Additional Rules#

Always Round Up#

Whenever a rule requires the division of a number, round up the result.

This also applies to rounds in combat. Whenever you see “N number of rounds”, assume N full rounds, start to finish.

Complications#

Complications occur whenever a d20 lands in the complication range. The normal complication range is 1, making each d20=20 create a complication. A range of 2 would create complications on 20 or 19, and so on.

Once a complication occurs, the GM may immediately create a negative Trait that stems from the result of the skill test or add up to 2 Chaos (depending on the severity of the test). Enemy NPCs that create complications are subject to the same negative Traits, which can be negated by spending Chaos. Momentum cannot be generated by buying off NPC complications.

Pushing the Envelope#

A skill test difficulty cannot go below zero (and even then, still requires at least one success). On cases where a Trait or some other effect should lower the difficulty even more, roll one additional d20 for every decrease in difficulty under zero.

Success at a Cost#

The GM may allow characters to Succeed at a Cost, either stating this before the test is attempted, or after the dice have been rolled. If this option is provided, then a failed skill test still results in a successful outcome, but the character also suffers one automatic complication, in addition to any that occur because of the dice.

Momentum cannot be spent to improve the outcome of a skill test that has Succeeded at a Cost.

In some cases, the cost can be increased further. This should be made clear when the option to Succeed at Cost is presented.

Piggybacking#

For skill tests that involve a group of PCs (like sneaking into a mansion, surviving in the wilderness or moving through a bloodthirsty mob), players may “buy into” another character’s roll by paying 1 Momentum. A player can buy into a roll without spending Momentum, but that increases the difficulty by +1.

Power Strain#

Without enough Mana to use a power, a character may make an effort to try and activate it anyway, risking themselves and others in the process.

• Make a skill test with the skill tag of the power, base difficulty 0. All extra successes are considered as Momentum that may be spent as Mana for the duration of this turn.
• If the roll did not generate enough Momentum to pay the cost of the power, the Momentum is lost. The GM gains Chaos equal to the cost of the power, which they may use immediately to deal damage to the PC (1 Chaos = 1 Damage), create Complications (2 Chaos) or add to the Chaos pool.

Contest Test#

Contest tests are made when two characters attempt to overcome one another. Each character makes a skill test at difficulty 0, then the extra successes are compared, with the active character (the one who initiated the contest) winning on draws. Any difference in the results goes to the winner as Momentum (or Chaos in the case of NPCs).

If a Trait exists that could affect both sides (like Darkness on a contest to detect a hiding character), it only increases the difficulty of one side, so as to not have a doubled effect.

Tracks, Challenges & Goals#

Tracks can be used to mark progress in accomplishing a goal:

• GM sets the track length (4-12).
• Successful skill tests mark progress on the track. By default, a skill test of difficulty X would increase the progress track by +X (GM may set other values).
• Momentum may be used to increase progress or reduce the time taken for a skill test to complete.

Failures, complications and Chaos may increase the track length or cause loss of progress.

Tracks can also be used to signify imminent danger or undesired outcomes, which will manifest when the track reaches zero.

Injuries & Death#

A character will suffer an injury if one of these conditions occur:

• The character’s stress track is filled.
• The character already had a full stress track and takes further stress.

Each injury you suffer increases the complication range of your skill tests by +1. Once a character has suffered three injuries, in any combination, they are defeated. If a character is defeated by a physical injury, they are also dying.

Once per scene, a single injury may be removed via successful Aid or Recover tests at difficulty 3. Injuries cannot be treated during combat.

Dying#

At the end of a round, each dying character rolls 1d20 to Recover. If a complication is rolled and the test failed, the character dies. Momentum and Determination cannot be used to enhance death rolls.

A successful Aid test can stabilize a character, saving them from the grip of death. They start the next scene with two injuries.

A character may self-stabilize by rolling 2 successes.