The Game Master, The Players and The Chronicle
The Game Master (GM) is the referee and narrator who interprets the instructions of the game and decides what they mean. The Game Master describes and narrates everything in the game, deciding what happens in the Chronicle (the central, ongoing, overarching story that the game is about) and what the consequences of the Player's actions are. The Chronicle starts at Chapter zero and progresses Chapter by Chapter as the Game Master decides. Each of the Players are like actors within this story, but instead of following a script they choose what they do and how they respond within the boundaries of their own, smaller story.
Each Player is equipped with four resources to play the game with: A Legend, Chapters, Spotlight and Legendary Deeds.
- A Player's Legend is a smaller, more personal story about someone or something (IE: "The Legend Of...") that takes place within the ongoing Chronicle. The subject of your Legend (the someone or something that it's about) can be anything really, but by default it's about a person (a character, we'll talk about them later).
- Player Legends have a number of Chapters equal to the Chapter of the ongoing Chronicle and Players can use Chapters to write their Legend by deciding how it changes and develops. Players can use Chapters to make anything happen within their Legend that the Game Master allows (please remember the Game Master has to keep things fair and balanced for everyone, so try to be flexible with how you want to use your Chapters).
- Player Legends have an amount of Spotlight equal to 10 plus the Chapter of the Chronicle. Spotlight is your Legend's share of the story's focus, representing how much the narrative centers on your character's actions. Spotlight is used to pay the cost of many features and abilities that Characters may use, according to the instructions of those abilities. The instructions of each ability will say which Vault that spent Spotlight goes into: Moment, Scene, Session or Chapter. The Vault is like a timer that decides when you get all of the Spotlight inside it back. For example, the Moment Vault gives its Spotlight back to you at the start of your next Moment. If you run out of Spotlight, you may Steal the Spotlight, allowing you to spend Spotlight you don't have (up to your Spotlight Maximum). Stolen Spotlight goes into your Vault like normal and reduces the amount of Spotlight you recover from it by that amount. After each time you recover the Spotlight from a Vault, you can give back one of its Stolen Spotlight. The GM should feel very free to write or even improvise their own instructions for how Spotlight can be used.
- Player Legends have a number of Legendary Deeds equal to the Chapter of the ongoing Chronicle and Players can use them to create memorable moments within their Legend, where the subject of their Legend automatically succeeds at something. The Player can choose who knows/learns about their Legendary Deed when they perform one, so that the subject of their Legend becomes more well known with the right people in the game. Legendary Deed Options are the instructions that tell a Player how they can use their Legendary Deeds, it's limited because it's so powerful.
Chapters and Legendary Deeds are tools for the Player to write their story, but they can also be used to just play the game and react to the events of the Chronicle like in a traditional TTRPG, treating them like XP and power boosts. Chapters and Legendary Deeds are not restored once they are used, so for example at Chapter 5 you will have acquired a total of five Legendary Deeds and a total of five Chapters, either saved up ready to use or you will have already used them. Remember to call on you past Legendary Deeds, they remain effective as tools for establishing and communicating your reputation.
What Is A Character?
Characters are the “people” within the game. They are different from objects or or the environment, but a character can have any form. They have goals and drives of their own, they are self-motivated, you could say they are “their own person” and that’s what distinguishes a character from the rest of the game world. Characters belonging to a Player will have certain things that they come with, kind of like resources that belong to that character, for the Player to use.
A Player Character has their Heart, Spirit, Body, Talents (Ordinary and Extraordinary, listed in more detail later) and Fates.
- Each Talent has an Ordinary and Extraordinary version, which are each a Dice Group paired with a Tag (an idea, we'll talk about this later). You can use a Chapter to add one die to a Talent, but not to an Extraordinary Talent until its Ordinary Talent is full. An Ordinary Talent has a minimum of one die, normally used for Rolls. Each Character starts with one die in each Ordinary Talent. An Extraordinary Talent starts with no dice in it. Die Penalties directed at the Ordinary Talent are redirected to its Extraordinary version first.
- A Player Character’s Heart contains their Essence, Fortune and Veil Talents. Their Heart has a big impact on who they are and what they can do. Any “Essence Tags” that they have (mostly chosen during Character Creation) define what their Essence Talent can be used to do. Think of it like a multi-tool Talent, where other Talents have one purpose, the Essence Talent also includes the character’s Essence Tags.
- A Player Character’s Spirit contains their Impression, Knowledge and Wit Talents. The character's Spirit is the restless force of them by which they shape the game world.
- A Player Characters Body contains their Trajectory, Force and Finesse Talents. Their Body is their primary way of tangibly interacting with others and the game world.
- Each in-game day, you can roll your character’s Fortune dice and record the numbers. These numbers are their “Fates”, which can be spent to replace a D6 roll that directly involves them. Players can only spend one Fate, collectively, to alter a single outcome. Unspent Fates are lost when Fates are rolled again.
If the game instructions tell you to roll a category (IE: Heart/Spirit/Body) then you can choose which Talent from that category you want to Roll with. If instructions add a “-” minus before the category (IE: -Spirit) then you choose the lowest Talent to roll with from that category.
If a Player Character’s Essence Talent is Harmed while at its minimum, then that character is Shattered. A Shattered character rolls only one die for each Talent. The Shattered state can be resolved through Recovery (Days). If a Player Character becomes Shattered when they are already Shattered, then that character is Lost. This doesn’t necessarily mean they die, but a Lost character no longer belongs to the Player.
BEYOND THIS POINT IS NOT PART OF THE PRESENTATION, THIS IS FOR MY HTML WRITING, JUST PARTS FOR THE WEBPAGE
The Game Master is the referee and narrator who interprets the instructions of the game and decides what they mean. The Game Master describes and narrates everything in the game, deciding what happens in the Chronicle and what the consequences of the Players’ actions are.
The Game Master is the referee and narrator who interprets the instructions of the game and decides what they mean. The Game Master describes and narrates everything in the game, deciding what happens in the Chronicle and what the consequences of the Players’ actions are.
The Game Master is the referee and narrator who interprets the instructions of the game and decides what they mean. The Game Master describes and narrates everything in the game, deciding what happens in the Chronicle and what the consequences of the Players’ actions are.
The Game Master is the referee and narrator who interprets the instructions of the game and decides what they mean. The Game Master describes and narrates everything in the game, deciding what happens in the Chronicle and what the consequences of the Players’ actions are.
The Game Master is the referee and narrator who interprets the instructions of the game and decides what they mean. The Game Master describes and narrates everything in the game, deciding what happens in the Chronicle and what the consequences of the Players’ actions are.
The Game Master is the referee and narrator who interprets the instructions of the game and decides what they mean. The Game Master describes and narrates everything in the game, deciding what happens in the Chronicle and what the consequences of the Players’ actions are.
Player: “I want to climb the statue and light the beacon.â€
GM: “KEEP THIS ONE.â€
If a character’s Essence is reduced to zero while already Traumatized, they are considered Lost. The Player no longer controls them. THIS ONE'S CALLED WARNING.
"PlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlacehold erPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholder"
"PlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholde rPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholder"
"PlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholde rPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholder"
"PlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholder PlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholder"
"PlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderP laceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholderPlaceholder"
// TODO: THIS IS ALSO A GOOD PIECE, KEEP THIS.