Boons & Complications
Every die in your pool can produce a Boon or a Complication depending on what face it lands on. These trigger separately from success: a die can succeed and also trigger a complication, or fail and also trigger a boon.
The trigger ranges are determined by your Ren Texture. See Ren Texture.
Trigger Values Per Die
Section titled “Trigger Values Per Die”Trigger values are based on each die’s own minimum and maximum faces, not the pool’s overall range.
| Texture | Boon Triggers (per die) | Complication Triggers (per die) |
|---|---|---|
| Tranquil | Min only | Max only |
| Volatile | Min, Min+1 | Max-1, Max |
| Rampant | Min, Min+1, Min+2 | Max-2, Max-1, Max |
Example: A d8 rolled in a Volatile pool triggers a Boon on 1 or 2, and a Complication on 7 or 8.
d4 Exception: Rampant
Section titled “d4 Exception: Rampant”Rampant’s trigger bands overlap on a d4: boon triggers (1, 2, 3) and complication triggers (2, 3, 4) contest values 2 and 3. Each contested value resolves to one side: values closer to Min favor boons, values closer to Max favor complications. The displaced trigger stacks onto the opposite extreme.
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Boon, Boon |
| 2 | Boon |
| 3 | Complication |
| 4 | Complication, Complication |
Cancellation
Section titled “Cancellation”Boons and Complications cancel 1:1 across the entire roll. Count total boons, count total complications, subtract the smaller from the larger. Only the remainder is applied.
Holding Boons
Section titled “Holding Boons”You can hold a Boon for up to 1 round before spending it. Complications cannot be held. They apply immediately to the current action.
Experience Boons
Section titled “Experience Boons”Each experience is assigned to a value at character creation. During a resolution, if one of your experiences is relevant to the current scenario and you are using a polarity from that experience’s value, you gain 1 boon.
Both conditions must hold: the experience must speak to what is happening in the scene, and the polarity being used must belong to the value that experience is assigned to. The relevance must be legible to the table, not just the player claiming it.
Only one experience can apply per resolution, regardless of how many experiences could fit.
See Values and Who You Are Now for how experiences are assigned to values.
Experience boons stack with die-result boons from the same roll. They also participate in boon/complication cancellation normally.
Boon Options
Section titled “Boon Options”Each boon is spent individually. You can choose the same option more than once: three boons spent on Heavy Hit adds +3 Magnitude.
| Boon | Effect |
|---|---|
| Heavy Hit | +1 Magnitude |
| Targeted Hit | Choose the hit location instead of the base d8 determining it |
| Carry Through | 1 Magnitude from this hit also strikes one adjacent target |
| Shift Tempo | Initiative swaps between sides |
Complication Options
Section titled “Complication Options”Each complication is applied individually. The GM can choose the same option more than once: three complications on Glancing Blow reduces Magnitude by 3.
| Complication | Effect |
|---|---|
| Glancing Blow | -1 Magnitude (minimum 0) |
| Adverse Hit | GM chooses the hit location instead of the base d8 |
| Carry Through | 1 Magnitude deflects onto one of your adjacent allies |
| Shift Tempo | Initiative swaps between sides |