with assessing the strength of the player's position ranging from a dominant to a desperate position. A strong position reduces the potential consequences of a player's failure, while a desperate position offers the players a chance at gaining points towards character advancement. The game elides the more granular aspects of combat simulation, instead taking a heavily player-facing approach. Harm generally befalls the players as a consequence of their actions, and little space is given for non-player characters to take mechanical initiative. As such NPCs do not require significant stat blocks and there is very little dice rolling on the part of the game master. With no strict distinction between combat or any other task, all difficulty is largely handled in terms of the effect levels determined by the fictional position of the obstacle and players, whether outnumbered or outclassed. Complexity is provided in negotiating the choice of an action to perform, the security of the position that roll has, and the special factors, such as weapon or tool quality, which the player can leverage in the task. As is common to role playing games, characters advance mechanically through accumulation of experience, which is redeemed to either allow for the rolling of more dice when performing actions in the future, or offering up new special abilities largely providing the players with areas of increased narrative authority. The game eschews hit points or any form of damage formula, providing a more flat trajectory for advancement when compared to traditional pen and paper RPGs. As characters advance they become more likely to succeed, but make no well defined advances in their general ability to withstand injuries when inflicted or the degree of injuries they can inflict on others. The player characters have access to a mechanic which helps them to face challenges which is unavailable to non-player characters, the stress mechanic. Players can elect to take stress to either improve their chances in taking action, to invoke some special actions or to reduce the consequences of actions. The ability to take stress is limited though, and requires the indulging of a character specific vice such as drugs, worship, or settling some specific obligation to reduce during the downtime between criminal activities. This downtime is mechanically distinct from the running of criminal scores, and is mandated to take place between scores. Characters can manage their vice, the degree the local police are hunting them,