Encounter Core Rules

We are using a three-die system where you keep the middle number unless otherwise stated. You take a Power and Quality of your choice, and your Zone as your dice pool. Keep all of your rolled dice out until the end of your turn as they may be used for additional effects. When lacking an applicable Power or Quality, roll a d4 for that die.

Standard Actions

Attack

Boost

Hinder

Overcome (skill checks, saves, etc.)

Defend

Risky Actions — Add an extra effect to a basic action by accepting a minor twist (pages 29–30)

Damage

Damage equals the number on the die.

Enemies roll a Save using their own die. If the result is equal to or greater than the incoming damage, they survive but drop a die size (if possible). If they fail, they are defeated.

PCs take damage directly. No Save

Overcome

Used for anything outside of standard actions. Major and Catastrophic Twists likely not present outside of Action Scenes. If they are, players will be alerted before attempting. Should you be required to roll an Overcome using a D4 as a Power or Quality, but still gain a Success Beyond Expectations of a 12+, you will gain a new appropriate D6 Power or Quality.

Effect Die | Outcome

0 or less — Action utterly, spectacularly fails. If attempted Action is in an Action Scene, a Catastrophic Twist may occur.

1–3 — Action fails. If in an Action Scene, add a Major Twist. Situational possibility of success only if a major decision is present.

4–7 — Action succeeds with a Minor Twist.

8–11 — Complete success.

12+ — Success beyond expectations and granting a boon to at least one participant.

Example: You attempt to disarm a bomb.

Minor Twist: You have to focus all of your attention on the problem and take damage while doing so.

Major Twist: You half the amount of remaining time on the bomb timer.

Catastrophic Twist: The bomb goes off

Boost / Hinder

Adds or subtracts from a target’s next roll.

Effect Die | Bonus/Penalty

0 or less — No effect

1–3 — ±1

4–7 — ±2

8–11 — ±3

12+ — ±

Defend

Reduce the next instance of damage to a target (self or ally) by the number rolled.

Hit the Deck! 

Occasionally, an Attack looks so serious that you want to throw yourself into a defensive position, heedless of other dangers. A basic Defend action can be done once per round, out of turn, as a reaction by activating a minor twist (page 30). You may only Defend yourself this way and not others.

Heroic Sacrifice

Occasionally, an Attack that is directed towards another looks so serious or comes so suddenly that you feel instinctively obligated to throw yourself in its path, heedless of all danger to your person. This may only be done in protection of an NPC (or a PC that is at critical HP and in danger of going down). Out of turn and using a Reaction, you may choose to either absorb all of the damage yourself or take a Twist. Should you choose to take the damage, reduce the damage taken to yourself by the Mid die on your Defend roll. Should you choose the Twist, gain a Catastrophic Twist on a 7 or lower and a Major Twist on an 8-12. Should you somehow manage a 13 or higher, only take a Minor Twist and 1 point of emotional damage as your DM curses you for finding a way to pull off the impossible.

Persistent and Exclusive:

Persistent: Persistent mods last until an effect gets rid of them, until it makes sense

for them to stop (someone makes an Overcome action to stop it, for example), or until the end of the scene at the longest.

Exclusive: You can only use one exclusive bonus and one exclusive penalty per roll. You may

use other mods alongside exclusive mods, but only one exclusive positive and one negative mod.

Custom Rules

Limit Break Dice

At the end of each session, each player awards one 1d4 Limit Break die to another player based on roleplaying or creative contribution. These dice:

Last only for the next session

May support another character (but not by request)

Are added after rolling, not before

Encounter Initiative

We are not using “pass the baton” initiative. Instead:

A set turn order is established at the start of combat

The GM creates an initiative list, generally alternating PCs and NPCs

Players may request to swap their position in initiative, where they’ll remain until changed again

Players can act on the same turn if coordinated

The Environment acts at the top of the Round and cannot be skipped or rearranged

Eyriatsun

Structure

16 lines total, alternating between players (8 turns each).

Each turn consists of:

A rhymed line to the last line spoken by the opponent.

A second line of your choice to be rhymed by opponent’s new first

Either of these two lines using a word from the Lore Tree.

Lore Tree Categories:

Person 

Object 

Creature 

Emotion

Action 

Penalties (+/-1 for each):

Breaking world logic (e.g., impossible tech, world-breaking magic).

Controlling the opponent’s character or actions.

Failing to incorporate assigned word.

Failing to rhyme.

Overtly nonsensical lines.

At the end of each round, audience reaction is represented mechanically with an Overcome roll by the appropriate side. Based on the roll’s outcome, Valero will gain or lose points to reflect how favorably the performance was received. Each party member can only Boost whoever is doing the Audience Roll ONCE for the entire event.

Player’s Roll:

Fail: +2 Valero points

Major Twist: +1 Valero point

Minor Twist: +0 Valero points

Success: –1 Valero point

Overwhelming Success: –2 Valero points

Valero’s Roll:

Fail: –2 Valero points

Major Twist: –1 Valero point

Minor Twist: +0 Valero points

Success: +1 Valero point

Overwhelming Success: +2 Valero points

Eryoncato

Where an Eryatsun is a competitive lore or story clash and an Eryoncato is a musical way of healing through the communal creation of a story.

Step 1 – Subject

Is the song about a:

Person / Group / Faction

Place

Thing (Object, Event, Battle, Concept)

Step 2 - Whose point of view is this song by?

Is it a single person or a group?

Male or female?

Step 3 – Style (Intent)

Pick one:

Drinking Song

Work Song

Protest Song

Hymn

Training Montage

Lullaby

Sea Shanty

Battle Anthem

Mourning Song

Hard Choice Monologue

Corporate Jingle

Love Song

Villain Theme

Proclamation of Identity

Other

Step 4 – Core Emotion

Pick one primary emotion.

Examples:

Defiant

Triumphant

Jealous

Yearning

Bitter

Hopeful

Nostalgic

Furious

Lonely

Reverant

Silly

Sweet

Step 5 – Genre

Rock

Hip-Hop

Country

Pop

Metal

Opera

Funk

Blues

Jazz

Regee

Synthwave

Folk

Choral

EDM

Spoken Word

Other

Step 6 – Chorus Seed

Group writes 4 lines that will make up the chorus, one line per person (does not need to rhyme yet)

Step 7 – Verse Breakouts:

2 Verses of 4 lines each, pair off and do 2 lines each (does not need to rhyme yet)

Twist Charts

Minor Twists - 1d20

1. The hero loses Health equal to the Mid die.

2. Deal damage to another hero based on the Mid die.

3. Deal damage to all heroes in the same location based on the Min die.

4. The hero is Hindered using the Max die.

5. Another hero is Hindered using the Max die.

6. All heroes in the same location are Hindered based on the Min die.

7. The hero (or another hero if there are none) loses all current Persistent Bonuses on them.

8. The hero must make a difficult choice as part of the action.

9. The hero must reveal a treasured secret, an embarrassing weakness, or otherwise bargain something away to succeed at their goal.

10. Your action puts a member of the public in danger

11. The scene Zone escalates 1 space towards a more dangerous state.

12. The hero draws attention in the form of 1 new minion equal to their Mid die.

13. The hero loses access to one Green ability.

14. One of the hero’s powers or qualities is reduced in die size.

15. One of another hero’s powers or qualities is reduced in die size.

16. Grant a Bonus to a villain or group of minions/ lieutenants based on the Max die.

17. Grant a Persistent and Exclusive bonus to a villain or group of minions or lieutenants based on the Min die.

18. Upgrade a villain’s power or quality die temporarily.

19. The environment makes a minor change.

20. Heal the most damaged hero in the scene by 1d10

Major Twists - 1d20

1. The hero is immobilized until helped by an ally.

2. The hero loses Health equal to Max+Min dice.

3. Deal damage to another hero based on the Max+Min dice.

4. Deal damage to all heroes in the same location based on the Mid die.

5. Deal damage to all characters (heroes, minions, bystanders, etc.) in the scene based on the Mid die.

6. The hero is Hindered using Max+Min dice, and that penalty is Persistent.

7. Another hero is Hindered using Max+Min dice, and that penalty is Persistent.

8. All heroes in the area are Hindered using Max die, and that penalty is Persistent

9. All heroes in the same area lose all current Persistent Bonuses on them.

10. The hero must sacrifice something important for the remainder of the Arc in order to succeed at their goal.

11. Your action puts a group of members of the public in danger

12. The scene escalates 1d4 spaces towards a more dangerous state.

13. The hero draws attention in the form of a new squad of 4 Mid die sized minions.

14. The hero loses access to 1d4 Abilities.

15. The hero loses access to 1d4 of their Powers and Qualities.

16. Grant a bonus to a villain or group of minions or lieutenants based on the Max+Min dice, and that bonus is persistent and exclusive.

17. Grant a Bonus to all villains or minions or lieutenants based on the hero’s Max die.

18. Upgrade all of a villain’s power or quality dice temporarily.

19. The environment makes a major change

20. Heal the most damaged hero in the scene by 1d20

Catastrophic Twists - 1d20 

Reserved for unique situations such as Heroic Sacrifice. These effects carry lasting narrative and mechanical weight.

1. The hero is critically injured and cannot continue. They are removed from the scene and out of action for the remainder of the Arc. The player may immediately take control of their backup character, who arrives in a dramatically appropriate way, or a friendly NPC agreed upon by the GM and player. At the Arc's end, the player chooses which character to continue with going forward.

2. One of the hero's Powers or Qualities is reduced by two die sizes. If this would take it below d4, it is lost entirely, provided the scene offers a clear fictional justification for total loss. Physical and power-based abilities may be destroyed outright. Mental, social, and learned qualities may be reduced to d4 but cannot be removed entirely through a single event.

3. The hero is struck with a persistent curse. The nature of the curse is determined by the fiction of the scene and remains until addressed through meaningful in-fiction effort.

4. The hero is dismembered. Roll 1d4 to determine the severity of the injury. The GM interprets the result in the context of the scene.

5. One of the hero's Powers or Qualities may only be used at the GM's discretion for the remainder of the Arc. Each use requires clear narrative justification — the hero has not lost the ability, but it has become unreliable, compromised, or costly in a way that cannot simply be pushed through.

6. The hero loses the most meaningful possession on their person. It is destroyed, left behind, or taken in the chaos. The GM and player agree on what that is if it isn't immediately obvious.

7. An ally is forced into a dangerous position as a direct consequence of the hero's action. They must immediately deal with a threat or situation the hero's intervention created, pulling them away from whatever they were doing.

8. An ally loses access to 1d4 of their Powers or Qualities until the start of the next scene as a result of the chaos or collateral fallout from the hero's sacrifice. The scene must offer a plausible explanation for which are affected.

9. An ally loses the most meaningful possession on their person as a direct consequence of the hero's action. It is destroyed, left behind, or taken in the chaos. The GM and player agree on what that is if it isn't immediately obvious.

10. An ally is put in a position where they must make a significant sacrifice of their own to compensate for the opening the hero's action created. The cost is real and cannot be avoided or negotiated away.

11. The hero succeeds in protecting the target, but the act of throwing themselves into harm's way creates an opening somewhere else. A threat the hero was positioned to prevent now goes unchecked, a second person is endangered, or something the hero was guarding is left exposed. The GM determines what slips through.

12. The scene goes to the Red Zone immediately.

13. A catastrophic environmental event — structural collapse, explosion, cascading system failure, or similar — dramatically and permanently alters the terrain. The scene will never look the same.

14. Grant the villain a Persistent, Exclusive bonus based on Max+Mid dice, and permanently upgrade one of the villain's Power or Quality dice by one step. They turn the hero's sacrifice into fuel.

15. The villain escapes, completes their immediate goal, or acquires a resource the heroes were trying to deny them. The plan advances one full phase while the hero was occupied throwing themselves into harm's way.

16. The hero must sacrifice something permanent and meaningful — a relationship, a safe haven, a mentor, a hard-won reputation — as the price of their recklessness. This cost cannot be negotiated or softened.

17. An NPC the heroes care about is killed, captured, or irrevocably changed as a direct consequence of this action. The act of protection claimed someone else entirely. The GM may choose who, or offer the player the choice.

18. A secret the scene could plausibly reveal is exposed to an enemy or the public at the worst possible moment — a hidden identity, a physical vulnerability, a power's true nature. Secrets that could only be uncovered through prolonged investigation are not eligible.

19. The hero's selfless act inspires every ally in the scene. Each ally gains a Persistent Bonus based on the Min die for the remainder of the scene.

20. The hero's sacrifice produces an extraordinary result. The GM chooses the most dramatically appropriate outcome: a new ally or powerful NPC enters the scene at a critical moment; an enemy, minion, or lieutenant is so moved or unsettled by the act that they switch sides or stand down; or the general public witnesses the moment and throws their full support behind the heroes, creating a lasting shift in public opinion for the remainder of the Arc.

Curses

Sentient Reflection

The hero's reflection gains its own awareness and agenda. It no longer mimics their movements — instead it behaves independently, displaying different expressions, gestures, and reactions whenever the hero is near a reflective surface. The reflection cannot speak, but it communicates clearly through body language and expression, and it has opinions.

The GM controls the reflection as an NPC. It may reveal things the hero is trying to hide, react to things others say before the hero does, or simply do something deeply unsettling at the worst possible moment. It cannot leave the surface it inhabits and cannot directly harm anyone, but it can be bribed, reasoned with, or ignored at the hero's peril.

Removal requires confronting whatever the reflection is trying to communicate, as determined by the GM.

Mischievous Shadow

The hero's shadow acts independently of their body. It doesn't leave them — it just doesn't do what it's told. In low-stakes situations it's merely embarrassing: the shadow waves to someone the hero was trying to ignore, or cowers visibly during a confident speech.

In high-stakes situations, the GM may have the shadow interfere directly. Once per scene, when the hero attempts an action requiring precision or subtlety, the shadow may act against them: tugging at what they're holding, pointing toward something they're hiding, or making an obscene gesture at exactly the wrong moment. When this happens, the hero takes a Hinder based on the Min die on that specific action.

The shadow seems to find the whole situation hilarious.

Oathbound

The hero cannot knowingly speak a falsehood. They can stay silent, deflect, speak in riddles, or refuse to answer — but a direct lie causes immediate physical discomfort and fails to leave their mouth as intended. The GM may call for this at any point where deception would normally be possible.

In exchange, the hero always knows when someone else is lying to them. This is not a skill check — it is certain and involuntary. They know. What they do with that knowledge is their own business.

Technically a gift, depending on who you ask.

The Secret Name

The curse has given the hero a second name — a true name written into the fabric of who they are. The hero does not know it. It exists somewhere in the world, findable through arcane research, captured records, or the right kind of magic.

Any entity that learns the secret name may invoke it once per scene to issue a single command the hero cannot outright refuse. The hero may resist with significant narrative effort — spending a resource, taking a consequence, or making a meaningful sacrifice — but they cannot simply ignore it. The name does not compel them against their core values, but it pushes hard at everything else.

The GM tracks who knows the name and when it has been used. It should never feel cheap.

Even Curse

The curse aligns the hero's fortune to even numbers. When any of the hero's dice shows an even result, that die counts as one face higher (a 4 on a d6 counts as a 5). When any die shows an odd result, that die counts as one face lower (a 5 on a d6 counts as a 4). A result already at the floor of 1 cannot go lower.

The hero is cursed to care about parity. Every roll becomes a different kind of read.

A hero may not carry both the Even Curse and the Odd Curse simultaneously. If both are somehow applied, the GM determines which takes precedence.

Odd Curse

The curse aligns the hero's fortune to odd numbers. When any of the hero's dice shows an odd result, that die counts as one face higher (a 3 on a d6 counts as a 4). When any die shows an even result, that die counts as one face lower (a 4 on a d6 counts as a 3). A result already at the floor of 1 cannot go lower.

The hero is cursed to care about parity. Every roll becomes a different kind of read.

A hero may not carry both the Even Curse and the Odd Curse simultaneously. If both are somehow applied, the GM determines which takes precedence.

Lucky Slots

When the hero rolls all three dice and all three show the same number, the result counts as a 13 regardless of the actual value, and the hero takes 1d6 damage as the curse feeds on the moment of perfect alignment.

If all three dice show 7 specifically, the result instead counts as a 77 — a legendary success — and the hero takes 7d4 damage. The curse does not care that you survived.

Triple 7s should be announced loudly. The table has earned it.