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Nine Powers Rules

Welcome to Nine Powers, a storytelling game of fun and memorable adventures.

Playing this role-playing game requires these rules, paper and pencil, a set of polyhedral dice, and one or more people eager for stories of excitement, challenge and humor.

Nine Powers an excellent introduction to pencil-and-paper role-playing games, as well as an exceptionally kid-friendly storytelling game. It works great for "theater of the mind" adventures, or can use maps and miniatures.

The people playing Nine Powers have different roles. Normally one player acts as narrator to describe the setting, and the other(s) each play the role of a protagonist, making choices and developing personality for that protagonist. The game's rules help determine if characters succed at what they try to do, and what consequences happen.

For historical reasons, this type of cooperative storytelling game is called a role-playing game, the narrator is called the Game Master or GM, and the other people in charge of the protagonists are called the Players.

With Nine Powers the GM and Player(s) take turns telling the story. This is a cooperative storytelling game.

Optional rules that automate much of the GM role are included (under construction!) to help new or young GMs, and to allow playing the game by yourself.

Two other traditional acronyms call the main characters Player Characters or PCs, as opposed to the side characters controlled by the GM who are called Non-Player Characters or NPCs.

The Player's job during the storytelling is to describe what the PC tries to do. Be daring, dramatic, and confident! Try to keep the pace of the story quick and exciting.

The story becomes suspenseful and exciting when the PC must deal with difficult situations. Numeric skill and talent ratings measure how well the PC overcomes problems. Just like in real life, difficulties can be easier or harder to overcome based on the circumstances and available equipment. A clever Player will arrange situations to benefit his or her PC.

As the story unfolds, the PC accomplishes objectives and is awarded with increased skill and talent ratings, and with wealth that can be spent to craft or buy special equipment.

The rules are an aid to help the GM and Players decide whether the PC and NPCs are successful in their intentions. The rules surround the story with an unobtrusive layer of structure that provides consistency and a shared understanding of what might reasonably happen. The rules allow the players to cooperatively develop an adventure story that sometimes unfolds as planned and at other times develops in unexpected ways.

Nine Powers uses dice so luck can play a role in the story's development. Allowing luck to steer the story in a surprising way puts the GM and Players on more equal footing as improvisational storytellers who feel suspense and excitement. Strategy and tactics are rewarded, but careful plans and high skill ratings do not always guarantee success.

A fun GM prioritizes helping a thrilling and dramatic story unfold, and will sometimes ignore the rules and dice. On the other hand, the rules and dice are there to help lead the action in an unexpected direction, and a wise GM trusts that the story will naturally flow into places even more colorful and memorable than what was planned or predicted.

The game includes the fantasy setting of Spyragia. Very few tweaks are needed to adapt the rules to other settings.

Spyragia is a world ruled and shaped by its Creator and by the nine Powers that the Creator made and gifted with authority, power, and status . The Creator also put boundaries on their influence by assigning them dominions:

• They build dungeons to protect treasure and offer challenge to bold adventurers.
• They sponsor contests to reward exemplifying their values.
• They choose champions to represent them.
• They give gifts to those who faithfully please them.
• They grant wondrous feats to some of their followers.
• They create monsters to serve them or their interests.

The people of Spyragia belong to six fantasy races inspired by old folk tales and refreshed with new delights.

I have written many stories to help you enjoy meeting Spyragia's people, monsters, Powers! Compared to the rule pages the stories have simple words for young kids to read.

illustration of Arlinac Town by Jereme Peabody

Playtesting thanks go to my wife and kids, and to Nathan Brown, Wyatt Waggoner, Jonah, and Andy Crawford. Thanks for other helpful feedback go to D.J. Mckenna, David Berg, Eero Tuovinen, and DinDenver.

The name Nine Powers: Tales of Adventure and Daring was suggested by Yasha and catty_big.

Nine Powers is written by David L. Van Slyke © 2010—2023. Artwork by various people is given credit individually, including linking to the artist's website or blog when that is available. This work is not public domain, but I will almost certainly grant permission to other game developers wanting to steal from my ideas if they promise to give credit to this and their other sources. That is how good RPG design works, and what I have endeavored to do!

Your Character

Skills

In Nine Powers all characters have skills and talents rated between 1 and 4. As characters gain experience they increase in proficiency with these skills and talents.

(This is different from a role-playing game in which characters instead advance through "levels". These skills are used as general approaches to overcome obstacles, the same as in a role-playing game that calls them "actions".)

In the chart to the right, the skills are written in brown, and each skill has an associated talent written in italicized green.

New characters should have skill ratings that total 30. New characters have no talents.

There are only a few skills. This mimics the exaggerated prowess of protagonists in classic heroic pulp fantasy stories and films. In this genre, heroes and heroines demonstrate unrealistic expertise at broad categories of real-life skills. For example, Yu Shu-lien fights expertly with any melee weapon, James Bond uses all pistols with equal mastery, Benedict of Amber optimally leads any army on any battlefield, and Buckaroo Bonzai can expertly drive any vehicle.

Because characters are described with only a few small numbers, the GM can readily improvise NPCs. This helps the story go quickly and encourages a focus on creativity and adventure.

These rules sometimes refer to half of a skill's name when doing so aids contextual clarity. For example, these rules will sometimes discuss "the Wrestle skill" instead of "the Wrestle/Disarm skill".

In these rules skill names are always capitalized. This helps differentiate situations from skills. For example, a character bargaining while purchasing equipment will certainly use the Bargain skill, but could also use the Identify and Intuition skills to appraise the value of items, the Etiquette skill to earn favor with the merchant, or the Disguise skill to pretend the purchase is for a local noble.

The point of the previous paragraph deserves repeating. One situation can be approached with many skills!.

One Situation, Many Skill Options

Consider a PC who leaps off a ledge onto a monster. What is the hero trying to accomplish?

If the PC is trying to knock it over, that would use the Wrestle skill.

If the PC is trying to stab it with a weapon as he or she lands, that would use the Melee skill.

If the PC is trying to subdue it with the force of his or her personality, that would use the Wonder skill.

If the PC is trying to land unnoticed on a giant's backpack, that would use the Stealth skill.

If the PC is trying to ride it, that would use the Animals skill.

Nine Powers includes a sample fantasy setting named Spyragia. It is very easy to replace this sample setting with any other setting (even a modern or futuristic one). The dominant features of this setting are the nine Powers that oversee the world and the six fantasy races that live there. (There are no plain humans in Spyragia).

The rules about skills, talents, dice, and crafting are general rules and almost independent of setting. They can get trumped by setting-specific rules.

(Here is one example of a setting-specific rule that trumps a general rule. Characters do not start with any talents according to the rules below. However, the setting-specific rules about Spyragia's six fantasy races provide an exception to that general rule: members of each race start with one point in a certain talent as part of their racial heritage and expertise.)

Estimating Skill Ratings

Imagine Your Character

Remember the guideline that a new PC should have skill ratings that total 30, with every skill rated 1 to 4, and no talents. Those starting limitations allow a rewarding sense of progress as the PC adventures and grows stronger.

There are no rules for what a new PC is like. If you look at the character sheet file you will see that the sample starting characters are quite robust. They have features specific to their setting. They start with fun equipment that might even be magical. The fantasy race they belong to grants them one or more abilities. They have one or more wondrous feats and one or more extra talent points to enable using those wonderous feats. A new PC could also be the champion of a Power, questing to break a curse, or have great wealth due to an interesting backstory involving political intrigue.

Nine Powers is a storytelling game, not a "balanced" game. The GM and Players should create PCs and NPCs that are interesting and fun, and agree to add or remove rules to help create the kind of story they want.

With that preface behind us, let's discuss creating a new PC.

The Player needs to have a mental image of what his or her PC is like.

Some Players consider an archetypical protagonist or a character from another story.

Two Character Concepts from Others Stories

"My hero is like Robin Hood in the Errol Flynn film. He is energetic, physical, and charming. He is the best archer, and a very good swordsman. He is pretty observant. He is not an acrobat, but he can swing from chandeliers or safely jump down from a high place. He was wealthy, but was betrayed and is now an outlaw."

"My heroine is like Kerowyn from the Mercedes Lackey stories. Maybe she even has some kind of magic sword. She works as a mercenary. She is a dangerous swordfighter and a capable team leader. She values honor and fair play. She could teach and inspire people. She rides a horse very well. I want her to be good with all animals, not just horses."

Start with all skills rated 1. For the 15 questions below, answer the question and then choose a skill that fits that aspect of your character's background to increase by 1 (to the maximum of 4). When you are done you will have skill ratings that total 30 and be ready to start your adventure!

Character Background Questions

1. What is a short phrase that would describe the character?

2. Pick two unusual features of the character's appearance: two details of smell, sight, sound, feel, or temperature.

3. Who are are three characters that are very special to the character? Where do they live? What are their issues and problems?

4. Who is the character's friendly rival or antagonistic nemesis? Describe that person.

5. What is one thing about the character's home or birthplace that needs to change? What is one thing the character would fight to protect or keep the same?

6. Which of the character's possessions are most sentimental or beautiful?

7. Who taught the character to fight—or to survive without fighting? Where is this person now? Did they have any enemies?

8. What was the character's most memorable dangerous situation? Who died, or nearly died?

9. How has the character experienced sudden changes of fortune (quick gains or losses of wealth, status, or power)?

10. What was the character's greatest mistake? Is it secret? Does the character have other secrets to protect?

11. Does the character pursue any particular recreational activity or hobby? What are the character's favorite expenses? Which vice or virtue does the character use to unwind? With whom?

12. How has the character been hurt and/or helped by corruption? How does he or she cope with types of violence that are common in the story's setting?

13. Which imminent events does the character plan for? What are his or her immediate hopes, goals, worries or fears? What is an important upcoming event?

14. What is a significant or repeated misunderstanding that causes trouble for the character?

15. What is the character's source of income? Why is money tight? What are his or her inescapable needs for money?

These questions are intended to be deep enough to help make interesting heroes and heroines, but generic enough to fit any setting. Feel free to use other questions.

Here are some example responses. In this example, a Player is thinking about playing an adventuer named Nimsy who grew up as the daughter of adventurers and is now an alchemist starting her own professional life.

Example Responses Character Background Questions

1. What is a short phrase that would describe the character?

Nimsy looks like a sloppy alchemist. She wears a bandolier that holds glass bottles, many of which are the colorful potions and flasks she uses when adventuring. Her hair is up in a messy bun. Her leather apron has many stains and burn marks. (The Player increases the PC's Alchemy skill by 1.)

2. Pick two unusual features of the character's appearance: two details of smell, sight, sound, feel, or temperature.

She is well-spoken and uses careful diction. Her voice is musical. (The Player increases the PC's Etiquette skill by 1.)

3. Who are three characters that are very special to the character? Where do they live? What are their issues and problems?

Nimsy works at the zoo taking care of elderly monsters. She loves three geriatric bigbeast hamsters. They are the size of pigs. They and still very clever and curious, but naturally very tired. Her potions help them stay active enough to be happy. (The Player again increases the PC's Alchemy skill by 1.)

4. Who is the character's friendly rival or antagonistic nemesis? Describe that person.

When she was in school her rival was the other girl in her class who loved alchemy, named Viozet. But Viozet was always bigger and stronger. When bullied, Nimsy would run and climb a tree. Viozet still enjoys making trouble for Nimsy, but now in more subtle ways. (The Player increases the PC's Climb skill by 1.)

5. What is one thing about the character's home or birthplace that needs to change? What is one thing the character would fight to protect or keep the same?

The teachers at her school would hint that there some alchemy recipes were taboo or evil. Of course this made students more curious, and some students got into trouble trying to research what they were or invent a recipe that would be outlawed. Nimsy has a hunch there must have been some better way to handle that issue. (The Player increases the PC's Intuition skill by 1.)

6. Which of the character's possessions are most sentimental or beautiful?

Her father was a famous tracker. On her fifth birthday he gave her a book about learning to identify animal and monster tracks. He went missing that year. She treasures that book as the last gift her father gave her. (The Player increases the PC's Stealth/Track skill by 1.)

7. Who taught the character to fight—or to survive without fighting? Where is this person now? Did they have any enemies?

That would be her mother. She is a famous adventurer. When Nimsy's father did not come home, her mother went looking for him. Her mother still spends about a month each year searching. She once said that Nimsy should learn to defend herself, and that summer had fencing lessons. (The Player increases the PC's Melee skill by 1.)

8. What was the character's most memorable dangerous situation? Who died, or nearly died?

The last time her mother left to search for her father, Nimsy snuck after her mother. Nimsy managed to follow her mother onto a boat, but while aboard some men in dark blue cloaks started a fight. Nimsy almost died. Her mother saved her, and then sent her home. Those men did not seem like normal thieves or bandits. (The Player again increases the PC's Stealth/Track skill by 1.)

9. How has the character experienced sudden changes of fortune (quick gains or losses of wealth, status, or power)?

She recently inherited a mysterious magic sword from a distant relative. She is trying to work up the courage to quest in the Enchanted Forest to learn what it does and how to use it. (The Player increases the PC's Bargain/Wonder skill by 1.)

10. What was the character's greatest mistake? Is it secret? Does the character have other secrets to protect?

Nimsy spends too much time alone. She still goes out into the wilder-ness to get rare herbs. Someday she might meet a monster, or those men with dark blue cloaks. (The Player increases the PC's Wilderness skill by 1.)

11. Does the character pursue any particular recreational activity or hobby? What are the character's favorite expenses? Which vice or virtue does the character use to unwind? With whom?

Nimsy loves to spy on other alchemists. At night she likes to sneak across the city's rooftops and look in windows to see what other alchemists are doing. (For a third time the Player increases the PC's Stealth/Track skill by 1.)

12. How has the character been hurt and/or helped by corruption? How does he or she cope with types of violence that are common in the story's setting?

Her only contact with the seedy side of city life is when she sees other people on the rooftops at night. She stays away, hiding before they notice her. (The Player increases the PC's Perception skill by 1.)

13. Which imminent events does the character plan for? What are his or her immediate hopes, goals, worries or fears? What is an important upcoming event?

Nimsy is excited about a "practical household alchemy" contest that Lord Ronyld and Lady Jularna are putting on next week. She thinks her newest invention—a recipe for a an air freshener that neutralizes fishy smells—will win a prize, and perhaps help her start selling alchemy supplies privately to suppliment her zoo income. (For a third time the Player increases the PC's Alchemy skill by 1.)

14. What is a significant or repeated misunderstanding that causes trouble for the character?

Nimsy also likes tinkering with machinery. Some of it is practical: she could save money if she learned to blow glass, to make her own alchemical supplies. But she also likes cute devices with lots of moving parts. Some of her friends who are alchemists and who have seen disassembled devices in her workshop have convinced themselves that Nimsy is getting bored of alchemy, but she can't convince them that she is not. Maybe Viozet is spreading a rumor? (The Player increases the PC's Machinery skill by 1.)

15. What is the character's source of income? Why is money tight? What are his or her inescapable needs for money?

That zoo job is her only income. She really wants to start a side business, but is not yet well-known. There are always more alchemy recipes and equipment to buy! She has been practicing her salesmanship, and gathering information about what alchemy products she might make that would sell reliably. (The Player again increases the PC's Bargain/Wonder skill by 1.)

This type of background brainstorming might be too much for very young Players. They can just start the story, with the GM forming skill ratings by asking questions as the story develops. (For example, "You might be able to jump over that pit. How good is your character at jumping?") Limiting a new PC to skill ratings that total 30 means that if the Player consistently describes the PC as capable at everything, the PC will soon run out of available points and the GM will set the remaining undecided skill ratings to the minimum of 1.

Some players simply want to picking the character's initial starting skill ratings.

A Skill Based Character Conept

"My hero is great at fighting. All four Brawn skill ratings are 4. Hm. That leaves me with only 30 − 16 = 14 more points to spend. Let's do a 3 in Perception/Escape, a 2 in Animals/Wilderness, a 2 in Stealth/Track, and 1 everywhere else. Maybe I was a barbarian who came to the big city to work as a gladiator?"

This can work, tends to result in two-dimensional characters and less interesting and exciting stories.

Notice how many details of Nimsy's personal history could pop up in her story: her family, her job, her childhood rival, her inherited magic sword, her time alone in the forest and on rooftops, the mysterious men in blue cloaks, etc. In contrast a character that is merely "a barbarian seeking work as a gladiator" is a more shallow hero that will be doomed to more shallow stories unless the GM and Player can work together as the story develops to elaborate on that barbarian's history.

If you are a Player reading these rules, take a moment to imagine what type of character you would like to play. Do you have answers for the 15 questions above?.

As a Player, you will probably use a piece of paper called a character sheet to keep track of the PC's skill and talent ratings, wealth, advancement tokens, inventory, and known recipes.

The GM will also need to imagine characters. NPCs are like "partial PCs" and often described by a few dominant skills and talents, as well as other information important to the story. For the sake of brevity, everything else is improvised by the GM.

A short description of an NPC can be helpful for the GM.

Caul the NPC Merchant

Caul the merchant is capable haggler, but might still be no match for an experienced PC. He has a booth in the small market square near the port. He sells potions: primarily antidotes for seasickness, hangover, scurvy, and "deckhand's fever". It is a rough part of town, but he finds the people-watching there amusing and relaxing.

Caul recently aquired a treasure map pointing to a location in the nearby mountains, but is unsure how much to sell it for.

Skills: Melee/Protect 1, Wrestle/Disarm 2, Perception/Escape 2, Identify/Lore 3, Bargain/Wonder 3, Disguise/Etiquette 1, Alchemy 2

Talents: Identifying potions has 2 skill

This sample description shows that the adventure's designer is not expecting Caul to be very significant in the story. The merchant is described with just enough detail to help the GM improvise the rest of the character.

The GM should use NPCs to link locations in the story. In the example above, Caul's map links the port to the nearby mountains.

Locations in Star Wars

Consider the film A New Hope.

Obi-Wan links Tatooine to Alderaan. Vader links Alderaan to the Death Star. Leia links the Death Star to Yavin IV.

Increasing Skills and Talents

As the PC adventures, he or she develops greater skills and talents, and becomes capable of attempting greater challenges.

Adventures will contain many significant objectives: the PC uses an important clue, makes an important ally, reaches an important location, wins an important fight, etc. Whenever a PC successfully completes one of these accomplishments, he or she receives as a reward an advancement token. The GM may also reward unusually great moments of Player creativity or role-playing with extra advancement tokens.

Advancement tokens can be physical tokens or just a tally mark recorded on paper. They are used to increase skill or talent ratings. They may be saved up, spent during an adventure, or spent between adventures.

Increasing a skill or talent to the next higher rating costs as many advancement tokens as the new rating. A talent's rating can never exceed the corresponding skill's rating.

Skill Checks

During the story most situations have trivial difficulty. Skill use is automatically successful and not even mentioned by the GM or Player. A PC does not need to formally use the Acrobatcs skill to jump a short distance, use the Animals skill to calmly ride a pet horse, or use the Perception skill to notice obvious features and items in a room.

Appraising a Normal Sword

GM: The blacksmith shows Vroy a display case with swords for sale. Which does he want to inspect?

Player: Vroy looks at his second-favorite. What does he think it is worth?

GM: Although it looks nice, and the metal seems high quality, it has poor balance. Perhaps 200 coins.

The sword is not magical or unusual. Vroy is a warrior who has experience with swords. The appraisal automatical succeeds.

What happens when there is a chance of failure?

First the GM should affirm that a failure could be interesting in the story. The GM should ask the Player for help with brainstorming if needed. What could go wrong if the PC does not successfully impersonate a bandit when visiting their camp? When the PC visits several seedy taverns to ask about a smuggler, who might overhear and care? If the PC cannot open a certain door in the evil wizard's tower by breaking it down or picking the lock, where might the wizard have hidden a key?

Then the GM and Player roll dice to check if the action is successful.

Skill Check Difficulty and Dice

The GM secretly picks one of three difficulties for the action: easy, medium, or tough.

A single obstacle can have multiple difficulties based on which skill the PC uses. That door in the wizard's tower might be a very hard wood (tough to cut through with an axe using Melee), standard hinges (medium to break with a crowbar using Wrestle), and a simple lock (easy to pick using Machinery).

Nine Powers uses a traditional set of six polyhedral dice.

The Player rolls as many different dice as the appropriate skill rating. The hope is to roll low numbers, so the dice with the fewest sides are picked first.

This group of one or more dice is called the dice pool for that skill check.

Skill Rating 1 one die	Skill Rating 2 two dice	Skill Rating 3 three dice	Skill Rating 4 four dice

(The four pictures above are what happens normally. Special rules below can allow a Player to roll more than four dice for a skill check, or can make certain die sizes ineligible for a particular skill check.)

If any die rolls a 3 or less then the PC succeeds with a skill check of easy difficulty.

If any die rolls a 2 or less then the PC succeeds with a skill check of medium difficulty.

If any die rolls a 1 then the PC succeeds with a skill check of tough difficulty.

Notice that only one die needs to be low enough.

There is no arithmetic in skill checks! Simply pick an appropriate skill, roll the proper number of dice, and identify the lowest value rolled.

Appraising a Magic Sword

GM: The enchanter shows Vroy a display case with magic swords for sale. "Try holding this one, which has a simple enchantment that keeps it sharp and unbreakable."

Player: Vroy gently hefts the sword. What does he think it is worth?

GM: Vroy does not have much experience with magic swords. Make an Identify skll check.

The GM decides this skill check has easy difficulty.

Vroy's Identify skill rating is 2. So the Player rolls 2 dice: the four-sided and six-sided. The lowest number rolled is 3, which is low enough to succeed against weak difficulty.

GM: The metal seems high quality, and the sword has good balance. The enchantment is probably worth 100 coins. So a total price of 500 coins.

Some skill checks are reactive. Those types of skill checks are called avoidance checks.

Eluding a Dart Trap

Player: Loot! Vroy opens the treasure chest.

GM: The chest is trapped. A dart flies out from inside.

Player: Ack!

GM: Roll an Acrobatics avoidance check.

Vroy's Acrobatics skill rating is 3. So the Player rolls 3 dice: the four-sided, six-sided, and eight-sided dice. The lowest number rolled is 1, which would be successful at any difficulty.

GM: Vroy's quick reflexes save him. The dart flies past his ear and sticks into a wall.

The Wrestle skill can represent the bodily fortitude needed to resist a poison. The Wonder skill can measure the mental resiliance needed to avoid being magically charmed. The Etiquette skill can show the social graces needed to avoid harm from a slandrous rumor. The Perception skill can rate the passive awareness needed to notice a trap before it is triggered.

Some dangers cannot be completely avoided, and a successful skill check only lessens the harm. For example, an avalanche might hurt all characters caught within it, but those with high enough Acrobatics or Escape suffer much less harm.

Bonus and Penalty

Characters can benefit from finding an approach that raises their chances.

Design Notes

What is the chance for success when each skill rating attempts a skill check?

At skill rating 1, easy is 75%, medium is 50%, and hard is 25%.

At skill rating 2, easy is 88%, medium is 67%, and hard is 38%.

At skill rating 3, easy is 92%, medium is 75%, and hard is 45%.

At skill rating 4, easy is 95%, medium is 80%, and hard is 51%.

These dice mechanics feel fun. Studies have shown that when people say they want a fifty-fifty chance to win in a recrational game, they really are happy with a two-thirds chance of winning. A skill rating of 2 attempting a medium skill check feels fair because it feels like a coin flip situation, but has the psychologically desirable chance to win.

Also note that the expected value of a skill check is usually highest for medium difficulty. But if a character has a dice pool of 5 or 6 dice then the tough difficulty becomes equally optimal.

Maybe the suspicious guard allows almost anyone wearing noble's clothing to pass. Maybe the novice minstrel's music is delightfully improved when she plays a magic lute. Maybe the sage cannot recall a needed piece of information from memory, but might find it in a certain rare book, or if he had access to the royal library. Maybe the machinist cannot repair the ancient device with her traveling toolbox, but probably could if she brought it back to her workshop.

A benefitial circumstance, item, or enchantment can make a skill check's dice pool include one more die than normal. This is called a small bonus. For example, if the appropriate skill rating was already 4, a small bonus would allow the dice pool to also include the twelve-sided die.

Multiple benefits that work together can make a skill check's dice pool include two more die than normal. This is called a big bonus. If the appropriate skill rating was already 4, a big bonus would allow the dice pool to also include the twelve-sided and twenty-sided dice.

Similarly, unfavorable circumstances or using improvised equipment can make a skill check's dice pool use one or two dice fewer than normal. This is called a small penalty or a big penalty.

Bonuses or penalties can not make a dice pool smaller than one die, or larger than six dice.

Degrees of Success

Some challenges degrees of success, with harder difficulties representing superior results.

Degrees of Success

GM: As Siron approaches the rubble the slime on its surface flows together to form a humanoid shape that blocks his way.

Player: What does Siron know about this kind of creature? Roll using Siron's Lore skill?

GM: Yes.

Siron's Lore skill rating is 3. So the Player rolls 3 dice: the four-sided, six-sided, and eight-sided dice. The lowest number rolled is 2.

The GM's reply is based upon the difficulty achieved by the Player's die roll.

• Easy - The creature is an ooze of dangerous size. Oozes can be intelligent. Besides attacking, perhaps the PC can intimidate or appease it.
• Medium - The five traditional ways to attack oozes are by cutting, bludgeoning, burning, freezing, or splashing with salt water. These might cause damage, do nothing, or cause the creature to split into two smaller oozes.
• Tough - This particular ooze is called a "butterscotch jelly". It is vulnerable to salt water and bludgeoning. Do not try burning it, or it will divide. Cutting or freezing do nothing.

GM: The creature is an ooze of dangerous size. Oozes can be intelligent. Besides attacking, perhaps Siron can intimidate or appease it? Also, the five traditional ways to attack oozes are by cutting, bludgeoning, burning, freezing, or splashing with salt water. These might cause damage, do nothing, or cause the creature to split into two smaller oozes. For this particular ooze ou do not know which types of attack cause which results.

A character who fails a skill check need not give up and go home! Often the character can find another plan that allows success.

As mentioned above, the character might be able to try again using a different skill. For example, a character who could not pick a door's lock could next try to force it open with a crowbar or hack it down with an axe.

Skill Contests

When important struggles, obstacles, complications, contests, and combats have uncertainty about the outcome, the story needs a slower and more suspenseful way to resolve what happens.

Skill Contests allows multiple characters to take turns using their skills to compete for their desired outcome.

Each skill contest happens in rounds. In each round:

• The GM and Player determine the order in which the characters will act.
• Characters simultaneously declare their intentions, including which skill they are using.
• Characters take turns making skill checks to determine if they succeed with their intention.

A skill contest could be a combat where two characters duel with swords until one resigns.

A skill contest could be an argument where many characters plead with a queen to grant their request.

A skill contest could be a character trying to sneak past many bandits to get to the bandit leader's tent.

(We will soon see some detailed examples.)

Order and Turns

The first part of each round involves deciding the order in which characters will take turns that round.

In what order do they act?

Often either the PCs or NPCs clearly initiated the skill contest. During the first round those characters go first. They started the haggling, leapt from ambush, etc.

In future rounds (and in the first round if no characters acted with initiative) take turns by following these priorities:

• The character(s) who have caused the most damage go first. (They have momentum, and everyone else is reacting to them.)
• For other characters, the skill summary is ordered from quickest actions down to slowest actions. (Using the Shoot/Throw skill is slightly faster than using the Acrobatics/Climb skill.)
• Characters who are using the same skill will act simultaneously. Do all their skill checks before any damage is applied.

Now everyone is aware who gets to act first. But before characters resolve their turns, they all declare what they will be trying to do.

When the PC is interacting with NPCs the Player should describes the PC's intentions, not actions.

Usually the PC's plans or desires are immediately successful: they could just as well have been phrased as actions. But assuming success is actually crowding out the GM's turn. Describing intentions provides the GM with opportunities to inject details and complications. Furthermore, intentions are easy to word in exciting and realistic phrasing with details that can make the story more interesting.

For example, during an archery contest the Player expects the PC will use the Shoot skill. But the GM has information that the PC lacks. That action gets interrupted.

A Crooked Archery Contest (Version 1)

GM: It is Boxley's turn in the archery contest.

Player: Boxley politely smiles at her opponent as she calmly looses an arrow at the target.

GM: As Boxley sets the arrow to the string she notices her opponent is attempting to switch arrows unnoticed.

Player: Boxley lowers her bow and frowns at the cheater.

The story would have more flow if the Player had described an intention, not a completed action.

A Crooked Archery Contest (Version 2)

GM: It is Boxley's turn in the archery contest.

Player: Boxley politely smiles at her opponent as she calmly aims her arrow at the target. This will be an easy shot.

GM: As Boxley sets the arrow to the string she notices her opponent is attempting to switch arrows unnoticed.

Player: Boxley lowers her bow and frowns at the cheater.

Similarly, the Player knows things about the PC that the GM does not. Since both the GM and Player have kinds of unique knowledge, they should both ask each other questions and be aware of speaking with intentions.

A Crooked Archery Contest (Continued)

Player: Boxley looks at the new arrow, to check if it seems unusual or enchanted.

GM: Does she have any experience with the different types of arrowheads used by the northern barbarians?

Player: She does not. So Boxley tries to look happily excited. "That looks like a neat arrow. May I?" She holds out her hand to accept it.

GM: Her opponent mumbles, "Sorry, only fiddling to pass the time" and begins to put that arrow back in his quiver.

Note that questions are not intentions. Players often ask the GM questions about the PC's observations, hunches, and knowledge of the game world. The GM might not answer these questions, but it cannot hurt to ask. Asking a question does not "use up" the character's turn.

"What does my character see?"

"Does my character remember if these creatures can climb trees?"

"What does my character think is a fair price for selling the gem?"

"Does my character think he could defeat both of them without getting wounded?"

"Does this merchant seem trustworthy?"

"What does my character think are his best options?"

Similarly, the GM often asks the Player questions about the PC's background, clothing and equipment, bearing and demeanor, and other details that might influence how NPCs react to the PC.

Stamina, Armor, and Heroism

Before describing rounds and turns in more detail, we must define three measurements of how well a character is doing during the skill contest.

A character's stamina measures how solidly that character is "still in the fight". Its decrease might represent being wounded during combat, being shamed in a social situation, or being noticeable when sneaking. When a character's stamina reaches zero, that character is defeated.

(During a physical skill contest stamina actually represents energy and health. During a social skill contest it is less literal, and represents who is making the most convincing points in an argument, gaining momenum during a debate, most successfully haggling, etc.)

Most characters start a skill contest with 6 stamina. (Huge and tough monsters might start with more stamina.)

A character's dice pool size is limited to be no bigger than the character's current stamina.

Thus a character attempting to use a skill whose rating is 4 will initially roll four dice as described above, and having stamina reduced to 5 or 4 would not change that. However, that character would be forced to roll fewer dice when their stamina is reduced to 3 or lower, as they near defeat.

A character whose dice pool has 5 or 6 dice (due to a small or big bonus) would be limited by stamina more quickly.

A character's armor is only used during combat. It acts as a buffer that opponents must usually reduce first with damage before that character's stamina becomes vulnerable.

(The GM and Player can also agree use an equivalent to armor during social skill contests. Perhaps a character's "reputation" means that during an oratory contest the audience is very willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps a character's "fame" means that when haggling over prices the local merchants are less stubborn about getting the best deal. These can work exactly the same way as armor does during combat.)

A character's heroism has two uses. Note that only PCs have and use heroism: it is what sets them apart from NPCs. Heroism helps explain why some villagers would be justifiably terrified of a dragon's breath or a witch's cursed touch, but the PCs expect to be able to avoid such dangers.

Heroism can be used during combat with monsters to automatically avoid many special things monsters can do (breathing fire, trampling, etc.). See the monster descriptions for examples.

Heroism can also be used to provide a PC with a flashback about how the PC prepared for a situation. This flashback can explain why the PC has a certain item and/or allow a big bonus on a die roll. Flashbacks cannot rewind time and must make sense within the story.

Design Notes

I only learned about the RPG named Blades in the Dark in 2023. That game has a few examples of parallel invention.

As personal preferences, I like my interplay of armor, stamina, and bypassing armor more than the simple "clocks" used by Blades in the Dark. I also prefer my storytelling flow of taking turns describing intentions to the Blades in the Dark storyboarding flow of collaborating to describe versions of a scene with the dice determining which version actualizes.

Skill checks in both games lack arithmetic. My skill checks are more kid-friendly because the percentages provide more successes, and because young GMs are not asked to frequently improvise consequences for a "mixed success". My setting is also more kid-friendly.

Blades in the Dark did make me realize I needed to formalize how often Players could use flashbacks, and what benefits flashbacks could provide. So I give credit where it is due!

A PC that wants to bribe a noblewoman could have a flashback about asking a servant about that noblewoman's favorite wine. A PC that wants to open a corrupt merchant's safe could have a flashback about an earlier conversation with the locksmith who sold that merchant the safe, justifying why the PC now has the very best lockpicks for the task. A PC who has been visiting a town for a few days and is about to fight the evil baron could have a flashback about paying one of the baron's servants to sabotage the straps on the baron's armor to make the baron more vulnerable during the fight.

Flashbacks allow young Players to start adventuring without needing to brainstorm and describe preparations that may be beyond their experience. Flashbacks allow Players who love action to get right into the action, knowing they can describe their earlier preparations when needed.

As the examples above show, flashbacks work best with when the story is set in a village, town, or city. A PC in an unexplored dungeon will have a more difficult time creating a flashback that sensibly describes how he or she prepared for its unknown dangers!

People determine their armor and heroism ratings from the table below. A sturdier armor type provides more armor to resist normal damage, but its weight does not allow as much heroism. A heavily armored character does better when fighting people, but worse when needing to avoid a monster's special abilities.

Use this table as a guideline for armor for a fantasy setting, knowing characters might wear armor piecemeal, or use less traditional types of armor. (Feel free to create your own armor table for other settings!) The table's final column uses the term "impact" which will be described in the economic rules.

Characters may also wield a shield, which grants +1 armor and −1 heroism. This can be much more affordable than buying better armor. A wooden shield costs 10 silver coins. A metal shield costs 160 silver coins.

Damage and Defeat

Now we can return to our description of rounds and turns.

During a character's turn, a skill check is used to try to reduce an opponent's stamina.

(If the skill contest is a combat, the character will probably reduce an opponent's armor first.)

The Player whose turn it is will pick whether the character makes a easy, medium, or tough skill check using the skill rating appropriate for how he or she described the character's intention.

• An easy skill check attempts to do 1 damage.
• A medium skill check attempts to do 2 damage.
• A tough skill check attempts to do 3 damage.

Design Note

Notice this huge change!

When not in a contest, the situation determines whether the skill check is easy, medium, or tough. A higher degree of success might accomplish more.

But in a contest the Player picks the difficulty, and can only accomplishes that much.

Remember that only one die needs to roll a low enough number for skill check is successful.

During a contest, picking to attempt an easy skill check means you are very likely to succeed, but will not accomplish much. In contrast, picking to attempt an difficult skill check means you might accomplish a lot but your bigger effort telegraphs your intentions in a manner that your opponent might more easily avoid.

Dice that roll 1s are special! Not only do they allow success with a tough skill check, but when rolling to deal damage each die that rolls a 1 potentially allows a point of damage to bypass armor and reduce stamina directly.

Vroy's Swordplay

GM: The zombie shambles towards Vroy. What does he do?

Player: No sense trying to talk to this thing. Vroy draws his sword and attacks, attempting a medium strike.

GM: You are quicker, and get the first blow.

Vroy's Melee skill rating is 4. The Player rolls 4 dice: the four-sided, six-sided, eight-sided, and ten-sided dice. The lowest number rolled is 2, which succeeds in a medium skill check.

GM: You connect, but the zombie's brigandine tunic absorbs the blow. It tries to claw you...

The GM decides the zombie is attempting a medium strike. The zombie's Melee skill rating is 3. The GM rolls 3 dice: the four-sided, six-sided, and eight-sided dice. The lowest number rolled is 3, which fails a medium skill check.

GM: ...and misses.

Player: Vroy swings again. Another medium strike.

The Player again rolls 4 dice, and this time rolls a 1, 1, 2, and 5. The fact that the lowest number rolled is 2 or mess means Vroy succeeds in a medium skill check and dealt 2 damage. Moreover, rolling two 1s means both of those points of damage bypass the zombie's remaining armor and reduce the monster's stamina.

Player: Nice! Vroy manages to drive his blade into a joint of the zombie's armor. Take that!

GM: The zombie reels, and is now unsteady.

The GM had decided the zombie was a wimpy monster with only 4 starting stamina. With its current stamina reduced to 4 − 2 = 2, the zombie is now limited to only using the four-sided and six-sided dice for its dice pools.

Experienced GMs and Players have practice describing damage in interesting ways.

Damage during a combat can represent injuries, being breifly dazed or shaken or stunned, getting knocked down or pushed back, having equipment to crack or break, being disarmed or grabbed, or being forced into an unfavorable positioning.

During a social situation damage can represent speaking clumsily, getting distracted or disoriented, being caught using an exaggeration or lie or staw-man argument, getting caught going off on a tangent, or being ridiculed.

Experienced GMs and Players embrace how these game mechanics help the story flow. They provide a sanctuary for creativity. Want your PC to jump from a rooftop onto a guard, or swing from a rope to knock a monster to the ground? No one will challenge that idea, say it is unfair, or stop the storytelling to calculate how much damage happens. Your creativity is safe because the game mechanics frame it fairly: those ideas sound like tough die rolls that might cause maximum damage! Want your PC to consort with the city's gondoliers to learn the travel habits of the evil prince? The story will continue with a fast and fun pace, since your creative use of Etiquette need not be justified or defended.

After the skill contest ends the PCs involved regain two points each of stamina, heroism, and armor as they catch their breath, get back to their feet, deal with scrapes and bruises, readjust armor, etc.

The rest of the PCs reduction in stamina, heroism and armor represents more lasting problems. These problems may have been described during the skill contest. Or perhaps, after the struggle ends, the PC notices he or she is bleeding or limping, or sees that his or her armor was damage much worse that he or she realized.

This damage is temporary. To keep the story moving quickly, it will always be healed when the PCs get somewhere completely secure, have a good night's sleep, or can otherwise fully recover in safety. Only a defeat causes a truly serious and enduring problem, as described below.

However, that temporary reduction in stamina, heroism and armor does threaten to make the PC's upcoming skill contests more dangerous. More recovery can happen quickly—often immediately—if the Player is willing to pay a price.

For each additional point of stamina or armor regained quickly the PC spends 10 silver coins and describes how they rest and eat, used some healing herbs, patched up clothing or armor with the proper materials, pray for heroic fortitude and vigor, etc.

Extra heroism cannot be regained by spending silver coins.

The rules above are for PCs. Monsters can have more stamina and/or armor. Monsters can do more damage with each successful easy, medium, or tough skil check. Huge and tough monsters can withstand much more harm than a PC! Three points of damage per hit is not the limit for monsters!

A character that loses a skill contest by having stamina reduced to zero is defeated.

The victor usually chooses what defeat looks like in the story.

For example, a wrestler could say he securely pinned his foe, or that his foe was disarmed and became exhausted, or his foe was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head, or his foe was killed by asphyxiation.

A swordswoman could say she backed her foe against a wall with the sword point touching her foe's neck, or struck down her foe until the opponent was too beat up to rise, or she slew her foe with a thrust through the heart.

The GM always has the option of deciding most of what defeat looks like. The GM has more detailed plans for how the story will develop, and is therefore allowed to use defeats to guide the plot in a desired direction.

Siron's Defeat

Player: Siron fires an arrow at the bandit.

GM: The bandit screams as the arrow hits. Unfortunately he is not alone, and his friend is both sneaky and wielding an enchanted mace. Does Siron do or say anything as he slumps to the ground, losing consciousness?

The PC was defeated by a stealthy melee attack. Given that this happened, the GM has a strong preference for how the story should continune.

Player: Only "Oof!"

GM: Siron wakes up in a dark room. His feet are tied, and he has a huge lump on his head.

Perhaps Siron's circumstances would have changed if he had insulted, plead with, or sleep-gassed the nearby bandits as he lost consciousness.

A defeat should not abort or trivialize the story's development. It would be an awful story if the defeat of the first villanous minion let the PC learn all about the main villain's identity, plans, weaknesses, and secret lair. Similarly, it would be an awful story if the Player's first foolhardy decision caused the PC to die.

Memorable defeats make memorable stories.

When a PC is defeated, he or she usually acquires some enduring limitation that requires effort in the story to remove or cure. This happens even if that PC has allies that end up winning the skill contest. (If you are humiliated in a debate, or knocked unconscious during combat, there can be lasting consequences even if your friends do well in that situation.)

A defeated character might have lasting wounds after a fight, enduring ridicule from townsfolk, chill after swimming in icy water, nausea after falling into sewer sludge, equipment taken away by the bandits who captured him or her, and so on. Such limitations can often be represented by a lower starting stamina (either in combat or in certain social situations) or changes to the character's inventory.

In some situations the GM decides a skill contest ends before any participants are reduced to zero stamina. Perhaps the wounded lizardfolk flee, the haughty noble realizes he should apologize for starting a public argument, the haggling merchant agrees to a compromise, or in some other way the situation resolves in favor of the characters who were winning.

Notice that contests may theoretically end in a draw. Characters that do not clearly have initiative from narrative reasons and choose to use the same skill will cause damage simultaenously, and can both reduce the other's stamina to zero.

The numbers above encourage descriptive storytelling about heroic PCs. If your setting is especially dangerous and gritty then PCs should have lower maximum stamina and heroism, and perhaps restrictions on when and where they can spend coins to to recover additional points of stamina or armor.

Pacing

Both the GM and Players should be intentional with verbosity. They can include all sorts of details that do not affect a situation's outcome. This slows down the pace of the story, which can be done well to create a dramatic effect or done badly (which can be annoying).

Archery without Details

Player: Boxley cautiously fires an arrow at the highwaymen from her hiding place behind the wagon.

Succinct and sufficient. There is nothing especially right or wrong about using few words.

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Archery with Steps

Player: Boxley cautiously fires an arrow at the highwaymen. She readies an arrow, leans from her hiding place behind the wagon, selects a target, aims carefully, shoots the arrow, and ducks back behind cover.

Verbose but not boring. When the situation is suspenseful the Player often slowly states a series of steps to provide the GM opportunity to interrupt if the bad guys do something unexpected.

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Archery with Extra Actions

Player: Boxley quickly looks at the highwaymen from her hiding place behind the wagon, hollering, "Head down, Friar!" She touches her lucky rabbit foot and prays for luck before drawing her arrow. "Your mother stinks of gooseberry!" she yells as she fires an arrow at the nearest enemy.

Saying so many actions in one rush implies only the shooting can actually affect the situation. If rubbing the rabbit foot caused a magic effect, or if Boxley's insult could demoralize the enemy, the Player should slow down so each was resolved before the next is mentioned.

Note that outside of skill contests, the Player can carry the story forward without the GM when the PC is alone, in a familiar place, or doing trivial tasks. For example, the Player might talk at length about how the PC is at home alone, selecting equipment to take into a dungeon, working at an alchemy table to prepare some useful potions, and packing everything carefully.

Remember to only used skill contests when there is a meaningful situation that involves genuine competition, contest or struggle whose outcome could be victory or defeat.

A character who wants to kill an unconscious or bound prisoner with a weapon can almost always do so quickly and easily. A customer at the shop can buy a backpack without haggling. A witty and honey-tongued princess can insult uncharismatic visiting nobles all afternoon without effort.

Even combat does not always warrant skill contests.

The Player can keep talking without GM involvement when the PC doing tasks whose outcome is certain.

Icky Yet Trivial

GM: Vroy falls down the pit, and lands amidst a bunch of hungry giant snails.

Player: Has Vroy heard of such creatures? How dangerous are they?

GM: They are as long as his forearm, but move very slowly. He can easily avoid their bites.

Player: Ick. Vroy kills them all.

GM: Okay.

A good GM will use verbosity with purpose. The GM will slow down the pace by providing more detail when the PC has the luxury of slowly looking around and thinking. The GM will foster a sense of urgency when the action is rushed by sharing less detail and concluding with phrases such as "What is your character doing?" or "How does your character react?"

Combat Without a Skill Contest

Player: Siron smiles at the thug. "I mean no harm."

GM: The thug draws his sword and rushes towards Siron. How does Siron react?

Player: Siron can't question a corpse. He wants to subdue this thug but not kill him. So he moves into a compact stance, ready to disarm. He hopes to gague his opponent's strength and skill, then disarm.

GM: The thug's swings are forceful but not skilled. Siron parries two blows, and on the third has an opportunity to disarm.

Player: Siron knocks away the thug's sword. "Who sent you? Why did they not tell you that I am the finest swordsman in the city?" He shrugs, a bit slowly, to show he is so unafraid of the thug that he can make that gesture during a swordfight.

GM: The thug looks down at his blade, then up at Siron's eyes. He tries to grab at Siron's arm. The thug is definitely less skilled but stronger. What does Siron do?

Notice how the GM and Player both used details to make the story more fun. They both gave each other enough to build off of. The scene could be interesting and exciting without a skill contest.

Nine Powers is designed to excel as introduction to role-playing games, and as a kid-friendly storytelling game. So it puts the burden of carrying the story forward on the GM, who hopefully has experience and maturity. The GM and Player could instead more equally share of the burden of carrying the story forward, with the Player describing PC actions (not only intentions) and even NPC actions. This requires both to have flexibility, initiative, and comfort in trusting the story to flow synergistically.

A Player Carrying the Story Forward

Player: Siron smiles at the thug. "I mean no harm."

GM: The thug draws his sword and rushes towards Siron. How does Siron react?

Player: Is Siron a vastly better swordsman?

GM: Definitely. That is obvious just from how the thug moves and holds his sword.

Player: Siron's smile broadens. "Oh, please!" he groans. He parries one or two of the thug's swings, then knocks away the thug's sword. "Who sent you? Why did they not tell you that I am the finest swordsman in the city?" He shrugs slowly, showing a lot of teeth.

GM: Okay. The thug is about to grapple, foolishly trusting in his greater strength. Fanaticism shines in his eyes. What does Siron do?

Player: Siron sighs. He stabs the thug in one knee. "I am losing patience." He stabs the thug in the other knee. "I am out of patience." As the thug falls to the ground, Siron holds his sword lightly against the thug's throat. "Who sent you?"

The GM never resolved skill use. The Player knew enough information to make those decisions, and "stole" that role from the GM. This works fine if both the GM and Player want that type of story telling.

As a final note about story pacing, remember that the time it takes a character to use an item could span different amounts of GM and Player speech. Slow tasks that happen without any problem when the story is moving slowly could span several turns if the story switches to a hectic skill contest. Without urgency a character might have no worries while picking a tricky lock, repairing worn-out machinery, setting up a trap, climbing a high wall, bandaging a hurt ally, or crossing a large pile of rubble. But those actions might span several rounds of a skill contest.

Example Skill Contests

Example of Fast-Talking

Vroy wants to get into a castle. He knows the guards do not normally let in anyone who does not have an appointment with a member of the royal family.

(Notice that nothing inherent to fast-talking a guard means that a skill contest is needed. This example situation must be important to the story to deserve a skill contest instead of simply using a skill check.)

Vroy Fast-Talks a Castle Guard

GM: The guard watches Vroy approach. He says "Good day" without a smile.

Player: Vroy replies, "I wish it were. The prince summoned me to discuss the city's wererat problem. However, I lost his letter."

The first round beings. Vroy wants to enter the castle. The guard wants to require proof of an appointment. Both will use the Bargain/Wonder skill. Vroy will take his turn first since he initiated the conversation.

Vroy has a Bargain/Wonder skill rating of 2. The Player will roll two dice, saying Vroy decides to attempt an easy skill check. The dice roll a 4 and 3. This counts as success because one die rolled 3 or less. The guard's stamina is reduced by 1 (because of the easy skill check), from 6 to 5.

GM: The guard is slightly flustered, but frowns. "No entrance without the letter. Pay an official courier to ask for another. Or perhaps His Highness will hire a more responsible adventurer." The guard stands straighter, hoping the solidity of his presence causes Vroy to leave.

The guard also has a Bargain/Wonder skill rating of 2. The GM rolls two dice, and attempts a medium skill check. The dice roll 2 and 5. Success with at least one die 2 or less. Now Vroy's stamina is reduced by 2 (because of the medium skill check), from 6 to 4.

Player: Vroy pauses a moment to collect his thoughts, then continues talking...

The second round begins. Both characters continue using the Bargain/Wonder skill. The guard has caused more damage, so it goes first.

GM: The guard interrupts. "Really, sir. Please abide by the rules."

The guard rolls poorly. No damage.

Player: Vroy acts shocked. "Pay a courier? You want me to pay to risk my neck fighting wererats? Hmph. I think I will offer my blade to another city that takes its monster infestations more seriously! Perhaps tomorrow His Highness will ask his royal guards to explore the sewers?" (Hopefully that's a strong argument in my favor!)

Vroy still has a Bargain/Wonder skill rating of 2. (It is not yet reduced since Vroy's stamina is still greater.) The Player once again rolls a two dice, this time attempting a tough skill check. Success, with at least one die rolling 1! The guard suffers three damage from the tough skill check, and his staimina is reduced to 2. The GM decides this is sufficient progress to end the contest.

GM: The guard looks abashed. "Sorry, sir. You speak truly. Go on in, sir. Better you than me in the sewers."

As always, circumstances, items, and enchantments might change the size of the skill check's dice pool.

Perhaps Vroy had a magic hat of mesmerizing glibness? Perhaps the guard's best friend was recently slain by a wererat? Either might have influenced the contest favorably for Vroy and increased his dice pool.

Perhaps Vroy is inebriated? Perhaps the gate guards were recently reprimanded for lack of strictness? Either might have influenced the contest unfavorably for Vroy and decreased his dice pool.

Example of Combat

Boxley has been hired to deal with a giant lizard that has been eating a village's sheep. After talking to a few villagers and tracking the monster into the forest, she has finally found the small cave that is its lair. She draws her sword and enters the cave, quietly stepping over the rocks and bones on the ground. The lizard was resting in the back of the shallow cave, but lifts its head as she enters.

Both Boxley and the giant lizard have the typical 6 stamina. Boxley wears soft leather armor (base armor value 1) and the higher of her Acrobatics and Protect skill ratings is 3, for a total of 4 armor. The giant lizard has thick hide (base armor value 2) and the higher of its Acrobatics and Protect skill ratings is 3, for a total of 5 armor. (The GM or Player may, of course, still describe those otherwise successful attacks blocked by armor as minor injuries or setbacks.)

For the sake of simplicity, the giant lizard does not have any special monster abilities, and so Boxley never spends heroism to avoid those.

Notice that neither the GM nor Player need to describe aloud which skill they intend to use that round, nor the difficulty of the attack. They certainly could say those aloud, but do not need to.

The character sheet has places to help track current armor and stamina, and the difficulty of the current skill attempt. Dried lentils work great as small objects to use as trackers.

Boxley and the Giant Lizard

GM: As Boxley steps into the shallow cave the giant lizard lifts its head.

The first round begins.

Player: Boxley studies the beast. How thick is its hide? Does it appear to have any weak points?

Boxley has a Perception skill rating of 4, so the Player rolls 4 dice. The Player is attempting a medium difficulty skill check. At least one die rolls 2 or less, so she is successful. The skill check was medium, so for the next two turns the Player's dice that roll 2 will also bypass armor.

GM: The lizard's scaly hide looks as tough as hardened leather armor, but is thinner under its neck. It stands and gets ready to charge you.

The second round begins. Both combatants decide to use the Melee skill with medium difficulty.

Player: Boxley yells as she rushes at the giant lizard, swinging her sword. If only she still had her bow!

Boxley has a Melee skill rating of 3, so the Player rolls 3 dice. The dice roll 1 and 4. At least one die rolls 2 or less, so she is successful with the medium attack. One die rolls a 1, so of the two points of damage from a medium skill check one bypasses the lizard's armor and reduces the lizard's stamina (now 5). The other damage reduces the lizard's armor (now 4).

GM: The lizard hisses as Boxley approaches. It tries to move past her, but her sword strikes it hard. Its thick hide absorbs most of the impact.

GM: The lizard bites at Boxley's leg...

The GM rolls for the lizard's atack: 1 damage to armor.

GM: ...but her armor protects her.

The third round begins. Both combatants continues to use the Melee skill with medium difficulty.

Player: If it is holding onto her leg, Boxley kicks at its head.

GM: Go ahead!

The Player again rolls 3 dice. The dice roll 2 and 2. Because of the previously successful Perception skill check, both of these bypass armor and reduce the lizard's stamina (now 3).

GM: It shrieks as Boxley strikes it! She kicks very hard into the softness of its front armpit, badly injuring that front leg.

The GM rolls for the lizard's atack, which fails.

GM: It tries biting her, but is moving awkwardly and she easily steps back to safety.

The fourth round begins. Boxley continues to use the Melee skill with medium difficulty. The giant lizard will switch to using the Wrestle skill with easy difficulty.

Player: Does it look ready to charge at Boxley?

GM: No, it seems to be trying to get past Boxley to leave the small cave. It makes a half-hearted attempt at a second bite, but scurries closer to the cave entrance.

Player: Boxley growls, "No running away!" as she swings again. "I am in no mood to track you again. Feel my steel!" She aims for one of its hind legs.

The Player again rolls 3 dice. The dice roll 2 and 5. The benefit from the earlier Perception skill check has ended. At least one die rolls 2 or less, so she is successful with the medium attack, causing 2 damage to the lizard's armor (now 2).

GM: She manages to lunge forward a hit a hind leg. But the creature can still walk. The beast turns on her.

The GM rolls for the lizard's atack. The lizard has a Wrestle skill rating of 4, but with only 3 current stamina the lizard is limited to a dice pool of only 3 dice. At least one die rolls 3 or less, so it is successful with the easy skill check and applies 1 wrestling effect. The GM picks reducing Boxley's movement rate.

GM: Once outside where it has more room, the giant lizard turns to face Boxley and with surprising speed lunges at her leg. It clamps down on her knee and twists, trying to pull her to the ground. Boxley will have trouble moving quickly for a while.

Player: Yikes! Boxley falls to the ground. That knee made an unpleasant noise, too. She is breathing heavily. She gets up onto one knee, preparing to stab with her blade.

This combat is not over. Will Boxley slay the lizard?

Notice how both the GM and Player contributed to describe the giant lizard's successful Wrestle attack.

Automating the GM

Link to the Nine Powers GM Automation Spreadsheet until it is finalized enough to incorportate as SHTML.

I made a first video demonstrating solo play.

Story Preparation

Write about the structure and how to use "Map the Story" section of the spreadsheet to quickly build such a structure.

Write about the structural importance of factions and a mostly hidden BBEG group.

For now I made a junky video about using the spreadsheet to help map out a story, to help us imagine how and where a few NPCs would interact in the near future if the PC was not involved.

GM Decisions

Monster Behavior

Point out how and why the monster page gives every example monster interesting things to do when the four-, six-, or eight-sided dice roll a 1.

This includes what penalty conditions are and how/why they are used. When a tough attack succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die to determine a random location. Mark that location, and pick a skill category and description that fit the circumstances. Until enough rest happens and probably a small cost in silver coins for some remedy, all skills in that category get a small penalty. Any location marked twice signifies a big penalty instead of a small penalty. Each location mark must be healed with distinct time and silver coins. No location can be marked more than twice. Ta da! Minimal bookeeping, narrative sensibility, yet a tactical reason to attempt more tough attacks.

Example NPCs

Skill and Talent Descriptions

Certain skills mention distances, such as when Acrobatics is used for jumping. These distances can be meters or yards, or squares on a battlemap such as this classic vinyl version manufactured by Chessex.

Tangentially, these rules never mention how far a character can move during one turn of a skill contest. The GM and Players should aim for relaxed reasonableness with these decisions. If a battlemap is used, they should decide how many squares of movement each characters is allowed each turn, which might be based partially on that character's Acrobatics/Climb skill rating. (Hint: for most battlemaps 4 squares per turn works great.)

Skill Descriptions

Shoot/Throw

This skill is used for distance attacks. Shoot is used for bows, crossbows, and handheld devices created with Machinery. (Seige weapons are operated with Machinery instead of Shoot.) Throw is used for throwing either sharp or blunt objects.

As a rule of thumb, the distance a character can shoot a projectile without penalty is ten times his or her skill rating. The distance for throwing without penalty is four times the skill rating. Beyond this distance the attacker suffers a penalty.

Normally a character uses Shoot while stationary. Moving while shooting causes a penalty.

Acrobatics/Climb

This skill is used to safely and successfully jump, fall, roll, climb, etc. Acrobatics is used when moving along or onto horizontal surfaces. Climb is used when moving along or onto vertical surfaces.

Characters with greater skill rating can jump farther, fall safely from higher distances, and climb trickier surfaces. As a rule of thumb, at higher values a character can:

• make a standing long jump half as far as the rating
• make a running long jump as far as the rating
• make a standing high jump one-fourth as far as the rating
• safely fall three times as far as the rating

This skill is also used (actively and passively) to avoid threats or obstacles, such as diving away from an explosion, avoiding harm in a rockslide, or leaping from an out-of-control mount.

Compare Acrobatics skill ratings to find the victor when foot racing through a forest heavy with underbrush and branches, because coordination and strength are both required.

During skill contests, the Acrobatics/Climb skill can be used to devote a turn to defensive movement. Successful die rolls do not cause damage, but instead a successful die roll can completely negate the effects of one (easy), two (medium), or three (tough) attacks from opponents aimed at this character. (Without the corresponding talent these vetoes must be used before the acrobat's next turn.) It is harder to hurt someone ducking and leaping around the room!

Melee/Protect

Melee involves up-close combat focused on causing wounds. The skill can be used with punches, kicks, claws, bites, or stings as well as with sharp or blunt weapons.

Protect is used to intercept danger. When a character uses Protect, successful die rolls do not cause damage, but instead a successful die roll can completely negate the effects of one (easy), two (medium), or three (tough) attacks from opponents aimed at an ally within melee reach. (Without the corresponding talent these vetoes must be used before the protector's next turn.)

Wrestle/Disarm

Wrestle and Disarm are for attacks not focused on causing wounds, but instead attempting to restrain, reposition, or inconvenience an opponent. This usually requires having at least one hand free, but can also used with weapons that ensnare, such as a net, whip, mancatcher, or bolo.

When using the Wrestle/Disarm skill during combat, successful die rolls do not cause damage. Instead, for the wrestler may choose one (easy), two (medium), or three (tough) from among the five wrestling effects:

• the defender's movement rate is reduced by any number up to the Wrestle skill rating
• +1 bonus for the wrestler or allies try to hit that defender
• when the wrestler or allies harm that defender, each hit causes 1 damage
• the defender must succeed in Wrestle before it can use Melee against the wrestler
• −1 penalty when an ally of the defender attacks the wrestler

These effects represent how the wrestler can grab the opponent, hinder or control their movement, establish a dominant position, tire them out, and even use the opponent as a shield.

The chosen wrestling effect lasts one to three rounds, depending upon if the wrestler attempted an easy (1 turn), medium (2 turns), or tough (3 turns) skill check.

Remember how the usual small or big bonuses and penalties may only change a skill rating by at most +2 or −2? These wrestling effects can provide an additional +1 or −1. For example, a character that has the high ground, a magical weapon, and an ally grabbing an opponent will have a +3 bonus. A character that is demoralized, nauseous, and being restrained by an opponent will have a −3 penalty. However, an upper limit of 6 dice in the dice pool is a consequence of characters only having 6 stamina.

The Wrestle skill is also important as an estimate of the general physical strength of a character: a higher Wrestle skill rating denotes deeper reserves of physical endurance and greater ability to resist fatigue, poison, etc.

As a rule of thumb, a character can comfortably carry a backpack and other equipment weighing at total of fifteen times his or her skill rating (in kilograms) without penalizing physical skills such as Acrobatics and Dodge.

Compare Wrestle skill ratings to find the victor when foot racing on a clean track or street. Strength is much more important than coordination for those foot races.

Perception/Escape

Perception measures alertness, awareness, and attention to detail. It is almost always used passively to determine if a character who is not actively searching still notices something. Perception applies to all types of noticing, whether a tiny item carefully hidden in a room or a mystical plant growing somewhere in a large forest.

A character that is actively looking for an item is normally able to find it. A situation that would prevent success, such as a key hidden within the false bottom of a drawer, is better handled through role-playing than by consulting a numeric skill rating.

A character can use Perception during a skill contest to notice weaknesses in an opponent's defenses. For the next one, two, or three rounds of the skill contest (corresponding to a weak, medium, or tough attempt with Perception) any dice that roll 2s also count as bypassing the armor of the designated opponent.

Escape refers to noticing how to gain freedom from a diffiuclt situation. It could be escaping a physical confinement such as a trap or net. It could be escaping pursuit while fleeing down a busy street by noticing a timely opportunity to duck under a cart or through a doorway.

Some sources of confinement are not appropriate to the Escape skill. For example, a character stuck in locked manacles or a well-maintained wrestling hold cannot gain freedom simply by noticing something opportune.

The difficulty an Escape attempt is often the difficulty used to create the source of confinement: Wilderness for a snare, Machinery for a mechanical trap, Wrestle for a thrown net or a sloppy wrestling hold, Etiquette for a conversational trap, etc.

A character may use the Escape skill to flee a skill contest, but only if he or she suffered no damage that round and the previous round.

Stealth/Track

Stealth is used to hide, move quietly, walk tracelessly, use a disguise, or be physically sneaky in other ways. Stealth is also used for sleight of hand and pickpocketing.

The difficulty chosen for Stealth skill use determines the difficulty of passive Perception skill checks to notice the sneaking character, or Track skill checks to follow the sneaking character.

It is harder to be stealthy while moving. As a rule of thumb, moving at crawl is a big disadvantage, and creeping with barely any movement is a small disadvantage.

Track attempts to follow someone's trail, which often involves the same knowledge and tricks as Stealth. Trackers can follow a recent trail at one-fourth normal walking speed. A trail is "recent" for one day in relatively quiet places (such as a forest during a hot, dry week) or one hour in frequently distrubed places (such as a town square or a forest during a rainstorm).

As a rule of thumb, for each point the tracker's Track skill rating is higher than the target's Sneak skill rating, either double the tracking speed or add one more day or hour to the possible age of tracks that can be followed.

Identify/Lore

Identify refers to appraising valuable items, recognizing famous cultural artifacts, recalling which nobility owns certain jewelry, verifying the authenticity of a signature, and other situations of recalling information about a particular item.

Lore refers to knowledge of general helpful facts and cultural information: details about history, society, laws, notable families, religious practices, and so forth.

Either can help a character fabricate reasonable-sounding falsehoods.

A character may use Identify/Lore during a skill contest to recall useful information. If successful, all future dice pools used against that type of opponent include a twenty-sided die (weak Identify/Lore success), twelve-sided die (medium Identify/Lore success), or both (tough Identify/Lore success). The inclusion of these dice might mean the character gains no additional benefit from a small or big bonus.

Bargain/Wonder

Bargain is used to haggle over prices or otherwise steer a conflict of interests to a workable compromise. Usually the price is changed by 5% for each point the seller's skill rating is higher or lower than the buyer's.

Wonder measures the ability to produce practical attitudes and understandings through feeling the grandeur and drama inherent in a situation. Awe and amazement can be a form of thinking, and insight and wisdom can spring from encountering the indescribable.

Wonder also measures how resistant a character is to harmful magical mental influences.

A character may use Wonder during a skill contest to startle, intimidate, or awe an opponent using impressive solidity, energetic charisma, and stunning force of presence. For the next one, two, or three rounds of the skill contest (corresponding to a weak, medium, or tough attempt with Wonder) the designated opponent cannot use the four-sided dice in its dice pools. For example, if it was allowed to use three dice then the best it could do is use the six-sided, eight-sided, and ten-sided dice.

Disguise/Etiquette

Disguise measures a character's ability to impersonate someone else using a costume and mannerisms. This difficulty chosen for this skill use determines the difficulty for other characters to notice the disguise passively with their Perception skill.

Impersonting a general type of person can provide a bonus or penalty. It is easier for a Therion to disguise itself as a generic Therion merchant than the specific merchant who owns a popular shop. It is harder for a Therion to disguise itself as Kobalt.

Etiquette is used to successfully navigate social situations. It includes clarity in conversations, ease in making a good impression, smoothly dealing with unfamiliar cultures, skill at getting attention at parties, and success when gambling.

Animals/Wilderness

Animals applies to training, riding, taming, misdirecting, or caring for any animals, as well as maintenance of a riding animal's tack and other gear. Compare skill ratings to find the victor when racing on mounts of similar speed.

Wilderness applies to swiming, fishing, locating food, setting snares, navigation, and other tasks related to surviving in the outdoors, both above ground and underground.

As a rule of thumb, the skill rating in Wilderness measures the number of people for which that character can provide decent food and shelter.

Intuition/Hearthwork

Intuition refers to confidently reaching correct conclusions despite having neither the facts for logical deduction nor an encounter with sublime grandeur to provide awe-inspired wisdom. A practiced intuition includes both experience with accurate hunches and well-developed habits of calming the mind, looking at the big picture, and acting purposefully instead of reacting to circumstances. The skill of Intuition can also be used to instill a false sense of intuition in someone else by subtly planting ideas that the victim will mistake for his or her own insights and hunches.

A character may use Intuition during a skill contest to gain a useful hunch. For the next one, two, or three rounds of the skill contest (corresponding to a weak, medium, or tough attempt with Intuition) the Player decides whether that opponent will attempt a weak, medium, or tough skill check during the opponent's turn.

Hearthwork refers to skill in domestic situations, including cooking, sewing, child care, gardening, farming, and basic home repair and construction.

Runeblockery

Runeblockery is skill with casting spells by quickly assembling magical blocks (called runeblocks) into small stacks.

Runeblocks are described in detail below.

Crafting Descriptions

The final three skills are crafting skills used to make magic items. (In a modern or futuristic setting these "magic" items might instead be high-tech.)

Often the three crafting skills can create functionally equivalent items. A character that wants to fly could drink a flying potion, use a backpack-helicopter machine, or expend one charge of an embroidered enchanted cape.

Functionally equivalent magic items will have an identical monetary cost per use. However, the crafting skill used to create them will make the items distinct in many ways.

Here is a summary of the differences, before we look at details. (For now ignore the parenthetical remarks about ratings.)

With a recipe, a crafter can create a magic item if the magic item's total impact (minimum 1) is equal or less than the crafter's skill rating. No die roll is needed.

A die roll is required if the crafter does not have a recipe. Only items of impact 1, 2, or 3 may be improvised, with corresponding difficulty of easy, medium, or tough. This die roll suffers a big penalty. The penalty is reduced to a small penalty if the crafter has a prototype to reverse engineer. Success creates both the desired item and the new recipe. Failure often causes complications (anything from an explosion that requires hours to clean up to an animated object that attacks everyone!).

For all types of magical crafting some recipes are carefully guarded secrets, and a few recipes have effects considered illegal or taboo.

Characters should keep track of which recipes they know. Most new PCs with crafting skills know only a few common, inexpensive recipes. During adventures the PC will find new recipes. Thus the Player slowly gains options as the PC gains a different type of power than measured by skill or talent ratings.

(Most GMs and Players do not find it fun to actually detail the recipes and keep track of required ingredients. We want nifty magic powers, not mundane bookkeeping chores!)

If you are using these rules with a different setting, create other columns for the above table. What type of duration, area, and range would items have when created with the spaceship's nano-tech fabricator?

Consider that certain stories might focus on a crafting task. For example, a very powerful recipe might be too tricky to create without a rare location that is the goal of a quest, or a potent alchemical gas can only be made in the royal alchemy laboratory, or a uniquely powerful musing item can only be made where research and obscure equipment have proven three ley-lines converge.

Alchemy

Alchemy is an old, diverse, and widely-studied art whose history and recipes have flowed together from many cultures. Helpful potions are well-accepted everywhere. Healing potions have helped almost every family. Professional potion makers are respected unless their business practices are unethical or their prices are unusually high. Amateur potion makers are common.

The magic items created using the Alchemy skill are either bottled potions to drink, flasks thrown to release gasses, or goo spread on items to enhance or damage them. The alchemist must prepare them in a lab and store them in glass bottles. Throughout the adventure's perils the glass bottles must be kept intact.

A potion only affects its drinker. A flask releases a cloud of gas where it breaks. A goo only affects one item. After the drinking of a potion, breathing of a gas, or spreading of a goo the alchemical magic needs one minute to take effect. Harmful effects can be eluded with an avoidance check using one or more appropriate skills, such as using Acrobatics to move away, Wrestle to shrug off a poison, Perception to avoid entering a cloud of gas, or Wonder to resist being charmed.

Although flask making is as old and diverse as potion making, flasks are more threatening, so most places have laws that restrict or prohibit the crafting, purchasing, and/or owning of flasks. Amateur flask makers are rare.

Potions and flasks that heal or cure do so immediately after their one minute delay. Alchemical items that cause an ongoing effect have a duration of 30 minutes. Skilled alchemists can divide this duration among a batch, so the same cost of materials can create 6 smaller potions with a 5 minute duration. These short-duration versions must be used by their own crafter instead of being bought and sold.

Machinery

The magic items created using the Machinery skill are clever clockwork and steam-powered devices and vehicles. The Machinery skill is also is used to bypass both mundane and magical locks and traps.

Trap building is as old as using tools to ensnare animals for food. Laws restricting the construction or sale of traps are very rare. The more general laws about public safety suffice to punish people who set up traps in places that threaten the public. Amateur trap makers are common, and many children learn a little Machinery as their first magical crafting skill.

Most mechanical devices can wait indefinitely in a dormant state. Once triggered, they become active for up to 8 hours. A device that has expended its active time no longer functions, but can be repaired for half its original crafting cost.

(The half cost for repairs combines with how crafters pay half the retail cost to create magic items. So repairing a device yourself costs only one-quarter the retail price of that trap.)

Building a machine requires a toolbox. If the machine is portable, no toolbox is needed to set it up in its intended location.

More complex mechanical devices remain unintelligent. They can sense and react to their environment, and make rough comparisons involving size, weight, or color. But they only do what they were instructed to do when designed. No machine can use other equipment, nor act cleverly enough to benefit from a small or big bonus.

Some machines that cause harmful area effects can be deadly if the target is already slowed, weakened, or distracted.

The use of large clockwork or steam-powered machines is common in some places and taboo in others.

Musing

Characters use musing by holding completed pieces of artwork during a magical trance to enchant them.

The legal restrictions on musing can vary widely from place to place. Some cultures view musing as a natural redirection of flows of magical energy. Other cultures see musing as channeling greed and materialism to corrupt pieces of art.

Enchanted artwork can be made to do just about anything. However the magic of musing only affects a single target (no area of effect option is avaialble). With talent, effects can happen at a distance. Magic wands are a popular type of enchanted artwork.

All enchanted artwork crafted using musing has "charges". Each charge creates an effect that lasts until the next midnight. (Or the effect is instantaneous, like causing a lightning strike.) The piece of enchanted artwork vanishes after the final charge ends.

The artwork must have a value equal to its impact multiplied by its number of charges.

In some cities the criminals are especially bold shortly before midnight because law enforcement will be hesitant to inefficiently use expensive magic effects.

Talent Descriptions

Shoot/Throw

Talent in the Shoot/Throw skill allows making incredibly accurate point blank distance attacks. This talent's rating shows the maximum range of point blank shots (in either meters or map squares).

A point blank shot never suffer circumstantial penalties. It no longer matters how fast the target is moving, what cover the target is attempting to hide behind, how windy it is, etc.

Acrobatics/Climb

Talent in Acrobatics/Climb represents the quickness and alertness that allows a character to better avoid attacks, even while occupied with another activity. With this talent the attack "vetoes" granted by successful Acrobatics use during a skill contest can last longer. This talent's rating shows how many of those, if not used up before the character's next turn, will remain for one more additional turn.

Melee/Protect

Talent in the Melee/Protect skill allows a character to guard a location by becoming "sticky" to adjacent opponents. When an adjacent opponent attempts to move away, this character gets an extra Melee attack. If that extra attack causes damage, the opponent not only suffers that damage but is also prevented from moving away.

This talent's rating determines the skill rating of that extra attack.

Wrestle/Disarm

Talent in the Wrestle/Disarm skill represents techniques of grappling and weapon grip that allow the character to ignore an opponent's armor.

Each turn after this character causes damage with the Wrestle/Disarm skill, this character may ignore as much armor as this talent's rating, which might allow more of the character's next attack to affect stamina.

Perception/Escape

Talent in the Perception/Escape skill shows defensive habits of positioning and evading that allow a character to better focus on a single opponent at a time when dealing with an enemy group. This character can physically or socially position a primary opponent in between himself or herself and the non-primary opponents, so the latter have a harder time being effective.

The character designates one opponent as his or her primary opponent each turn of a skill contest. For all other opponents, this character may attempt to veto their attacks with a tough avoidance check, using either Acrobatics or Block as appropriate.

Stealth/Track

Talent in the Stealth/Track skill represents attunement with shadows that has become so advanced that "shadow stepping" is possible: teleportation from one shadow to another, with locations in line of sight. Each meter of stepping takes one round of preparation while remaining stationary in a shadow. This talent's rating measures the maximum number of meters traveled.

Additionally, this talent's rating determines the amount of extra damage caused by a successful attack against a target unaware of this character. An attack with this benefit is called a sneak attack.

Identify/Lore

Talent in the Identify/Lore skill represents knowledge of items with historic significance or sentimental importance to notable people.

When a character with this talent finds a notable amount of treasure, he or she attempts a skill check using this talent's rating. The degree of success determines the value of an extra item, if that item is returned to a person who especially cares about its safe return.

Bargain/Wonder

Talent in the Bargain/Wonder skill shows development of wonder so advanced that the character can perform wondrous feats of physical prowess. These wondrous feats allow character concepts that do not otherwise fit into the Nine Powers rules.

In the sample setting of Spyragia, there are nine flavors of wondrous feats, each corresponding to one of the nine Powers.

The Player and GM can also work together to create new flavors of wondrous feats.

This talent's rating determines how well a character uses wondrous feats.

Disguise/Etiquette

Talent in the Disguise/Etiquette skill allows a character to use wit, charm, and deceit to shrug off social awkwardness and say the right thing. This character has "social armor" that works in social situations the way normal armor works during combat.

This talent's rating determines the amount of social armor.

Animals/Wilderness

Talent in the Animals/Wilderness skill allows a character to control tame animals. The rating measures three factors: the maximum length of a sequence of steps the animals will perform, the numer of animals that can be simultaneously controlled, and the maximum difficulty of any requests.

How difficult are requests? The optimal situation would have six characteristics:

• The animal is not only tame but well-known to the character. They understand each other.
• The behaviors are natural to the animal. This type of animal often does these behaviors in the wild.
• The behaviors are familiar to the animal. It has done these things before in the presence of the character.
• The behaviors are easy to succeed at. The requested tasks are not frustrating.
• The enviornment is safe and not distracting.
• The animal is promised an immediate reward of either food or a few minutes of affection or play from its owner.

An optimal situation has a difficulty of 1. The difficulty increases by one for each of the above six items missing from the situation.

For example, with a talent rating of 1, a character could ask his or her own pet mouse to go eat a visible piece of cheese in an empty, safe room. (The instruction has only one step. There is only one animal. The situation is optimal.)

With a talent rating of 4, the character could ask his or her friend's four pet mice (whom the character knows well) to each go to an empty and safe room, pick up some cheese, bring it back instead of eating it, and drop it in front of the character even though the mice will not get an immediate reward of food or positive attention from their owner. (The instruction has four steps. There are four animals. The situation has a difficulty rating of 4 because it is not optimal for three reasons: the animals have not done similar tasks for the character, are asked to do the unnatural behavior of giving up potential food, and will not receive an immediate reward.)

Intuition/Hearthwork

Fast-talking might use the Etiquette, Bargain, Intuition, Hearthwork, or Wonder skills. It normally fools someone for only a few minutes.

Talent in the Intuition/Hearthwork skill represents the kind of interpersonal intuition that allows more effective fast-talking, with the beneficial result that people who are fast-talked remain duped for a much longer time.

In other words, the fundamental technique of fast-talking is a skill. But it is a talent to have the right hunch about whether the target will respond best to a rushed excuse, a call to honor and duty, an emotional plea, a haughty aristocratic attitude, an appeal to nostalgia or sentimentality, a request for a favor that enables saving face, a promise of future compensation, etc.

This talent's rating shows how many hours successful fast-talking lasts.

Alchemy

Talent in Alchemy allows the alchemist to identify magical potions and flasks.

Those potions and flasks are immediately seen to be magical. After a minute's inspection, the talented alchemist might learn what the magic item does and may reverse engineer the alchemical recipe.

The character makes a skill check using this talent rating. An easy check suffices to identify items with impact 1 or 2. A medium check is required for an item with impact 3 or 4. A tough check is required for an item with impact 5 or greater.

Machinery

Talent in the Machinery skill aids in noticing mechanical traps. When this character might (actively or passively) discover a mechanical trap, as many dice as this talent rating may be rerolled to try switching from failure ot success.

Musing

Most artwork enchanted with musing affects the individual using or touched by the item. However, with talent in the Musing skill a person can learn to create enchantments that can affect a distant target. This talent's rating measures the maximum range, in either meters or map squares.

Runeblockery

Talent in Runeblockery allows someone to be especially resistant to other dangerous runeblock magic. When targeted by a hindering or damaging spell, this character gets an extra avoidance check with skill equal to this talent rating, and difficulty appropriate to the incoming spell. If successful, this character completely avoids that spell.

Runeblocks

In the sample setting of Spyragia, people use magic by stacking runeblocks that are shaped and colored like pattern blocks. But these are magic blocks, and each has a rune on it.

In Spyragia, normal spellcasters do not have a spellbook—but do carry a pouch of runeblocks.

Different spells are built by which blocks are used and how they are stacked.

In Spyragia, anyone can use a rune blocks, but some people are much better at it than others. Effect runeblocks for the bottom layer can be rare and valuable. Runeblocks from the other three layers are interchangeable and not expensive. Defeating a villain who owns runeblocks means you get those are part of the treasure. If that villain owned blocks your PC did not, now your PC can cast new spells!

If you are using these rules for a different setting, please keep reading! The runeblock system is awesome, and you might find a use for it in your game. Owning physical blocks is not necessary, but adds a pleasing tactile experience.

Runeblock Basics

Layers

A stack of runeblocks can be up to four layers tall. Each layer contributes differently to how the spell is built.

Each layer is limited in size to be equal or less than one hexagonal block. As examples, a layer of maximum size could be one yellow hexagonal block, two red trapezoidal blocks, three blue parallelogram blocks, or six green triangular blocks.

The lowest two layers may have more than one block, including combinations of different shapes. The highest two layers must have a single block or be empty.

Each layer must have a value equal or smaller than the one before. Only nice, stable stacks!

The bottom layer determines what targets the spell affects. In this layer each green block allows affecting either the caster or one touched creature. (Multiple green blocks may affect that many creatures, as long as the creatures are touching.) A blue block targets a thin path 5 meters long, which may either be a straight line or a "ribbon" that bends as the caster desires. A red block means the effect will fill a cone equal to one-quarter of a circle of radius 5 meters, with the caster at the cone's apex. A yellow block means the effect will fill a circle of radius 5 meters, with the caster at the circle's edge.

When spells affect a shape instead of a certain number of touched creatures, that shape may not be moved after the spell begins. An effect in a shape, whether beneficial (perhaps invisibility) or hindering (perhaps being charmed) no longer affects creatures who move out of the area.

The second layer determines the spell's effect. There are many examples below. Effects that change how spells work use a green block. Helpful effects use a blue block. Hindering effects use a red block. Damaging effects use a yellow block. The description of an effect includes which skill(s) are used by unwilling targets in an avoidance check that attempts to resist the spell.

The third layer determines the difficulty for resisting a harmful spell. This layer will be empty for a beneifical spell. A green or blue block makes an easy avoidance check. A red block makes a medium avoidance check. A yellow block makes a tough avoidance check.

The top layer counts the damage the spell could cause. This layer will be empty for beneficial or hindering spells. A green block causes 1 damage, a blue block 2 damage, a red block 3 damage, or a yellow block 4 damage. This damage applies to every target that does not avoid the spell.

Click on the summary image for more information about the layers.

Casting

Each stack of runeblocks has a trickiness rating equal to its number of red and yellow blocks plus the base armor value of whatever armor the caster is wearing. (It is trickier to arrange blocks quickly when wearing something less flexible than normal clothing.)

Each stack of runeblocks has a stamina risk equal to its number of red blocks plus twice its number of yellow blocks. If a spell has no red or yellow block, it still has a minimum stamina risk of 1.

To cast a spell using runeblocks, the caster attempts a Runeblockery skill check. An easy skill check suffices for a stack with trickiness rating zero. A medium skill check is needed for a stack with trickiness rating 1. A tough skill check is needed for a stack with trickiness rating 2 or 3.

If a caster succeed with the Runeblockery skill check, the spell happens. The caster does not lose any stamina.

If a caster fails the Runeblockery skill check, the spell does not happen and the caster reduces his or her stamina by the amount of the stack's stamina risk.

A caster may only attempt to cast a spell if he or she currently has the stamina to pay for its stamina risk.

Runeblock Effects

The only runeblocks that need special explanation are those for the second layer that create the different magical effects. The descriptions below are phrased as if affecting multiple targets, but spells can be constructed so they only affect one target.

These examples are not intended to be exhaustive! The GM and Player should create new effect runeblocks appropriate to their stories.

Examples of Metamagic Effect Runeblocks

Metamatic effect blocks are green triangles. More than one can be used in the second layer of a runeblock stack.

Ongoing - Without this effect block the spell will happen quickly. With this effect block the spell can be sustained by the caster's concentration. Maintaining an ongoing spell does not take time (the caster may use a skill or cast another spell in subsequent rounds). But each round the caster must repeat the Runeblockery skill check, and if that skill check fails the spell ends and the caster pays the spell's stamina risk. An unwilling target effected by an ongoing spell may attempt a new avoidance check each round to break free of the spell. A caster's ongoing spell ends if the caster suffers stamina damage or loses consciousness. A caster may only sustain one ongoing spell at a time.

Outline - With this effect block the targeting blocks for a cone or circle only occur at the shape's border. Combined with the Ongoing effect block, this can create a magical trap that is triggered whenever creatures touch that border.

Large - Each copy of this effect block adds 5 meters to the distance of a spell's path or the radius of its conical or circular area.

Fill - Without this effect block a spell targeting a path, cone, or circle will target all the creatures in that shape. With this effect block the spell will fill the area, allowing spells to affect inanimate objects.

Examples of Helpful Effect Runeblocks

Helpful effect blocks are blue parallelograms. Helpful effect blocks can be comined in the second layer of a runeblocks stack to cause a spell to create two or three helpful effects. Duplicating the same helpful effect block does nothing.

Blink Step - The targets immediately teleport to an unoccupied space up to 20 meters away. The caster must be able to see the targets and the destination location. If cast with concentration, the caster repeats a teleport each turn. An avoidance check using the Wonder skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Mystic Armor - Each target is surrounded by a protective aura of glistening magic. Each round they recover 1 missing armor.

Copies - Two illusionary copies of each target appear near them. Anyone who attacks one of the targets instead attacks and destroys an illusion, unless the attacker succeeds with a Perception avoidance check.

Quick Reflexes - Each target receives a small bonus to its avoidance checks.

Block Immunity - The targets cannot be affected by runeblock spells. An avoidance check using the Wonder skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Feral Fighting - Each target grows claws and fangs. Now people other than Therions have fun fighting tooth and nail. Or cast this on furniture for really bad feng shui. An avoidance check using the Animals skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Fly - The targets can fly. Willing targets fly independently with their normal Acrobatics skill at running speed. Unwilling targets and inanimate objects are moved by the caster, and the fourth layer's damage counts is how tiring this flight is for them and how many meters each round they are moved against their will. Unwilling targets may make several avoidance checks: using the Wonder skill allows unwilling targets to completely resist the spell, or failing that using the Escape skill to completely avoid suffering damage, or also failing that perhaps the Acrobatics or Protect skill to grab hold of something and reduce how much they suffer damage.

Spy Eyeball - The caster creates a spectral, floating eyeball that moves at walking speed. The caster can choose to close his or her eyes and see what the eyeball sees. It cannot pass through or manipulate physical objects. If it suffers damage it disappears. Because the eyeball is itself the "target creature" of this spell, any spell with this runeblock must include one green triangle in the second layer of its stack.

Useful Hand - The targets each control a spectral, floating hand. The hand can manipulate objects but cannot use skills. Itdisappears if it suffers damage or moves a distance greater than 30 meters. This spell only makes sense with the caster concentraining to make it ongoing. When the spell ends, each target spends additional stamina equal to the heaviest object his or her hand manipulated: one stamina per kilograms. (During the spell's duration this future cost limits the weight of objects each hand can manipulate.)

Floating Lantern - The same as Useful Hand but the spectral hands are replaced by floating lanterns. If something is tied to the lantern, the lantern can carry it using the same stamina cost as Useful Hand.

Invisibility - The targets become invisible until the spell ends or they (independently) moves more than 20 meters. An avoidance check using the Wonder or Wrestle skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Trumpet Fanfare - From the air around the heads of the targets comes the inspiring noise of a trio of trumpets playing up to a dozen notes. Announce your famous guest at your party, spotlight yourself at a sporting event, or demoralize your opponents after an ally strikes a strong blow! An avoidance check using the Etiquette skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Air Bubble - A bubble of air appears around the targets' heads, allowing them to breathe underwater.

Detection - There is a large variety of types of this effect rune. The rune might detect poison, metal, illusions, invisible things, secret doors, runeblock magic, crafted magic, etc. The targets get enhanced eyesight up to 10 meters away.

Protective Sphere - A nearly transparent sphere of magical energy appears around the caster that monsters cannot enter. Each time monsters try to damage the barrier there is a 10% chance per point of damage that the effect immediately ends and this effect runeblock breaks and becomes useless.

Silence - The targets cannot be heard by any creatures or machinery nearby. However, creatures or machinery farther than 10 meters away can hear them normally, as if this spell was not happening. An avoidance check using the Wonder skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Examples of Helpful Spell Stacks

	A stack with one blue effect block above two green blocks allows the caster to put a momentary helpful effect on two people. This stack has a trickiness rating of zero, so it could be used by a character wearing soft or boiled leather armor, or even a chain shirt. Lacking any red or yellow blocks, this stack has the minimum stamina risk of 1.
	A stack with a blue and green effect blocks above six green blocks allows the caster to put an ongoing helpful effect on six creatures. This stack has a trickiness rating of zero, so it could be used by a character wearing soft or boiled leather armor, or even a chain shirt. Lacking any red or yellow blocks, this stack has the minimum stamina risk of 1.
	A stack with two blue and one green effect blocks above six green blocks allows the caster to put two ongoing helpful effects on six creatures. This stack has a trickiness rating of zero, so it could be used by a character wearing soft or boiled leather armor, or even a chain shirt. Lacking any red or yellow blocks, this stack has the minimum stamina risk of 1.
	A stack with blue and green effect blocks above a red block allows the caster to put an ongoing helpful effect on everyone in a cone-shaped area. This stack has a trickiness rating of 1, so it could be used by a character wearing soft or boiled leather armor. This stack has a stamina risk of 1.
	A stack with two blue and two green effect blocks above a yellow block allows the caster to put two ongoing helpful effects on everyone in a larger cone-shaped area. This stack has a trickiness rating of 1, so it could be used by a character wearing soft or boiled leather armor. This stack has a stamina risk of 2.

Examples of Hindering Effect Runeblocks

Runeblocks that hinder targets are red trapezoids. Hindering effect blocks can be comined in the second layer of a runeblocks stack to cause a spell to create two hinderances. Duplicating the same hindering effect block does nothing.

Butterfingers - Targets must drop one item of their choice that they are holding in their hands. An avoidance check using the Etiquette or Acrobtics skills allows unwilling targets to resist.

Repeat - Targets must use the same skill on their next turn that they used on their previous turn. An avoidance check using the Etiquette skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

To the Rescue - Targets must spend their next turn trying to assist an injured ally, if one exists within 5 meters. An avoidance check using the Wonder skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Command - Targeted people attempt to spend their next turn obeying one order spoken aloud by the caster. The command cannot include anything obviously risky or harmful to the targets. An avoidance check using the Etiquette skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Slipperiness - The floor becomes very slippery under the targets or in the target area. There is no immediate avoidance check when the spell is cast. Anyone who tries to move along the floor will fall down unless they succeed (each turn) with an Acrobatics skill avoidance check using this spell's threshold. (Versions of this effect rune exists that create webs or a pit, instead of making the ground slippery.)

Charm - Targeted people regard the caster as a kind acquaintance until the spell ends or the caster acts in a way that a kind acquaintance would not act. When the effect ends, the people are aware they were charmed. An avoidance check using the Intuition skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Misfortune - Targeted creatures suffer a small penalty to their dice pools until the effect ends.

Aura of Doom - Everyone trying to harm the targeted creatures receives a small bonus to their dice pools until the effect ends.

Wrestling Trap - This effect block only works in a runeblock stack that also contains the Ongoing and Outline metamagic effect blocks, and the targeting blocks for a cone or circle. The caster picks one wrestling effect. The first creature to cross the outline triggers the trap and suffers that wrestling effects until the end of its next turn.

Spy Tether - You reach into the minds of targets and create mental connections. An avoidance check using the Etiquette skill allows unwilling targets to resist. For targets who fail, you know their location. This means they gains no benefit against you from sneaking, hiding or becoming invisible. If you speak a common language and succeed in a Disguise/Etiquette skill check you may either implant a phrase into all target minds or while concentrating cause them to adopt one of your own habitual mannerisms. You can choose to hear what a single target a time hears, but if their hearing works differently from yours this might cause disorientation or even insanity.

Examples of Hindering Spell Stacks

	A stack with one red effect block above a blue and green block, and below a green block, allows the caster to put a momentary hindering effect on a specific creature and every other creating along a thin path, with an easy avoidance check. This stack has a trickiness rating of 1, so it could be used by a character wearing soft or boiled leather armor. This stack has a stamina risk of 1.
	A stack with one red effect block above a red block, and below a green block, allows the caster to put a momentary hindering effect on all targets in a cone-shaped area, with an easy avoidance check. This stack has a trickiness rating of 2, so it could be used by a character wearing soft leather armor. This stack has a stamina risk of 2.
	A stack with one red and green effect block above a yellow block, and below a red block, allows the caster to put an ongoing hindering effect on all targets in a circular area, with an moderate avoidance check. This stack has a trickiness rating of 3, so it could only be used by an unarmored character. This stack has a stamina risk of 4.
	A stack with one red and three green effect blocks above and below yellow blocks allows the caster to create a magical trap: an ongoing hindering effect on all targets who cross the border of a large circular area, with a tough avoidance check. This stack has a trickiness rating of 3, so it could only be used by an unarmored character. This stack has a stamina risk of 5.
	A stack with two red effect blocks above and below three blue blocks and below a yellow block allows the caster to cause two momentary hindrances to all targets along three thin paths, with a tough avoidance check. This stack has a trickiness rating of 3, so it could only be used by an unarmored character. This stack has a stamina risk of 4.

Examples of Direct Damage Effect Runeblocks

Runeblocks that directly deal damage to targets are yellow hexagons. These effect block descriptions include not only which skill(s) the targets use for avoidance checks, but also how the effect differs from simply dealing the damage appropriate to the top layer block. Most direct damage effects apply their damage to armor before stamina. Damage to a target's armor does count as "targets damaged by this effect". If an effect bypasses armor this will be specified in its description.

Rushing Wind - Wind might knock people, bipeds, and objects over. Any creature damaged by this spell might be knocked to the ground. Unwilling targets may make two avoidance checks: using the Wrestle skill to completely resist this effect, or failing that using the Acrobatics skill to avoid falling down after suffering the damage. Creatures that fail both avoidance checks also drop one object of their choice they were holding.

Eldritch Lurching - Cloudy tendrils of sickly energy extend from the caster's hands towards each targeted creature. An avoidance check using the Acrobatics, Protect, or Wrestle skill allows unwilling targets to fully avoid the tendrils. Creatures damaged by this spell move unsteadily. The damage also counts the number of turns in which they can move or use a skill, but not both.

Entanglement - Ropes appear and wrap around the targets, cause a wrestling effect selected by the caster for each point of damage. An avoidance check using Wrestle or Acrobatics allows unwilling targets to resist. Failing that, targets may then make one avoidance check (with the spell's difficulty) at the end of each of their turns to remove one wrestling effect.

Hypnosis - This spell works like Entanglement. However the avoidance checks use Escape or Wonder (instead of Wrestle or Acrobatics).

Nausea - This spell works like Entanglement. However the avoidance checks and use Wrestle or Etiquette (instead of Wrestle or Acrobatics).

Fear - Targets are terrified of the caster. The damage also counts the number of turns on which that target will doing nothing but attempt to hide (break line of sight with the caster) or flee (move as far away as possible). On each turn each target may choose whether to hide or flee. An avoidance check using the Wonder skill allows unwilling targets to resist. A target may close its eyes to automatically succeed with the avoidance check, but then suffers a big penalty when trying to hit the caster.

Corrupt Flesh - Targets that take damage from this spell permanently gain one mutation from the random list used by Futhorc's miscreations. An avoidance check using the Wonder skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Firebolts - Bolts of fire leap from the caster's hands to each targeted creature. Targets may attempt an avoidance check using the Acrobatics or Escape skills to dodge. Each target that does not avoid this effect suffers one extra point of damage.

Sleep - Targets who suffer damage from the spell fall asleep. They will be woken by being roughly touched, suffering any harm, or hearing loud noises. An avoidance check using the Wonder or Wrestle skill allows unwilling targets to resist.

Lightning Touches - The caster's hand crackles with electricity. This spell works like Firebolts. However, the caster attempts additional skill checks that turn, trying to use Wrestle to touch each target within arms' reach. Damage bypasses armor and is applied directly to the stamina of targets who both failed their avoidance check and were unlucky as the caster reached towards them.

Frost Chill - Freezing cold assault the targets. An avoidance check using the Wrestle skill allows unwilling targets to resist. This spell causes only half the usual damage (rounded down). However, no targets gain any benefit from cover, and its damage bypasses armor.

Examples of Direct Damage Spell Stacks

	A stack with one yellow effect block above three blue blocks and below stacked blue blocks allows the caster to do 2 points of direct damage along three thin paths, with an easy avoidance check. This stack has a trickiness rating of 1, so it could be used by a character wearing soft or boiled leather armor. This stack has a stamina risk of 2.
	A stack with one yellow effect block above a yellow blocks and below a yellow block topped by a blue block allows the caster to do 2 points of direct damage to all creatures in a circular area, with a tough avoidance check. This stack has a trickiness rating of 3, so it could only be used by an unarmored character. This stack has a stamina risk of 6. If the caster fails the Runeblockery skill check, he or she will be knocked out by the mental effort!
	A stack with one yellow effect block above six green blocks and below a stack of two yellow blocks allows the caster to do 6 points of direct damage to six specific creatures, with a tough avoidance check. This stack has a trickiness rating of 3, so it could only be used by an unarmored character. This stack has a stamina risk of 6. With most yellow effect blocks this spell will create a "one of us is about to be defeated" situation.

Economic Rules

The sample setting of Spyragia uses two types of coins. Most common is a silver coin that weighs 2.5 grams. Merchants and nobles also use a gold coin that weighs 5 grams and is worth 40 silver coins.

Gems are also used for trade. Jewelcutting has not yet been invented in Spyragia, so all traded gems are nicely polished cabochons (and pearls). The standardized weight is 24 carats. Most gems weight less, and have proportionately less value.

Without using the Bargain skill, a PC can sell items for about half their retail cost.

For the sake of simplicity, the costs mundane objects are generalized. Prices are sorted into nine categories called impacts that describe how impactful that purchase would be for a PC in the game. The actual cost of a specific item is usually within 30% of the generalized price for its impact.

An exceptional quality item that provides a bonus of 1 to appropriate skill use costs more: price it using the next higher impact.

Similarly, a low quality item costs less. It might be a shield or bladed weapon lacking durability, with a chance to break after use. Or might might work poorly, penalizing skill ratings by 1. Price those using the next lower impact.

(Historical records do show such dramatic price differences between normal and exceptional swords for knights, and for the swords used by peasants! In Spyragia, golem labor makes coal and metal ores less expensive than otherwise, and magical heat sources explain the early development of cast iron and drawn iron wire.)

The prices listed are for an item's retail price. For crafted goods, the crafter need only pay half that amount as a material cost.

Tangentially, a year in Spyragia has 400 days. Each lunar month has eight 5-day weeks that mark the eight phases of the moon. Ten of these 40-day lunar months make a year.

Impacts

Impact Zero items cost about 2 silver coins, which is also ¹⁄₂₀ of a gold coin.

The least skilled laborers earn 2 silver coins in two days. An adventurer visiting any settlement can assuredly find a job with only slight danger to do in exchange for 2 silver coins.

The items that can be purchased in this price range are commonplace and cheap. Goods at this price range include a kilogram of garden produce, flax, hemp, flour, or cheap wine. A few silver coins also buys a day's prepared cheap food, a chicken or gander, a wool belt pouch, a pillow, a tallow candle, an arrow, or a crossbow bolt. This price range can also buy a small tool such as an awl or small hammer. The most commonplace cabochons, such as tourmaline or amber, cost 2 silver coins for a nice 24-carat stone.

Impact One items cost about 10 silver coins, which is also ¹⁄₄ of a gold coin.

The least skilled laborers earn 10 silver coins in two five-day work weeks. An adventurer visiting almost any settlement can probably find a job with some danger in exchange for 10 silver coins.

The items that can be purchased in this price range are commonplace and inexpensive. Goods at this price range include a kilogram of copper, zinc, brass, bronze, sugar, honey, almonds, rice, most spices, or good wine. This price range can buy a day's prepared common food, a goose or ram or wether, nice shoes or cheap boots, or a wax candle. This price range can also buy a medium-sized tool such as a knife, shovel, or hoe. The dullest rare cabochons, such as topaz and citrine, cost 10 silver coins for a nice 24-carat stone.

Impact Two items cost about 20 silver coins, which is also ¹⁄₂ of a gold coin.

The least skilled laborers earn 20 silver coins in four weeks (half a month). An adventurer visiting a large town or city might find a job with significant danger in exchange for 20 silver coins.

The items that can be purchased in this price range are commonplace but getting expensive. Goods at this price range include a kilogram of cast iron, dried tree fruit, milk, or butter. This price range can buy a day's prepared lordly food, a ewe, boar, or billy goat, a hat, a hemp apron, a wool vest or gambeson, a linen tunic, or a quiver. This price range can also buy a large tool such as a pick axe, crowbar, or spinning wheel. Pearls cost 20 silver coins for a nice 24-carat one. Enrolling a child as a crafter's apprentice costs 20 silver coins.

Impact Three items cost about 80 silver coins, which is also 2 gold coins.

The least skilled laborers earn 2 gold coins in two months. An adventurer would need some fame in a large city to find a job with enough danger to pay in gold coins.

The items that can be purchased in this price range are expensive. Goods at this price range include a kilogram of salt, tree fruit, or dried berries. This price range can buy a week's good food for a traveler, a sow or nanny goat, a cart, a nice set of linen clothes, a cheap set of wool clothes, a backpack of waxed linen canvas, a dagger with a leather sheath, a shortbow, or soft leather armor. This price range can also buy well-crafted metal tools such as steel lockpicks or a cast iron casserole pot. Attractive cabochons such as garnets cost 2 gold coins for a nice 24-carat stone. Enrolling a child as a merchant's apprentice costs 2 gold coins.

Impact Four items cost about 160 silver coins, which is also 4 gold coins.

The least skilled laborers earn 4 gold coins in four months. An adventurer would need fame and luck in a large city to find a job with enough danger to pay 4 gold coins.

The items that can be purchased in this price range are getting rare and too expensive for some people. Goods at this price range include a kilogram of pepper or vivid red carmine dye. This price range can buy a commoner's wedding feast, a cow or ox or poor quality horse, a nice set of wool clothes, a longbow, a knight's shield, or hard leather armor. This price range can also buy very well-crafted tools such as a brass lantern, polished tin mirror, or thick wool blanket. Diamond cabochons cost 4 gold coins for a nice 24-carat stone. Joining a crafting guild costs 4 gold coins.

Impact Five items cost about 400 silver coins, which is also 10 gold coins.

The least skilled laborers earn 10 gold coins in one year. An adventurer would need to work for nobility to earn 10 gold coins for one assignment.

The items that can be purchased in this price range are rare and too expensive for most people. Goods at this price range include a kilogram of silver or saffron. This price range can buy a merchant's wedding feast, a nice horse, a cart, a fur-lined robe, a chain shirt, a one-handed sword, an anvil, a vise, or a small cottage. Amethyst cabochons cost 10 gold coins for a nice 24-carat stone. Joining a merchant guild costs 10 gold coins.

Impact Six items cost about 1,200 silver coins, which is also 30 gold coins.

The least skilled laborers earn 30 gold coins in three years. An adventurer would need to work for royalty to earn 30 gold coins for one assignment.

The items that can be purchased in this price range are rare and too expensive for almost all people. Goods at this price range include a kilogram of silk, a common family's annual food budget, a warhorse, a war chariot, a two-handed sword, a brigandine tunic, a suit of lamellar armor, or a craftsman's house. Emerald cabochons cost 30 gold coins for a nice 24-carat stone. A year's stay (board, instruction, and clothing) at a university costs 30 gold coins.

Impact Seven items cost about 3,200 silver coins, which is also 80 gold coins.

The least skilled laborers earn 80 gold coins in eight years. An adventurer would need to be a royal's right-hand agent to earn 80 gold coins for one assignment.

The items that can be purchased in this price range are rare and too expensive for even some nobles. Goods at this price range include a kilogram of vivid purple shellfish dye, a noble's funeral expenses, a small merchant's ship or large barge, a fancy set of silk clothing, a knight's plate armor, or a merchant's row house. Sapphire cabochons cost 80 gold coins for a nice 24-carat stone. A year's stay for a noble (board, instruction, and clothing) at the leading university university costs 80 gold coins.

Impact Eight items cost about 8,000 silver coins, which is also 200 gold coins.

The least skilled laborers earn 200 gold coins in twenty years. For almost everyone this seems an amount of money difficult to imagine.

The items that can be purchased in this price range are owned or gifted by royalty. Goods at this price range include a kilogram of gold, the annual cost to feed an entire merchant's estate, a large merchant's ship, a warship, a royal set of clothing, the best plate armor for a noble, or a noble's estate with a courtyard. Ruby cabochons cost 80 gold coins for a nice 24-carat stone. A noblewoman's dowry costs 200 gold coins.

Wealth Level and Treasure

Wealth Level

Many adults do not like to keep track of coins during a role-playing game. For those who are already responsible for househould bookkeeping in real life, the task of doing so in a game often feels like a chore instead of a fun reward.

Players with this attitude should consider their wealth level. This rating is not a skill, but functions like a skill.

By default a PC can easily afford items of impact 0 or 1 (worth 2 or 10 silver coins). When planning to purchase a more expensive item the PC should make a corresponding wealth level "skill check" of easy (for impact 2 items), medium (for impact 3 items), or tough (for impact 4 items).

If the wealth level check is successful, the PC can buy the item without any issues.

If the wealth level check is unsuccessful, the PC has run out of available money. Perhaps rent or taxes are due that week. Perhaps the PC's family members needed financial help. Perhaps the PC has religious financial obligations. Or perhaps the PC has wasted his or her money on vices or frivolous purchases.

The wealth level rating is between 1 and 4, like a skill rating. The GM and Player should agree on the wealth level rating for a PC by discussing how well-off the PC is in that story. The GM and Player should also agree about whether how long it takes for the PC's normal amount of wealth to recharge after a failed check (a day? a week? until the PC finds treasure?).

When using a wealth level, count significant special income in chunks of 10 gold coins (equivalent to 400 silver coins). These could be what a patron pays for having a quest done, or might be what is found in a criminal's headquarters or monster's lair. These chunks are the only coinage of which the Player keeps track.

Example of Wealth Level Treasure

As an example, consider the treasure from a chapter in the story about dealing with a bandit camp. The PC needed to find the place, rescue a prisoner, and either fight or frighten the bandits so much they no longer bother the nearby town.

First, the main treausre is worth 10 gold coins. This represents what was in the treasure chest at the bandit camp and what the PC is being paid by the local town to deal with bandits.

If the bandits are a worthy challenge, they also carry a total of worth 10 gold coins worth of loot on their persons, as silver coins in their belt pouches or items worth selling.

(Notice how we avoid bookkeeping. It is unimportant whether the main treasure is from the quest's patron or a treasure chest. It is unimportant which bandits carry which loot, or what particular items they have worth selling.)

Notice above that one chunk of 10 gold coins allows purchasing without a wealth level check two items of impact 4, one item of impact 5, or one-third of an item of impact 6.

Treasure

Many kids get exciting about keeping track of coins during a role-playing game. They do not mind the bookkeeping, and instead feel rewarded every time they record more silver coins on their character sheet.

The rule of thumb when using silver coins as treasure (not wealth levels) is for each major chapter in the story to reward the PC with wealth whose impact equals the average of the PC's most important and frequently used skill ratings. This wealth is usually a combination of treasure found while adventuring and a payment from a patron for the successful completion of a job.

This type of treasure is usually not carried by an NPC. It is the treasure pile in the back of Ogre's lair, the treasure chest in the bandit leader's tent, or the magic item found behind a secret door in the ruins of a watchtower.

In addition, each defeated enemy NPC might carry treasure worth the impact one less than that enemy's highest important skill rating.

As with retail prices, the GM should feel free to vary treasure's worth by at least ±30% from the generalized impact price.

Example of Coin-Based Treasure

As an example, consider the treasure from a chapter in the story about dealing with a bandit camp. The PC needed to find the place, rescue a prisoner, and either fight or frighten the bandits so much they no longer bother the nearby town.

First, the main treausre. The PC mostly deals with the bandits using Stealth/Track, Perception, Shoot/Throw, and Melee/Protect. The PC's average of these skills is 4, so this chapter in the story rewards about 160 coins. This might all be in the main treasure chest in the bandit camp, or it might be divided between that treasure chest and what the PC is being paid by the local town to deal with bandits.

(The PC also used a bit of Alchemy to prepare some potions in advance, a little Acrobatics during combat, and Wrestle/Disarm to capture one bandit for questioning. But those skills were only used once or twice, so they are not relevant.)

Next we consider the treasure caried by each NPC. The leader of the bandits has a Melee/Protect skill rating of 4. So this bandit's treasure is worth about 80 silver coins, appropriate for Impact 4 − 1 = 3. This treasure could be some recently looted merchant's clothing, a pouch of coins, and other items of little consequence. Or this treasure could be an exceptional dagger, and the leader has dirty clothing and only carries a few coins.

The leader's second-in-command has a Shoot/Throw and Melee/Protect skills rated 3, and has treasure worth about 20 silver coins, appropriate for Impact 3 − 1 = 2. Or this treasure might be a recently looted quiver, 10 arrows, a pouch with a few coins, and other items of little consequence.

The bandit flunkies have both Shoot/Throw and Melee/Protect skills rated 2, and have treasure worth about 10 silver coins, appropriate for Impact 2 − 1 = 1. These bandits have worn out and dirty clothes and very used bows, but they carry useful arrows, a few coins, an occasional nice knife, bag of food or bottle of wine.

The children in the bandit camp (hopefully unharmed!) have a Shoot/Throw skill of 1, and have treasure worth less than 2 silver coins, appropriate for Impact 1 − 1 = 0. Even their arrows are probably not worth claiming as treasure. Some of the children have a bit of food, a usable pouch, a wax candle, or a few coins.

Magic Item Impact

A magic item is a fun piece of equipment with nifty powers.

Some magic items merely provide a bonus to skill use. Others dramatically change a scene and decisively determine how the encounter resolves.

In a fantasy setting a magic item might be a magic potion, flying carpet, or dancing sword. In a science fiction setting a "magic" item might be a nanotech restorative, a personal levitation belt, or an electrified net launcher.

The same rules for pricing and crafting these items can be used whether or not the setting justifies their effects with magic, technology, or some other narrative hand-waving.

Magic items have four factors that determine how much they can impact the world. These are color-coded in their descriptions below, and in the following section with sample magic items. Possibility is pink, area is avacado, convenience is crimson, and affect on victory is violet.

With these rules the GM and Players can design any magic item they can imagine! Simply see how the four factors describe its effect and then total its impact.

Magic items cost as much as other items with the same impact. Remember the guideline for haggling: for most purchases change the price 5% for each point one character's Bargain skill rating exceeds the other's, and for a purchase especially important to the story use a skill contest.

Magic items that people create have a cost per use. Details about range and duration depend on which type of crafting skill is used to create the item, as explained below. As two quick examples, the same effect could have a slightly greater range if made with machinery, but would be much quicker to craft with alchemy.

(In the sample setting of Spyragia, only the Powers create magic items that never run out of uses.)

As always, the crafter of a magic item need only pay half that retail amount for materials. This means that characters who craft their own magic items only spend half as much for the benefts.

Note that a normally priced magic item does one thing. A magic item that does multiple things is equivalent to multiple magic items merged together, and its crafting time and price should be equal to the totals for its components.

For example, a pair of magic glasses might allow the person wearing them to detect poison, or criminals, or Ogres. But if those glasses detected all three things, with separate color-coding for each, then that magic item is clearly doing three things. To be fair, that combination item should be crafted and priced as if it were three different magic items.

Magical Possibility

The first quality of a magic item is its possibility.

The smallest effects only duplicate what inexpensive mundane equipment can do, but perhaps do it more rapidly or conveniently. These items might be used to quickly kindle a fire, befriend a domestic animal, spin wool into yarn, season firewood, provide a meal's nourishment, etc. Or these items might have an ongoing effect such as radiating as much light as a torch, whistling like the sound of blowing on a blade of grass, obscuring vision like a smoky campfire, or making a room smell like roses. These effects add 0 to the impact.

Other magic items duplicate what expensive mundane equipment can do, but again perhaps more rapidly or conveniently. The magic item heals as well as the best mundane herbs or medicines, heats or cools as well as a stove or block of ice, protects someone as well as the best armor, or makes an area deadly like a spilled vat of boiling oil. Those effects add 1 to the impact.

Other magic items duplicate what not what equipment can do, but what labor could accomplish: lifting, carrying, searching, removing disguises, mimicking noises people make, delivering a message, etc. Again magic can allow these effects more rapidly or conveniently. These effects add 2 to the impact.

Effects that are mundanely impossible are the most dramatic, wondrous, and fun: levitation, flight, invisibility, telekenesis, shared sight, etc. These add 3 to the impact.

A different manner of affecting possibility to to make a tool or weapon easier to use, or have it simply work better than a mundane counterpart. Magic items that provide a small bonus (one more die) add 1 to the impact. Magic items that provide a big bonus (two more dice) add 2 to the impact.

Magical Area

The second factor that determines impact is the effect's area.

Many effects only affect the character using the magic item, or a single object. These add 0 to the impact. (All alchemy potions and goos are of this category. All musing effects are also of this category.)

Some magic items effect an area, but only after the character using the item personally sets up the area. This could be assembling a device, arming a trap, drawing a magic circle, waiting for a flask's gas cloud to spread, etc. That adds 1 to the impact. (All alchemy flasks are of this category.)

A few, expensive magic items effect an area immediately. That adds 4 to the impact.

The maximum radius of the effect depends upon the type of magic item and the crafter's skill.

Magical Convenience

The third factor that determines impact is the effect's convenience, which is a combination of range, improvisatoinal potential, and speed of use.

The least convenient magic items must be created in advance and are not portable. Their effects have no range. These effects add 0 to the impact. (This category includes traps that must be built in their location.)

Magic items of medium convenience are portable but lack either immediacy or range. Often these must be created in advance at a laboratory, workshop, magic shrine, or other noteworthy location. Perhaps the effect starts immediately but only affects what the item or its user touches. Or perhaps the effect can reach away from the item and its user, but has a delayed start as a glue dries, a gas spreads, a crossbow trap is installed in its new location, a handheld machine warms up, a piece of enchanted artwork is activated with a song or a long chant, etc. These effects add 1 to the impact. (All alchemy items are of this category, as are portable traps.)

The most convenient effects can be created anywhere, have range, and have an effect that begins immediately. Effects like these add 3 to the impact.

Magical Victory

The fourth factor that determines impact is how the item effects victory.

Effects that do not involve victory add 0 to the impact.

Some effects can cause damage, but only based upon the same skill use as mundane equipment. These also add 0 to the impact. If someone prefers not to use a bow and arrow but wishes to craft or buy a wand that shoot icicles to the same effect, it is inexpensive to do so.

Some tools or weapons are more dangerous than their mundane counterparts. These allow the user to include a special twenty-sided die in the dice pool. (This is in addition to the usual twenty-sided die potentially provided by a bonus or by success with the Identify/Lore skill.) Use a different color die if possible. If this die succeeds during a skill contest, it causes an extra point of damage. These magic items add 1 to the impact. (If the wand of icicles was more threatening than a mundane bow and arrow, either because it chilled whomever it hit or caused larger wounds, then it would have a higher impact.)

Similarly, some magic items allow the user to also include a special twelve-sided die in the dice pool. These magic items add 2 to the impact.

Items that grant their wielder speed also add 2 to the impact. This effect allows the wielder to go first during each turn of a skill contest.

Some items attack independently, such as traps and turrets. This adds impact equal to the item's skill rating.

The most potent effects decisively win the conflict themselves, and add 5 to the impact.

Tangentially, it is advised that Nine Powers stories do not include "divinations". Many fantasy stories include objects or rituals that predict the future, or in other ways learn what is not normally knowable. Wizards scry with crystal balls, sages read the future in tea leaves, and necromancers make corpses answer questions. Although divination magic can work well in a story we read, it is difficult to do well in a two-person role-playing game. Plots about solving a mysteries or gathering information from an enemy stronghold get ruined by this kind of magic. It makes no sense to limit the kind of adventures the GM and Players can enjoy just because the PC has become highly skilled with magical crafting.

Magic Item Examples

Here are some sample fantasy magic items. Within an adventure most would have more interesting and fun names. But simple names are best for making text searchable.

Impact Zero — 2 silver coins retail price

Fancy Fire Pit (Impact 0 = 0 possibility + 0 area + 0 convenience + 0 victory)

This fire pit has some mechanical augmentation. When active, it emits large sparks to help kindle a fire. It is not portable, but it is still an affordable convenience because its 8 hours of active use can be spread out over months or years.

Impact One — 10 silver coins retail price

Energizing Potion (Impact 1 = 0 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This potion removes all fatigue from the drinker. It can restore stamina lost due to exertion, such as needing to flee for a long time or to swim in frigid water.

Domestic Animal Friendship Potion (Impact 1 = 0 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This potion is given to a domestic animal, often by mixing it in food. For the potion's duration the animal becomes very fond of the person who fed it the potion, as if that person had been a kind and caring pet owner for many years.

Cooking Disk (Impact 1 = 0 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This practical device causes items placed on top of it to be heated. The change in temperature is not quick enough to harm a creature mobile enough to move away.

Impact Two — 20 silver coins retail price

Silent Shoe Soles (Impact 2 = 1 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This alchemical goo is spread on the soles of a pair of shoes. It hardens into a material that allows silent steps.

Pressure Plate Dart Trap (Impact 2 = 0 possibility + 1 area + 0 convenience + 1 victory)

This trap is intended to be a warning to scare away burglars. It shoots darts when a pressure plate is triggered. The darts are small, and their attack only has skill rating 1.

Alarm Wire (Impact 2 = 0 possibility + 1 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

When a creature steps on or across this wire device, a noise happens. Guards set up alarm wires to monitor seldom used doorways, and some adventurers use these devices to sleep more safely in a dungeon. These magical wires are much more difficult to notice than a mundane wire and noise-maker.

Alchemist's Undervest (Impact 2 = 1 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This under-vest has internal pockets lined with hinged metal plates. It is designed to store flasks safely, yet enable smashing one against the body when needed.

Imperishable Sack (Impact 2 = 1 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

Fancy embroidery and colorful drawstrings show this sack is special. When the drawstrings are tied a certain way, the enchantment activates and food within is prevented from spoiling. There is no temperature change, so the food need not be thawed like food stored in a normal icebox.

Linked Earrings (Impact 2 = 1 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

Two pair of enchanted earrings are magically linked. When two people each wear a pair, the enchantment activates a minute after the first time either person says the other's name. Then they can telepathically communicate while in range of each other. The sounds "heard" in the mind are distorted, as when talking across two tin cans linked by a taught wire of the appropriate length.

Minor Weapon Enhancement (Impact 2 = 0 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 1 victory)

This is the classic example of a weapon that has a small chance to do a little extra damage each time it hits, because of the special extra twenty-sided die described above in the "victory" section.

Sparkly Searchstone (Impact 2 = 1 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

A ring with a gemstone is enchanted to sparkle with a radiant light after the gemstone is squeezed. The gleams of radience sometimes appear to bend if the wearer is looking for something, as if pointing the way. The effect grants the wearer a small bonus to Perception/Escape and Track.

Tempest Leaves (Impact 2 = 2 possibility + 0 area + 0 convenience + 0 victory)

A serving of magical tea leaves that makes a teapot of boiling water release a cloud of steam (as well as a tiny bit of lightning in the teapot). Above the teapot, the steam shapes itself into a clue about the location of a nearby commotion that was created on purpose to cause bother or stress. Most often the steam forms the shape of someone's face or an image of a building. Each serving of tempest leaves only works once for the magical property, but the tea is high quality and can be enjoyed for several infusions. (The only clues revealed are those that could have been learned from spending several hours investigating. The magical tea leaves can sense auras in the neighborhood, but they do not read minds.)

Impact Three — 80 silver coins retail price

Automated Butler (Impact 3 = 2 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This primitive robot can fetch and carry.

Acidic Gas Flask (Impact 3 = 0 possibility + 1 area + 1 convenience + 1 victory)

The chemicals in this flask react with air after the flask breaks. The gas speads for a minute, then turns into a pink fog that harms to any creature in its area (as if attacking with a skill rating of 1).

Flask of Blinding Cloud (Impact 3 = 1 possibility + 1 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

After this flask breaks the area fills with dense, fragrant smoke. After a minute the smoke has become so thick that it interferes with sound as well as sight, smell, and taste. Within the smoke, all ranged perception and combat skill use automatically fails.

Footstep Faker (Impact 3 = 2 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

Black market machinists prepare these devices wrapped in thick wool. A minute after being shaken, they begin to flex and crack. This causes taps and creaks that sound remarkably like footsteps. Burglars and spies use footstep devices to distract people. They drop them from the rafters into a shadowy corner, or throw them under or behind furniture. Few guards have enough experience with these items to recognize that the noise is not footsteps.

Linked Gloves (Impact 3 = 0 possibility + 0 area + 3 convenience + 0 victory)

Two pairs of enchanted gloves are magically linked. The wearers activate their magic by flexing the fingers in certain motions. Then the gloves immediately become useful for secretly signaling. While in range, when one pair is used to make intuitive certain gestures, the wearer of the other pair feels gentle taps on the hands in an understandable code.

Major Weapon Enhancement (Impact 3 = 0 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 2 victory)

This is the classic example of a weapon that has a notable chance to do more extra damage each time it hits, because of the special extra twelve-sided and twenty-sided dice described above in the "victory" section.

Maleable Mickey (Impact 3 = 2 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 2 victory)

This alchemical potion is slipped into a victim's drink. After a minute the drinker becomes more agreeable to any reasonable request he or she hears. (A big bonus to persuation skill checks against the drinker.)

Musing Sensing Miniature Settlement (Impact 3 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 0 convenience + 0 victory)

This table-sized replica of a town or city, made with colorful clay, is not portable after being constructed. When the proper phrases are spoken, the buildings on the replica begin to glow if their corresponding actual buildings contains one or more items crafted with musing.

Spy's Glass (Impact 3 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 0 convenience + 0 victory)

This mirror, permanently affixed to a wall, can be entered as if it was a doorway. A minute later a temporary, invisible copy of yourself steps out. Your real self is trapped until/unless the copy returns.

Super-Stumbler (Impact 3 = 0 possibility + 1 area + 1 convenience + 1 victory)

Guards tasked with protecting an entryway can set up this device to cause anyone crossing the threshold to fall down and bruise their hand or knee (as if attacking with a skill rating of 1). It works like a tripwire, but is not broken by the first person to trigger it.

Treasurehunting Compass (Impact 3 = 2 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This compass was made by a pirate to help find his buried treasure. When activated, it points the way to the most valuable other item it has ever touched.

Wellness Zone (Impact 3 = 1 possibility + 1 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This noisy device slowly fills the area with ethereal vibrations that make people rested and healthy (healing small wounds and restoring stamina).

Impact Four — 160 silver coins retail price

Anti-Magic Zone (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 1 area + 0 convenience + 0 victory)

No magic will function inside this circle. Some are made by spreading alchemical goo in a circle on the floor. Others are constructed with wires that emanate from a special device. Others are drawn with chalk and artistic symbolism.

Cloud Climbing Crampons (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

These crampons radiate a soft blue glow. When attached to any shoes or boots, the glow intensifies and the wearer can walk on air.

Cummerbund of the Careful Tongue (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

Some nobles use musing to enchant a piece of their young children's clothing to help the children remember their manners while being introduced at parties. If the child is about to make an egregious mistake in etiquette, the piece of clothing constricts slightly as a reminder. The effect provide a big bonus to the Etiquette.

Fair Dueling Enforcer (Impact 4 = 2 possibility + 1 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This banner, once unfurled and waved, causes a big penalty to all nearby ranged attacks, whether mundane or magical.

Honest Mirror (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

After a mystic phrase is uttered, this this ornate mirror begins to reflect people's true faces. It is appreciated by guards for its ability to penetrate both mundane and magical disguises, as well as to reveal shapechangers such as Ogres or Therions. It is hated by vain noblewomen who do not want their face seen without its makeup.

Inquisitor's Watch (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

After this watch is wound a special way, the hour hand will point to the closest person telling lies and the minute hand to the closest person telling the truth, while the second hand ticks normally.

Invisibility Potion (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

There are many versions of this potion. Many towns and cities have laws limiting their use, to help prevent crime. Most potions of invisibility also affect what the drinker is wearing. Some cause a limited invisibility that ends if the drinker is touched by sunlight or moonlight, attacks anyone, etc. All invisibility potions provide a big bonus to Sneak skill use.

Liaison's Lantern (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This ornate lantern only sheds light for the person holding its handle.

Purifying Stove (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

An expensive but practical kitchen device is this stove whose machinery will remove from food placed within any parasites and diseases, quickly and without needing to change the food's temperature.

Rocket Boots (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

Whee!

Shared Sight Potion (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

This potion is shared by two people or animals. After a minute they can close their eyes and concentrate to see what the other is seeing.

Telepath's Tiara (Impact 4 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

Fancy jewelry that, starting immediately after activation, lets you hear thoughts of anyone with whom you are shaking hands.

Impact Five — 400 silver coins retail price

Pointy Hat of Protection (Impact 5 = 3 possibility + 1 area + 1 convenience + 0 victory)

After activation with a long chant, this pretty pointy hat causes a big penalty to all nearby magical attacks.

Telekenetic Gloves (Impact 5 = 2 possibility + 0 area + 3 convenience + 0 victory)

This pair of gloves allows its wearer to pick up and manipulate objects anywhere in range.

Impact Six — 1,200 silver coins retail price

Glasses of Forced Sharing (Impact 6 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 3 convenience + 0 victory)

After this pair of glasses is activated, you can switch your point of vision as if seeing from any other glass in range (windows, mirrors, glasses).

Targeted Tiny Potion of Sleep Gas (Impact 6 = 0 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 5 victory)

Small vials of sleep gas can be thrown or used as arrowheads. Because they contain such a small amount of chemical, they only cause sleep with a well-placed hit to the face, represented by a successful tough Shoot/Throw attempt.

Deadly Pit Trap (Impact 6 = 0 possibility + 1 area + 0 convenience + 5 victory)

The ultimate trap, falling into this pit causes the intruder to die, impaled on sharp wooden stakes while instantly cooked in deadly scalding steam.

Impact Seven — 3,200 silver coins retail price

Untargeted Flask of Sleep Gas (Impact 6 = 0 possibility + 1 area + 1 convenience + 5 victory)

Breathing more than one breath of the cloud of soothing gas released when this flask breaks puts any creature to sleep. Sometimes these are crafted so the gas is invisible, to capture tresspassers. A Wrestle avoidance check allows creatures to hold their breath and resist the gas that turn.

Impact Eight — 8,000 silver coins retail price

Ultimate Handcuffs (Impact 8 = 2 possibility + 0 area + 1 convenience + 5 victory)

Once these warm up, the person they are put on is paralyzed for their duration.

Evil Portal (Impact 8 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 0 convenience + 5 victory)

A doorway that grants terrible power, but only after you lure someone else to touch it and be forever lost into its pocket dimension.

Life Insurance Sarcophagus (Impact 8 = 3 possibility + 0 area + 0 convenience + 5 victory)

An immobile marble sarcophagus with the image of its creator carved in bas relief on the lid. If someone living is inside when that creator dies, the creator's mind replace the other person's.

Non-Crafted Magic Items

What about magic items that are not crafted and priced per use?

The sample setting of Spyragia certainly includes those! They are created by the Powers. You can read about them in the next page of rules.

Those are the items that adventurers go on quests to obtain, that villains use to make people fear them, that nobles plot to steal from each other, and that are special delights to find in a town's magic item store. Those items help make stories happen!

In contrast, the crafting economy is about the PC preparing for an adventure. What should he or she make? Does anyone know the recipe? Does the PC have time to make it? Is it really worth the cost? Must the PC spend double for the retail price because crafting it is beyond their skill?