Welcome to Tempest

LARP, for those who stumbled across these rules by chance, stands for Live-Action Roleplaying. It is a kind of role-playing game similar to Final Fantasy and Dungeons & Dragons that is played with other people, padded weapons, and costumed monsters rather than in one's mind or on a computer. Much of this will be old hat if you've LARPed before, but if you haven't, or if you've never been involved in "NERO-style" weekend LARPing, read on for a taste of what to expect.

In a typical Tempest game, you will arrive at a camp (complete with cabins and bunks), and the game will begin on Friday night. You will remain in-game and in-character until Sunday at noon. You will sleep and eat while remaining in character, or "in-game."

Many adventures await you in-game: a young person may rush into town seeking for assistance in dealing with a wounded demon (which you may either vanquish or heal and free), or a horde of the unliving may stumble into one of the outlying villages and pleas for aid may interrupt your meal. Then, perhaps, the local wisewoman will seek your aid in creating arcane barriers against evil powers and will pay you a small sum of money to do so. Vampires may even be lurking around the cabins late at night, hunting the unwary.

After each weekend, you will be able to advance your character so that you grow in power, survivability, and options in the next game event.

The Geas 5 System

Geas [ʤiːəs] 5 is a Live-Action Roleplaying rules system designed to allow for different worlds and settings, each with its own flavor and rules. Tempest is based upon this system, with some customizations for the specific world(s) that’s being presented during the campaign.

The Geas Pillars

 There are a few key ideas that are central to the Geas system. These are:

1. Uniqueness - The idea is that there are enough balanced options that it is unlikely that two characters will ever be much alike. The more Modules the game includes, the more unlikely it will be. We don’t ever want there to be a “correct” or “optimal” build, fighting style, or spec. We want characters to be as deep and varied as real people, if not a little bit more so.

2. Trust - We trust our players. Many of the mechanics and powers in Geas assume the player is counting their own abilities correctly, doing the things that are required, and not attempting to cheat or bypass the game. We believe that cheaters will cheat, so we want to give our players the benefit of the doubt.

3. Inward-facing Complexity - There is a LOT in these pages: lots of options, lots of powers, lots of skills. Our ideal is that once you understand the basics of the Geas and how it works, you will not need to know much else. If you know the combat system and the Effects and Conditions, then no matter how weird or strange another’s character might be, you only need to know how your stuff works…their stuff will be communicated to you if you need it. Your own character can be as complicated as you want to make it, but to others, they only ever need to know what you communicate to them using the keywords of the Geas “battle-language."

Rulebook Conventions

Throughout this manual, italics will be used for Conditions (e.g. Slept or Insubstantial), and capitalization will be used for Effects and other game-terms (e.g. Accent or Breed).

As a primarily online document, the Tempest Rulebook makes use of several convenience features, such as internal document links and the Outline feature. When possible, we highly recommend enabling / showing these features as they will make navigating the document substantially easier. In addition, the online document will have the most up-to-date revisions of the rules, and automatically supersedes any printed version when they are in conflict.

Rules Revisions

Geas, and Tempest by extension, are living rules systems - we believe that player feedback is extremely valuable as we move to provide the best larp experience we can. To that end, the Tempest Rules are not set in stone, and we will be making changes in the regular course of play to provide clarifications, close unintended loopholes, and generally align our Rules-as-Written with our Rules-as-Intended.

When rules significantly change, we will provide notice on our Primary Communication method (currently our Discord), and call these changes out during Opening Ceremonies on-site. We strive to be open, communicative, and transparent when possible, and we hope our community will positively engage with the rule process - please feel free to drop by and leave us a note online!

Learning the Rules

To best understand the Tempest rules, we suggest that you start with this section and the Glossary of Terms which will give you an overview of the structure of the game, and link to sections later on that go into more detail.

Next, The Call section will give you an overview of what Powers are capable of. Finally, skim through the rest of the book to look at Character Creation and Advancement, which will guide you through Base Classes, Skills, Character Options, Breeds, Religions, and Cultures. There is a lot here for everyone. You don’t have to memorize what the other Classes can do, but we recommend you skim through to see all the choices.

The Call

One of the main features of Tempest is the way that effects are communicated to others, known as “The Call”

Much of the rules revolve around The Call, this is the way the game conveys damage, Effects, and Conditions. Effects are things that happen to you (that often cause Conditions), and Conditions are ongoing things (like being Slept, being unable to use your Powers, or having Immunity to Fire, for example).

The Call is structured as a particular phrase that you use to tell someone else what you did. “Short Disable Right Arm by Agony” means you can’t use the arm until you’ve taken a five minute rest, and that you should role-play it as being extremely painful. Once you know them, the keywords in this “battle language” mean that you can quickly understand what is happening to you.

Character Overview

When you first create a character, you will be given a number of Character Points to spend on personalizing them, and these points may be spent on a variety of attributes that will set them apart from other characters.

Your Class grants you certain Powers that are generally unique to that Class: they may be spells you can cast, combat maneuvers you can employ, rituals you can perform, and so on. You may also find and choose to take on a Role, which is a unique set of Powers and role-playing guidelines, such as being a member of a guild or being cursed.

Character Creation

When you start your character, you begin at 2nd level in one Base Class. 

Character Points may be spent on a variety of things, including Skills, Character Options, Religion, and Culture Powers, and some of the specialty Powers or Skills found in Base Classes, Advanced Classes, and Roles.

Breeds allow you to represent your lineage, and are very customisable, allowing you to further personalize your character.

Character Backstory

A big part of any character is their background and personal history. There are some great lists of questions that can help refine and detail a great, deep character (try searching for “roleplaying character background questions” online).

A basic question would be: Why do you adventure and what are your goals? Keep in mind that a brand new character is much weaker than characters who have gained some levels, so it is best to conceive of a background and concept for your new adventurer that reflects their inexperience and lower-level of skill.

If you begin with a character who is already "master of the blade," or "immortal sorceress-queen," it will seem very strange to begin with only a few spells, or very limited things you can do with a single kind of sword.

Levels and Classes

As you play games, you earn Experience Points, which allow you to advance in level. When you achieve a level, you may select the Class you want to advance.

However, if you're seeking for something out of the ordinary, Advanced Classes provide additional options with distinct advantages and drawbacks to further specialize your character. Because Advanced Classes generally have prerequisites (whether story-based or mechanical), they may frequently act as goals as well.

Powers and Utility

Tier Powers are gained by Martial Classes when they level up (therefore classes with Powers are considered Martial Classes). As they level up, they acquire access to more sophisticated Powers, but will need to trade in existing Basic Powers to use them. Powers are divided into four Tiers: Basic, Advanced, Veteran, and Champion. Utility Powers are more concerned with character, background, and out-of-combat usefulness, whereas the other four are more often combat focused.

Tempest requires you to select your Powers as a permanent element of your character, but it also allows one to trade out these Powers slowly as you level up.

Combat Overview

Tempest is a LARP system that uses light to moderate force for combat. Blows should not be swung at your full strength. The amount of force needed for a hit is only enough that the target either feels or hears the strike hit them. Combat in Tempest is simulated with light-weight foam "weapons," arrows with foam tips instead of arrowheads fired from real bows, and packages of cloth or birdseed (called packets) that are thrown to represent spells. Players will attempt to hit each other with their weapons or packets. Combat is kept safe, and players stand at a comfortable distance from other players. No physical contact between people is permitted during combat. Strikes that hit the head or throat are not allowed (and do not count, if they happen by accident). Basic weapon hits do one point of damage and do not need any verbal cue at all; if it hits, it counts.

This damage is counted against Life Points or Armor Points. If you have armor, it is damaged first, similar to additional Life Points. Life Points can be Healed while Armor may be Mended.

Characters have a number of Life Points that represent the amount of damage they can take before they begin to die. Physical Armor, which must be actual worn armor (or at least look like real armor). There are other ways to get Armor Points. Armor Points adds to that amount in protection; each hit will take away some of those Life Points or armor. Even at the highest levels, characters have around 7 Life Points and 10 Armor Points.

Effects will be communicated with keywords so that they are easy to understand in combat, see The Call.

Classes allow you to employ Spikes, which are a limited amount of hits that deal increased damage, or can be used to fuel Powers. Shields have a limited number of Shield-Points that can be depleted when struck by large weapons such as greatswords and halberds. If all Shield-Points are lost, the shield will break and must be repaired. Tempest employs live-fire archery, which entails using low-power bows and padded arrows.

Spellcasting

Spells tend to be more powerful and useful than non-spell Powers, but they are considerably more restricted. Spellcasters have a Spellbook in which they can record a limited number of spells. They may prepare a number of spells from that book each Short Rest and can then pick from those spells to cast, expending spell-slots in the process. They may recharge some of their spell-slots during the day, allowing them to cast additional spells.

To cast a spell, you must plant one foot and remain undisturbed while reciting the spell’s incantation, which is generally longer for higher tier spells.

Once the spell is cast, you usually charge a spell-packet (a little packet of birdseed) for your Cantrips, or a spell-ball for your spells (a larger throwable ball). Spell-packets and spell-balls remain charged while you run around and get in throwing range, then discharge when they hit someone or something. These packets are in-game, and made of a specific magical substance.

There are four tiers of spells to pick from, and as the caster's level increases, they can begin to Prepare more and more powerful spells.

Casters can also utilize Cantrips, which are not Spells, but are spell-like Powers that do not require spell slots and can usually be cast at will. Casting a Cantrip follows the same process as casting a spell.

Rests

Many Powers refresh after a Short or Long Rest. A Short Rest is any five minute rest that the character wishes to count as a Short Rest. This can be spent doing anything non-strenuous, up to slow walking. Fighting, combat, running, and heavy exertion or high emotion will disrupt a Short Rest.

A Long Rest occurs on the “sevens”: at seven am, and seven pm on each game day. Thus, for a weekend event, a character will gain the effects of a Long Rest at seven pm Friday Night (usually at or before game-on), seven am Saturday morning, seven pm Saturday Night, and Sunday at seven am. Taking a Long Rest also counts as a Short Rest.

If the character is in-combat during the “seven”, the character must wait until they are no longer in combat before receiving the effects of their Long Rest. In addition, if you are Tainted at the beginning of a Long Rest, that Condition is cured before the Long Rest occurs.

Death and Dying

When you reach 0 Life Points, you begin Dying. Unless you get healing or another effect that stabilizes you, you will die and begin dissipating. Your body dissipates and you take Spirit form and travel to the Spirit Well, where you can Resurrect, and create a new corporeal body. Tempest's Death system is a one-of-a-kind roleplaying experience, with its own mechanism for determining whether or not a character resurrects depending on the character's actions.

Service Points

Service Points are gained by serving your game in some fashion. Perhaps you donate props, or your artistic talents, or your time to work as an NPC or other Staff position. Service Points can be used to buy Basic Resources, Wealth, Between Game Events, and so forth. Much more can be found about Service Points and their benefits in the Service section.

Between Game Events

Spending Service Points will allow the character to perform some actions between in-person events. This might include research, negotiations, investigation, or anything that does not involve combat or require significant input and interaction with other PCs. More can be found on BGEs in the Service section.

The Code of Conduct

There are a few principles of conduct for everyone involved in Tempest, numbered for easy reference. Note that the distinction between the player and the character is important in many of these principles. Your game may have additional Codes or requirements, but these eight points will be in effect for all Tempest games.

1. Romantic and physical contact consent procedures will always be followed as appropriate, and OK Checks will be respected (these procedures are described in the section below). Physical contact between players is forbidden unless explicitly agreed to by all participants in advance.

2. There is absolutely no behavior of any kind allowed that would be deemed derogatory to a person's race, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender, body, national origin, age, ability, or other self-identity. This includes language, actions, and all out-of-game (OOG) communication. Although this rule applies only to players, not characters, it is important to note that any action which makes a player uncomfortable should be avoided. If needed, an out-of-game conversation should be had between the players to define boundaries of the in-game actions. Note that, because it will be considered immediately derogatory, all-over body (or all-over face) paint of black, white, brown, red, and yellow is prohibited and other colors must be approved by Staff. Stories, both Staff and Player created, will never include oppression based on skin-color, and Staff-run characters will not use all-over body (or all-over face) paint at all.

3. Non-consensual sexual behavior does not exist in the game world, and players should not include it in backstories, nor should they discuss it, speculate about it, or expect to find it in any plot, lore, or gameplay options, even through consensual out-of-game interaction between players. It simply does not exist. Consensual sexual behavior exists between adults, and is entirely subject to both the physical and romantic roleplay negotiation policies.

4. Sexual conversations and roleplay must not include minors, and it is the burden of the player initiating the topic to ascertain that everyone participating in a conversation is both willing and of age.

5. No adult can be alone with a minor for whom they are not responsible. If such a dynamic occurs, it is up to the adult to immediately return to a populated area and get backup from other adults. Alone is considered any place out of the view of others. Ignoring this requirement can be grounds for immediate expulsion of the adult from the game.

6. Although the game may attempt to engender feelings of danger and threat, no player should ever make any other player or Staff member feel unsafe or threatened. In-game threats should be worded so they are clearly in-game. Also, keep safety in mind: making sure that people are safe in a fight, or feel comfortable in a scene, is more important than winning the fight or creating an immersive experience. In most cases, use of recreational drugs, alcohol, and smoking/vaping is also restricted for safety reasons. Contact Staff if you have specific concerns.

7. The property of players must be respected. Please do not take things that do not belong to you or treat other people's property in an abusive or damaging way. If your character is taking or using the property of other characters, the default assumption is that it is alright for you to do so, as long as the property is treated well and eventually returned to the owner. The player that owns the items can ask that they not be used, that replacement representations (or "reps") be sought, or that you simply don't mess with their stuff.

8. Out-of-game community behavior is expected to follow these codes as well. Topics that may be felt as bullying or triggering (such as discussions of incest, abuse, rape, or violence) may be discussed privately, but not in public channels where the buy-in and comfort levels of on-lookers cannot be appropriately judged and adjusted for. Accusations of improper behavior should be made to Staff and handled with the people in question, not brought to the community at large; such actions will be considered to be bullying.

Minors

Players who are under 18 years old are welcome in Arcanorum! To maintain the safety, quality and enjoyment of the game for all players and staff, the following policies apply to players under 18.

For anyone under 18,

• Arcanorum follows a “2x2” rule: No adult can be alone with a minor for whom they are not responsible. There must either be a minimum of two adults or two minors. If such a situation occurs, it is up to the adult to immediately return to a populated area and get participation from other adults. “Alone” is considered any place out of the view of others. Ignoring this requirement can be grounds for immediate expulsion from the game for the adult.
• All minor players must have a parent/guardian on site. They should communicate with Staff about any “designated adults” who are allowed to be alone with the minor player.

16-17 year-old players must have a guardian on site and must obey the 2x2 rule. As long as those criteria are met, they can play the game fully.

14-15 year-old players must have quick access to a guardian or designated adult (be with them, know their exact location), and must obey the 2x2 rule. The player must have at least one actual guardian on site. As long as those criteria are met, they can play the game fully.

12-13 year-old players must stay with a guardian or designated adult, and must obey the 2x2 rule. In addition, they need Staff approval in order to participate in combat. Otherwise they must wear a Green Crescent Moon (or green headband), and avoid combat areas. See the Green Crescent Moon sigil section of the Tempest Rulebook for details.

10-11 year-old players must stay with a guardian or designated adult, must obey the 2x2 rule, and must wear a Green Crescent Moon (or green headband), and avoid combat areas. See the Green Crescent Moon sigil section of the Tempest Rulebook for details.

Players 9 or younger may not attend Arcanorum games.

Reporting

If you as a player ever feel unsafe, uncomfortable, harassed, or mistreated, we encourage you to discuss the issue with a member of Staff: likely your game will have specific Staff-roles that handle these kinds of issues. If not, contact the owners of the game themselves. Please tell that Staff member immediately if you would like to remain anonymous throughout this process. Although anonymous reports will have some constraints that open reports will not have, your identity will be protected as much as possible if that is your desire. Any immediate or urgent concerns will be immediately dealt with, which may include pulling all involved parties out-of-game. The report will be investigated, and all parties will be given their say.

When mediation is called for, we feel that it is our responsibility to assist in making sure that everyone is having an excellent experience, but harm to others will not be allowed. If we find that the code of conduct is being willfully violated, we reserve the right to address the issue in the way that best serves the needs and safety of our players, up to and including banning players who are unwilling or unable to play safely.

Gender and Orientation

In Tempest, we respect the choice of a player to portray a character of any gender or any orientation on the spectrum. When portraying any gender or orientation, especially ones that differ from your self-identity, please be respectful of the portrayal, and, if you have questions or concerns, please reach out to a Staff member. Caricatures of any gender or orientation will be treated as harassment and not tolerated regardless of whether or not the performance was aimed towards a particular player.

In-Game & Out-of-Game

There will be things in this rules set that are required of the player (such as making Calls, or getting Physical Roleplay Consent) and things that are required of the character (such as taking damage, or being Repelled). It is important that the distinction between in-game and out-of-game be maintained. There are acts in-game (honor duels, arguments, even murder) which may be perfectly acceptable in the game world that are, of course, totally unacceptable out-of-game. These rules attempt to make it very clear which parts are for the player and which parts are for the character.

Signaling Out-of-Game

If you need to do or say something that will not occur in the reality of the game world (like ask a rules question, clarify what your character sees, and so forth), it is the convention to put a hand on top of your head to signal that whatever you are doing is not being done by your character. Most games encourage players to do this only when necessary. Similarly, you might see NPCs do something very similar. If you have a weapon in hand, putting a weapon on top of your head signals the same thing.

Non-Combatants

Although the rules support a fair amount of physical contact, players can still participate in the game when they do not feel comfortable or Conditionally do not want to be struck for safety concerns. To participate in this way they should inform staff that they wish to be a Non-Combatant. Noting this will allow staff to be aware that they should not be struck by NPCs and others. To physically denote that you are a Non-Combatant you must wear a green headband at all times. When combat starts to occur you should move safely to the edge of combat or leave the area entirely to minimize your chances of getting struck. If someone is striking you call for Safety and inform the individual striking you that you are a Non-Combatant and move safely out of combat.

Bleed

It is important to understand the concept of bleed. Even experienced roleplayers have difficulty separating themselves entirely from their character. Bleed occurs when the boundaries between character and player become undefined and things that are meant only to affect one affect the other, or both. If another player's character has been unkind to your character, and you find yourself upset at that other player, that is Bleed. Similarly, if you really like another player, and your character ends up being much more charitable or forgiving towards that player's character because of it, that is also a kind of Bleed. Recognize that this can happen, and use the OK Check system (below) to try and mitigate these issues. Remember not to take things personally that happen only to your character, when you can.

Disguises

Because of the difficulties in separating in-game and out-of-game disguise features, the use of physical disguises for the purpose of in-game deception becomes impractical. Therefore, a character is not allowed to apply a physical disguise during a game to hide their identity. Physical disguises are considered to be things that will change the character’s appearance, such as wigs, false beards or mustaches, fake ears, or masks. If necessary, sometimes a player may need to make it clear that they are portraying the same (or a different) character. This is especially important if the player takes a shift with a Non-Player Character. “It can be seen…” is a good Power Phrase to use in this case.

Steering

Many roleplayers believe that the ideal situation is when your character can be left to do whatever they would do in their situation, without bounds or restrictions on their choices. Unfortunately, because of issues like Bleed, there are times when their choices have to be steered for the good of the game and the community. If your character would naturally kill everyone else in the game, creating a poor experience for many other players, it may be worth steering your character’s choices. You may even be asked to steer your character by Staff, should the need arise.

Player Boundaries

Anything that makes a player feel uncomfortable, physically or emotionally, is something that we would like to avoid. As such, if anything makes you feel that way, please bring it up, either calmly with the person or people who are causing the discomfort, or with Staff. They can then address the issue and make the game better and more comfortable for you and for everyone.

Out-of-Game Signal

While every effort should be made to avoid going out of game in public spaces, such as phrasing questions about the rules in an in-game manner, or using the Power Phrases to communicate game information, sometimes it is impractical to do so.

When a player or a Staff-member wants to indicate that something they are doing or saying is not in-game, such as asking a question, checking on a description, or clarifying something, you may use the Out-of-Game signal.

To indicate that you are out-of-game and speaking or acting as yourself, rather than as a character, the common signal is to put your weapon on top of your head, or if you have no weapon (or don’t have one in hand), to put a fist upside down on top of your head. This indicates that you are no longer speaking as your character.

For Example: “I can’t drink that. I’m lactose intolerant, but my character would drink it. Should I just dump it out when my character drinks it?”, “I can’t remember how Backstab works. Do you remember?”, “I feel like you are angry at me out-of-game… are we good?”

Keep in mind, Tempest chapters strive to remain in-game at all times, particularly in public areas, so get creative if necessary and ask questions couched in in-game terms and speech, or pull aside the target of your question into a less visible area to avoid disrupting other players whenever possible.

OK Checks

There are instances in every game where an interaction can become heated, uncomfortable, or aggressive. Sometimes your character can feel one way, where you as the player feel entirely different. These can include situations like your character really despising a character whose player you really like. In any kind of situation of this type, there is a system in place for checking in and making sure that everyone involved is comfortable enough with the situation to continue. Needless to say, this system should be used authentically and honestly, and is always out-of-game.

When one player is worried about the out-of-game feelings of another, they should hold up the "OK" hand-sign against their chest. This asks, "Are you, the player, doing ok with this, or do you need it to stop?" This sign can be subtle, and should be ignored in-game.

The other player or players have three options: First, a thumbs up against their chest. This signals, "Regardless of what is going on for my character, I am fine, and we can continue."

The second is a flat hand, palm down, against the chest. This signals "I'm not sure how I feel, but we need to put the brakes on." In this case, that interaction should break off, and both players should let it go, steering as much out-of-game as is necessary.

The last return signal is a thumbs down. This means the interaction should stop immediately and the player is in distress. It may be worth dropping entirely out-of-game at that point for both parties to check in and find out where the boundaries are and what the distressed player needs in terms of support, distance, or help.

All of these signals should be ignored in-game even though they may have in-game requirements.

If you feel uncomfortable with a scene or conversation and are not getting the OK check, feel free to just signal thumbs down without prompting, or go entirely out-of-game and end it.

Personal Property

Weapons, shields, garb, and other items belong to players as well as characters. Although many times in-game it becomes desirable to pick up someone else's equipment to use it, this equipment belongs to someone and that person has the final decision as to whether it is used or not. Even weapons and equipment being used by NPCs often belong to the person playing the NPC. Weapons, shields and other equipment cannot be taken from PCs (Player Characters) and used unless permission is obtained first.

"In-game" such items may still be taken away and may even be "used" if the Staff can find a replacement physical representation for the actual item. Items taken from NPCs are assumed to be usable by anyone, but the NPC can specifically ask that the item not be used. Missile weapons, Spell-balls, and thrown weapons must be returned to the player after each encounter, even if they have been destroyed or lost to the character.

This does not mean that the weapon comes back, only that the player's property is returned to them. "In-game" the item may still be gone, missing, or destroyed. It is assumed that thrown weapons, missile weapons and Spell-balls may be used by anyone unless the opposite is specifically stated by the owner of the items.

Consent

Physical Roleplay Consent

Consent is required for all physical roleplay. This includes romantic and un-romantic physical contact, including physical contact that may be called for by in-game materials such as rituals. Physical roleplay consent is also required for acts of physical aggression, such as pushing, shoving, or grabbing, and acts of physical intimidation, such as aggressively entering another player's physical space for the purpose of forcing them to step back or implying that violent physical contact may be imminent.

If Player 1 wants to engage in physical roleplay with Player 2 outside of combat (physical contact except with a weapon remains expressly forbidden in combat), they briefly go out-of-game by placing a hand on their head and expressly requesting the specific physical interaction they are seeking, i.e., "Physical roleplay negotiation: May I kiss you?" Player 2 now has numerous options, because this is stated to be a negotiation. Options might include:

• "No, thank you."
• "No, but you may hug me, if you would like."
• "I am not comfortable with a kiss, but my character would be, so I am comfortable simulating a kiss, or simply saying that they did without completing the action out-of-game."
• "Yes, I am comfortable with a brief, closed-mouth kiss."
• "Yes, I am comfortable with a lingering, open-mouth kiss."

There is absolutely no room for debate in a physical roleplay negotiation. If a player declines a physical interaction, they do not owe an explanation for why, nor should you ever make an effort to talk them into it. Out-of-game boundaries are not subject to either in-game or out-of-game pressure.

Some players may set up long-standing consent agreements with people they know well, that follow boundaries that are familiar to them due to out-of-game boundary agreements. This is fine, but those agreements are always subject to cancellation on either person's end, and no player should ever attempt physical roleplay with a new player or someone with whom they do not have established boundaries without expressly requesting consent.

Additionally, no individual physical roleplay negotiation should be interpreted as the setting of an ongoing consent agreement. The consent is on a case-by-case basis, meaning that if the player consents to being hugged once, you must still obtain fresh consent the next time you want to hug them. If you want an ongoing physical roleplay agreement with another player, you must specifically request that, and negotiate it clearly. If at any point either person wishes to terminate that agreement, they may do so, and are not required to provide an in-game or out-of-game explanation.

Physical contact with the intent to cause real bodily harm is not allowed in any form at any point in time, with or without consent. Reckless contact is also disallowed: if a reasonable person is likely to conclude that taking an action is likely to cause real injury, even by accident, you shouldn't do it.

Romantic Roleplay Consent

If Player 1 wishes to engage in roleplay of physical or romantic attraction to Player 2, they briefly go out-of-game by placing a hand on their head and stating "Roleplay negotiation", followed by the specific form of attraction that they wish to roleplay going forward. For example:

Player 1: "Roleplay negotiation; do you consent to my character having a romantic crush on yours?"

Player 2 now has a number of options, including:

Player 2: "No, thank you."

Player 2: "Yes, and I may reciprocate the crush. Is that acceptable?"

Player 2: "Yes, but if you choose to do so the crush will be entirely unreciprocated.”

Note: Romantic roleplay consent does NOT grant physical roleplay consent unless explicitly stated. A romantic roleplay negotiation that does include physical roleplay negotiation might read as follows:

Player 1: "Roleplay negotiation: Do you consent to my character feeling romantic attraction to yours?"

Player 2: "Yes, and my character will likely reciprocate, but only briefly before losing interest."

Player 1: "Are you comfortable with physical roleplay expressed as hand holding, cuddling, and/or kissing?"

Player 2: "Kissing is unacceptable for me, but hand holding and cuddling are fine."

Player 1: "Okay!"

The requirement for consent does indeed include situations in which your character is under charm or domination type Effects or under special Conditions that might engender feelings of love or attraction. The expectation is that you will include a brief negotiation of what form the attraction will take. A love negotiation might look like this:

Player 1: "Roleplay negotiation: I am under the effects of a Power that make me love you until the next Short Rest. Do you consent to that taking the form of passionate sexual attraction?"

Player 2: "I am not comfortable with that; could you walk it back to a shy crush?"

Player 1: "Yes, thanks."

If you have taken a love-causing Effect to a character whose player is entirely uncomfortable with romantic roleplay from your character, use steering to redirect the effect to another player, i.e., "Whoops, guess I was looking 6 inches to your left!" and renegotiate. These are roleplay effects, intended largely for fun, and playing them to the letter is less important than respecting the comfort of your fellow players. If no negotiation is successful, feel free to simply shrug off the effect.

Both physical roleplay and romantic roleplay consent can be revoked by any player, at any time, and must be respected. The player is expected to use whatever steering is necessary to cease the connection. Phrases like "I suppose we just grew apart," and "Things just changed!" may be helpful here. Please remember that while the roleplay being negotiated is in-game, the negotiation is entirely out-of-game. This means that if you request consent to express romantic interest in a character, and the player declines during negotiation, your character has not been rejected in-game. Rather, your character has never felt an attraction to the other person's character. Thus, playing "the scorned lover" in this situation is inappropriate and could be a case of harassment (since it can be viewed as an in-game retaliation for an out-of-game rebuff).

If any player feels at any time that their right to roleplay consent is not being respected (if a player engages in unwelcome physical roleplay without requesting consent, for instance, or after consent has been revoked), this is an addressable concern, and should be brought to Staff attention.

Nighttime Content Consent

For those who would prefer to opt-out of Nighttime Content, from 11pm to 7am, interacting with their cabins or tents, the following option is available to all players. This system affects the whole cabin, and so, cabin mates should come to an agreement on the state of the Nighttime Content Consent as a group.

The visual signal for NCCs is a door hanger of at least 10” long by 4” wide. These hangers are out of game, and are to be ignored by characters and NPCs. Adjustments to a cabin’s NCC status are to be made by the residents of that cabin, and Staff are generally instructed to leave them alone, save in the case of abuse of the system by the residents. Door hangers, while out-of-game, should make some attempt to blend in with the decor of the game to avoid harming immersion.

Green

This Consent Status is marked with a Green door hanger, indicating that the cabin is open to nighttime NPC encounters of all types, from peaceful roleplay encounters, up to violent, combat-based, or strongly emotionally-engaging content. This is the default state of all player cabins, and a lack of a NCC door hanger will be interpreted as “Green.”

Yellow

This Consent Status is marked with a Yellow door hanger, indicating that the cabin is open to nighttime NPC encounters of limited types, including peaceful roleplay encounters, messengers, or invitations to more strenuous encounters outside the cabin, such as module hooks, which may include combat, or other more strenuous content elsewhere.

Red

This Consent Status is marked with a Red door hanger, indicating that the cabin is closed to nighttime NPC encounters of all types. Plot and wandering encounters will consider the residence off limits, and will not engage with the cabin directly.

Blue

This Consent Status is marked with a Blue door hanger, and some form of moderate light source, indicating that the cabin is closed to NPC encounters of all types due to medical necessity. This exemption from content extends into the daytime, and is considered active 24 hours a day.

The residents of the cabin should notify Staff that they intend to use the Blue hanger in pre-registration when possible, to allow adjustments in sleeping accommodations to avoid interactions and disruptions to the game and the needs of the residents. Plot and wandering encounters will consider the residence off limits, and will not engage with the cabin unless specifically requested to do so by the residents.

Fair Play

It is important to note that, if residents exit the building, they are considered fair play until the encounter concludes, and should not reenter the place they are staying if they are in a Yellow, Red, or Blue NCC status. Regardless of the cabin’s NCC status, if a player leaves the area to interact with content and re-enter the cabin’s NCC status, that character is still fair game and can receive punishment for doing so. Once a character engages with any content, they are considered active for the duration, to avoid abuse of the system as a “cabin defense.”

In addition, a cabin’s NCC status does not exempt the residents or visitors from the consequences of in-game actions, and attempting to use the NCC system to avoid the results of in-game actions may cause those consequences to expand, or even lead to out of game disciplinary actions. These markers are intended to be used freely, but it is highly encouraged that cabins or sleeping areas stay in Green or Yellow NCC statuses to experience the game as intended.

Note: Your NCC Status does not increase your chances of acquiring different types of content, but instead opts you out of content that would have come your way.

Also: as a reminder, the perk Othersleep exists for individual players that would prefer to be exempt from NCC entirely, and provides that exemption over and on top of any NCC cabin marker.

Lastly, the NCC system is a Plot / Staff marker, and Player Characters are not obligated to follow its restrictions, though we encourage players to be respectful of the residents, particularly when a yellow, red, or blue hanger is posted.

Power Words

There are a couple of out-of-game words that are used to try and clarify the world and account for things that may not be able to be handled in-game. These words are entirely out-of-game and speak to the players and portrayers, not characters or NPCs.

Caution

This is called when the caller wants someone to watch out or be careful. It can be used to suggest people look around, and anyone who hears the "Caution!" call should pause for just a few seconds to check their area.

Clarification

This word can be used to either give or request a clarification. This may be a clarification of a rule, or a situation, or even to understand better what is being viewed in-game. For some of these instances, in-game Power Phrases (see below) can be used instead, and “Clarification” will mostly come up in situations where there is time-pressure, such as combat. Examples: “Clarification: What Effect did that arrow do?”, “Clarification: Remember not to move your foot while casting.”, “Clarification: Does that appear to be the same zombie, or is that NPC now a different zombie?”

Instruction

When the Staff needs the players to perform an action, they will use this Power Word. Unlike “Obey” which is an Effect that will cause the character to perform an action, this word is used to compel out-of-game actions. Instruction may be verbal, but it may also come on info cards or other methods of communication.

Sometimes, Staff will use Instruction and then specify who they are talking to, meaning that only that person needs to follow the directions. This may include the use of Qualifiers as if it were an Effect.

Examples: “Instruction: All players please close your eyes and open them again when you hear the whistle.”, “Instruction: Please read this trap card out loud.”, “Instruction to Human characters: You begin to feel dizzy.”, “Instruction: You in the red tunic, tell me which NPC you can see that your character fears the most.” 

Safety

Once the "Safety!" call is made, everyone should stop what they are doing, and, if it is safe, kneel down and put their weapons over their heads. This call should ideally only be used by a person who is hurt or who believes that if action continues, they will be harmed.

Power Phrases

There are some in-game phrases that, when heard, indicate something important, special, or out-of-game. NPCs use these regularly, but even PCs can use these phrases to convey out-of-game information, as part of specific powers, or if they have been instructed to do so. These phrases are an in-game way to convey out-of-game information without anyone having to go out-of-game.

Power Phrase Etiquette

Generally, if a player approaches Staff and uses one of the Power Phrases to make inquiries or request clarifications, the Staff-member should try to respond in kind, using Power Phrases as well. If the player talks to Staff using hand-on-head, or “Clarification”, it will be up to the Staff-member whether to respond out-of-game or using the Power Phrases. The Staff-member may use the Phrases to try and bring things back in-game, or because they prefer to stay in character (if an NPC for example).

It Has Been Told

This phrase is used to explain a story or piece of lore that is an official part of the world. Once communicated, those hearing may decide that their character remembers having learned this before. Thus, if the Marquess says "So it has been told, my husband, Marquis DeGarr, was responsible for the murder of the demon Jiathrax," those characters who hear it may "remember" that their characters have heard the story before, treating this as a well-known fact, rather than new information. Anything included in the "So it has been told" can be trusted by the players as some piece of lore that exists out in the world.

It Can Be Seen

This phrase indicates information that the players can perceive for themselves. When the mercenary ice mage Luminaria says, "As can be seen, my bag is glowing," in-game, characters can see that her bag indeed glows with an unearthly aura.

It Can Be Believed

This will be used to introduce information that the players can believe is true. When the players think that the spymaster Venrick (portrayed by Mike) is actually Mike’s PC, Triss, Mike might say "It can be believed, I am Venrick, regardless of any similarities" and the PCs will know that Venrick is not Triss.

Lights

We welcome characters to use in-genre light sources in the game for both safety and comfort, provided they follow the following guidelines:

In general, any light that appears in-genre is allowable: this includes lanterns, globes of fireflies, luminous crystals, torches, and so on. It also includes glowing runes, luminous weaponry, and the like.

Lights should be disguised so as not to appear as modern flashlights or similarly out-of-genre, and the total amount of light emitted should be at a reasonable level to avoid affecting others enjoyment of the game and immersion. Large floodlights, building lights, phone lights, etc. are generally disallowed and Staff has the final say on any light source.

Blacklights are disallowed, as they represent a specific mechanic in-game, if a character has an item that is stated to be a blacklight then they can use an in-genre blacklight rep. Similarly, blacklight-reactive paints should not be employed by players unless it is specifically called for from another Power or effect.

Sigils

Sigils are special symbols that are extremely powerful and can appear in the natural world. They are ancient magical signs that should always be heeded. Although more may be defined by a game or game-setting, these are the default Sigils:

Red Hourglass

Death: A person who accidentally opens a door or enters an area marked with this symbol will immediately move outside the protected area and die there. A person who enters such an area on purpose will die permanently and will not take Spirit form.

Yellow Lock

Caution: Doors or areas marked with the yellow lock should be avoided. Those who enter accidentally will take a minor consequence, such as damage, and must leave the area. Those who enter such an area intentionally will take a major consequence, usually death, which may be permanent.

Green Crescent Moon

Peace: Creatures in an area marked with this Sigil are protected from harm. They have Immunity to all Effects, damage, and Powers, including their own. They cannot benefit from Rests in such an area or use Powers or skills. They are aware of things occurring outside the protected area but cannot interact with them (i.e. hold conversations, etc.). This symbol is often found on bathroom doors. Often it is acceptable to simply go out-of-game in such places (like the bathroom).

Persons marked with this symbol (or a green headband for ease of display) cannot, for in- or out-of-game reasons, be attacked. Thoughts of violence against them simply slip away from the mind, leaving the would-be attacker distracted or confused. Those wearing this symbol should have Staff permission to do so for health, safety, or other concerns. They themselves must avoid combat areas, leaving safely if such occurs.

Any attempt to game this system (using Crescent-protected individuals for protection, etc.) may result in Staff having to set further restrictions. If the Crescent-protected individual finds that they are in a situation where someone would normally have combat with the character (approached by a bloodthirsty bandit, the only witness to a murder, etc.) they will immediately drop to 0 Life Points and begin dying. A Deathblow against a Crescent-protected individual is done verbally, rather than with weapon contact.

White Halo

Cloaked: Items, areas, or doors marked with this symbol slide away from the mind. They cannot be readily perceived consciously although they may be reacted to. A character who touches the doorknob of a door marked with the Halo will not register a door or a handle, but neither will they attempt to discover why there is an invisible doorknob, or attempt to use it as a step to see through the window above the door. A generator in the middle of a field protected with the Halo can be avoided, but it will not be heard or examined by characters.

This can also be used to mark containers that include your personal, out-of-game stuff. Items marked with or protected by a white Halo are not subject to Powers or in-game abilities. A Halo on a green or red background is a special case that can be seen only by special individuals. Individual Powers or Advantages will tell a character if they can see these. Halo on green background, for example, is used for Tracking abilities. Individuals wearing a white headband or clearly marked with the white halo sigil are considered marked by a white halo and should be ignored just like personal items.

Black Key

Deadlocked: Items, areas, letters, and other in-game items may be found with a black key Sigils. This means that the item is in-game, but is un-openable by any method without Staff approval. Some items marked in this way will have names or Conditions written around the black key. These may detail ways (or individuals) which will bypass the deadlock. If the key is placed on an unopenable item (such as a ritual cord) it means the item cannot be moved or broken.

Blue Exclamation Mark

Attention: The Blue Exclamation Mark generally signals that there is an important information card nearby. When placed on a building or door, it means that the card should be read before the building is entered. Characters cannot see this sigil. If the mark is not purely blue, then the sigil exists in-game and can be seen and signals a Haven Ritual, a common way to protect buildings, tents, and cabins.

Combat

Combat Rules

When adventuring, sometimes characters will run into problems that they cannot solve peacefully; combat often ensues. These rules exist to regulate that combat and make it fun and safe for all participants.

Safety and Proximity

Players should keep combat safe and keep the comfort of other combatants in mind. Physical contact without prior consent is absolutely off-limits and can result in consequences. If you are coming in fast on another combatant and they stop, it is your responsibility not to collide with them. Contact meant to harm another is never acceptable regardless of consent, and any contact which would restrain, hold, carry, or move another person must have clear and prior consent between the two parties, and should never occur between opponents in combat. Indeed, any attack or action meant to physically cow or intimidate another player (not character) is absolutely disallowed (such as swinging at the head to make someone flinch so you can get in other legal attacks). Similarly, try to avoid risky attacks that might hit others in the head if they miss. Finally, weapon and spell-ball strikes should never hurt or wound a player. If a weapon is being used hard enough to bruise or cause noticeable pain, it is being used too hard. Similarly hard throws (especially when linked with stiff or hard Packets) that cause actual pain, bruise, or wound, are disallowed.

Pinning and Trapping

No weapon may be pinned or trapped by another’s weapons or body. This means you should not grab an incoming sword, pin one against a wall with a shield, or otherwise stop another from regaining control of their weapon.

Cautions and Safety Holds

The first goal of Tempest combat is that it remains safe. Do not fight on unsafe ground, and try to avoid fighting near hazards such as drop-offs, trip-hazards, or sharp rocks. Anyone may call a "Caution" at any time if they see someone else in a dangerous situation or if someone gets hurt in a mild way. Calling “Caution” is an out-of-game message, and usually includes a pause in the actions of the immediate participants. A safety hold is used to stop the entire game and is called by yelling "Safety!" which is often repeated by other participants until all game-action stops.

No in-game action should ever take place during a safety hold, including in-character talking, retrieving weapons, casting, or moving. With a few exceptions, safety holds should be called by the person who they affect. Once the safety concern has been addressed, PCs and NPCs should retake (or retain) their original positions before the safety hold ends. An official or NPC will then countdown to game-in so that no one is taken by surprise when the action resumes. Blows or spells that happen right as a Caution or Safety is called are not counted, spent, or lost.

Combat should never entail physical blows or tackling, overbearing, etc. that are intended to harm. By default, all contact should be made with safe, foam-padded weapons. 

In addition, players cannot intentionally grab, trap, or entangle weapons or shields. Shield rushes and punches are also strictly illegal although shield contact with someone you are fighting sometimes happens, but that should be generally avoided.

Moving the Dying, Helpless, or Dead

Often, characters seem to want to lug each other around. If a character wants to move a Helpless or Dying creature, they should follow this procedure:

• Mime getting the character to be carried ready for lifting. This requires the carrier to be bent down and have both hands totally free.
• The carrier should then announce “carrying” and can then move away at a slow walking speed.
• The portrayer of the person being carried should put their head down and tuck their hands to their chest. They may not hold anything, unless they have a power that says otherwise. They should follow the carrier wherever they go and should try to remain close.
• If the carrier is struck or hit with an Effect, that will not end the carry. If the carried person is hit with Effects or damage as well and they should take it normally.
• The carrier should let the other know when they are being put down.

If the carrier is Strengthened, they may move at any speed while carrying the body and need only have one hand free to start the carry. The Strengthened carrier may move as fast as they can get the portrayer of the carried character to move.

Swimming and Drowning

A character who finds themself underwater without any way to breathe will die in a Slow 180. Characters are considered able to swim as long as they are wearing fewer than 5 points of physical armor and have both hands free. A Strengthened character can swim in any amount of armor, assuming free hands, and can dogpaddle while holding equipment with 5 points or fewer of physical armor.

Trapped and Alone

If a player finds their character stuck with no way to get out (such as permanently Imprisoned out in the woods somewhere), the player can choose to have their character take Spirit Form (as if they had died) and seek out Staff. Staff will find a way to get them back into the game, although there may be some cost or penalty. This penalty will generally be death but may not involve dying based on the situation - as always Staff has the final say.

Doors

Characters often come to doors and seem to need to break them down. A door can, by default, take 100 points of damage before being Shattered. If the character uses the Shield-Breaking Effect on a door, the door takes ten points of damage. Doors, by default, are immune to Mind, Madness, Fear, Terror, and other emotion and sentience-requiring Accents.

A door can be barred with an actual crossbar, or with furniture/planks, etc. This acts exactly like a second door. I.e. the first one is broken down and then the next must be dealt with. Only one “bar” per door can effectively be used. So, the defenders prop a chair up against the door to support it, and the attackers break down the door (then open the actual door which, presumably, has not been actually damaged) and see the chair there and repeat the process on the chair. Any fresh door or a door whose status is unknown should be assumed to be at full points.

Contesting Doors

With an intact door, those who want it closed automatically win any push/pull contest. As long as there is someone at the door who wants it to stay closed they can do so, and anyone trying to open it will fail. Instead, the outside attackers must destroy the door (and any barricade) to open it. Anyone who tries to close the door is allowed to do so unimpeded (though they can be attacked with weapons while it is closing). If an Insubstantial creature is trying to enter through a briefly open door, let them through.

Once a door is destroyed, this assumption reverses and anyone who wants it open automatically wins any push/pull contest. Anyone who tries to open the destroyed door is allowed to do so unimpeded (though they can be attacked with weapons).

Tents

Often, characters will bivouac in tents which, while often very private and comfortable, do not provide the best protection. Should an opponent attack a tent, they should come up to the tent to within melee distance and make it clear that they are attacking the tent. Then the Staff member overseeing the scenario should gather the names of the occupants of the tent. Review Nighttime Content Consent for consent rules regarding engaging at night.

Those inside can respond with one of several choices:

"Responding" - The players and staff move to a safe location and play out the scenario live. Those within the tent have a few minutes to gather themselves quietly, and reapply critical makeup to represent their characters appropriately. Any attempt to use this time to summon help ends the grace period, and Staff may impose penalties, up to, and including moving to narratively ending the scenario per “Staff Discretion.”

“Remain Within” - Those that choose to leave the tent then have a Slow 100 (counted by the attacker) to remove themselves from the tent without harm. Once they are fully outside the tent and standing, they can be attacked as normal. Once the Slow Count is completed, the attacker can begin calling damage or Effects on those still within the tent, using whatever Powers they have at their disposal. For normal attacks, they can call out “1 Damage” as often as they can/desire. All damage and all harmful Effects used on the tent will affect a single target, called with the [Name or Description] Delivery.

"Staff Discretion" - Staff will describe what happens to all involved without playing it out, including mechanics and statuses. This affords the least control to the Players, as should be used as a last resort.

For Example: Stirges is minding their own business in a shared tent, unwinding from the night while outside, two goblins are able to sneak up the tent. The marshal of those goblins announces to the occupants that the tent is being attacked, and Stirges chooses “Remain Within.” As Stirges hastily begins putting back on their costuming, they call out loudly for help.

 After a slow 100 count, the Goblins begin calling “Stirges, 1 Damage,” “Stirges, 1 damage.” This deals two damage to Stirges. As they go to shout for help again, Stirges hears one of the goblins call “Stirges, Short Taint by Poison.” Stirges has a Protect vs Poison, however, so they call “Protect” to Counter that Effect.

Recks, a human fighter with no cosmetics to put on and who had not even taken off their armor yet, hears the tent being attacked from their own and exits it with a can-do attitude. They engage the Goblins, who are forced to focus on Recks rather than continue their assault on Stirges.

For Example: Jax is laying down in his tent. He has no cosmetics on, and plays a Chimera/Gheist with a bunch of cool prosthetics. He hears a group of bears approach from a nearby cave. When the marshaling spirit asks him what action he will take for this raid, Jax chooses ‘Staff Discretion’.

The Marshaling Spirit asks for his spirit, and quickly discusses with him what skills and abilities he would use to engage with this combat. Jax asks “Can I feed the bears? I have the Nature Lore skill and also I’m a second level Ranger.” Plot decides that he can, as long as he provides a food item, which he does. The Bears walk away, taking only his food.

In another part of the camp, however, the bears come to David’s tent. David also played a chimera and chose ‘Staff Discretion’ as his response. When asked what skills or abilities he wished to use, David had no real commentary to offer back, and simply said “I'll fight them.” “You’ll fight two bears alone?” “Yes.” David is told to report to the spirit well in the morning as he was ripped apart and eaten by bears.         

Divine Locations

While the vagaries of the divine can be debated, the effects of the divine upon the earth are clear, and the rituals used to create these locations are available to all faiths, devotions, and deities alike. However, some of these entities clearly favor one kind of influence over the other.

Consecrated Buildings / Ground

Consecrated areas are those devoted to a particular deity, faith, devotion, or religion, and offer up benefits to those matching the Consecrations Qualifier. Generally, Consecrated areas offer up a sense of peace and calm, perhaps even sanctuary to those who follow the faith and little else. Those outside of the intended audience feel little, if anything, sometimes even being unaware of the divine nature of the place.

An individual that is aware of the Consecration and has a matching Devotion, Religion, or Patron may choose to complete a Short Rest in half the normal time. As they do so, they should offer up a prayer to the greater power of the Consecrated area.

Desecrated Buildings / Ground

Likewise, Desecrated areas are those devoted to a particular deity, faith, devotion, or religion, and offer up detriments to those not matching the Desecration’s Qualifier. Generally, Desecrated areas offer up a sense of unease and anxiety to those who do not follow the faith and little else. Those who follow the faith or devotion feel little, if anything, sometimes even being unaware of the wards against intruders.

An individual that is aware of the Desecration and does not have a matching Devotion, Religion, or Patron may not complete Short Rests in that space.

Ropes and Knots

All characters may choose to be competent enough with ropes and knots that they can tie others up without any normal chance of escape. If a tied up character can touch a bladed prop to a rope, they can cut themself free in a Quick 30. Ropes, when “tied” around a person, should be left so that they can, in fact, be removed by the player who is “tied." Do not actually physically tie individuals up, as this is a safety hazard.

Hit Locations

The combat system is based around five separate hit locations. These locations are left leg, right leg, left arm, right arm, and torso. These will matter for Powers that disable a limb or various other Effects.

Off-limit Locations & Invalid Shots

Head, throat, and hits to sensitive body parts, like the groin, are off-limits, and any attack which hits the head, neck, or sensitive location should not be counted (regardless of whether it hit another hit location before or after). Hits to a hand which is grasping a melee weapon are not counted but are not illegal (note that hand on shield, thrown weapon, or projectile weapon is counted normally). Similarly, it is illegal to purposefully block with the head, neck, or sensitive location, attempting to use them to stop an otherwise valid shot is illegal.

Valid Hits

 A shot (melee attack) is considered to be valid as long as it is not a graze (a slash that does little more than touch the skin, and has no percussion at all), draw cut (after a missed attack, the weapon being pulled back strikes the person), return (a shot that is being pulled back after a swing and accidentally strikes something), or push (a shot hits only after the initial motion has been stopped or blocked, and only hits because of continual pressure). Stabs are not allowed, and players should be careful to avoid them. If a shot still has enough percussion that it would have been a good hit, even though some amount of the blow has been caught on a block, the shot should be counted. A hit from a thrown or projectile weapon should be taken if it touches the player. Additionally, always remember to keep your swings safe such as not to harm others.

Whether a hit counts or not is always the decision of the person being struck, although this can be overruled by Staff when necessary.

Attacks that are begun after the attacker’s limb has been rendered useless, or after a character is made unable to attack (Repelled, Dying, Slept, etc.) do not count, and it is the responsibility of the attacker to let their opponent know that the attack was late. If the attack was already started, in motion, before the limb or character was made unable to attack, then the attack still counts.

Blocked Hits and Equipment

For all attacks that only do damage (no additional Effects):

• Attacks that strike only clothing, or garb are invalid. For example, swings that catch your long flowing sleeve are invalid and the damage should not be taken.
• Attacks that strike equipment but would normally have hit the combatant are valid. For example, swings that hit your hip bag are valid hits and the damage should be taken; however you do not take swings that strike equipment that can block attacks, like weapons and shields. The attack is considered to hit the targeted location as if it had not been stopped by the equipment.
• Intentionally blocking weapons with garb is not allowed. For example, holding up a cloak to intentionally catch weapons.

Blocking Projectiles

Shields and weapons can effectively block arrows and other projectiles.

Bounces and Deflections

Arrows and thrown weapons that bounce or deflect before hitting a target are valid and should be taken. Packets are only valid on the first target they strike. If the struck player cannot tell if the packet bounced or not, they should assume it didn't bounce and take the effect of the packet.

Combat Etiquette

A few things to remember when engaged in melee combat:

• Be generous with your shot-taking. It is better to take shots you are not sure of than to accidentally not take shots that should have been valid.
• Do not call other people’s shots. If your opponent does not take the hit, accept that there is likely something you didn’t see or know, and keep fighting.
• Make sure to let your opponents know if you think they should not take your shot for whatever reason.
• If you hit someone in the head, neck or sensitive area, pause the fight until you are sure the opponent is alright. You don’t have to call a Safety, but do not follow that shot with additional shots.
• If you really believe your opponent is not taking shots you think should be valid, mention it to them politely. If the problem continues, ask a Staff member to watch the fights.

Counters

The Call for a Counter is “Counter, [Power Name]. In Powers that have a Counter, the exact Call suggestion will be listed as the Call. Protect is a particular kind of Counter that is called specifically as “Protect."

Searching

Often, after combat is over, characters will want to search bodies for treasure or magic, or may want to take body parts or other resources. When one person wants to search the body of another, they should inform the person being searched that they are searching. They should mime checking pouches and boots, etc. for a Quick 100. At the end of that time they can use “Instruction: Give me your treasure.” Note that Searching and Scavenging can occur at the same time.

Effects and Accents

See the respective Effects and Accents sections below.

Base Damage

The damage a character does when swinging a weapon without any temporary damage bonuses or detriments. In the vast majority of cases, this number is one, and is uncalled damage. However, some classes, powers, and abilities can alter this number, often with a “Grant” Effect, or as part of the class’ progression.

Uncalled Damage

Damage is always considered to be a single point of damage if no call accompanies an attack. Higher amounts of damage are always called out as the character swings their weapon. Thrown weapon, projectile weapon, and spell damage should always be called. The player may always, if they desire, do less damage than their maximum with weapon attacks.

Zero Damage

A player may always call “Zero” or "Padded" as their damage. This will not hurt the opponents and is the equivalent of hitting with the flat of the blade, or hitting lightly, or any one of a number of ways of attempting not to actually wound or injure. Note that if a character is sparring, and forgets to call “Zero”, that is an accidental cut that will actually draw blood. Some weapons, like practice swords for example, can be limited to only doing zero damage. Once it is clear that characters are participating in an activity for which they do not intend to hurt each other, they can simply communicate that they will be doing zero damage until further notice.

Spikes

Spikes are a way for characters to do more damage in combat. By default, Spikes do the character's current Spike Damage, which is one additional point of damage to a weapon attack's Base Damage, although some classes, skills, and powers can alter this.

Note: Be aware that some alterations to Spike Damage and Maximum Spikes are to the Base number (not subject to stacking) and some are added Bonuses (subject to stacking).

Whenever a Spike is used, the character will call the damage (unless it is one point) as the attack is made. Whether it hits, misses, is blocked or Prevented, the Spike is expended. Using a Spike to fuel a Power still counts as using or expending a Spike for the purposes of those Powers that trigger on Spike-usage. You may not use Spikes in conjunction with other Powers unless otherwise stated by that power’s description.

A Short Rest will refresh a character’s Spikes back to the current value of the character’s Maximum Spikes. The base number can be found on the Character Level Table, but is often altered by classes, skills, powers, and the like.

Flurry

A flurry is a series of melee swings delivered at an enemy in combat with little or no pause. A flurry is reset by stepping out of melee weapon range and ceasing all attacks for the space of about one second. There are no restrictions on how long a flurry can last, but only one Spike per melee weapon can be expended during a single flurry, whether it is expended to do damage or for a Power. In order to prevent “rabbiting” or “machine gunning”, all shots that hit the same hit location successively (regardless of which weapon is used) in the same flurry (from the same attacker) do not count.

Shield-Breaking

There are a number of ways that a character can get the Shield-Breaking Effect, including great weapons and spells. Whenever Shield-Breaking is called on a shield, it loses one Shield Point. A shield that drops to zero Shield Points is Shattered and cannot be used until it is Rebuilt. After being Rebuilt the shield will have one Shield Point. See the entry on Shields later in this chapter for more details.

Unnoticed Attacks

As a general guideline, if a player makes an attack which is apparently unnoticed by the target, the player should feel free to assume that whatever Powers they used are not expended. The character, in this case, will experience this as a flub: the spell magic flickers before it hits, the blow is off somehow, etc. If the situation is not too hectic, it can be worth trying to communicate to the target that they have been struck, but in general, just try the attack again, including any spell-casting or incantation that was needed the first time.

Proficiency

Often, characters will find themselves trying to use weapons (or shields) with which they are not proficient. A character cannot do damage with a weapon with which they are not proficient. If a character blocks an attack using a weapon with which they do not have proficiency, they will take damage as if it were not blocked. It is also possible for a character to use a shield with which one is not proficient to block. In this case, any attacks blocked by the shield are effective as if there were no shield. Effects that target the shield will still affect the shield.

By default, any time a character holds more than one weapon in one hand, the character is considered non-proficient with all of them. If a character uses more than one shield at a time, they are considered non-proficient with both shields. If a character is using two weapons without the skills that would allow them to do so proficiently, they are considered non-proficient with both. If one weapon is obviously being held away and out of combat (literally just being held), then the character can still use their primary weapon proficiently. Hits that land on the held (not used) weapon do damage to the arm holding the weapon. Characters may hold a weapon in the same hand that holds a shield.

Natural Weapons

Often, creatures will attack with claws, tails, or other “natural” appendages. Natural weapons can be of any variety and should be marked by being mostly red or obviously marked with red. These weapons act as normal weapons for the purposes of Effects, except as follows: Natural weapons cannot be caused to be dropped; If the limb is Disabled, the weapon need not be dropped but the limb cannot be used and hits to the weapon will count as hits to the limb.

If the weapon is targeted by a Disarm Effect, the holding limb will take a Disable Effect instead, with the duration being the same as Called for the Disarm, or a Quick Count of 30 if no duration is called. Shatter will cause the weapon to be unusable and the weapon will cease to cause or block damage. Finally, the weapon cannot be taken when the creature becomes unconscious or dead.

Shields (more on Shields below) may also be “natural” if mostly red or obviously marked in red, and natural shields have the same properties as natural weapons. Additionally, if a natural shield takes Shield-Breaking enough to Shatter it, the shield need not be dropped, but no longer provides protection.

Shields

Shields, by default, are immune to all weapon damage and will stop any blow that hits them (see combat rules about valid blocks). Shields that are small size or larger must be gripped in the hand to offer protection, otherwise they give no protection, and damage that strikes the shield will be taken as if there were no shield present. Bucklers will offer protection if gripped or strapped to the arm. A character cannot proficiently use more than one shield. If a second shield is used, the character is considered non-proficient with either.

Characters may hold a weapon in the same hand that holds a shield. They may even wield a weapon that is both a shield and a weapon. In these cases, the item will be affected by Powers that target shields and/or weapons, and the whole item will be affected. “Shatter shield”, for example, will affect it, destroying both weapon and shield.

Shield Points

Shield Points, in the table below, shows the number of times a shield can be struck by the “Shield-breaking” Effect before being Shattered. A buckler shield will be Shattered after only one Shield-Breaking hit. Once a shield is Shattered, Mending cannot give it Shield Points back. It will need to be Rebuilt (with the Rebuild Effect) in order to be useful again. A shield that is affected by Rebuild will have one Shield Point by default.

Shields Gifted & Found

Whenever a shield is handed to another, the receiver should, whenever possible, be informed how many Shield Points the item still has. If a shield is found unattended without any actual knowledge of its state, it will always have zero Shield Points and need Rebuilding.

Armor

Armor is designed to protect a character in combat. It will do this with a number of Armor Points which will protect the character from damage.

Armor Points

If a Character has Armor Points they will lose the Armor Points first instead of Life Points when they suffer damage. The only exception to this is the Piercing Effect, which bypasses Armor Points and does damage directly to Life Points. Armor Points can be returned by the Mend Effect, which can come from the Tinkering Skill, or various Powers or Skills. Natural Armor can be Mended in these ways and also by application of Healing. Armor Points do not normally refresh during Rests. Armor Points are always set at their maximum value at the beginning of an Event unless otherwise required by Staff. Any tinker can assist others in Mending their physical armor at a Tinker’s Forge.

Physical Armor

Calculating Physical Armor Points

Armor covering specific locations will contribute to the total number of Armor Points the character has. Each location will contribute based on the kind of armor it predominantly appears to be (meaning it is crafted to look like that armor type, even if it uses modern or unrealistic materials). If armor is layered (such as a quilted gambeson worn over a chainmail shirt) only the highest-value armor is counted (i.e., they are not added). The 10 locations are: Neck, Shoulders, Chest, Belly, Back, Sides, Upper Arms, Lower Arms, Upper Legs, Lower Legs (these are listed on the Armor Point Table below).

Physical Armor Types

There are 5 categories of physical armor: Quilted, Leather, Chainmail, Brigandine/Scale/Lamellar and Plate Mail. These can all be simulated using modern or alternative materials. The basic requirement for an armor prop is always that the simulated armor should look like armor, and should look like the type of armor being simulated when viewed from more than a few feet away. More fantastic armors should be gauged in terms of appearance and similarity to existing armor types. Crystal plates might be most like plate mail or like brigandine. Vine armor might be most like Leather.

Quilted - Padded armor is far more than just cloth: It is made from heavy material, often has filler of some kind, is thick, and reinforced in various ways. Simulated quilted armor should mimic this look and should be obviously armor (not just clothing).

Leather - Real leather armor and simulated leather armor that is made to look like hide/leather. Simulated armor must meet the Basic Simulated Armor Requirement.

Chainmail - Chainmail that uses tightly connected rings of metal. The basic pattern has each small ring (half inch diameter, or smaller) connected to four others. Simulated chainmail can be made of other materials including knitted or crocheted yarn, or aluminum rings.

Brigantine/Scale/Lamellar - Brigandine armor that is made from metal plates between layers of leather or cloth, scale armor that is made up of overlapping metal scales, and lamellar armor that has overlapping plates of metal or thick leather joined to each other by cord or chain links. Simulated armor of these types can be made of other materials such as well-dressed plastic or vinyl plates.

Plate Mail - Plate mail armor that is made from rigid metal plates with complex joints to allow for movement. Simulated plate armor can be made of other materials such as heavy plastic or foam.

The following chart shows the Amor Point total a character would have if they had a "full suit" (all 10 locations) of that type of physical armor.

Physical Armor Type Table

Determining Total Armor Points

To determine the total Armor Points for a character, use an Armor Point Table which shows the 10 locations, the armor type for each, and the full suit points for that type (example below). Each location only benefits from the highest armor type covering that location. They are not added. For shoulders, arms, and legs, armor on only one limb is given half points. Armor that is exceptionally beautiful, well-crafted, or otherwise immersion-building may (optionally) be submitted to the appropriate Staff who may grant one bonus Armor Point for its covered locations at their discretion. The location points are then added up and divided by 10 (i.e., averaged). Round to the nearest whole number (.5 rounds up) for the total represented armor. The player can then adjust their Armor Points if they wear only some pieces of armor, or add new ones.

For Example: Tymera is wearing a plate mail breastplate without pauldrons but with a gorget, with a short-sleeved chainmail shirt underneath. Her right arm has a leather bracer that is stunningly crafted. Her upper legs are protected by tassets of plate, and she has leather greaves on both legs.

Example Armor Point Table - Tymera

Once this table is complete the player should take note of the contributions from each piece of armor. From the example we see that If Tymera doesn’t wear her leather bracer, she will still have 8 Armor Points (7.6 rounded to 8). But if she removes both her plate tassets and her leather greaves, she would have 7 Armor Points (6.5 rounded to 7).

Physical armor that is worn is often referred to as the represented or “repped” armor that a character is wearing. This is the total armor points that the character is awarded for the armor that is currently worn via the table above. The Armor Points a character can get from represented armor is also capped by their highest armor Skill. Without an armor Skill, the character doesn't get any points from physical armor.

Finally, the maximum Physical Armor Points a character can benefit from is determined by their Skills and may be altered by Powers. Those limits and alterations are applied after their total armor is calculated above. Thus if Tymera is wearing all of her armor from the example above and has the Medium Armor Skill, she would only benefit from 6 Armor Points. If she took the Armored Shell Fighter Power she would gain one more, for a total of 7 Armor Points.

Summoned Armor

Any armor that is created by spells, Powers, or other abilities is called “summoned armor.” In most ways, summoned armor works just like physical armor, however, it can only be Mended or Rebuilt by spells or powers, or by an Enchanter who spends a Slow 60 roleplaying re-forging the magical armor at the Planar Weir’s circle of Foundational Empowerment. There are some Powers that may Dispel summoned armor, removing it entirely, however, Shatter will work normally, removing all Armor points, but not dispelling it, thus requiring it to be Rebuilt before being of use again.

Natural Armor

Almost every creature that a character might face will have some amount of natural armor. It has two properties that set it apart from physical armor. First, it is not represented with a prop. The creature has a thick hide, or armor plates, or chitin, etc. to protect itself from harm, and will not wear plate mail, or chain, or worked leather, etc. The second difference is that natural armor can be Healed or Mended. This means that Effects that “Heal to Full” or “Heal to Full Life Points” will fully Mend natural armor. It is bypassed normally by Piercing damage and can be Shattered and Rebuilt just like physical armor.

Stacking Armor

Especially when summoned armor from Powers becomes available, characters will often find themselves both wearing physical armor and being affected by summoned armor, or having natural armor and wearing physical armor over it. As soon as the character gains two different types of armor they must choose which type of armor will be used. This is not on a piece-by-piece basis: the character can gain benefit from only one of physical, summoned, or natural armor, just as if that were the only type they had. All other armor is immediately exhausted and will grant no Armor Points. Once this choice has been made, it cannot be changed until a Short Rest, or until one is removed, at which point the exhausted armor would need to be Mended in order to function. For example, Triss is wearing some pieces of leather armor, giving him 3 Armor Points. He is the recipient of “Armor of the Ancestors”, a summoned armor which would give him 6 Armor Points. He chooses Armor of the Ancestors, and his leather armor becomes exhausted (losing 3 Armor Points). During the battle, he loses his Armor of the Ancestors. He immediately asks his Cleric to give him Mending spells to bring his leather armor back up to its full value.

Similarly, Nasarack, wearing a combination of plate mail and chainmail that gives him 6 Armor Points, gets “Greater Darkshroud” which gives him 8 Armor Points of summoned armor. He chooses to keep the physical armor and fights the next battle with 6 Armor Points. During a Short Rest he learns that he will be fighting some Paladins and decides Greater Darkshroud will be better, so during the rest he switches exhausting his physical armor (note that Greater Darkshroud has a duration of Long Rest so it is still in effect). The Greater Darkshroud is currently exhausted, so he gets Mending to bring it back up to 8 Armor Points.

Mending and Rebuilding Armor

All armor can be Mended (Armor Points restored) or Rebuilt (made useful again after being Shattered). Magic is a common way to do this.

Armor Safety

When the temperature, weather, or other conditions exist such that the wearing of armor or similar clothing, prosthetics, or challenge-required costuming is detrimental to the health of the players, the Staff may call a “Armor Safety” condition. This will relieve the player community of representing these requirements for the duration of the condition. Items covered under this condition include:

• Metal Armor
• Leather Armor
• Padded / Quilted Cloth Armor
• Fur Costuming Requirements

This list may be amended at any time, or on-site: please consult the Staff if you feel that a Challenge should be affected by this condition.

Healing

Those who have lost Life Points will likely want to be healed. There are a number of ways that a character can regain Life Points. Alchemists can make potions that will restore Life Points, but most healing will come from the Powers of various Classes, especially ones like Clerics. Warrior-types often have a limited ability to heal themselves as well. No Life Points are restored from Rests. Characters start each Event at full Life Points unless otherwise required by Staff.

Self-Diagnosis

Characters always know how many Life Points (and Armor Points) they have and how many they are missing, although they will not be thinking of it in terms of points. In addition, characters know what Conditions they have, with the exception of Charm which causes the target to be unwilling to believe they have been Charmed.

Death and Dying

Helpless

When a character is incapable or unwilling to defend themselves they are considered Helpless, and are subject to Touch spells by foes, and gain the Qualifier “Helpless.” Many conditions and being unconscious, stabilized, or dying qualify the victim as being Helpless, as does being a Willing target.

Dying

A character that drops to 0 Life Points is Dying and should begin their “death-count” which is a Slow 180. During the death-count the character drops all held objects including packets and spell balls and can do nothing other than roleplay their anguish and call for help. No other information can be imparted.

When Healed, a Dying character starts at 0 Life Points and gains from there. So, they will have however many Life Points they were Healed for (and will no longer be Dying).

A character who is Dying is considered Helpless. Dying is considered stressful enough that a Short Rest is not possible while Dying unless the character has been stabilized.

Stabilized

A Dying character can also be Stabilized, meaning that they stop their death-count but are still at 0 Life Points and are still considered Dying in all other ways. This means that the character will not be able to use any Powers unless otherwise stated by the Power. Taking any damage will end the stabilization and re-start the death-count, giving the character another 180 seconds. If a character is at 0 Life Points but stable at the end of a Short Rest (five minutes) they will regain 1 Life Point.

Death

A character who dies immediately loses all Conditions and the durations of all Powers expire. Similarly, a character who comes back to life loses all Conditions and the durations of all Powers expire.

A character who is dead begins their “discorporation-count." During this time they can be brought back to life with various Powers and Spells. However, once they have been dead for a Slow 180, they discorporate, becoming a Spirit.

Spirit

Once a character has completed their discorporation-count they become a Spirit and gain the Spirit Type.

As a Spirit, they can pick up any of their equipment that is not held/wielded/possessed by another person. They should then proceed immediately to a Spirit Well, an area that will be designated by the Staff. They should walk slowly and make eye contact with no one. They cannot drop any items they have picked up nor interact with anyone who does not use an ability or Power that allows for that (those that have the specific Qualifier “to Spirit”).

The portrayer should take care not to convey any information to the living through their actions on the way to the Spirit Well. If attacked or otherwise targeted by Powers that do not affect them, they should call “No Effect, Spirit.” Once a character reaches the Well, the last hour before they died will become hazy and hard to remember, to the point where they will not remember who or what killed them or how they died, although they may have residual feelings about people or places who were involved in their death. A character who dies immediately loses all Conditions and the durations of all Powers expire. Similarly, a character who comes back to life loses all Conditions and the durations of all Powers expire.

Passing through the Well

When the Spirit arrives at the Spirit Well, they should check in with Staff, who will address a variety of issues, depending on the specifics of the death. Spirits may have to complete tasks, complete quests, make things right with other Spirits, or have a chance to make discoveries that can only be seen while in the Well.

In some circumstances, there may be no coming back (see Final Death below). In other circumstances, the character may not suffer any consequences at all. Through deals, rituals, or virtue they may avoid the consequences of their Spirit weakening, though the character may find the price to continue to become more difficult to bear each time they pass through.

Resurrection Sickness

Unless otherwise instructed by a Marshal Spirit, when a character has been cleared to resurrect, they should head to a consecrated area which may include circles of power or other specially designated sites. Once there, the character must Focus Slow 300 in order to return to life. This period will be a time of reflection, of the character remembering their life, their triumphs and their mistakes. Staff may have other instructions for the character at this time too. At the end of the count, the character loses the Spirit Type, and generally becomes alive with one current Life Point.

Final Death

When the character visits the Spirit Well for the last time, that character has died their final death. In most cases the Spirit is allowed to return to the general area in which they died, depositing a pile of black bones, as well as any physical items they wish to leave there. This Final Spirit may stay with the bones as long as they want, and may communicate with anyone as if they were not a Spirit. Once they leave the bones, the Final Spirit falls apart as it is at long last claimed by Death.

Deathblows

Any character can perform a “Deathblow” on a Dying or otherwise Helpless target. This will take them 3-5 seconds and they should role-play an obvious killing maneuver, such as snapping the neck, chopping off a head, twisting a blade in the heart, etc. A simple tap or negligent blow will not be enough to get the job done. Once this has been done, the target’s death-count drops to a Slow 10.

A target that is feigning unconsciousness or Helplessness and takes no action to stop the deathblow will still be affected and will immediately drop to 0 Life Points and start Dying with a death-count of Slow 10. Deathblows can be done with weapons, equipment, or even bare hands or damaging magical bolts, but have no called damage (the damage is assumed to be of a special, mortal kind that is not represented by a number). In addition, the person performing the Deathblow needs to take care not to actually hit, hurt, or touch the target without consent.

Character vs. Character

In games, conflict will occur. Sometimes this conflict is dogmatic, other times emotional, sometimes deadly. Although the level of conflict between characters will be determined by the setting and the plot of the game, the ideal is that all conflict remains between characters, rather than being between players. For this reason, in this chapter a careful distinction will be maintained between players and characters and a framework will be provided for handling those conflicts. The abbreviation “CvC” is often used as shorthand for Character vs Character conflict.

Why not ‘PvP’?

PvP is the abbreviation used to mean ‘Player vs. Player’ and is the more common term used in video games, and, until recently, LARPs as well. We avoid PvP because the ideal is that the players themselves have no serious conflicts and are all working together for a common story. We try to keep the conflicts between characters and thus use the CvC term almost exclusively.

Consent and Check-Ins

See above for rules and guidelines regarding consent.

Bleed

See above for guidelines regarding bleed.

Steering

See above for guidelines regarding steering.

Respect and Compassion

Above all, the guideline in all interactions between players must be one of respect. Players must respect the choices, boundaries, and enjoyment of other players. This is not the Golden Rule: players should not treat each other as they themselves would wish to be treated. Rather, they should treat other players the way those players wish to be treated. Some players love conflict; they thrill in knowing that they may be killed, betrayed, or abandoned. Others do not. Remembering that these differences exist and that communication and compassion are the keys to co-existence will make the game work much more smoothly for everyone.

Rule of Consequences

Because it would be easy to scarper off without consequences by going out of game, there are a few rules about when character vs. character aggression can actually occur. Sometimes, such conflict erupts spontaneously, but sometimes it is premeditated. No player can engage in pre-meditated CvC within two hours of when the player knows they will be going out-of-game. If the player knows that they are taking an NPC shift at 6pm, they cannot plan to act against others any time after 4pm. Similarly, once a character has attacked or harmed another character, they may not go out-of-game for at least two hours, unless that is a mandatory game-down (like the end of the Event). This is to allow for the natural consequences of such actions. If a character does go out-of-game after such an attack, by default, the worst likely occurrence will be assumed (i.e. they are caught and made prisoner by those they harmed).

Reapermarks

Some campaigns that wish to rein in rampant CvC killings may decide to use reapermarks. The Reapers, enigmatic creatures responsible for regulating death and guiding/herding the dead, keep track of those responsible for sending Spirits to the Spirit Well. If they begin to see a lot of Spirits sent by the same person, that character will be reapermarked. This mark can have a number of effects, from changing the interactions with the Keepers, to being actively hunted by the Reapers. In general, no reapermark is issued until the third death in as many days.

Robbery

Many times, CvC takes the form of theft or espionage, rather than outright attacks or social manipulation. If a character wishes to enter the sleeping area of another for nefarious purposes, they are encouraged to let Staff know and may wish to ask for a Marshal Spirit to witness that everything was done fairly and above board to avoid complaints later. A Marshal Spirit is not required, however. The would-be infiltrator should make sure to read all building notes on the info card and obey all known rules, especially things like the Haven Ritual.

Once inside, anything that is not marked with a white halo is up for grabs. This in no way allows the robber’s player to do anything illegal or immoral. Care should be taken with props and decorations, and anything stolen must be returned (the prop must be returned out-of-game). If the robber wishes to destroy property, the player should leave info cards that say “item destroyed” or “item defaced." Personal property should never be disrespected. As always, it is up to the honor of the person playing the robber to properly role-play all traps and other obstructions encountered. There are additional rules on handling personal property in the Getting Started chapter.

Serenity

Games may have an area designated as ‘Serenity’. This is a purely out-of-game space where people can go and hang out out-of-character. It is meant to be a place one can get away from intense RP, character conflict, or to just decompress. Although it is a good place to go when a player has been experiencing bleed, or a character has been in conflict, it is not meant as a refuge from in-game consequences. Similarly, if someone is heading to Serenity, they should only be followed or accompanied by those who are explicitly invited. If there are any problems with this space, Staff should be contacted as soon as possible.

Reporting

See above for guidelines and information regarding reporting.

Mediation

If players are having difficulty getting along, or having trouble negotiating with each other, they can request mediation help from Staff.

The Call

All of the things that can happen to a character in a game are broken down into a few specific categories. These are Conditions and Effects.

How Calls are Made

All calls are composed as: [Delivery] [Duration] [Effect] to [Qualifier] by [Accent]

Most calls will only have a few of these elements, but remain in this order, with the exception of the “By My Voice” call, which puts the Qualifier immediately after the Delivery to ensure the appropriate audience listens to the rest of the call.

For Example:

• “Quick Berserk by Poison” - With a thrown Spell-packet or Spell-ball.
• “By My Voice to Undead, Root” - As no duration was explicitly called, this is Permanent
• “2 Fire” - With a weapon swing. Weapon calls may omit the “by” that precedes the Accent.

Deliveries

In Tempest, Effects can be delivered in a number of different ways. See the Deliveries section below for more information.

Durations

Durations are the length of time that any Delivered effect is supposed to last. See the Durations section below for more information.

Effects

In Tempest, there are a variety of effects. Effects are anything beyond straight damage. See the Effects section below for more information.

Conditions

In Tempest, there are a number of Conditions that a character can be under. Conditions are ongoing effects. See the Conditions section below for more information.

Modifiers

Modifiers are uncommon, but no less important. See the Modifiers section below for more information.

Qualifiers

Sometimes attacks will only affect targets of a particular Type or trait. When this is true, a "to" is added to the call. An attack that stated "Wounding 10 to Undead by Radiant" would be an example of an attack with a Qualifier, and the attack would only affect creatures with the Undead Type. A target who loses the qualities that are targeted by such an attack can immediately end the Effect. Thus a character who was struck with “Slow to Undead” who stops being Undead, would no longer be Slowed. The “on Willing” Qualifier means the target must be Willing.

Accents

In Tempest, there are a variety of accents. Accents are descriptors as to how things happen. See the Accents section below for more information.

Types

There are some features of a creature that act like Conditions, but are intrinsic to that creature, and cannot be Cured. The Type indicates a suite of features common to these beings. Creatures can also have multiple Types.

Effect Visibility

By default, all Effects (and Damage) are perceptible to all observing characters. Although the exact contents of a Call are out-of-game, the paradigm is that the characters can see what is occurring. If Tam is struck by a “Root by Wood”, it is a visible thing to observing onlookers that Tam has been wrapped in branches and cannot move their foot. If Argentine is speaking with Tristan and uses “Discern by Mind: How many spells do you have Prepared?”, it can be assumed that whatever method Argentine is using to discover the information, that it is understandable to onlookers. The “Subtle” Modifier, found later in this Chapter, can be used to signal to others that the Effect (or Damage) is not something that can be perceived by other characters or even by the target.

No Effect

Whenever a character or their equipment is hit by a Power, Ability, Skill, or Attack that normally should affect them or their equipment, but does not for any reason, they must call out the appropriate defense used, such as “Protect”, or “Parry." This lets those using the Power know that the target heard and understood that he had been hit, but that the attack was Countered.

However, in the case of a weapon striking a shield the character need not call it out, as it is generally understood that shields block weapon attacks.

If no other call is applicable then the appropriate and mandatory call of “No Effect” is required. The general call for this is “No Effect” followed by the source of the defense.

For Example: Jack, an NPC, is currently roleplaying a statue in a mod for the PCs. One of the PCs comes up and casually strikes Jack with their sword, testing the statue. Jack responds with “No Effect, Object”, as the statue has no statistics, and is simply a stone carving. Later on, after the party has triggered a magical trap, the statue Jack is representing animates and becomes a Golem. It now calls “No Effect, Immune” to the sword strikes of the PC party, as it now has statistics, and is Immune to Uncalled Damage. The party can intuit that the golem is now a valid target from its call of “No Effect, Immune”, but the strikes they are utilizing are simply ineffective.

Even if the spell, ability or skill was intended to be beneficial the recipient must call “No Effect” (such as Healing someone who is currently immune to Healing). This applies to a character’s armor, shield, and other equipment, too.

Other common sources of the “No Effect” defense include being Insubstantial, and being the victim of the Imprisoned Condition.

Stacking Effects

Whenever an Effect is applied multiple times, the Duration becomes the longer one, thus one never has the same Condition multiple times with different Durations. Characters may be under multiple different Conditions at the same time (and need to perform different Counts for each one), but if a Slept character is hit with Sleep, the longer Duration between what is left on the old one or the new duration started from the beginning will take precedence.

No Power with a Target of Self can be applied more than once at a time.

A character can’t gain more than the following bonuses when adding multiple bonuses. However, any single source of a bonus can surpass these limits. For example, two different Effects of Grant Barrier could not give more than three points, but if one Power Granted five points of Barrier, that would not be limited by these restrictions.

• 3 points of Barrier
• +3 Maximum Spikes (above the Maximum Spikes given by their Character Level & Class Bonuses)
• +3 bonus to their Spike Damage
• +3 Maximum Life Points (above the Maximum Life Points given by their Character Level & Class Bonuses)
• +3 bonus to their Physical Armor (above what is adjudicated for their physical armor prop)
• +3 bonus to their Natural or Summoned Armor.
• +3 bonus to a shields’ Shield Points (above what is adjudicated for their physical shield prop)
• +3 bonus to received healing.
• +3 bonus to granted healing.
• 3 total Protects. In addition:

• You may only have one Protect of any one type.
• A "type" is defined by the first word after the “Protect vs” portion.

• For Example: “Protect vs Weapons below 3 Damage” or “Protect vs Weapons without an Effect” would not stack because the word "weapons" is the same.
• As Well: “Protect vs Flame and Ice" and "Protect vs Ice and Flame" would stack because the words Flame and Ice are different.

• Note that Protects on items you are using do not count towards your maximum, they are counted towards the item’s maximum, which is also three.
• Please also note that the Calls provided on spells may not be altered. If a spell requires you grant a “Protect vs Flame and Ice”, you cannot call it as a “Protect vs Ice and Flame” to stack with these rules.

• 1 total Imbued Power (a character may never have more than 1 of the same instance of the same Imbued Power.)

Base Increases

In some cases, there are alterations granted by classes, skills, and powers that have the denotation of “Base.” These bonuses are indicative of bonuses (or detriments) that are intended to ignore the stacking rules.

For Example: Rogue Class Level 3 has an entry on its class table that reads “+1 Base Maximum Spikes.” This is an increase to the “Base” of the character as opposed to a buff received. These Base increase are to be considered exactly like the increase that one receives from being a higher character level, and are not affected by the limitations of stacking.

The Rule of One

To limit confusion, no weapon attack can have more than one Effect. No Effect can have more than one Accent. Packets and other deliveries can have multiple Effects, but each of those Effects will still only have one Accent each.

If an ability allows changing an Accent, then the Accent can be substituted or it can be added if there is no Accent originally.

For Example: Triss is carrying his Relic Blade, which can add Flame damage, change an Accent to Wood damage, or do a Weakness by Radiance once per Short Rest. From these effects, he would have to choose which he would use on any one swing. He could not swing 3 Flame and Wood, nor could he do 3 Flame and Weakness by Radiance. He could do Weakness by Wood.

Deliveries

In Tempest, Effects can be delivered in a number of different ways. Individual Powers will describe which Deliveries are available. They are as follows:

Weapon Delivery

These Powers require a strike by a weapon. Technically, normal combat attacks are Weapon Delivery. Remember, weapon-delivered damage that is not part of an Effect has to hit a person in order to harm, but Effects that are weapon-delivered can hit the person or their equipment. Usually, Weapon-Delivered Powers are called as the weapon hits. Weapon-Delivered spells charge the weapon for later use, just like charging a Packet.

An Effect, added damage, or Accent is given by a weapon hit on the target. When it hits, the Effect is then described. By default, if an Effect is Called on a Weapon attack, the Effect takes place if the weapon hits the individual or their equipment. This can be Delivered with any type of weapon, Melee, Ranged, or Thrown. Many Powers restrict this to certain weapon types

See Appendix II: Weapon Construction for guidelines on how to make safe weaponry.

Packet Delivery

These Powers require a packet (either a spell-packet or spell-ball) to be charged and then later thrown. Many Powers that are delivered by packet need only hit equipment to be effective, but others, mostly Cantrips, will need to hit the person properly. Any Power with a Packet Delivery can be used as a Touch spell on a Willing or Helpless target. Doing so does not require the user to have a packet. Packet-delivery refers to both spell-balls and spell-packets.

If a Packet Delivery Power being used as a Touch spell creates more than one Packet, then that is how many targets may be affected at once, but all targets must be within Touch range upon completion of the incantation. If the Packets have different Effects, it must be made clear who got which Effects. The caster themself is a viable target choice if the Power allows it. Finally, a single Power can “mix” between Touch and Packet with this option, charging some number of Packets and giving others Touch Delivery, although care must be then taken to make clear who was given what.

The Effect is sent by charging a packet (spell-ball or spell-packet) with the appropriate Incantation. The packet is then thrown as the Effect is described. By default, if the Packet delivers an Effect, it is successfully delivered if the Packet hits the individual or their equipment.

Recall that, a Packet delivering damage acts just like a weapon, unless it is delivering an Effect such as Piercing or Wounding.

See Appendix II: Weapon Construction for Spell-Packet and Spell-Ball Construction guides on how to make safe packets.

Touch Delivery

These Powers require the user to reach out a hand to within 6” of some part of the target, although actual touch is absolutely not required and must be avoided unless Physical Roleplay Consent has already been explicitly negotiated. Touch spells will never be used against opponents in combat. In order for a spell with Touch delivery to work (or a packet spell being used with Touch delivery) the target must either be Helpless (Dying, Bound, Slept, etc.) or Willing.

Role-Playing

Role-playing delivery means that the use of the Power requires the character to perform some kind of in-game activities. This might be teaching another character, making a potion, or sharpening a sword.

Verbal Delivery

A verbal delivery requires the user to call the name or a description of the target, and then give the Call of the Power. The user must be able to see some part of the target at the end of the Incantation in order to use a Verbal. These affect a single individual but are entirely verbal in nature. Although characters can see who is being affected by a Verbal Effect, the Verbal is a Call and is thus out-of-game.

The Effect is given by clearly identifying the target and then making the Call. This need not necessarily be the player’s or character’s name. Verbal damage is not blocked by swords or other equipment.

Voice Delivery

Unlike a verbal, Voice Delivery affects multiple people. It is called with “By My Voice” and affects everyone who hears the Call. As a default, the person using the Voice Effect is not one of the targets. Although characters can see who is being affected by a Voice-Delivered Effect, the Delivery is a Call and is thus out-of-game. Some Voice attacks may have an accompanying Accent that makes it obvious that there is an in-game component to the sound, such as “By My Voice Death by Scream."

The Effect is given by voice targeting everyone who can hear the Call regardless of other barriers. This is often a simulation of an area of Effect, rather than a specifically aural one, so reacting to a By My Voice by plugging one’s ears or taking other measures to prevent hearing are disallowed. If a player hears that a By My Voice Effect was used, but cannot hear clearly what was Called, but can easily find out, the Effect should be taken. If the player honestly didn’t hear the Call, even if standing next to the source, and can’t easily find out what was Called, they are not affected.

The Call should begin with “By My Voice” followed by any Qualifiers.

Room Delivery

This is the same as a Voice Delivery, but only affects people in the same room or demarcated area. Room-Delivered Effects are called with “In This Room”, even if they are in caves, cages, or other delineated areas. As a default, the person using the Voice Effect is not one of the targets. If an “In This Room” Effect is delivered outside a demarcated area, it will generally only affect the person that triggers it.

Durations

Effects are always applied for a certain amount of time. These can be as follows:

Instantaneous

These Powers have no duration. Their effect is immediate and permanent. This is generally used for Powers that Mend, Rebuild, do damage, or return the target to a “normal” state like Cure.

Quick Counts

Powers that last for a Quick 100 are the default, and add “Quick” before the Effect. To complete a Quick Count, the player must, out loud or preferably under their breath, count to the number in question. They may count as quickly as they can or as slowly as they want; this is not seconds. The expectation is that every number will be counted (i.e. not “1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,20”) normally. When this task is completed, the duration expires. This is an out-of-game count.

For Example: A “Quick Silence” would mean Silenced for a Quick 100, lasting as long as it takes for the character to complete their count to 100.

Slow Counts

Unlike a Quick Count, a Slow Count is done silently, and is expected to approximate the passing of seconds. When this task is completed, the duration expires. This is an out-of-game count. This does NOT allow you to count as slow or as fast as you would like.

For Example: A “Slow 180” means approximately 3-minutes, give or take.

Short Rest

Effects that have a duration of Short Rest will last until the player completes a Short Rest. This is generally five minutes of low activity performed out of combat, during which time no other Powers can be used. A Short Rest can be taken even if the character is incapacitated, such as being Imprisoned or Slept. Dying is considered stressful enough that a Short Rest is not possible while Dying unless the character has been stabilized. An Effect with this duration will have “Short” before the Effect name.

Long Rest

Effects that have a duration of Long Rest will last until the player completes a Long Rest and are communicated by adding “Long” before the Effect.

Event or Permanent

These Effects last until the end of the Event unless they are removed somehow in-game. By default, if no duration is communicated, the Effect duration is Permanent. While under a permanent Effect or condition that prevents the player from playing, if the player wishes, they can take Spirit Form (as if they had died) and seek out Staff. Staff will find a way to get them back into the game, although there may be some cost or penalty.

Multiple Durations

If a character is being affected by multiple durations of either a Quick or Slow Count, each one must be completed individually. For example, if a character is affected by an “Quick Imprison by Ice” and a “Quick Sleep by Poison” the player will have to do both Quick Counts separately, and may choose which one completes which Effect.

Interrupted Durations

Often, a player will not get to complete a duration count in one go. In this case, the player is allowed to pick up the count where it was left off. Perhaps they are Rooted for a Quick 100 and, 43 into their Quick Count, they decide they need to toss a Magebolt. They can cast the Magebolt, then resume their Quick Count at 44.

Effects

Sometimes characters are hit by Effects instead of just straight damage. In these cases, the attack cannot be blocked by weapon or shield: if an Effect hits equipment or garb it is still effective. An easy rule of thumb is that if only damage is called, it can be blocked. If an Effect is called, (e.g. “Wounding” or “Imprison”) that attack cannot be blocked by weapons/shields. This is true of both weapon-delivered attacks and Packet attacks. Some calls come with Accents (see below), such as “2 Ice”, but those are not Effects, and so a weapon or Packet attack with that call would be blockable.

In Tempest, there are a variety of Effects. If any new Effects are going to be used, all players will be informed well in advance of the game. The Tempest Effects are as follows:

Berserk

Causes the Berserk Condition.

Bind

Causes the Bound Condition.

Charm

Causes the Charmed Condition.

Counter

Cancels out a Power or attack. Characters have about 2 seconds or so to Call a Counter after the Effect or attack being Countered hits them, and they cannot have initiated other attacks or Powers in the meantime. So a Fighter can finish Calling his swing before Calling a “Counter, Parry” but if they start another swing, the opportunity to Parry has passed.

Protect is a type of Counter that is granted to another person or yourself. Note that Protect is a Counter but not all Counters are Protects. In order to use a Counter, the character must be capable of making the decision to use it (i.e cannot be insensible, dead, etc.) unless the Power specifically makes exceptions.

Cure [Condition or Accent]

The Cure Effect is used to remove a Condition or group of Conditions from a target. Most often, this cures the Condition itself, but Cure may be used to remove any Condition with a specific Accent. “Cure Darkness” would remove any Conditions that were caused by Darkness. In general, Cure is used for beneficial applications. Cure does not work on Inherent Conditions, resulting in a call of “No Effect, Inherent.” Cure Condition will Cure all instances of the Condition on the target, so “Cure disabled” will bring back any and all limbs that have been disabled.

Death

Cause the target to die.

Disable [Limb]

Causes the Disabled Condition to one limb. If no limb is specified, this is whichever limb is struck by the attack, and if no limb is specified and the attack does not strike a limb, the target of the attack can choose which limb is Disabled.

Disarm [Equipment/Limb]

The call should include either a description of a piece of equipment that is held in the hand or the name of a limb. The specified item, or an item held by the specified limb, must be let go and allowed to fall. If the specified equipment is a shield (or the limb is wearing a shield) the arm must be straightened so that it is pointing directly at the ground to allow the shield to slide off the arm if possible. Unlike other Effects, if no duration is called, the duration of Disarm is Instantaneous, and the item may be picked up immediately upon hitting the ground. Any other duration will set the length of time until the disarmed character can pick up the item.

Discern [Information]

The target of the Discern must answer the question given in the use of the Effect. “Discern by Mind: In which Classes do you have levels?” would determine a character’s character classes. “Discern by Mind: What spells do you have active?” would require the target to describe what spells she currently had on her. The Call and response are out of game and the response must be truthful (unless a Power allows otherwise). Unless the Subtle modifier is used, the contents of the question are understood by observers, but the response should be ignored (i.e. the player must act as if she has not heard the answer to the Discern). Some Discerns are meant to gain information from out-of-game sources. Note: while a Discern may garner truthful information from the character, it does not mean that the character is factually correct. A character may be misinformed or unaware, but will answer to the best of their knowledge.

Dispel [Condition, Accent, or Description]

Dispel is a more powerful form of Cure. It can be used to remove Conditions, anything that came from a specific Accent (“Dispel Darkness” would remove any Conditions that were caused by Darkness), anything Granted by another Power, and even less solid things like “circles” or “animation." The call for the particular Dispel Power will make clear what needs to be communicated to the target. In general, Dispel is used to remove Conditions without the character’s consent. Dispel does not work on Inherent Conditions, resulting in a call of “No Effect, Inherent.”

Dominate

Causes the Dominated Condition.

Double [Number]

Double causes a number of points of damage [Number], to the target, twice. Specifically, Double causes multiple attacks to affect the target: it is as though they had been struck twice by the same damage in rapid succession. Each attack requires a separate defense. Note that Double is considered both an Effect and damage, and the damage is unable to be altered by Spike Bonuses and Grant Effects.

For Example: Jarvin, the mage, throws a packet and calls out "Double 2 by Flame" as it hits Travanis. Travanis must take two "2 Flame" attacks. Travanis has a single Protect vs Packets, which he may use to negate one of these attacks. However, he would still take the remaining attack. If Travanis had further defenses against Packets, Damage, or Flame, or any other reasonable Defenses, he would be able to use multiple defenses against these attacks, on a one for one basis. In this case, Travanis is also Resistant to Flame. So he Resists the second attack, taking one damage.

Drain

Causes the Drained Condition.

Expose

An Expose Call usually uses a Voice Delivery and includes a Qualifier, such as “By My Voice to Clerics, Expose.” Any character that qualifies must respond to the Call with a verbal response that reveals her location, such as “Here.” The volume of the response must be at roughly the same volume as the original Expose Call. Regardless of the volume level, the exposed targets must make some attempt to make sure that the caller discovers their location. The response Call is out-of-game and will happen even if the target is silenced, imprisoned, etc. Both the Expose call itself and the responses are noticeable by observers in some way, such as an expanding glow, or a ringing sound, etc. Unlike with other Effects, a target who does not qualify or Counters the Expose should remain silent and does not need to call “No Effect.”

Grant

Using the Grant Effect applies one of the following Conditions. By default, these Conditions are considered a Bonus, and subject to Stacking.

        Grant Protect Vs. [Accent, Effect, Delivery, Damage, or Description]

This gives the character one “Protect” against the listed type given. A Protect is a Counter that will stop that Effect completely, and can be used by the character who has it to negate the Effect by saying “Protect!” in a loud, clear voice. The character can choose when the Protect is used, but if the character begins an attack, uses a Power, or lets more than about 2 seconds pass, the opportunity to use the Protect also passes.

The kinds of things that can be specified are myriad and are defined by whatever Power grants the Protect. They can be Effects such as “Grant Protect Vs. Slow” or from Accents “Grant Protect Vs.Flame” or many other things such as damage, wounds, weapons, or weirder things (like “Grant Protect Vs.Damage by Flame over 4 points”). Note that Protect is used at the desire of the player and is neither automatic nor required. Characters cannot have more than three Protects at any one time.

For Example: Nightingale wants to give Tymera Protect Vs. Darkness. She uses “Grant Protect vs Darkness” to allow Tymera to call “Protect” instead of taking a Darkness Accented Effect.

        Grant Barrier [Number]

This gives the target additional Armor Points. These Armor Points cannot be Mended.

        Grant [Number] [Type] Armor

Gives the target a number of Armor Points. These Armor Points can be Mended. This will not add to existing armor, but will only replace it. See the Combat Chapter for more information on stacking different armors.

        Grant Plus [Number] Armor

Adds a number of Armor Points to the target’s current Armor Point maximum. It will also add to the current points of the armor, acting in some ways like a Mend. This cannot be used on a target that has no armor. Any additional armor granted in this way will be of the same type (physical, natural, or summoned) as the rest of the armor.

Grant [Number] Spikes

Gives the target a number of additional Spikes, these Spikes can be refreshed unless otherwise stated.

Grant Plus [Number] Spike Damage

Adds to the damage that the target’s Spikes do. Even adding damage to one Spike falls into this category.

        Grant Plus [Number] Damage

Adds to the constant damage that the target does. This is very rare.

Grant [Accent]

Gives the target the ability to change or add the Accent for all Effects and Damage the target does. Note: Accents granted in this way can replace the normal Accent of the Power.

Grant [Condition] or [Type]

The Grant Effect can be used to give Conditions or Types directly. Grant Melee Immunity, Grant Undead are examples of this. It cannot be used to Grant any Condition which can be given by an Effect (such as Slowed, Strengthened, etc.)

Grant [Number] Dark Territory

Adds the number indicated to the Dark Territory for all Rituals cast by the target for the duration. This can be negative, in which case the number would be subtracted instead.

Grant Plus [X] Maximum Life Points

Adds to the maximum Life Points (and current Life Points) of the target. These points can be healed as normal.

Grant Life

If dead, the recipient of a Grant Life will be alive with one Life Point. If used on an Undead, it will cause the creature to immediately discorporate and take Spirit Form.

Grant Power [Description/Power Name]

This gives the target character some ability which is too complex to be handled by Imbue. This always requires a full explanation of what is being given, and in general, should be limited to out of combat Powers.

Grant [Other]

Grant can be used in a number of ingenious ways by Staff and rules to help get across given boons or other properties. “Grant Lost Memories Back” might be useful for plot teams running an amnesia story. In general, as long as it is clear, and not covered by some other Effect (such as Imbue), Grant can be used in all sorts of different ways. Regardless of how it is used, it should be clear and not need any special knowledge to fully understand.

Heal [Number] or [to Full]

Restores the number of Life Points stated, up to the creature’s maximum. It will also Mend Natural Armors. “Heal to Full” sets the creature’s Life Points to their maximum and will fully Mend Natural Armors.

Imbue [Delivery] with [Call]

Imbue is used to give one use of a Power to another individual. Where many Effects give the Condition itself, Imbue gives the ability to apply it. For clarity’s sake, Imbue is very constrained. It can have a Duration, but cannot be given Qualifiers, Accents, or Modifiers and any information about the Imbue Effect comes before the “with.” The Imbue is given with a Delivery and then “with” and the Call for the Power being Imbued. No character can be Imbued with more than one Power at a time. An Imbued Power can be used once and then is gone.

Tymera gives Morcallen the power to Mend armor by invoking “Short Imbue Touch with Mend 4 by Radiance”” which would allow Morcallen to then use “Mend 4 by Radiance” once at Touch Range before her next Short Rest. The Mage Tristan gives Nasarack the ability to use a Power that does 3 Fire by saying, “Short Imbue Spell-Ball with 3 Fire”. When Nasarack throws the packet, he should Call, "3 Fire”..

Imprison

Causes the Imprisoned Condition.

Intoxicate

Causes the Intoxicated Condition.

Mend [Number] or [to Full]

Restores the number of Armor Points stated, up to the creature’s maximum. “Mend to Full”' sets the creature’s Armor Points to their maximum. Mend does not work on Shattered armor or items, which must be Rebuilt instead. If explicitly stated in a Power, mend can also be used to restore Shield Points to a still-functional shield, restoring them up to its maximum Shield Points. Mend will not work on a shield with zero Shield-Points (because that Shatters the shield).

Obey [Command]

Obey [Command] - Causes the obedient Condition.

Note: This will not cause any physical or romantic roleplay that is not consented to by both or all involved characters.

Obfuscate [Discern/Expose]

Causes the Obfuscated Condition.

Paralyze

Causes the Paralyzed Condition.

Piercing [Number]

Piercing causes a number of points of damage [X] that bypass any Armor Points (including Barrier) and directly harm Life Points. Note that Piercing is considered both an Effect and damage.

Refresh [Power, Spell-Slot, or Description of Power]

By use of this Effect, a spell or ability that has been expended can be recharged as if it had not been used. The individual spell or ability will give the limitations of what kind of spell or ability can be recharged (encounter, game, etc.). By default, Powers that have the Refresh Effect cannot be, themselves, Refreshed. In addition, by default, only Powers with a Refresh of Short Rest or shorter can be Refreshed with this Effect. Both of these limitations can be changed by the description of the Power. A character who is the target of a Refresh which describes multiple Powers may choose which is recharged.

Rebuild [Item]

Returns a shattered or broken item to usefulness. If the item is a shield, Rebuild will bring it to one Shield Point. A suit of armor will be returned to usefulness with one Armor Point. A bow or crossbow will be returned to full functionality. Single use, “consumable” items, such as potions and scrolls, cannot be Rebuilt if they are damaged.

Repel

Causes the Repelled Condition.

Root

Causes the Rooted Condition.

Shatter [Item]

Shatter breaks the item specified in the Call, making it lose all functions and become unusable until Rebuilt. If armor (of any type) is Shattered, even just a single piece (such as a bracer), the whole suit of armor is reduced to zero Armor Points and cannot be Mended until Rebuilt. A Shattered shield is reduced to zero Shield Points and cannot be Mended until Rebuilt. A Shattered weapon is broken and cannot be used to do damage or block, until Rebuilt.

There are a few special kinds of Shatter that only come up in special circumstances. These are not valid Calls unless specifically stated in the Power.

“Shatter Corpse” on an inanimate corpse will cause it to immediately discorporate. This only includes Undead if they are inanimate at 0 Life Points.

“Shatter Body” will cause the body to immediately discorporate. If it was living, it will die first.

“Shatter Spirit” will cause the character to die, the body to discorporate, and the Spirit to dissipate, causing the character to die permanently.

Shield-Breaking

The target must be a shield and that shield loses 1 Shield Point.

Silence

Causes the Silenced Condition.

Sleep

Causes the Slept Condition.

Slow

Causes the Slowed Condition.

Stabilize

Causes a creature who has dropped to zero Life Points to stop their death-count. In all ways except for the death-count, the creature is treated as if Dying. A stabilized creature may choose to Heal one Life Point after completing their next Short Rest (which they can do while stabilized). If they take damage, their death-count re-commences.

Strength

Causes the Strengthened Condition.

Taint

Causes the Tainted Condition.

Taunt [Number]

Causes the Taunted Condition.

Weakness

Causes the Weakened Condition.

Wounding [Number]

This Effect applies damage of some kind to another individual. Accents will often be added to this. Note that Wounding will affect the target even if the delivery is blocked by a weapon or shield, but the damage will be treated normally by Armor Points. Note that Wounding is considered both an Effect and damage.

For Example: Knox uses the Heart Harm spell to do “Wounding 5 by Darkness” on Triss. Triss deflects the spell-ball with their sword. Triss has 3 Armor Points left so it exhausts Triss’ remaining Armor Points and does 2 damage to their Life Points.

Conditions

In Tempest, there are a number of Conditions that a character can be under. These are caused by Powers of other players, NPCs, traps, or sometimes even yourself. Each Condition is listed with a Condition Group such as Mental, Holding, etc. These Groups may be referenced by individual Powers (Holding Condition Immunity). When referenced elsewhere in the rules, Conditions are italicized.

If any new Conditions are going to be used, all players will be informed well in advance of the game or when additional clarification is needed for an Effect or Condition.

Condition Rule of One

For the most part, no one can have the same Condition multiple times. If a character is given a Condition more than once, the one that would end last cancels all other instances of that Condition. There are some Conditions that can be specified, like Disable, which targets a specific limb. In these cases, each different specification can exist simultaneously. A character might have a leg and an arm disabled, or might have cold iron vulnerability and wood vulnerability. Individual Conditions that can be stacked more than once will say so in their description.

Berserk

In this Condition, the target is in a mindless fury, and will attack the nearest creature. She does not recognize anyone as ally, friend, or enemy, but simply attacks. The berserk individual may not activate any Powers (even from items), but should fight to the best of her skill. Skills, Passive Powers, and Powers that have already been activated will remain in effect (Protects will not go down, for example). The berserk target must continue to attack the nearest creature until that creature is no longer the nearest, or until it falls to the ground, whichever comes first. If the attacked creature falls, the berserker will not Deathblow, but will instead find and attack the next target. While berserk, the character is Immune to Charm, Dominate, Obey, and Taunt, and should Call “No Effect” in response. In addition, previous charmed, dominated, and taunted Conditions are ignored while the character is berserk. A character with no means of harming others (such as a usable weapon or charged Packet), or with no visible targets, will scream in impotent rage and collapse, unconscious (Slept Condition for a Quick count of 100). Unlike most Conditions, the Berserk effect will last until the character drops to 0 Life Points, or is Slept (either by others, or because they cannot harm others). .

Bound [Physical]

In this Condition, the target must put their wrists against their hips and keep them there. This will prevent the character from doing damage with weapons and will stop spell-casting. It will not stop weapons and shields from blocking attacks.

Charmed

The charmed target must immediately cease all hostility towards the source of the charmed Condition and must defend that source to the best of her ability, including the use of spells, skills, and abilities. The charmed target will believe that the source of the charm is a good and trusted platonic friend and always has been: no amount of logic or evidence will sway them to the contrary, nor convince them that they have been charmed. If the source attacks the target, the charmed condition is immediately Cured. Charmed characters are extremely unlikely to perform suicidal actions at the behest of the source of the Charmed Condition. When the charm ends, the target is aware that they were charmed by the source. Multiple Charms can affect a single target at the same time, along with a single Dominate. By default, Charm only works on creatures, and not on objects.

Note: This will not cause any physical or romantic roleplay that is not consented to by both or all involved players.

Disabled

The disabled limb becomes unusable. A disabled arm cannot be moved about or lifted, cannot hold items (held items are immediately dropped/released), and the fingers cannot be used for any purpose. A weapon or shield that remains, somehow, on a disabled arm does not block damage. A disabled leg cannot support weight, though the target can manage to hobble while dragging the leg. All disabled Conditions are removed by a single Cure disabled Effect.

Dominated

The dominated target must immediately cease all hostility towards the source of the dominated Condition and will follow any instructions they are given in the spirit they are given. Suicidal commands will be refused, including taking part in sacrificial rituals (note that fighting others is not considered suicidal, even against tremendous odds). Because this Condition is mental in nature, the dominated subject will do her best to interpret the instructions given in the spirit in which they are intended, rather than perversely, or to the letter. If a creature becomes dominated by a second source, the previous source is Cured, unless it is Inherent, which results in “No Effect.”. A charmed target that is dominated continues to be charmed, but that doesn’t change her utter obedience to the source of the dominated Condition. Similarly, a character who is obedient will follow the commands given in Obey only when they do not contradict the orders given while dominated.  When the dominated ends, the target is aware that they were dominated by the source (unless it was Subtle). A character who is dominated is not automatically Helpless, but can they can be instructed not to resist, becoming effectively helpless, as long as it is not obviously suicidal. “Stand still with your eyes closed” would be obeyed; “Allow me to Deathblow you.” would not.

Note: This will not cause any physical or romantic roleplay that is not consented to by all involved players.

Drained

The Drained target cannot do damage, activate Special Items, or activate non-passive Powers, even ones granted by Skills (remember that spells are a kind of Power). They can still use Skills, block, parry and call defenses that were previously activated. This does not affect already charged Packets, already created Armor, Passive Powers, or the triggering of already granted abilities such as Protects, nor will it stop always-active magic items from functioning. It will stop the character from using any Granted Power. If a Power is already activated, being Drained will not end that Power, so there may be Effects that can still be used even while Drained (such as Curing insubstantial at the end of a relevant Power).

[Kind] Immunity

Immunity is a Condition which may be granted to equipment, limbs (or even parts of limbs), or entire creatures. There is no limit to the number of immunities a character can have, although no character will ever have the exact same immunity more than once. An immunity can be against damage, Accents, Effects, Conditions, Types, or Deliveries. Type immunity works against being Granted that Type, not against creatures of that Type. Damage immunity only works against simple damage, not damage caused by a Wounding or Piercing Effect.

A target with immunity does not take Effects or damage from its particular immunity and must respond with “No Effect” to distinguish this from other defenses. If the immunity is on an item, or Granted by a power, the associated Call may include more detail with the “No Effect” Call, such as “No Effect, Sword,”  or “No Effect, Angelic Glow.” When in doubt, or if multiple immunities apply, the portrayer may Call “No Effect” without addendum.

Examples: If a character has Drain immunity, and her arm is hit with a Drain Effect, she would call “No Effect” and would be unaffected. If a creature is wielding a sword with Ice immunity and is hit on that weapon with a Piercing 2 by Ice, they would call “No Effect, Sword,” and take no damage.

Immunity works against attacks with the Final Modifier. Immunity will not remove a Condition or Type. For example, if an Undead is Granted immunity to Undead, it will still be Undead. For armor, if any piece of armor grants immunity, the wearer will have immunity herself while wearing it, unless it is Shattered.

If an immunity and a persistent source interact (like an always-on Passive Power with an Accent to which the character has immunity), the persistent source will fail to function.

Imprisoned

The imprisoned target cannot move or make voluntary noise and has immunity to all damage and Effects except those that would end the imprisoned Condition or have the “to Imprisoned” Qualifier. Since imprisoned is a visible effect, the player may and should inform others nearby that they are visibly imprisoned, and a creature coming out of this Condition must loudly call out “Imprison down” or similar so that others know the Effect is finished. As with all immunity, the player must respond with “No Effect, Imprisoned” when relevant. An imprisoned character is considered Helpless against actions that penetrate the imprisoned Condition (i.e. that use “to Imprisoned”).

Intoxicated

A creature who is Intoxicated is under some inebriating effect. This effect can range from disorientation and a feel-good buzz, as with alcohol, to visual and audible hallucinations or otherwise, such as with the consumption of Nyte Tea. When taking an Intoxicate Effect, it is up to the creature's player who has become Intoxicated to roleplay the effect according to the description of what has granted the Condition. However, these effects are strictly roleplay focused and are only enforceable to the Intoxicated player’s comfort level. An Intoxicated character is not required to have any visual indicators that they are Intoxicated, and the Intoxicated character is not required to roleplay it at all. A Short Rest always ends an Intoxicated Condition.

Insubstantial

Insubstantial is a powerful and complex Condition. A creature that is Insubstantial cannot purposefully affect others physically or magically as they are only partially corporeal. They are marginally see-through, and gain an encompassing Immunity that will prevent being affected by any attack, damage, or Power that does not specifically target Insubstantial (the exception being from traps, see below). The target can be seen and heard, and everything the character is wearing or holding, (except other creatures) when affected also becomes Insubstantial. Any items dropped or removed, immediately lose the Condition unless a Power says otherwise.

Neither the Insubstantial character (nor their portrayer) can purposefully interact with physical objects unless the Power or Skill says otherwise (including doors, tent flaps, drawers, etc.). This includes purposefully setting off physically triggered traps, and if such passive physical triggers are set off by the Insubstantial character, it is assumed that they were substantial enough at that moment to also take the consequences of those physical triggers/traps (i.e. they are not considered to have Immunity to any damage or Effects from those triggers/traps). The character can use Skills that do not involve interacting with physical objects, unless otherwise noted, and can use Powers on themself if they specifically target Insubstantial creatures or the Insubstantial Condition.

Insubstantial creatures may not attack others while Insubstantial unless they use a Power that specifically targets non-Insubstantial (often called as “corporeal” or “physical”). Insubstantial creatures cannot be purposefully blocked in a physical way and may not purposefully block others or block attacks for others, but they are not able to pass through solid objects and solid objects do not pass through them, so such creatures will stop weapon and packet attacks that hit them.

Portrayers of Insubstantial creatures should do their best to not get in the way of physical creatures and their attacks. Likewise, portrayers of physical creatures should step out of the way if they are blocking the path of an Insubstantial creature. Insubstantial creatures can Cure or Dispel Insubstantial on themselves and these do not require the “to Insubstantial” Qualifier.

The player has a duty to inform others of this Condition if they are inspecting, closely interacting with, or planning to attack the character. This should be done at a useful volume by saying “Insubstantial.” In combat this may require the volume to be quite loud. Effects and attacks used on the creature should be responded to with “No Effect, Insubstantial” if they are ineffective. Overall, the idea is that this is a subtle, but noticeable effect.

Obedient

This is an in-game Effect which causes the target to attempt to follow the command given with the Effect.  By default, the character will follow the command until it is complete or until the end of the Event, whichever comes first. Charmed, dominated and berserk conditions, whether existing or new, will not alter the target’s response to an Obey Effect.  A character can have multiple obedient Conditions in effect at once, each one for a separate Obey Effect and command.  If the obedient Condition is Cured or Dispelled, all instances of obedient will be removed from the target.
Note: This will not cause any physical or romantic roleplay that is not consented to by both or all involved characters.

Obfuscated

While under the effects of Obfuscate, the player may answer one of [Discern and/or Expose] calls that target them however they wish or not at all and do not need to indicate that a Power or Effect was used to do so. They may choose to answer partially or incompletely or may choose to give misinformation. Obfuscate works normally against Subtle Discern and Expose Effects, and will do so without the character ever knowing it has happened.

Some uses of Obfuscated may come with an instruction that allows the player to give a scripted response, or allow the player to give any response they wish to give, even “No Effect.” By default, the Obfuscated Condition ends after it is used on one Discern or Expose Effect.

For Example: Tim the Bard is Obfuscated and has been targeted by “Discern by Mind: Did you steal the Prince’s Dagger?” He may respond with “No”, despite holding the dagger in his cloak.

Paralyzed

A Paralyzed creature cannot move and cannot speak or make any voluntary vocal or oral noise. Paralyzed individuals will remain stock still even if unconscious. A paralyzed character is considered Helpless. They will collapse when dead, since all Conditions end upon death.

Repelled

A creature that is Repelled must move back outside melee range, and cannot attack the source of the Repel. Once out of range the target cannot voluntarily come within melee range of the source, but need not retreat or move if the source of the Repelled Condition moves towards them (though the target still may not attack the source). If a repelled character is attacked by the source of the Repel, the Condition ends immediately for that character. A Short Rest always ends a Repelled Condition.

[Kind] Resistance

A creature with resistance takes one point of damage instead of the Effect or damage they have resistance to and must call out “Resist” in response. Thus, a creature with resistance to Effects with the Mind Accent would take one point of damage from each such Effect rather than whatever the normal Effect should be. The damage from resistance is affected normally by armor. If equipment has resistance, it will only pass one point of damage on to its user, and that damage will have all the same properties as the original attack. So a Shield with resistance to Effects, struck with a Death Effect, would pass one point of damage on to its holder, and if that creature had immunity to Death, that one point would have no effect. The piece of equipment will not pass damage if it would normally not take any damage or Effect from the attack. Shield Breaking damage done to a sword that has Effect Resistance would not pass any damage, nor would a shield that had resistance to normal damage (for some reason). For armor, if any piece of armor grants resistance, the wearer will have resistance herself while wearing it, unless it is Shattered. Note: resistance works against the Effect not the Condition. So, if a character becomes drained while on Consecrated ground, resistance to Drain will neither protect nor damage her.

A Call that ends with “Final” is not mitigated by resistance.

If a resistance and a persistent source interact (like an always-on Passive Power with an Accent to which the character has resistance), the resistance is ignored for that Power. Note that a Passive Power that changed one Accent into a resisted Accent would not be a persistent source, so the resistance would react normally.

If a resistance and a persistent source interact (like an always-on Passive Power with an Accent to which the character has resistance), the resistance is ignored for that Power. Note that a Passive Power that changed one Accent into a resisted Accent would not be a persistent source, so the resistance would react normally. 

Example: If a resistance and a persistent source interact (like an always-on Passive Power with an Accent to which the character has resistance), the resistance is ignored for that Power. Note that a Passive Power that changed one Accent into a resisted Accent would not be a persistent source, so the resistance would react normally.

Rooted

A creature that is Rooted may not move its right foot (or the player’s right foot in the case of non-footed creatures) except to pivot. When the Effect begins, the target should immediately and safely come to a full stop and plant the foot.

Silenced

A Silenced creature cannot speak or make any voluntary vocal or oral noise. Note that this does not stop the player from making out-of-game Calls, including Voice- and Verbal- Delivery Powers.

Slept

A creature that is Slept cannot move or speak and must fall to the ground. They are unaware of anything happening around them and should roleplay being asleep, taking no voluntary actions. A slept character is considered Helpless.

Slowed

The target of this Condition may not run. One foot must always be on the ground if the character is going somewhere.

Strengthened

A strengthened character has the physical strength equivalent to three strong individuals and can break normal ropes and move heavy in-game objects such as boulders, large doors, etc. Characters who are strengthened can perform Spikes even with only one hand on a great weapon weapon; this does not mean that they treat the great weapon as if it were being wielded in two hands for the purposes of Powers. A strengthened character may move at any speed while carrying a body and only needs one hand to start the carry.

The strengthened condition may impact physical challenges such as swimming while wearing armor or carrying objects, etc.

If a character is strengthened and becomes weakened, the two Conditions cancel out. Inherently strengthened characters who are weakened will have normal strength for the duration of the Weakness Effect.

Tainted

A creature with this Condition cannot gain Life Points. In addition, if the creature has this Condition at the end of a Short Rest, the target immediately dies. If the duration of the tainted Condition is Short and the creature takes a Short Rest, the creature will die before the tainted Condition expires.

Taunted

The taunted target cannot do more than 1 point of damage with weapons or use Powers on any targets other than themself and the source of the Taunt. The call for Taunt will include a number, such as “Taunt 2.” The taunted Condition ends if the target uses the specified number of attacks (damage or Effects) that hit the source of the Taunt or her equipment with a good-faith attempt to make an attack that would harm most opponents. An Effect should be something likely to do harm, so the following Effects won't count towards satisfying the taunted Condition: Cure, Discern, Divine, Imbue, Grant, Heal, or Mend. Even if the target ends up having immunity or Countering the attack, it counts for the purposes of the Taunt. A blocked or Prevented attack only counts if it was a good-faith attempt to hit and harm.

For Example: Purposely hitting a shield will not count. “Taunt 2” will end after the target uses two such attacks against the source of the Taunt. By default, this Condition will also end once the target has completed a Short Rest or the source of the Taunt seems to have left the battle and cannot be found after good-faith observation. A new Taunt will override and cancel the current taunted Condition.

Vulnerable

A target that is Vulnerable to a particular kind of damage or an Effect will take special, detrimental effects. These may be defined specially by Staff for monsters, but by default, damage and Effects to which a target is Vulnerable are considered Final.

Weakened

The Weakened target can’t do more than one point of damage. There may be additional in-game effects such as being unable to move in-game heavy objects. A second Weakened Condition on top of an existing one has no further effect. If you are Weakened and become Strengthened, the two Conditions cancel out. For Inherently Weakened characters, they will have normal strength for the duration of the Strengthened Condition.

Modifiers

Modifiers are specialized portions of a call that indicate that the Call has a specific mechanic to it that overrides the normal interactions of a call. For example, the “Environment” modifier indicates the Call originates from all around the character, and therefore cannot be avoided until the character leaves the area. There are a few additional parts of the description of an effect that can come into play. These are:

Environment

This modifier is used to show that the effect has no specific source. It is used to make it clear that the person calling the Effect is not also the source of the Effect. “Environment, By my Voice, Weakness by Mind." By default, the duration given with an “Environment” Effect only matters once the character has left the environment. While still in the environment, any Conditions applied are considered Inherent and Permanent. Triss, trudging through a toxic swamp, is hit with “Environment, By My Voice Short Drain." If he stays in the swamp, the Drained Condition cannot be Cured, and will not stop being Drained even if he completes a Short Rest. Even after he escapes the swamp, he will remain Drained until he completes a Short Rest. A character with Resistance will only take damage whenever the Effect is Called.

Final

A Call that ends with the word “Final” cannot be Countered, and cannot be mitigated with Resistance. The only defense that works against it is Immunity.

Inherent

If a Condition is Inherent, it cannot be Cured without exceptional means. A slug-creature, for example, might be Inherently Slowed, meaning that it cannot be sped up with a Cure slow. Normally, only monsters and creatures will have Inherent Conditions, but there may be some characters that gain Inherent Conditions, too. If a Cure is used on an Inherent Condition, the target should Call “No Effect, Inherent."

Self

There are high stress situations such as combat where the target of a spell can become confused. If the target of the spell is the caster themself the caster may add “to Self” to the call to ensure others do not misunderstand the effects of their powers.

Subtle

A Call that is preceded by the word “Subtle” indicates that the Effect is not perceivable by other characters in-game. Although observing players will, of course, hear the Call, the characters will not see (or sense in any other way) any sign that something was done and should ignore the Call. The target of the Effect will still take it, but will not know its source (although all other actions taken by the sSource are perceptible, such as swinging a sword or throwing a Packet).

So, a character who is struck with a weapon with the Call “Subtle Root by Wood” would think she had merely been struck by a sword, and would be surprised that she could not move her foot. “Discern by Mind: Are you lying?” might be a character looking hard at another character in such a way as to make it obvious that some investigation was going on, but “Subtle Discern by Mind: Are you lying?” would be unnoticed by characters, including the one being the target of the Discern.

Requirements

Focus

Sometimes a Power will require focus. It is a period of meditation or concentration required to make the Power activate or become available again. Focus is basically a silent Incantation and follows the same requirements as an Incantation: it can be disrupted in exactly the same way with exactly the same results. Focusing does not require a free hand, however. The amount of time that someone is required to Focus is listed as a Quick Count.

Sacrifice

Some Powers will require a sacrifice, usually Life Points. This means that the character will lose the required sacrifice regardless of protections, armor, Resistances, or even Immunities. These Powers will not always use the word “Sacrifice,” but the player should read any requirement of the Power that includes loss of Life Points or other mechanics to be included as a Sacrifice.

Understandably, one cannot Sacrifice things they do not have, and so, if the character does not have the required Sacrifice, they are unable to trigger the Power as they do not meet the requirements to do so. Thus, a sacrifice of points (of any kind including Life and Armor) will fail if it would take the character to less than zero.

Accents

Accents are the descriptive representation of the Effect, indicating to the target what “flavor” the Call had. Ideally these Accents add to roleplay, by communicating how the victim should roleplay the reaction to the effect. By convention, the call for an attack with no Effect and just an Accent can drop the “by." Thus “4 by Fire” can be called as “4 Fire."

For Example: Morcallen lights up his holy blade and attacks the vampire, calling “3 Radiance” representing a burst of light aiding the sword’s effectiveness against the undead. Knox hurls a sickening spell at Triss, calling out “Taint by Poison”, causing vile toxins to course through Triss’ blood.

Accents not only describe what is happening, but many defenses are dependant upon the accent:

For Example: Vallen charges her Flamestrike, wielding eldritch flame in the face of the demon that stands before her. She casts the fiery burst, “8 Flame!”, only to watch helplessly as the demon shrugs off her most powerful spell, unaffected by Flame: “Immune” calls the towering black form, as it strides forward obsidian claws glistening in the moonlight.

Whenever damage and an Accent are paired, it can be called as “[Damage] [Accent]” without the normal “by." There is also no need to Call the Accent on Powers a character uses on themself, as long as they are aware of the Accent.

Some well-known, though not necessarily common, Accents are:

Agony - Wracking pain and physical torment.

Arcane - Pure, raw, mystical energy wrought from realities undercurrents.

Acid [Elemental] - Caustic substances that burn chemically, eating away at flesh and bone.

Darkness - The unholy power of evil, often divine powers.

Disease - Plague, rot, and decay: all detrimental to the living.

Fear - Even the most formidable warrior is subject to fear, hesitation, and doubt.

Flame [Elemental] - Searing heat and crackling blasts of fire to burn and incinerate.

Force - Physical power generated magically. These effects can be invisible to the eye, but more often felt as a thrumming in the air.

Ice [Elemental] - Just as often extreme cold as actual shards of deadly ice.

Illusion - Hallucinations, trickery, and figments of the imagination.

Lightning [Elemental] - Blue-white bolts of electricity that crackle through the air, leaving the scent of ozone.

Poison - Venoms, gasses and toxins whether natural or manufactured.

Maelstrom - Forces from beyond the realms, where the Tempest lies in wait, churning endlessly.

Malediction - The language of the  gods, use by those distant beings to warp reality.

Mind - Often associated with a purple glow, this represents mental or psionic power.

Madness - That which is not meant to be known can drive even the bravest souls to gibbering incoherence.

Radiance - The most holy of powers, often associated with golden light and the powers of beneficent entities.

Terror - Psychological and formidable, these effects are the stuff of pure panic and nightmares.

Time - Temporal manipulation made manifest

Will - Through focus and determination, the source of these effects pushes up reality by sheer force of spirit.

Types

Abomination

Granted a cruel twisted life by horrendous magics that corrupt the form into new and varied forms, the Abomination is categorized by a few notable consistencies, such as being ponderously slow, but prodigious in strength.

Angel

Crafted by the gods themselves, angels are the deity's instrument of life and instrument of their crafter’s will. They are commonly associated with Radiance, but little else is known about their motivations or goals. Some believe the majority of angels are strictly bound to their deities' wills, and simply do as they are told, with little free will or autonomy to deviate from their deity’s orders.

Automaton

Automata are barely sentient clockwork constructions that have very limited free will. As machines they are more difficult to affect and damage than living beings, but lack the magical protection of their more advanced Construct cousins.

Construct

These are generally sentient statues, creatures most often made of arcane enchanted stone, metal, or flesh. The behemoths are known for great strength and being exceptionally resilient to both physical and magical assault.

Demon

Crafted by the gods themselves, demons are the deity's instrument of death and pain, whether for the execution of sheer malice or the implementation of divine retribution against a wayward spirit, demons are never to be trifled with. They are commonly associated with Darkness and Flame, but little else is known about their motivations or goals. Some believe the majority of demons are no longer bound to their deities' wills, and simply do as they like, with little to stop them from ravaging the lands.

Hollow

Very similar to Undead, Hollow creatures are caught in a precarious state between life and death. Hollow creatures count as both living and dead, and therefore will take both of the ‘to Undead’ and ‘to Living’ Qualifiers. In addition, Hollowed are Vulnerable to Radiant damage and Effects, though cannot be Healed by Radiance.

When a character with the Hollow type dies, they lose all Conditions as normal.

Living

These creatures generally breathe, need to eat and sleep, and are affected normally by most Effects. Living creatures become Dying if they drop to 0 Life Points, and then have a Slow 180 until they become Dead. After being Dead for 180 seconds, they will become Spirits and must return to the Spirit Well. Unless specified, all creatures are assumed to be Living.

In addition, all creatures with the Living type have Inherent Vulnerability to the Malediction, and Maelstrom Accents, and take Effects from those Accents as Final.

Spirit

A creature that has the Spirit Type is Inherently Insubstantial. They are not Living. In addition, they cannot communicate to others who do not have the Spirit Type, nor voluntarily make eye contact with them (unless allowed or required to by a Power or other ability).

The creature can only be targeted by Powers that specifically target creatures with this Type (These powers will have the “To Spirit” Qualifier in their Call). Otherwise, the player should call “No Effect, Spirit." Spirits must immediately head to the Spirit Well (unless superseded by some other Power or ability). By default, a creature with the Spirit Type does not have Life Points and cannot take damage, become Dying, or die, and should call “No Effect” if hit with one of these.

Undead

Although a wide variety of different creatures have the Undead Type, they have some things in common. The Undead cannot be Healed unless the power specifically Heals the Undead. They count as dead creatures, not Living. If an Undead creature drops to 0 Life Points it will be an inanimate corpse, but will re-animate as soon as it is back to one or more Life Points (and may therefore be healed by "to Undead," healing as normal).

The Undead is always dead and does not lose all Conditions and the durations of all Powers when it becomes an inanimate corpse. By default, if it remains this way for 180 seconds after dropping to 0 Life Points, the soul of the creature becomes a Spirit and will head to the Spirit Well. At this point, it loses all Conditions and the durations of all Powers expire.

Unless stated otherwise, a creature who gains this Type is also Dominated by the creature who caused the Condition. A Grant Life Effect will cause the creature to immediately discorporate and take Spirit Form. An Undead that has the Undead Type removed becomes a normal corpse and should begin its count to become a Spirit. An Undead that is Deathblowed should call “No Effect”, as it is already dead.

Resurrection

The Spirit Well

If a character goes beyond the Veil to where Death resides, they will arrive at the Spirit Well, a place where the spirits of the worthy are judged. There they will meet a Spirit Guide, who will take them through the process of judgment and then to the Keeper of their Fate.

During the character’s time in the Spirit Well, they are cognizant of what is going on around them and may remember what occurred there, even though the time prior to their death is gone. The time in the Well overcomes the memory of the time in the living world, as the mortal mind is incapable of retaining both experiences.

While each character’s experience in the Spirit Well may differ, there are specific experiences that almost all Spirits will have that are centered around the character’s Deck of Fate.

The Deck of Fate

The Deck is composed of cards that represent the Keepers of Souls. Each of these Keepers has their own motives, goals, and opinions; tread carefully, as they reign supreme in the domain of the Spirit Well.

During the Spirit’s stay in the Spirit Well, the path of the Spirit will follow a relatively straightforward process, depending on the status of their deck.

If the Spirit no longer has any cards in their Deck, they become a Lost Soul and undergo Final Death. The Spirit may return one final time, as a Spirit, to the place of their death and bid farewell to the living they will leave behind, before vanishing into the ether forever.

However, if the Spirit has any cards remaining in their Deck, the Guide offers the Spirit a draw from the Deck of Fate. The Spirit may draw or refuse to draw: should the Spirit refuse to draw, a card from the Deck is randomly drawn by the Guide, and is then discarded without the Spirit gaining knowledge of the discarded card. The Spirit immediately exits the Spirit Well and goes to Resurrect.

If the Spirit decides to choose from the Deck, the Guide will allow them to draw a card (modified by any relevant Powers, Skills, or Perks the Spirit may have). Once the Card is chosen, it is revealed to both the Guide and the Spirit. The Keeper represented on the chosen card will be the Keeper that the Spirit will negotiate with to determine their Fate.

The Keepers

After a short time, the Guide will lead the Spirit to the Keeper chosen. There, the Spirit will speak with the Keeper and reach an agreement: this may be a quest of some sort, or the character may simply be required to wear the Keeper's Mark for a time. Whatever the agreement, the Spirit is bound to that agreement as their resurrection depends on it. If the character breaks the rules of the agreement, they die and return to the Spirit Well to face the consequences.

Should the Spirit and the Keeper come to an impasse, the Spirit has the option to withdraw and resurrect normally, but at the cost of the destruction of the Keeper’s Card. The Spirit will go to resurrect, and the Card they drew will be removed from their Deck, never to be pulled again.

Should the negotiations conclude with the Spirit and Keeper in agreement, the Card chosen is returned to the Spirit’s deck, able to be drawn again. The Spirit then goes to resurrect normally, under the contract with the Keeper.

Over time and different experiences, the Spirit’s Deck will shrink. As the deck gets smaller, the Spirit may have a more difficult time negotiating with the Keepers, as they always know the state of the Spirit’s deck. Keepers will often take advantage of this, negotiating more and more difficult rules as they try to reach their goal: keeping the Spirit itself, forever.

Traps, Locks, & Poisons

One of the things that adventurers seem to constantly run into are locks and traps. The owners of dungeons and other lairs seem to love to lock up their ill-earned gold and then set painful traps for those who don’t respect those locks. Whether these are mechanical traps or magical glyphs with far-flung arcane effects, there are a number of different revenges available.

Locks

Locks and lockpicking systems in Tempest are determined by each chapter at their discretion. Below are general guidelines regarding locks and the intent of the system. A lock, as determined by local chapter policy, is required, though it will not be used to actually keep something closed. Instead, it must be attached to the thing it is meant to protect and it must be clear what it is closing.

Opening a Lock

Other than being picked or opened with the appropriate key, there are a number of ways to open a mechanical lock. Locks cannot be broken with normal strength, nor even while Strengthened, although some creatures may be deemed strong enough to break a lock with pure physical power. Locks can be Shattered by Powers, but cannot normally be damaged by other means. If a lock has been hardened it will counter one Shatter Effect. More can be found on getting through doors above. If a container has a Latch Trap attached to it, and the item/lock is Shattered, the Latch Trap will go off.

For non-mechanical locks, they may be “picked” as per the local chapter rules regarding locks and lockpicking. A standard lock may require picks, a rope tied with many knots may be untied, and a screw lock may require you to switch between screw head types and unscrew a number of screws.

Allowed Locks

Generally, simple “diary” locks, and super basic luggage locks are the go-to. The idea is to prevent entry by rule, not mechanism. The lock should be trivial to defeat with an actual picking attempt. Most often, the actual difficulty in picking will come from the circumstance under which the picker will have to operate under, rather than the difficulty of the lock.

Lockpicks

Any character can bring lockpicks or other “lockpicking tools” to facilitate, but they are only usable by someone with the Basic Locks Skill.

Shackles

Shackles are a prop that binds the wrists or legs of a character. An in-game lock is affixed to each prop to represent the locking mechanism of that prop. The prop must be loose enough to remain comfortable and, for safety, the player must be able to easily remove the prop if an out-of-game need arises.

Shackles can only be placed on a Helpless or willing character if the lock is open. To attach the shackles, the prop is put on the character to be restrained and the lock is closed. The lock must be materially attached to the shackle prop. Shackles placed on the arm restrict movement and make it impossible to use any skill or Power that requires that the arms must be free, including using weapons, casting spells, using packet attacks, and using Basic Medicine. You may use a skill that allows you to attempt to open a game lock on your own shackles. Shackles placed on the legs make it impossible to run and restrict movement to the extent of the shackles. A prop placed on the ankles must be constructed to allow the player to stand and walk slowly.

Shackles can be removed by opening the lock or by using an appropriate skill to remove them. Some Powers or skills may allow a character to get out of bonds.

Traps

Traps are devices meant to keep an area safe from intruders. There are a few different kinds, but all of them follow the same procedure. When the trap goes off, everyone nearby should stop until the card on the trap is read, describing the area and the effect of the trap. Traps can often be bypassed (by use of certain Rogue Powers for example) but the only interaction a character can have with a trap normally is to set it off. If a creature does anything with a trap, including moving it or performing actions that would normally disarm the trap, without the proper skills, the trap goes off. Once a trap goes off, the Marshal Spirit (if there is one) will read the results from the trap card (which will be with the trap itself). If there is no Marshal Spirit, the closest character (or creature) should mark their location, go to the trap, and read the trap card.

Most traps will cause an effect to the person who set them off. If someone manages to trigger a trap with a thrown object, then the object will take the effect instead. If the trap affects the entire room or corridor, then this trick will not provide much help. Some traps will work multiple times, while some will work once. If an item is causing a trap to go off continuously then anyone who touches the item will take the effect. This will be noted on the trap card.

If a trap is set in a small box, chest, or other enclosed area no larger than 3 feet in any dimension, by default, setting it off will apply a Shatter Effect to everything inside the area regardless of the other Effect(s) of the trap. Generally, this means that, Coins, items, paper, and everything else inside will be destroyed and cannot be taken from the box.

There are two basic types of traps that can be created by players through Tinkering and that will be commonly found. The base damage of all traps is 3 damage.

If the character interacting with the object has the Basic Traps Skill, they may attempt to disarm the Trap per the Skill. Characters with the Advanced Traps Skill may keep the Trap Card, if they are successful at disarming it.

Note: Any attempt to pick a lock by a character that does not have at least the Basic Traps Skill, will set off attached Trap(s).

Trigger Trap

“What was that?!” - These traps make a snap sound or a buzzer when they go off. They can be represented by mousetraps, party poppers, and snaps. In addition, electronic mechanisms such as beepers, buzzers, and electronic sound effects like the moaning of a rigged welcome mat you may find at Halloween may be used. These can be set up almost anywhere. Some possibilities are: in hallways, in the woods, or in containers. Safety should be taken into account when setting up trip line traps.

Latch Trap

These traps are set on or in something that opens. They can be set off by opening the object, by attempting to pick a mechanical lock without the Basic Traps skill, or by Shattering anything involved. Upon triggering the Trap the player should look at the Trap Information card, and read out its effects.

Augmented Traps

Traps can be enhanced and may be found with these additions, or can be built this way by Tinkers. These two standard augments are Area Traps and Alchemical Traps.

Area Trap Augment

A trap may be enhanced to affect an enclosed area or room. The delivery will begin with the words "In This Room..." Everybody in the affected area will take the Effect. Should the trap be tripped outside, only the victim tripping the trap will be affected.

Alchemical Trap Augment

This will replace the Effect of the trap.

Trap Information Cards

All Traps and any locks need a trap information card to go with them. It can be of any size but needs to be able to be viewable from about ten feet, although not necessarily obvious until after the trap has been activated. On the outside it should have the word “Trap” and a description of the kind of thing that sets it off (“opening the door”). On the inside or back of the information card, should be all the details of the trap (if there is one. Some cards may say “Untrapped”). These details will include who is affected by the trap, what it does, any Effects, etc.

If a trap is triggered, the person responsible should open the trap card and read the effect while everyone else remains still. All locks should also have a sealed “Trap” information card. When a lock-picking attempt is made, and then fails (i.e. the lockpicker takes damage, or uses another power ), the person failing it should read the effect of the trap.

Oftentimes there will be locks without traps on them, but a “Trap” card should still be present so that it is not known whether there is a trap or not on the item. After a trap is set off, the card will have information as to what should be done with the card. Often, it should be discarded (taken to the Ashbin), but other times it will need to be put back in place.

Disarming Traps

A character with the Basic Traps skill can attempt to disarm a trap that has not yet been tripped. A trigger trap is disarmed by preventing the loud sound it would make if triggered.

For Example: popping a battery clip off a battery, untying a trip line, or carefully unsetting a mousetrap (so that it does not snap shut) can all represent the disarming of the trap

A trigger trap may be disarmed by any means which does not permanently damage the trap prop. Permanent damage means treating the trap in such a way that a Marshal Spirit cannot fix the damage within ten minutes or needs a tool.

For instance, removing the top of a box by taking the screws out of the hinges is not allowed. It’s a nice lateral way of solving the problem, yes, but this can damage the box, would require the box to be repaired before resetting the trap, and generally would be a job for a Tinker instead of a Rogue. Conversely, a trap cannot require specific tools to disarm (If the only way to prevent a trap from making a noise requires a screwdriver to open the battery compartment, that trap isn’t valid). The Advanced Traps skill allows some disarmed traps to be taken for later use.

Poisons

There are few ways to deal with enemies that are worse than poison. Various toxic substances can be applied to weapons, put in drinks, or even smeared onto something an enemy is likely to touch. A poison is any substance that delivers an Effect (or damage) with the Poison Accent. There are an unlimited number of different kinds, although only a few can be produced by Alchemists (see the Alchemy chapter for Recipes).

Unless the character is using a poison they made themself as a direct attack, poisons must always be accompanied by a Poison Card which gives the name and Effects at the very least. No poison can be applied, mixed, or otherwise used without the Poisoner Skill or an Alchemy Skill. This includes adding poison to drink. Without those, the applying character will take the effects when the poison is applied.

There are two different ways to poison a person Applied and Ingested:

Applied

These poisons can be introduced through a wound, breathed in through a gas, or injected into a character. They are by far the most common type, found on locks, dart traps, and weapon coatings. The Poison Card will be found either with the Trap information card, or with the person using the coating.

Ingested

These poisons must be consumed via beverage in order to work. Many applied poisons also have a (more powerful) ingested effect as well. Ingested Effects are considered to be Delivered by Touch. To apply an ingested poison to someone’s drink, a Poison Card must be used (see below).

While poisoning can be valuable, there are limits. Poisons in this setting will always turn the beverage a color other than clear. In other words, clear water may never be poisoned and is known to be safe as a result.

Food interacts with the poisons and denatures the proteins and produces a distinctive discoloration that is immediately noticeable. As a result, food is never poisoned.

Poison Card

A poisoned beverage must have a Poison card attached to the underside of its cup to count as “poisoned”. For a successful poisoning to occur, some of the drink must have been ingested while the Poison card was attached. If a player does not notice the poison card before leaving the area, poisoning does not occur. After consuming some of the affected beverage, the person should read the poison card for written details of the effect of the poison or substance. The Poison card must include the full call (e.g. Piercing 4 by Poison) for the poisoning to be successful.

Note: Staff may also indicate to a character that they have been poisoned, and reveal the card (placed on the item in question).

Common Poisons

Any alchemical substances with the Poison Accent (by Poison) are considered poisons. These are the most common poisons:

• Adderstrike Venom

• Applied: Adds 2 damage and the “by Poison” Accent
• Ingested: Piercing 4 by Poison

• Enervation Poison

• Applied: Weakness by Poison
• Ingested: Drain by Poison

• Noctilotoxin

• Applied: Taint by Poison
• Ingested: Taint and Silence by Poison

• Pillowspore Poison

• Applied: Short Sleep by Poison
• Ingested: Sleep by Poison

• Aerial Doom Powder

• Applied: Death by Poison
• Ingested: Piercing 2 by Poison

• Red Death Poison

• Applied: Taint and Grant Resistance to Cure, both by Poison
• Ingested: Death and Grant Resistance to Grant Life, both by Poison

There are a number of other substances that can be placed in drinks or applied to weapons that are not poisons, such as Holy Oil.

Glyphs

There are certain symbols that are imbued with magical power. They will appear as squares with a pattern of designs. These designs will give a clue as to the effect of the Glyph. A glyph is a powerful magical trap that may be placed upon a rigid object to protect against theft, opening, or entry.

A glyph must be at least 4 inches square and can be accompanied by a trap card that says “GLYPH” on the front, along with the exact trigger. Otherwise, the triggering of the Glyph may be monitored by a Marshal Spirit or other staff. On the back of the card will be the effect, reset, and any keywords. Some Glyph information cards will say “Activation Unknown: Staff Trigger." These will be handled by Staff and if there is no Staff to handle it, the Glyph will not trigger. Because the power of a glyph results from the exact relationship of its shape, they can never be placed on flexible pouches, characters, clothing, or other non-rigid objects.

A glyph that is set to trigger with proximity will be set off by any animate creature that weighs 25 pounds or more; an undead creature or construct will trigger a glyph, but a squirrel, rock, or inanimate dead body will not.

Removing/Disarming Glyphs

There are some Powers that can remove or disarm a Glyph, but other than these, Glyphs cannot be ruined by defacing them or by other forms of manual destruction.

Glyph Reference

All glyphs have names, built up from the names of their parts. The order of the name is Top, Left, Right, Bottom. The knowledge below is all available openly within the world and if PCs wish to bring a copy of it into game, they are encouraged to do so.

Top: Activation

Left: Target

Right: Effect

Bottom: Reset

Example Glyphs

Trevos’Do’Din’Fesh

The Glyph Trevos’Do’Din’Fesh might be used to protect an item from being stolen. It activates on the one Individual who removes the item from its location, causing periodic small damage.

Nos’Ru’Telos’Lo

The Glyph Nos’Ru’Telos’Lo could be very useful. It activates when touched to teleport everyone within the room to the home of Lord Pevensie. It then resets after 30 minutes.

Kor’Vae’Vlar’Nul

The Glyph Kor’Vae’Vlar’Nul is set on a door. It activates only if the person opening the door is Undead, doing 10 points of Piercing damage. It does not reset.

Character Creation and Advancement

Before even playing your first game as a player, you will need to create a character, your representative in the game world. Once you have created a character and start to play, you will want to advance that character. This chapter will explain how to do both these things.

Character Creation

In Tempest, there are five major choices at character creation that are the building blocks for the character that you bring into the world: Concept, Breed, Class, Culture, and Religion. It’s not to say that your character won’t make other choices over time that steer the direction of that character, but these choices are what makes up your character initially.

Imagine a Character Concept

Decide what kind of person they will be; maybe their name, and the kinds of things you imagine them doing. You may be asked to fill out a background survey, rather than submit a story or description.

Choose a Breed

Each Breed has specific Challenges relating to their physical form or how they interact with the world, such as "Tall Ears" or "Barbed Tail." Each Challenge (usually costuming requirements) will give you Breed Points to spend on special Breed Advantages. Breed Advantages can only be purchased during character creation. Features from up to two Breeds can be mixed and matched to create any crossbreed. A character can only have one Sub-Breed, from the Breed they have the most Breed Points in.

The character’s breed determines several things about your character, including several aspects of their physical form. This might include the requirement to apply a wide range of makeup, prosthetics and specific garb. In addition, some mental, spiritual, and mechanical alterations will affect your character in a wide variety of ways, both positive and negative. A character’s breed is among the most difficult things to change about your character, so weigh your choice carefully!

Choose a Base Class

The character’s class defines a collection of themed skills the character has spent a large amount of their life honing to better serve their goals, or perhaps simply to ensure their protection from a harsh world. Either way, a character begins play with two levels in a single class, and may advance that class or one of many others as they grow and experience the world of Tempest.

You must choose one Class for your character. Among other things, your class gives you some free Skills (including weapon and armor Skills), and some Power choices. Spellcasting Classes have their Spells in a Spellbook that they can Prepare and Cast. Non-casting Classes have Powers to choose from, including Utility Powers which are usually used outside of combat. There are eight Base Classes in Tempest, and you will start at 2nd level in your first class:

Artisan

Artisans are crafters, artificers, and ritualists. They have more mundane methods of helping others or enhancing themselves, including potions, explosives, or art.

Cleric

Divine casters who gain their power from greater supernatural beings, gods, or entities. They are fair fighters and are excellent healers and wield powerful enhancing and protecting magics.

Druid

Harnessing the ferocity of the forest, these divine spellcasters specialize in self-sufficiency and melee combat, often altering their bodies to better navigate the hurdles life places in front of them.

Fighter

Masters of weaponry and war, Fighters are meant to stand on the front line and take hits. Their Powers focus on survival and crowd control, keeping attention on them.

Mage

Arcane specialists who can protect their allies, alter the field of battle, or learn the very secrets of the universe. Although they have limited power, their spells give them significant defensive strength, utility, and abilities few can dream of.

Rogue

Traps, stealth, the soft sound of a knife sliding into an enemy from behind, these are the skills of the Rogue. Their ability to avoid damage and dish out enormous spikes of pain make them a necessary part of any group.

Socialite

Whether a courtier, bard, or merchant, the Socialite navigates life by balancing relationships, knowledge, and economics to their advantage. Manipulation, discernment, and the spoken word are their stock in trade.

Sourcerer

Tapping into the Echoes of the Primordials, the Sourcerers channel power from beyond the realities most inhabit to fortify themselves against danger and dish out significant pain to their foes. Eldritch Sources channel the immense power necessary to weave reality to their will, but leave them in precarious positions frequently.

Choose a Culture

Choose a Religion

Spend Character Points

Character Points are a great way to further customize your character to fit your concept and playstyle. While a character starts with a small pool to purchase Perks and Skills, that character will earn additional points over time, as they grow in experience. New and interesting options to purchase with Character Points open up later on, and are perhaps even discoverable in the worlds of Tempest, so keep your eyes peeled, and ear to the ground!

• Characters start at 2nd level with five Character Points.
• Players may earn two character points for each character by submitting a Staff-Approved character history.
• Up to five character points may be acquired by taking Flaws from the Character Options section.

Character Options

Look through the Character Options for Perks and Flaws to personalize your character. You can take Flaws, which will give you additional Character Points if you can accept the restrictions and difficulties they entail. Does your character have Perks like special senses or noble blood? Are they burdened with the Flaw of a paralyzing fear of the undead or does the touch of gold cause them physical harm? Generally, Flaws and some Perks can only be taken during character creation, but save some Character Points for Skills.

Purchase Skills

Does your Fighter dabble in spellcasting? Can your Mage pick locks? Purchasing skills will round out what your character can do. Which weapons can they use? What profession has the character learned? Spend your remaining Character Points to buy the Skills you want.

Final Touches

Life Points and Spikes

Refer to the Character Level Table for the base values for Life Points and Spikes for your character’s level. Life Points gained by leveling max out at 7 Life Points, although there are character options, powers, and other Perks which will allow a character to exceed this maximum.

• Calculate your Life Points, modified by Powers, Perks, and Advantages.
• Calculate your Maximum Spikes, modified by Powers, Perks, or Advantages.

Gaining Character Points

• Characters start at 2nd level with five Character Points.
• Players may earn two character points for each character by submitting a Staff-Approved character history.
• Up to five character points may be acquired by taking Flaws from the Character Options section.
• Each time you attend a full weekend event, you gain a single Character Point.
• Each time you advance in level, you will gain 2 Character Points.
• Character Points are awarded on a per character basis.

Other Starting Resources & Wealth

In Tempest, there are multiple ways to gain Wealth at the start of the game. Based on your chapter’s plot team and the skills and perks you have at character creation, these might include:

• Starting Wealth: Characters can start with additional Coin or Resources depending on their Perk and Skill choices.

Get Your Gear

Your character starts off with all of the mundane equipment they can use on a day-to-day basis. This includes their favored weapons, a shield if they can use one, packets for spell-casting, lockpicks, other tools associated with their Skills, the armor they wear, etc. They do not have to pay for this in any way, but you do have to bring props to represent each item. Perhaps they come from an inheritance, something they purchased in the past, or a gift from a teacher or organization.

Characters may not begin with special items (magic items, powerful mundane items, relics, and so forth) unless some feature (Perks, Skill, Role, etc.) lets them. If items are destroyed in-game, there are lots of ways to mend them. If they are lost, Tinkers can usually build new ones. This gear can be brought in, at no cost, at the beginning of each Event. So, if you lose your sword and don’t get a new one by the end of the Event, you can always acquire a new one between games.

Remember that any mundane equipment your character has must have a physical representation (“phys rep”). Make sure you have foam-padded weapons that fit your character and your proficiencies. Make or get any Spell-packets or Spell-balls you need. Get lockpicks if you need them and something to carry them in.

Be sure to match up the physical armor you are going to wear with the relevant armor Skills (granted by your Class, or purchased separately). See the Combat chapter for details on representing armor and calculating your Armor Points.

Note: Items that are real-world dangerous, like sharp grappling hooks, should be represented by safer mock-ups.

By default, your character begins play with 8 Wealth.

Now your character is ready to play!

Advancing a Character

Characters start out at 2nd level and Tempest requires that both levels be in the same Base Class. Each Event you play will gain you Experience Points, which will earn you character levels. Every time you gain a level, you can choose which class you wish to advance. Sometimes these will be one of the eight Base Classes, or, if you meet the requirements, you can gain levels in specialized advanced classes.

For Example: Leora has just gotten to 28 Experience Points, she is now 5th level. Her character, Avana, is currently a 4th level Rogue, but she has recently finished a plot involving the deity of Thieves, a mischief god named Scarlet. She decides that her 5th level will be in Cleric. Avana is now a 5th level character: a 4th level rogue and 1st level Cleric.

Experience Points

Character Level vs. Class-level

Some mechanics and features of Tempest rely on calculations involving the Character Level of a given character. This is the sum of all the class-levels the character has obtained.

For Example: A 4th level Rogue / 2nd level Mage / 1st level Fighter is a 7th level character. Your class-level is the number of levels you have in a particular class. A 4th level Cleric / 8th level Artisan has 8 class-levels in Artisan.

Leveling & Retraining

Whenever the character goes up in level they may change a previously established aspect of their character. At each Character Level, they may choose one of the following:

• Remove a Tiered Power they currently have and gain a new Tiered Power of the same Tier in the class they are leveling into.
• Remove a Spell from their Spellbook and replace it with a spell from the class they are leveling into.
• Remove a Cantrip or Utility Power and choose another (of either) in the class they are leveling into.

Tiered Power, Utility Power, and Cantrip alterations must remain within the limits set from the character’s Base Class Progression Table.

Advanced Classes are not entirely limited by their Class Table in the same way as Base Classes. Every time a character gains a level in an Advanced Class, they may swap a Base Class Spell or Power (Tiered, Utility, or Cantrip) for an Advanced Class Spell or Power of the same Type or Tier. For example, Frank the Fighter is taking their first level of Destroyer. They get one Utility Power and one Greater Power per the Class Table. In addition, they may lose one Fighter Utility or Tiered Power to gain a Destroyer Utility or Tiered Power (of the same or lower Tier). They could do this again at each level they take in Destroyer. The number of Powers or spells swapped up in this way cannot exceed the level of the Advanced Class.

You may find that aspects of your character not listed here are making your game less fun. For example, maybe you started with a jaw prosthetic as a Breed Challenge, but you aren't enjoying it and you feel stuck. If so, please reach out to the Staff in your game and explain the situation.

Catching Up

Due to the nature of the campaign style that Tempest supports, each campaign is of a limited duration, usually five years. As such, Tempest has instituted a “catch-up” mechanic, where players that start after the beginning of the campaign are awarded additional Experience and CP, based on how long the campaign has been running.

Experience

New players entering existing campaigns will receive a total amount of XP equal to half the Campaign Maximum. In addition, each event a player attends while “behind” the Campaign Maximum for Experience, they earn double the normal amount of XP, until they are caught up with the Campaign Maximum.

Due to Experience being tracked on a per player basis, players whose character permanently dies will come back at the same level as the previous character. Players who portray multiple characters throughout the course of the campaign will similarly have each character they portray be the same level.

For players who don’t attend regularly, an Experience Floor is also instituted. The Experience Floor is half of the Campaign Maximum.

Campaign Maximum for Experience

The Campaign Maximum is the experience threshold that is possible if a player attends an event every month an event is offered across the entire system. The Campaign Maximum is a standard across the Tempest System. The Campaign Maximum for Experience is determined by taking the beginning Campaign Maximum for the month, checking how much Exp is available in each individual Chapter, and increasing the beginning Campaign Maximum by the largest value from among the chapters for the month. No player may exceed the Campaign Maximum Experience.

For example: If Chapter A and B both have events in Months 1, 2, and 3, they will both have the opportunity to gain 24 experience. If Chapter A has an event in Months 4 and 5, but Chapter B does not, the Campaign Maximum will increase by 16, up to 40 experience. Chapter B players will gain Catch Up experience per the Catching Up Mechanics above. Both Chapter A and B have events in Months 6, 7, and 8, increasing the Campaign Maximum by 24, up to 64 experience. Finally, if Chapter B has an event in Month 9, but Chapter A does not, the Campaign Maximum increases to 72 experience. Chapter A players will gain Catch Up experience per the Catching Up Mechanics above.

For Example: If Chapter A has a 6 half-days event, and Chapter B has a standard 4 half-days event, the increase to the Campaign Maximum is 12 (6 half-days * 2 experience per half-day).

For Example: If Chapter A has has a 6 half-days event as well as another 1 half-day Mod Day, and Chapter B has a standard 4 half-days event, the increase to the Campaign Maximum is 14 ([6 half-days * 2 experience per half-day] + [1 half-day * 2 experience per half-day]).

Character Points

New players entering existing campaigns will receive the standard CP of 5 plus 2 for every level above 2nd. Character points are tracked on a per character basis and as such, any additional characters a player wishes to introduce will follow this mechanic for starting CP. Each time you attend an event as a character, that character will gain 1 CP for attending the event. Additionally, each time you gain experience sufficient to level up, all of your characters will gain 2 CP for the level up as normal.

Further, modifications may be made to the Base CP a player starts with. Such things are decided on by the Tempest Leadership. Such examples may include CP awarded for participating in the Playtest, or as part of a Fundraiser.

Plot may award CP, Skills, Character Options, or other powers and abilities as Plot deems fit at Plot’s discretion.

Multi-Classing

When a character goes up in level, they need not simply increase the level of their current class. There are two alternatives: They can add a level from an Advanced Class (which is a special class for higher level characters that will have very specific requirements), or they can add a level in a Base Class. Adding a level in a Base Class is called multiclassing.

How to Multi-class

When a character takes their first level in a new Base Class, a few things happen:

• They gain any of the skills listed under 'Multiclass Skills' in that Class. If they already have one or more of these, they do not get extra Ranks or alternate skills, but instead are refunded the CP cost of the skills that they would gain from the new class.
• If the new Class is a spellcaster, the character gains known spells, prepared spells, and spell slots, per the class table.
• The character gains any Tiered and Innate Powers as a Level 1 in their new Class.

Then, going forward, whichever Base Class has the most levels is considered the player’s "Archetype Class", and it is from that Class that they gain Archetype Powers. If two or more Base Classes are tied for the highest level, they may choose any of their highest level Base Classes to be their Archetype Class, possibly losing access to Archetype Powers as they switch their Archetype Class.

Spell Slots and Spheres of Magic

Each of the Casting Classes (Cleric, Druid, Mage, and Sourcerer) will fall into one of two Spheres of Magic. Cleric and Druid are Divine Sphere Casters, and Mage and Sourcerer are Arcane Sphere Casters. For simplicity, all Spell-Slots of the same Sphere are grouped into a singular pool with respect to their Tier. For example, if your class levels are split Druid 6 / Cleric 2, you would gain Spell-Slots from Druid 4/1/0/0, and from Cleric 1/0/0/0. For bookkeeping purposes, you would simply have 5/1/0/0 Divine Sphere Spell Slots that you can cast either Druid or Cleric Spells with. The same goes for Arcane Sphere Spell-Slots.

Breeds

Sometimes, a character’s identity can come not from what they do, but what they are. Breeds represent the different kinds of creatures that players can choose from for their character.

Breeds

Breeds are a special kind of Character Option. Each one has a list of special Challenges, many of which are costuming choices. These Challenges will give Breed Points that can be spent on Breed-specific Advantages. No Challenge or Advantage can be taken more than once.

Characters can get up to 10 Breed Points from Challenges in their primary Breed. Characters who take the Purebred Character Option get up to 13, but can not take a Secondary Breed. If a character has taken any Challenges or Advantages in a Breed, they are considered to be that Breed (and gain that Qualifier). If no Breed Challenges are taken, then the Character’s Breed is considered Human. A character might be an Aelthen, but look entirely Human because they have not chosen any of the costuming Challenges.

Breed Advantages that duplicate Perks do not require prerequisites but do count as prerequisites for other Perks.

Generally, the character's Breed Advantages and Challenges cannot be changed after character creation unless the player gets Staff approval. However, some Challenges can be removed through specific Rituals, or roleplay.

Sub-Breeds

Every Breed has a Sub-Breed that adds variations providing more detail to a character. Each Breed will have sub-categories that are additional lists of special Challenges. These Challenges follow all of the same rules as standard Breed Challenges.

• Each Character can only be one Sub-Breed from the Breed that they have the most Breed Points from Challenges.
• A Character must take at least one Challenge from a Sub-Breed to count as being that Sub-Breed.
• No Character can have more than one Sub-Breed.
• A Character does not need to have a Sub-Breed.

Secondary Breeds

Characters can be any mix of two Breeds they wish to be, and can choose Challenges from either list . A Character can only be up to two Breeds unless otherwise stated.

Characters can get up to five Breed Points from Challenges in their Secondary Breed. The Perk Pronounced Heritage increases this maximum up to eight Breed Points, able to be spent on a character’s Secondary Breed.

Sometimes the same Challenge would work for multiple Breeds, but the player must choose which one Breed they will count for, as they will not count for both.

For Example: either Chimera Fangs or Aelthen Fangs count as a breed Challenge, but the character would only gain breed points once.

Breed points may only be spent on Advantages that come from the Breed the Challenges were taken from. For example: If the character also has special ears from Chimera heritage, those Breed Points must be spent on Chimera Breed Advantages.

Challenges and Aesthetics

The goal of the physical/prosthetic Breed Challenges is to add to the depth and immersion of the game. Sometimes, attempts at these kinds of costuming can have the opposite result. If the player has any questions about the appearance or appropriateness of a prosthetic or make-up decision, Staff is available to help. Although Staff has final judgment on all Breed Challenges and representations, unless there is a need for adjudication, the players should be able to judge and value their own prosthetics and make-up.

Gender

Please be aware that players of all genders are welcome at our game, and that characters of any Gender can be played, regardless of whether they correspond to the player's out-of-game gender identity. That said, portraying a character that is a caricature of ANY gender or sexual orientation will be treated as harassment, regardless of whether the performance is directed at any player in particular, and will be handled accordingly.

In cases of strong breed gender associations, such as an Amazon, there is a great deal of space for characters who wish to portray non-binary characters to work with their fellow players and the plot team to define what that experience looks like for them. We encourage those players to reach out so that we can begin these conversations. A player who will portray a character with a gender expression different than their own should read the relevant portions of the Code of Conduct (in the Getting Started chapter), especially the portion on Gender and Orientation.

After Character Creation

Breed Advantages and Challenges cannot normally be taken or removed after character creation. Staff can approve changes for story reasons or special circumstances.

Physical Representation

For practical, aesthetic, and inclusivity purposes, players are not allowed to use all-over body paint of black, white, red, yellow, or brown. Other colors will require explicit approval from your Staff. Please feel free to do extensive accenting in colors and textures (such as fur or scales), heavy tattoos, sections of skin in accent colors, or blending of contrast-colored prosthetics. NPCs will not be using any all-over body or face coloring.

Representation Expectations

While every effort should be made by the player to represent their character’s challenges, Staff understands that certain circumstances may make this difficult, or even dangerous to the health of the player to represent on an ongoing basis. During some events, the Staff may make the determination to declare an event is operating under the “Armor Safety” rule.

Classes, Powers, and Spells

Class Descriptions

Each class is described in the context of their common roles, historical and mythical figures, and common garb. This is all meant to give an example of the class, rather than to draw any prescriptive lines.

Tiered Class Powers

Tiered Class Powers (Basic, Advanced, Veteran, Champion) are the maximum number of Tiered Powers the character may have in that Class for that tier.

Note: This maximum only applies to the Class Powers. i.e. Devotion Powers do not count towards the maximums listed in the class.

Character Progression

Some statistics are dependent on the character’s level. Life Points and Spikes are based on the character’s total level, and can be found on the table below. While These values may be modified by various character options, breed modifications, and in-game effects, every character follows the same base progression, outlined below:

Character Level Table

Tiers and Powers

For martial classes (non-spell-casters) there is a progression of how many Powers the character can have in each Tier at each level.

All Powers are broken down into four Tiers and the character chooses Powers from these Tiers.

Novice Spells and Basic Powers are Tier 1 Powers.

Adept Spells and Advanced Powers are Tier 2 Powers.

Greater Spells and Veteran Powers are Tier 3 Powers.

Master Spells and Champion Powers are Tier 4 Powers.

Each Martial Class will have a Class Progression Table that lists the maximum number of Powers of each Tier that a character can take from that Base Class. Some skills or Class Powers such as Extensive Combat Training can increase these limits. These limits do not apply to non-Base Classes.

Power Rule of One

Unless otherwise specified by numbers in parenthesis, such as Smite, in the Fighter Base Class (listed as “Smite [Basic] (2)”), no Power choice can be made more than once. This includes Powers (which include Spells, Advantages, Challenges, Skills, and Character Options) from Classes, Breeds, and all other sources.

Utility Powers

These Powers are in a special tier all their own. They are meant to help round out the character and will not necessarily be as useful in combat. They may help detail the character’s background, fill in skill-holes, or provide other abilities that do not just relate to defeating one’s enemies. Utility Powers are a totally separate pool and are not exchangeable with other Power types. The number of Utility Powers a character may have is based on their Class Level and will be noted on their Class Table.

Archetype Progression

Each base class comes with a set of unique Archetype Powers. When a character decides to multiclass, they gain access to multiple sets of these powers. However, the character can only use one set of Archetype Powers at a time, and this set always corresponds to the Base Class that the character has the highest number of levels in.

If the character has two or more base classes with the same number of levels, the player can choose one set of Archetype Powers from among those base classes. Once the choice is made, it becomes fixed until the character gains a level again.

Power Descriptions

Powers are abilities that can be gained from a character’s class, breed, or even from Advantages. These include spells. For example, the Adept spell “Burn” is a Power, while the basic spellcasting is a Skill . Powers are listed with a name, Incantation, Call, Effect, target, Accent, duration, Delivery, and refresh. The Call is the suggested method of communicating what the power does to the target.

Triggered Powers

By default, all Powers activate immediately after the Incantation (or focus) is completed. Some, however, are “triggered” Powers which set up an ability that the character can use later. On other people, this is handled by Imbuing or Granting them with a Power, but on one’s self, this is found in the description of the Power. These Powers usually last until they are used or until a certain duration runs out. By default, triggered spells go away if the character dies or comes back to life.

Incantation

The words that must be spoken out loud in order to activate the ability. While performing an Incantation, a character has a number of requirements that must be adhered to. These are:

• As a caster draws upon the Eye’s magical ley lines to harness their known magics, that power weighs and anchors them to the world until they either finish their cast or abandon their spell. The right foot must be planted on the ground and may not move except to pivot.

• The character must have one hand free and unbound to perform the Touch cast, hold the material component required (Packet or weapon), or gather the magic from the world. Only the packets of materia to be charged by the spell, or a weapon to be charged, may be held in that hand. Note that the other hand can hold weapons, other materia packets, shields, kittens, or anything else.

• The Incantation required by the Power description must be completed and no more than 2 seconds can pass between words of the Incantation. The words of the spell must be called out in a voice which is clear and hearable by those standing nearby. Small mistakes are allowable, as long as they do not generally change the length or complexity of the cast. “Thee” instead of “you” might be acceptable, or “upon” instead of “on”, for example. Players should try to get the Incantation as close as possible to the exact wording listed with the Power.

• When the Incantation is completed, the character must be holding the appropriate material component for the Power (usually a materia packet) if the Power has a material component, and must be within Touch range (6”) of the target if the Power is Delivered by Touch.

If at any time during the Incantation, the character is affected (i.e. takes an Effect, takes damage, etc., rather than it being stopped by a defense) or is disturbed in any physical way including blocking a blow, the Incantation is interrupted and the Power will not work. The Power remains unused and the character can try again immediately. Calling a Counter or “No Effect” will not disrupt an Incantation. If struck by something that requires a Call (such as a Counter or Immunity), the player should make the Call and then continue the Incantation to the best of their ability.

Fake-casting

For whatever reason, it is always obvious to those watching the character if they are really casting a spell or activating a Power. Because of this, "faking" magic casts and other Incantations is not allowed unless all those present know that the Incantation is fake. This means that the caster is not allowed to trick others into believing that a real spell is being cast when that is not the case. The converse is not true. There are times when class Powers will give a character an ability to activate a Power without others knowing, such as using a poem or song to activate a Power.

Calls

See The Call for full rules regarding calls.

Refresh

This tells you when the power becomes available again. A power with a Refresh of “Short Rest” can be used again once a Short Rest has been completed. Note that if a character has the same power more than once, each one can be used before the Refresh. If Belswin has chosen the power Saving Flame three times, he can use it three times between each Short Rest. If he only used it once, that one would still Refresh after a Short Rest.

Spells are listed with a Refresh of “Spell” because spell-slots will be refreshed by the particular refreshing Powers of each individual casting class as well as all spell-slots refreshing after a Long Rest. Those listed as having a Refresh of “Focus Quick 100” require the character to complete a Focus Quick 100 (see Focus, above) in order to use it again. Powers with a Refresh of “Immediate” can be used as often as desired.

Out of Combat

A number of Powers require the character to be “out of combat." Being out of combat means the character believes there are no credible, active threats nearby. They feel that they could sit with their eyes closed for a few minutes without any unusual risk. A character would almost never be out of combat if allies are fighting nearby, or if an attacker is within verbal range and interested in harming them. As with so many things in Tempest, the decision is left to the portrayer, with a focus on the spirit of the rules, rather than a literal reading of them.

Note: During particular marshaled encounters, such as mods, planar travel, etc, the entire encounter may be considered “In-combat.”

Power Conflicts

If there is ever any question as to whether one Power works against another, the higher Tier Power always wins out. Also, in the case of simultaneous effects, both events occur. For example, if a Cleric calls out a Hold Undead spell (a spell that effectively disables the target’s arms) and is hit by a blow that was in motion when the spell was called, the damage is still taken. As long as a Call is begun, the Power will go off. If a Mage calls out a Blast spell (a spell that does damage) as a Cleric calls out Retributive Protection spell (a damaging spell) both occur, even if one of the casters is incapacitated or killed from the damage.

Spellbooks and Preparation

Mages, Clerics, and other casting classes must have a scroll, book, or other special item to take with them into games. These spellbooks should have all of the spells that the character has learned as well as the Cantrips that they choose. The number of spells a character can have (both Cantrips and higher-level spells) in their spellbook will be determined by their class, level, and other Skills and Powers; they may not add Spells into a spellbook unless some feature allows them to. With the Basic Arcane Skill or Basic Faith Skill the character will add four first-tier spells into their spellbook from that spellcasting class’s list of spells. Every level they gain in that class, they can add one more spell from a tier they can cast (from that class). This is separate from Cantrips, which should also be recorded, but do not count against the character’s total.

At the very minimum, a character must record the name and Tier of a spell and the Incantation for the spell in their spellbook in order to have learned it. Often this is accompanied by description, Effects, and various notes or diagrams. Once a character has learned a spell they may choose to prepare it and must study their spellbook to do so. The character can only Prepare spells from their own spellbook; without all the special notes, personal significance, and meditative connection to the process of scribing the book in the first place, the caster cannot sufficiently internalize the necessary minutiae to Prepare a spell. Finally, a spellbook need not be a book: it may be a lead with arcane markings, a stick with diagrams burned into it, or a clay slate; no matter the spellbook’s form, it must always have the minimum required name, Tier, and incantation of a spell upon it. There is no limit on the number of spellbooks a character can have.

Spellbooks can only be created between Events, so if a character’s last copy of a spellbook is lost or destroyed, they will be unable to Prepare new spells and will have to make do with spells they have already Prepared.

Spheres of Magic

Within the realms of Tempest, there are several types of magic, each defined by the source of its power. In game terms, these Spheres are wholly distinct from each other, and are cast and powered by different spell slots, and often granted by different classes. The two most well known Spheres are Arcane and Divine, but rumors exist of more esoteric Spheres, sequestered away from the sight of the common folk.

Spells

Spells are powers that require Spell-Slots of the appropriate Tier and Sphere to cast. Spells must be Prepared to cast.

Preparation

During a Short Rest, a character can Prepare spells by recording their names and tier in their spellbook and crossing off previous Preparation lists. A character with multiple un-crossed-out Preparation lists is considered to have botched the Preparation and will have no spells available for casting. A character need not re-Prepare spells at every Short Rest. Whatever the latest un-crossed-out entry will remain Prepared until it is actively changed. The number of spells they can Prepare is determined by their character class and level as well as the skills they have chosen.

Spell-slots

Casting classes also have a number of “Spell-Slots” that can be used to cast spells with. These spell-slots are categorized as Novice, Adept, Greater, and Master spell-slots. A Novice slot can be used to cast any Novice tier spells that the character has Prepared and in the same sphere. An Adept slot can be used to cast Adept Tier spells and lower. A Greater spell-slot can be used to cast Greater Tier spells and lower. A Master spell-slot is used for Master Tier spells or lower.

For Example: If Knox had three Novice Arcane slots and two Adept Arcane slots, he could cast the same Novice Tier spell twice, a different Novice Tier spell, and two Adept Tier spells with those. But if Knox had three Novice Arcane slots left and no Novice Divine slots left then he would not be able to cast any Novice tier Divine spells but would be able to spend them on Novice Arcane Spells.

Once the casting is completed, that spell-slot is exhausted, regardless of what happens after that. A character can always use a higher Tier spell-slot to power a lower Tier spell, so an Adept spell-slot could be used to cast Burn (a Novice Tier spell), for example. For some spells, this will allow for greater effect. If so, this will be detailed in the description of the spell. Spell-slots all refresh after a Long Rest and there are a number of Powers that can allow casters to refresh some number of slots earlier.

Cantrips

Cantrips are special kinds of powers that do not need to be Prepared and can generally be cast as often as desired. The Cantrips that the caster has access to must be recorded in their spellbook along with their spells. Once a Cantrip is chosen, it is impossible to change without special use of Skills or Powers. A Cantrip cannot be taken more than once; each Cantrip choice must be a different Cantrip.

Materia

Many spells, and some abilities, use materia. Materia is a special magical element that must be mined. In some magically charged places it can be drawn from the earth, but elsewhere it must be pulled out of the magical weave that is everywhere in the multiverse. Materia is then collected in sufficient quantities to power a spell and poured into packets. These packets can be charged with magical power and hurled. The force of their impact releases the magical power and delivers the effect. The packet, and the materia inside, are rarely destroyed or even damaged by this use. Even a powerful firestorm-creating spell is unlikely to scorch the materia packet used to release it.

Any spell or ability listed as requiring packet delivery requires a materia packet to function. The color of the cloth holding the materia is irrelevant to the type of spell or Effect being delivered. Some Settings will prefer Packets be made from naturally colored materials (beige, off-white, etc.) Small, weak spells like Cantrips require smaller “spell-packets." These are generally an inch or so in diameter and hold very little power. More powerful spells, anything of tier 1 or higher, usually require a “spell-ball." These are packets that must be at least 2.5 inches in diameter. Any spell with a “Packet” delivery will require materia. See Appendix II for more information on Spell-Packet and Spell-Ball Construction.

Packet Spells

Packet spells are delivered by throwing a spell-packet or spell-ball to strike an opponent. Packet spells can always be cast as touch spells on willing or helpless targets, even without materia. The Incantation for a spell is required to charge the packet and it is then ready to be thrown. Once charged, it will remain so indefinitely, although the caster should call “Packet Charged” or “Magic Active” or the like when there are those around who might want or need to know that the materia is filled with arcane or divine energy. A packet will lose its power if no longer held in a hand (usually discharging the spell on whatever it hits, if it strikes a valid target) or if additional materia or weapons are charged.

Spells that charge multiple packets at the same time abide by these same rules; this means that only the packets from a single spell can be charged and active at any one time. If the caster puts a charged packet back in their pouch, tosses it up and catches it, or sets it aside so they can use a pen, the spell will go off. When the packet strikes, the spell’s Call should be announced. This is an out-of-game call to explain what has just occurred.

Weapon Spells

Weapon-delivered spells are delivered by charging a weapon with magic and then using it to strike an opponent. The Incantation for a spell is required to charge the weapon and it is then ready to be used. Once charged, it will remain so indefinitely, although the caster should call “Weapon Charged” or the like when there are those around who might want or need to know that the weapon is aglow with magical energy. A weapon will lose its power if no longer held in a hand or if additional materia or weapons are charged. When the weapon strikes and the holder wishes the spell to go off, the spell’s Call should be announced. This is an out-of-game call to explain what has just occurred. Attacks may be made with a charged weapon that do not discharge the spell.

Religions & Cultures

Within the realms of Tempest are a myriad of Cultures, Religions, and backgrounds. Each has its own ties to the wider world, and to each chapter of Tempest.

Cultures

A character’s culture determines the society, and sometimes the location, where the character was raised, and defines and guides some formative behaviors, laying a shared foundation that many characters can relate to. In addition, specific plots may come your way that affects your culture in new and surprising ways! Each character will have a Culture, but they may choose not to “lean-into” it with their roleplay - that choice is left up to the player. However, each culture comes with a number of skill or perk discounts, and an Inheritance Power - a small free ability reflecting the experience of growing up in that culture.

Note: Cultures from all chapters of Tempest are available to every character, regardless of home chapter, however, local plot teams may not have the resources to fully support out-of-chapter cultures roleplay and plotlines.

Location

Many cultures are defined or influenced by the location they occupy - but not all. Some cultures are widespread due to diaspora, or commonalities that transcend borders. The locations listed are a guide to where the culture is most prevalent, but doesn’t restrict a character’s background, though they might find themselves alone, and possibly even outcast.

Concepts

Within each culture, certain concepts lie at the base of each, either highly valued by its members, or fundamental to the ties that bind the culture together. While each member may perceive these concepts somewhat differently, they are, in general, something everyone in the culture can agree upon, and find common ground.

Description

A more detailed description, and often historical context for the culture. Here, one will find more detail and nuance about the culture, and often specifics they can weave into their own backstory, mannerisms, and personality.

Commonalities of Culture

Here one will find aspects of the culture that might influence its members actions, beliefs, speech, or garb. If one is looking to outwardly express their character’s culture, this is a good starting place.

Tools of the Trade

Each culture has certain talents and specialties that are common to all its members. These entries allow a discount for several Skills, however, these discounts cannot be stacked with other discounts to provide free (0 cost) Skills. If the character gains one of these skills without purchasing it with CP (from Class Skills or a Utility Power for example), the character gains 1 CP from this discount.

Inheritance Powers

In addition to the Tools of the Trade, Cultures generally have unique powers available to their citizens that exemplify the culture and its interactions with others.

Religions or Devotions

A character’s religion defines and shapes the beliefs held by the character. The gods of Tempest are real, and shape the world, but which, if any, are worth the character’s devotion is decided here. Devotions come with an array of benefits, but may open up your character to influences both positive and negative. Each character will have a Devotion of some type, whether a Religion or being Undevoted. While the level of roleplay and investment in the character’s Devotion is up to them, following the tenets of the religion is a requirement if the character has purchased any of the Devotion powers listed.

Accent

The Religion accent is the method by which most of the religion’s powers are manifested. Often directly related to the Divine source’s power, the Religion accent is often referenced in the religion’s powers listed below, allowing the devotees of the religion special interactions with the accent.

Qualifier

All adherents of a religion gain the Qualifier: Follower of [Religion Name]. This means that the character will become targets of effects with that Qualifier for as long as they maintain devotion to this religion. These effects will be both positive and negative, so be sure to be aware of the Calls being made around you.

For Example: Toric, devoted to [Religion Name] is fighting on the line during an incursion of undead. Behind them is a cleric of his order, Killian. Killian prays to their shared god and receives a boon in the form of “By My Voice, Heal 5 to Follower of [Religion Name] by Radiance." Toric's player heard this call, and Toric is devoted to the religion, and so is healed. Meanwhile, Toric’s line companion, Juris, is not a member of the religion, but their player heard the call. They, however, not being a devotee, are not affected by the call.

Elsewhere, the undead invasion is not without its necromancer, Yorric. Yorric likewise calls out to their deity, and casts that maleficent gaze upon his foes: “By My Voice, Wounding 4 to Follower of [Religion Name] By Malice." As before, Toric, (and his cleric friend) are affected by this call, but his linemate Juris is not.

Holy Symbol

A visual symbol of the religion,the symbol represents the religion, its adherents, and the divine source or deity that the religion bases its faith, beliefs, and powers on. Devotees are welcome to depict it upon themselves, their clothing and articles, and elsewhere, provided the depiction is respectful and does not conflict with the Tenets. Disrespectful depictions are likely to raise the ire of devotees of the faith, and perhaps other, more powerful manifestations of the divine.

Tenets of The Devoted

These tenets are the guiding principles of the faith, and all devotees are expected to adhere to them strictly. In many cases failure to comply will have roleplay consequences, as other devotees admonish those who stray, but in more severe cases, simulacra of the divine have been known to appear. Finally, in cases of egregious or repeated breaking of tenets, devotees have been stripped of their divinely inspired powers entirely, with some only returning to the graces of their order after arduous quests of atonement.

Description

A longer, more detailed description of the religion, its faith, and history follows the introductory material. Here, one can find out more of the motivations of the faithful, and perhaps a glimpse into the faith’s history. As always, further details can be sought out in play.

Basic Religion Powers

Available to all adherents in good standing, the faiths of Tempest provide simple effects to all devotees through faith and practice. These powers are in addition to powers gained elsewhere, such as class, and are purchased with Character Points. As mentioned above, failure to adhere to the Tenets may disable these powers, without refund of CP.

Devotion Spells are automatically added to the character’s Spell Book for free (once the religion power is bought), do not count as Prepared Spells, and instead are always counted as Prepared; however, Devotion Spells do still use a Spell Slot of the appropriate tier to cast them.

Advanced Religion Powers

For the truly devoted, more advanced expressions of the faith's power are available to the devotee. Once the adherent has purchased all Basic Religion Powers for their faith, the Advanced Powers become immediately available for purchase. As with Basic Religion Powers, breaking of the faith’s tenets can also disable these powers, so be aware.

Lastly, rumors abound of the exceptionally faithful wielding even deeper expressions of their faith outside of divine magic. Perseverance, faith, and strict adherence to the Tenets will guide the Devotee forward.

Advanced Classes

As characters grow in levels and power, they might consider an advanced class - a method of specialization ascension into powers and spells beyond what the Base Classes are capable of. In addition, Advanced Classes can be a way to provide goals and advancement to players without story involvement.

Taking an Advanced Class

As long as the character has met the prerequisites, then next time they have enough Experience Points to go up in level, they can take a level in the Advanced Class instead of a Basic one.

Players will be limited to taking levels in up to three of the Tier 3 Advanced Classes that they qualify for.

Players will be limited to taking levels in up to one of the Tier 4 Advanced Classes that they qualify for.

Requirements

In order to take an Advanced Class, the character must fulfill the requirements laid out in this section of the description. A character can meet the requirements and take an Advanced Class that has those requirements at the same time.

For Example: if an Advanced Class required the Profession (Journeyman) - Painter skill, a character could purchase that Skill with Character Points they already had, and take a level in that Advanced Class all at the same time, without playing once with the Skill first.

Note: The Character Points gained from the first level of the Advanced Class, if any, cannot be used to buy requirements to qualify for that Advanced Class, the character must have the Character Points available to purchase any prerequisites prior to leveling into the Advanced Class.

In addition, many Advanced Classes may require the character to embark on quests, take on specific Roles, or even discover the Advanced Class even exists.

Hidden Advanced Classes

Not all Advanced Classes are immediately available for anyone to take. Some are hidden and will only become available if characters follow certain plots, stories, or seek out specific tutors. Staff will let a player know if they have become eligible for a hidden Advanced Class.

Leveling Table

Here, like a Base Class, is the table of progression for the Advanced Class. Much like a Base Class, the character begins at Level 1, and proceeds from there, regardless of prior class levels in Basic or other Advanced Classes.

Powers and Spells

All Powers and Spells are treated the same way as with any other class. The exception is when a character takes a level in an spell-casting Advanced Class of the same Sphere as a spell-casting class they already have. In this case, the number of spells they can prepare, and the spell-slots that they have are added together. If a character was a 2nd level Mage, with 2 Novice-tier spell-slots, able to Prepare 2 spells, and they took an Advanced class that granted 1 Novice-tier spell-slot and 2 Prepared spells, they would now be able to Prepare 4 Arcane spells and would have 3 Novice-tier spell-slots to cast them with.

The only complication comes when a character gains higher-tier spell-slots in one class, but not in another. In this case, those higher tier spell-slots can only be used to cast spells from the class that allows the higher tier. 

For Example: if Knox has reached 4th level Mage, and so has four Novice-tier spell slots but no Intermediate spell-slots, and he also has seven levels in Elemental Adept (also an Arcane spell-casting class), giving him 4 Novice-tier spell slots and two Intermediate spell-slots, he can only cast spells from his Elemental Adept class list with those Intermediate spell-slots. He does not have access to Intermediate Mage spells just because he got Intermediate slots in Elemental Adept.

Base Incant

Here, the incant for the Advanced Class’s spells is listed. If the Advanced Class has an incant other than its associated Base Class, this incant will be used specifically for the spells granted by the Advanced Class and does not replace the Base Class’s incant for other spells. Be sure to memorize these incants separately, and know when to use each one.

Roles

Roles provide additional depth to characters by allowing them to further define their character by a profession, or a special calling. Unlike an Advanced Class, which is meant to model a profession with progression and increasing power, a Role is meant to model an organization (such as a specific Bardic College), curse (such as Lycanthropy), or change in type (like Vampirism). Rather than a progression of power, a Role gives a menu of Powers related to its theme which can be purchased, like a specialized package of Character Options.

Taking a Role

Characters can generally only take Roles between Events. Some require Staff approval, but most can simply be selected, paid for, and used. Without Staff approval, no character can have more than two Roles, although games may change this or even require certain Roles.

Hidden Roles

Not all Roles are immediately available for anyone to take. Some are hidden and will only become available if characters follow certain plots or stories or are afflicted in certain ways. Staff will let a player know if they have become eligible for a hidden Role.

Requirements

In order to take a Role, the character must fulfill the requirements laid out in this section of the description. A character can meet the requirements and take a Role that has those requirements at the same time. For example, if a Role required the Basic Arcane skill, a character could purchase that Skill and then purchase the Role, all at the same time, without playing once with the Skill first.

Costs

Each Role must be purchased. This is almost always with Character or Service Points. Either may be used, but not a mix of the two. Some few Roles may have additional costs which must be paid.

Bonus Skills

When the character purchases the Role, they immediately get all Skills listed in this section without CP cost. These Skills can act as prerequisites for other Skills.

Powers and Spells

Role Powers are purchased by expending the number of Character Points listed with each Power (which may be 0 CP). Powers listed as ‘Automatic’ are always gained. Powers gained through a Role have a tier notation next to their title (e.g. [Intermediate]) and, if spells, may be immediately added to the character’s spell-book. Spells must be cast using the caster's normal number of spell-slots.

Non-spell Powers are added to the lists of Powers the character can choose from. No Power from a Role can be purchased more than once unless the Power specifically says it can. Cantrips that are purchased are added to the list of Cantrips that the character can choose Cantrips from.

Abandoning a Role

A character may abandon a Role if it no longer works for them. Sometimes, this will be as a result of plot and generally in these cases, the player will be refunded some or all of the Character or Service Points they spent to take the Role or purchase Powers. In other cases, the decision comes from the player or character, and in this case, the costs for the Role are not reimbursed. The character can request some or all of the points back, but final adjudication is up to Staff.

When a Role is abandoned, all bonus Skills, Powers, and other features of the Role go away too. Role Skills that acted as prerequisites for other Skills disappear and the character will lose the dependent Skills (although these will be fully refunded into Character Points).

Character Options

There are a number of things that define a person, and most of those things are not skills, or professions, or weapon choices. In this section you will find all the special bits that make up a unique person. In this chapter you will find Perks and Flaws. Perks are generally things that will add to the power or diversity of a character, and cost Character Points to buy. Flaws are generally things that will make life harder, and may give extra Character Points. A character can gain up to 5 Character Points for taking the below flaws. These Character Points can be spent however desired (Perks, Skills, Roles, etc).

Flaws

There are many that believe a character is defined by their flaws. These Flaws are meant to allow a character to define the difficulties that have shaped them. Taking Flaws merely for the points will rob a player of an opportunity to add depth and strength to their character concept.

Perks

Everyone has different, special idiosyncrasies that make them unique and interesting. Some characters might be able to contact the dead. Others might be physically powerful or mentally adept. Although many Perks can be interesting powers outside the normal scope of learned skills and acquired tricks, other Perks can give significant boosts to a character’s power.

Ranks

Sometimes there are a number of ranks listed next to the name of the option. This shows how many times the option can be taken. Each time it is chosen, it will have some sort of increased effect, or a broader reach. The exact benefits of taking the option multiple times will be found in the description. If no number of ranks is listed, the option can only be taken once.

Cost / Award

Each option is listed with a Character Point number. If this number is listed as a cost, it is the number of Character Points that must be expended in order to take the Perk. If the number is listed as an award, it shows how many Character Points are gained by choosing that Flaw. Sometimes, the costs of an option are variable; in those cases, the cost will be found in the description of the option.

Pre-requisites

This lists the options, skills, or other requirements for taking that option.

After Character Creation

Perks can still be taken after character creation. This may represent the character developing a special ability. Staff can also give Flaws to players when dictated by the story. Generally, in this case, no Character Points are gained, although exceptions can be made. Players may only choose to take Flaws and get Character Points for them between games with Staff approval. Similarly, with Staff approval, a character may overcome a Flaw and get rid of it by spending Character Points equal to the cost of the Flaw plus two.

Flaws List

Bloodline Flaws

Personal Flaws

Physical Flaws

Spiritual Flaws

Oaths

Perks List

Mystical Perks

Physical Perks

Patron Perks

Social/Background Perks

Supernatural Perks

Hearth Perks

Descriptions

Bloodline Flaws

Demon Blood

Prerequisites: None

Award: 1

Usually as the result of demonic parentage, the character is affected by Powers that have the “to Demon” qualifier. In addition, the character takes 1 point of damage from every Effect they receive while standing on Consecrated Ground or in a Consecrated Building.

Fae Blood

Prerequisites: None

Award: 2

Usually as the result of a dalliance with a member of the fair folk, the character is affected by Powers that have the “to Fae/Fairy” qualifier. In addition, the character takes 1 point of damage by Agony every time they speak a statement they believe to be false and treats all Powers that require or detect truth as Final.

Personal Flaws

Honor Debt

Prerequisites: None

Award: 1 or 2

The character has a debt of honor or blood that must be repaid. Perhaps the character’s life or family was saved by another. Perhaps, in a time of need, a favor was provided. Whatever the debt, it is one that hangs over the character and can be collected upon at any time. If the debt is one that can be paid by a single favor, it is worth 1 point. If the debt is one that is perhaps impossible to fully pay off, it is worth 2.

Note: This debt must be to an NPC or other plot driven entity to qualify. Honor debts to PCs (only) do not qualify.

Indoor Discomfort

Prerequisites: None

Award: 1

While the character is indoors, they suffer a -1 to their Spike Damage (to a minimum of 1) and a -1 to all Power damage (to a minimum of 1).

Nightmares

Prerequisites: None

Award: 3

The character is prone to awful nightmares. If they experience anything terrifying to the character (in the judgment of the player), or is affected (un-Countered and un-Resisted) by any Powers with the Fear or Terror Accent, they will suffer awful repercussions after their next Long Rest. They will take a -1 penalty to their Spike damage (minimum 0) and number of Spikes (minimum 0), and in addition, will lose access to one spell-slot from each tier that they have access to. These penalties will last until the end of their next Long Rest after they are applied.

Obedient

Prerequisites: None

Award: 2

The character may be cursed or may inherit this Flaw from their parents, or they may have been trained to accept commands, especially magical ones. Either way, the character has a vulnerability to Charm effects and treats it as Final.

Outdoor Discomfort

Prerequisites: None

Award: 3

While the character is outdoors, they suffer a -1 to their Spike damage (to a minimum of 1) and a -1 to all Power damage (to a minimum of 1).

Physical Flaws

Arcane Vulnerability

Award: 3

Prerequisites: None

The character is Inherently Vulnerable to arcane magic and therefore treats all Effects with the Arcane and Force Accents as Final.

Dies Alone

Award: 2

Prerequisites: None

While the character is dying, they are totally unconscious, and cannot speak, call out, or experience anything going on around them.

Divine Vulnerability

Award: 3

Prerequisites: None

The character is Inherently Vulnerable to divine magic and therefore treats all Effects with the Radiance and Darkness Accents as Final.

Mild Allergy

Award: 1 or 2

Prerequisites: None

The character has a supernatural allergy to gold, silver, iron, magic, or other substances which must be approved by Staff. While in contact with the substance, the character cannot benefit from a Short or Long Rest and all Healing sources will Heal only 1 point. The character will feel twitchy, nauseous, headachy, or paranoid (or any combination of these) while touching the material in question and should role play as such. Cloth will not stop these symptoms, but leather or thicker substances will. 2 points are awarded for materials that are likely to be very common such as leather, iron, and materia. 1 point is awarded for materials that are less likely to be common or a hindrance, such as gold, silver, or any of the Resources. No points will be awarded for materials that are unlikely to be encountered, or will rarely cause a hindrance such as dragon’s eggs, glacial ice, or alchemical fire.

Severe Allergy

Award: 2 or 3

Prerequisites: None

The character has a supernatural allergy to gold, silver, iron, magic, or other substances which must be approved by Staff. Each time the character goes from not touching an object made of the material to touching it with skin, it will cause Piercing 1 by Agony (even cloth will prevent this damage). So a character with a gold ring would take the damage each time it was put on, as well as each time they touched a gold coin (even if the ring remained on).

While in contact with the substance, even through cloth, the character cannot benefit from a Short or Long Rest or Healing and will have the Drained Condition. The character will feel severely ill, feel burning pain, or have severe migraines and difficulty thinking (or any combination of these) while touching the material in question and should role play it as such. Cloth will not stop these symptoms but leather or thicker substances will. Weapons that are not obviously made of some other material are considered to be iron, and attacks from are considered to be “hitting skin” if they damage Life Points.

3 points are awarded for materials that are likely to be very common such as leather, iron, and materia. 2 points are awarded for materials that are less likely to be common or a hindrance, such as gold, silver, or any of the Resources. No points will be awarded for materials that are unlikely to be encountered, or will rarely cause a hindrance such as butter, horse hair, or werewolf skin.

Spiritual Flaws

Angelic Soul

Award: 1

Prerequisites: None

While the character is on Unholy/Desecrated Ground, or in an Unholy or Desecrated Building, they cannot benefit from Short Rests.

Corrupted Soul

Award: 1

Prerequisites: None

While the character is on Holy/Consecrated Ground, or in a Holy or Consecrated Building, they cannot benefit from Short Rests.

Disquieting Aura

Award: 1

Prerequisites: None

The character has a strange aura that makes them difficult to be around. Others may or may not sense it, but the character cannot successfully Cure Berserk, Charmed, or Repelled Conditions because their natural aura gets in the way.

Landbonded

Award: 1

Prerequisites: None

The character’s soul is bound to the Material Plane. The character is immune to Grant Life while on a plane other than the one to which they are bound, and upon death, their Spirit will travel back to the Material Plane to seek a Spirit Well.

Torn Soul

Award: 4

Prerequisites: None

Because the character’s soul is rent and in tatters, it does not soak up positive energy the way others’ can. The character only Heals 1 point from any source of Healing.

Truthbound

Award: 2

Prerequisites: None

For whatever reason, the character is bound to speak no lies. It may be a curse, or divine intervention, or a magical promise that has become binding. This means that the character is incapable of speaking a statement that they believe is false for the purposes of deceiving another. Written falsehoods are not covered by this Flaw, nor are spoken jokes and jests not meant to be taken seriously. If the player realizes that their character has lied, the character immediately takes Final damage equal to their Life Point total and they begin dying. Taking this Flaw reduces the Award for Fae Blood by 1.

Unwardable

Award: 5

Prerequisites: None

Whether it is due to a curse, a bloodline corrupted by dark powers, or some more mysterious magic, the character cannot be at ease inside a Ward spell or a Haven Ritual. While the character is inside an area protected by a Ward spell or Haven Ritual, they are inherently Drained and cannot benefit from Hearth-granted benefits, Long or Short Rests. In fact, if the character spends more than two contiguous hours inside a Haven-protected building, they will lose their ability to recharge spell-slots, Powers, etc. at the next Long Rest. The character cannot take Othersleep Perk.

Oaths

Binding Oath of Charity

Award: 5

Prerequisites: None

At some time in the past, the character made a binding oath of charity. The reasons for this oath, and for its powerfully magical binding, are up to the player. The character is required to obey the strictures as best as they can, and should the player realize that the character has broken the rules, they will lose access to their highest level Powers and will take a 1 point penalty to their maximum Life Point total. These will last until the character feels they have atoned for their failures in-game. Binding Oaths that are imposed by Staff require Staff approval for atonement.

The Oath of Charity is as follows:

• You will be charitable, keeping only the minimum arms and armor needed to do good deeds, and enough wealth for austere survival. All else will be given to those less fortunate.
• You will give your time and your blood for the protection of those who cannot protect themselves as well.
• You will be the champion of the poor and the oppressed.

Binding Oath of Chastity

Award: 1

Prerequisites: None

At some time in the past, the character made a binding oath of chastity. The reasons for this oath, and for its powerfully magical binding, are up to the player. The character is required to obey the strictures as best as they can, and should the player realize that the character has broken the rules, they will lose access to their highest level Powers and will take a 1 point penalty to their maximum Life Point total. These will last until the character feels they have atoned for their failures in-game. Binding Oaths that are imposed by Staff require Staff approval for atonement.

The Oath of Chastity is as follows:

• You may not have romantic or sexual relationships with any individual.
• You may not take part in romantic or sexual situations or conversations and must excuse yourself from these kinds of experiences.
• You will retain a chaste demeanor, refraining from “dirty” jokes and other kinds of prurient enjoyment and behavior.

Binding Oath of Civility

Award: 2

Prerequisites: None

At some time in the past, the character made a binding oath of civility. The reasons for this oath, and for its powerfully magical binding, are up to the player. The character is required to obey the strictures as best as they can, and should the player realize that the character has broken the rules, they will lose access to their highest level Powers and will take a 1 point penalty to their maximum Life Point total. These will last until the character feels they have atoned for their failures in-game. Binding Oaths that are imposed by Staff require Staff approval for atonement.

The Oath of Civility is as follows:

• You will never speak ill of others.
• You will not let it slide when such things are said of others.
• You will show all living creatures respect and politeness.

Binding Oath of Honor

Award: 2

Prerequisites: None

At some time in the past, the character made a binding oath of honor. The reasons for this oath, and for its powerfully magical binding, are up to the player. The character is required to obey the strictures as best as they can, and should the player realize that the character has broken the rules, they will lose access to their highest level Powers and will take a 1 point penalty to their Maximum Life Point total. These will last until the character feels they have atoned for their failures in-game. Binding Oaths that are imposed by Staff require Staff approval for atonement.

The Oath of Honor is as follows:

• You will never break your word.
• You will never cheat in any contest, nor use deception or trickery to win.
• You will never attack those who are unaware, from behind, nor take unfair advantage.

Binding Oath of Peace

Award: 5

Prerequisites: None

At some time in the past, the character made a binding oath of peace. The reasons for this oath, and for its powerfully magical binding, are up to the player. The character is required to obey the strictures as best as they can, and should the player realize that the character has broken the rules, they will lose access to their highest level Powers and will take a 1 point penalty to their maximum Life Point total. These will last until the character feels they have atoned for their failures in-game. Binding Oaths that are imposed by Staff require Staff approval for atonement.

The Oath of Peace is as follows:

• You cannot intentionally end any sentient life.
• You cannot attack another sentient creature except in self defense
• You cannot allow a life to be ended.

Mystical Perks

Generous Soul

Cost: 5

Prerequisites: None

The character has a power within them that can be manifested in a single blast of strong healing energy. Once per Long Rest, the character can sacrifice life-force in order to Grant Life to another at Touch Range. To do this, they should call “Grant Life by Radiance” and then immediately drop to zero life points.

Greedy Soul

Cost: 3

Prerequisites: None

The character can attune four magic items at a time, rather than just three.

Magical Resilience

Cost: 6

Prerequisites: None

The character is naturally repellant to magic. The Character gains a Counter vs Packets once per Short Rest. The call is “Counter, Magical Resilience.”

Mystic Armorer (3)

Cost: 3

Ranks: 3

Prerequisites: Basic Arcane, Basic Faith, or Apprentice Enchanting

The character can Focus for a Quick 100 to Mend their or another character’s physical armor within Touch range to full Armor Points. This can be done once per Long Rest. The Call for this is “Mend Physical Armor to Full.”

Mystic Smith

Cost: 5

Prerequisites: Mystic Armorer

The Character may Focus Quick 100 to and spend a Spike to Mend another character's armor for 2 points. The appropriate call for this is “Mend 2 by Force.“

Master Mystic Smith

Cost: 3

Prerequisites: Mystic Smith

When the character uses a Power that produces the Mending effect, they may increase the Mending done by 1.

Soothing Touch

Cost: 1

Prerequisites: None

The character has a soul rooted in calm solemnity. At-will, the character can reach out to another, speaking soothing words and narrating images of placidity and tranquility. After doing this for a few moments, the character may call “Cure Madness”, curing the character of any Conditions that were applied with the Madness Accent. This cannot be taken along with Disquieting Aura.

Physical Perks

Agility

Cost: 2

Prerequisites: None

The character is naturally agile and well-balanced. In any repped situation where the character might lose their balance or fall, or would generally be saved by agility, they should be given the widest possible interpretation. For example, if jumping from column to column, they only get the tips of their toes onto the column. This would normally cause a fall, but because the character is agile, they are judged to have managed the jump. This will not make impossible things possible, or outright break rules for physical obstacles.

Bloody Minded

Cost: 3

Prerequisites: None

The character has Resistance to Charm Effects. This will last until the character has resisted a number of these Effects equal to their character level. After that they are affected by them normally until they complete a Long Rest.

Carnal Creature

Cost: 1

Prerequisites: None

The character has little desire to give up their body, and can remain dead for a Slow 300 before discorporating, rather than the normal 180. Any time after 180, they can let go and discorporate. This can be guided by player knowledge of what is occurring, as their Spirit gets some sort of sense of their surroundings after the initial Slow 180.

Cold Dead Hands

Cost: 3

Prerequisites: None

The character will not involuntarily let go of their own possessions at any time, even when Slept, Dying, or even Dead. The player should call “Cold Dead Hands” whenever someone tries to remove a possession from the character's hand. If the character’s arm is Disabled, they will not release their possessions (although they cannot use them or block with them). If the character’s weapon is Disarmed, the character will take a Disable Effect to that limb instead of the same Duration as was Called for the Disarm (or a Quick Count of 30 if no duration is Called)

Deathgrip

Cost: 1

Prerequisites: None

When the character has the Dying Condition, they can crawl slowly, and even hold objects. Normally characters who are dying can perform no actions other than calling out for help. This cannot be taken along with Dies Alone.

Elemental Affinity (2)

Cost: 4

Ranks: 2

Prerequisites: None

Once per Long Rest, the character can focus for a Quick 100 to infuse themself with elemental energy. The element they can attune to is determined when the Perk is taken and must be chosen from Flame, Ice, Lightning, or Acid. The attunement only lasts until the end of the next Short Rest. While attuned, the character may resist a number of elemental effects of their chosen element equal to their Life Point Maximum per Event. In addition, they are able to alter the Accent of any elemental power they use to the chosen accent. However, they are unable to use powers with the opposition Accent.

They also become Vulnerable to the opposite element, and take Effects from that element as Final. Flame and Ice are opposites, as are Lightning and Acid. This Perk can be taken up to twice, and each time the character may choose any element they desire, although they may not to attune to more than one element at a time.

Hard to Kill

Cost: 1

Prerequisites: None

After being dropped to 0 Life Points, the character has a Slow 300 before they die, rather than the normal Slow 180.

Holding On

Cost: 1

Prerequisites: None

By pure willpower, the character holds on to life, even in the face of certain death. After being Deathblowed, rather than dying in 10 seconds, the character has 30 seconds before they die.

Iron Stomach

Cost: 2

Prerequisites: None

Once per Long Rest, the character can Counter the effects of an ingested Poison. They should call “Counter, Iron Stomach” when this occurs.

Legendary Toughness

Cost: 6

Prerequisites: 20th level

The character is harder to kill and adds 1 Life Point to their maximum.

Quick Healing

Cost: 3

Prerequisites: None

The character Heals 1 Life Point at the end of each Short Rest. This will heal Undead as well as the Living.

Toughness

Cost: 5

Prerequisites: None

The character is harder to kill and adds 1 Life Point to their maximum.

Unkillable

Cost: 4

Prerequisites: Holding On

Once per Long Rest, when the character has finished a death-count (including a shortened one after a Deathblow) and should die, they will instead stabilize at zero Life Points.

Will to Live

Cost: 1

Prerequisites: None

Incantation: None

Call: “Counter, Will to Live”

Target: Self                                        Duration: Instantaneous

Delivery: None                                        Refresh: Event

Accent: None                                        Effect: Special

Keeping a white-knuckle grip on life, the character can, once per Event, take ten points of Piercing Final damage to Counter a Death Effect.

For Example: Tristan is struck with a spell-ball and the attacking creature Calls “Death by Hatred." Instead of dying immediately, Tristan uses this Perk and takes ten points of Piercing Final damage. This blows through his his Life Points, causing him to be dying, but he is not dead yet.

Patron Perks

Patron

Cost: 4

Prerequisites: None

The character is under the patronage of a powerful supernatural creature. This may be a Fae Lady, a god or goddess, a Great Power, an elder demon, or any other creature of significant mystical strength. The character has some sort of relationship with their Patron, whether it be servile, romantic, or purely business. The character can never refuse a request by that patron without losing this Perk. The character has a relationship with this patron and can make requests or prayers to it, although there is no necessity that they be answered or honored. Most other Perks can be purchased more cheaply if they are granted (and thus revocable) by the Patron. Any Perk that doesn’t have the Patron prerequisite that is going to be considered a gift from the Patron costs 1 CP less (to a minimum of 1). The Patron perk may provide a maximum of 10 CP in discounts.

A list of readily available Patrons is available on the Wiki, linked here for convenience. Though, other Patrons exist in the world and are accessible through in-game actions.

Gift of Hateful Retribution

Cost: Var

Prerequisites: Patron

The character’s patron, often a war or death deity, or some other similar greater power, has given the character the ability to destroy those who would end the patron’s beloved pet. Once per Event, when the character is Deathblowed or killed with a melee attack, they can do damage to the one who attacked them. The cost of this Perk depends on the amount of damage the character does when killed. If this Perk is upgraded after character creation, only the difference between the old level and the new level needs to be paid. At higher power levels, this Perk can do damage “By My Voice” instead. Whether the individual or By My Voice damage is done is up to the character at the time it is used. The Accent on the damage is “by Spite." Note that in the case of a Deathblow, the Hateful Retribution will go off before the character actually dies.

Gift of Healing

Cost: 2

Ranks: Unlimited

Prerequisites: Patron

The character can Focus for a Quick 100 to Heal themself or another character within Touch range to full Life Points. This can be done once per Event. The Call for this is “Heal to full Life Points."

Gift of Rebirth

Cost: 3

Prerequisites: Patron

Once, the character’s patron will save them from death. One time of the character’s choice, when the character would dissipate to Spirit form after dying, they may instead be the target of Grant Life by Agony. In addition, whenever the character is brought back to life from being dead, they come back with two Life Points instead of the normal one.

Gift of Recognition

Cost: 1

Prerequisites: Patron

The character can sense others who also give homage to their same Patron. They can ask at-will “Discern by Mind: Is [Patron’s Name] your Patron?”

Gift of Unbreakable Flesh

Cost: Variable

Prerequisites: Patron

The character is beloved by a deity or greater supernatural power of some kind, who grants a number of points of Natural Armor (armor that need not have a prop and can be both Mended and Healed). The cost of this Perk is dependent on the number of Armor Points the character has been granted. If this Perk is upgraded after character creation, only the difference between the old level and the new level needs to be paid. (i.e. 3 points to get 2 points of armor, if the character already paid 2 Character Points to get 1 point of armor).

If the Character has a source of Natural Armor, then the value in the Armor Points column instead functions as an addition to their existing Natural Armor.

Note: This armor works just like created armor in that choosing armor from another source will immediately exhaust these points.