Basic Concepts

The game is based on scenarios describing the locations, challenges, people, and monsters encountered by the adventurers. It is possible to link multiple scenarios to form a long running campaign during which the characters can develop.

A scenario ends once the Players have accomplished their goals, have failed to do so, or have met their demise. There aren’t winners or losers: the game’s main point is to tell a fun emergent story together, and sometimes defeat can be more interesting than triumph!

If you are the GM, you are responsible for getting familiar with the rules and preparing a scenario to play before the game starts. You can write your own scenarios or use those created by others.

During play you are responsible for running the game, acting as an impartial referee. You are the Players' eyes and ears, describing the world to them as vividly and completely as possible. You also interpret all characters who aren’t controlled by the Players, both friends and foes. Finally you have the task of judging the outcome of the characters' actions, using these rules as a tool to support your decisions.

It is important to stress that you are not the Players' adversary, and you are playing neither with nor against them. Your main goal is for everyone at the table, including yourself, to have fun telling an exciting story together!

If you are a Player, you are responsible for interpreting your character and keeping track of their state. You should strive to portray your character as realistically as possible, acting as if you were in their shoes.

Your main task is to describe what your character intends to do after the GM describes the current situation. You are free to think outside of the rules and attempt anything which would realistically make sense under the current circumstances: the GM will adjudicate what happens when it isn’t covered in this rulebook. Always think about how to use the environment, your skills, and your gear to gain an edge over the obstacles and foes you encounter!

You play cooperatively with the other Players, attempting to reach the goals of the scenario together. It is also important to stress that the GM is not your enemy, even though they will often control your foes and place obstacles on your path. The GM is there to run the game, creating interesting challenges that you can have fun solving together with the other Players!

The GM decides when and how to apply the rules and can make up new rules on the spot when necessary. The rules are just a tool helping the GM adjudicate common situations, they are not the law and are always superseded by the GM’s decisions.

The Players should respect the GM’s decisions, even when they go against their or their character’s interest. The GM is not an opponent but is trying to run the game fairly and in an engaging way for everyone.

Above all else, remember that your goal while playing the game is to have fun. If everyone is enjoying the game, you are playing in the right way!

The game uses the notation dX to indicate what die to roll in any given situation, where X is the number of sides of the die. A complete set of dice includes a d4, a d6, a d8, a d10, a d12, and a d20. Many d10s show a ‘0’ instead of a ‘10’ on one face: in this case consider any roll of ‘0’ as a ‘10’.

To roll a d5, roll a d10 and divide the result by 2, giving a number between 1 and 5. To roll a d3, roll a d6 and divide the result by 2, giving a number between 1 and 3. To roll a d2, roll a d6 and divide the result by 3, giving a number between 1 and 2.

When something has a x:y chance of happening, it happens on a roll of x or less on a dy. For example, a 2:6 chance happens on a roll of 2 or less on a d6.

The dice should always be rolled openly. The GM may occasionally roll secretly if knowing the result might spoil the experience for the Players, but shouldn’t fudge the result when doing so. Whenever the dice are rolled their outcome should be respected!

When the result of a division is not a whole number you must round it up, unless otherwise specified. For example, for game purposes, half of 5 is 3 (not 2.5, not 2), and 9 divided by 4 is 3 (not 2.25, not 2).

Time in the game is measured using the following intervals:

You don’t have to keep track of fractions of the larger time units when you switch from rounds to stretches or from stretches to watches. The GM decides whether to advance time to the start of the next stretch or watch, if significant time was already spent in smaller time units, or not.

A game begins in a starting situation described by the GM. It is important to introduce the Players' goals so that they know what they are trying to accomplish. The game is then played out across several segments, until the company reaches its goals or fails to do so.

A segment can last for a round, a stretch, or a watch, based on the current situation the party is in, most often fighting, exploring a site, or travelling. During each segment the Players declare what their characters intend to do and then the GM decides the outcome of their actions, using the rules as a guideline. The GM should adjudicate if a specific action takes the whole segment, and if not can allow the Player to perform more actions before the segment ends. What can be accomplished in a segment depends on how long it is: activities requiring a few seconds take a round, those taking a few minutes take a stretch, and those taking a few hours take a watch.

During a fight, the order in which characters act matters greatly and a more rigid action structure is followed (see the Combat section).