MIGHT

Might (MGT) represents strength and brawn. A creature's ability to break down doors, swing an axe, stand up during an earthquake, or hurl an ally across a chasm is determined by Might.

AGILITY

Agility (AGL) represents coordination and nimbleness. A creature's ability to backflip out of danger, shoot a crossbow, dodge an explosion, or pluck keys from a guard's belt is determined by Agility.

REASON

Reason (REA) represents a logical mind and education. A creature's ability to solve a puzzle that unlocks a door, recall lore about necromancy, decipher a coded message, or blast a foe with psionic power is determined by Reason.

INTUITION

Intuition (INU) represents instincts and experience. A creature's ability to hear the approach of a distant rider, figure out the tell of a bluffing gambler, calm a rearing horse, or track a monster across the tundra is determined by Intuition.

PRESENCE

Presence (PRS) represents force of personality. A creature's ability to lie to a judge, convince a crowd to join a revolution, impress a queen at a royal banquet, or cast a magic spell by singing a song is determined by Presence.

CHARACTERISTIC SCORES

Each characteristic has a score that runs from −5 to +5. The higher a score, the more impact the creature has with that characteristic. A baby bunny rabbit would have a Might score of −5, while an ancient dragon would have a Might score of 5. The average human has a score of 0 in all their characteristics. Characteristic scores are added to power rolls—the dice rolls you make whenever your character attempts a task with an uncertain outcome (see Power Rolls).

D3S

On rare occasions, the rules ask a player to roll one or more three-sided dice (also called d3s). If you don't have a d3, you can roll a six-sided die instead, treating a roll of 1–2 as a 1, a roll of 3–4 as a 2, and a roll of 5–6 as a 3.

TYPES OF POWER ROLLS

The game uses three types of power rolls:

• Ability Roll: Used when you activate certain abilities to determine their impact.
• Resistance Roll: Made to avoid harmful effects.
• Test: Made outside of using your abilities to affect or interact with the world around you.

MAKING A POWER ROLL

When you make a power roll, you roll two ten-sided dice (sometimes noted as 2d10 in the rules) and add one of your characteristics. The characteristic you add depends on the kind of roll you're making, as outlined in Abilities and Tests.

EDGES AND BANES

An archer standing on a castle wall fires down into a throng of enemies, hitting the mark each time thanks to their high ground. A drunken bandit struggles to land blows on sober opponents as alcohol clouds their senses. Under certain circumstances, you need more than just a characteristic to represent the advantages and disadvantages that heroes, their enemies, and their allies might have.

BONUSES AND PENALTIES

While edges and banes cover most circumstantial effects that can have an impact on a power roll, a few rules add numeric bonuses or penalties to power rolls. Bonus and penalty values are specified in the rules that impose them, and are calculated independently of edges and banes, and before edges and banes are factored into a power roll. There is no limit to the number of bonuses or penalties that can apply to a power roll, and bonuses and penalties always add together.

Though it might sound as if the math with bonuses and penalties can get confusing, fear not! Bonuses and penalties are rare except in the case of skills, which appear on your character sheet (see Skills for more information).

FOR THE DIRECTOR: AWARDING HERO TOKENS

You can award hero tokens to the players for taking risks with their heroes beyond what the game typically expects of them. For instance, battling a group of monsters is part of the game and doesn't earn a hero token. However, the following sorts of activities might:

• A hero stands alone against a group of enemies to allow their comrades to escape.
• A hero willingly jumps into quicksand, into lava, off a cliff, or into some other hazard to save another character.
• The group is presented with an easy way out of a difficult situation that involves lying, cheating, stealing, or the like, but they take the more arduous and honorable path.
• A hero gives away an important resource, such as a Healing Potion, to help another creature in need.

VICTORIES

Your hero's power increases throughout an adventure as you fight more battles and overcome other challenges, measured through a stat called Victories. At the start of an adventure, your hero has 0 Victories.

FOR THE DIRECTOR: AWARDING VICTORIES

We're still figuring out rules for encounter building, but here are some general guidelines.

A successful combat in which the party's objectives are achieved earns the heroes 1 Victory. Particularly hard encounters are worth 2 Victories when completed. We'll have better guidelines on this topic in the future, but for now, consider tough boss battles worth 2 Victories.

A successful negotiation or montage test should earn the heroes 1 Victory. Other noncombat challenges are left to the Director's discretion, but consider the following guidelines to help you determine when awarding 1 Victory is warranted:

• If the heroes overcome a complicated trap that requires more than one test to find and disarm, award them 1 Victory.
• If the heroes investigate a series of clues in a mystery, award 1 Victory when they solve the mystery.
• If the heroes solve a complicated puzzle that requires them to use resources or would take most people at least 10 minutes to complete, award them a Victory.
• If the heroes achieve a major story goal that accomplishes a quest (such as saving a prince trapped by an evil baroness or stopping a necromancer from performing a world-ending ritual), award them 1 Victory.
• If the heroes use clever thinking to easily and surprisingly overcome or bypass a combat encounter, a negotiation, a montage test, a trap, a puzzle, or some other challenge that would award them 1 or more Victories in a more difficult fashion, award them 1 Victory. Clever thinking is just as worthy of a Victory—if not more so!

At the Director's discretion, particularly hard negotiations, puzzles, mysteries, and other noncombat challenges can be worth 2 Victories.

EXPERIENCE

Victories temporarily increase a hero's power during an adventure, but Experience (or XP) permanently improves their capabilities. Each time you finish a respite (see below), you gain XP equal to your Victories, then your Victories drop to 0. In other words, your Victories are converted to XP when you finish a respite.

For more information on how XP increases your hero's power, see Heroic Advancement.

HEROIC RESOURCES

Your hero has a Heroic Resource (sometimes two Heroic Resources) determined by your class, and which you manage during play. For many classes, earning Resources can increase your hero's power, and Resources are spent to activate your most powerful abilities. Other classes, like the talent, earn a negative resource that gives them a penalty during battle, and they gain the resource to activate their most powerful abilities. Each class gains and uses its Heroic Resource differently, and resources aren't equivalent across classes. For example, 1 piety for the conduit isn't worth as much as 1 focus for the tactician.

Some classes, such as the tactician and the fury, generate and use Heroic Resources only during combat encounters. Others, such as the shadow and the talent, can use their Heroic Resources both in and out of combat.

Your hero's class description has more information about how to use your Heroic Resource.

BAGS OF RATS AIN'T HEROIC

Some players might think that quickly starting a fight with some bar patrons or carrying around a bag of rats is a good way to gather up those sweet, sweet Victories and Heroic Resources. Those strategies don't work! The rules of the game exist to help you tell a cool heroic fantasy story, not so you can try to be clever and exploit them by harming innocent rats to “win.” In order to generate Victories and Heroic Resources, you must face and overcome challenges worthy of a hero!

RECOVERIES

Each hero has a limited number of Recoveries that they can use to heal themself. Recoveries are a way to rally and get back some of the energy you lose in battle by taking a breather, accepting a little magical help from a conduit or troubadour, getting an allied tactician to inspire you with a rush of adrenaline, and so forth. Of course, your body can only rally so many times before your energy reserves are completely shot, so you have a limited number of recoveries as a result.

When you spend a Recovery, you regain Stamina equal to your recovery value, which is one-third your Stamina maximum.

RESPITE

A respite is a focused period of rest and recuperation that allows heroes to regain Stamina and Recoveries. During a respite, you must spend 24 hours uninterrupted and doing nothing but sleeping, eating, dressing your wounds, and recuperating. You can also undertake one respite activity, such as making a project roll (see Research and Crafting in future packets for more information), or changing your kit (see Kits).

When you finish a respite, you regain all your Recoveries and Stamina, and your Victories convert to Experience. It is best to take a respite in a safe place where you aren't in a hostile environment or at risk of being attacked. If your respite is interrupted by enemies attacking, an earth tremor, swarms of biting insects, and similar serious distractions, the respite ends early and you don't gain the benefits for finishing it.

The standard eightish hours of sleep one gets at night doesn't count as a respite. The rules assume that all heroes take the time to sleep, eat, and take care of all the other functions necessary for life even if they aren't engaged in a respite.

VASLORIA

A forested medieval and feudal land, Vasloria holds few cities—just towns and villages. Western Vasloria, including most of Aendrim and Corwell and parts of Graid, was until recently ruled by Good King Omund. His draconian knights, the Dragon Phalanx, protected the weak from the strong, dispensing justice throughout the land. But Omund died fifteen years ago—and so died the rule of law in Vasloria. Now, forests claim towns and roads once held safe under his rule. The woods are dangerous, their only law that of tooth and claw.

When Omund was betrayed by Mandrake, a captain of the Dragon Phalanx, his castle fell to Ajax the Invincible—now called the Overlord and the Iron Saint. Ajax's wizard Mortum unlocked the secret of the ancient flying cities of the sky elves to raise the Chrysopolis, Ajax's city-fortress in the sky.

Ajax abolished all faiths and temples in Vasloria. He executed the dukes who served King Omund loyally, leaving only the three surviving baronies of Dalrath, Bedegar, and Tor to hold human civilization together. Once, the people of all the lands of Vasloria were loose allies. There was trade between humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs.

Now there is only suspicion.

The high elves of the Fallen City, once the sky elf city of Irranys, pay tribute to Ajax with ancient artifacts they plunder from their ruined home. The wode elves of the Orchid Court, lacking any centralized government or cities, refuse to bow to the Iron Saint.

The dwarves of Kal Kalavar pay tribute in prisoners they abduct from among those foolish enough to travel the roads unescorted—prisoners who serve Ajax as forced labor or are fed into the Body Banks. Brooding under the mountains in their fabled Hanging City of Kal Kalavar, the stone dwarves do not like this deal with the Overlord, but they lack the power—or perhaps the will—to rebel.

The Hawklords of the High Aerie now act as Ajax's royal guard. Mounted on their giant hawks, these human warriors project Ajax's power, enforce his tyrannical order, and extend his influence into every corner of the wilderness. Their mastery of the air means that any revolt or rebellion is seen and crushed quickly.

The Dragon Phalanx is broken now, its knights scattered. Ajax has placed a high bounty on their heads. Some folk still see Omund's knights as symbols of justice, heroes of a lost age before might made right. But in every town, every village, there are always desperate people willing to collect the bounty, summoning the Hawklords to pluck any dragon knight foolish enough to travel without a disguise away to the Chrysopolis.

The peoples of Dalrath, Bedegar, and Tor, isolated and outnumbered, desperately fight a losing battle against the encroaching wilderness. Law dies. Chaos thrives.

CAPITAL

The Greatest City in This or Any Age! City of the Great Game! Located west across the Bale Sea from Vasloria on the eastern coast of Rioja, Capital is not only the largest city in Orden. It's the largest city there has ever been—larger than the fabled steel dwarf capital of Kalas Valiar, larger even than Alloy, the City at the Center of the Timescape. Capital is the exception to many rules.

It is a city of playwrights and opera, of spies and sorcery. Famed throughout the world as a city of high magic where flying tapestries act as taxis. But the reality of living in Capital is somewhat more mundane, for only the very wealthy can afford such luxuries.

THE MYRIAD WORLDS OF THE TIMESCAPE

Orden is only one world in the timescape! Each star in the night sky is another world, though this fact is not known to most people living on Orden. Higher worlds are more energetic, affording access to alien technologies. Great star freighters ply the space lanes, with knights wielding psionically powered hard-light blades dueling against star pirates with hard-light blasters.

The lower worlds lack the energy necessary for such extraordinary technology to function, and so rely on magic to break the rules.

On Axiom, the Plane of Uttermost Law, the memonek live on a world teeming with complex, inorganic life. UNISOL, the Universal Solar League, ensures and protects trade across the upper worlds, defending the star freighters from pirates such as the time raiders and the infamous Sunrunners on their legendary ship the K.R.A.D Fearless.

Meanwhile, on Proteus, the Sea of Eternal Change, the formless proteans rebelled against the synlirii who once ruled the plane of uttermost chaos, exiling the voiceless talkers to the World Below. Now the masters of their world, the proteans take to the stars in their living change-ships, hurling their small fleet against what they perceive as the tyrannical might of UNISOL.

On Quintessence, the lowest of the upper worlds, proteans and memonek alike rub shoulders with devils, fire dwarves, and even humans in Quintessence's capital city of Alloy, the City at the Center of the Timescape. The Free City of Alloy, also known as the City of Brass, is the gateway to the timescape. People traveling to or from the upper and lower worlds meet here to trade goods and information, free from the inflexible laws of UNISOL.

Traveling downward from Quintessence, one arrives on Orden, the Plane of Gods and Sorcery, highest of the lower worlds where magic rules. The gods, forbidden from interfering directly in a world with such a low energy state, rely on saints to enact their will. The technology from the upper worlds does not function down here, unless powered by a strong psionic mind, or the miracle mineral prismacore.

Almost coterminous with Orden is its sister-plane, the World Below, and the Dark Under All. This plane of exiles is ruled by A Lie Cloaked In Star's Silver—the Queen of Night, and the first of the Three Sisters Below. The World Below is a land of vast caves and sunless seas. There are no stars here, no sky, but only endless caves and warrens. Some of those are vast enough to hold entire cities, including Or-Mazaar, the City of the Black Star, from where the Queen of Night rules.

The power of the World Below wanes, even as the power of Equinox rises. Also known as Dusk, this smaller parasitic manifold is home to the exiled shadow elves and ruled by the Queen of Shadows, third of the Three Sisters Below. She plots to return her people to their homeland in Orden, and to escape the twisted shadow world.

The last plane of law, the Seven Cities of Hell, is among the lowest of the lower planes. A realm of devils proud of their civilization, the Seven Cities are each ruled by an archduke who schemes to ascend to the Throne of Hell. Living in a world of bureaucratic law, the devil denizens of Hell have little interest in the other planes. Life is so much more interesting down here. The seven dukes of Hell conspired together once, agreeing to create the Order of Desolation, also known as the illriggers. Doing so was meant to extend their power into the timescape, and to defend the Seven Cities from the demon hordes below.

The demons of the Abyssal Waste, the lowest plane, claw and scramble over each other, competing for souls in this heat-blasted desert under a baleful, giant orange sun. Mindless collections of organs, claws, and teeth, demons collect souls until they reach sentience, gaining identity and the blessing of memory. These demons will do anything to escape upward out of the wasteland, lest they lose their collected souls, lose their identities, and fall into that mindless state called lethe.

At the center of the Abyssal Waste lies the Necropolitan Ruin, the Last City. A great city of the dead, the site is ruled by Khorsekef, once the Infinite Pharaoh of the desert wasteland of Khemhara, now the Ultralich. Khorsekef intends to return to Orden and sit once again on his throne in the grand Heliopolis at the center of Khemhara—and he has a plan …

THE TIMESCAPE IN YOUR GAME

We use the timescape and its medieval fantasy land Orden as the default setting presented in these books. Doing so makes it easier for us as designers to marry our design with real examples from a real (imaginary) fantasy world. We also think it's easier for you to take the names for places, languages, and gods, and replace them with your own. We might reference some hero or villain, saint or god, whose name makes you think, “Well, I don't have that in my setting.” If we do a good job, though, you might be inspired to say, “But that makes me think …” And being inspired is part of the fun!

If you're the Director, you can use as many or as few of the details of the timescape as you like. You might wish to create your own world within the timescape, or use a setting you've created that exists outside of the official MCDM manifolds. You can use details from settings published by other companies. There are no rules when it comes to world-building. Feel free to take what you like from this book and change the rest. For example, you might not care for our dwarves having literal stone skin. That's fine. You can make them fleshy, stout, bearded folk, or mohawked, barrel-chested punk rockers, or anything else you wish. As long as you're running a heroic fantasy campaign about fighting monsters, then the game's rules are still likely to serve your narrative even if that narrative deviates from ours.

If you're a player, ask your Director about the setting where the game takes place and discuss with them the sort of hero you want to create. Maybe you want to play a more traditional gruff and bearded dwarf rather than go all short and stony. An open dialogue and honest discussion with your Director can lead to everyone getting what they want out of the game.

1. THINK

The first thing you should do is think about the kind of hero you want to make. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you fight with weapons, magic, psionics, or some combination of these abilities?
• Outside of combat, what do you want your hero to do well?
• What did you do before becoming a hero?
• Why did you choose to become a hero?
• What is your personality like?
• What people, places, and objects are important to you?
• How will your hero complement the strengths and weaknesses of the other heroes?

2. ANCESTRY

Choose your hero's humanoid ancestry from among the range of ancestries available in the game—devil, dragon knight, dwarf, hakaan, high elf, human, memonek, orc, polder, revenant, time raider, or wode elf. Future supplements will introduce additional ancestries you can choose from. See Ancestries for more information.

(Playtest note: A selection of the game's full range of ancestries are currently available, some of which feature lore entries.)

3. CULTURE

Create your hero's culture. Although ancestry gives your hero a number of physiological benefits, your culture describes the community that raised you and gives you languages and skills. See Culture for more information.

4. CAREER

Choose your hero's career, which describes what you did for a living before you became a hero. Your career gives you skills and a title, and might also give you languages, Renown, or knowledge for crafting and research. See Careers for more information.

5. CLASS

Choose your hero's class. This choice has the biggest impact on how your hero interacts with the rules of the game, especially the rules for combat. Your class provides your characteristic scores and Stamina, in addition to skills, several abilities, and other benefits. You can be a censor, conduit, elementalist, fury, null, shadow, tactician, talent, or troubadour. See Classes for more information.

(Playtest note: The currently available classes are the conduit, elementalist, fury, shadow, and tactician, each of which includes only 1st-level features.)

6. KIT

Choose your hero's kit. Your kit provides you with equipment and a fighting style that grants a signature ability and bonuses to one or more of your game statistics.

7. ADD FREE STRIKES

Every hero has the ability to make free strikes under certain circumstances—extra attacks that don't require your action. (You can also make a free strike as an action on your turn, though you'll usually have better options for your action.) Your class might grant you free strike options, but each character also has two standard free strikes.

A melee weapon free strike is a melee attack made with an unarmed strike or improvised weapon. A ranged weapon free strike is a ranged attack made with an improvised weapon.

8. COMPLICATION

Your hero experienced an event that has left them with a benefit and a drawback. Complications are optional, so check with your Director to make sure your game is using them. See Complications for more information.

9. DETERMINE DETAILS

Once you've created your hero, it's time to determine the additional details of their backstory, appearance, and personality. How do the events of their culture, career, inciting incident, and class tie together into a cohesive narrative? What's their name? What do they look like? Do they have any cool scars? Any dope tattoos? Do they still sleep with their teddy bear? These sorts of details can help define a well-rounded hero.

10. MAKE CONNECTIONS

Ask the Director if all the heroes start the campaign knowing each other. If they do, talk to the other players and build some connections between your heroes. If you like, you can use the following prompts to make those connections, or to come up with prompts of your own:

• While fighting a monster, another hero saved your life. What were you battling and who saved you?
• In your group, who looks after everyone's health and well-being and makes sure that all the characters get along? If it's not you, how do you view this other hero?
• Who is the grumpiest member of your party? If it isn't you, how do you react to that hero's sour nature? If it is you, how do you react to other characters teasing you or trying to cheer you up?
• What's one thing your fellow heroes know about you that other people do not?
• What's your favorite way to bond with your fellow heroes?
• You've known one of the other heroes in your party longer than the rest. Who is it, and how did you meet?
• Another hero creates food, music, clothing, trinkets, or something else that you enjoy. Who is that hero and what do they make?
• Another hero is teaching you a new skill. Who is it, and what are they teaching you?

Answer these questions with the other players present, and be sure to get a player's approval if your answer makes use of their character.

CHOOSING SKILLS

This game has lots of skills, and lots of opportunities during character creation to gain them. We recommend recording a list of all the skills you might gain from the different steps of the character creation process, then making your choices at the end of that process rather than flipping back and forth through the book.

If you gain the same specific skill from two different sources (for instance, from a career and a class), you can pick a different skill from the same skill group. See Skills for more information.

HEROIC ADVANCEMENT TABLE

ALTERNATIVE ADVANCEMENT

Though many games might advance using the standard setup for heroic advancement, the Director can decide that their game uses different advancement. Check with your Director to see what method of advancement they plan to use.

ON DEVILS

Adelard scuttled across the floor of his basement, a heavy tome clutched in one hand, his index finger marking a page. Occasionally he would stop, open the book, consult a diagram, look at the chalk markings he'd made on the floor, tilt his head, then bend down and refine or rub out an esoteric symbol.

One of the red candles suddenly guttered out, making the small room noticeably darker. “Damn and blast!” he hissed. Then he relit it from another candle.

Stepping back to admire his handiwork, Adelard crossed his arms and nodded. He'd spent his last coppers on the candles—they weren't cheap. And he feared the skull might be fake, but did it matter? The book just said a skull—it didn't even specify a human skull! Did it matter if it was real? It was probably real. What kind of market was there for replica skulls? But it was awfully cheap. Anyway, did it matter? How would the ritual know if the skull was real?

He was wittering, putting off the inevitable. He pulled himself together. It was either going to work, or it wasn't, and wittering wasn't going to help. He opened the book and turned the page—then began to speak the ritual.

Moments later, the candles flared, there was a burst of flame, and acrid brimstone filled his nostrils. When the smoke cleared… there was a devil standing in his basement—dark purple skin, horns, even a twitching tail.

“Aha! Yes, finally.” It rubbed its hands together. “It's about time,” the creature said, pulling on the bottom of his waistcoat to straighten it. “Now then! How does it go? Oh, yes.” He cleared his throat. “On behalf of my lord, his grace Archduke Dispater, Lord of Dis, I am empowered to offer you…”

But his speech fell on deaf ears.

“It worked!” Adelard said, holding his clenched fists up. “Ahahaha! It worked! Finally, after years! I will have my revenge! Hahaha…!” cough cough Adelard was suddenly gripped by a coughing fit, but he kept crowing. “Dismiss me from service, will they?! cough Old and useless… am I?! I'll show them!” He coughed again, fighting to breathe now. “I will hex them and torture them until they…”

He stopped cavorting and capering, and his eyes went wide. “Until they… until…” He clutched his chest.

“Uh-oh,” the devil said, genuinely worried.

“HNNG!” Adelard grunted. Then he collapsed to the ground, curled into a fetal position, obviously in immense pain.

“Nono. Nurse!” the devil called out. “Doctor!? Is anyone… you should lie down. Well, you are lying down. Do some… some deep-breathing exercises. Have a cup of tea! That always…”

Adelard gasped one last time and uncurled, muscles relaxed. Eyes open but unseeing.

“…calms me down,” the devil said quietly.

Suddenly, the candles were extinguished as one, plunging the room into pitch-blackness. The devil's hellsight meant this was only a minor inconvenience for him. “Um,” he said to the empty room. “Uh-oh.”

He poked the tip of his boot at the chalk symbol surrounding him on the floor. Nothing happened. He stepped on it. Nothing happened. He put his weight on that foot. No alarms went off.

He walked out of the circle. Nothing happened. No one, it seemed, cared.

A few moments later, the door to a small home, little more than a wooden shack on the outskirts of a small village, opened. A well-dressed devil peeked out and then slowly emerged, stepping onto the dirt road that led through the center of the village. A keep stood atop a hill in the distance.

“Ah,” the devil said.

A wide woman dressed in wool, carrying a pile of clean clothes, saw him and stopped in her tracks, her mouth open.

“Oh! Good day to you, madam, I wonder if you could tell me…”

“AAAHHHHH!!!” she screamed. For quite a long time. Then she dropped her laundry and ran.

“Ah. Um. Hmm.”

A young man in a low, stone building saw this exchange, grabbed what looked like a long iron poker, and ran out to confront the new arrival.

“Have at you, devil!” he said, assuming something like a dueling pose.

“I say! Steady on!” The devil raised his hands.

The two of them stood there, frozen in the middle of the street for a few moments.

Then the devil turned and ran away as quickly as he could.

“And that's how I ended up here!” Riyalkin toasted his dinner companion. “Now, after years of obscurity, a legendary hero!”

“Legendarily vain,” his dinner guest teased with a smile.

“Simply playing my part, darling. People expect a certain amount of vanity in a troubadour, don't they?”

She laughed. “Riyalkin the Red Pen is every bit as advertised.”

“Thank you. And besides, accusations of vanity are a bit rich coming from my leading lady.”

“Not all actors are vain.” She took offense beautifully. “Just the good ones.” She sipped her drink.

“Well then, you must be very vain indeed,” the devil said.

“Anyway, does that answer your question?”

“Mostly. Do they speak Caelian in hell?”

“What a good question. Unless it's very old, the ritual usually grants knowledge of the summoner's language. I gather in the bad old days, we used to just show up in a cloud of brimstone and gabble at people. I'm sure it was impressive, but what did it achieve? Not very professional, I can tell you that.”

“No cloud of brimstone now?” she teased.

He waggled his eyebrows. “Style counts for something.”

“But wait, that was….” She did some quick mental math. “Fifteen years ago?”

“Well, I was an accountant here in Capital for several years in between.”

“An accountant!”

Riyalkin shrugged. “It's what I did before. I'm moderately good at it.”

“And how does one go from being an alien accountant to a famous troubadour?”

“Well…” Riyalkin seemed uncomfortable suddenly. “It's just that… the thing is, accountancy in the Seven Cities is just so much more interesting than it is here. Plotting and scheming, always on the lookout for an assassin, people constantly trying to claw their way up the ladder, usually over your dead body. And I guess I just… missed the excitement.”

“The excitement of being an accountant.”

“The excitement of being an accountant in Hell,” Riyalkin said. “In any event, enough about me and the thrill of double-entry bookkeeping. Perhaps you can enlighten me. Why is it, in spite of my impeccable taste and the outrageous sums I spend looking good, I always feel underdressed in your presence? Do you employ sorcery? Or is it that any outfit is improved by your unearthly beauty?”

She blushed in spite of herself and raised her own glass in a toast.

“You silver-tongued devil.”

DEVIL BENEFITS

As a devil character, you have the following benefits:

ON THE DRAGON KNIGHTS

The cloaked figure at the back of the inn stood up. As they did so, their hood slipped down, revealing their head and face. A susurration rippled through the crowd. One man standing near the bar dropped his jaw, followed by his flagon of mead.

A tall, broad draconian stepped into the light. He was old, his scales battle-scarred. He rested one clawed hand on the pommel of a mace that hung from a loop on his belt, while the other carried his shield by a strap. His flat, expressionless look was more terrifying than any threatening glower.

The three human bandits took a step back. One of the dwarves just sneered—then, sensing his human compatriot's reluctance, turned to look at them. “What's this?” the lead dwarf growled.

“Don't be cowards now!” the other dwarf said, a hint of joy in his voice. “Look what a prize we have caught!”

“We didn't…” one bandit said, shaking. “We didn't know…”

Looking at the dragon knight, the other bandit added quickly, “We didn't know there was one of you here.”

The draconian didn't move. Didn't give any indication he heard the man. Just stared unblinking at the lead dwarf.

“Think of the bounty,” the dwarf hissed to the humans, but he kept his eye on the draconian. “We'll all be rich.”

“I don't…” One of the bandits dropped her sword and held her hands up as she backed away from the group toward the exit. “I don't need it that bad,” she said. Then she turned and ran out the door. Her human compatriots followed.

The two dwarves surveyed the tavern. The people were now all facing them. A few had stood up. They weren't afraid anymore.

“We'll be back,” the lead dwarf said, and the two of them backed out of the inn, sheathing their shortswords before they turned and left.

As one, the people in the tavern turned to look with undisguised awe at the dragon knight. He noticed this, ducked his head to avoid their gaze. “Show's over,” he growled, then he turned to go back to his seat in the rear.

“Thank you,” the woman behind the bar said. “Thank you for…”

She stopped when she saw the draconian was ignoring her.

A short, doughty, middle-aged man stood up, and two equally doughty women at the same table stood up with him. “Excuse me, sir knight,” the man said as the dragon knight walked past their table.

The knight moved on, ignoring them. The man reached out and grabbed the massive draconian's arm. The knight wheeled on the peasant, looming over him.

The man bowed his head and touched his forelock. The two women with him curtseyed and tried to avoid making eye contact.

“Begging your pardon, sir, but we been lookin' for you.”

The dragon knight sneered and bared a set of sharp teeth. “Look for someone else,” he growled as he pulled his arm away.

The man scurried around to stand in front of the draconian, blocking his way. He took off his worn cap and held it over his breast. “I'm sorry sir, but there ain't no one else. And there's this new tax, you see, from the new baron. And a priest says he's of Saint Ajax.”

The knight bared his impressive teeth, ready to scare Jago and the other two away—when someone else spoke.

“You might want to hear 'em out, Vaant,” said a voice from the table the three peasants had been sitting at.

The dragon knight turned sharply to look at the man who'd spoken. His back was to the draconian, but the voice gave him away.

“John?”

The man turned to look up.

“Hi Vaant,” he said, smiling. He rose from the table. He was middle-aged, fit. Black hair hung down to his shoulders. He was armed with many weapons, looked like a captain of the guard. “Folks,” he said, “this is Vaantikalisax, Knight of King Omund in the Thunder Phalanx. He may be the last of the Storm Knights.”

The man held out his hand. The dragon knight looked at it for a moment before reaching out slowly to grasp it. “What are you doing out here?” Vaantikalisax asked.

“These people need help. I said I'd find it. Heard a rumor someone matching your description was holed up here having a drinking contest with Mr. John Barleycorn.”

The draconian sniffed, released John's hand, and looked at the three peasants. “Why do you people need me? You're in the company of Sir John, Commander of the Fifth …”

“Just John,” Sir John said, holding a hand up. “The new baron stripped me of my title. My lands.”

“I didn't know that.” The draconian's voice softened. “I'm sorry.”

“I'll be fine. But these people…” John said, gesturing to the three older peasants. Vaantikalisax waved him to silence.

“Sure,” he said. “But why me?”

“Thought maybe you'd like to get back in the game.”

“The game.”

“Yeah.” Sir John smiled. “The hero game.”

Vaantikalisax said nothing. The inn had mostly gone back to its business but the three peasants watched intently. Eventually, the dragon knight spoke again, his voice low.

“I owe you a lot, John—but not everything.”

“I'm not asking everything.”

“No, that's not how it starts. But I have this feeling that's how it'll end.”

“What does your oath say? ‘Even should the sun stop in the sky, even should the night—'”

“John,” the dragon knight said, his voice suddenly sad. Exasperated. “You don't want to quote my oath to me. You really don't. I liked serving with you. I have fond memories of that time—of you. Don't spoil it.” He looked at his friend, the three peasants, then shook his head and turned to leave the inn.

“Vaant,” Sir John said, following. “Sir Vaantikalisax, by your oath!”

The dragon knight stopped and spun around. Everyone in the inn was watching the show again. Act two.

“The people need leadership,” John said as he looked at all the folk watching.

Vaantikalisax's reptile eyes flashed in anger. “They had it. Thirty years, and what did it amount to?! I watched Ajax… I watched him…” The dragon knight's eyes flinched. His clawed hands tightened on his mace and shield. “I watched the oath… fail.”

“Vaant… Vaant, the Dragon Phalanx didn't fail. You were betrayed. It was Mandrake! One of your own, don't you get it? You're just as fallible as the rest of us. You were never ‘incorruptible.' It's just what we wanted to believe. You're just people—like the rest of us.”

The dragon knight looked at the people around him, at the three peasants desperate for someone, anyone, to help them. Then he looked back to his friend.

“Exactly,” Vaantikalisax said. Then he turned and left the inn.

DRAGON KNIGHT BENEFITS

As a dragon knight character, you have the following benefits:

ON DWARVES

There's nothing a team of dwarves can't do! Five dwarves alone can easily kill a dragon. Ten dragons!¹ Why, Vorka the Fell-Handed alone slew five dragons at the Siege of Var Loska before succumbing to her wounds. One dwarf! Think what a small, dedicated party of dwarves could do!

There aren't many of the great dragons left, alas, so we must … I mean, dwarves must content themselves with fighting lesser evils. Necromancers, tyrants. Folks who cheat at dice.

Dwarves take the long view. Well, so do elves, but elves seem more interested in preserving things. Dwarves want to make things! Improve the world! “The world is fine the way it is …” Shut up! No it's not! The world is full of pain, misery, injustice. We cannot make a perfect world, but we can strive to improve the one we've got!

Anyway. Humans make too much of this so-called rivalry between dwarves and elves. Yes, it was an elf army that slew the last steel dwarves in the War Against Night, but that was tens of thousands of years ago. And anyway, those were the shadow elves, long banished to the World Below. And none now live who remember those days.

The steel dwarves—the greatest of us—are dead now, and our cousins the fire dwarves left this world for Quintessence long ago. There they built Alloy, the City of Brass, the City at the Center of the Timescape. A marvel! Not so large as Capital, perhaps, but not so … fragrant either.

It is left to us, the stone dwarves, the Last Children of Ord, to work stone, create great marvels with it. Our greatest days are not behind us! Who speaks thus?! Have we not been to the Hanging City of Kal Kalavar together? Will you ever forget that place? I will not should I live to be a thousand, and neither will you. And it was finished in my lifetime. Only three hundred years ago! It's brand new!

Elven rivalry. Pagh! Did we not name the most precious metal in the earth “valiar” after their god Val? Val is a noble god, a worthy patron of the elves. He seeks justice and glory in his own way, we deem. Were one to choose the path of the conduit, you could pick worse gods than Val to serve.

It is the humans who make so much of rivalries between the ancestries. It was the humans who called us “dwarves.” We do not know the significance of this word in their tongue, but we accept it. Their speech is crude, true, but they are a young species after all. We must not judge them too harshly. “Elemental” would be a faithful translation of our word for ourselves into the Caelian tongue.

Ah, the record of dwarven achievement is long … too long to tell in so short a space. And it is not seemly to compare ourselves so. This entry spends many words on elves and men as though we were competitors, but who says it? Why should it be thus? Was it a dwarf who slew Baalorak the Griefbringer? No! It was the Crown of Nine Stars! That legendary company of heroes who counted three dwarves among their number, but also elves and orcs and humans. Like the great cosmopolitan city of Alloy, we are stronger together.

Look you again at the Hanging City. Yes, your eyes well with tears from the magnificence of it, but see it clearly. Is it a dwarven city? Everyone calls it thus, but do you know how many humans live there? Thousands. And orcs. And elves! Of course! How else should it be?

Some say the greatest ages of the world are behind us, but this is not so. Not so. While there is yet will in the world, there is greatness. You will see. The elves, the orcs. Humans and dwarves. All the speaking peoples have wonder in them yet. Our greatest days are ahead. Did not Ord make the world?

None of us ask to come into this world, and apart from the Hakaan, none of us know how we will leave it. But remember, you are a dwarf. You have it in you to work marvels. To change the world, be you a holy conduit of Valak-koth the Peacebringer, one of the talented Mind Masters of the White Gem, a beastheart of the Darkdivers seeking through the World Below for deep knowledge, or a master tactician of the Imperial War College in Capital. You will make a better world.

You are young yet, but already those who work evil deeds should fear you. You are a dwarf. You have a great destiny ahead.

DWARF BENEFITS

As a dwarf character, you have the following benefits:

ON WODE ELVES

“I'm scared,” Wenna said. “We should go back.” The forest felt as if it was closing in on them.

“We're not going back,” Jeremy said. Normally, such a statement would be the end of the discussion, but they were alone and far from home.

“What if we're going in circles?”

“Then we keep going in circles!” Dade said from somewhere up ahead. “Until we find the elves.”

“The elves have found you!” a clear, bright voice called out. The children froze. They scanned the wood, but there were no signs of the speaker.

Then, only a few feet from them, a half-dozen figures melded out of the background, as if the trees and bushes and grass had been painted on them to perfectly match the wode. They wore light armor covered in leaves, moss, and vines, and they bristled with weapons.

“Black gods!” Meliora gasped. Credan frowned, and Wenna hushed her for swearing. Dade was ushered back toward them by two more wode elves, his bow in hand. The children huddled together, Credan's hand on the symbol of Saint Gryffyn around his neck, and Jeremy's hand on the hilt of his sword.

The elves were tall, taller than an adult human, but seemed always to crouch as soon as they stopped moving. Their eyes were unsettling, widely spaced and huge. But it was their ears, long and tall and twisting and set with great scoops to catch all sound, that marked them as elves of the wode.

“Admittedly, though, most terrans regret the experience.”

The voice they had heard called out again—from above. The children looked up and now saw a wode elf with long, furry, twisting ears and nut-brown skin smiling down at them. They were wearing a brightly colored outfit. The children watched the elf leap lightly from branch to lower branch until finally landing with a flourish on the forest floor before them.

“Consort!” An elf before them spoke in Yllyric as he stood from his crouch and bowed. “We have been tracking these since they entered the wode.”

Meliora, who understood the words, whispered to the others. “They called that one ‘consort!'”

Llyander smiled, looking from Meliora to the elf who had just addressed them with a See? I told you! look on their face.

The tall, swashbuckling elf bowed to the children. “I am Llyander, the Lightning Strike, Consort to Queen Imyrr.” They indicated the elf who had spoken. “This is my cousin, Rhythylthin.”

“How did you know we were here?” Jeremy asked. Dade stood just behind him, with an arrow now nocked.

The one called Rhythylthin reached out while Dade was turned, looking at the queen's consort, and deftly plucked the arrow from the young man's bow.

“Nothing happens within the wode without our knowledge,” the elf said. Dade spun on him and nocked another arrow. “And approval,” Rhythylthin added, closing his hand and snapping the arrow in it.

“You come bearing a gift for our queen—the Codex Dryadalis.” Llyander nodded at the heavy scroll Meliora carried. “My cousin Rhythylthin here was sent to capture you and escort you to the Orchid Court. But I am the queen's consort, and have my own thoughts on the matter.”

The elf smiled at the children. “But have no fear,” they said. Their Vaslorian was perfect, their voice a song. “You are safe … now.” The pause before “now” spoke volumes.

“Are you a … a … boy or a girl?” Wenna asked.

Llyander smiled gaily. “I am a song! I contain melodies and harmonies alike,” they said. Wenna smiled.

Rhythylthin rolled his eyes. Llyander noticed this and winked at him. “Fashions change. My cousin here wears the new trends.” They gestured at the other wode elf's garb and masculine appearance. “Me? I'm old-fashioned.” They gestured to their own outfit and appearance. “Grace never goes out of style.”

Llyander turned to Rhythylthin and the rest of the wode elf band. “Their gift goes to Lord Tear, methinks. I will escort them.” Then, suddenly imperious, they added, “You may go.”

In spite of his previous skepticism toward the queen's consort, Rhythylthin straightened and bowed. As one, the elves turned and flowed into the wode. In only a few steps, they melded into the trees and undergrowth.

“How did they do that?” Meliora demanded, spinning to confront their benefactor.

“Hmm? Do what?” Llyander asked, looking after the elves, wondering what Meliora meant.

“Just … disappear like that!”

Llyander looked at the other children with a combination of wonder and annoyance. “Do terran children not play hiding games?”

“Well …” Jeremy looked at Dade, who was no help. “We do, but …”

Llyander made a theatrical, dismissive gesture with one arm. “Well, it is the same thing, then. But for our people, it is a game we practice all our lives! We would be poor protectors of the wode if we could not conceal ourselves within it.”

“But that was …” Meliora was frustrated at the elf's seeming evasion. “That was magic!”

“You say? Well,” Llyander mused, “terrans are a part and apart, it is said. It is your blessing and your curse methinks. Perhaps someday you can explain it to me!” The elf's eyes twinkled at Meliora's frustration.

Llyander turned and marched off. “Come!” they called. The children ran to catch up.

“Where are we going?” Wenna asked.

“I enjoy the favor of Lord Tear,” Llyander said. “We are old friends. With me as your guide, he will treat you well—likely bestow favor upon you! You should be in anticipation of great treasure.” They smiled.

The elf stopped suddenly and spun toward them, serious but kindly. They pointed to each of the children in turn.

“I will instruct you on the proper etiquette, but remember this: Lord Tear will test us. Some tests for you and some for me. The high elves and the wode elves are but distant cousins. You will hear much that is polite, much that is flattering, but it is all another kind of glamor. It hides deep tensions, recently exacerbated by the treaty with Ajax.”

The children nodded. The elf, satisfied, marched off and they followed.

Jeremy turned to Dade. “I feel like we're in a dream,” he whispered.

“You are!” their escort called out. “The wode is a dream! With a little luck, one you may soon wake safely from.”

WODE ELF BENEFITS

As a wode elf character, you have the following benefits.

ON HIGH ELVES

“They're so beautiful,” Wenna said. “It's hard to imagine we're in danger.”

“It's not that hard,” Dade said darkly.

The five children stood alone in the center of a large circular courtyard open to the sky, their wode elf escort Llyander at their side. Lord Tear, King of the High Elves, sat on a marble throne, holding the scroll of the Codex Dryadalis in his lap. He had not spoken since Llyander made their speech and handed the codex over. The members of the court, nobles and courtiers and learned sages, gathered to watch. Implacable warriors in golden plate with fine filigree etched into the metal stood guard around the perimeter. They bristled with weapons.

“They seem like …” Meliora said, searching for the words.

“Like the lords of all the world,” Wenna said with awe and wonder.

“And we are their prisoners,” Jeremy said, looking at his brother Dade and Credan beside him.

“You're not prisoners,” Llyander said quietly. “You are guests. You're safer here than you would be even in your own homes.”

“Yes,” Jeremy said, looking at the nearest guards with their longspears and swords. “We feel very safe.”

“Who are you kidding?” Dade said. “Everyone knows how much elves hate humans.”

At this, Lord Tear exchanged a look with Llyander, consort to Queen Imyrr. It was a knowing look, full of sadness and melancholy. Then he broke his silence.

“Show me an elf who hates humans,” he said, his voice deep and sonorous, “and I will show you an elf who loved a human and watched them grow old and die.” He looked at the children for the first time and smiled a melancholy smile. “Love is like sunlight for us, you see. We love completely but rarely. The loss of it means an eternity of grief for us.”

The king tapped the scroll against his lap, seeming to have reached a decision.

“Well done, consort. Young humans, your escort here seeks to shame me. For they know well they could have taken this prize to their queen and earned her favor. Instead, Llyander brought it to me in the hopes that by doing so, they deliver me the power necessary to throw off the yoke of Ajax's rule. Long has Llyander resented the decision I made and sought to change it …” He looked at Llyander. “… by changing my mind.”

Llyander nodded deferentially, silently congratulating the king on his insight.

“Alas, your escort's efforts are for naught.” Then the king's face became softer. He held up the heavy scroll. “But this is not nothing,” he said. “We made a treaty with Ajax to deliver unto him any artifacts our search teams discover from the ruins of this city. He benefits from this bargain more than we. But this, methinks, will stay with us. It was written by my mother in the youth of the world, and there are some things which must be denied the Iron Saint, even should they violate the treaty.”

Llyander turned to the children and smiled brilliantly, eyebrows waggling in a show of glee. Wenna and Credan couldn't help but smile. “Well, you see, children?” Llyander said. “We only have more to do, not everything to do.”

The king stood up and a herald beside the throne announced, “Gather ye, and attend! The Lord of Fallen Irranys, Morning Dew On a Single Leaf Like a Tear from the Sun, speaks. And know his word is law!”

Lord Tear glided down the steps until he was standing, as tall as Llyander, before the children. His face was noble and beautiful. Wisps of silver-like strands of smoke spread across his golden skin. He seemed at once eternal and youthful.

“You have heard many things about my people, but this above all you should know. We do not value lore for lore's sake, but beauty first and above all other things. And the truth, to us, is a kind of beauty. Thus do we find knowledge beautiful.

“You have returned something not only of enormous worldpower, but at the same time, a work of art my mother labored over for many of your centuries. It is something of a miracle that it is returned to me now. I will not forget this. You have made an ally of the lord of the high elves. And though you lead brief lives, while you live, you shall have the favor of the elves.” He turned to hand the scroll over to a sage and confer with his herald.

“He seems wise,” Credan said.

“And smart,” Meliora said.

“I'm surprised how kind he is,” Jeremy said. “He seems a good king.”

Llyander chuckled. Wenna noticed. She didn't say anything at first, but eventually, she couldn't resist. “What?”

Llyander raised an eyebrow, then walked in front of the children so that as the wode elf spoke, their back was to the king.

“Do you remember when my cousin's soldiers hid in the wode?” they said, their voice low. “How astonished you were?”

Wenna and Meliora nodded. Llyander nodded to the guards and guests. “This is their glamor. Whatever you find pleasant and attractive in another? That is what you see in them. If you value good humor, they are jesters. If you value beauty, they are breathtaking. If you find intelligence attractive, they are sages. It is not just an effect of appearance, though it is also that. It is one of demeanor.”

“But how do they do …” Meliora started.

Llyander put a finger to their lips, silencing young Meliora. “It is not a thing they do. It is an effect in your mind.”

“You mean they don't even know they're doing it?” Meliora asked.

“Then what do they really look like?” Wenna asked.

Llyander shrugged. “What does anyone really look like?” And while the other children chalked this up to their escort's normally abstruse mode of communication, Meliora caught a glimpse of understanding somewhere in her mind.

The king turned back to them. “Should any of you seek hidden lore or deep wisdom, please allow me to serve you first. But you, young woman, the human child who learned our language, I name thee elf friend. And my naming carries power. You will find the learning of our lore will come more quickly to you, and all those who still revere the elves will give you safe passage in their lands.”

Llyander put their hands on their hips and regarded the children. “Not bad for your second quest. What shall you do for an encore?”

HIGH ELF BENEFITS

As a high elf character, you have the following benefits.

ON HAKAAN

“You … you know when you're going to die?”

The Pillar, dressed in her civilian clothing—a simple pleated dress cinched at the waist that left her bare arms free to work—dipped her hand in the pail of water. It immediately sprang to life, the water sizzled and danced as her fingers cooled. She pulled her hand out, shook off the water, and went back to sculpting the granite.

The hard, tough stone melded like clay under her fingers. Whatever she was doing, it generated enormous heat in her fingertips, hence the pails of water beside her. The Arrow couldn't tell if this was her talent manifest, or something her people could do, or neither. As he watched, he realized he recognized the bust. It was the girl they rescued during the Society's recent battle with the Academy.

“Not exactly,” the Pillar said as she concentrated on her art. “Not when. More sort of …” She looked away from her sculpture and looked out the window, thinking. “How. Why. I am told there is a sense of …” she looked at the young man, a teenager, only recently recruited to the Society. “Anticipation. Eagerness when the time is nigh. So,” she took in a deep breath, which was an impressive sight to see in a 9-foot-tall woman, and let it out, smiling at the young man. “Not anytime soon.” Her smile was like a sunrise.

Though he had lived with fear most of his young life, mortality was not something that plagued the Arrow's mind. He had a hard time grasping it. “That must be … awful.”

“Oh no,” she went back to her work. “No it's … I do not know how to say it in Caelian. It is a blessing. I have seen people die for no reason. Be taken from their loved ones without warning, without … without purpose. There are unjust deaths. They destroy families. Communities.

“But the doomsight only comes in time of great need. People forget Holkatja is also the goddess of luck, and those who beat luck—under … underdogs, as you say. She gave more than she stole, I sometimes think.

“I do not know how long I have. No one does, but I know my death will have meaning. I know it, do you understand? I know it like I know my own name. Often I feel …” Her great hands clenched and unclenched, as though she were trying to grasp something just out of reach. “I yearn for it. I want it to happen. What greater end can there be than fulfilling one's destiny?” She looked at the mostly-finished sculpture. “It gives everything I do a sense of purpose.” She went back to work.

“My people are a serene and peaceful lot. We do not seek glory like the folk of Vanigar. But, in battle sometimes, knowing I am getting closer to my wyrd, my destiny, I think I know how they feel. Something comes over me, some enormous sense of … of rightness.” She smiled again at the young man. “It scares my friends sometimes, I know.”

The Arrow had seen it, and enthusiastically agreed.

“You're not from the Barrow Hills,” he said.

The Pillar shook her head. “No, I do not wot of your hills. I am from the hills north of the Blue Cloud Mountains in far Vanigar.” She turned and looked down at the Arrow with some pride. “My people are descended from the original Haka'an tribe.” She went back to work. “Though I am sure the Barrow Men, as you call them, are a fine people. We're all related, you see.”

“Is that why you joined the Society?”

“Oh yes,” the Pillar said. “I had only left home a fortnight previous when Memory came to Vanigar to recruit me. I had a sense my wyrd lay in some distant land, but I did not know the world was so big.”

“Did she look like herself?” the Arrow asked, smiling, enjoying a moment of shared experience with the giant woman.

The Pillar chuckled, and the Arrow's chest vibrated with the force of it. “No, she looked like an agéd wise woman of Vanigar. I think only in fabled Alloy could the Memory of a Sunset at Dawn walk the streets without ‘scaring the horses,' as they say.”

“Alloy?”

The Pillar looked at the Arrow out of the corner of her eye. “You'll see,” she said with some glee.

“You were following your vision, you said.”

“Yes, my wyrd as the Vanigair call it.”

“What did you see?”

“Oh,” she smiled and blushed, “it is not meet to say.”

“It's bad luck?”

“Mmmm … you would say maybe. I think … rude is closer, but the doomsight is rarely clear in any event. It is full of symbolism and metaphor. My father is the shaa'er of our tribe. The skald as the Vanigair call it. He thought the symbolism was a kind of protection. So that I might know with certainty the meaning, but be unable to clearly convey it to others.” She nodded. “I think he is right.”

“Is it like a dream or a nightmare?” The Arrow wasn't sure how much it was okay to ask.

“No, it was not a dream, it was a thing that happened.” She turned to face the Arrow and leaned her massive arms on her legs. “I know not how it is for other doomseekers, but this is how it was for me. I was collecting flecks of jasper, a … a mineral we add to our food. I was picking flakes of rock up off the ground when I saw a bee that could not fly and a horde of ants all around, one with wings. In that moment, that was all that I could see. It was like the rest of the world fell away, and the bee and the ants filled my sight. Though the bee was surrounded and the ants seemed to go on forever, I could see the ants were afraid. There were dozens of dead ants on the ground.”

“What did you do?”

“Mm?” The Pillar was lost for a moment, remembering the moment.

“What happened next?”

The Pillar shrugged, giant muscles in her shoulders rippling. “That was the end of my vision. At that moment, I knew I had to leave home.”

“Wow.”

“Indeed. Its meaning is clear to me. I stand alone against the endless horde. In my heart, they are Ajax's war dogs. I think I know this, but …” She shrugged again.

“But how come you're alone? Where am I? Where's the Society?”

“Who knows?” she smiled. “When the vision comes upon you, it is all you can see. Maybe it is like a painting, and I am the painter. And if only I could turn my head a little ways to the left or right, I would see my friends there, fighting with me. I like to think mine is a great sacrifice, made so my friends can escape some overwhelming evil. It is a common theme among the fated I am told.”

“What about the bee? What happened to the bee?”

“Oh, feeling sorry for it, I placed my finger gently on the ground, and you must see,” she held up her pinky, “even my little finger is like a mighty wall for the bee. I sought only to protect it from the ants, but it quickly scrambled onto my finger, and after I stood up, it cleaned itself and flew away.”

“It could fly!” the Arrow said, suddenly full of youthful exuberance. “It could fly the entire time! It was just waiting … for someone else to come along.”

The Arrow stared, wide-eyed at the Pillar. Even before the young man spoke, the hakaan talent's eyes widened in realization. “My vision …” she said.

“Wasn't over!” the Arrow said, his joy impossible to hide.

HAKAAN BENEFITS

As a hakaan character, your size is 1L, and you have the following benefits:

ON HUMANS

So, we arrive here at the end of your first semester of Human Culture. I hope to see you next year in the Caelian Empire course, and though it may be hard to believe now, I often see former students' names in our textbooks years later. Perhaps that will be some of you.

I will now answer the one question I am asked most often, and which I save answering until the last day of class: What do I think of humans?

I am a high elf, as you deem it in your tongue. A child of the solar celestials. And I have taught this class, mostly to young humans, since the Caelian emperors founded this city. I was asked to join the faculty by the first chancellor. I have seen generations of your people come through this classroom, and that alone would well qualify me to answer this question.

What do I think of humans? Well, I will tell you.

I was here, teaching this class during the fire of Enlightenment 373. The fire leveled this city. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine the heat, the death, destruction that such a thing causes?

Six months after the Great Fire, your ancestors had rebuilt… everything. I have seen many miracles in my life. Witnessing that feat might be chief among them.

Liches are almost always humans. Did you know that? I think I know why. Your lives are so short—almost as soon as you're born, you're thinking about dying, and you refuse to yield.

That refusal to yield to death… to death… is what drives you, I think. Drives you to leave the world better than you found it. Causes ruined people to rebuild great city.

We studied human history in this room. Did you feel that those great ancestors of yours were perhaps made of finer stuff than you? Do not think thus. I knew them, and I know you, and your future is greater. I sometimes think each human generation greater than the last—more courageous, more generous. Quicker to forgive.

Today, Ajax's name is on everyone's tongue, but I have seen many great evils arise in the world. I was teaching in this classroom when the Pharaoh Khorsekef, desperate, his power failing, opened the Great Tet and drank of the time stored there, becoming the Ultralich. He was defeated, and now rules the Necropolitan Ruin in the Abyssal Waste.

I was alive, though not yet a professor, when Cthrion Uroniziir tried to reduce the timescape into one singular universe, wiping out reality as we know it. She was defeated, and we see her cage every day.

Each of these great evils was defeated by a coalition. The armies and heroes of many speaking peoples. And all of them—all of them—were led… by humans. That's a fact. That's history. You can look it up.

Is there some rare trait that makes you uniquely qualified to lead disparate peoples, bring them together to achieve great things? I think… there must be.

Those great humans, your ancestors, did not focus on differences. They did not weigh different people and grade them based on arbitrary traits deemed virtues and flaws. That is what Ajax does. No, those humans focused on the future. On making a better world… for all of us. A world many of them knew they would not live to see. That is a sacrifice… I can scarcely imagine.

The people who stand against Ajax and tyrants like him will be just like you—normal people. Priests and scholars and merchants and farmers. Maybe even teachers.

Stopping Ajax will require you to become something else. You must become heroes. Conduits of saints, warmasters of great armies. Censors and shadows. That may seem unlikely now, but the future has a way of surprising us.

Some of your names, I will see written in future textbooks.

But some of your names, I will see written in the stars.

(Professor Cilliarwn did not elaborate on this.)

HUMAN BENEFITS

As a human character, you have the following benefits:

ON MEMONEK

“You want to tell me what just happened?” Sir John asked.

Count Revile avoided his gaze, then turned and stamped away across the bloody battlefield.

“I'm fine!” Revile shouted, all evidence to the contrary.

“I know what I saw,” John said as he followed his friend. “You went into a bloodlust. And it's not the first time. Whether you like it or not, whether I like it or not, I'm in charge of this mission. Either you tell me what's going on, or I have no choice. I have to conclude you're a danger to the team and cut you loose.”

Revile stopped and turned to look at the rest of the party, recovering from their wounds. The memonek's white porcelain chest heaved as he tried to calm himself. His ceramic skin looked as strong as plate, but John knew it was brittle, fragile.

Count Revile took a deep breath. “We call it velloparatha,” he said. “In your tongue it would be … world-sick … or world-sickness? It is a thing that happens … to my people … when they come to your world. It is an illness of … of feeling. Emotion.”

“Are you going mad?” John asked in a whisper.

The memonek smiled ruefully. “It feels that way sometimes. I spent an hour this morning staring at an insect that landed on my finger—a grasshopper, the polder called it. I thought I had never seen a thing so perfect and beautiful. That was awe. As powerful as I have ever felt. In the battle today, anger—just as powerful.

“I thought I could resist it. When I arrived here and felt no different, I thought perhaps world-sickness was a legend. But it is a slow process, this illness, these insidious emotions.”

“No emotions where you're from?”

Count Revile shook his head. “Not like this. We are creatures of reason, we of Axiom. It is our art, our pride—our religion sometimes, methinks. We have emotions. Joy, sadness, wonder, grief. Love. But they are… a fashion. They do not happen to us. They are something we indulge in, out of propriety. Here… everything is order and chaos mixed—even in me. In me.” Revile placed his hand on his chest.

“In the battle today,” he said. “That anger was not directed at Ajax's War Dogs. It was directed at myself.”

“At yourself? Why? What did you—”

“John,” the memonek said, and now it was his turn to whisper. “I was afraid. Afraid of … of being wounded, of failing you, failing my friends … of dying. And out of that fear came … enormous anger—at myself. Anger that I was so weak, so … useless. Anger so … strong, so powerful … I forgot who I was.”

John chuckled. “That's just …” He smiled broadly. “That's normal, man. That's just normal. We all feel that way.”

“What? No, you don't understand—”

“Oh, I don't understand? Okay, let me guess—it felt like you were gonna piss yourself.”

“Yes!”

“Yeah, happens to all of us.”

“Even you?!”

Sir John shrugged. “Are you kidding? Sure. But it doesn't help. You still got a job to do. In fact, I'd say that is the job. Anyone can learn the blade.” He placed his hand on the pommel of his sword. “Nothing special about that. It's learning to deal with the fear. That's the job—what separates the professionals from the amateurs.”

Count Revile said nothing, just thinking.

“Feeling better?”

Revile nodded. “I always recover afterward, but these outbursts come unbidden, like thunder from a clear sky.”

“Hmm. Yeah. Well, that explains what happened when you met Embers.”

Count Revile did not like being reminded of that. He looked to the sky and shook his head. “I made a fool of myself.”

“Don't be so hard on yourself. If you're trying to seduce our void mage, you made a good start of it. She's three thousand years old, I've known her since I was fifteen. I don't think I've ever seen her blush. Anyway, now that I know what's going on, now that I know you're basically a giant teenager with overactive glands, I can relax a little.”

Sir John and Count Revile, both tacticians, stood together on the bloody battlefield, looking at each other.

“John, I fear this may get worse before it gets better.”

“So, just like everything else?” He clapped the memonek on the shoulder. “Don't worry, we'll help you get through it. I'll let the others know. Once they understand, they'll help too. They'll probably just take the piss out of you. That'll help, you'll love that.”

“You're a good friend, John.”

“Heh. Is that you, or the world-sickness talking?”

“Me, I think. The world-sickness would have me say … you're a bastardly son of a bitch. But you're my bastardly son of a bitch.” Count Revile smiled.

John laughed and put his arm around his friend as they headed back to the party. “Funny. The world-sickness sounds a lot like me.”

MEMONEK BENEFITS

As a memonek character, you have the following benefits:

LIGHTWEIGHT

Your silicone body is aerodynamic and low in density. Your speed is 7, and whenever you fall, you reduce the distance of the fall by 2 squares. Additionally, your stability decreases by 2 to a minimum of 0. When you are force moved, you are force moved an additional 2 squares.

KEEPER OF ORDER

When you or a creature adjacent to you makes a power roll, you can remove an edge or a bane on the roll as a free triggered action. You can only use this benefit once per round.

ON ORCS

What a world we have made.

Indeed, what a marvel!

It is a marvel now, with the dragons and celestials, elementals and terrans.

It is unseemly. It was better before things started talking.

And having opinions. About our creation. About us!

Oh, I don't know. I thought I agreed, but then look you what our sibling Ord has made. A fine people, these elementals. They make marvels. Ord made them, and now they make miracles.

We make marvels. The world is a miracle, and enough.

Yes. But still. I think I might try my hand at children. It seems a worthy pursuit.

Heed the lesson of our Shamèd Brother. It was better before the coming of the terrans. Before the coming of war.

But war has come. Ord and I are of one mind in this: what is done cannot be undone. My children should not seek war, but they would excel at it should it come to them.

They would be strong, like the elementals. But theirs would be a strength of spirit. They would never relent, never give up. Always seeking, always striving. Like life itself.

They should love the forest and green things, like the children of Val. But they should be at home in the cities the terrans and elementals build. In this world of chaos and law, they should seek balance. Not quick to anger. But once angered? A wildfire.

If they excel at war, the terrans will be jealous. They will be in constant conflict with each other.

Perhaps. Yes, I think you're right. It seems to be the great tragedy of our creation, war. But the constant threat of it will bring wisdom. It will take great wisdom to avoid such conflict, and those possessed of such wisdom will become great leaders.

Would they be lorewise and crafty?

Oh, I would leave that to them. It is not meet that children should be too closely molded by their parents. But you ask, and my mind goes to Ket. They should lack the pride of Ket's children…

Look where that got him.

Hush, you. We should not be too hard on our Brother In Mourning. He has paid for his hubris. My children would love the world more than lore. That is my answer.

They seem a fine people, if you ask me.

And there they are, look at them! Kul, your thoughts made real! Only in the world a little while, and already growing, learning.

Ah! My children! So fierce and unyielding. I see you lead short lives, like the terrans. Perhaps this is good.

I see they get along well with Ord's children. I think this a good sign.

Already they make homes in the forests by the elves. Some little skirmishing over borders, I note. Nothing serious.

What shall you call them?

Oh, I do not care for such things. They should be free of our designs, like the terrans. Let them name themselves.

Oh! They already have! Kanin. It means “the people” in their tongue. I like that. Very democratic. Good for them.

And will they know you?

If they wish. Much as I agreed with…the Father of Men…I find worship unseemly.

Agreed.

Agreed!

Let me introduce myself, at least.

Ahem.

“Hear me, kanin! This world we made is yours, as much as it is anyone's. You belong here.

“Know that you are my children, the children of Kul, he who put fire within the world. And there is fire in you. And though the world and fate and baser minds may conspire to destroy your light, you will survive. And more than survive, you will thrive. And in thriving, you will conquer!”

ORC BENEFITS

As an orc character, you have the following benefits.

ON POLDERS

The three peasants—Jago, his wife Sarah, and his sister Beth—sat together watching the three heroes talk in the crowded common room of the inn. Well, Jackson Bootblack seemed to be doing most of the talking.

“This kind of shit doesn't work if it's just a bunch of ratcatchers like us,” the polder said. “You need the people to rise up. Been fifteen years since Omund died—fifteen years of fighting wolves and bandits and worse. The people welcome a tyrant after that. They like order, you know? They adapt.”

“If you stand on the grass long enough, it learns to lie flat,” A Mist Coils Around Dying Embers said. “But what do you say?”

“Eh?” the polder asked her. But he glanced at Sir John staring at him.

“You say the people have no stomach for rebellion,” Embers said. “But what about you?”

“Oh,” the polder said, “I say it doesn't matter much what I say. Why's he looking at me like that?” the polder asked the high elf and pointed at Sir John. Realizing he was being rude, John shook his head to clear it. “Sorry, I just … I never met a polder before,” he said.

“Are you kidding me?” Jackson said.

“No! Sorry, I just …”

“What are you, from the moon? Where you from that you never met a polder before? There's polder in every fucking village and town from here to the sea.”

“Really? That's weird. I'm from Tor, I've been all over—just never met a polder before.”

Jackson looked at his friend, the high elf void mage. “Am I crazy?”

“You're not crazy,” Embers smiled. She was enjoying watching two of her friends get to know each other.

“John's just never run into one, it seems.”

“Well, we're adorable,” the polder said, and drank some ale.

“They must have been around I guess,” John said. “I probably just never noticed.”

The polder put his drink down. “Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. You know, it's funny. I never have any problem noticing you big assholes. One of you makes about as much noise as a cow, which … I don't even know how you manage that.”

“You're talking just … my voice is just as loud as yours!”

“I mean the way you walk around. Just the way you move, the way you stand up and sit down. You make so much goddamn noise.”

Jago, Sarah, and Beth all smiled at the exchange.

“Humans are loud, yes,” Embers agreed.

“Do we have to … can we talk about something else, please?”

“I just …” The polder wouldn't let it go. “You seriously never … you never been to an inn? Cavall's teeth, I can't count how many inns and taverns I've been to run by polders, got polders in the kitchen or waiting tables. One of the only two things we're good at, I think.”

“Yeah?” John asked. “What's the other one?”

The little man smiled. “Getting into places we ain't supposed to be.”

“Now we're talking,” Sir John said. “You were saying we need the people behind us. I agree.”

“Yeah, okay. To business: How to rally the people.” The polder took the question seriously. “It's not hard. First, we need someone they'll rally around. I could make someone up, invent a local folk hero, but if we can find the real thing? They just need to look the part, that's all. I'll take care of the rest.”

“I'm working on that,” John said. “But it's … slower going than I thought. I'm betting on a long shot.”

“What's the holdup?”

John thought about how to put what he knew into words. “You know,” he shrugged. “Some people can only be heroes if they think they're above everyone else. Some people can only be heroes once they realize they're not. And some people …”

He looked at his drink, at the expensive clear glass the innkeep had given him because he recognized Sir John. He turned the glass slowly on the table and now he was mostly talking to himself. “Some people still have to figure that out.”

“Which is best?” Jackson asked, and Embers could tell the little man was testing John.

John took a deep breath and came back to reality. “Well. If we could be picky, we wouldn't need a hero,” he said.

The polder looked at the high elf and nodded, impressed. Test passed.

“Okay. Well, if you've already got a candidate, I could get things started. The other half is: we need a good story—short, punchy. Something that'll catch on, needs to be easy to relate to, but bigger than life. A tax. A toll! Bridge toll, classic. An ogre … no, three ogres. Yeah, three is better. Three ogres in Ajax's livery. A lone figure standing against them. See? Easy.”

“Where are we going to find three ogres?” John asked.

“What do you mean?” Now it was the polder's turn to be confused.

“What do you mean, ‘What do I mean?'” John said.

“I'm not … we don't need real ogres.” Jackson looked at the elf. “Is he for real?”

“Trust me,” the void mage said.

“You mean you're going to make it up?!” John exclaimed.

“I…” Jackson looked with incredulity at the high elf void mage, then back at the human. “Yes, I do mean that. Does he know what I do?” he asked the elf.

“He'll learn,” Embers smiled.

The polder turned back to Sir John. “Hello. I lie for a living. And I'm really good at it. Sometimes also kill people, but only if lying or running away doesn't work.”

John turned to Embers. “I thought he was a thief.”

“I was a thief,” the polder said.

“You were a thief.”

“Yeah, I was with the Clock. Probably still am—they don't exactly let you just walk away. We sort of have an agreement. I agree to do what they tell me and they agree not to tell me to do anything.”

“Did they kick you out, or did you quit?”

“Depends on who you ask. I don't like being told what to do. It's sort of a polder thing. Hereditary or ancestral or whatever. Everybody wants a polder chef until they start trying to tell us what to cook.”

“So what are you now?”

“I'm annoying.”

The elf smiled. “He's a troubadour—one of the best.”

Sir John looked at him, nodded. “No lute, I notice. And you don't seem the type to sit by the hearth telling stories.”

The polder grinned. “I ain't that kind of troubadour. I'm the other kind. I think the best story is the one people tell each other.”

“Propaganda,” Sir John said, a grin spreading across his face. The polder pointed a finger at him and smiled. John heard the door to the inn open behind him. This wasn't notable, but the gasp from the customers was.

“Hey,” the polder said, looking past John to the doorway. “Hey, I think our folk hero just showed up. Damn, he looks the part all right. Or she, I can never tell with these guys.”

John turned to see. Sir Vaantikalisax loomed just inside the doorway, his scales and armor glowing in the light of the hearth fire. Sir John shot up out of his chair, a huge smile on his face.

“I, uh …” Vaantikalisax said. The tall, broad draconian looked from John to the three peasants. Jago, Sarah, and Beth were beaming with even more joy than John, if that were possible.

The knight stared at them for a moment, then turned back to his friend.

“Maybe you're right,” the dragon knight said.

POLDER BENEFITS

As a polder character, your size is 1S and you have the following benefits.

ON REVENANTS

“I'm telling you, we are being followed.”

“No one knows we're here. No one even knows this place exists! We got all day. We stash everything here, and take a sample to …” The head thief pulled a vial out of a crate stuffed with straw and looked at it.

“It's just …” The junior cutpurse spoke nervously. “There was this lady knight in Blackbottom sniffing around. She seemed serious. I got this weird … chill when I looked at her.”

“Hey,” the head thief said, his brow furrowed as he looked at the label on the vial. “Where'd you say you bought this stuff? You said a ship—a ship from where?”

“I dunno, uh … uh, Capital I think.”

The head thief looked at the panicking cutpurse. “This lady knight—she have a red and blue device on her shield?”

“Black gods,” one of the other thieves said. “It can't be Lady Filliamo, can it?”

There was a firm knock at the door to the safe house. A door which, from the outside, looked like an unremarkable section of wall.

“Oh, you've got to be kidding me.”

“Nonono! How could she … Capital was nine months ago!”

“She's a revenant, idiot! She doesn't even need air. She could have walked here! Just … into the water and across the bottom of the sea! Black gods, why didn't you say anything?”

“I did! You asshole, I just did! I been trying to tell you for—”

“Man, there is a difference between, ‘Hey I think we're being shadowed,' and, ‘There's a deathless copper coming after us!'”

One of the four thieves opened a vial and dipped his dirk into the red oil within.

“What is that gonna do? She's already dead!”

Another knock at the hidden door. “Forget it. Let her knock. Grab as many as you can, and we'll go out the back.”

The head thief ran for the door out the back of the safe house. He jerked it open—and the other thieves watched as a silver flash silently flared across his forehead.

Through the open door, they could see the silhouette of the knight, her open hand held up in front of her.

She clenched her hand into a fist and the judgment she had placed on the head cutpurse detonated, hurling him backward. He sprawled across the floor, conscious but stunned.

The gray-skinned knight walked into the room. Metal heels rang out on the wooden floor. She seemed relaxed, but her eyes burned with inner fire.

“Boys,” Lady Filliamo said pleasantly. “Busy morning.”

“How did you … this is impossible, how did you find us?”

She looked at the man groaning on the floor. “Your boss didn't tell you about the vengeance mark?”

“You marked us. Back in Capital. You marked one of us and just … just walked here.”

“Don't be stupid. I marked you in Blackbottom. Capital was just normal detective work. I came here by ship.” She smiled—black lips on pale gray skin.

“Come on.” The braver of the three remaining thieves drew twin daggers. “She can't get all of us at—”

Lady Filliamo made a broad gesture with her right hand and argent marks flared across the foreheads of all three thieves. A clatter of weapons hitting the floor. Three pairs of hands slowly rose in the air.

“Good boys. Here, put these on.” She tossed three pairs of manacles on the floor.

“Hang on, you can't arrest us,” one of the thieves, unarmed and still holding his hands up, said. “This isn't Capital. You don't have jurisdiction!”

Lady Filliamo shrugged. “I'm a knight of the church. Jurisdiction's for the city watch.” She drew her silver sword a few inches from the scabbard just to show them the blade.

“I deal in steel.”

REVENANT BENEFITS

As a revenant character, you have the following benefits.

ON TIME RAIDERS

“You will tell me the location of the ship you came here in.”

Taxiarch Lycaon paced outside the ruined church. The four-armed woman with crystal eyes and flaming pink hair in a strip down the center of her shaved head sneered at him. She was chained to the ruin of a stone column outside the ruin of a stone church.

“Is it that your brain is so small you must talk in order to think?” The woman's smile was a sneer.

Lycaon strode toward the alien, grabbed a length of chain around her waist, and yanked on it, pulling it taut so the chain around her neck tightened. “You are going to die in any event,” he said. “If you wish to deny me the pleasure of hearing you howl and scream for mercy, tell me what I want to know now and my dogs will kill you quickly.”

Up close she could see the fine stitching along Lycaon's cheeks and forehead, the very slight differences in skin tone that showed his skin was not his own.

“You seem to be made of bits,” the alien said as she peered at Lycaon, her crystalline eyes catching and reflecting prismatic light. “And not the best bits. Leftovers? Is that what you are? A walking assemblage of cast-off scraps? Hahah, I thought the proteans were hideous. Someone should let them know! There are creatures even more foul-seeming and useless in the timescape.”

The Taxiarch smiled to himself, nodded with respect at the woman's epithets. He placed his foot on a low piece of rubble, once part of the wall of the stone church, and leaned his arm on his knee. He was not dressed as the other war dogs. No black leather for him. He wore a gold breastplate with the embossed head of a ram molded into it, a white cape over his back. Gold greaves and red leather boots and gloves. The other war dogs only had patches of hair but his was long and blonde.

He struck a casual, jaunty pose. “Where is your worldship?” he said in a more reasonable voice. “Or came you here in a single-seater starskimmer?” At this, the alien's crystal eyes went wide, betraying surprise.

“You see?” The Taxiarch said, impressed with himself. “I am not a primitive like these peasants, who hounded you because you are alien,” he nodded at the folk of the small town watching from the stables some distance away. “I am Ajax's elite. Better than his chosen. I was made for victory.”

Indeed, Taxiarch Lycaon looked almost fully human. Handsome and fit like a statue from Phaedros, which his model had almost certainly been inspired by. Unless you looked closely, there was no sign he was a product of the body banks. “If you agree to lead me to your vessel, I will let you go free.”

The alien sighed. “‘Blaap blaap blaap,'” she said. “You should hear yourself. Like barking thrazz, you sound to me. Who holds your leash I wonder? For surely a microbrain such as you could not command any more than these rabble,” she nodded her head at the other twenty or so war dogs.

Her taunts worked. Lycaon hauled back and punched the alien in the jaw. Her head smashed into the ruined column. She was dazed but she shook it off and laughed.

“Look how easily this one is goaded!” she said. She spat out dark blue blood and turned to the peasants gathered. “You people! Why do you let yourselves be cowed by these … bits? Bits of people kludged together? Even the least of you is worth more than these.”

“Perhaps from the air,” Flight Captain Lyria offered, and she stroked the feathers of her giant hawk mount to calm it. “I could scout the forest around the …”

“No!” Taxiarch Lycaon pointed a finger at the hawklord and strode toward her. “You are the elite of Ajax's winged harriers, I am his chosen brigade commander. We are not scavengers! This one,” he stabbed a gloved finger at the alien, “will come to heel, or I will give her to my war dogs.” He turned to face the chained alien, who yawned. Lycaon seethed.

“They may pull you apart,” he said to her, and at this, his squadron of soldiers, all in black leather and golden pauldrons, started making barking sounds. Then they laughed at each other.

“Or I may let my crucibite melt the skin from your bones.”

At that, a war dog clad in leather from head to foot wearing a heavy mask with glass circles where the eyes should be and some kind of canister over his mouth stepped forward. The long thin brass tube in his hands connected to a large metal tank on his back.

“Shall I let you choose?” the Taxiarch said and drew a dagger from his belt. “I will cut off one finger. If you cry out, I kill you. If not, another finger. And if you cry out then…”

Slowly everyone assembled could make out the sounds of a conversation, quiet with a metallic ring to it. The voices got louder until eventually they could be heard.

“…should be ready for anything,” one voice said, deep, commanding, and images started to form around and between the war dogs, the hawklord, and the Taxiarch. Like faded images in a manuscript they seemed, gaining pigment and clarity and, eventually, depth as their voices grew louder and clearer.

“Oh, thank you for the brilliant tactical advice,” another voice, high pitched, piped up.

Suddenly, the images became three dimensional, solid, and four heroes stood among them. A human in working battle plate. A polder with twin rapiers in his hands. A tall willowy high elf with night-black skin and golden hair. And a Dragon Knight. The people of the town gasped when they saw him. Even at a distance, even with the war dogs between them, they recognized the device of Good King Omund on the knight's shield.

The war dogs scrambled. For a moment, it seemed they might flee at this sudden intrusion, but the Taxiarch bellowed “Hold fast!” and they held their ground, uncertainty over the unknown threat of a band of heroes battling in each of them with the certain fear of their commander.

John immediately read the situation. It was a clear enough picture.

There was something about the war dogs. They loved Ajax's cruelty—reveled in it. John had crossed swords with other commanders in Ajax's army before. Ground Commander Vordokov was a professional—could be reasoned with, but he was an orc.

Not the war dogs—they were fanatics.

“What's this?” the Taxiarch called out with a hungry grin. “Allies of the alien?” He was projecting confidence. Trying to muster his wary soldiers.

Sir John ignored the war dog, tilted his head toward the alien. “Embers?”

“A kuran'zoi,” the high elf said, and the alien held her head up with pride. “A time raider from the upper worlds. What the truth is I cannot say, and no people are all one thing. But by reputation? They're intractable, ungovernable, they loathe authority, hate tyranny and are totally, utterly without fear.”

John watched the alien. They sneered their approval at Ember's summary. That was enough for Sir John, they could work out the details later. After everything they'd been through before, he trusted Embers implicitly.

He could see the shape of the next moments play out, all he had to do was take the initiative. If he was right, the whole thing would be over in seconds. There was no time to communicate. No time to plan, and everyone, everyone had to play their part.

John knew what came next, but he wasn't an assassin. He had his own part to play. He took a step forward, away from his teammates, and noted the Taxiarch didn't react. This spoke volumes. He locked eyes with his enemy.

“She goes free,” John commanded, his voice steel, “or you die here.” He could feel the muscles tightening in his comrades, the whole company like a steel spring wound tight.

Lycaon cocked his head at Sir John and took a few foolish steps toward the tactician. He was just out of reach. But close enough.

“I see you are a man, like Ajax. Why do you lower yourself with these … creatures?” the war dog Taxiarch looked at the elf, polder, and dragon knight. “Little more than slimy things crawled out of the sea? Join us. Join me. Join Ajax. It'll be nice for you,” his voice lowered almost to a whisper, “to be on the winning side for a change.”

Sir John took a deep breath, his body language changed and that was enough. Several things then happened at once, so quickly no one would later be able to say who acted first.

Ember's eyes flashed into a starfield. The time raider's chains dissolved into starspace and reappeared around Flight Captain Lyria pinning her arms to her side. She was giving the hawklord an excuse to sit this one out. Gods, John was glad she was with them.

The time raider's right upper hand shot out, as though she'd been waiting for the void mage to do exactly what she just did, and her meson blaster leapt out of the hands of the war dog who'd chained her. The pistol made of glass and bronze slammed into her hand and its tip flared with prismatic light.

From the sun's shadow cast by Taxiarch Lycaon, the polder Jackson Bootblack emerged, a rapier in each hand, and no one had seen him move from where he'd been a moment before.

At the same instant, a call—a horn. From directly behind John a blast of sound like a chord played by a dozen trumpets, and hope sang in John's heart—the Clarion Call of the last Storm Knight!

John hadn't hesitated, he'd already drawn his sword.

“All right, you patchwork son of a bitch.” He charged Lycaon, who fumbled with the short-sword on his belt.

“Draw steel!”

TIME RAIDER BENEFITS

As a time raider character, you have the following benefits.

USING CULTURE

Directors can use the rules in this section to build cultures that players can choose for their characters. Players can use these rules to build a unique culture or modify an existing culture for their character, working with the Director to find a right place for that culture within the world of the campaign's world. The Vasloria Cultures table provides a cultural breakdown for Vasloria, the game's medieval European fantasy analog.

(Playtest note: That table is still to come.)

You can use the table for a campaign that takes place in Vasloria, or pillage from it liberally for a custom setting.

In many worlds, at least some cultures have a majority ancestry. The people of Bedegar, a duchy in Vasloria, are mostly humans. The folk dwelling in the Great Wode, a forest realm north of Bedegar, are primarily wode elves. However, you can always choose to be from one of these cultures and take a different ancestry. A dwarf raised in the culture of the Great Wode speaks Yllyric and probably knows a lot about nature, while a dwarf raised in the dwarven thanedom of Kal Kalavar speaks Zaliac and might know a good deal about smithing.

WHY BUILD A CULTURE?

Building a character is about more than adding up your stats, picking skills and abilities, and recording that information on a character sheet. You're building a hero—a main character in a story, be it a one-shot or a heroic campaign. Think about the personality and the past of who you are creating. That's why the game lets you build a culture rather than simply saying, “Pick three skills and a bonus language.” We want players to imagine their heroes as complex and intricate characters.

LANGUAGE

Your culture's language aspect determines how the people of your culture communicate. This can be any language in Languages.

ENVIRONMENT

Your culture's environment aspect describes where the people of that culture spend most of their time. Is your culture centered in a bustling city or a small village? Did you spend your early life in an isolated monastery? Or did you wander the wilderness, never staying in one place for long?

When you build a culture, select its environment aspect from the following options: nomadic, rural, secluded, urban, or wilderness. You then gain skill options from your chosen environment. All of these environments can be found in any sort of terrain, whether aboveground, in subterranean caverns, deep in trackless forest, or even underwater.

ORGANIZATION

Your culture's organization aspect determines the functioning and leadership of your community. You might come from a place with an officially recognized government and a system of laws. Or your culture might have enjoyed a less formal organization, with the people in charge having naturally gravitated toward their positions without any official offices or oaths.

When you build a culture, select its organization aspect from the following options: anarchic, bureaucratic, or communal. You then gain skill options from your chosen system of organization.

UPBRINGING

Your culture's upbringing aspect is a more specific and personal part of your hero's story, describing how you were individually raised within your culture. Were you trained to become the newest archmage in a secret order of wizards, or to be a sword-wielding bodyguard who protected that arcane organization? Did you learn to delve deep into mines looking for ore in a mountain kingdom, or did you build machines meant to dig faster and deeper than any person could alone? Whatever your culture, your upbringing makes you special within that culture.

Pick your upbringing aspect from the following list: academic, creative, illegal, labor, martial, or noble. You then gain skill options from your chosen aspect.

SKILLS

Each career grants you two or three skills. If a career grants you a skill you already have, you can select a different skill.

LANGUAGES

Some careers allow you to learn extra languages, chosen from those available in Languages.

RENOWN

Some careers increase your starting Renown score. See Renown for more information.

PROJECT POINTS

Some careers provide project points that you can put toward research and crafting projects (see Research and Crafting in future packets for more information). These points can be divided among multiple projects, but they can't be used more than once. At the Director's discretion, your career might also let you start the game with the materials needed for one or more projects, so that you can immediately put your project points toward them.

CAREER TITLE

Your career provides you with a common title. See Titles for more information.

(Playtest note: The Titles section is still to come.)

WHAT WAS TAKEN FROM YOU?

During your inciting incident, something was taken from you. It might have been a material object, such as an heirloom sword or a locket that proves your royal heritage. It could be a person you loved who was killed, kidnapped, or cursed. It might be something deeper and more abstract, as with a chance for happiness or a lifetime goal snatched away.

It might be the case that you're obsessed with getting back what you lost. You might be in a position where you'll never recover what was taken from you, but you want to prevent that same loss from happening to others. It might be a little bit of both. Whatever the case, the loss you've suffered is part of what drives you to be a hero. Record what was taken from you on your character sheet, and let your Director know.

ARTISAN INCITING INCIDENTS

CRIMINAL INCITING INCIDENTS

GLADIATOR INCITING INCIDENTS

LABORER INCITING INCIDENTS

ARCANE TRICK

You cast an entertaining spell that creates a minor but impressive magical effect.

Keywords: Magic

Type: Action

Distance: Self

Target: Self

Effect: Choose one of the following effects:

• You teleport an unattended size 1T or 1S object within 1 square of you to an unoccupied space within 1 square of you.
• Until the start of your next turn, a part of your body shoots a shower of harmless noisy sparks that give off light within 1 square of you.
• You ignite or snuff out (your choice) every mundane light source within 1 square of you.
• You make up to 1 pound of edible food you can touch taste delicious or disgusting.
• Until the start of your next turn, you make your body exude a particular odor you've smelled before. This smell can be sensed by creatures within 5 squares of you, but can't impose any condition or other drawback on creatures.
• You place a small magical inscription on the surface of a mundane object you can touch, or remove an inscription that was made by you or by another creature using Arcane Trick.
• You cover a size 1T object that you touch with an illusion that makes it look like another object. A creature who handles the object can see through the illusion. The illusion ends when yo

MAGE'S APPRENTICE INCITING INCIDENTS

PERFORMER INCITING INCIDENTS

SAGE INCITING INCIDENTS

SOLDIER INCITING INCIDENTS

CONDUIT ADVANCEMENT

DEITY AND DOMAINS

Choose a god or saint who you revere from the Conduit Deities table, or ask your Director about the deities in your campaign world. With the Director's permission, you can also create your own deity, and can choose four domains to be part of their portfolio.

After choosing your deity, pick two domains from their portfolio. Your choice of domains determines many of the features you'll gain from this class.

(Playtest note: More gods and saints are coming, along with their descriptions.)

PIETY

Your deity grants you a Heroic Resource called piety to fuel your abilities. You use piety to heal and empower your allies, and to unleash your deity's power upon your foes.

Outside of combat and other dangerous situations tracked in turns and rounds, you have piety equal to your Victories. If you lose some or all of this piety outside of combat, it takes you 1 minute to regain it.

When a combat encounter begins, you keep any piety you had outside of combat. At the start of each of your turns during combat, you gain 2 piety. You can also use the Prayer ability to gain additional piety. When combat ends, you once again have piety equal to your Victories.

1ST-LEVEL DOMAIN FEATURE

You gain a domain feature from one of your domains, as shown on the 1st-Level Conduit Domain Features table. Additionally, you gain a skill from the chosen domain, selected from the skill group indicated on the table.

HEALING GRACE

You gain the following ability, which you can use once on your turn.

PIOUS FORCE

You gain the following ability, which can be used as a ranged free strike.

TRIGGERED ACTION

Choose one of the following triggered actions.

CONDUIT ABILITIES

Your training and faith let you specialize in magic that buffs your allies, debuffs your foes, and lets you hold your own in combat even while aiding your friends.

ELEMENTALIST ADVANCEMENT

ELEMENTAL SPECIALIZATION

Through your studies, you know and can manipulate the seven primal elements of the timescape:

• Air is the element of movement. Air abilities allow you to manipulate speed, quickness, flight, and breath.
• Earth is the element of permanence. Earth abilities create and shape physical terrain in a permanent way, and bolster the strength and hardiness of allies.
• Fire is the element of destruction. Fire abilities harm enemies and objects.
• Green is the element of creation and growth. Green abilities make and manipulate plants, fungi, and other forms of life to hamper foes and nourish your allies.
• Rot is the element of death. Rot abilities decay and debuff enemies.
• Void is the element of the unknown. Void abilities warp space and reality, allowing you to teleport, create illusions, and make things incorporeal.
• Water is the element of change. Water abilities enhance what your allies can do, and alter the abilities of your enemies for the worse.

Heroic abilities that include your specialization's keyword have their initial essence cost reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 1). This reduced cost doesn't apply to abilities you gain because of your specialization, such as Manipulate Earth or Void Sight.

Choose one of the following elements to be your specialty: earth, fire, green, or void. (Other elemental specializations will be featured in future products.) Your choice of specialization determines many of the features you'll gain from this class.

ESSENCE

You channel the substance of creation in the form of a Heroic Resource called essence. In times of great stress, you can focus your control on this substance, gathering and burning it to cast and maintain spells.

Outside of combat and other dangerous situations tracked in turns and rounds, you have essence equal to your Victories. If you lose some or all of this essence outside of combat, it takes you 1 minute to regain it. You can also dedicate that essence to maintaining persistent abilities (see Persistent Magic below).

When combat begins, you keep any essence you had outside of combat. At the start of each of your turns during combat, you gain 2 essence. When combat ends, you once more have essence equal to your Victories.

HURL ELEMENT

You gain the following ability, which can be used as a ranged free strike:

PERSISTENT MAGIC

Some of your heroic abilities have the Persistent keyword. Whenever you use a persistent ability, you decide whether you want to maintain it. If you maintain a persistent ability in combat, you reduce the amount of essence you earn at the start of your turn by an amount equal to the ability's persistent value, which enables the ability's persistent effect. All your active persistent abilities end when combat ends.

You can maintain a persistent ability outside of combat as long as you have Victories equal to or greater than its persistent value. If you maintain a persistent ability outside of combat, the maximum essence you can use on other abilities is reduced by the ability's persistent value. For instance, if you have 4 Victories and maintain the Stone Ward ability (a persistent ability with a cost of 1 essence), you can only use abilities costing 3 essence or less outside of combat.

You can't maintain any abilities that would make you earn a negative amount of essence at the start of your turn or have a negative amount of essence outside of combat. You can stop maintaining an ability at any time (no action required).

If you maintain the same ability on several targets and the effect includes a power roll, you make that roll once and apply the same effect to all targets. A creature can't be affected by multiple instances of a persistent ability.

Whenever you take damage while you have an active persistent ability, you must make the following power roll.

Power Roll + Reason:

• 11 or lower: You lose all active persistent abilities.
• 12–16: If you have only one persistent ability active, it remains active. Otherwise, you lose one active persistent ability of your choice.
• 17+: All your active persistent abilities remain active.

PRACTICAL MAGIC

You have the following ability:

1ST-LEVEL SPECIALIZATION FEATURE

Your elementalist specialization grants you a feature, as shown on the 1st-Level Elementalist Specialization Features table.

SPECIALIZATION TRIGGERED ACTION

Your specialization grants you a triggered action, as shown on the Elementalist Triggered Actions table.

ELEMENTALIST ABILITIES

Your mastery of elemental magic grants you unique magical abilities that let you damage, move, and debuff your enemies, empower your allies, and alter the terrain around you.

PRIMORDIAL ASPECT

You come from a tradition older than civilization, older than warfare, older than most of the world. You have undergone a rite of passage that revealed the building blocks of the timescape—the Primordial Chaos—and which left an aspect of the Primordial Chaos inside you. As you channel the rage that shapes you, you can choose a primordial aspect from the following:

• Berserker: You channel your rage into expressions of physical might, acting as a living version of the forces that reshape the world. You gain the Lift skill.
• Reaver: You channel your rage into instinct and cunning, challenging the false order of civilization. You gain the Hide skill.
• Stormwight: You channel your rage into the form of animals and primordial storms. You gain the Track skill.

Your choice of primordial aspect determines many of the features you'll gain from this class.

RAGE

As the battle intensifies around you, your determination and anger grow, fueling a Heroic Resource called rage.

Outside of combat and other dangerous situations tracked in turns and rounds, you have fury equal to your Victories. If you lose some or all of this rage outside of combat, it takes you 1 minute to regain it.

When a combat encounter begins, you keep any rage you had outside of combat. At the start of each of your turns during combat, you gain 1d3 rage. When combat ends, you once again have rage equal to your Victories.

GROWING RAGE

You gain certain benefits in combat based on the amount of rage you have. See Aspect Features for details. The benefits from your growing rage last until the end of your turn, even if a benefit would become unavailable to you because of the amount of rage you spend during your turn.

MIGHTY LEAPS

You always succeed on Might tests made to jump. You can still roll to see if you get a reward result.

1ST-LEVEL ASPECT FEATURES

Your chosen primordial aspect grants you features as shown on the 1st-Level Primordial Aspect Features table.

PRIMORDIAL SHAPE

When you select a martial kit, you can instead select a stormwight kit (see Stormwight Kits). Your stormwight kit grants you a number of benefits, including effects tied to your Growing Rage feature.

ASPECT TRIGGERED ACTION

Your primordial aspect grants you a triggered action, as shown on the Fury Triggered Actions table.

FURY ABILITIES

You specialize in dealing massive damage on the battlefield, mastering a number of unique martial abilities that allow you to strike hard and keep moving in combat.

KIT FEATURES

All stormwight kits have the following features in common.

BOREN

With this stormwight kit, you channel your primordial rage into the form of a bear, becoming large, durable, and imposing. Boren are tied to the craggy, rocky north, and this aspect is associated with the blizzard's bitter cold.

CORVEN

With this stormwight kit, you channel your primordial rage into the form of a crow. Corven are tied to the mountain passes and the hot winds that flow through them. This aspect is associated with the katabatic wind.

RADEN

With this stormwight kit, you channel your primordial rage into the form of a rat. Raden are associated with the true nature of the rat, before cities became their habitat. Rats are avatars of the balance between green and rot, and this aspect is associated with the rat flood.

VUKEN

With this stormwight kit, you channel your primordial rage into the form of a wolf. Vuken are tied to forests and open steppes, and this aspect is associated with the thunderstorm.

SHADOW ADVANCEMENT

SHADOW COLLEGE

Shadow colleges are secret institutions that turn ordinary folk into something else. Finding a college is the first step in a rigorous initiation process that tests the mettle of an applicant. Even those who make the cut often wash out—or are kicked out—as the master shadows who teach stealth, magic, and assassination to their students are often less than gentle in their approach.

You are one of the few who has graduated from a shadow college, chosen from the following options:

• College of Black Ash: The College of Black Ash founded the art of being a shadow. Its graduates use Black Ash sorcery to teleport around the battlefield in clouds of soot, and to manipulate and create darkness. Graduates of the college are unmatched in mobility. You gain the Magic skill.
• College of Caustic Alchemy: The College of Caustic Alchemy teaches its students recipes for the acids, bombs, and poisons used in their grim work. Graduates of the college are exceptional assassins. You gain the Alchemy skill.
• College of the Harlequin Mask: Graduates of the College of the Harlequin Mask learn illusion magic, which they use to infiltrate enemy strongholds and create orchestrated chaos in combat. You gain the Lie skill.

Your choice of shadow college determines many of the features you'll gain from this class.

INSIGHT

By observing your enemy, you learn how to use their weaknesses against them. You have a Heroic Resource called insight.

Outside of combat and other dangerous situations tracked in turns and rounds, you have insight equal to your Victories. If you lose some or all of this insight outside of combat, it takes you 1 minute to regain it.

When a combat encounter begins, you keep any insight you had outside of combat. At the start of each of your turns during combat, you gain 2 insight. You gain 1 insight whenever you get a tier 3 result with an attack. When combat ends, you once again have insight equal to your Victories.

1ST-LEVEL COLLEGE FEATURES

Your choice of college grants you one or two features, as shown on the 1st-Level Shadow College Features table.

COLLEGE TRIGGERED ACTION

Your college grants you a triggered action, as shown on the Shadow Triggered Actions table.

HESITATION IS WEAKNESS

You know how to seize the advantage in battle, working with your allies to find the perfect moment to strike. You have the following ability.

SHADOW ABILITIES

You specialize in dealing damage, then getting out of harm's way before the inevitable counterattack. You know a number of unique martial abilities that define your presence on the battlefield.

TACTICIAN ADVANCEMENT

TACTICAL DOCTRINE

Warfare is as old as civilization—and perhaps even older. As battle became ever more developed and complex, military leaders invented doctrine, outlining how combatants should be structured, used, and deployed. Doctrine can be learned at war colleges passing on ancient martial traditions, or directly through blood and sweat on the battlefield.

You have developed a mastery of tactics of historical significance, letting you choose one of the following doctrines:

• Vanguard (Shock and Awe): You have learned the tactics and stratagems of the heroes of ancient history, letting you lead from the front lines of battle and seek victory through sheer force of will and personality. You gain a skill from the interpersonal skill group.
• Mastermind (Grand Strategy): You have an encyclopedic knowledge of warfare, viewing the battlefield as a game board, and seeking victory by thinking multiple steps ahead of your opponents. You gain a skill from the lore skill group.
• Insurgent (Asymmetric Warfare): Doing your duty, playing fair, and dying honorably in battle is your opponent's job. By contrast, you'll do whatever it takes to keep your allies alive. You gain a skill from the intrigue skill group.

Your choice of doctrine determines many of the features you'll gain from this class.

FOCUS

The ring of steel panics others but brings order to your mind, granting you a Heroic Resource called focus.

Outside of combat and other dangerous situations tracked in turns and rounds, you have focus equal to your Victories. If you lose some or all of this focus outside of combat, it takes you 1 minute to regain it.

When a combat encounter begins, you keep any focus you had outside of combat. At the start of each of your turns during combat, you gain 2 focus. If an ally gets a tier 3 result on an attack against a target you have marked, you gain 1 focus. When combat ends, you once again have focus equal to your Victories.

MARK

You know how to focus the attention of your allies as you push them toward victory. You have the following ability.

SEIZE THE OPENING

Your ability to command your allies in combat grants you the following ability.

1ST-LEVEL DOCTRINE FEATURES

Your chosen doctrine grants you two features, as shown on the 1st-Level Tactical Doctrine Features table.

DOCTRINE TRIGGERED ACTION

Your doctrine grants you a triggered action, as shown on the Tactician Triggered Actions table.

FIELD ARSENAL

You have drilled with a broad array of weapons and have developed techniques to optimize their use. Whenever you select or change your kit, you can select an additional martial kit and gain the benefits of both kits. (See Kits.)

If both kits grant you the same benefit, you take one or the other and can't change your choice until you finish a Respite. (This usually means taking the higher of two bonuses.) You also gain access to the signature abilities of both kits.

For example, if you take the Shining Armor and Sniper kits, you gain the following benefits overall:

• Stamina Bonus: +12
• Stability Bonus: +1
• Melee Weapon Damage Bonus: +2/+2/+2
• Speed Bonus: +1
• Ranged Weapon Damage Bonus: +0/+0/+4
• Distance Bonus: +10
• Mobility: When an enemy ends their turn adjacent to you, you can shift up to 2 squares as a free triggered action.
• You also gain the use of the Protective Attack and Patient Shot signature abilities.

Kit signature abilities already have their bonuses applied. For example, you might take the Martial Artist kit, which gives a melee weapon damage bonus of +2/+2/+2, and the Mountain kit, which gives a melee weapon damage bonus of +0/+0/+4. If you choose to use the Mountain kit's damage bonus, then the Battle Grace signature ability from the Martial Artist kit would reduce its damage by −2/−2/−2, as it loses the bonus from the Martial Artist kit. It then gains the +0/+0/+4 of the Mountain kit, to deal damage of 3/7/14 for its tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 results.

TACTICIAN ABILITIES

You are a formidable combatant in your own right, but your greatest strength in battle is the ability to make your allies even more formidable. You know a range of abilities that shape the scope of your control of the battlefield.

CUSTOMIZING EQUIPMENT APPEARANCES

You should absolutely feel free to describe your equipment in a way that makes sense for the story of your game and hero. For instance, if your hero uses a weapon in the whip category as part of their kit, they could use a leather whip, a spiked chain, or a dagger tied to a knotted rope. A hero who wears heavy armor might wear a suit of chain mail, plate armor, or heavy wooden planks tied together. Your choices for equipment aren't limited just to the examples in this book.

KIT ARMOR CATEGORIES

Each kit has an armor category that indicates the kind of protection you have while using the kit.

• None: If a kit has no armor, you can wear whatever clothing you like! Robes, a fashionable tunic and pants, or just a loincloth—it's totally up to you.
• Light Armor: If a kit features light armor, you might wear padded cloth, leather armor, or even a chain shirt.
• Medium Armor: If a kit has medium armor, you might wear layers of thick hides, a breastplate, or armor made of metal scales.
• Heavy Armor: If a kit has heavy armor, then you're likely wearing metal from head to toe. Chain mail, ring mail, and suits of plate armor protect you better than any other mundane protection.
• Shield: If a kit has a shield, then you wield a shield that can be any shape and made of any mundane material you like. The best shields have a sweet insignia on them, so start thinking about yours!

KIT WEAPON CATEGORIES

Each martial kit has a weapon category that indicates the types of weapons you wield while using the kit. You can use any ability with the Weapon keyword even if your kit doesn't have a weapon, but you don't get to apply your kit's bonuses to that ability.

KIT IMPLEMENT MATERIALS

Caster kits have an implement that enhances and focuses a hero's magic abilities. Even a creature who doesn't use magic abilities can eke a bit of power from an implement by using the proper spellcasting style and techniques. Each material can boost some of a caster's magic abilities, but also focuses on improving a specific aspect of their magic. Your implement might be an amulet or a book of incantations, a holy symbol, orb, rod, staff, or wand, or any other similar item that you touch while using your abilities. The exact look of an implement is for you to decide.

Each material that can be used to create an implement (such as bone, crystal, or metal) enhances a different aspect of your fighting style and magical abilities. The materials used to create your implement are determined by your kit, but you choose how much they factor into the implement's visual design. For example, a hero with the Frigid kit wields an implement made of crystal. This could be a crystal-tipped cane, rod, staff, or wand, or it could be a tome with a large crystal embedded in the cover. You can also include other materials in your implement, though they have no effect on your kit's bonuses.

You can use any ability with the Magic keyword even if your kit doesn't have an implement, but you don't get to apply your kit's bonuses to that ability.

KITS AND TREASURES

When you find a supernatural item such as a magic sword, you can use the item as long as it matches one of your kit's equipment categories. A Blade of Quintessence is a medium weapon, so you can use it with the Ranger or Shining Armor kits. However, you can't use it with the Cloak and Dagger or Spellslinger kits because those kits don't use medium weapons, meaning you haven't done the necessary preparations to use the weapon effectively. You can still swing a Blade of Quintessence around, but you don't get any of its bonuses or benefits.

If you find a piece of equipment you really want to use that isn't part of your kit, you can always change your kit as a respite activity.

STAMINA BONUS

Your kit's Stamina bonus is added to your Stamina maximum.

SPEED BONUS

Your kit's speed bonus is added to your speed.

STABILITY BONUS

Your kit's stability bonus is added to your stability.

DAMAGE BONUSES

Martial and caster kits can grant you a bonus to damage with certain types of abilities.

DISTANCE BONUS

If you have a martial kit, its distance bonus increases the distance of your abilities with the Ranged and Weapon keywords.

If you have a caster kit, its distance bonus increases the distance of your abilities with the Magic and Ranged keywords.

A distance bonus doesn't increase the size of any ability's area of effect.

REACH BONUS

Your kit's reach bonus is added to the reach of your melee weapon attacks.

AREA BONUS

Some caster kits have an area bonus. For all areas except walls, the bonus is added to all dimensions of any area of effect created by your magic abilities. For walls, the bonus is added to the number of squares the wall can create.

For example, the conduit's Thunder of the Divine ability has a 4-cube area of effect, so an area bonus of +1 increases the ability's area of effect to a 5-cube.

MOBILITY

Some martial kits grant you the Mobility trait. With this trait, when an enemy ends their turn adjacent to you, you can shift up to 2 squares as a free triggered action.

OPTIONAL RULE: LOSING EQUIPMENT

The rules of the game expect that heroes always have access to their equipment. However, there may be times where your group wants to tell a story of heroes who are captured and stripped of their equipment or who find themselves at a masquerade where weapons need to be checked at the door. For those sorts of scenarios, you can use the following rules:

• If your kit has armor and you aren't wearing or wielding it, then you lose your kit's bonuses to Stamina and stability. If you lose your shield but keep the rest of your armor, your Stamina decreases by 3. As long as you are carrying your shield, you don't lose its bonus to Stamina, even if you aren't actively wielding it.
• If your kit has a medium or heavy weapon that you aren't wielding, you lose the kit's melee damage bonus.
• If your kit has a light weapon that you aren't wielding, you lose the kit's melee damage, ranged damage, and distance bonus.
• If your kit has a reach weapon or whip that you aren't wielding, you lose the kit's melee damage and reach bonus.
• If your kit has an ensnaring weapon that you aren't wielding, you lose the kit's signature ability.
• If your kit has an implement that you aren't wielding, you lose the kit's speed, stability, distance, area, damage bonus, and ward.

CLOAK AND DAGGER

Providing throwable light weapons and light armor easily concealed by a cloak to confuse your enemies, the Cloak and Dagger kit makes you more mobile while providing a boost to your effectiveness at range and to your damage. This kit is good for a hero who wants to be able to move all over the battlefield while keeping their options open for using short-range attacks.

GUISARMIER

The Guisarmier kit is for those who want to use a polearm for extended reach and still gain the extra protection of armor. This is the kit that allows you to become the ultimate halberd, longspear, or glaive fighter.

MARTIAL ARTIST

If you want to be fast in a fight, then Martial Artist is the kit for you. Unencumbered by weapons or armor, this fighting style rewards quick, focused unarmed strikes to opponents, and allows you to be the ultimate skirmisher.

MOUNTAIN

The Mountain kit does exactly what it says on the tin. You don heavy armor and a heavy weapon to stand strong against your foes, quickly demolishing them when it's your turn to attack.

PANTHER

If you want a good balance of protection, speed, and damage, the Panther kit is for you. This kit increases your Stamina not by wearing armor, but through the focused battle preparation of body and mind, letting you be fast and mobile while swinging a heavy weapon at your foes.

PUGILIST

Meant for brawlers and boxers, the Pugilist kit gives you access to a melee fighting style that boosts your Stamina and damage while allowing you to float like a butterfly. If you want to be a tough, strong hero who doles out punishment with your fists, then this kit is for you.

RAIDER

The Raider kit keeps you protected while granting you full mobility, providing a boost to speed and distance that lets you run around the battlefield like a Viking warrior.

RANGER

The Ranger kit outfits you with light armor and several weapons, letting you easily switch between using a melee weapon and a bow. This kit provides a good balance of bonuses to Stamina, speed, damage, and range to create a hero who is a jack-of-all-trades.

RAPID-FIRE

The Rapid-Fire kit is for archers who want to deal maximum damage by shooting as many arrows as possible into nearby enemies. With this kit, your fighting technique focuses on peppering foes at medium range.

RETIARIUS

The retiarius is often depicted as a lightly armored warrior with a net in one hand and a trident in the other, and this kit gives you the equipment and fighting technique to make that happen. Tie up your foe with a net and then poke them to death!

SHINING ARMOR

The Shining Armor kit provides the most protection a kit can afford, providing you with the sword, shield, and armor necessary to play the prototypical knight.

SNIPER

The Sniper kit gives you the tools and techniques to take down enemies from afar. This kit can help you become the archer who lurks behind trees or down tunnels, picking off enemies with a bow or crossbow as they approach.

STICK AND ROBE

Armed with a simple reach weapon, often a quarterstaff, heroes using the Stick and Robe kit are highly mobile thanks to their light armor. This allows them to make maximum use of their weapon's length.

SWASHBUCKLER

If you want to be mobile and deal a lot of damage with melee attacks, then you should reach for the Swashbuckler kit. This is a great kit for heroes who want to be master duelists.

WHIRLWIND

The Whirlwind kit makes effective use of whips, granting you mobility, damage, and reach. If you want to be a mobile warrior who uses a chain or whip, then this is the kit for you.

MARTIAL KITS TABLE

BLOODPACT

Sometimes you need a direct line to your heart to get the most of your magic. The Bloodpact kit trades your blood or lifeforce for more power and heightened casting. With careful control of your natural resources (or borrowing someone else's), you can take care of business before succumbing to your own hubris. While using this kit, the smell of blood becomes super intense to your senses.

DANCER

The Dancer kit forgoes nearly all equipment in exchange for speed, letting you rely purely on kinetic energy to channel your power. The more you move, the more others may want to move with you. Select this kit when your party regularly needs to close the distance on your enemies. While you use this kit, your heartbeat becomes an audible metronome.

FRIGID

The Frigid kit is for heroes who want to tap into the power of arcane blizzards and magical cold. Armed only with an implement of crystal, you can create bursts of ice and protect yourself with frigid winds. When you meditate to prepare this kit, others notice the area around you becoming slightly cooler.

MEDITATOR

The Meditator kit allows you to wield magic hardened by experience and isolation. Your spirit visibly extends beyond your physical form in the form of moss, spores, and pulsing aura of light. While using this kit, you tend to skip meals and ignore inclement weather.

MISSILE

The Missile kit allows you to throw your implement at your foes, then recall it back to you. Enemies impacted by this concentration of magic are left reeling while you stand safely out of their reach. When you use this kit, your competitive nature is more pronounced, and you wield your implement recklessly.

NATURE CALLING

The Nature Calling kit allows you to tap into the magical forces of nature. You wield an implement of stone so that your feet stand firm on the earth and your magic can be carried by the wind. While using this kit, you can faintly hear the whispers of the land around you.

ROOK

The Rook kit allows you to use strong armor so you can be better protected while you heal and enhance your allies on the frontline. Heroes with this kit often dive into support magic. While using this kit, your armor resonates with the sounds of choirs from on high as you polish it.

SPELLSLINGER

The Spellslinger kit is for those who want to focus magic on their foes from far away, becoming a magical blaster surrounded by rippling energy. While using this kit, you can faintly see auras of energy emanating from far-off creatures.

WARD WEAVER

The Ward Weaver kit allows you to protect yourself in combat with telekinetic techniques that also boost your damage. This kit creates a supernatural hero who can more effectively ward themself and their allies. While you use this kit, you occasionally take on the mannerisms of your allies without realizing it.

CASTER KIT TABLE

CULT VICTIM

Cultists captured you while raiding your home, then began an unholy ritual to turn your body into an undead spirit. The ritual failed, but your body became infused with corrupted magic, turning you partially incorporeal.

Benefit: Once per turn, you can move through a solid mundane object no more than 1 square thick. If you end your turn inside the object, you take 5 damage and are shunted out into the space where you entered the object.

Drawback: Your body is more susceptible to negative energy. You have corruption weakness 5.

DEVIL DEAL

Your ancestors made a deal with an archdevil that has tied you to that fiend's service. When you first learned of this deal, you were taken to the Seven Cities of Hell, where some of the timescape's best minds taught you the ways of battle or magic. The archdevil allows you to use these gifts as you will … until they require a favor from you.

Benefit: Whenever you are present for a battle in which all the creatures on one side are not surprised, your side goes first on a result of 4 or greater on the d10 roll (see Determine Who Goes First in Combat Round).

Drawback: The archdevil occasionally asks you to defeat enemies on their behalf. If you refuse, your fiendish patron sends devils after you and those you care about.

ELEMENTAL ABSORPTION

When an evil mage threatened someone you loved, you blocked your foe's summoning of an elemental creature by absorbing their magic with your body. You are now infused with the power of that elemental—and they're not happy about it.

Benefit: Your Stamina increases by 6 at 1st level, then increases by an additional 1 each time you gain a new level.

Drawback: When you are dying, your possessing elemental takes control of your body. The elemental yearns for destruction, causing you to attack the closest creature they notice without regard for your desires or your body's safety.

FIRE AND CHAOS

A great monster who breathed fire burned your home to the ground. While everything around you was consumed, you somehow stood strong amid the inferno, your body adapting to ignore the effects of the flames.

Benefit: You have fire immunity 5.

Drawback: You have cold weakness 5.

PRIMORDIAL SICKNESS

You once contracted a terrible illness for which no one could find a cure. You sought out a primordial swamp said to be either incredibly poisonous or miraculously salubrious. It turned out to be both, keeping your illness at bay while corrupting your body with its unnatural energy.

Benefit: You have poison immunity 5 and corruption immunity 5.

Drawback: The number of Recoveries you have is reduced by 1.

PUNISHMENT CURSE

Through ignorance, fear, spite, or selfishness, you refused to help someone in need. To teach you a lesson, a deity offered you what seemed to be a blessing—extra power to help you heal yourself in times of need, but harsh consequences should your need become excessive. You took the deal, and now benefit from the blessing but also suffer from a curse.

Benefit: You have 2 additional Recoveries.

Drawback: When you are out of Recoveries, you are dying, no matter what your current Stamina is.

SHIPWRECKED

You are the sole survivor of a shipwreck that left you stranded on a remote and inhospitable island for years. Your struggle to survive there granted you insight into the natural world but distanced you from who you once were.

Benefit: You gain two skills from the exploration skill group.

Drawback: You have forgotten one language you know.

VIVID DREAMS

You broke a magic amulet that immersed your mind in weird magic. This magic has given you the power of premonition, but you struggle to control this new gift. Whenever you take a respite, make a Reason power roll to determine whether you gain this complication's benefit or drawback.

Benefit: On a 12 to 16, you experience a vision of an event currently happening in your world. The vision lasts for just a few seconds, but the information you glean is helpful to you. On a 17 or higher, you receive a full minute or more of the scene.

Drawback: On an 11 or lower, you receive a painful vision that is fractal and inscrutable. When the respite ends, you immediately lose 1 Recovery.

WARD

Your childhood sweetheart was royalty, and the two of you stayed close throughout the years. When your former sweetheart died, you swore an oath to dedicate your life to become a tutor for their child, advising them in the ways of being a benevolent monarch.

Benefit: You know how to talk to monarchs, aristocrats, and other wealthy leaders. When you engage with any such NPC during a negotiation, their patience increases by 1 (to a maximum of 5).

Drawback: Your royal ward regularly calls upon you for advice and takes that advice to heart—for better or for worse.

WAR OF THE GUILDS

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time saw you caught in the middle of a conflict between two warring thieves' guilds. Whether by choice or by accident, you wound up helping one faction at the expense of the other.

Benefit: Having gained the favor of the faction you helped, you can call on its members three times for favors. If a favor is reasonable and within the faction's power to grant, they'll do it, no questions asked.

Drawback: The faction you wronged hates you, and its members would love to see you pay for your transgression.

COMPLICATIONS TABLE

IT JUST WORKS!

When a hero attempts to solve a task that normally requires a test with clever, outside-the-box thinking, the Director can instead decide that no test is required and the attempt automatically works! For example, if a hero who wants to climb a wall first covers their hands and feet in giant strands of sticky spider webs, the Director might decide that they can climb up the wall without needing to make a test.

That said, such clever ideas often work for free the first time, but the Director could decide they require tests if they are used again.

CHARACTERISTICS AND TESTS

When you describe a task you want your hero to undertake and the Director determines that a test is necessary, they then determine which characteristic the test uses based on the nature of the task. For instance, if you're scaling a wall, the Director could ask for a Might test to determine how far and how quickly you're able to climb. If you're attempting to plead your innocence in court for a murder you didn't commit, the Director might ask for a Presence test if you're attempting to win over the jury with your personality, or a Reason test if you're laying out a logical argument to support your innocence.

Though the Director can decide to call for tests in any circumstances, a number of tasks that heroes routinely undertake are commonly set up as tests.

INFLUENCING PLAYER CHARACTER ACTIONS WITH TESTS

Tests can't be used by NPCs or PCs to influence the actions of PCs. Many players feel that their agency is taken away if they're compelled to jump into a pile of gold filled with hidden scorpions because an NPC convinced them to do so with a Presence test. For most players, it's not fun to be in control of a single hero and lose some of that control.

Instead, Directors should do their level best to have an NPC suggest that a character dive headlong into the gold like a billionaire duck, then let the player decide what their character does. Similarly, a Director might decide that one player character can't make an Intuition test to discern another PC's motivations or honesty.

That said, if everyone in your gaming group decides to lift one or more of these restrictions after talking about it, go for it! There's no wrong way to play as long as everyone is having fun. The MCDM Safety Toolkit (available for download at https://mcdm.gg/SafetyToolkit) discusses how to talk about potentially problematic topics such as limiting character agency at your table.

TEST DIFFICULTY

The Director decides how difficult a task that requires a test is: easy, medium, or hard. If a task seems as though it's easier than easy, then no test is necessary. The hero simply accomplishes the task. If the task seems harder than hard, then the Director is free to decide that it's impossible to complete with a test.

On a test-by-test basis, the Director can share the difficulty of a task before the player makes the test, which makes interpreting the result faster at the table. The Director can also keep the test's difficulty secret until after the player rolls the test, for dramatic effect.

TEST OUTCOMES

Depending on a test's difficulty and the result of the power roll made to accomplish a task, you can obtain one of the following outcomes.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

The amount of time required for a task involving a test is determined by the Director. A task such as recalling lore with a Reason test might take no time at all. Ducking behind a barrel to hide with an Agility test might require a maneuver or an action, while tracking a band of voiceless talkers through the World Below could take hours or even days.

CAN I TRY AGAIN?

In many cases when you fail a test, you can't attempt the test again unless the circumstances of the test change. For instance, if you attempt an Agility test to pick a lock and fail, you can't attempt to pick the lock again unless you get some better lockpicks, oil the lock, have someone demonstrate how to pick a similar lock, and so on.

The Director decides when the circumstances have changed enough to allow a new attempt at a test.

NPCS ROLL FOR DECEPTIVE TASKS

At times, a hero and an NPC might oppose each other in a scenario where the Director chooses for the NPC to make a test instead of a player. This occurs when an NPC undertakes an action the heroes aren't aware of or aren't seeking actively to notice. By having the NPC roll in these scenarios, the Director can keep secret the fact that the task is happening, as well as its outcome.

For example, if an assassin attempts to ambush the heroes while they sit around a campfire without anyone keeping watch for danger, the assassin makes an Agility test to sneak up on the heroes unnoticed. The Director rolls and doesn't reveal the result until the heroes actually realize someone is approaching their camp. If the assassin fails the test, the heroes notice immediately as their assailant loudly steps on a twig. If the assassin succeeds, the heroes don't notice until the assailant is right on top of them. But if any player had said that their hero was on the lookout for danger, that hero would make an Intuition test instead.

An NPC might also make a Presence test if they lie to the heroes, as long as the heroes have no reason to believe the character would be deceptive. You'll know if the heroes are wary in that way, because the players will ask if they can make a test to discern the NPC's honesty.

The difficulty of the NPC's test can be modified by the skills and characteristics of the heroes they attempt to deceive, in the same way NPC statistics can modify a hero's test difficulty.

As an optional rule, the Director is also free to ask the heroes to make a reactive test to a deceptive NPC action instead (see Reactive Tests) whenever they see fit.

OPTIONAL RULE: OPPOSED POWER ROLLS

In the very rare occurrence that two or more heroes are in conflict with each other in a way that requires them to make tests, the Director can have all the heroes involved make a test. The hero with the highest result on their power roll wins. You can't earn a reward as part of these opposed power rolls, and they don't follow the typical difficulty structure or have three different tiers of possible outcomes.

For example, if your hero attempts to sneak by an allied hero, you would make an Agility test opposed by the player of the other character making an Intuition test. If your hero gets the higher result, you sneak by without the other hero noticing. If the other hero gets a higher result, they catch you in the act of sneaking. If multiple sneaking heroes attempt to get by multiple heroes on the lookout for sneaks, then each character makes a test and all the results are compared to determine which heroes on guard notice which sneaking heroes.

In the event of a tie in an opposed test, the state of the scene doesn't change. In the previous example, a tie means that if a hero on guard duty didn't know a sneaking hero was there, then the guard hero remains oblivious. If the guard did know the sneak was out there somewhere and the sneak is trying to avoid being noticed, a tie means that the guard still knows the sneak is there.

The Director can also use opposed power rolls when heroes face off against important NPCs using tests.

DIRECTOR'S OPTION: SECRET REACTIVE TESTS

Some Directors prefer to make the power rolls for reactive tests for the heroes rather than asking the players to do so. This allows the Director to make the rolls when appropriate for hidden objects, creatures, motivations, and information without tipping off the players that there is information to be gained. Having the Director roll requires the Director to have everyone's characteristics and skills written down (whether physically or digitally) for easy reference.

APPLYING SKILLS

If you have a skill that applies to a test you make, you gain a +2 bonus to the test. For instance, if your hero has the Hide skill, you have a +2 bonus to any test you make that involves hiding yourself. This might include an Agility test to hide behind a barrel, or a Presence test to disappear into a crowd.

Unless the Director deems otherwise, you can make a skill test even when you don't have the appropriate skill. This means you simply make the test using the typical characteristic but without the +2 bonus the skill grants. You can't apply more than one skill to a test.

MANY SPECIFIC SKILLS

This game includes a big list of skills, and each is fairly specific. For example, instead of one Athletics skill that covers climbing, jumping, swimming, and lifting heavy objects, your character might use separate Climb, Jump, Lift, and Swim skills. Instead of a Thievery skill that covers picking locks, picking pockets, and disabling traps, the game has three skills: Pick Lock, Pick Pocket, and Sabotage.

We made the decision to have a lot of specific skills based on our design goals. First, having skills this specific means that you will frequently make tests that don't use one of your character's skills and simply apply a characteristic. By not having a few broader skills, it means that having a character who covers the spread of every skill is actually impossible. Luckily, the math of the game doesn't require you to have a skill to have a decent chance of success on a test. That means heroes can attempt tasks without the help of a skill just because someone needs to do it, and that is pretty darn heroic!

Since players don't need to be worried about their characters covering a wide spread of skills, they're free to choose the skills they think fit their heroes best and are the most fun to work with. In this way, you can get pretty specific with the hero you want to make. Maybe you're thinking about an elementalist who has a gymnastic background in jumping and tumbling, and who also studied religion and blacksmithing. You can make that in our game! Having a specific backstory is part of cinematic storytelling.

Our rules for skills allow for them to be flexibly applied to any test that is appropriate for the skill. This encourages clever thinking. A player can ask the Director, “I want to impress the duke with a story about how I ascended the sheer Cliffs of Azgahnan. Can I use my Climb skill to get a +2 bonus to my Presence test?” That's great! Getting creative like that is a lot of fun. It paints a visual picture and it's tactical thinking! However, if the skills in a game are too broad in the kinds of activities they represent, that sometimes encourages players to find a way to apply the same skill over and over again with as many tests as possible. This isn't fun for anyone, and doesn't make a very compelling story.

SKILL GROUPS

Skills are broken down into five groups: crafting, exploration, interpersonal, intrigue, and lore.

GROUP TEST DIFFICULTY

The Director determines the difficulty of a group test the same way they do for individual tests. Group tests can be easy, medium, or hard.

MAKING A GROUP TEST

Each hero participating in the group test makes the test individually as usual, but the Director waits until all the tests have been made to interpret the results. A hero who is participating in the group test can't assist another hero participating in the test.

GROUP TEST OUTCOME

When interpreting the outcome of a group test, the Director first determines if the task succeeded or not before figuring out rewards and consequences. If half or more of the heroes making the group test succeed, then the group test succeeds. Otherwise, the group test fails.

If the heroes succeeded and half or more of them obtained a reward from the test, the Director gives the group a collective reward and ignores any consequences incurred in the test. This collective reward should be equivalent to earning two individual rewards. In fact, it could be two consumable items, juicy pieces of information, or hero tokens. However, it could also be something more tailored to the task. For instance, if the heroes earn a collective reward while sneaking through the camp of an enemy army, the Director might allow them to sabotage a bunch of war engines or steal a few horses on their way out.

If the heroes failed the group test and more than half of them incurred a consequence as a result, the Director gives the group a collective consequence and ignores any earned rewards. This collective consequence should affect everyone. An easy option is for the stress of failing the test to cause each hero to take a bane on their next power roll or for the Director to gain 2 VP per hero at the start of the next combat encounter, but the consequence could also be tailored to the task. For instance, if the heroes fail in their attempt to sneak through the camp of an enemy army, they're spotted and the camp immediately goes on alert as waves of enemies attack them.

If fewer than half the heroes get a consequence or reward on their individual tests, then the group test simply succeeds or fails.

TIME AND STAKES

As the name suggests, montage tests create a kind of cinematic montage in the action of the game. A montage test can take place over the course of several hours or days, with each individual test or other activity set up as a brief vignette within the montage, and starring one of the heroes. Combat encounters, negotiations, and other challenges and scenes can break up a montage test (see Sample Montage Test below).

The Director should deploy montage tests only when the players are engaged in overcoming a goal that has stakes for the story and some sort of pressure, such as a looming deadline or impending harm. A montage test is great for a race to get to another location before an enemy army does, a chase to escape or catch up to a foe, weathering a hazard, preparing a village for war, or similar activities. Low- or no-stakes activities such as travel through a forest with no time pressure, or training during a respite to use a new kit, can be narrated in montage style, but they don't require a montage test.

DIRECTOR SETS THE SCENE

At the start of a montage test, the Director should describe the scenario underlying the task at hand, and the various challenges the heroes might face as they attempt to collectively accomplish it. For example, if the heroes are attempting to chase down a pickpocket through a crowded market, the Director might talk about the throngs of innocent people blocking the way forward, obscuring the characters' vision, and making noise that complicates attempts to hear the thief's nimble footsteps. There are also traveling carts to dodge, the speed and dexterity of the pursued character to contend with, and a pack of stray dogs who chase after anyone who sprints through the market. Describing these obstacles gives the heroes ideas about what they're trying to overcome as they attempt to achieve their goals.

INDIVIDUAL TESTS IN MONTAGE TESTS

The difficulty of each individual test in a montage test is set by the Director and can vary from test to test. For instance, if the heroes are preparing the defenses of a village threatened by a band of approaching raiders, the Director might decide that a character who wants to dig a trench around the village needs to make an easy Might test. Another hero wants to train the untested farmers of the village in the ways of war, and the Director decides this is a hard Reason test.

The same rules and guidelines that apply to all individual tests apply here. If a hero has a clever, out-of-the-box idea that the Director thinks should automatically succeed without rolling dice, it does. If the circumstances of the test should grant an edge or a bane, they do. Individual test outcomes shouldn't halt the story.

The Director should couch each success or failure as it relates to the overall goal of the montage test. If the heroes are trying to reach an ancient temple, failing a Might test to ford a river in their path doesn't mean they don't cross the river and are stuck on the other side. But it could mean that failing to cross the river in a timely manner gives a rival group of villains the chance to beat the party to the temple.

The rewards and consequences of individual tests made during a montage test should be handled on an individual basis. The Director can use the default additional VP in the next combat encounter for consequences and hero tokens for rewards to keep the montage moving.

CAN'T USE THE SAME SKILL TWICE

An individual character can't use the same skill more than once in a montage test. Though multiple heroes can use the same skill, a test or an assist with a specific skill represents each characters' entire contribution to the montage test with that skill. At the Director's discretion, this restriction can be lifted for prolonged montage tests, or for montage tests that are limited in scope and have only a small number of skills that apply to them.

NEW CHALLENGES FOR EACH TEST

In general, when a hero makes a test as part of a montage test, they should choose new obstacles to overcome that haven't already been tackled as part of the test. If the heroes are chasing a thief through the marketplace and one of them has already distracted the pack of stray dogs with a deft hand and a piece of meat, additional tests made to distract the animals don't count toward the result of the montage test.

When it fits the scenario, the Director can adjust this restriction. If part of a montage test involves searching for people trapped in a burning building, the Director is likely to allow multiple tests to fight or avoid the fire, since this will happen throughout the montage test, not just once.

DIRECTOR CAN INTRODUCE MORE CHALLENGES

During a montage test, a Director can introduce new challenges for the heroes to face. While attempting to run out of a burning building from the top floor, the characters might discover that by the time they reach the second floor, beams are starting to fall and glass windows are exploding as the structure begins to collapse. These new challenges can be incorporated into the tests the heroes subsequently make.

TOTAL SUCCESSES AND FAILURES

The Director or another player will track the total number of successes and failures the heroes earn during a montage test. Every montage test has a success limit and a failure limit. When the number of successful tests equals the success limit, the montage test ends and the heroes achieve total success (see Montage Test Outcomes). The montage test can also end when the number of failed tests equals the failure limit, and the heroes suffer total failure.

LIMITED ROUNDS

A montage test should last only 2 montage test rounds. If the heroes don't end the montage test by achieving the success limit or failure limit, the montage test ends when the second montage test round is over. This time limit helps to keep a montage test from becoming a slog, and prevents heroes from simply using their turns to assist the one hero with the best chance of success. This can inspire each hero to be a more active participant in the montage test. That said, the Director can increase the number of rounds a montage test lasts if they wish to create a particularly grueling challenge.

MONTAGE TEST DIFFICULTY

The Director determines the success limit and failure limit of a montage test. They can share this information or keep it secret, depending on what feels the most fun and dramatic for the situation and the players.

In general, the higher the success limit, the harder and more complicated it is for the heroes to overcome the montage test since a hero can't make the same test twice. The Montage Test Difficulty table gives a recommended success limit and failure limit for easy, moderate, and hard montage tests for groups with five heroes.

MONTAGE TEST OUTCOMES

A montage test can have three different outcomes:

• If the heroes hit the success limit before hitting the failure limit or before time runs out for the test, they achieve total success.
• If the heroes hit the failure limit or time runs out, and if they've achieved at least two more successes than failures, they achieve a partial success.
• If the heroes hit the failure limit or time runs out, and if they don't have at least two more successes than failures, they suffer total failure.

SAMPLE MONTAGE TEST

Four heroes must cross the vast and inhospitable Infinite Desert to warn the city of Ahset that the tyrannical Empress Vardo is coming to conquer them. If the characters arrive in time, they can organize the defenses of the city, giving its people a greater chance of defeating the tyrant.

The Director determines that crossing the desert is a montage test of hard difficulty. With four heroes involved, the success limit is 6 and the failure limit is 2 as the montage test begins:

• When the test begins, the Director sets the scene. They tell the players that the desert has extreme temperatures, sudden sandstorms, high dunes to cross, deep sand, chasms, and quicksand lakes. The Director decides that challenges of dunes, deep sand, and quicksand can be tackled multiple times in the test, since the Infinite Desert is filled with these hazards.
• Urdoncara, a fury, starts things off by asking to make an Intuition test using the Nature skill to predict the best times of day to travel and rest. She wants the party to avoid the worst of the desert's extreme temperatures and any sandstorms or other weather phenomena, so that their journey is quickened. The Director decides this is an easy test. Urdoncara makes the test and gets a result of 12, earning 1 success for the montage test.
• Loric, a tactician, wants to make a Reason test using the Climb skill to lead the party over dunes and other hazards with minimal effort. The Director allows the attempt, but says that knowing what makes one dune easier to climb than another is difficult, setting the difficulty at medium. Loric gets a 9 on the test and fails with a major consequence, which the Director decides will cause him to take a bane on his next power roll due to the exertion. The montage test currently has 1 success and 1 failure.
• Karrel, an elementalist, thinks the group might cross the desert faster if they have specially modified sandshoes that distribute their weight and prevent their feet from sinking into the sand. The Director loves the idea and decides that making four pairs of the shoes while traveling the desert is a medium Reason test. Karrel gets to use their Tailoring skill and winds up with a result of 13—a success with a consequence. The Director gains an additional 2 VP at the start of the next combat encounter as a consequence, but the group now has 2 successes and 1 failure on the montage test.
• Adrian, a conduit, offers to scout ahead for the group with an Intuition test, using the Navigate skill to find the best path forward and avoid hazards such as chasms and quicksand. The Director thinks this straightforward task of acting as lookout in a vast desert is an easy task. Adrian smashes it with a 21, and the Director decides to get creative with the reward. Adrian's lookout skills grant the next hero to act in the montage test an edge on their test. At the end of the first montage test round, the heroes have 3 successes and 1 failure.

Before the next montage test round, the Director pauses the montage test to run a battle with a kingfissure worm, who attacks the heroes as they cross over an ancient ruin partially buried in the sand. After the heroes defeat the kingfissure worm, the test continues:

• Urdoncara wants to make a Might test using the Lift skill to carry most of the group's equipment as they cross the desert, allowing her allies to move more quickly while she keeps up with her superior endurance. The Director thinks this arduous task has a hard difficulty. Urdoncara gets a 17 on the test thanks to the edge from Adrian's earlier success. The montage test has 4 successes and 1 failure.
• Loric, eager to prove himself after his last failure, asks to make a Might test using the Lead skill, representing tying a rope around his waist to drag his weaker friends over the tallest dunes. The Director likes the idea, but doesn't think the Lead skill applies to the task. He tells Loric that Lift is more appropriate, since the tactician is using their physical skill to aid their friends and not really doing anything interpersonal. Loric agrees, and the Director sets the test at medium difficulty. Making the test with a bane because of his previous failure, the tactician rolls a 15, which is a success with a consequence. The montage test has 5 successes and 1 failure, but the consequence gives the Director another 2 VP at the start of the next combat encounter.
• Since the group needs only 1 more success to achieve total success, Karrel says she'd like to assist Adrian in whatever task he decides to take on. Adrian wants to recall lore about the Khem-hor—the inhabitants of the Infinite Desert—to remember their time-honored travel techniques using the History skill. Karrel has the Culture skill, which she can use to assist by providing information about the lives and society of the Khem-hor. She makes a Reason test to assist and gets a 16, granting Adrian an edge on his upcoming test.
• Adrian attempts to recall lore about the Khem-hor, wanting to see if he can remember any of their travel techniques from his studies of the history of the region. The Director has him make a hard Reason test with an edge, thanks to Karrel's input on the current state of Khem-hor culture. Adrian gets a 17, and the Director decides that the conduit recalls a shortcut through a canyon tunnel that leads directly to Ahset, avoiding a vast lake of quicksand. The heroes get their sixth success in the montage test, achieving total success, and earn 2 Victories.

The heroes could have attempted other tests during their travels, such as an Agility test using the Stealth skill to lead the group through dangerous shortcuts in the desert without being seen or waylaid by predators, a Reason test using the Nature skill to find enough food and water to keep the group hydrated and fed, or a Presence test using the Music skill to inspire allies to travel faster with song.

FALLING ONTO ANOTHER CREATURE

If you land on another creature when you fall, that creature takes the same damage you do from the fall. You then land prone in the nearest unoccupied space of your choice. If your size is greater than the creature's Might score, the creature also falls prone.

FALLING FAR

When you first fall from a great height, you fall 100 squares in the first round. At the end of each subsequent round that you remain falling, you fall another 100 squares.

HIDING

When you wish to hide from a creature, you must have cover or concealment (see Combat) from your foe, and that foe can't observe you attempting to hide. If you duck behind a barrel to hide from a foe, your attempt to hide has a chance of succeeding only if your foe doesn't notice you doing so. If you are being chased by a hungry dragon, you can hide only if you first move into a place where the dragon can't observe you, such as turning a sharp corner into a tunnel full of giant stalagmites before the dragon does. You then make your hide attempt.

Most often, you use the Hide maneuver to hide during combat (see Maneuvers). If you do so while you have cover or concealment from a creature who isn't observing you, you are automatically hidden from them unless the Director deems otherwise. If you hide outside of combat, the Director might ask you to make a test using the Hide skill.

If you are hidden from another creature, you gain an edge on attacks made against them, and the creature can't target you with attacks. You are no longer hidden from a creature if you don't have cover or concealment from them. If you use an ability, interact with an enemy creature, move without sneaking, or otherwise make noise or reveal yourself while hidden, you are no longer hidden once the thing you're doing resolves. For instance, if you are hidden and then make an attack, you resolve the attack first, then are no longer hidden.

SNEAK

While you are hidden from another creature and you want to move, you can attempt to sneak in order to remain hidden. While sneaking, your speed is halved, and you must end your move with cover or concealment from the creatures you are hidden from. If you do so, you can make an Agility test with a difficulty set by the Director, remaining hidden if you succeed. This test can use another characteristic at the Director's discretion.

CAELIAN EMPIRE

The Caelian Empire dominated five of the seven regions of Orden three thousand years ago. During the height of this most recent human empire, all humans (including folks from Vanigar in the far north, but not folks from the islands of Ix) learned to speak the Caelian tongue. For many, especially the noble classes and the well-to-do, Caelian effectively replaced their native language.

Some thirteen hundred years after the fall of the Caelian Empire, the languages of the different regions of the empire are enjoying a resurgence. Still, the Caelian tongue is spoken by most humans in most regions to one extent or another.

Most people in Orden can speak and understand some Caelian, simply because the empire was so powerful and so widespread. Anyone trading with the empire or living near its borders or under its influence eventually learned to speak Caelian, including dwarves, elves, orcs, lizardfolk, and goblins. If you speak more than one language in Orden, your second language is almost certainly Caelian. As a result, that language of empire is now colloquially referred to as “the common tongue”—the language that most folk of Orden have in common.

EXTANT SPOKEN LANGUAGES

Folks have been speaking and writing in Orden for at least thirty thousand years, but most of those languages are now dead. Many have been forgotten. Others were spoken by peoples who never developed writing, preventing those languages from being preserved. And many languages that were preserved in writing left no related descendants, so that no one knows what sounds that writing represented.

The languages on the Vasloria Languages by Ancestry table are the most common languages in that region, actively spoken by significant populations. Most languages are associated with a specific ancestry and its culture, but being a member of an ancestry doesn't automatically make you part of the associated culture the language is tied to. For example, if your orc hero was raised in a culture of elves, you probably speak one of the elven languages and might never have learned Kalliak.

Most languages have colloquial or casual names. For instance, many people in Orden call Kalliak “Orcish” and Hyrallic “Elvish,” but any sage knows there are many orcish and elven languages, just as there are multiple human languages.

DEAD LANGUAGES

For an adventuring hero with an ambition to create great works or unlock deep lore, it can be useful to be able to read ancient writing. Much deep lore is attested only in ancient tomes and scrolls written in languages that no modern culture uses.

Most of these ancient writings were written by people who expected other people to read it. The lore might have been kept secret by not sharing it with anyone outside the college or cult whose members originally wrote it, but the actual writing was not intended to be difficult to read or understand. It wasn't written in code—just in a language that people stopped speaking long ago.

Sages can reconstruct many of these languages by learning which modern languages descended from them, then comparing them to related languages from the same time period that might have survived. Translating such ancient languages has been extremely useful for the purposes of crafting and research.

INCREASING RENOWN

Renown typically increases at the end of an adventure, often after the acknowledgment of a powerful NPC that you helped save them, their family, their home, or their organization. That NPC and anyone else who witnessed your heroics can tell the tale, and from there, your legend grows.

INFLUENCE NEGOTIATION

Renown changes the way NPCs respond to heroes during negotiations. For more information, see Negotiation.

ATTRACT FOLLOWERS

You can also use your Renown score to attract and employ followers who perform different duties or favors for you. The Renown Followers table shows how many followers a hero can have at one time based on Renown. You can always let go of a follower in your employ to hire a new one.

You can recruit as many new followers as your Renown allows as a respite activity, provided you are in a place or have a means of communication that allows you to recruit such followers.

FOLLOWER TYPES

When you attract a new follower, you decide on their name and ancestry, and choose what role they play in their service to you.

(Playtest note: More types of followers are coming.)

SPECIFIC USES FOR RENOWN

The Director can use Renown as a tool that determines how much access heroes have to exclusive places in the campaign's world, or how much power they wield in organizations of which they are members. The rules for using Renown in such ways is in the For the Director section.

(Playtest note: This section is yet to come.)

TORCHES

A torch sheds light for 10 squares in every direction, and you can light a torch as a free maneuver. Just as you don't need to track every ration or arrow you use, you don't need to track how long a torch lasts.

ROPE

A rope is 10 squares long. A creature able to use an anchored rope to climb can do so without needing to make a test unless the Director deems otherwise.

HERO WEALTH TABLE

AREA

Abilities with the Area keyword create an area of effect. Many area abilities also deal damage, but such abilities are not attacks. See Area Abilities for more information.

ATTACK

Abilities with the Attack keyword (referred to simply as “attacks”) deal damage to or impose a harmful effect on other creatures.

CHARGE

Abilities with the Charge keyword can be used with the Charge action in place of a melee free strike (see Charge in Actions in Combat).

MAGIC

Magic-keyword abilities are used by creatures who can cast spells, have innate magical features, or wield magic items. These abilities do magical things such as create rays of fire, open swirling portals, or summon creatures.

MELEE

Abilities with the Melee keyword can be used only over very short distances, typically within a creature's reach, because they require you to touch someone or something with your body, a weapon, or an implement.

PSIONIC

Psionic-keyword abilities are used by creatures who can manifest psionic powers, have innate psionic features, or wield psionic items. These abilities might create blasts of psychic energy, move objects with telekinesis, or slow down time with chronopathy.

RANGED

Abilities with the Ranged keyword can be used to affect creatures who are too far away to touch.

RESISTANCE

Abilities with the Resistance keyword require the target to make a resistance roll to lessen or avoid their effect.

(Playtest note: Only monsters and villains have Resistance-keyword abilities right now.)

WEAPON

The Weapon keyword is used in attacks that are made with blades, bows, and other such items. Weapon abilities also include attacks creatures make with their own bodies, such as punches, kicks, bites, tail slaps, and more. Your kit determines the types of weapons you wield and use with weapon abilities (see Kits).

IT'S NOT ALL ATTACKS!

The Attack keyword and phrases like “makes an attack” are reserved for abilities that have a creature specifically targeting other creatures or objects (not an area) and dealing harm to them by making a power roll. Other abilities that target areas of effect, or that require the target to make a resistance roll instead of having the creature using the ability make the roll, are not attacks. They instead use the Area and Resistance keywords, respectively. That means if a feature distinctly interacts with an attack (for instance, the conduit's Holy Infusion triggered action), that feature has no effect on abilities with the Area or Resistance keyword.

TRIGGER

If an ability requires a triggered action or a free triggered action to use, a “Trigger” entry is part of the ability. For example, the trigger for the tactician's Parry ability is: “A creature makes a Weapon attack against the target.”

MELEE

Abilities with a distance of “Reach X” require you to touch a creature with your body, a weapon, or an implement. X is the distance in squares at which you can physically make contact with another creature or object targeted by the ability. For instance, a distance of “Reach 2” can be used to target creatures or objects within 2 squares of you.

RANGED

Abilities with a distance noted as “Ranged” can be used to target creatures who are more than a touch away. Ranged distances are presented as “Ranged X,” with X being the number of squares away a creature or object can be while still allowing you to target them with the ability. For instance, a distance of “Ranged 5” can be used to target creatures or objects within 5 squares of you.

If you make a ranged attack while an enemy is adjacent to you, you have a bane on the attack's power roll.

MELEE OR RANGED

Some abilities have a melee distance and a ranged distance. When you use such an ability, you choose whether to use it as a melee or a ranged ability. The ability never has both the Melee and Ranged keywords at the same time. For example, if you have the Cloak and Dagger kit, which has a weapon damage bonus to melee and ranged abilities, only one bonus at a time applies to an ability with the Melee or Ranged keywords.

AREA ABILITIES

Area abilities cover an area, creating an effect within that area that lets you target multiple creatures or objects at once. When an ability allows you to create an area of effect, you are sometimes given a distance, noted as “within X,” that describes how many squares away from you the area can be. If an area ability doesn't originate from you, then at least 1 square of the area of effect must be within that distance and your line of effect. This square is referred to as the origin square of the area of effect. The area of effect can spread from the origin square however you choose, as long as the area of effect conforms to the shape and arrangement rules of that particular area.

Unless otherwise noted, area abilities don't pass through solid barriers such as walls or ceilings or spread around corners. These obstructions stop areas from spreading. As long as you have line of effect and distance to the origin square, you can place an area ability to include one or more squares where you don't have line of effect (see Line of Effect below).

An area ability might use any of the following areas of effect:

• Aura: When an ability creates an aura, it is expressed as “X aura.” Aura areas always originate from you and move with you for the duration of the ability that created them. A creature must be within X squares of you to be targeted by an aura ability.
• Burst: When an ability creates a burst area, it is expressed as “X burst.” Burst areas always originate from you. A creature must be within X squares of you to be targeted with a burst ability.
• Cube: When an ability affects a cubic area, it is expressed as “X cube.” X is the length of all the area's sides.
• Line: When an ability affects a linear area, it is expressed as “A × B line.” This means that A equals the line's length in squares, while B equals the line's width and height in squares.
• Wall: When an ability creates a wall, it is expressed as “X wall,” where X equals how many squares are used to make the wall. When you place a wall, you can build it one square at a time, but each square must share at least one side (not just a corner) with another square of the wall. You can stack squares on top of each other to make the wall higher. Unless otherwise stated, a wall can't be placed in occupied squares, and a wall blocks line of effect.
• Special: Some abilities create a unique area of effect. The distance entry of such abilities specifies how the area is created.

SELF

If an ability has a distance of “Self,” that ability originates from or affects only you. The ability's description specifies how it works.

CREATURE

If an ability targets one or more creatures, you can have it target any creature within the ability's distance. You aren't an eligible creature target for your own abilities unless those abilities also have “self” as a target (see below).

OBJECT

If an ability targets one or more objects, you can have it target any object within the ability's distance. Unless otherwise noted, objects have poison and psychic immunity. When an ability can target creatures and objects, the ability can damage objects. However, unless otherwise noted or if the Director decides otherwise, objects are immune to an ability's other effects.

ENEMY

If an ability targets one or more enemies, you can use the ability to target only creatures who are hostile to you. Typically, you decide who counts as an enemy, though the Director has the final say.

ALLY

If an ability targets one or more allies, you can use the ability to target only creatures who are friendly to you. Typically, you decide who counts as an ally, though the Director has the final say. You aren't an eligible ally target for your own abilities unless those abilities also have “self” as a target.

SELF

If an ability targets “self,” then you are a valid target for the ability.

ALL

If an ability doesn't provide a number of targets but instead says it applies to all creatures, objects, enemies, or allies, then all eligible targets are affected.

ABILITIES WITH DAMAGE AND EFFECTS

Both attacks and area abilities deal damage and often have an additional effect on their target. The amount of damage and the strength of the effect are determined by the power roll.

To keep things quick and easy to read at the table, damage and effects are separated in a power roll entry with a semicolon, with effects abbreviated whenever possible. An effect determined by the power roll result always applies to the target unless otherwise specified. For instance, the Brutal Slam ability described above has the following power roll setup:

Power Roll + Might:

• 11 or lower: 3 damage; push 1
• 12–16: 8 damage; push 2
• 17+: 12 damage; push 4

Unless otherwise indicated, any effects that are determined by a power roll result occur after the power roll's damage has been dealt to all targets.

ROLL AGAINST MULTIPLE CREATURES

When an ability targets multiple creatures, you make one power roll and apply the result to all the creatures you target. If you have edges or banes against some but not all of your targets, you might apply a different tier of result to individual targets.

For example, if you target three creatures with an attack ability and your result is 11, each of the targets should be affected by the tier 1 result of the ability. However, if you gain an edge on attacks against one of the targets to add 2 to the power roll, your result against that target is 13 and that target is affected by the tier 2 result of the ability.

EOT

If an effect ends with “(EoT)” at the end of its description, a creature suffers the effect until the end of their next turn.

RESISTANCE ROLLS AND EFFECTS

If an effect ends with “([CHARACTERISTIC] resistance ends)” at the end of its description, then a creature suffering the effect can make a resistance roll at the end of your turn to remove the effect. Unless otherwise specified, a resistance roll to end an effect is set up as follows:

Power Roll + [Specified Characteristic]:

• 11 or lower: The effect persists
• 12–16: The effect ends at the end of your next turn
• 17+: The effect ends immediately

Heroes' abilities don't apply effects that require resistance rolls, to prevent the Director from doing a lot of tracking and rolling.

EOE

If an effect ends with “(EoE)” at the end of its description, a creature suffers the effect until the end of the encounter. In general, enemies' abilities don't apply end-of-encounter effects to heroes, since heroes should always have a chance to get back in the fight!

Boss creatures have the End Effect trait, which allows them to end EoE effects at the end of their turn in exchange for taking damage.

BLEEDING

While you are bleeding, you can't regain Stamina.

DAZED

While you are dazed, you can do only one thing on your turn: use a maneuver, use an action, or take a move action. You also can't use triggered actions, free triggered actions, or free maneuvers.

FRIGHTENED

If you are frightened, attacks you make against the source of your fear take a bane. If that source is a creature, their attacks against you gain an edge. You can't willingly move closer to the source of your fear if you know the location of that source. If you gain the frightened condition from one source while already frightened by a different source, the new condition replaces the old one.

GRABBED

While you are grabbed, your speed is 0, you can't be force moved, you can't use the Knockback maneuver, and you take a bane on attacks that don't target the creature grabbing you. If the creature grabbing you moves, they bring you with them. If the creature's size is equal to or less than yours, their speed is halved while they have you grabbed.

The creature grabbing you can use a maneuver to move you into an unoccupied space adjacent to them. The creature grabbing you can end the grab at any time (no action required). You can also attempt to escape being grabbed (see Escape Grab in Combat). If you teleport or if the creature grabbing you is force moved to a space that isn't adjacent to you, you are no longer grabbed.

PRONE

While you are prone, you are flat on the ground, attacks you make take a bane, and melee attacks made against you gain an edge. You must crawl to move along the ground, which costs you 1 additional square of movement for every square you crawl. You can't climb, jump, swim, or fly while prone. If you are climbing, flying, or jumping while you are knocked prone, you fall.

While prone, you can stand up as a maneuver (see Maneuvers in Combat), unless the ability or effect that imposed the condition says otherwise. You can use a maneuver to make an adjacent prone creature stand up.

RESTRAINED

While you are restrained, your speed is 0 and you can't be force moved. Your attacks take a bane, attacks and damaging area powers against you gain an edge, and you have a bane on Might and Agility resistance rolls. If you teleport while restrained, the condition ends.

SLOWED

While you are slowed, your speed is 2 unless it is already lower.

TAUNTED

If you are taunted, you have a double bane on attacks that don't include the creature who taunted you. If you gain the taunted condition from one creature while already taunted by a different creature, the new condition replaces the old one.

WEAKENED

While you are weakened, all your ability power rolls and tests (but not resistance rolls) take a bane.

HOW BIG IS A SQUARE?

It's helpful to know how big a square is for abilities that heroes and NPCs can use outside of combat. A single square is 5 feet on all sides. The Director can change this measurement to 2 meters, 1 meter, or any other measurement you prefer, as long as that scale stays consistent throughout your game.

SIZE AND SPACE

A creature's size indicates how many squares they occupy during combat, which defines the creature's space. If a creature's size is 1, they occupy a space of 1 square. If a creature is larger than 1 square, their size equals the number of squares they take up in length, width, and height. For example, a horse has a size of 2, which means that during combat, they occupy a space that is 2 squares long, 2 squares wide, and 2 squares high. You could also think of that space as a cube that is 2 squares on all sides.

If a creature is a size 1, their size value includes the letter T, S, M, or L, abbreviations of tiny, small, medium, and large respectively. Since the minimal amount of space a creature can take up during combat is 1, this letter indicates the difference between tiny pixies, small polders, medium humans, and large hakaan, each of which occupy of a space 1 square in combat. These sizes in order from smallest to largest are 1T, 1S, 1M, and 1L.

Objects can also have a size rating. If an object has an O (an abbreviation for oblong) next to its size, it indicates that the object's size isn't the number of squares the object occupies, but rather it's relative mass and weight to a creature of equivalent size. If an ability or feature allows you to interact with objects of a certain size that rule includes all objects of that size, oblong or otherwise.

The Creature and Object Sizes table shows examples sizes of creatures and objects up to size 5, but there is no limit to what a creature or object's size could be.

CREATURE AND OBJECT SIZES

SIDES

Every combat encounter is a conflict between two sides. The heroes and any of their allies are one side, controlled by the players. Any creatures who oppose the heroes are the other side, controlled by the Director. All creatures who oppose the heroes are on the same side, even if those creatures also oppose each other. For example, if the heroes are battling a group of bandits when a kingfissure worm suddenly bursts into the fray to devour player characters and brigands alike, the worm is still on the side of the bandits for the purpose of the game's combat rules.

DETERMINE SURPRISE

When battle begins, the Director determines which creatures, if any, are caught off guard. Any creature who isn't ready for combat at the start of an encounter is surprised until the end of the first round of combat. A surprised creature can't take triggered or free triggered actions, attacks and damaging area powers rolled against them gain an edge, and they have a bane on resistance rolls.

For example, if the heroes sneak up unnoticed on a camp of marauders and attack, each marauder is surprised. Likewise, if the heroes fail to notice that all the cloaked figures in a tavern are actually brain-devouring zombies, then the heroes are surprised. If one of the heroes notices the disguised undead before the zombies attack but has no opportunity to warn their allies, that hero isn't surprised but the rest of the characters are.

DETERMINE WHO GOES FIRST

Sometimes figuring out who gets to take the first turn in combat is automatic. If all the creatures on one side are surprised, then a creature on the other side gets to go first. But if both sides have creatures who aren't surprised, the Director or a player they choose rolls 1d10. On a result of 6 or greater, the heroes' side acts first. Otherwise, the other side acts first.

CREATURES TAKE TURNS

Whichever side goes first chooses a creature (or sometimes a group of creatures on the Director's side) to act at the start of combat. Whenever the rules talk about a creature acting in combat, that creature gets to take their turn. When that turn is over, the other side chooses a creature to act. Play continues back and forth this way as each creature takes their turn.

Unless an ability or special rule allows them to do so, any creature who has taken a turn during a round can't act again until a new round begins. To help track which creatures have already acted in the current round, each creature can have a coin, token, or card they flip over on the table, or some kind of flag they set on their virtual tabletop token, once they've taken a turn. That way, all the players know who has already acted and who hasn't.

In many encounters, a point comes when one side has creatures who haven't acted yet but all the creatures on the other side have. The creatures who have yet to act get to take their turns in any order they choose, without turns in between from the other side. For example, consider four heroes taking on six enemies. When all four heroes have taken their turns and four of the enemies have taken theirs, the two enemies who are left take their turns one after the other to end the round.

Once all creatures on both sides of a battle have acted, the round ends and a new one begins. The side whose members acted first during the starting round of combat acts first in all subsequent rounds.

END OF ROUND

Once all creatures on both sides of a battle have acted, the round ends and a new round begins.

TAKING A TURN

Each creature in combat—whether hero, adversary, or something in between—gets to take a move action, a maneuver, and an action on their turn. Each combatant can perform their maneuver and action in any order, and can break up the movement granted by their move action before, after, or between their maneuver and action however they like. You can also turn your action into a move action or a maneuver, so that your turn can alternatively consist of two move actions and a maneuver; or two maneuvers and a move action.

The Movement section breaks down how your move action works, while the Maneuvers and Actions sections break down the baseline maneuvers and actions your character can undertake. For any activities not specifically covered in those rules, such as cutting down a chandelier to drop on enemies, the Director decides whether such an activity is a maneuver or an action.

CAN'T EXCEED SPEED

A single move or other effect can never allow a creature to move more squares than their speed, unless the effect specifically states otherwise. For example, a creature with a speed of 5 might have that speed halved to 2. If an ally then targets them with an effect that allows them to move up to 3 squares, the creature can move only 2 squares because that's their current speed.

SHIFTING

Whenever you use your move action or when another effect allows you to move, you can instead shift to use up to half the maximum squares of movement the effect allows. Whenever you shift, creatures can't make opportunity attacks against you during your movement (see Free Strikes).

Certain effects might also allow you to shift a specific number of squares, including many effects that let you shift up to your speed.

MOVEMENT TYPES

Creatures in the game can use eight types of movement: walk, burrow, climb, swim, jump, crawl, fly, and teleport.

DIFFICULT TERRAIN

Areas of thick underbrush, rubble, spiderwebs, or other obstacles to movement create difficult terrain. It costs 1 additional square of movement to enter a square of difficult terrain.

HIGH GROUND

When you make an attack against a creature or object and you occupy a space that is fully above the space the target takes up, with the bottom of your space higher than the top of the target's space, you gain an edge on the power roll against that target.

FORCED MOVEMENT

Some actions and maneuvers allow you to push, pull, or slide another creature a specific distance across the battlefield. Collectively, these types of movement are called forced movement:

• Push X: You move the target up to X squares away from you in a straight line, without moving them vertically.
• Pull X: You move the target up to X squares toward you in a straight line, without moving them vertically. Each square you move the creature must bring them closer to you.
• Slide X: You move the target up to X squares in any direction, except for vertically.

When you force move a target, you can always move that target fewer squares than the number indicated. For example, when the conduit gets a tier 3 “push 5” result with their Thunder of the Divine ability, they can push targets any distance up to 5 squares, including choosing to not move certain targets at all.

Forced movement ignores difficult terrain and never provokes opportunity attacks. When you force move a target into damaging terrain or into terrain that produces an effect, they are affected as if they had moved into it willingly.

AID ATTACK

Choose an enemy adjacent to you. The next attack an ally makes against that creature before the start of your next turn has an edge.

DRINK POTION

You can use this maneuver to drink a potion yourself or to administer a potion to an adjacent creature.

ESCAPE GRAB

While you are grabbed by another creature (see Grab below), you can attempt to escape by making a resistance roll. You take a bane on the roll if the creature's size is larger than yours.

Power Roll + Might or Agility:

• 11 or lower: You fail to escape the grab.
• 12–16: You can escape the grab, but if you do, the creature grabbing you can make a melee free strike against you before you are no longer grabbed.
• 17+: You are no longer grabbed.

GRAB

You attempt to grab a creature using the following ability:

GRAB

• Keywords: Melee
• Type: Maneuver
• Distance: Reach 1
• Target: 1 creature the same size or smaller than you

Power Roll + Might:

• 11 or lower: No effect
• 12–16: You can grab the target, but if you do, they can make a melee free strike against you right before they become grabbed by you.
• 17+: The target is grabbed by you.

Effect: You gain an edge on the power roll if the creature's size is smaller than yours. You can grab only one creature at a time this way.

HIDE

Using the Hide maneuver, you attempt to hide from other creatures who aren't observing you while you have cover or concealment (see Hide and Sneak).

KNOCKBACK

You attempt to shove an adjacent creature using the following ability:

KNOCKBACK

• Keywords: Melee
• Type: Maneuver
• Distance: Reach 1
• Target: 1 creature the same size or smaller than you

Power Roll + Might:

• 11 or lower: Push 1
• 12–16: Push 2
• 17+: Push 3

Effect: You gain an edge on the power roll if the creature's size is smaller than yours.

MAKE OR ASSIST A TEST

Many tests are maneuvers if made in combat. Searching a chest with a Reason test, picking a door's lock with an Agility test, or lifting a portcullis with a Might test would all be maneuvers. Assisting a test is also a maneuver in combat.

Complex or time-consuming tests might require an action if made in combat—or could take so long that they can't be made during combat at all. Other tests that take no time at all, such as a Reason test to recall lore about mummies, are usually free maneuvers in combat. The Director has the final say regarding which tests can be made as maneuvers.

SEARCH FOR HIDDEN CREATURES

You can use this maneuver to attempt to search for creatures hidden from you (see Hide and Sneak).

STAND UP

You can use this maneuver to stand up if you are prone, ending that condition. Alternatively, you can use this maneuver to make an adjacent prone creature stand up.

CATCH BREATH

By using the Catch Breath action, you spend a Recovery and heal an amount equal to your recovery value. In addition, you also gain the benefit of the Defend action.

If you are dying (see Dying and Death in Stamina), you can't take the Catch Breath action, but other creatures can help you spend recoveries.

CHARGE

When you take the Charge action, you move up to your speed in a straight line, then make a melee free strike (see Free Strikes) against a creature when you end your move. You can't shift when you charge.

DEFEND

When you take the Defend action, all attacks against you have a double bane until the end of your next turn. You gain no benefit from this action while another creature is taunted by you (see Conditions).

FREE STRIKE

You can use this action to make a free strike (see Free Strikes). Most of the time, you'll want to use the more impactful actions found on your character sheet, just as the director will use the actions in a creature's stat block, but free strikes are always available for when all else fails. For instance, a fury who has no other options for ranged attacks might use the Ranged Weapon Free Strike attack with an improvised weapon when battling a flying creature.

HEAL

You use your action to employ medicine or inspiring words to make an adjacent creature feel better and stay in the fight. The creature can spend a Recovery to regain Stamina, or can make a resistance roll against a “(resistance ends)” effect they are suffering.

OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS

Whenever a creature within the reach of your melee free strike moves out of it without shifting, you can take advantage of their movement to quickly make a melee free strike against them as a free triggered action. This is called an opportunity attack.

If you have a bane or double bane on the power roll against the creature, you can't make the free strike.

STANDARD FREE STRIKES

Every hero has two standard free strikes available to them. Your class might give you additional free strike options, and your kit can improve the standard options (see Kits).

A melee weapon free strike is a melee attack made with an unarmed strike or an improvised weapon. A ranged weapon free strike is a ranged attack made with an improvised weapon. At the Director's discretion, the damage type of an improvised weapon can change based on the object used. For example, if you use a burning torch as an improvised weapon, it could deal fire damage.

INVISIBLE CREATURES

Invisible creatures always have concealment from other creatures. If an invisible creature isn't hidden, they can still be targeted with abilities, though attacks against them take a bane. The test made to find a hidden creature who is invisible takes a bane.

DAMAGE TYPES

Typical damage, such as that caused by weapons, falling, traps, and monstrous claws, has no type associated with it. That's because for most creatures, there's no difference in the amount of harm caused by being run through with a pike, dropped from a height onto a stone floor, slashed by a pendulum scythe, or skewered on a minotaur's horns. However, when it comes to elemental and magical damage sources, some creatures might have an immunity or weakness to that damage. As such, attacks and effects note when they deal any of the following damage types: acid, cold, corruption, fire, holy, lightning, poison, psychic, or sonic.

RECOVERIES AND RECOVERY VALUE

Each hero has a number of Recoveries determined by their class. A hero also has a recovery value that equals one-third of their Stamina, rounded down. When you use the Catch Breath action (see Actions), you spend a Recovery and regain Stamina equal to your recovery value. Outside of combat, you can spend as many Recoveries as you have remaining. Some abilities, items, and other effects allow you to spend a Recovery to regain Stamina equal to your recovery value plus a little extra (as described by the effect), or to regain Stamina without spending a Recovery.

WINDED

Your winded value equals half your Stamina maximum. When your Stamina is equal to or less than your winded value, you are winded. Although being winded has no effects on its own, certain ancestry, class, item, and title abilities affect winded creatures.

You can tell when other creatures are winded and vice versa.

DYING AND DEATH

When your Stamina is 0 or lower, you are dying. While dying, you can't take the Catch Breath action in combat, and whenever you make a test using Might or Agility, make an attack, or use an action, maneuver, or a triggered action, you lose 1d6 Stamina after the action, maneuver, or triggered action is resolved. This Stamina loss can't be prevented in any way. While you are dying, your allies can help you spend recoveries in combat, and you can spend Recoveries out of combat as usual.

While your Stamina is lower than 0, if it reaches the negative of your winded value, you die. When you die, you can't be brought back to life without the use of a special powerful item such as a Scroll of Resurrection.

DIRECTOR-CONTROLLED CREATURES

Director-controlled creatures die when their Stamina drops to 0.

KNOCKING CREATURES OUT

If you damage a creature with an attack that would kill them, you can choose to instead knock them unconscious. If a creature takes damage while unconscious in this way, they die.

Director-controlled creatures remain unconscious for 1 hour if no one does anything to end that condition. They then gain 1 Stamina and their unconsciousness ends. Heroes remain unconscious for 1 hour if no one does anything to end that condition. After 1 hour, they can spend a Recovery and end their unconsciousness. If the hero has no Recoveries left, they can't wake up until they complete a respite.

TEMPORARY STAMINA

Some abilities, treasures, and other effects grant a creature temporary Stamina. Temporary Stamina shouldn't be included in a creature's Stamina total when figuring out a creature's recovery value or winded value. If you have temporary Stamina while winded, dying, or dead, the temporary Stamina doesn't change those states.

Whenever you take damage while you have temporary Stamina, the temporary Stamina decreases first, and any leftover damage is applied to your Stamina as usual. For instance, if you have 10 temporary Stamina and take 16 damage, you lose the temporary Stamina and then lose another 6 Stamina.

There is no maximum to how much temporary Stamina you can have. Regaining Stamina can't restore temporary Stamina. If you have temporary Stamina and then gain more temporary Stamina, you get whichever amount of temporary Stamina is greater, rather than adding the two pools together. For instance, if an ability grants you 10 temporary Stamina when you already have 5, you have 10 temporary Stamina, not 15.

Unless otherwise indicated, temporary Stamina disappears when you finish a Respite.

OBJECT STAMINA

Mundane objects in the game have Stamina based on the material they're made of. When an object's Stamina is reduced to 0, the object is destroyed. Objects have damage immunity to all poison and psychic damage. Objects made of common materials have Stamina as follows:

• A size 1 object or 1 square of a larger object made of glass has 1 Stamina.
• A size 1 object or 1 square of a larger object made of wood has 3 Stamina.
• A size 1 object or 1 square of a larger object made of stone has 6 Stamina.
• A size 1 object or 1 square of a larger object made of metal has 9 Stamina.

The Director can decide that a well-made or poorly made object has more or less Stamina. Destroying a supernatural object often (but not always) requires a specific quest, such as throwing a magic ring back into the volcano where it was forged.

HOW COMBAT ENDS

The Director determines when a combat encounter is over. While some battles—especially showdowns with important villains—can be about a fight to the bitter end, many other encounters can become a slog if the heroes need to fight until every last enemy's Stamina is reduced to 0.

To avoid a battle dragging, the Director can set objectives when they build the encounter. Once the heroes achieve those objectives, or if it becomes clear that they can win the fight with minimal effort, the Director can end the encounter. They might do so by calling “Cut!” like a film director, or can use some other phrase or indicator.

When the Director ends combat this way, the players typically choose how the battle ends by narrating a dramatic finish. Or in rarer cases when the heroes achieve a major objective that sets off a story-defining event, the Director narrates the end of the battle with a positive outcome for the players, called an event ending (see below).

OBJECTIVE ENDINGS

While planning a combat encounter, the Director can set one or more objectives the heroes can achieve to end the encounter without dropping every last foe. Some broad categories of objectives are described in this section, but the Director should feel free to create their own. As well, Directors can always end combat anytime it becomes clear that the heroes are going to win an encounter with minimal effort, even if they haven't achieved all the objectives.

DRAMATIC FINISH

If the heroes are able to end a fight with a dramatic finish, the Director assigns each hero one or more of their remaining enemies, then asks that hero's player to describe how the hero neutralizes that enemy. The hero might deliver a killing blow, knock their foe out, or let the enemy flee with their tail between their legs (literally or figuratively). If the fight has more heroes than Director controlled enemies, the Director can assign more than one hero to an enemy, then ask the players how their characters work together to bring that enemy down. After everyone gives a description, the battle ends.

EVENT ENDING

If the Director calls the end of combat when a specific objective in an encounter is achieved, the event ending creates a big narrative finish. The Director can pick a narrative trigger for an event ending before an encounter begins, or can come up with one on the fly if that makes more sense.

Event endings can cover big scenarios, such as the characters destroying a dam to unleash a river upon their enemies, or completing a ritual that sends all the demons they've been battling back to the Abyssal Wasteland. These endings should be accompanied by vivid visual details. For example, if the heroes are battling a necromancer controlling a horde of zombies, the undead might crumble to dust upon the necromancer's defeat. Similarly, if the heroes destroy an eldritch machine sapping the land of its natural energy, the shockwave from its destruction could vaporize the cultists trying to protect it.

LIMITS OF NEGOTIATION

Some players might instinctively feel that the negotiation rules should give them something akin to mind-control superpowers. They're not used to imagining NPCs complexly, and might attempt to negotiate in situations where negotiation is either completely unreasonable or literally impossible. No matter how persuasive or well spoken a hero is, there's no argument to be made that might convince the vile Lord Syuul to give up his pursuit of evil and become a gardener. A negotiation typically can't convince a queen to hand over her crown to the heroes and name them the new rulers of the land, or inspire a dragon to fork over every piece of treasure in their hoard.

Negotiations only work when the heroes ask for something from an NPC that the NPC is willing to seriously consider giving them.

Negotiation is not a process that changes an NPC's character. Rather, the heroes are trying to make an NPC understand how behaving differently would be in character. You might well be able to get the hitherto loyal lieutenant of an evil boss to reconsider the error of their ways. That's a classic dramatic trope. But even then, you're not changing their character—you're convincing them that their current evil ways are out of character. “Is this who you are? Is this how you want to be remembered?!”

If some players want to use the negotiation system as a means to an end by having their characters say, “Just do what we tell you, or else!,” you can remind them that that's not how most people, including NPCs, work. Any heroes who open with that attitude are likely to lose the negotiation before it begins.

THE THREAT OF VIOLENCE

In the real world, negotiations rarely come with a threat of immediate violence. Ambassadors don't usually get into fistfights. But this is a heroic fantasy RPG, featuring heroes who are armed to the teeth and able to alter reality with their minds. The threat of violence is already implied. Everyone involved knows that the characters could draw steel at any moment.

The Director typically assumes that the underlying potential for events to turn violent is already factored into every negotiation. However, if the heroes decide to bring that threat to the forefront, then they've exited the realm of negotiation and have entered into a different type of relationship—and it's probably time to determine initiative.

Negotiation is about persuading someone to help you willingly because you've convinced them that meeting your objectives is a good idea. Working with you is wise or logical, or might make them look good. A hero can absolutely threaten someone with violence and force them to do what they want, but this is an incredibly temporary state. A threatened NPC isn't willingly doing what they've been asked. They're doing it on threat of violence, and will comply only while that threat is evident—after which, they'll likely go back to their previous behavior as soon as they think they can get away with it.

NEWGOTIATION

If you've never played a game with a dedicated negotiation system like this, you might need to run it once or twice before you master it, similar to learning any new subsystem in an RPG. The new rules you'll learn are all dedicated to facilitating roleplaying by allowing the heroes to beseech an NPC for aid, and only involve rolling dice when the heroes don't directly appeal to that NPC's motivations.

INTEREST

An NPC's interest represents how eager they are to make a deal with the heroes. Interest is graded on a scale of 0 (no interest) to 5 (the most possible interest). When a negotiation begins, an NPC's interest is between 1 and 4. If the NPC's interest goes to 5, they make a final offer and the negotiation ends (see Keep Going or Stop, below). If the NPC's interest drops to 0, they end a negotiation without offering the heroes any deal.

Interest increases and decreases during the negotiation based on the arguments the heroes make.

PATIENCE

An NPC's patience represents how much time and effort they're willing to devote to a negotiation. Patience is graded on a scale of 0 to 5, with each NPC starting a negotiation with their patience higher than 0. If an NPC's patience reaches 0, the NPC makes a final offer and negotiation ends (see Keep Going or Stop).

Patience can decrease each time the heroes make an argument during a negotiation.

FOR THE DIRECTOR: SHARING INTEREST AND PATIENCE

It's up to you as the Director to decide whether to share an NPC's interest or patience during a negotiation. Sometimes sharing this information can make an encounter more dramatic, with the players watching their progress rise and fall in real-time. Other groups might find negotiation more fun, dramatic, and immersive if those exact numbers are hidden from the players. In playtesting, some groups loved seeing these statistics and some groups didn't, just as some groups like knowing the Stamina of every creature in a battle and others prefer to keep that information secret. Talk to your group about what they'd prefer.

MOTIVATIONS

Each NPC has at least two motivations the heroes can appeal to with their arguments. Arguments that appeal to an NPC's motivation require an easier power roll to increase the NPC's interest. Arguments that don't appeal to a motivation require a more difficult power roll. See Making Arguments for more information.

Each motivation can be successfully appealed to only once during a negotiation. To successfully appeal to a motivation, the heroes must use the motivation in an argument without mentioning one of the NPC's pitfalls or being caught in a lie.

PITFALLS

Pitfalls are motivations that spark ire, discomfort, shame, fear, or some other negative response in an NPC. Using a pitfall in an argument causes an NPC's interest and patience to wane. Each NPC has at least one pitfall, and many have two or more.

Pitfalls and motivations are two sides of the same concept. They're presented below as a single list, so that what might be a motivation for one NPC is a pitfall for another. Whenever the heroes make an argument, they risk stumbling into one of an NPC's pitfalls unless they do their research beforehand or read the NPC well.

LIST OF MOTIVATIONS AND PITFALLS

An NPC can have any of the following twelve motivations or pitfalls.