Ren in the Rules
Realm is the primary measure of power in Metanoia. It reflects the density and structure of a character’s Ren, and sets the baseline for how they interact with the world’s power systems.
The Six Realms
Section titled “The Six Realms”| Realm | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Void | Barely senses Ren. Pre-awakening or early sensing stage. |
| 1 | Spark | Can circulate Ren. Beginning practitioner. |
| 2 | Flame | Has a solidified core. Competent. Capable of taking on serious challenges with allies. |
| 3 | Star | Multiple cores in a pattern. Formidable by any measure. |
| 4 | Constellation | Full core pattern sets. The peak of what most practitioners ever reach. |
| 5 | Galaxy | The mortal limit. A walking catastrophe. |
What Realm Does
Section titled “What Realm Does”Realm affects nearly every part of the game:
- Target Numbers: Your Realm relative to your opponent determines the TN you roll against.
- Free dice: Your Realm number is how many dice you can add to a pool without spending Strain.
- Strain capacity: Strain maximum is calculated from Realm. Higher Realm means a larger buffer.
- Ability cost: The cost to cast an ability depends on that ability’s Realm relative to yours.
- Stride: Base movement is partially derived from Realm investment.
- Favor: Starting Favor points are calculated from Realm.
Advancing Realm
Section titled “Advancing Realm”You cannot advance to a higher Realm through training or effort alone. Advancement requires exposure to higher-density Ren from external sources:
- Ren crystals
- Beast cores harvested from powerful creatures
- Ren elixirs and pills
- Prolonged proximity to practitioners or environments of higher Realm
This resource dependency is one of the core tensions of the setting. Access to advancement materials is controlled, scarce, and often dangerous to obtain. This is also not to mention the techniques to advance. Self taught advancement is perilous, and there are few who get far teachning themselves.
The Power Gap
Section titled “The Power Gap”Opposing someone one Realm above you is dangerous. Opposing someone two or more Realms above you is near-suicidal. The TN collapse is severe enough that even a large, well-built dice pool will produce very few successes.
Realm differences cannot be fully bridged by clever pooling, equipment, or passives. They can be managed and mitigated, but not erased.
Realm and Rennim
Section titled “Realm and Rennim”Not everyone has a Realm in the conventional sense. Only Rennim (those who have awakened to Ren) actively cultivate and advance through Realms. An unawakened person operates at Void regardless of their other capabilities.
See the World section for more on the Rennim and Renak divide and what awakening means in Ithasen.
Awareness
Section titled “Awareness”When a character learns to sense Ren, they gain Awareness: an additional sense layered on top of their existing ones. It lets them perceive Ren density, texture, and the polarities of other practitioners.
Every Rennim has Awareness by default. How actively they use it is a choice with mechanical and social consequences.
The Four States
Section titled “The Four States”| State | What It Does | Social Implications |
|---|---|---|
| Cloaked | You appear to have no Ren, or only mundane amounts. Casting abilities costs +1 Strain. | Stealth. No one can identify you as Rennim without extraordinary means. |
| Suppressed | Ren held inward. Extended detection reveals your Realm and texture. Focused detection reveals your polarities. | The default polite state. You are not broadcasting, but you are not hiding. |
| Extended | Radial outward sense. You detect Ren density, Realm, and texture in the surrounding area. Loose directional sense only. | You are actively scanning. Others who are Extended or Focused will notice. |
| Focused | Concentrated on a specific target. Reveals their Realm, texture, and polarities. | Deeply invasive. Using Focused awareness on someone outside of combat is likely to start a fight. |
Awareness and Ability Targeting
Section titled “Awareness and Ability Targeting”The Awareness state assigned to an ability at construction determines how it targets:
| Awareness State | Targeting |
|---|---|
| Cloaked / Suppressed | Originates from you. Applies to self, via touch, or travels outward from your body. |
| Extended | Area centered on you. Auras, emanations, radial effects. |
| Focused | Targeted at a specific location or entity. Summons, directed blasts, hexes, teleportation. |
This is set at ability creation, not at cast time.
Social Reality of Awareness
Section titled “Social Reality of Awareness”Awareness states are readable by other Rennim. A character walking around in Extended state is broadcasting that they are scanning their environment. A character in Focused state is publicly scrutinizing a target.
In tense social situations or formal settings, the expected state is Suppressed. Extended scanning in a formal audience is rude. Focused scanning in a formal audience is an act of aggression.
Cloaked is always suspicious if discovered.
Ren Texture
Section titled “Ren Texture”Texture describes the stability of a character’s Ren circulation. It determines how frequently their dice trigger Boons and Complications during rolls.
Texture is shaped by a character’s worldview and values. It is not fixed, and it is not a moral judgment.
The Three Textures
Section titled “The Three Textures”| Texture | Behavior | Boon Triggers (per die) | Complication Triggers (per die) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tranquil | Smooth, stable Ren. Rarely produces boons or complications. | Min value only | Max value only |
| Volatile | Unstable but functional. Moderate boon and complication frequency. | Min, Min+1 | Max-1, Max |
| Rampant | Swingy and unruly. Produces boons and complications frequently. | Min, Min+1, Min+2 | Max-2, Max-1, Max |
Trigger values are per-die and based on that die’s own minimum and maximum faces. A d4 with Volatile texture triggers boons on 1 or 2 and complications on 3 or 4. A d12 with Volatile texture triggers boons on 1 or 2 and complications on 11 or 12.
See Boons and Complications for what those triggers produce.
Texture Is Not Morality
Section titled “Texture Is Not Morality”The world of Ithasen widely conflates Ren texture with moral character. Tranquil is seen as refined, disciplined, and virtuous. Rampant is seen as dangerous, unstable, and suspect.
The rules explicitly reject this framing.
Texture reflects the stability of Ren circulation, not the quality of a person. A Tranquil villain and a Rampant hero are both entirely possible. A player who internalizes the world’s assumptions is adopting an in-world prejudice, not a factual truth.
This distinction matters. NPCs will react to texture according to their cultural norms. That reaction is not the same thing as those norms being correct.