Time & Scale

Time and Scale

A Turn

Each turn consists of:

• Movement: Move up to your Stride in Zones. This can be split before or after the following parts of a turn.
• Resolution: Take one action: anything that requires a resolution
• Free Actions: Drawing a weapon, flipping a table, shouting a warning, picking something up: these are free actions. The number of free actions you can take per turn is equal to your Realm.

These can happen in any order. You can move, act, then stop. You can act first and then reposition. You can split movement before and after your resolution if the situation allows it.

A Round

A Round happens when every creature in a frame takes its turn.

Frames

A Frame is a unit of time that describes either a combat encounter or social encounter, it’s the zoom level that brings you into a battlemap often.

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Tempo and Initiative

Initiative (Who goes first) in Metanoia is binary and team-level, not individual.

One side has Tempo. The other does not. Tempo is established narratively: whoever acts first, initiates the confrontation, or seizes the moment has it. In ambiguous situations, the GM decides.

When a side has Tempo, they act first. Losing Tempo does not mean you cannot act; it means your side acts second this round.

Tempo shifts when a creature dies (to the side who killed said creature).

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The Response Rule

When you affect a creature with your resolution, that creature gets their turn next, regardless of where it falls in the order.

• If that creature has already taken its turn this round, it does not act again.
• If your resolution affects multiple creatures, the affected creature closest to you goes first.

This creates a reactive rhythm rather than a rigid sequence. An attack triggers a response. A response can trigger another response. Combat flows through interaction rather than down a fixed list.

Stride & Zones

Stride is how far a character can move in a single round in Zones. If you’re in a zone, you can interact with anyone in the same zone.

Zones are how areas are calculated for AOE abilities and your awareness as well. Be careful to note if something states that it effects a radius of zones, rather than a number of zones.

Zones are flexible: the GM sets them to fit the scene (a room, a courtyard, a stretch of road) rather than using a fixed distance.

Cover is handled by the [Protected] keyword.