Where There's Smoke

This system uses opposed rolls rather than a target number to reflect a level of uncertainty of success and to reinforce that the NPCs are people in their own right who have the capacity to stand in a PC's way. When chasing someone, the PC rolls their skill to run against the NPC's skill to run. When trying to lie, the PC rolls their skill to deceive against the NPC's skill to perceive. When trying to hide, the PC rolls their skill to hide against the NPCs' skills to search (or simply against their perception if it's not suspected that they're there). And in many instances, the PC is not entitled to know whether they've succeeded -- whether the NPC believes them or is only pretending to -- whether the NPC has left the room because they didn't find them or because they're going for reinforcements.

Therefore, when a roll is called for, both parties roll, applying relevant stats, skills, and advantages. If more than one skill is relevant, choose the level of the most applicable one and take a +1 (if the auxiliary skill is at level 2 or 3, or +2 if it's at level 4 or 5). The higher of the rolls succeeds.

Due to NPC opponents mostly rolling concurrently with the player they are pitted against, there often isn't any reason for an NPC to have a separate roll. The exception may be for enemy archers sniping at players unseen (and such a situation is sure to resolve into an opposed roll sooner or later). Player characters can therefore take their turns in any order they wish. Each PC will have an initiative token which they turn in to the GM when they have an idea of what to do on their turn. (The GM is also free to insert any NPC solo turns as they see fit.) At the end of the round, PCs receive their tokens back, and are again free to act in whatever order they like.

Please note, there are some instances in which a player's turn is triggered outside of their control. If they are attacked, it instantly becomes their turn. Another circumstance is physically being closest to the action, such as if their character is first to enter a room.

The following are modifiers for your rolls, representing your natural talent in each category. They range from -3 to +3. After character creation, you may buy a point increase in one of your stats one time for a fee of 10 Generic Skill Points.

The following are not modifiers. Rather, they are a direct representation of the total points you have in either pool, which is drawn from when exerting oneself or when in combat.

Also referred to as Health. This value ranges from 15 to 35.

As you incure injury you will be less effective at fighting, triggering injury rules. Once you deplete your Health Pool by half, you take a (-1) debuff to all rolls. If the pool drops to a quarter of its full strength, you take a (-2) debuff to your rolls. The rate at which one recovers lost points is dependent on how low one's pool dropped in the first place. While it takes you longer to crawl back from death's door, as you heal, you begin to recover faster.

This represents strength and endurance. This number ranges from 15 to 25 starting off. Many actions cost a certain amount of stamina points, usually between one or three.

Both in cases of Stamina and Health, recovery time is halved in the care of trusted NPCs with whom the party has a warm relationship.

Companion skills are skills that are not typically used as standalone skills, but in conjunction with another skill to achieve equilibrium in the face of a possible disadvantage. Therefore they have different ranges than normal skills. Some are inverted and run from -5 to +1; some are balanced, straddling 0 right down the middle, and run from -3 to +3.

Melee Skills

A couple features to note as you choose weapons to specialize in: Caillarms may be specialized weapons and unwieldly, but they offer a great number of bonus skills as well as skills at the first level. Certain other specialized weapons, like the clavefyn, only offer bonus skills at the third level.

Ranged Skills

There are six hip-carry slots. From the belt one can secure pouches, weapons, quivers, vials, small scroll cases. Although a satchel is technically shoulder-carry, it takes up two hip-carry slots because the satchel will sit on one hip.

There are two back-carry slots. Items include a quiver, a shield, weapons, a rucksack, and a long scroll tube.

There are two to four front-carry slots. An adventurer might wear a bandolier, a leather harness, or items on the inside of their garments.

Small items may also be carried in specialized holsters in their boots, armbands, or other creative places on their person.

Quivers hold twelve to twenty-four arrows. Each person may have no more than 200 coins on their person. Please take into consideration how and how much water, food, light and heat sources, shelter, and personal items to carry.

*A "sizeable slot" could hold, for example, one outfit, or a bundle of books, or a day's comfortable food ration (or two days' modest food ration). Of course it could also hold several smaller items, but those are more likely to be found on a belt or bandolier, which are more easily accessible.

The charisma-based challenge, Influence, equips players a way to affect an NPC's opinions and allegiances in order to gain information and/or resources, or to leverage their support in whatever conflict the players find themselves. This challenge primarily references a player's skill level in the seven Influence skills, as well as being able to learn about the NPC they are trying to influence.

The intellect-based challenge, Research, opens up the opportunity for players to gain insight into the questions that interest them. These answers can give them leads to pursue or get them past hurdles that they've been hung up on. This challenge uses historical artifacts and other records.

The finesse-based challenge, Craft, enables players to turn the raw materials around them into money, useful tools, or unique accessories. The resources that result from their crafting endeavors may bring them renown, or even more resources if they use their inventions to begin a business.

Damage Types: These determine how useful the weapon is against various kinds of armor.

Reach Classes: In open areas, the difference in reach between two opponents serves as a buff to the opponent with better reach. Except when used in formation, in confined areas the difference converts to a debuff to the longer weapon. See Reach Class Examples.

Properties: Weapons may also have other properties and uses besides inflicting damage attached to them. Some of the below enable the fighter to change the conditions of the test, while others grant bonuses when the weapon is used in the context for which it was designed. Properties such as Disarm, Knockdown, Maneuver, and Agile can be used by other weapons, but only on a rolled 12.

If one of the parties has armor and receives a hit, they have the option to either roll for how much damage the armor absorbed or declare that they are letting their armor absorb all of it. The benefit of the latter option is that it saves Stamina, but please note that it will result in armor being damaged at a faster rate.

Each type of armor has an associated die, representing its effectiveness as a whole suit in perfect condition. Each type may also be Resistant or Immune to certain types of damage, but only as a full set.If armor is damaged, the die is progressively downgraded until it is repaired.

Armor types can often be stacked. Use the better of the armor's "stats" in the corresponding area.

When in melee range, you can't simply turn your back on your opponent. That's a good way to get a knife in it. Similarly, while you are free to perform a fighting retreat, you cannot simply disengage at will when locked in combat. Your opponent must be, so to speak, on the back foot, giving you an opening to make a break for it.

In order to disengage safely from a fight, you must have either earned a Silver Opportunity by rolling a natural 12 or have succeeded in your last roll against your opponent.

Fighting multiple opponents is not impossible, but dangerous. A player rolls only once, and each opponent gets a roll. The player's roll must cover the damage (or potential damage) of all their assailants.

If their roll does not exceed the combined total of their opponents' rolls, they take the difference as damage, of course, minus any applicable armor rolls. If they do manage to do exceed the total of their opponents rolls, they may specify how their damage is divvied up between their opponents.

If a player is facing this situation, high martial skills and armor may even out the playing ground, if the opponents are unskilled and/or unarmored. This writer suggests looking for ways to narratively excuse taking on only one at a time.

Influence

There is no reason to bring complicated mechanics into many different social situations, such as casual conversations or interrogations, and there is no need to bring roleplay into many other social situations, such as haggling over 5 coppers' worth of difference with a vendor. A simple negotiation roll, such as is found at the bottom of Price Lists, is an abbreviated form of the social encounter and will serve for such low-impact situations.

More complex and narratively impactful social encounters involve several factors and the party's collective efforts to bring someone over to their way of seeing things. This is why this system features an Influence Encounter. By no means is this intended to substitute roleplay with a roll, but it establishes a structure that the PCs can reliably navigate, lends relevance to charisma-based skills and characters, and supports an aspect of the game that deserves more attention than it usually gets. An explanation of the four mechanics (Disposition, Patience, Susceptibility, and Pressure Points) is upcoming in this section, but first . . .

With all this math going on, what room is left over for roleplay? The answer is, before and during.

Before is the time for gathering intell, trying to pick up hints about the person you're dealing with. An Insight Roll may substitute for the potentially time-consuming task of feeling a target out; a successful roll will yield one of three results:

Once the party (or the PC) decides to start the negotiation, roleplay (in third or in first person) grants a minimum roll of 5 plus the PC's Charisma Score.

This describes the NPC's attitude toward the PCs. Succeeding in a roll moves a character from one Disposition to another.

Each NPC has a Patience Level of 1-3. This number represents how many rolls the PCs may make to effect them before the NPC excuses themselves from the conversation or, being unable to do so, shuts down. (An alternate, more forgiving method, is to have the NPC's Patience level represent how many failed rolls the encounter can tolerate before coming to a close, similar to a skill challenge.) Speaking a NPC's native language automatically bumps their Patience up by one.

Each NPC is especially susceptible to one of the following Skills:

• Charm
• Intimidation
• Elucidation
• Encouragement
• Adulation
• Appeal
• Inspiration

Mechanically, this is represented by the PC doubling the modifier for their skill level, if they guessed or deduced correctly.

Because deception by itself is not much of a force for Influence, common sense tells us that it must be used alongside one of the Influence skills above. However, if an NPC senses a PC's insincerity, it will lower the chances of the PC's success. Add your skill level in Deception (which is only negative values, or, at its most maxed-out, zero) to the roll.

Each PC has a few key subjects that they feel strongly about and that, if you touch on, will sway them strongly one way or another. When a PC makes their case using a Passion, the NPC is moved two Disposition States positively. (A roll is not necessary for this.) If a PC accidentally stumbles into a Provocation, the NPC is moved two Disposition States negatively. (This supercedes the minimum roll accorded to a PC by roleplay.)

What does your character do when they find a book in-game? Likely read it. What do you, as a player, do? Of course it's unfeasible to create an entire book for the player to read, just as their character does. If you are poring over this book in search of specific information, you can simply ask the GM what it says about the topic you're interested in. But what if the book doesn't provide a direct answer? What if you want to know where an infamous highwayman stashed the riches he accumulated from a long career of highway robbery, while the book you're reading only goes over his exploits? Can you use it to research the topic you are interested in?

The Intellect Challenge, Research, is designed to allow PCs to get answers from the GM by interacting with in-world artifacts and texts that could never totally be reproduced. Notice, it specifically rewards players answers, not information. This entails the GM telling the PC what insight or conclusion their character came to (not dissimilar to when a GM tells a PC that a room "appears to be empty"). This is because, arguably, the PC already has the information in the form of the materials they are using to research. Lest it need be said, of course this does not preclude players from theorizing and drawing their own conclusions, but if players are not interested in roleplaying this out, or if they're ready to roll the dice for it, a brilliant insight may be in store for them.

Research can be used to generate a theory about dragon behavior. It can be used to investigate a criminal mastermind's plan. It can be used to locate a highwayman's stash. Tell the GM what your PC's question is, what materials they are working from, and then roll for them. The GM will tell you the conclusion they drew or the insight they gained.

What books did you dig up in the dusty library to assist you in your inquiry? What artifact did you borrow from a wealthy, anonymous collector to study? What painting are you poring over? What statements did you take down in your notes from eyewitnesses for later perusal? Any of these could be defined as the materials you use in your Research.

No in-world artifact or text has absolute, intrinsic value. Its value is determined by how directly it is connected to the topic in question. For example, a stack of local newspapers might be only of tangential relevance to our highwayman's stash spot, but since an intelligent character could draw useful insights from it, it would not be useless.

A PC attempting to Research a topic compiles a list of materials they have at their disposal to peruse. They may add as many or as few items to the list as they like. The more useful references they find, the more complete a picture they can paint in their minds, and the more angles they can see the situation from. Remember, though, that including material that has no connection to the information you want will make it harder to sift out useful answers. Simply give that list to the GM so they can determine how reliable your PC's conclusion is likely to be.

Sometimes you just can't put your finger on the answer, even though you can feel it there, just beyond your grasp. In such cases, sometimes talking to a friend can nudge your thoughts in the right direction, helping the pieces fall into place. Or sometimes you have to let it lie for a while, only for a chance encounter to inspire you to connect the dots.

As much as you adventurers love a good shopping spree (what else, pray, is the point of going to town at all?), what you prize in the remote wilderness is self-sufficiency. The more enterprising among you are interested in saving a coin or two, or even making coin to supplement your rootless lifestyle. The world around you is full of resources -- you need only be capable enough to reach out and seize them -- and then transform them!

The Finesse Challenge, Craft, are at hand for your character to produce works of art, ammunition, and even potions and meals. Unlike Combat, Influence, and Research, the processes in Craft may take days, weeks, or longer. Any given project will involve engaging with the following:

• A minimum mod (Skill Level + Attribute) of 0
• Requisite Materials to be sourced, through forage or salvage, purchase, or reward
• Progress Points, representing the time cost
• Guidance, whether in the form of a mentor's instruction, a drawn-out template, or a written recipe
• Required Workspace (occasionally)

Once they have the suitable materials and guidance, players can begin investing diegetic time into the probject. Players can, through Research, distill guidance for themselves, and they can speed up the process of accumulating Progress Points through increasing their skill level in the given Finesse skill, or by seeking out a suitable workspace (see Support tab).

Highly skilled and/or talented craftsmen will be able to produce creations of higher quality, but they can also produce items of lesser quality much faster with bonus Progress Points, which apply every 15 Points they put in. At certain levels, creating an item which grants a buff becomes possible on a lucky dice roll. Buffs only apply to personal items or to items gifted to party members. If such items are gifted outside the party, the buff applies to attempts to Influence the recipient. If they are sold, the buff applies to the negotiation roll in determining the price the buyer is willing to pay.

Many creatures and plants have valuable resources within, but these resources will very likely degrade over time -- or in a very short amount of time -- if they are not quickly harvested and preserved correctly.

Armor and weapons are prone to damage over time, and when not maintained, repairs can be costly.

No man is an island, and although being beholden to a hierarchy may be inconvenient or even put one in tricky situations at times, player characters can draw on an organization's support when they are in need. Increasingly so as they move up through the ranks of the organization and gain prestige.

An animal companion's usefulness will be limited in comparison to a human ally. To reflect this, animal companions get one usefull trait. To determine this, the PC rolls a 1d12. Based on the result, their companion gains a trait. In times of dire need, a PC can also roll a 1d20, and on a twenty, their companion will be able to use one of the other traits on the list to help their master.

Treat your relationship with your companion as a typical skill you level up from -1 to +5, using the same skilll point costs as other skills. This is the roll modifier you add when attempting to call on your pet to use a Trait outside of its innate Trait.

By now you players know that in this system weapons don't have stats, a la maxims like "guns (or in this case, swords) don't kill people; people kill people." Well, get this: Weapons can have stats, or at least, buffs!

Not all weapons -- this is still me you're dealing with here. There's no need to break reality completely. But I also believe in rewarding players for engaging with the lore, and other exceptions to the Rule of Real are made to reward players for engaging with their party members later in the Special Actions category. Thus unlockable buffs will be available to users of legendary items.