There are 12 actions in the game that the player characters use to overcome obstacles.
@TODO Rename some actions to better fit the genre.
- Attune
- Command
- Consort
- Finesse
- Hack
- Hustle
- Rumble
- Study
- Survey
- Sway
- Tinker
- Wreck
You make an action roll when your character does something potentially dangerous or troublesome. The possible results of the action roll depend on your character’s position. There are three positions: controlled, risky, and desperate. If you’re in a controlled position, the possible consequences are less serious. If you’re in a desperate position, the consequences can be severe. If you’re somewhere in between, it’s risky—usually considered the “default” position for most actions.
If there’s no danger or trouble at hand, you don’t make an action roll. You might make a fortune roll or a downtime roll or the GM will simply say yes—and you accomplish your goal
There are three attributes in the game system that the player characters use to resist bad consequences: Insight, Prowess, and Resolve. Each attribute has a rating (from zero to 4) that tells you how many dice to roll when you use that attribute.
The rating for each attribute is equal to the number of dots in the first column under that attribute (see the examples, at right). The more well-rounded your character is with a particular set of actions, the better their attribute rating.
Each attribute resists a different type of danger. If you get stabbed, for example, you resist physical harm with your Prowess rating. Resistance rolls always succeed—you diminish or deflect the bad result—but the better your roll, the less stress it costs to reduce or avoid the danger.
When the enemy has a big advantage, you’ll need to make a resistance roll before you can take your own action. For example, when you duel the master sword-fighter, she disarms you before you can strike. You need to make a resistance roll to keep hold of your blade if you want to attack her. Or perhaps you face a powerful ghost and attempt to Attune with it to control its actions. But before you can make your own roll, you must resist possession from the spirit.
The GM judges the threat level of the enemies and uses these “preemptive” resistance rolls as needed to reflect the capabilities of especially dangerous foes.
When you Attune, you allow the mystic laws to flow through you.