Defenses
When battered by the storm, have the nerve to keep your story going.
Throughout your journey, you’ll face countless dangers—just like the many opponents you’ll come across, you’ll have defenses of your own to keep yourself in the thick of the fight.
Armor Class #
Your Armor Class (AC) represents your ability to block, evade, or resist direct attacks.
When an enemy targets you with an Attack Roll, the result must meet or exceed your AC to hit. If they roll lower, you withstand the attack unharmed.
There are two types of AC, each defending against different kinds of threats:
Mental AC
[Mind]
Resists Knowledge and Will attacks.
Physical AC
[Body]
Resists Finesse and Physique attacks.
Saving Throws #
Sometimes, instead of resisting an attack directly, you must respond to a sudden threat or imposed effect with a Saving Throw.
When called for, perform a saving throw using the attribute the effect specifies, contesting the effect’s DC.
Your success or failure determines how you withstand the effect.
Should you desire, you always have the option to willingly fail a save.
Hit Points #
Your Mind, Body, and Tenacity determine your maximum Hit Points (HP)—the amount of damage you can sustain before death.
HP is split into two separate pools, Initial HP and Critical HP.
Initial HP #
Your Initial HP is your primary health gauge—it represents the damage you can take before collapsing into a Dying state.
For example, if you have 100 Initial HP, you can sustain up to 100 damage before entering Critical Condition.
Both Mind and Body contribute to Initial HP:
( Mind + Body ) × 5
Critical HP #
Your Critical HP is your reserve health gauge—it acts as a buffer while you’re knocking on death’s door.
When your Initial HP reaches 0, any excess damage carries over into your Critical HP.
While your Initial HP is depleted, you are in Critical Condition.
If your Critical HP drops to 0, you die.
Your Tenacity determines your maximum Critical HP:
Tenacity × 5 + 30
Critical Condition #
When your Initial HP hits 0, you enter Critical Condition.
While in Critical Condition:
- You are Dying and lose 10 HP at the start of each turn.
- You may still act, perform Actions, or even use your Swan Song.
- You remain in Critical Condition until you are stabilized.
Stabilization #
You are considered stabilized when you have at least 1 Initial HP.
If you have 0 Initial HP, you are still Dying, even if your Critical HP has been healed.
Swan Song #
A Swan Song is a legendary action anyone can perform while in Critical Condition. It represents a desperate, last-ditch effort—a moment where a character risks everything to turn the tide.
Performing a Swan Song doubles all damage you take, including the HP drain from Dying. This effect ends once you are stabilized.
Every character begins play with one Swan Song, created during character creation. Work with your GM to design an effect that fits your character’s theme, style, or backstory.
A Swan Song should:
- Feel climactic and personal, like a signature final move.
- Change the momentum of an encounter when used.
- Put the character’s life at serious risk.
Here are a few examples:
Second Wind
✦ . ⁺ Mastery – Swan Song Action . ⁺ ✦
ATK/DC
—
Range
Self
Cooldown
1 charge(s)
Swan Song
A fire stokes deep within you, granting a desperate resurgence of energy.
- Gain +4 Temporary AP.
- Become Energized until you are stabilized.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ◯ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Defiant Stand
⚡
✦ . ⁺ Mastery – Swan Song Action . ⁺ ✦
ATK/DC
—
Range
Self
Cooldown
1 round(s)
Swan Song
You refuse to fall until your allies are safe.
Until the start of your next turn, you are considered unkillable—you cannot die, even if you reach 0 HP.
For the duration, your AC values are halved (rounded up) and all allies within your reach gain a bonus to their AC values equal to your own AC values.
If you start your next turn at 0 HP, you die.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ◯ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Vengeful Echo
✦ . ⁺ Mastery – Swan Song Action . ⁺ ✦
ATK/DC
—
Range
Sight
Cooldown
1 round(s)
Reaction, Swan Song
Your final Wounds amplify your rage.
As a Reaction to taking damage from an attacker you can see, you may lash out at against them, dealing ethereal damage equal to the damage you took.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ◯ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Lifeblood
⚡
✦ . ⁺ Mastery – Swan Song Action . ⁺ ✦
ATK/DC
—
Range
10 meter(s)
Cooldown
—
Swan Song
You sacrifice your own vitality to restore others.
You heal any number of targets within range for (double your remaining Critical HP).
You cannot heal yourself with this effect.
You then suffer 5 damage for each target this action heals, bypassing resistances and ignoring the doubled damage effects of performing a Swan Song.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ◯ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Last Laugh
⚡
✦ . ⁺ Mastery – Swan Song Action . ⁺ ✦
ATK/DC
—
Range
Self
Cooldown
1 round(s)
Swan Song
Before you’re struck down, you intend to leave your enemies with a parting gift.
Your next successful attack is treated as a Fatal Strike—it bypasses all resistances and deals damage directly to Critical HP.
This strike does not provoke Reactions.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ◯ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Healing #
Various methods—be it a holy ritual, medicine, or simple rest—can restore lost HP, provided the damage you’ve suffered wasn’t enough to outright kill you and no ongoing condition prevents recovery.
When you receive healing, you restore HP equal to the amount healed. By default:
- Healing restores Critical HP first.
- Any excess healing then restores Initial HP.
- You cannot exceed your maximum Critical HP or Initial HP.
However, some healing effects may specify whether they only heal Initial HP or only heal Critical HP—in these cases, the healing does not carry over between the gauges.
Damage Types #
When an action deals damage, it specifies the amount and type. Each type has unique qualities:
Physical
Sharp or crushing pain from direct impact—blunt force trauma, lacerations, fractures, etc.
e.g. tumbling down a cliff, being struck by a wave
Burn
Intense burning heat that scorches flesh, causing sharp stinging and blistering.
e.g. stepping on hot coals, being caught in an explosion
Shock
Sudden, electric jolts that seize the body and cause sharp, painful spasms or stiffened muscles.
e.g. being struck by lightning, touching a live wire
Cold
Piercing cold that numbs and slows the body, resulting in uncontrollable shivers and biting chills.
e.g. falling in icy water, being caught in a blizzard
Toxic
Sickening nausea and Weakness caused by poisons or chemicals churning through the body.
e.g. exposure to radiation, ingesting spoiled food
Ethereal
An aching, hollow feeling as if your life force is being drained or decaying.
e.g. affliction from a curse, the Touch of the undead
Psychic
Overwhelming pressure on your mind, causing disorientation or loss of cognition.
e.g. a telepathic intrusion, brain trauma from suffocation
Damage Resistance #
Resistance is a spectrum, where mitigating or fortifying something against a damage type takes them up or down the scale.
×2
Vulnerable. Takes double damage.
×1
Neutral. Takes normal damage.
×½
Resistant. Takes half damage.
×0
Immune. Takes no damage.
❤︎
Absorbent. Healed by the damage instead.