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What am I? Existing

While the game system can't solve existential crisis – at least not by itself – it can offer a few definitions to guide the game as a whole… and who knows? a player might find the enlightenment they seek after a decade long campaign.

Activity

An activity is any action an entity is capable of performing.

While this document provides guidelines and predefined activities, the GM is the final authority on what an entity can attempt.

Players are encouraged to go beyond predefined activities – describe your character's intentions to the GM, who will assess feasibility and set a success threshold – use your imagination and have fun!

Entities and Objects

  • Entity: Anything capable of performing an activity, including player-controlled characters (PCs) and GM-controlled characters (NPCs).
  • Object: Anything incapable of performing an activity.

Specific conditions might prevent an entity from performing activities or allow an object to perform some. In such cases, entities remain entities and objects remain objects unless the condition specifies otherwise. If in doubt or for narrative exceptions, the GM should clarify whether something is an entity or an object.

Entity: Active Attributes

All entities have four attributes that measure their physical and mental capabilities when performing activities:

  • Strength: Governs activities requiring physical power and raw muscle.
    Examples: Lift, push, grapple, climb.
  • Finesse: Governs activities requiring control, dexterity, and precision.
    Examples: Hide, sleight, craft, perform.
  • Cognition: Governs intellectual tasks, awareness and responsiveness.
    Examples: Examine, perceive, recall, navigate.
  • Influence: Impacts emotions and decisions of other entities.
    Examples: Persuade, inspire, deceive, intimidate.

Each attribute has a value ranging from -3 to +5, which is added to the result of a d20 roll when the activity involves that attribute.

Example: A character with a Strength of +3 attempts to push a heavy object blocking the way. The GM asks for a Strength roll and sets the success threshold for it. The player rolls a d20 and adds 3 to the result.

Increasing Attributes

To increase an attribute's value, the player spends Attribute Points (AP) as follows:

  • Level ≤ 0: 1 AP for each level.
  • Level > 0: As many AP as the next level.

Attribute Points are obtained as detailed in the Progression section.

Examples:

  • Increasing Strength from -3 to -2 costs 1 AP.
  • Increasing Cognition from +4 to +5 costs 5 AP.
  • Increasing Finesse from -1 to +2 costs a total of 4 AP (-1 to 0: 1 AP; 0 to +1: 1AP; +1 to +2: 2 AP).

Entity: Passive Attributes

All entities have two attributes that affect the success threshold of activities performed against them:

  • Constitution: Equal to 9 plus the highest between Strength and Finesse, determines the base threshold of physical resistance.
  • Willpower: Equal to 9 plus the highest between Cognition and Influence, determines the base threshold of mental resilience.

Passive attributes are also intended as failure thresholds for d20 Inverted Rolls when the GM calls for a Constitution or Willpower roll.

Objects: Attributes

Every object possesses a set of attributes that determine its condition, durability, and worth.

Wear & Tear

Objects that have been used or damaged accumulate Wear. Once an object reaches its maximum Wear threshold, it becomes non-functional. At this point, it can either be repaired or become permanently broken, depending on the context.

The maximum Wear an object can sustain is determined by the setting or the GM.

Consumables

Wear does not apply to consumable objects, which are simply expended upon use. Some consumables may be used more than one time before depletion.

Physical Resistance

An object's Physical Resistance defines a threshold above which its Wear increases by one level. This attribute varies based on the object's material composition and complexity.

Value

This attribute represents the monetary worth of an object in the currency specified by the campaign setting. It reflects the object's market price and can be influenced by factors such as rarity, demand, and craftsmanship.

Rarity

Rarity indicates how readily available an object is within the world. Objects are categorized into five tiers:

  • Mundane: Easily obtainable, possess no special properties.
  • Common: Generally accessible, possess minor distinctive properties.
  • Rare: Hard to find, possess significant properties.
  • Elite: Extremely rare and highly sought after, possess extraordinary properties.
  • Unique: One-of-a-kind with unparalleled properties, often tied to specific lore.