CHAPTER 12: Skill Tree - Social

Macro Social

• Influence others, build relationships, navigate social hierarchies, or deliver a message.
• Uses Words or People.

Social: Granularity & Consequences

• When to Roll: Routine conversations, casual greetings, or passing notes do not require a roll.
• The Fractal Time Scale: Social conflicts are unique in their flexible time scale. A Solo Conflict Interval might be a week of carousing. A Micro Conflict Exchange might be a day of political maneuvering. A Nano Conflict Beat is a few seconds of rapid-fire dialogue.
• The Win Condition: You win a social conflict by reducing the opposing side's maximum Action Pool to zero.
  • Discredit (Negative Conditions): Inflicting conditions like Humiliated or Caught in a Lie. If a target hits 0 AP this way, they are removed from the conflict in shame.
  • Win Over (Positive Conditions): Inflicting conditions like Indebted or Charmed. These still reduce the target's maximum AP, representing their social energy being redirected to your side. If a target hits 0 AP this way, they are Flipped - they no longer oppose your goal.

Social: Tool Use Convention

• Social skills are generally limited by the voice or by writing implements. More relevant to social "tool use" is time and availability, because you can't send correspondence to someone unreachable by post, and because social conflicts take place on a variable timescale, other skill trees most commonly interact with this one by way of a conflict shift or a single macro skill check.
• Social Armor: Social armor represents the relative social position of the people involved in the conflict. Depending on the hierarchical nature of your society, social armor ranges from 0 (peers) to 4 (your boss) to 8 (your head of state). Social armor is not fair, but it is not insurmountable; groups should see social armor as a representation of the terrain of a social conflict, an obstacle to be bypassed or a puzzle to be solved, not a bar to forward progress.

Micro Social Actions (The Mediums of Communication)

• Conversation (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Words or People against TN 4. The default 1-on-1 attack. Inflict a negative condition (discredit) or a positive condition (win over) on a target.
• Etiquette (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Visual or People against TN 4. The default defense. Use knowledge of social codes to deflect attacks, subtracting your successes from the incoming effect.
• Oratory (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Words or Auditory against TN 4. The buff. Make a public display to grant a positive condition (e.g., Inspired) to yourself or allies, increasing their AP or granting bonus dice to a number of creature up to half of the maximum value of your Words die (round down).
• Correspondence (Proactive/Reactive Action)
  • Roll Logic or Words against TN 5. The ranged attack. Functionally identical to Conversation, but used at a distance. The higher TN reflects the lack of immediate feedback. Can also be used reactively to defend against attacks in absentia.

Nano Social Actions (The Techniques) *At the Nano level, social duels target specific elements of the opponent's social standing. Target Zones: Composure, Credibility, Reputation. Attacks inflict Conditions derived from the Social Damage Charts based on the number of successes after defense and armor.

Conversation (1-on-1 Dialogue)

• Logos (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Credibility. Roll Logic or Words against TN 4. Inflict a credibility condition based on margin of success.
• Pathos (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Composure. Roll People or Words against TN 4. inflicts a composure condition based on the margin of success.
• Motte and Bailey (Proactive Action)
  • Declare this in Step 3 of the Nano action declaration, after an opponent declares a defense. When you use a Motte and Bailey, you must declare a proactive action that targets a new target zone from the one you initially threatened, and you may add dice to your attack from the remainder of your Action Pool, at a cost of 2 AP for every additional die you add. The maximum number of dice that can be added in this way is your Rank in this skill. Every successive Motte and Bailey in a scene against the same target suffers a Circumstance penalty of TN + 1 compared to the previous Motte and Bailey.
• Prebuttal (Proactive Action)
  • Split the dice you are committing to this action into two piles, "argument" and "rebuttal". The "argument" dice may be used to perform any other proactive action on this exchange. The "rebuttal" dice are used to perform a Reactive defense against an incoming attack. You are simultaneously pressing your point and anticipating their counterargument.
• Gish Gallop (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Words or Auditory against TN 4. You unleash a torrent of irrelevant arguments, half-truths, and nonsense. If successful, you completely negate whatever action your opponent declared for this beat (their action is wasted, and any AP they spent on it is lost). This deals no damage and inflicts no Conditions, it simply derails the conversation. Every successive use of Gish Gallop in the same conflict is made at TN + 1 compared to the previous Gish Gallop.
• Dodge the Question (Proactive/Neutral Action)
  • Split the dice you are committing to this action into two piles, "argument" and "evasion". The "argument" dice may be used to perform any other offensive action on this exchange. The "evasion" dice are rolled as Words or Visual against TN 4, and every evasion success raises the TN of any Proactive action targeting you by 1 during this exchange. Evasion TN increases are applied before any simultaneous actions.

Etiquette (Social Defense & Perception)

• Stonewall (Reactive Action)
  • Defends: Composure. Roll Meditation or People against TN 4. Maintain absolute emotional control, refusing to rise to the bait. Subtract successes from incoming Pathos attacks.
• Pivot (Reactive Action)
  • Defends: Credibility. Roll Visual or People against TN 4. Smoothly redirect the conversation away from a dangerous line of questioning without answering. Subtract successes from incoming Logos attacks.
• Deflect (Reactive Action)
  • Defends: Reputation. Roll Visual or Words against TN 4. Use wit, humor, or misdirection to shrug off an attack on your status. Subtract successes from incoming Ethos attacks.
• Turnabout (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Meditation or People against TN 6, and subtract your success level from the successes of an attack that is targeting you. If you reduce the incoming attack to zero successes, you steal momentum, and you gain bonus dice to your next proactive action equal to the number of successes you have remaining.
• Reframe (Special Action)
  • Trigger: You are effected social-related conditions during the AP refresh.
  • Roll Words or People against TN 4. Ignore a number of negative Conditions currently affecting you up to your number of successes by changing the context of the debate.
• Cut Off (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: An opponent's "Tool". Roll Auditory or Words against TN 4. Instead of targeting a zone, target a specific Micro/Nano skill the opponent is using (e.g., "You can't cite that precedent!"). If successful, the opponent cannot use the targeted skill for as many beats as your margin of success.

Oratory (Public Projection)

• Ethos (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Reputation. Roll Meditation or Visual against TN 4. The straightforward attack of authority. Cite your rank, deeds, or connections to force compliance through sheer social weight and public pressure.
• Bombast (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Composure. Set a target number of successes, then roll Words or Auditory against TN 4. If you hit your target, you reduce their AP on the next beat by the amount you declared. If you miss, you inflict a generic social condition on yourself based on the amount you missed by. When determining a hit/miss, don't take into account your opponent's defensive action (it still reduces the damage they take, however).
• Filibuster (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Meditation or Auditory against TN 4, opposed by your opponent's roll of Logic or People against TN 4. Your opponent cannot spend their own AP to oppose this roll, instead they roll a number of dice equal to half the maximum of either their meditation or logic stats (round down). If you succeed or tie this roll, the exchange immediately ends, and you retain momentum. If your opponent wins the roll, the exchange immediately ends and they sieze momentum. Successive filibusters in the same scene are made at TN+1 for the user, but not the defender.

Correspondence (The Paper Trail)

• Cite Precedent (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Credibility. Roll Logic or Words against TN 5. Produce a written law, contract, or historical record that contradicts the opponent. If your opponent opposed this with a reactive action, you may choose which stat they roll for their reaction.
• Coded Message (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Logic or Words against TN 5 (max dice rolled equal to your Rank in this skill). Pass a note in plain sight. Your successes become bonus dice that an ally may add to their next roll, representing perfectly coordinated teamwork without the enemy knowing.
• Cease & Desist (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Reputation. Roll Logic or Words against TN 5. Deliver a formal, legalistic threat. If your opponent uses a reactive action to oppose this action, you may determine which stat they roll for their reaction.

CHAPTER 6: The Condition API & Scene Elements

Conditions are the primary currency of conflict resolution. They replace abstract "Hit Points" with specific, narrative consequences that drive the action both during and between conflicts.

6.1 The Condition Economy

Conditions are divided into two categories:

• Specific Conditions: (e.g., Upstaged, Bleeding, Indebted). These are the standard currency of a conflict. They apply their penalties strictly within the context of the skill tree that inflicted them, or other specific circumstances rules to be similar by the GM. The Upstaged condition doesn't make you worse at Swordplay, but a Bleeding wound might make you worse at dancing.
• Generic Conditions: (e.g., Fatigued, Disgraced, Restored). These are the universal API of the system. A Generic Condition applies its penalty or bonus to all skill trees and all conflicts. If you are Fatigued, you have less AP whether you are fighting, dancing, or cooking.

The Invocation Rule: Because Generic Conditions affect everything, they are rare. A Generic Negative Condition is usually only inflicted when an attacker scores a massive victory (typically 3+ successes after the target's defenses are applied), representing a devastating cross-domain hit. They can also be inflicted by narrative failures or extreme environmental factors.

Exceptions: Magic primarily deals in Generic Conditions (Burning, Shocked) due to its elemental nature. Combat's Specific Lethal Conditions are inherently deadlier than Generic equivalents, representing the unique lethality of physical violence.

Condition Stacking: Conditions from separate actions stack infinitely, tracking all of their damage and recovery methods separately. Record every condition you are subject to on the healing checklist, and annotate the effects of each condition next to the relevant skills for quick reference.

6.2 Generic Conditions (The Universal API)

The Generic Conditions are divided into four domains, each with a symmetrical 1-to-1 mapping of Negative (Penalties) to Positive (Buffs).

At the Micro level, these conditions use a Severity (S) for negatives and Strength (S) for positives, ranging from 1 to 4. The mechanical effect scales with the number (e.g., Fatigue [2] removes 2 Max AP; Restored [2] adds 2 Max AP or restores 1 stat die size). At the Nano level, these map to specific tables generating bespoke conditions with exact recovery times.

1. The Physical Domain

• Negatives: Impact (Blunt force/falls), Fatigue (Exhaustion), Sickened (Poison/disease).
• Positive: Refreshed. (Non-magical recovery, basic needs met, good hospitality).

2. The Mental Domain

• Negatives: Disoriented (Sensory disruption), Mental Strain (Psychic stress), Distracted (Pestered/charmed).
• Positive: Focused. (Clear mind, perfect environment). Cancels out one Circumstance penalty, or allows a re-roll of a failed Macro check.

3. The Social Domain

• Negatives: Disgraced (Humiliation), Ostracized (Shunned/isolated), Entangled (Caught in a scandal/debt).
• Positive: Renowned. (Buzz, good reputation). Grants a Circumstance bonus to social checks, or temporary AP when entering a new social scene.

4. The Elemental/Magical Domain

• Negatives: Burning (Fire), Shocked (Electricity), Hindered (Terrain/entanglement).
• Positive: Vitalized. (Infused with life/magical energy). Grants temporary AP that can only be spent on magical or proactive actions.

6.3 The Days of Rest (DoR) Convention

All removable physical Conditions are assigned a "Days of Rest" (DoR) value. This represents the natural recovery time required for the condition to heal. Medicine skills reduce this time frame. Magical healing has its potency expressed in terms of DoR—a spell that cures 3 DoR instantly removes any condition with a natural recovery time of 3 Days of Rest or fewer.

6.4 The Lethal Tag

Some Specific or Generic conditions are tagged as "Lethal". These can lead to the actual, physical death of a character if too many stack up.

• Falling to Wounds: A character falls to their wounds if any lethal-tagged condition reduces their Action Pool or any stat die to zero. Such a character is considered unconscious and bleeding out.
• The Golden Hour: A character who has fallen to their wounds may be rescued from death if all lethal-tagged Conditions are dressed within one hour of them entering the succumbing state. Lethal-tagged Conditions will have a line in their description describing exactly what is necessary to "dress" them, which is separate from their "healing" requirements.

6.5 Scene Elements (World Building Lists)

Scene Elements are modular, scalable tags applied to specific areas of a battle map or narrative space. They represent environmental hazards, magical terrain, and sensory conditions.

Scene Elements operate at both the Micro and Nano levels. If you are fighting a Nano duel in a Deafening [3] environment, your Auditory TNs are still increased by 3.

Every Scene Element has a Severity (S) ranging from 1 to 4. When a character creates a Scene Element (e.g., a Mage using Shape Terrain), the Severity is equal to the successes rolled.

The Five Senses Scene Elements:

1. Visual (Sight & Light)

   • Obscured [S]: The space is filled with smoke, fog, or darkness. Applies a Circumstance penalty of -S dice to all Visual stat rolls and ranged attacks made into or out of this space. Grants +S bonus dice to checks made within the space to remain unnoticed.
   • Blinding [S]: Flashes of light, strobes, or glaring reflections. Anyone declaring a Proactive action within this space must subtract S from their total successes. At Severity 4, inflicts the Disoriented condition each turn.

2. Auditory (Sound & Vibration)

   • Deafening [S]: Overwhelming noise. Raises the TN of all Auditory stat rolls by +S. At Severity 3+, characters cannot use skills within the space that involve speaking to another character. At Severity 4, inflicts the Disoriented condition each turn.
   • Resonant [S]: The space echoes perfectly or hums with a specific frequency. Grants a Circumstance bonus of +S dice to all Auditory stat rolls.

3. Olfactory (Smell & Air Quality)

   • Noxious [S]: Tear gas, sulfur, rot, or toxic fumes. Characters entering or starting their turn in this space must roll Body or Meditation against TN 4. If they fail, they suffer S levels of the Sickened generic condition and lose S AP.
   • Aromatic [S]: Pleasant, intoxicating, or mouth-watering scents. Grants a Circumstance bonus of +S dice to Cooking or Social checks made within the space. However, it imposes a Circumstance penalty of -S dice to Logic checks, as characters are easily distracted by the scent.

4. Gustatory (Taste & Ingestion) (Note: Gustatory tags are usually applied to food/drink via Cooking or Magic, but can affect an environment via magical precipitation or atmospheric residue).

   • Tainted [S]: The environment coats the mouth with ash, copper, or poison. Characters within the space suffer a penalty of -S to their maximum Action Pool. If they consume anything within the space, they immediately suffer S levels of Sickened.
   • Savorous [S]: The air itself tastes like a fine vintage or perfect pastry. Characters within the space gain S extra AP when AP refreshes.

5. Tactile (Touch & Physical Environment)

   • Difficult [S]: Deep mud, thick webs, shifting rubble, or strong winds. Moving through this space costs +S success per square/hex/inch/5 feet/2 meters.
   • Hazardous [S]: Razor-sharp caltrops, burning coals, or electrified floors. Anyone entering or starting their turn in this space must spend an action to avoid the hazard, scoring S successes, or receive an S-level condition from the most relevant generic condition table.
   • Soothing [S]: Soft sand, healing moss, or perfectly supportive ground. Characters ending their turn in this space may restore S AP to their pool (up to their maximum).

CHAPTER 10: Skill Tree - Magic

Designer Note: Game Balance Magic is often the hardest thing to properly balance in TTRPGs, in part because the fantasy of being a wizard is inherently on a different level than the fantasy of being a warrior. This system attempts to bridge the gap from two directions: 1) Magic is often inherently stronger than other skill trees, but it requires a character-defining 8 point Gift to have access to. 2) The amount of magic in the world per magic user is intentionally limited to what they can sustain.
With these two balancing factors in mind, GMs should be wary of allowing characters access to magic without a prerequisite gift, and be wary of allowing those with magic to create set-and-forget permanent effects.

Macro Magic

• Perform a magical ritual or cast a magical spell.
• Use magical abilities like telekinesis, telepathy, or divination.
• Uses Logic or Nature.

Magic Tool Use Conventions

• The Incantation Lock: Magic requires a "Tool" to cast, just like a weapon. The default tool is your voice (Incantation). If you are gagged or silenced, you cannot cast spells unless you have an alternative focus. You may only cast one spell per Beat using your Incantation.
• Arcane Foci: A mage may wield an Arcane Focus (a wand, staff, orb, or crystal) in their hand. An Arcane Focus acts as an alternative to an Incantation. Wielding a Focus occupies that hand (just like a sword). A mage with one Focus and their voice free can cast two spells per Turn/Beat. A mage dual-wielding two Foci can cast three spells per Turn/Beat.
• Metamagic Exception: Actions that modify spells (like Quick Spell) or maintain them (like Sustain Spell) do not count towards this limit and do not require the Incantation/Focus tool.

Micro Magic Actions At the Micro level, magic creates Areas of Effect (AoE) or Party Buffs that inflict generic conditions or Circumstance modifiers.

Magic Range At the Micro level, magic has a range of 1 unit per the maximum of your Meditation die. Magic effects that create an AOE create a circle with a radius as many units long as half the maximum of your Logic die (round down).

• Ergokinesis (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Logic or Nature against TN 4. Create an AoE zone centered within range. Inflict a generic damage condition (Burning, Shocked, Knockdown) on everything within that zone, or create an elemental terrain condition there with a severity equal to your number of successes that remains in place for as long as you maintain the spell.
• Mentalism (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Nature or People against TN 4. Target a single non mindless creature. Inflict a generic mental condition on that creature. Of you roll at TN 6, you may instead effect every non mindless creature in an AOE.
• Naturalism (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Logic or Nature against TN 4. Suppress or grant a physical condition to a single creature for as long as you maintain the spell. If you instead roll at TN 6, you may effect every creature in an AOE instead (the effect applied to the creatures follows them if they leave the AOE, and it must be identical for all effected creatures).
• Arcanism (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Logic or Words against TN 4. Create a Projected Ward. Your successes act as a flat reduction to the success level of any incoming magical spell targeted within your range.
    • Assisted Ward: Any allies within the mage's range may add dice from their own action pools to an arcanism check. This represents their souls aiding the mage in defending the group.
  • Sustain Spell (Special Action)
    • Trigger: When Action Pools refresh, if the mage wishes to maintain ongoing magical effects.
    • Roll Logic or Meditation against TN 4 + 1 per active spell effect. Success maintains all spells into the next round. Failure, or a failure to spend the AP, collapses all active spells. If AP is ever reduced to 0 by a Condition, all spells are lost.

Nano Magic Actions At the Nano level, magic targets specific opponents, utilizing Terrain Conditions and Environmental Effects tables. Unless marked [No Tool], all actions below require an Incantation or Arcane Focus.

Ergokinesis (Manipulate physical energy: heat, electricity, kinetic force)

• Energy Strike (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Logic or Nature against TN 4. Channel heat, cold, or electricity into a target. Inflicts a generic elemental condition to the target.
• Telekinetic Deflection (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Logic or Words against TN 4. Use kinetic force to deflect incoming physical attacks. Subtract successes from the attack roll.
• Kinetic Surge (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Meditation or Nature against TN 4. Move 1 unit per success, ignoring terrain conditions.
• Thermal Manipulation (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Nature or Logic against TN 4. Create an elemental terrain condition at the target area with a severity equal to your successes.
• Fine Manipulation (Nuetral Action)
  • Roll Logic or Visual against TN 4. Perform highly detailed telekinetic work (whisking, painting, picking locks). Success allows a mage to use other skills that can normally only be used at arm's length at a distance for as long as the spell is maintained.

Mentalism (Manipulate minds and perception)

• Phantasm (Proactive Action)
  • Roll People or Visual against TN 4. Success inflicts a condition from the phantasm table based on success level on a target. TN 6 allows the condition to be applied to everything in an AOE.
• Mind Spike (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Nature or People against TN 5. Inflicts a mental condition on the target based on success level.
• Telepathic Link (Neutral Action)
  • Roll People or Words against TN 3. Connect the minds your targets. Allows silent, instant communication over long distances for as long as maintained for as many creatures as successes.
    • Casting Telepathic Link a second time lets you add more creatures to the "network", but counts as a second spell effect for the purposes of sustaining.
• Alter Memory (Proactive Action)
  • Roll People or Logic against TN 5. Modify, add, or remove a specific memory. Target must be willing, restrained, or unconscious.
• Empathic Projection (Proactive Action)
  • Roll People or Nature against TN 4. Inflict a condition from the emotional condition chart on a single target based on successes. TN 6 allows you to affect every creature in an aoe.
  • Designer's Note All mentalism spells can be resisted by the "resist mental" instinct.

Naturalism (Manipulate life and biological matter)

• Mend Wounds (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Logic or Nature against TN 4. Instantly removes conditions with a DoR value equal to or less than the spell's successes * 3, has no effect on deeper wounds.
    • If healing during downtime, or when not directly opposed, then you may assume that a mage can "take their time" using this action, removing conditions with a DoR of their rank * 3.
• Wither (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Nature or Meditation against TN 4. Target a specific stat (e.g., Body). Reduce it by one die size per 2 successes for as long as sustained.
• Shift Form (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Meditation or Nature against TN 4. Change the physical form (grow claws, turn your skin to stone, etc) of a single target. Grants any 2 point gift for as long as maintained.
• Speak With Nature (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Nature or People against TN 3. On any success, you may communicate with plants or animals for as long as maintained. Plants and animals do not think and communicate in the same way as sapient beings, but it is up to the GM to translate into the language your group is speaking.
• Accelerate Decay (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Nature or Meditation against TN 4. Rapidly age organic matter. Instantly age wine to perfection, ferment dough in seconds, or age a leather armor strap to brittleness. Items may be rendered unusable at 2+ successes. If an item is being carried, then its carrier may resist the spell, and the spell's effects if successful revert when the mage is no longer sustaining it.

Arcanism (Manipulate magic itself)

• Ward (Reactive Action / Neutral Action)
  • Roll Logic or Words against TN 4. Subtract successes from an incoming magical action targeted anywhere inside your range. Allies within the mage's range may contribute their AP to this action.
  • Ward can be used as a reactive action, or declared as a neutral action. Remember that tool lock applies to warding while multitasking.
• Dispel (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Logic or Meditation against an ongoing medical effect, comparing your result against the creator's original success total. Instantly clear the effect if successful.
• Counterspell (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Words or Visual against an incoming spell targeted anywhere within range's TN + 2. If you reduce the incoming spell to zero successes, you siezs momentum AND reflect the spell back at the caster, targeting them with their own spell and inflicting the condition on them based on your number of successes over theirs, or creating the magical effect they were trying to create centered on their own square.
• Scry (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Logic or Visual against TN 6 (modified by having specialized tools like a crystal ball or a personal item of theirs). Allows you to see and hear everything happening in their presence for as long as sustained, as though you were standing right next to them physically present.

CHAPTER 15: Downtime & The Healing Checklist

Between conflicts, characters enter Downtime. Downtime is the narrative space where characters recover from their wounds, pursue personal projects, prepare for the next adventure, and engage with the world outside of high-stakes conflict.

15.1 The Healing Checklist

Every negative Condition inflicted upon a character has a bespoke healing requirement. Rather than tracking abstract "Hit Points," players keep a "Healing Checklist" on their character sheet.

• Physical Wounds: These are measured in Days of Rest (DoR). If a character rests during downtime, the DoR of their physical conditions ticks down. (e.g., A wound with DoR 10 becomes DoR 5 after 5 days of rest). Lethal wounds must be dressed to tick down. Effects that remove physical wounds under a certain DoR threshold do not tick the DoR down - those are strictly binary, they remove the condition or they don't.
• Mental & Social Wounds: These conditions do not heal with the passage of time alone. They require specific narrative actions to resolve.
  • A Disgraced social condition might require a public apology, a grand gesture, or a successful Social Solo Conflict to repair your reputation.
  • A Mental Strain condition might require a week of carousing, strict meditation, or completing a personal hobby to restore your mental health.
  • Generally the table that the condition was drawn from will detail the scale of the healing that needs to happen, but leave the specifics up to context. Severity 1 & 2 conditions are generally removed with a single macro skill event, severity 3 & 4 may require the player successfully complete a solo conflict with a specified number of successes.

Because conditions are annotated alongside the stat/skill they effect, the checklist serves as a quick reference for the player to see exactly what is hindering their character and what must be done to fix it.

15.2 Downtime Actions

During a Downtime period, characters are primarily focused on recovery or preparation. However, they may also pursue personal projects.

• The Solo Conflict: A character may declare one Solo Conflict during Downtime (e.g., crafting a meal to buff the party, painting a portrait to increase social standing, forging a weapon).
• Time Limits: The GM determines the total time available in the Downtime period. Each Skill Tree provides guidelines for how long a Solo Conflict normally takes to complete. The player will know if they have enough time to finish their project before the next adventure begins.
• The One-Project Limit: For the speed of play at the table, characters may only attempt one Solo Conflict per Downtime session.

CHAPTER 16: GM Guidelines

This chapter provides the Game Master with tools and frameworks for running the system, scaling the narrative, and managing the table during complex conflicts.

16.1 Fractal Time & Space

The Conflict Resolution engine uses abstract measurements for time and distance. The math of the system never changes; only the narrative definition of a "Hex" and an "Interval" changes. The GM is encouraged to redefine what an "Interval," "Exchange," "Beat," and (distance) "Unit" represent based on the scale of the story.

• In a Combat Nano Conflict, a Beat is 3 seconds, and a Unit is 5 feet.
• In a Cooking Solo Conflict, an Interval is 1 hour, and distance is irrelevant.
• In a Social Micro Conflict at court, an Exchange is 1 Day, and a Unit might be a wing of the palace.
• In a Diplomatic Macro Conflict between nations, an Exchange is 1 Month, and a Unit is 50 miles.

The Action Pool economy and the dice rolls remain exactly the same regardless of scale. If a player asks to do something that spans a massive distance or time frame, simply adjust the definition of the time/space units to fit the narrative scope.

16.2 Adversary Creation

Building an NPC using the full player creation rules is too slow for table prep. The GM should use simplified stat blocks for adversaries.

• Simplified Stats: NPCs do not need all 8 Stats. Give them 2-3 relevant Stats (e.g., a Goblin Skirmisher just has Body d6 and Visual d6).
• Action Pool: Calculate the NPC's AP from their two highest (and only) Stats.
• Skills: Give the NPC a Rank (1 to 5) in 1 or 2 specific skills. They default to Rank 0 for everything else.
• Minions/Mobs: To keep Micro conflicts fast, the GM may rule that certain NPC types (such as minions, guards, or untrained combatants) are simply removed from the conflict upon suffering their first successful attack or negative Condition, bypassing the need to track their Action Pools.
  • The cleave rule applies when a player uses an action that inflicts a condition on a minion, allowing that player to continue removing contiguous minions until they've removed as many minions as they had margin of success on the attack.
• Spirits: Minor foes do not have Spirits. Major antagonists should have 1-3 Spirits to make them thematically resonant and to give players a way to interact with them mechanically outside of just hitting them. The narrative peak of this game is a player and a rival dueling while both of their spirits are in play!

16.3 Social "Boss Fights" & Armor

High-stakes social conflicts often involve targeting a "Boss" (like a Queen or a Guildmaster) who is untouchable due to their immense social standing.

Represent this high standing with Social Armor (identical to Routine Armor in Dancing or physical Armor in Combat).

• If a target's Social Armor is higher than the players' maximum potential successes, a direct assault is impossible.
• The players must instead target the Boss's support network (courtiers, allies, friends). By using Positive Conditions (flattery, favors) to Flip these minions to the players' side, the minions can then use Assist actions, granting the players bonus dice.
• When the bosses entire support network has been flipped, they may decide on their own to stop opposing the players, ending the conflict.
• This is just one method of structuring social encounters. Perhaps the players could bypass social armor with blackmail or bribery - the entire point is to encourage them to think outside of the box.

16.4 Running Multi-Participant Nano Conflicts

The Nano conflict engine is highly granular and designed primarily for intense 1v1 duels. While it can technically handle a 1v2 or 2v2, it becomes highly unwieldy at higher numbers.

Guidelines for Large Nano Conflicts:

1. Split the Scene (Recommended): If the whole party is fighting, resolve it as a Micro Conflict. If you must use Nano, metagame the scene: have each player duel their assigned opponent separately, sequentially.
2. The Action Movie Camera: Do not attempt to run multiple Nano conflicts in parallel. Instead, act as the camera. Resolve a couple of Beats with Player A, then cut to Player B for a couple of Beats, then to Player C. This keeps the table focused and the momentum high.
3. Pairwise Momentum: If multiple participants are fighting in the same Beat, Momentum is tracked individually between every pair of opponents. You perform The Drop against every opponent not on your team. You trade Momentum and declare actions against each opponent individually, following the standard Nano action declaration order.

16.5 The OSR Philosophy (Saying "Yes")

The Micro level of this system is intentionally simplistic, inspired by Basic Fantasy RPG. By not providing a highly specific ability for every conceivable action, the system forces players to think outside the box.

If a player wants to attack the wall to make the ceiling cave in, or use a Cooking skill to grease the floor, the simple Micro mechanics allow the GM to say "Yes, roll it" without consulting a massive rulebook. Use Circumstance modifiers and the Scene Elements system (Chapter 6) to adjudicate these creative solutions on the fly, and before any roll be sure to establish stakes and risks as appropriate. The simplicity of the Micro level is a feature, not a bug, designed to encourage creative problem-solving and environmental interaction.

16.6 Conflict Transformation & Simultaneous Conflicts

Do not feel locked into a single skill tree or granularity level. If a heated debate escalates into a physical duel, or a combat standoff resolves into a tense negotiation, use the Conflict Transformation rules (Chapter 5.6) to pause, vote on a new granularity level, and carry the stakes over.

Similarly, use Simultaneous Conflicts (Chapter 5.7) when multiple things are happening at once on the same time scale (e.g., the Chef is in a Cooking Solo Conflict in the kitchen while the Bard is in a Social Micro Conflict in the banquet hall). Allow characters to move between these conflicts and apply Conditions from one conflict to another.

CHAPTER 14: Skill Tree - Art

Macro Art

• Create visual art, design structures, or appraise artistic value.
• Identify forgeries, restore damaged works, or interpret symbolism.
• Uses Visual or Logic.

Art: Granularity & Consequences

• When to Roll: Doodling, tracing, or routine artistic maintenance do not require a roll.
• The Solo Conflict: Art is resolved almost exclusively via Solo Conflicts. You set a Goal, select your target skills, and roll over Intervals (determined by your Meditation die or the commission deadline).
• Outputs (Exhibition): The final number of successes determines the quality of the piece, which translates into a Social Condition applied to the artist (and the space) when the art is shown off for the first time.
  • Micro Outputs (Generic): Grants the artist the "Praised" Condition. Improves social standing, granting a generic Circumstance bonus to People or Words checks when dealing with those who have seen the art.
  • Nano Outputs (Specific): Applies a specific emotional or social condition to the viewers and the space. (e.g., A portrait painted with Impasto might grant the artist the "Intensity" condition, making their Words checks more persuasive. A masterpiece Cast in bronze grants the "Awe-Inspired" condition to the room, boosting the Meditation of those who view it.)

Art: Tool Use Convention

• Art requires the use of physical tools (brushes, chisels, canvas, stone) and usually both hands. You cannot simultaneously perform another action that requires your hands or full physical attention (such as swinging a sword). However, Magic that relies solely on Voice (Incantation) can be used simultaneously with Art.

Designer Note - Hybrid Conflicts, or "Martial Arts Oil Painting": Skills that default to Solo Conflicts (like Art) can be seamlessly integrated into active Micro or Nano conflicts. Because the system uses a unified Action Pool and strictly defines "Tool Use," a player can split their AP between fighting and crafting in the same Beat. A player holding a loaded paintbrush can use the Combat Nano action Master Strike. Because Master Strike allows the attack dice to be used for "any other offensive action," the player could use "impasto" as their offensive action, adding successes to their work of art, while using the brush itself to parry an attack by another artist!

Micro Art Actions (The Physical Medium)

• Drafting
  • Roll Logic or Visual against TN 4. 2D line work, sketches, blueprints, and foundational drawing. The structural bones of visual art.
• Pigment
  • Roll Visual or Meditation against TN 4. 2D color application. Painting, frescoes, inks, and washes.
• Sculpture
  • Roll Body or Nature against TN 4. 3D subtractive or additive form. Stone, clay, metal, and woodwork.
• Appraisal
  • Roll Logic or Words against TN 4. History, identifying forgeries, theoretical knowledge, and restoration of existing works.

Nano Art Actions (The Techniques) Techniques do not use Proactive/Reactive triggers. They are the specific skills declared as targets during Solo Conflict intervals, or when splitting AP in a Hybrid Conflict. All TNs default to 4, modified by material quality or environmental lighting.

• Drafting:
  • Sketch: Roll Visual or Logic against TN 4. Quick, rough lines to establish form, proportion, and composition before committing.
  • Perspective: Roll Logic or Visual against TN 4. Use geometric vanishing points to create the illusion of 3D depth on a 2D plane.
  • Contour: Roll Visual or Meditation against TN 4. Focus on the precise edges and outlines of a subject to capture its true shape.
  • Crosshatch: Roll Logic or Visual against TN 4. Layer intersecting lines to build up value, shadow, and texture without color.
  • Blueprint: Roll Logic or Visual against TN 4. Create highly precise, scaled technical drawings with exact measurements.
• Pigment:
  • Glaze: Roll Visual or Meditation against TN 4. Apply thin, translucent layers of color to build depth and modify underlying hues.
  • Impasto: Roll Body or Visual against TN 4. Lay paint on thickly so the brush strokes are visible, adding physical texture and motion.
  • Wash: Roll Meditation or Visual against TN 4. Apply a broad, watery layer of pigment for base colors or soft, atmospheric effects.
  • Underpaint: Roll Logic or Visual against TN 4. Establish foundational values (light and dark) in a monochrome before adding color.
  • Blend: Roll Meditation or Visual against TN 4. Smooth the transition between two colors or values so no hard edge remains.
• Sculpture:
  • Carve: Roll Body or Nature against TN 4. Remove material (stone, wood) to reveal the form within.
  • Cast: Roll Logic or Body against TN 4. Pour liquid material (metal, resin) into a mold to create a solid duplicate.
  • Model: Roll Body or Nature against TN 4. Shape soft materials (clay, wax) by hand or with tools to build up form.
  • Assemble: Roll Logic or Body against TN 4. Join multiple disparate materials or found objects into a single cohesive piece.
  • Polish: Roll Body or Meditation against TN 4. Abrade the surface of a solid material to a smooth, reflective, or finished state.
• Appraisal:
  • Authenticate: Roll Logic or Visual against TN 4. Examine materials, age, and style to verify the true creator or origin of a piece.
  • Date: Roll Nature or Logic against TN 4. Analyze chemical degradation and historical context to pinpoint the era of a work.
  • Attribute: Roll Words or Logic against TN 4. Identify the specific school, movement, or individual artist behind an unmarked work.
  • Restore: Roll Meditation or Visual against TN 4. Clean, repair, and stabilize damaged or aged artworks to return them to their original glory.
  • Appraise: Roll Words or Logic against TN 4. Determine the financial and cultural market value of a piece based on current trends.

Designer Note - Stat Allocation: Art stat action allocations (Macro/Micro/Nano) are:

• Body (physical labor of sculpting): 0/1/6
• People (not applicable here): 0/0/0
• Words (appraisal/history): 0/1/2
• Logic (geometry/composition): 1/2/10
• Nature (understanding materials): 0/1/3
• Meditation (flow state/expression): 0/1/6
• Visual (spatial awareness/color): 1/2/12
• Auditory (not applicable here): 0/0/0.

CHAPTER 17: Generic Condition Tables

These tables represent the universal API of the system. They are used for Micro-level conflicts, environmental hazards, Magic Nano effects, and the "spillover" damage from Severity 3+ Nano attacks.

Unless otherwise noted, Negative Conditions reduce Maximum Action Pool (Max AP) by their Severity level (e.g., Severity 2 removes 2 Max AP). Positive Conditions increase Max AP or grant bonus dice, taking effect on the next AP Refresh. The default duration for Positive Conditions is "The Next Scene."

17.1 Physical Domain

Negative Physical Conditions

• 1 Success (Impact/Fatigue/Sickened): Bruised/Tired/Mild Nausea. Lose 1 Max AP.
  • Recovery: 2 DoR or a good night's sleep.
• 2 Successes: Battered/Exhausted/Fevers. Lose 2 Max AP. -1 die to Body or Nature rolls.
  • Recovery: 7 DoR or medical attention.
• 3 Successes: Strained Muscle/Depleted/Severe Illness. Lose 3 Max AP. -1 die to Body and Nature. Spillover: Inflicts Fatigued [1].
  • Recovery: 14 DoR. Requires bed rest.
• 4 Successes: Broken Bone/Collapsed/Incapacitating Sickness. Lose 5 Max AP. -2 dice to Body. Spillover: Inflicts Fatigued [2].
  • Recovery: 30 DoR.

Positive Physical Condition: Refreshed

• Trigger: Eating a good meal, resting by a fire, good hospitality.
• S1: Restore 1 Max AP.
• S2: Restore 2 Max AP or restore 1 reduced Stat die size.
• S3: Restore 3 Max AP and restore 1 reduced Stat die size. Spillover: Grants Focused [1].
• S4: Restore 5 Max AP and restore 2 reduced Stat die sizes. Spillover: Grants Focused [2].

17.2 Mental Domain

Negative Mental Conditions

• 1 Success (Disoriented/Mental Strain/Distracted): Ringing Ears/Headache/Pestered. Lose 1 Max AP.
  • Recovery: 4 hours of rest or a successful Macro Meditation check.
• 2 Successes: Vertigo/Migraine/Frazzled. Lose 2 Max AP. -1 die to Logic or Visual rolls.
  • Recovery: 1 week of light activity or a Solo Conflict (Meditation) requiring 4 successes.
• 3 Successes: Hallucinating/Burnout/Obsessed. Lose 3 Max AP. -1 die to Logic and Meditation. Spillover: Inflicts Distracted [1].
  • Recovery: 2 weeks of carousing/meditation. Solo Conflict requiring 8 successes.
• 4 Successes: Delirium/Mental Breakdown/Compulsion. Lose 5 Max AP. -2 dice to Meditation. Spillover: Inflicts Disoriented [2].
  • Recovery: 1 month of intensive therapy. Solo Conflict requiring 12 successes.

Positive Mental Condition: Focused

• Trigger: Perfect workspace, clear mind, successful study.
• S1: Cancels one Circumstance penalty.
• S2: Grants a +1 die Circumstance bonus to Logic or Visual checks.
• S3: Grants a +2 die Circumstance bonus to Logic and Visual checks. Spillover: Grants Refreshed [1].
• S4: Allows a re-roll of a failed Macro check, keeping the new result. Spillover: Grants Refreshed [2].

17.3 Social Domain

Negative Social Conditions

• 1 Success (Disgraced/Ostracized/Entangled): Mild Embarrassment/Snubbed/Minor Favor Owed. Lose 1 Max AP in social scenes.
  • Recovery: A sincere apology or a small gift.
• 2 Successes: Humiliated/Shunned/Debt Called In. Lose 2 Max AP in social scenes. -1 die to People or Words rolls.
  • Recovery: A public apology, paying off the debt, or a Macro Social check.
• 3 Successes: Scandalized/Exiled/Blackmailed. Lose 3 Max AP in social scenes. -1 die to People and Words. Spillover: Inflicts Distracted [1] (Worry).
  • Recovery: A grand gesture, a Solo Social Conflict (8 successes) to clear your name, or fulfilling the blackmailer's demands.
• 4 Successes: Infamous/Banished/Indebted for Life. Lose 5 Max AP in social scenes. -2 dice to People. Spillover: Inflicts Entangled [2].
  • Recovery: A campaign-defining act of atonement, or fleeing the region entirely.

Positive Social Condition: Renowned

• Trigger: Winning a debate, completing a masterpiece, heroic deed.
• S1: +1 die Circumstance bonus to People checks with those aware of you.
• S2: Grants 2 Temporary AP when entering a new social scene.
• S3: +2 die Circumstance bonus to People and Words checks. Spillover: Grants Focused [1].
• S4: Audience is treated as having a base Social Armor of 0 against your social attacks (they are starstruck). Spillover: Grants Focused [2].

17.4 Elemental / Magical Domain

Negative Magical Conditions

• 1 Success (Burning/Shocked/Hindered): Singed/Static Cling/Tangled. Lose 1 Max AP.
  • Recovery: 1 DoR or a standard action to pat out flames/untangle.
• 2 Successes: On Fire/Stunned/Immobilized. Lose 2 Max AP. -1 die to Body.
  • Recovery: 3 DoR. Requires an action to extinguish or break free.
• 3 Successes: Blazing/Electrocuted/Petrified. Lose 3 Max AP. -1 die to Body and Nature. Spillover: Inflicts Impact [1].
  • Recovery: 7 DoR. Requires magical healing or extensive care.
• 4 Successes: Incinerated/Flatlined/Entombed. Lose 5 Max AP. -2 dice to Body. Lethal. Spillover: Inflicts Impact [2].
  • Recovery: 30 DoR. Dressing: Immediate magical intervention or CPR to restart the heart/pull them from the stone.

Positive Magical Condition: Vitalized

• Trigger: Magic infusion, standing in a ley line.
• S1: Grants 1 Temporary AP (can only be used for Proactive actions).
• S2: Grants 2 Temporary AP (can only be used for Proactive actions).
• S3: Grants 3 Temporary AP and +1 die to Logic checks. Spillover: Grants Focused [1].
• S4: Grants 5 Temporary AP and +1 die to Nature checks. Spillover: Grants Focused [2].

CHAPTER 18: Micro Condition Tables

These tables are used for Micro-level conflicts to track the back-and-forth momentum of an entire team over an Exchange. They are generally simpler than Nano tables, focusing on AP manipulation and immediate, abstract consequences.

18.1 Combat Micro Table (Generic Wounds)

Applied to combatants when they are hit by an attack at the Micro level.

• 1 Success: Nick. Target loses 1 Max AP.
• 2 Successes: Strike. Target loses 2 Max AP and suffers Fatigued [1].
• 3 Successes: Heavy Blow. Target loses 3 Max AP, suffers Fatigued [1], and -1 die to Body.
• 4+ Successes: Devastating Blow. Target loses 5 Max AP, suffers Fatigued [2], and -2 dice to Body.
• Zero AP Translation: Unconscious and bleeding out.

18.2 Dancing Micro Table (Audience Favor)

Applied to track the tug-of-war for the crowd's attention. Negative (Losing Favor):

• 1 Success: Upstaged. Lose 1 Max AP.
• 2 Successes: Outclassed. Lose 2 Max AP. -1 die to Visual.
• 3 Successes: Forgotten. Lose 3 Max AP. Spillover: Inflicts Distracted [1].
• 4+ Successes: Jeered off stage. Lose 5 Max AP. Spillover: Inflicts Disgraced [1].

Positive (Winning Favor):

• 1 Success: Applause. Gain 1 Temporary AP.
• 2 Successes: Cheered. Gain 2 Temporary AP.
• 3 Successes: Star of the Show. Gain 3 Temporary AP. Spillover: Grants Renowned [1].
• 4+ Successes: Encore. Gain 5 Temporary AP. Spillover: Grants Renowned [2].
• Zero AP Translation: The audience ignores you; you cannot take further proactive actions in this performance.

18.3 Social Micro Table (Negotiation Status)

Applied to track the momentum of a debate or negotiation. Negative (Discredited):

• 1 Success: Misspoke. Lose 1 Max AP.
• 2 Successes: Contradicted. Lose 2 Max AP. -1 die to Words.
• 3 Successes: Flustered. Lose 3 Max AP. Spillover: Inflicts Distracted [1].
• 4+ Successes: Humiliated. Lose 5 Max AP. Spillover: Inflicts Disgraced [2].

Positive (Won Over):

• 1 Success: Charmed. Lose 1 Max AP (target's energy redirects to you).
• 2 Successes: Convinced. Lose 2 Max AP.
• 3 Successes: Indebted. Lose 3 Max AP. Spillover: Grants Renowned [1] to the attacker.
• 4+ Successes: Flipped. Lose 5 Max AP. Target switches sides.
• Zero AP Translation: Socially irrelevant; you concede the argument or are removed from the negotiation.

CHAPTER 9: Skill Tree - Combat

Macro Combat

• Defeat an opponent in a contest of arms, boxing, wrestling, etc.
• Perform a demonstration of martial ability.
• Uses Body or Meditation.

Combat: Tool Use Convention

• Combat is limited by hands. A character can have one item (weapon or shield) in each hand. You cannot use the same tool (such as a specific weapon) to perform two actions at the same time. Dual-wielding characters have the advantage of being able to both attack and parry during a simultaneous attack. Some combat relevant items, like armor, are worn and do not take up a hand.

Micro Combat Actions

• Melee [fighting style] (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Body or Meditation against the TN of your weapon (TN 4 if undefined). Success level inflicts a condition on your target from the generic combat condition table, modified by your weapon's damage rider.
• Ranged [weapon type] (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Body or Meditation against the TN of your weapon (TN 4 if undefined). Success level inflicts a condition on your target. Success level inflicts a condition on your target from the generic combat condition table, modified by your weapon's damage rider.
• Defense (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Meditation or Visual against the TN of your weapon (TN 4 if undefined). Reduce the success level of an incoming attack by your success level.
• Maneuvers (Action)
  • Roll Body or Nature against TN 4 (modified by terrain-based circumstances). Move based on the number of successes.
    • If using a battle map, move a number of squares, hexes, or inches equal to your success level + 1.
    • If using theater of the mind, move (success level + 1) * 5 feet or 2 meters.

Nano Combat Actions At the Nano level, combat is highly lethal and utilizes the 6 Location Damage Tables (High/Mid/Low Cut, High/Mid/Low Thrust) with Damage Type Riders (Slashing, Piercing, Bludgeoning).

Melee [fighting style]

• Cut (Proactive Action)
  • Declare a cutting target zone (High, Mid, Low), then roll Body or Meditation against your weapon's cut TN (4 if undefined). Success level is checked on the corresponding damage table for your target location and weapon type, and the condition listed is inflicted upon your opponent.
• Thrust (Proactive Action)
  • Declare a thrusting target zone (High, Mid, Low), then roll Body or Meditation against your weapon's thrust TN (4 if undefined). Success level is checked on the corresponding damage table for your target location and weapon type, and the condition listed is inflicted upon your opponent.
• Beat (Proactive Action)
  • Declare an item (such as a weapon or shield) your opponent is holding as the target, then roll Auditory or Visual against your weapon's cut TN. If successful, your opponent cannot use the targeted item during the next beat. At 3+ successes, your opponent drops the item if it is not strapped to their body.
• Evasive Attack (Proactive Action)
  • Split the dice you are committing to this action into two piles, "attack" and "evasion". The "attack" dice may be used to perform any other offensive action on this beat. The "evasion" dice are rolled as Nature or Visual against TN 4 (modified by terrain-based circumstances), and every evasion success raises the TN of other attacks targeted against you by 1 during this beat. Evasion TN increases are applied before any simultaneous attacks.
• Master Strike (Proactive Action)
  • Split the dice you are committing to this action into two piles, "attack" and "parry". The "attack" dice may be used to perform any other offensive action on this exchange. The "parry" dice are used to perform the "parry" defensive action against an incoming attack. The same item or body part must be used for both actions—this is the sole exception to the limitation on doing two things with the same item in a round.

Ranged [weapon type]

• Shoot (Neutral Action)
  • Declare a thrusting target zone, then roll Body or Meditation against your weapon's TN (4 if undefined). Success level is checked on the corresponding damage table for your target location and weapon type, and the condition listed is inflicted upon your opponent. This action may only be taken if you have performed a "reload" action on your weapon, and an "aim" action on your target.
• Aim (Proactive Action)
  • Choose a target that is within your weapon range and perception. Roll Visual or Auditory against TN 4 (modified by environment-based circumstances). If successful, you become able to take a "shoot" action against that target. If you take any other action before shooting, or receive any condition that reduces one of your stats or your action pool, you lose your aim and must aim again.
• Reload (Neutral Action)
  • Choose a weapon that you are holding. Roll Body or Auditory against TN 4. If you score more successes than the weapon's reload requirement, then it is considered reloaded. If you generate fewer than that, then it is not reloaded, but you may save the successes and count them on the next reload attempt.
• Overwatch (Nuetral Action)
  • Declare a region of the battlefield, then roll Visual or Meditation against TN 4 (modified by environment-based circumstances). If successful, you may, until the next action pool reset, perform the Shoot action immediately on any enemy that enters your targeted region.

Defense

• Slip (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Body or Auditory against TN 6 (modified by terrain-based circumstances), and subtract your success level from the successes of an attack that is targeting you. If you reduce the incoming attack to zero successes, you steal momentum, and you gain bonus dice to your next offensive action equal to the number of successes you have remaining.
• Parry (Reactive/Neutral Action)
  • Roll Body or People against your weapon or shield's parry TN, and subtract your success level from the successes of an attack that is targeting you. If you reduce the attack to zero successes, you steal momentum.
  • Parry can be used as a reactive action, or declared as a nuetral action. Remember that tool lock applies to parrying while multitasking.
• Block Open (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Body or Visual against your weapon or shield's parry TN + 1, and increase the TN of an attack that is targeting you by 1 per success level. If the attack that was targeting you has zero successes, then your opponent cannot use the weapon you blocked open during their next action.
• Counter (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Meditation or People against your weapon's parry TN + 2, and subtract your success level from the successes of an attack that is targeting you. If you reduce the incoming attack to zero successes, you steal momentum, and you gain bonus dice to your next offensive action equal to the number of successes you have remaining.

Maneuvers

• Feint (Neutral Action)
  • Declare a feint in step 3 of the Nano action declaration, after an opponent declares a defense. When you feint, you must declare a new proactive action from the one you initially declared, and you may add dice to your attack from the remainder of your Action Pool, at a cost of 2 AP for every additional die you add. The maximum number of dice that can be added in this way is your rank in the feint skill, and the total dice on the new proactive action is your rank in the proactive action plus your rank in feint. Every successive feint in a scene against the same target suffers a circumstance penalty of TN + 1 compared to the previous feint regardless of outcome.
• Footwork (Nuetral Action)
  • If you are engaged with multiple opponents, you can declare a footwork action. Roll Body or Nature (modified by terrain-based circumstances), and ignore as many opponents this exchange as you roll successes. You cannot ignore every opponent using this ability, you must always face at least one of them.
• Stop Short (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Visual or People against TN 4, opposed by your opponent's roll of Visual or People against TN 4. Your opponent cannot spend their own AP to oppose this roll, instead they roll a number of dice equal to half the maximum of either their visual or meditation stats (round down). If you succeed or tie this roll, the exchange immediately ends, and you retain momentum. If your opponent wins the roll, the exchange immediately ends and they sieze momentum. Successive stop shorts in the same scene are made at TN+1 for the user, but not the defender.
• Quick Step (Action)
  • During a simultaneous attack, roll Body or Auditory against TN 4 (modified by terrain-based circumstances) and if successful your attack will be resolved before the enemy attack, rather than simultaneous resolution (possibly preventing their attack entirely if you reduce their action pool with your damage). If both combatants attempt a quick step, the one with the most successes will be the one who goes first, and if they tie they will revert to simultaneous resolution.

Designer Note - Stat Allocation: While the Combat skill tree strongly favors the Body stat, that is not the end-all be-all. Combat stat action allocations (Macro/Micro/Nano) are:

• Body (raw power and speed): 1/3/9
• People (ability to read your opponent): 0/0/3
• Words (not applicable here): 0/0/0
• Logic (not applicable here): 0/0/0
• Nature (intuition about your environment): 0/1/2
• Meditation (ability to fight from a "flow state"): 1/3/5
• Visual (ability to see visual cues): 0/1/6
• Auditory (ability to sense the "rhythm" of the duel): 0/0/5

CHAPTER 11: Skill Tree - Dancing

Macro Dancing

• Perform a dance, participate in a routine, or express emotion through movement.
• Keep rhythm, maintain balance on unsteady ground, or impress an audience.
• Uses Visual or Body.

Dancing: Granularity & Consequences

• When to Roll: Routine dances, strictly structured social dances (like a standard waltz at a ball), or simple performances where there is no pressure or opposition do not require a roll.
• The Solo Performance (Solo Conflicts): If the question is simply "How good was your performance?" and you are competing against a standard or the clock, use the Solo Conflict rules (Chapter 5).
• Micro Consequences (The Audience Favor Tug-of-War): Micro-level dance conflicts are a race for Audience Favor. A successful proactive maneuver advances your own Audience Favor (granting beneficial conditions) or removes Audience Favor from an opponent (inflicting negative conditions). Reactive maneuvers reduce the opponent's successes to protect your Audience Favor.
  • The Formal Competition: The GM sets a Time Limit (a specific number of turns or exchanges). When the time limit expires, the dancer or troupe with the most Audience Favor (subtract the number of negative conditions from the number of positive conditions to get the total) wins.
• Nano Consequences (Target Zones & Routine Armor): At the Nano level, dance duels target specific elements of the performance.
  • Target Zones: Focus, Technique, and Audience Attention.
  • Contextual Conditions: The conditions inflicted by the Dancing damage charts (e.g., "Upstaged," "Off-Beat") are contextually appropriate to a performance. They do not affect other realms such as combat or your general social standing - unless you suffer a particularly bad blow, in which case the embarrassment could result in a generic social condition, or a bad fall could result in a generic physical condition.
  • The Opposition Rule: Reactive actions reduce the number of successes for the purposes of inflicting damage/conditions, but they do not reduce the number of successes for determining if the technique itself was successful (e.g., hitting a declared Target Number or triggering a secondary effect like building Armor).
  • Routine Armor: This is a beneficial condition you apply to yourself by executing certain moves. Routine Armor absorbs incoming successes from opponent's attacks targeting those specific zones. Routine armor lasts for as long as the routine, when a micro conflict ends or if a nano conflict returns to the drop, routine armor is lost.
• Zero AP: If your Action Pool is reduced to zero, your performance is over. You are not killed; the audience has decided the other dancer is the winner, and they are no longer considering your performance.

Dancing: Tool Use Convention

• Dancing assumes your "entire body" is the tool. You can hold items (like a weapon or a wand) while you dance, and you can mix any number of dance actions together, limited only by your AP.
• Because dancing requires your entire body, you cannot simultaneously perform another action that also requires your entire body. Some interpretation is required by the players in GM in order to determine what actions on other skill trees require the "entire body", and if there is a disagreement the group should either take a vote or roll a dice to keep things moving.

Micro Dancing Actions

• Solo (Proactive Action)
  • Roll Body or Visual against TN 4. Inflict a negative performance condition on an opponent based on your level of success.
• Partner (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Body or People against TN 4. React to an opponent's maneuver, reducing the successes of their dancing action against yourself or someone else in arm's length.
• Troupe (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Body or Visual against TN 4. Select a number of contiguous creatures up to your rolled successes. Any ally within the effect benefits from all of your positive conditions until the next AP refresh.
• Choreography (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Visual or Words against TN 4. Grant yourself a positive effect based on your margin of success.

Nano Dancing Actions (The Techniques) At the Nano level, techniques target specific zones (Focus, Technique, Audience) and may build Routine Armor.

Solo (Execution & Athleticism)

• Precise Technique (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Technique. Roll Body or Visual against TN 4. If successful, inflict a condition on your opponent based on the number of successes over their defense. You also gain 1 point of Technique Armor on any success.
• Flashy Technique (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Audience Attention. Set a target number of successes. Roll Body or Auditory against TN 4. If you hit your target, you inflict the corresponding condition from the audience attention table on your target, and gain 1 point of Audience Armor. If you miss, you fall, inflicting AP loss to yourself equal to how much you missed your target, and an impact condition to yourself for every 2 that you missed it by.
• Center (Reactive Action)
  • Defends: Focus. Roll Body or Meditation against TN 4. Subtract your successes from an opponent's incoming Proactive action for the purpose of calculating damage. Additionally, gain 1 point of Focus Armor on any number of successes.
• Flawless Form (Reactive Action)
  • Defends: Technique. Roll Visual or Body against TN 4 and reduce the number of successes of an action targeting your technique by the amount of successes you roll.
• Improvise (Special Action)
  • Trigger: Any time you are affected by negative performance-related conditions, immediately after the AP refresh.
  • Roll Auditory or Meditation against TN 4. Ignore a number of performance-related Conditions currently affecting you up to your number of successes.

Partner (Leading, Following, & Sync)

• Lead (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Focus. Roll Body or People against TN 4 and inflict a focus-related condition on your opponent based on the margin of success.
• Cover / Mirror (Reactive Action)
  • Roll Visual or Auditory against TN 4. Defend your dancing partner. Subtract your successes from an opponent's action targeting your partner.
• Lift & Support (Proactive Action)
  • Add your dice to a partner's action pool. Set a target number of successes for yourself and roll Body or Visual against TN 4. If you hit your target, your partner gains those dice on their next proactive action. If you miss, you drop your partner, inflicting a condition from the generic falling damage table based on half the amount you missed by.
• Spotlight Steal (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Audience Attention. Roll People or Visual against TN 4. Inflict a condition from the audience attention chart based on the margin of success.

Troupe (Formations & Group Dynamics)

• Synchronized Movement (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Body or Visual against TN 4. If you and other troupe members use this successfully on the same great, everyone gets extra successes to whatever other action they are doing this beat, based on the number of people successfully using it (maximum 4).
• Formation Shift (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Visual or Meditation against TN 4. Ignore a number of opponents targeting you up to the number of successes. You cannot ignore every opponent this way, you must always defend against one.
• Cannon / Chain (Proactive Action)
  • Targets: Focus. Roll Body or Auditory against TN 4. Declare whether you are passing the chain to someone else or targeting an opponent. If targeting an opponent, inflict a condition on them from the focus chart, gaining 1 additional success for every person in the chain who successfully passed it on (max 4).
• Grand Gesture (Reactive Action)
  • Defends: Audience Attention. Roll Body or People against TN 4. Reduce the number of success of an action that targets audience attention.

Choreography (Routine & Lore)

• Assemble Routine (Utility Action)
  • Roll Visual or Words against TN 4. Assemble an aesthetically pleasing routine.
    • *Designer Note: This skill does not have a use within the nano conflict ecosystem - it is a lore skill, and can be used in the solo conflict system, but not a duel.
• Read the Room (Neutral Action)
  • Roll People or Visual against TN 4. Learn what the audience wants to see. Success grants the "Room Read" condition, granting a Circumstance bonus to your actions until the mood shifts.
• Shift Mood (Proactive Action)
  • Roll People or Words against TN 4. Change the atmosphere of the room. This negates any existing "Room Read" conditions and establishes a new baseline.
• Interpret Tempo (Neutral Action)
  • Roll Auditory or Meditation against TN 4. Sync perfectly with the music. Success grants a condition that provides bonus AP every turn (1 AP for 1-3 successes, 2 AP for 4+ successes). This AP can only be used for performances synchronized to music.

Designer Note - Stat Allocation: Dancing stat action allocations (Macro/Micro/Nano) are:

• Body (raw power and speed): 1/3/9
• People (reading partners): 0/1/5
• Words (choreography lore): 0/1/2
• Logic (not applicable here): 0/0/0
• Nature (not applicable here): 0/0/0
• Meditation (flow state): 0/0/4
• Visual (spatial awareness): 1/3/8
• Auditory (rhythm): 0/0/5.

CHAPTER 13: Skill Tree - Cooking

Macro Cooking

• Prepare ingredients, cook food, and create meals.
• Run a kitchen, manage supplies, or cater an event.
• Uses Nature or Logic.

Cooking: Granularity & Consequences

• When to Roll: Routine meals, following a simple recipe, or boiling water do not require a roll.
• The Solo Conflict: Cooking is resolved almost exclusively via Solo Conflicts. You set a Goal (number of successes), select your target skills, and roll over Intervals (determined by your Meditation die or the kitchen's time limit).
• Outputs (Consumption): The final number of successes determines the quality of the meal, which translates into a Condition applied to anyone who eats it.
  • Micro Outputs (Generic): Inflicts the "Well Fed" Condition. Usually grants a +1 AP Circumstance bonus for the next Micro conflict.
  • Nano Outputs (Specific): Inflicts a specific beneficial condition based on the techniques used and the ingredients. (e.g., A high-protein meal cooked via Sear grants "+2 Rank to Body actions for the next scene." A delicate Temper dessert grants "+2 Rank to Meditation actions.")

Cooking: Tool Use Convention

• Cooking requires the use of kitchen tools (knives, pans, stoves) and both hands. You cannot simultaneously perform another action that requires your hands or full physical attention (such as swinging a sword or dual-casting magic). However, Magic that relies solely on Voice (Incantation) can be used simultaneously with Cooking.

Designer Note - Hybrid Conflicts or "Martial Arts Fried Rice": Skills that default to Solo Conflicts (like Cooking) can be seamlessly integrated into active Micro or Nano conflicts. Because the system uses a unified Action Pool, a player can split their AP between fighting and crafting in the same Beat. A player engaged in a Nano duel while cooking can split their AP, using Slip (Combat) to avoid attacks and Sear (Cooking) to fry the rice. In this case, the solo conflict is tracked simultaneously to the duel, with the interval being "an exchange" and the results (did you hit your target successes? did you get at least one success with every technique?) being checked at the end.

Micro Cooking Actions (The Kitchen Brigade)

• Preparation (Utility Action)
  • Roll Body or Logic against TN 4. The physical breaking down and measuring of raw ingredients. Knife skills, butchery, and mise en place.
• Cookery (Utility Action)
  • Roll Body or Nature against TN 4. The application of heat to transform ingredients. Sautéing, grilling, braising, and open-flame work.
• Patisserie (Utility Action)
  • Roll Logic or Visual against TN 4. The precise science of baking, confections, and doughs. Requires exact measurements and environmental control.
• Gastronomy (Utility Action)
  • Roll Nature or Words against TN 4. The knowledge of flavor pairing, menu design, nutritional lore, and the final visual plating of the dish.

Nano Cooking Actions (The Techniques) Cooking techniques do not use Proactive/Reactive triggers. They are the specific skills declared as targets during Solo Conflict intervals, or when splitting AP in a Hybrid Conflict. All TNs default to 4, modified by ingredient quality or kitchen environment.

• Preparation:
  • Julienne: Roll Body or Logic against TN 4. Execute fine, precise knife cuts for even cooking and elegant presentation.
  • French Trim: Roll Body or Logic against TN 4. Scrape and shape bones for structural integrity and aesthetic appeal.
  • Emulsify: Roll Logic or Body against TN 4. Force unmixable liquids (oil/water) into a stable suspension.
  • Mince: Roll Body or Logic against TN 4. Crush and chop ingredients into a fine paste to release volatile flavors.
  • Brine: Roll Logic or Nature against TN 4. Soak ingredients in saltwater to season and tenderize from within.
• Cookery:
  • Sear: Roll Body or Nature against TN 4. Apply high heat briefly to create a Maillard reaction crust while keeping the interior rare.
  • Braise: Roll Body or Nature against TN 4. Slow-cook tough ingredients in a covered pot with minimal liquid for deep tenderization.
  • Sous-Vide: Roll Logic or Nature against TN 4. Vacuum-seal ingredients and cook in precisely temperature-controlled water for perfect doneness.
  • Flambe: Roll Body or Nature against TN 4. Ignite alcohol in the pan to burn off raw alcohol and add complex caramelized flavors.
  • Roast: Roll Body or Nature against TN 4. Cook with dry, ambient heat, often achieving crispy exteriors and juicy interiors.
• Patisserie:
  • Whisk: Roll Body or Logic against TN 4. Beat ingredients rapidly to incorporate air, changing density and texture.
  • Temper: Roll Logic or Visual against TN 4. Carefully heat and cool chocolate to stabilize it for a glossy finish and crisp snap.
  • Knead: Roll Body or Logic against TN 4. Work dough physically to develop gluten networks for elasticity and structure.
  • Layer: Roll Logic or Visual against TN 4. Fold and roll dough (often with fats) to create hundreds of flaky, distinct layers.
  • Proof: Roll Nature or Logic against TN 4. Provide the precise environment (warmth, humidity, time) for yeast to ferment and rise.
• Gastronomy:
  • Plate: Roll Visual or Words against TN 4. Arrange food on a dish for maximum visual and thematic impact.
  • Pair: Roll Nature or Words against TN 4. Match complementary flavors, textures, or beverages to elevate the main dish.
  • Balance: Roll Nature or Logic against TN 4. Adjust acid, fat, salt, and sweetness to ensure no single element overpowers the dish.
  • Garnish: Roll Visual or Nature against TN 4. Add final, edible flourishes that enhance aroma, visual contrast, and flavor.
  • Carve: Roll Body or Words against TN 4. The performance of dividing a large, cooked item into perfect portions at the table.

Designer Note - Stat Allocation: Cooking stat action allocations (Macro/Micro/Nano) are:

• Body (physical endurance/dexterity): 0/2/11
• People (not applicable here): 0/0/0
• Words (expressing yourself through food): 0/1/3
• Logic (precision/chemistry): 1/2/12
• Nature (intuition with ingredients): 1/2/10
• Meditation (not applicable here): 0/0/0
• Visual (plating/aesthetics): 0/1/4
• Auditory (not used here): 0/0/0.