As in many games, rolls are only called for when you’re trying to take actions that involve meaningful risk or chance or failure. When that happens, you make an ability test.
To make an ability test, you roll three six-sided dice (3d6). One die should be designated the Drama Die. Sum the three dice, and add the ability that you’re testing and another +2 if you have an applicable ability focus. If multiple focuses could apply, you still only gain +2.
Test result = 3d6 + ability + focus
Ability tests are typically referred to using the format “Ability (Focus)”. For example: Intelligence (Historical Lore) or Constitution (Swimming). When it’s written like this, it’s fine if you don’t have the listed focus: you just won’t get the +2 focus bonus. Some tests, however, do require specialized skills or knowledge, and these require the relevant focus or else you’ll automatically fail. These tests are instead written with the format “Ability (Focus required)”, such as Intelligence (Navigation required).
On some types of tests, when you roll doubles (i.e. any two of the dice show the same value) you generate stunt points. You can then expend these points to pull off various special stunts, like doing extra damage in a combat, squeezing in an extra arcanum when casting magic, making an especially cutting remark, moving an opponent around, etc. As a general rule, only tests for actions generate stunt points; even if you roll doubles on a roll to avoid or resist something you can’t perform stunts off of it.
Stunts are explained in further detail later on.
Once you’ve calculated the final result of your roll, you have to compare it against another number to determine the outcome of your attempted action. There are two common types of tests (and a few rarer ones), that compare your result against different targets.
In a basic test, you roll against a fixed target number (or TN) determined by the Narrator.
When you’re more directly competing with another character, you make an opposed test instead. In an opposed test, both characters roll and the higher roll wins. You can think of it as almost like a basic test where your opponent’s roll determines the TN. In some situations, both opponents will use the same ability and focus in an opposed test, but in others the abilities and focuses will differ between participants. For example, a bodyguard trying to recognize a spy despite their disguise might roll Perception (Seeing) versus the spy’s Communication (Disguise).
Three-way (or more) opposed tests can also be done. Everybody makes an ability test, and the highest test result wins (with ties broken as above).
Usually it just matters whether you succeeded, but sometimes it matters how well you succeeded. Blue Rose has a couple of ways to measure that: degree of success and outcome. Specific powers or rules can tell you to use one or the other; the Narrator may decide whether they matter and which one matters in other situations.
On a successful roll, your degree of success is equal to the value of the Drama Die. If you’re level 6 or higher and you have a relevant focus to the roll, you can add the focus to the Drama Die. A 6 or better means you did it flawlessly, while a 1 means you barely pulled it off. Degree of success determines how much progress you make in Advanced Tests.
The Outcome of a test is the difference between your test result and the target number. On a success, the Outcome will always be at least 0 and different amounts of Outcome may influence the overall effect of a successful test. The Outcome is often used to determine the effectiveness of arcana.
Conviction is that something special that sets heroes apart and lets them perform amazing deeds under the most difficult circumstances; in the fiction it might be luck, talent, divine blessing, or sheer determination, but it’s something. Mechanically it’s a currency you can gain and can spend for various benefits.
Player characters start out with Conviction based on their level: 3 points at level 1 and gaining 1 more at ever odd level thereafter (3rd, 5th, etc.) NPCs do not have or use conviction. They regain a point of expended Conviction by acting in accordance with their Destiny or Fate to further their Goals (TKTK link). The Narrator decides when an action is appropriate to gain the Conviction point, but players can suggest it. The Narrator can occasionally also reward Conviction for events that reinvigorate the character’s confidence and faith.
Unless otherwise noted, you can spend a Conviction point at any time as a free action. In an encounter, you can only spend one point per round for any single benefit, but can spend multiple for different benefits even in a single round. Here are your options for spending Conviction, each costing one point:
As described in more detail in the Corruption rules, a character with Corruption can also forgo a Conviction point earned by acting in accordance with their Destiny to apply that point toward the slow work of redeeming themself from their Corruption.
Most things in play are handled in narrative time where we don’t worry about book-keeping every second, but might gloss over minutes or hours or even days depending on what the characters are doing. But sometimes the situation gets tense and exactly who does what when and in what order becomes important. For that, we zoom into action time. Action time is most commonly used for combat, but it can be used for other tense fast-paced scenes.
Action time is divided into 15-second rounds. In each round, every character or creature present gets an opportunity to an act, their turn. Once everybody has taken their turn, the round ends and a new one begins. Here’s how action time goes:
When it’s your turn in a round, you tell the Narrator what you want to do like any other situation, but the amount of stuff you can do in your turn is constrained by actions. You can take either a major action and a minor action or two minor actions. There’s a list of common major and minor actions below; if you want to do something not listed, the Narrator adjudicates how to resolve it and what kind of action it uses. Some things, like talking, are free actions and don’t count against your limited actions.
Aid Ally: You can use your action to aid an ally within 4 × your Communication in yards (minimum 2 yards). The ally gains a bonus minor action and a +2 bonus on one test of their choice for one round after your turn. Rhy-bonded characters in the same scene can aid each other from any distance.
All-Out Attack: You attack one adjacent1 enemy in hand-to-hand combat all-out, not worrying about defending yourself. You suffer -1 to your Defense until your next turn but deal +1 damage if you hit.
Charge: You move up to half your Speed, rounded down, in yards and then make a melee attack against an adjacent enemy with a +1 bonus to your attack roll.
Defend: You focus on defense. Until the beginning of your next turn, you either gain +2 to your Defense or grant +2 to the Defense of an adjacent ally.
Heal: With bandages ready, you provide some quick first aid to an adjacent injured ally. On a successful TN 11 Intelligence (Healing) test, your ally regains Health equal to the Drama Die + your Intelligence. They cannot receive another Heal action until they have taken additional damage.
Melee Attack: You attack an adjacent enemy in hand-to-hand combat.
Ranged Attack: You fire or throw a missile weapon at one visible enemy within range.
Run: You can move up to double your Speed in yards. You cannot take this action while prone.
Activate: This lets you begin using certain abilities or items, such as fighting styles or potions.
Aim: You take the measure of your opponent and plan your next strike. If your next action is a melee attack or ranged attack, you gain a +1 bonus on your attack roll.
Guard Up: You shift some of your attention to defense. Add +1 or +2 (your choice) to Defense until the end of this round, but you take a penalty of the same size to all tests you make for the duration. You must take this minor action before any major action you take this turn.
Maintain: You spend some of your focus on maintaining an effect, typically arcana.
Move: You can move up to your Speed in yards. You can also go prone, stand up, or mount a horse or vehicle, but you can only move at half Speed (rounded down) if you do.
Prepare: You pick a major action and prepare to execute it, ending your turn immediately. Any time until your next turn, you can interrupt another character to take your prepare action. If you don’t use it by your next turn, the action is wasted. You cannot prepare an action if you’ve already taken a major action this turn.
Press the Attack: You stand ready to pursue an enemy if they fall back or flee your blows. Declare an adjacent enemy combatant. Until the beginning of your next turn, if that enemy moves away from you, you may immediately move up to your Speed in yards in direct pursuit of that enemy at no additional action cost. This occurs immediately after your enemy’s movement before they can do anything else. You must have successfully struck the enemy in melee combat this turn (whether or not your inflicted damage) in order to target them with this action. You may forgo some or all of the movement this action allows if you wish. If your enemy moves too quickly for you to move to be adjacent to them again, you go as far as you can.
Ready: You unsheathe a weapon, pull out a potion, or otherwise ready an item that is stowed. As part of this action, you can put away something already in hand in addition to readying something else.
Stand Firm: Your lower your weight and prepare to resist any efforts to move you form where you stand. Until the beginning of your neck turn, any enemy who uses the Skirmish or Knock Prone combat stunts to move you or knock you to the ground must defeat your in an opposed test of their Strength (Might) versus your choice of either your Strength (Might) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) in order to do so. The opponent’s stunt points are expended even if you win the test. If the opponent attempts to Skirmish you multiple times, they make only a single opposed test which determines whether all of it takes effect.
Concentrate: You focus your mind and spirit to use an arcanum, which may require a test. Depending on the arcanum, this may be a major, minor, or free action.
Reload: You reload a missile weapon. This may be a major, minor, or free action depending on the weapon, your talents, and stunts.
Combat is resolved in action time and has some additional rules involved for making attacks and determining damage.
There are two basic types of attacks, melee and ranged, both handled essentially the same way:
You pick a target. For a melee attack, you must be adjacent (within 2 yards) of your target. For a ranged attack, you must be able to see the target and they must be within range of your weapon. If the target is outside of your weapon’s Short Range but within its Long Range, your attack test will be made at a -2 penalty.
You make an attack roll. This is a basic test based on the weapons group of the weapon you are using. It is modified by a focus, if applicable, and any other relevant bonuses or penalties. The target number is equal to your opponent’s Defense.
If your test result is equal to or greater than your opponent’s Defense, your attack hits.
Once you’ve hit an opponent, you then inflict damage. You calculate damage with this procedure:
Roll your weapon’s damage and add either your Strength or your Perception ability depending on the weapon and any other relevant modifiers. The Bow weapon group (including crossbows and slings) uses Perception, while other weapons use Strength.
Subtract your opponent’s armor unless you are dealing penetrating damage.
Inflict the resulting damage from your opponent’s Health.
As characters lose Health, they get closer to death. Player characters who Health reaches 0 are dying. They die after 2 + their Constitution in rounds unless they receive healing. While dying they can talk but take no other action. They die on their turn in the final round.
Most NPCs die immediately when their Health reaches 0, but Narrators may choose to apply the player character rules for major NPCs.
When a blow is struck that would otherwise kill a target, the attacker can choose to incapacitate instead of killing. The target is left unconscious with 1 Health and will regain consciousness in 2d6 minutes unless circumstances dictate otherwise.
A character can deliver a coup de grace to any adjacent enemy that is dying or unconscious as a major action. This automatically kills the target. A coup de grace can be performed at range by making a successful attack roll versus Defense 10.
You can mount an animal using a Move action. As part of that Move action you can move half your Speed in yards, rounded down, instead of the normal full Speed in yards. Once you are mounted, you use Move and Run actions normally, but you use the Speed of the mount instead of your own.
When engaging in melee combat while mounted, you get a +1 bonus on attack rolls versus opponents on foot. In some cases this may not apply against particularly large creatures. Most mounts do not have attacks of their own. Those that do make their attacks on your turn rather than having their own place in the initiative order. Enemies can choose to attack either you or your mount.
Opponents can use the Knock Prone combat stunt to try to dismount you. This is more difficult than knocking somebody off their feet, though, so you get a chance to resist it by making a successful Dexterity (Riding) test against a target number equal to 10 + your opponent’s Strength. If you fail, you are knocked ot the ground, take 1d6 penetrating damage, and are now prone. The Narrator controls your mount’s actions until you remount or the encounter ends.
Passengers do not have to use Move and Run actions as they are simply carried along. They take actions as normal, but the Narrator should keep their situation in mind. These rules also apply when dirving a vehicle like a cart or wagon, but you use Strength (Driving) for tests instead. If Knock Prone is used against a passenger of a vehicle, they can resist it using Dexterity (Acrobatics).
Some combatants can fly. Flight is indicated in a parenthetical after a character’s Speed. For example, “Speed 6 (Flying 12)” indicates that hte character has a Speed of 6 on the ground but 12 when flying. Flying movement is handled using special actions available only to fliers. A flying character must use one and only one of Circle, Dive, Fly, or Fly High each turn or suffer falling damage. Flying characters can also not take Charge, Move, or Run actions while not on the ground.
Most stunts affect fliers the same as other characters. Knock Prone is the exception: when used, it reduces the character’s Flying Speed by 3 until the end of their next turn instead of its normal effects.
Dive: A character that was circling or flying high the previous round can dive this round. A circling character moves a number of yards equal to their Flying Speed and makes a melee attack against an opponent on the ground. A high-flying character moves a number of yards equal to twice their Flying Speed and makes a melee attack against an opponent circling or on the ground. In either cases, the attack can take place at any point in the character’s movement and receives a +1 bonus on both the attack and damage rolls. At the end of the dive, the character is roughly 3 yards off the ground, just as if they had taken the Fly action.
Fly High: The character can move a number of yards equal to their Flying Speed while climbing far above the battlefield. While flying high, the character can neither attack nor be attacked (even by other characters flying high). A character must start their turn circling to Fly High.
Circle: The flying character circles above the battlefield at a low altitiude, moving a number of yards equal to their Flying Speed. Ranged attacks from the ground add 20 yards to the horizontal distance from the shooter to the target to represent the height of the flighter. A circling character can attack other circling characters at no penalty. A character must start their turn flying to circle.
Fly: The character moves a distance equal to their Flying Speed. The character is roughly 3 yards off the ground and can be attacked in melee by opponents on the ground. The character’s own melee attack rolls receive a +1 bonus for their height advantage. A character can choose to land after flying, in which case the normal rules for combat once again apply. Prone characters cannot fly until they take a Move action to stand up first.
As discussed earlier, when you roll doubles on some ability tests, you generate stunt points equal to the number rolled on the Drama Die. They disappear after your action completes, so you have to spend them immediately. You spend them on stunts which offer a variety of beneficial special effects for a variety of situations. Initially every character has access to the same stunts for the same costs, but you may gain access to new stunts or learn to use the old stunts at a lower costs as you level up (this is covered in the class descriptions).
The sections to come describe the stunts designed for particular situations, and when you can use stunts in those situations. You can, however, generally use your stunt points from any situation to perform any kind of stunt, although the narrator may veto particular cases that seem inappropriate.
Some stunts mention an “object of your test”. This refers to an item or person being searched for, a character with whom a hero is interacting, etc. If an opposed test is being made, the object of the test is always the other participant in the test. When the object of the test is unclear, the Narrator makes the call.
Some stunts have effects that last “until the time or venue changes”. This means the effect continues until either the focus of play jumps forward in time by any significant amount or changes to some other place. This is roughly meant to approximate a single encounter. Switching focus between two ongoing scenes with different characters does not count as changing time or venue.
NPCs can also use stunts, although Narrators should be careful about using roleplaying stunts to dictate player characters’ reactions.
The Intensity of a Relationship grants additional once-per-session stunt points in some circumstances, and also makes available two special Intensity stunts whose cost is so high that they can be used only by combining relationship Intensity with rolled stunt points. The Intensity rules and stunts are listed as part of the Relationship rules.
Combat stunts are designed to make combat more exciting and dynamic. When in combat, you can perform stunts in addition to dealing damage normally whenever you get doubles on a successful attack roll. Each stunt can only be used once per round, except for the Skirmish stunt which can be used as many times as you have the stunt points for.
| SP Cost | Stunt |
|---|---|
| 1+ | Skirmish: You can move yourself or the target of your attack 2 yards in any direction for each 1 SP you spend. |
| 1 | Rapid Reload: You can immediately reload a missile weapon. |
| 1 | Stay Aware: You take a moment to make sure you’re mindful of everything that’s happening around you. Make a TN 11 Perception test with the focus of your choice. If you succeed, the Narrator may either make you aware of some battlefield situation that has so far escaped your notice, or give you a +1 bonus to the next test you make. This bonus can never stack with any other test bonus other than that from a focus. It must be used on the very next test you make (even if you’re the defender in an opposed test), and expires at the end of your next turn even if you haven’t used it by then. |
| 2 | Knock Prone: You knock your enemy prone. Any character making a melee attack against a prone foe gains a +1 bonus on their attack roll. |
| 2 | Defensive Stance: Your attack sets you up for defense. You gain a +2 bonus to Defense until the beginning of your next turn. |
| 2 | Disarm: You attempt to disarm the target with your melee attack. You and your opponent must make an opposed attack roll. If you win the test, you knock your enemy’s weapon 1d6 + Strength yards away in a direction you nominate. |
| 2 | Mighty Blow: You inflict an extra 1d6 damage on your attack. |
| 2 | Pierce Armor: You find a chink in your enemy’s armor. The target’s armor rating is halved (rounded down) vs. this attack. |
| 2 | Taunt: You insult or distract one opponent of your choice within 10 yards of you. You must make an opposed test of your Communication (Deception) vs. the target’s Willpower (Self-Discipline). If you win, the target suffers a –1 penalty on attack and arcana rolls on their next turn. |
| 2 | Threaten: You strike a threatening pose, challenging an opponent of your choice within 10 yards of you. You must make an opposed test of your Strength (Intimidate) vs. the target’s Willpower (Self-Discipline). If you win, they must attack you in some way (melee, missile, arcana, etc.) on their next turn. |
| 3 | Lightning Attack: You can make a second attack against the same enemy or a different one within range and sight. You must have a loaded missile weapon to make a ranged attack. If you roll doubles on this second attack roll, you do not gain any additional stunt points. |
| 3 | Set Up: You create an opening an ally can exploit. Pick an ally. On their next turn, the ally receives a +2 bonus on the ability test of their choice. This decision must be made before the dice are rolled. |
| 4 | Dual Strike: Your attack is so strong it affects two targets. First, pick a secondary target. This target must be adjacent to you if you are using a melee weapon or within 6 yards of your primary target if you are using a missile weapon. Apply the test result of your original attack roll to the secondary target (in other words, you only make one attack roll and apply it to both opponents). If you hit the secondary target, inflict your normal damage on them. |
| 4 | Seize the Initiative: Your attack changes the tempo of the battle. You move to the top of the initiative order. This means you may get to take another turn before some of the combatants get to act again. You remain at the top of the order until someone else seizes the initiative. |
| 5 | Lethal Blow: You inflict an extra 2d6 damage on your attack. |
Stunts in exploration or social interaction contexts work pretty much the same as in combat, except that they can be generated on most ability tests that you are rolling in order to attempt an action. These stunts tend be more open-ended and flexible and require more on-the-fly decision-making from the Narrator than the combat stunts.
| SP Cost | Stunt |
|---|---|
| 1+ | Advantageous Positioning: You make your discovery from an advantageous position of your choice, up to 2 yards away from the place that would normally lead to your discovery with respect to the object of your test. You may wait until the Narrator describes what you’ve found, if relevant, before you choose your position. This stunt can be used multiple times on the same test if you have enough stunt points. |
| 2 | Efficient Search: If resources of any kind are typically consumed in the course of your test, you use only half as much as you would normally. |
| 2 | Speedy Search: You complete your test in half the time it would otherwise take. |
| 2 | The Right Tools: You have, find, or improvise a piece of equipment you need to attempt an action more effectively. This stunt counteracts any situational penalties for not having appropriate equipment. |
| 3 | That Makes Me Wonder: You may immediately make another Perception test, at no additional cost in time or resources, to discover more information about your surroundings, or the object of your test. This bonus test must use a different focus from the first test, however, and doubles on this bonus test do not give rise to stunt points. The two tests are assumed to transpire simultaneously, not one after the other. If there is nothing additional to discover the stunt is wasted, but the Narrator will not prevent you from choosing this stunt even when there is nothing additional to learn. |
| 3 | The Object of Your Attention: You receive a +1 bonus to further tests to examine or perceive additional aspects of the object of your test until the time or venue changes. |
| 4 | The Upper Hand: If your discoveries lead to combat within a moment or two, you receive a +3 bonus on your initiative roll. |
| 4 | Resources at Hand: Choose a focus you don’t have that falls under the same ability as the test you’re making. You are considered to have that focus until the time or venue changes. The Narrator may require you to explain how this bonus arises from the environment and deny it if you can’t make a reasonable suggestion. |
| 4 | With a Flourish: The manner of your success is impressive to those who are nearby to watch you. You have a +1 bonus to opposed tests against them until the time or venue changes. |
Roleplaying stunts must be delivered along with a description of the itneracting you’re engaged in, and must be consistent with the description.
| SP Cost | Stunt |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bon Mot: You tag the perfect witty remark onto the end of your action, affecting all those who hear it that much more deeply. If you can’t think of one, the rest of the players and Narrator quickly brainstorm options, and you choose among them. Word of your wit is likely to spread, for good or ill. |
| 1+ | Passionate Inspiration: Your emotions flare and you’re inspired to a brief act of daring or greatness. Gain a +1 bonus to your next action, with a further +1 for every 2 additional SPspent. |
| 2 | And Another Thing: You manage to weave a second thrust of conversation into the primary interaction that called for the test, if your description supports it. If relevant, you may make an additional test as part of your action, before anyone else has a chance to respond or make any tests or arguments of their own. |
| 2+ | Sway the Crowd: Your interpersonal efforts are so effective they spill over onto others in the area, and you affect one additional person of your choice past the original target. You may use this stunt multiple times on the same roll. However, if the test that gave rise to this stunt was an opposed test you may not expand the effect to anyone who has a higher ability + focus total than the original target. |
| 3 | New Friends: Your action impresses, charms, or otherwise makes an NPC in the encounter think better of you. Choose one character who’s present—that character now admires you or thinks of you as a friend. If they’re an enemy or dislike you already, make an opposed Communications (Persuasion) vs. Willpower (Self-Discipline) test. If you win, that character feels more positively about you and may aid you in small ways. This stunt can set up a future relationship if interactions continue and remain positive… |
| 3+ | New Enemies: You gain the upper hand on your opponent, but in doing so draw their ire. You may select any stunt or stunts worth 1 more total SP than the amount you spend on this stunt. However, an NPC in the encounter now dislikes you and considers you a rival, threat, or enemy. This NPC doesn’t have to be the target of your action, just someone who it makes sense would now be upset with you. This stunt can set up future relationships if interactions continue along these lines… |
| 3 | Stunned Silence: You are so impressive that you leave all those who witness your display completely dumbfounded and unable to speak for at least a full round. Outside combat this lasts, at the very least, long enough for your character to begin doing something else. |
| 3 | Jest: You turn a phrase, twist your expression, or make some other comic motion that leads those nearby to laugh, or at least stifle their snorts. Anyone nearby who wishes to avoid laughing must make a successful TN11 Willpower (Self-Discipline) test, with the exception—at the Narrator’s discretion—of whomever you’ve made the butt of your joke. |
| 4 | Exciting Opportunities: Your action impresses or inspires an NPCin the encounter, or some dignitary who could logically hear about your actions. While there is no immediate effect, this may lead to some important group or character offering you future patronage, membership of an exclusive organization, an invitation to a restricted event, or some other significant future opportunity. |
| 4 | Flirt: Choose one character who is present and immediately make an opposed Communications (Romance) vs. Willpower (Self-Discipline) test. If you win, that character becomes enamored with yours. What exactly this means in the moment and how it might play out (or fall apart) in the long run are up to the Narrator, and depend on how you continue to act. But, if you’re successful, you’ve created an opening for romantic opportunities. |
| 4 | Tower of Will: Your success gives you a sense of your own brilliance and strength of character. For the rest of the current roleplaying exchange you gain a +1 bonus to any opposed tests where an opponent tries to put you at an emotional disadvantage, such as by intimidating you, impressing you, bargaining with you, and so on. |
| 5 | Enrage: You twist the knife, delivering a provocation or insult in such a way that a single target you designate must choose between either attacking you or storming away from the scene. If they choose to attack, the assault need not be deadly, although that option is open to the enraged character. A slap or the throwing of the gauntlet may stand in as an “attack” just as well. |
When you use arcana, you can generate stunt points on any required test, and may spend those stunt points on arcane stunts. Several of the arcane stunts can only be used with arcana satisfying particular conditions, such as damage dealing arcana, single-target arcana, or arcana with a duration.
| SP Cost | Stunt |
|---|---|
| 1+ | Powerful Channeling: Increase the Outcome of your arcanum by 1 per SP spent, to a maximum of 4. |
| 2 | Skillful Channeling: Reduce the fatigue target number (TN) for the arcanum by 2. |
| 2 | Mighty Arcana: If the arcanum does damage, one target of your choice takes an extra 1d6 damage. |
| 3 | Lasting Arcana: If an arcanum has a duration beyond instantaneous, it remains in effect for twice as long. Arcana that last until the end of the encounter are extended by 1d6 minutes instead. |
| 3 | Arcane Shield: You use the residual arcanum energy to set up a temporary protective shield. You gain a +2 bonus to Defense until the beginning of your next turn. |
| 4 | Fast Casting: After you resolve this arcanum, you can immediately use another. The second arcanum must take either a major action or a minor action to perform. The test for the second arcanum does not generate stunt points. |
| 4 | Imposing Arcana: The effect of the arcanum is much more dramatic than usual. Until the beginning of your next turn, anyone attempting to make a melee attack against you must make a successful Willpower (Courage) test. The target number is 10 + your Willpower ability. Those who fail must take a Move or Defend action instead. |
| 4 | Split Arcana: If the arcanum affects only one target, you can have it affect two, so long as the second target is within the arcanum’s range and no more than 6 yards from the original target. Targets test against the arcanum effects separately. |
| 5 | Disrupt Arcana: In addition to its normal effects, your arcanum is so powerful it may disrupt another arcane effect on the target. Roll an immediate test of your Intelligence (Arcane Lore) vs. the arcane test total of any one arcanum on the target. Success removes the effect. Doubles on the test do not generate stunt points. |
| 5 | Lethal Arcana: If the arcanum does damage, one target of the spell takes an extra 2d6 damage. Alternately, all targets of the arcanum take an additional 1d6 damage. |
| 6 | Effortless Arcana: You automatically pass any fatigue test associated with using this arcanum. |
Health measures, abstractly, a character’s fitness and wellbeing. At full Health, they’re vigorous and ready for action. Below full Health, they’re injured or battered to some extent. At 0 health, they’re dying. A dying player character dies in 2 + Constitution rounds if they don’t receive aid; NPCs usually die immediately at 0 Health. Health is handled abstractly and doesn’t necessarily match up directly to specific injuries or wounds. It mostly doesn’t have mechanical effects besides dying at 0 Health.
There are several ways to heal a wounded character:
Characters can also become fatigued as well as injured. Fatigue usually results from strenuous tasks like forced marches, wielding arcana, or exerting yourself in harsh environments.
Fatigue is measured in levels from 1 to 4, with each level also having a name: Winded, Fatigued, Exhausted, and then Dying. Each level of fatigue imposes increasing penalties on the affected character.
Fatigue is mostly recovered through rest:
Truly terrible acts, either sorcery (see the Arcana rules for more about sorcery), or acting in accordance with your character’s Fate in a corrupt place or in contact with a corrupt object, push characters toward corruption and the influence of Shadow.
When a character risks corruption, they make a Willpower (Self-Discipline) test. On a failure, the character gains 1 point of Corruption. If the Corruption test is due to the use of sorcerous arcana, then the target number is equal to the base TN of the arcanum. If it is triggered by an act of Fate in a corrupt place or in contact with a corrupt item, the TN is set by the Narrator based on the nature of the act. The table below has some guideline.
| TN | Corrupt Act |
|---|---|
| 11 | Minor transgression (lying, petty theft) |
| 13 | Significant transgression (deliberately hurtful actions) |
| 17 | Major transgression (murder) |
| 19 | Grave transgression (murder) |
A character’s Corruption score applies as a penalty to their Constitution and Willpower abilities. This manifests as physical symptoms like fatigue, weakness, nausea, unsatisfiable hunger, or weight loss, or as mental symptoms like fear, anger, paranoia, or mistrust.
When presented with an opportunity to regain Conviction by acting in accordance with their Fate, a corrupt character must succeed on a TN 11 Willpower (Self-Discipline) test to resist. Otherwise, they give in and follow their Fate for the scene. They can spend a point of Conviction to automatically resist this urge.
Corrupt characters whose Willpower drops below -5 are completely consumed by their Fate. Corrupt characters whose Constitution drops below -5 die, arising the following night as an unliving shadow.
At any point, corrupt characters can stop struggling against their corruption and embrace it, giving themselves over to Shadow. This must be a free, uncoerced, conscious choice. Embracing corruption has these effects:
You can redeem yourself from Corruption, but it is a slow and difficult road. It works like this: when you have 1 or more points of Corruption and would gain Conviction from following your Destiny, you may choose to forego the Conviction point and apply it toward reducing Corruption instead. It takes 10 foregone points of Conviction to reduce Corruption by 1 point.
Characters who have embraced their corruption cannot gain Conviction by following their Destiny, so they cannot redeem themselves that way. Such characters can, through a significant act of contrition in accordance with their Destiny, reverse their embrace of their corruption. The Narrator decides what’s required for this, but it should take an epic quest to redeem so fallen a character. Afterwards, they still have to go through the slow work of reducing their Corruption through following their Destiny.
Relationships are quite important in Blue Rose, and so there’s an optional system for adding mechanical support to important relationships. This system shouldn’t be used for every single relationship between characters, just important ones between lovers, comrades, enemies, and rivals—relationships that motivate or inspire acts of exceptional heroism or villainy. You can also have relationships with groups or organizations (such as hatred for the group of bandits that killed your parents), although the Narrator may limit how large a group your relationship applies to. You can only have a relationship with another player character with the approval of the other character’s player (although that doesn’t mean their character has to be okay with it).
Each relationship is defined by the target of the relationship and two additional traits, the Bond and the Intensity. A relationship’s Bond is a short description of the connection between the character’s, usually in the character’s own words. Some may be simple and univalent, while others may be more complicated or multifaceted. The Intensity is a numerical rating between 1 and 5 indicating how important or strong or impactful the relationship is.
Here are some sample Bonds (the rulebook has a bit of additional analysis on each of these samples on pg. 61):
You can rewrite the Bonds for your relationship whenever a significant event happens that changes how your character feels about the other. This does not necessarily change the Intensity of the relationship.
Intensity is, again, a number between 1 and 5 rating the strength of the relationship. It also has mechanical effects: for each rank of Intensity, your character gets a free Stunt Point that you can spend on actions related to their Relationship once per game session (TKTK explain based on Daniel’s ruling). These points can be used even if you didn’t roll doubles.
Intensity also grants access to two special relationship-based stunts that cost 7 SP and therefore can only be used by spending the bonus SP from Intensity, listed below. For relatinships with groups, you can select a member of the group as the target for these stunts, but you must pick only one eligible target per use.
| SP Cost | Stunt |
|---|---|
| 7 | As You Wish: Pick a task that you have promised someone you have a Relationship with you will perform. Gain a +2 bonus to tests directly related to completing this task until the end of the session. |
| 7 | Prepare to Die: Pick someone you have a negative Relationship with, or who has injured or killed someone you had or have a positive Relationship with. For the remainder of the encounter, you gain +1 to attack, +1 Defense, and +2 damage in any combat actions involving this target. |
When using arcana on a target you have a Relationship with (friendly, hostile, or otherwise), the familiarity modifier to the TN is reduced by the Intensity of the relationship. You can also spend Intensity for bonuses on arcana tests in place of the usual free SP when using arcana in ways that directly connect to the Relationship. Self-centered relationship (discussed below) do not provide a bonus to using arcana on yourself. Relationships with groups provide bonuses to arcana use on members of that group, but the Intensity is treated as 1 less for this purpose.
Intensity changes over time when the character’s actions in play would change the strength of the Relationship. If the character is an NPC, the Narrator can do it at their discretion, usually by only 1 point in either direction. For player characters’ Relationships, when the strength of the relationship changes in play, the Narrator offers the player an option to increase the Intensity by 1. The player can instead opt to increase the Intensity by 2, but they must decrease another Relationship’s Intensity by 1, reflecting a shift in the character’s priorities.
Some characters avoid forming lasting relationships, whether due to some past trauma, an intense focus on their own priorities, or somethign else. As an optional rule, this can be represented as a Self-Centered Relationship with a Bond that describes why the character does not form connections with others. A self-centered relationship’s Intensity may only be used for actions that will maintain their solitary status quo.
Self-centered characters can change their views by adopting new Relationships over time. At the end of a session, a character with a self-centered Relationship can reduce its Intensity by 1 to form a new Relationship with another character or increase an existing Relationship by 1. When their self-centered Relationship’s Intensity reaches 0, they lose it and can grow their other Relationships normally.
Self-centered Relationships cannot increase their Intensity normally, but when a great loss or betrayal causes a character to lose an existing Relationship, they can instead opt to convert it to an equally strong self-centered Relationship, even if they have other Relationships.
At levels 4, 8, 12, and 16, characters can either add a new Intensity 1 Relationship or increase the Intensity of two existing Relationships by 1 each.
When a relationship ends, the character loses the Relationship and can reallocate its Intensity points between their existing Relationships or a new replacement Relationship. This Intensity can also be saved to be reassigned over a period of time if that makes more sense.
Weapons are divided in different groups. If a character knows how to use a weapon group, they can use any weapon in that group. Weapons in a group generally have similar statistics and can be described however players wish. One character’s heavy blade might be a broadsword, while another might be a single-edged seax. Weapons can be used without training in their weapon group, but at a -2 penalty to hit and dealing only half damage (applied to the total damage after any bonuses).
A table of damage and other characteristics for different weapon groups is found on p. 52 of the rule book, which also has descriptions of each weapon group.
Ranged weapons have two ranges: a Short Range and a Long Range. Within the short range, attacks are made at no penalty. Beyond short range but within long range, attacks can be made at -2 penalty. Range weapons cannot attack beyond their listed long range. Ranged weapons also list a reload time, which specifies how long an action is required to reload the weapon prior to making another attack. Some class powers or talents will affect weapons’ reload times.
Armor is grouped into three types: Light, Medium, and Heavy. Like weapon groups, these can be described however makes sense to the group. All armor has an Armor Rating (AR) and an Armor Penalty (AP). Armor Rating reduces damage suffered point-for-point. If the character is not trained in that armor type, the Armor Penalty is applied as a penalty to their Speed and to any Dexterity tests. If the character is trained, the Penalty only applies to their Speed.
| Armor Type | Armor Rating | Armor Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Light | 3 | 0 |
| Medium | 5 | -2 |
| Heavy | 8 | -4 |
Shields deflect attacks by increasing Defense rather than reducing damage received. Shields are also categorized in three types: Light, Medium, and Heavy. However, if you do not have the Weapon and Shield Training talent, then you can only receive at most a +1 benefit from a Shield.
| Shield | Defense Bonus |
|---|---|
| Light | +1 |
| Medium | +2 |
| Heavy | +3 |
Blue Rose does not usually bother keeping close track of most other ordinary equipment. Generally a character will be assumed to have the equipment that makes sense given their background and situation, although ultimately it’s up to the Narrator. The Right Tools and Resources at Hand exploration stunts can be used to ensure or secure access to useful equipment. For more expensive or hard to find equipment, stunts may make them available at dramatically appropriate moments, but more usual usage will rely on justification through gameplay and/or character concepts.
Arcane items exist in a number of forms. The most commonly created in the present are arcane elixirs, arcane stones, and arcane weapons. Many artifacts from the Old Kingdom and Empire of Thorns are still around, though. Those artifacts are often unique or dangerous. They are typically tracked more specifically and can be acquired through play.
Characters within 2 yards of each other are considered adjacent.↩