Fundamentals

What a character is made of, and how the dice answer a question.

Quick reference for play - read Part 1-5 for character creation

Quick Start

Core Loop: checks roll dice pools; attacks roll d20 + stat modifier + weapon bonus vs AC

Combat Round:

1. Tactical Phase: Declare spells/tactics, pick ONE Maneuver each
2. Initiative: d8 + Mind die (reroll each round)
3. Turns: Vigor regen at the start of your turn (your Heart modifier, no roll), then movement + action + reaction (no bonus actions)

Key Differences from Other RPGs:

• Stats have BOTH dice (for rolls including initiative) and modifiers (for AC)
• Initiative rerolls every round
• A missed attack can still deal Vigor damage (Glancing Blow, set by Body)
• Vigor is a shield, not damage: it starts full, and at the start of each of your own turns you regain your Heart modifier in Vigor, or lose 1 if the modifier is negative
• Spells/tactics declared before initiative, resolved on your turn
• Tier = half level (rounded up), added to check dice pools, saves and DCs (attacks add NO Tier)

Your Character

Stats & Modifiers

Each stat has TWO values: a stat die and a flat modifier.

Use stat die for

Saves (plus your Fate die and your Tier), ability tests and disruption checks, initiative (Mind die), Glancing Blow (Body die)

Use flat modifier for

The size of a dice pool check, attack rolls, AC (Sense modifier), Vigor cap and regen (Heart modifier), Cunning crit range

Tier

Tier determines:

• Dice pool size (add Tier dice to skill/checks)
• Successes needed on a check: set by the tier of the task (1-5), not by your own Tier
• Attack rolls (d20 + stat modifier + weapon bonus, no Tier)
• Saves (d20 + stat die + Fate die + Tier)
• Vigor cap (Tier + Heart modifier)
• Damage on a hit (your Tier die: d4 / d6 / d8 / d10 / d12 for Tiers 1-5)

What Your Stats Do

Every character benefits from every stat:

Body

• Glancing Blow (on a miss): When you miss with a weapon or mystic attack, deal Vigor damage to one target within range: roll your Body die if positive (Body 12+), a flat 1 at Body 10-11, nothing if your Body die is negative

Mind

• Initiative: d8 + Mind die (reroll each round)

Sense

• AC: Armor base + Sense modifier

Heart

• Vigor: Shield capped at your Tier + Heart modifier (minimum 0). At the start of your turn in combat, regain Vigor equal to your Heart modifier, or lose 1 if the modifier is negative
• Each point negates one incoming point of harm

Cunning

• Crit Range: Expands at high Cunning
  • Cunning 9 or less: Cannot crit
  • Cunning 10: Crit on 20
  • Cunning 12: Crit on 19-20
  • Cunning 14: Crit on 18-20
  • Cunning 16: Crit on 17-20
  • Cunning 18: Crit on 16-20
  • Cunning 20: Crit on 15-20
  • Cunning 22: Crit on 14-20

Fate

• Saves: Add Fate die to all saves
• Rerolls: 1 Fate point rerolls any d20 you roll, and the new roll stands, with the same modifiers and nothing added

Rolling Dice

Checks (Dice Pool)

Roll [Stat modifier + Tier] d6s. Count successes:

• 1: Lose 1 stamina, gain 1 Fate point. With no stamina to lose, a 1 costs nothing and pays no Fate
• 2-4: Nothing
• 5: Success
• 6: Success + roll another die (explosion)

Need successes equal to the tier of the task to pass, not your own Tier. The GM names the task's tier, from 1 (Basic) to 5 (Legendary), using the Check Tiers table (section 3). Where a rule or an ability gives its own number of successes, use that.

Negative Stats: If your stat modifier is negative, roll only Tier dice and successes require a 6. A +0 modifier is not a penalty: at a stat of 10-11 you roll your [0 + Tier] pool and succeed on 5+ as normal.

Fate Points: Spend 1 Fate point before rolling to add 1 die to your pool. Can spend multiple, but commit them all before you roll, then roll the bigger pool. You begin every session with 3: this is your session Fate, and what is left of it when the session ends is gone. Fate you gain in play, from 1s on checks and from the GM's awards, is earned Fate. Both spend the same way, and session Fate is spent first.

What Fate buys:

• Dice on a check: 1 Fate adds 1 die to your pool, spent before you roll
• Throne abilities: 1 Fate for a Base ability, 3 for an Improved one
• Stamina: In a Recovery, 1 Fate buys 1 Stamina (section 4)
• Rerolls: 1 Fate point rerolls any d20 you roll, and the new roll stands, with the same modifiers and nothing added. It works on attack rolls, saves, ability tests, disruption checks and injury rolls. Only the d20 is rolled again, and the other dice you rolled stand. At advantage or disadvantage you roll both d20s again and keep the higher or the lower, as before. You can pay again to reroll the new roll

Only player characters have Fate points: the d20s you roll for a retainer or a follower cannot be rerolled with them.

Destiny: At a Rest, the earned Fate you have not spent becomes Destiny. Destiny is spent in downtime (Part 8): gaining a level costs at least 1, and Destiny buys bonuses to the Adventure roll. You do not have to spend it unless you are gaining a level. It resets to 0 when you gain a level, not when downtime ends. It cannot be spent as Fate.

GM Option - Narrative Consequences: When a player rolls 1s on a check, the GM can replace the standard stamina cost with a more fitting narrative consequence instead. The "1" represents something going wrong - this could be stamina loss, or it could be a broken lockpick, a torn rope, alerting a guard, or any other setback appropriate to the situation. The player still gains the Fate point. This keeps the fiction dynamic and responsive to context.

Saves (d20)

Roll d20 + the save stat's die + your Fate die + your Tier, plus any bonus, against the DC. Player characters and Minors add their Tier. A total equal to the DC passes.

DC by effect tier:

Key Differences from Checks:

• A save is one d20 roll, not a dice pool. There are no successes to count, no 1s to pay stamina for, no dice to buy, and no buyout: a failed save cannot be bought with stamina (saves are reactive, not active effort)
• Fate rides along on every save. On a Fate save you roll the Fate die once as the save stat; it is not added twice
• Fate buys no dice for a save, but 1 Fate point rerolls its d20 like any other (What Fate buys, above). The save stat's die and the Fate die you rolled stand
• Advantage: roll 2d20 and keep the higher. Disadvantage: roll 2d20 and keep the lower. Both at once cancel. Exhaustion forces disadvantage on every save

The Six Saves:

• Body: Poison, disease, exhaustion
• Mind: Illusions, arcane effects, knowledge-based deceptions
• Sense: Divine/primal magic, curses
• Heart: Fear, despair, domination
• Cunning: Dodging, traps, feints, misdirection, pickpocket attempts
• Fate: Death effects, destiny manipulation

Advantage & Disadvantage

Advantage and disadvantage work one way on a dice pool and another way on a d20.

On a dice pool check:

• Advantage: Succeed on 4+ (50% per die)
• Normal: Succeed on 5+ (33% per die)
• Disadvantage: Succeed on 6 only (17% per die)

On a d20 roll (attack rolls, saves, ability tests, disruption checks):

• Advantage: Roll 2d20 and keep the higher
• Disadvantage: Roll 2d20 and keep the lower

If you have both, they cancel (normal). Multiple sources don't stack.