House Rules: Otherscape

Fortune: Narrative Leverage in Afterlight

A House Rule for Metro: Otherscape

Purpose

Fortune is a narrative currency that represents a character’s ability to turn the tide, through instinct, planning, sacrifice, or pure chance. Whether you’re a myth-touched oracle or a glitch-hardened cyborg, Fortune captures those moments when preparation meets opportunity, and the world gives just enough to push through. Fortune is earned by embracing risk and advancing the story. It is spent to influence outcomes in your favor, always at a cost.

Earning Fortune

Each Player begins the session with 3 Fortune.

A character gains 1 Fortune when they:

• Complicate the Story - Invoke a Weakness Tag, accept a Tier 3+ Consequence without resistance, or lean into a failed move that deepens tension.
• Sacrifice Something Valuable - Burn a tag, lose a Theme, or put a close NPC in danger to accomplish something critical.
• Follow Their Drive - Act in alignment with a Theme’s Identity, Ritual, or Itch in a way that adds risk or conflict.
• Elevate the Roleplay - Make a character-driven choice that pushes the scene forward or adds dramatic weight, even without mechanical prompts (MC discretion).

A character gains 2 Fortune when they:

• Complete a journal entry for their character after a session.
• Create an article for this World Anvil.

Spending Fortune

You may spend 1 Fortune to:

• Reroll ONE die after making a roll and take the best result.
• Add +1 Power to your roll.

You may spend 2 Fortune to:

• Reroll BOTH die after making a roll and take the best result.
• Add 1 Extra Die - Roll an extra die and add it to your total. Applies only to standard rolls and must be declared before the roll.
• Create a Story Tag - Add a flashback, narrative setup, or plausible new element to the scene, e.g., “I left a dead drop in this alley,” or “This corp thug owes me a favor.” (MC discretion applies.)

You may spend 3 Fortune to:

• Restore a Burned Tag - Recover one previously burned Power Tag for immediate use.
• Ignore a Hit - Cancel a single Consequence, regardless of tier. This can block harm, status, or narrative backlash, but not the loss of a Theme.

Tactical Zone Movement

Zone-Based Combat Setup

Divide the battlefield into narrative zones (e.g., alleyway, stairwell, rooftop, shrine). Each zone can be tagged with:

• 1–2 environmental tags (e.g., cramped, low visibility, unstable footing)
• Possible hazards or advantages (e.g., gas leak-2, sniper perch-3)

Zones function like loosely abstracted terrain tiles; positioning matters narratively, not in grid inches.

Movement Rules (Per Scene Beat or Spotlight Turn)

1 Free Zone Shift:

Each character may shift into 1 adjacent zone per turn narratively, no roll required unless:

• A hazard or Challenge obstructs the movement (e.g., unstable scaffolding-2)
• You're crossing multiple zones at once

+1 Extra Zone Shift:

If the PC has a relevant tag (e.g., teleportation, rooftop freerunner, parkour master), they may narrate a second adjacent zone shift with no roll, pending MC approval.

More than 2 Zones in a Turn:

To exceed two zone shifts in one turn:

• Use tags + roll for an Effect (typically ENHANCE, BESTOW, or ADVANCE)
  e.g., “I kick on my overclocked cyberlegs and dash two extra zones.”
  ➜ Spend Power on Extra Feat to enable additional movement
• Burn a tag (e.g., adrenal surge, blink implant) for an auto-success + 3 Power

Obstacle Zones & Traversal

Some zones may have movement Challenges with effects like:

• unstable scaffold-2
• nanite-flooded alley-3

To cross or exit such zones:

• Face Danger (roll with tags to overcome the obstacle)
• Use an appropriate Effect:

o    WEAKEN or DISRUPT the hazard (e.g., override gravity, break through rubble)

o    RESTORE or BESTOW to temporarily nullify or adapt (e.g., cyber-stabilizer boots)

• MC may impose Consequences on failure (e.g., exhausted-2, injured-3)

Combat Interactions with Zones

Ranged Attacks:

• Targeting across zones is allowed only if tags justify it (e.g., sniper scope, x-ray eyes)
• Without appropriate tags: limit to same or adjacent zone

Area Attacks:

• With scale-enhancing tags or Effects (like ADVANCE or BESTOW), AoE actions may hit multiple zones
• Stop. Holding. Back. can be invoked to dramatically affect terrain across multiple zones

Tactical Positioning:

• Being in specific zones affects narration (e.g., who is surrounded, who is cut off)
• Position may alter difficulty tiers of actions or change the Effects needed
• Environmental tags become assets or obstacles during rolls