FAQ

What are Abilities?

The simple answer is whatever you want them to be. However, I have suggested 6 core Abilities to
help provide a common framework for the group until you feel comfortable with the system. In my
minds eye an Ability is normally an intrinsic capability of an individual and is hard to improve; it is
the ‘Nature’ of that entity. In my seed ideas document I have tried to put a good selection of
potential Abilities that do not necessarily follow my own concept - to show the flexibility of the
system.

An ability is something that has a major impact on your likelihood to succeed or fail at a task,
granting advantage or disadvantage on a rolled test. It should be considered as a dominant influence
on any ‘argument’ put forward in situations that do not require you to roll dice.

What are Professions?

Again, whatever you feel is the best fit, typically it will be something setting appropriate. So in a
fantasy setting it could be a classic set of ‘classes’ such as Fighter, Thief, Wizard or Priest, but could
also include such crafts as Trader, Miner, Bard, Seer, Blacksmith, Fisherman, Basket Maker etc. In a
far future setting it could be Marine, Pilot, Navigator, Merchant, Pirate, Explorer, Historian or any
other such career choice.

They are usually applicable in certain circumstances but are not useful in all situations, as such they
offer a basic +1 bonus in rolled tests. When a problem is within the sphere of knowledge of a
profession then it should normally be considered as having a positive influence on your proposal. A
profession can also be considered to negatively effect a task should it be something alien to that
profession eg a Healer having to fight, a Warrior trying to make a set of clothes.

What are Skills?

Skills are the things you learn and can more easily improve via training, usage or develop via
experience. They start off as a +1 bonus but can be ‘mastered’ to become a +2. Like the other
options above, a skill can be useful in certain circumstances and should be considered when an
argument is put forward by a player. The better a PC is at a skill the more its influence on the
proposal, for good or ill.
So combat is just rolling dice?
No, this is not your typical RPG.

Whilst you could treat combat as a mechanical dice rolling exercise it is better to use the Matrix
style proposal of an argument with three factors to explain why your proposal will succeed. You can
then either accept the proposal or use it to heavily modify the dice roll. For example a referee could
consider that the argument itself will add or subtract from a dice roll – it is normally best to make
this a -2 to a +2 modifier to not overly impact the dice roll.

An example combat scenario;

Kannan the Warrior is Strong,
a Trained veteran of hundreds of battle
and wields a mighty legendary sword.

In combat his controlling player could use the following argument:

I charge the six orcs, screaming my battle yell and will rout them from the field of battle. Those
who fail to flee will be dispatched easily as I am a combat veteran, who wields a mighty sword and
has the strength to cleave weak foes in twain.

A Referee could decide that this is a strong proposal and simply accepts that the player has argued
their case successfully and thus it becomes ‘fact’. The Orcs either flee or are destroyed. However,
they could also counter that the Orcs are scared of their master, do not fear just one man and have
armour. This being the case the outcome is now uncertain and a test via dice is needed.

Kannan rolls with advantage as they are strong, as they are a Warrior by profession they are +1, it is
likely that they have a +2 skill bonus from being a veteran fighter. On a roll of 7 with a bonus of 3
they would have a total of 10. The Orcs are strong, not fighters but are scared and feeling confident
– a referee could call this a roll with advantage but apply just a +2 bonus, resulting in a score of 9;
the Orcs are thus defeated.

Bear in mind that dice are random and as such the actual result could be very different – but the
probability is that rolling dice adds nothing to the actual end result compared to the argument made
by Kannan’s player. As such it is normally better to have a discussion rather than resort to fate, it
keeps the group in the moment and flows better.

If using the Argument as a modifier I would consider the players argument to be a good one and add
a +1 or +2 modifier (dependant on how long the campaign has been running)