Core Resolution

Core interactions in the Game

1. Engage (Attack, speak, defend) - Invoke a Keyword
   • Attack (Targets Injuries)
   • Condition (apply a non-injury Keyword)
   • Argue (Targets Convictions)
   • Defend
   • Sense/Hide (Look for something) / (try to gain the obscured keyword at a rank equal to your successes)
2. Mark (engage but you can only apply ‘stacks’ -> no injuries, convictions, keywords applied, etc…)
3. Move (if no challenge is presented)

Resolution System

Actor and Reactor. Both draw from their Motive and Identity to determine a number of d6’s to roll (determined by the rank of each). On Each roll, the actor aims to apply a keyword, or to attack, and the reactor can either just defend or also invoke a keyword.

It costs 1 Strain to Invoke your identity or your Motive.

They both roll, and evaluate who has the most successes. (Successes are determined by Texture)

Procedure:

1. Choose how many dice to roll (2 + Motive(optional) + Identity(optional))
2. Choose keyword to invoke (characters have limited lists from items or chosen keywords for abilities). If its Injury field is Choice (C), declare whether it lands as an Injury or a Condition.
3. Roll and count successes, compare
4. Apply Keyword(s), Conviction loss, and/or stacks to loser

Unopposed Rolls

When nothing is actively resisting you (climbing a cliff, picking a lock, recalling lore), the GM sets a Rank for the challenge. Build your dice pool and roll as normal. You succeed if your successes meet or beat that Rank.

Sense and Hide

Both build their dice pool the same way as an Engage roll.

• Hide: your successes become the Rank of an [Obscured] keyword on you.
• Sense: to find something concealed, your successes must meet or beat the Rank of the keyword concealing it ([Obscured], [Hidden], or a passive such as [Stealthy], as that keyword describes).

Realm & Max Dice count

Everyone rolls with 2 dice to start. The maximum amount of dice that can by default be used in a roll is 7.

Realm is compared between characters. It grants the entity that has a higher realm than the other bonuses. Rolling against a character or creature that is even one realm above you is near suicidal.

Rule 0 (The One Realm Boundary): If a creature is 2 or more realms higher than another creature, no roll occurs, the higher realm creature applies their keyword at 3x the rank, and if they attack, the attack deals 3 injuries instead of 1.

Rule 1 (Attrition and Chance): If a creature is 1 Realm Higher than another creature, the higher realm creature gets an additional 3 free d6 dice on every roll.

Rule 2 (Effect): a landed attack from a higher realm creature fills 2 Injury slots (instead of 1). Additionally, the Rank of the keyword applied is doubled.

Equipment can help a lower-Realm character overcome this gap because of how many successes it adds (if it’s your ‘instrument’)

What happens if you win the roll (WTR)

If you win the roll, the keyword you were trying to activate activates at its rank/power/level unless the opposing party has a stated resistance to a source for that keyword, in which case it degrades the effect of that keyword by the level of the resistance.

Stacks and Ties

On a Tie

On a Tie between the actor’s successes and the reactor’s successes:

• If the action is a condition but not an injury, then the actor wins
• If the action is an injury, but not a condition, then the reactor wins
• If the action is an Argue, then the reactor wins
• A Choice (C) keyword counts as whichever the actor declared in step 2 of the Procedure

Stacks

So what happens if you have a bunch of extra successes on a roll against an opponent? Well, they don’t go nowhere because it’s demoralizing to roll high and get nothing for it. SO: they turn into ‘stacks’ that are stored on your opponent. Stacks are another resource that can be used by certain keywords so you don’t spend strain! Stacks generate based on the excess successes in a roll. Let’s say you have 1 more success against the opponent - that means you generate one stack on them in addition to winning the roll.

Stacks are not locked for one creature or another. Anyone can leverage those stacks. The stacks you produce on an opponent could be used by a healer on their side to heal them of the injury you just dealt them. It’s recommended for EVERY character to have at least one keyword that interacts with stacks.

Conversely, Stacks can also be applied to you, so watch out, and consider getting a keyword like [Clear] to remove stacks from yourself or allies (if clear makes sense for your character’s polarities).

Items

Items unlock or enhance specific keywords. The item’s rank is used as the base value for the keyword you’re invoking when using the item, or if paired with an ability that leverages a keyword an item has, if you’re using an ability, adds to the rank of the keyword.

In terms of evaluating the realm of the item, an item’s rank is equivalent to its realm.

Let’s say your character can invoke the keyword: [Deteriorating]

You have that ranked up to 3 -> [Deteriorating 3]

Your weapon is a sword, and it can produce [Deteriorating], and the sword’s rating is 2.

When you go to apply [Deteriorating] with your sword and using an ability, if you are successful (with no resistances), you produce [Deteriorating 5].

Keywords can be inkoved from Items without cost as long as you’re using that item: You can attempt to apply [Deteriorating 2] via your sword, without spending the strain required for Deteriorating.

Texture

Texture is a measure of how responsive a character’s Ren is to their subconscious - the numbers in the table are the number of successes when you roll that number on each d6 in your dice pool. There are 3 textures, and a character can only have 1, and it doesn’t change.

• Tranquil - Your Ren is naturally precise, but hesitates or rarely moves without your instruction (consistent but moderate)
• Volatile - Your Ren can move without your instruction, but doesn’t do it very often. (This is the inbetween texture)
• Rampant - Your Ren moves without your instruction all the time, but is harder to control. (Swingy but powerful)

Roll on a d6	Success # (Rampant)	Success # (Volatile)	Success # (Tranquil)
1	0	0	0
2	0	0	1
3	0	1	1
4	1	1	1
5	2	2	1
6	3	2	2

Examples

Keyword Invocation, Abilities, Stacks Examples

We will leverage the following scenario, where C1 is the ‘Actor’ and C2 is the ‘Reactor’. For the purposes of the example, if a creature invokes a keyword without an item, it means they’re casting an ability.

• Creature 1 (C1) makes an attack against Creature 2 (C2), invoking the keyword: [Deteriorating 3] (as an Injury) from its weapon.

• C2 defends by invoking the Keyword: [Counter 3], coming from its polarity: Shadow.

• Keyword: [Counter]

• You apply a ‘no condition’ Injury with a Strain cost of Rank to the target if you succeed on your defense, but if you fail, you take double the effect.

Actor vs No Keyword Reaction

Tie

• Creature 1 (C1) makes an attack against Creature 2 (C2), invoking the keyword: [Deteriorating 3] (as an Injury) from its weapon
• C2 defends but invokes No Keyword
• C2 wins the Roll with a Tie (because C1 declared [Deteriorating 3] as an Injury, and Injuries lose on a tie)
• C1 Does not apply [Deteriorating 3] to C2

C2 Wins

• Creature 1 (C1) makes an attack against Creature 2 (C2), invoking the keyword: [Deteriorating 3] (as an Injury) from its weapon
• C2 defends but invokes No Keyword
• C2 wins the Roll with 2 more successes than C1
• C1 Does not apply [Deteriorating 3] to C2
• C1 has 2 ‘stacks’ granted to them

C2 Loses

• Creature 1 (C1) makes an attack against Creature 2 (C2), invoking the keyword: [Deteriorating 3] (as an Injury) from its weapon
• C2 defends but invokes No Keyword
• C1 wins the Roll with 1 more success than C2
• C1 applies [Deteriorating 3] to C2
• C2 has 1 ‘stack’ granted to them

Actor vs Keyword Reaction

Tie

• Creature 1 (C1) makes an attack against Creature 2 (C2), invoking the keyword: [Deteriorating 3] (as an Injury) from its weapon
• C2 defends and invokes the keyword [Counter 3]
• C2 wins the Roll with a Tie (because C1 declared [Deteriorating 3] as an Injury, and Injuries lose on a tie)
• C1 Does not apply [Deteriorating 3] to C2
• C2 applies [Counter 3] to C1

C2 Wins

• Creature 1 (C1) makes an attack against Creature 2 (C2), invoking the keyword: [Deteriorating 3] (as an Injury) from its weapon
• C2 defends and invokes the keyword [Counter 3]
• C2 wins the Roll with 2 more successes than C1
• C1 Does not apply [Deteriorating 3] to C2.
• C2 applies [Counter 3] to C1
• C1 has 2 ‘stacks’ granted to them

C2 Loses

• Creature 1 (C1) makes an attack against Creature 2 (C2), invoking the keyword: [Deteriorating 3] (as an Injury) from its weapon
• C2 defends and invokes the keyword [Counter 3]
• C1 wins the Roll with 1 more success than C2
• C1 applies [Deteriorating 3] to C2.
• C2 has 1 ‘stack’ granted to them

Actor with No Items/Abilities/Keyword

If the Actor makes a roll with no specified keyword, they then only produce ‘stacks’

Resistance Example

• Creature 1 (C1) makes an attack against Creature 2 (C2), invoking the keyword: [Deteriorating 3] (as an Injury) from its weapon.
• C2 defends by invoking the Keyword: [Slip 4], coming from its polarity: Shadow.
• C2 wins the roll via a tie.
  • C1 does not apply [Deteriorating 3] to C2
  • The effect of [Slip] is applied to C1 at Rank 4 (from [Slip 4] )
• C1 has [Resistance 3] to the polarity: Shadow, and so the effect of Slip is only applied at Rank 1 (Slip 4 - Resistance 3 = Slip 1)