Quick Reference

When You Roll

1. GM identifies the domain and the T-number.
2. You roll 5d6, keep dice based on your Effective Tier in that domain.
3. Compare your total to T:
   • Beat by 7+ → Crit (yes, and...)
   • Meet to T+6 → Success (yes)
   • Miss by 1–4 → Mixed (yes, but / no, but)
   • Miss by 5–9 → Failure (no, and)
   • Miss by 10+ → Catastrophic (no, and everything)

Tier → Dice

Pool Sizes by Tier

Stress Effects

Push

Spend 1 Stress in the relevant pool to reroll a failed roll. Take the new result.

Combat Turn

• 1 Action + 1 Movement, OR 0 Action + Double Movement
• Plus 1 Reaction per round (refreshes at start of your next turn)
• Zones: Engaged (0–5 blocks) / Near (6–10) / Far (11–15) / Distant (16+)
  • Movement = 1 zone (up to 5 blocks); Double Movement = 2 zones (up to 10 blocks)
• Static T when target isn't defending; opposed roll when they are (highest wins, defender wins ties)
• Damage = pre-assigned Stress to the relevant pool
• Crit = double damage

Weapons & Gear (Quick Reference)

Range classes: Melee (Engaged) · Thrown (Engaged/Near, 3 uses) · Sidearm (Near/Far, 12 uses) · Ranged (Far/Distant, 6 uses) · Reach (Engaged/Near). Attacking outside range class: −1 Effective Tier.

Ammunition: Each attack roll spends 1 use. At 0 uses, weapon can't attack until restocked. Resupply is in-fiction.

Armour: Protective tag reduces all incoming Body Stress by 1 (min 1). On Catastrophic defence roll, armour loses Protective tag until repaired.

Improvised weapons: Melee or Thrown · 1 Stress · no tags · breaks on Failure or worse.

Rarity: Common (1 tag) · Uncommon (2) · Rare (3) · Unique (3 + narrative property). Signature items are at least Uncommon.

Key tags: Brutal (+1 Stress on Success) · Precise (+1 Stress on Crit) · Vicious (Crit = secondary effect) · Light (−1 Stress, concealable) · Overwhelming (3+ Stress pushes target) · Reliable (breaks → damaged instead) · Unreliable (Catastrophic breaks weapon and deals 1 Body Stress) · Signature (+1 Effective Tier in trained situations)

Gear breaking: Catastrophic Failure = weapon breaks, unusable until repaired.

Support Actions

• Grant Reroll (Action) — ally rerolls; Stress paid from your pool
• Draw Aggro (Action + Move) — enemies target you instead
• Tactical Assist (Action) — ally gets +1 Effective Tier on next roll
• Soak the Hit (Reaction) — take ally's Body Stress instead
• Steady the Spirit (Action) — absorb 1 Mind Stress from ally
• Ground a Path-walker (Action + 1 Spirit Stress) — give ally +1 Effective Tier on next Spirit roll, or let them use one of your Spirit abilities

Spirit Abilities (each costs an Action)

Starting set: Spirit Trained+ begins with Push a Spirit Roll (automatic) + 1 chosen standard. Mystic begins with Push + 2 chosen. More via Advancement (Option 2). Second-tier requires 3 standards already unlocked.

*Second-tier: requires Spirit Trained+ and 3 standard abilities already unlocked.

Local Magic (Casting)

• Requires Spirit Trained+ and a world with magic
• Declare effect, then tier (Small 1 / Moderate 2 / Major 3 / Reality-bending 4). Higher tier = lower T but bigger fail cost.
• Roll Spirit: Crit/Success/Mixed = no Stress · Failure = take declared tier in Spirit Stress · Catastrophic = double Stress + something terrible
• Defending against magic: Roll Spirit (Trained+ only). Success/Crit negates; Mixed = GM call; Failure/Catastrophic = full hit
• Initiation (earned through play, no Advance required): four stages (Apprentice / Journeyman / Adept / Master). Each stage grants +1 to compatible casting and 2 named techniques at the new tier. Apprentice happens in a single scene; later stages earned through play.
• Resonance (track marks): cast = 1 · failed Spirit roll = 1 · Catastrophic Spirit roll = 2 · Broken in Spirit = 3. Levels: 0–5 Unnoticed · 6–15 Noticed (atmospheric) · 16–30 Known (Spirit refills slower) · 31+ Marked (Path-space waits for you). Decays only via appeasement / ritual / a full arc in a forgotten world.

Recovery (Body and Mind only)

• Brief rest (an hour, safety): clear 1 Stress each
• Long rest (a night, security): clear 3 Stress each
• Recovery in safety (days at outpost): clear all Stress
• Body Recovery Roll: Action, T11 Body. Crit clear 4 / Succ clear 2 / Mixed clear 1 / Fail +1 Stress / Catast +2 Stress
• Mind Recovery Roll: Action, T11 Mind or Heart. Same structure
• Spirit recovery: Path traversal only (or Anomalous Comfort Object)

Advancement

• When: one Advance per player at end of each arc
• Qualify via: Guide entry (world / Path / faction / anomaly — real fieldwork, not a stub) or milestone (first unknown Path, surviving a hostile world, resolving a faction conflict, Hook advancing, significant loss, genuine first contact)
• Spend on: +1 domain tier (max Proficient) · new Spirit ability (Spirit Trained+ only) · signature item tag or rarity upgrade · Background perk upgrade (once per character)
• Expert: Proficient + three arcs of primary use + a defining moment the table remembers. GM declares it.

Standard Items

• Field Medical Kit — Action, clear 2 Body Stress
• Compliance Stim — Movement, clear 1 Body Stress, add 1 Mind Stress
• Calmative Compound — Action, ~1 hour, clear 2 Mind Stress
• Approved Reflective Practice — scene-long conversation, clear 1 Mind Stress for target; helper also clears 1 if genuinely engaged
• Stabilizer Coil — worn; absorbs next 1 Spirit Stress this scene; consumed
• Anomalous Comfort Object — once per session, clear 1 Stress from any pool

You're ready to play. See you at the table.