Martial Styles

You root yourself to the ground and enter the Stone Anchor stance, becoming immovable. While anchored, your 2-and-3 health-point damage thresholds shift favorably, so moderate blows shed a health point less often, and any attempt to push, shove, or knock you back is nullified. The stance has no cost and persists round after round until you explicitly leave it with Stone Anchor Exit.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On adventure rolls for planting yourself or resisting being pushed or moved (tasks tagged avoid push, avoid move, or resist forced movement), you gain a +5 bonus.

Adventure use

You plant yourself; the ground refuses to let you slide.

• On avoid push or avoid move or resist forced movement tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke stone_anchor.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke stone_anchor to bring it to bear on the roll.

You release your roots and leave the Stone Anchor stance. The favorable threshold shift and the immovability both end the moment this resolves. It costs nothing and is only useful while you are anchored.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

A decisive melee strike against an adjacent enemy, dealing your main roll in your weapon's damage type. If that enemy was slipping past you this round (it started adjacent and ended the round no longer adjacent), it is knocked prone and shoved 4 hexes away. While you are anchored, that shove instead reaches 6 hexes and the strike lands 4 extra damage. Costs a -3 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You pair with an adjacent ally to take their danger onto yourself, raising a stone shield that absorbs 5 damage (10 while you are anchored). From then on, each attack aimed at that ally has a 50 percent chance to be redirected to you, striking your shield first before any of it reaches your own health. The pairing lasts until you and the ally are no longer adjacent or until one of you falls. Costs a -3 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

A passive bearing with no direct combat effect. Its weight is felt out of combat, when you stand behind a promise of protection.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On persuasion adventure rolls where you promise protection (safety, shelter, or defense), you may reroll results of 1 or 2 once. The connection to a protection promise is judged from the task text, with no qi required.

How to use

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke steadfast_authority to bring it to bear on the roll.

Your fist packs with earth and slams an adjacent enemy for your main roll in earth damage, knocking it 4 hexes away. While you are anchored, the knockback reaches 6 hexes instead. Costs a -3 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On methodical adventure rolls aimed at breaking, destroying, or shattering something (when you spend qi), your qi die cannot roll below 5. Out of combat you can also type statue followed by a description to shape a small stone statue that decorates the room for 24 hours (once per day).

Adventure use

Methodical pressure cracks stone like old bread.

• On break or destroy or shatter tasks, your qi die counts as at least 5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke stone_fist.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke stone_fist to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: statue

A whirl of stones orbits you for 2 rounds. Any adjacent enemy that attacks you in melee takes your main roll as an immediate reactive strike. At the end of each round, every adjacent enemy that did not attack you in melee takes a third of your main roll. The roll is fixed when you cast and is reused unchanged across both rounds. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You sweep a kick through the enemies standing adjacent to you, dealing half your main roll in bludgeoning damage to each of them. Only enemies are struck, so allies beside you are spared. Activating it costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You steel yourself against flame so that all incoming fire damage is halved for this round and the next. Reapplying it refreshes the effect rather than stacking. It carries no activation penalty and can be used without breaking stealth.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On adventure rolls tagged as fire challenges, your result cannot fall below a floor of 3, so even a poor roll still clears a basic fire hazard.

Adventure use

Your skin drinks flame; the heat cannot slow you.

• On fire tasks, every die counts as at least 3.

Arm it before the roll with invoke through_the_flame.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke through_the_flame to bring it to bear on the roll.

You harden your skin into a 10-point shield that absorbs only piercing damage, decaying by 5 each round until it is gone (about two rounds). Reapplying it refreshes the shield rather than stacking. Activating it costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

For one round you turn your own injury against your attackers: when a melee slashing or piercing blow lands on you, the striker takes fire damage scaled by your furnace heat, twice your heat for a slashing weapon and once your heat for a piercing weapon. Ranged attacks never trigger it. With no heat banked there is no retaliation, and the returned fire neither feeds heat nor triggers a counter-retaliation. Activating it costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

An adventure-only boon of the style with no effect inside a fight: your gaze carries the furnace's menace, sharpening your ability to cow others and to peer through fire and smoke.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Grants +5 on adventure rolls to intimidate and +5 on rolls to see through fire or smoke. Typing eyes_of_fire turns your eyes into pools of living fire for ten minutes as a cosmetic effect; it can be reactivated at will.

Adventure use

Your eyes blaze with inner fire; the bandit captain flinches.

• On intimidate tasks, you roll +5.
• On see through fire or smoke tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke eyes_of_fire.

How to use

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke eyes_of_fire to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: eyes_of_fire

You drive a heat-charged punch into an adjacent foe for metal damage multiplied by your banked furnace heat: once at heat 0 to 1, double at heat 2 to 3, triple at heat 4 to 5, quadruple at heat 6 to 7, and five times at heat 8. Then you shove them back a number of hexes equal to your heat. The strike spends all of your heat. It carries two costs that decay separately: a -8 penalty to your other abilities fading by 4 each round, and a -9 penalty to all of your rolls fading by 3 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

After landing Searing Fist you can type brand in a room with a flammable surface to sear a lasting handprint into it that persists for 24 hours.

Adventure use

Burning fingers methodically reduce the flammable to ash.

• On destroy or flammable tasks, you reroll any die showing 6, 7, and 8.

Arm it before the roll with invoke searing_fist.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke searing_fist to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: brand

You sweep the meteor hammer through a full arc. Your primary target takes heavy bludgeoning equal to two thirds of your main roll, and up to two other enemies standing adjacent to you (lowest-numbered first if more qualify) are caught in the backswing for half your main roll each. Your Momentum bonus is folded into the main roll before damage is figured. Costs a -3 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

A tactical action that whirls the meteor hammer into a wide orbit around you for the rest of the round. Any enemy who moves into a hex adjacent to you takes 5 bludgeoning damage from the spinning head, once per enemy per round. Forced movement that shoves an enemy into reach triggers it too. Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round, and the orbit must be re-declared each round to keep spinning.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Typing orbit_show puts on a spinning hammer display; for the next 5 minutes your next non-combat roll to impress onlookers gains a +3 performance bonus. On adventure rolls this ability also grants +5 when you are trying to prevent someone from approaching or to keep them at bay.

Adventure use

You spin your meteor hammer in a slow orbit, nothing enters easily.

• On prevent approach or keep away tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke orbiting_spiral.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke orbiting_spiral to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: orbit_show

You sweep the hammer laterally in a rhythmic side-to-side pattern, dealing your main roll in bludgeoning and shoving the target 3 hexes to one side. The push alternates side each time you use it (left, then right, then left again), resetting to the left side whenever you re-enter the stance. Your Momentum bonus is added to the main roll first. Costs a -3 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On adventure rolls, grants +5 when redirecting force or using a fulcrum or lever to mechanical advantage.

Adventure use

You lean into the leverage point and redirect the force entirely.

• On redirect or fulcrum tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke side_swipe.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke side_swipe to bring it to bear on the roll.

You drive the meteor hammer straight through the target's guard. Any damage shields protecting the target are stripped first, then your main roll lands as bludgeoning damage. Your Momentum bonus is added to the main roll before damage is calculated. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On adventure rolls where you spend qi to break an object or obstacle, your roll explodes (rolls again and adds) on a 6, 7, or 8.

Adventure use

Qi flows through your strike and the obstacle shatters at the node.

• On break object or break obstacle tasks, your dice explode on 6, 7, and 8.

Arm it before the roll with invoke shattering_blow.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke shattering_blow to bring it to bear on the roll.

You launch forward and crash the hammer down. The more ground you close on the target this round, the harder it lands: damage is your main roll plus 2 for every hex of distance you closed (closing counts only if you did not net-move away from where the target started). The target is knocked prone and hurled back 3 hexes, plus 1 more hex for each point of your Momentum bonus. Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

When the pushback from this ability throws someone, typing heavy_landing plays an ambient room emote of the ground cracking where they land.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Roleplay command: heavy_landing

A passive payoff for mastery in this style. When you switch out of the Darkened Veil stance, your shadow lingers for a number of rounds equal to your level in the style. While it lingers, any enemy who loses at least 1 HP to a strike of yours gains a point of disorientation, and any enemy you afflict with a debuff likewise gains a point of disorientation. This lets you keep stacking disorientation on your foes even after you have moved on to another stance.

Mechanics

How to use

Always active while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

The core mechanic of the style, working quietly behind your every attack. Whenever an enemy loses at least 1 HP to one of your Darkened Veil strikes, they gain a point of disorientation. Disorientation stacks up to ten points on a target and lingers for three rounds, refreshing its duration each time a new point is added. The stacks do nothing on their own, but they are the fuel that Shadow Army chains through and that Shadow's Dance converts into crippling vulnerability.

Mechanics

How to use

Always active while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You fade into the shadows. Until you take your first attack or ability action, any ranged attack against you deals only half damage; melee blows are unaffected. The veil holds until the moment you act offensively, and acting spends it. Costs a -3 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round. Can be used while stealthed.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On an adventure, fading into shadow lends you a +3 bonus on stealth tasks, but only when the task itself involves shadow or darkness.

Adventure use

You melt into shadow, a pooling silence.

• On stealth tasks, you roll +3.

Arm it before the roll with invoke shadows_veil.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke shadows_veil to bring it to bear on the roll.

You flood a target's senses with shadowy illusions. The target gains a point of disorientation, and for the next three rounds their own attacks land softer: their ranged damage is reduced by five percent per point of your main roll and their melee damage by two percent per point, each capped at a 95 percent reduction. Does no damage of its own and carries no activation penalty. Can be used while stealthed.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You perform a powerful spin kick, and as it finishes a shadow replica of you launches from your body to deliver the kick to a target up to six hexes away, dealing shadow damage equal to your main roll times three halves. On a hit it also marks the target with a point of disorientation. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round. Can be used while stealthed.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You draw a pool of shadow over a chosen ally or hex within six hexes and the six hexes ringing it, cloaking everyone standing there in concealment for two rounds. Recasting it replaces your previous patch of concealing shadow rather than stacking. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round. Can be used while stealthed.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On an adventure, this is a group ability: it grants every member of your party a +3 bonus on stealth tasks. You can also type dim_room out of combat to draw shadow over your surroundings, dimming the room for an hour.

Adventure use

Shadows thicken around your companions.

• On stealth tasks, you roll +3.

Arm it before the roll with invoke concealing_shadows.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke concealing_shadows to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: dim_room

You leave a shadow of yourself where you began the round, then act freely. At the end of the round you snap back to that starting position (if it is occupied, you slip to the nearest open hex within three). While the technique is armed, anyone who strikes you in melee gains a point of disorientation for their trouble; ranged attackers are unaffected. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round. Can be used while stealthed.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Your shadows rise into a host of illusory soldiers that fall upon every disoriented enemy at once, regardless of distance. For each foe, all of their disorientation is consumed, and in exchange their damage thresholds drop by four for every point consumed, lasting the rest of this round and the next; the more disorientation they had stacked, the harder they are to defend and the more HP your blows tear from them. Does no direct damage. Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round. Can be used while stealthed.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On an adventure, conjuring a host of shadow soldiers can grant a +5 bonus on intimidation tasks, subject to a narrative judgement that the situation involves frightening, misdirecting, or confusing a target. You can also type shadow_constructs out of combat to add a shadow-soldier line to the room description for about ten minutes.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke shadows_dance to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: shadow_constructs

You move with qi lightness for one round, gaining its nimble footwork without paying the usual loss of qi dice regeneration. Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Sets the floor on your balance and footwork rolls to 4, so quick stutter-steps and tightrope work never come up worse than that. Typing silent_entrance arms a 15-minute flag that lets you slip into a room without broadcasting your arrival to onlookers who are not right at the entrance.

Adventure use

Your footwork finds the ground even when the ground shifts beneath you.

• On balance or footwork or quick roll tasks, every die counts as at least 4.

Arm it before the roll with invoke dancers_grace.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke dancers_grace to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: silent_entrance

You sweep your bladed fans at every enemy adjacent to you (one hex away), each taking slashing damage equal to half your main roll. Every target that survives the sweep picks up one Shallow Cut. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

A passive that hides your fans until you strike. On the first round of a fight you start in Razor Petals, your opening melee blow lands at 1.5 times its normal damage. The bonus fires only on that first round and only if you were present from the start of the fight, not as a reinforcement.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Your attack and concealment rolls against an unsuspecting target gain +5. Typing nick performs a quick mock cut gesture toward someone, available once you share at least 3 emotes with that person in the session.

Adventure use

Their guard was not for a fan, and by the time it is, a fan is no longer what you hold.

• On attack or conceal tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke concealed_weapon.

How to use

Always active while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke concealed_weapon to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: nick

You loose a cascading arc of blades that seeks out every enemy within seven hexes who is carrying Shallow Cuts. For each, the ability consumes all of their cuts and strikes them once per cut consumed, the first hit dealing a third of your main roll in slashing damage and each following hit decaying to three quarters of the last (never below 1). A kill partway through one target's cascade does not stop the storm from reaching the rest. Costs a -5 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 5 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You mark an enemy so the next hit they take, of any kind, is doubled. This only works when you stand in the target's rear arc and the target is committed to attacking someone other than you, rewarding coordinated flanking. The mark lasts one round. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You weave a decoy dance so that the next attack aimed at you may instead be redirected onto an adjacent combatant. Your main roll at cast time sets the redirect chance (three times the roll, as a percent). When an attack comes in, each living combatant adjacent to you other than the attacker is tested in turn (the engine does not check whether they are friend or foe), and the first that succeeds takes the blow in your place. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Your distract and influence rolls while dancing gain +5. Typing fan_dance arms a brief ambient fan-dance flourish in the room for 30 seconds.

Adventure use

Your fans paint a bright lie across their eyes.

• On distract or influence or dancing tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke fan_dance.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke fan_dance to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: fan_dance

You throw a dagger coated in a decay toxin, afflicting the target with a poison that deals 5 poison damage at the end of each round for 1 + main roll/3 rounds. Re-casting on a target that already carries Wilting Venom adds to its remaining duration rather than refreshing or stacking. The venom is tagged as a toxin, so Compromise can later prolong it. Casting it has no penalty.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On an adventure, gives a +3 bonus to any roll to interrogate a target.

Adventure use

The wilting venom loosens the tongue; resistance withers.

• On interrogate tasks, you roll +3.

Arm it before the roll with invoke wilting_venom.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke wilting_venom to bring it to bear on the roll.

You throw a dagger coated in a sluggish toxin that halves the target's movement speed for 1 + main roll/3 rounds. Re-casting on an already-afflicted target adds to the remaining duration rather than refreshing or stacking. The venom is tagged as a toxin, so Compromise can later prolong it. Casting it has no penalty.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On an adventure, when you spend qi on a roll to chase someone, the dice explode on 6s, 7s, and 8s (each such result rolls again and adds on).

Adventure use

A whisper of toxin in the air drags at their stride.

• On chase tasks, your dice explode on 6, 7, and 8.

Arm it before the roll with invoke slowing_venom.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke slowing_venom to bring it to bear on the roll.

You throw a dagger coated in a disorienting toxin that cuts the target's outgoing ranged damage by 50 percent for 1 + main roll/3 rounds. It only weakens their ranged attacks, not their melee. Re-casting on an already-afflicted target adds to the remaining duration rather than refreshing or stacking. The venom is tagged as a toxin, so Compromise can later prolong it. Casting it has no penalty.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On an adventure, gives a +3 bonus to any roll to identify a substance.

Adventure use

Your fingers know the shape of every dose, every grain.

• On identify substance tasks, you roll +3.

Arm it before the roll with invoke disorientating_venom.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke disorientating_venom to bring it to bear on the roll.

You throw a dagger coated in an amplifier toxin. It deals no damage; instead, every toxin already on the target has its remaining duration extended by your main roll/2 rounds (a roll of 0 or 1 extends by nothing). Casting it again later extends whatever toxins are present at that moment. Casting it has no penalty.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You throw a dagger coated in a weakening toxin that cuts the target's outgoing melee damage by 50 percent for 1 + main roll/3 rounds. It only weakens their melee attacks, not their ranged. Re-casting on an already-afflicted target adds to the remaining duration rather than refreshing or stacking. The venom is tagged as a toxin, so Compromise can later prolong it. Casting it has no penalty.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On an adventure, gives a +3 bonus to rolls to identify injuries, diseases, or causes of death.

Adventure use

Wound and ailment alike speak in a language you have learned to read.

• On identify injury or identify disease or identify cause of death tasks, you roll +3.

Arm it before the roll with invoke weakening_venom.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke weakening_venom to bring it to bear on the roll.

Mirror Stance is a tactical action you toggle on or off. While you hold it you fight to absorb rather than to strike: all of your outgoing main rolls are halved, but each round you bank half (rounded down) of the strongest incoming main roll an enemy used against you, building a queue of stored bonuses. You also quietly note which damage type hurt you most each round. When you leave the stance, those banked bonuses pay out one per round onto your future main rolls, most recent first, and the recorded damage types feed the Elemental Mirror passive.

Mechanics

Adventure use

Still water reads the storm before it breaks.

• On methodical or insight tasks, you roll +3.

Arm it before the roll with invoke mirror_stance.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke mirror_stance to bring it to bear on the roll.

Ready this as a reactive counter. Once armed, the next time an enemy strikes you in melee you answer instantly: you deal bludgeoning damage equal to your main roll, knock the attacker three hexes back, and leave them prone for one round. The counter respects Mirror Stance like any of your main rolls: while you are in the stance its roll is halved, and after you have left the stance a queued stance bonus is spent on it. If no enemy triggers it that round, nothing happens and you pay no cost.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Wrap an ally in a shield of ice equal to your main roll, plus 4 more if you are guarding them or standing back to back with them. The shield soaks damage of any type and melts away by 25 percent of its remaining strength each round. A stored Mirror Stance bonus, if you have one queued, is spent to boost the main roll. Costs a -2 penalty to your other abilities that eases by 2 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Type sculpt to leave a delicate, glittering ice sculpture standing in the room for a few hours.

Adventure use

A shell of blue ice rises around you before the blow lands.

• On ice tasks, you roll +4.

Arm it before the roll with invoke ice_armor.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke ice_armor to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: sculpt

Ready a freezing reprisal. Through the round it tracks every distinct enemy who attacks you or a neighboring same-faction ally. At the end of the round, each of those attackers takes water damage equal to half your main roll. If no one attacked, the reprisal simply fizzles and you pay no cost. When it does fire, it costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that eases by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

A metal-infused strike against a single enemy in melee reach. It always deals metal damage equal to half your main roll. If the target is caught mid-swing — striking you, or an ally standing next to you — you turn their own force back on them, adding half of their attack roll on top (for an inhuman foe, half its damage roll instead). All of it lands as metal damage through the normal thresholds. Using it costs a -2 penalty to your other abilities that eases by 2 each round.

Mechanics

Adventure use

Every studied movement becomes a mirror, returning what was given.

• On methodical or counter response tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke reflective_strike.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke reflective_strike to bring it to bear on the roll.

Sheet the ground around you in ice, a 19-hex field centered on where you stand. Any mover with three or more hexes of movement that round who steps onto the ice loses their footing and slides clear across to the far edge, ending their movement there. The field shrinks each round, from radius two to one to gone over three rounds. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that eases by 3 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Type freeze to lay down a smooth patch of ice in the room that invites skating, lasting a few hours.

Adventure use

The floor becomes treacherous; only you know how to stand.

• On slippery surface tasks, you roll +3.
• On tricky surface tasks, you roll +3.

Arm it before the roll with invoke ice_zone.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke ice_zone to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: freeze

You sting an enemy in melee or up to two hexes away, dealing your main roll in damage and leaving a lingering wound that shifts the target's whole wound-penalty curve down by one for 20 rounds, making them that much easier to hurt. The sting stacks, so each cast piles on another shift. Costs a -3 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 1 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You anchor the rope spear and run the walls with qi lightness for the round, which means you cannot make a melee attack while wallrunning. Any ally standing adjacent to you when you launch may follow your wallrun to your landing hex, and you and each adjacent ally gain back-to-back defense for the round. No penalty to your other abilities.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On an adventure roll to swing on or anchor a climb with the rope, you cannot roll below 4.

Adventure use

The rope finds its anchor; the swing carries you true.

• On swing or climb anchor tasks, every die counts as at least 4.

Arm it before the roll with invoke rope_anchor.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke rope_anchor to bring it to bear on the roll.

You fling stinging wind at an enemy up to three hexes away, halving the damage of their ranged attacks for one round. Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On a group stealth roll where you could fling wind to blind guards, you gain a +5 bonus.

Adventure use

A sudden sting of wind into the guards' eyes, your companions slip past unseen.

• On stealth or blind guards tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke stinging_wind.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke stinging_wind to bring it to bear on the roll.

You spin into a whirling ribbon dance, raising your 1-HP threshold band by 5 for one round so glancing blows that would have nicked you for a point of HP fall short instead. The deeper wound bands are unaffected. Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On a roll to distract someone with a ribbon dance or to pass as a civilian dancer, you gain a +5 bonus.

Adventure use

Your ribbon dance commands every eye in the room, and frees every other hand.

• On distract or dance or disguise dancer tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke ribbon_dance.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke ribbon_dance to bring it to bear on the roll.

You arm a reactive trip. When an enemy who began the round at a distance (two or more hexes away) charges in adjacent to you, the wind sweeps their feet, knocking them prone and flinging them three hexes past you along their charge. It fires once per cast, on the first such charger, and then disarms. Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You hook an enemy up to three hexes away and deal your main roll in damage. If at the moment of resolution the target stands adjacent to one or more of their own allies, the rope tangles them together, halving the movement speed of the target and every such adjacent ally for one round. Costs a -3 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Passive. The first ranged hit you land on a given enemy each round seeds the air with a pressure zone, a broad charged footprint centered on their hex (+3 there and on the six hexes around it) and spreading +1 across the next two rings out. Pressure keeps building each round you keep landing ranged hits on the same target and lasts the whole fight, stockpiling the charge that Call Lightning, Thunderclap, and Hail Storm later cash in. It only fires when you carry a ranged weapon.

Mechanics

How to use

Always active while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

A tactical action that channels atmospheric pressure into a hex you target and the rings around it (the same broad footprint as a natural pressure zone), stacking onto any pressure already there. It deals no damage; it simply builds the charged zone so Call Lightning, Thunderclap, or Hail Storm can later cash it in. Because it makes no combat noise, you can use it while staying hidden. It costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

A blast that only works when the target stands on a hex already carrying at least 6 pressure; without that charge it fails and does nothing. On a hit it consumes all the pressure at that hex and deals half your main roll in wind damage to the target. For one round it also weakens the target's outgoing damage by five percent for each point of your main roll, and shifts the target's wound thresholds by half your main roll in the direction that makes them HARDER to wound for that round, not easier.

Mechanics

Out of combat

When known, Thunderclap lends a bonus to rolls for startling or scaring a crowd in adventures.

Adventure use

A clap of thunder cracks the air; the crowd flinches as one.

• On startle or scare crowd tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke thunderclap.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke thunderclap to bring it to bear on the roll.

Summon a thick mist over your hex and the six around it, granting concealment to whoever stands in it. The mist lasts a number of rounds equal to a third of your main roll and follows you, re-anchoring on your new position whenever you move and at the start of each round. Casting it also seeds a pressure zone on your hex. The mist makes no combat noise, so you can raise it while hidden.

Mechanics

Out of combat

When the mist is contextually available, the party rerolls 1s on stealth and avoid-ranged rolls in adventures. After casting in a fight, you can type summon_fog with an area to roll out a fog effect over an outdoor area for one in-game hour.

Adventure use

The mist parts only for those you keep, fumbles fade in the haze.

• On stealth or avoid ranged tasks, you reroll any die showing 1.

Arm it before the roll with invoke protecting_mist.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke protecting_mist to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: summon_fog

Loose a bolt that strikes your target for half your main roll in wind damage, then arcs from one body to the next. Each hop reaches up to 3 hexes to the nearest unstruck character (friend or foe) and loses a quarter of its force per jump. It can make up to a third of your main roll in bounces before it dies out. The first target's hex also gains a pressure zone. It costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

After casting in a fight, you can type lightning_fingers to make lightning arc between your fingers as a purely visual flourish, or type static_shock with a willing player to give them a small narrative static jolt.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Roleplay commands: lightning_fingers, static_shock

Passive, with no combat effect. It is an ambient weather-sense: you read the sky well enough to see storm fronts coming from twice the usual distance.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Sky Eyes lets you spot storm fronts at twice the normal range, and lends a bonus to weather-related rolls in adventures.

Adventure use

You read the sky and the front beneath it; nothing on the horizon escapes you.

• On weather or forecast tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke sky_eyes.

How to use

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke sky_eyes to bring it to bear on the roll.

Wring the nearest pressure zone out of the sky into a rolling hail storm. It consumes the pressure at the charged hex closest to the hex you target and blankets that area (the center hex plus three rings around it) with hail that batters everyone standing in it for water damage at the end of each round for four rounds. The harder the pressure consumed and the higher your main roll, the heavier each round's hail. If there is no pressure anywhere on the field, the cast does nothing.

Mechanics

Out of combat

After casting in a fight, you can type change_weather with a weather type to override an outdoor room's weather for one in-game hour (it refuses indoor rooms).

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Roleplay command: change_weather

You touch a friendly target with restorative qi, granting them one point of verdant aura. Any damage-over-time effects already afflicting that ally have their remaining duration shortened by one round, and any that drop to zero rounds end at once.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Type soothe to ease an ally's aches with a gentle, personalized touch, an emote shared with them and the room that changes nothing mechanically. Type qi_gift to prime a transfer of one of your qi regeneration ticks to that ally, which is delivered the next time you assist them.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Roleplay commands: soothe, qi_gift

You wreathe yourself in distracting, obscuring blossoms as you move. On any round you have actually moved, every attack against you that round deals 35 percent less damage from all sources, and this reduction multiplies with any other reductions in play. Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On adventure rolls for a task the arbiter judges a fitting display of grace or charm, your dice explode on 6, 7, and 8 (self). Type blossoms to summon a drifting flurry of blossoms in the room described in your own words; it lingers for about an hour.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke blossom_dance to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: blossoms

A passive blessing of the wild. You and your allies cling to natural surfaces like spiders, so this ability is felt out of combat rather than during a fight.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On adventure rolls, whenever you or your group climb or cross anything made of wood or other natural materials, you may reroll 1s (group). You and your group also gain +3 when dealing with natural-terrain hazards such as thorns (group).

How to use

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke natures_grasp to bring it to bear on the roll.

You ward a friendly target with retaliating blossoms, granting them one point of verdant aura. For the rest of this round, anyone who strikes that ally in melee takes damage equal to half your main roll from slicing petals; ranged attackers provoke no rebuke. Recasting on an ally refreshes the ward rather than stacking it.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Type bloom to create a small flower with sharp petals in your inventory, described however you like; it is purely decorative.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Roleplay command: bloom

You shield a chosen ally plus the two allies nearest them, each gaining a protective bloom worth half your main roll in shield points and one point of verdant aura. If any of these shielded allies later loses HP, the shield spreads to one adjacent unshielded ally, who receives a shield of the same original value and one verdant aura; that spread shield does not spread again. The shields fade by 2 points each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On adventure rolls where you are assisting an ally, your blossoms gild the assist so the assisted ally rerolls 2s (target).

Adventure use

The blossoms gild your assist with golden pollen.

• On a fitting task, you reroll any die showing 2.

Arm it before the roll with invoke guardian_bloom.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke guardian_bloom to bring it to bear on the roll.

Verdant energy flares in every aura across your side. Each ally carrying verdant aura (including you) gains a shield worth half your main roll multiplied by their verdant aura points, then has all of their verdant aura consumed. The shields decay by 30 percent each round. Costs a -8 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 4 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You weave your twin sabers into a deflecting guard, raising a shield worth twice your main roll that soaks only slashing and piercing damage; any other damage type passes straight through unabsorbed. The shield halves in strength at each round end, fading quickly. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that eases by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You flash blinding glare across an enemy's eyes, shifting their damage thresholds 3 points easier to cross for one round, so the same raw damage carves deeper wounds. Re-casting refreshes the effect rather than stacking it. Costs a -3 penalty to your other abilities that eases by 1 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

Typing fireworks sets off a cascade of dazzling sparks, a brief ambient room effect lasting about 30 seconds. It is armed each time you cast Dazzle.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Roleplay command: fireworks

You drive a dazzling melee strike into an adjacent foe for metal damage equal to half again your main roll (your main roll times three, divided by two, rounded down). Because it is both a melee attack and a main action, it feeds both of your paired counters at round end. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that eases by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You spin both blades in a wide arc, striking your primary target for slashing damage equal to half your main roll (rounded down), plus the same amount to up to two other enemies standing adjacent to YOU. When more than two extra foes qualify, the lowest-numbered are hit; adjacent allies are spared. Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that eases by 2 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

A passive that runs the whole time you hold the Radiant Edge stance. When an enemy melee-attacks an ally standing next to you, your flashing blades distract the attacker and reduce their melee damage by twice your Radiant Edge counter. Multiple Radiant Edge fighters do not stack; only the single largest reduction applies.

Mechanics

Out of combat

On adventure skill rolls the style lends a +5 bonus on tasks that distract or impress an audience. Typing sword_juggle starts a brief sword-juggling flourish, an ambient room effect lasting about 30 seconds, always available while you hold the Radiant Edge stance with no cast needed to arm it.

Adventure use

Bright blades dance through the air, pulling every eye in the room.

• On distract or impress tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke distracting_blades.

How to use

Always active while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke distracting_blades to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: sword_juggle

You loose a blazing cut that sears your adjacent target for fire damage equal to half your main roll (rounded down), then sweep a two-wide by three-long swath of flame across the hexes behind them, away from you, burning every enemy caught there for the same amount. Allies and you yourself standing in the swath are spared, and the primary target is not burned a second time. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that eases by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Flames rise from your hex and the six hexes around you for one round, leaving fire hazards on the ground that can ignite spilled oil or be lit further by other fire effects. The hazards do no damage on their own as they are placed. For that round you cannot catch fire yourself and take 50 percent less fire damage. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

After casting Rising Flames in a fight you can type flare_candles to briefly flare up all candles and fires in the room. In adventures, grants +5 to any roll involving fire.

Adventure use

Flames rise where you ask them to.

• On fire tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke rising_flames.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke rising_flames to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: flare_candles

While Solar Song is active you build one Solar Dance stack at the start of every round, with no cap, and each stack adds +2 fire damage to your fire-channel attacks and to your damaging Solar Song abilities (Solar Lance, Fireball, Solar Barrage, and the rider from Infuse the Sun). The heat is dangerous up close: if an opposing fighter is in melee range with you at both the start and the end of the same round, and you still hold stacks, the accumulation detonates on you for 3 fire damage per stack and splashes 1 fire damage to everyone adjacent on both sides, then your stacks reset to zero. When you switch out of Solar Song with any mastery, your stacks freeze and keep feeding your ranged and ability damage for a number of rounds equal to your mastery; during that bleed the melee fire bonus is gated off and any detonation deals 2 damage per stack instead of 3.

Mechanics

How to use

Always active while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

You weave a flickering fire dance, and for one round you take 25 percent less damage from ranged attacks and 50 percent less from fire and from shadow. Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

After casting Fire Dance in a fight you can type fire_dance_room to make the flames in the room twist and sway for an hour. In adventures, grants +5 to rolls that impress or distract with a fire dance, or that let you pass as a civilian entertainer.

Adventure use

Your dance threads fire through the air; every eye follows.

• On impress or distract or civilian entertainer tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke fire_dance.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke fire_dance to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: fire_dance_room

You mark a target and the six hexes around it with a solar beacon, stripping concealment from everyone standing there. For this round and the next, those marked take 25 percent more damage from ranged attacks and cannot benefit from concealment at all (this lights both enemies and allies in the area). Costs a -4 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 2 each round, plus a -4 penalty to your other rolls that fades by 4 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

In adventures, when you spend qi on a roll all of your allies gain +5 to rolls dealing with darkness or obscured vision.

Adventure use

A solar beacon answers the dark; your companions see clearly.

• On darkness or obscured vision tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke solar_beacon.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke solar_beacon to bring it to bear on the roll.

You set a target ablaze, applying a burn that lasts for half your main roll in rounds and deals fire damage each round; recasting refreshes the burn to the longer of the two durations rather than stacking. Requires at least 4 Solar Dance stacks to cast, and is rejected if you hold fewer. Costs a -3 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

After casting Ignite in a fight you can type ignite_decoration to create small fire decorations in the room. In adventures, grants +5 to any roll that can be helped by starting a fire.

Adventure use

A small flame answers your gesture and finds the fuel.

• On start fire or ignite tasks, you roll +5.

Arm it before the roll with invoke ignite.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke ignite to bring it to bear on the roll.

Roleplay command: ignite_decoration

You hurl a fireball that bursts on the target hex. The target hex and the six hexes immediately around it take half your main roll in fire damage, and the next ring out takes a quarter of your main roll, each boosted by your Solar Dance stacks. The burst is a true area effect, so allies caught in it are hit too. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

Out of combat

In adventures, when you spend qi on a roll for large-scale destruction, the explosion's qi-die range expands to 6, 7, or 8 instead of just 6.

Adventure use

The blast goes wide, a sun in miniature; nothing is left standing.

• On large destruction or demolish tasks, your qi die explodes on 6, 7, and 8.

Arm it before the roll with invoke fireball.

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.

Outside combat, before an adventure roll this ability can affect, type invoke fireball to bring it to bear on the roll.

You pour a concentrated barrage of solar fire into a single target up to 10 hexes away, dealing one and a half times your main roll in fire damage plus your Solar Dance stack bonus. A target beyond 10 hexes is out of range and the cast is rejected. Costs a -6 penalty to your other abilities that fades by 3 each round.

Mechanics

How to use

Used automatically in combat while you fight in this stance. No command to type.