Treacherous Winds

WORK IN PROGRESS: Epic Fantasy Role Playing. Nothing more.

• A big deep fantastic world
• Politics and culture
• Interesting magic systems
• Multiple perspectives
• Long character arcs

This is a System Resource Document (SRD) for a game that hasn't been made yet.

There is enough here to play but its missing some critical parts. I hope you'll jump in and try it out then tell me how it goes. That would be increadibly helpful and right now is the best way to support me and the game.

You'll find big chunks of this SRD missing with a cold "TBD" if you're lucky, or just blank pages if you're not. I may reference other games that you may or may not know or have access to. I might say something like "Burning Wheel style lifepaths" or "The Conversation from Apocalypse World" in place of whole systems or sections until I've written them. These are mostly notes for myself, but if you see how it would work, by all means try it out and tell me about it.

For insight into how I'm running this play test take a look at Jay Dragon's Boomtown Playtesting article.

Join the Treacherous Winds Play Testing Discord server if you want to get more involved, or just follow along. This server will only run as long as the game is in development. Once that's over everyone will be invited to a more permenant home for the game.

I hope we get to play!

License

The contents of this SRD are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

You are free to:

• Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
• Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

The licensor (me) cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

• Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
• No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Notices:

You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .

No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.

This deed highlights only some of the key features and terms of the actual license. It is not a license and has no legal value. You should carefully review all of the terms and conditions of the actual license before using the licensed material.

I'm not a lawyer and do not provide legal services.

Pinapple is a perfectly good topping for pizza.

The Game

[--CATS TBD--]

[--The conversation from Apocalypse World--]

Moves

[--To do it, do it from Apocalypse World--]

Example

When you fight untrained ask:

• Are you defending yourself or someone you love?
• Are you well rested and sober?
• Are you of sound mind not driven by rage or hubris?

Roll 1d6 for each yes and choose 1 for each hit.

• Impress, frighten, or dismay them
• Cause physical harm
• Pin them down
• Avoid a Risk

Common Risks:

• harm
• a grudge against you
• a bad reputation

First understand the Risks

When a player makes a move, first understand the stakes. Make sure everyone at the table knows what the character specifically is doing to make the move and what specific Risks are at stake. The Risks are a list of things that will happen unless the player chooses to avoid them during their roll (see Rolling with questions below). Talk it through until players and GM both understand and agree what the character is doing and what the Risks are.

Rolling with questions

Most moves will instruct you to answer a few yes/no questions. Let the conversation turn to answering these questions. For every question you answer 'yes' to, add 1d6 to the roll. Moves are the primary source of the questions, but there may be other sources. Allignment, for instance. Questions from other sources work the same way. If you answer them 'yes', add 1d6 to your roll.

[-- for an advanced fuckery like section --] Anyone at the table can ask any question they are curious about and at the GMs discression those answers might be worth a die for the roll. When the GM grants a die, they are saying "yes this makes it more likely you'll do well here". This is a judgement call and different GMs might think differently about it. For instance "are you afraid?" might be worth a die when fighting for some GMs but not for others. Or it might depend on the nature of the situation and the fear. When GMs grant a die for an ad hoc question, they should consider also if another outcome option is worth adding. For instance if someone says "Yes I'm afraid that my grandmother will see me fighting and will shame me for it" a cleaver GM could add that or a slightly modified outcome choice. "Yeah, that's gives you a die, but I'm adding a choice. 'Avoid what you fear, or worse'"

Hits and outcomes

Every die that rolls a 4 or 5 is a hit. Every die that rolls a 6 is 2 hits.

Most moves have a list of outcomes. Choose an outcome for each hit. You can choose an outcome more than once if its clear how that affects the fiction. Some outcomes describe positive outcomes you are likely to want. Others describe avoiding outcomes you are likely to want to avoid. When you choose outcomes that describe positive things you might want, they happen. Any unchosen options that describe avoiding some outcome are invitations for the GM to inflict that outcome on you and the story.

Principles and Agendas

TBD but something like:

• Play to find out what happens
• Make the world fantastic, horrific, and wondrous
• See your characters grow and change as they discover the wonders and horrors of the world
• Ask provocative questions and build on the answers
• Cultivate curiosity about characters arc questions
• Name everyone, give everyone humanity, villainy, or both

Character Creation

Character creation is very simple. Choose an allignment, a playbook, and a background. Then choose pronouns, a name, and breifly describe your look.

You can look ahead to see what each choice offers or you can choose whatever catches your eye from below. Write it down as follows.

"I am a [allignment] [playbook]. Once a [background] but no more."

You might write. "I am a Divine Paladin. Once a sailer but no more" or you might write "I am a Humble Bard. Once a farrier but no more." There is no need to make choices that seem to go together unless that's what you want. Feel free to write "I am a Humane Rogue. Once a baker but no more" or whatever combination you want.

Allignment

Choose one side of one of the following fundamental oppositions

• Lawful vs. Chaotic
• Divine vs. Humane
• Noble vs. Humble

Playbooks

Choose one playbook. Multiple players can choose the same playbook. Each playbook has options and instructions for introducing world anchors.

• Fighter
• Rogue
• Bard
• Ranger
• Paladin
• Sorcerer

Background

Choose a background. Before play tell the table how your background works where you're from. Whenever there is a quesion related to how your background works, you can feel free to speak up and answer those questions.

• Farmer
• Miller
• Shepherd
• Woodcutter
• Hunter
• Peddler
• Fisher
• Sailer
• Farrier
• Fletcher
• Merchant
• Royal
• Painter
• Baker
• Musician
• Scribe
• Squire
• Minstril
• Grave Digger
• Child of a...
• Choose your own

Setting the Setting

World Anchors

The full worldbuilding process is going to take experimentation and testing. I'm starting with anti canon worldbuilding and adding some congruency to that.

Read those articles then come back here. For Treacherous Winds we're not going to create all our world anchoers ahead of time, we're going to discover most of them during play, but we'll create our first now.

Create a small corner of the larger world as your first anchor. This is the home town where all characters in a "youth" path live.

(Designers note: I'm not sure how well this small corner home town will work as a world anchor. Is the Two Rivers a world anchor in The Wheel of Time? Is the caravan in The Name of The Wind a world anchor?)

Choose from the following list or make up your own

• A small farming town
• A small fishing village
• An out of the way keep in a peaceful area
• A traveling caravan of performers
• A herding community
• A mountain mining outpost
• A woodcutting camp
• A remote crossroads village
• The slums of a larger city
• The trades district of a larger city
• An academy and its grounds
• A temple and its grounds

Then, with the players, answer the following questions to establish the setting.

• How do we know that this is a small corner of a larger world? How are people here isolated?
• In what small ways does this place rely on the larger world? In what small ways does the larger world rely on this place?
• How does this place get news from the larger world and how is that news exaggerated or warped? What is some of the latest news making its way through this place?
• What makes the culture here unique?

Create your second world anchor by answering

• What value or ideal do the people here hold that is worthy of the wider world?

Begin play by following the threads that lead from your answers.

Common Moves

Everyone gets the following moves.

Fight

When you fight untrained ask:

• Are you defending yourself or someone you love?
• Are you well rested and sober?
• Are you of sound mind not driven by rage or hubris?

Roll 1d6 for each yes and choose 1 for each hit:

• Cause physical harm
• Be taken seriously
• Scramble away

Risk ideas:

• Harm
• A grudge against you
• A bad reputation

Manipulate someone

When you seduce, bluff, manipulate, or lie to an NPC, tell them what you want them to do then ask:

• Is the request doable, safe, and sane?
• Does no authority disaprove?
• Do you have a positive reputation with them or a group they're in?

Roll 1d6 for each yes an dchoose 1 for each hit:

• They are inclined to go along with you
• Avoid a risk

Risk ideas:

• They expect payment, reciprocity, or debt
• Add a Beat: Will they discover they've been manipulated and what revenge will they seek?
• Add a Bond: They despise you (or love you) and look to insert themself into your affairs

Intimidate someone

When you Impose your will with the threat of violence tell them what you want them to do then ask:

• Can they see that you are better equipped or that you outnumber them?
• Are you angry at, frustrated with, or cornered by them?
• Do they lack recourse or levorage against you?

Roll 1d6 for each 'yes' and choose 1 for each hit:

• They go along with you
• Avoid a risk

Risk ideas:

• Add a Beat: How will they take their revenge for being threatened?
• They find a way to undermine your larger goal while going along
• Gain a bad reputation

Invoke your station

When you Invoke your position, rank, or station to make a request or demand, ask:

• Do they recognise the symbols of your station?
• Do they see others defering to you?
• Do they fall under your official jurisdiction?

Roll 1d6 for each 'yes' and THEY either heed your words or THEY choose 1 for each hit:

• Accept the punnishments your station allows
• Accept a reputation for insolence
• Accept an economic setback (give valuables, lose a job, etc.)

Risk ideas:

• The institution that grants you your station demands something of you
• You lose your station
• Gain a bad reputation

Control a PC

When you seduce, lie, manipulate, bluff, fast talk, threaten, or invoke station against a PC, tell them what you want them to do and roll 1d6 for each level of bond you have with them. No other bonuses can apply to this roll.

Choose 1 for each hit:

• If they go along, they mark XP
• If they refuse, you increase your bond with them

Risks: Have a conversation between players about how each character will feel about this and make any changes needed to keep the game satisfying for everyone

Take a risk

When you take a risk discuss with the GM what the risks are and what outcomes are not given then ask the GM how many dice to roll. GM and the rest of the table may ask relevant questions to help decide how many dice to roll.

Avoid a risk or achieve an outcome for each hit.

Comprehend

When you closely study or read or situation or person. Or when you, as a player, want your character to notice something about a situation or person ask:

• Has your background or past experience prepared you to understand this situation or person?
• Are you unencombered by distraction, tunnelvision, or hurry?
• Do you fear the danger of this situation or person?

Ask the GM 1 question for each hit:

• What happened here recently?
• What is about to happen?
• What should I be on the lookout for?
• What here is useful or valuable to me?
• Who is really in controll here?
• What's being avoided here?
• What here is not as it appears?
• Who is being honest and who is not?
• What is someone really feeling?
• What does someone wish I'd do?
• What would it take to get anyone, or some specific someone to ___?

Playbooks

Playbooks are organized into three archetypeal categories. Youthful playbooks are for those characters going out into the world making a name for themselves, becoming heros, finding themselves and slaying their dragons. Maturity playbooks are for those characters learning to lead, integrating themselves into a comminity. Ascention Playbooks are for those characters discovering something higher, or outside this mortal realm.

Youthful playbooks

• Fighter
• Rogue
• Bard
• Ranger
• Paladin
• Sorcerer

Maturity playbooks

(not yet written)

• Warlord
• Guildmaster
• Herald
• Warden
• Cleric
• Magister

Ascention playbooks

(not yet written)

• Veteran
• Nothing
• Fool
• Druid
• Prophet
• Wizard

Fighter

Moves

Start with only the common moves. Gain one each time you complete each of acts 1-4 of your arc.

Martial expertise

When you fight with martial expertise ask:

• Are you better equipped?
• Did you see the fight coming?
• Are you exploiting a specific oportunity or in a defensive position?

Roll 1d6 for each 'yes' and choose 1 for each hit:

• Inflict precise or devistating physical harm
• Impress, frighten, or dismay them
• Pin them down

Risk ideas:

• Suffer harm
• Get into a tough spot
• Get a bad reputation
• Make an enemy

Expressive violence

When you intimidate someone and impose your will with the threat of violence Roll with the extra questions.

• Have they seen you fight?
• Do you have a reputation with them for brutality?

Preparation sees preparation

When you comprehend you may spend a hit to ask

• Who here is prepared to fight?
• Who here is affraid of a fight?
• How eager is someone to fight?

Arc

Let your curiosity about the questions in the following acts pull you towards their answers. Don't decide on the answers, play to find them out. Let the table know what questions you're curious about. If you find it helpful, write the current questions you want to focus on on note cards and keep them available for the rest of the table to reference.

Remember all the other PCs have their own similar questions. Cultivate curiosity about theirs. Play to find out the answer to theirs as well. If there is a question about another character you are particularly curious about let them know but be careful not to impose on their character arc.

Feel free to write your own questions where you are inspired. These are drawn from classic archetypes as a framework but go for the arc you're interested in.

When you complete each of acts 1-4, gain a move from your Path.

The enemy

The archetypal enemy of the fighter is the dragon. A dragon is an aggressive, greedy, and violent tyrant. You may make the enemy a metaphorical dragon by highlighting their aggression, greed, violence, and tyrany. (editors note: Maybe there is a threats, or monster manual type section with this information)

Act One:

Focus: Understanding your home or mundane life and your place within it. (note to self: are these MC moves?)

Answer 4 to move to Act Two.

• What makes your home seem small?
• How do your caregivers or colleagues react to your fighting?
• What naive lie do you believe about violence?
• What about your home is unfulfilling?
• What about your home keeps you complacent?

Act Two:

Focus: Disruption of your home or mundane life by a dragon. Create it as a world anchor.

Answer 4 to move to Act Three.

• What inner conflict do you have over aggression?
• What happens that you can't ignore or abide?
• What conflict do you try to avoid and why do you fail?
• How does a dragon threaten your home and what status quo do they prey on?
• What draws you away from home and who must you defeat before you return?

Act Three:

Focus: Difficulties that challenge your sense of identity. Struggles that force personal growth.

Answer 4 to move on to Act Four.

• What fight are you surprised to lose?
• Who questions your motives and how do you challenge them?
• What failures cause self reflection?
• What challenges expose your potential for heroism, cowerdice, and bullying?
• What mistake forces you to reflect on your villainous inclinations?

Act Four:

Focus: The seemingly insurmountable internal struggle against aggression and fight with the enemy.

Answer 4 to move to The Climax

• How does fighting the enemy take you even further into the wider unknown world?
• What false victory do you have against the enemy and how do you discover that you haven't won?
• How do you struggle in the fight against the enemy?
• What value or belief do you betray for a desperate false victory?
• How is the false victory hollow and how does it ruin your aims?
• What fruitless act of agression causes self reflection?

The Climax:

Focus: Finishing the fight with the enemy

Answer this, win or lose, to move on to Act Five

• How do you finally, once and for all, finish the fight with the enemy?

Act Five:

Focus: The lessons you learned about violence and understanding who you really are deep down

Answer all of the following

• Do you embody your own identity, separate from your aggressive instincts? How?
• Do you you love yourself more than the power of violence? How?
• Do you sacrifice your aggression and embrace love? How?
• Are you empowered by love? How?

Rogue

Style and grace

When you fight with style and grace ask:

• Can you move unconstrained?
• Are you weilding nimble weaponry?
• Are you lighter and quicker than them?

Roll 1d6 for each 'yes' and choose 1 for each hit:

• Inflict precise harm
• Impress, frighten, or confuse them
• Create and opportunity for escape
• Avoid suffering harm
• Avoid a tough spot
• Avoid a turn for the worse

Sneak attack

When you attack from obscurity ask:

• Is your target unaware of your presense?
• Are you able to wait for the best opportunity?
• Did you have plenty of time to prepare?

Roll 1d6 for each 'yes' and choose 1 for each hit:

• Inflict any possible harm
• Impress, frighten, or stun them
• Incapasitate them

Risk ideas:

• Suffer harm
• Get caught and recognized

Roguish charm

When you seduce, bluff, manipulate or lie roll with +1 die.

Mark

When you (Comprehend)[../common-moves.md#comprehend] you may spend a hit on:

• Who here is hiding wealth?
• Who here keeps valuable secrets?
• Who here is aware of me?

Bard

Powerful performance

When you perform for a crowd describe your performance and ask:

• Does the crowd feel safe and comfortable?
• Is alcahol available?
• Is the crowd seeking entertainment?
• Does the performance reveal, clarify, or support their values?

The audience grants you station with them. You earn what coin your audience can easily afford.

Roll 1d6 for each 'yes' and choose 1 for each hit:

• +1 die when invoking this station with them until they disperse
• Gain a bond with anyone in the crowd. What do you bond over?
• Fortify or shift a culture
• Earn extra coin
• Avoid a risk

Risk ideas:

• Someone makes a threat or a demands a favor
• Gain an unwanted reputation

Practiced charm

When you manipulate someone, roll with +1 die.

Social expertise

When you comprehend, you may spend hits on the following.

• Who here has juicy gossip?
• Who is in dange of falling in the social order
• who has an opportunity to rise in the social order?

Arc

Let your curiosity about the questions in the following acts pull you towards their answers. Don't decide on the answers, play to find them out. Let the table know what questions you're curious about. If you find it helpful, write the current questions you want to focus on on note cards and keep them available for the rest of the table to reference.

Remember all the other PCs have their own similar questions. Cultivate curiosity about theirs. Play to find out the answer to theirs as well. If there is a question about another character you are particularly curious about let them know but be careful not to impose on their character arc.

Feel free to write your own questions where you are inspired. These are drawn from classic archetypes as a framework but go for the arc you're interested in.

When you complete each of acts 1-4, gain a move from your Path.

Act One:

Focus: Understanding your home or mundane life and your place within it. (note to self: are these MC moves?)

Answer 4 to move to Act Two.

• What makes your home seem small?
• How do your caregivers or colleagues react to your creativity?
• What naive lie do you believe about reputation?
• What about your home is unfulfilling?
• What about your home keeps you complacent?

Act Two:

Focus: Disruption of your home or mundane life by a tyranical demagogue. Create or use an existing world anchor.

Answer 4 to move to Act Three.

• What inner conflict do you have over adoration or reputation?
• What happens that you can't ignore or abide?
• What conflict do you try to avoid and why do you fail?
• What tyranical demagogue threatens your home and what status quo do they prey on?
• What draws you away from home and what must change before you return?

Act Three:

Focus: Difficulties that challenge your sense of identity. Struggles that force personal growth.

Answer 4 to move on to Act Four.

• Whose support are you surprised to lose?
• Who questions your motives and how do you challenge them?
• What failures cause self reflection?
• What challenges expose your potential for virtuosity, complacency, and demagoguery?
• What mistake forces you to reflect on your villainous inclinations?

Act Four:

Focus: The seemingly insurmountable internal struggle with your reputation. Seemingly insurmountable opposition from the demagogue.

Answer 4 to move to The Climax

• How does opposing the demegogue take you even further into the wider unknown world?
• What false victory do you have against the demegogue and how do you discover that you haven't won?
• How do you struggle in your opposition to the demegogue?
• What value or belief do you betray for a desperate false victory?
• How is the false victory hollow and how does it ruin your aims?
• What fruitless campaign causes self reflection?

The Climax:

Focus: Finishing the fight with the enemy

Answer this, win or lose, to move on to Act Five

• How do you finally, once and for all, determine whether your culture rejects you or the demegogue?

Act Five:

Focus: The lessons you learned about culture and politics. Understanding who you really are deep down

Answer all of the following

• Do you embody your own identity, separate from your need for adoration? How?
• Do you you love yourself more than the power of adoration? How?
• Do you sacrifice your social position and embrace personal love? How?
• Are you empowered by love? How?

Ranger

Warrior of the land

When you fight using the terrain for advantage ask:

• Have you scouted the area?
• Are they less familiar with this terrain than you?
• Did you out prepare your opponent?

Roll 1d6 for each 'yes' and choose 1 for each hit:

• Inflict precise or incidious harm
• Impress, frighten, or disorient them
• Hold them at bay

Skilled Tracker

When you track a mark or hunt prey ask:

• Have they been here in the last day?
• Are they unprepared to hide their tracks?
• Is the weather cooperating?

Roll 1d6 for each 'yes' and choose 1 for each hit:

• you find them
• you stay hidden
• you don't travel far out of your way

Introspective observation

When you comprehend you may spend a hit on:

• Who here has trouble sitting with their own thoughts?
• who here is comfortable with the brutality of the wild?

Paladin

Righteous observation

When you comprehend you may spend a hit on:

• Who here is hiding guilt or shame?
• Who here is hiding their intentions?
• Who here is affraid of reprisals?

Sorcerer

Start with only the common moves. Gain one each time you complete each of the first four acts of your arc.

Determining level of arcane complexity: The arcane moves below use the level of arcane complexity to determine how difficult and risky it is.

To determine the complexity, start with the number of primes and praxes involved then:

• add 1-3 for extreme scales (small, tiny, micro, big, huge, enormous)
• add 1-3 for area of effect (room, city, continent)
• add 1-3 for extreme precision (use your judgement)
• whatever other complexity you think is worth a level

Arcane Comprehension

When you push your conciousness into the temporal primes and praxes to comprehend their secrets:

Ask the GM what you want to find out.

Determine the level of arcane complexity. The GM decides which, if any, are risks and what those risks are. The remaining levels of complexity are the number of hits needed for a full clear answer.

Roll as many dice as you want.

You may use hits to avoid risks. The rest determine how much you learn. If there are hits left but fewer than you need for a full clear answer, the GM will give you a partial and obfuscated true answer.

Check for arcane fallout.

Arcane Manipulation

When you manipulate temporal primes and praxes describe the set of effects you want to create and how you'll manipulate the primes and praxes here to do it. Describe the outcome or outcomes you want those effects to have.

For each prime or praxis manipulated

Roll as many dice as you want. For each hit choose:

• Achieve an outcome
• Avoid a risk

Check for arcane fallout.

Arcane Production

When you maniulate temporal primes and praxes you may also add any primes and praxes you like to the area for your effects.

Arcane Specializationin

You may gain this move more than once. Each time you gain this move choose a prime, a praxis, large scale, small scale, area of effect, or precision. The complexity of arcane moves involving your choice is one level less complex.

Arcane Resiliency

You may gain this move more than once. You may treat any die as a 5 when checking arcane fallout.

Arcane fallout

When you check for arcane fallout sum up the highest 3 dice from your roll and follow the instructions on the tables bellow.

Arc

Let your curiosity about the questions in the following acts pull you towards their answers. Don't decide on the answers, play to find them out. Let the table know what questions you're curious about. If you find it helpful, write the current questions you want to focus on on note cards and keep them available for the rest of the table to reference.

Remember all the other PCs have their own similar questions. Cultivate curiosity about theirs. Play to find out the answer to theirs as well. If there is a question about another character you are particularly curious about let them know but be careful not to impose on their character arc.

Feel free to write your own questions where you are inspired. These are drawn from classic archetypes as a framework but go for the arc you're interested in.

When you complete each of acts 1-4, gain a move from your Path.

The enemy

The archetypal enemy of the Absolute Tyrant. An Absolute Tyrant weilds absolute control over their domain by any effective means and they aim to expand their domain to the entire world. (editors note: Maybe there is a threats, or monster manual type section with this information)

Act One:

Focus: Understanding your home or mundane life and your place within it. (note to self: are these MC moves?)

Answer 4 to move to Act Two.

• What makes your home seem small?
• How do your caregivers or colleagues react to your willfullness?
• What naive lie do you believe about dominance?
• What about your home is unfulfilling?
• What about your home keeps you complacent?

Act Two:

Focus: Disruption of your home or mundane life by an Absolute Tyrant. Create it as a world anchor. (designers note: Its cool that this is flexible enough to either have different enemies for each PC, or to have different aspects of the same enemy relate to each PC. For instance: if there is a fighter and sorcerer the absolute tyrant could also be a dragon, or there could be a dragon and a separate tyrant. Just different kinds of stories. Is one better? Feels like a single enemy with facets for each character is more cohesive and more epic fantasy... How do I describe this?!?)

Answer 4 to move to Act Three.

• What inner conflict do you have about controlling your environment?
• What happens that you can't ignore or abide?
• What responsibilities do you try to avoid and why do you fail?
• What enemy threatens your home and what status quo does the enemy prey on?
• What draws you away from home and who must you defeat before you return?

Act Three:

Focus: Difficulties that challenge your sense of identity. Struggles that force personal growth.

Answer 4 to move on to Act Four.

• What situation are you surprised to lose control of?
• Who questions your motives and how do you challenge them?
• What failures cause self reflection?
• What challenges expose your potential for discipline, apathy, and tyrany?
• What mistake forces you to reflect on your villainous inclinations?

Act Four:

Focus: The seemingly insurmountable struggle to controll the self and to gain some advantage over an enemy.

Answer 4 to move to The Climax

• How does the search for an advantage over the enemy take you even further into the wider unknown world?
• What false victory do you have against the enemy and how do you discover that you haven't won?
• How do you struggle to control the situation the enemy is creating?
• What value or belief do you betray for a desperate false victory?
• How is the false victory hollow and how does it ruin your aims?
• What fruitless act of domination causes self reflection?

The Climax:

Focus: A true ultimatum. One or the other will back down for good.

Answer this, win or lose, to move on to Act Five

• How do you finally, once and for all, who will dominate the other?

Act Five:

Focus: The lessons you learned about control and understanding who you really are deep down

Answer all of the following

• Do you embody your own identity, separate from your dominant instincts? How?
• Do you you love yourself more than the safety of control? How?
• Do you sacrifice your control and embrace love? How?
• Are you empowered by love? How?

Allignment

There are a number of fundamental dichotomies, pairs of opposed universal forces in eternal struggle against their opposite. Characters may allign with one side of one dichotomy or choose to be agnostic to these conflicts.

The allignments are:

• Lawful vs. Chaotic
• Divine vs. Humane
• Noble vs. Humble
• Agnostic

Each allignment offers some questions that apply to all moves

Lawful

• Are you enforcing a relevant local, cultural, or religious Law?
• Are you punnishing the guilty?
• Are you prioritizing an institution over yourself?

Chaotic

• Are you freeing the imprisoned?
• Are you disrupting who claims to be another's master?
• Are you stoking discent at great risk to yourself?

Divine

• Are you bringing a Divine prophecy to fruition?
• Are you sacraficing a generous mortal pleasure, furnishment, or nourishment?
• Are you rewarding the faithful at cost to yourself?

Humane

• Are you undermining a Diving prophecy?
• Are you achieving, furthering, or clarifying your own private meaning and purpose?
• Are you deepening a personal relationship (according to them)?

Noble

• Are you providing societal stability and leadership not otherwise provided by law?
• Are you furthering the goals, ambitions, or reputation of your Noble house?
• Are you prioritizing your Noble duty over personal wealth and power?

Humble

• Are you exposing the sanctimonious for their flaws, hypocracy, or hubris?
• Are you respecting the limitations of your abilities, position, and circumstances?
• Are you helping others at cost to yourself?

Background

Magic

There are three types of magic.

Arcane magic of Sorcerers, Magisters, and Wizards.

Arcane magic consists of exerting ones will on the primes of sulphur, murcury, and salt through the praxes of vibration, pressure, charge, spin, heat, and radiance that underly all of the temporal world. It risks permenant, troublesome, and grotesque mutations.

Divine magic of Paladins, Clerics, and Prophets.

Divine magic is granted by the gods to their worshipers who put themselves in positions to do holy work. It is granted to those who have earned a gods trust. It requires the difficult and faithful task of submitting to a god who speaks through omens and portents if at all. It risks punishment for misuse and zealotry from overuse.

Natural Magic of Rangers, Wardens, and Druids.

Natural magic is the art of mutuality and cooperation with nature. It risks loss of humanity, becoming feral, drowing in the depth and immediacy of the wild.

Arcane magic

The moves of the arcane casters (Sorcerers, Magisters, and Wizards) will ask them to describe their spells and how they cast them according to the following understanding of magic.

The arcane practitioners can modify, extract secrets from, and in some cases create temporal reality with their will alone. They are masters of the primes and praxes that the temporal world emerges from. They have the ability to comprehend, manipulate, and some can even produce primes and praxes directly and at will.

Temporal Primes and their properties

There are three temporal primes. These are the fundamental materials making up the soul, or the substrate of reality. They each impart their properties to the temporal world that emerges from them, as directed by the temporal praxes.

Sulphur

Explosivity, flamability, sudden transformation, passion, drive, aggression, impulsivity

Mercury

Fluidity, flexibility, fusibility, evaporation, smooth transformation, continutiy, indicision, care

Salt

Stability, rigidity, solidity, calm, stubborness, passivity

Temporal Praxes and their effects

There are six temporal praxes or methods of emergence. These are the fundamental ways that the temporal world emerges from the primes. Everything in the temporal world is an emergence of some mix and interaction of primes through some mix and interaction of praxes. Rarely does a phenominon emerge from a single prime or a single praxis, though it is possible as in the case of a firefly's glow emerging from just salt and radiance.

Vibration

(hopeful: to my playtesters... this all making sense? do I need to write these sections yet?)

Pressure

Charge

Spin

Heat

Radiance

Divine

Natural