The Three Areas of Action

Sardonyx actions belong to three general areas that roughly map to Attribute types, but aren’t limited by them. Think of them schemas inspired by the traits, instead of rigid categories—don’t treat them like “hard rules,” though the systems within them are certainly as formal as any others.

The three areas are:

• Action­adventure (Physical­inspired schema)

• Procedurals (Mental­inspired schema)

• Intrigue (Social­inspired schema)

Different settings can inspire their own areas of action: schemas clustered around their special traits and systems. The following apply to most Sardonyx games, regardless of setting.

Action-Adventure

The action­adventure rules include elements of physical peril, violence and round by round action. This is the realm of punch­ups, car chases and defusing bombs with seconds to spare. The following systems support those affairs.

Action­adventure systems include combat, as explored in the Combat section.

Initiative

In round by round action, determine who goes first via initiative. Each player rolls a dice pool set by the Director at the start of the conflict. Roll once for each Director character as well, unless the Director decides a number of characters fit into a group. This usually holds true if a group of characters possess identical game traits.

In most round by round conflicts, build a dice pool from the lower of Finesse + Awareness or Cunning + Agility. These dice pools are designed to factor in both physical reaction time and perceptual processing speed.

The number of successes generates the tick rating for each combatant. This doesn’t directly determine the order of actions, but influences the sequence, as follows. Some powers and abilities may influence tick rating and thus, initial initiative.

Order of Actions

Do not pre­declare actions before executing them. Players can wait until their turn to decide what to do. Administer the order of actions as follows.

1. The player or Director character with the highest tick rating goes first.

2. The first player character to act chooses the next player character to act.

3. Director characters act on alternate turns with players’ characters, either individually, or if one initiative roll was made for the group, as that group. They go in order of tick rating.

4. Each player decides which player character acts after them—they “hand off” initiative. The recipient must consent to receiving the opportunity to act—asking for initiative to pass to somebody else is the equivalent of the “delay” action found in other games.

5. The remainder on one side of a conflict go one after the other side (player or Director controlled) has finished.

6. The last player character to act becomes the first player character to act in the next round.

7. If a Director character acted first in the initial round due to tick rating, she acts first in the next.

8. A character with Focus may act at any point in the round and does not need to be handed initiative. That character’s player then hands off initiative to another character. Director characters in Focus do not hand off initiative—it simply reverts to normal.

9. Nobody can go twice without the intervention of rare powers.

Acting in the Round

First, a reminder: The period when everyone acts a round. A turn is the moment during the round when one character acts. When a character’s turn comes due, she can perform the following actions during the round.

Reflexive Actions: Characters can talk, look around and perform other reflexive actions permitted by the rules and Director.

Move: A character may move her Speed (see “Speed”). For characters on foot, this represents careful movement across terrain that isn’t notably hard to traverse. To move any faster requires an action and successes from an action roll (see below). Normal movement does not use up the character’s action, but some actions may use up a character’s move or otherwise make it impossible to complete. For instance, a character can’t drop behind cover and move at the same time. For more on movement, see “Moving and Maneuvering.”

Act: The character can interact with the environment and other participants in a time and/or attention consuming way. This constitutes the character’s ordinary or mixed action for the round. The character might leaps over an obstacle, use a special power or launch an attack.

If the action would be simple to complete or otherwise not worth rolling for it automatically succeeds, but still uses the character’s action. Otherwise, this is the phase when players roll to launch their characters’ attacks, attempt maneuvers, or perform other actions where they roll a dice pool once. If a player wants her character to do more than one thing at a time, she needs to use a mixed action dice pool that covers anything she’d like her character to try.

Fields

The site of action (a battle, chase or whatever) can be split into one or more Fields. Powers may affect one or more fields (making this an area of effect unit) but in most cases characters may only interact with the environment or other characters in the same Field. Use common sense. For instance, a character can shoot from the window of a warehouse (one Field) into an adjacent parking lot (another Field). Each Field typically possesses the following characteristics.

Area: This describes the Field’s physical dimensions and what makes it fit to be a separate place for game purposes.

Border Barrier(s): These are terrain elements that separate the Field from other Fields. These barriers often possess a difficulty of 2 or higher to traverse. Again, use common sense.

Tactical Feature(s): Almost every Field possesses at least one feature that grants an advantage to anyone who takes advantage of it, and might possess a feature that hinders one or both sides.

Range

Range determines the dice pools for many actions, as well as the types of actions characters can attempt. For example, a character armed with a pistol can attack at Clash, Near and Far distances. In most cases, a character may only affect targets in the same Field, but particular situations, weapons and powers may break this rule. Again, use common sense; characters can shoot out windows into other Fields, and an explosion of sufficient size can affect multiple Fields.

Each range possesses the following characteristics.

Description: The range’s general meaning and function.

Typical Distance: The physical distance represented by this range.

Combat Attribute: The Attribute required for dice pools to affect targets with appropriate weapons.

Weapons: Arms capable of affecting targets at this range.

Range Table

[BEGIN TABBED TABLE]

Range Description Typical Distance Combat Attribute Weapons

Clash In range to trade blows blunt objects and blades, or grapple and strike unarmed. 0 to 2 meters Might Unarmed combat, melee weapons, pistol

Near Close­quarter battle distance for reflexive shooting and thrown weapons. Out of reach—3 to 30 meters Finesse Thrown, pistol, rifle, bow

Far Range to aim and shoot with a firearm or bow. Maximum modern pistol range. 31 to 100 meters Cunning Thrown, pistol, rifle, bow

Long Range to plan and execute long range sniping and special weapon attacks (compensating for wind, etc.). Over 100 meters to maximum effective range (standard is 1000 meters)Discipline Rifle, some bows, light artillery

Indirect Range of heavy military weapons—must compensate for curvature of the Earth, speed of light delays. By weapon (typically 1000+ meters to weapon maximum—10000 meters or more) Reason or dice pool of guidance system Missiles, naval railguns, heavy artillery

Out of Range Beyond maximum weapon range. Beyond maximum weapon range. N/AN/A

[END TABBED TABLE]

Moving and Maneuvering

As noted, characters can automatically traverse unexceptional terrain at a distance equal to their Speed. Speed is a trait explained under “Speed (and Vehicular Movement).”

Under those rules, human Speed is Factor 1, with a Rating equal to Finesse + Athletics x2. In real world terms, this means a character can move a number of meters equal to his Finesse + Athletics x2.

The following systems govern complications beyond this basic guideline. Note that all dice rolls are part of your action—you don’t get them for free as part of your move.

Barriers

A barrier is a wall, gap or other feature that requires extra time and/or skill to traverse. Most Fields are separated by such barriers. Each barrier possesses a difficulty rating (which may be 0 but still requires a dice roll). The player must succeed at a roll to climb, jump or otherwise get by the barrier. Some barriers might also be traversed without a roll, but by spending the round climbing, balancing or otherwise negotiating them. Getting over a wall as tall as you might just take time—unless you’re being shot at, and you want to hustle!

If the roll scores as many Effect successes as the barrier’s difficulty (above and beyond the difficulty itself) it doesn’t impede a character’s movement, as he smoothly jumps or slips past it. Otherwise, characters end your movement just adjacent to the side of the barrier.

The go­to dice pools for overcoming barriers are Finesse + Agility or Might + Athletics.

Drop Prone/Stand

Characters may drop prone as a reflexive action at the end of a move. Standing up from prone uses up a character’s move for the round. These actions usually don’t require dice rolls.

Complicated Terrain

Some areas feature barriers or difficult terrain that can be ignored as long as the character suffers the effects of a Complication. For example, a character might choose to walk through a wall of fire, suffering injury. Alternately, the player can roll to leap over or otherwise evade such Complications, buying off their ratings.

Difficult Terrain

Slippery or uneven surfaces or moving up a significant slope reduces your movement by half (round meters up). This halves sprinting bonuses as well (see below). Anything less difficult isn’t worth noting. Anything more difficult is a barrier.

Sprinting

Roll Finesse + Athletics (difficulty 0) as an action for the round, and add double the successes to Speed. This may be part of a mixed action to “run and gun.”

Injuries

Injuries, damage to objects and healing have been moved to a dedicated document.

Being In Focus

If the game was a film or TV show, some moments would place certain characters at the heart of the shot, critical to the action. Focus represents this moment. At any given moment Focus usually belongs to one player’s character, and might pass to a Director character as well. Special rules might modify this, but the general rules for assigning Focus are as follows:

Round by Round: In an action sequence where time gets measured in rounds, Focus passes to the player with the lowest Tick rating. That person can assign it to their own character or a different player’s character, as long as the other player agrees. That person chooses who gets Focus next round. Each player with Focus chooses who gets Focus next. The same person can’t have Focus twice until everyone has it once, and the same character can’t have it twice until every character has had it once. Similarly, nobody gets it three times until everyone has had it twice, and so on.

Unless special circumstances apply, only one player’s character possesses Focus each round.

In addition, the Director may assign Focus to one Director character per round. She freely chooses who has Focus, and can assign it to the same Director character in successive rounds. The Director can also choose not to assign Focus at all. The Director character can possess Focus at the same time as a player’s character.

Scene by Scene: When a scene doesn’t use round by round timing, the group or Director chooses who possesses Focus for the scene. Focus lasts until the player rolls dice for the character. It doesn’t come back until the next scene, when it goes to a new character, again chosen by the group or Director.

Teamwork: When performing a complex action with teamwork, one member of the team selected by the group or Director has Focus during each time interval. Focus passes from character to character, with no character getting it again until all have had it, based on the group or Director’s decision.

Effects of Focus

Being in Focus confers the following benefits and drawbacks.

Failures are Botches: When a character fails during a moment of Focus, it automatically becomes a botch. She triumphs or really blow its—nothing in between.

Automatic Enhancement: The player adds a 1 success Enhancement to one character action.

Ability Activation: Depending on the game and situation, certain abilities may activate while in Focus. This note leaves space for such innovations.

Act at Any Time: During round by round action the character may act at any time, no matter the normal sequence. The character may even pre­empt another character’s action after it’s already been declared, though after the Focus­bearing character acts, the other player can change her mind.

Spend Momentum: The player may spend the lowest of all available Momentum in your black pool or the maximum you can spend based on tier. He may not spend less than this.

Director Character Focus

As noted, the Director grants Focus to one Director character per round. Unlike players’ characters, Director characters can fall in Focus multiple times in a row. In any given round one player’s character and one Director character should be in focus. Minor characters normally never gain Focus, but in special circumstances the Director may grant an exception—sometimes Bob the guard’s standing in the right place at the right time.

Factor Traits

Sardonyx games include giants, swift starships and mountain­shattering blows. To handle these extreme circumstances the game used Factor Traits. Each Factor Trait typically uses a 1­10 scale (with a few exceptions) where each Factor rank represents an order of magnitude increase.

The three Factor Traits are:

• Scale: The power a character, creature or object can impose on the environment or other beings. This can apply to Physical, Mental or Social actions.

• Size: Self­explanatory.

• Speed: How swiftly a character, creature or object moves.

Powers, equipment and other circumstances can each influence any Factor Trait.

Scale

The Scale mechanic exists to govern the power of actions and objects in the system that exceed baseline human capabilities by one or more orders of magnitude. Game considerations demand that differences in Scale cannot completely outclass weaker characters and conflicts, but should still provide the impression of power within the story. This means that Scale treats minor characters and objects differently than players’ characters, important Director characters and “hero” objects.

Use Scale in conjunction with Size and Speed in situations where someone or something can act with additional potency beyond those traits’ narrow categories. For example, Size doesn’t automatically make a creature stronger. Apply Scale to a giant’s Might in addition to Size.

Scale Table

[BEGIN TABBED TABLE]

Scale Factor Description Intensity* Magnitude

1 Mundane 0 0

2 Daredevil/Psion +1 x2

3 Stalwart +2 x5

4 Heroic +3 x10

5 Proxy +5 x20

6 Demigod +7 x50

7 Nova +12 x100

8 God +19 x200

9 Aberrant (Trinity Era) +31 x500

10 Titan +40 x1000

* Intensity Formula: After Intensity 2, add the bonuses from the last two Factors to calculate the next Factor’s Intensity.

[END TABBED TABLE]

Using Scale

Interpret the table above as follows.

Scale Factor: Some systems that manipulate Scale may make use of a numeric rating.

Description: A keyword for notation and mnemonic purposes. Powers for the character types listed should perform at the corresponding Scale by default, with adjustments up or down based on degree of specialization and setting­specific situations.

Intensity: Add this value where applicable, as follows:

• As an Enhancement to a particular dice pool and action, if Scale improves its ability to succeed.

• As a bonus to particular forms of Effect, if Intensity would make the outcome of an action more powerful.

Only apply Intensity to applicable elements individually. For example, a character with Daredevil (Factor 2) sword fighting adds a +1 Enhancement to Weaponry­based dice pools while using a sword. A divine sword might provide its Godly (Factor 8) +19 to Effects purchased through the use of a sword, but adds no Enhancement—the character must depend on her own abilities to strike true. If the Daredevil fencer acquires the divine sword, she benefits from the +1 Enhancement and +19 to sword Effects. Magnitude: Multiply Effect successes that fall under a power that provides Scale when using it to target minor characters and ordinary objects. This multiplier doesn’t apply to players’ characters, major Director characters and important objects. For example, a Demigod­Factor blast that annihilates normal vehicles (50 Effect per success!) may just batter the truck your heroes use regularly.

For static scores, multiply the base trait + Intensity by Magnitude to find out its effective total versus trivial opposition.

If only part of a dice pool benefits from Scale, apply Magnitude only to successes (including Enhancements) derived from that component (Attribute or Skill).

Intensity vs Magnitude

This system shoots realism out the window with a cannon, and for a good reason: encounters of differing scale need to be survivable, even if only by the slimmest margin. Intensity represents the power of an action for dramatic purposes. Magnitude represents an approximation of its “realistic” power.

Example: A VARG battle suit operator shoots at Malcolm’s character with a cannon that inflicts Scale 4 damage. The weapon scores 5 damage. The +3 Intensity Enhancement adds to damage, so Malcolm’s character suffers 8 damage total (maybe enough to kill him, maybe not). Against minor characters and unimportant structures, the canon inflicts 50 damage (5x10) instead.

Procedurals

Procedural play is focused on (but doesn’t exclusively use) Mental Attributes. Procedurals chronicle investigations and solving problems with intelligence over raw force or charming words. Characters use these systems to progress through the story by finding clues, building helpful equipment and formulating effective plans. Procedural elements work hand in hand with the rest of the game. Characters might investigate a threat to confront it during an action­adventure scene, or build a wondrous device that vaults them into elite circles, preparing them for intrigue.

Procedural play includes crafting items, covered in its own section.

Information Gathering

Over the course of a story characters might need to delve into a secret library or investigate a crime scene. They might find a hidden door or crack a code. Information gathering systems exist to not only determine how good a job they do, but encourage collaboration and the use of a diverse skill set. If it all boils down to a small number of Attribute + Skill pools, there won’t be any way for characters to specialize in different types of information gathering.

Clues

The goal of information gathering is to find clues: information that drives story progress. This means clues shouldn’t just answer a question, but inspire action by either provoking more questions that require new efforts, or revealing problems characters should feel motivated to solve.

Sardonyx recognizes two types of clues: core clues and alternative clues.

Core Clues

Core clues are bits of information characters need to learn to explore the story ahead. Never deprive players of these clues. The hard and fast rule is that if characters create the circumstances to discover a core clue they automatically do so. This usually means being in the right place, time or social situation and doing what is necessary to uncover the clue.

A character may wish to get more information out of a clue, necessitating a roll. In this case, remove one die from the applicable dice pool and count it as an automatic success, then roll the rest.

Example: Tara investigates a murder. There’s a core clue at the crime scene: a shard of strange black metal. This is a core clue because it’s a fragment from the killer’s sorcerous blade, and the story is focused on finding him. If she goes to the crime scene and looks for it, she’ll automatically find it—no dice roll required. If she doesn’t go to the crime scene, she obviously doesn’t succeed.

Some core clues require specific Skills or Paths, but players never need to roll these—just possessing them and doing what’s necessary reveals the clue. Note, however that Directors should never design a core clue that requires Skills or other traits the characters don’t have.

Alternative Clues

Alternative clues aren’t essential to the story. Deploy these when characters want to build information to satisfy personal agendas, curiosity and possible side stories. Alternative clues don’t reveal themselves automatically.

Example: Steve’s character wants to study the names of demons as part of a project to summon them. He’ll need to not only find an occult library, but Steve must rolls see if his character discovers anything. Success is not assured.

Clue Information

The more successes the player scores, the more information the Director shares about the clue. This is useful even with core clues, as further successes provide information above and beyond the absolute minimum needed to keep the story moving.

Every clue imparts various forms of information based on its origins. Characters can examine a clue in different ways to unearth new streams of information. These streams belong to the following categories.

Raw Information: Each success provides another chunk of information related to the clue but doesn’t attempt to interpret it. This is common for simple perception and research. The character get the facts, but not what they mean. Each success beyond the first provides an additional chunk of information.

Example: With 3 successes to find the chunk of black metal, Tara’s character not only finds the metal (this came from the automatic success granted for a core clue) but also notices that one edge has been intentionally sharpened and that the metal appears to be been forged rather than cast.

Interpretation: Each success grants one chunk of information or greater depth when it comes to understanding what the clue means, in terms of its relevance to the story or the character’s interests. Characters earn this stream with actions that have analytical aspects.

Example: Tara’s character spends another scene surveying the location where she found the black metal, and ponders its shape and location. 2 successes tells her that due to the fact it must have broken off against a hard surface and its distance from blood spatter patterns, it was part of a weapon or object that was used in a protracted fight.

QA: Each success entitles the player to ask one question about the clue, which the Director either answers or substitutes an answer for another bit of information. The Director should provide alternative information when player asks questions that wouldn’t help, or cannot be answered using the clue­finding method being deployed—QA from a roll analyze something can’t be used to share more raw information, for instance. Use common sense, as this method should never be used to conceal obvious information or unreasonably hinder the investigator.

Example: Steve scores 3 successes for his character’s study of the demonological archive. This entitles Steve to ask three questions.

Player Creation: If the Director has no particular information to share and the player wants to develop certain ideas, each success allows the player to invent a fact about the clue, subject to Director approval. Is the Director doesn’t approve, you can develop an alternative or request information via the other methods in this section. Player­created information is limited to the types determined by the method of investigation. The player cannot use successes to create interpretations through a method limited to providing raw information, for instance.

Example: When Steve’s character researches the true names of four demons, the Director tells Steve to invent their names and occult purviews. He does so, though the Director vetoes your demon prince of clowns as a mood­destroying element, and tells him to develop an alternative.

Combined: Players may combine any of the methods above, dividing successes accordingly, though they are limited to what their characters can glean through particular investigative methods.

Delayed: In some cases characters might find clues that aren’t relevant now, but become obvious when a situation comes to light. In these cases, record the number of successes along with a descriptor—for example 3 successes (Weaponized Cybernetics). When a situation that might be relevant comes to light, the player or Director can call upon those successes for answers. Example: Tara scores 3 successes from her character’s studies of Weaponized Cybernetics. Her character encounters an assassin whose arm bursts open, revealing an implanted blade. She wants to know who manufactured this, and tells the Director she wants to activate the 3 success clue she held in reserve.

Information as Enhancement

Finally, the last well to spend successes for clues (if the Director agrees) is for a player to use clue finding successes as an Enhancement to rolls that information would aid. The Enhancement’s duration depends on the situation. For example, if Steve’s character analyzes an enemy’s fighting style and score 3 successes, he might gain a 3 success Enhancement once—after that, his opponent switches things up. If Tara’s character analyzes a patient’s medical records before surgery, the Enhancement may persist through both the operation and recovery period.

Finding Information

The following basic information gathering methods should be used to determine the dice pools required, along with the information characters can harvest from clues using a given method. Note that “Information,” lists multiple possibilities, but the situation may call for the Director to narrow things down. In situations that should call for character cooperation, it’s usually a good idea to at least split raw information and interpretation across separate streams of inquiry.

Analysis

The character uses her own education and understanding to figure out the relevance of a clue. She must have already found the clue and acquired the necessary raw information.

Dice Pool: Reason + appropriate Skill (Specialty sometimes required).

Information: Interpretation, QA, Player Creation.

Interview

The character interviews a subject who knows about the clue. The subject must be open to sharing information. Getting to this point may require Social/Intrigue actions.

Dice Pool: Influence + Persuasion to openly interview someone, Subtlety + Empathy to elicit information covertly by reading nonverbal cues and subtly directing the conversation. In cases of socially or emotionally volatile information, the player may encounter a Complication. She can ignore it to get the information, but offend the subject.

Note that interviewing is also a manipulation action and is influenced by the social Atmosphere between you. See “Manipulation” for details.

Information: Any, limited by the subject’s knowledge. For example, a non­expert could tell share memories of technical jargon he’s heard, but not what it means.

Channels

The character uses ties to an organization or sorts through its chain of command to find information in its records or personnel.

Dice Pool: Using this methods requires an Access roll (see Paths) if the character possess a Path with channels into the source of the clue. Otherwise, the character must force access by gaining the confidence of someone with channels, impersonating someone with legitimate access, or by entering a facility storing the information.

Information: Any, limited by the medium, any contacts (or lack thereof) and what the organization has stored. For example, a corporation may keep raw data dumps in its labs, leaving its researchers to interpret the meaning, while its executive offices contain high level summaries of the experts’ conclusions.

Hacking

The character breaks into a computer or other system with rules­based permissions (such an Enochian angelic hierarchy or coded notebook) to acquire information. Note that the ability to control the system is considered information for the purposes of this roll.

Dice Pool: Cunning + Enigmas. The appropriate Specialty (Cryptography or Software) is almost always required.

Information: Depends on the contents of the system. For very large archives this is part of a staged complex action, where the next step is searching the archive (see “Searching an Archive,” below).

Evidence Research

The character performs experiments and technical analyses to raise further information. She must possess the appropriate materials and facilities. This includes methodically examining a crime scene.

Note that regardless of the roll’s successes, a character will always find any information that is routinely uncovered by such tests, as long the roll succeed at all—if a doctor runs a blood panel with state of the art lab equipment doesn’t screw up, she’s not going to get a “partial” result. Ad hoc equipment and less than ideal conditions may change this.

Dice Pool: Discipline + Research (Specialty usually required). Innovative research may employ Reason + Research instead, but standard procedures merely require focus and attention, not cleverness.

Information: Raw Information, QA, Player Creation.

Searching an Archive

The character sifts through a library, electronic archive or other repository of information. Getting into the archive might require social actions or hacking first, making this part of a complex action.

Dice Pool: Discipline + Research, assuming a large, logically ordered archive. A set of five files requires no roll at all, while an “archive” consisting of thousands of strange scribblings on the walls of a haunted mansion could require Discipline + Enigmas instead.

Information: Depends on the contents of the archive. For example, one archive might reveal who the elected officials in a small town were ten years ago (raw information), but another might contain archived news detailing the issues that propelled candidates into office.

Sensing

The character uses his senses to detect something—he spots someone lurking, or hears the whispers of an underground stream nearby. This is your basic “perception check” or “hear noise roll.”

Dice Pool: Cunning + Awareness.

Information: Raw Information, QA, Player Creation.

Standard or Complex Action?

Determine whether information gathering requires a single roll or is a complex action depending on the process required.

Hacking and Access: If characters need to hack into a source of information but it’s part of a big or complex data set, they’ll need to make additional roll to search it, and perhaps analyze what they discover. This sets one milestone to gain access, and others as required to find the information and if necessary, interpret it.

Multiple Forms of Information: In some scenarios characters need to find raw information and then subject it to analysis. This is a complex action where players count successes of Effect on each roll. For example, characters might search an archive for raw information as part of one milestone, and then subject this information to analysis in another.

Complex Information: Some clues are inherently complex to unearth and/or interpret. In these cases, perform a complex action consisting of all the milestones required, but only count the most successes from a single roll. For example, characters might need to process information in a crime lab and analyze it in two separate milestones.

Intrigue

Interpersonal ties, relationships and related fallout belong to the intrigue aspect, which favours Social systems. Intrigue includes managing institutions, pursuing romances, bullying, social

manipulation, blackmail and more. It blends into action­adventure and procedural elements by bringing character motives and feelings to the fore.

Social Systems

Use the following systems to influence the social environment. Different games will demand distinct approaches to social action, so don’t feel that just because these systems exist you’re obligated to use them. In many cases, characters will enter the story with specific motives that override systems. On the other hand, don’t shy away from these rules either. Characters with a social focus deserve to have their efforts rewarded through play, and these rules provide ways to do that.

These systems differ from predecessors and counterparts in other games by dividing social actions into distinct categories. Like procedural investigation systems, social systems are designed to allow characters to specialize in competence within different categories. Accordingly, no dice pool or short list of pools should provide all­around competence. Furthermore, social actions as a form of “combat,” is not the core element of the system, but only one category. You don’t overpower someone to make friends with them or fall in love. That’s why social systems include cooperative and collective action. Systems should avoid modeling all social interactions as combat or imposing power over another. The manipulation system (see “Manipulation”) covers that aspect of social play, but does not define it.

Social systems include acquiring information and advantages through Paths. This is covered in the Paths section.

Bonds and Cooperation

When characters learn to understand and anticipate each other’s desires, respect one another or otherwise connect more deeply, they form advantageous features called bonds. Bonds confer specific Enhancements and other advantages on the characters that create them.

To build a bond, at least two characters must overcome one milestone each within a complex action. Some bonds may require more participants. The action utilizes Social dice pools to determine whether the participants develop the required mutual understanding. If the minimum number of participants fail to achieve their milestones, no participant can access the bond.

Count the successes for each individual milestone. They define each character’s access to the bond’s benefits.

By default, a bond lasts as long as it took to craft it, though the crafting and active period do not overlap, and the bond may lay dormant until first invoked to provide an advantage. Some bonds may defy this rule but for the most part, the longer the process of forming the bond, the longer it lasts. Some bonds are spendable, meaning that you use up its benefits success by success and when they’re gone, the bond no longer functions. At the Director’s discretion, bonds may also fade away when the emotional preconditions vanish or the bond otherwise stops seeming plausible.

Once the bond vanishes, its nature determines the emotional aftermath. Characters who fall in love may lose the bond’s benefits, but this might just mean that the initial rush of love has given way to deep, quiet affection. Then again, maybe the thrill is gone. The Director determines

whether or not characters may renew a bond, but this should always require the consent of participants’ players along with roleplaying that makes such an act a plausible part of the story.

Stronger bonds possess drawbacks. They penalize certain actions or impose other disadvantages. Characters may deny the bond’s drawback but if they you do they lose access to the bond.

Characters cannot be forced into a bond. Anything that would do so should be treated as a manipulation action instead. See “Manipulation” for details.

Example Bonds

The following bonds provide an example format and demonstrate what bonds can do. Directors should create their own—the following list is just a starting point that covers a few important types.

Camaraderie

Forged in the heat of battle or the ruckus of an office, participants feel a deep connection with their fellow warriors, workers, artists and others with whom they’ve found common cause. A comrade might not like fellow participants, but damn it if she doesn’t respect them. Action: The character must spend an act or day working with other participants toward a common objective with a serious goal—not winning a baseball game in the park, but one in pro league play, or at least against some assholes from a rival corporation or starship. The practical, professional or emotional stakes should be high.

Dice Roll: Subtlety + the Skill the participant was using the most or with the most notable effects during the period of cooperation. Note the Skill when scoring successes.

Duration: One act or day.

Feature: In situations where a bond participant can issue encouraging words, act as a practical assistant, or cooperate on a complex action with other participants, each success translates to a 1 point Enhancement the participant may grant to a comrade who’s using the Skill the giver used to help create the bond. Thus, the best manifestations of this bond are build using diverse Skills to guarantee maximum flexibility.

Drawbacks: If anyone fails a roll Enhanced by the bond, they lose the vibe of being part of a well­oiled team and drop out of the bond. If anyone botches, the act is demoralizing and disruptive enough to wreck the bond for everyone.

Friendship

After spending time getting to know each other, two participants make a connection. They’re friends now, and when they help each other the connection makes things a little bit easier—or tolerable, in the case of moving bodies or performing other noxious tasks.

Note that this bond represents one to one friendship, but each character can of course build multiple friendships, each with separate bonds.

Action: It takes an Act to confirm a friendship by hunkering down for a serious chat, shooting the shit with a beer or otherwise developing rapport.

Dice Roll: Subtlety + Empathy

Duration: Spendable

Feature: Add the participants’ milestone successes together. When one participant’s player fails or botches a roll, she may spend up to half of points from this shared total to add to the Enhancement she provides when she earns Momentum, and uses it aid her friend’s next action. The two friends must be able to communicate with one another.

Drawbacks: If a participant can communicate with her friend, she can hinder her efforts with discouraging words, assuming she wants the friend to fail or refuse to act. The discouraging friend can spend up to half the successes from the shared pool to add difficulty to her counterpart’s action. If she does so, the victim of discouragement knows of the upcoming penalty, and can instead opt to not perform the task. In that case, it doesn’t cost any of the bond’s successes.

Love

Love’s a wonderful thing. Or maybe it’s a battlefield. A character can form a bond with more than one lover, but must establish each one separately. (Note that nothing prevents a character from forming a love bond with his lover’s lover.) Beyond romance, love might also represent the strongest bonds of family and friendship.

Action: It usually takes at least an Episode or week to fall in love, though one participant may spend a point of Source to initiate love at first sight with a willing paramour.

Dice Roll: Subtlety + Empathy or Romance.

Duration: Spendable. Barring a bad end, Love bonds may be re­established.

Feature: If one participant gains Focus, either lover may spend 2 successes, or both may spend 1 success each from the roll to bring the other into Focus at the same time, in a rare exception to the rule that only one player­controlled character may achieve Focus at the same time. If one of the participants is a Director character, she can be brought into focus in addition to the character the Director would normally select.

Drawbacks: Each participant suffers a Complication equal to his initial successes whenever he tries to perform any action his lover would strongly disapprove of, or do anything that would put his lover in increased danger. The criterion is his honest belief—not necessarily the reality of the situation. If he ignores the Complication, he destroys the bond by either alienating the lover or damaging his belief in the bond.

In addition, anyone who attempts to manipulate the character by threatening his lover gains an Enhancement equal to the character’s initial milestone successes. The character can eliminate the Enhancement but again, sacrifices the bond in return.

Manipulation

Dominating, seducing, cajoling, lying to and otherwise getting individuals to do and think things falls under the category of manipulation. Influence + Command or Persuasion are the most common dice pools for obvious manipulations. Subtlety +Persuasion or Empathy cover many covert actions.

With the exception of intimidating and threatening actions, manipulations can only provoke behaviors the subject wouldn’t be absolutely opposed to. They persuade the subject to do or think something he has no motive to strongly accept or oppose. If the target would definite oppose the manipulation, it just isn’t possible—changing his behaviour is the function of some supernatural ability. If the target wants to do or think the desired thing anyway, no roll is required.

Forms of Manipulation

Manipulations fall into two categories:

Simple: These only require one roll. The difficulty is usually the subject’s Poise. Use this option in situations where it wouldn’t be interesting to play out the process of influencing a subject’s behavior. Atmosphere (see below) adjusts difficulty.

Complex: These manipulations require multiple rolls: parts of a complex action with a number of milestones. Characters usually need to hit a number of milestones equal to the subject’s Poise, but this might change based on the circumstances. In these cases, base difficulty on the prevailing Atmosphere (see below).

Note that players may attempt additional rolls to shift Atmosphere as part of complex actions, but these use up chances to hit milestones.

Blocking a Manipulation

A player or Director never has to accept the result of a manipulation roll. However, refusing the result of a successful manipulation awards Momentum to the manipulator’s red or black pool at the rate of 2 points per dice roll for an ordinary refusal, or 3 points per roll if the refusal is especially vehement. If both manipulator and refuser are player­controlled characters, the award goes to the Director’s red pool. In any case, Momentum added to a red pool due to refusing a manipulation doesn’t count against the pool’s maximum, and if left unspent, transfers to the next group of Director characters to enter the game. (Note, however, that this bonus Momentum should always be spent first.)

Atmosphere

The prevailing social Atmosphere influences manipulations. This trait measures the general social vibe that exists between the manipulator and her target. Sometimes a group of people share the same Atmosphere, depending on the social context. For example, everyone at a dinner party might be Open, indicating they want to talk and socialize, but aren’t expecting a profound meeting of the minds. In other situations, Atmosphere depends on individual impressions and relationships. The kids at a punk show might be Open to each other, but Off­Putting to the middle­aged guy in designer athletic wear rocking a gold chain—but that guy might be Open to them, even though they’re not returning the favor.

Atmosphere adjusts manipulation difficulties according to the table below. These adjustments apply to players’ characters whenever they’re in the appropriate situation.

Atmosphere Table

[BEGIN TABBED TABLE]

Atmosphere Description Situation Simple Difficulty/Enhancement Complex Base Difficulty/Enhancement

Threatening Violence might be just around the corner. In combat. +3 difficulty 5

HostileYour presence is actively resented—people want you to go away. +2 difficulty4

Off­Putting Suspicious, biased or smarmy. +1 difficulty 3

NeutralPerson on the street or in an office in peaceful circumstances. Default. 0 difficulty 2

Open People who have agreed to meet you to get things done. Hobby and professional groups, and parties—at least until they form cliques. Characters organized under a common Path or the Camaraderie bond. +1 Enhancement 1

Friendly Non­dysfunctional but not exceptionally close family, people who would lend you money.Under the Friendship bond or Impressed (manipulated). +2 Enhancement 0

Enamored Lovers, closest family and your greatest comrades. In Love (under the bond) or Seduced (manipulated). +3 Enhancement 0/+1 Enhancement

Intimidated Prisoners and those you possess power over without their consent. Intimidated (manipulated) +1 Enhancement 0/+1 Enhancement

Terrorized People you’ve threatened with death or serious trauma. Terrorized (manipulated) +3 Enhancement 0/+3 Enhancement

[END TABBED TABLE]

Sample Manipulations

The following manipulations describe some core actions and serve as models for others.

Deceive

The character conveys information he believes to be false, doing his best to give it the ring of truth. Note that you don’t need to succeed to do this—instead, this roll determines how difficult it is for someone to see through the ruse.

Action: Simple

Dice Pool: Subtlety + Empathy, or Subtlety + Performance if the deception takes place through writing, texting or some other medium.

Effect: The roll generates difficulty to detect the deception. The deception is only obviously false if the character botches or if circumstances dictate that the ruse would be hard to swallow.

Favor

The character asks someone to do her a solid, lend a hand—whatever. They’re all favors.

Action: Immediate favors (“Can I borrow 20 bucks?”) are simple actions. Favors that take time to play out (“I need investors, brah!”) are complex. Note that if the character possesses a Path or other connection that provides special access to the person’s help, use those systems instead.

Dice Pool: Based on the ploy used to curry favor, but Persuasion is usually the critical Skill. Influence­based rolls usually cover openly asking for help, while Subtlety applies to influencing someone to help the character “of their own volition.” Adjust difficulty according to how much the favor would inconvenience or annoy the recipient.

Effect: The character gets the favor. Note that characters can’t win favors that threaten the giver’s physical or psychological integrity unless she Terrorizes them.

Impress

The character make a favorable impression as a kind, talented or intriguing person, building Friendly Atmosphere between himself and the target.

Action: Simple to make a “first impression” that lasts for the scene. Complex to build lasting respect that only vanishes if the character contradict it with other actions, or spends a significant amount of time out of contact.

Dice Pool: This depends on approach. Presence + Performance might make an impression as a singer or actor, while Subtlety + Empathy could be used to get to know the subject in a bar.

Effect: The target feels Friendly toward the character. This doesn’t grant the Friendship bond, just the Friendly Atmosphere. The bond is true friendship. This is manipulation.

Intimidate

Through implied threats or calling upon a real or imagined imbalance of power, the character prevents the target from taking an unwanted action and imposes the Intimidated Atmosphere.

Action: Simple to impose Intimidated for a scene, or complex for a longer duration set by the scenario. Blackmail can last for a long time. Waving a gun around usually stops working when the bully loses the gun.

Dice Pool: Typically Influence + Persuasion, but characters might use blackmail, humiliation, a nasty smack across the face or other methods to intimidate someone.

Effect: The character imposes the Intimidated Atmosphere. She can also forbid the target to perform a certain action or class of actions. (“Not one step forward!” or “Don’t go to the cops if you know what’s good for you.”) To elicit other types of behavior requires a separate Favor roll, which benefits from the Intimidated Atmosphere.

Interview

This is the same as the information gathering action of the same name. See “Finding Information” for systems.

Seduce

The character seduces someone who is open to but unsure of pursuing an intimate relationship. This generates the Enamored Atmosphere. Characters cannot seduce someone who is Intimidated or Terrorized.

Action: This depends on the target’s agenda. If the character wants a bit of fun in the club bathroom, that’s a simple action. Its effects usually don’t last much longer than a scene. If he

wants to work through a series of dinners, love notes and moonlit walks, the player must roll through the milestones of a complex action, but the effects should last much longer.

Dice Pool: Influence + Persuasion is the most common dice pool, but others may apply based on the character’s approach and his intended’s tastes.

Effect: Beyond the carnal advantages, the character and his beau share the Enamored Atmosphere. Note that seduction isn’t the same as real love, though it might include it. Actual love provides access to the Love bond, however.

Taunt

Insults and sass trigger bad behavior from the victim.

Action: Simple

Dice Pool: Usually Influence + Empathy, but other pools might be appropriate for a troll job or academic hit piece.

Effect: The target reacts in anger, performing an ill­considered action the manipulator’s player and the Director or subject’s player agree to. This immediately changes the Atmosphere between them to Hostile. If it would already be Hostile, the manipulator may switch it to Threatening to provoke a violent or nakedly threatening response. In combat, a successful Taunt may force an enemy to attack the insulting character instead of her intended victim.

Atmosphere modifiers never affect Taunts.

Terrorize

The character forces compliance by explicitly threatening the target or someone she cares about with serious harm. The manipulator must appear to have the means and opportunity to make good on any threat. This imposes the Terrorized Atmosphere for a duration determined by the scenario.

Action: Simple. Theoretically someone could impose an extended period of terror, but such forms of abuse might be better handled through pure narrative.

Dice Pool: Usually Influence + Empathy or Persuasion, but written and other nonverbal threats use different dice pools.

Effect: The subject is Terrorized. She cannot knowingly act against the manipulator’s interests. After that, the threatening character may demand Favors, including those that might lead to self­harm, though the harm can never seem as bad as that promised by your threat.