General Principles:
Think around problems. Try to come up with solutions that lean into your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. The system we’re using relies much more on player creativity than character stats and dice luck.
Similarly, combat is not always the answer. Try diplomacy, trade, or find a way to utilize one of your many skills instead. You can always resort to violence later.
If you end up in a fight, remember to do everything in your power to change the paradigm in your favor. And remember, retreat is always an option.
Skill Checks:
- Roll 2d6 + the skill level + most relevant attribute modifier and equal or exceed the check’s difficulty.
- The easiest checks are difficulty 6, most are 8+, the most difficult are 12+
- Without even level-0 skill, take a -1 penalty if the skill can be attempted at all by the totally untrained.
- Bad or good circumstances or tools can apply up to a -2 to +2 penalty or bonus to the roll.
- Allies can aid with their own skill use at the same difficulty, granting a +1 bonus if any helper succeeds.
Saving Throws:
- Roll 1d20 and equal or exceed your saving throw score to succeed.
- Roll Physical saves against poison or bodily stresses.
- Roll Evasion saves against perils you can dodge or duck.
- Roll Mental saves against mental or intangible magic.
- Roll Luck saves against things only blind luck can forfend.
- Monsters and NPCs have a single saving throw of 15 minus their halved and rounded-down hit dice.
Injury and Healing
- A creature dies or is mortally wounded at zero hit points.
- Minor NPCs, PCs with the Frail quality, or creatures hit by unsurvivable injuries die instantly.
- Others are Mortally Wounded and die six rounds later.
- An ally can stabilize the Mortally Wounded with a Dex or Int/Heal check at a difficulty of 8 plus the number of full rounds since the target was felled.
- Stabilized creatures stop dying and revive in ten minutes with one hit point and the Fraility quality.
- Creatures lose the Frail quality after magical healing or a week of bed rest.
- Magical healing stabilizes and revives a Mortally Wounded PC with no Frail quality applied.
- First Aid after a battle heals 1d6 HP plus the healer’s Heal skill. This can be done multiple times, but each use adds 1 point of System Strain to the target.
- A creature’s maximum System Strain is equal to their Constitution score, and if maximized they can no longer benefit from any effect or healing that would add strain.
- A creature that is not Frail recovers their level or hit dice in lost hit points after each good night’s rest and also loses one accrued System Strain point .
Spellcasting
- Casting a spell takes a Main Action, one free hand, and the ability to speak in a clear voice. Spells cannot usually be cast while wearing armor or while holding a shield.
- If a caster suffers damage or is badly jostled, they cannot attempt to cast a spell for the rest of the round.
- If the caster is struck while actively casting, they lose the spell slot and the spell fizzles uselessly.
Combat Mechanics
- A combat round lasts about six seconds
- At the start of combat, each side rolls initiative once on 1d8 and adds the best Dexterity modifier on their side. The highest-rolling group goes first; ties go to the PCs.
- At the GM’s discretion, each individual combatant can roll initiative and then everyone acts in descending order.
- On their turn in the round, a creature can take one Main Action, one Move Action, and as many On Turn Action or Instant Actions as the GM thinks reasonable
- Main Actions are attacks, spellcasting, or other activities that would eat up most of six seconds.
- Move actions allow the PC to move 30 feet or do similar short, simple actions.
- On Turn actions allow the PC to say a few words, drop prone, or do other reflexively simple things.
- Instant actions can be taken at any time, even during some- one else’s turn, or even after dice have been rolled. Instant actions are usually special powers the PC can use or the result of holding an action in combat. Hitting and Damage.
- An attack is made with a hit roll of 1d20 plus the attack bonus, weapon skill, and the weapon’s attribute modifier.
- If the resultant roll is equal or higher than the target’s Armor Class, the attack hits. A roll of 1 always misses and a roll of 20 always hits.
- On a hit, the attacker rolls the weapon’s damage die and adds their relevant attribute modifier. That much damage is done to the target’s hit points.
- Weapons or unarmed attacks that use the Punch skill can also add the wielder’s Punch skill to the damage total.
- On a miss, melee attacks may do Shock damage. If the target’s Armor Class is less than or equal to the weapon’s Shock value, then Shock damage is done.
- Thus a weapon with “Shock 2/13” does 2 points of damage even on a miss to a target with an AC of 13 or less.
- The wielder’s attribute modifier and any Shock-specific damage bonuses are added to the Shock damage done.
- Shields negate the first instance of Shock that a target would take each round. The Total Defense action makes the target immune to Shock for the rest of the round.
- A successful hit can’t do less damage than the weapon’s Shock would do on a miss.
- Other important combat options: Execution Attacks and Shoving and Grappling
Morale Checks
- A Morale check is rolled on 2d6. If it’s higher than the target’s Morale score, they rout, retreat, or surrender, depending on the situation and their overall discipline.
- PCs never check Morale. NPCs do so when an ally first is downed, when half of them are down, or when shaken by some great reverse or terrifying forfend.
- Even on a successful Morale check, NPCs will not continue to fight when it is obviously futile or not worth the risk.