Actions & Dice

All characters have four action dice—Maneuver, Compel, Brace, and Move. You roll one of these dice to perform a specific action. The larger the die, the better the character is at performing that kind of action.

Some actions are freeform or improvised: a player describes something risky or dangerous their hero does, and the Guide determines which of the four action dice they must roll, and what happens. Or players can use 12 basic actions with defined rules and outcomes.

Your action dice are closely related to your attributes. The size of each action die is based on a pair of component attributes.

Jump to the 12 Basic Actions:

4 Action Dice

Maneuvers

Maneuver actions reflect a combination of grace and awareness. You Maneuver yourself to Act First when battle erupts, and you Maneuver against other characters to Deceive them, Evade them, or Outflank them in battle. Improvised actions using subtlety and precision, like scouting, balancing yourself, or using tools, are probably Maneuvers.

Compels

Compel actions use a combination of your awareness and spirit. You Compel yourself to Help an ally in a useful way, and you Compel other characters to Persuade them to do or believe something they’re not inclined to do or believe. Improvised actions that involve leading or influencing characters or controlling your own mental state are likely Compels.

Braces

Brace actions reflect a combination of spirit and strength. You Brace yourself to Stand fast in battle or Survive when death draws near, and you Brace against foes to Restrain or Shove them. Improvised actions involving endurance or sustained feats of might are probably Braces.

Moves

Move actions apply a combination of strength and grace. You Move against foes to Attack them, and you Move yourself to Rush to a new position. Improvised physical actions, like running or swimming, are likely Moves.

12 Basic Actions

All the basic actions are listed here in alphabetical order for reference. The rules surrounding these actions are explained in the next sections.

✦ Act First

Maneuver to beat a threshold set by the Guide

Prepare yourself when battle or another tense situation erupts. If you succeed, you act in the first round, before foes. If you fail, you must wait to act after your foes. The Guide might set one of these thresholds if your foes have . . .

2. Poor awareness, no organization
3. Average awareness, modest organization
4+. Good awareness, competent organization

✦ Attack

Move against a foe to beat their grace

Strike a foe with weapon, fist, or appendage. Three outcomes are possible:

Lethal hit: You beat the foe’s grace + guard (or just their grace, if they don’t have anything to guard with). This hit inflicts full damage.
Guarded hit: You beat the foe’s grace, but not their grace + guard. This hit inflicts no life damage.
Miss: You fail to beat the foe’s grace and inflict no damage.

An attack can be a standard melee attack as above, or one of four variations: Counterattack. Take -1 awareness after a foe Attacks you to ➥Attack them back. You—or a foe—can counterattack after any Attack, unless the Attack says otherwise or triggers a ➟following action. You can counterattack a counterattack, or a counter-counterattack, and so on, until one opponent runs out of awareness. Grab. Requires a free hand.This attack inflicts no damage; instead, on any hit, ➟Brace against the foe as a following action to Restrain or Shove them, or disarm them of one armament. A grab only establishes brief physical contact; you must Restrain the foe to continue holding them close. Jump-Attack (YAAH!). Must be on high. Leap upon a foe below you. This attack has a -2 penalty. On any hit, you inflict extra grace damage equal to your core Strength. On a lethal hit, you inflict double life damage. But if you miss, you take fall damage! Ranged Attack. Launching or throwing a projectile has a -2 penalty (or more, if you’re very far away). A ranged attack can’t be countered, and can only be guarded by armor and shields. You can make a Ranged Attack from beyond the Fray, and if you’re on high, you have Maneuver advantage on it.

✦ Deceive

Maneuver against a character to beat their awareness

Take this action whenever you make a claim you know is not true. If you succeed, character(s) believe you. If you fail, they likely lose regard for you. This action only resolves a single claim. Even on a success, the character may remain skeptical of you—unless you Persuade them to trust you.

✦ Evade

Maneuver against one or more characters to beat their awareness

You actively avoid one or more characters. Anyone you succeed against has Maneuver disadvantage if they Attack you. You can’t counterattack while evading, however. If cover is present when you successfully Evade—and the characters aren’t actively looking at or interacting with you—you gain the hidden position, evading their detection entirely.

✦ Help

Compel yourself to assist an ally

You aid or encourage an ally attempting any action in the same round. The ally can use your result instead of theirs. You can take this action immediately after any ally’s action—as long as you haven’t acted yet in the round—but you must be close to either your ally or close to the character they’re taking their action against.

✦ Outflank

Maneuver against a foe to beat their awareness

Take -1 awareness to circle around a foe and strike where they’re vulnerable. If you succeed: ➟Attack them as a following action with a +3 bonus. The foe can’t ➥counterattack this attack. If you fail to Outflank your foe, you automatically miss your attack—and the foe can ➥counterattack you.

✦ Persuade

Compel a character to beat their spirit

Convince a non-hostile character to do or believe something they’re not inclined to do or believe. If the character is wary, as many denizens of the Skysea are, you have a -2 penalty. If you invoke an ideal the character shares, you can Persuade a hostile character with a -2 penalty, or a wary character with no penalty.

✦ Restrain

Brace against a foe to beat their strength

Requires a free hand. Overpower a foe who you’ve first Grabbed, or who is Restraining you. If you succeed, you inflict -2 grace, plus the following effects:

Hold close: You force your foe to remain close, reducing both of your mobility and limiting both your Attacks to unarmed strikes and close-range weapons.
Leverage: Your attacks have Brace advantage against your foe, and theirs have Brace disadvantage against you.

The foe remains restrained until they or another character Restrains you or Shoves you off. Your restraint also ends if you suffer life damage—unless you take -1 awareness, ➥Brace yourself as a counter, and beat the amount of life damage you suffered to hang on.

✦ Rush

Move yourself to beat your own weight

You move swiftly to reposition yourself. You can take -1 strength to gain a +3 bonus on your result. Use this action to:

Chase or flee from the Fray
Run across an open space to dive behind cover
Climb up on high, (requires 2 hands, unless there are stairs)

If you beat your own weight, you get where you’re going. If you beat your weight + 3, you can take a ➟following action (other than Rush).If you fail, you gain rush-focus equal to your result. On your next turn, you can Rush toward the same destination and add this focus to your result.

✦ Shove

Brace against a foe to beat their strength

Requires a free hand. Push a foe you’ve Grabbed or who is Restraining you. If you succeed, you inflict -2 grace. You also break their hold if they’re Restraining you or another character. You can try to Shove foes into dangerous terrain—like off a cliff—with a -2 penalty, if the Guide determines it’s possible to do so.

✦ Stand Fast

Brace yourself to gain defense-focus

Must stand on solid ground. Take -1 strength to summon your fortitude and regain all your grace. You also gain defense-focus equal to your result. Before your next turn, spend any amount of defense-focus, 1-for-1, to:

↻ Protect an ally in the Fray with you as a reaction to them being Attacked—making yourself the attack’s target instead of your ally. This brings you close to your ally, and the attack can’t miss you.
Reduce damage to your grace or life by 1.
Regain +1 awareness, or make a free ➥counterattack.
➥Shove a foe as a ➥counter after they Attack you, without needing to Grab them first.

You lose all defense-focus at the start of your next turn.

✦ Survive

Brace yourself to beat a threshold equal to your deathmarks

When your life is reduced to zero and you have at least 1 deathmark, you must take this action on your next turn. The number of deathmarks you’ve accumulated is the threshold to beat. If you succeed, you regain 1 life—but you also gain 1 deathmark. If you fail, your soul drifts away from your body and into the undifferentiated Rephaim, and you die—unless an ally Helps you, perhaps, or your soul has somewhere else to go.

← How to Play ✧ Anatomy of an Action →

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