I've seen RPG weapons lists run the gamut in terms of detail. Some, like FATE, might not even provide stats for weapons, assuming it's just part of a character's combat roll, while others, like Shadowrun, have stats for different iterations of the same model of pistol over decades. In my head, I tend to bin systems into three categories (assuming they provide stats for weapons and combat at all):

• 1: Broad functional categories, usually based on rough damage instead of weapon design. Examples - Remnants, which simply has light (one-handed dual-use items like hammers or knives), medium (one-handed weapons like swords and maces), and heavy (two-handed swords, spears, axes) weapons, and mech weapons are distinguished solely by their damage number. Spirit of the Century doesn't track weapons, but it does divide guns into rifles (with a range of 3) and everything else (with a range of 2). Weapons will have very few stats, typically some kind of damage number and possibly range, but no special traits or abilities (or such traits will be left to negotiation between player and GM).
• 2: Design/form specific categories, without distinguishing between examples within that category. Example - Cyberpunk RED, which has medium, heavy, and very heavy pistols, but uses generic assault rifles, shotguns, and submachine guns. Melee weapons are sorted into light, medium, and heavy. Weapons will usually have different damage and range (if non-melee) stats. This is the level where traits such as being two-handed or capable of autofire are usually distinguished, and you may see more specific differentiation such as rate of fire. This is also the level at which I usually see guns or other ranged weapons start tracking ammunition.
• 3: Statlines represent specific, in-universe models or designs of weapons. As highlighted above, Shadowrun has multiple iterations of the Ares Predator pistol, and other weapons are referred to by in-universe brand name and often have lore attached to them. Weapons will have a number of detailed stats, including damage, armor penetration, reach or range, rate of fire/attack speed, ammunition count/reload speed, and probably specific traits or an in-depth modification system.

Now, obviously, not every system fits into these categories and some are in between them. I'd consider Dungeons and Dragons a 2.5 - it breaks Martial swords down into shortsword, longsword, greatsword, rapier, scimitar, and sometimes falchion, but doesn't differentiate between different types of longsword. I would call the FFG 40k RPGs a 2.5 as well, with both generic 'bolt pistols' and specific models of bolt pistol present. I'm not personally familiar with a system I would consider a 1.5, but I think it would probably be something that categorizes systems by a limited number of traits without referencing specific designs - something like Medium Precise Melee for a rapier or Heavy Slow Ranged for a big crossbow.

As always, it seems, the tradeoff when you move the detail slider seems to be differentiation vs preservation of player/creator effort. More specific weapons allow for characters with otherwise superficially similar weapons to play out differently (my hunting rifle and your shotgun are very different weapons), but it requires tracking more stats for players. Category 3 results in big, meaty gear lists - which some players like and which cause other players to zone out - and it offers a new way to deliver setting-specific lore and flavor, but it also makes balance more difficult. The more guns you make the more likely some of them are just objectively better than others, or you're spending design effort and space on vendor trash, and players are either forced to trawl through reams of gear for the best items or just accept whatever seems best at first glance.

Conversely, simpler weapons make gameplay smoother - Remannt's weapons all have damage measured in MoS + X, so if you're using a medium weapon, you know your damage is your margin of success +2 every time. However, two characters with medium weapons - whether those are battleaxes, maces, or rapiers - are going to fight functionally identically, except if one of them has a ranged weapon. If your game features tactical combat, I also think it limits the challenges you can pose to your players. If your game doesn't have different ranges for shotguns and sniper rifles it gets harder to make a close quarters tunnel fight feel different from open field.

What level of detail do you use - and what level do you think is best for different types of games or genres? Does your fantasy game need to track swords by Oakeshott typology? Should your cyberpunk game track revolvers and automatics separately, or is 'pistol' fine?

As a footnote, I think a very similar category system could be applied to armor, but I rarely see armor go past 2.5. Maybe people just find it less interesting to get into detail on armor or other defensive gear?

Hi All,

Can you please rate my sales pitch? [edit below]

„In the Shadow of the Crow” is a roleplaying game about people struggling to survive in occupied Warsaw.

This isn’t a game about winning the war. It’s about the price of survival in a world that constantly forces you to choose between one evil and another.

It’s about what you do when there’s no good way out—and how long you can hold on to who you are when the world around you is trying to change you.

The game features:
- A rich gameplay built on a small set of mechanics.
- Fast, intuitive resolution with few exceptions and modifiers.
- A single character state that tracks physical injury, psychological strain, and exhaustion, gradually reducing what you’re capable of.
- Deep character psychology built around five universal Motivations and a single dice roll.
- Tactical, fast paced combat driven by an initiative bag and a system of actions and reactions.

Any comments will be welcome :)

Edit after comments:

„In the Shadow of the Crow” is a roleplaying game about life in occupied Warsaw.

You’ll take to the streets of a city where war most often means a roundup on the street, an ID check, food shortages, a neighbour informing on you, or news that someone you know has just disappeared. Sometimes, victory means finding medicine, hiding someone from Gestapo, or making it home safely. Other times, you’ll have to decide whether helping a stranger is worth putting yourself and your loved ones at risk.

This isn’t about winning the war. It’s about what you do when there’s no good way out - and how long you can hold on to who you are when the world around you is trying to change you.

The system offers:

- Fast, intuitive resolution with minimal exceptions and modifiers.
- Deep character psychology built around five universal Motivations and a single dice roll.
- Tense, team based combat inspired by cover shooters, where controlling the situation matters more than taking out the enemy.

Does anyone even use a morale check in RPG games anymore ?

My new space game does and I'm wondering if I should just strip it out and let the players decide their gate instead of a crew they command putting pressure on the commander.

Hi, I’ve been building my system for a while now, and I have almost everything tuned for a first playtest, but I’m struggling to create a good exploration mechanic. I started with a standard dice roll aligned to a chart to see what happens, then evolved to a card grid with an 'exploration deck'. Basically, each area has a grid (10 by 10, for example). You shuffle the deck and lay the cards face down on the grid; each card has 4 entries separated by time of day and a hour cost to proceed in each direction. However, it’s becoming way too production-heavy, and I’m not sure if it will actually be fun during gameplay. Does anyone have useful feedback or some advice on exploration mechanics?

Working on a small fantasy system where you roll a pool of d6s equal to attribute plus skill and count 5s and 6s as hits. At 2 dice players fail a basic task almost half the time, which feels bad in playtests, but at 6 dice almost everything succeeds. I tried letting 4s count on easy tasks but that adds a lookup step. Have you seen a clean way to flatten the low end, like rerolls or a guaranteed minimum, that doesn't slow the table down?

Originally wanted to post it on a worldbuilding sub but I think it's really more relevant here. I've been worldbuilding for years and I've realized the worlds I gravitate towards in fiction are usually focused on one or two core mechanics or concepts and all the ripple effects of those. Think bending in Avatar, drawing magic in Witch Hat Atelier etc. I've always seen this was a very "clean" way to manage the scope of a world and my own worlds felt pretty sloppy in comparison

But then I realized: I've built most of my lore for the campaign I was running at the time. And all the mechanics, themes and systems I've added were the ones created for specific player characters. I've realized many ttrpg systems often require a way different approach to worldbuilding. Lots of different concepts interwoven to accommodate different playstyles. Every class often has unique lore that doesn't have much to do with another class. Similarly to how in DnD each class has a different way of spellcasting. There are some connective elements, but still, it's way more vast and varied than what I would write for a book for example. Not to say worldbuilding in ttrpgs is bad, but it serves a very different purpose

Still, I often feel I've added too much. And I'm starting to plan rewriting the lore along with my own system to run sessions in the setting. And I was thinking- how do you make a unique fantasy setting for a rpg system, that both gives the players enough freedom to create different character types and at the same time doesn't feel like just another DnD clone with everything thrown into one pot? How do I find this balance of what I should add to accomodate different characters and what to limit to keep a unique feel of the setting?

Dear Reader,

Recently, a couple weeks ago, there was a prematurely created thread on this topic, so I wanted to fix and make clear  various mistakes and add the missing races that have been pulled together as making the first cut toward the final 8 Playable Races of  SORC’s  Bare Bones Rule Set.  So far we have knocked out 22 Firstborn Races and their Kinborn and Bloodline lineages of the 48, leaving us with a needed cut of 18 more. So help us decide the final 8 - I know it's a lot, but it's much appreciated.

  

On with the business. Regarding Slayers of Rings and Crowns, SORC. For anyone here following: SORC has gotten flack for its massive amount of  72 Playable Race Choices - please hear me out - this includes; 48 Firstborn, 12 Kinborn and 12 Bloodlines. We're breaking the Bare Bones Rules Set total from the 26 below to just 8, but we'd like your thoughts on the 8 to keep.  They are in alphabetical order and the originals that didn't make the 26 man roster follow it - with a very brief description. For further details on either of these races, visit the link of a full race card document below - The Caelen - and/or the link that describes how SORF’s race system works in great detail, as well as Cameo NPC Races that are short driven NPCs that join the party, spilling out their stories as your campaign Character(s) establish Standing (faction rep) with them - in multiple choice form (these stories are rendered per module or there's a digital app version that reads them with ambiance. 

The bottom of this doc includes: Full Description of All Races - including the rules and Features of SORC. 

The Original Roster:

Total playable race options: 72

Firstborn: 48  

Kinborn: 12  

Bloodlines: 12  

Those that made the 26 Playable Races cut: 

Akudaya

• The Akudaya are a playable people of the eastern shores of Nivis, a tropical forest territory on Zailister. They are the dead who remain among the living, their bodies preserved in a lifelike state by an enduring purpose or attachment. Akudaya can come from many backgrounds and look as varied as the living people around them, though their skin often appears pale or cool-toned. They are neither mindless corpses nor a single, uniform culture: each has their own memories, personality, relationships, and reasons for continuing. An Akudaya’s body bears few obvious signs of death. Their skin is whole and unmarked by decay, but cold to the touch. They do not breathe, and no pulse beats beneath their skin. Their eyes may remain open for unnervingly long stretches, and their faces can seem still or intensely focused. Some have no reflection in mirrors or still water. Their voices may sound dry or muted, while nearby animals can grow wary or agitated. The force that sustains an Akudaya is not blood or breath, but will. It may be bound to a promise, a loved one, a duty, a question left unanswered, or...

Banniki  

• The Banniki are a legendary, elite spiritual humanoid race native to the steamy subterranean levels of Zailister, dwelling deep within the pressurized, primordial cavities that exist between the earth's core and crust. They possess a dense, slate-like skin that grows tougher as they age, and is covered in a complex array of defensive thermal ridges and razor-sharp mineral spines. The dermis of their thick skin retains immense geothermic heat allowing them to go long periods without freezing or losing energy. Structurally, they bear an imposing, rock-hewn silhouette, moving with a lumbering, mountainous majesty that belies their extreme elemental origins. Their arms terminate in steam-weave fingers, consisting of a dense braid of thick, flexible molten conduits that taper down into tactile digits tipped with sharp, glass-bearing rinds. For support, their legs end in massive, gnarled rock-anchor claws that can flex and dig directly into the bedrock, allowing them to firmly root into the ground where they cannot be pushed or knocked down. Because of their basaltic, stone-shielded skin, the Banniki do not require traditional armor; their primary line of defense is entirely natural, as their outer skin organically petrifies into a layer of hard igneous rock over time, through a process called “calcifying”. Banniki live for up to 500...

Bast

• Bast are tall and agile feline race that treat most encounters like a game they've already decided to win. Quick tongues and a knack for always landing on top, figuratively and otherwise, have earned them a reputation as quick-witted negotiators and skilled readers of a room. They're easy to underestimate and that's exactly how they prefer it; a Bast caught in a straight fight has usually already lost, but a Bast given an opening rarely needs a second one. Bast accounts open on a temple-city rather than a homeland, and on the office their forebears held in it, which was to be let in everywhere and accounted for nowhere. That standing was granted, never earned, and the Bast have carried the manner of it long past the city, which is why a Bast enters a room as though already invited and is so rarely questioned on it. Lore has it that Bast are blessed with nine lives, and there's something to the legend...

Caelen  

• Remade by the Omnè Astral’s experimentation, the Caelen were made into cyborg beings of precision and calculation. They run on machine logic where flesh once guided them, and do not tire or forget. The Omnè Astral invaded Corpus Caeleste, the Caelen home planet, and took many of its people prisoner. Before the invasion, the Caelen were a peaceful, technologically advanced people who kept largely to themselves; now they seek revenge on those affiliated with the Astral, not on every Omnè. The Caelen were large in comparison to other standard-sized races, but the Astral’s numbers were still too much for them to bear. Those taken were used as experiments; the Astral grafted their bodies with sockets and later added attachments to them. The Omnè did not want to practice this technique on their own people, but “criminals” of Omnè descent also underwent these experiments. The project, called “Bioforge Phase I Commencing,” never made it to Phase 2 because the Caelen became too strong, revolted, and...

Cherrufütra  

• The Cherrufütra are native to the scorching environments of Planet Ignis. They have familiar human-like proportions and move with the ease and agility of other humanoids. Their volcanic nature is visible in their warm, glowing skin, which grows tougher with age, and in the ridges and obsidian spines that develop across their bodies. Their features still somehow give an appearance that  allows them to fit in with other humanoid species. Beneath their skin, Cherrufütra retain immense geothermal heat, allowing them to go long periods without freezing or losing energy. Their hands are dexterous, with flexible, magma-hardened fingers and glass-hard tips. Their feet are strong and clawed, helping them grip and dig into bedrock. As a Cherrufütra ages, their exterior naturally calcifies. In youth, their skin is pliable and vibrantly glowing; by adulthood, it hardens into iron-hard basalt that can deflect blades and absorb powerful blows. This protection continues to increase with age and power, keeping pace with the armor progression of other characters. Their ridges and spines become...

Danavas  

• The Danavas are a legendary, elite spiritual humanoid race native to the stark, wind-swept highlands and deep mountain valleys of Zailister. They possess a smooth, iron-dense skin that grows increasingly unyielding as they age, and is covered in a complex array of defensive, interlocking muscle-folds and razor-sharp bone ridges that protrude naturally along their spine and forearms. The dermis of their thick skin retains immense internal spiritual pressure, allowing them to go long periods without exhausting their physical energy or losing muscle mass. Structurally, they bear an imposing, heavily muscled humanoid silhouette, moving with a disciplined, military majesty that belies their extreme titan origins. Their arms terminate in wire-weave fingers, consisting of a dense braid of thick, flexible tendons and...

Drow (of the Ancients)  

• Drow are solitary, feared humanoids who wield earth-based black magic associated with darkness, death, and disease. Though they are distantly descended from Fae ancestry, their lineage was fundamentally altered tens of thousands of years ago through a bloodline-reshaping pact made by their spider-blooded ancestors, the Ancient Drow. Although the spider blood of their Ancestors has nearly diminished since their lineage diversion, today's Drow perfectly adapted to total darkness and are still immune to most poisons, not to be confused with venoms, though they are a hardy robust race.  Drow treats the deepest caves and moonless nights as no obstacle, finding light to be their only true inconvenience. Because they have spent centuries avoiding the surface, a dark reputation precedes them everywhere, causing most surface-dwellers to treat them with immediate suspicion and open hostility...

Dryad  

• Dryads are a people whose bodies show a living kinship with plants. Bark-like skin, leaf-shaped hair, flowering crowns, and slender branchlike features are familiar, but no one form defines the entire race. Each Dryad has an individual face, voice, temperament, and way of moving; foliage and color can vary with season and personal growth. Their plantlike nature is part of their ordinary biology, not a costume or a sign that every Dryad belongs to the same community. They can travel, speak, learn, and make choices as freely as other peoples. Light and water sustain Dryads. Through photosynthesis, they convert light into chemical energy and produce glucose for growth and survival; ordinary meals are not necessary. Water remains essential, and a Dryad plans daily activity around access to...

Emberscale

• An ancient lineage of planet Ignis, the Emberscale histories are passed down through fables and lore, often shared fishing (see below) or working alongside a flow of lava or around an open flame on a hot night - there are only hot nights in if Ignis. Their forebears are remembered as having chosen the ash fields with full knowledge of what that choice meant. Cold is more than painful for an Emberscale: it weakens their bodies and disrupts the traditions carried from one generation to the next. No Emberscale lineage is known to have survived a winter beyond Ignis and returned intact. An Emberscale's body turns sluggish quickly when the temperature drops. Caught in snow or deep cold, an Emberscale moves and thinks like someone...

Falcora  

• The Falcora are a proud and imposing race of standard-sized, bipedal avian humanoids whose core physical structure is remarkably similar to humans, save for their distinct falcon features and specialized appendages. Their entire bodies are blanketed in a dense plumage of either glossy, jet-black or pristine, snowy-white feathers, presenting a stark, binary genetic reality where members of the same nest are born entirely as one color or the other. They possess avian heads featuring sharp, predatory beaks and piercing eyes built for spotting threats across vast distances. Their limbs terminate in heavily adapted hands and feet armed with powerful, curved talons capable of tearing through armor or gripping vertical cliff faces with terrifying strength. Though every Falcora is born with a magnificent set of feathered wings on their back, their human-like body weight makes active flight a grueling physical demand; consequently, their wings are not strong enough to lift them into the sky at the start of their journey, requiring them to gain higher levels and ranks before they can successfully take to the air...

Note: Falcora cannot mount their companions - whether ground or flight, once they achieve flight.

Hawkbear  

• Hawkbears are imposing hybrids and tropical-forest inhabitants, commonly found in dense jungles. They have a bear's dense frame and head, with a hawk's hooked beak, keen eyes, and feathers. Loose folds of skin stretch from wrist to ankle, allowing them to glide from tree to tree, across open air, and even through outer space. They are also great jumpers, able to launch themselves from the forest floor or a high branch with startling force. Hawkbears tell stories in the language of movement. Their histories are measured by the distances they have crossed, tree to tree, cliff to cliff, and ridge to ridge, and a journey is not considered complete until they have seen it from above. There's a reason hunters fear a Hawkbear perched above a trail, one leap turns into a long, near-silent glide, and by the time that beak comes into view...

Hobbling

• The Hobbling are a distinct smallfolk culture widely believed to have originated from a blend of halfling and hobgoblin heritage. Whether the fables are true or not, this unique lineage shapes their entire way of life, channeling a natural, regimented discipline through a compact frame. While they share the community-driven warmth of other smallfolk, they are best known for a deeply rooted tradition of order, structure, and collective unity. This collective mindset naturally extends to how they protect themselves; their communities are organized with a level of coordination rarely seen among their peers. If a nearby Hobbling is in danger - they sense the distress and march toward it. When they do take up arms, they prefer to rely on standardized Hobbling gear designed specifically for standing tight and protecting one another shoulder-to-shoulder. To maintain this seamless cooperation, Telluric Armaments (see Armament Variants) are identically matched across their defensive groups. See Cultural Armaments for more details.

Human

• communicators, traders, and survivors. Their adaptability has allowed them to establish cultures across every corner of Essentia. No two human settlements look quite alike, and that's the point, whatever the terrain, climate, or culture demands, humans bend to fit it faster than almost any other race, picking up new trades, gods, and customs within a generation or two. Humans carry no innate edge in any one craft or fighting style, leaning instead on raw adaptability, and a human who goes too long without picking up something new starts to lose standing fast, restlessness being as core to them as versatility. That versatility is why Humans are the one race Favored across every single Main Class in the book, no other race carries a bonus this wide, reflecting a Human's ability to pick up any calling and hold their own in it.

Note: Humans have no Kinborn nor Bloodlines; however they are the most diverse Race in terms of Culture and ersatility. Also in our rules - “The closer you are to the cultural root of an armament, recipe, or profession, the more abundant it is.” Any race can be of any Race's culture and have access to their Armaments, gear and equipment stores at creation.

Named Human cultures: Nordian, Eldrim, Tanu’la, Xo’kajal, and Humans raised among the Omnè. These are cultures rather than separate Human races; every Human shares the same base Traits and Stats. raised by the Omnè.

Hwarang

• The Hwarang are a legendary, elite spiritual humanoid race native to the Heavenly Peaks, a treacherous mountain range that towers majestically above both sides of the fractured Spire Crumbling Bridge. They possess a flawless, porcelain-like skin that grows increasingly radiant as they age, and is covered in a complex array of defensive, glowing shamanic glyphs and razor-sharp spiritual blossom-tattoos. The dermis of their refined skin retains immense celestial cosmic energy harvested directly from the atmosphere, allowing them to go long periods without exhausting their vitality or losing stamina. Structurally, they bear an imposing, fluidly graceful silhouette, moving with a hypnotic, river-like majesty that belies their extreme spiritual origins...

Leshy

• Tall, emerald-eyed beings from the frontiers of Tredeki, with bark-textured hide and vine-entwined hair-crests. They govern themselves under a strict tribal code of wilderness supremacy, the land is sacred, and those who cannot survive it have no authority over it. Leshy measure status by survival, not lineage or wealth, a Leshy who has weathered the harshest seasons of Tredeki commands more respect in their tribe than one born into any title. A Leshy steps off Tredeki without a currency anyone else recognizes, and the same directness that commands respect in the wild reads as outright hostility in a city, no Leshy holds rank or title once they've left their tribe's land behind.

Litbits

• Litbits are tiny, humanlike people, usually only two to three feet tall, with proportional - lean, sturdy bodies. Their frame is much smaller and lighter than a Halfling’s, yet a Litbit can be strong and capable in ordinary work. Litbits carry an ordinary 1h sword and weild it with two hands, granting all 2h bonuses, but cannot dual wield a weapon heavier than steel daggers. Litbits are not defined by delicacy or helplessness; they carry, climb, build, and travel according to their own skills and the equipment they choose, with size shaping access and reach rather than deciding what a person can accomplish. They take pride in meeting everyday challenges on their own terms. A narrow opening can be a route instead of a wall. Litbits can slip through selected gaps, crawlspaces, and low passages that stop larger travelers, and they know how to use cover that offers no concealment to someone taller. They may hide behind furnishings, pass through a partly opened panel, or reach a latch from an angle others overlook. Their size also changes how a group explores a room: a Litbit can check beneath an obstacle, cross a cramped space, or approach an overlooked detail without shifting the larger surroundings. These are practical uses of stature and positioning, not a promise that every barrier can be crossed. Litbit communities make careful use of the spaces available to them. Homes and work areas often place storage, tools, and shared supplies within easy reach, while walkways leave clear routes for people moving close

Micelings

• Micelings are small - standing 2 to 3 feet in height, which is half the height of their Ratkin cousins - natural contortionists, twisting and folding themselves through gaps and crawlspaces no bigger than a fist, spaces built to keep every other race out. Miceling accounts are kept in the gaps, scratched where nothing larger could reach to scratch them, which is why so much survives and so little of it is legible. Their forebears held that a people who cannot hold a door should keep their record somewhere no door is needed, and the practice outlasted every hall it was hidden in. Micelings have sharp senses both above and below ground, rarely losing their way, they have an uncanny knack for finding the way out of a maze, ruin, or collapsed tunnel, and even seem to puzzle out riddles and traps faster than expected (ask the GM for a hint). They have Dark Vision and speak both Common and Burrowing Animal, their native tongue. Built to fold through gaps no bigger than a fist, Micelings are fragile in the open, a solid hit lands harder on them...

Omnè

• The Omnè are among the oldest known civilizations in Essentia, settling on planet Omne Malum, Omnè in short, long before recorded history. Far enough from Adoria that magic never took root, they built their survival entirely through technology. As the dying star Tawdry Dwarf deteriorates, the conditions it once sustained across planets 8 through 13 have collapsed into hostile atmospheres and environmental decay. On Omnè, this forced the population into sealed pressure suits outside pressurized habitats, and accelerated a desperate technological arms race, including the construction of a synthetic planet and surrounding protection barrier, an emergency world that filters the encroaching gases and is built to break orbit and carry them clear of Tawdry once it begins to die. It is this slow extinction that drove the Omnè into the invasion of Zailister. See Tawdry Dwarf & Beyond for more. Omnè troubleshooting starts and ends with hard data, faced with a sealed door or a failing system, they'll run a careful, methodical diagnostic before they'd ever think to pray. Magic simply never took root in an Omnè, not...

Orcus

• The Orcus, large monster like creatures appearing in an array of gray colors ranging from pake to dark. They dwell deep beneath the heights of various mountain ranges - but most notably the Tantalizing Mountains in the Grimhold region of Nivis, Zailister's largest continent. Their ancestors settled in deep cavern kingdoms, where old funerary rites and broken oaths shaped stories of a curse carried by those who swore false vows over the dead. Generations underground have left their skin gray and sunken, and a longstanding cultural conflict with Bards shapes how many Orcus respond to Bards' tales and music. Humans, Elves, and Dwarves call them “Orcs” a name from outside their own history that many reject; no Orcus answers to it without taking offense. An Orcus moving through pitch-black tunnels reads the stone the way a sighted creature reads a room, and that same old curse leaves them with an unsettling knack for knowing...

Ossein

• The Ossein died and kept going, and they will tell you the second part is the only part that matters. Skin still covers them, drawn so tight to the frame that every joint reads through it, but it never rotted and it never sloughed, which is the line they draw between themselves and everything else walking Hexagonum. They are not wraiths. They will correct you on that. Ossein accounts open at a death, always, and the death is given as the first entry rather than the last. Everything an Ossein was before it is recorded in the past tense by the same Ossein still standing there, and they hold that a people who have already been through the worst of it owe the living no particular deference on the subject. An Ossein thinks fast, remembers everything, and has read more than you have. Necromancy on Hexagonum is not a forbidden art, it is a trade with a guild, and the Ossein hold the deepest end of it. They take what a world offers and give it nothing back. An Ossein will strip a seam to the rock, waste most of what comes out of it, and...

Pearlkin

• Pearlkin are a resilient but heavily endangered civilized race native to the tropical Pearl Coast of the continent Nivis, structurally compact humanoids who typically stand between 4 and 5 feet tall, with a 5-foot height marking an exceptionally tall individual within their population. Shrouded in deep myth, ancient shoreline writings connect their origins not to the human goddess Aseya, but to the deep ocean itself—whispering that the first of their kind were born from the calcified hearts of prehistoric giant oysters, quickened into life by the mystical saltwater alchemy of fallen mermaid tears. Distinct in their physical appearance, they possess a unique, pearl-like skin that naturally reflects their surroundings, granting them a striking visual connection to the environments they traverse. This shimmering, lustrous, shell-like hide is incredibly dense and calcified, functioning as a seamless layer...

Pinklings

• Pinklings are unmistakable for their pink-hued skin, quick minds, expressive moods, and fondness for playful surprises. Some experience shifts in mood and perspective, including a guarded inner voice shaped by their emotional intensity; people vary in how they understand or describe that experience. These differences can create misunderstandings with communities that value orderly conduct, but Pinklings also share a strong cultural commitment to new beginnings. To a Pinkling, nothing is more sacred than a first impression. They meticulously record their first introductions to others, but leave subsequent history unwritten—believing that once a bond is formed, the relationship should be lived in the present rather than archived. That first-encounter tradition gives Pinklings an unusual social advantage with new acquaintances: sharp observation, humor, and well-chosen words can quickly win interest. The benefit is strongest with fresh audiences; in places where...

Primals

• Primal people are an old, continuous culture of Ignis, skilled with stone, bone, ritual, and oral memory. They read changes in fire and terrain through close observation and pass knowledge through song and practice. Their traditions favor direct experience over written records, preserving skills that have served their communities across generations. Primal communities have chosen to maintain familiar ways of life while engaging with others on their own terms.

Ratkin

• Ratkin are small, sharp-sensed people comfortable navigating the overlooked spaces of settlements and underground networks. Their vision serves them in low light, and their practical knowledge helps them find passages, supplies, and safe routes. Ratkin communities keep close track of obligations and favors, placing value on caution and family loyalty. A Ratkin may be guarded with strangers, but that reserve reflects a learned approach to trust rather than a fixed character flaw.

Skrath

• Wiry, fast-moving reptilian humanoids native to the frontiers of Tredeki, sharing the planet with the Leshy but operating nothing like them. Where the Leshy govern through structure and reverence for the land, the Skrath travel in close groups without a fixed hierarchy; leadership is earned in the moment and can change quickly. Skrath are wiry reptilian pack-hunters with rapid healing and a strong instinct for coordinated action. They communicate through hisses, clicks, and pheromones, sharing information in ways outsiders may not readily understand. Their social structure is flexible, with leadership earned through contribution and changing circumstances. Skrath experiences emotion intensely and resolves many disputes directly, then moves forward once an outcome is settled. Their short lives are filled with close bonds, purposeful activity, and shared responsibility. Their defining trait is rapid cellular regeneration, and wounds that would sideline most races close on a Skrath within minutes. Skrath often face short lives and choose direct action when time matters. Leshy communities may see that pace as reckless, while Skrath regard the Leshy as deliberate to...

Troll

• The Common Troll is a highly adaptable and versatile race, known for their exceptional resilience and resourcefulness. They possess a sturdy and tall - albeit hunched - build with thick, leathery skin if an array of hues from bright pastels to flat black or white, both spotted and plain. Their skin is thick and provides natural protection, not only making them resilient in a variety of environments, from lush forests and swamps to mountainous regions. On top of that, Trolls feature regenerative limbs when severed, even entirely off. Troll accounts are not written and never have been, they are counted, recited by one Troll to another in a fixed order that admits no shortening. The oldest of them holds that Trolls were made before the sun was set in its course and were not remade after, which is offered among them as the reason a Troll endures what it endures and the reason open light has never sat easily on any of their kind. Unlike more specialized trolls, the Common Troll excels in many roles, whether as skilled hunters, cunning foragers, or...

Vanwa

• Vanwa people are a resilient and ethereal race born from tragedy, survival, and adaptation. Centuries ago, a population of high elves was captured by brutal Arctic orcs. A desperate few managed to escape into the frozen wastes, establishing hidden refuges nearby. Over generations, those with mixed orc blood also fled captivity and integrated into these high elven camps. After hundreds of years of isolation, intermingling, and surviving the brutal elements together, they evolved into the Vanwa. Holding roughly a quarter of Arctic orc heritage blended with their deep high-elven roots, the Vanwa possess...

Xylari

• The Xylari are an enduring cactus-like race native to harsh, unforgiving environments. Structurally, they bear an imposing, Treant-like silhouette, though small sized, possessing long, pillar-like legs and short, compact torsos that allow them to move with a lumbering, tree-like majesty that belies their desert origins. They possess a dense, bark-like skin that grows tougher as they age, and is covered in a complex array of defensive hairs and needles. The dermis of their thick skin retains water allowing them to go long periods without water. Their arms terminate in root-weaved fingers, consisting of a dense braid of thick, flexible roots that taper down into tactile digits tipped with sharp, needle-bearing rinds. For support, their long legs end in root-clawed toes—gnarled root-anchor claws that can flex and dig directly into the earth, allowing them to firmly root into the ground where they cannot be pushed or knocked down. Because of their bark-like skin, the Xylari do not require traditional armor; their primary line of defense is entirely natural, as their outer skin organically petrifies into a layer of hard wood over time, through a process called “corking.”. Xylari live for up to 500 years, and...

 Races that didn't make the cut (22):

- Brownling 

Smallfolk with Halfling and Brownie Fae heritage; they value hospitality, craft, and close-knit households. 

- Centyr 

Hoofed people with humanoid upper bodies, known for balance, endurance, and coordinated movement.

- Chuchunateh  Broad, white-furred people adapted to cold, with quickly regrowing fur and a powerful bite.

- Drevane 

Omné natives adapted to a toxic atmosphere, with strong environmental senses and an affinity for stone and earth.

- Drāco Blood  l

Dragon-blooded people whose chosen elemental lineage determines their affinity and opposing weakness.

- Dwarf 

Sturdy, enduring people with traditions of stonecraft, metalwork, masonry, and underground navigation.

- Elf  Graceful, long-lived people connected to woodland life and nature magic, with an ancient First Tongue.

- Firbolg 

Gentle giants with distant Fae heritage, able to communicate simple thoughts to animals and plants.

- Glimmerstone  Small people of Dwarven and Fae heritage, skilled at noticing and appraising gems and enchanted materials. 

- Gnoll 

Pack-oriented people who emphasize shared work, mutual protection, and earned leadership.

- Gnome  Small, mole-like people curious about mechanisms, repair, and learning from plants and animals.

- Goblorc 

People combining Goblin cunning and Orcus physicality, valuing both strategy and strength.

- Halfling  Small folk whose communities prize hospitality, craft, preparation, and cooperation.

- Helf 

A distinct Human–Elf mixed-heritage people, often comfortable navigating between cultures.

- Imperial  Psychic, charismatic people with six cultural Bloodlines and the ability to shift their natural coloring. 

- Ogre 

Large, powerful people who value practical deeds, dependable agreements, and strength used with purpose. 

- Snow Dwarf 

Lean, cold-adapted Dwarves skilled in tracking, survival, and practical crafts.

- Sylvan  Elves closely attuned to forests, sensing changes through plants, soil, pollen, and animal behavior.

- Wood Elf 

Quiet woodland people skilled at moving under cover and reading forest paths and signs. 

- Yawnie

Yawnies move at a measured pace and live for centuries through their slow lifestyle and metabolism. They can trot on all fours in short bursts to catch up; their speed matters most in special movement such as climbing, crawling, parkour, rope traversal, swinging, and navigating walls or tight spaces. Their innate movement aptitude lets them break free of controlled-movement restrictions. They favor stillness when nothing requires action and are natural enemies of Harpies and giant Avian, including Falcora.

Full Race Card Demo: Caelen

Full Description of All Races - including the rules and Features of SORC (Armament Proficiency pending):

Full Description of the 48 Firstborn Races

Hey yall! I'm putting together a system that bases its major progression for characters off of Buildable D12's

More so each side of a D12 can be modified and more modifiable D12's can be added to the pool for any skills, abilities, checks and items.

Just thought it would create a simple and easy to keep track resource pool for dice, but allow more of the fun and complicated mechanics to stick within a chain heavy rolling system.

Just didn't know if people would feel like this is an easy rolling system to teach.

Also the theme/setting was going to be insipred by the occultish feel similar to a vibe present in the novel "Lord of Mysteries"
Any takes on that series for a similar setting.

Building a DCC Hack

*I originally posted this to r/DCC and r/MarvelFASERIP a few weeks back, but it was recently suggested I should also post here, thanks for any input you all can provide!

First I want to say how much I *love* DCC. I guess I can be qualified as a Grognard, been playing since the early 80s, started with basic, and over the years DMed every edition except 4th (got to play in it a little bit though) and 2024. Played many, many different types of games and got my kids into TTRPGs, and actually had a chance to play alongside my oldest son back in 2016 or so, who introduced me to something I had never heard of, but sounded so badass it instantly intrigued me...

... a "0 level Death Funnel"

The idea of playing a 0 level character wasn't something I'd ever really considered. I went in with reservations, mostly looking at it as a way to hang out with my kid and play alongside him for the first time, enjoying that part, even if the game itself wasn't great.

Boy, was I wrong.

It was amazing, I can't remember what adventure we actually played, all my guys died in hilarious ways (RIP Tawd the Barber, the last of his line!) and I was HOOKED. A year later I started a new job and ran a Sailors on the Starless Sea for a group of like 12. It was hilarious, and almost 10 years later am still playing with some of those same folks.

Aaaall of that to say, DCC has become my go-to fantasy game (running MoTW and MASKS as well) and I've been inspired to hack the system and synthesize it with another one of my favorite games. I'm sure as I go on, I will be asking more advice but I wanted to start by picking your guys brains.

My main question for right now is, what should I definitely make sure to include that screams DCC? 0 level funnels, Zocchi dice, unstable powers, are all on the table. What else do you all think absolutely needs to be included to keep the *feel* of DCC?

*Edit - I really should have put the game I am hacking it with, my favorite game growing up, Marvel Super-Heroes RPG (MSHRPG, also known as FASERIP) There is actually some overlap in the two very different systems I've found as I've been researching and noodling.

I'm designing a small skirmish RPG hybrid where movement is measured in base widths instead of inches. For the playtest I made the four faction leaders with supavoxel and printed them on my Elegoo Mars, and the bigger monsters ended up on 40 mm bases while troops are on 25 mm. Now large creatures cover almost twice the ground per move, which wrecks the balance I tuned on paper. Do you fix this in the rules, like fixed movement units regardless of base, or just standardize the bases?

I'm writing a tabletop RPG called DRAKE and I'm willing to replacing coin counting with an abstract Wealth score. Coins still exist as an alternative, but this is the "loose" option i am likely to migrate to.

I'd love critical feedback: Is it intuitive? Where does it break? Can you exploit it?

Wealth

In DRAKE, money isn't counted in coins but as Wealth, a number from 0 to 12. Your character sheet has twelve boxes, and your Wealth is the number of boxes filled in. Wealth 0 means broke. As a rule of thumb, each point of Wealth means roughly twice as much fortune as the one below.

Every two points of Wealth form a Standing, which describes how you live.

Wealth	Standing	Settled	On the road
0	Broke	You have nothing left and live off what others give you.	You have only what you carry on your body.
1–2	Destitute	No roof, you live off alms and opportunities.	A few coins, you eat what you find.
3–4	Hard-up	A small room, simple work, every meal is counted.	The bare essentials for adventuring, you usually sleep on straw or under the open sky.
5–6	Comfortable	Your own home, a trade, enough for daily life.	Decent gear, a bed at the inn is a given.
7–8	Well-off	A house with servants, savings, reputation.	Your own mount, good gear, you can buy favors.
9–10	Rich	Several houses or a business that runs without you.	You travel with an entourage, your own wagon or ship.
11–12	Immeasurable	Lands whose inhabitants owe you taxes.	You travel like a royal court, wherever you arrive, people make room.

Income and Expenses. Anything that increases your Wealth is Income: wages, pay, loot, sale proceeds. Anything that decreases it is an Expense: purchases, wages you pay, shares you give away. Income fills in boxes, Expenses erase them.

Value. Every item, service and Income has a Value on the same scale as your Wealth. Nothing has Value 0, the cheapest things have Value 1. Something with Value 7 costs a person with Wealth 7 their entire fortune. If you can afford something casually, your Wealth is 4 higher than its Value. The tables in this chapter are guidelines, so that anything can be roughly sorted in. What Value something has is ultimately up to the GM.

Starting Wealth. A new character starts with Wealth 3 and the bare essentials for adventuring, unless their backstory says otherwise.

Expenses

What an Expense costs depends only on the gap between its Value and your Wealth. However, an Expense can never cost more Wealth than its Value.

Value of the Expense	Cost
Above your Wealth	not possible alone
Equal to your Wealth	everything, you're broke
1 below	3 Wealth
2 below	2 Wealth
3 below	1 Wealth
4 or more below	not noticeable

Example. Bors has Wealth 2. A club (Value 1) would cost him 3 according to the table. Since the club only has Value 1, it can cost him at most 1. Bors pays 1 and has Wealth 1 afterwards.

Example. Rhea has Wealth 7, her Standing is Well-off. Plate armor (Value 7) would cost her everything. Chain mail (Value 6) costs her 3 Wealth, leaving her with 4. A luxurious room (Value 4) costs her 1, a meal (Value 1) isn't noticeable.

Large quantities. Things that aren't noticeable individually (Value 4 or more below your Wealth) usually stay free. Only when you buy a conspicuously large amount does it cost 1 Wealth in total. How much counts as "a lot" depends on the gap. When in doubt, the GM decides.

Value below your Wealth	1 Wealth is only charged for	Example
4 to 6	supplies for a journey or a group	Bors (Wealth 5) buys torches (Value 1) for his whole group and their companions
7 to 9	a hall full of people	someone rich (Wealth 9) buys the whole tavern a round of beer (Value 1)
10 or more	an entire settlement	someone immeasurably rich (Wealth 12) feeds a village at the harvest festival

Multiple purchases. If you buy several things at once, you pay for each one separately, always from most expensive to cheapest. Every purchase lowers your Wealth, so the next one costs correspondingly more. Rhea (Wealth 9) buys something with Value 7 and something with Value 5. The expensive one costs her 2, leaving her at 7. The cheaper one then costs her another 2, and she ends at 5. Anything that wouldn't be noticeable on its own is handled by the quantity rule.

Splitting. If you split your Wealth with someone, you divide it into two halves, each with a Value 1 lower. Rhea (Wealth 7) gives half to Bors. She now has 6, and Bors receives an Income with Value 6. Each half can be split again. The same applies to Income that several people receive: tomb loot with Value 7 becomes two shares of Value 6 or four shares of Value 5, or 6, 5 and 5 for three people. Value 1 can't be split further.

Shared purse. What no one can afford alone, the group can pay for together. Whoever contributes puts their entire Wealth into a shared purse, for which they count as an Income of that Value (see Income). Two characters with equal Wealth make 1 more, four make 2 more. The purse pays like a character, and whatever remains can be split again. Four characters with Wealth 5 pool to 7. If they buy something with Value 7, they're all broke. If they buy a pack horse (Value 6), it costs the purse 3, leaving it at 4, which is split into four shares of Value 2.

Income

What Income gets you depends on where your Wealth stands compared to its Value.

Your Wealth	Result
Below the Value	your Wealth rises to the Value
Equal to the Value	1 more
Above the Value	not noticeable

Example. Bors (Wealth 3) completes a regular job with Value 6 and has Wealth 6 afterwards. The next job of this kind raises him to 7. A third one gets him nothing, he has outgrown that kind of work. If he finds loot from a tomb (Value 8), he rises to 8.

Selling. A sale is an Income with the Value of the item. Bors sells captured plate armor (Value 7) and rises to 7 if he's below that. Buying and reselling never makes a profit: Rhea (Wealth 7) buys chain mail (Value 6) and drops to 4. If she sells it again, she rises to 6, one point below where she started.

Multiple items. If you sell several items together, you combine their Value into a single Income just like with the shared purse, as long as it makes sense to offer them together. Two items of equal Value make 1 more, four make 2 more, eight make 3 more. Unequal Values are combined step by step. Bors sells two captured basic weapons (Value 3), that's an Income with Value 4. If he adds leather armor (Value 4), it becomes Value 5.

Relics are valued by their power. They can be bought and sold, but they're rarely found in a shop. Anyone looking for one, or for a buyer, needs contacts or an adventure.

Value	Income examples
1	alms, a tip
2	a day's wage, an errand, a small favor
3–4	a small job, loot from a highwayman
5–6	a regular job, loot from a hideout
7–8	a dangerous job, loot from a tomb
9–10	a treasure find, ransom, a bounty on a leader
11–12	a royal reward
Above 12	a dragon's hoard

Wages and Hiring

Wages are an Expense or Income that repeats at the end of each job period. Every hired person has a wage Value, as listed in the table below.

Whoever hires someone has an Expense of that wage Value at the end of each job period. Multiple hirelings count as separate Expenses. Rhea (Wealth 7) hires a mercenary (wage 4) and pays 1 per job period for it. A bodyguard (wage 5) costs her 2 per job period, a porter (wage 2) doesn't register in her Wealth.

Whoever works for wages receives an Income of their wage Value at the end of each job period. Bors (Wealth 3) serves as a mercenary (wage 4). After the first job period he has Wealth 4, after the second 5, after that his wages get him nothing more. Living off wages gets you at most one point above them.

Wage Value	Hirelings
2	farmhand, porter, messenger
3	guard, militia soldier, guide
4	mercenary, journeyman, scout
5	veteran, bodyguard, master craftsman
6	captain, mage
7	warlord, court mage

Edge cases

Broke. Your Wealth never drops below 0. With Wealth 0 you can't buy anything, since every Expense costs more than you have. You live off alms and favors until an Income lifts you up again.

Rock bottom. With Wealth 1, even a meal (Value 1) costs everything. You buy it and are broke afterwards.

The top. Your Wealth never rises above 12. An Income with a higher Value brings you to 12. Anything worth more than 12, like a castle, can only be obtained through a shared purse or as the goal of an adventure.

Coins and Wealth

DRAKE has two systems for money: coins, which are counted exactly, and Wealth, as described in this chapter. The group decides at the start of the campaign which one to use. Any equipment list with coin prices can be translated into Values using this table. Use the first row whose limit the price doesn't exceed.

Value	Price up to about
1	20 coins
2	40 coins
3	80 coins
4	150 coins
5	300 coins
6	600 coins
7	1,200 coins
8	2,500 coins
9	5,000 coins
10	10,000 coins
11	20,000 coins
12	40,000 coins
Above 12	more

Plate armor for 1,200 coins thus has Value 7. If a group switches systems, it converts its characters' fortunes into Wealth using the same table.

Value list

The entries are guidelines. Anything not on the list is sorted in by the GM using the Value rule or the coin table.

Value	Food, lodging, travel	Gear	Weapons and armor	Magic	Animals and property
1	meal, beer, simple room, passage on a wagon	torch, candle, rope, blanket, waterskin	club, sling	aether light for one night, fortune-telling at the market, reagents. A relic that only becomes useful with creativity.	chicken
2	a day with good food and a bed	backpack, lantern	dagger, spear, sturdy clothing		goat
3	a week of rations		basic weapons, gambeson	a relic of insignificant power	pig
4	fine cuisine, luxurious room, passage on an airship	work clothes, simple tools	leather armor	magical identification
5	a month at an inn	craftsman's tools	superior weapons, studded leather	simple alchemy like healing potions, a simple catalyst for a ritual	donkey, cart
6		luxurious clothing, alchemist's kit	chain mail, minor magical items	a relic that's desirable in specific situations	pack horse
7			masterwork weapons, plate armor, scale armor, magical weapons and armor	complex alchemy, an anchor focus like a rune blade or aether staff, having a curse broken	riding horse, covered wagon
8		a fully equipped workshop		an aether core as a catalyst, commissioning a magic trap. A relic that's desirable in many situations.
9	a month of luxury				warhorse
10	your own kitchen with staff	library, laboratory	powerful magical weapons and armor	a master focus, a permanent enchantment on a building such as a ward line, a ritual by a court mage	townhouse
11			legendary weapons and armor	a relic the wrong people would kill for	ship
12	a royal household		equipment for an entire troop	an aether core for an airship	estate
Above 12		academy, temple construction		a ritual affecting an entire island. A relic that can tip the balance of the world for a moment.	airship, castle, dominion

What I'd especially like feedback on:

• Is the expense ladder (everything / 3 / 2 / 1 / not noticeable) intuitive at the table?
• Do you see exploits, especially with splitting, shared purses or selling?
• Is starting at Wealth 3 too harsh?
• Would you use this over counting coins? Why or why not?

Thanks in advande!

P.S.: translated via AI

Any events that require timing or an initiation order are called Critical Events. They are played out on a wheel that is presented to the entire table.

Event Wheel Image

Concepts

• Wedges - Make up the Slices of the Wheel
• Time Tracker - A token used to keep track of whose turn it is.
• Round - When the time tracker makes a full revolution of the event wheel, this is one round.
• Character/Enemy Token (2) - This tracks player turns and the other player's status effects. They can be anything as long as they are unique to the other characters, small, and identical to each other.
• Characters have attributes with polarities (Static Polarity (SP) + Dynamic Polarity (DP)). Each one represents a varied approach to the attribute. 
  • They also define certain Stats - Stats that pertain to the base mechanics of the Critical Event are: 
    • Speed (SP) (Finesse + Fluidity) - Determines a character’s starting Wedge on the Wheel 
    • Action Points (AP) (Stability + Wisdom) - Determines how many actions a character can take on their turn.
• Turn - Once the time tracker reaches a player token, this is all the actions a player can make before waiting for the time tracker to reach their token again. The number of actions is dictated by the character's AP level.
• Rings -Make up the Layers of the Event Wheel 
  • Inside to Outside: 
    • Downed Ring - 0 HP [Once a Player Character, Party NPC, or Fight Boss hits 0, their token moves to this ring in the wedge they hit 0]
    • Wedge ID Ring - Gives a numerical value to each wedge, used mainly for initiative order
    • Time Tracker Ring - The Time Tracker progresses around this ring. 
    • Prep Ring - This ring is used for actions that are two-phase [ie. spells and ranged attacks]
    • Action Ring - This ring is where character tokens start and advance along as they take actions.
    • Effect Ring - This is the ring that, once a status effect is inflicted upon a character, tracks the time when the next effect occurs. [ie. character is poisoned, and it does -1 HP / Round; each time the Time tracker reaches that player's effect token, they take 1 damage to HP]

Note: Fluidity and Stability are opposing polarities, meaning a character cannot max out both speed and action points.

Operation Outline

• All characters place their tokens on the action ring in the wedge corresponding to their Speed
• The GM places the Time Tracker on the 12 wedge of the Time Tracker ring. 
• The Time Tracker then moves clockwise around the 12 wedges. When it reaches a wedge occupied by one or more character tokens, those characters take their turn.
  • Player characters go first, then party NPC’s and allies, then the Fight Boss, then other enemy NPCs. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaker goes to character polarity values: the player with higher Fluidity, then Volatility, then Finesse.
• On a character's turn, they choose actions which have corresponding AP costs. The character acts, spending the Action Points (AP) in their turn, then immediately advances their character token clockwise around the wheel by the number of wedges equal to the AP spent. They can then continue this process until they run out of AP for their turn.
  • Players can only perform an action that they have enough AP to perform. Ex: A player who has a low AP may not be able to perform a Heavy Melee attack that costs 6 AP.
• A character can choose to perform a two-phase action, such as a ranged attack, which requires aiming and shooting. The character announces the ranged attack and shifts their token to the prep ring; they advance their character the required wedges to execute the prep phase; they perform a difficulty check to see if the prep phase succeeds; if it does, they use AP to execute the attack. They move to the action ring and move forward the amount the action requires (usually 1 AP)
  • Unlike single actions like melee attacks, two-phase actions can be split across two turns, allowing a character to perform a powerful action like a massive spell that takes considerable AP to prepare. The downside is that being in a prepared state leaves the character vulnerable. If they are attacked and have to defend themselves or have to move to avoid a hazard, the preparation is canceled, and the character moves their token to the action ring, and the attack automatically fails.
• A character can also choose to perform a reactive action. They include:
  • Going on the Defense: Allows 1 extra reaction per turn.
  • Setting a trap/prepared conditional action. It allows characters to act out of turn. They advance their character the number of wedges the action requires and move to the prep ring. Ex. drawing a bow to fire at, or getting in a ready stance for an enemy getting ready to walk through a doorway. This allows a character to prepare an action before a condition is met. In this case, the character would spend the AP for the action, and then execute the check for success when the enemy walked through the door. Note that the character must be able to complete the full action in one turn, and pay the full AP cost upfront.
• Actions and Reactions:
  • The character taking their turn is the actor; their target character is the reactor.
  • Characters are allowed 1 reaction between turns. A character can use AP during their turn to Go on the Defense, which grants them an extra reaction between turns.
  • Reactions are resolved as Contested Checks using applicable Defined Skills (such as Parry, Dodge, or Shield Block):
    • Dodge / Evasion: Roll Fluidity + static Defined Skill Credits vs. the attacker's strike total.
    • Parry / Block: Roll Finesse or Brute + static Defined Skill Credits vs. the attacker's strike total.
• Action Costs
  • Action costs are set by the type of action (attacks are set by the weapon type) the character is taking.
    • Light Actions (2 AP): Ex. Quick attacks that trade speed for damage. [Swift jabs, rapier thrusts, quick-draw pistol shots]
    • Normal Actions (4 AP):  Ex. Standard attacks. [Broadsword swings, crossbow shots, standard martial strikes.]
    • Heavy Actions (6 AP): Ex. Massive impact but are slower. [Warhammer swings, heavy zweihander cleaves.]

Example (Note: all actions require checks; this is not fully illustrated for this example)

Characters:

• Jim (Heavy Hitter): AP = 11, Speed = 4; Joe (Quick Attacker): AP = 4, Speed = 11; Bob (Enemy Boss): AP = 6, Speed = 8
•  Character tokens placed on wheel: Joe is at 11, then Bob at 8, and last Jim is at 4
• The Time Tracker is placed at 12; it moves clockwise and reaches Joe at 11. Joe uses a dagger twice (2 x 2 AP) to deal 1 damage to Bob. [1 hit and 1 miss] This moves Joe's token forward 4 wedges to wedge 7
• The time tracker moves forward to Bob at wedge 8. Bob is a powerful mage, but with low AP, requires splitting the spell into two turns. Bob casts his spell, which requires 6 AP to prepare and 1 AP to execute, which is one more than his turn’s AP. Since spells are two-phase, he can split it over two turns since neither phase is over 6. He moves his token to the prep ring, performs the focus check [succeeds], and moves forward 6 wedges to wedge 2.
• The time tracker advances and comes to Joe at wedge 7. Taking advantage of Bob's prep state, he attacks with his dagger twice(2 x 2 AP) to interrupt the spell. Bob is forced to react and break his prep. Bob has to move his token to the action ring in wedge 2. Unfortunately, due to poor rolls on Joe’s part, both attacks miss. Joe’s Token moves forward to wedge 3.
• The time tracker advances to wedge 4, where Jim is. Jim is about 8 yards from Bob; he uses 1 AP to advance (movement speed = 2 yd x Speed/AP), uses 1 more AP to consume a potion that boosts his damage output, and pulls out his Heavy axe. He attacks Bob and gets a critical hit, dealing massive damage and putting Bob’s health to 0. This action consumed 8 total AP, and Jim advances around to the 8 wedge.
• Bob drops to the Downed Ring, and since he has no friends to revive him or defend him is left defenseless. 
• End fight state: At this point, the player's party (Jim and Joe) have the option to interrogate, execute, or leave the fight.
• Since they need info and the Time tracker advances to 3,  Joe is next up; he gets the option to interrogate Bob, but he isn’t able to get any information out of him.
• Being in the Downed ring, Bob isn't able to act, so the time tracker passes Bob.
• It advances around until it gets ot Jim. Jim is much scarier and is able to get the information out of Bob. And Jim and Joe decide to leave Bob wounded and alone. This ends the critical event.

Given the outlined system, I spent a fair amount of time tweaking and finding ways to exploit or break the system; however, I am that I missed an obvious exploit or whether a certain build may be the only option because of its superiority. I don't know if those cases exist, but I feel that I have reached a point where I may be too in the mechanics to see its flaws. I would love any feedback that anyone may have on this. Thank you.