Moments Copy link
After declaring their action, each Hero chooses a Moment.
A Hero may Prepare, Advance, or Breakthrough depending on how they wish to engage with the Challenge or its Demands.
Prepare represents observation, positioning, gathering resources, and setting the stage for future action.
Advance represents steady progress toward the objective while managing risk.
Breakthrough represents decisive action intended to immediately alter the situation, accepting greater risk in exchange for greater influence.
Each Moment determines the consequence bag used for the Challenge and contributes to Escalation once the Moment resolves.
Escalation reflects how stable or unstable the situation becomes as Heroes push the story forward. Successes shift Escalation toward FOR. Failures shift Escalation toward AGAINST. As Escalation moves, Events may become enabled, allowing the world to respond through the passage of Time.
Escalation may also alter the pressures surrounding a Demand. An existing Demand may become more urgent, its circumstances may change, or a new Demand may emerge as the situation develops.
In this way, every Moment influences not only the immediate outcome, but the future direction of the scene.
The Challenge Copy link
Every Moment begins with a Challenge.
The WorldKeeper presents the situation, establishes what is at stake, and defines the pressures currently affecting the scene. These pressures may come from enemies, environmental danger, social tension, corruption, divine influence, scarcity, or the passage of Time itself.
Once the situation is clear, each Hero declares how they respond. Most actions are resolved through a Keyword, though some Moments may instead call upon Presence, Perception, Innate abilities, or other special mechanics.
All Heroes participating in the Challenge act simultaneously. There are no traditional turns within a Moment. The scene unfolds as a single shared event.
Demands Copy link
Some Challenges contain Demands: immediate problems or conditions that must be overcome before the larger Endeavor can be resolved.
When appropriate, the WorldKeeper may establish up to three Demands and place them before the Heroes. Each Demand describes something that currently requires their attention.
A Demand establishes what must be accomplished, not how it must be accomplished.
Heroes choose which Demands they address, who addresses them, and how their abilities, Keywords, Pathways, equipment, resources, or other advantages might provide a solution.
A Demand might be:
HOLD THE PASSAGE The route behind the Heroes is collapsing.
A Demand never requires a particular Keyword or Pathway unless the fiction specifically makes another approach impossible. Heroes remain free to devise their own solutions.
A Performance only accomplishes what the Hero's described action can reasonably achieve. Learning how to stabilize a collapsing bridge may Prepare a solution; it does not necessarily stabilize the bridge itself.
When the underlying problem has been meaningfully resolved, the Demand is Conquered.
Once all required Demands have been Conquered, the Endeavor may reach its Resolution.
Performance Copy link
Once a Hero has chosen their Moment, they perform.
Performance represents the combination of training, experience, condition, and circumstance.
A Hero draws tokens according to their Training Level, resolves all token effects, applies Favor, and compares their final result against the Difficulty assigned by the WorldKeeper.
If the Hero meets or exceeds the Difficulty, the action succeeds.
If they do not, the action fails.
Success or failure determines which side of the consequence token is applied.
Success produces Wear.
Failure produces Impact.
Performance determines whether the Hero overcomes the Challenge or makes meaningful progress toward a Demand.
Wear and Impact determine what it costs.
Perception Copy link
Many Moments begin before action is taken.
Perception determines what a Hero notices, uncovers, senses, or understands about a situation. Through their Senses, a Hero may discover hidden dangers, divine influence, corruption, environmental clues, opportunities, or the presence of Threads.
Perception often shapes how a Hero chooses to engage with a Challenge or Demand. Information gained through Perception may reveal new approaches, expose hidden threats, or alter the course of the scene entirely.
Perception does not resolve a Challenge.
It defines how clearly a Hero understands it.
Presence Copy link
Some Challenges test the Hero directly.
Presence is used when training, preparation, or specialized expertise are irrelevant and the Moment instead relies upon the Hero's raw capability, instinct, composure, endurance, or will.
When Presence is called, the Hero succeeds or fails based upon who they are rather than what they know.
Presence reflects the Hero beneath the Pathways.
Innate Copy link
Every Hero possesses something unique that cannot be taught.
Innate abilities represent expressions of identity that exist beyond ordinary training. They are manifestations of the Hero's nature, lineage, beliefs, experiences, or connection to the world.
When a Hero invokes their Innate, they temporarily set aside conventional approaches and act through a defining aspect of themselves.
Innates often create solutions unavailable through ordinary means and may reveal deeper truths about the Hero as the story unfolds.
Time Copy link
Every resolved Moment advances Time.
The world does not remain static while Heroes act. As Moments pass, opportunities may close, unresolved Demands may advance, dangers may grow, discoveries may emerge, and Events may become active.
Time creates pressure without dictating how Heroes must respond. The Heroes decide what deserves their attention, what they are willing to risk, and how they confront the problems before them.
Sometimes they cannot address everything.
That choice is part of the Challenge.
Every Challenge changes something.
Every Moment advances Time.
And every advancement of Time gives the world an opportunity to answer.