FIVEY: Fantasy Tabletalk Game

The contents of this page are incomplete, inconsistent, and unedited. They are mostly meant to serve as a reference for myself, a kind of “Bible” to keep track of my house rules.

Below is a character sheet! Click the image to view the PDF.

I hope you find this handy!

Introduction
Chapter 1. How to Play
Chapter 2. Character Creation
Chapter 3. Character Advancement

Example Feats

Chapter 4. Equipment
Chapter 5. Magic & Spells

Heavy WIP

Adventuring Activities
Encounters & Combat
Monsters
- Example Monsters
- Converting Monsters
Referee Guidelines
- Techniques of Play

Introduction

FIVEY is a fantasy role-playing game where players imagine heroic characters and play to see how their arcs progress throughout the course of a campaign, as the party strives towards epic common goals that bring all the characters together. Each game session is an opportunity to socialize with friends, exercise creativity, practice problem-solving skills, make arts and crafts, and virtually experience a fantasy world of the table’s creation.

What's Old Is New

If you have played the fifth edition of the world's biggest fantasy role-playing game, this section is to help you understand (if only on a high level) the differences between that system and FIVEY.

FIVEY is inspired heavily by the aforementioned game, but it emphasizes player accessibility and character customization. Rather than there being ability scores, there are only stat bonuses from 1-5. Rather than there being proficiency bonuses, you need only double your stat bonus if your character is skilled at a task. There are no character classes, but you can pick from various feats to create a character that better reflects your specific vision, while also making it easier to randomly generate a character that interests and surprises you. The numbers are smaller, such as monsters having fewer hit points, which simplifies situations like combat while emphasizing characters' unique abilities over their quantitative differences. The game is not just simpler, but more interesting, engaging, and customizable.

FIVEY also assumes a somewhat different play-style than the one endorsed in the other role-playing game. Rather than participants setting out to tell a story, especially one outlined by the referee, the participants are mainly playing to socialize and see what happens. It does not envision an overarching plot or a big bad guy, but a bunch of toys laid out on a sandbox. The context and aim of play is more casual. On the one hand this makes FIVEY easier to pull out on a whim for a game night, but this does not preclude you from playing through more long-term campaigns either. The idea is just to foreground the table, the agency of players, and the enjoyment of everyone during the game.

Inspirations

The following works in particular inspired the development of FIVEY:

Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition by Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford (2014).
The Goblin Laws of Gaming by Arnold Kemp (2016).
Knave by Ben Milton (2018).
Into the Dungeon: Revived by Vladimir Arabadzhi (2019).
Many Rats on a Stick, v.2 by Skerples (2019).
Shadowdark by Kelsey Dionne (2023).

The throughline among all these is system simplification and modular character customization.

I also owe FIVEY to conversations with Ava Islam, Dwiz, Emmy Verte, Ian McDougall, Idle Cartulary, Joshua McCrowell, qpop, Sandro A.D., Ty Pitre, Warren Denning, and W.F. Smith.

How to Play

This fantasy adventure game consists of a conversation between the party of players, each of which controls a character, and the referee who describes the game-world as the players’ fictional characters experience it. The players work towards a common goal, and the referee in turn narrates how the world reacts to the players' characters.

The players will employ their characters’ skills in order to resolve problems imposed by the referee during the adventure. Meanwhile, the referee has all the game-world at their disposal to challenge the characters and their players, by planning mysterious locations or threatening monsters or factional conflicts for the players to encounter—depending on the focus and direction of the campaign. As the campaign progresses, the world becomes more complex, as do the player-characters' interactions with it.

This section is addressed to players, about what tools their character has at their disposal to interact with the game-world. However, such tools are not restricted to what the player has written down on their character sheet. A character's formal attributes are, in some cases, the last resort to a player's curiosity, ingenuity, and common sense. Dice need only be cast if an outcome is uncertain! By corollary, if an outcome is certain, no dice need be cast!

Preparation

Besides writing utensils and scratch paper, the table needs at least one set of polyhedral dice to play FIVEY, including some 4-sided dice (d4), 6-sided dice (d6), 8-sided dice (d8), 10-sided dice (d10), twelve-sided dice (d12), and twenty-sided dice (d20). A ruler is also useful to measure distances on the tabletop or game board.

Players should each print out a character sheet to help organize their character’s various attributes and qualities. The referee should also print and pass around the pregame survey to help the table align on their desired play style and direction of the campaign. Anything else is icing on top!

Phases of the Game

A phase is a period of the game during which the players focus on a particular activity. The game passes from one game phase to another as the players and their characters shift focus towards different tasks at hand. Typical phases include world exploration, site exploration, encounters, and downtime between adventures. The extent to which these phases are detailed or the rate at which they occur at all depends on how the table wants to play and what they want the party to accomplish during the game.

Each phase has its own expectations of how the players will interact with the game-world. This can include different scales of time and space, since different activities may need more or less detail while characters are engaged with them. It also includes different sets of interactions or rules for the activity at hand, or play procedures to guide the flow of the phase as it unfolds. None of these are hard-and-fast rules, but guidelines to facilitate interesting play.

Phase Summaries

The world exploration phase occurs when the characters travel across vast swaths of land. Time in the game-world passes at hours or days at a time, since not every step taken by the party needs to be deliberated or described. Rather, the focus is on where characters are trekking and what they discover on their way there.

The site exploration phase occurs when the characters are carefully traversing and investigating a specific location in the game-world, such as a dungeon or a monster’s lair. The game “zooms in” on the scale of minutes, as the adventurers tip-toe down echoey caverns or sneak around places where they are unwelcome.

The encounter phase occurs when the players’ characters interact with “non-player characters” or NPCs controlled by the referee. Encounters can be social or violent depending on the situation or the party’s relationship with the NPCs, and they can even transition from one approach to another.

Finally, downtime occurs between adventures (typically, between sessions of the game) as characters rest and recuperate from whatever perils they faced while adventuring. Since the downtime phase “fast-forwards” the game-world for weeks or months at a time, it’s also the perfect time for characters to work towards long-term goals too slow and meticulous for regular play.

Task Resolution

A task is an action performed or attempted by a character during a game phase. Before casting the die to see if the character succeeds or fails, the referee and player should decide on the answers to the following four questions, each one subject to negotiation.

What does the character want to achieve?
What will it require or cost for them to try (e.g.: time, resources, gear)?
Is there a significant chance that they will fail?
If they can fail, what happens if they do?

After aligning on (or negotiating) these dimensions, if the task's outcome remains uncertain, the referee may ask the player to "check" one of their character's stats. Stat checks are one method of resolving uncertainty, by way of a dice roll comparing a creature's ability to the difficulty of a task they are attempting. Characters have four stats, each representing one such category of ability: charisma, dexterity, intelligence, and strength. The average person has a bonus of +1 in each stat, but players' characters tend to have abilities greater than that of the average person.

In order to attempt a stat check on behalf of a character, their player will roll 1d20 plus that character's most relevant stat. The character succeeds if the total score rolled meets or exceeds the difficulty class (DC) of the task at hand, or else fails. Below are examples, ranked by relative difficulty and scored by the likelihood that a typical person will succeed.

Stat Check Difficulty

Rank	Typical Chance	DC
★	50%	12
★★	40%	14
★★★	30%	16
★★★★	20%	18
★★★★★	10%	20

Even a one-star task has only a 50% chance of success for an unfit character, so bear in mind that one should only check a stat if the task is sufficiently difficult or dangerous. On the other hand, a task set at a difficulty class even lower than 12 is only appropriate for unskilled characters trying dangerous—even if not difficult—things. Such stat checks, however, should be quite rare if used at all.

Advantage & Disadvantage

When there are situational circumstances which would benefit or detract from a character’s likelihood of success, the character's player may roll with advantage or disadvantage respectively. Having advantage allows the player to take the best result of 2d20, while having disadvantage forces the player to take the worst result of 2d20.

These circumstances are considered in aggregate, not on an individual basis; that is to say that sources of advantage or disadvantage do not “stack”.

Cooperation

Generally speaking, up to two characters can cooperate at a task. Both players make a stat check for their respective character, but need only one success in order to succeed at the attempted task. The referee can decide if some tasks can only be attempted by one character at a time, if some tasks can be attempted by more than two characters, or even if a task requires more than one successful roll in order to succeed.

Stat Contests

When two or more characters oppose each other, the referee may call for a stat contest where all characters involved roll 1d20 plus their relevant stat bonus. The character with the highest roll wins the contest. For example, two characters arm-wrestling might contest their strength stats. The specific stat used may also differ between contestants, such as a sneaking character contesting their dexterity versus a potential observer's intelligence. Generally, anything that applies to a stat check would also apply to a contest.

Passive Scores

Any bonus can be converted into a difficulty class by adding 10 to it. This can help facilitate complex situations, such as one where multiple characters are contesting against one opponent, by transforming the resolution into a one-sided stat check. For example, if multiple characters are trying to dodge a dragon's breath, they may each attempt a stat check versus a difficulty class of 10 plus the dragon's stat.

Character Traits

Besides stats, characters have three major types of traits: skills, titles, and feats.

Skills & Attunement

Having a relevant skill allows the player to double their bonus during a stat check or contest. For example, a hellchild character may usually have +4 charisma; however, when they are attempting to deceive someone, they may double their bonus and so add +8 to the stat check because of their deception skill. Skills are not necessarily associated with a particular stat, and may be applied to any stat check if relevant to the task at hand.

Attunement is like possessing a temporary skill which allows you to use an item, such as a weapon, as if you had a skill related to it. Characters start an adventure being attuned to one of their items on hand, and they can attune to a different item each day if they want. However, they can only be attuned to one item at a time. A skill slot may be spent later on granting oneself permanent proficiency with the item.

Skills (etc.) do not “stack”. This means if you have two or more skills that are applicable to a task, you do not quadruple or octuple your bonus. You still just double your bonus.

Titles

Titles represent a character’s social circles, factional memberships, or claims to fame—identities which situate the character in the fantasy world. Those who share a common identity with the character will be more likely to assist them, whereas those prejudiced or who oppose a character’s faction will react more negatively.

Players may even occasionally collaborate with the referee to invent non-player characters that their own characters know by way of their title. For example, a magician might still be in contact with a fellow graduate from magical school, or a spy might know where another agent is based. Players can seek these characters for aid during the campaign, though they may only invent one such bond per title.

Titles also operate on an institutional level, allowing a character to call upon the aid of an organization rather than just that of an individual. For example, an acolyte may receive free care from temples belonging to their sect, or a veteran might still garner the respect of past or present soldiers and borrow equipment from them.

Finally, titles can help a player better understand the depths of their character’s knowledge. An elf sage has different experiences than would a human thief, and each one brings those different experiences to the table. Characters with a certain title are therefore considered skillful experts in that title’s domain with regards to history, culture, or craft.

Feats

Feats are powers which a character starts with or acquires throughout the course of the game. Beyond being passive fields of knowledge or expertise, feats tend to be unique actions to which only that character—or those like them—has access. A feat may allow a character to use magic more freely, or to perform more excellently in combat. Some even unlock special actions that can be taken during the rest or downtime phases of the game.

Besides that, there is nothing to speak generally of them, and it is better to read examples of specific feats to understand what potential they have for players who select them for their characters.

Inspiration Dice

Each player starts an adventure with inspiration dice (d6s) equal to their character's level. These are restored after each downtime phase, whether one takes place between sessions or in the middle of a session (although, in the latter case, they are not restored unless the characters embark on yet another adventure afterwards).

The player may spend 1 inspiration die to modify the result of any dice roll to their character's favor by the number rolled, especially after casting the die. This includes stat checks or contests. However, in no case may a single roll be modified by more than 1 die.

Certain character feats may unlock new ways of spending inspiration dice, such as to cast magic spells or perform special moves. The player may also rename "inspiration" to better reflect their character's driving force, e.g.: arcana, energy, fortune, fury, greed, grit, love, luck, magic, mana, power, or spirit. In doing so, that player should consider how this force operates for their character, and role-play this relationship accordingly.

Finally, there may be alternate avenues of gaining inspiration dice, from the referee or even from other players. One way is that the referee may gift an inspiration die for exceptional role-play, or for rolling an unmodified, "natural" 20 on a stat check or contest. There is a 5% chance each stat check of rolling a natural 20, or about a 10% chance if the player rolls with advantage!

Character Creation

You can create a character starting at level 0 or 1, depending on the table’s desired game difficulty. A level 0 character who later progresses to level 1 is equal in power and complexity to a character who starts at level 1. For this reason, level 0 characters may serve as a ‘tutorial’ for new players learning how to play the game.

Regardless of level, select an origin or background for your character's level 0 template.
Select a backstory for their level 1 template, if attained.
Select your character's starting items, including those received from their template.
Determine your character's hit points, defense class, and movement rate.

A level 0 character may start with both items indicated by their template. All characters start with 100 (3d6 × 10) “crowns” with which to purchase items in addition to whatever items are given by their templates.

Origins & Backgrounds

Origins and backgrounds are 'templates' of character traits that one can only start with and not attain later in the game. They encompass such things as a character's ancestry, culture, and profession prior to being called to adventure. They each provide: 1 title, 1 feat, 1 skill, +1 to a stat, and one of two potential starting items.

Origins represent a character's ancestry or upbringing, whereas backgrounds represent their life story just prior to their entrance in the campaign. Since origins tend to be more otherworldly than mundane, a player who chooses to play a human character may opt for an additional background instead of an origin. Doing so does not make a character less powerful, although it may make them feel more grounded.

Optionally, you may allocate your stats from scratch instead of accepting your origin or background's default assignment. For a level 1 character, you would get to allocate +2 to any one stat or allocate +1 to any two stats, for a stat total of +6 and a minimum stat of +1. The default assignments are just suggestions to get you playing the game as quickly as possible. The same is true for skills and feats!

Example Origins

Dwarf
Elf
Gnome
Hoblin
Orc
Hellchild
Scalespawn
Changeling
Nymph
Watcher

X. Changeling (+1 Intelligence)

It happens that a fairy falls into too great a debt and pays their due by abducting a human infant and selling it on the astral black market. Changelings are fairy infants, relatively worthless, with which the fairy debtor replaces the human baby. They may look like a human, but their minds are unusually aloof and even lost. They do not really know where they are or who they are, and neither does anyone else. The worst part is that by the time a changeling realizes what is wrong, it is too late to return whence they came (and their counterpart is who knows where). Most opt to make do with the strange human world of which they could never fully be a part.

Changelings start either with a fairy picture book (tier 1 spell) or a locket which contains a portrait with their true parents. Once a day, the changeling may consult the locker for motherly or fatherly wisdom, although their mileage may vary.

Changelings also have the Metamorphosis feat, by which they may transform their human appearance just once per day. Changing back into a previous form requires the changeling to wait until the next day.

X. Dwarf (+1 Strength)

Dwarves are a chthonic people who were born of the earth, live in the earth, and will return to the earth when they pass. Tradition runs through their veins like ore underground, and most commit their lives to serving their blood-kin and their soil. For a dwarf to venture from the deep is unthinkable to most, as if tearing themselves from their own mother, betraying their clan for strangers or even historical enemies. Such adventurous dwarves are the ones to realize that it is not the earth who makes them, nor their clan, but themselves and those whom they love. A greater world awaits them than what lies in the ground.

Dwarves start either with a toolkit corresponding to their family's craft, such as one for masonry or one for carpentry, or a dwarven encyclopedia full of maps and family trees (up to the birthday of the individual dwarf). Genealogy is a favorite pastime of old-fashioned dwarves, most having memorized their pedigree up to eight generations past.

Dwarves also have the Iron Stomach feat, which makes them immune to both alcohol and poison, and allows them to discern otherwise harmful or intoxicating substances in food or drink.

X. Elf (+1 Dexterity)

Elves teeter between dreams and waking life. After all, when decades pass like weeks and centuries like decades, life itself becomes like a dream. Moments flash and relationships fade, and nothing ever lasts. At the same time, it is those ephemeral things which give one's life meaning. One-year stands and decades-long friendships may dissolve into distant memories, but elves value memories like diamonds formed by the pressures of time. Finally, even more than treasured memories and evanescent pleasures, elves enjoy the art of flowery, figurative speech.

Elves start with either a small wind instrument (tier 1 spell) or a charm which allows them to summon and speak with a friendly animal companion (H1, A12, M6). In performing maintenance on natural habitats, such familiars help elves access places that they cannot otherwise reach.

Elves also have the Sleepwalker feat, which allows them to take 1 extra rest action per nighttime phase (2 rest actions total), and also makes them resistant against charm or sleep magic.

X. Gnome (+1 Intelligence)

Gnomes are eccentric little hermits who spend their long lives in pursuit of grand projects. It was a gnome who invented the first fax machine, another gnome who uncovered the secrets of quantum mechanics, and yet another gnome who calculated the age of the cosmos. As much as such innovations might impact society, the gnome is motivated by none other than pure interest in their craft—their various discoveries or inventions are unknown as often as they are uncredited. In between sleepless decades of tinkering, gnomes often travel the world in search of something more trivial to worry about.

Gnomes start either with a binder of blueprints (tier 1 spell) or a blank check from an unwise patron. It is not uncommon for gnomes to receive the latter in exchange for an incredible labor, but they are given with the expectation that the gnome will offer a return on the investment tenfold. Spending the check will almost certainly result in a followup visit.

Gnomes also have the Tinker feat, allowing them to spend 1 rest action to construct a small clockwork or electrical device provided they have the necessary materials. Every gold piece spent is one component, such as: a button, a switch, a motor, a sensor, an indicator, or actuator. For example, a gnome could spend 7 gold pieces to construct a toy motorcycle with two wheels, a sensor, a motor, a turning mechanism, a power switch, and a photocell battery.

X. Hellchild (+1 Charisma)

The birth of a hellchild is a travesty that befalls families through no fault of their own. Although folk have traditionally believed that one is born of a mother’s combined heresy and infidelity—i.e., by having sex with a demon—the educated know that there is no reason why a child should sprout horns and a devil’s tail. Yet the hellchild becomes a pariah, outcast from all levels of society and condemned to make their own way. Some hide their nature made manifest, tucking their tails into trousers and shaving their horns so they don’t peek out from their hair. Others cannot stand to be what they cannot.

Hellchildren begin either with a religious book “gifted” by their parents (tier 1 spell scroll) or a change of clothes with which they can take on an alter ego (taking 1 hour to do so). It is not uncommon for hellchildren to live two lives, one among polite society and one in the “underground” where they feel truly and fully understood by others like them. The preferred dress of any one hellchild varies.

Hellchildren also have the Street Magic feat, which allows them to create a minor and temporary illusion of one of the five senses; for example, they can change the sound of their voice, or make poison taste like wine.

X. Hoblins (+1 Dexterity)

Hoblins are little people that have always survived under society's shadow, as if always escaping the bigfolk’s gaze when they are stumbled upon. Some inhabit villages in hidden valleys, some wander in caravans along forgotten roads, and some live in people’s attics silently exchanging favors for food and shelter. No matter their lifestyle, every hoblin appreciates a warm meal and a story, and most pursue the perfection of one art or the other. They make for excellent chefs and bards, as well as cheats and burglars.

Hoblins begin with either a pouch of magical herbs (restores 1d6 hit points when incorporated into a feast; single use) or a handed-down walking stick which negates movement penalties from difficult terrain.

Hoblins also have the Little Trouble feat, allowing them to become virtually invisible when hiding in brush, in shadow, or even behind a larger creature—giving them advantage should they attempt an attack on their next turn in combat.

X. Orc (+1 Strength)

Orcs are descended from a long line of enslaved warriors, carried across oceans to shed blood on behalf of captor nations. Once, an army of orcs had banded with an island of would-be victims against the imperial power that held them both. Although they secured victory in battle, the civilized world forbade them a seat at their table, and held them responsible for the costs of lost opportunity. The orcs were never blamed for their forced participation in war, but they were also never forgiven for seeking a better life. They are often met with fear and suspicion, on account of their supposed antisocial nature.

Orcs begin with either a warhammer passed down from their progenitors (1d8 bludgeoning damage while single-handed, or 1d10 bludgeoning damage while two-handed) or a small heirloom of their ancestral people. The latter is basically indecipherable to the one who possesses it, a symbol of someone else’s loss rather than of their own belonging. There is a 1-in-20 chance that any other orc has a similar heirloom, originating from the same culture.

Orcs also have the Force of Will feat: when they would fall to 0 or less hit points, they may fall to 1 hit point instead and thereafter receive advantage on melee attacks until they fall again or are healed.

X. Scalespawn (+1 Strength)

Scalespawn are thought to have originated during the age of heroes, when a dragon was slain and its scales (or teeth, as some would have it) were sown by the victor in virgin soil. Thenceforth sprung fully formed beings, having the appearance of human-sized, upright dragons with neither wings nor tails, but with scales like armor and claws like daggers. The spawn began to slay each other until only a handful remained, whom the hero then recruited to settle the dragon’s land. The city born of strife would never know peace, and the scalespawn were eventually exiled as evidence of the founder’s shame. Some view them as victims of circumstance, while others see only ashes in their wake. Either way, human beings regard them with fear and awe.

Scalespawn either start with a ceremonial dragon-tooth dagger (deals d6 piercing or elemental damage as desired by the user, with the latter element type corresponding to the user’s particular ancestry) or with a purse of poisonous herbs—enough to kill a dragon.

Scalespawn also have the Dragon-Born feat: once per day, they can spend 2 ◆ to breathe like a dragon in order to deal 2d6 elemental damage to all creatures in a line up to 6 paces away, or just d6 damage if the target(s) pass a DEX contest versus the user’s STR (or a DC equal to 10 plus the user’s STR). The elemental type of the attack depends on the user’s draconic progenitor; for example, the descendant of a red dragon may breathe fire.

X. Nymph (+1 Charisma)

Nymphs are animistic spirits born out of relationships that human beings enjoy with nature. For example, a dryad is born when a human being first speaks to a tree. The nymph is then adopted by her family in nature, to grow together and bring about the well-being of the local ecosystem. A nymph's personality is nurtured by her relationships with her sisters as well as by her continued relationships with mortals. Tragically, however, the only thing that would set a nymph on a journey would be if her home or sisterhood were lost to her. Nymphs are, generally and otherwise, homebodies.

Nymphs start with either a manuscript of an ancient epic (tier 1 spell scroll) or a living relic of their natural form: dryads have a sapling cut from their tree; oreads have a rock hewn from their home mountain; and both naiads and nereids have a flask of water from their source. The nymph's physical form may perish, but so long as her relic survives then so does she if only in another form. If the nymph’s relic is entrusted to a sisterhood, they will nurse her back to health over the course of d6 days.

Nymphs also have the Girls Night feat: as a rest action, a nymph may commune with other nymphs of the same type if they would be found around where she is camping. Local sisters may have obscure knowledge of the area, especially pertaining to its ecology.

X. Watcher (+1 Intelligence)

Watchers are self-inflicted refugees of the divine realms, casting themselves from Heaven to take on the form and desires of flesh. Some poems sing of angels falling in love with human beings, exchanging immortality for indulgence, but more often than that the watcher desires something more holistic: to live life fully with the expectation that they will one day die, to enjoy love knowing that it will not last. Some watchers, despite their newfound mortality, yet align themselves with the cause of Heaven, going rogue to recruit humans in pursuit of the Good. Others, of course, are less altruistic.

Watchers start with either an auto-relic (tier 1 spell)—that is, a remnant of their divine origin with some leftover miraculous power, such as a feather from their lost wings or a crystal eye—or a memento of a mortal individual beloved by the watcher, with which the watcher can spry to know where they are.

Watchers also have the Communion feat, which allows them to spend 1 rest action to speak with a representative of their patron deity. The representative will answer one yes-no question on the deity’s behalf, and they will do so to the best of their knowledge.

Example Backgrounds

Acolyte
Barbarian
Criminal
Entertainer
Noble
Sage
Spy
Veteran

X. Acolyte (+1 Charisma)

A belief is not natural, but it takes effort on a community’s part to maintain it and on an individual’s part to sustain it. An acolyte is one who lives out a belief in order to ensure its survival. They practice rituals learned from their elders who had learned it from their own elders. Through these rituals, they interface between their community now and their community past. Certainly the acolyte speaks with spirits, but are they the spirits of divinities on a plane beyond, or the very reflections of those who believe in them? Some acolytes therefore do not place their faith in belief per se, but in the ritual itself.

Acolytes start with either a prayer book (tier 1 spell) or a holy symbol which, when held in one hand, allows the wielder to convert their weapon’s physical damage into holy damage (using CHA instead of STR or DEX to attack and determine damage).

Acolytes also have the Blessing feat, which allows them to spend 1 rest action in order to cure an ally of an ailment, restore some of their hit points equal to 1d6 + CHA, or make them resistant against a certain type of damage for the next day. If the historical first act of society was tending to the wounded, then the acolyte is the inheritor of this original tradition.

X. Barbarian (+1 Strength)

Civilization draws the line between itself and the so-called barbarians at its gates. The barbarian lives under the shadow of that civilization, always seeking to evade capture and hostage by a people who wants nothing more than their home, their resources, and their body. It is no wonder then that those cast into the role of barbarism are frustrated, their will to survive for themselves confused with a lack of gratitude for their “liberators”. Barbarians wander the frontier as they make their own way, often seeking companions with whom to make their lonely life worth living.

Barbarians start either with a greataxe endowed with generational rage (1d12 slashing damage, two-handed) or a spear that flies into the user’s hand when called (1d6 piercing damage, or 1d8 when two-handed).

Barbarians also have the Rage feat, where once daily the user may become enraged for the duration of an encounter. During this time, the player may add their weapon’s (unmodified) stat bonus to its damage die if they are skilled or attuned with wielding it. The barbarian may also choose between their strength or dexterity stat to determine their unarmored defense class.

X. Criminal (+1 Dexterity)

Criminals care not for the law’s impositions upon free-thinkers like themselves. They see through the matrix of legal fiction for what it is: a bunch of rules invented by idiots with power so they do not have to share it, enforced by lackeys with threats of imprisonment or death. Yet upon acting upon this realization, they are thrown out from the social cage of which they thought they had broken free. Criminals only have other criminals, and left to their own devices they reinvent the wheel of power in the form of mafias and thieves’ guilds to keep others from taking what they think is theirs.

Criminals start either with a single-use skeleton key which can bypass any lock, or a set of loaded dice which allows the player to gain advantage at playing dice games (if the criminal gets away with using them).

Criminals also have the Belly of the Beast feat, which allows them to spend 1 rest action at night to detect and investigate a settlement’s criminal scene. By walking down shady streets and stalking clubs, an experienced criminal can effortlessly clock gang activity and figure out who’s calling the shots or who’s feuding with whom.

X. Entertainer (+1 Charisma)

An entertainer is an artist whose soul is their paint and whose body, one way or another, is their canvas. Whether they sing or dance or tell jokes or fight in an arena, entertainers capture the hearts of the public and cause the eyes of others to see in them a mirror of themselves, their aspirations, and their desires. On the other hand, while lost in their audience's gaze, some entertainers struggle to recognize themselves and what they want out of their own life. One pours out ink from the well of their heart, occasionally to dip their pen and find it dry.

Entertainers start either with their favorite musical instrument (tier 1 spell) or a treasured manuscript of their song, poem, or play.

Entertainers have the One Night Only! feat, where an entertainer and their 'groupies' may receive free lodging at an inn if they spend 1 rest action performing there. Locals and passers-by who attend the performance will remember the entertainer fondly and maintain a friendly attitude towards them.

X. Noble (+1 Intelligence)

Nobles inherit by birth for what their ancestors had sent others to die. Receiving the world on a silver platter paints their view of it, especially one flush with flatteries and indulgences deserving of their family’s title. Yet not all aristocrats are guaranteed the same life from birth onward, such as those whose house falls into misfortune or those whose siblings took the greatest share of the inheritance. The first thing on their mind thereafter is how to re-attain the lifestyle they once enjoyed. After all, they are not often predisposed to looking at themselves beyond the mirror.

Nobles start with either a wax stamp of their house’s coat of arms or the deed to an old summer home—the second or third pick of the family’s holdings, most likely in a state of disrepair, and probably full of cockroaches or monsters at this point in time.

Nobles also have the Good Name feat. Commoners are cautious to offend aristocratic sensibilities, and will remain polite even if slighted or troubled. A noble character can also seek an audience with a local noble. Both of these abilities hinge on the noble’s title being recognized and undisputed.

X. Sage (+1 Intelligence)

Occasionally, the black cauldron of history boils over and spills out tribulations unreckoned by its victims. It is during times like these that sages rise to the challenge, dedicating their lives to uncover secrets unimaginable by those overwrought with everyday troubles. Some are driven by passion, others by awe, and others by fear. The works of most sages are accepted by society with open arms. However, the greatest mysteries are those upon which the world sits. When such a mystery is found out, the powers that be may become suspicious—or even hostile.

Sages start with either a manuscript of a theoretical dissertation (tier 1 spell) or a peculiar artifact yet to be understood by that sage or by anyone else (tier 1 spell). One item is the product of a sage’s knowledge, and the other its object.

Sages also have the Alumni Association feat, whereby the sage—if they do not know the answer to a particular question of historical, cultural, or theoretical significance—knows where to look or whom to ask in order to find out. The wisest sage knows that they know nothing at all, and that one must rely upon the wisdom of others where their own falters.

X. Spy (+1 Dexterity)

Governments, firms, and other organizations employ spies in order to covertly protect their interests or compromise other institutions by discovering confidential information. Such agents are forced to give up any hope of a normal life, and are encouraged to forget even the smallest traces of their past. Their mind is their most valuable asset, and their personhood is their greatest liability. Try as they may, however, spies cannot let go of themselves. Of those who try to escape their predicament, few survive. Others find their duty too significant to abandon, for the sake of what matters to them.

Spies start with one or two hyper-specific gadgets whose functionality the player may declare as they see fit so that they may execute or attempt a task otherwise impossible with what tools they have. Once the item is declared, it cannot be undeclared and sent back into the realm of quantum possibility.

Spies also have the Small World feat, whereby they can always find an allied spy in another large city and request obscure or sensitive information from them. Spies can also always recognize other spies and their allegiance, if not by sight then by slight mannerisms which betray their origin.

X. Veteran (+1 Strength)

Veterans are survivors of war who have been discharged, honorably or otherwise, from service. Most don’t enter a war excited to spill blood, but no one leaves wanting to spill any more. For whatever reason a soldier takes up arms, as proud as many were to fight on behalf of their town or country, just as many are satisfied or desperate to put them back down. Likewise, those who survive often cannot shake the feeling that a part of them had died anyway. Without purpose and without any channels of support, it is not uncommon for a veteran to once more take up arms—albeit, this time against their better judgement.

Veterans start with a military-grade longsword (1d8 slashing damage while single-handed, or 1d10 slashing damage while two-handed) or crossbow (1d8 piercing damage, includes 1 unit of ammo). That’s about all that they took back with them.

Veterans also have the Battle-Hardened feat, which allows them to increase their hit points by 2 plus their level, and gain 1 additional hit point each time they advance. They also have a base healing rate of 1d8 instead of 1d6.

Starting Items

Characters start with two items pertaining to their origin and background(s). They also start with 100 (3d6 × 10) crowns with which to purchase other equipment, the nature of which is more mundane than what their origin and background(s) may provide. See Equipment to learn more and see what might interest your character.

It is also assumed that each character starts with a backpack, since their inventory consists of items that are either on-hand or stashed away somewhere on their body. The following starting packs are available, each item listed taking 1 slot, to help quickly populate a character's inventory; also listed is a refill pack of basic adventuring necessities.

Burglar's Pack (30 cr., 6 slots): Ball bearings, candles, crowbar, tinderbox, rations, toolbox.
Dungeoneer's Pack (20 cr., 6 slots): Grappling hook, pitons, rations, rope, tinderbox, torches.
Explorer's Pack (20 cr., 6 slots): Camping gear, rations, rope, tinderbox, torches, waterskin.
Scholar's Pack (40 cr., 6 slots): Inkwell & pen, lamp, oil flask, rations, tinderbox, blank scroll.
Refill Pack (10 cr., 4 slots): Oil flask, rations, torches (2).

By default, a character can fit up to 20 items of arbitrary but significant size in their inventory. Small items that could fit in your character's pocket need not be placed in a slot; make a note of it instead!

Option: Encumbrance

To increase the game's difficulty, the player may split their inventory down the middle with 10 slots on each side. If their character has more than 10 slots occupied, the player subtracts 2 paces from their movement rate.

Unless one’s character travels lightly, their player can expect them to carry about 10 items at the start of an expedition. This means that the acquisition of treasure will, more likely than not, encumber that character! See Movement to learn more.

Other Attributes

The player also marks other attributes on their character's sheet: hit points, defense class, and movement rate.

Hit Points

Hit points measure a character's distance from death. They represent a combination of luck, stamina, and health. This is especially true for heroes who—although they begin the game as regular people—accumulate hit points as the campaign progresses.

When a creature is harmed, they will take points of damage, often determined by a roll (e.g., 1d6). Once their total damage accumulated equals or exceeds their hit points, they perish. This can be represented by a running tally of damage points, or by subtracting hit points (equal to damage dealt) relative to a maximum number thereof.

Defense Class

When one character attacks another, the latter's defense class is the difficulty class required for the attacker to land a hit. This sort of stat check is called an attack roll. If the attacker succeeds, damage is dealt according to the attacker's weapon; see Weapons to learn more.

A character's defense class either is based on their armor worn or else equals 10 plus their dexterity (skills not applicable); see Armor to learn more. Also, if a player's attack roll turns up a natural 20 and they thereby gain 1 inspiration die, there is nothing stopping that player from spending it immediately to increase the damage they deal against their target.

Sometimes the script is flipped, and a character must succeed at a stat check in order to avoid taking damage; for example, when many characters are targeted by one large attack.

Movement

Character movement rates are given in paces, where 1 pace equals about 5 feet in the game-world but 1 inch on a tabletop game board. The base movement rate is 6 paces (i.e., 30 feet). This rate is used as-is during combat when characters hustle across a battlefield. However, it may also be rescaled to accommodate different phases, like when characters are hushedly exploring a dungeon or other adventure site.

When a character is climbing, crawling, or swimming, the distance moved costs twice as much as usual.

Character Advancement

As you play and develop your character throughout the course of the game, they practice and improve their abilities. This is represented by earning experience points and gaining levels. Level 1 characters start with 100 experience points.

Level	Description	Experience
0	(Newbie)	0
1	Beginner	100
2	Expert	300
3	Champion	600
4	Master	1,000
5	Immortal	1,500

Whenever a character gains a new level, they gain the following benefits:

+4 (1d6) total hit points, unless a feat states otherwise.
+1 healing rate (base 1d6 unless a feat states otherwise).
+1 point to any one stat, to a maximum of +5 in that category.
+1 slot each for a new skill, title, and feat.

The ways in which characters earn experience depends on the focus of the game. In general, a character may spend their leftover inspiration dice at the end of an adventure (before a downtime phase) in order to gain experience points equal to the sum of the dice. If a character has a number of inspiration dice in excess of their level, they roll all the dice but keep a number equal to their level. For example, a level 1 character who ends a session with 2 inspiration dice may roll both but can only count the higher of the two towards their experience.

Example Feats

This section contains feats that a character may attain beyond their origin or background as they acquire new abilities throughout the campaign's course. Unlike the previous section, they are not tied to particular titles or skills, and are meant to help players mold their characters into a unique vision.

Equipment

As mentioned during Character Creation, each character starts with 100 (3d6 × 10) crowns plus what items are provided to them by their origin and background(s). Although crowns may appear to be a granular currency, most values are given in multiples of 10. That is to say that 10 crowns is the “real” base unit of currency, and that anything less than that quantity is not often worth counting. On the other hand, if the table prefers to pinch pennies, they can do so with little effort.

Armor

A character without armor has a defense class equal to 10 plus their dexterity bonus, and a base movement rate of 6 paces. If they opt to wear armor instead, its defense class will replace their unarmored defense class. Equipping a shield augments the user’s defense class, regardless if they are wearing armor or not. Better types of armor also require the user to have an increasingly high strength stat, lest their movement rate decrease by 2 paces.

Armor Type	Cost	Defense Class	Strength	Notes
Leather	20 cr.	12	1	Insulates heat. Resists electricity.
Scale mail	50 cr.	13	2	Vulnerable to electricity.
Chain mail	100 cr.	14	3	Vulnerable to electricity.
Ring mail	150 cr.	15	4	Vulnerable to electricity.
Plate	200 cr.	16	5	Vulnerable to electricity.
Shield	10 cr.	+1	—	Destroy to negate an attack.

An armor's defense class can also be used as a difficulty class when a character is struggling against their equipped armor. While donning or doffing armor in a jiffy, spend 2 ◆ to check dexterity against the armor's defense class in order to do so. The armor's defense class also serves this function while trying to swim—taking 1d6 drowning damage on a failed check. This check is unnecessary if the character is unarmored, and neither will they risk drowning in the same way. God forbid that a character drowning in plate armor will have to choose between swimming to shore or taking it all off in the water.

When discussing abstract forms of armor, such as an animal's skin, the following comparisons are apt: a "light" defense class is as leather (DC 12); a "medium" defense class is as chain mail (DC 14); and a "heavy" defense class is as plate (DC 16). Granular defense class values are a boon known only to player-characters, apparently.

Weapons

There are two main types of weapons: melee and ranged.

The cost of a melee weapon depends mainly on its physical size, which in turn determines its damage die (from d4 to d10). Weapons are also distinguished by their damage type: bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing. A weapon’s damage type impacts its efficacy against certain kinds of armor or creatures, such as a skeleton whose bones are brittle to hammers but difficult to pierce with an arrow. As a rule of thumb: hammers and maces will bludgeon, daggers and spears will pierce, and swords and axes will slash.

Melee Weapons

Weapon	Examples	Cost	Damage	Notes
Small	Club, dagger, handaxe, javelin	10 cr.	d6	Can throw up to 4 paces away.
Medium	Axe, hammer, spear, sword	20 cr.	d8	Roll d8 when using both hands.
Large	Greataxe, greatsword, maul, pike	50 cr.	d10	Requires two hands.

Another attribute worth considering is a melee weapon's reach. Swords, axes, and hammers are used for close-quarters combat where the target is just 1 pace away from the attacker. Long-reach weapons such as spears, however, are wielded at a distance of 2 paces away. This means that a character wielding a polearm may have the benefit of attacking first one round, but must spend an action backing up if their target closes in on the next round.

Ranged weapons are distinguished by category rather than by size, per se: slings, bows, and crossbows. Each one requires a form of ammunition. Quivers of arrows or cases of bolts can each be purchased for 10 crowns. One unit of ammunition (i.e., one quiver or one case) is spent per encounter if the user takes multiple shots during that timeframe; however, if the user is frugal and only uses the ranged weapon once, then the ammunition is not spent. Alternatively, treat each quiver or case as containing up to 20 shots' worth of arrows or bolts.

Ranged Weapons

Weapon	Cost	Damage	Range	Notes
Sling	10 cr	d6	6 paces	Uses stones as ammo.
Bow	20 cr	d8	24 paces	Requires two hands.
Crossbow	40 cr	d10	18 paces	Requires two hands. Spend 1 ◆ to reload prior to shooting.

Most ranged weapons deal piercing damage, since they tend to shoot small projectiles at speeds rapid enough to pierce the skin of the target. The one important exception to this rule is the sling, since stones do not pierce but bludgeon one's skin. Some thrown weapons, such as a handaxe, might slash rather than pierce or bludgeon; however, they are considered to be melee weapons and so do not operate by the usual rules of ranged ones (especially with respect to ammunition).

Adventuring Gear

Simple metal tools such as crowbars and hammers cost 10 crowns. More complex items that require fine crafting skills, such as lanterns or grappling hooks, cost 20 crowns. Toolkits that contain smaller, specialized items also cost 20 crowns; for example, a thief's kit might contain files and lockpicks and scissors, and a cook's kit might contain pots and pans.

Smaller, cheaper items can be purchased in sets of 4 (1d8) per 10 crowns. The set can consist of different items, not necessarily all of the same type.

Ball bearings
Bell
Blanket
Caltrops
Candle
Codex
Incense
Inkwell
Nails
Oil Flask
Parchment
Perfume
Pitons
Ration
Rope
Scroll case
Sealing wax
Soap
String
Torch

Magic & Spells

Spells can typically be found trapped on parchment, in the form of scrolls or grimoires. When a regular person casts a spell, it is released from its vessel in order to achieve the desired effect (to the weakest degree possible). It takes a trained magician to preserve a spell or to increase its power.

In the spell descriptions below, [L] refers to the level of the spell being cast. [L] equals 1 unless specified by a feat.

Attract: Draw and attach metal objects within 10’ towards each other, chosen and controlled by you, for up to [L]d6 minutes.
Charm: Cast on a creature so that they have a friendly disposition towards you for up to [L]d6 hours.
Feather Fall: Ignore falling damage for up to [L]d6 × 10’.
Fire Ball: Point at an area within sight and cause it to explode, causing all entities within a radius of 1 pace to take [L]d6 fire damage, or half on a failed save.
Knock: Automatically unlock a door which has previously been sealed by any means, whether mundane or magical.
Illuminate: Light up a space 10’ in diameter for [L]d6 exploration turns, which cannot be extinguished except if the user breaks concentration.
Levitate: Lift an object into the air no more than 10’ for up to [L]d6 minutes.
Lightning Bolt: Draw lightning from your finger and strike as far as you can see in a straight line; each target takes [L]d6 electric damage, or half on a failed save.
Shroud: Turn [L] objects or creatures invisible for [L]d6 × 10 minutes, or until their skin is touched.
Turn Undead: Cause up to [L]d6 hit dice worth of undead to turn away and freeze in place, each one skipping its next turn in combat.

Adventuring Activities

This section describes an overarching structure for the adventuring party’s day, in order to help facilitate their various journeys and activities while feeling like the world goes on. The 24-hour day is split into two halves: daytime and nighttime.

Daytime is a 12-hour period during which the meat of the adventure will take place while characters travel the world and explore fantastic locales. Major activities will take at least 1 hour, though many will take longer. Detailed here are world and site exploration.

Nighttime is also a 12-hour period but, unlike daytime, it is mostly spent inactive by the adventuring party as they rest and recuperate from the day’s activities. That being said, characters also have a window of time to pursue leisure or prepare for the next day. This is called their rest action, of which they (typically) get one per night.

World Exploration

World exploration is when characters roam a vast landscape, stumbling upon landmarks and the secrets of those who inhabit them. There’s little point in recounting every step every second, so world exploration is experienced on the order of hours. The basic unit of travel is the 6-mile hex, which typically takes 4 hours to traverse. This means that, barring other conditions, you can travel 3 such hexes a day. Such other conditions include:

Hex Travel Time

Hours	Condition
4	Basic travel time.
+1	Difficult terrain.
+1	Difficult weather.
–1	Paved roads.

This means that passing through a hex with a paved highway takes only 3 hours, whereas a stormy mountain might take 6 hours. You can negate your rest action (or ‘spend’ it if you would prefer to think of it that way) in exchange up to 4 more hours of travel that day.

World exploration might “zoom into” site exploration if the party happens upon a place or situation that interests them.

Random Encounters

While traveling through populated or, God forbid, dangerous areas, the referee may ask a player check if the party encounters others on their journey. The likelihood is an x-in-20 chance where x equals the travel time of a hex. In the usual case, i.e. if a hex took 4 hours to traverse, that chance would be 4-in-20 so the player would have to roll 5 or more on a d20. The specific people or creature(s) encountered will differ region to region.

Site Exploration

Site exploration is when the party navigates and interacts with a specific location. The players zoom into their characters’ activity and explore through their characters’ eyes. While players are this close and personal with the game-world, minutes matter for them as well as for their characters.

Unless the party is moving together, each character gets to act. Such an action might be investigating a small area (about 100 sq. ft. or 10 sq. m.), digging through a desk, forcing open a door, or picking a stuck lock. Some actions may require difficult stat checks if there is a likelihood that the character may fail at performing them.

However, when it comes to poking around at the site in general, the referee should not call for even an easy stat check. It’s much more fun to ask about one’s surroundings and act confidently upon that information, rather than being kept from interesting situations because of the roll of a die.

A round of actions might take about 10 minutes in the game-world but, in aggregate, characters spend about as much time exploring a location as their players do. This means that 6 rounds or 1 real hour of play (whichever comes first, if it matters) corresponds with 1 hour in the game world.

Random Encounters

If the site being explored is dangerous, the party risks every minute they spend bumbling around in a place where they do not belong. Similar to world exploration, the referee may ask a player to check if the party encounters other people or creatures. The likelihood is x-in-20, but x here equals the number of turns that have passed since the party entered the space or since the last encounter took place. The “clock” starts at 1, and increases by 1 each turn thereafter.

Rest Actions

As described above, rest actions take place in an approximately 4-hour window during a nighttime phase. All characters have the below actions available:

Recover: Restore hit points equal to your healing rate (usually, 1d6 plus your level).
Attune: Attune to a different item than the one to which you are currently attuned.
Practice: Restore an inspiration die.
Cook: Transform fresh ingredients into meals to feed the party, fulfilling the need to eat.
Scavenge: Gather small quantities of food or resources from the wilderness.
March: Get up to 4 additional hours of travel time.

Characters must also eat a meal by the end of the day; eating food does not cost a rest action, but procuring and preparing food may. Players may earn special rest actions from their characters’ feats, or come up with unlisted rest actions.

Downtime Activities

Time between adventures passes on the scale of "tennites", a period of time lasting 10 days equivalent to a fortnight in our own world. During this time, characters spend money to acquire a certain lifestyle and thereby unlock downtime actions. Below are six lifestyles, each having a tennitely cost. Certain feats may unlock more special downtime activities. Generally speaking, however, players are not restricted to the below choices, and may invent other options for their characters that reflect their lifestyle.

Lifestyle Expenses	Cost	Downtime	Description
Squalid	—	Beg	Homelessness, violence, and disease. Regarded as vermin by civilization.
Poor	10 cr.	Work	Common rooms and soup kitchens. The bare necessities to survive.
Modest	20 cr.	Carouse	Personal privacy and simple pleasures. A semblance of stability.
Comfortable	50 cr.	Study	Nice clothes and an even nicer home. The proverbial white picket fence.
Wealthy	100 cr.	Establish	A staff of domestic servants. Respect, dignity, and command.
Decadent	200 cr.	Ball	All the excesses of high society. Bodily indulgences and social intrigue.

This cost may be divided by 10 to calculate a daily expense of that lifestyle's caliber. For example, it may cost 2 crowns to spend a night at a modest inn. It may likewise be multiplied by 2 for seasonal downtime or by 10 for yearly downtime, allowing players to speed through 3 or 12 downtime turns respectively.

Players may roll to see if their character experiences a random event during downtime. A good event might be that they gain advantage on whatever roll they make during the activity, whereas a bad event might impose disadvantage or have even worse consequences for the character. The greater the reward, the greater the risk.

1d20	Occurrence
1-5	Bad event.
6-15	—
16-20	Good event.

If a character has a certain lifestyle, they may pick a downtime option from a lesser lifestyle or even pay the corresponding (cheaper) expense. This matters less when spending seasonally or annually, however, since it's cheaper to spend high for the whole period of time than it is to spend on individual activities of varying costs.

Beg

The character solicits money on the streets, gaining crowns equal to 1d6 plus a relevant stat. Optionally, the die rolled can instead be based on the settlement type. Skills may apply.

Settlement	Revenue
Hamlet	1d4 crowns
Village	1d6 crowns
Town	1d8 crowns
City	1d10 crowns
Metropolis	1d12 crowns

A bad event might be that the character receives unwanted attention from snobs or law enforcement, causing them to lose all crowns gained or to be thrown out from the settlement.

Work

Requires at least a poor lifestyle of 10 crowns per tennite. The character takes up a temporary job and earns crowns equal to 1d20 plus a stat relevant to the industry. Skills may apply.

A bad event might be that the character is barred from ever working again at the particular establishment, and must find another job should they want to return to the trenches. Alternatively, if they employ their own labor, they may experience a small loss of capital.

Carouse

Requires at least a modest lifestyle of 20 crowns per tennite. The character goes out on the town to party long and hard. They earn experience equal to 1d20 plus a relevant stat. Skills may apply.

A bad event might be that the character commits a crime while black-out drunk.

Study

Requires at least a comfortable lifestyle of 50 crowns per tennite, and for the student to know someone under whom they can study. The character attempts to learn a new skill or feat, or to research a topic of interest. They must check a relevant stat (DC 16) to succeed. Skills may apply to research, but not to learning a new skill.

A bad event might be that the character angers the local librarian or trainer, and must find another in the future.

Establish

Requires at least a wealthy lifestyle of 100 crowns per tennite. The character establishes or builds upon an institution, such as a castle, temple, firm, or political party. Each completed institution proffers a line of credit each tennite, which cannot be accumulated but can be reinvested.

Institutional development is measured in points of capital, which is less money per se than a measure of social command. Each tennite of downtime spent performing this action invests in the institution capital equal to 1d20 plus a relevant stat. Skills may apply.

Level	Description	Investment	Line of Credit
0	Dreamstuff	—	—
1	Insignificant	10 capital	1 crown
2	Small	30 capital	5 crowns
3	Middling	120 capital	20 crowns
4	Ascendant	240 capital	50 crowns
5	Large	360 capital	100 crowns
…	Massive	+120 capital	+50 crowns

Only massive or greater institutions generate the revenue necessary to reinvest in themselves, although this still requires a downtime action on the owner's part to facilitate the institution's development. Credit can be also be spent on equipment or hirelings (besides what employees are hired by the institution).

A bad event might be a sudden loss of capital equal to 10 (1d20) percent of the total.

Ball

Requires at least a decadent lifestyle of 200 crowns per tennite. The character hosts or is "invited" to a grand party where they will dine and dance with the creme de la creme. Figures of political interest will also attend the party, so the character will have the opportunity to interact with them how they please.

A bad event might be an unwelcome guest at the party who has unsettled business with the character.

Encounters & Combat

Surprise

If one party has an opportunity to surprise the other, each member of that party contests their dexterity against the wisdom of the opposing party (whether of the leader, of the average member, or both separately). Those who win the contest gain a free combat turn should they choose to use it; they may otherwise choose how to greet or avoid the other party. Thereafter, regular initiative takes hold if the encounter should turn violent.

Encounters need not turn violent; in fact, most do not. If the referee is uncertain as to a non-player party’s initial reaction to the adventuring party, they can determine it using the table below; they can also impose advantage or disadvantage on the roll if they would expect, though not necessarily guarantee, a particular bias on the non-player party’s side.

Initial NPC Reaction

d20	Reaction
1-6	Hostile
7-14	Uncertain
15-20	Friendly

Friendly characters are willing to help the adventuring party so long as it does not put themselves at risk of danger, in which case they must be persuaded. Uncertain characters must be persuaded to help the party at all, and they will never put themselves in danger to do so. Hostile characters can only be persuaded, at best, to not attack the party.

The adventuring party can only really make one request of the non-adventuring party before the conversation concludes, lest they annoy them. This is represented by a charisma check on behalf of the player whose character has been driving the negotiation. Most worthwhile negotiations would have at least a moderate difficulty, or they would be difficult if they would require the other party to go out of their way.

The referee can impose advantage or disadvantage on the check based on the quality of the conversation up until the request, especially if the representative character either appeals to or offends the sensibilities of the other party. After all, like player-characters, non-player-characters also have ideals, bonds, flaws, quirks, and quests.

Violent Encounters

Each member of the adventuring party contests their dexterity stat against the dexterity or power of the opposing party. Those who win the contest may act before the members of the adventuring party do, or at least against those whose check they beat.

After all participants have completed their turn, another round of combat ensues until or unless one side retreats or is defeated.

If the opposing side’s numbers dwindle or if their leader is defeated, the remaining members will make a collective wisdom check to keep order and avoid fleeing. The check is initially moderate, and becomes difficult or even incredible as the encounter proceeds.

Combat Turns & Actions

All characters can perform 2 actions ◆ during their turn. The two main action options are attacking and moving.

Attack ◆

The character rolls d20 plus their relevant stat; if the total meets or exceeds the target’s defense class, they deal damage equal to their damage die plus their stat. They double their stat modifier on the attack roll if the character is either proficient with or attuned to their weapon, though not also for the resultant damage. That being said, if the player rolls a "natural 20" on their attack roll and thereby

Melee weapons typically use strength, ranged weapons typically use dexterity, and magic spells typically use intelligence (with charisma serving as the virtual “armor class” bonus for mental effects). Firing a missile does not cost ammo if you do so once in an encounter, but it does if you fire multiple times.

A character whose cumulative damage exceeds their hit points dies.

A free attack is one that does not cost ◆, and is often triggered by a condition in a feat.

Move ◆

The character moves a number of paces equal to their move rating.

Jumping across a distance costs twice the move rating than if it were traversed normally.

Other Actions

Characters may acquire new special actions and reactions as feats from their background or experience, though mundane actions are possible without feats.

Most actions cost 1 ◆, though some actions may cost up to 2 ◆ based on how tedious they are. Particularly long actions may take multiple turns to resolve; meanwhile, the acting character cannot participate in the encounter. If an action is opposed, it requires a check or contest to succeed. Insignificant actions which do not require sustained effort do not require ◆ either.

Example Combat Actions

Action	Notes	Cost
Cast spell	Cast a spell; targets may attempt a save.	◆◆
Cease spell	Break concentration on an ongoing spell.	—
Conversation	Exchanging words. Just chitchat.	—
Disarm opponent	Check DEX.	◆
Drop item	Quickly drop something on the floor.	—
Help ally	Give advantage to an ally’s check.	◆
Hide in shadows	Check DEX versus all opposed INT stats.	◆
Interact with item	For example, activate a magical device.	◆◆
Push something over	Check STR.	◆
Retrieve item	Take an item out of your backpack.	◆
Stash item	Put an item away in your backpack.	◆

Monsters

There are five brackets of monsters: mooks, grunts, elites, lieutenants, and bosses, each associated with a number of hit dice (HD), a general ability stat (GA), and an approximate damage-per-action value (D/A). These are given below, along with example damage formulas.

Monster Brackets

Bracket	HD	GA	D/A
Mook (M)	1	+1	2 (d4)
Grunt (G)	2	+2	3 (d6)
Elites (E)	4	+3	4 (d8)
Lieutenants (L)	8	+4	5 (d10)
Bosses (B)	16	+5	6 (d12)

Area-of-effect attacks may cost 2 ◆ to execute, and deal a base damage to each target equal to the monster's typical damage die (or half that if the target succeeds at a stat check to avoid the worst).

Hit points are determined by rolling a number of six-sided dice equal to the monster's hit dice value.

Their experience is a function of their bracket and defense:

Monster Experience by Bracket & Defense Class

Defense Class	M	G	E	L	B
12	4	8	12	16	20
14	5	10	15	20	25
16	6	12	18	24	30
18	8	16	24	32	40
20	10	20	30	40	50

Most monsters will have defense classes of 12 (light), 14 (medium), and 16 (heavy). However, the referee can increase a monster's defense class in order to provide a greater challenge for advanced characters.

Example Monsters

Name	XP	HD	DC	GA	Feats
Bear	12	4	12	+3
Berserker	8	2	12	+2
Bugbear	15	4	14	+3
Commoner	4	1	12	+1
Dragon, Infant	12	2	16	+2	Breath Attack; Flight
Dragon, Young	18	4	16	+3	Breath Attack; Flight
Dragon, Adult	24	8	16	+4	Breath Attack; Flight
Dragon, Elder	30	16	16	+5	Breath Attack; Flight
Ghoul	12	4	12	+3	Magical Resistance; Basic Necrology
Giant	25	16	14	+5	Giant Strength
Goblin	5	1	14	+1
Hobgoblin	10	2	14	+2
Ogre	15	4	14	+3
Orc	10	2	14	+2
Skeleton	4	1	12	+1	Hypocalcemia; Basic Necrology
Troll	20	8	14	+4	Regeneration
Vampire	30	16	16	+5	Magical Resistance; Misty Escape; Basic Necrology
Wraith	16	8	12	+4	Magical Resistance; Basic Necrology
Zombie	8	2	12	+2	Undead Fortitude; Basic Necrology

Converting Monsters

When converting from pre-2000 D&D, convert every 1 hit die into 1 hit. This means that a mook is roughly equivalent to 1 HD, a grunt to 2 HD, an elite to 4 HD, a lieutenant to 8 HD, and a boss to 16 HD. That being said, this is not a science, and it’s better to compare the monsters to the brackets based on their relative strength. For example, although a kobold is often ¹/₂ HD and an orc 1 HD, they might better be considered mooks (1 hit) and grunts (2 hits) respectively within this ruleset’s scope.

When converting from later D&D, simply consider the power level of the monster relative to the player-characters. Mooks are less powerful than player-characters, elites are stronger, and grunts are “just right”. Lieutenants are much stronger, but can still appear in small groups especially as player-characters advance. Bosses are either solo-monsters, or big ones with a posse of lesser monsters by their side.

For armor values, most ascending values up to 20 should work; however, a maximum of 16 is preferred.

Referee Guidelines

Techniques of Play

A game boils down to a complex situation which compels players to make difficult and interesting decisions. The referee’s job is to impose such conditions on the players or, rather, their characters, by situating them in conflicts without obvious solutions or by placing obstacles in the way of their goals.

We has hitherto described concrete frameworks for the referee to apply or even extend to situations in the game. Here and now, it will explain how to run the game more generally, offering strategies to adjudicate and model situations on the fly. You shouldn’t think of these as formal rules as much as guidelines for how to make your plan more fun and compelling for everyone at the table, including yourself!

There are four factors which generate interesting conflict:

Time Restraints: How long will an activity take?
Random Risk: Does the activity risk an event, like an encounter?
Resource Depletion: Does the activity cost something to proceed?
Clock Countdown: Is there something that will happen?