3 stats, 3 dice. Pick which die (d4, d6, d8) goes with which stat. You’ll derive other attributes from this, but that’s the foundation. Stat names may vary for a specific game but typically follow a Mind/Body/Spirit model.

3 derived attributes. Derived attributes are based on the max value of a given stat die. Again, names may vary for a specific game but typically follow the following formulas:

• Mind + 1 = Awareness;

• Body + 1 = Health;

• Spirit - 1 = Defense.

12 skills, 4 per stat. You can assign 7 upgrade dice, up to 2 per skill. Upgrade dice (from a d6 up to a d12 depending on the skill’s base stat die and number of upgrades) are added to the stat die to form a dice pool you roll when taking an action that uses that skill.

Equipment and other augmentations. To keep things simple, characters typically get two active gear slots which add dice to a pool or a flat bonus to a roll or attribute. Gear can also determine at what range or distance a skill or action is effective.

Heroic effort. Stats, skills, and equipment create dice pools of d4s through d12s, but when an extra boost is needed, players can pull out the d20s to help ensure success. The number of times a character can do so is determined at the beginning of a session and is tracked as a resource that can be used and restored during gameplay.

Injured reserve. Dropping to zero Health doesn’t have to mean a character is out of the game. Getting back up is possible, but each time they do (until they retreat to a safe place to recover), they’ll suffer cumulative penalties to their rolls:

• first, they lose access to all their upgrade dice;

• second, all their stat dice become a d4;

• third, their Defense and Awareness drop to 0.

Dropping to zero Health a fourth time puts characters at the mercy of either their allies, who can carry them to safety; or their enemies, who can capture them, leave them to die, or simply finish them off.

Dice Pool vs. Difficulty. When players describe what they are trying to accomplish, anytime there’s a chance of failure for an action of consequence, the results are determined by the dice. Based on the action, they roll a pool of dice against a difficulty determined by the circumstances. Difficulty benchmarks:

• Straightforward: 3

• Moderate: 6

• Challenging: 8

• Heroic: 10

• Nigh-Impossible: 20

In combat situations, melee attacks are typically made against the target’s Defense while ranged attacks are made against the target’s Awareness.

For a routine task or an action of little to no consequence, there’s no need to roll. The task or action succeeds as described.

Likewise, for truly impossible tasks no dice are needed. The player can allow the action to fail or decide to attempt something else instead.

Exploding dice. When a rolled die results in its maximum value, that die explodes; it is rolled again and the subsequent result is added to the prior result.

Crits and Fumbles. If the highest die in a dice pool rolls its maximum value (e.g. a d6 rolls a 6), not only does the die explode, but the roll grants an additional benefit, even if the overall action doesn’t succeed.

Likewise, if the lowest die in a dice pool rolls a 1, the roll results in a negative consequence that occurs even if the desired action succeeds.