Welcome to the Multiverse

Welcome to the Multiverse TTRPG system; a flexible framework designed to bring any story to life. Interested in exploring a gritty Wild West world haunted by restless spirits and ancient myths? This system can support that vision. Dream of a realm where warriors wield plasma rifles alongside enchanted axes? Multiverse has you covered. Want to experience a traditional fantasy kingdom of noble knights and wise wizards? The system adapts seamlessly. Or perhaps you’re drawn to something truly unique: characters who’ve discovered the infinite expanse of the multiverse itself, stepping between worlds as easily as walking through doorways.

Multiverse is fundamentally a story and setting-driven RPG system. Rather than constraining your imagination with rigid rules, it provides tools that fade into the background, allowing you to focus on what matters most: the collaborative creation of unforgettable adventures. These rules are intentionally open and adaptable, designed to enhance your storytelling rather than dictate it. Simply put, the rules should never get in the way of the narrative, and with a good narrative, mechanical concepts such as roles of dice should fade to the background simply as ways to enhance the cooperative story being woven.

The same core mechanics that handle a detective investigating supernatural mysteries in modern Chicago can support a knight errant seeking redemption in a fantasy kingdom, a corporate hacker fighting for freedom in a cyberpunk dystopia, or an explorer mapping the edges of reality itself. Whether you’re a veteran gamemaster or taking your first steps into collaborative storytelling, the Rule of Fun serves as your guide: when in doubt, choose the option that creates the most engaging experience for everyone at your table.

Interested in trying Multiverse? Start simple and enjoy the process. Interested in building your own unique story? The tools and guidelines here will help you craft worlds limited only by your imagination.

As a supplement to these core rules, we recommend you check out The Wanderer’s Guide to the Multiverse for sample settings!

Ready to get started? Let’s dive in and explore the possibilities together.

Glossary and Definitions

This glossary provides quick reference for key terms used throughout the Multiverse system.

Core Game Concepts

Ability Points (AP) - The energy reservoir characters use to fuel supernatural abilities. AP refreshes after long rests and represents mental, physical, or spiritual energy required for extraordinary feats.

Bloodline - Your character’s inherited traits, cultural background, or supernatural heritage that provides thematic guidance and mechanical benefits through associated abilities.

Campaign - The ongoing series of connected adventures your group experiences together, often spanning months or years of real time.

Character Concept - The core idea that defines who your character is, what they do, and what drives them. This guides all mechanical choices during creation.

Game Master (GM) - The participant who serves as narrator, facilitator, and referee, helping weave individual character stories into compelling shared adventures.

Player Character (PC) - The protagonist controlled by a player, as distinct from Non-Player Characters (NPCs) controlled by the GM.

Rule of Fun - The guiding principle that when rules are unclear or situations are ambiguous, choose the option that creates the most engaging experience for everyone at the table.

Session Zero - The foundational meeting before actual play begins where the group establishes boundaries, expectations, setting details, and safety tools.

Setting - The world, time period, and thematic context in which your adventures take place, including technology level, supernatural elements, and social structures.

Character Mechanics

Abilities - Specialized powers, training, or techniques that set your character apart from ordinary people. These range from supernatural gifts to exceptional skills.

Armor/Damage Soak - Protective equipment that reduces incoming damage, measured in points of damage reduction.

Contested Roll - When two characters oppose each other directly, both roll and compare results. The higher total wins the contest.

Exploding Dice - When you roll the maximum value on a die, roll it again and add the results together. Continue until you don’t roll maximum.

Flaw - A significant personal weakness or character defect that creates complications but rewards interesting roleplay with Heroic Tokens.

Heroic Tokens - Rewards earned through failure or compelling roleplay that can be spent to add bonuses to future rolls or fuel certain abilities.

Lasting Injuries - Persistent damage from severe trauma, categorized as Physical, Mental, or Spiritual and ranging from Minor to Severe in intensity.

Milestone - Significant story achievements that trigger character advancement, granting new abilities, increased traits, or expanded AP pools.

Motivation - The core drive or principle that compels your character to take heroic action and get involved in adventures.

Primary Traits - The six fundamental capabilities that define what your character can accomplish: Fight, Athleticism, Agility, Brains, Charm, and Spirit.

Resilience - Your character’s capacity to absorb damage and continue functioning, calculated as your maximum Spirit value minus current injuries.

Secondary Traits - Additional characteristics like Resilience, AP Max, Motivation, and Flaws that add depth and mechanical complexity to your character.

Skill Check - Rolling your trait die plus modifiers against a difficulty number to determine success or failure in uncertain situations.

Snap Decision - Quick actions under pressure where you roll only your basic trait die without ability bonuses, representing pure instinct.

Combat and Conflict

Agility Penalty - The negative modifier heavy armor imposes on all Agility-based skill checks, representing restricted movement.

Blaze of Glory - A final desperate action available to critically wounded characters that guarantees success but results in the character’s death.

Critical Success/Failure - Exceptional results determined by how much your roll exceeds or falls short of the target difficulty.

Damage Threshold - The minimum roll required to damage an object, representing its basic resistance to harm.

Initiative - The turn order in structured conflicts, determining when each participant can act.

Tiered Checks - Extended challenges requiring multiple successful rolls over time to represent complex or lengthy tasks.

Weapon Properties - Special qualities that modify how weapons function: Light (can use Agility), Crushing (double damage to objects), Wounding (causes bleeding), etc.

Advanced Systems

Artifice - The process of creating enhanced items by combining masterwork craftsmanship with supernatural imbuing rituals.

Charges - The internal energy that powers enhanced items, either renewable (restore daily) or expendable (consumed when used).

Imbuing - The ritual process of binding supernatural effects into crafted items to create permanent artifacts.

Ritual Magic - Extended supernatural workings that achieve effects beyond normal abilities through accumulated effort over time.

The Veil - A phenomenon that makes characters appear as members of the dominant local race when traveling between different settings.

Universal vs Bonded Artifacts - Enhanced items that either function for anyone (universal) or only work for their creator (bonded).

Setting and Worldbuilding

Campaign Power Level - How quickly characters advance and how significant their eventual capabilities become: Low, Moderate, High, or Heroic.

Magitech - Settings or items that blend magical and technological elements into hybrid systems.

Technology Level - The available tools and devices in your setting, from Stone Age through Far Future possibilities.

Setting Your Stage: Choosing Your Campaign World

GM: Welcome everyone! I’m really excited to start our new campaign. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks, and I’d love to create a unique world for our campaign together. I was initially thinking a fantasy world, but let’s explore the idea together and see what emerges from our collective imagination.

Quinn: Ooh, fantasy sounds great! I’ve been wanting to play something with swords and magic. Are we talking classic high fantasy with kingdoms and dragons?

River: I love fantasy too, but could we maybe do something with a darker edge? I’ve been reading a lot of gothic literature lately, and there’s something appealing about heroes who have to fight not just external monsters but internal corruption.

GM: That’s interesting, River. What draws you to that darker tone?

River: Well, I think there’s something compelling about stories where victory comes at a cost, where heroes have to make difficult moral choices. Like, what if magic itself is dangerous or corrupting? Or what if the world has been through some terrible catastrophe and people are trying to rebuild while dealing with the lingering darkness?

Robin: Oh, I love that idea! Like a world where magic exists but using it changes you somehow? That could create really interesting internal conflicts for our characters.

Sage: That sounds fascinating. I’m imagining a world where maybe civilization collapsed at some point, and now small communities are trying to survive while ancient evils still lurk in the ruins of the old world. People might need magic to defend themselves, but every time they use it, they risk losing part of their humanity.

GM: These are all excellent ideas! So we’re gravitating toward dark fantasy or gothic horror rather than traditional high fantasy. River, you mentioned magic being dangerous—what does that look like to you?

River: Maybe magic comes from tapping into otherworldly forces that don’t care about human morality. Every spell could require a small sacrifice… not necessarily blood, but maybe memories, emotions, or years from your life. So wizards become increasingly detached and alien as they grow more powerful.

Quinn: That’s both terrifying and cool! But I still want there to be heroic action and adventure. Can we have sword-fighting and dramatic rescues alongside the gothic elements?

GM: Absolutely! Gothic horror doesn’t mean we can’t have exciting action sequences. Think about stories like Van Helsing or Solomon Kane. Plenty of sword fights and dramatic confrontations, but with this underlying current of darkness and moral complexity.

Robin: What if we set this in a world that’s recovering from some kind of magical apocalypse? Like, a hundred years ago, powerful wizards tried to reshape reality and broke something fundamental. Now magic still works, but it’s unpredictable and often tainted by whatever went wrong.

Sage: I love that! And maybe most people are afraid of magic because of what happened, so anyone who uses it is automatically viewed with suspicion. Our characters might be people who’ve been forced to embrace these dangerous powers out of necessity.

GM: Excellent! So we’re looking at a post-apocalyptic fantasy world where magic caused the original catastrophe. Let me ask about technology level, are we talking medieval fantasy, or something different?

Quinn: I’m picturing something like late medieval or early Renaissance. Maybe some communities have managed to preserve or rediscover advanced techniques, while others have regressed to barely surviving.

River: Yeah, and maybe the magical catastrophe destroyed a lot of knowledge, so people are constantly finding ruins of the old civilization with artifacts they don’t fully understand. Some might be useful tools, others could be incredibly dangerous.

Robin: What if different regions have developed in completely different directions? One area might have embraced steam-powered technology to avoid magic entirely, while another has learned to carefully control magical energies despite the risks.

GM: I love the variety that creates! So we might have steam-powered cities that ban magic entirely, rural communities that use folk magic despite the dangers, and wild regions where reality itself is still unstable from the old catastrophe.

Sage: This is giving me chills! What about the power level? I’d love for our characters to become genuinely powerful over time, but I want the world to feel threatening throughout the campaign.

GM: That’s a great question. It sounds like we want Moderate or High Power character progression. You’ll grow into genuinely legendary figures—but I can maintain the threatening atmosphere by scaling up the challenges. As you become more powerful, you’ll face increasingly cosmic threats.

Quinn: Perfect! I’m already imagining my character starting as a simple town guard but eventually becoming someone who can stand against ancient evils.

River: And I’m thinking about playing someone who was forced to learn forbidden magic to save their family, and now has to deal with the consequences while trying to use these dark powers for good.

Robin: What if we’re all from the same region initially? Maybe we’re from one of those communities that’s learned to carefully balance magic and mundane skills?

Sage: I like that idea! We could all have different reasons for leaving home and banding together. Maybe there’s a new threat emerging that’s forcing us to venture into the dangerous wider world.

GM: Excellent! Let me summarize what we’ve created together: We have a dark fantasy world recovering from a magical apocalypse a century ago. Magic still works but it’s dangerous and corrupting, leading to very different regional developments. Some areas ban it entirely and focus on technology, others embrace it despite the risks, and some regions are still chaotic from residual magical effects.

GM: You’ll start as people from a community that’s found some balance between magic and mundane survival, but circumstances are forcing you to venture into the wider, more dangerous world.

River: This sounds amazing! I’m getting so many character ideas.

Quinn: When can we start character creation? I’m already picturing someone with a complicated relationship with both magic and technology.

GM: Let’s move on to character creation, but remember everything we’ve established here is just the beginning. As we play, this world will continue to grow and evolve based on what your characters discover and the choices you make.

The Multiverse system is designed around a fundamental truth: there are unlimited stages for which your story is to unfold. Your campaign setting is a living, breathing world that shapes every aspect of your adventure, from the weapons your heroes wield to the very nature of the challenges they face. Whether you’re exploring the neon-lit streets of a cyberpunk metropolis, navigating the political intrigue of a medieval kingdom, or pioneering the frontier of an alien world, your setting provides the context that transforms dice rolls into memorable moments.

The beauty of Multiverse lies in its adaptability. Rather than locking you into a single genre or time period, the system provides flexible frameworks that can support virtually any type of story you want to tell. A group might spend months exploring a single richly detailed fantasy realm, or they might journey between multiple worlds as dimension-hopping adventurers. Some campaigns focus on the intimate personal stories of characters in small towns, while others span galactic empires and cosmic conflicts. The choice is yours, limited only by your imagination and your group’s shared vision. Together, you create a shared story, and the setting is the first piece of this overall story.

This foundational decision, what world you’ll explore together, shapes everything that follows. It determines which technologies exist, what supernatural forces might be at play, how society is structured, and what kinds of adventures await your characters. More importantly, it establishes the tone and themes that will guide your collaborative storytelling throughout the campaign.

The Wanderer’s Guide to The Multiverse
Looking for some prebuilt settings, or want to better understand the full Multiverse? Visit the The Wanderer’s Guide to The Multiverse for a guide about both traveling the multiverse and some worlds The Wanderer has seen.

The Heart of Setting: Tone and Genre

Before diving into specific details about technology levels or magical systems, the most important question to answer is: What kind of story do you want to tell together? The emotional tone and thematic content of your setting will guide every other decision and create the framework within which your characters’ personal stories will unfold.

High Fantasy and Epic Adventure settings embrace the classic traditions of heroic legends, where noble heroes face cosmic threats and personal growth comes through overcoming seemingly impossible challenges. These worlds feature clear moral distinctions, powerful magic, ancient evils, and the promise that virtue and courage can triumph over any darkness. Characters in high fantasy settings often start as humble individuals who discover their greater destiny, growing into legendary figures whose actions reshape entire kingdoms or worlds.

Dark Fantasy and Gothic Horror explore the shadows between heroism and horror, where victory often comes at terrible cost and heroes must choose between competing moral imperatives. These settings might feature cursed bloodlines, eldritch mysteries, political corruption, and supernatural threats that cannot be defeated through force alone. Characters navigate morally ambiguous situations where the right choice isn’t always clear and survival sometimes requires compromise with dark forces.

Science Fiction and Space Opera transport adventure to the vast canvas of the cosmos, where heroes might explore alien civilizations, navigate complex political alliances between star systems, or struggle against the implications of advanced technology. These settings can range from optimistic visions of humanity’s bright future to dystopian warnings about technology’s potential for oppression. Characters often grapple with questions about what it means to be human in a universe filled with artificial intelligence, genetic modification, and alien cultures.

Urban Fantasy and Modern Mysticism blend supernatural elements with contemporary settings, creating worlds where ancient magic coexists with smartphones and internet connectivity. These settings often feature hidden supernatural communities existing parallel to mundane society, with characters serving as bridges between these worlds or struggling to maintain the boundaries that keep ordinary people safe from supernatural threats.

Cyberpunk and Technological Dystopia explore the intersection of high technology and human alienation, typically set in near-future worlds where mega-corporations wield more power than governments and technology has created new forms of inequality and oppression. Characters in these settings often exist on society’s margins, using their skills and connections to navigate complex urban environments while fighting against systemic corruption or pursuing personal redemption.

Steampunk and Alternate History reimagine historical periods through the lens of alternative technological development, creating worlds where steam-powered automatons might share the stage with Victorian social conventions, or where magical energy sources have accelerated certain aspects of progress while leaving others unchanged. These settings often explore themes of progress versus tradition, social revolution, and the unintended consequences of rapid change.

Post-Apocalyptic Survival examine what happens after civilization collapses, whether through nuclear war, environmental catastrophe, supernatural cataclysm, or other world-ending events. Characters in these settings often focus on rebuilding communities, scavenging resources, and determining what aspects of the old world are worth preserving. These stories frequently explore themes of hope versus despair, the importance of community, and what truly matters when everything else is stripped away.

Technology and Power Levels

Once you’ve established your setting’s emotional tone and thematic focus, you’ll need to consider the practical elements that will shape daily life and adventure possibilities. These decisions directly impact character creation options, available equipment, and the types of challenges characters will face.

Technological Development

The level of technological advancement in your setting determines what tools, weapons, and devices are available to characters, while also shaping the social and economic structures they’ll navigate.

Stone Age and Primitive settings feature characters who rely on natural materials and basic tools, with survival depending on knowledge of the natural world, tribal cooperation, and adaptation to environmental challenges. These settings often emphasize personal relationships, spiritual connections to nature, and the constant struggle to meet basic needs for food, shelter, and protection.

Ancient and Classical civilizations provide the foundation for many fantasy settings, featuring early metalworking, agricultural societies, and the beginnings of complex social hierarchies. Characters might navigate city-states, tribal confederations, or early empires, with trade, warfare, and cultural exchange driving much of the adventure.

Medieval and Renaissance periods offer the classic fantasy backdrop of kingdoms, guilds, and emerging global trade networks. These settings balance feudal social structures with increasing technological sophistication, creating opportunities for characters to serve as knights, merchants, scholars, or artisans in a world where social mobility exists but remains challenging.

Industrial and Steam Age settings explore the dramatic social changes that accompany rapid technological development. Characters might navigate the growing pains of urbanization, labor movements, scientific revolution, and the tension between traditional ways of life and modern efficiency.

Modern and Contemporary worlds provide familiar technological baselines while opening possibilities for hidden supernatural elements or emerging scientific discoveries. Characters have access to global communication, rapid transportation, and advanced medical care, but must also navigate complex social systems and information overload.

Near Future and Cyberpunk environments extrapolate current technological trends into societies dealing with artificial intelligence, genetic modification, advanced computing, and space colonization. These settings often examine the social implications of rapid technological change and the question of whether human nature can adapt to exponentially increasing capabilities.

Far Future and Space Opera settings embrace unlimited technological possibilities, from faster-than-light travel and terraforming to consciousness transfer and reality manipulation. Characters in these worlds often deal with the philosophical implications of transcending traditional human limitations while maintaining their essential humanity.

Supernatural and Magical Forces

The presence and nature of supernatural forces in your setting fundamentally shapes how characters understand and interact with the world around them. This decision impacts not only which abilities are available during character creation, but also the underlying assumptions about how reality functions.

No Magic or Supernatural settings ground adventures in recognizable physical laws and human capabilities. Characters rely entirely on natural talents, learned skills, and technological tools to overcome challenges. This approach often emphasizes realistic problem-solving, social dynamics, and the heroism that emerges from ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances.

Low Magic and Subtle Supernatural worlds feature supernatural elements that exist but remain rare, mysterious, and often hidden from general knowledge. Magic might require extensive study and rare materials, with practitioners keeping their abilities secret from a largely mundane population. These settings create opportunities for characters to gradually discover hidden depths to reality while maintaining a sense of wonder and mystery about supernatural encounters.

Moderate Magic and Open Supernatural settings integrate magical elements into daily life without making them commonplace. Most people know that magic exists and might encounter it occasionally, but it remains the domain of specialists and trained practitioners. Characters can pursue supernatural abilities alongside mundane skills, creating interesting combinations of magical and non-magical approaches to problem-solving.

High Magic and Pervasive Supernatural worlds feature magic as a fundamental force that shapes society, technology, and daily life. Magical practitioners might be common, supernatural creatures could live alongside humans, and the laws of physics might operate differently than in the real world. Characters in these settings often take magic for granted while still finding wonder in its more advanced applications.

Reality-Altering and Cosmic settings embrace unlimited supernatural possibilities, where characters might reshape reality itself or confront forces that exist beyond normal comprehension. These environments support epic storylines where characters growth from humble beginnings to cosmic significance, but require careful handling to maintain meaningful stakes and relatable character development.

Campaign Power Levels and Character Growth

Your setting’s tone and supernatural elements work together with the campaign’s power level to determine how quickly characters develop and how significant their eventual capabilities become. This decision shapes both the mechanical progression system and the narrative arc of character development.

No Powers campaigns remove supernatural abilities entirely, focusing purely on the trait system without ability progression. Characters rely entirely on their natural talents, learned skills, and equipment to overcome challenges. These settings work well for realistic adventures, historical campaigns, or any story where you want to emphasize human achievement and mundane heroism.

Low Power campaigns emphasize gritty realism and hard-earned progress, where characters grow slowly and every advance feels meaningful. These settings work well for survival stories, political intrigue, or realistic adventures where characters remain recognizably human throughout their development. Supernatural abilities, when present, come with significant costs or limitations.

Moderate Power campaigns balance realistic development with opportunities for heroic achievement. Characters grow steadily and can eventually achieve significant capabilities, but they remain grounded in understandable human motivations and limitations. This power level supports most traditional fantasy and modern supernatural settings. This is the most common power level, especially for beginners.

High Power campaigns embrace rapid character development and significant supernatural capabilities. Characters quickly grow beyond normal human limitations and can achieve legendary status within their communities. These settings support epic fantasy, superhero adventures, and space opera campaigns where characters are meant to become larger-than-life figures.

Heroic Power campaigns focus on characters who are destined for cosmic significance. They develop extraordinary capabilities rapidly and eventually transcend normal limitations entirely. These settings work best for campaigns that consciously embrace mythic storytelling, where characters are meant to become gods, cosmic forces, or legendary figures whose actions reshape entire realities.

Rules Options
The Multiverse system is built from modular components that can be mixed and matched to fit your setting’s needs. While most campaigns include all elements at varying levels, you can customize the system by emphasizing or excluding specific components:

• Traits - The foundation of all characters, providing the core skill system for every campaign
• Abilities and Ability Points - Specialized powers that personalize characters; can be limited to passive abilities only or excluded entirely for purely trait-based play
• Bloodlines - Supernatural heritage ranging from subtle blessings to distinct fantasy races; can be purely cosmetic or mechanically significant
• Equipment and Technology - Available tools and weapons that define the setting’s capabilities and aesthetic feel
• Rituals and Artifice - Extended magical or technological processes that allow characters to achieve effects beyond normal abilities; optional for simpler campaigns

Collaborative Setting Creation

While the GM typically takes the lead in establishing campaign settings, the most engaging worlds emerge from collaborative conversations that incorporate everyone’s interests and ideas. Session Zero provides the perfect opportunity for these discussions, allowing the group to build shared investment in the campaign world while ensuring that everyone’s preferences are considered.

Group Worldbuilding Process

Step One: Establish the Foundation
Begin by discussing the broad strokes of genre, tone, and technological level. What kinds of stories excite everyone at the table? Are players drawn to political intrigue, exploration and discovery, supernatural mystery, or epic conflicts? Do they prefer settings that feel familiar and grounded, or are they excited about exploring completely alien environments?

This conversation should focus on creating shared enthusiasm rather than getting bogged down in specific details. The goal is to identify a general direction that excites everyone while leaving room for individual creativity within that framework.

Step Two: Define the Character’s World
Once you’ve agreed on the basic framework, focus on the immediate environment where characters will begin their adventures. This might be a specific city, region, or organization that provides the starting context for character relationships and early adventures.

Encourage each player to contribute elements that connect to their character concept. If someone wants to play a former soldier, what recent conflicts have shaped the political landscape? If another player envisions a scholar character, what institutions of learning exist and what mysteries might they be investigating? These contributions help ensure that every character has natural hooks connecting them to the broader world.

Step Three: Establish Relationships and Connections
Discuss how characters know each other and why they might work together on adventures. These relationships don’t need to be elaborate; characters might be old friends, recent allies brought together by circumstances, or simply individuals whose goals align despite different backgrounds.

The key is establishing enough connection that the group has reason to stay together when challenges arise. Some of the most engaging character relationships emerge from creative tensions; the noble idealist and the pragmatic scoundrel, the traditional warrior and the innovative inventor, the faithful believer and the skeptical investigator.

Step Four: Leave Room for Discovery
Resist the temptation to define everything about the setting during Session Zero. Some of the most memorable world elements emerge naturally during play as characters explore, ask questions, and encounter situations that require improvisation from the GM.

A good collaborative setting creation process establishes enough foundation that everyone feels grounded and connected, while preserving plenty of mystery and possibility for future exploration. The best worlds feel lived-in and authentic because they grow organically from the stories that unfold within them.

Mechanical Implications of Setting Choices

Your setting decisions have direct mechanical impacts on character creation and ongoing gameplay. Understanding these connections helps ensure that your world-building choices support the kinds of adventures you want to experience.

Bloodline Availability

Different settings make different bloodlines available or interpret them in unique ways. A hard science fiction setting might exclude supernatural bloodlines entirely, while a high fantasy world could make them commonplace. Urban fantasy settings often feature bloodlines that manifest subtly, allowing supernatural characters to blend into modern society.

Some settings might reinterpret bloodlines to fit their themes. A cyberpunk world could treat “Draconic” bloodlines as genetic modifications that grant enhanced capabilities, while a post-apocalyptic setting might frame “Cursed” heritage as exposure to mutagenic radiation or otherworldly contamination.

Equipment and Technology

The technological level you establish determines which equipment categories are available to characters. Medieval fantasy settings focus on crafted items, alchemical preparations, and enchanted equipment. Modern campaigns provide access to contemporary tools, vehicles, and communications technology. Far future settings might feature energy weapons, advanced materials, and reality-manipulating devices.

Consider how supernatural elements interact with technology in your setting. Do magical and technological systems work together harmoniously, compete for dominance, or exist in separate spheres? These decisions shape both the equipment characters can access and the types of problems they’ll face.

Ability Manifestations

Character abilities should manifest in ways that fit your setting’s established tone and supernatural assumptions. The same mechanical ability might appear as divine blessing in a religious fantasy setting, genetic mutation in a superhero world, advanced training in a realistic military campaign, or technological augmentation in a cyberpunk environment.

Encourage players to describe their abilities in ways that reinforce the setting’s themes and feel. This collaborative approach to ability manifestation helps maintain consistent tone while allowing for individual creativity and character distinctiveness.

Example Settings

To illustrate how these principles work in practice, here are three example settings that demonstrate different approaches to tone, technology, and supernatural elements:

The Shattered Lands (High Fantasy)

Tone: Epic Adventure with Community Building
Technology: Medieval with Emerging Magical Enhancement
Magic: High Magic, Recently Returned
Power Level: Moderate Power

The world emerges slowly from the Age of Fears, a dark century when terror and despair ruled the land and magic vanished from the world. As communities band together for protection and hope returns to human hearts, the ancient magical forces are awakening once more. City-states have risen from the ashes of fallen empires, each developing its own culture, government, and approach to the returning supernatural energies.

Some city-states embrace the returning magic, training new generations of spellcasters and seeking to recover lost knowledge from before the Age of Fears. Others remain suspicious of supernatural forces, believing they contributed to the ancient catastrophe, and focus on advancing mundane crafts and technologies. Still others try to find balance, integrating magical innovations carefully while maintaining strong foundations in traditional skills.

Characters begin as citizens of these emerging city-states, whether as agents working to expand their community’s influence, explorers seeking to reclaim lost territories, or pioneers attempting to establish new settlements in the slowly healing lands. The setting supports political negotiations between different city-states, exploration of territories abandoned during the Age of Fears, and the rediscovery of ancient magical sites and artifacts.

All supernatural bloodlines are available, with many representing connections to the magical forces that are returning to the world or legacies of those who survived the dark years through supernatural means. Magic is becoming more common but remains somewhat unpredictable as practitioners rediscover techniques lost for generations. Characters can expect to grow in power as they help rebuild civilization and master the returning magical energies.

Neo-Tokyo 2157 (Cyberpunk with Supernatural Elements)

Tone: Urban Fantasy meets Technological Dystopia
Technology: Far Future with Social Regression
Magic: Low Magic, Hidden from Corporate Control
Power Level: Moderate Power

Three mega-corporations control most of Earth through advanced AI systems and genetic modification technology, but ancient spiritual forces have begun awakening in response to humanity’s technological overreach. The old gods and spirits that once protected natural places now manifest through the city’s digital networks, creating glitches in corporate surveillance and opportunities for those who know how to listen.

Characters typically work as freelance operatives navigating between corporate interests, underground resistance movements, and awakening supernatural forces. Adventures might involve corporate espionage enhanced by spirit guides, hacking attempts that require both technological and mystical expertise, or protecting communities from the social disruption caused by rapid technological change.

Supernatural bloodlines manifest subtly and are often misunderstood by corporate medical systems as genetic anomalies. Characters must balance their developing supernatural abilities with the need to avoid corporate detection, while technology provides both powerful tools and potential vulnerabilities. Growth comes through understanding both cutting-edge technology and ancient wisdom, creating unique combinations of mystical and technological capabilities.

The Wasteland Reclamation (Post-Apocalyptic Rebuilding)

Tone: Survival and Community Building
Technology: Pre-Industrial with Scavenged Modern Elements
Magic: Moderate Magic, Recently Awakened
Power Level: Low Power

Forty years after the Great Catastrophe destroyed industrial civilization, scattered communities are beginning to rebuild while dealing with the strange new energies the disaster released into the world. The old technology still works when you can find it and figure out how to maintain it, but most communities have reverted to simpler ways of life based on agriculture, craftsmanship, and trade between settlements.

The Catastrophe didn’t just destroy cities and governments, it awakened something in human consciousness that allows certain individuals to manifest supernatural abilities. These “Touched” individuals are both valued for their capabilities and feared for their unpredictability, creating complex social dynamics around power, responsibility, and community acceptance.

Characters typically serve as scouts, traders, diplomats, or protectors who help communities navigate the challenges of rebuilding civilization while dealing with environmental hazards, resource scarcity, and the social tensions that arise when supernatural abilities upset traditional power structures. Adventures focus on solving practical problems, building relationships between communities, and exploring the slowly healing world to recover useful knowledge and technology.

Making Your Choice

Selecting your campaign setting, whether from existing options or through collaborative creation, is ultimately about choosing the stage where your group’s unique story will unfold. The perfect setting is the one that excites everyone at the table, supports the kinds of adventures you want to experience, and provides enough flexibility for characters to grow and change in meaningful ways.

Trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to experiment. Some of the best campaigns emerge from unexpected combinations of elements or creative reinterpretations of familiar themes. A steampunk fantasy world might feature magical energy powering industrial machinery. A space opera setting could include ancient mystical traditions that survived the transition to galactic civilization. A modern urban campaign might incorporate elements from multiple supernatural traditions as characters discover that reality is far stranger and more wonderful than they imagined.

Remember that your setting can evolve as your campaign progresses. Characters might begin their adventures in a single location or world and later discover opportunities to explore entirely different environments. The Multiverse system is designed to support these transitions, allowing characters to adapt to new circumstances while maintaining their essential identity and relationships.

The most important consideration is creating a foundation that supports memorable storytelling and collaborative fun. Whether you’re exploring the familiar territory of classic fantasy kingdoms or pioneering entirely original worlds that exist only in your shared imagination, the perfect setting is the one where your characters can become the heroes of their own unforgettable legend.

Your adventure begins with a single question: What world do you want to explore together? The answer to that question opens the door to infinite possibilities, limited only by your creativity and your courage to discover what lies beyond the next horizon.

Setting Creation Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure you’ve covered the essential elements of your campaign setting:

Foundation Elements

• Genre and Tone - What kind of story are we telling? (High fantasy, cyberpunk, horror, etc.)
• Technology Level - What tools and devices exist in this world?
• Supernatural Elements - How much magic/supernatural power exists and how does it work?
• Power Level - How quickly will characters advance and how powerful will they become?

World Details

• Starting Location - Where do characters begin their adventures?
• Social Structure - How is society organized? (Kingdoms, corporations, city-states, etc.)
• Major Conflicts - What tensions or threats create adventure opportunities?
• Available Resources - What equipment, knowledge, and allies can characters access?

Character Integration

• Available Bloodlines - Which character heritages fit this setting?
• Ability Manifestations - How do supernatural powers appear and function? This is often a mix and not a single answer.
• Character Connections - How do the PCs know each other and why do they work together?
• Personal Stakes - What draws each character into the larger conflicts and adventures?

Collaborative Elements

• Player Contributions - Has each player added something meaningful to the world?
• Shared Enthusiasm - Is everyone excited about the setting we’ve created?
• Room for Growth - Have we left mysteries and possibilities for future exploration?
• Clear Boundaries - Do we understand what content and themes fit our chosen tone?

Now that you’ve established the stage for your adventures, it’s time to create the heroes who will bring your shared world to life. The character creation process will help you build protagonists whose personal stories interweave with the larger setting, creating opportunities for meaningful adventure and collaborative storytelling. Let the world you’ve chosen guide your character concepts, but don’t be afraid to surprise yourself—sometimes the most memorable heroes emerge from unexpected combinations of background, motivation, and circumstance.

Creating Your First Character

Character creation in Multiverse is about more than just assigning numbers to abilities — it’s about breathing life into a unique individual who will become part of a larger tapestry of interconnected stories. Your character, often called a “PC” for “player character,” represents one crucial thread in the collaborative narrative that you and your fellow players will weave together. Each character brings their own perspective, goals, and personality to the table, and the magic of roleplaying emerges from how these distinct individuals interact with each other and the world that your Game Master (GM) helps create.

By now, your group has chosen a setting for your campaign, establishing the backdrop against which your character’s story will unfold. This setting provides both opportunities and constraints that will help shape who your character becomes. Character creation can take many forms, and different players prefer different approaches. Some enjoy browsing through the character concepts (what other games might call “classes”) provided in your chosen setting, selecting one that immediately captures their imagination. This approach works perfectly well, and if it appeals to you, we encourage you to explore the concepts your setting offers.

However, Multiverse is designed as an open system where customization isn’t just possible — it’s fundamental to the game’s philosophy. There are no rigid character classes with predetermined progression paths. Instead, every aspect of your character can be tailored to match your vision. Even characters who start with similar concepts will develop in completely different directions based on the choices you make and the experiences they have. The abilities your character manifests, the way they approach problems, and how they grow over time will be utterly unique to your creation.

What unites all player characters in Multiverse is that something sets them apart from ordinary people — something that marks them as potential heroes, villains, or at least individuals capable of extraordinary deeds. This distinguishing spark might be subtle: perhaps your character witnessed something they shouldn’t have, and their curiosity now drives them to uncover hidden truths. Or it might be dramatic: maybe they’re the child of an otherworldly entity, struggling to forge their own destiny while defying the fate that others expect them to fulfill.

The key to successful character creation is starting with inspiration rather than mechanics. Given your chosen setting, what type of character would be fun for you to play? If you’re embarking on a campaign of high seas adventure filled with magic and mystery, you might be drawn to playing a swashbuckling pirate who lives for the thrill of adventure, or perhaps a sea witch who communes with the depths and hears secrets in the ocean’s whispers. Maybe your character is a noble fleeing an arranged marriage, seeking freedom on the open seas, or a merchant whose wanderlust drives them to explore distant shores.

Draw inspiration from wherever it strikes you: the concepts provided in your setting, discussions with your GM about what fits the campaign, or characters from books, movies, games, or other media that capture your imagination. Don’t worry about having every detail figured out immediately. At this stage, having a “concept of a plan” is entirely sufficient to begin the creation process. The details will emerge naturally as you make choices and see your character take shape.

Rule of Fun
Throughout this book, you’ll encounter references to the “Rule of Fun”; a guiding principle that should inform every aspect of your Multiverse experience. When faced with uncertainty, whether about character creation, rule interpretation, or narrative direction, ask yourself: “What would be the most fun?”

Unsure what type of character to play? Choose what excites you most; you can always adjust details later. Unclear about how a rule should work in a specific situation? The GM should make the call that creates the most engaging and enjoyable experience for everyone at the table.

The ultimate goal of Multiverse is collaborative storytelling where every participant has fun both creating and experiencing the shared narrative. When in doubt, fun takes precedence over rigid adherence to rules or conventional expectations. This is the Rule of Fun in action.

Once you have your character concept in mind, the actual creation process involves three main components: traits, bloodline, and abilities. What makes Multiverse distinctive is that everything is selected rather than randomly generated. You won’t roll dice to determine your character’s capabilities. Instead, you’ll make deliberate choices that support your vision and create the character you want to play.

This selection-based approach means that character creation is inherently fair and collaborative. No one gets stuck with a character they don’t want to play because of unlucky dice rolls, and every player has equal opportunity to create someone who fits their concept and playstyle. You start with your idea and build systematically around it, making choices that reinforce your character’s identity while creating interesting opportunities for growth and development.

Character Creation Steps

Here’s your roadmap for bringing your character to life:

1. Assign trait dice based on your character concept. Distribute your available dice among the six traits (Fight, Athleticism, Agility, Brains, Charm, and Spirit) to reflect your character’s natural strengths and weaknesses. With each trait, you will ask yourself “is your character stronger or weaker in this area”, slowly figuring out your fundamental skills.

2. Select your character’s flaw and motivation. These drive your character’s personal story and provide the GM with hooks for engaging narrative moments.

3. Choose a bloodline and its associated ability. Your bloodline represents your character’s heritage or supernatural connection, granting them unique capabilities that set them apart from ordinary people.

4. Select additional abilities. Pick abilities that complement your concept and work well with your chosen traits, creating a cohesive set of capabilities.

5. Determine how these abilities manifest to fit your character concept. Describe how your character’s abilities look, feel, and function in ways that reinforce their personality and background.

6. Develop details about personality and appearance. Use the character development questions to flesh out who your character is beyond their mechanical capabilities.

7. Select starting equipment. Choose gear that makes sense for your character’s background and the campaign setting.

8. Have fun. Above all. Have fun!

The process ahead will guide you through each of these components step by step, helping you transform your initial spark of inspiration into a fully realized character ready to take their place in your group’s ongoing story.

Traits

GM: Alright Robin, let’s work through your character’s traits. I want you to think about what makes your gunslinger unique. What do you feel is your character’s strongest characteristic? Are they super smart? Not necessarily book smart, but good at quickly solving things and coming to conclusions? Are they super fast, flexible, and good at ranged attacks? Are they a good fighter with any weapon, or charming and able to talk their way out of trouble, or is their biggest strength that they never give up no matter what?

Robin: Oh definitely fast and good at ranged attacks. They’re quick on the draw, you know? That classic gunslinger who can outdraw anyone in a fair fight or sometimes not fair fight.

GM: Perfect! Then you may want to consider putting your d20 in Agility. That represents not just speed, but precision, hand-eye coordination, and all those lightning-fast reflexes that make a legendary gunslinger. We now have d4 through d12 to work with for your other traits. On the flip side, where do you feel your character is weakest?

Robin: I would say fighting. Like, hand-to-hand combat. I can see them being deadly with guns, but give them a sword or make them throw punches and they’re horrible at it.

GM: That makes sense! A specialist who’s put all their training into firearms. So Fight gets the d4. That’s your weakest trait. Now we have d6, d8, d10, and d12 left to distribute among Athleticism, Brains, Charm, and Spirit. What’s next strongest after that lightning-quick draw?

Robin: Hmm, I’m thinking they’re pretty charismatic. Like, they have that confident swagger that comes with being really good at something dangerous. People respect that, you know?

GM: That “don’t mess with me” presence. So Charm gets the d12. That leaves d6, d8, and d10 for Athleticism, Brains, and Spirit. How do you see those playing out?

Robin: Well, they’d need to be in decent physical shape. You can’t be a wandering gunslinger if you can’t handle long rides or chase down outlaws. So maybe Athleticism gets the d8?

GM: Makes sense. A gunslinger needs stamina and physical conditioning. So that’s d8 for Athleticism. Now we’re down to d6 and d10 for Brains and Spirit. Which way are you leaning?

Robin: Spirit should be higher, I think. They’ve got that inner steel, that determination that keeps them going even when things look bad. But they’re not necessarily the smartest person in the room often getting themselves into situations they probably should have thought first about.

GM: So Spirit gets the d10 and Brains gets the d6. They’re not dumb, just more intuitive than analytical. Let me read back what we have: Fight d4, Athleticism d8, Agility d20, Brains d6, Charm d12, Spirit d10. How does that feel?

Robin: That sounds perfect! They’re incredibly fast and precise, confident and determined, in good physical shape, but not great in a fistfight and more likely to shoot first and think later.

GM: Exactly! And remember, that d6 in Brains doesn’t mean they’re stupid. It just means when they need to solve problems quickly, they’re more likely to rely on instinct and experience than careful analysis. Now, does this character have any specific motivation that drives them to adventure?

Robin: I’m thinking they’re seeking redemption for something in their past. Maybe they used to work for the wrong people and now they’re trying to make amends.

GM: That’s a great motivation. And for a flaw, what gets them into trouble despite their better judgment?

Robin: Pride, definitely. They can’t back down from a challenge, especially if someone questions their skill with a gun. Even when they should just walk away.

GM: Perfect! This character is really coming together nicely!

This example demonstrates how GMs can help players connect their character concepts to mechanical choices through guided questions and collaborative discussion. The process focuses on narrative logic first, with mechanics serving to support the player’s vision.

Character traits form the mechanical foundation of who your character is and what they can accomplish in the world. These numerical representations capture both your character’s natural talents and their learned skills, serving as the primary tools for determining success and failure in crucial moments. Every action that carries risk or requires skill will call upon one of these traits, making them central to how your character interacts with the challenges they face.

Your character’s traits are organized into two complementary categories: primary traits and secondary traits. The six primary traits represent your character’s fundamental capabilities across the core areas of human potential:

• Fight - Your ability to engage in combat with weapons of any type, from fists to poleaxes.
• Athleticism - Your overall physical conditioning, endurance, and natural athletic prowess.
• Agility - Your capacity for quick movement, evasion, and precise motor control in high-pressure situations.
• Brains - Your intellectual acuity and analytical thinking, encompassing both book learning and street smarts.
• Charm - Your force of personality and ability to influence others through persuasion, deception, or inspiration.
• Spirit - Your inner strength, determination, and refusal to surrender when faced with overwhelming odds.

These primary traits serve as the foundation for most skill checks in the game. Whenever your character attempts something where the outcome is uncertain, whether that’s swinging a sword, solving a puzzle, or convincing a guard to let you pass, you’ll roll one of these traits to determine success or failure.

Secondary traits build upon this foundation, adding layers of depth and mechanical complexity that bring your character to life. Some secondary traits, like Resilience, are derived from your primary traits and represent your character’s capacity to endure punishment. Others, Motivation and Flaws, are personal characteristics you select during character creation. These traits create opportunities for compelling roleplay while providing mechanical rewards for embracing both your character’s strengths and their vulnerabilities.

Primary Traits

At character creation, you’ll assign a die type to each of your six primary traits, choosing from the following options: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. Each die represents a different level of capability, from the d4 indicating significant struggle in that area to the d20 representing truly exceptional skill. The middle values d6, d8, d10, and d12 represent the range from below average to considerably above average. Importantly, you may only use each die type once, forcing you to make meaningful choices about your character’s strengths and weaknesses.

This system ensures that every character has a unique profile of abilities. No character can be exceptional at everything, and even the most capable heroes will have areas where they struggle. These limitations aren’t flaws in your character design—they’re opportunities for interesting roleplay and collaborative problem-solving with your fellow players.

Concept-Based Selection: Many campaign settings provide pre-designed character concepts that offer suggested trait distributions as starting points. These concepts such as “Scientist,” “Soldier,” or “Street Performer” give you a mechanical framework that matches common character archetypes while still allowing for customization.

For example, if you choose a “Scientist” concept, your setting might recommend the following distribution:

This distribution creates a character who excels at intellectual challenges (d20 Brains) while struggling in physical confrontations (d4 Fight). The other traits fall somewhere in between, suggesting a character with average athletic ability, decent agility and social skills, and solid determination.

However, these suggestions are just starting points. As you develop your character’s background and personality, you might decide to adjust these assignments. Perhaps your scientist isn’t the stereotypical socially awkward academic, but rather someone who became brilliant through adversity. Maybe they were a talented water polo player whose sports career was cut short, leading them to channel their competitive drive into scientific pursuits. In this case, you might redistribute the traits like this:

This version creates a very different character—one who maintains their intellectual brilliance but trades social grace for physical capability. This scientist might be somewhat bitter about their derailed athletic career, struggling with interpersonal relationships while excelling at the physical demands of fieldwork. Both versions are valid “scientists,” but they’ll play very differently and create distinct storytelling opportunities.

Oops, I played it different than I thought…
Character creation is as much art as science, and sometimes the character you envision isn’t the one who emerges during actual play. A suggested rule allows players to redistribute their traits after the first or second session, once they’ve had a chance to see how their character actually behaves in the game world.

This adjustment period recognizes that theoretical character concepts don’t always survive contact with the collaborative storytelling process. Your initially shy, intellectual character might reveal a surprising talent for leadership, or your planned social butterfly might turn out to be more introspective than expected. These early-game adjustments should be minor typically swapping adjacent die types rather than completely restructuring your character and are subject to GM approval.

Skill Checks

Every primary trait generates a range of common skill checks that represent the various ways that trait might be tested during play. When the GM calls for a skill check, you’ll roll your trait die along with any modifier dice from abilities, then add or subtract situational modifiers based on equipment, circumstances, or GM judgment. The final total becomes your skill check result.

Example: The GM asks you to make an Athleticism check for your scientist character, who is attempting to chase an unknown creature across a muddy field at night. You don’t have any abilities that modify this type of roll, but the GM assigns a -2 penalty due to the treacherous footing. You roll your d12 Athleticism die and subtract 2 from the result. This final number is then compared against either a difficulty target set by the GM or the result of a contested roll made by your opponent.

Skill difficulties typically range from 2 to 20, though these are guidelines rather than absolute limits. The GM selects difficulties based on the narrative situation, the stakes involved, and the dramatic needs of the story. In contested situations—such as arm wrestling, debates, or chase scenes—both participants roll, and the higher result wins.

Heroic Tokens: Failure, while disappointing, is never the end of your story. Whenever you fail a skill check—regardless of how badly you fail—you earn a Heroic Token. These tokens represent the role that fate plays in the lives of heroes, acknowledging that temporary setbacks often set the stage for dramatic comebacks.

You can also earn Heroic Tokens by embracing your character’s personal traits during roleplay, particularly when acting on your motivations or being hindered by your flaws. These tokens serve multiple purposes: they can be spent to add +1 to any roll (announced before you learn the outcome), they fuel certain character abilities, and they represent your character’s growing experience with adversity.

You can never hold more than five Heroic Tokens at once, encouraging you to spend them rather than hoard them. This creates a natural rhythm of struggle and triumph that drives dramatic storytelling.

Exploding Dice: When you roll the maximum value on your trait die, that die “explodes”; you roll it again and add the results together. If you roll the maximum value again, you roll once more, continuing until you roll anything other than the maximum. This mechanic ensures that even characters with modest abilities can occasionally achieve spectacular results when luck favors them.

For example, if you’re rolling a d12 and get a 12, you roll again. If that second roll is also a 12, you roll a third time. If the third roll is a 7, your total result is 12 + 12 + 7 = 31—an extraordinary outcome that could turn failure into dramatic success.

Critical Success and Failure: Unlike many game systems, rolling a 1 on your trait die isn’t automatically a critical failure in Multiverse. Instead, critical successes and failures are determined by comparing your final result to the difficulty of the task. This relative system means that rolling a 1 plus a small modifier might still represent success on an easy task, while rolling high numbers might still fall short of truly challenging objectives.

The specific ranges for critical results depend on how your roll compares to the target difficulty:

Advanced Skill Check Types: Beyond the standard roll-and-compare skill check, the GM has additional tools for handling complex or extended challenges:

Tiered Checks require multiple successful rolls over time, representing sustained effort or complex tasks that can’t be resolved with a single attempt. The GM might ask for multiple rolls at the same difficulty, or create escalating challenges where each subsequent roll becomes more difficult.

Snap Decisions occur when characters must act instantly without time for careful consideration. For these checks, you roll only your trait die without any ability modifiers, representing pure instinct and natural talent overriding training and preparation.

What types of skill checks apply to each trait varies greatly depending on the situation and the GM’s interpretation. The trait descriptions below provide examples and guidelines, but creative applications are encouraged when they serve the story.

Don’t forget the roleplaying!
While traits provide the mechanical framework for resolving uncertainty, they should never replace the collaborative storytelling that lies at the heart of roleplaying games. Before rolling any dice, take a moment to describe what your character is trying to do and how they’re attempting to do it.

This description serves multiple purposes: it helps the GM determine appropriate modifiers for your roll, it provides inspiration for other players, and it ensures that the mechanical resolution serves the narrative rather than replacing it. Your description doesn’t need to be perfect or elaborate, even experienced players sometimes struggle with this aspect of the game, but the effort to engage with the fiction will enrich the experience for everyone at the table.

After your roll is resolved, give the GM permission to elaborate on the results, describing how your success or failure plays out in the game world. This collaborative approach to narration creates the shared story that makes roleplaying games unique among entertainment mediums.

Fight

Combat Prowess & Physical Aggression

Fight represents your character’s mastery of violence in all its forms, from the brutal simplicity of a bar brawl to the elegant lethality of a master swordsman’s blade work. This trait encompasses far more than mere weapon proficiency—it includes combat awareness, tactical positioning, the ability to read an opponent’s intentions, and most crucially, the psychological capacity to inflict harm when necessary.

Fight is about raw effectiveness in violent encounters. It’s the difference between a trained soldier who has learned to kill efficiently and a gymnast who might be more physically capable but lacks the killer instinct. A character with high Fight doesn’t just know how to use weapons, they understand violence as a language, speaking it fluently when peaceful alternatives have been exhausted.

While some specialized weapons or unique situations might allow characters to substitute other traits (such as using Agility for certain thrown weapons or Brains for tactical advantages), Fight remains the cornerstone of martial prowess. A high Fight score represents not just training and experience, but an intimate understanding of combat that transcends any single weapon or fighting style. It’s the trait of warriors, soldiers, and anyone who has learned that sometimes survival depends on being better at violence than those who would do them harm.

Example Challenges

Example characters who embody combat mastery and martial prowess

• Rambo (First Blood series) - The ultimate soldier
• John Wick (John Wick series) - Precision combat specialist
• Goku (Dragon Ball) - Pure fighting instinct and power
• Conan the Barbarian - Raw combat effectiveness
• Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) - Skilled ranger and warrior
• The Bride (Kill Bill) - Deadly martial artist
• Inigo Montoya (Princess Bride) - Master swordsman seeking revenge
• Kratos (God of War) - Brutal warrior god

Athleticism

Physical Fitness & Athletic Prowess

Athleticism represents the foundation of physical capability; your character’s overall conditioning, endurance, and natural athletic ability. This trait encompasses cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, coordination, and most importantly, your body’s capacity to perform under stress. Unlike more specialized physical traits, Athleticism covers the broad spectrum of activities that require stamina, conditioning, and general bodily control.

Think of Athleticism as your character’s physical versatility. It’s what allows them to sprint across rooftops during a chase scene, hold their breath while swimming through flooded tunnels, scale cliff faces during a mountain expedition, or endure a grueling forced march through hostile territory. This trait represents not just raw physical capability, but also the training and conditioning that allows your character to push their body to its limits when the situation demands it.

A character with high Athleticism has developed their cardiovascular system, built muscular endurance, and honed their body awareness to excel in a wide variety of physical challenges. They’re the person who can run a marathon, then immediately help move furniture, then go dancing all night. This trait frequently comes into play during environmental hazards, pursuit scenes, endurance challenges, and any situation where pure physical conditioning determines the difference between success and failure.

Example Challenges

Special Rule - Breath Holding: The maximum time your character can hold their breath is determined by your Athleticism die type. Take the maximum value and multiply by 30 seconds. A character with d4 Athleticism can hold their breath for a maximum of 2 minutes, while someone with d20 Athleticism can manage an impressive 10 minutes. Each check required beyond this maximum time increases in difficulty, representing the mounting strain on your character’s system.

Example characters known for physical conditioning and endurance

• Captain America (Marvel) - Peak human physical condition
• The Flash (DC Comics) - Ultimate speed and agility
• Tarzan - Natural athletic ability in the wild
• Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) - Adventurer and acrobat
• Rocky Balboa (Rocky series) - Endurance and determination
• Will Turner (Pirates of the Caribbean) - Blacksmith turned pirate
• Wonder Woman (DC Comics) - Amazonian physical prowess
• Usain Bolt (real person) - World’s fastest human

Agility

Speed, Precision & Finesse

Agility represents your character’s mastery of movement, dexterity, and precise motor control. This trait encompasses quick reflexes, fine manipulation skills, and the ability to move with grace and precision even under extreme pressure. While Athleticism focuses on endurance and raw physical capability, Agility is about finesse. It’s the difference between a powerlifter who can move tremendous weight and a gymnast who can place their body exactly where they want it, exactly when they need to.

The applications of Agility are diverse and often crucial to character survival. In combat, this trait determines how effectively your character can dodge incoming attacks, strike with surgical precision, or position themselves advantageously on a chaotic battlefield. Outside of combat, Agility governs activities requiring steady hands and perfect timing: picking locks under pressure, walking across narrow ledges, performing sleight of hand, executing acrobatic maneuvers, or moving silently through dangerous territory.

A character with high Agility moves like liquid lightning, fluid, precise, and impossibly quick when the situation demands it. They’re the person who can catch a falling glass, slip through a crowded room without disturbing anyone, or thread a needle while riding in a bouncing wagon. This trait often determines success in situations where being fast and precise matters more than being strong or tough.

Example Challenges

Example characters who excel at speed, precision, and finesse

• Spider-Man (Marvel) - Acrobatic web-slinger
• Catwoman (DC Comics) - Stealthy cat burglar
• Nightcrawler (X-Men) - Teleporting acrobat
• Ezio Auditore (Assassin’s Creed) - Master assassin
• Black Widow (Marvel) - Spy and infiltration expert
• Westley (Princess Bride) - Dread Pirate Roberts, master of finesse
• Solid Snake (Metal Gear) - Stealth operative
• Robin (DC Comics) - Acrobatic sidekick

Brains

Intelligence, Wit & Mental Acuity

Brains represents your character’s raw intellectual power, analytical thinking, and ability to process complex information rapidly under pressure. This trait encompasses far more than academic intelligence. It includes street smarts, intuitive leaps, pattern recognition, and the capacity to understand and navigate complex situations quickly. Unlike formal education or specialized knowledge, Brains is about natural mental ability and adaptability.

Think of Brains as your character’s mental agility. It’s what allows them to spot the logical flaw in an enemy’s argument, deduce the real motive behind someone’s seemingly innocent actions, remember crucial details from weeks ago, or devise a brilliant solution to an immediate problem with only moments to think. This trait represents the difference between someone who memorizes facts and someone who can connect disparate pieces of information to reveal hidden truths.

A character with high Brains doesn’t just think quickly. They think effectively, seeing connections and possibilities that others miss entirely. They’re the person who can analyze a crime scene and reconstruct what happened, solve complex puzzles through logical deduction, or read between the lines in social situations to understand what’s really going on. This mental acuity often proves just as valuable as physical prowess when navigating the challenges that face adventuring characters.

Example Challenges

Example characters who embody intelligence and analytical thinking

• Sherlock Holmes - Master detective
• Batman (DC Comics) - World’s greatest detective
• Light Yagami (Death Note) - Strategic mastermind
• Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (Marvel) - Scientific genius
• Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones) - Cunning strategist
• L (Death Note) - Brilliant investigator
• Vizzini (Princess Bride) - Self-proclaimed genius strategist
• Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) - Academic brilliance

Charm

Charisma, Influence & Force of Personality

Charm represents your character’s ability to influence, persuade, and captivate others through the sheer force of their personality. This trait encompasses much more than smooth talking or physical attractiveness. It includes the magnetic presence that makes people want to listen, the emotional intelligence to understand what others need to hear, and the confidence to project authority even in uncertain situations.

The applications of Charm span the entire spectrum of social interaction, from honest persuasion and inspiring leadership to cunning deception and subtle manipulation. It’s the trait that determines whether you can convince a guard to let you pass with a smile and a story, rally a group of demoralized allies for one last desperate charge, or lie your way out of trouble with such confidence that your targets believe you completely.

A character with high Charm doesn’t just speak. They command attention, inspire confidence, and leave lasting impressions on everyone they encounter. They understand that communication is as much about reading their audience as it is about having something to say. This force of personality can open doors that no amount of money, threats, or technical skill could budge, making it an invaluable tool for characters who must navigate complex social situations.

Example Challenges

Example characters who excel at influence and force of personality

• James Bond - Suave secret agent
• Tony Stark (Marvel) - Charismatic billionaire
• Han Solo (Star Wars) - Smooth-talking smuggler
• Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones) - Silver-tongued diplomat
• Loki (Marvel) - God of mischief and lies
• Ferris Bueller - Master manipulator of people
• Westley (Princess Bride) - Charming farm boy turned pirate
• Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) - Roguish pirate

Spirit

Willpower, Grit & Fighting Spirit

Spirit represents the indomitable core of your character—their raw determination, unshakeable willpower, and absolute refusal to surrender even when facing overwhelming odds. This trait encompasses mental resilience, emotional fortitude, and the deep-seated grit that drives someone to keep pushing forward when everything seems hopeless. Spirit is what separates those who break under pressure from those who dig deeper and find reserves of strength they never knew they possessed.

The manifestations of Spirit are as varied as the characters who possess it. It might appear as the wounded soldier who continues fighting despite grievous injuries, the detective who refuses to give up on a cold case even when everyone else has moved on, the prisoner who endures torture without breaking, or the leader who stands firm and projects confidence when everyone else has lost hope. This isn’t mere stubbornness. It’s having an unshakeable core that adversity cannot touch.

Spirit is what drives characters to achieve the seemingly impossible through sheer force of will, transforming potential defeat into miraculous victory. When skill fails and luck runs out, Spirit is what makes heroes rise to meet challenges that should destroy them. It’s the trait that turns ordinary people into legends, not through superior ability, but through absolute refusal to accept defeat.

Example Challenges

Example characters who embody willpower, grit, and fighting spirit

• Asta (Black Clover) - Never-give-up attitude
• John McClane (Die Hard) - Refuses to quit
• Guts (Berserk) - Survives impossible odds
• Deku/Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia) - Heroic determination
• Ellen Ripley (Alien series) - Survivor against all odds
• Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings) - Loyal and determined
• Inigo Montoya (Princess Bride) - Driven by vengeance and honor
• Elizabeth Swann (Pirates of the Caribbean) - Transforms from lady to pirate king
• Sarah Connor (Terminator series) - Unbreakable will to survive

Trait Substitution and Equipment
The relationship between traits and actions isn’t always rigid. Creative problem-solving often involves finding ways to apply your character’s strengths to challenges that might initially seem to require different abilities. Equipment, in particular, can change which trait applies to a given situation.

For example, picking a lock traditionally requires an Agility check, representing the fine motor control needed to manipulate the mechanism. However, if your character has an electronic lock-picking device, the challenge might become a Brains check instead, as the task shifts from manual dexterity to understanding and operating the technology.

Many pieces of equipment explicitly offer trait alternatives. A dagger, for instance, might allow you to use either Agility (for precise, quick strikes) or Fight (for aggressive close combat) when making attacks. As a player, you can choose which trait to use based on your character’s strengths and the tactical situation, unless specific circumstances limit your options.

This flexibility encourages creative thinking and ensures that characters can find ways to contribute meaningfully even when facing challenges that don’t align perfectly with their strongest traits.

Secondary Traits

While primary traits define your character’s fundamental capabilities, secondary traits add depth and nuance that brings your character to life. Secondary traits fall into two categories: derived traits that are calculated from your primary traits, and personal traits that you select to define your character’s inner drives and vulnerabilities. The derived trait, Resilience, represents your character’s ability to endure physical and mental punishment; how much fight they have left when the world seems determined to break them. Lasting Effects are lasting damage affects that come from combat or other situations that may harm your character physically, mentally, or spiritually. AP Max or Ability Point Maximum is determined by your milestones. The personal traits: Motivation and Flaws create the emotional core of your character, providing not just roleplaying opportunities but mechanical rewards for embracing what drives your character forward and what holds them back. These traits transform your character from a collection of dice into a living person with hopes, terrors, and imperfections that make their story compelling.

Resilience

Resilience represents your character’s capacity to absorb punishment, both physical and emotional, before reaching their breaking point. This isn’t just about how much damage your character can take; it’s about their fundamental toughness, their ability to keep functioning when others would collapse, and their refusal to quit even when their body and spirit are pushed to their limits.

Your Maximum Resilience is calculated using a simple formula based on your Spirit trait:

$$\text{Max Spirit} - \text{Lasting Injuries} = \text{Max Resilience}$$

For example, if your character has a d6 Spirit die, their maximum value is 6. At character creation, this would be their Max Resilience since they haven’t yet accumulated any lasting injuries. As your character takes damage during adventures, you subtract that damage from their current resilience. If your character takes more damage than their Max Resilience allows, they don’t simply fall unconscious—they enter a critical state where they must make crucial decisions about their survival.

This system creates a meaningful relationship between your character’s spiritual strength and their physical endurance. A character with unshakeable determination (high Spirit) can continue fighting longer than someone who gives up easily, regardless of their physical conditioning.

Doing and Taking Damage When the action is one that can damage another person such as punching them, using a weapon, or maybe using an ability to attack their mind, you can do damage to the opponent (or object if attempting to break an object). The amount done is based on the difference from the difficultly and the value of the success.

For example, you throw a punch at someone which requires a Fight contested roll against Agility. You roll a 6, and they roll a 5. You have successfully struck them, doing 1 point of damage. Since they do not have anything that can reduce that damage (armor for example may reduce damage), they take 1 point of damage against their Resilience.

Consequences of Dropping to Zero Resilience
When your character’s damage equals or exceeds their Max Resilience, they enter a critical state that represents the razor’s edge between heroic perseverance and complete collapse. In this state, your character faces severe limitations but also dramatic opportunities:

Immediate Effects:

• Your character can no longer move normally or take most actions, limited only to the options described below
• Anyone attacking your character gains a +5 bonus to their attack roll
• All attacks against your character become contested rolls against your Spirit. It’s only your characters determination keeping them conscious

Critical Action Options:

Blaze of Glory: Sometimes heroes find their greatest strength in their darkest moment. You can declare a Blaze of Glory before taking any action, drawing on reserves of power you never knew you had. This action receives a +20 bonus to the roll, making success almost automatic. However, immediately after completing this action, your character dies. Only supernatural abilities can bring them back from this fate. This should be roleplayed as the epic culmination of your character’s story—their final, greatest act before passing into legend.

Heroic Surge: By spending 1 Heroic Token, you can surge back into action with 1d4 points of resilience restored. Any attacks against you that turn automatically fail as fate intervenes to keep you fighting. This doesn’t make you safe, lasting effects like poison or bleeding continue to threaten you, but it gives you another chance to affect the outcome. You can only use this option once per scene.

Let Fate Decide: You can roll your Spirit die against a difficulty of 5 (or as a contested roll if being attacked). Success restores 1 point of resilience, but you automatically gain a Minor Lasting Injury from pushing your body beyond its limits.

Giving Up: Your character can choose to surrender, immediately falling unconscious. If they take no additional damage, they’ll wake up in a few hours with 1 resilience. However, ongoing effects like bleeding or poison continue to cause damage, potentially leading to lasting injuries or death.

Receiving Help: The support of allies can mean the difference between heroic recovery and tragic loss. If someone heals you through magical or technological means, you immediately regain those points as resilience. During turn-based combat, this healing takes effect on your next turn. If you had already declared the use of a Heroic Token for a Heroic Surge, receiving healing allows you to save that token for future use.

More mundane assistance also proves valuable. An ally can spend time providing medical care, helping bandage wounds and stabilize your condition. This extended care allows your character to recover without automatically gaining a Lasting Injury when they wake up at least a few hours later or after the scene has concluded.

Preventing Recovery: When someone reaches zero resilience, opponents can choose to ensure they stay down. By declaring a knockout attack, a contested roll against the target’s Spirit, a successful attacker can render the victim unconscious, preventing them from taking any of the critical actions described above.

Regaining Resilience: After a long rest (at least 6 hours of sleep in safe conditions), characters regain their full Max Resilience. This represents the body’s natural healing processes and the mind’s ability to recover from stress, though lasting injuries continue to reduce the maximum until they heal properly.

Lasting Injuries

While resilience represents your character’s ability to keep fighting in the heat of battle, some wounds run deeper than what can be shaken off after a good night’s rest. Lasting injuries represent the accumulated toll that violence, trauma, and supernatural forces take on both body and soul. These persistent wounds don’t just affect your character mechanically—they become part of their story, shaping how they move through the world and interact with others.

Every lasting injury carries weight beyond its immediate effects. A warrior’s scarred sword arm might ache before storms, a scholar’s fractured psyche might flee from certain memories, or a cursed adventurer might find that shadows seem to follow them wherever they go. These injuries create opportunities for rich roleplaying while serving as tangible reminders of the dangers your character has faced and survived.

Lasting injuries are categorized along two dimensions that determine their impact and recovery. First, they are classified by their nature: Physical injuries affect the body directly, Mental injuries target the psyche and emotional well-being, and Spiritual injuries (often caused by curses, divine wrath, or supernatural forces) wound the very essence of who your character is. Second, they are ranked by severity: Minor, Major, or Severe, each requiring different approaches and timeframes for healing.

When Lasting Injuries Occur:
Lasting injuries typically result from combat, though exceptional roleplaying situations may also warrant them at the GM’s discretion. The severity of the injury depends on the magnitude of the trauma inflicted, whether from a single devastating blow or the accumulation of punishment that finally breaks your character’s defenses.

The most common triggers for lasting injuries are tied directly to the violence of combat and the desperation of survival:

It’s important to understand that lasting injuries are determined by the full damage amount, regardless of your current resilience. Your character’s toughness might prevent them from dropping below 0 resilience, but it cannot fully shield them from the traumatic impact of truly devastating attacks.

For example, imagine a character with 6 Max Resilience facing a massive explosion that deals 20 points of damage. While their resilience drops to 0 (rather than -14), the full force of that 20-point impact still traumatizes their body, automatically inflicting a Severe Injury. If they then choose to use “Let Fate Decide” to get back up, they would gain an additional Minor Injury on top of the Severe one. Upon recovery, their Max Resilience would be reduced to 4, a reminder of the day they barely survived annihilation.

This system ensures that truly catastrophic attacks leave lasting marks on characters, creating both mechanical consequences and storytelling opportunities that persist long after the immediate danger has passed.

Death and Early Retirement:
Heroes are not invincible, and even the most determined spirit has limits. When the accumulated weight of lasting injuries exceeds your character’s core resilience—specifically, when you have more lasting injuries than your maximum Spirit die value—your character reaches a breaking point from which there may be no return.

At this critical juncture, death or retirement becomes inevitable. The exact nature of this ending depends on the types of injuries sustained and should be determined collaboratively between player and GM. A warrior overwhelmed by physical trauma might die from their wounds, while someone broken by mental injuries could be institutionalized, and a character consumed by spiritual corruption might fall into an irreversible coma or become something no longer recognizably human.

This moment represents the natural conclusion of a character’s story; not necessarily a failure, but the recognition that some battles leave scars too deep to continue fighting. The GM has final authority in determining the specific outcome, but the goal should always be to create a meaningful and appropriate end to the character’s journey, one that honors both their struggles and their ultimate humanity.

Ability Point Max (AP Max)

This trait is determined by the milestone. See Section on Advancing Your Character. For most starting characters (who start with 0 milestones), your starting AP Max is 5.

Motivation

You should select one Motivation for your character either using the examples below or coming up with a similar broad category.

Every compelling character is driven by something deeper than mere survival or personal gain. Your character’s Motivation represents the core principle, belief, or driving force that compels them to act heroically, take risks, and push forward when others might give up. This isn’t just a personality quirk or background detail—it’s the fundamental aspect of who your character is that transforms them from an ordinary person into someone capable of extraordinary deeds.

Motivations serve both narrative and mechanical purposes in Multiverse. From a storytelling perspective, your motivation provides a lens through which to view situations and make decisions. It helps you understand how your character would react in challenging circumstances and gives you guidance when facing moral dilemmas or difficult choices. Mechanically, when you act in accordance with your motivation—especially when doing so creates complications, requires sacrifice, or leads you into danger—the GM may award you a Heroic Token, recognizing that your character’s principles are driving the story forward in meaningful ways.

The key to a good motivation is that it should inspire action rather than passivity. A motivation should compel your character to get involved, take stands, and make choices that matter. It should be something that occasionally conflicts with the easy path, pushing your character to do what’s right rather than what’s convenient. When your motivation guides you toward actions that create interesting complications or dramatic moments, you’re playing your character exactly as intended.

Your motivation doesn’t need to be perfectly noble or traditionally heroic. While many characters are driven by classical virtues, others might be motivated by personal codes, emotional needs, or even seemingly selfish desires that nonetheless lead them toward heroic actions. The important thing is that your motivation is genuine to your character and provides clear guidance for how they approach the world.

Example Motivations

Justice - Your character believes deeply in fairness, righteousness, and ensuring that wrongs are made right. They cannot stand to see the innocent suffer or the guilty escape consequences. This might manifest as a paladin’s divine calling, a detective’s unwavering pursuit of truth, or a vigilante’s personal war against corruption. Characters motivated by justice often find themselves standing up to authority figures, defending the helpless, or pursuing dangerous investigations because it’s the right thing to do.

Compassion - Driven by genuine care for others’ wellbeing, your character acts to alleviate suffering wherever they find it. They’re moved to help not by duty or obligation, but by deep empathy for those in pain. This could be a healer who can’t ignore the wounded, a teacher who sees potential in every student, or a revolutionary fighting to improve lives. Compassionate characters often sacrifice their own resources, safety, or goals to help others, even strangers.

Courage - Your character possesses an inner fire that compels them to face danger head-on, especially when others are at risk. They’re driven not by recklessness, but by the conviction that someone must stand against the darkness. This might be a soldier’s duty to protect their comrades, an explorer’s drive to venture into the unknown, or a common citizen’s refusal to be intimidated by threats. Courageous characters volunteer for dangerous missions and refuse to back down from threats.

Temperance - Balance, moderation, and self-control guide your character’s actions. They believe that excess and extremism lead to suffering, and they work to bring harmony to chaotic situations. This could manifest as a diplomat seeking peaceful solutions, a monk practicing mindful living, or a leader who refuses to abuse their power. Characters motivated by temperance often serve as mediators and voices of reason, sometimes frustrating more impulsive allies.

Prudence - Wisdom and careful judgment drive your character to seek the best outcomes through thoughtful action. They’re motivated to gather information, consider consequences, and make decisions that serve the greater good in the long term. This might be a scholar seeking dangerous knowledge to prevent future catastrophes, a strategist willing to make hard choices for ultimate victory, or an advisor who speaks uncomfortable truths. Prudent characters often take on thankless but necessary tasks.

Fortitude - Your character is driven by an unshakeable determination to persevere through any hardship in service of their goals. They refuse to give up, no matter how dire the circumstances become. This could be a parent searching for a lost child, a survivor bearing witness to atrocities, or a guardian maintaining their watch against ancient evils. Characters motivated by fortitude keep going when others despair and inspire others through their example.

Hope - Your character maintains an unwavering belief that things can and will get better, and they’re driven to make that belief reality. They see potential where others see only problems and work tirelessly to nurture positive change. This might be a community organizer building bridges between hostile groups, an inventor creating solutions to seemingly impossible problems, or a storyteller preserving culture and dreams. Hopeful characters often take on seemingly futile causes because they believe every small victory matters.

Redemption - Whether seeking to atone for past mistakes or help others find their path to redemption, your character is driven by the belief that everyone deserves a second chance. They might be working to make amends for their own dark past, or they might be someone who sees the potential for good even in apparent villains. This could manifest as a reformed criminal now fighting crime, a priest offering sanctuary to the desperate, or a mentor helping troubled youth. Characters motivated by redemption often put themselves at risk to save people others have written off.

Knowledge - Your character is compelled by an insatiable hunger for understanding, truth, and discovery. They believe that knowledge itself has value and that understanding the world leads to the power to improve it. This might be a researcher pursuing dangerous secrets, an explorer mapping unknown territories, or a student of magic seeking to understand arcane mysteries. Characters motivated by knowledge often venture into perilous situations because they must know what lies beyond, sometimes prioritizing discovery over personal safety.

Legacy - Your character is driven by the desire to leave something meaningful behind, to ensure that their life makes a lasting positive impact on the world. They think beyond immediate concerns to consider how their actions will affect future generations. This could be a leader building institutions that will outlast them, an artist creating works that inspire others, or a teacher shaping young minds. Characters motivated by legacy often make personal sacrifices for long-term benefits and take on responsibilities that won’t pay off in their lifetime.

Using Your Motivation

Your motivation should influence your character’s decisions throughout the campaign, but it shouldn’t become a straitjacket that limits your options. Real people are complex, and motivations can sometimes conflict with immediate desires or practical concerns. The most interesting characters are those who struggle with their motivations, who sometimes fail to live up to their ideals, or who must find creative ways to honor their principles in complicated situations.

When your character acts in accordance with their motivation—especially when doing so creates interesting complications, requires personal sacrifice, or drives the plot forward. These moments of principled action are opportunities for Heroic Tokens to be awarded, recognizing that your character’s beliefs are making the story more engaging for everyone at the table.

Flaws

No character is perfect, and in many ways, it’s our imperfections that make us most human and interesting. You should select one Flaw. Your character’s Flaw represents a significant personal weakness, character defect, or self-destructive tendency that creates complications in their life. Unlike motivations, which drive characters toward positive action, flaws are the internal obstacles that make success more difficult and create dramatic tension in your character’s story.

Flaws serve a crucial role in collaborative storytelling by ensuring that characters face internal as well as external challenges. They create opportunities for character growth, generate interpersonal conflict that drives narrative forward, and prevent characters from being too perfect or powerful. A well-chosen flaw makes your character more relatable and provides built-in story hooks that your GM can use to create compelling personal stakes in the campaign.

From a mechanical standpoint, when you roleplay your flaw in a way that creates genuine complications, obstacles, or interesting dramatic moments—especially when doing so makes your situation more difficult or dangerous—the GM should award you a Heroic Token. This system rewards players for embracing their character’s weaknesses and using them to enhance the story rather than trying to minimize or ignore them.

The key to a good flaw is that it should be something your character struggles with but doesn’t necessarily want to overcome entirely. It should create interesting internal conflict and present genuine temptation. The best flaws are those that sometimes lead to positive outcomes through unexpected paths, or that create meaningful choices where your character must decide between their desires and their better judgment.

Your flaw shouldn’t completely define your character or make them unplayable, but it should be significant enough to create regular complications. It should be something that other characters might notice and react to, and something that influences how your character approaches challenges and relationships.

Example Flaws

Pride - Your character has an inflated sense of their own importance, abilities, or worth, leading them to refuse help, ignore good advice, or take unnecessary risks to prove their superiority. They might be unable to admit mistakes, refuse to acknowledge others’ contributions, or take on challenges beyond their capabilities simply because backing down would wound their ego. This could manifest as a noble who can’t accept criticism from “commoners,” a warrior who refuses healing because it shows weakness, or a scholar who dismisses others’ ideas without consideration.

Greed - Your character is driven by an excessive desire for wealth, possessions, or material gain, often at the expense of relationships and principles. They might demand larger shares of treasure, make dangerous deals for profit, or prioritize monetary gain over the group’s safety. This doesn’t necessarily mean being evil—they might justify their greed as providing for family or funding important causes—but their desires create complications. Examples include a merchant who can’t resist a profitable but questionable deal, an adventurer who hoards magical items, or a noble obsessed with maintaining their lavish lifestyle.

Wrath - Your character struggles with anger management, responding to frustration, insults, or setbacks with disproportionate fury. They might start fights over minor slights, make threats they later regret, or let their temper override their judgment in crucial moments. This could be a berserker who can’t control their rage in combat, a diplomat whose anger ruins negotiations, or a leader whose fury alienates potential allies. The key is that their anger often makes situations worse rather than better.

Envy - Your character is consumed by resentment toward others’ success, abilities, or possessions, leading them to act in ways that undermine both themselves and others. They might sabotage allies out of jealousy, make poor decisions to compete with rivals, or become obsessed with surpassing someone else rather than focusing on their own goals. This could manifest as a mage jealous of their mentor’s power, a warrior envious of their comrade’s reputation, or a noble bitter about their sibling’s inheritance.

Gluttony - Your character has an excessive appetite or compulsive behavior regarding consumption—whether food, drink, magical power, or experiences. They struggle with moderation and self-control, often indulging even when it’s inappropriate or dangerous. This might be an adventurer who can’t resist trying every magical potion they find, a noble who continues feasting while others starve, or a spellcaster who drains themselves casting unnecessary magic. The flaw lies in their inability to recognize when enough is enough.

Sloth - Your character tends toward laziness, procrastination, or taking the path of least resistance, even when more effort would yield better results. They might avoid responsibilities, delay important tasks, or look for shortcuts that create bigger problems. This could be a talented but unmotivated student, a guard who neglects their duties, or a leader who makes decisions based on convenience rather than necessity. The dramatic tension comes from situations where their laziness conflicts with urgent needs.

Lust - Your character is driven by powerful desires that override their better judgment—whether for physical pleasure, romantic conquest, or emotional connection. They might make poor decisions to pursue attractive individuals, betray commitments for momentary passion, or become distracted by their desires at inappropriate times. This could manifest as a spy whose emotions compromise their mission, a leader whose affairs create political complications, or an adventurer whose romantic pursuits endanger the group.

Cowardice - Despite potentially being capable of brave acts, your character’s default response to danger or conflict is to avoid, flee, or let others take risks while they remain safe. They might abandon allies in dangerous situations, refuse to take necessary risks, or make decisions based on fear rather than logic or morality. This creates tension when their self-preservation instincts conflict with their responsibilities or the needs of others.

Addiction - Your character struggles with a compulsive dependency—whether on substances, activities, or even magical effects. They might risk everything to obtain their addiction, make poor decisions while under its influence, or suffer withdrawal symptoms that impair their abilities. This could be a warrior addicted to combat stimulants, a mage dependent on magical energy, or an aristocrat who gambles compulsively. The flaw creates regular complications as they balance their needs with their responsibilities.

Guilt - Your character is haunted by past actions or failures, leading them to make decisions based on misplaced responsibility or self-punishment rather than current circumstances. They might take unnecessary risks to “atone,” refuse rewards they feel they don’t deserve, or sabotage their own success because they believe they deserve to suffer. This could be a former soldier tormented by wartime actions, a healer who lost a patient, or a leader whose past decisions led to tragedy.

Gullibility - Your character is overly trusting and easily deceived, readily believing what others tell them without sufficient skepticism or verification. They might fall for obvious lies, trust people who clearly have ulterior motives, or make decisions based on information that others would immediately recognize as suspicious. This could manifest as a naive noble who believes every sob story they hear, an adventurer who trusts obviously shady merchants, or a scholar who accepts questionable sources without proper research. Their trusting nature often leads them into traps, bad deals, or dangerous situations.

Recklessness - Your character acts impulsively without considering consequences, often putting themselves and others in unnecessary danger. They might charge into situations without planning, make snap decisions without consulting others, or take risks simply for the thrill. This differs from courage in that it’s not motivated by protecting others but by an inability to properly assess or care about risks. Examples include an explorer who ventures into obviously dangerous areas alone, a socialite who makes provocative statements without considering political ramifications, or a warrior who abandons tactics for the excitement of combat.

Embracing Your Flaw

The goal isn’t to overcome your flaw completely; that would eliminate a major source of character development and dramatic tension. Instead, embrace it as an integral part of who your character is. Let it create complications, drive interesting decisions, and generate conflict both internal and external.

When your character acts according to their flaw in ways that create genuine obstacles, complicate the current situation, or generate interesting dramatic moments especially when doing so makes your character’s life more difficult. These moments of flawed but compelling roleplay are exactly when Heroic Tokens can be awarded, recognizing that you’re making the story more engaging by embracing your character’s humanity rather than trying to play them as a perfect hero.

Remember that flaws often lead to some of the most memorable and meaningful character moments in any campaign. They’re not punishment. They’re opportunities for great storytelling.

What’s Next? - Bloodline

With your character’s concept, traits, motivation, and flaw established, the next step is defining their bloodline.

Bloodlines

GM: “Ok, River, what are your thoughts on your character’s bloodline?”

River: “Can you explain bloodlines again… are they races?”

GM: “Well, they can be. This setting we decided has races such as elves or dwarves in which case someone may want to select Fae Touched or Nephilim respectively, but we also decided there can be beings who just have a distinct trait from that race. They could also just represent some blessing or curse that is carried throughout your family.”

River: “Oh, I like that idea of it being something minor. Maybe it is actually an animal trait, like claws, cat eyes, or something…”

GM: “That is doable, so you’re thinking about a small animal trait in a mostly human-like body?”

River: “Yes, how about antlers, so like an actual deer.”

GM: “Oh, that sounds fun. I would suggest the Beastkin bloodline. They have a number of sample blessings, which are really just abilities to reflect the inner animal. You should pick one to start with, or if you don’t like them, we can always talk about something else that makes sense.”

River: “So these blessings are abilities?”

GM: “Yup, though all the blessing abilities focus on giving passive situational modifiers. Like Blessing of the Woodlands says you are naturally adept in the woodlands or the wilds.”

River: “I think Blessing of Virtues: Athleticism. To reflect the running. I love how deer run, and I can see my character really running quickly.”

GM: “That is neat. Some other things you may want to consider, then we can talk about it. How common were beastkin in your character’s background? Was the town you grew up in friendly towards them or were you the only one? No need to answer now, but the goal is that bloodlines should add a flavor to your narrative as a character.”

GM: “Sage, what are you thinking?”

Sage: “Demonic bloodline, definitely. She was touched by something evil like either a demon or some great elder being…”

GM: “Oh, that could be Oni, or Vampiric, or Shifter, or Cursed.”

Sage: “What’s the difference between those?”

GM: “Well, Oni represents more honorable demonic heritage—think powerful spirits that can be destructive but aren’t necessarily evil. They’re often associated with strength and protection. Vampiric gives you that dark elegance and connection to shadow magic, but without the traditional vampire weaknesses. Shifter are a wide range of stories, where beings have another nature to them. Cursed is more about being touched by cosmic horror, things from beyond reality that don’t follow normal rules.”

Sage: “Ooh, Cursed sounds perfect. My character discovered something she shouldn’t have, right? Like she read a forbidden book or witnessed something that changed her.”

GM: “Exactly! And that fits with your character concept of someone who gained power through dangerous knowledge. The Cursed bloodline suggests you have insights into things that normal people can’t comprehend, but it comes with a cost.”

Sage: “What kind of abilities come with that?”

GM: “Blessing of the Unknown Horrors would be the classic choice. It gives you bonuses when dealing with occult symbols, communicating with otherworldly entities, or understanding cosmic phenomena. Basically, you’re good at the stuff that would drive normal people insane.”

River: “That’s so cool! So my character runs through forests like a deer, and yours understands cosmic nightmares?”

Sage: “Right! And both of those create interesting roleplay opportunities. Like, how do people react when they see your antlers? And how does my character deal with knowing things that make her different from everyone else?”

GM: “Exactly! That’s what bloodlines are really about. They’re not just mechanical bonuses. They’re storytelling hooks that help define who your character is and how they relate to the world around them.”

Your character’s bloodline represents the inherited traits, cultural background, and fundamental nature that shapes their capabilities and worldview. This isn’t just about physical appearance, which can often be very mundane—it encompasses genetic predispositions and supernatural lineages that influence your character’s potential rather than their everyday appearance. Bloodlines are meant to be generalized aspects of heritage, with individual campaign settings determining how pronounced any physical manifestations might be.

When you select a bloodline, you gain access to a suggested ability that reflects the specialized traits or cultural knowledge associated with that heritage. However, you’re not locked into this suggestion. You can choose any ability from the available ability pool that makes sense for your character concept. The bloodline’s suggested ability is simply there to provide thematic guidance and encourage character depth that aligns with your chosen heritage.

It’s important to note that not all bloodlines are available in every setting. A modern-day campaign focused solely on human characters would make sure the bloodlines don’t manifest physical appearances, while a high fantasy setting might introduce distinct races. Each campaign setting will specify which options are appropriate for that world, and many settings can introduce their own unique bloodlines that reflect the specific cultures, organizations, and supernatural elements of that reality.

Races
Some settings, particularly fantasy campaigns, may choose to implement more distinct racial differences using these bloodlines as a foundation. In such settings, an Elf might be built using the Fae Touched bloodline but with more pronounced pointed ears, ethereal beauty, and clearly non-human characteristics. Nephilim could manifest as actual half-giants with impressive stature and obvious elemental markings. Beastkin might display prominent animal features like full tails, muzzles, or extensive fur coverage.

When using this rule, the GM determines how physically distinct each bloodline appears in their setting. A gritty medieval fantasy might feature subtle differences, while a high-magic world could showcase dramatic racial variations. The mechanical benefits remain the same, only the visual presentation and social interactions change to match the campaign’s tone and style.

The Veil
In the Multiverse system, campaigns sometimes transition between different settings or realities. When your GM moves the campaign from one world to another—perhaps from a fantasy realm to a modern-day setting—characters may find themselves in a reality that doesn’t normally accommodate their original nature. When this happens, a phenomenon known as “the Veil” takes effect.

If your character originated in a setting with different racial characteristics but now finds themselves in a world dominated by a single race (such as a humans-only modern reality), they will appear as members of the dominant local race to most observers. An elf who began in a fantasy setting but is now in a human-dominated world would appear human to everyone around them, though they might retain subtle oddities—unusually fine features, an otherworldly grace, or eyes that seem to hold ancient wisdom.

This appearance is more than illusion; it’s a fundamental adaptation that allows characters to function in their new reality without constantly drawing unwanted attention. However, their actions, knowledge, and abilities remain unchanged—they simply appear in a form that won’t immediately mark them as outsiders.

Beings with supernatural sight, magical perception, or similar abilities can see through the Veil to perceive a character’s true nature. This creates interesting opportunities for recognition, conflict, or alliance with others who can see beyond the surface.

If none of the provided options perfectly match your character concept, you can work with your GM to create a custom bloodline that better represents your character’s unique heritage.

Beyond their mechanical benefits, bloodlines also provide rich opportunities for roleplay, offering hooks for the GM to create personal storylines, introduce relevant NPCs, and connect your character’s heritage to the unfolding campaign narrative.

Bloodline Options

Beastkin

Beastkin are individuals who embody the bridge between civilization and the wild, displaying physical traits and instincts that connect them to the animal kingdom. These manifestations can range from subtle to pronounced. Some might have eyes that reflect light like a cat’s in darkness, others sport functional tails, pointed ears, small horns, or patches of fur along their arms and legs. The specific animal traits they exhibit often reflect their personality, environment, or the circumstances of their bloodline’s origin.

The physical manifestations of Beastkin heritage are as diverse as the animal kingdom itself. Feline-influenced Beastkin might possess vertical pupils that dilate dramatically in low light, retractable claws, or natural grace in their movements. Those with canine traits often display enhanced loyalty and pack instincts, ears that move expressively with their emotions, and an uncanny ability to read people’s intentions through body language. Avian Beastkin might have feathers mixed with their hair, hollow bones that make them surprisingly light, or eyes that seem to track movements with predatory focus.

Those touched by prey animals such as deer, rabbits, or horses often possess large, expressive eyes, incredible natural grace, and reflexes that suggest constant alertness. They might display fluid movement, an ability to remain perfectly still when threatened, or legs built for speed and endurance. Predator-touched Beastkin often emanate a subtle sense of danger that others find both attractive and unsettling, with sharp teeth, intense stares, and movements that suggest barely contained power.

While Beastkin appear to possess heightened senses beyond normal capabilities, these enhanced abilities manifest through learned skills and supernatural blessings rather than automatically. A Beastkin with feline traits might look like they should have superior night vision, but they would need to develop abilities that actually grant such powers. Their animal characteristics serve as a foundation for developing related talents; their wolf-like ears might twitch at distant sounds, but enhanced hearing comes through training and supernatural gifts rather than biology alone.

Behaviorally, Beastkin often display instincts and social patterns that reflect their animal influences. Feline Beastkin might be naturally curious, independent, and prone to hunting behaviors, while also craving affection and comfort from those they trust. Canine-influenced individuals often form intense pack bonds with their chosen companions, display protective instincts toward their “family,” and possess an instinctive understanding of social hierarchies.

Pack-oriented Beastkin frequently navigate complex social dynamics, not out of aggression but from an instinctive need to understand their place within group structures. They often become natural leaders or devoted followers, rarely content to exist without clear social bonds. Prey-influenced Beastkin might be naturally cautious and observant, excellent at reading danger signs through intuition and body language, but also surprisingly brave when protecting others or defending their territory.

The Beastkin connection to nature extends beyond personal traits to encompass an intuitive understanding of natural cycles, animal behavior, and wilderness survival instincts. They often gravitate toward roles as guides, trackers, or rangers, using their inherited intuition to navigate dangerous territories. Many possess an almost supernatural affinity for communicating with animals, not through speech but through body language, instinctive understanding of animal psychology, and natural empathy for wild creatures.

In social situations, Beastkin can face unique challenges. Their animal traits might make others uncomfortable or lead to discrimination in societies that view such characteristics with suspicion. However, these same traits often prove socially advantageous—their instinctive understanding of body language makes them skilled at reading social situations, their connection to nature allows them to thrive in environments where others struggle, and their distinctive appearance often makes them memorable and charismatic.

Relationships with Beastkin often involve learning to accept and appreciate their dual nature. They might display affection through actions that seem unusual to others such as bringing gifts that reflect their animal nature, showing submission or dominance through subtle body language, or expressing loyalty through fiercely protective behavior. However, their instinctive understanding of pack dynamics and social bonds makes them deeply devoted partners and friends once trust is established.

Alternative Origin: Choose this bloodline if your character has been transformed by exposure to primal nature magic, blessed by animal spirits for protecting their territories, undergone shamanic rituals that awakened their beast nature, or been marked by encounters with powerful nature deities who granted them the gifts of the wild.

return

Cursed

Not all supernatural heritage comes from noble or benevolent sources. The Cursed carry within them the taint of beings that exist beyond the normal boundaries of reality—entities so alien that their mere presence warps the fabric of existence around them. This corruption might be an ancient family curse passed down through generations, the lingering effect of an ancestor’s bargain with demonic forces, or even a deliberate pact made by the character themselves in exchange for power.

The touch of the Old Ones, beings that existed before creation and will endure after its ending, leaves marks that go deeper than flesh and bone. Their influence seeps into bloodlines like poison, creating descendants who carry fragments of cosmic horror within their very essence. Physical manifestations of this curse can be subtle but unsettling: eyes that seem to reflect light at strange angles, shadows that don’t quite match their movements, or voices that sometimes carry an almost subsonic harmonic that makes listeners unconsciously uncomfortable.

More pronounced signs might include skin that feels slightly too cold or too warm to the touch, hair that seems to absorb light rather than reflect it, or pupils that occasionally dilate without regard to lighting conditions. The Cursed often find that small animals become nervous in their presence, while certain plants seem to wither or grow unnaturally when they remain in one place too long. They might notice that their reflections sometimes appear delayed or distorted, or that photographs of them occasionally reveal details that weren’t visible to the naked eye.

Behaviorally, the Cursed struggle with knowledge and impulses that come from their otherworldly heritage. They often possess insights into situations that they have no logical reason to understand, speaking truths they’ve never learned or recognizing patterns that exist beyond normal perception. Many experience dreams filled with impossible geometries, alien landscapes, or whispered conversations in languages that predate human speech. These dreams leave them with a persistent sense of being watched by vast, indifferent intelligences.

The Cursed frequently battle with urges that don’t align with their personal morals, not necessarily evil impulses, but alien ones that make perfect sense from an inhuman perspective. They might feel compelled to arrange objects in specific patterns, speak in riddles during important conversations, or make decisions based on criteria that seem random to others but follow a logic shaped by cosmic forces.

Despite their dark heritage, many Cursed individuals are fundamentally good people who work hard to channel their otherworldly gifts toward positive ends. They often become excellent researchers of forbidden knowledge, able to comprehend texts and concepts that would drive others to madness. Their unique perspective allows them to solve problems through approaches that conventional thinking would never consider.

However, the curse always carries a price. The Cursed must constantly guard against letting their otherworldly nature overwhelm their humanity. They may find themselves gradually becoming more detached from normal human concerns, viewing mortal struggles with the same dispassion as their cosmic patrons. Relationships can be challenging, as their loved ones may sense something fundamentally different about them without being able to identify exactly what feels wrong.

Alternative Origin: Choose this bloodline if your character has recently made a desperate pact with dark entities for power, been cursed by a vengeful spirit or demon, exposed themselves to forbidden knowledge that has permanently altered their essence, or been marked by creatures from beyond reality’s borders.

return

Draconic

The Draconic bloodline traces its origins to the ancient dragons, beings of immense power, intelligence, and magical mastery who once ruled over vast territories and commanded the respect of entire civilizations. Unlike other supernatural heritages that might dilute over generations, draconic blood seems to intensify with time, as if the dragon’s essence becomes more concentrated rather than weaker as it passes through mortal lineages.

Those who carry draconic heritage often display subtle but unmistakable signs of their powerful ancestry. Their eyes might hold flecks of gold, silver, or jewel tones that seem to glow with inner fire, and their gaze carries an intensity that makes others instinctively recognize them as natural leaders or dangerous opponents. Many develop elongated canine teeth, fingernails that grow thick and claw-like, or patches of scales that appear along their arms, neck, or back during moments of strong emotion.

The magic connection varies depending on the type of dragon in their lineage. Those descended from fire dragons often run warmer than others, finding comfort in heat that would be unbearable to most people, and their breath might mist with warmth even in cold weather. Frost dragon descendants tend toward pale coloration and seem immune to cold, while storm-touched individuals might have hair that moves as if stirred by an unfelt wind and voices that carry clearly over great distances.

Behaviorally, those with draconic heritage often struggle with pride and the need for control. They possess natural charisma and leadership abilities, but these gifts come with an almost compulsive need to be in charge of situations. Many find themselves uncomfortable taking orders from others, not out of disrespect but from an inherited certainty that they could handle things better themselves. This confidence isn’t usually misplaced—draconic bloodlines often come with enhanced intelligence, strategic thinking, and an intuitive understanding of power dynamics.

The draconic connection to wealth and treasure manifests in interesting ways. While not necessarily greedy, those with dragon blood often have an uncanny ability to assess the true value of objects, detect forgeries or fraudulent goods, and accumulate resources through shrewd dealing and careful investment. They might find themselves drawn to beautiful or valuable objects not out of materialism but from an inherited appreciation for craftsmanship and rarity.

Socially, draconic descendants often command respect without trying, their presence filling rooms in ways that make others take notice. However, this same commanding aura can make casual friendships difficult, people either defer to them uncomfortably or challenge them unnecessarily. Many learn to modulate their natural intensity to avoid overwhelming those around them, though this conscious effort can be exhausting over long periods.

The power within draconic bloodlines often manifests during moments of extreme emotion or danger. They might find their voice carrying supernatural authority when giving commands, their presence becoming intimidating enough to cause enemies to hesitate, or their elemental affinities flaring to life when protecting something they care about. This power comes with responsibility—dragons are remembered as both protectors and destroyers, and their descendants often feel the weight of that legacy.

Alternative Origin: Choose this bloodline if your character has been blessed by a living dragon for exceptional service, undergone a magical transformation involving dragon magic, made a pact with draconic entities, or been exposed to concentrated draconic power that awakened dormant potential within them.

return

Fae Touched

The boundary between the mortal world and the realm of the Fae has always been thin, and sometimes that boundary is crossed by more than just stories and dreams. The Fae Touched carry within them the legacy of these encounters, perhaps an ancestor caught the eye of a powerful fae lord, maybe a family member was blessed (or cursed) by fairy magic, or it could be that somewhere in the bloodline, mortal and fae blood mingled to create something new.

The fae are beings of contradictions, beautiful and terrible, generous and cruel, bound by ancient laws yet wild beyond mortal comprehension. Their touch leaves lasting marks on bloodlines, creating descendants who carry fragments of the otherworld within them. These manifestations often appear as an otherworldly beauty that seems just slightly off: features that are too symmetrical, eyes that shift color in different light, or smiles that seem to hold secrets. Fae Touched individuals might have hair that changes hue with the seasons, voices that carry an almost musical quality, or movements that flow with an unnatural grace.

More subtle signs include an instinctive understanding of social hierarchies and unspoken rules, even in unfamiliar situations. They often excel at reading between the lines of conversations, picking up on implications and hidden meanings that others miss entirely. Many Fae Touched find themselves naturally drawn to wild places, ancient forests, moonlit gardens, or anywhere that civilization hasn’t fully tamed the natural world. They feel most comfortable in twilight hours, when the boundary between day and night mirrors their own liminal existence.

Behaviorally, the Fae Touched often display a capricious nature that reflects their otherworldly heritage. They might be intensely loyal to those who earn their friendship, but their definition of loyalty can be quite different from mortal expectations. They tend to honor the spirit of agreements while finding creative ways around the letter of contracts. Many have an almost compulsive need to repay favors and debts, both given and received, and they often become uncomfortable when social obligations remain unbalanced.

The Fae Touched frequently struggle with iron and other materials that are anathema to fae creatures not enough to cause physical harm, but enough to create a persistent sense of unease. They might find themselves making bargains and deals almost unconsciously, speaking in metaphors and riddles even when trying to be direct, or feeling an irresistible urge to correct those who break rules of courtesy and hospitality.

Their connection to the fae realm also manifests in their relationship with time and space. They might have an uncanny ability to find hidden paths or shortcuts that shouldn’t exist, arrive at destinations with no clear memory of the journey, or experience moments where minutes feel like hours and hours pass like minutes. Dreams often blur with reality for the Fae Touched, and they may receive warnings or guidance through sleep that proves surprisingly accurate.

Alternative Origin: Choose this bloodline if your character has recently made a bargain with fae creatures, been blessed by a forest spirit for an act of kindness, wandered into a fairy ring and returned changed, or caught the attention of the fae court through their deeds or natural charisma.

return

God Touched

In the distant past, when gods walked more freely among mortals, some divine beings took mortal lovers and sired children who bridged the gap between heaven and earth. These legendary figures became the heroes of myth and legend. Individuals of incredible power and tragic destiny who shaped the course of history through their extraordinary deeds. But what of their descendants? What of the children born to these demigods, and their children’s children in turn?

God Touched individuals carry within their veins the diluted but still potent essence of divinity. This heritage manifests in different ways depending on which divine aspect flows strongest in their bloodline, but certain traits appear consistently across all God Touched lineages. They often possess an inherent charisma and presence that makes others naturally look to them for leadership, even when they haven’t sought such roles. Their eyes might hold flecks of gold or silver that become more pronounced during moments of strong emotion or moral clarity.

Physical manifestations vary by divine domain. Those blessed by storm gods might have hair that seems to move with its own wind, voices that carry clearly over great distances, and an electric intensity that makes the air feel charged around them during passionate moments. Sea-blessed individuals often have eyes that shift between blue and green like ocean depths, an uncanny ability to predict weather changes, and a fluid grace in their movements that suggests familiarity with rolling ship decks.

Those touched by solar deities tend to have skin that seems to hold a subtle inner warmth, never appearing pale even after months without sun, and they often wake naturally at dawn regardless of when they slept. Frost-blessed God Touched might have an ethereal beauty that seems carved from ice, breath that mists in all but the warmest weather, and an aura of calm that can soothe heated tempers. Those marked by air and sky often have voices that carry musical undertones, movements that seem almost weightless, and an ability to read weather patterns by instinct.

Behaviorally, the God Touched struggle with the weight of their divine heritage. They often feel compelled to act as moral exemplars, even when they’d prefer to remain uninvolved in conflicts. Many experience moments of startling moral clarity where they instinctively know the right course of action, even in complex ethical situations. This can be both a blessing and a burden, as it makes it difficult for them to ignore injustice or compromise their principles for convenience.

The God Touched frequently find themselves thrust into leadership roles during crises, as their divine blood responds to moments of great need. They might discover reserves of courage they didn’t know they possessed, find themselves able to inspire others through word and deed, or feel an almost compulsive need to protect the innocent and vulnerable. Their prayers and oaths carry unusual weight, sometimes manifesting as minor miracles or uncanny turns of good fortune.

However, divine blood also comes with divine expectations. The God Touched often feel they’re being watched and judged by forces beyond mortal understanding, and they may experience prophetic dreams or divine visions that provide guidance but also burden them with knowledge of future trials.

Alternative Origin: Choose this bloodline if your character has been directly blessed by a deity for their heroic deeds, chosen as a divine champion to carry out a god’s will, or touched by divine power during a moment of great crisis or religious revelation.

return

Nephilim

The Nephilim are the descendants of the legendary planewalkers, titanic beings of pure magical energy who once strode between worlds as easily as mortals walk between rooms. These ancient giants were living embodiments of elemental forces, each bound to fundamental aspects of reality: the crushing weight of stone, the searing heat of flame, the bitter bite of frost, the raw fury of storms, and the obscuring embrace of shadow.

Though the original planewalkers vanished eons ago, their blood flows still in mortal veins. Nephilim are often known by the elemental aspect that runs strongest in their heritage: “Cloud,” “Fire,” “Shadow,” “Stone,” “Storms,” and “Frost” though the power can manifest in unexpected ways generations later. Most appear as members of their setting’s dominant race, but those who know what to look for might notice the subtle signs that betray their elemental nature.

The manifestations of Nephilim heritage are as varied as the elements themselves. Those touched by storm might have eyes that flash with purple lightning during emotional moments, hair that seems to move in an unfelt breeze, or voices that carry the distant rumble of thunder. When actual storms approach, they feel electricity dancing along their skin and experience an almost euphoric connection to the raw power crackling through the sky. Fire-touched Nephilim often run warmer than others, their eyes flickering with golden flames when passionate, and they find themselves drawn to hearths and forges as sources of comfort rather than mere warmth.

Stone-blessed descendants tend toward stillness and deliberate movement, their skin taking on a slightly marble-like quality in certain light, and they possess an uncanny ability to remain motionless for hours without discomfort. Frost-touched individuals often have pale eyes that seem to hold winter’s chill, breath that mists even in warm weather, and an immunity to cold that borders on the supernatural. Those marked by shadow might have features that seem to blur slightly in dim light, voices that carry strangely in enclosed spaces, and a tendency to unconsciously seek out darker corners of rooms. Those of the clouds are tricksters often good at manipulating those around them.

Behaviorally, Nephilim often display the temperament of their elemental aspect. Storm-touched individuals tend toward passionate extremes, quick to anger but equally quick to forgive, with mercurial moods that shift like weather patterns. Fire-blessed Nephilim are often charismatic and intense, drawing others to them like moths to flame, but they can also burn through relationships with their demanding nature. Stone descendants value permanence and tradition, sometimes to the point of stubbornness, while frost-touched individuals might seem emotionally distant even when they care deeply. Shadow-marked Nephilim often prefer observation to action, becoming the quiet listeners who notice details others miss.

The power within Nephilim is not always predictable. A child of the Storm bloodline might manifest the blessing of stone instead, as the ancient magics choose their own paths through mortal flesh. This unpredictability means that Nephilim often discover their heritage only in moments of great stress or danger, when the sleeping giant’s blood awakens to protect its descendant. They might find their hands wreathed in flame during a moment of fury, or discover they can stand unmoved against hurricane winds when protecting someone they love.

Alternative Origin: Choose this bloodline if your character has recently been touched by elemental forces of incredible power; perhaps they survived being struck by lightning from a cosmic storm, walked unharmed through a magical conflagration, or were chosen by an ancient elemental spirit to carry on the legacy of the planewalkers.

return

Oni

The Oni bloodline carries the legacy of powerful supernatural beings that exist at the intersection of the demonic and the civilized. THey are creatures of immense strength and cunning intelligence who are neither wholly evil nor entirely benevolent. Unlike the cosmic horror associated with the Cursed bloodline, Oni heritage represents a more comprehensible form of supernatural power, one that acknowledges both the potential for great destruction and the capacity for wisdom and protection.

Those who carry Oni blood often possess an imposing physical presence that goes beyond mere size. They tend toward broad builds and natural strength that seems disproportionate to their frame, with dense bone structure and muscle that responds quickly to training. Many develop small horns that emerge from their forehead or temples, particularly during moments of strong emotion, and their teeth often grow into prominent canines that give their smiles a predatory edge. Their skin might take on unusual hues: red, blue, or deep purple tones that become more pronounced when they’re angry or excited.

The supernatural strength associated with Oni heritage manifests not just in physical power but in force of personality and mental resilience. They possess natural resistance to fear, intimidation, and mental manipulation, as if their demonic ancestry provides an inner core that cannot be easily shaken. This mental fortitude often makes them excellent leaders during crises, as they remain calm and decisive when others panic or become paralyzed by uncertainty.

Behaviorally, those with Oni blood often struggle with the balance between civilization and wild impulses. They might find themselves drawn to physical challenges, competitive situations, or conflicts that allow them to test their strength against worthy opponents. However, this isn’t mindless aggression as Oni descendants typically possess keen intelligence and strategic thinking that makes them formidable opponents in both physical and mental contests.

The Oni connection to both destruction and protection creates interesting moral complexity in their descendants. They often feel called to serve as guardians or enforcers, using their strength to protect those who cannot protect themselves, but they must constantly guard against letting their power corrupt their judgment. Many develop personal codes of honor that help them channel their inherited strength toward positive purposes while resisting the temptation to dominate or intimidate those weaker than themselves.

Socially, Oni bloodlines often find themselves in leadership roles, not because they seek power but because others naturally look to them for strength and direction during difficult times. Their presence can be both comforting and unsettling making allies appreciate their reliability and protection, while enemies often find themselves reconsidering conflicts when faced with the supernatural intensity that Oni descendants can project.

The relationship with civilization remains complex for those carrying Oni heritage. They understand the value of laws, traditions, and social structures, but they also recognize that sometimes these systems fail and more direct action becomes necessary. This perspective often makes them effective mediators, enforcers, or reformers who can work within existing structures while being willing to challenge them when justice demands it.

In matters of honor and personal relationships, Oni descendants tend toward fierce loyalty and straightforward communication. They have little patience for deception or manipulation, preferring to address problems directly rather than through subtle maneuvering. Once their respect or friendship is earned, they become incredibly reliable allies who will face any danger to support those they care about.

Alternative Origin: Choose this bloodline if your character has made a pact with honorable demons seeking to prove their worth, been transformed through exposure to supernatural strength during a moment of righteous fury, or been chosen by Oni spirits to serve as a bridge between the supernatural and mortal worlds.

return

Shifter

The Shifter bloodline represents a primal connection to the shapeshifting powers that allow transformation between human and animal forms, though these abilities manifest as adaptability and enhanced instincts rather than full physical transformation. This heritage often stems from ancient druids who learned to commune so deeply with animal spirits that the connection became hereditary, lycanthropic bloodlines that have been refined over generations to remove the curse while preserving the gifts, or exposure to primal transformation magic that awakened dormant potential for change and adaptation.

Those who carry Shifter blood often display remarkable physical adaptability that goes beyond normal human flexibility. Their bone structure seems naturally resilient, able to absorb impacts that would injure others, and their joints possess unusual range of motion that allows them to contort into positions that seem impossible for their frame. During moments of stress or excitement, their eyes might briefly reflect light like an animal’s, their pupils dilating dramatically, or their movements becoming fluid and predatory in ways that suggest barely contained wildness.

The connection to animal instincts manifests as enhanced situational awareness and intuitive understanding of danger that borders on the supernatural. Shifters often report “feeling” threats before they become visible, sensing the emotional states of others through subtle body language cues, or knowing instinctively when they’re being watched or followed. This isn’t quite telepathy but rather an inherited understanding of the subtle communications that exist between all living things.

Shifter heritage typically includes an affinity for one particular type of animal that serves as their spiritual guide and the source of their inherited traits. Wolf-touched Shifters might display pack loyalty, enhanced teamwork instincts, and an ability to coordinate with others through minimal verbal communication. Cat-influenced individuals often possess enhanced balance, natural stealth capabilities, and an independent streak that makes them excellent scouts or infiltrators.

Bird-touched Shifters frequently develop enhanced spatial awareness, an intuitive understanding of weather patterns, and movement that seems naturally light and coordinated. Bear-influenced bloodlines often manifest as enhanced physical resilience, protective instincts toward those they consider family, and a calm demeanor that can shift to terrifying intensity when threatened. Snake-touched individuals might display enhanced flexibility, resistance to toxins, and an ability to remain perfectly still for extended periods.

Behaviorally, Shifters often struggle with the balance between their civilized upbringing and their inherited wild instincts. They might find themselves most comfortable in natural settings, experience restlessness when confined to urban environments for extended periods, or feel compelled to test their physical capabilities against natural challenges. This isn’t mere preference but an inherited need to maintain their connection to the primal forces that shaped their bloodline.

The relationship with civilization remains complex for Shifter descendants. They understand the value of laws, traditions, and social structures, but they also recognize that sometimes survival requires abandoning conventional approaches in favor of more primal solutions. This perspective often makes them excellent survivalists, wilderness guides, or emergency responders who can adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

In social situations, Shifters often display enhanced empathy and emotional intelligence that stems from their inherited ability to read non-verbal communication. They excel at detecting lies, understanding group dynamics, and mediating conflicts through their intuitive grasp of what motivates different personalities. However, they might also struggle with social situations that require extended periods of formal behavior or suppression of their natural instincts.

The transformation aspects of Shifter heritage typically manifest as enhanced adaptability rather than actual shapeshifting. They might find themselves naturally adjusting their behavior, posture, and communication style to match the needs of different situations, as if instinctively adopting the most effective approach for current circumstances. This adaptability extends to physical capabilities—they often discover reserves of strength, speed, or endurance when circumstances demand it.

Shifter bloodlines often come with deep spiritual connections to animal totems and natural cycles. Many serve as druids, rangers, or shamans who help bridge the gap between civilized communities and the wild places that surround them. They might receive guidance through dreams involving their animal spirit, find themselves naturally protective of wild spaces and creatures, or feel compelled to serve as advocates for environmental preservation.

return

Vampiric

The Vampiric bloodline represents one of the most complex and controversial supernatural heritages, carrying within it the power and mystique of undeath without the traditional vulnerabilities that plague true vampires. This heritage might stem from ancient vampire lords who found ways to pass their gifts to mortal descendants, magical experiments involving vampiric essence, or exposure to concentrated shadow magic that awakened dormant potential for commanding the forces of undeath.

Those who carry vampiric heritage often possess an otherworldly beauty that seems to transcend normal human attractiveness. Their features tend toward sharp elegance such as high cheekbones, pale skin that seems to glow in moonlight, and eyes that often appear darker or more intense than natural. Many develop enhanced canine teeth that become more pronounced during emotional moments, though these rarely reach the pronounced fangs of true vampires. Their movements often carry a fluid grace that suggests supernatural coordination and control.

The relationship with blood and life force creates fascinating complexity in vampiric descendants. While they don’t require blood for survival like their undead progenitors, many report feeling energized by proximity to strong life forces or experiencing enhanced vitality in the presence of those with powerful spiritual energy. They might find themselves naturally drawn to healers, holy sites, or individuals with particularly vibrant life force, not out of predatory instinct but from an inherited appreciation for the power of vitality.

The connection to shadow and darkness manifests in numerous ways beyond simple comfort with nighttime environments. Vampiric bloodlines often possess enhanced night vision, an ability to move silently through even cluttered environments, and an intuitive understanding of concealment and misdirection. They might find that shadows seem slightly deeper around them, that their reflection occasionally appears delayed or distorted, or that they cast unusually long shadows even in bright light.

Behaviorally, those with vampiric heritage often display the sophisticated intelligence and social cunning associated with their supernatural ancestors. They excel at reading people’s motivations, detecting deception, and navigating complex social situations through a combination of natural charisma and inherited understanding of human psychology. This makes them excellent diplomats, spies, or social manipulators, though many choose to use these gifts for benevolent purposes.

The vampiric connection to immortality and timelessness often manifests as an unusual perspective on events and relationships. They might display patience that seems supernatural, an ability to think in long-term strategies that others find difficult to maintain, or a tendency to view temporary setbacks as minor inconveniences rather than serious problems. This perspective can make them excellent advisors and planners, though it sometimes creates distance in relationships with those who live more in the immediate moment.

Socially, vampiric descendants often struggle with the stigma associated with their heritage. Even though they lack the monstrous appetite and vulnerabilities of true vampires, others might react with fear or suspicion when they learn of someone’s vampiric bloodline. This can lead to isolation or the development of carefully constructed social masks that hide their true nature from all but their closest allies.

The power within vampiric bloodlines often manifests through command over shadow, enhancement of natural charisma, or abilities related to life force manipulation. They might find themselves able to drain fatigue from exhausted allies, sense the health and vitality of others at a glance, or command supernatural presence that makes others instinctively defer to their authority.

Despite their connection to undeath, many vampiric descendants find themselves drawn to protecting life rather than destroying it. They understand the value of mortality in ways that true immortals cannot, and their inherited power often manifests as abilities that preserve and enhance life rather than drain it. This creates interesting moral complexity as they navigate the expectations others have about their heritage versus their actual desires and capabilities.

return

Custom

Not every character’s heritage fits neatly into established categories, and the Custom bloodline option allows you to work collaboratively with your GM to create something that perfectly matches your character concept and the specific needs of your campaign setting. This flexibility is one of Multiverse’s core strengths - the ability to adapt the rules to serve the story rather than forcing the story to fit rigid mechanical constraints.

When creating a custom bloodline, start with the fundamental question: what makes your character’s heritage unique and interesting? Perhaps your people have lived underground for countless generations, developing an innate connection to stone and earth that manifests as supernatural understanding of geological formations, the ability to sense structural weaknesses in buildings, or natural talent for mining and excavation. In this case, you might select Blessing of Stone to represent these inherited gifts.

Maybe your character comes from a lineage of storm-touched sailors whose ancestors made pacts with sea spirits, resulting in descendants who can predict weather patterns, navigate by the stars even in overcast conditions, and maintain their balance on rolling ship decks with supernatural grace. Such a heritage might be represented by Blessing of the Seas or Blessing of Storms, depending on which aspect of their maritime legacy feels most important to the character’s story.

Consider bloodlines tied to specific locations or historical events. Your character might descend from the survivors of a magical catastrophe that left their people with an innate understanding of magical energies and the ability to detect supernatural corruption. Perhaps they come from a family of lighthouse keepers whose generations of service to travelers has earned them blessings that manifest as enhanced night vision and an ability to guide others safely through dangerous terrain.

Cultural and professional heritages can also form the basis for custom bloodlines. A character whose people have served as royal food tasters for centuries might have developed supernatural resistance to poisons and an ability to detect harmful substances by scent alone. The descendants of a renowned bardic college might possess natural musical talent that borders on the magical, able to inspire others through song or detect lies through subtle changes in voice patterns.

When developing your custom bloodline, consider both the benefits and the potential complications it might create. The most interesting heritages often come with social expectations, cultural responsibilities, or inherent conflicts that provide ongoing roleplay opportunities. A bloodline blessed by sun spirits might struggle in regions where their heritage is seen as a curse, while descendants of famous heroes might face constant pressure to live up to impossible standards.

Work with your GM to ensure that your custom bloodline fits the tone and themes of your campaign setting. A lighthearted adventure story might feature a bloodline of professional entertainers blessed with supernatural comedic timing, while a darker campaign might explore the descendants of plague survivors who carry both immunity to disease and the social stigma of their grim heritage.

Remember that the goal is to create something that enhances both your character’s story and the overall narrative of the campaign. The best custom bloodlines provide clear mechanical benefits while opening up interesting roleplay possibilities and giving the GM new tools for creating personal storylines that connect your character’s past to the unfolding adventure.

return

Next Step? Selecting Abilities

Your bloodline helps you select your first ability, but in practice, the primary purpose for a bloodline is roleplaying and “flair” to help build your character. Next, you will focus on abilities your character has developed to help them be an adventurer.

Abilities

GM: “Now let’s think about abilities. These are essentially things your character is good at or active abilities for things your character can do. Some are passive and just trigger, some are ones you have to naturally activate. The important part is to focus on what your character can do, and we can select abilities that make sense. If none of them make sense, we can always invent new ones, as these are guidelines.”

Sage: “Ok, well we talked about my character being a spell caster, but I also like the idea of her being good at ritual magic. We have that right?”

GM: “Yes, ritual magic is separate from general magic. If you want to be skilled at doing ritual magic, you could take ‘Skilled at Ritual Magic.’”

Sage: “That works, and looking at the list, we have Elemental Dart. That seems like an ability where I can just cast small spells.”

GM: “It is. There are a number of more supernatural areas, like Elemental Dart or Mental Lance which strikes someone’s mental state. They are meant to be other ways to attack, similar to shooting an area. Often called a cantrip.”

Sage: “Oh, I like Mental Lance. Let’s go with that, and I also think I want to go down the Mind path for the magic areas.”

GM: “Great, now they don’t have to be magic, but I know you want your character to focus on magic, plus that fits our setting. Given we talked about sacrifices to cast spells, what are you thinking on how they work?”

Sage: “Oh, well ‘Skilled at’ just works of course. For using the magic, I think I like the idea of memories, so I think I will sacrifice a memory each time. Even if it is just parts of memories. For Mental Lance, I will say that was part of my initial bond. I sacrificed a year of my childhood to the creature.”

GM: “That is dark. Depending on the strength of the memory, I think as a GM I will go ahead and add situational modifiers. Something to think about, but we will assume for the most part, you are sacrificing small things… unless you really want to create a sacrifice to help your situation.”

Robin: “So, I am really liking Elemental Dart, but I am not sure that fits a gunslinger. I don’t see my character actually doing magic, except for maybe the Space-Time one.”

GM: “That is fine! You could take Elemental Dart and say you actually have fire bullets or some other combination of bullets. We don’t have to keep track of the details, but every time you use the ability, your gun is actually activating it for you.”

Robin: “Oh, I do like that. Then I will have dabbled in magic some, the Space-Time one. But I will have to think about what I want to sacrifice.”

GM: “Right, now sacrifices are only here because we decided we wanted that as a group. By the rules, they aren’t required. As such, I would suggest thinking about something that won’t be a huge detriment, but if you do decide on something such as sacrificing blood, then I may modify the die up one level or reduce the AP cost.”

Robin: “Oh, that does sound good. What if I have to use blood instead of AP for Space-Time, and then for my third one, I take the Sharpshooter, as something I can just do.”

GM: “Let’s definitely discuss that, as we will want to keep it balanced with everyone, but my initial thought, that sounds like a start.”

Robin: “Actually, wait… how does Sharpshooter work? Is that like a path thing?”

GM: “Yes! Sharpshooter is a five-tier path. You’d start with Sharpshooter: Initiate, which gives you abilities like Trick Shot and Extended Range. As you advance through milestones, you can progress through Adapt, Novice, Scholar, and eventually Master.”

Sage: “Oh, so my Mind path works the same way? I could eventually get really powerful mental abilities?”

GM: “Exactly! Mind: Initiate gives you basic telepathy and mental attacks, but by the time you reach Mind: Master, you’re looking at things like completely rewriting someone’s personality or transferring consciousness between bodies. Now, one thing to keep in mind—Mind is a more generalized path, so it tends to cost more AP since it can do so many different things. Sharpshooter is more specific to ranged combat, so it ends up being cheaper to use.”

Robin: “That’s terrifying and awesome. So my gunslinger starts with basic trick shots but could eventually do impossible shots that defy physics?”

GM: “Pretty much! At Sharpshooter: Master, you’re making shots that seem impossible: around corners, through multiple obstacles, hitting specific tiny targets at extreme range. But remember, you don’t have to stick to one path. You could also choose to be a jack of all trades and instead of progressing deeper into Sharpshooter, just take a variety of different abilities as you advance through milestones.”

Robin: “Oh, so I could have some shooting skills, some space-time magic, maybe pick up some social abilities later?”

GM: “Exactly! It’s really about what fits your character’s story. Some characters become legendary masters of one thing, others become versatile problem-solvers who can handle anything.”

Sage: “So my mad-scholar starts with small mental nudges and ritual knowledge, but becomes this powerful psychic manipulator.”

Robin: “And my gunslinger goes from fancy shooting to literally bending space to make shots work. Plus the fire bullets for style!”

GM: “That’s exactly how ability progression should feel. Your core concept stays the same, but the scope of what you can accomplish grows dramatically.”

Abilities represent your character’s specialized training, supernatural gifts, and learned techniques that elevate them beyond the capabilities of ordinary individuals. These powers define what makes your character unique and capable of extraordinary deeds, whether through mystical forces, intense training, or natural talent refined to superhuman levels.

Unlike basic trait checks that anyone might attempt, abilities represent areas where your character has developed true expertise. They might manifest as supernatural powers like spellcasting or divine blessings, extraordinary skills like master-level swordsmanship or detective intuition, or hybrid combinations that blur the line between mundane excellence and supernatural ability. What matters isn’t the source of the power, but how it enhances your character’s capabilities and creates interesting storytelling opportunities.

Abilities serve multiple purposes in the game system. They provide mechanical benefits through additional dice and special effects, create narrative opportunities through their unique manifestations, and establish your character’s role within the party by defining their specialized contributions. Most importantly, they evolve with your character, growing stronger and more versatile as you gain experience and reach new milestones in your adventures.

How Abilities Work

When you possess an ability relevant to a situation, it enhances your basic trait rolls by adding an additional die to your roll. This represents your specialized training or supernatural power augmenting your natural capabilities. For example, a character with “Blessing of Storms” would roll their normal Brains die plus an additional d4 when predicting weather patterns, calculating the total as Brains + d4 + any situational modifiers. Some abilities work automatically whenever they’re relevant (passive abilities), while others require conscious activation and the expenditure of Ability Points (active abilities). Passive abilities typically provide consistent but modest benefits, while active abilities offer more dramatic effects at the cost of limited daily uses.

IMPORTANT:Only one ability can apply to any given roll. When multiple abilities might be relevant to a situation, choose the one that provides the highest die bonus or the most appropriate thematic fit. This prevents ability stacking from making characters overpowered while maintaining meaningful choices about which specialized skills to apply in different circumstances.

Ability Points and Resource Management

Many abilities require the expenditure of Ability Points (AP) from your character’s internal reservoir of power. This system represents the mental, physical, or spiritual energy required to perform extraordinary feats, ensuring that powerful abilities remain special rather than becoming mundane through constant use.

AP Pool: Your total Ability Points refresh to their maximum value after a long rest (typically 6-8 hours of sleep or meditation). Your maximum AP is determined by your character’s power level and the milestones they’ve achieved during their adventures. This creates a natural progression where experienced characters can perform more supernatural feats than novices.

Minimum Costs: Some abilities have minimum AP requirements that must be met before they can be used at all. This prevents low-level characters from attempting abilities beyond their current capabilities while providing advancement goals for character development.

Strategic Resource Management: The limited nature of Ability Points creates interesting tactical decisions throughout each day. Do you expend powerful abilities early to handle immediate threats, or conserve your energy for challenges you suspect lie ahead? This resource management adds depth to both combat encounters and extended exploration scenarios.

Additional Uses of Ability Points
No matter the abilities selected, it is always possible to spend AP to heal. Your character can heal 1 resilience damage per 1 AP spent. They can choose to spend as many AP as they want during a turn they are healing. Additionally, like heroic tokens, you can spend 1 AP to add 1 modifier to your roll. You must state this before your hear the outcome of the roll, and you may not be spending AP on anything else that turn. You may spend multiple AP up to 3 per turn to modify your roll from 1-3. These two options allow characters to put their will into their reserve to keep fighting or to try to focus their attack, and provides opportunities for characters with only passive abilities to still make use of the ability pool.

Empowering Abilities

Many abilities become more potent when you invest additional Ability Points beyond their base cost. This system allows for scalable effects that can be tailored to match the severity of challenges you face. Instead of having separate abilities for different power levels, empowering allows a single ability to serve multiple purposes. A healing ability might restore a few points of damage with its base cost, but investing additional AP could heal severe injuries. Time-based abilities often allow additional AP investment to extend their duration beyond the base effect. A stealth ability might last for a single scene at its base cost, but additional investment could maintain the effect for hours or even days.

Duration and Timing

Understanding when and how long abilities last is crucial for effective play and narrative consistency. Most abilities provide immediate, single-action benefits that resolve quickly and don’t require ongoing tracking. These might enhance a single attack, provide brief supernatural senses, or create momentary magical effects. Longer-lasting abilities typically endure for a “scene”—a discrete segment of the story such as a single combat encounter, a tense negotiation, or an exploration of a dangerous location. Scene-based duration provides meaningful benefits without requiring constant time-keeping or creating effects that dominate entire sessions. Some abilities, particularly when empowered, can last for hours, days, or even permanently until dismissed. These powerful effects usually require significant AP investment and often come with additional limitations or requirements to maintain balance. Certain abilities require ongoing attention or periodic AP expenditure to maintain their effects. These might end if the character is knocked unconscious, chooses to dismiss them, or fails to pay maintenance costs when required.

Ability Paths and Progression

For some abilities, there is a path-based progression. Instead of learning dozens of separate abilities, characters develop mastery along specific paths that represent their growing expertise and power.

The Five Tiers: Each ability path consists of five progressive tiers: Initial, Adapt, Novice, Scholar, and Master. These tiers represent not just increasing power, but deepening understanding and broader application of the underlying principles. Higher tiers require mastery of lower levels, but you can learn both a prerequisite and its advancement simultaneously if you have multiple ability selections available. This allows for accelerated progression when circumstances or character development demand it.

• Initial (d4): Basic understanding and simple applications of the ability’s core concepts
• Adapt (d6): Improved control and the ability to modify effects for different situations
• Novice (d8): Solid competence with reliable results and expanded versatility
• Scholar (d10): Deep theoretical knowledge allowing for complex and innovative applications
• Master (d12): Complete mastery enabling effects that push the boundaries of what’s possible

Flexible Application: Path-based abilities are intentionally open-ended in their descriptions, encouraging creative problem-solving and adaptation to unexpected situations. A Master of Elements doesn’t just control fire, earth, air, and water—they understand the fundamental forces that govern physical matter and can manipulate them in ways limited only by imagination and AP expenditure.

Optional Rule: Specialization
Some groups may choose to implement specialization rules that reward focused character development over broad versatility. Under this optional system, characters who limit their abilities to narrow specializations gain enhanced effectiveness within their chosen focus area. When you voluntarily restrict an ability to a specific subset of its normal applications, you increase its die type by one step (d4 becomes d6, d6 becomes d8, etc.). For example, limiting “Initiate of Elements” to only fire-based effects might upgrade it from d4 to d6, while restricting “Duelist” abilities to a single weapon type could provide similar benefits. This benefit applies to each tier of a path, so a specialized character’s progression becomes d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 instead of the standard d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 progression. Specialized characters gain increased power within their focus area but sacrifice the flexibility that makes abilities valuable in unexpected situations. A fire-specialized elementalist might struggle when facing fire-immune enemies, while a single-weapon duelist could be disadvantaged when their preferred weapon is unavailable. The GM has final authority over what restrictions qualify for the bonus and whether the trade-off seems fair.

Starting Abilities and Power Levels

Your character’s initial abilities depend on the power level of your campaign, reflecting the different types of stories the system can tell and the relative capabilities of heroes in different settings.

Bloodline Ability: Regardless of power level, every character receives one ability related to their chosen bloodline. This represents the inherent gifts or training that comes from their supernatural heritage or cultural background. This ability is in addition to any others granted by the campaign’s power level.

Character Concept Abilities: The remaining starting abilities should reflect your character’s background, training, and personal focus. A scholarly mage might begin with magical abilities and knowledge skills, while a grizzled warrior could start with combat techniques and survival training. These choices help establish your character’s role and capabilities from the very beginning of the campaign.

Personalizing and Manifesting Abilities

It is important to remember to maintain flexibility in how abilities manifest and appear in the game world. The same mechanical ability can look completely different when used by different characters, allowing for tremendous creative freedom while maintaining balanced gameplay. Here are a few examples of how they could manifest.

An “Initiate of Elements” ability could manifest as traditional wizard spellcasting with arcane words and gestures. A monk could have mystical tattoos that glow when activated. A gun slinger could have specially crafted ammunition that produces elemental effects, or even a fighter whose sword bursts into flame through sheer force of will. The mechanical effects remain identical, but the narrative description changes to match your character concept.

Consider how your character’s background influences their abilities’ appearance. A noble might manifest healing powers through elegant, ritualized gestures, while a street doctor could achieve the same effects through improvised medical techniques enhanced by supernatural intuition. Both heal injuries, but they feel completely different in play. Don’t feel pressured to have every detail figured out during character creation. Abilities can evolve and change their manifestation as your character grows and learns. The gunslinger who starts with purely mundane combat techniques might gradually incorporate minor magical enhancements as they’re exposed to supernatural forces during their adventures.

While you have tremendous freedom in describing your abilities, they should still fit within the campaign’s established tone and themes. Work with your GM to ensure that your character’s power manifestations enhance rather than clash with the story being told.

Selecting Your Abilities

When choosing abilities for your character, consider both mechanical effectiveness and narrative coherence. The most satisfying characters have abilities that work together thematically while providing useful options for different types of challenges.

Synergy and Combination: Look for abilities that complement each other and support your character’s primary role. A character focused on social interaction might combine enhanced charisma abilities with supernatural perception to read people’s intentions and enhanced memory to recall important details from conversations.

Versatility vs. Focus: Decide whether you want to be highly capable in a narrow area or moderately skilled across a broader range. Both approaches have merit, and the choice should reflect your character concept and party role.

Growth Potential: Consider not just what abilities do now, but how they might develop as your character advances. Path-based abilities offer clear progression routes, while standalone abilities might provide stepping stones to entirely new capability areas.

Narrative Integration: The best abilities tell stories about your character’s past, present, and future. Each ability should suggest something about who your character is, how they’ve developed their capabilities, and what challenges they’re prepared to face.

Ability Table

The following sections present the available abilities organized by category and power level. Each entry includes mechanical effects, suggested manifestations, and advancement information where applicable. Remember that these descriptions are starting points—work with your GM to develop manifestations and applications that fit your character concept and campaign setting.

Ability Descriptions

Ability Specialization ______

This ability represents focused training and refinement in using a specific supernatural power or technique, allowing you to perform it with greater efficiency and less expenditure of your internal energy reserves. Through repeated practice, theoretical study, or intuitive understanding, you have discovered ways to streamline the process and reduce the spiritual or mental strain required to activate the ability.

When selecting this ability, choose one specific ability that requires Ability Points to activate. The AP cost for that ability is reduced by 1 point (minimum cost of 0). This specialization can be taken multiple times, either to further reduce the cost of the same ability by an additional point each time, or to apply the cost reduction to different abilities, allowing you to become more efficient with multiple powers through dedicated practice and mastery.

return

Armor Breaker

This ability represents mastery of combat techniques designed to exploit weaknesses in protective gear, allowing you to strike through gaps in plates, target vulnerable joints, or deliver blows that bypass armor entirely. When attacking an armored opponent, you reduce the damage reduction provided by their armor by 2 points. For example, if an enemy wears armor that normally reduces incoming damage by 4 points, your attacks would only be reduced by 2 points instead.

This training applies to all of your attacks, whether using weapons or fighting unarmed, as you instinctively recognize the vulnerable points in any type of protective equipment. This ability can be taken multiple times, with each additional selection reducing armor effectiveness by another 2 points, though armor cannot be reduced below 0 damage reduction.

return

Armored Combat

This ability represents specialized training in fighting while wearing protective gear, teaching you how to move efficiently despite the encumbrance of armor. Most armor imposes penalties to Agility checks ranging from -1 to -3, reflecting the weight and restricted movement that comes with protection. Each time you take this ability, you reduce the Agility penalty from your worn armor by 1 point.

For example, if you wear armor that normally imposes a -2 penalty to Agility, taking this ability once reduces that penalty to -1, while taking it twice would eliminate the penalty entirely. This ability can be taken multiple times, but the maximum benefit is reducing the penalty to 0 - you cannot gain positive bonuses to Agility from this training, only mitigate the drawbacks of protective equipment.

return

Blessing of Air

This blessing grants you an innate connection to the winds and atmosphere around you, allowing air currents to respond favorably to your presence and intentions. Whether through divine favor, elemental bonding, or supernatural heritage, you have developed a symbiotic relationship with the very air you breathe. This manifests as enhanced performance in any situation where wind, atmosphere, or aerial movement plays a significant role.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving wind prediction, aerial navigation, maintaining balance in high winds, detecting airborne scents or sounds, or any other action where mastery of air currents would provide an advantage. The blessing works passively, requiring no conscious effort on your part, as the air itself seems eager to assist your endeavors.

return

Blessing of Frost

This blessing creates a deep connection between you and the elemental forces of winter, cold, and ice. Whether granted by frost spirits, arctic deities, or inherited through supernatural bloodlines, you have developed an intuitive understanding of how cold affects the world around you. Your body naturally adapts to freezing temperatures, and you instinctively know how to work with ice and frost rather than against them.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving surviving in cold environments, predicting frost patterns, walking on ice without slipping, creating or shaping ice, detecting temperature changes, or any other action where mastery of cold and freezing conditions would provide an advantage. This blessing functions passively, as your supernatural connection to winter’s power guides your actions without conscious effort.

return

Blessing of Shadow and Smoke

This blessing connects you to the ephemeral forces of darkness, mist, and concealment, granting mastery over the spaces between light and substance. Whether bestowed by shadow spirits, earned through communion with twilight deities, or inherited from supernatural ancestors, you have developed an affinity for the places where visibility fails and reality grows uncertain. Your presence seems to naturally blend with areas of poor visibility, and you instinctively understand how to use obscurement to your advantage.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving hiding in shadows, moving silently through darkness, navigating in fog or heavy clouds, tracking by scent when sight is obscured, creating or manipulating smoke, or any other action where mastery of concealment and obscured environments would provide an advantage. This blessing works passively, as the very shadows and mists seem to welcome your presence and aid your endeavors.

return

Blessing of Stone

This blessing forges a profound connection between you and the enduring forces of earth and stone, granting you an intuitive understanding of the solid foundations upon which the world rests. Whether received through communion with earth elementals, inherited from deep-dwelling ancestors, or granted by deities of the mountains and caverns, you have developed a supernatural affinity for all things geological. Your touch can sense the history held within stone, and your presence seems to resonate with the patient strength of the earth itself.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving climbing rocky surfaces, detecting structural weaknesses in stone construction, navigating underground passages, finding precious metals or gems, working with stone tools or weapons, sensing vibrations through the ground, or any other action where mastery of earth and stone would provide an advantage. This blessing operates passively, as the very stones seem to respond to your presence and lend their ancient wisdom to your endeavors.

return

Blessing of Storms

This blessing attunes you to the raw, chaotic power of tempests and the electrical forces that dance through the sky. Whether granted by storm gods, inherited from ancestors touched by lightning, or earned through surviving supernatural weather phenomena, you have developed an intimate connection with the fury and majesty of nature’s most violent displays. You can sense the electrical potential building in the air before others notice the first signs of an approaching storm, and your body naturally harmonizes with the electromagnetic energies that surround all living things.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving predicting weather patterns, navigating during storms, calling down or directing lightning, working with electrical devices, sensing electromagnetic fields, surviving in severe weather conditions, or any other action where mastery of storms and electrical forces would provide an advantage. This blessing functions passively, as the very storms seem to recognize you as a kindred spirit and lend their power to your efforts.

return

Blessing of Sun and Flames

This blessing connects you to the primal forces of heat, light, and combustion, granting you mastery over the elements that bring both life and destruction. Whether bestowed by solar deities, inherited from fire elemental bloodlines, or earned through trials involving flame and radiance, you have developed an innate understanding of how heat and light shape the world around you. Your body naturally regulates temperature in extreme heat, and you possess an intuitive grasp of how fire behaves and spreads.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving surviving in hot environments, starting or controlling fires, working with forges and metalcraft, predicting sunrise and sunset timing, using solar navigation, detecting heat sources, creating light in darkness, or any other action where mastery of heat, flame, and solar energy would provide an advantage. This blessing operates passively, as fire and sunlight seem drawn to you and eager to assist in your endeavors.

return

Blessing of Virtues _____

This blessing represents divine favor or supernatural enhancement that strengthens one of your core capabilities beyond normal mortal limits. Whether granted by deities who recognize exceptional virtue, inherited from legendary heroes whose excellence transcended human boundaries, or earned through trials that proved your worthiness in a specific area, you have been touched by power that elevates a fundamental aspect of your being. This blessing manifests differently for each individual, reflecting the particular virtue or excellence that defines their character.

When selecting this blessing, choose one primary trait (Fight, Athleticism, Agility, Brains, Charm, or Spirit) that will be enhanced. You gain a d4 bonus to all skill checks using that trait, representing the supernatural edge that divine favor provides in your area of blessed excellence. This enhancement applies whether you’re performing routine tasks or facing extraordinary challenges, as the blessing infuses every application of that trait with otherworldly power. This blessing can be taken multiple times, but each selection must enhance a different trait, allowing you to develop multiple areas of supernatural excellence over time.

return

Blessing of the Fae

This blessing imbues you with the otherworldly charisma and silver tongue that the fae are renowned for throughout legend and folklore. Whether granted through a bargain with fairy lords, inherited from ancestors who mingled with fae courts, or awakened through exposure to the wild magic of enchanted forests, you possess an supernatural magnetism that draws others to you. Your words carry weight beyond their literal meaning, and your presence seems to shimmer with an almost tangible allure that makes others want to trust and believe you.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving persuasion, deception, seduction, negotiation, entertaining others, reading social situations, inspiring confidence, or any other action where supernatural charisma and social manipulation would provide an advantage. This blessing works passively, as the fae magic woven into your very being naturally enhances your ability to connect with and influence those around you.

return

Blessing of the Seas

This blessing creates a deep bond between you and the eternal waters that cover the world, from the mightiest oceans to the smallest mountain streams. Whether granted by sea gods, inherited from aquatic ancestors, or earned through communion with water spirits, you have developed an intuitive understanding of how water moves, behaves, and sustains life. Your body naturally adapts to aquatic environments, and you can sense the subtle currents and tides that others cannot perceive.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving swimming, diving, navigating by water, predicting tides and currents, finding fresh water sources, surviving at sea, communicating with aquatic creatures, detecting underwater dangers, or any other action where mastery of rivers, oceans, and waterways would provide an advantage. This blessing functions passively, as the very waters seem to welcome your presence and guide you safely through their depths.

return

Blessing of the Source Magic

This blessing attunes you to the fundamental forces that underlie all magical phenomena, granting you an intuitive understanding of how arcane energies flow through the world and interact with reality. Whether granted by ancient mages who recognized your potential, inherited from bloodlines touched by raw magical power, or awakened through exposure to concentrated magical fields, you have developed a supernatural sensitivity to the patterns and principles that govern spellcasting and enchantment. Your mind naturally grasps the theoretical frameworks that others must study for years to comprehend.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving detecting magical auras, identifying spell effects, understanding arcane symbols and formulae, learning new rituals or spells, researching magical theory, dispelling enchantments, creating magical items, analyzing supernatural phenomena, or any other action where deep knowledge of magical principles and arcane lore would provide an advantage. This blessing functions passively, as your connection to the source of all magic allows you to perceive the underlying patterns that shape reality through supernatural means.

return

Blessing of the Spirits

This blessing opens your perception to the invisible realm where spirits dwell, whether they be ancestral guides, nature spirits, restless ghosts, or other ethereal entities that exist between the world of the living and whatever lies beyond. Whether granted through shamanic initiation, inherited from mediums and spirit-talkers, or awakened through a near-death experience, you have developed the ability to sense and communicate with beings that exist beyond the physical plane. Your presence serves as a bridge between worlds, allowing spirits to manifest more easily around you.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving communicating with ghosts or spirits, detecting supernatural presence, performing exorcisms or banishments, seeking guidance from spirits, navigating haunted locations, understanding the motivations of undead entities, channeling spiritual energy, or any other action where sensitivity to the spirit realm would provide an advantage. This blessing operates passively, as your heightened spiritual awareness allows you to perceive the otherworldly forces that constantly surround but rarely interact with the material world.

return

Blessing of the Unknown Horrors

This blessing marks you as one who has gazed into the cosmic abyss and survived the experience, though not unchanged. Whether through deliberate study of forbidden texts, accidental exposure to otherworldly entities, or inherited madness from ancestors who delved too deep into mysteries beyond mortal comprehension, you have developed a fractured understanding of the universe’s true nature. Your mind has been stretched to accommodate knowledge that would shatter lesser intellects, granting you insights into the alien logic that governs beings from outside reality.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving deciphering occult symbols, communicating with extraplanar entities, understanding cosmic phenomena, researching forbidden knowledge, recognizing signs of otherworldly influence, surviving encounters with aberrant creatures, navigating non-Euclidean spaces, or any other action where familiarity with cosmic horror and alien intelligence would provide an advantage. This blessing operates passively, as your warped perspective allows you to perceive patterns and connections that remain invisible to those with intact sanity.

return

Blessing of the Woodlands

This blessing connects you to the ancient wisdom of forests, meadows, and all the creatures that dwell within nature’s embrace. Whether granted by woodland spirits in recognition of your respect for the natural world, inherited from ancestors who served as guardians of sacred groves, or earned through a lifetime of harmony with wild places, you have developed an intuitive understanding of the rhythms and relationships that govern the natural world. Animals sense your benevolent presence and respond with trust rather than fear, while plants seem to flourish under your care.

You gain a d4 bonus to skill checks involving tracking animals, identifying plants and their properties, navigating through wilderness, communicating with wild creatures, finding food and shelter in natural environments, predicting natural phenomena, understanding animal behavior, or any other action where deep knowledge of nature and its inhabitants would provide an advantage. This blessing functions passively, as the very essence of the wild recognizes you as a friend and ally to all living things.

return

Breathless

Prerequisites: Greater Blessing of Air

This ability represents mastery over the very air around you, allowing you to exist in environments where others would suffocate and move through the sky with supernatural grace. Your enhanced connection to air and wind has evolved to the point where you can survive in thin atmospheres and navigate aerial environments with the same ease others show on solid ground.

Your respiratory needs are dramatically reduced, allowing you to hold your breath for 30 minutes per point of your Spirit trait maximum value instead of the normal 30 seconds, and you can function normally in thin air at high altitudes. You automatically succeed at all moderate difficulty (or easier) skill checks involving aerial movement, balance in high winds, or navigating through airborne environments. When facing difficult or exceptional challenges such as hurricane-force winds, extreme altitudes, or complex aerial maneuvers, you gain a +3 bonus to your roll, reflecting your supernatural mastery of all things atmospheric.

return

Cool Under Pressure

This ability represents your exceptional mental discipline and capacity to maintain clarity during high-stress situations where others would panic or make critical errors. Whether developed through military training, honed during years of dangerous work, or simply an innate psychological trait, you have learned to slow down time in your mind and make calculated decisions even when chaos erupts around you. Your heartrate remains steady when others’ would spike, and your hands don’t shake when precision matters most.

By spending a heroic token, you can choose to take half the maximum value of any die instead of rolling it, representing your ability to achieve consistent, reliable results through sheer mental control. For example, instead of rolling a d20 trait die and risking a low result, you could spend the token to automatically achieve a result of 10. This technique works in any situation, including snap decisions where others are forced to rely purely on instinct. Additionally, you gain a +3 bonus to any skill checks specifically related to remaining calm, composed, or focused during stressful, dangerous, or emotionally charged situations.

return

Cruel Whispers

Prerequisites: Mocking Whispers

Your mastery over shadow-carried psychological attacks has deepened, allowing you to deliver more devastating verbal assaults through darkness itself. The whispers now carry greater malice and spiritual weight, making them more difficult to ignore or dismiss.

You make a contested roll using Charm + d6 against the target’s Spirit, representing your enhanced ability to weaponize words through shadow against your target’s determination to resist the darkness’s increasingly cruel psychological assault.

return

Duelist: Adapt

Prerequisites: Duelist: Initiate

Your understanding of single combat deepens to include tactical awareness and techniques that exploit your opponent’s weaknesses. You learn to read your enemies and capitalize on openings they create through their own actions.

return

Duelist: Initiate

You begin to master the art of single combat, learning the fundamental techniques that separate trained fighters from mere brawlers. Your focus on individual opponents and precise technique over brute force marks the beginning of your journey toward becoming a master of personal combat.

return

Duelist: Master

Prerequisites: Duelist: Scholar

You have achieved legendary mastery over the art of single combat, capable of techniques that seem impossible to lesser fighters. Your presence on the battlefield dominates individual encounters.

return

Duelist: Novice

Prerequisites: Duelist: Adapt

You achieve mastery over advanced defensive techniques and reactive combat, capable of turning your opponent’s attacks into opportunities for your own strikes. Your combat style becomes fluid and responsive.

return

Duelist: Scholar

Prerequisites: Duelist: Novice

Your mastery allows for complex timing and devastating accuracy that few can match. You can attack multiple times with precision and strike with surgical accuracy at your opponent’s most vulnerable points.

return

Easygoing

This ability reflects your naturally resilient and optimistic personality that allows you to bounce back from setbacks more quickly than others. Your positive attitude means that disappointments become learning experiences rather than crushing defeats, and you maintain hope even when things go wrong.

When you fail a skill check, instead of gaining the usual single heroic token, you receive 2 heroic tokens. This represents how your easygoing nature transforms setbacks into greater motivation and renewed determination for future attempts.

return

Elemental Dart

This ability represents a basic elemental attack that launches a small projectile of fire, ice, force, or other elemental energy at a target. Whether manifested as a tiny flame, shard of ice, bolt of lightning, or blast of wind, this attack demonstrates your growing connection to elemental forces through focused, directed energy.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d4 against the target’s Agility, representing your ability to aim and control the elemental force against their ability to dodge or deflect the attack. This basic technique forms the foundation for more advanced elemental combat abilities.

return

Elements: Adapt

Prerequisites: Elements: Initiate

Your understanding of elemental forces deepens, allowing for more sophisticated applications and sustained effects. You can maintain elemental manifestations and redirect them as needed, showing growing mastery over the duration and placement of your powers. Previous abilities now use d6 instead of d4.

return

Elements: Initiate

You begin to tap into supernatural mastery over the fundamental forces and elements that shape reality, whether through magical study, psychic awakening, or innate connection to elemental powers. Your abilities manifest uniquely to your character concept - as traditional spellcasting, glowing tattoos, enchanted items, or pure mental focus. You can perform minor elemental manipulations at will for roleplay purposes, such as creating small flames, gentle breezes, or minor temperature changes that might provide small bonuses (GM discretion, usually +1 to +3) to social encounters.

return

Elements: Master

Prerequisites: Elements: Scholar

You have achieved complete mastery over elemental forces, capable of creating and destroying matter itself, generating massive environmental effects, and wielding power that can reshape landscapes. Your understanding transcends individual elements to encompass the fundamental forces of reality. Previous abilities now use d12 instead of d10.

return

Elements: Novice

Prerequisites: Elements: Adapt

You achieve true competence in elemental manipulation, capable of creating area effects and combining elements in creative ways. Your power now affects multiple targets and can reshape battlefield conditions. Previous abilities now use d8 instead of d6.

return

Elements: Scholar

Prerequisites: Elements: Novice

Your mastery approaches legendary levels, allowing you to create persistent environmental changes and wield multiple elements simultaneously. You can reshape terrain and create lasting effects that alter entire encounters. Previous abilities now use d10 instead of d8.

return

Enhanced Matter Shard

Prerequisites: Matter Shard

Your mastery over matter manipulation has improved, allowing you to create larger, faster, and more dangerous projectiles from available materials. Your understanding of material properties lets you craft more effective ammunition from whatever is at hand.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d6 against the target’s Agility, representing your enhanced ability to weaponize matter against your target’s ability to avoid increasingly sophisticated material projectiles.

return

Enhanced Spatial Strike

Prerequisites: Spatial Strike

Your control over spatial distortions has improved, allowing you to create more pronounced and harmful dimensional effects around your targets. The space-time fabric responds more readily to your manipulation, creating stronger and more disorienting attacks.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d6 against the target’s Agility, representing your enhanced understanding of dimensional forces and your target’s increased difficulty in compensating for spatial distortions.

return

Evasive Fighting

This ability represents specialized combat training focused on avoiding attacks rather than delivering them, emphasizing mobility, positioning, and defensive tactics over aggressive offense. Whether learned through formal martial arts training, developed during years of surviving dangerous encounters, or honed through necessity when facing superior opponents, you have mastered the art of staying alive through superior movement and tactical positioning.

When making contested Agility rolls for defense during combat, you add a d6 to your roll, representing your enhanced ability to dodge, weave, and position yourself to avoid incoming attacks. Additionally, you gain a +3 bonus to any skill checks involving fleeing from danger, whether that means running away on foot, driving quickly to escape pursuit, climbing to safety, or any other action focused on getting away from threats rather than confronting them directly.

return

Fate: Adapt

Prerequisites: Fate: Initiate

Your understanding of destiny’s currents deepens, allowing you to create more lasting effects and protective wards against misfortune. You can manipulate probability for extended periods and begin to influence the dreams of multiple targets. Previous abilities now use d6 instead of d4.

return

Fate: Initiate

You begin to touch the threads of destiny, luck, and the unconscious realm of dreams that shape reality in subtle but profound ways. Your connection to fate allows you to perceive the web of connections between events and people, influence probability in small ways, and plant seeds of influence in the dream realm. You can perform minor fate manipulations for roleplay purposes, such as predicting small coincidences, having useful items on hand, or delivering cryptic but accurate fortunes that might provide small social bonuses (GM discretion).

return

Fate: Master

Prerequisites: Fate: Scholar

You have achieved mastery over the deepest mysteries of fate and dream, capable of traveling through the collective unconscious and reshaping destiny on a grand scale. Reality bends to accommodate your vision of how events should unfold. Previous abilities now use d12 instead of d10.

return

Fate: Novice

Prerequisites: Fate: Adapt

You achieve significant mastery over fate’s darker aspects and can affect groups of minds simultaneously. Your power now reaches into the collective unconscious and can inflict real harm through dream manipulation. Previous abilities now use d8 instead of d6.

return

Fate: Scholar

Prerequisites: Fate: Novice

Your mastery allows you to rewrite recent events and manipulate the fundamental nature of probability itself. You can force reality to reconsider its choices and bend the timeline in small but crucial ways. Previous abilities now use d10 instead of d8.

return

Greater Blessing of Air

Prerequisites: Blessing of Air

Your connection to the winds has deepened into true mastery, allowing you to work in harmony with even the most violent storms and subtle breezes. The air responds to your presence with eager cooperation, and you can sense atmospheric changes across vast distances. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all wind and air-related skill checks, representing your evolution from simple affinity to genuine partnership with the elemental forces of the sky.

return

Greater Blessing of Frost

Prerequisites: Blessing of Frost

Your mastery over winter’s power has grown to encompass the deepest cold and most enduring ice. You can withstand temperatures that would instantly freeze others, and ice seems to form at your touch when needed. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all cold, frost, and ice-related skill checks, reflecting your transformation from someone blessed by winter into a true avatar of the frozen realm.

return

Greater Blessing of Shadow and Smoke

Prerequisites: Blessing of Shadow and Smoke

Your affinity for concealment has evolved into mastery over the spaces between light and darkness. Shadows bend to accommodate your passage, and mists seem to rise from the ground at your approach. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all shadow, fog, and cloud-related skill checks, marking your progression from someone who hides in darkness to one who commands it.

return

Greater Blessing of Stone

Prerequisites: Blessing of Stone

Your bond with the earth has strengthened into an unbreakable connection with the planet’s bones and foundation. Stone responds to your touch as if alive, and you can sense geological changes across vast distances through the ground itself. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all stone and earth-related skill checks, representing your evolution from earth-friend to true master of the geological realm.

return

Greater Blessing of Storms

Prerequisites: Blessing of Storms

Your communion with tempests has grown into command over the raw fury of nature’s most violent displays. Lightning dances at your fingertips, and storms seem to gather in response to your emotions. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all weather, storm, lightning, and electricity-related skill checks, marking your transformation from storm-touched to true master of the tempest.

return

Greater Blessing of Sun and Flames

Prerequisites: Blessing of Sun and Flames

Your connection to heat and flame has intensified into mastery over the fundamental forces of combustion and solar energy. Fire bends to your will without burning you, and you can draw warmth from even the coldest environments. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all heat, sun, and fire-related skill checks, reflecting your progression from fire-blessed to true avatar of flame and light.

return

Greater Blessing of Virtues _____

Prerequisites: Blessing of Virtues _____

Your divine favor has grown into profound supernatural enhancement that elevates your chosen capability to legendary proportions. The blessing no longer merely assists your efforts but transforms them into displays of otherworldly excellence that inspire awe in witnesses. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all skill checks using your selected trait, marking your progression from blessed individual to living embodiment of that virtue.

return

Greater Blessing of the Fae

Prerequisites: Blessing of the Fae

Your fae-touched charisma has blossomed into the otherworldly magnetism of the fairy courts themselves. Your words carry weight that transcends mere persuasion, and others find themselves compelled to trust and believe you against their better judgment. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all social skill checks, marking your evolution from fae-blessed to a true master of supernatural charm and influence.

return

Greater Blessing of the Seas

Prerequisites: Blessing of the Seas

Your bond with water has deepened into true mastery over all aquatic realms, from mountain streams to ocean depths. The seas themselves seem to part before you, and marine life recognizes you as kin rather than intruder. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all water-related skill checks, representing your transformation from water-blessed to true sovereign of the aquatic realm.

return

Greater Blessing of the Source Magic

Prerequisites: Blessing of the Source Magic

Your understanding of magical principles has deepened into intuitive mastery of the fundamental forces that shape reality through arcane means. Magic responds to your presence like a living thing, and you can perceive the underlying patterns that govern all supernatural phenomena. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all magic-related skill checks, representing your evolution from magically sensitive to true scholar of the arcane arts.

return

Greater Blessing of the Spirits

Prerequisites: Blessing of the Spirits

Your sensitivity to the spirit realm has grown into mastery over the boundary between life and death. Spirits manifest clearly in your presence, and you can facilitate communication between the living and the departed with ease. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all spirit, ghost, and undead-related skill checks, marking your evolution from spirit-touched to true medium and guide between worlds.

return

Greater Blessing of the Unknown Horrors

Prerequisites: Blessing of the Unknown Horrors

Your fractured understanding of cosmic truth has crystallized into terrible clarity about the universe’s alien nature. You can comprehend the incomprehensible and communicate with entities that exist beyond dimensional boundaries. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all occult, cosmic, and aberrant creature-related skill checks, marking your complete acceptance of the maddening truths that lurk beyond reality’s veil.

return

Greater Blessing of the Woodlands

Prerequisites: Blessing of the Woodlands

Your harmony with nature has evolved into deep communion with the wild world and all its inhabitants. Animals seek you out for guidance, and plants grow stronger in your presence. This enhanced blessing grants a d6 bonus to all nature and animal-related skill checks, reflecting your transformation from nature-friend to true guardian and voice of the wilderness.

return

Greater Nature’s Wrath

Prerequisites: Nature’s Wrath

Your connection to nature has strengthened, allowing you to call upon more powerful natural forces in your attacks. The elements respond more readily to your call, creating stronger and more accurate manifestations of nature’s power.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d6 against the target’s Agility, representing your enhanced communion with natural forces against your target’s ability to evade increasingly powerful environmental attacks.

return

Greater Spirit Bolt

Prerequisites: Spirit Bolt

Your mastery over spiritual forces has grown, allowing you to channel more potent life-force energy in your attacks. The spiritual energy you command now carries greater power and spiritual weight, making it more difficult for targets to resist.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d6 against the target’s Spirit, representing your enhanced command over spiritual energy against your target’s determination to protect their soul from your assault.

return

Greater Thrill of Battle

Prerequisites: Thrill of Battle

Your ability to draw vitality from combat has intensified, allowing you to gain even more substantial healing from successful attacks. Your connection between victory and restoration has deepened, making each successful strike a source of significant renewal.

Whenever you successfully deal damage to an opponent, you may spend 4 AP to roll d6 and heal that amount of resilience. This enhanced version represents your mastered ability to transform combat success into substantial physical recovery.

return

Greater Twist of Fate

Prerequisites: Twist of Fate

Your mastery over spoken prophecy has grown more potent, allowing you to deliver more devastating proclamations of doom that cut deeper into your target’s spiritual resolve. Your words now carry the weight of inevitable destiny, making them harder to dismiss or resist.

You make a contested roll using Charm + d6 against the target’s Spirit, representing your enhanced ability to speak crushing truths about fate against your target’s increasingly challenged determination to maintain hope and confidence.

return

Improved Elemental Dart

Prerequisites: Elemental Dart

Your mastery over basic elemental attacks has improved, allowing you to create more powerful and accurate projectiles of elemental energy. The dart now carries greater force and precision, making it more difficult for opponents to avoid and more damaging when it connects.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d6 against the target’s Agility, representing your enhanced control over elemental forces and improved accuracy in directing these attacks toward their intended targets.

return

Intuitive

This ability represents your heightened capacity to perceive subtle patterns, read between the lines, and understand situations on a deeper level than surface appearances suggest. Whether through natural sensitivity, learned observation skills, or intuitive gifts, you excel at grasping the underlying truth of complex situations and understanding people’s true motivations.

You gain a +3 bonus to skill checks involving reading people’s intentions, sensing hidden meanings in conversations, detecting deception, understanding the real dynamics of social situations, or gaining deeper insight into problems and mysteries that aren’t immediately obvious.

return

Language ____

This ability represents your natural aptitude for learning and understanding languages, whether through innate linguistic talent, extensive study, or exposure to diverse cultures. Your mind naturally grasps the patterns, rhythms, and structures that underlie different forms of communication, allowing you to achieve fluency more quickly than others and retain language skills with minimal practice.

Each time you select this ability, choose a specific language to master. You automatically succeed at any moderate difficulty skill checks related to your chosen language, representing your fluency and deep understanding of its nuances. For easy skill checks involving similar languages from the same linguistic family, you also automatically succeed, as your mastery allows you to recognize common roots and patterns. When facing difficult language challenges or any checks involving similar languages, you gain a +3 bonus to your roll, reflecting your enhanced understanding of linguistic principles and cultural context.

return

Loyal

This ability represents your unwavering commitment to supporting your allies that goes beyond mere cooperation to become genuine self-sacrifice for their benefit. Your deep capacity for friendship drives you to extraordinary efforts when helping others in need.

When you spend Heroic Tokens to assist a friend or ally, each token grants them a +2 bonus instead of the usual +1, representing how your loyalty inspires both you and them to achieve greater results through your combined efforts.

return

Lucky

This ability represents your uncanny knack for having fortune smile upon you at crucial moments, whether through natural good luck, divine favor, or simply being in the right place at the right time. Your life seems guided by serendipitous coincidences and second chances that others rarely experience.

By spending 2 Heroic Tokens, you can reroll any skill check, but you must announce your intention to do so before hearing the outcome of the original roll. This ability allows you to potentially turn failure into success or improve upon mediocre results through sheer fortunate circumstance, though you’re gambling on fate’s favor without knowing if you truly need it.

return

Martial Artist: Adapt

Prerequisites: Martial Artist: Initiate

Your martial training expands to include advanced striking techniques and defensive abilities that allow you to survive falls and disable opponents through precise attacks. Your unarmed attacks now gain d6 bonus.

return

Martial Artist: Initiate

You begin to master the ancient art of unarmed combat, learning to turn your body into a weapon through disciplined training and precise technique. Your hands, feet, and body become instruments of controlled violence, capable of matching armed opponents through superior skill. All unarmed attacks gain d4 bonus (scales with tier advancement).

return

Martial Artist: Master

Prerequisites: Martial Artist: Scholar

You have achieved legendary mastery over martial arts, capable of techniques that seem supernatural in their speed and effectiveness. Your unarmed attacks now gain d12 bonus.

return

Martial Artist: Novice

Prerequisites: Martial Artist: Adapt

You achieve mastery over advanced defensive techniques and precision strikes, capable of turning enemy projectiles against them and targeting specific vulnerable points. Your unarmed attacks now gain d8 bonus.

return

Martial Artist: Scholar

Prerequisites: Martial Artist: Novice

Your mastery includes legendary techniques that can strike vital points with devastating effect and attack opponents from a distance through focused energy projection. Your unarmed attacks now gain d10 bonus.

return

Matter Shard

This ability allows you to rapidly create and launch small projectiles from nearby materials, whether by hardening cloth into needles, shaping metal fragments, or accelerating small stones with supernatural force. This demonstrates your growing ability to weaponize the material world around you.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d4 against the target’s Agility, representing your ability to create and direct improvised projectiles against their ability to dodge or deflect the material attack.

return

Matter: Adapt

Prerequisites: Matter: Initiate

Your understanding of matter deepens to encompass composition and history, allowing you to read objects like books and alter their fundamental durability. You can perceive the elemental makeup of items and glimpse their past through residual impressions left in their structure. Previous abilities now use d6 instead of d4.

return

Matter: Initiate

You begin to understand the material makeup of the world around you, gaining insight into the fundamental structure and properties of physical objects. This mastery can manifest as exceptional craftsmanship, intuitive material knowledge, or the ability to subtly alter matter’s basic properties. You can perform minor matter manipulations for practical purposes, such as cleaning or soiling objects with a touch, changing colors of small items, mending minor tears, or making cosmetic adjustments that might provide small situational bonuses (GM discretion).

return

Matter: Master

Prerequisites: Matter: Scholar

You have achieved complete mastery over matter itself, capable of destroying entire areas, transmuting materials into completely different substances, and creating complex animated constructs. Your understanding transcends individual objects to encompass the fundamental nature of physical reality. Previous abilities now use d12 instead of d10.

return

Matter: Novice

Prerequisites: Matter: Adapt

You achieve mastery over matter’s physical state and can create more complex animated constructs. Your power allows you to work materials as if they were malleable while retaining their original properties, and animate larger, more sophisticated objects. Previous abilities now use d8 instead of d6.

return

Matter: Scholar

Prerequisites: Matter: Novice

Your mastery approaches legendary levels, allowing you to disintegrate objects, create powerful animated guardians, and alter fundamental states of matter. You can shift materials between solid, liquid, and gaseous states at will. Previous abilities now use d10 instead of d8.

return

Mental Lance

This ability represents a focused telepathic assault that strikes directly at your opponent’s mind, attempting to overwhelm their mental defenses with pure psychic force. Whether manifested as invisible mental energy, painful psychic feedback, or cognitive overload, this attack demonstrates your growing mastery over mental combat.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d4 against the target’s Brains, representing your mental attack power against their ability to defend their thoughts and maintain mental coherence under assault.

return

Mighty Feat

Prerequisites: Greater Blessing of Virtues _____

This ability represents your capacity to channel divine favor into moments of extraordinary achievement that transcend normal mortal limitations. Your enhanced blessing allows you to tap into supernatural reserves of capability, performing feats that inspire awe and demonstrate the true power of divine enhancement working through mortal form.

By spending 3 AP, you can roll a d12 for any skill check using your blessed trait, representing a surge of otherworldly power that elevates your performance to legendary levels. This supernatural enhancement can turn routine actions into displays of remarkable excellence and transform challenging tasks into demonstrations of divine favor made manifest through your chosen virtue.

return

Mind: Adapt

Prerequisites: Mind: Initiate

Your mental powers deepen to allow two-way communication and deeper mental exploration. You can heal minor mental afflictions and begin issuing simple commands that others feel compelled to obey. Previous abilities now use d6 instead of d4.

return

Mind: Initiate

You begin to tap into the mental realm, gaining the ability to read surface thoughts, send telepathic messages, and influence others through direct mental contact. This power represents mastery over the mind as a tool for overcoming obstacles and understanding others. You can use minor mental abilities for social advantages, such as memorizing complex information quickly or reading facial expressions with supernatural accuracy that might provide small situational bonuses (GM discretion).

return

Mind: Master

Prerequisites: Mind: Scholar

You have achieved complete mastery over consciousness itself, capable of completely rewriting personalities and inflicting the most severe mental damage possible. Your understanding of the mind transcends individual thoughts to encompass the fundamental nature of consciousness. Previous abilities now use d12 instead of d10.

return

Mind: Novice

Prerequisites: Mind: Adapt

You achieve mastery over group mental effects and can inflict lasting psychological damage. Your telepathic network can connect multiple minds simultaneously, and your mental attacks can affect entire areas. Previous abilities now use d8 instead of d6.

return

Mind: Scholar

Prerequisites: Mind: Novice

Your mastery allows you to alter memories and create lasting mental control over others. You can inflict severe psychological damage and heal even the most broken minds through your understanding of mental architecture. Previous abilities now use d10 instead of d8.

return

Mocking Whispers

This ability allows you to send forth shadowy whispers that mock and belittle your target, using darkness itself to carry cruel words that strike at their self-worth and confidence. The shadows become a vehicle for psychological assault, delivering cutting remarks and harsh truths that wound the spirit.

You make a contested roll using Charm + d4 against the target’s Spirit, representing your ability to craft hurtful words carried by shadow against their willpower to maintain self-confidence in the face of supernatural mockery.

return

Nature’s Wrath

This ability allows you to call upon the natural world to strike at your enemies, whether through thorns that erupt from the ground, sudden gusts of wind, small lightning bolts, or other natural phenomena directed at your target. This demonstrates your growing bond with nature’s power.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d4 against the target’s Agility, representing your ability to direct natural forces against their ability to dodge or avoid the environmental attack.

return

Nature: Adapt

Prerequisites: Nature: Initiate

Your connection to nature deepens, allowing you to form lasting bonds with animal companions and begin healing more serious injuries. You can perceive the world through your bonded animal’s senses and call upon the raw power of storms. Previous abilities now use d6 instead of d4.

return

Nature: Initiate

You begin to connect with the natural world, gaining influence over animals, weather patterns, and the life force that flows through all living things. Nature itself responds to your presence and commands, recognizing you as a friend and ally. You can perform minor natural manipulations for practical purposes, such as creating small wind gusts, giving simple commands to trained animals, or attracting random animal friends who join you briefly before leaving (like a cat choosing your lap at a party) that might provide small situational bonuses (GM discretion). When multiple Nature users compete for influence over the same animals, the one with highest Charm takes precedence.

return

Nature: Master

Prerequisites: Nature: Scholar

You have achieved complete mastery over the natural world and the forces of life and death themselves. You can reshape living beings at will and even restore the dead to life through your connection to nature’s deepest mysteries. Previous abilities now use d12 instead of d10.

return

Nature: Novice

Prerequisites: Nature: Adapt

You achieve significant mastery over life and transformation, capable of healing major injuries and taking on animal forms yourself. Your power extends to communicating with entire ecosystems and creating areas of enhanced healing. Previous abilities now use d8 instead of d6.

return

Nature: Scholar

Prerequisites: Nature: Novice

Your mastery allows you to transform others and heal even the most severe injuries through connection to life’s deepest mysteries. You can share your transformative abilities and restore what others consider permanently damaged. Previous abilities now use d10 instead of d8.

return

Never Gonna Give Up

Prerequisites: Self Healing

This ability represents your incredible determination and refusal to surrender even when facing overwhelming odds. When the killing blow comes, your spirit flares with defiant energy that keeps you conscious through sheer force of will. Whether through stubborn pride, protective instincts, or an unbreakable core of determination, you simply refuse to fall when others depend on you.

When any attack would reduce your resilience to 0, you may immediately make a difficult Spirit check. Success allows you to remain at 1 resilience instead, representing your supernatural determination to keep fighting. This ability activates automatically whenever you would be reduced to 0 resilience, though you choose whether to attempt the Spirit check or accept unconsciousness.

return

One with Water

Prerequisites: Greater Blessing of the Seas

This ability represents mastery over aquatic environments, transforming you into a being as comfortable in water as on land. Your supernatural bond with all forms of water has evolved to the point where aquatic environments enhance rather than hinder your capabilities, and you can survive underwater for extended periods that would be impossible for normal mortals.

Your breath-holding capacity is dramatically enhanced, allowing you to remain underwater for 30 minutes per point of your Spirit trait maximum value instead of the normal 30 seconds. You automatically succeed at all moderate difficulty (or easier) swimming skill checks, representing your effortless movement through any aquatic environment. When facing difficult or exceptional swimming challenges such as powerful currents, underwater combat, or extreme depths, you gain a +3 bonus to your roll, reflecting your supernatural mastery of all things aquatic.

return

Piercing Mental Lance

Prerequisites: Mental Lance

Your telepathic attacks have become more refined and powerful, capable of penetrating stronger mental defenses and inflicting greater psychological damage. Your mental strikes now carry more focused intent and devastating precision.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d6 against the target’s Brains, representing your enhanced psychic assault capabilities against their improved but still challenged mental defenses.

return

Protective

This ability represents your deep-seated instinct to shield others from harm and your enhanced effectiveness when acting in defense of those who cannot defend themselves. Whether driven by natural heroism, strong moral convictions, or personal experience with vulnerability, you perform at your peak when standing between danger and those you wish to protect.

You gain a +3 bonus to any skill checks made while defending a friend or ally, or when helping someone who cannot protect themselves. This enhancement applies whether you’re fighting to shield others from physical harm, using your skills to solve problems that threaten the innocent, or taking any action where your primary motivation is protecting rather than advancing your own interests.

return

Self Healing

This ability represents your enhanced capacity for accelerated recovery and self-restoration, whether through superior physical conditioning, meditation techniques, supernatural constitution, or innate regenerative abilities. Your body and spirit respond more effectively to healing efforts, allowing you to recover from injuries and exhaustion more quickly than others.

When you spend Ability Points on healing yourself (which normally restores 1 point of resilience per AP spent), you can instead roll a d4 for each AP invested. This means that spending 1 AP could potentially restore up to 4 points of resilience if you roll well, making your healing efforts more efficient and potentially more powerful than standard recovery methods.

return

Shadow: Adapt

Prerequisites: Shadow: Initiate

Your mastery over shadows deepens, allowing you to create weapons from darkness itself and use shadow as protection. You can manipulate your connection to darkness for both offensive and defensive purposes while attacking minds with whispered madness. Previous abilities now use d6 instead of d4.

return

Shadow: Initiate

You begin to surround yourself with shadows and mystery, learning to bend light around you and create simple illusions that confound the senses. You naturally exist in spaces between light and darkness, finding comfort where others see only concealment and threat. You can perform minor shadow manipulations for social advantages, such as changing eye color, dimming lights, or amplifying voices that might provide small situational bonuses (GM discretion).

return

Shadow: Master

Prerequisites: Shadow: Scholar

You have achieved complete mastery over darkness itself, capable of destroying shadows to inflict terrible spiritual wounds and plunging entire regions into supernatural night. Your power transcends mere illusion to reshape reality through shadow. Previous abilities now use d12 instead of d10.

return

Shadow: Novice

Prerequisites: Shadow: Adapt

You achieve mastery over complex illusions and true invisibility, capable of affecting all senses simultaneously and moving through shadows as if they were doorways. Your power can inflict real harm through shadow manipulation. Previous abilities now use d8 instead of d6.

return

Shadow: Scholar

Prerequisites: Shadow: Novice

Your mastery allows you to command armies of shadows and travel through the shadow realm itself. You can create vast illusions that reshape how others perceive entire environments. Previous abilities now use d10 instead of d8.

return

Sharpshooter: Adapt

Prerequisites: Sharpshooter: Initiate

Your understanding of ranged combat deepens to include mastery over angles and physics, allowing you to make shots that seem to defy the laws of ballistics. Your accuracy improves significantly through enhanced technique.

return

Sharpshooter: Initiate

You begin to master the art of ranged combat, developing the fundamental skills that separate trained marksmen from those who simply point and shoot. Your focus on precision, timing, and understanding of projectile weapons marks the beginning of your journey toward legendary accuracy.

return

Sharpshooter: Master

Prerequisites: Sharpshooter: Scholar

You have achieved legendary mastery over ranged combat, capable of shots that seem impossible and dominance over entire battlefields through superior positioning and accuracy.

return

Sharpshooter: Novice

Prerequisites: Sharpshooter: Adapt

You achieve mastery over advanced ranged techniques, capable of engaging multiple targets and making precisely controlled shots that disable rather than kill. Your skill transcends mere accuracy to encompass tactical application.

return

Sharpshooter: Scholar

Prerequisites: Sharpshooter: Novice

Your mastery allows for surgical precision in targeting specific body parts and the ability to control entire areas through threatening fire. You can dictate the flow of battle through positioning and intimidation.

return

Silver Tongue

Prerequisites: Greater Blessing of the Fae

This ability represents supernatural persuasion, allowing you to weave words with such otherworldly charm and conviction that listeners find themselves compelled to believe and act upon your suggestions. Your enhanced fae magic grants you the power to speak with the authority of the fairy courts themselves, making your words carry weight that transcends normal human communication.

By spending 2 AP, you can roll a d12 when attempting to convince someone of something, whether through honest persuasion or clever deception. The supernatural nature of your speech makes your arguments almost irresistibly compelling. For each additional AP you spend beyond the base cost, the target will continue to perform small favors for you for one hour, as your words create a lingering enchantment that compels minor acts of assistance and cooperation.

return

Skilled At ____

This ability represents true professional competence and mastery in a specific trade, craft, or specialized skill through years of dedicated practice and experience. Whether learned through formal apprenticeship, self-taught expertise, or natural talent refined over time, you have achieved a level of proficiency that allows you to handle routine tasks with consistent excellence while tackling even challenging applications with enhanced capability.

When selecting this ability, choose a specific skill from options such as:

• Blacksmithing and metalworking
• Jewelry making
• Leather crafting
• Carpentry and woodworking
• Herbalism
• Poison creation
• Potion making
• Ritual casting
• Sneaking and stealth
• Opening locks
• Finding and disarming traps
• Swimming
• Musical instruments (wind, woodwind, stringed, percussion)
• Driving vehicles
• Cartography and mapmaking
• Calligraphy and fine writing
• Cooking and food preparation
• Sailing and navigation
• Animal training
• Similar specialized trades and crafts

You automatically succeed at moderate difficulty (or easier) skill checks related to your chosen expertise, representing your reliable competence in everyday applications. For difficult or exceptional challenges within your area of skill, you gain a +3 bonus to your roll, reflecting your deep understanding of advanced techniques and problem-solving approaches.

return

Space-Time: Adapt

Prerequisites: Space-Time: Initiate

Your understanding of dimensional mechanics deepens, allowing you to phase objects through solid matter and manipulate space for combat advantage. You can step through space instantaneously and begin to affect living beings with your temporal powers. Previous abilities now use d6 instead of d4.

return

Space-Time: Initiate

You begin to understand the fundamental nature of space and time, gaining the ability to subtly manipulate distances, angles, and the flow of temporal events. This mastery allows you to compress actions, adjust outcomes, and perceive the hidden connections that bind people and objects across dimensional space. You can perform minor space-time manipulations for practical purposes, such as moving abnormally fast for brief moments, seeing distant objects clearly, or knowing exact time instinctively that might provide small situational bonuses (GM discretion).

return

Space-Time: Master

Prerequisites: Space-Time: Scholar

You have achieved complete mastery over the fundamental forces of space and time, capable of opening gateways between dimensions and creating devastating spatial anomalies that can destroy vast areas. Reality bends to accommodate your vision of how space and time should function. Previous abilities now use d12 instead of d10.

return

Space-Time: Novice

Prerequisites: Space-Time: Adapt

You achieve mastery over longer-range teleportation and can phase living beings through matter, though with dangerous consequences for extended phasing. Your spatial distortions can affect entire areas with devastating results. Previous abilities now use d8 instead of d6.

return

Space-Time: Scholar

Prerequisites: Space-Time: Novice

Your mastery allows you to create temporary gateways between distant locations, enabling transportation of groups and large objects across vast distances. Your understanding of dimensional mechanics approaches the theoretical limits of mortal comprehension. Previous abilities now use d10 instead of d8.

return

Spatial Strike

This ability allows you to manipulate space around your target, creating small dimensional distortions that can disorient and harm opponents. Whether by briefly folding space, creating micro-teleportation effects, or generating small gravitational anomalies, you demonstrate basic mastery over spatial forces.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d4 against the target’s Agility, representing your understanding of spatial mechanics against their ability to adapt to the suddenly altered environment around them.

return

Spirit Bolt

This ability allows you to launch focused spiritual energy at your target, striking at their life force and spiritual essence rather than their physical form. Whether manifested as visible spiritual light, invisible life-draining energy, or pure soul-force, this attack demonstrates your connection to the spiritual realm.

You make a contested roll using Brains + d4 against the target’s Spirit, representing your understanding of spiritual forces against their willpower to maintain their spiritual integrity under assault.

return

Spirit: Adapt

Prerequisites: Spirit: Initiate

Your connection to the spirit realm deepens, allowing you to heal spiritual afflictions and create areas of spiritual harm. You can see fully into the spirit realm and interact with its inhabitants as if they were physical beings. Previous abilities now use d6 instead of d4.

return

Spirit: Initiate

You begin to perceive the spiritual realms that exist alongside the physical world, gaining the ability to see and interact with ghosts, spirits, and the supernatural forces that influence daily life. This connection grants you “Second Sight” as a passive ability, allowing you to glimpse supernatural presences, sense when areas or people are touched by otherworldly forces, and feel when situations involve more than meets the eye. While you may not have specific details without using focused abilities, you possess an intuitive awareness that the world contains hidden depths and spiritual dimensions.

return

Spirit: Master

Prerequisites: Spirit: Scholar

You have achieved complete mastery over life, death, and the spiritual forces that govern existence itself. You can inflict the most terrible curses, manipulate souls directly, and create entire spiritual domains under your control. Previous abilities now use d12 instead of d10.

return

Spirit: Novice

Prerequisites: Spirit: Adapt

You achieve mastery over the boundary between life and death, capable of revealing the spirit realm to others and beginning to manipulate the forces of undeath. Your power extends to inflicting spiritual curses and controlling mindless undead. Previous abilities now use d8 instead of d6.

return

Spirit: Scholar

Prerequisites: Spirit: Novice

Your mastery allows you to inflict severe spiritual afflictions, bind spirits to your service, and create intelligent undead. You can open gateways to the spirit realm itself, allowing physical travel to otherworldly domains. Previous abilities now use d10 instead of d8.

return

Strong Willed

This ability represents your exceptional mental fortitude and force of personality that makes you both difficult to sway and compelling when trying to influence others. Whether through natural stubbornness, philosophical conviction, or hard-won experience with manipulation, you possess an unshakeable core of beliefs and the confidence to stand by them even under pressure.

You gain a +3 bonus to skill checks when resisting persuasion, intimidation, or other attempts to change your mind or influence your decisions. Additionally, you gain a +3 bonus when attempting to persuade others, as your obvious conviction and unwavering certainty tends to make your arguments more compelling and trustworthy to those you’re trying to convince.

return

Thrill of Battle

Prerequisites: Self Healing

This ability represents your capacity to draw energy and vitality from the heat of combat itself, finding strength through victory and the adrenaline rush of successful attacks. Whether through battle-hardened conditioning, supernatural resilience, or psychological satisfaction from defeating enemies, you can convert the excitement of landing blows into physical restoration.

Whenever you successfully deal damage to an opponent, you may spend 2 AP to roll d4 and heal that amount of resilience. This represents your body’s enhanced recovery response to combat success and your ability to draw strength from the thrill of battle itself.

return

Tough

Prerequisites: Self Healing

This ability represents your extraordinary physical and mental resilience that allows you to endure punishment that would cripple others. Whether through superior conditioning, stubborn determination, or supernatural constitution, you possess an almost inhuman capacity to absorb damage and keep functioning even when severely injured.

When you lose a combat encounter, you add 3 to your final negative result before determining consequences. While this cannot change a loss into a victory, it can significantly reduce the severity of your defeat. For example, if you would normally suffer -4 resilience damage from a lost combat, this ability would reduce that to -1 resilience damage instead, potentially saving you from more serious injury or lasting harm. This damage reduction stacks with armor reduction and other protective effects.

return

True Breathless

Prerequisites: Breathless

This ability represents transcendence of mortal respiratory needs, elevating you beyond the biological requirements that bind other living beings. Your supernatural connection to air has become so profound that you no longer depend on breathing for survival, existing in perfect harmony with the atmospheric forces around you regardless of environmental conditions.

return

Twist of Fate

This ability allows you to speak a dark fortune or prophecy that strikes at your target’s confidence and willpower, causing them to doubt themselves and experience a momentary crisis of faith. Whether delivered as a whispered prediction of failure or a pronouncement of inevitable doom, this attack uses the power of spoken fate to break down spiritual defenses.

You make a contested roll using Charm + d4 against the target’s Spirit, representing your ability to deliver compelling words of misfortune against their willpower to resist having their confidence shattered by your prophetic declarations.

return

War Master: Adapt

Prerequisites: War Master: Initiate

Your battlefield awareness grows to include techniques for breaking through enemy lines and overwhelming individual opponents through sheer force. You learn to use your momentum and positioning to maximum advantage.

return

War Master: Initiate

You begin to master the brutal art of battlefield combat, learning techniques designed for fighting multiple opponents simultaneously. Your training focuses on crowd control and efficient elimination of numerous foes rather than the finesse of single combat.

return

War Master: Master

Prerequisites: War Master: Scholar

You have achieved legendary mastery over battlefield combat, capable of controlling entire areas through your presence and delivering strikes that can severely wound even the toughest opponents.

return

War Master: Novice

Prerequisites: War Master: Adapt

You achieve mastery over advanced multi-target techniques and equipment destruction, capable of affecting multiple foes with single strikes and destroying enemy gear through focused attacks.

return

War Master: Scholar

Prerequisites: War Master: Novice

Your mastery allows for techniques that inflict lasting damage and affect large groups of enemies with sweeping attacks. You can create wounds that persist beyond the immediate battle.

return

Water Dweller

Prerequisites: One with Water

This ability represents transcendence of the boundary between air and water breathing, allowing you to exist as comfortably beneath the waves as above them. Your supernatural bond with aquatic environments has evolved to the point where water itself sustains you, granting the ability to extract life-giving essence directly from any liquid environment.

return

Wealthy

This ability represents your access to significant financial resources, whether through inheritance, successful business ventures, investments, or other sources of substantial income. Your wealth provides you with economic freedom that allows you to focus on adventures and pursuits without worrying about basic survival or earning daily wages.

You can afford most day-to-day expenses without concern, including quality food, comfortable lodging, standard equipment, and services that others might consider luxuries. When making expensive purchases such as property, vehicles, or rare items, you may need to wait briefly for funds to become available or liquidate assets, but such expenditures won’t bankrupt or financially ruin you. This financial security allows you to take risks and pursue goals that others might avoid due to economic constraints.

return

Weapons Group Training ____

This ability represents formal training or extensive experience with a specific category of weapons, teaching you the fundamental techniques, proper grip, balance points, and combat applications that separate trained fighters from those simply swinging dangerous objects. Whether learned through military service, apprenticeship under a weapons master, cultural tradition, or hard-won experience in countless battles, you have developed muscle memory and tactical understanding that allows you to wield these weapons with competence and confidence.

When selecting this ability, choose one weapons group: Swords (including daggers and knives), Staves and Polearms, Ranged Archaic (bows, crossbows, slings), Firearms (guns), or Hammers and Axes. You may add d4 when using weapons from the group, representing your mastery of the fundamental principles that govern their effective use. This ability can be taken multiple times, each time applying to a different weapons group.

return

Weapons Master ____

This ability represents true mastery of a single weapon achieved through years of dedicated practice, intensive study, and countless hours of training that have elevated your skill to legendary levels. Whether through obsessive devotion to perfecting your craft, training under a renowned master, or natural talent refined through extensive experience, you have transcended mere competence to achieve an almost supernatural connection with your chosen weapon. The weapon becomes an extension of your body, responding to your intentions as naturally as your own limbs.

When selecting this ability, choose any single weapon, including exotic or unusual options, or even unarmed combat techniques. You gain a +3 bonus to all skill checks involving the use of that weapon, whether in combat, demonstration, maintenance, or any other application. This bonus represents your complete understanding of the weapon’s capabilities, limitations, and potential. Additionally, you suffer no penalties for being untrained, as your mastery encompasses not just technique but deep theoretical knowledge of your chosen weapon’s principles and applications.

return

Next Steps

You have selected your character’s traits, bloodline, and starting abilities. Now it’s time to bring your character to life! We encourage you to develop your character’s personality, appearance, and backstory to create a memorable and engaging persona for your adventures.

Character Development Questions

These questions will help you better understand who your character is beyond their mechanical statistics. Take your time with these - the answers will guide how you roleplay and make decisions throughout your adventures.

Physical Appearance & Mannerisms

1. What’s the first thing people notice about your character when they walk into a room?

2. How does your character’s posture change when they’re confident versus when they’re insecure?

3. What piece of clothing, jewelry, or accessory does your character never go without, and what’s the story behind it?

4. Does your character have any scars, tattoos, or distinctive marks? What’s the story behind the most interesting one?

5. How does your character’s appearance differ from what people expect based on their reputation or profession?

6. What does your character do to their hair when they’re frustrated or concentrating?

7. If your character’s clothes could tell a story, what would they reveal about their day, their priorities, or their past?

Personality & Background

8. What’s the most embarrassing thing your character has ever done, and do they still cringe thinking about it?

9. When your character is completely alone, what habit or quirk do they indulge in that they’d never let others see?

10. What’s one belief or principle your character holds that most people in their world would find strange or controversial?

11. Who was the last person to genuinely surprise your character, and what did they do?

12. What does your character do with their hands when they’re nervous, angry, or deep in thought?

13. If your character could ask their childhood self one question, what would it be?

14. What’s something your character is surprisingly good at that doesn’t fit their usual image or background?

15. When your character lies, do they have a tell? What gives them away?

16. What’s the worst advice your character has ever received, and did they follow it?

17. If your character had to choose between saving a stranger’s life or protecting their most treasured possession, what would they do and why?

18. What smell, sound, or sight instantly transports your character back to their childhood?

19. What’s your character’s relationship with money? Are they a spender, saver, or somewhere in between, and what shaped that attitude?

20. When your character faces a problem, do they prefer to solve it alone, ask for help, or avoid it entirely?

21. What’s one thing your character wishes they could change about themselves, but probably never will?

22. If your character discovered they only had one week to live, what would they regret not having said to someone?

Quirks & Habits

23. What does your character do in the first ten minutes after waking up every day?

24. Does your character have any superstitions or rituals they perform for good luck?

25. What’s your character’s biggest pet peeve, and how do they react when someone does it?

26. How does your character eat their food? Quickly, slowly, in a specific order, or with particular mannerisms?

27. What does your character do when they’re alone and bored? Do they fidget, hum, pace, or something else?

28. Does your character have a comfort object or routine they turn to when stressed or homesick?

29. What’s your character’s reaction to being interrupted while they’re concentrating?

30. Does your character have any words, phrases, or expressions they use more often than they realize?

Starting Equipment

Once you’ve developed your character’s personality and background, it’s time to select their starting equipment. Work with your GM to determine what gear is appropriate for your character’s background and the campaign setting.

As a general guideline, characters should start with basic items that make sense for their background and profession - nothing more elaborate than what a typical person in their situation would reasonably possess. This might include simple tools of their trade, basic clothing appropriate to their social status, a modest amount of currency, and perhaps one or two personal items of sentimental value.

For detailed information about equipment, weapons, armor, and magical items, consult the Equipment and Items chapter of this rulebook.

Character Growth Through Milestones

Your character will grow and develop throughout the campaign through a system called milestones. These represent significant moments of character growth and are awarded by the GM at major story beats, typically after completing important chapters of the adventure, overcoming significant challenges, or achieving major character development moments.

Milestone Rewards

The benefits your character gains from each milestone depend on the power level of your campaign, which your GM will establish during session zero. Higher power levels represent more epic, fantastical campaigns where characters grow more rapidly into legendary figures.

Types of Growth

Ability Growth: You can select new abilities from the available list, following the same rules as character creation. This represents your character learning new skills and techniques through their adventures.

AP Max Growth: Your character’s maximum Action Points increase, allowing them to use more powerful abilities or sustain longer periods of intense activity. This growth is automatically applied; no choices required.

Trait Upgrades: Perhaps the most significant form of growth, trait upgrades allow you to improve your character’s fundamental capabilities. When you earn a trait upgrade, you may increase one trait die by one step according to the following progression:

• d4 → d6 → d8 → d10 → d12 → d20 → 2d12

You can upgrade the same trait multiple times over the course of a long campaign. For example, if you previously upgraded a trait from d4 to d6, your next trait upgrade could improve that same trait to d8, or you could choose to upgrade a different trait instead.

Campaign Considerations

The milestone system is designed to be flexible and support campaigns of different lengths and power fantasies. Low power campaigns focus on gritty, realistic adventures where growth is slow and hard-earned. Heroic power campaigns embrace the fantasy of rapidly ascending to legendary status; characters might eventually become the most powerful beings in the multiverse.

Remember that there’s no theoretical maximum to the number of milestones a character can earn. Some epic campaigns might span dozens of milestones as characters grow from humble beginnings to cosmic significance.

Equipment and Items

GM: “Alright everyone, time to gear up! For starting equipment, I’m using the resource system, so we won’t track individual coins, just assume you have what you need for basic survival and starting out. Everyone gets reasonable starting resources.”

GM: “Pick one of the basic explorer kits, add any gear that makes sense for your character concept, and don’t forget weapons if your character uses them.”

Robin: “How many guns can my gunslinger carry?”

GM: “Let’s be reasonable—maybe two pistols and a rifle at most. Any more and you’d be a walking armory, which sounds exhausting.”

Robin: “Ha! No bag full of guns where I just toss one aside and grab the next?”

GM: “Not yet anyway. Though I’m not sure how fun lugging around fifty pistols would be.”

Robin: It could be a bag-of-holding!

GM: Or side holster that keeps replacing the gun, but that sounds like something to find in the future - not when you start.

Robin: Ok.

Sage: “Can I have a book written in otherworldly script?”

GM: “Absolutely! That could be the very tome that first cursed you. Fair warning though - that gives me plenty of plot hooks to work with.”

Sage: “Ooh, maybe I should reconsider… no wait, that sounds perfect! I want the dangerous book.”

Quinn: “I’m thinking classic soldier gear: sword, armor, maybe a shield. Can my blade be a family heirloom?”

GM: “Definitely! In fact, let’s make this interesting. Everyone should pick one item that has personal significance. An heirloom, a memento, something with history. Usually it’s a weapon, but it could be anything meaningful to your character.”

Robin: “So we each get a special item along with our regular starting gear?”

GM: “Exactly. One meaningful piece, one basic kit, weapons if you use them, and whatever other reasonable gear fits your concept. Just run your list by me, nothing crazy, but if it makes sense for a starting character in our setting, you’re good.”

Sage: “Should my significant item be the cursed book, or something else? Maybe a protective charm from my grandmother that keeps me anchored when dealing with cosmic horrors?”

GM: “Either works beautifully! The book is obviously central to your story, but a protective charm could explain how you’ve maintained your sanity despite everything you’ve learned.”

Robin: “I want one of my pistols to be my heirloom. Maybe it belonged to the person who taught me to shoot, before everything went sideways in my life.”

GM: “Perfect! That adds instant backstory and could tie into your pride issues. You’re carrying on someone’s legacy every time you draw that gun. If you want, both pistols could be, a matched set.”

Robin: “Yes! A pearl handle, and an onyx black handle. I love it, but now, I really won’t want to swap them out.”

Quinn: “My father’s sword, then. It’s part of why I became a soldier. Trying to live up to his reputation.”

GM: “Love it. Here’s the thing about these meaningful items - they can evolve as you do. They might start as ordinary gear, but as your legend grows through the campaign, these significant pieces could develop special properties reflecting your adventures.”

Sage: “So my forbidden tome might reveal new secrets as I grow stronger?”

Robin: “And my mentor’s guns could become supernaturally accurate as I master my craft?”

GM: “Exactly! These items become part of your story, not just equipment you’ll eventually replace. I will handle how they grow, but I will work with you to make sure it matches how you are roleplaying your character. Now, which explorer kits are you thinking? Sage, the Scholar Kit probably fits your research-focused character…”

Sage: “Perfect! Plus extra writing materials for documenting my otherworldly discoveries. I also think maybe something random, like a deck of playing cards.”

Robin: “Explorer Kit for me: compass, rope, and survival gear. Everything a wandering gunslinger needs.”

Quinn: “I’ll take the Devotee Kit. The holy symbol and healing supplies match my paladin concept perfectly.”

Equipment represents the tools, weapons, armor, and possessions that help your character navigate the dangers and challenges of their adventures. In Multiverse, equipment serves multiple purposes: it provides mechanical benefits through improved capabilities, creates opportunities for creative problem-solving, and helps establish your character’s background, personality, and place in the world. The gear your character carries tells a story about who they are, where they’ve been, and what they value most.

The availability and nature of equipment varies dramatically based on your chosen campaign setting. A medieval fantasy world might feature enchanted swords and mystical armor, while a modern urban campaign could include cutting-edge technology and specialized professional tools. Some settings blend these elements, offering steampunk contraptions, alien artifacts, or items that blur the line between technology and magic. Always work with your GM to understand what equipment exists in your world and how it functions within the established tone and themes of your campaign.

Important This chapter provides examples and guidelines rather than exhaustive catalogs, as the specific items available depend entirely on your setting’s technological level, magical presence, and cultural background. The goal is to give you frameworks for understanding how equipment functions mechanically while leaving room for creative adaptation to match your campaign’s unique needs.

Wealth and Resource Management

Different settings require different approaches to wealth, from traditional coin-counting to abstract buying power. Your GM will establish which method best serves your campaign’s tone and pacing.

Wealth as Buying Power

This approach treats wealth as your character’s overall economic capability rather than specific currency amounts, avoiding detailed transaction tracking that can slow storytelling. Your wealth level determines what you can purchase routinely versus what requires special effort or sacrifice.

• Struggling ($) - Characters at this level live paycheck to paycheck, often struggling to meet basic needs like rent, food, and transportation. They might delay medical care due to cost, buy used clothing, and carefully consider even small purchases. Large expenses require significant sacrifice or borrowing.
• Stable ($$) - These characters can meet their basic needs reliably and occasionally afford modest luxuries. They might rent a decent apartment, buy new clothes when needed, and eat at restaurants occasionally. Major purchases like vehicles or home improvements require planning and saving.
• Comfortable ($$$) - Characters at this level enjoy middle to upper-middle class lifestyles with financial breathing room for regular luxuries. They can afford quality housing, reliable transportation, and don’t stress about routine expenses. They might own a home, take vacations, and purchase quality equipment without extensive deliberation.
• Affluent ($$$$) - These characters have substantial wealth that generates passive income, allowing them to focus on pursuits other than earning money. They can afford most everyday purchases without concern and typically own significant assets like property, investments, or successful businesses.
• Wealthy ($$$$$) - Characters at this level possess extraordinary wealth that borders on the supernatural, often backed by the Wealthy ability (Batman and Ironman for example). They can make most purchases without financial impact, though extremely extravagant expenditures might require brief periods of reduced spending while their resources replenish.

Your GM can adjust these levels based on character choices and story developments, rewarding smart decisions with increased prosperity or creating tension through financial setbacks. Most starting characters begin at Stable ($$) unless their background suggests otherwise.

Wealth Growth and Loss
Characters’ wealth levels can change during the campaign based on their choices, successes, and failures. Smart investments, successful business ventures, or completing lucrative missions might increase wealth levels, while poor decisions, economic disasters, or generous philanthropy could reduce them.

These changes should always serve the story rather than feel arbitrary. A character who consistently makes wise financial choices and pursues wealth-building opportunities should see their economic situation improve, while someone who prioritizes helping others over personal gain might remain at lower wealth levels but gain other rewards.

Wealth as Resource Management

Some campaigns benefit from traditional resource management where characters earn and spend specific amounts of money. This works particularly well when economic survival forms part of the challenge, characters start from humble beginnings, or resource scarcity creates dramatic tension. Under this system, characters track their expenditures against accumulated wealth, creating meaningful choices about spending limited resources.

To prevent excessive bookkeeping, many groups use weekly or monthly upkeep costs covering basic living expenses like food, lodging, and routine purchases. Characters automatically pay these costs when they have sufficient funds, maintaining resource scarcity for significant purchases while avoiding the need to track every transaction.

Traditional resource management can become less engaging as characters accumulate significant wealth through their adventures. GMs might introduce new expense categories like property maintenance or business investments, or transition to the buying power system once basic survival is no longer a concern.

Optional Rule: The Royal Grape and the Universal Coin
Across the infinite realities of the Multiverse stands The Royal Grape inn, with Russel as its eternal proprietor. Every world, every town, every settlement seems to have one, though no one finds this strange. Of course there should always be a Royal Grape, just as there should be sunrise and gravity. The inn’s sign always features a cluster of grapes beneath a fallen crown, marking it as more than just a tavern for those who know to look for the symbol.

The Royal Grape has established what many consider the universal standard for hospitality: one coin buys a good meal and a safe night’s rest, regardless of local currency or economic conditions. A gold piece in a medieval kingdom, a credit chip in a cyberpunk metropolis, or a bottle cap in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The Royal Grape accepts all forms of payment as equivalent for their basic services. This “single coin rule” provides a useful baseline for GMs establishing costs in their settings.

More importantly, every Royal Grape serves as a Sanctuary and Waypoint (see Wanderer’s Journal), offering neutral ground where conflicts are suspended and all visitors can find safety, especially Travelers. Beyond this single institution, the grapes-and-crown symbol appears on other inns throughout the Multiverse, indicating establishments that follow the same principles of universal hospitality and neutral sanctuary. For characters who travel between worlds, this sign represents safety, reasonable prices, and protection from the dangers that might otherwise follow them across dimensional boundaries.

Starting Equipment Guidelines

New characters should begin their adventures with basic equipment that reflects their background and provides reasonable functionality without overshadowing character growth through the campaign. Think of starting equipment as the foundation upon which your character will build, not as the peak of their material capabilities.

Every character needs basic adventuring equipment appropriate to their setting and background, whether that’s a scholar’s books and research tools or a former soldier’s military-surplus gear and weapons. Your equipment should tell the story of your past and current situation, and a wealthy character might have higher-quality versions of basic items, while someone from humble origins could carry makeshift gear that still functions adequately. The key is matching equipment to your character’s history.

Most characters should also have one or two items of personal significance that serve important roleplay functions rather than mechanical benefits. A family heirloom, gift from someone important, or trophy from a past achievement can become crucial plot elements as the campaign develops. Starting equipment should provide basic functionality without overshadowing the character abilities and growth that drive advancement in Multiverse. Focus on a few well-chosen items that enhance your strengths or create tactical options rather than extensive lists of basic gear.

Work closely with your GM throughout this process to ensure your equipment fits both your character concept and the campaign’s established parameters. What seems reasonable might not match the GM’s vision for the setting’s power level or technological capabilities, and this collaborative approach helps establish consistent expectations for what equipment can accomplish in your particular world.

The equipment you start with should enable your character to contribute meaningfully to early adventures while leaving room for exciting discoveries and improvements as the campaign progresses. Think of it as giving your character the tools they need to survive their first challenges, not everything they’ll ever need.

Optional Rule: Encumbrance
Encumbrance is considered an optional rule in Multiverse, as the general belief is the accumulation of items is based on what makes sense. However, for resource intensive campaigns, encumbrance can be a fun way to remind players choices are constantly needed. The Athleticism trait helps determine a characters max encumbrance.

Encumbrance Penalties:

• Lightly Encumbered (up to maximum): No penalties
• Heavily Encumbered (up to 1.5x maximum): -2 to Agility and Athleticism checks
• Severely Encumbered (up to 2x maximum): -4 to Agility and Athleticism checks, movement reduced by half
• Overloaded (over 2x maximum): Cannot move until weight is reduced

Common Item Weights:

• Dagger: 1 lb
• Shortsword: 2 lbs
• Longsword: 3 lbs
• Battleaxe: 4 lbs
• Leather Armor: 10 lbs
• Chain Mail: 40 lbs
• Plate Mail: 65 lbs
• Shield: 6 lbs
• Backpack (empty): 2 lbs
• Rope (50 ft): 10 lbs
• Torch: 1 lb
• Healing Potion: 0.5 lbs
• Basic Explorer’s Kit: 25 lbs

Once again, we encourage the Rule of Fun. Does adding encumbrance add to the fun of the campaign? That is for the GM to decide.

Equipment Categories and Examples

The following sections provide examples of different equipment types commonly found across various campaign settings. Remember that these are starting points for discussion with your GM rather than definitive lists, and the specific items available in your campaign may differ significantly based on setting, technology level, and thematic focus.

Armor

Armor in Multiverse represents your character’s protective equipment, from simple padded clothing to masterwork suits of enchanted plate mail. Unlike purely defensive systems, armor in this game creates meaningful trade-offs between protection and mobility, forcing characters to consider whether increased safety is worth the reduced agility that comes with heavier protection.

The armor system uses two key mechanics that interact with your character’s existing traits and abilities. Damage Soak reduces the amount of damage you take from successful attacks, representing the armor’s ability to absorb, deflect, or distribute incoming force. Agility Penalty reduces your effectiveness when making all Agility-based skill checks, representing the weight, bulk, and restricted movement that comes with protective gear.

Mechanically, Damage Soak is applied immediately after an attack is successful, but BEFORE any other damage reducing abilities such at Tough. For example, if a contested roll against your Agility has the attacker succeed by 4, and your character’s armor provides 2 soak, then they would only take 2 Resilience damage instead of 4. IF that same character also had Tough, then you would subtract 3 with a minimum of 1. That character would take 1 damage (as Tough states at least 1 point of damage is taken).

These mechanical trade-offs create tactical decisions throughout your adventures. Do you don heavy plate mail before entering the dragon’s lair, knowing you’ll be better protected but less able to dodge attacks? Or do you rely on lighter armor that preserves your mobility for quick escapes and acrobatic maneuvers? The choice depends on your character’s strengths, the challenges you expect to face, and your preferred tactical approach.

Armor Options

Enhanced Armor

Enhanced/Magical armor can take two forms. One is that the form is a slight modification from the Soak/Agility mechanic. For example, Mithril Chain with the same Soak as Chain Mail (4), but a 0 or -1 Agility modifier instead of the typical -3. Another option could be an enhancement. The an Empowered Titan Exoskeleton could provide a d6 bonus to Athleticism skill checks while still providing the 4/-3 split. Such items are up to the discretion of the GM.

Shields

Shields add +1 to contested Agility checks to avoid taking damage in combat. Larger full body shields offer partial cover advantages, but at the cost of movement. This is reflected as +2 to contested roles, but -2 for any other Agility checks.

Weapons

Weapons can vary greatly based on the technology level of the setting, but they all share the same few characteristics. Weapons apply small damage modifiers that are calculated after success has been determined. For example, if someone succeeds on an attack by 2, and the weapon provides 1 damage, then they actually do 3 damage to their opponent. Additionally, weapons fall into different property categories which can modify the outcome of the attacks.

Weapon Properties

Light - Option to use Agility in place of Fight. All ranged weapons have this property, representing weapons that rely on speed and precision rather than raw strength.

Crushing - Double bonus damage against objects. These weapons excel at breaking down doors, smashing through barriers, and destroying equipment through brute force.

Wounding - Chance of wounding an opponent. On successes of 9 or higher, the opponent bleeds 1 Resilience each round until healed, representing deep cuts and traumatic injuries that continue to cause harm.

Tripping - Bonus +3 attack when tripping an opponent. These weapons are designed or particularly suited for sweeping legs, hooking ankles, or otherwise unbalancing foes.

Armor Piercing - Ignore soak damage based on the strength of the armor piercing. These weapons are designed to penetrate protective equipment through concentrated force or specialized design.

Melee Weapons

Ranged Weapons

Note: Damage bonuses only apply when attacking targets within the weapon’s effective range.

Explosive Weapons

Note: Explosive weapons affect all targets within the blast area (circle). Make a single attack roll, all targets in the area must beat this result with their defensive rolls or take damage.

Enhanced Weapons

Enhanced/Magical weapons can take several forms beyond their base statistics. One approach is modifying the damage or properties - for example, a Flaming Sword might retain the standard longsword +3 damage but gain the Wounding property, representing burns that continue to cause harm. A Masterwork Rifle could extend its range from 500 ft to 750 ft while maintaining the same damage and armor piercing capabilities. Another option is adding special abilities or bonuses. An Enchanted Sniper Rifle might grant the wielder access to the Precision Shot ability from the Sharpshooter path, while a Vibrating Warhammer could provide a d4 bonus to Fight skill checks when used in combat. Some weapons might combine multiple enhancements - a Vorpal Blade could deal +4 damage instead of the typical longsword’s +3 and gain the Wounding property. Such items are rare treasures that should be carefully balanced by the GM to enhance gameplay without overshadowing character abilities or making standard weapons obsolete.

Note that weapons or items that grant abilities, often have a limited number of times a day (or their own AP pool).

Optional Rule: Heirloom Weapons
Some weapons grow in power alongside their wielders, developing an almost spiritual bond through shared trials and victories. These Heirloom weapons reflect the character’s personal journey, becoming legendary artifacts that are inseparable from their owner’s identity and achievements.

Under this optional rule, characters begin with a signature weapon of standard quality - perhaps a family sword passed down through generations, a craftsman’s masterwork pistol, or a simple staff that feels perfectly balanced in their hands. Every 3-5 milestones, the GM grants this weapon a new enhancement that reflects the character’s growth and experiences. A warrior’s blade might gain the Armor Piercing property, a gunslinger’s revolver could increase its range by 100 feet, or a wizard’s staff might grant the wielder access to an Elemental Dart ability.

This system creates deeply personal equipment that tells the story of your character’s adventures while eliminating the constant search for better gear. Rather than discarding their starting weapon for superior equipment, players watch their signature item evolve into a legendary artifact worthy of their heroic deeds.

Items

Equipment forms the backbone of any adventurer’s toolkit, providing the specialized tools needed to overcome challenges that raw ability alone cannot handle. From simple rope and torches that have served explorers for millennia to exotic multiversal artifacts that bend the laws of reality, the right equipment can mean the difference between triumph and disaster. This section presents a collection of gear organized by purpose and technology level, providing samples of equipment that may exist in your setting. An exhaustive list is truly impossible. Additionally, we often suggest adding a “Basic Explorers Kit” for new characters. There are a number of different versions of the Basic Explorers kit listed below.

Item Table

Crafting Kits

These specialized tool sets allow characters to create, repair, and modify equipment. Each kit contains the essential tools and materials needed for practicing a particular craft or trade.

Basic Explorers Kit (BEK)

Choose one kit that best matches your character’s expected role and the campaign’s setting. Each kit contains essential tools for different types of adventures.

Explorer/Traveler Kit

For those who journey between worlds and across vast distances

• Sturdy backpack
• Rope (50 ft)
• Compass
• Map case with basic regional maps
• Bedroll and blanket
• Water purification tablets
• Trail rations (1 week)
• Flint and steel
• Small knife
• Coin purse with starting funds

Dungeoneering Kit

For underground exploration and ancient ruins

• Reinforced pack with multiple compartments
• Rope (100 ft)
• Grappling hook
• Lockpicks
• Crowbar
• 6 torches or 2 lanterns with oil
• 10-foot pole
• Small hammer and iron spikes
• Chalk for marking passages
• Emergency rations (3 days)

Devotee Kit

For those serving religious or spiritual purposes

• Ceremonial pack or satchel
• Holy symbol or religious focus
• Prayer book or sacred texts
• Blessed water (3 vials)
• Incense and censer
• Healing herbs and bandages
• Simple wooden staff
• Alms purse for charity
• Travel shrine or altar cloth
• Ritual candles

Scholar Kit

For researchers, academics, and knowledge seekers

• Document case (waterproof)
• Writing materials (paper, ink, quills/pens)
• Magnifying glass
• Several reference books
• Sample containers and preservation materials
• Measuring tools (ruler, calipers)
• Sketching materials
• Lantern with extra oil
• Personal journal
• Library access tokens or letters of introduction

Alchemical Creations & Specialty Ammunition

These items represent the products of skilled alchemists, poisoners, and craftsmen who create specialized tools for adventurers. Each item includes the difficulty check required to create it using appropriate crafting kits.

Poisons

These dangerous substances can be applied to weapons, slipped into food and drink, or delivered through other means. Each poison has a specific DC that targets must overcome with a Spirit check to resist its effects.

Travelers Items

These unique items are designed specifically for those who journey between worlds and realities, providing essential tools for multiversal exploration.

As a reminder, when selecting starting equipment – start with the minimum you need. Most characters will not start off with complex poisons or alchemical creations. Instead they will start with a BEK and some other items that better fit their role. Have the GM approve your starting items, and work with them on what is appropriate.

Equipment serves as the bridge between character capability and world challenges, transforming clever ideas into practical solutions. Whether you’re rappelling down castle walls with trusty rope, brewing antidotes to counter deadly poisons, or stepping through dimensional portals with exotic traveler’s artifacts, the right tools expand your options and reward careful preparation. Remember that the most powerful equipment isn’t necessarily the most expensive or technologically advanced - sometimes a simple smoke bomb or well-timed healing potion proves more valuable than any legendary weapon, and the gear that grows alongside your character often becomes the most treasured of all.

Artifice

The boundary between mundane craftsmanship and supernatural creation has always been thin, and those who walk that line are known as artificers. These creators breathe extraordinary power into carefully wrought objects. Artifice represents the marriage of skill and power, whether that manifests as an enchanted blade that burns with inner fire, a cybernetic implant that enhances human reflexes beyond natural limits, or a quantum device that bends the laws of physics to its wielder’s will.

In the Multiverse, artifice adapts fluidly to each setting’s unique nature and technological level. A fantasy realm might see wizards inscribing runes onto masterwork swords, imbuing them with elemental fury through arcane rituals. A cyberpunk metropolis could feature street surgeons installing black-market neural enhancements that grant superhuman abilities. A far-future spacefaring civilization might craft gravity manipulators or dimensional phase shifters using principles that blur the line between advanced science and what earlier eras would have called magic. What remains constant across all these manifestations is the fundamental principle: extraordinary results require extraordinary effort, skill, and often considerable risk.

The relationship between personal abilities and created artifacts forms the foundation of the artifice system. A character’s supernatural capabilities can manifest in two primary ways: as temporary enhancements applied to existing equipment, or as permanent effects imbued into carefully prepared items. An elementalist might channel flame through their sword for a single battle, spending ability points to add fire damage for the duration of the encounter. Alternatively, they could invest weeks of work and substantial resources into creating a permanently enchanted blade that carries its own reserve of elemental power, available whenever needed without drawing from the creator’s personal energy reserves.

Ability Manifestations versus True Artifice

Artifice focuses specifically on creating lasting items with their own supernatural properties through extensive crafting and imbuing processes. However, many character abilities can manifest in ways that appear to create temporary items or equipment modifications without requiring the full artifice creation process.

A gunslinger using Elemental Spark might describe their ability as creating special fire bullets, while a matter manipulator could manifest Shape Clothing as pulling tools from thin air. These manifestations require only the normal ability point cost and activation requirements—no additional crafting checks, materials, or imbuing rituals. The “items” created through ability manifestation typically last only as long as the ability specifies and cannot be transferred to other characters.

This distinction allows characters to describe their supernatural capabilities in creative, thematic ways without requiring them to master the complex artifice creation system. A character whose abilities naturally manifest as temporary equipment can roleplay this aspect freely, while true artificers focus on creating permanent items that persist beyond individual ability uses and can potentially benefit other characters.

The Artifice Creation Process

Creating true artifice involves three distinct phases, each requiring different skills and presenting unique challenges. The process begins with careful planning and research, proceeds through the physical construction of a suitable foundation, and culminates in the delicate work of imbuing the finished item with supernatural power. Success at each stage influences the quality and capabilities of the final artifact, while failure can result in wasted resources, damaged equipment, or even dangerous backlash effects.

Design and Planning

Every successful artifice project begins with a clear vision of what the creator hopes to achieve and a realistic assessment of their capabilities and resources. This initial phase determines the project’s scope, identifies necessary materials and techniques, and establishes the framework that will guide all subsequent work. Rushing through the planning stage is one of the most common causes of artifice failure, as even minor oversights in design can lead to catastrophic problems during the imbuing process.

The first step involves defining the intended effects and power level of the finished artifact. Will this be a simple utility item providing modest bonuses to specific tasks, or an ambitious project attempting to replicate high-level abilities? The answer shapes every subsequent decision, from material requirements to the complexity of imbuing rituals. Characters must honestly assess whether their current skills and resources match their ambitions, as attempting projects beyond one’s capabilities often results in wasted time and materials at best, and dangerous accidents at worst.

Research requirements vary dramatically based on the project’s complexity and the creator’s existing knowledge. Simple enhancements to familiar item types might require only basic preparation, while innovative designs or unfamiliar techniques could demand extensive study. This research phase typically involves Brains checks to understand theoretical principles, gather relevant information from libraries or databases, and identify potential problems before they become critical failures. Characters with appropriate backgrounds or abilities may find this research easier, while those venturing into unfamiliar territory might need to seek out mentors, purchase specialized texts, or even undertake adventures to acquire necessary knowledge.

Component acquisition often represents the most time-consuming and expensive aspect of artifice creation. Basic materials such as metals, gems, electronic components, and rare chemicals must be of sufficient quality to serve as foundations for supernatural enhancement. More exotic projects might require components that cannot simply be purchased: the heart of an elemental creature, crystallized time from a temporal anomaly, or quantum-stabilized matter from a collapsing star. These requirements naturally create adventure hooks and establish meaningful resource constraints that prevent artifice from trivializing other aspects of the game.

Workspace and tool requirements scale with project ambition and setting technology level. A simple enchanted dagger might be created in any reasonably equipped smithy, while a quantum phase shifter would require a laboratory filled with advanced scientific instruments. The quality of available tools and workspace can significantly influence success chances, with superior facilities providing bonuses to both crafting and imbuing rolls. Characters serious about artifice often invest considerable time and money into establishing proper workshops, though portable kits allow for field work when circumstances demand it.

Physical Construction

The foundation of any artifact must be solid before supernatural enhancement becomes possible. This phase utilizes the existing crafting kit system established in the Equipment chapter, ensuring that artificers must first master mundane craftsmanship before attempting to imbue their creations with otherworldly power. The quality achieved during this construction phase directly influences the success of all subsequent enhancement attempts.

Crafting checks use the appropriate kit for the item being created. Blacksmithing for metal weapons and armor, Alchemist’s tools for potions and chemical devices, specialized engineering kits for technological items, and so forth. The base difficulty is determined by the item’s complexity and the desired quality level, with more ambitious projects requiring higher skill levels and greater precision. Standard success produces a functional item that can be enhanced through imbuing, but truly exceptional craftsmanship creates opportunities for far more powerful final results.

The masterwork rule becomes crucial for serious artificers. When a crafting check exceeds its target difficulty by 10 or more points, the resulting item is considered masterwork quality. This represents the pinnacle of mundane craftsmanship in that field. Masterwork items provide significant advantages during the imbuing process, either granting a +3 bonus to imbuing rolls or reducing the difficulty of enhancement rituals by 3 points. This creates meaningful choices for artificers: they can attempt ambitious enhancement projects on standard-quality items, or invest extra time and effort into creating superior foundations that make powerful enchantments more achievable.

Exceptional quality, achieved by exceeding the crafting difficulty by 20 or more points, represents truly legendary craftsmanship that occurs only rarely even among master artisans. Exceptional items not only provide the same imbuing advantages as masterwork creations, but they also prove more resilient to imbuing failures and may support multiple different enhancement effects simultaneously. The rarity of such success makes exceptional items significant campaign events when they do occur.

The base item must be completed successfully before any imbuing attempts can begin. Failed crafting checks don’t necessarily destroy materials, but they do prevent the creation of items suitable for enhancement. Characters can attempt to salvage materials from failed projects, though this typically recovers only a portion of the original investment. This requirement ensures that artificers cannot shortcut the fundamental craftsmanship that underlies all successful artifice.

Imbuing Power

The final phase transforms an expertly crafted mundane item into something truly extraordinary through the careful application of supernatural forces. This process adapts the ritual magic system to the specific challenges of permanent item enhancement, creating structured procedures that balance the potential for remarkable success against meaningful risks of failure and resource loss.

Imbuing utilizes extended skill challenges where success builds toward a total that represents the complexity of the desired enhancement. Each individual roll must meet a minimum difficulty threshold to contribute progress, while failed attempts count against a failure limit that, if exceeded, ruins the entire project. The specific numbers depend on the enhancement’s power level and complexity, with simple effects requiring modest investment and legendary artifacts demanding extensive effort over long periods.

Unlike most rituals that must be completed in continuous sessions, artifice imbuing can be conducted over extended periods with natural rest breaks at key transition points. The artificer can pause the ritual when moving between different enhancement phases, allowing for recovery of ability points and preventing exhaustion during complex projects. However, these breaks must occur at logical stopping points in the process rather than arbitrary interruptions, and the base item becomes increasingly fragile to outside interference as the imbuing progresses.

The charge system provides the mechanical framework that determines how enhanced items store and expend their supernatural power. Rather than requiring users to spend their own ability points, properly imbued artifacts contain internal reservoirs of energy that fuel their special abilities. This energy takes two primary forms: renewable charges that restore themselves after rest periods or specific conditions, and expendable charges that are consumed permanently when used but can be created in much larger quantities.

Renewable charge systems work best for abilities intended for regular use but requiring some limitation to maintain game balance. A flaming sword might contain 3 renewable charges per day, each one allowing the weapon to deal fire damage for a single combat encounter. These charges restore themselves after the wielder completes a long rest, making the ability reliable but not unlimited. The relatively small number of renewable charges reflects the energy required to maintain this type of ongoing magical effect.

Expendable charges suit emergency abilities, consumable effects, or items intended to have limited lifespans. A wand of sparks might be imbued with 50 expendable charges, each one creating a burst of electrical energy for attack or utility purposes. Once all charges are expended, the item becomes mundane until recharged through additional imbuing work or special procedures. The larger number of expendable charges balances against their permanent consumption, allowing for significant use over time while maintaining resource management considerations.

Hybrid systems combine both charge types within a single item, creating sophisticated artifacts with multiple different abilities drawing from appropriate energy pools. A ring of protection might contain 2 renewable charges per day for defensive barriers that restore naturally, plus 10 expendable charges for emergency healing that must be carefully preserved for truly desperate situations. Such complex items typically require exceptional base quality and master-level imbuing skill to create successfully.

The imbuing process requires significant investment of ability points and access to the supernatural effects being bound into the item. The artificer doesn’t necessarily need to possess these abilities themselves—they can collaborate with others who have the required capabilities, bargain with supernatural entities for power, or discover other sources of the needed effects. For abilities the artificer lacks, they must either find someone willing to contribute their power to the project, or seek alternative sources such as divine blessing, elemental spirits, or ancient knowledge that can substitute for personal supernatural capability.

The AP investment scales with the type and quantity of charges being imbued. For expendable charges, each charge requires AP equal to the normal cost of the ability being stored. A wand storing 20 charges of Elemental Dart (2 AP per use) would require 40 AP during creation. For renewable charges, the initial creation cost is the ability’s normal AP cost multiplied by 10 for each daily use. A sword that can use Flaming Strike three times per day (2 AP base cost) would require 60 AP to create (2 × 10 × 3).

Imbuing Ritual Framework

Imbuing uses the ritual magic system detailed in the Building the Story chapter. The specific parameters depend on the desired enhancement’s complexity and power level:

Simple Enhancements (passive +1 bonuses, basic charge effects):

• Cumulative Roll: 25 points
• Minimum Roll: 8
• Failure Threshold: 3 failed rolls

Moderate Enhancements (passive +2 bonuses, multiple abilities):

• Cumulative Roll: 40 points
• Minimum Roll: 10
• Failure Threshold: 4 failed rolls

Major Enhancements (passive +3 bonuses, powerful abilities):

• Cumulative Roll: 80 points
• Minimum Roll: 12
• Failure Threshold: 3 failed rolls

Legendary Artifacts (multiple major effects, unique properties):

• Cumulative Roll: 150 points
• Minimum Roll: 15
• Failure Threshold: 2 failed rolls

Each individual skill check result that meets or exceeds the Minimum Roll contributes its total toward the cumulative roll requirement. Rolls that fail to meet this threshold count against the Failure Threshold instead. The ritual succeeds when successful rolls accumulate enough points to reach the Cumulative Roll target, but fails if too many rolls miss the minimum threshold. Masterwork base items reduce the Minimum Roll by 3, while Exceptional items provide the same reduction plus increase the Failure Threshold by 1. See the ritual magic rules for complete details on conducting extended supernatural workings.

Multiple artificers can collaborate on major imbuing projects, pooling their ability points and expertise to achieve results beyond what any individual could accomplish alone. These collaborative efforts require careful coordination and shared understanding of the project goals, but they enable the creation of artifacts that would otherwise remain beyond reach. Each participant contributes their specialized knowledge and energy, creating natural opportunities for characters with different abilities and backgrounds to work together toward common objectives.

Optional Ability: Artifice Specialization

This ability represents deep mastery of the imbuing process, allowing artificers to bind supernatural effects into items with greater efficiency and reduced energy expenditure. Through understanding of resonance patterns, energy conservation techniques, and optimized ritual procedures, specialized artificers can achieve the same results with significantly less personal investment.

Each time this ability is taken, it reduces the AP cost of all imbuing projects by half (minimum cost of 1 AP). This ability can be selected up to three times, with each selection further halving the cost:

• First selection: Half AP cost
• Second selection: Quarter AP cost
• Third selection: Eighth AP cost

A master artificer with three selections of this ability could create a wand with 40 charges of Elemental Dart (normally 80 AP) for only 10 AP, representing their unparalleled efficiency in binding magical effects into physical objects.

Risk management becomes crucial during imbuing work, as failure can damage or destroy expensive base items while wasting the invested ability points and materials. The consequences of imbuing failure scale with project ambition: simple enhancements might merely fail without additional penalty, while attempts to create legendary artifacts could result in dangerous magical backlash, unwanted attention from supernatural entities, or the creation of cursed items that actively harm their users.

Bonded versus Universal Artifacts

When creating true artifice through the complete crafting and imbuing process, artificers must decide whether to create items that bond specifically to themselves or universal artifacts that anyone can use. This choice significantly impacts both the creation requirements and the final item’s capabilities and value.

Bonded Artifacts represent true artifice creation but with a crucial limitation: they function fully only for their creators. These items require the complete artifice process of masterwork crafting, ritual imbuing, and substantial AP investment, but they bond with their creators during the enhancement process. This bonding makes them attuned to their creator’s specific supernatural signature while proving difficult or impossible for others to use effectively.

Bonded artifacts require half the normal AP investment during creation, as they can draw upon their owner’s personal supernatural signature rather than needing to function completely independently. This allows for more accessible creation of powerful personal items, though the limitation to a single user prevents these items from serving as group resources or valuable trade goods.

Universal Artifacts represent the pinnacle of artifice creation, producing items that function at full capacity regardless of who wields them. These items contain completely self-sufficient supernatural effects that don’t rely on their users’ personal abilities or energy reserves, making them valuable to anyone who acquires them. The creation of universal artifacts requires exceptional skill, superior materials, and the largest investment of time and resources.

The independence that makes universal artifacts so valuable also makes them considerably more difficult to create. Without the ability to draw upon a specific user’s supernatural signature, these items must contain all the energy and guidance necessary for their effects within their own structure. This typically requires exceptional base item quality, more complex imbuing procedures, and larger investments of ability points during creation.

Transfer of ownership for universal artifacts can create interesting campaign dynamics, as these items become valuable resources that might be inherited, stolen, traded, or discovered during adventures. Unlike bonded items that lose their potency when separated from their creators, universal artifacts maintain their full capabilities regardless of who possesses them, though some may require attunement periods for new users to access their complete potential.

Creating an Artificer Character

Artificers represent the intersection of craftsmanship and supernatural power, characters who excel at both creating and imbuing magical items. Building an effective artificer requires careful selection of abilities that support both the mundane crafting and supernatural enhancement aspects of the profession.

Skilled At [Crafting Kit] forms the essential foundation of any artificer character, providing the reliable craftsmanship needed to create masterwork base items. Without this ability, artificers struggle to produce the high-quality foundations that make powerful enhancement possible. Choose your crafting specialization based on the types of items you plan to create: Blacksmithing for weapons and armor, Alchemist’s tools for potions and consumables, or more exotic specializations for unusual projects.

Blessing of the Source Magic enhances all aspects of magical theory and imbuing work, making it invaluable for characters focused on traditional enchantment. This blessing provides the theoretical foundation that allows artificers to understand and manipulate the supernatural forces they’re trying to bind into physical objects.

Elements abilities manifest as specialized crafting tools in the hands of an artificer: precision flame torches for metalwork, ice effects for rapid cooling and tempering, electrical currents for delicate electronic work, or electromagnetic fields for manipulating metal components without physical contact. Higher tiers of Elements mastery allow for more sophisticated applications, such as directly imbuing elemental effects into items or creating environmental conditions that enhance the crafting process.

Matter abilities provide unparalleled advantages for physical construction, allowing direct material manipulation that can bypass normal tool requirements or achieve precision impossible through conventional means. Artificers with Matter mastery can shape components to exact specifications, merge different substances at the molecular level, or even transmute base materials into more suitable forms for their projects.

When designing your artificer’s trait distribution, Brains serves as the primary attribute for research, design work, and conducting complex imbuing rituals. Agility proves crucial for precision crafting and delicate manipulation of components during both construction and imbuing phases. Spirit becomes essential for major imbuing projects, providing the mental fortitude necessary to maintain focus during lengthy enhancement procedures and the spiritual strength needed to channel supernatural forces safely.

Bloodline choices can significantly enhance an artificer’s capabilities. Draconic heritage provides natural understanding of treasure and craftsmanship quality, along with the confident personality that helps when negotiating for rare materials. Fae Touched artificers possess an intuitive grasp of making items “just right,” achieving otherworldly perfection through instinct as much as skill. Nephilim bloodlines offer elemental heritage that enhances material manipulation abilities and provides natural affinities for working with specific types of components.

Sample Artifacts Across Technology Levels

The versatility of the artifice system shines through examples that demonstrate how the same fundamental principles apply across vastly different technological and magical paradigms. Whether created through arcane rituals, advanced engineering, or hybrid techniques that blur traditional boundaries, all artifacts share the common foundation of expert craftsmanship enhanced by supernatural power.

Ancient and Medieval Artifice

Blessed Hammer of Saint Corwin

This consecrated weapon was created by Brother Marcus, a priest-smith who combined exceptional metalworking skill with divine blessing rituals passed down through generations of temple craftsmen. The hammer’s head bears intricate religious engravings that glow with soft golden light when wielded against undead creatures, while its oak handle has been sanctified through exposure to holy relics over several years.

The creation process required Brother Marcus to first craft a masterwork warhammer using traditional blacksmithing techniques, achieving exceptional balance and durability through careful attention to metallurgy and design. The imbuing phase involved weeks of daily prayer and ritual, gradually building divine energy within the weapon’s structure while consuming significant quantities of holy water, blessed oils, and rare incenses. The total AP investment was 60 points (3 renewable charges × 10 × 2 AP base cost), though Brother Marcus’s divine connections allowed him to draw upon blessed power rather than his personal reserves.

Mechanical Effects: +3 damage against undead creatures (passive), 3 renewable charges per day to create 10-foot radius of consecrated ground that deals damage to evil entities entering the area.

Shadowcloak of the Night’s Edge

Woven from silk produced by shadow-touched spiders and enhanced through bargains with creatures of the twilight realm, this cloak represents the pinnacle of fae artifice. Its creator, the half-elven seamstress Lyralei, spent months in the Shadowfell learning techniques that blur the line between craftsmanship and otherworldly magic.

The cloak’s creation required not only exceptional skill in textile work but also the ability to negotiate with fae entities who provided the supernatural enhancement in exchange for unspecified future favors. The imbuing process involved weaving moonlight and shadow into the fabric itself, creating a garment that exists partially outside normal reality. The total creation cost was 65 AP: 40 AP for 2 renewable charges of invisibility (2 charges × 10 × 2 AP) plus 25 AP for 5 expendable charges of shadow teleportation (5 charges × 5 AP each). Most of this power came from the fae bargains rather than Lyralei’s personal energy.

Mechanical Effects: +2 to Agility checks for stealth (passive), 2 renewable charges per day for complete invisibility lasting one scene, 5 expendable charges for brief teleportation through shadows.

Healing Chalice

This sacred vessel was crafted by the monks of Saint Aelred’s Monastery, who combined their centuries-old knowledge of herbal medicine with divine blessing rituals. The chalice is carved from a single piece of sacred heartwood and inlaid with silver runes that shimmer when the vessel is filled with any liquid. When activated, the chalice transforms ordinary water into potent healing elixirs that can mend wounds and restore vitality.

The creation process required both masterwork woodcarving skills and extensive knowledge of alchemical principles. The monks spent months gathering rare herbs from their mountain gardens and blessing the materials through daily prayer. The imbuing phase involved consecrating the chalice during the full moon while burning sacred incense and chanting healing prayers. The total AP investment was 30 points for 10 expendable healing charges (10 charges × 3 AP each), though much of this power was channeled through the monastery’s collective spiritual strength rather than individual effort.

Mechanical Effects: 10 expendable charges that create healing potions when the chalice is filled with water, each potion restoring 1d4+2 resilience when consumed.

Renaissance and Early Modern Artifice

Alchemical Dueling Pistol of Master Paracelsus

This sophisticated weapon combines precision mechanical engineering with advanced alchemical theory, created by the renowned artificer-alchemist Heinrich von Zimmern. The pistol’s internal mechanisms have been modified to accept specially prepared alchemical cartridges that produce different effects depending on the creator’s needs and tactical situation.

The creation process required mastery of both firearms construction and alchemical theory. The mechanical components demanded exceptional precision to accommodate the specialized ammunition feeding system, while the alchemical aspects required extensive research into stable compounds that could be stored safely within the weapon’s frame without degrading over time. Heinrich invested 45 AP total: 15 AP for incendiary rounds (5 charges × 3 AP), 20 AP for armor-piercing rounds (10 charges × 2 AP), and 10 AP for smoke rounds (5 charges × 2 AP), allowing him to allocate the 15 expendable charges among the three ammunition types as needed.

Mechanical Effects: Functions as standard pistol with +1 damage, 15 expendable charges that can be allocated among three ammunition types: incendiary rounds (wounding property), armor-piercing rounds (ignore 2 points of armor), and smoke rounds (create concealing cloud).

Clockwork Familiar of the Venetian Academy

Created by the master clockmaker and natural philosopher Giorgio Benedetti, this mechanical companion represents the cutting edge of Renaissance artificial intelligence. The familiar combines intricate clockwork mechanisms with what Benedetti termed “mechanical cognition”—gear-based calculation systems that approximate genuine thought processes. The brass construction is covered in intricate engravings that seem to shift and change as the device processes information.

Construction required not only supreme mechanical skill but also theoretical breakthroughs in mechanical logic and artificial reasoning. The imbuing process involved binding a minor air elemental to the clockwork mechanisms, creating a hybrid of technological sophistication and supernatural intelligence. Giorgio invested 100 AP total for the 5 renewable charges (5 charges × 10 × 2 AP base cost), though he supplemented this with bargains struck with elemental spirits who found the mechanical form fascinating.

Mechanical Effects: Acts as intelligent companion with Brains equivalent to d6, 5 renewable charges per day for specialized functions (reconnaissance, calculation, message delivery), can operate independently for up to 24 hours before requiring maintenance.

Navigator’s Compass of the New World Expeditions

This masterwork compass was created by the renowned cartographer and explorer Captain Isabella Santos for her expeditions to uncharted territories. Unlike ordinary compasses that point to magnetic north, this device can be attuned to point toward any location the user has visited or can clearly visualize. The compass rose is inlaid with precious metals and rare gems that glow softly when the device is activated.

The creation process combined exceptional craftsmanship in precision instruments with careful imbuing of directional magic. Captain Santos spent months studying celestial navigation and consulting with native shamans who understood the spiritual geography of the New World. The imbuing required only 20 AP (1 renewable charge × 10 × 2 AP base cost), making it accessible to create but invaluable for exploration and navigation in unknown territories.

Mechanical Effects: Functions as masterwork compass with +3 to navigation checks, 1 renewable charge per day to attune to a specific destination and guide the user toward it regardless of distance or obstacles.

Modern Artifice

Combat Stim Injector Mark VII

Developed by Dr. Sarah Chen for elite special forces operations, this device combines cutting-edge biochemistry with micro-engineering to deliver precisely measured performance enhancement drugs directly into the user’s bloodstream. The injector’s smart systems monitor the user’s vital signs and adjust dosages automatically to maximize effectiveness while minimizing dangerous side effects.

The creation process required extensive research into human physiology, advanced chemistry, and micro-mechanical engineering. The imbuing phase involved programming the device’s artificial intelligence systems and calibrating the biochemical reservoirs to work with specific genetic markers, making each device custom-tailored to its intended user. Dr. Chen invested a total of 80 AP: 60 AP for the 3 renewable daily enhancement charges (3 charges × 10 × 2 AP base cost) and 20 AP for the 10 expendable emergency enhancement charges (10 charges × 2 AP each). The substantial investment reflects the complex biochemical programming required for safe human enhancement.

Mechanical Effects: +3 to Athleticism checks for one scene (3 renewable charges per day), 10 expendable charges for emergency enhancement that grants +2 to all physical traits for one combat encounter but inflicts 1 resilience damage from strain.

Encrypted Quantum Communicator

This experimental device utilizes quantum entanglement principles to enable instantaneous communication across any distance, created by the research team at the Advanced Physics Laboratory under Dr. Michael Reeves. The communicator exists as a matched pair of devices that share quantum-entangled particles, allowing for truly secure and immediate communication regardless of physical separation.

Construction required access to advanced particle physics equipment and expertise in quantum mechanics that pushes the boundaries of current scientific understanding. The imbuing process involved creating and maintaining stable quantum entanglements while integrating them into a device robust enough for field use. Dr. Reeves and his team invested 76 AP total: 40 AP for 2 renewable standard communication charges (2 charges × 10 × 2 AP) and 36 AP for 8 expendable emergency broadcast charges (8 charges × 4.5 AP each, rounded up).

Mechanical Effects: Instant communication with paired device across unlimited distance, 2 renewable charges per day for standard communication, 8 expendable charges for emergency broadcasts that can penetrate any interference or shielding.

Tactical Scanner Goggles

Created by the military contractor Aegis Defense Systems, these advanced heads-up display goggles combine multiple sensor systems with artificial intelligence to provide real-time battlefield analysis. The goggles can identify threats, analyze structural weaknesses, track multiple targets, and provide tactical recommendations directly to the wearer’s field of vision.

The creation process involved integrating cutting-edge sensor technology with advanced AI programming and lightweight display systems. The imbuing phase required extensive calibration of the threat assessment algorithms and neural interface programming. The development team invested 80 AP total for the 4 renewable analysis charges (4 charges × 10 × 2 AP base cost), creating a device that significantly enhances situational awareness without overwhelming the user with information.

Mechanical Effects: +2 to Brains checks for tactical analysis and threat assessment (passive), 4 renewable charges per day for enhanced scanning that provides detailed information about enemies, environments, or structural weaknesses within line of sight.

Far Future Artifice

Energy Weapon of the Astral Knights

This elegant weapon represents the pinnacle of energy blade technology, combining advanced plasma generation systems with exotic crystal focusing matrices that channel and contain the destructive energy field. Created by Master Artificer Zara Vel-Tahn each energy weapon is individually crafted to match its intended wielder’s fighting style and spiritual presence.

The construction process requires rare crystals found only in specific stellar phenomena, along with master-level skill in plasma physics and energy containment field theory. The imbuing phase involves attuning the crystal matrix to the wielder’s biometric signature, creating a weapon that responds to the user’s intentions with precision impossible through purely mechanical interfaces. Master Vel-Tahn invested 225 AP total: 100 AP for 5 renewable enhanced cutting charges (5 charges × 10 × 2 AP) and 125 AP for 15 expendable deflection charges (15 charges × 8 AP plus 5 AP for the complex targeting algorithms). The massive investment reflects both the sophisticated plasma containment technology and the quantum-level crystal attunement required.

Mechanical Effects: Functions as masterwork sword with +3 damage and armor piercing 2 (passive), 5 renewable charges per day for enhanced cutting that can slice through most materials, 15 expendable charges for deflecting energy attacks back at attackers.

Quantum Phase Shifter

Developed by the theoretical physicist-artificer Dr. Kai Okonkwo, this device allows its user to briefly shift out of phase with normal reality, becoming intangible and able to pass through solid matter. The phase shifter utilizes controlled quantum field fluctuations to alter the user’s quantum state while maintaining consciousness and voluntary control over the effect.

The creation process required breakthrough research in dimensional physics and quantum field manipulation, along with exotic materials capable of maintaining stability across multiple dimensional phases. The imbuing process involved calibrating the device’s reality anchor systems to prevent users from becoming permanently lost between dimensions. Dr. Okonkwo invested 156 AP total: 60 AP for 3 renewable brief intangibility charges (3 charges × 10 × 2 AP) and 96 AP for 12 expendable extended phase charges (12 charges × 8 AP each). The substantial investment reflects the dangerous nature of dimensional manipulation technology.

Mechanical Effects: 3 renewable charges per day for brief intangibility (pass through walls, avoid attacks for one turn), 12 expendable charges for extended phase shifting lasting entire scenes, built-in safety systems prevent dimensional displacement accidents.

Nano-Fabricator Gauntlet

This advanced manufacturing device represents the pinnacle of molecular assembly technology, created by the engineering collective known as the Synthesis Guild. The gauntlet contains billions of programmable nanobots that can rapidly assemble complex objects from available raw materials, limited only by the user’s knowledge and imagination.

The creation process required mastery of nanotechnology, molecular engineering, and quantum programming. The imbuing phase involved programming the nanobots with fundamental assembly patterns and safety protocols while establishing quantum-level control interfaces. The Synthesis Guild invested 160 AP total for the 8 renewable fabrication charges (8 charges × 10 × 2 AP base cost), creating a device that can produce everything from simple tools to complex electronic devices given sufficient raw materials.

Mechanical Effects: 8 renewable charges per day for matter fabrication, each charge can create objects up to the size of a sword or small electronic device, requires appropriate raw materials and user knowledge of the desired item’s construction.

Hybrid Magitech Examples

Enchanted Smartphone of Digital Divination

Created by the technomancer collective known as the Silicon Circle, this device combines standard smartphone functionality with magical applications that blur the line between technology and sorcery. Specialized apps allow users to cast divination spells, communicate with supernatural entities, and access mystical information networks that exist parallel to conventional internet infrastructure.

The creation process involved both conventional electronics manufacturing and careful imbuing of the device’s processor cores with supernatural enhancement. The magical applications required extensive programming in both conventional code and mystical languages, creating software that operates on multiple planes of reality simultaneously. The Silicon Circle invested 120 AP total: 80 AP for the 4 renewable digital divination charges (4 charges × 10 × 2 AP) plus 40 AP for the complex interdimensional networking protocols. The hybrid nature of the device required both technological expertise and magical theory, making it accessible only to the most advanced technomancers.

Mechanical Effects: Functions as normal smartphone plus +2 to Brains checks for research and information gathering, 4 renewable charges per day for digital divination effects (locate people/objects, predict immediate future, detect supernatural presences), network access to mystical information sources unavailable through conventional means.

Steam-Powered Wand of the Industrial Mages

This unique artifact represents the fusion of Victorian engineering with arcane theory, created by the inventor-mage Cornelius Blackwood during the height of the steam age. The wand incorporates a miniaturized steam engine that uses pressure and heat to amplify and focus magical energies, creating effects far beyond what traditional wands can achieve.

The creation process required expertise in both mechanical engineering and magical theory. The steam system had to be precisely calibrated to work in harmony with arcane energies rather than disrupting them. The imbuing process involved binding fire elementals to the steam generation system while inscribing the copper and brass components with power-focusing runes. Blackwood invested 120 AP total for the 6 renewable pressure-enhanced charges (6 charges × 10 × 2 AP base cost), creating a device that could amplify any spell effect through controlled steam pressure.

Mechanical Effects: Functions as masterwork arcane focus with +2 to all magical skill checks (passive), 6 renewable charges per day to amplify any ability effect by one die step (d6 becomes d8, etc.), steam engine requires periodic maintenance and fuel.

Cybernetic Grimoire

Developed by the neural-interface specialist Dr. Elena Vasquez, this advanced magical aid combines artificial intelligence with arcane knowledge storage in a device that interfaces directly with the user’s nervous system. The grimoire appears as an elegant metallic book with glowing circuit patterns, but it functions as both a comprehensive magical database and an active spellcasting assistant.

The creation process required cutting-edge neurotechnology and extensive magical research to create an AI system capable of understanding and manipulating arcane forces. The imbuing phase involved training the AI on thousands of spells and magical theories while establishing safe neural interface protocols. Dr. Vasquez invested 200 AP total for the 10 renewable AI assistance charges (10 charges × 10 × 2 AP base cost), creating a device that could serve as both teacher and collaborator for magical practitioners.

Mechanical Effects: +3 to all magical research and theory checks (passive), 10 renewable charges per day for AI-assisted spellcasting that can provide tactical advice, recall perfect spell components and gestures, or assist with complex magical calculations during casting.

This sampling demonstrates how the same fundamental artifice principles apply across dramatically different technological paradigms, from medieval blessing rituals to quantum engineering. The key insight is that “magic” and “technology” represent different approaches to manipulating fundamental forces rather than entirely separate categories of possibility.

Game Master Guidelines

The integration of artifice into ongoing campaigns requires careful balance between rewarding player creativity and investment while maintaining appropriate challenge levels and narrative focus. Artifice should enhance the gaming experience by providing new tactical options and character advancement paths rather than overwhelming other aspects of play or creating power imbalances.

Setting appropriate creation costs and timeframes helps ensure that artifice feels meaningful without dominating campaign resources. Simple enhancements might require a few days of work and modest material costs, while major artifacts could demand weeks of dedicated effort plus expensive rare materials. The rarity and availability of enhanced items in the campaign world shapes player expectations and economic balance.

Failed artifice attempts should create interesting complications rather than simply wasting resources and time. Partial successes might produce flawed items with beneficial effects accompanied by problematic side effects. Spectacular failures could release uncontrolled energy, attract unwanted attention from supernatural entities, or create cursed items that actively harm their users.

The most engaging artifice-related adventures emerge naturally from the creation process itself. Quests to acquire rare materials create opportunities for exploration and negotiation. Research requirements might lead characters to ancient libraries, forgotten ruins, or meetings with reclusive experts. Competition and collaboration with other artificers provide ongoing sources of conflict and alliance.

Remember that the most memorable artifacts often have stories and personalities that extend beyond their mechanical capabilities. Encourage players to develop meaningful connections with their created and discovered artifacts, as these emotional investments often provide the most satisfying gaming moments. The artifice system succeeds when it enhances the collaborative storytelling that lies at the heart of Multiverse campaigns rather than becoming an end unto itself.

Last but not least, remember the “Rule of Fun”. For some campaigns, it is simply fun to find artifice. For others, it may add unneeded complications. Often, the use of the Heirloom Item optional rule (see Weapons), along with a few key useful items is all that is needed. This allows for fun, character specific growth, along with fun useful items that can add to the campaign.

Building the Story

The following example shows how a typical Multiverse scene unfolds, demonstrating the collaborative storytelling between GM and players, the application of the trait system, and how rules support rather than interrupt the narrative flow.

The Wedding Interruption

GM: The ornate ballroom stretches before you as you burst through the tall oak doors. Sunlight streams through stained glass windows, casting colorful patterns across marble floors where dozens of wedding guests sit in silk-draped chairs. A massive crystal chandelier hangs in the center of the room, while at the far end stands Alice in an elaborate white gown, but her eyes are wide with fear, not joy. The minister raises his hands to continue the ceremony while guards in gold-trimmed uniforms begin turning toward the commotion you’ve just created. The groom, a pompous nobleman you know is forcing this marriage, sneers in your direction.

[GM pauses, looking around the table]

What do your characters want to do?

Quinn: Siena pulls out her cutlass, points it at the nearest guard, and bellows “This wedding is a farce!” while charging straight toward them. I want to get their attention and make it clear we’re here to fight if necessary.

Robin: Marina draws her flintlock pistol and aims it just to the left of the minister’s head—close enough that he’ll hear the shot whistle past his ear, but not actually trying to hit him. I want to shock everyone into stopping the ceremony without actually hurting an innocent clergyman.

Sage: Tempest hangs back near the doorway for a moment. I want to watch our backs in case more guards come up from the hallway behind us. If anyone tries to flank us from behind, I’d like to use my Elemental abilities to turn the floor into a sheet of ice and make them slip.

River: Aubigny grins and shouts “Alice, your true love has arrived!” Then I want to jump up, bounce off the wall, grab that chandelier, swing across the room, and land gracefully right next to the bride. Once I’m there, I’ll draw my rapier and tell the groom, “The only vows being exchanged today are between you and my blade!”

GM: [Checks initiative order] Alright, looks like Aubigny actually goes first. That’s a pretty complicated series of actions. I’d suggest rolling an Athleticism check, but I’ll give it a -3 penalty since you’re combining multiple difficult maneuvers: jumping to grab the chandelier, swinging across the room, and sticking the landing without hurting yourself.

River: I also have the Mighty Feat ability—can I activate that as part of this action?

GM: Absolutely! Perfect use of that ability. So your roll will be Athleticism + d12 from Mighty Feat, minus 3 for the complexity. Go ahead and roll.

[River rolls d12 (Athleticism) + d12 (Mighty Feat) - 3. She rolls 12 + 6, but the 12 explodes so she rolls again, getting another 6. Total: 12 + 6 + 6 - 3 = 21]

River: I rolled a 21!

GM: [Had set DC 16 for this difficult challenge] That’s an impressive success! Not only do you pull off this amazing stunt, but you do it with such style that it’s going to give you a bonus to whatever you do next. Go ahead and describe what happens, right up to your dramatic line.

River: Aubigny leaps into the air, using her left foot to push off the wall and redirect her momentum perfectly to catch the chandelier with one hand. Crystal chimes ring out as she swings across the room in a graceful arc, drawing her rapier with her free hand mid-flight. She releases the chandelier at the perfect moment, flips through the air, and lands in a crouch that absorbs the impact, coming up with her blade pointed directly at Sir Blackheart’s throat. “The only vows being exchanged today are between you and my blade! And they may be your last, you dimwitted, foul smelling, totters fodder, cur!”

GM: Fantastic! That performance was so impressive that you get a +3 bonus to your next Charm roll to intimidate him.

River: Great! I also have the Fae Touched bloodline, so I get a d4 bonus to social situations.

[River rolls d20 (Charm) + d4 (Fae Touched) + 3 (impressive success bonus). Her total is 16]

[GM rolls d10 for Sir Blackhearts contested Spirit roll. His roll is a 9.]

GM: Sir Blackheart jumps back like a startled cat, pulling his hands to his chest. “You! I thought you were just a serving wench! Don’t hurt me. I was told this is all perfectly legal!”

GM: Alright Quinn, Siena is up next. Go ahead and roll your Fight check to attack that guard…

[Scene continues…]

In the heart of every Multiverse session lies a magical collaboration; a shared act of creation where Game Master and players come together to weave tales that none could craft alone. You are not merely participants rolling dice and moving pieces across a board. You are co-authors of an unfolding epic, each bringing your unique voice to a story that grows richer with every contribution. The GM serves as narrator and facilitator, painting scenes and breathing life into the world, while players embody the heroes whose choices drive the narrative forward into uncharted territory. There will be epic moments. There will be moments that will make you laugh, even breaking the fourth wall with puns, and there will be moments when you realize your character has come to life in your imagination. These moments can make you love, weep, and cheer for joy.

Your characters are not just collections of statistics and abilities. They are the protagonists of an emerging legend. Every decision they make, every risk they take, every relationship they forge becomes part of a tapestry that reflects the hopes, fears, and dreams of everyone at the table. When your character faces down a dragon, negotiates with alien diplomats, or comforts a grieving friend, they are creating moments that will be remembered and retold long after the session ends. These are the scenes that transform a game into a story, mechanics into meaning, and strangers into companions sharing an unforgettable journey.

Narrative-Driven Play

Multiverse is fundamentally driven by narrative, with rules and dice rolls serving as tools to enhance and propel the story rather than constrain it. The system embraces a philosophy where fiction comes first—what makes sense in the story takes precedence over rigid mechanical interpretations. When a player declares “I want to swing from the chandelier to tackle the villain,” the GM’s instinctive response should be “Yes, and how do you want to approach that?” rather than “Let me check if there’s a specific rule for chandelier swinging.”

This approach transforms every session into a series of collaborative “what if” moments. Players propose actions based on what their characters would naturally attempt, while the GM works with them to determine how those actions unfold using the flexible trait system as a foundation. A single roll might determine success or failure, but the real magic happens in the shared storytelling that surrounds that moment—the description of the character’s graceful leap, the villain’s surprised expression, the crash of splintering wood, and the consequences that ripple outward to shape the next scene.

The beauty of this system lies in its adaptability. Need to determine if your character can convince the space pirates to join your cause? That’s a Charm contest. Want to jury-rig a hyperspace drive using scavenged parts? Brains check with bonuses for good roleplay and creative problem-solving. Attempting to outrun a collapsing building while carrying an injured ally? Athleticism with dramatic stakes that make success feel heroic and failure feel like the setup for an even more exciting escape sequence.

The following sections provide frameworks and guidance for making your collaborative storytelling as engaging and smooth as possible, always remembering that these are tools to enhance your narrative rather than replace your creativity.

Remember, every rule, guideline, and suggestion in this chapter exists to serve one primary goal: helping you create memorable stories together. When in doubt, always choose the option that makes the narrative more exciting, the characters more heroic, and the experience more fun for everyone involved. This is the Rule of Fun in action, and it’s your most powerful tool for building stories that will be remembered long after the dice stop rolling.

Setting Goals and Expectations

Before diving into adventures across the Multiverse, every group benefits from taking time to establish shared expectations, boundaries, and goals for their collaborative storytelling experience. This foundation-setting process, commonly called “Session Zero,” creates the framework that allows everyone at the table to contribute to memorable stories while feeling safe and respected. Whether you’re playing with longtime friends or meeting new people for the first time, these conversations help ensure that everyone can fully engage with the creative process.

Session Zero

Checking In

GM: Hi everyone, we are about to start our first campaign! We discussed the setting, and I am really loving the character ideas.

River: I am having tons of fun, I based my character off Julie D’Aubigny. I read about how she broke into a convent and burned it down just to get back her girlfriend and was known for her rapier fighting.

Sage: Oh, Tempest wouldn’t like burning down convents…

GM: Well, if it comes up, that could be an interesting dynamic. However, this brings us to the next point in session zero. We need to talk about our personal goals, expectations, and boundaries. Not our characters, but us personally. This helps us ensure we are creating a safe environment for everyone.

(Ensures everyone is engaged)

GM continues: Let’s talk about a rating for our content. Now, the movie rating system I agree is flawed, but it gives us a place to start. G movies are of course child friendly, and if they broach sensitive topics, it is done in a way that indirectly addresses the topic. PG movies are child friendly, but may include more sensitive topics, some violence and even scary situations. PG-13 allows more violence, scary situations, some nudity, and some controlled but limited colorful metaphors also known as curse words. R tends to be anything goes with some restrictions on descriptions, including interpersonal connections.

Now, just because we set an initial rating, doesn’t mean all content is the same. For example, with most content, as a player, I personally tend to role play my characters as PG-13, but I am fine with R with some areas that are triggering to me. Which is why, we should discuss the rating and what it means beyond just the assumption of movies. I also have this consent form that helps us determine what topics are either “red,” “yellow,” or “green.” Red topics are topics we won’t include in the campaign ever. Yellow topics tend to be topics that can be included but are situational dependent. Green tends to be open to including or even hoping we will include something of that nature, which will be good to add to the notes of the form.

Since we are gaming weekly, I just sent you all a link to the form, so you can fill it out anonymously. However, it is good to ask questions about the consent form, so we are all on the same page with our definitions.

Finally, just because we start with this, doesn’t mean we can’t all agree to modify things in the future. The topic about consent in gaming is an ongoing topic, which I will make sure to have check-in points throughout the campaign.

Let’s get started…

Session Zero is the foundational meeting that occurs before the actual story begins, where players and GM come together to establish the framework for their shared adventure. While the specific format can vary dramatically, from a brief 30-minute discussion for one-shots to extensive multi-hour worldbuilding sessions for epic campaigns, the core purpose remains consistent: ensuring everyone understands what kind of story they’re creating together.

During Session Zero, groups typically address practical matters like scheduling, communication preferences, and house rules, but the most crucial conversations center on consent and creative boundaries. This isn’t just about avoiding uncomfortable topics; it’s about creating an environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute their best ideas and take creative risks without fear of judgment or harm.

Establishing Content Boundaries

Every person brings different comfort levels, experiences, and triggers to the gaming table. What feels like exciting drama to one player might be genuinely distressing to another, and there’s no way to know these boundaries without direct communication. The goal isn’t to create a sanitized, risk-free environment, but rather to establish clear guidelines that allow for meaningful storytelling within boundaries that everyone can respect.

Content Rating Systems: Many groups find it helpful to establish an overall “content rating” similar to movie or television ratings as a starting baseline. However, it’s important to remember that these ratings are shorthand, not absolute rules. A group might agree on “PG-13” content while acknowledging that certain topics require more mature handling, or they might embrace “R-rated” themes while maintaining strict boundaries around specific sensitive subjects.

The key is specificity. Instead of assuming everyone interprets “PG-13” the same way, discuss what that rating means for your particular group:

• What level of violence feels appropriate?
• How will romance and relationships be handled?
• Are there specific themes or topics that should be avoided entirely?
• What kinds of consequences feel too harsh or too lenient for the tone you want?

Lines and Veils: This framework, popularized by Ron Edwards, provides a more nuanced approach to content boundaries:

• Lines are hard boundaries that should never be crossed—topics that won’t appear in the campaign at all
• Veils are topics that can exist in the story but should happen “off-screen” or be handled with discretion

For example, a group might establish that sexual violence is a hard line (never appears in the story), while torture might be behind a veil (can be implied or referenced but not described in detail).

The Traffic Light System: Red, Yellow, Green classifications provide an intuitive way to categorize content:

• Red: Absolutely off-limits, never to be included
• Yellow: Proceed with caution, may be appropriate depending on context and handling
• Green: Welcome content and may even be the kinds of themes player hopes to explore.

Ongoing Consent and Check-Ins

Consent isn’t a one-time conversation but an ongoing process that continues throughout the campaign. People’s comfort levels can change, new situations might arise that weren’t anticipated during Session Zero, and the creative process itself often reveals preferences and boundaries that weren’t initially obvious.

Regular Check-Ins: Successful groups establish rhythms for revisiting consent and boundaries. This might happen:

• At the end of each session: “How did everyone feel about tonight’s content?”
• Before potentially sensitive scenes: “We’re about to explore some darker themes. Is everyone okay with that?”
• During natural campaign breaks: “As we start this new chapter, are there any boundaries we want to revisit?”

Mid-Scene Adjustments: Even with the best planning, situations can arise during play that push against someone’s boundaries. Effective groups establish signals and protocols for addressing these moments without derailing the entire session. This might include:

• Pause signals that any player can use to briefly halt the scene
• Private communication channels for players to reach the GM during online sessions
• Agreed-upon ways to redirect scenes that are heading in uncomfortable directions

Safety Tools

The gaming community has developed numerous tools and techniques for maintaining consent and safety during collaborative storytelling. While different groups will find different approaches work best for their specific needs, here are some widely-used options:

X-Card System: Developed by John Stavropoulos, this simple tool allows any player to remove content from the game by tapping an X-Card (physical or virtual) or saying “X-Card.” When someone uses the X-Card, the group immediately stops the current content and either skips past it or rewinds to approach the situation differently. No explanation is required, and the game continues without judgment.

Script Change Tools: Brie Beau Sheldon’s Script Change system borrows concepts from media production, allowing players to call for:

• Pause: Briefly halt the action to discuss or clarify something
• Rewind: Go back and approach a scene differently
• Fast Forward: Skip past content without playing it out in detail
• Frame by Frame: Slow down and be more deliberate about a particularly important or sensitive scene

Anonymous Feedback: For groups that meet regularly, anonymous feedback systems can help identify issues that players might be reluctant to raise in person. This might include:

• Simple online forms that players can fill out after sessions
• Digital suggestion boxes for ongoing campaign feedback
• Anonymous voting on proposed story directions or content themes

Additional Tools
These are just a few of many tools. You can find additional tools publicly available at: https://itch.io/c/1655621/safety-tools-and-wellbeing-for-ttrpg. Explore what works best with your group.

Setting Creative Goals

Beyond establishing boundaries, Session Zero provides an opportunity to discuss positive creative goals and expectations. These conversations help ensure that the campaign delivers the kinds of experiences that will satisfy all participants.

Genre and Tone: Different players often have different expectations for how a campaign should feel. Some prefer heroic adventures where protagonists ultimately triumph through virtue and determination, while others enjoy morally complex stories where victory comes at significant cost. Some players love comedy and frequent breaks in tension, while others prefer maintaining serious dramatic stakes throughout.

Discussing these preferences during Session Zero helps the GM understand what kinds of situations to emphasize and what tone to maintain. It also helps players understand what their fellow participants are hoping to experience, creating opportunities for collaborative storytelling that serves everyone’s interests.

Important:
On the flip side of all this, a player may not know what they prefer. This is just as important and valuable! They shouldn’t feel forced to know, and even encouraged to explore their expectations as the campaign progresses.

Character Spotlight: In collaborative storytelling, every character should have opportunities to be the center of attention and drive important story moments. Session Zero conversations can help identify what kinds of situations each player hopes their character will face, what themes they want to explore, and what kinds of growth or change they’re interested in pursuing.

Campaign Scope and Commitment: Different groups have different expectations for campaign length, session frequency, and the level of investment required. Some players love epic, years-long sagas that require extensive homework and character development between sessions. Others prefer episodic adventures that can be enjoyed casually without major ongoing commitments. Discussing these expectations early prevents frustration and disappointment later.

Practical Considerations

Session Zero also addresses the logistical elements that keep campaigns running smoothly:

Scheduling and Communication: Establishing how the group will handle scheduling, cancellations, and communication between sessions. This includes discussing:

• How far in advance sessions will be planned
• What happens if key players can’t attend
• Preferred methods for between-session communication
• Expectations for preparation time and homework

House Rules and Adaptations: Every group develops their own preferences for how rules should be interpreted and applied. Session Zero provides an opportunity to discuss any house rules, modifications to the system, or specific approaches the GM prefers for handling common situations.

Technology and Tools: For groups playing online or using digital tools, Session Zero can include technical setup and troubleshooting. For in-person groups, this might involve discussing what materials players should bring, how food and drinks will be handled, and what space will be used for sessions.

Building Group Dynamics

Perhaps most importantly, Session Zero begins the process of building the collaborative relationships that make great storytelling possible. This includes:

Establishing Trust: Open discussions about boundaries and expectations demonstrate that everyone’s comfort and enjoyment is valued, creating a foundation of mutual respect that enables more creative risk-taking during actual play.

Understanding Different Play Styles: Players often have different approaches to roleplaying, problem-solving, and engagement with the story. Some prefer detailed character acting, while others focus on tactical challenges. Some love complex political intrigue, while others prefer straightforward adventure. Understanding these differences helps everyone contribute in ways that complement rather than compete with each other.

Creating Shared Investment: When everyone participates in establishing the campaign’s boundaries, tone, and goals, they become invested in the collaborative creative process in ways that extend beyond their individual characters. This shared ownership helps maintain engagement and encourages players to support each other’s creative contributions.

Session Zero conversations require vulnerability and trust, but they create the foundation that enables the magical collaborative storytelling that makes roleplaying games uniquely rewarding. By investing time and emotional energy in these discussions, groups create environments where everyone can contribute their best creative work while feeling safe and respected throughout the process.

GM’s Session Zero Checklist

Use this checklist as a guide for facilitating productive Session Zero conversations. Not every item will be relevant for every group, but these topics cover the essential elements of establishing a strong foundation for collaborative storytelling.

Before the Session

• Choose your safety tools - Decide which consent and safety systems you’ll use (X-Card, Script Change, anonymous feedback, etc.)
• Prepare materials - Have consent forms, character creation materials, and any handouts ready
• Set the tone - Plan how you’ll introduce the importance of boundaries and consent without making it feel like a lecture

Setting and Campaign Framework

• Present the setting - Explain the world, genre, and basic premise
• Discuss campaign scope - How long will it run? How often will you meet?
• Establish the power level - Low, Moderate, High, or Heroic? How quickly will characters advance?
• Clarify player expectations - What kind of story are we telling together?

Content and Boundaries

• Establish content rating - Use movie ratings as a starting point, then get specific
• Introduce Lines and Veils - What topics are completely off-limits vs. handled off-screen?
• Use Traffic Light system - Red/Yellow/Green classification for different content types
• Discuss consequences - What level of character death, failure, and setbacks fit the tone?
• Address specific triggers - Use consent forms or direct discussion as appropriate

Safety and Communication

• Introduce safety tools - Explain X-Card, Script Change, or your chosen system
• Establish check-in protocols - How will you monitor comfort levels during play?
• Set communication preferences - Between-session contact, scheduling, feedback methods
• Create private communication channels - Ways for players to reach you confidentially

Character Creation and Group Dynamics

• Facilitate character creation - Help players build characters that fit the setting and work together
• Encourage character connections - How do the PCs know each other? Why do they work together?
• Discuss spotlight sharing - Everyone should get moments to shine
• Address different play styles - Acknowledge that people engage differently with roleplay

Practical Matters

• Establish house rules - Any modifications to the system or special approaches
• Set scheduling expectations - Attendance, cancellation policies, session length
• Discuss logistics - Location, food, technology needs, what to bring
• Plan ongoing consent check-ins - When and how you’ll revisit boundaries

Wrapping Up

• Summarize agreements - Recap the major decisions and boundaries established
• Schedule next session - When will the actual story begin?
• Provide contact information - Ensure everyone can reach you between sessions
• Remind about flexibility - Boundaries and expectations can be adjusted as needed

Remember: This checklist is a guide, not a requirement. Adapt it to your group’s needs, experience level, and available time. A convention one-shot might only need 10 minutes of boundary-setting, while an epic campaign might require more time and discussion.

Session 0.5

For ongoing campaigns, many experienced GMs utilize an informal follow-up period between Session Zero and the first actual story session. This “Session 0.5” gives players additional time to refine their characters, clarify expectations, and communicate important details that might not have emerged during the group discussion.

This intermediate step serves several valuable purposes. First, it relieves the pressure players often feel to have everything figured out immediately during Session Zero. Character concepts that seemed clear in the abstract often need refinement once players start thinking about how they’ll actually roleplay their choices. Similarly, consent boundaries that felt obvious during group discussion sometimes require clarification once players consider specific scenarios they might encounter.

The Session 0.5 process typically involves individual communication between each player and the GM, whether through email, private messages, or brief one-on-one conversations. This private channel allows players to share “hidden details” about their characters: secret backgrounds, personal goals, or mysterious connections that would spoil the fun if revealed to the entire group immediately. These confidential elements often become some of the most rewarding plot threads as the campaign unfolds.

Players can also use this opportunity to revisit their consent boundaries after having time to reflect on the initial discussion. Sometimes people realize they need to add items to their “red” or “yellow” lists, or they might want to clarify how certain topics should be handled. This follow-up communication ensures that everyone starts the actual campaign feeling confident about the boundaries that have been established.

For GMs, Session 0.5 provides invaluable insight into each player’s hopes and concerns for the upcoming campaign. Understanding what each person is most excited to explore, what they’re nervous about, and what kinds of character moments they’re hoping to experience helps inform how to structure early sessions and build long-term story arcs that will engage the entire group.

Now that is established, Session 1 becomes the start of the campaign - The opening of the first chapter of the shared story being told.

The Flow of Play

The flow of campaigns and sessions can be broken into major parts. We use these parts throughout this book to better understand the major components of a campaign.

Chapters

The first major components are Chapters of the story. Each Chapter is a major arc or aspect of the story. For example, your players need to find their way out of a city, but this process takes multiple sessions involving escaping a dungeon, finding locals to help them hide, getting ready for a trip, and then escaping the city itself. Like a chapter in a book, the completion of these events often constitutes a chapter in the story. Chapters are often great points at which to award Milestones for characters that symbolize the growth of characters.

Chapters provide natural breaking points for both story and character development. They allow players to reflect on what their characters have accomplished, how they’ve changed, and what new challenges await them. For GMs, chapters help organize long-term story arcs while providing flexibility to adapt to player choices and unexpected developments.

Awarding Milestones:
Milestones are moments when characters can gain more abilities and powers. The rate at which one awards milestones often varies based on the desired pace of growth. Multiverse characters are functional without Milestones and show a fair amount of skill with their starting abilities. As such, Milestone awards are more related to the style of play than a requirement. Some campaigns can be “low power” where Milestones will be awarded after a few chapters or not at all. Other campaigns may want quick advancement, awarding a Milestone at every chapter or even more frequently. Most campaigns are somewhere in between, and a good rule of thumb is to follow the complexity of the encounters. If encounters are becoming such that players continue to struggle, then it is time to encourage growth. Such growth is not only rewarding for players, it allows GMs to provide more complex situations and scenarios for their players while keeping it fun.

Scenes

Chapters are then made up of Scenes with typically 2-3 scenes during a single session. A scene is an important element in the Multiverse system as not only does it help the GM think about scenarios as combined encounters, but it is also a common “time limit” on abilities. Scenes can be combat, which is measured from the start to end of combat. They can also be extended time, such as travel to a different town (until a rest window). In general, scenes represent a discrete period of time, no more than a few hours or a reasonable time that makes sense given the situation. The duration of power activation is then a matter of tension. Combat requires more energy than a leisurely discussion at the sauna. Both may be valuable and important scenes, but the stress on a character’s abilities is different.

Types of Scenes: Here are some examples of scene types, but these are only loose guidelines.

• Action Scenes: High-intensity moments like combat, chases, or dangerous stunts
• Social Scenes: Negotiations, investigations, or relationship-building encounters
• Exploration Scenes: Discovering new locations, solving puzzles, or navigating hazards
• Downtime Scenes: Rest, recovery, shopping, or pursuing personal goals

The key to good scene pacing is variety. A session with three consecutive combat scenes might feel exhausting, while three social scenes in a row might feel slow for action-oriented players. Mix different types of scenes to create engaging rhythm and give all players opportunities to shine.

Scene Transitions: Moving smoothly between scenes helps maintain narrative flow. Sometimes transitions happen naturally through player actions, while other times the GM needs to actively shift focus. Techniques include:

• Cut to Black: End one scene dramatically and begin the next in a different location or time
• Follow Through: Let one scene’s consequences directly lead into the next situation
• Time Skip: Jump forward to skip boring travel or waiting periods
• Split Focus: Alternate between different groups or viewpoints

Rest Periods

Between scenes are Rest Periods. These can be short rests (a few hours) or long rests (a night’s sleep). Technically, AP refreshes with a “long rest” for everyone, but in truth, it refreshes with enough downtime between scenes that the GM feels the players had time to regain their energy. A long rest is the natural breaking point, but GMs should feel free to adjust based on the situation and actions of the day.

The concept of rest in Multiverse is more about narrative pacing than strict timekeeping. If your characters just survived a harrowing dungeon escape and are hiding in a safe house catching their breath, that might count as sufficient rest even if only an hour passes in the story. Conversely, if they’re forced to keep moving through dangerous territory for days, the GM might delay AP recovery until they finally reach true safety.

Managing Resources: Rest periods create natural tension around resource management. Players must decide when to use their powerful abilities and when to conserve AP for later challenges. GMs can use the promise or denial of rest to create dramatic pressure. Sometimes the heroes must push forward despite exhaustion because innocent lives hang in the balance.

Turns

When working through scenes it is important for GMs to guide the actions so players can take turns each participating and adding to the story. While the turns may not be explicit, it is suggested to get an idea of what players want to do, then continue from there.

Free-Form Play: Most of the time, Multiverse operates in free-form mode where players naturally take turns describing their actions and the GM responds with consequences and new developments. This creates organic conversation and collaborative storytelling. The GM’s role is to ensure everyone gets opportunities to contribute and that no single player dominates the scene.

Structured Turns: Sometimes, the role of taking turns needs to be precise. At this point, the GM may move actions to a turn-by-turn basis. While combat is the most obvious case, it doesn’t have to be combat. Any case where time needs to slow down so players can carefully think through actions, such as disarming a bomb, escaping a burning building, or other actions where order of choices matters, it makes sense to slow down relative time into turn-by-turn based play.

When to Use Structured Turns:

• Combat situations where positioning and timing matter
• Complex skill challenges requiring coordination
• Tense situations where seconds count
• Any scenario where player action order affects outcomes
• When players start talking over each other or acting simultaneously in ways that create confusion

Initiative Systems

Turn-by-turn based play often needs an order. There isn’t a single rule to follow, and should ideally be based on group and play style. Here are a few options and suggestions for determining “initiative” order.

Rolled Order: Have players roll their Agility die modified by any passive abilities that may affect the situation. Are they on a ship? Then someone with Blessing of the Seas may have an advantage adding their ability die to the roll. Are they in a storm? Then Blessing of the Storms may give them a slight advantage. We suggest keeping this order for the entire scene. If someone wants to move down in their order, that is allowed, but the next scene it resets.

Agility Order: Simply place ordering based on Agility die type. This often works better for non-combat scenes, but actions such as fleeing need to happen in turn-based order. This method is quick and requires no rolling, making it perfect for situations where you need to establish order quickly.

Everyone Together: This play style is fun, especially when using theater of the mind (not using maps to visualize the scene). Have all players announce their actions, then the GM handles those actions based on the NPC actions — essentially everything happens together. This has the advantage of less debate and adds to the chaos of battle. The next round continues the same way. When using this style, actions such as death and knockout happen at the end of the turn, so even a creature dying may have gotten one last strike.

Initiative Cards/Tarot Cards: Assign a card such as a tarot or playing card to each player and NPC. Each round, shuffle the cards, then flip the cards over to determine the order. This ordering causes a little bit of chaos while keeping a set order each turn. This method works especially well for groups that enjoy the unpredictability and dramatic tension of not knowing who acts when.

Narrative Order: The GM simply decides who goes next based on what makes the most narrative sense. This gives maximum flexibility but requires a GM who can make quick, fair decisions while maintaining dramatic flow.

Downtime
Not everything is an adventure. Treat downtime as a single scene with the caveat that the number of actions can be limited. Players can use downtime to train, build up their bases, create items including Artifice, or work on rituals (see Artifice and Rituals in Equipment). Downtime scenes are particularly important for character development, relationship building, and exploring personal storylines that don’t fit into action-packed adventures.

Session Structure

While every session is unique, successful Multiverse sessions often follow certain patterns that help create satisfying experiences:

Opening: Begin with a brief recap of previous events and check in with players about their characters’ current goals and mental state. This helps everyone get back into character and reminds the group of important plot threads.

Hook: Present the situation or challenge that will drive the session. This might continue from previous sessions or introduce something entirely new. The best hooks connect to character motivations and give players clear reasons to get involved.

Development: The bulk of the session involves players pursuing their goals, facing obstacles, and making choices that drive the story forward. This typically includes 2-3 scenes of varying types.

Resolution: Sessions work best when they provide some sense of closure, even if larger story arcs remain unfinished. Players should feel like they accomplished something meaningful, learned something important, or made progress toward their goals. Particularly good GMs know when to have a resolution, and when to leave the players on cliff hanger. This doesn’t mean there isn’t a resolution, just a moment of “until next time.”

Looking Forward: End with hints about future developments or ask players what their characters want to do next. This helps with session planning and keeps everyone engaged between sessions.

With that in mind, the following sections detail some of the many actions players can perform during a typical scene, including extended actions and combat.

Common Actions and Skill Checks

The heart of Multiverse lies in its flexible approach to resolving actions through the trait system. Rather than having rigid rules for every possible situation, the game provides a framework that can adapt to virtually any challenge your characters might face. This section explores how to apply that framework to common scenarios, demonstrating how the same basic mechanics can handle everything from delicate negotiations to death-defying stunts.

Remember, the goal isn’t to memorize specific rules for specific situations, but to understand how the trait system works so you can apply it creatively to whatever your characters attempt. When in doubt, identify which trait best represents what the character is trying to accomplish, determine if it’s a standard difficulty check or a contested roll against an opponent, and let the dice and roleplay tell the story.

Heroic Token Reminder
Heroes gain heroic tokens when they fail an action. This means a single combat roll may give one, but also extended actions. To better balance, it is better to give them at the end of the action. For more information about heroic tokens, see the Traits chapter.

Social Interactions

Social encounters form the backbone of many Multiverse sessions, providing opportunities for characters to gather information, build alliances, and resolve conflicts without violence. The key to compelling social scenes is remembering that the dice support the roleplay, not replace it.

When to Roll vs. When to Roleplay: Not every social interaction requires a skill check. If a player delivers a compelling argument that addresses an NPC’s known motivations, or if they’re asking for something the NPC would readily agree to, let the roleplay carry the scene. Save skill checks for moments when the outcome is genuinely uncertain or when success requires overcoming significant resistance.

Contested Social Rolls: Most social challenges involve contested rolls between the character’s approach and the target’s resistance:

• Charm vs. Spirit: Persuasion, inspiration, seduction, or leadership attempts
• Charm vs. Brains: Deception, misdirection, or fast-talking
• Brains vs. Brains: Debates, logical arguments, or negotiations based on facts
• Fight vs. Spirit: Intimidation through displays of force or threats

Modifying Social Rolls: Circumstances should heavily influence social skill checks:

• Relationship bonuses: +1 to +3 for trusted friends, -1 to -3 for known enemies
• Leverage: +2 to +5 when you have something the target wants or needs
• Evidence: +1 to +3 when you can prove your claims or demonstrate your points
• Consequences: -2 to -5 when asking someone to risk something important to them

Exploration and Investigation

The world is full of mysteries waiting to be uncovered, from ancient ruins hiding forgotten secrets to crime scenes that tell stories of what transpired. Exploration and investigation in Multiverse emphasize creative problem-solving and collaborative discovery rather than rigid procedural mechanics.

Information Gathering: The core of most investigation involves collecting clues, interviewing witnesses, and piecing together incomplete information. Rather than hiding crucial plot information behind single skill checks, good investigations offer multiple paths to discover what characters need to know:

• Brains checks for logical deduction, pattern recognition, or academic research
• Charm checks for getting people to open up and share what they know
• Agility checks for sneaking into restricted areas or pickpocketing evidence
• Spirit checks for maintaining focus during lengthy research or resisting mental fatigue

Environmental Challenges: Exploration often involves navigating dangerous or challenging terrain. These situations call for creative application of different traits based on the character’s approach:

• Athleticism for climbing, swimming, or enduring harsh conditions
• Agility for moving quietly, maintaining balance, or squeezing through tight spaces
• Brains for navigation, understanding architectural layouts, or solving puzzles
• Fight for breaking through barriers or dealing with hostile creatures

The Three-Clue Rule: When designing investigations, ensure that every crucial piece of information can be discovered through at least three different approaches. This prevents the story from stalling if players fail a single roll or don’t think to pursue a specific line of inquiry.

Investigation Modifiers:

• Time pressure: -2 to -4 when rushing or working under deadlines
• Poor conditions: -1 to -3 for bad lighting, weather, or loud environments
• Quality equipment: +1 to +3 for specialized tools, labs, or resources
• Expertise: +2 to +5 when investigating something directly related to character background

Extended Actions and Skill Challenges

Some goals are too complex to resolve with a single skill check. Extended actions represent sustained effort over time, whether that’s researching an ancient mystery, building a fortress, or winning someone’s trust through a series of interactions.

When to Use Extended Actions:

• The task logically requires significant time and effort
• Multiple approaches or skill sets could contribute to success
• You want to create tension around a long-term goal
• The process itself is as interesting as the final outcome

Tiered Challenges: The simplest extended action requires a specific number of successful rolls at the same difficulty. For example, “Research the Lost Kingdom” might require 4 successful Brains checks at difficulty 12, representing weeks of library work, translation, and cross-referencing sources.

Progressive Difficulty: More complex challenges increase in difficulty as characters get closer to their goal. “Infiltrate the Noble’s Estate” might start with easy social checks to gain initial access, then moderate stealth checks to avoid guards, and finally difficult skill checks to reach the inner sanctum undetected.

Collaborative Challenges: The most engaging extended actions allow multiple characters to contribute using different approaches. “Escape the Collapsing City” might let characters use:

• Brains to find the safest evacuation routes
• Athleticism to help civilians climb over rubble
• Charm to keep panicking crowds organized
• Fight to clear blocked passages or fight off looters

Failure and Complications: Extended actions shouldn’t stop cold when a character fails a roll. Instead, failure should introduce complications, delays, or increased costs. A failed research check might mean the character finds misleading information, requiring extra work to sort truth from fiction. A failed infiltration check might trigger additional security measures without completely blowing the mission.

Resource Management: Extended actions can incorporate resource costs beyond just Ability Points. Characters might need to spend money on equipment, use favors with contacts, or risk their reputation to achieve their goals. This creates meaningful choices about how much characters are willing to invest in their objectives.

Breaking Objects and Sundering

Sometimes characters need to destroy obstacles, break down doors, or sunder enemy equipment during their adventures. Objects in Multiverse have two key statistics: a minimum DC that must be met before any damage can be dealt, and a Durability score representing how much cumulative damage the object can sustain before being destroyed.

Damage Threshold: Each object has a minimum DC that represents its basic resistance to damage. Only attacks that meet or exceed this threshold can damage the object at all. This reflects the reality that some materials are simply too tough for certain weapons or attacks to affect meaningfully. A dagger might scratch a stone wall but cannot meaningfully damage it, while a sledgehammer can make real progress against the same barrier.

Durability and Destruction: Once the damage threshold is met, the object takes damage equal to the amount by which the attack exceeded the DC. For example, if a wooden door has a DC 8 and Durability 15, and a character achieves a total attack result of 12, the door would take 4 points of damage (12 - 8 = 4). When an object’s accumulated damage equals or exceeds its Durability score, it is destroyed, broken, or rendered useless.

Material Properties: Different materials respond differently to various types of attacks. Crushing weapons deal double damage against brittle materials like glass or ceramic, while cutting weapons might be particularly effective against rope or fabric. Fire-based attacks could be especially damaging to wooden objects but largely ineffective against stone or metal. The GM should consider these properties when determining how different attack types interact with various materials.

Sample Objects and Durability

Attacking Worn Equipment: When attempting to sunder equipment that someone is wearing or wielding, the attack must first succeed against the person’s normal defenses before it can target the equipment. This represents the difficulty of striking specific items while the owner is actively trying to prevent such attacks. Some abilities and combat maneuvers specifically focus on attacking enemy equipment rather than the person directly.

Environmental Destruction: Characters might attempt to bring down structures, collapse bridges, or destroy large installations. These massive objects typically require extended challenges rather than simple attack rolls, with characters needing to identify structural weak points, coordinate their efforts, or use appropriate tools and techniques to achieve their destructive goals.

Ritual Magic and Extended Abilities

Ritual magic represents the pinnacle of extended supernatural practice—elaborate ceremonies, complex technological constructions, or intensive collaborative efforts that achieve effects far beyond normal ability use. What we call “ritual magic” adapts to fit any setting: mystical ceremonies in fantasy worlds, complex engineering projects in technological societies, or intensive research programs in modern settings.

The key principle behind rituals is that extraordinary results require extraordinary effort, time, and risk. A single character might spend hours or days working toward a goal, or multiple characters might collaborate on projects that none could accomplish alone. The ritual system provides a framework for these grand endeavors while maintaining the tension and possibility of failure that makes success meaningful.

Beyond Normal Abilities: Rituals allow characters to achieve effects that go well beyond their normal capabilities. A character with basic elemental abilities might perform a ritual to permanently change the weather over a region. Someone with minor healing powers might attempt to cure a supernatural plague. A technician might spend weeks building a device that can breach dimensional barriers.

Setting Adaptation: The mechanical framework remains consistent, but the narrative description changes dramatically based on your campaign world. Fantasy settings feature elaborate magical ceremonies with rare components and mystical symbols, while modern or technological campaigns might involve complex engineering projects requiring specialized equipment and expertise. Science fiction worlds could frame these as advanced scientific research or prototype development, and urban fantasy settings often combine traditional magic with modern resources and knowledge.

Progressive Costs: Rituals use a mechanic that builds toward success through accumulated effort while maintaining constant risk of catastrophic failure. Each ritual has three key numbers: the Total Cost (the cumulative total that successful rolls must reach to complete the ritual), the Minimum Roll (the difficulty threshold each individual roll must meet to contribute to success), and the Failure Threshold (the maximum number of failed rolls before the ritual fails completely).

The ritual process begins by establishing the goal and setting these three numbers based on the complexity and power of the desired effect. Characters then make skill checks using appropriate traits, usually Brains for research and planning, Spirit for maintaining focus, or specific abilities related to the ritual’s nature. Each successful roll that meets or exceeds the Minimum Roll adds its result to the running total toward the Total Cost, while each failed roll counts toward the Failure Threshold. The ritual succeeds when the Total Cost is reached, but fails completely if the Failure Threshold is exceeded first.

Collaborative Rituals: Multiple characters can work together on rituals, with each participant making their own rolls that contribute to the total. This allows for more ambitious projects but increases the risk of failure, as each participant’s failed rolls count toward the Failure Threshold. Collaborative rituals work best when each character contributes something unique to the process—one character handles the theoretical framework, another gathers rare components, a third provides the raw power needed for the effect, and so on. This creates opportunities for characters with different skill sets to work together on projects that showcase everyone’s strengths.

Sample Rituals:

(Optional Rule) Blood Sacrifices
Some campaigns may choose to explore darker themes where desperate characters resort to blood magic to fuel their rituals. Under this optional rule, participants can sacrifice their own resilience to contribute additional power to the ritual’s AP Cost requirement. For every 1 point of resilience voluntarily sacrificed, the character may roll 1d4 and add the result to the ritual’s accumulated AP Cost. This represents the magical potency of life force willingly given.

Far more sinister is the practice of taking life to fuel magical workings. If a living creature is killed specifically to power a ritual, the death provides 1d10 AP Cost for every point of resilience the victim possessed at the time of their death. This reflects the immense magical energy released when a life is deliberately ended, but engaging in such practices marks characters as having crossed into truly dark territory.

These rules are intended for mature campaigns that can handle such themes responsibly. Blood sacrifice should carry serious moral, social, and potentially supernatural consequences. Characters who engage in ritual murder may find themselves hunted by authorities, cursed by vengeful spirits, or corrupted by the dark forces they’ve embraced.

In technological settings, these same mechanics might represent prototype development projects, data archaeology efforts to recover lost information from corrupted systems, system integration work to merge incompatible technologies, network infiltration attempts against heavily secured computer systems, or genetic sequencing projects to develop treatments for previously incurable conditions. The mechanical framework remains identical, but the narrative framing shifts to match the campaign’s technological and thematic focus.

Failed rituals create more than just wasted time—they often generate problems that must be dealt with as part of the ongoing story. Magical backlash might release uncontrolled energy that affects the area or participants, while unwanted attention could attract hostile entities or authorities to investigate the disturbance. Resource depletion consumes rare components without achieving the goal, temporal effects might create time distortions around the participants, and dimensional rifts could tear temporary holes in reality that create ongoing hazards for the surrounding area.

Smart characters invest time in research and preparation before attempting major rituals. This preparation phase might involve researching the theoretical framework through Brains checks that can reduce the Minimum Roll requirement by one or two points, gathering superior components by spending money or resources to gain bonuses to individual rolls, choosing optimal timing and location to gain environmental bonuses, or recruiting skilled assistants to participate in collaborative efforts. These preparatory investments create meaningful choices about how much characters are willing to commit to their ambitious goals.

The ritual system encourages players to think beyond immediate tactical concerns toward longer-term objectives that require significant investment of time and resources. Success feels earned through sustained effort and careful planning, while failure creates interesting complications that can drive future adventures and provide new story hooks for the GM to develop.

Chases and Pursuits

Few things create immediate tension like a desperate chase through dangerous terrain, whether that involves fleeing assassins through crowded city streets, pursuing a villain across rooftops, or engaging in a high-speed vehicle pursuit through heavy traffic. Chase scenes in Multiverse use structured skill challenges that emphasize creative problem-solving and dramatic storytelling over complex positioning mechanics.

The key to exciting chases is treating them as extended contests where both sides actively work toward their goals while obstacles and complications create ongoing challenges. Rather than simple back-and-forth rolls, chase scenes involve multiple types of checks that reflect the varied skills needed to navigate complex, high-speed scenarios successfully.

Chase Structure: Most chases operate as extended contests between the pursuing and fleeing parties, with each side making rolls to gain or maintain distance while dealing with environmental obstacles. The basic structure involves alternating rounds where each participant makes skill checks, with success increasing their advantage and failure creating complications or reducing their lead.

Distance and Advantage: Instead of tracking precise distances, chase scenes use abstract “distance categories” that represent the relationship between participants. Close Range means the parties are within immediate interaction distance, Medium Range represents a significant but not insurmountable gap, and Long Range indicates that one side has gained substantial advantage. The goal for pursuers is to close distance until they can force a confrontation, while those being chased want to increase distance until they can escape entirely.

Environmental Challenges: The most memorable chase scenes involve more than just speed—they require participants to navigate obstacles, make split-second decisions, and adapt to changing circumstances. Dense crowds might require Agility checks to weave between people without slowing down, while rough terrain could demand Athleticism rolls to maintain footing. Urban environments might offer opportunities for Brains-based shortcuts or Charm-based attempts to get help from bystanders.

Vehicle Chases: When chases involve vehicles, the character’s driving skill (typically Agility or Brains depending on whether the situation emphasizes reflexes or tactical thinking) becomes the primary trait, though passengers might contribute through other actions. A character might use Fight to lean out and attack pursuing vehicles, Brains to navigate complex routes, or Spirit to maintain focus during high-stress maneuvers.

Complications and Obstacles: Every few rounds, introduce complications that affect all participants and require additional skill checks. A construction site might force everyone to make Agility checks to navigate scaffolding and equipment. Heavy rain could impose penalties on movement checks while creating opportunities for characters with appropriate blessings or abilities to gain advantages. These complications prevent chase scenes from becoming repetitive exchanges of the same skill checks.

Multiple Participants: Chase scenes often involve more than two parties, with allies working together to achieve their goals. Team members can assist each other’s rolls, create obstacles for opponents, or pursue different objectives simultaneously. One character might focus on maintaining speed while another handles navigation, and a third deals with incoming attacks or environmental hazards.

Chase Resolution: Chases end when one side achieves their objective or circumstances change dramatically enough to shift the scene’s focus. Successful pursuers force a confrontation or capture their quarry, while successful escape artists gain enough distance to break contact and find safety. Sometimes environmental factors or third-party intervention changes the situation entirely, transforming a chase into a different type of scene.

The most important element in chase scenes is maintaining narrative momentum while giving all participants meaningful choices about their approach. Characters should feel that their individual skills and creative thinking can influence the outcome, not just their raw speed statistics.

Combat

Personal combat in Multiverse revolves around contested rolls between attackers and defenders, creating dynamic exchanges where both participants actively influence the outcome. Rather than passive armor class systems or static defense numbers, every attack becomes a dramatic confrontation between the attacker’s skill and the defender’s ability to avoid or minimize incoming damage.

Basic Combat Resolution: When one character attacks another, the attacker makes a skill check using the appropriate trait for their chosen method of attack. This is typically Fight for melee weapons or unarmed combat, though other traits can apply depending on the situation and weapon properties. The defender simultaneously makes an Agility check to dodge, parry, or otherwise avoid the incoming attack. Both participants roll their respective dice, apply any relevant modifiers from abilities or circumstances, and compare the final results.

Determining Damage: If the attacker’s total equals or exceeds the defender’s total, the attack succeeds. The amount of damage dealt equals the difference between the attacker’s result and the defender’s result, plus any bonus damage from weapons or abilities. For example, if an attacker rolls 14 and the defender rolls 10, the base damage would be 4 points. If the attacker was using a longsword (which provides +3 damage), the total damage would be 7 points.

Armor and Damage Reduction: After determining the raw damage amount, subtract any damage reduction provided by the defender’s armor or protective abilities. This represents the armor’s ability to absorb, deflect, or distribute the impact of successful attacks. For instance, if the 7 points of damage from the previous example struck a character wearing chain mail (which provides 4 points of damage reduction), the final damage to the character’s resilience would be 3 points.

Weapon Properties in Combat: Different weapons provide various tactical advantages beyond their basic damage bonuses. Light weapons allow characters to use Agility instead of Fight for their attack rolls, representing weapons that emphasize speed and precision over raw strength. Weapons with the Wounding property can cause ongoing bleeding damage when they achieve particularly successful strikes. Crushing weapons deal double damage against inanimate objects like doors or barriers. Understanding these properties allows characters to choose the right tool for different combat situations.

Combat Flow and Initiative: Combat typically operates using structured turns with initiative order determining when each participant acts. During each turn, a character can move to a new position, activate an ability, and make a combat-type action such as attacking or using a combat maneuver. This action economy allows for tactical flexibility while maintaining clear structure and pacing.

Advanced Combat Actions: Characters often attempt multiple actions simultaneously, such as shoving an opponent while striking them, or trying to disarm someone while moving to a better position. When attempting multiple actions in a single turn, each action requires its own separate roll, and all actions suffer a penalty based on the complexity of the combination. Simple combinations like attacking while moving typically impose a -1 modifier to all actions. More complex combinations such as attacking while performing a combat maneuver carry a -2 penalty, while highly complex sequences like attempting to disarm, trip, and strike an opponent simultaneously might impose -3 or higher penalties at the GM’s discretion. The general principle is that each additional layer of complexity adds another -1 to the penalty, representing the increasing difficulty of coordinating multiple intricate maneuvers simultaneously.

Some actions may be so complex or elaborate that the GM rules they cannot be completed in a single turn, requiring the character to break the sequence across multiple turns instead. This might apply to particularly intricate maneuvers, actions requiring extended setup time, or combinations that would be physically impossible to execute simultaneously.

Advanced Combat Techniques: Beyond basic attacks, characters can attempt various maneuvers that use the same contested roll framework with different traits or modifiers. Disarming attempts might use Fight contested against the opponent’s Fight or Agility. Tripping attacks could employ Athleticism against the target’s Agility. Intimidation through combat presence might use Charm contested against the opponent’s Spirit. These techniques demonstrate how the flexible trait system can handle complex combat situations without requiring separate subsystems for each possible action.

Cover and Environmental Protection

The battlefield environment significantly affects combat outcomes, with cover and concealment providing crucial tactical advantages for characters who know how to use them effectively. Cover represents physical obstacles that can block or deflect incoming attacks, while concealment makes characters harder to target accurately without necessarily providing physical protection.

Types of Cover: Cover categories are determined by how much of the target they conceal and how substantial the protection they provide. Light cover includes things like tall grass, thin walls, or partial concealment behind furniture, providing a +2 bonus to the defender’s Agility roll. This represents the attacker’s difficulty in targeting vital areas when the target is partially obscured. Heavy cover involves substantial obstacles like thick walls, large trees, or overturned vehicles that conceal most of the target’s body, providing a +4 bonus to defensive rolls. Total cover means the target is completely hidden behind impenetrable obstacles, making direct attacks impossible until the tactical situation changes.

Ally Positioning and Interference: Other characters on the battlefield can provide cover through strategic positioning. When an ally stands between an attacker and their target, they can provide light cover (+2 to the defender’s roll) by making it difficult for the attacker to find clear shots or strike angles. This positioning cover works best when the interfering character is roughly the same size as the target and is actively trying to block the attack. Characters providing positional cover put themselves at risk—if the attack roll exceeds the original target’s defense but would have missed without the cover bonus, the covering ally becomes the target instead.

Using Cover Tactically: Characters can move between different cover positions as part of their movement during combat, though doing so might expose them to attacks from opponents who are ready to take advantage of the transition. Smart combatants position themselves to maximize their own cover while minimizing their opponents’ protection. This might involve flanking maneuvers to attack enemies from angles where their cover provides less protection, or using area-effect abilities that can bypass cover entirely.

Cover vs. Concealment: Physical cover provides actual protection by interposing solid barriers between the attacker and target, while concealment merely makes targeting more difficult without offering protection if the attack connects. Smoke, darkness, or magical obscurement typically provide concealment rather than true cover, imposing penalties on the attacker’s roll rather than bonuses to the defender’s roll. Characters hiding in shadow might be harder to hit accurately, but successful attacks deal full damage since there’s no physical barrier absorbing the impact.

Environmental Advantages: Beyond static cover, the combat environment offers various tactical opportunities. Elevation advantages might provide bonuses to ranged attacks. Difficult terrain could impose movement penalties or require additional skill checks to navigate safely during combat. Weather conditions like rain or snow might affect visibility and movement for all participants. The most engaging combat encounters use environmental factors to create tactical choices and dramatic opportunities rather than simply serving as neutral backdrops for the action.

Cover and environmental factors should enhance rather than complicate combat encounters. They provide tactical options for clever characters while creating dramatic moments when combatants must choose between safety and effectiveness, making every fight feel unique and memorable.

Group Combat and Mass Battles

Not every conflict involves a small group of heroes facing a handful of opponents in personal combat. Sometimes characters find themselves leading armies into battle, coordinating complex tactical operations, or fighting as part of larger conflicts where individual sword swings matter far less than strategic decisions and unit coordination. Mass battle scenarios in Multiverse use extended skill challenges that focus on leadership, tactics, and key dramatic moments rather than tracking hundreds of individual combatants.

The fundamental principle behind mass battle resolution is that player characters serve as crucial leaders, specialists, or heroes whose actions can influence the outcome of much larger conflicts. Rather than reducing characters to insignificant parts of vast armies, the system focuses on the moments where individual decisions and capabilities can swing the tide of battle.

Scale and Scope: Mass battles operate at different scales depending on the story’s needs. Small unit actions might involve coordinating a dozen soldiers in urban warfare, while epic fantasy battles could determine the fate of entire kingdoms through massive army conflicts. The mechanical framework remains consistent, but the narrative description and stakes change dramatically based on the conflict’s scope and importance.

Character Roles in Mass Combat: Each player character typically assumes a specific role that determines how they contribute to the overall battle effort. Tactical leaders make Brains checks to outmaneuver enemy commanders and position forces advantageously. Inspiring commanders use Charm to rally troops and maintain morale during difficult moments. Elite warriors might undertake Fight-based missions to eliminate key targets or break through enemy lines. Support specialists could use various abilities to provide critical advantages at crucial moments.

Battle Phases: Large-scale conflicts typically develop through distinct phases that create natural dramatic structure. The initial deployment phase involves positioning forces and making opening tactical decisions. The engagement phase represents the main battle where both sides commit their resources and execute their strategies. Crisis moments occur when unexpected developments threaten to change the battle’s outcome, requiring immediate responses from key leaders. The resolution phase determines the final outcome and establishes consequences for both victory and defeat.

Victory Conditions: Mass battles succeed or fail based on achieving specific objectives rather than simply eliminating all enemies. These objectives might include capturing strategic positions, protecting important locations or individuals, achieving specific casualty ratios, or maintaining unit cohesion under extreme pressure. The most engaging mass battles present multiple potential victory conditions, allowing characters to pursue different approaches based on their strengths and the developing situation.

Key Moments and Individual Actions: Even in massive conflicts, individual heroic actions can influence the overall outcome. These moments typically occur during crisis phases when quick thinking and exceptional performance can address critical problems. A character might use their abilities to counter enemy magic that’s decimating allied forces, lead a desperate charge to break through enemy lines at a crucial moment, or rally routing troops through inspirational leadership during the battle’s darkest hour.

Consequences and Aftermath: Mass battle outcomes create lasting consequences that extend far beyond the immediate conflict. Victory might establish new political relationships, open access to important resources, or eliminate major threats to civilian populations. Defeat could force characters to deal with the aftermath of failed leadership, the loss of allies and resources, or occupation by hostile forces. These consequences provide material for future adventures while making the battle’s outcome feel meaningful and permanent.

Extended Challenge Structure: Mass battles use the extended challenge framework with multiple success requirements across different skill areas. Characters might need to achieve tactical successes through Brains checks, maintain morale through Charm rolls, execute critical missions through Fight or other appropriate skills, and adapt to changing circumstances through various trait applications. The total number of required successes and the difficulty levels should scale with the battle’s scope and the opposition’s competence.

Mass battle scenarios work best when they provide each character with opportunities to contribute meaningfully using their individual strengths while maintaining focus on the larger conflict’s strategic and narrative elements. The goal is creating epic moments where individual heroism influences vast conflicts without losing the personal stakes that make character actions matter.