Guided Walkthrough: Introduction
This walkthrough builds a character while teaching you the game. Each step explains what you’re deciding, why it matters, and then asks you to roll or choose.
Keep your character sheet in front of you throughout.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Section titled “What Kind of Game Is This?”Metanoia is a dice pool system. When your character attempts something uncertain, you describe how they do it, assemble a pool of dice from what that description implies, and roll. The smallest dice win. A d4 beats a d12.
The character’s beliefs are not background flavor. They are the mechanical engine. What your character values determines what dice they can bring to a roll. A character with deep faith rolls differently than one driven by ambition, even using the same ability.
The lifepath system exists to make that believable. You don’t pick values from a menu and assign them to polarities. You build a person: their history, their upbringing, their first encounter with Ren. The values emerge from that. The character’s experiences give you bonuses in certain situations. The character’s power is grounded in who they are.
Trust the dice. If a result surprises you, sit with it before changing it. Unexpected combinations are often the most interesting characters. If it’s nonsense even after a bit of deliberation, then re-roll.
The World You Are Part Of
Section titled “The World You Are Part Of”Your character lives in Ithasen, called the Remnant Continent. After the last calamity, the Elkyr, Janim, and Nyl migrated here from other continents. The Anamor, native to these lands, were pushed aside by the weight of more organized civilizations. The Haqol retreated. The Okoi endured.
Five nations now divide the continent, and they have been largely at peace, but that peace is teetering. Ancient ruins of the Marathat, a civilization whose power dwarfs anything alive today, are being excavated. The spirits, long quiet, are moving again.
You play as Rennim: those who have awakened to Ren, the fundamental force that moves through all living things. You are rare, powerful, and entangled in events that will shape the next era.
See the World section for deeper reading on Ithasen, its nations, and its peoples.
What are the Characters going to go do?
Section titled “What are the Characters going to go do?”Scenario
Section titled “Scenario”The GM should come to the table with some scenarios for the group to choose from before they build characters.
“You’re mercenaries who have signed up to escort researchers into deep caverns in the fantasy world of Ithasen, and get trapped down there.” (Exploration)
If you’re looking for more information on how or why this is important or useful, here’s an article by tabletop discourse
Character Goal
Section titled “Character Goal”Through character creation, you’ll establish a character goal, and said goal should be stepped towards by participating in the scenario. Why are you going out risking your life or traveling across a continent to do whatever scenario you’ve decided on.
Growing in Realm
Section titled “Growing in Realm”Realm is one of the greatest concerns all Rennim are striving to improve. It’s an almost insurmountable wall to try to cross by other means.
Alchemy is alive in this setting, and many plants develop special properties that can be used to improve oneself. Everyone knows to be on the lookout for weird looking plants or plants that emit Ren, to harvest them carefully and get them made into elixirs and pills. Ren Crystals, and the Cores of Ren Beasts, or even other Ren users can be used to improve their Realm.
Growing Wealth and Assets
Section titled “Growing Wealth and Assets”The materials from Ren plants and Ren beasts have an enormous amount of other uses as well, and are highly sought after, not to mention Kerim (Stone imbued with Ren) or Turim (Metal infused with Ren). Whether for building fortresses, helping others improve their realm, or making weapons, the world is full of treasures to be on the lookout for.
Additional loot that is highly valuable are relics from the Marathat, which can provide enormous sums of currency with which the above can be bought, or other services contracted. They might also be very powerful, and great equipment for characters who are able to learn their secrets.
Realm & XP
Section titled “Realm & XP”Before anything else, confirm your starting Realm with your GM. Realm is the density of your character’s Ren, measuring how far along they are in wielding it. Most starting characters begin at Realm 2 (Flame).
XP represents experience and is spent to improve passives, awareness, stride, carry weight, and lineage polarities. The table below gives the average starting XP for each Realm.
| Realm | Name | Average Starting XP |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Void | 4 |
| 1 | Spark | 8 |
| 2 | Flame | 12 |
| 3 | Star | 16 |
| 4 | Constellation | 20 |
| 5 | Galaxy | 24 |
Formula: XP = (Realm + 1) × 4
XP is not a substitute for Realm. Higher Realm requires exposure to higher-density Ren from external sources: crystals, beast cores, elixirs. No amount of training crosses that threshold alone. See Realms for the full breakdown.