10 to determine if and how the Prayer is answered. A Prayer may have a Modifier, and either side may propose additional bargains beyond Favor.
A Character can hold up to 3 Favor dice, which are 20-sided die. Favor is earned by acting in alignment with a patron and can be lost through negative actions. If a Character loses too much Favor, their patron may begin ignoring future Prayers.
Patrons have different likes and dislikes for their followers to respect. They grant Prayers relevant to their cause and goals. Patrons require the complete devotion of a Character to answer their Prayers.