RollsThis is a roll to dodge, so of course we will be rolling a d6 for every action. The results will be interpreted thus:
1: Not only do you fail the action, you make it much more difficult to attempt in the future
2: You fail to produce any result whatsoever, but at least you don't have a negative result
3: You accomplish part of what you wanted, but it's not as much as you hoped. If the action is already partially compete, I'll take this as success.
4: You accomplish what you wanted to.
5: You do what you wanted and you also accomplish some other goals.
6: In the loosest sense, you succeed, but the result is not favorable by any stretch.
There's a difference between the ability to
attempt an action and the roll to determine
success. What actions you can attempt are basically based on the magic/power system of each individual universe. However, once you attempt them, they get rolled. The rolls are always d6, and the only things that can affect them are:
- Focus elements, grants +1 if you match either to the action
- If you match both primary and secondary focus, you get a +d2 and overshoot protection
- Symbol, provides either critical failure (inanimate) or overshoot (animate) reroll
- Acter
ConditionsThe conditions under which you can attempt an action will be very different in different universes, but there are some common factors.
Every action possible is assigned a primary element, chosen from the main elements and the energies, as well as a secondary element, adjacent to the primary, chosen from the intersection elements (para and semi planes). For actions that are primarily informational, such as mind control, illusions, or alterations to reality, I’ll use the classical associations of elements to mental faculties - fire for willpower, water for emotion, air for reason, and earth for possessions.
As mentioned above and in other places, matching focus elements gives you bonuses to rolls. However, the
primary focus element also decides whether you can undertake an action at all or not. Most actions can be done by any god
except one whose primary focus element is the
polar opposite of the action’s primary - creation and decay, fire and water, air and earth. Some actions, labeled
specific actions, represent specialized applications of divine power and can only be conducted by a god with the
same focus element as the action (either kind). Some, labeled
general, are simple to understand and undertake and any god - even one with a conflicting focus element - can undertake them. Specific actions do not get a bonus if only one is matched. This one is required to attempt the action at all. You get only a +1 for matching both. General actions get no bonus.
UniversesEverything not stated here varies by the universe.
Universes can have different physical laws, different lifeforms, different systems of magic, different levels of technology… different everything.
Universes are marked with numbers as well as short, descriptive names. You aim to run across universes in order to escape Acter. Acter requires four days (96 hours) to cross a universe by default; this can be increased through your actions. Gating out of a universe requires two different resources:
Enthalpy, or Chaos, corresponding to how much you’ve changed the world’s future to be more unpredictable. You earn this by interfering with the worlds below you, causing destruction, conflict, decay, and generally messing with people. The amount needed to exit is equal to the number of gods that you entered with. This means that if you pick up allies (read - more people join) during the universe, you don’t have to collect any more. You can accumulate more after this requirement is met; each Enthalpy accumulated will delay Acter by one hour.
Quandaries, or Cynicism, act more as a lock than a resource, created when sentients are placed into difficult and no-win situations. Each Universe has a certain amount of potential Quandaries, corresponding to particular choices where an individual gets to make a major decision. You must find and trigger each of these by making the choice as difficult and deceptive as possible - a Morton’s Fork, as it were. All of them must be triggered to exit the universe. Some universes may have none - these only have an Enthalpy requirement. If a Quandary is left for a long time, the individual in question may make a decision anyway. This will nihl out both the Quandary and Potential, so it doesn’t hurt you - but it does increase the chance that another Potential forms, and every existing Quandary when you exit delays Acter by another day, so you should try to keep the dilemma going.