Tags

OVERVIEW

The TAGS of an item determine what it’s capable of, what CONDITIONS it can inflict or bestow, and what benefits and penalties it provides when used.

Able to provide the [ARMORED] Condition to its wearer. Depends on the ARMOR USE Martial Ability.

TRIGGER MECHANIC RESULT
Combat starts Wearer ROLLS ARMOR USE Proficiency Check Gains [ARMORED] condition. POOL value = total ROLL.
Wearer struck Wearer chooses to mitigate damage. Damage reduced by POW + QUAL + Wearer’s END MOD.
ARMORED POOL reduced by 1.
Armor fails ARMORED POOL drains to zero Lose [ARMORED] condition until Combat ends.

EXAMPLE

Gnarley finds himself in combat wearing his favorite uncommon-quality chainmail armor. As a dwarf, he’s average at most combat Abilities, but as a warrior he’s trained a lot with his armor. Looking quickly at the armor part of his Character sheet, Larry already knows:

ARMOR TYPE (POWER) ARMOR QUALITY (MOD) ENDURANCE MOD ARMOR RATING
Chain (3) Uncommon (+1) +2 6

His Armor Rating (AR) gives him two pieces of information:

  • His attackers face a TN of 6 to hit him. The chaff in the fight don’t stand a chance!
  • If the bruisers do hit him, he can choose to mitigate the damage; when he does so, he can take off 6 points of damage.

Now, right as combat starts, he rolls his ARMOR USE Proficiency Check:

TALENT TRAINING END. MOD ARMOR MOD TOTAL
1d6 🞂 4 +2d6 🞂 1 + 2 +2 🞂 2 +1 🞂 1 4+3+2+1=10
  • The TOTAL of the roll tells him how many hits his armor will last for before it stops providing him with benefits - in this case, 10 hits before he stops gaining the benefit of armor.

With that, he wades into battle.

  • His attackers will have a TN of 6 (his AR) to hit him in combat.
  • He can choose to Mitigate incoming damage by 6 points (his AR) 10 times (his ARMOR USE) before his Armor wears out
  • Once his Armor fails, he’ll have a TN of 2 (endurance only) - so best to finish up quickly!

If a Character takes an ACTION to activate the CRUSHING tag on a WEAPON, their next attack cannot be BLOCKED by a SHIELD.

TRIGGER MECHANIC RESULT
Character prepares CRUSHING Use ACTION to ACTIVATE Next attack does CRUSH damage
Character attacks with CRUSH Damage Use ACTION to ATTACK Damage cannot be BLOCKED by a SHIELD.

If a Character is only wielding and wearing Equipment tagged as HEAVY, then the Character can gain the [STEADFAST] Condition at the start of battle by using their MANEUVERS Martial Ability.

STEADFAST is a CONDITION that grants an immense defensive multiplier, which allows a Character to withstand enemy attacks longer than others.

TRIGGER MECHANIC RESULT
Combat starts Use FREE ACTION to get ready Roll MANEUVERING Check
Gain [STEADFAST] Condition
Condition Pool value is MANEUVERING Check Result
Character moves Requires 2x MOMENTUM While STEADFAST, movement is penalized.
Character attacked Use REACTION to BLOCK or PARRY Wielder may subtract from STEADFAST POOL instead.
Use FREE ACTION to MITIGATE Wielder may subtract from STEADFAST POOL instead.
Character exhausted STEADFAST POOL drains to zero. Lose [STEADFAST] Condition until end of Combat.

If a Character is only wielding and wearing Equipment tagged as LIGHT, then the Character can gain the [ELUSIVE] Condition at the start of battle by using their MANEUVERS Martial Ability

TRIGGER MECHANIC RESULT
Combat starts Use FREE ACTION to get ready Roll MANEUVERING Check
Gain [ELUSIVE] Condition
Condition Pool value is MANEUVERING Roll Result
Wielder attacked Use REACTION to DODGE Subtract PRECISION MOD from Attacker’s Challenge Dice
on ATTACK FAILURE Attack is dodged and damage is avoided entirely.
Character moves to an adjacent free space in any direction
ELUSIVE POOL is reduced by one.
Enemy surprised Use ACTION to AMBUSH Roll MANEUVERS against Enemy’s TN
on SUCCESS Inflict double damage, and all CONDITIONS from weapon TAGS
Wielder exhausted ELUSIVE POOL drains to zero. Lose [ELUSIVE] Condition until end of Combat.

If a Character takes an ACTION to activate the OVERBEARING tag on a WEAPON, their next attack cannot be PARRIED by a WEAPON.

TRIGGER MECHANIC RESULT
Character prepares OVERBEARING Use ACTION to ACTIVATE Next attack does OVERBEARING damage
Character attacks with OVERBEARING Damage Use ACTION to ATTACK Damage cannot be PARRIED by a WEAPON.

If a Character takes an ACTION to activate the PIERCING tag on a WEAPON, their next attack cannot be MITIGATED by ARMOR.

TRIGGER MECHANIC RESULT
Character prepares PIERCING Use ACTION to ACTIVATE Next attack does PIERCE damage
Character attacks with PIERCE Damage Use ACTION to ATTACK Damage cannot be MITIGATED by ARMOR.

Able to provide the [SHIELDED] Condition to its wielder. Depends on the SHIELD USE Martial Ability.

TRIGGER MECHANIC RESULT
Combat starts Use FREE ACTION to ready Shield Roll SHIELD USE.
Gain [SHIELDED] Condition
Condition Pool value is SHIELD USE Roll Result.
Wielder attacked Use REACTION to Block Add SHIELD RATING to ARMOR RATING.
on ATTACK FAILURE Attack is blocked and damage is avoided entirely.
SHIELDED POOL is reduced by one.
Enemy surprised Use REACTION to SHIELD BASH Roll SHIELD USE against Enemy’s TN
on SUCCESS Inflict [PRONE] Condition on Enemy.
Shield broken SHIELDED POOL drains to zero. Lose [SHIELDED] condition until end of Combat.

If a Character takes an ACTION to activate the SLASHING tag on a WEAPON, their next attack cannot be DODGED by an ELUSIVE opponent.

TRIGGER MECHANIC RESULT
Character prepares SLASHING Use ACTION to ACTIVATE Next attack does SLASH damage
Character attacks with SLASH Damage Use ACTION to ATTACK Damage cannot be DODGED by ELUSIVE.

Able to inflict BODY POOL damage to a target. Depends on the WEAPON USE Martial Ability.

TRIGGER MECHANIC RESULT
Combatant in range Use ACTION to ATTACK Roll WEAPON USE. TN is the target’s ARMOR RATING*.
on SUCCESS DAMAGE = POWER + QUALITY + Wielder’s STRENGTH MOD.
Subtract DAMAGE from target’s BODY POOL.
Inflict CONDITIONS to the Target based on TAGS
Wielder attacked Use REACTION to PARRY Roll WEAPON USE and compare value of both rolls.
on HIGHER RESULT Attack is parried and damage avoided entirely.

*unless the target engages in an active defense, such as blocking, dodging, or parrying.

EXAMPLE

Gnarley finds himself in range of his nearest enemy and decides to attack them. As a dwarf, he’s average at most combat Abilities, but as a warrior he’s trained a lot with his weapon. Looking quickly at the weapons part of his Character sheet, Larry already knows:

WEAPON TYPE (POWER) STRENGTH (MOD) WEAPON QUALITY (MOD) WEAPON RATING TAGS
Mace (8) STR 7 (+2) Uncommon (+1) 11 [crushing] [melee]

His Weapon Rating tells him two important pieces of information:

  • When he hits someone, that’s how much damage he’ll do to their BODY POOL. That’s as much damage as the average starting character has in their BODY POOL!
  • He can inflict the CRUSHED condition on a hit. This means that the target can’t use Mitigation against the damage!

Gnarley feels confident, but what he doesn’t know is they’re tough, and their leather armor is especially good quality. His TN to hit this opponent is a 4, not a 2!

He wants to ensure a solid hit, so he spends one Momentum activating the CRUSHING tag to ensure his strike will bypass his enemy’s armor. He then uses a second Momentum point and makes his WEAPON USE Challenge Roll to attack.

TALENT TRAINING STRENGTH MOD WEAPON MOD RESULTS
1d6 🞂 [1] 2d8 🞂 [1], [7] +2 +1 [3], [2], [7]
  • Lousy roll! Neither of the 1’s can be boosted with his mods up to 4, the TN (only one Mod can be used per die).
  • This means he’s only scored one Success! Now he’ll have to determine whether he misses, or succeeds at a cost –
  • But this is Gnarley! Of course he succeeds at a cost. Roaring in battle lust, he connects with his mace and inflicts 11 Crushing damage, bypassing his enemy’s armor mitigation. They didn’t have 11 Body Pool points, so they fall to the ground.
  • Larry winces at the complication to come as his Referee, Andy, tells him what happens next…