The attributes
Every player character is defined by 3 attributes: charme, mind and body. In the beginning each attribute starts with a value from 1 to 4, with a sum of 7 points in total.
CharmeCharme measures how good you are in manipulating other people. You will need Charme for example to manipulate guards, haggle with traders, court men or to cut a fine figure during a banquet.
|
MindMind measures your alertness, how easy it is for you to remember things and how smart you are. You will need Mind for example to notice tracks, remember knowledge you have about the world, get hints for riddles or plan ahead.
|
BodyBody measures how strong, fast and agile you are. You will need Body for example to burst doors, put a thread through the eye of a needle, walk across a tightrope or resist a poison.
|
VigorEach player starts with 7 vigor points. All players together have a vigor reserve which starts empty. Players can use their vigor to improve test results. An improvement by 1 costs 1 vigor, by 2 costs 3 vigor and by 3 costs 6 vigor. Vigor used that way is put back into the reserve.
Furthermore whenever the game master worsens the odds for the players, he has to restock the vigor reserve in return. When player characters rest and at the end of a gaming session, players may refill their vigor from the vigor reserve or permanently remove vigor from the reserve to learn new abilities. |
TestsWhenever a player character wants to do something that depending on outcome could move plot in two different directions, the game master may ask for a test.
A test that blocks the plot isn't allowed: If, for example, the players need a certain information to proceed, then failing at test may not withhold this information from them. A failure could introduce other complications instead, e.g. an opponent might get wind of the players' activities. To perform a test, game master and player decide on which attribute is most relevant. The player may use vigor to improve his result. In the meantime the game master decides in secret on the difficulty level of the test. The player only finds out whether he was successful by observing what happens next. The game master never explicitly tells him the test result. |
An example
Jennifer plays as "Joane", a report of the state press who secretly works for the resistance. She wants to make a propaganda recording of a secret factory, where the governement produces the toxic gas that had been used for the most recent "terrorist attacks".
To help her group Joane wants to organize a floor plan of the factory. Together with the game master she decides that this translates into an action Collect favors. With a Charme of 3 she doesn't feel well suited for the task and uses 1 vigor to improve her test value to 4.
In the meantime the game master chooses a difficulty level of 6: The factory is secret, it would be very hard to get floor plan.
Joane missed the difficulty level by 2, a fiasco! The game master looks up the result in the table for "Collect favors":
To help her group Joane wants to organize a floor plan of the factory. Together with the game master she decides that this translates into an action Collect favors. With a Charme of 3 she doesn't feel well suited for the task and uses 1 vigor to improve her test value to 4.
In the meantime the game master chooses a difficulty level of 6: The factory is secret, it would be very hard to get floor plan.
Joane missed the difficulty level by 2, a fiasco! The game master looks up the result in the table for "Collect favors":
Triumph
The character does you a favor. |
Success
The character does you a favor, but you have to return the favor later on in a way chosen by the game master. |
Failure
The character will only do you the favor after you have done him a favor in return. |
Fiasco
The character will backstab you when doing you the favor. |
Jennifer doesn't know yet, but she received the floor plans from a secret agent who is now planning her arrest in the factory.
What happens next
Above is but a short summary of the basics of the rules. Apart from more actions like Manipulate, Hide or Plan, the full rules include an innovative way to simulate stress that will not only make the characters sweat, but their players as well, rules for resources and faction support as well as other optional rule modules, especially to make combat more complex.