The Core Mechanic - This is a 2D6-based game.
DCs: Easy: 7 | Moderate: 9 | Hard: 11
I tend to resolve most things without dice when characters are proficient at something, have a significant advantage or good plan, or when they are not under any particular pressure. Sometimes rolls can have partial success or consequences. I’ll always tell you in advance what a roll entails.
Attributes - There are 5 attributes which govern characters, which typically range from -3 to +3.
New characters distribute [+2, +1, 0, -1, -2] in these five scores.
Talent - A character’s learned or innate capacity to perform some task. It can be anything, as long as it’s specific, like climbing or repairing things or seduction or long bow.
A talented character often doesn’t need to roll checks. When they do, talents allow you to reroll 1’s from your initial roll.
Ability - Something unique that only your character can do. You pick one when you make your character. In epic-length games (2-3 sessions), a character might learn additional Abilities, too, but usually you just have one.
There’s a bunch listed in Options, but you can make up your own too.
Turns - Combat happens in rounds. There isn’t initiative, we just go around the table in order, then the enemies go. Each round, you can move and do an Action.
To Hit - Roll 2D6. Add Strength to melee weapons, Add Clarity to ranged weapons. You need to beat the target’s Avoid, which is [7 + Agility].
Wounds - In this game, weapons cause Wounds.
Roll damage for your weapon, subtract the target’s Armor and convert that number below.
0-3: Just grazed you. No wounds. | 4-7: 1 Wound. | 8+: 2 Wounds.
If a character takes more Wounds than they can bear, which is [2 + Grit], they pass out. An unconscious character who takes another Wound dies.
Here’s a list of some example wounds.
That’s just a few, though. I’ve got my own chart I roll on to determine wounds most of the time.
Critical - On a weapon’s maximum damage output, you score a critical! You roll damage again, which can also critical indefinitely.
Rest - Characters who have time to rest in the game can attempt to mend or mitigate their Wounds.
If you have a week of rest or travel, you can mend up to one wound per week.
If you’re under duress or trying to mend a wound in a short timeframe (like overnight), any character in the group can roll a DC 10 Knowledge check to mend wounds. They only roll once per wound per rest, and if they fail, the wound remains.
Grappling - You can attempt to grapple with an opponent by making a Strength check against their avoid. If you succeed, you and your opponent are locked together in a grappling match.
On their turn, a grappler can choose from the following options:
Grapplers are free to drop or equip items while grappling.
Any action which isn’t an attack is a Maneuver.
Here’s a list of basic maneuvers anyone can use.
Abilities can introduce maneuvers that only specific characters can use.
This game focuses a lot on keeping the stuff you carry and wear grounded in a dramatic way.
You can Carry equipment in your Hands. For most two-handed people, that means you can carry two small things or one large thing.
You can Attach up to 2 Hands worth of things to your body with a scabbard or belt loops. Each item you attach to yourself in this way gives you a -1 Agility penalty.
Pack - You can use one if you want. It carries 4 Hands worth of gear.
While you’re carrying it:
It takes a full action to take off or put on a pack, or to retrieve an item from it.
Trinket - A small item you could keep in your pocket or tied around your neck. Everyone can carry one trinket for free.
Beasts of Burden - Animals and carts can carry items, too! It’s hard to get a Donkey into a Dungeon, though… (that is, of course, what D&D stands for, though, so you should try anyways.)
Sunder - Rolling snake eyes when you roll to hit with a weapon causes it to break in your hands!
A skilled fighter can willingly sunder their equipment to avoid taking a wound against an opponent’s attack if it was determined to be a hit. Note they make the decision before damage is rolled and wounds are calculated!
In stories and in life, fate smiles upon the brave and the bold. This game is no different.
A Fate point may be used to reroll any roll, anywhere on the table.
When you make your character, you get one Fate point automatically.
You can choose to give your character -1 to one of your positive attributes in exchange for fate points. This might make sense for your character - if you’re playing a teenager or some drunk, for instance.
Death and Elimination - Characters who, through play, die, cannot continue, or leave the path of the story, are left behind, either to continue their story another time, or to fall, as so many do, into the dust of memory. This will likely be a common occurrence, so here’s how we’ll handle things.
If it’s a short game (1 session), and a character leaves, that’s it! (Though they can still influence the game, see Legacy below.)
If we’re telling a longer story and a character dies, then we’ll introduce a new character for the widowed player to play starting the following session.
Legacy - When a player doesn’t have an active character during a session, they can still use their Fate points to help an active character. In fact, when your character leaves the story, they gain one extra Fate point to use!
In addition to the above options for Fate, you can also allow an active character to act using your character’s attributes and talents for a turn.
Imagine a priest’s warrior friend is slain in front of them, and they pick up their sword, imbued with their friend’s spirit, to avenge them! That’s what a legacy is about.