Rules and How to Play

The Rules

THE DIAMOND RULE

All rules follow the DIAMOND RULE, This is the ONLY RULE that can NEVER be broken. All other rules bend to the whim of this one rule:
THERE ARE NO RULES THAT CAN NOT BE BENT OR BROKEN WHEN THE FOLLOWING OF A RULE COMES AT THE EXPENSE OF GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT.
This means that to the DM's discretion, ANY RULE can be bent/broken/crippled/lost/destroyed/removed/added/given up/adopted/etc. so long as it is in the pursuit of GAMEPLAY FUN.

THE GOLDEN RULES

1. The DM, in most cases, has final say on all actions.
   This does not mean the DM is infallible, and players are encouraged to remind the DM of this. If a choice the DM makes in the persuit of fun conflicts with the overall groups idea of fun, players can congregate and veto the change by simple majority. It is the DM's job to engage and promote FUN at all times, and sometimes they read the room wrong. When this happens, discuss like adults, determine the best path forward and move forward!
2. Player actions/reactions/etc. must always be in character, no meta gaming!
   Meta-gaming will not be tolerated. Not only does this ruin the immersion and fun of the session, but it completely destroys the entier point of the gamplay system. The entire objective is to have a gameplay system that is friendly to new and old players, while also focusing on creation of lore. Meta-gaming ruins this for everyone. Examples of meta-gaming include your character utilizing knowledge they would not have, that you as the player have. Other forms of meta-gaming including attempting to force relationships/actions/conversations that your character would not normally force due to their alignment and personality traits. Meta-gaming is incredibly nuanced, and there is no way to list every way it can be done. As such, the DM and Players have discretion to call out any meta-gaming. Any accusations of meta-gaming are to be discussed and handled politely and via calm conversation. 99% of the time, meta-gaming is an accident, and not malicious!
3. Distinguish between player conversation and character conversation.
   Make sure to always distinguish when you are talking as a player, or when in character. This will alleviate confusion during and after gameplay, especially when logging lore, etc.
4. Read the Player Handbook and Compendium.
   This should go without saying, but ensure you've read the player handbook and understand the basics of gameplay, as well as the compendium. The compendium is growing daily, so you are not expected to read everything (although, its encouraged to help immerse yourself in the world!), and the DM will ensure that there is a running list of "Important Lore" that IS required reading for the current campaign. Be sure to check this list before each session, as new articles may be added as needed. Just remember, nothing can bring a session to a halt faster than having to stop every five minutes to explain basic world principals/lore/character backsktories/etc. Keep the lore in mind when writing your character as well, as certain lore may be important/known to your character, and it is your responsibility to ensure you know that lore in order for gameplay to progress smoothly.
5. Have Fun.
   We're all here to have fun, so have fun! If something is bothering you, something is off, does not seem right, is not fun, etc. SAY SOMETHING! At the end of the day its the DM's responsibility to engage in and provide a fun world for everyone to adventure in, and if that is not happening, let them know! This also means don't sweat the small stuff! Sometimes you may have a bad session of rolls, maybe your character dies, maybe another character causes havoc. Any time a game of chance is determining the outcome of a situation, anything can happen! Roll with the punches and enjoy the ride. It's fine to rib eachother over these things, but never be cruel about it.

GAMEPLAY

There are two phases to a session of gameplay when playing in the world of Ávra, Active and Passive. What phase of gamplay you are in will determine the flow of gameplay, as well as how you engage in gameplay.

ACTIVE GAMEPLAY

Active gameplay is gameplay involving battles, fights, engagements, etc. that require the use of your skills/spells/attributes/etc. and dice rolling to determine all outcomes of actions. Active gameplay has a turn order determined by an initiative roll either done at the begining of a gameplay session, or before each active gameplay phase and is the turn order for all active gamplay during that session. Deciding which version of initiative to use is voted on by the players before begining each session.
Active gameplay has its own phases as well.

1. Initiative
2. Player Turns
3. DM Turn
4. Completion

Initiative

The intiative phase is either done once per gameplay session, and turn order is the same for the entire session, or before each passive gameplay phase. Initiative is determined in the same way as Passive Gameplay, a simple roll of a d20 by all players, turn order determined by lowest to highest (ie, 1 goes first, 20 goes last) The DM is included in the initiative rolls for Active Gameplay only.

Player Turns

Player turns are where the fun begins for everyone! All Player turns are determined by a system called "DM Challenge Rolls".

How DM Challenge Rolls Work

All actions within the game are based on dice rolls. Any action you can think of can be attempted by any character, regardless of class/race/skill/etc. At the heart of all actions is a simple system of 'highest number wins the roll'. All skills, traits, spells, special actions, abilities, passive or active, flow from this basic premise. The actions difficulty will determine which and how many dice will be rolled to perform said action. These rolls are called "DM Challenge rolls".There are two basic versions of a DM Challenge roll, known as Hight Challenge rolls and Conditional Challenge Rolls.

1. High DM Challenge: The DM and player both roll equal dice, whoever rolls the highest 'wins' the DM Challenge roll.
   For example, if a player and DM both roll a d20, and the player rolls a 10, while the DM rolls a 1, the player 'wins' that roll. If the DM had rolled the higher number, the DM would have 'won' that roll.
2. Conditional DM Challenge: The DM will assign a certain type/amount of dice and stipulate the winning condition the player must roll.
   For example, the DM assigns the player 2x d6, and they must roll a combined 10 or higher. As another example, the DM assigns the player 4x d6, and stipulates that at least two of the rolls must match.

A DM may also add one further modifier to either type of roll: Effectiveness.

1. High DM Challenge Effectiveness: An example of this would be the stipulation that the difference between the Player and DM roll stipulates the effectiveness of the action, or having the player roll a second dice roll to determine the effectiveness of the success/failure.
2. Conditional DM Challenge Effectiveness: An example of this would be the DM adding dice to the roll and letting the player determine which dice decides the success/failure, and which determines how effective the success/failure.

DM Challenge rolls and Effectiveness modifiers all follow the DIAMOND RULE, and can be changed/adjusted as needed to suit the player, story or overall gameplay enjoyment of the party/player. For example, the DM may add a modifer that another player must roll for the effectiveness of an action, or that the player must choose a number between 1 and 100, and the difference between the the secret number and players number determines it. It is the DM's responsibility to keep the game engaging, and if that means adjusting gameplay on the fly, so be it.

DM Turn

After the Players have all completed their turns, and the DM is next in the intiative list, the DM Will begin controlling the NPC's the players are encountering. This phase works essentially in reverse of the DM Challenge Rolls, in that now the DM is rolling against your characters. There are far less modifiers a DM will have to worry about, though, during this turn. When the DM is addressing actions towards your character, be aware of any abilities/skills/spells (active or passive) that may effect the outcome of any of the DM's rolls, and ensure you announce and apply them to the DM's actions appropriately.

Completion

Once all the conditions for winning the encounter have been met, the encounter is considered Complete. During this final phase of Active Gameplay, you will tally all your earned skill points and log them, input any upgrades/new skills earned/learned, adjust character Stats appropriately, etc. Once all players are ready to move on, the DM will enter the next Active or Passive phase of Gameplay.

Active Gameplay Breakdown: Example Turn

Utilize the flow chart below to get a better understanding of how a basic Active Gameplay turn proceeds. Remember, though, if you have any questions or are not sure what to do next, ask! The DM will always be willing to help a player along when needed!

Passive Gamplay

Passive gameplay is anything outside of battles, anything that puts the RP in RPG! Passive gameplay is much looser, and is meant to flow like a normal conversation/action would in real time. Passive gameplay also has a turn order determined by an initiative roll either done at the begining of a gameplay session, or before each active gameplay phase and is the turn order for all Passive gamplay during that session.
Passive gameplay has two phases of its own.

• Initiative
• Action!

Initiative

The intiative phase is either done once per gameplay session, and turn order is the same for the entire session, or before each passive gameplay phase. Initiative is determined in the same way as Active Gameplay, a simple roll of a d20 by all players, turn order determined by lowest to highest (ie, 1 goes first, 20 goes last)

Action!

Now the RP begins, as the DM plays NPC's and the players play their own characters in the situation presented. While the initiative is active to help ensure all players get a chance to join the RP, players can feel free to converse with the NPC's as one normally would as a group. If this means your character joins the conversation, intturupts, asks for clarification, etc. out of the Initiative order, this is ok! Don't abuse it though, and attempt to be the center of attention all the time. It is up to the DM if this is being abused, and they can enact a strict adherence to the Intiative order if needed.
Be aware that some actions taken during Passive Gameplay phases will require DM Challenge Rolls!
All encounters during Passive Gameplay will end in either the next scene of Passive Gameplay or trigger an Active Gameplay phase.
Protip: Remember that ALL encounters can be completed via Passive Gameplay, and not all conflicts need to lead to Active Gameplay to be overcame. Sometimes letting the Slick talking Goblin attempt to charm the party out of danger is the best course of action versus letting the trigger happy crossbow wielding thief open fire. Use your brains just as much as your brawn, your parties wit may be the difference between a short encounter with nothing gained, and a long fruitful non-violent encounter that ends in riches.
As before, if you are having trouble, just ask for help!