The core mechanics
Die needed - D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20, D100
The Player states to the Game Master (GM) what they want their hero to do. The GM will tell the player the number they must roll on a D20 die to succeed. For example, if a hero wants to stab an enemy with their blade, the GM asks the hero to roll a 10 or more on the D20 + a Proficiency Die (Determined by Stats) +/- any Bonus applied. If the player rolls less than a 10, they fail. Otherwise, they succeed and harm the enemy. This is known as the Proficiency Die Check.
Difficulty Scale - Proficiency Die Check (PDC)
As it relates to actions, it is up to the GM to decide if the target number needs to be higher for a specific class or lower for a specific class based on the requested action.
Action Example
One character is playing a Thief-type class who is skilled at dexterity. The other is a Front-Line type class who is better at strength. Should they approach a locked door, a reasonable number for a lock pick on the Thief-type would be 5, whereas the Front-line hero may be closer to 20 if they both request to lockpick the door. However, those numbers would be reversed if they asked to bash down the door (Thief-type would need to beat 20 and the Front-line hero would have the 5).
Talents
Talents are skills that are governed by the Proficiency Die set to the primary stat that it falls under. There are 18 Talents divided among the six primary stats of Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
These Talents are:
- Acrobatics
- Animal Handling
- Arcana
- Athletics
- Crafting
- Deception
- History
- Insight
- Intimidation
- Investigation
- Medicine
- Nature
- Perception
- Performance
- Persuasion
- Religion
- Sleight of Hand
- Stealth
- Survival
For more information on each of these Talents, please see the Character Creation Process from the quick links on the right.
Session Play
Each session will have one or more of the following structures:
- Exploration - Time spent with the Heros as they venture out into the world to learn of cities, tales, locations, and legends.
- Combat - Time spent with the Heros as they battle with the foes of the world.
- Social - Time spent with Heros as they work through social encounters with NPCs and even each other.
Each of these 3 pillars helps to support the game function and while all GMs and their tables have their preferred methods of playing their own games, the aim is to allow for enough flexibility to ensure everyone is having a good time.
Exploration
For exploration, we recommend a wheel and spoke strategy. The hub (central) can be located in a place frequently visited by the Heroes. This could be a town, village, city, building, ship, hall, or any type of area that would be frequented with reason by the Heroes. From there, you, the GM, would spoke out to locations tied to the hub that the Heros may encounter. For example, a local mining town (hub) would have a Mine (spoke) and can provide several hours of activity that the party could work with.
For the Heroes, they will utilize their abilities, items found or purchased, and any other assets that have been acquired to explore the known realm.
Daily Actions
Throughout the Adventuring Day of Exploration, there are several actions that arise.
Use this quick guide to recall what needs to be re-set upon any Long Rest or Short Rest.
Rest Actions
- Long Rest - Sleeping for 8 hours to recover back to full. Upon completion, you will receive your Hero Points, Defense Points, all Hit Points, and any other ruling that calls for a re-set after a long rest.
- Short Rest - Resting for an hour uninterrupted will allow you to roll one Constitution Proficiency Die up to half your class level to recover Hit Points. Additionally, some rulings may state to reset certain skills or items upon completion of a Short Rest.
Hero Points
Each hero starts with 5 Hero Points at level 1 and recovers all Hero Points up to their maximum Hero Point pool after every Long Rest. A Hero Point may be spent to increase the die number by the number of points spent. Additional points may be awarded through a session by the GM. The Hero Point pool may increase through levels, items, and class features.
Defense Points
Each Hero starts with 5 Defense Points at level 1 and recovers all Defense Points to their maximum Defense Point pool after every Long Rest. A Hero may use a Defense Point to lower the die roll of actions or attacks made against the hero. Additional points may be awarded through a session by the GM. The Defense Point pool may increase through levels, items, and class features.
Daily Save Defence Cap (DSDC)
Mortals are flawed and may not be at the top of their game every day. As such, Heroes have to set a Daily Save Defence Cap (DSDC) for physical attacks and Items that require a creature to make a save to prevent something from happening.
This DSDC setting is based upon the stat die they selected for that stat and adding a 1D20. After a long rest, a Hero would roll 1d20 + the Proficiency Die to determine the day's DSDC. Should a Player roll below 10, the player will set the daily DSDC to 10.
(Optional Rule) A GM may determine that there is no minimum threshold and some days are just 'bad days' leaving the player to take whatever roll they have.
For example, a front-line fighter who put their primary stat (d12 Proficiency Die) as Strength would roll 1d20 + 1d12 to determine their DSDC for Strength for the next 24 hours.
These DSDCs are intended to be applied to the physical realm and not to the magical realm. For more on the Power Threshold Defense Cap, please see the section on magic.
Combat
Combat is a common element in many fantasy games for several reasons, but it's not an absolute requirement. However, if you are running a campaign with armies, monsters, politics, etc. it is bound to happen at some point. Combat provides a source of conflict and challenge, which is essential for creating tension and excitement in many games.
For more Combat details check out:
Soical Encounters
At some point in a Hero's career, they will have to interact with the GM and the world through a Social Encounter. This could be from speaking with guards, to shop keeps, to kings, to daemons. To run these encounters as the GM, ask the players to roll their Charisma Proficiency Die along with the 1d20 when the time calls for it.
Examples of times that call for it
- Asking for a better price
- Trying to deescalate a tense conversation
- Attempting to persuade someone to their side
- Asking for private information
- Attempting to deceive someone for their own gain
