Reference
Glossary
Quick reference. Each entry links to the chapter that owns the full rule.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Advantage / Disadvantage | Judge who has the edge instead of stacking modifiers; upgrade or downgrade die tier (d6 ↔ d8 ↔ d12). Safe default d8. → Marks & Tiers |
| Die tier | Which action die the pool uses: d6 (harder), d8 (ordinary default), or d12 (easier). Set by Advantage / Disadvantage — not by Skill rating. → Marks & Tiers |
| Mark (of Success) | A die showing 5+. → Marks & Tiers |
| Omen die | d20 on every roll; Consequences and Tide input. → Omens |
| Consequence | Genuine side-effect from the Omen die; must not rewrite the primary roll. → Omens |
| Opposed roll | Contested action; compare Marks difference via reply chain. → Tide |
| Primitive action | Foundation-only pool (no Skill). → Marks & Tiers |
| Tide | Shared tracker for multi-party contests. Three sizes: Small skirmish, Skirmish, Battle. → Tide |
Potential
Section titled “Potential”| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Foundation | One of nine inborn ratings (1–3 typical). → Foundations |
| Strength | Physical Foundation: raw power. Part of Echo capacity (with Dexterity, take the higher). → Foundations |
| Dexterity | Physical Foundation: speed, precision, balance. Part of Echo capacity (with Strength, take the higher). → Foundations |
| Constitution | Physical Foundation: endurance and hardiness. Part of Exertion maximum. → Foundations |
| Intellect | Mental Foundation: reasoning and learning. Part of Echo capacity. → Foundations |
| Perception | Mental Foundation: awareness and observation. → Foundations |
| Resolve | Mental Foundation: willpower. Part of Exertion max. → Foundations |
| Charisma | Social Foundation: presence and force of personality. → Foundations |
| Guile | Social Foundation: cunning and deception. → Foundations |
| Authority | Social Foundation: natural command, gravitas. Part of Echo capacity. → Foundations |
| Skill | Rated 0–3 practiced ability under an Archetype. → Skills |
| Archetype | One of six named groups of related Skills (Warrior, Wayfarer, Artisan, Mother, Sage, Trickster). Not a class. → Skills |
| Practice | Progress toward Skill level-up. Marks convert only with Exertion (win or loss); an opposed loss also adds +2. Exact numbers live on the live sheet; adapters do not print them. → Skills |
| Trait | Binary custom feature; positive or negative by context. → Traits |
| Exertion | Spendable pool for extra dice; also fatigue/hunger/thirst ledger. Max = Resolve + Constitution + Charisma. → Exertion |
Continuity
Section titled “Continuity”| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Community | The shared protagonist (tribe, village, house…). If destroyed, the campaign ends. → Introduction |
| Echo | A carried deed or concern with weight 1–3. → Echoes |
| Capacity (Echo) | max(Strength, Dexterity) + Intellect + Authority; max total Echo weight without penalty. → Echoes |
| Decadence | Carrying zero Echoes; –1 die on every roll. → Echoes |
| Pivotal Echo | Weight 3; can move a Fortune and become a Myth. → Echoes |
| Invocation | Spending a second Exertion die when an Echo matches the roll. → Echoes |
| Foundation Myth | One of up to three active resolved Pivotal Echoes with community-wide effects. → Echoes |
| Fortune | One of five soft community measures (0–3). Ambient context for the whole community. → Echoes |
| Vitality | Fortune: people, health, capacity to absorb loss. → Echoes |
| Cohesion | Fortune: trust and willingness to act together. → Echoes |
| Surplus | Fortune: material buffer. → Echoes |
| Standing (Fortune) | External reputation of the community. → Echoes |
| Tradition | Fortune: shared memory and self-belief. → Echoes |
| Harm | Damage on a Foundation’s named track (0–3). → Harm |
| Dying | Any Harm track at 3; every roll costs Exertion; death at Exertion 0. Healing is not a superpower. → Harm |
| Protection ratio | ÷1 / ÷2 / ÷3 from armour or Reputation when converting margins to Harm. → Harm |
| Hierarchy | Axis of standing (Arms, Faith, Coin, Blood by default). → Hierarchies |
| Honoured / Trusted / Acknowledged / Outcast | Hierarchy tiers. → Hierarchies |
| Outsider | Not yet of the community; sits apart on the Diagram. → Hierarchies |
| Ruler | Single shared top seat above all Hierarchies. → Hierarchies |
| Reputation | Relative Hierarchy position; social/mental armour analogue. → Hierarchies |
| Diagram | Shared Hierarchy record of tracked characters. → Hierarchies |
| Legacy | Echo claimed by a successor character after death. No free rank. → Hierarchies |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Automation | Bot or tool layer that rolls dice, tracks state, and enforces approval workflows. → Automation |
| The Weighing | Group character-finalisation ritual. → Character Creation |
| Birth Omen | Private d20 at The Weighing; half (rounded up) becomes Foundation points. → Character Creation |
| Guiding Hand | Second Weighing Omen; full d20 as skill points. → Character Creation |
| Word | Currency earned by accepted claims about others during The Weighing. → Character Creation |
| The Wanting | Spending Words on the Weighing menu — on your sheet. → Character Creation |