TEXT:                                                                 1
  Henry Gaudet (order #7678099)
  
                                                                  2
  Realms of Fate
  A Fantasy Tabletop RPG
  by
  Brett Fitzpatrick
  Publisher Information
  Published by Brett Fitzpatrick
  Credits 
  The rules system is pure FATE. Here is the 
  attribution text;- This work is based on Fate 
  Core System and Fate Accelerated Edition 
  (found at http://www.faterpg.com/), products of 
  Evil Hat Productions, LLC, developed, authored, 
  and edited by Leonard Balsera, Brian Engard, 
  Jeremy Keller, Ryan Macklin, Mike Olson, Clark 
  Valentine, Amanda Valentine, Fred Hicks, and 
  Rob Donoghue, and licensed for our use under 
  the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported 
  license (http://creativecommons.org/
  licenses/by/3.0/). 
  All other material, including (but not limited to) 
  monsters, setting and illustrations, is original to 
  Realms for fate, Copyright 2013, by Brett 
  Fitzpatrick.
  Henry Gaudet (order #7678099)
  
                                                                  3
  Table of Contents
  CHARACTER CREATION 
   
                                             
   
   
  ..........................................
   
   4  
  Aspects 
   
                                                                    
   
   
  .................................................................
   
   9  
  Invoking Aspects
   
                                                    
   
   
  .................................................
   
   10
    
  Gear
   
                                                                        
   
   
  .....................................................................
   
   13
    
  Example Equipment 
   
                                              
   
   
  ...........................................
   
   13
    
  Weapons and Armour
   
                                             
   
   
  ..........................................
   
   16
    
  Shields
   
                                                                    
   
   
  .................................................................
   
   25
    
  Skills 
   
                                                                      
   
   
  ...................................................................
   
   26
    
  Stunts and Refresh 
   
                                                
   
   
  .............................................
   
   27
    
  Stress and Consequences 
   
                                    
   
   
  .................................
   
   27
    
  The List of Skills 
   
                                                    
   
   
  .................................................
   
   27
    
  Magic 
   
                                                                           
   
   
  ........................................................................
   
   42
    
  Spells
   
                                                                      
   
   
  ...................................................................
   
   43
    
  Sample Spells
   
                                                         
   
   
  ......................................................
   
   43
    
  Fate Points 
   
                                                            
   
   
  .........................................................
   
   49
    
  ACTIONS, OUTCOMES 
   
                                              
   
   
  ...........................................
   
   50
    
  Rolling the Dice 
   
                                                     
   
   
  ..................................................
   
   50
    
  The Four Outcomes
   
                                                
   
   
  .............................................
   
   51
    
  The Four Actions 
   
                                                   
   
   
  ................................................
   
   53
    
  Challenges and Contests 
   
                                      
   
   
  ...................................
   
   56
    
  Challenges 
   
                                                             
   
   
  ..........................................................
   
   56
    
  Contests
   
                                                                 
   
   
  ..............................................................
   
   57
    
  CONFLICTS 
   
                                                                
   
   
  .............................................................
   
   60
    
  Turn Order 
   
                                                             
   
   
  ..........................................................
   
   61
    
  Resolving Attacks 
   
                                                  
   
   
  ...............................................
   
   62
    
  Consequences 
   
                                                       
   
   
  ....................................................
   
   64
    
  Recovery
   
                                                                
   
   
  .............................................................
   
   67
    
  Conceding the Conflict 
   
                                          
   
   
  .......................................
   
   68
    
  Getting Taken Out 
   
                                                  
   
   
  ...............................................
   
   68
    
  Movement 
   
                                                              
   
   
  ...........................................................
   
   69
    
  Advantages in a Conflict 
   
                                        
   
   
  .....................................
   
   69
    
  Other Actions in a Conflict 
   
                                     
   
   
  ..................................
   
   70
    
  Ending a Conflict 
   
                                                   
   
   
  ................................................
   
   71
    
  Teamwork 
   
                                                              
   
   
  ...........................................................
   
   71
    
  World Guide
   
                                                                 
   
   
  ..............................................................
   
   73
    
  Dwarven Kingdoms 
   
                                               
   
   
  ............................................
   
   73
    
  Fairy Realms
   
                                                          
   
   
  .......................................................
   
   73
    
  Elven Kingdoms 
   
                                                     
   
   
  ..................................................
   
   74
    
  Halfling Realms
   
                                                      
   
   
  ...................................................
   
   75
    
  Human Realms
   
                                                       
   
   
  ....................................................
   
   77
    
  The Wilds
   
                                                                
   
   
  .............................................................
   
   79
    
  Law Enforcement
   
                                                    
   
   
  .................................................
   
   79
    
  Religion
   
                                                                   
   
   
  ................................................................
   
   79
    
  Human Gods
   
                                                          
   
   
  .......................................................
   
   80
    
  Halfling Gods
   
                                                          
   
   
  .......................................................
   
   81
    
  Dwarven Gods 
   
                                                       
   
   
  ....................................................
   
   81
    
  Elven Gods
   
                                                             
   
   
  ..........................................................
   
   81
    
  Sport
   
                                                                       
   
   
  ....................................................................
   
   81
    
  Societies and Orders
   
                                              
   
   
  ...........................................
   
   81
    
  Magic User's Organisations
   
                                    
   
   
  .................................
   
   81
    
  RUNNING THE GAME 
   
                                                
   
   
  .............................................
   
   83
    
  Difficulty Levels
   
                                                       
   
   
  ....................................................
   
   84
    
  NPCs  
   
                                                                          
   
   
  .......................................................................
   
   86
    
  Nameless NPCs
   
                                                     
   
   
  ..................................................
   
   86
    
  Supporting NPCs 
   
                                                   
   
   
  ................................................
   
   88
    
  Main NPCs 
   
                                                             
   
   
  ..........................................................
   
   89
    
  SCENARIOS 
   
                                                               
   
   
  ............................................................
   
   92
    
  Scenarios Structure 
   
                                               
   
   
  ............................................
   
   93
    
  Example Scenario
   
                                                        
   
   
  .....................................................
   
   95
    
  The Former Temple 
   
                                               
   
   
  ............................................
   
   96
    
  ADVANCEMENT 
   
                                                       
   
   
  ....................................................
   
   100
   
   
  Defining Milestones 
   
                                             
   
   
  ..........................................
   
   100
   
   
  Minor Milestones 
   
                                                 
   
   
  ..............................................
   
   100
   
   
  Significant Milestones 
   
                                          
   
   
  .......................................
   
   101
   
   
  Major Milestones 
   
                                                 
   
   
  ..............................................
   
   102
   
   
  Travelling
   
                                                                    
   
   
  .................................................................
   
   103
   
   
  Hazards
   
                                                                      
   
   
  ...................................................................
   
   105
   
   
  Disease
   
                                                                 
   
   
  ..............................................................
   
   105
   
   
  Becoming Lost
   
                                                      
   
   
  ...................................................
   
   106
   
   
  Poison
   
                                                                   
   
   
  ................................................................
   
   107
   
   
  Services
   
                                                                      
   
   
  ...................................................................
   
   108
   
   
  Trade
   
                                                                          
   
   
  .......................................................................
   
   109
   
   
  Terrain
   
                                                                        
   
   
  .....................................................................
   
   109
   
   
  Bestiary
   
                                                                       
   
   
  ....................................................................
   
   111
   
   
  Treasure
   
                                                                     
   
   
  ..................................................................
   
   126
   
   
  Magic Items
   
                                                          
   
   
  .......................................................
   
   126
   
   
  Other Magic Items 
   
                                               
   
   
  ............................................
   
   128
   
   
  Staves and Wands
   
                                                
   
   
  .............................................
   
   129
   
   
  POTIONS
   
                                                             
   
   
  ..........................................................
   
   129
   
   
  RINGS
   
                                                                  
   
   
  ...............................................................
   
   129
   
   
  Scrolls and Books
   
                                                 
   
   
  ..............................................
   
   130
   
   
  Artefacts 
   
                                                              
   
   
  ...........................................................
   
   130
   
   
  Cursed Items
   
                                                        
   
   
  .....................................................
   
   130
   
   
  Henry Gaudet (order #7678099)
  
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  CHARACTER CREATION 
  Character creation is a good way to get to know 
  a role-playing game. It teaches you about the 
  rules and the setting before you actually start to 
  play. The moment you all sit down to create 
  characters, you’re already playing Realms.  
  Character creation is collaborative and is best 
  done as a group activity. Doing all of this 
  together builds a strong foundation of 
  communication between the players and GM. 
  Character creation can take a full session to do
  —this allows everyone to learn about the world 
  and each other’s characters. You and the other 
  players will talk about your characters, make 
  suggestions to each other, and establish some of
  the detail of the setting. 
  The Character Sheet
  You’ll want to keep good notes on the character 
  creation process. You can use the character 
  sheet in the back of this book. The character 
  creation process is broken into the following 
  steps. 
  Name: Name your character. 
  Backstory: Decide on concept and troubles. 
  Aspects: Choose and invent your character’s 
  aspects.
  Equipment: Choose equipment. 
  Skills: Pick and rate your skills. 
  Stunts: Pick, or invent, three to five stunts. 
  Magic: determine the character's magical ability.
  Refresh: Determine starting fate points.
  Stress and Consequences: Determine how 
  much of a beating your character can take. 
  Your Character Name
  Few things will destroy a player’s suspension of 
  disbelief during a fantasy role-playing game 
  more quickly than a poorly-chosen name for a 
  character or location in the fantasy setting, so a 
  few hints on choosing a good name are given 
  here.
  Mythology is a great source of names that can 
  be used or adapted. Fantasy epics, such as The 
  Lord of the Rings often have family trees that 
  can be consulted for names.
  Combining two real-world words can provide an 
  interesting name, such as Darkraven, from dark 
  and raven. 
  If all else fails, however, the Internet is full of 
  name generators for fantasy characters that are 
  a great source of inspiration.  
  Your Character Backstory
  Your character doesn't just jump fully formed 
  from the ground, at least not usually, and they 
  will have a rich history of knowledge and 
  experiences. 
  Create this history as you decide on your 
  character's species, language, realm of origin, 
  previous career, etc. 
  Character Species
  Humans are not the only option for player 
  characters when choosing a species. The types 
  of humanoids to be found in Realms also include
  dwarves, elves and halflings. The various 
  species of humanoid all get along well with each 
  other, irrespective of stature, skin colour, 
  pointyness of ears, or any other differences in 
  physical characteristics. 
  A species provides a number of aspects; choose
  at least one but not more than two. You can 
  make your own if you want to. Your species also 
  gives you a species skill in a few different 
  flavours. (See example below.) 
  Slot your species skill into whichever empty skill 
  slot appeals to you and pick the flavour that most
  appeals to you; it’ll tell you how you can use your
  species skill. You can take additional flavours of 
  your species skill as if they were stunts.
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  Humans
  Humans are the base standard against which 
  everything else is judged, so we will start with 
  them. Normal human abilities, such as two arms,
  ability to breath air, running speed of about 10 
  m/sec do not need to be written on the character
  sheet. It is only when a character goes above, or
  falls below these benchmarks that a note must 
  be made.  
  Elves
  Elves are taller than humans on average, and 
  thinner than most humans. Depending on the elf 
  this tends to make them look either graceful and 
  beautiful, or gaunt and sinister to human eyes. 
  ASPECTS 
  The Experience of Centuries, I Know These 
  Woods, The Long Game, Magic in the Blood, 
  Perfection in Everything. 
  Elf skill
  You may use the Elf skill to recognize useful flora
  and fauna, know your way through the woods, or
  notice hidden dangers. In addition, pick one of 
  the following flavors; you may pick more at the 
  cost of one stunt or refresh each. 
  Elven High Magic: You can use Elf to cast spells 
  relating to nature or growth, even if you have no 
  other magical ability. 
  Perfection in Battle: Choose Shoot or Fight. 
  When you’re using the traditional armaments of 
  your people, you can use Elf instead of the 
  chosen skill.
   
  Halflings
  Halflings may be the smallest of the peoples of 
  the setting, but their muscle fibres are longer 
  than human, which means that their strength is 
  equal to that of a human, even though their 
  muscles are less massive. 
  This means that there is no overall difference in 
  strength, jumping and other physical feats 
  between the two. 
  However the difference in height means they can
  go through gaps that big lumbering humans 
  can't, and find it easier to hide and be stealthy. 
  This advantage have led to halflings being prime
  recruits for gangs of thieves, and their employ by
  the great powers as assassins. 
  ASPECTS 
  Knows the Finer Things, Hale Fellow Well Met, 
  Surprisingly Good with a Knife, Marked by 
  Destiny. 
  Halfling skill
  You may use the Halfling skill to pass stealthily 
  and remain hidden. In addition, pick one of the 
  following flavors; you may pick more at the cost 
  of one stunt or refresh each. 
  Find Hidden Exit: You can use Halfling to locate 
  an exit from a trap that is just big enough foe a 
  halfling to escape through. 
  Low Blow: You can create an advantage 
  representing the difficulty of an enemy fighting a 
  nimble foe that seems to be able to dive 
  between their legs and pop up behind them.
  Dwarves
  They live in the mountains mostly, and are 
  renowned magical smiths. Their muscle fibres 
  are long, as with halflings, making them the 
  physical equal of the taller races, even if shorter. 
  Their shoulders are wide however and often their
  bellies are big, making them no more stealthy 
  than a human or elf. 
  ASPECTS 
  Blood and Glory, Knowledge of the Secrets of 
  the Underdark, Pain Is for the Weak, Warrior of 
  the Seven Clans. 
  Dwarf skill 
  You may use the ‘Dwarf’ skill to resist pain and 
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  perform feats of brute strength. In addition, pick 
  one of the following flavors; you can pick more at
  the cost of one stunt or refresh each. 
  Blood Rage: When you use Dwarf to create an 
  advantage representing an overpowering 
  battle-fury, you get an extra invocation on that 
  aspect if you succeed or succeed with style. 
  Thick Skin: You may use Dwarf instead of 
  Physique to determine your physical stress and 
  consequences, and you get one additional minor
  physical consequence.
  Language 
  The languages spoken by the character are a 
  good opportunity to add a little colour to the 
  character sheet. Everyone, unless their 
  background is very unusual will speak Human, at
  least haltingly, as it is a trade language. 
  Characters can speak an additional 1D3 
  languages if they desire. There is no need to 
  choose your languages yet. Fill in your language
  slots as you play the game, and it becomes 
  apparent which languages are important. 
  Realm of Origin
  The area that the character comes from. You can
  select one of the areas described later in this 
  book, or you can design your own. You can be 
  as specific as a single village, or a city street. 
  Career/Previous Career
  Now that we are forming a clearer picture of the 
  character, we can delve a little into their history. 
  A good step in defining this history is to pick a 
  career for the character. This can be a previous 
  career if it is a way of life that the character is 
  leaving behind as they become an adventurer. 
  This is noted on the character sheet as an 
  aspect, even if it is a previous career. Write 
  ex-thief, for example, if the character is leaving 
  their previous career among the underworld 
  behind to become an adventurer. 
  This career represents the things the character 
  was doing before they started adventuring. Don't
  feel limited by the choices below. These are here
  to give a flavour of the sort of lives fantasy 
  adventurers might have lived. It's even more fun 
  to come up with your own idea for a previous 
  career. 
   
  Barbarian
  These are peoples that have little contact with 
  city life. They are the subject of condescension 
  and curiosity, they are also the keepers of 
  knowledge that has been lost, or not yet 
  discovered, by the civilised peoples of the tall 
  cities. 
  Criminal 
  Crime is usually a brutish thing, fuelled by 
  necessity, but for some it is the only option 
  available. There are also a small number of 
  people who enjoy the kick they get from 
  committing a crime, but most criminals will leave 
  their life of crime behind them when they go 
  adventuring. 
  Explorer 
  Though much of the map of the world is filled in, 
  even more of it remains blank or is simply wrong.
  On huge sections, all that can be written with 
  any confidence is, ‘Here be Monsters.’ The 
  explorer thrives on discovering who and what is 
  in those unknown places. 
  Forester 
  The forester, also known as a forest ranger, or 
  ranger, holds a position equal to a sheriff or local
  law enforcer. They are responsible for patrolling 
  the woodlands on a lord or lady's property. Their 
  duties included negotiating deals for the sale of 
  lumber and timber and stopping poachers from 
  illegally hunting. Many times wanted criminals 
  hide in the forest. When this happens it is the 
  duty of the forester to organize armed gangs to 
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  capture the criminal. Often foresters hold titles of
  prominence in their local communities, and act 
  as barristers and arbitrators. Their pay is usually 
  above average, and often includes free 
  accommodation in a forester's lodge. 
  Herbalist 
  A person whose life is dedicated to the economic
  or medicinal uses of plants. These are respected
  members of the local community with a status 
  only a little below that of a doctor in the big 
  cities, while out in the country the herbalist will 
  probably have a higher status than a doctor. 
  Hunter 
  Even as agriculture and animal husbandry has 
  become prevalent, hunting remains a part of 
  Hyropean culture. Hunting is no longer 
  necessary for subsistence, and is now aimed 
  primarily at killing animals which prey upon 
  domestic animals, and driving monsters away 
  from the borders of inhabited lands.
  Knight 
  This character is a member of the nobility, which 
  in such a militarized and dangerous world means
  they must be able to fight and command. They 
  must also be able to raise funds from their 
  estates and keep their lands in good order. Even
  the best trained fighter is of no use to their liege 
  if they can't afford armour and a horse. 
  Knights fallen on hard times, or whose estates 
  are underperforming have been known to quest 
  for treasure as an alternative source of income. 
  Such knights are referred to as wandering 
  knights, or knights errant. 
  Mage
  The mage's power comes from learning and 
  experiment. Some powerful magic users prefer 
  to wear robes and carry nothing but a book and 
  wand, to emphasise the fact that they can 
  protect themselves by magical means, but there 
  are just as many practical minded adventurers 
  who see the advantage in wearing a good suit of
  armour and carrying a sword.  
  Miasma Doctor
  A miasma doctor is a special medical physician 
  who treats those who have diseases caused by 
  the miasma. The miasma is an invisible cloud 
  that collects around impure souls and causes 
  them to have diseases. They are specifically 
  hired by towns that have many miasma victims. 
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  Since the city is paying their salary, they treat 
  everyone: rich and poor. They are not normally 
  professionally trained experienced physicians or 
  surgeons, and are often second-rate doctors not 
  able to otherwise run a successful medical 
  business or young physicians trying to establish 
  themselves. Plague doctors wear a special 
  costume. The protective suit consisted of a 
  heavy fabric overcoat that is waxed, a mask with
  glass eye openings and a cone nose shaped like
  a beak to hold scented substances and straw. 
  The scented materials include ambergris, 
  balm-mint leaves, camphor, cloves, laudanum, 
  myrrh, rose petals and storax. This protects the 
  doctor from miasmatic bad air (+2 to save rolls). 
  The straw also provides a filter for the ‘bad air’. A
  wooden cane pointer is used to help examine 
  the patient without having to touch them.
  Minstrel 
  Minstrels keep the legends alive, memorizing the
  works of others and adding to the traditional 
  songs when legendary deeds are performed. 
  Frequently they are retained by champions and 
  royalty, keen to take their place among the 
  legends of old.  
  Scribe 
  The work of the scribe involves copying books, 
  including sacred texts, magical texts, and 
  secretarial and administrative duties such as 
  taking of dictation and the keeping of business, 
  judicial and historical records for kings, nobility, 
  temples and cities. Street corner letter-writers 
  (and readers) are also to be found providing 
  these services. 
  Spy 
  All the realms make use of assassins, spies and 
  secret agents, and have thoroughly developed 
  systems for the acquisition of intelligence. They 
  all rely heavily on espionage in their conquests.
  Wildcrafter 
  The wildcrafter is skilled at finding and collecting 
  magical and medicinal herbs. They are every bit 
  as at home in the monster infested wilds as 
  hunters and rangers.
  Enhancing the Setting 
  As you’re making stuff up for your characters, 
  you’ll also make stuff up about the world around 
  them. You’ll end up talking about NPCs, 
  organizations, places, things like that. That’s 
  fantastic! The GM will be very appreciative of all 
  the help they can get in rounding out the game 
  world and making it more real. 
  Troubles Are Compelling
  In addition to a back story, every character has 
  some sort of trouble that’s a part of their life and 
  story, but trouble is a good thing. 
  Trouble brings chaos into a character’s life and 
  drives them into interesting situations. Trouble 
  aspects are broken up into two types: personal 
  struggles and problematic relationships. 
  Personal struggles are about your darker side or 
  impulses that are hard to control. If it’s 
  something that your character might be tempted 
  to do or unconsciously do at the worst possible 
  moment, it’s this sort of trouble
  Problematic relationships are about people or 
  organizations that make your life hard. It could 
  be a group of people who hate your guts and 
  want you to suffer, folks you work for that don’t 
  make your job easy, or even your family or 
  friends that too often get caught in the crossfire. 
  Your trouble shouldn’t be easy to solve. If it was, 
  your character would have done that already, 
  and that’s not interesting. But nor should it 
  paralyse the character completely. If the trouble 
  is constantly interfering with the character’s 
  day-to-day life, he’s going to spend all his time 
  dealing with it rather than other matters at hand. 
  You shouldn’t have to deal with your trouble at 
  every turn—unless that’s the core of one 
  particular adventure in the story (and even then, 
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  that’s just one adventure). 
  Troubles also shouldn’t be directly related to 
  your high concept—if you decided you were a 
  Criminal in your previous career, saying your 
  trouble is The Criminal Underworld Hates Me is 
  a dull trouble, because we already assume that 
  with your high concept. (Of course, you can turn 
  that up a notch to make it personal, like Don 
  Machanto, Head of the Thieves Guild, Personally
  Hates Me, to make it work.) 
  Before you go any further, talk with the GM 
  about your character’s trouble. Make sure you’re
  both on the same page in terms of what it 
  means. Both of you may want to find one way 
  this aspect might be invoked or compelled to 
  make sure you’re both seeing the same things—
  or to give each other ideas. The GM should 
  come away from this conversation knowing what
  you want out of your trouble. 
  The Bright Side of Troubles 
  Since your trouble is an aspect, it’s something 
  you should also be able to invoke, right? 
  Because we’ve been so focused on how this 
  complicates your character’s life, it’s easy to 
  miss how a trouble also helps your character. 
  In short, your experience with your trouble 
  makes you a stronger person in that regard. 
  Dealing with personal struggles leaves you 
  vulnerable to being tempted or cajoled, but it can
  also give you a sense of inner strength, because
  you know the sort of person you want to be. 
  Problematic relationships often cause trouble, 
  but people do learn hard lessons from the 
  troubles they deal with. They especially learn 
  how to manoeuvre around many of the smaller 
  issues their troubles present. 
  Aspects 
  Now create or choose two other aspects.
  The golden rule of making aspects in character 
  creation: you can always change it later. If you’re
  struggling to make an aspect, write out the idea 
  in as many words as you need to, in order to get 
  it down on paper in the first place. If a specific 
  phrase pops up after you write it down, great! If 
  not, maybe someone else at the table can help 
  you come up with an aspect. And if you’re still 
  stuck, leave it for now—you’ll have plenty of time
  during play to refine it. 
  And if you really need to, it’s okay to leave some 
  blank. Look at Quick Character Creation for 
  more on leaving parts of your character sheet 
  blank. 
   
  Choosing Aspects 
  A lot of character creation focuses on coming up 
  with aspects—some are related to your concept, 
  some are related to your troubles, but they 
  basically all work the same way. Aspects are one
  of the most important parts of your character, 
  since they define who she is, and they provide 
  ways for you to generate fate points and to 
  spend those fate points on bonuses. 
  Aspects which don’t help you tell a good story 
  (by giving you success when you need it and by 
  drawing you into danger and action when the 
  story needs it) aren’t doing their job. The aspects
  which push you into conflict—and help you excel
  once you’re there—will be among your best and 
  most-used. 
  Aspects need to be both useful and dangerous—
  allowing you to help shape the story and 
  generating lots of fate points—and they should 
  never be boring. The best aspect suggests both 
  ways to use it and ways it can complicate your 
  situation. Aspects that cannot be used for either 
  of those are likely to be dull indeed. 
  Ultimately, it’s much better to leave an aspect 
  slot blank than to pick one that isn’t inspiring and
  evocative to play. If you’re picking aspects you’re
  not invested in, they’ll end up being noticeable 
  drags on your fun. 
  Significant personality traits or beliefs make 
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  good aspects. (Sucker for a Pretty Face, Never 
  Leave a Man Behind). 
  An important possession or noticeable feature 
  might be represented by an aspect. (My 
  Mother’s Bloodstained Longsword, Dressed as 
  at Court at All Times, Sharp Eyed Veteran). 
  Relationships to people and organizations can 
  be aspects. (Lookout for the Twisting Hand 
  Criminal Gangt). 
  Titles, reputations, or obligations the character 
  may have could also make nice aspects. 
  (Self-Important City Guard Lieutenant, 
  Silver-Tongued Scoundrel, Honor-Bound to 
  Avenge My Brother). 
  The GM will use your aspects when they are 
  creating scenarios, to generate the problems 
  your PCs are going to solve. 
  Your aspects highlight what makes your 
  character an individual, and you want to play that
  up, right? So when the opportunity comes up to 
  make your character more awesome by 
  invoking, go for it! When you see an opportunity 
  to influence the story by suggesting a compel for
  your character, do it! The game will be much 
  richer for it as a whole. 
  The best aspects are double-edged, say more 
  than one thing, and keep the phrasing simple. 
  Players, good aspects offer a clear benefit to 
  your character while also providing opportunities 
  to complicate their lives or be used to their 
  detriment. 
   
  An aspect with a double-edge is going to come 
  up in play more often than a mostly positive or 
  negative one. You can use them frequently to be 
  awesome, and you’ll be able to accept more 
  compels and gain more fate points. 
  Try this as a litmus test—list two ways you might 
  invoke the aspect, and two ways someone else 
  could invoke it or you could get a compel from it. 
  If the examples come easily to mind, great! If 
  not, add more context to make that aspect work 
  or put that idea to the side and come up with a 
  new aspect. 
  Let’s look at an aspect like Photographic 
  Memory. The benefits of having this aspect are 
  pretty obvious—any time you’re doing or 
  remembering research, you could justify invoking
  it. But it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of room 
  for that aspect to work against you. So, let’s think
  of a way we can spice that up a bit. 
  What if we change that aspect to Introverted 
  Book Worm? That still carries the connotations 
  that would allow you to take advantage of it while
  working with facts and books, but it adds a 
  downside—you’re awkward around people. This 
  might mean that you could accept compels to 
  mangle a social situation, or someone might 
  invoke your aspect when a fascinating piece of 
  research distracts you. 
  Invoking Aspects
  The primary way you’re going to use aspects in 
  a game is to invoke them. If you’re in a situation 
  where an aspect is beneficial to your character 
  somehow, you can invoke it. 
  In order to invoke an aspect, explain why the 
  aspect is relevant, (spend a fate point if it's not a 
  free invoke), and you can choose one of these 
  benefits: 
  Take a +2 on your current skill roll after you’ve 
  rolled the dice. 
  Reroll all your dice. 
  Pass a +2 benefit to another character’s roll, if 
  it’s reasonable that the aspect you’re invoking 
  would be able to help. 
  Add +2 to any source of passive opposition, if it’s
  reasonable that the aspect you’re invoking could 
  contribute to making things more difficult. You 
  can also use this to create passive opposition at 
  Fair (+2) if there wasn’t going to be any. 
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  Reroll or +2
  Rerolling the dice is a little riskier than just 
  getting the +2 bonus, but has the potential for 
  greater benefit. We recommend you reserve this 
  option for when you’ve rolled a –3 or a –4 on the 
  dice, to maximize the chance that you’ll get a 
  beneficial result from rerolling. The odds are 
  better that way. 
  It doesn’t matter when you invoke the aspect, 
  but usually it’s best to wait until after you’ve 
  rolled the dice to see if you’re going to need the 
  benefit. You can invoke multiple aspects on a 
  single roll, but you cannot invoke the same 
  aspect multiple times on a single roll. So if your 
  reroll doesn’t help you enough, you’ll have to 
  pick another aspect (and spend another fate 
  point) for a second reroll or that +2. 
  The group has to buy into the relevance of a 
  particular aspect when you invoke it; GMs, 
  you’re the final arbiter on this one. The use of an 
  aspect should make sense, or you should be 
  able to creatively narrate your way into ensuring 
  it makes sense. 
  Precisely how you do this is up to you. 
  Sometimes, it makes so much sense to use a 
  particular aspect that you can just hold up the 
  fate point and name it. Or you might need to 
  embellish your character’s action a little more so 
  that everyone understands where you’re coming 
  from. (That’s why we recommend making sure 
  that you’re on the same page with the group as 
  to what each of your aspects means—it makes it
  easier to justify bringing it into play.) 
  If the aspect you invoke is on someone else’s 
  character sheet, including situation aspects 
  attached to them, you give them the fate point 
  you spent. They don’t actually get to use it until 
  after the end of the scene, though. 
  Free Invocations 
  You don’t always have to pay a fate point to 
  invoke an aspect—sometimes it’s free. 
  When you succeed at creating an advantage, 
  you “stick” a free invocation onto an aspect. If 
  you succeed with style, you get two invocations. 
  Some of the other actions also give you free 
  boosts. 
  You also get to stick a free invocation on any 
  consequences you inflict in a conflict. 
  Free invocations work like normal ones except in
  two ways: no fate points are exchanged, and you
  can stack them with a normal invocation for a 
  better bonus. So you can use a free invocation 
  and pay a fate point on the same aspect to get a 
  +4 bonus instead of a +2, two rerolls instead of 
  one, or you can add +4 to another character’s 
  roll or increase passive opposition by +4. Or you 
  could split the benefits, getting a reroll and a +2 
  bonus. You can also stack multiple free 
  invocations together. 
  After you’ve used your free invocation, if the 
  aspect in question is still around, you can keep 
  invoking it by spending fate points. 
  If you want, you can pass your free invocation to 
  another character. That allows you to get some 
  teamwork going between you and a buddy. This 
  is really useful in a conflict if you want to set 
  someone up for a big blow—have everyone 
  create an advantage and pass their free 
  invocations onto one person, then that person 
  stacks all of them up at once for a huge bonus. 
  Compelling Aspects
  The other way you use aspects in the game is 
  called a compel. If you’re in a situation where 
  having or being around a certain aspect means 
  your character’s life is more dramatic or 
  complicated, someone can compel the aspect. 
  That aspect can be on your character, the scene,
  location, game, or anywhere else that’s currently 
  in play. We’ll start with character aspects, and 
  then talk about situation aspects in a bit. 
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  In order to compel an aspect, explain why the 
  aspect is relevant, and then make an offer as to 
  what the complication is. You can negotiate the 
  terms of the complication a bit, until you reach a 
  reasonable consensus. Whoever is getting 
  compelled then has two options: 
  Accept the complication and receive a fate point 
  Pay a fate point to prevent the complication from
  happening 
  The complication from a compel occurs 
  regardless of anyone’s efforts—once you’ve 
  made a deal and taken the fate point, you can’t 
  use your skills or anything else to mitigate the 
  situation. You have to deal with the new story 
  developments that arise from the complication. 
  If you prevent the complication from happening, 
  then you and the group describe how you avoid 
  it. Sometimes it just means that you agree that 
  the event never happened in the first place, and 
  sometimes it means narrating your character 
  doing something proactive. Whatever you need 
  to do in order to make it make sense works fine, 
  as long as the group is okay with it. 
  GMs, you’re the final arbiter here, as always—
  not just on how the result of a compel plays out, 
  but on whether or not a compel is valid in the 
  first place. Use the same judgment you apply to 
  an invocation—it should make instinctive sense, 
  or require only a small amount of explanation, 
  that a complication might arise from the aspect. 
  Finally, and this is very important: if a player 
  wants to compel another character, it costs a 
  fate point to propose the complication. The GM 
  can always compel for free, and any player can 
  propose a compel on his or her own character 
  for free. 
  Players, if you need fate points, this is a really 
  good way of getting them. If you propose a 
  decision-based compel for your character to the 
  GM, then what you’re basically asking is for 
  something you’re about to do to go wrong 
  somehow. You don’t even have to have a 
  complication in mind—simply signalling the GM 
  should be enough to start a conversation. GMs, 
  as long as the compel isn’t weak (as in, as long 
  as there’s a good, juicy complication), you 
  should go with this. If the compel is weak, poll 
  the rest of the group for ideas until something 
  more substantial sticks. 
  If you offer a decision-based compel, and no one
  can agree on what the decision part should be, it
  shouldn’t cost a fate point to counter—just drop 
  it. Countering a decision-based compel should 
  only mean that the “what goes wrong” part 
  doesn’t happen. 
  GMs, remember that a player is ultimately 
  responsible for everything that the character 
  says and does. You can offer decision-based 
  compels, but if the player doesn’t feel like the 
  decision is one that the character would make, 
  don’t force the issue by charging a fate point. 
  Instead, negotiate the terms of the compel until 
  you find a decision the player is comfortable 
  making, and a complication that chains from that
  decision instead. If you can’t agree on 
  something, drop it. 
  Retroactive Compels 
  Sometimes, you’ll notice during the game that 
  you’ve fulfilled the criteria for a compel without a 
  fate point getting awarded. You’ve played your 
  aspects to the hilt and gotten yourself into all 
  kinds of trouble, or you’ve narrated crazy and 
  dramatic stuff happening to a character related 
  to their aspects just out of reflex. 
  Anyone who realizes this in play can mention it, 
  and the fate point can be awarded retroactively, 
  treating it like a compel after the fact. GMs, 
  you’re the final arbiter. It should be pretty 
  obvious when something like this occurs, though
  —just look at the guidelines for event and 
  decision compels above, and see if you can 
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  summarize what happened in the game 
  according to those guidelines. If you can, award 
  a fate point. 
  Compelling with Situation Aspects 
  Just like with every other kind of aspect use, you
  can use situation aspects (and by extension, 
  game aspects) for compels. Because situation 
  aspects are usually external to characters, 
  you’re almost always looking at event-based 
  compels rather than decision-based ones. The 
  character or characters affected get a fate point 
  for the compel. 
  Here is an example: 
  Because the warehouse is On Fire, and the 
  player characters are trapped in the middle of it, 
  it makes sense that, unfortunately, the ruffian 
  they’re chasing can get away in the confusion. 
  Damn their luck. 
  Finally, aspects have a passive use that you can 
  draw on in almost every instance of play. 
  Players, you can use them as a guide to 
  roleplaying your character. This may seem 
  self-evident, but we figured we’d call it out 
  anyway—the aspects on your character sheet 
  are true of your character at all times, not just 
  when they’re invoked or compelled. 
  Removing or Changing an Aspect 
  Game and character aspects change through 
  advancement. See the Milestones section in The
  Long Game for that. 
  If you want to get rid of a situation aspect, you 
  can do it in one of two ways: roll an overcome 
  action specifically for the purpose of getting rid of
  the aspect, or roll some other kind of action that 
  would make the aspect make no sense if you 
  succeed. (For example, if you’re Grappled, you 
  could try to sprint away. If you succeed, it 
  wouldn’t make sense for you to be Grappled any
  more, so you’d also get rid of that aspect.) 
  If a character can interfere with your action, they 
  get to roll active opposition against you as per 
  normal. Otherwise, GMs, it’s your job to set 
  passive opposition or just allow the player to get 
  rid of the aspect without a roll, if there’s nothing 
  risky or interesting in the way. 
  Finally, if at any point it simply makes no sense 
  for a situation aspect to be in play, get rid of it. 
  Gear
  Choose starting gear for your character. Gear 
  provides additional aspects that the character 
  has access to when they have their gear with 
  them. Usually there is also an extra aspect that 
  represents an item's disadvantages. The 
  character can have any gear their heart desires 
  at the start of play. 
  The gear a character has at their disposal will 
  constantly be changing. If a player wants to keep
  a particular piece of gear with them, a signature 
  weapon or their trusted steed, it must be 
  mentioned as part of one of the character's 
  aspects. Otherwise the GM can take or destroy it
  at any time. 
  Gear can be chosen from the lists below, or the 
  players can design their own gear, assigning one
  positive and one negative aspect if the gear is 
  significant enough to warrant this.
  Example Equipment 
  Here are some examples of the sort of 
  equipment, with advantageous and 
  disadvantageous aspect, where they seem 
  necessary or desirable. 
  The gear is priced gold, silver or copper pieces; 
  1G (1 gold piece) = 10S (10 silver pieces) = 20C 
  (20 copper pieces).
  Animals
  Animals are often the most valuable possessions
  that a Hyropean person will own. The stealing of 
  animals is taken very seriously, and the 
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  punishment if caught is often death. 
  Price List
  Cat, 1S
  Chicken, 1C
  Cow, 6S
  Dog, 1S
  Draught horse, 1G
  Goose, 6C
  Mule, 4S
  Ox, 12S
  Pet Dragon, 100G
  Pig, 2S
  Riding horse, 10G
  Sheep, 1S
  War horse, 80G
  Clothes
  Both men and women often wear hoods, often 
  attached to capes or jackets but sometimes 
  standing alone. A common garment for men of 
  the working classes is a hood attached to a short
  cape that covers just the shoulders. 
  Price List 
  Boots, 6C
  Fashionable gown, 10-50G
  Head covering (hat or hood), 10C
  Linen jacket, 8C
  Purse, 2C
  Shoes, 4C
  Woollen jacket, 3S
  Food/Drink
  Meat is expensive and therefore prestigious. It is
  common only on the tables of the nobility, and 
  poachers and outlaws. Beef, which requires a 
  huge investment in land, cleared of trees and 
  kept safe from monsters, is very uncommon. 
  Wine is commonly drunk and is regarded as the 
  most prestigious and healthy of drinks. Unlike 
  water or beer, consumption of wine in 
  moderation (especially red wine) is believed to 
  aid digestion, generate good blood and brighten 
  the mood. 
  Common folk usually have to settle for a cheap 
  white wine from a second or even third pressing,
  meaning that it can be consumed in quite 
  generous amounts without leading to heavy 
  intoxication. For the very poorest, watered-down 
  vinegar is often the only available choice. 
  Human wine is bad quality, you have to drink it 
  with your teeth clenched to filter out impurities, 
  halfling wine is the best.
  Price List
  Cheese, 2C per wedge
  Day's food for a king, 7C
  Day's food for a knight, 4C
  Day's food for a commoner, 1C
  Dried fruit, 1C per lb
  Salt fish, 6S each
  Spices, 6S per lb
  Miscellaneous 
  Useful equipment for an adventurer will include a
  mule with room in its baggage to hold two sets of
  armour. One set is wargear such as mail or 
  plate, and the other is light brigandine, which is 
  the only acceptable armour option within cities. 
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  A selection of other odds and ends will also be 
  useful, such as rope and lanterns, water bottles, 
  bedding and rations. 
  Wands are used by teachers, orchestra 
  conductors and magicians to emphasise their 
  gestures. They are often a badge of rank that 
  must be earned or a gift to show esteem, and it 
  is considered ‘bad form’ to buy yourself a wand.
  Barrel, 3C
  Blank scroll, 1SP 
  Book (to buy), 5G
  Book (to rent), 1S per month
  Bottle, 4C
  Bucket, 5C
  Candles, 1C per 3 candles
  Chair, 3C
  Cooking pot, 2S
  Ink, 1CP
  King's bed, 200G
  Pillow, 1C
  Quill,  1CP
  Scroll tubes, 1SP
  Sheet, 4C
  Table, 6C
  Wand, 1GC
  Rent
  Ownership of property is very rare, as all 
  property ultimately belongs to the ruler of the 
  realm. Even huge castles, temples and colleges 
  are often rented.
  However, as it is almost impossible to learn 
  spells when on the road, or crouched in the 
  corner of a goblin's lair. The wizard must have a 
  safe tower or castle to return to, equipped for 
  magical research (just furnishing the tower with 
  this equipment costs 40G). It is funding this base
  cum lab that sends many magicians of more 
  limited means off on adventures in the first place.
   
  Price List
  Castle (large), 900G/year
  Castle (medium), 700G/year
  Castle (small), 300G/year
  City guild hall, 140G/year
  City shop, 10G/year
  City tavern, 70G/year
  Cottage, 5S/year
  Craftsman's house (with workshop), 20G/year
  Fortified college, 450G/year
  Large barn, 8S/year
  Stately home (with courtyard), 90G/year
  Wizard's tower 60G/year 
  Tools
  The tools of a trade are prized possessions, and 
  they are built to last. Good quality tools can be 
  handed down from generation to generation. 
  Price List
  Anvil, 2G
  Armourer's tools, 10G
  Bellows, 3G
  Carpenter's axe, 5C
  Chisel, 4C
  Hammer, 8C
  Shovel, 3C
  Spinning wheel, 1S
  Transport
  Carriages and wagons are some of the most 
  often-encountered vehicles on the roads, but 
  there are more unusual vehicles too. 
  A carriage is  usually horse-drawn. Carriages 
  normally have suspension using leaf springs or 
  leather strapping. Wagons are pulled by animals 
  such as horses, mules or oxen, and are used for 
  transporting goods, agricultural materials or 
  sometimes people. Wagons have four wheels. A 
  wagon may be pulled by one animal or by 
  several, often in pairs.
  Longship 
  The longship is a type of ship that was 
  developed over a period of centuries and 
  perfected by its most famous user, the fierce 
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  Northerners. The ships were clinker-built, 
  utilizing overlapping wooden strakes. 
  Knarr 
  a type of cargo vessel. It differs from the 
  longship in that it is larger and relies solely on its
  square rigged sail for propulsion. 
  Galley 
  Galleys have been in use for trade and warfare 
  for millions of years. Rowing is the primary 
  method of propulsion, which is well-suited for the
  often fickle winds of the equatorial seas, where 
  they are primarily used. The galley is also used 
  in the waters of the north, but to a lesser extent 
  since its low freeboard and lack of stability in 
  rough seas make it vulnerable. 
  Cog 
  The cog is a design which is believed to have 
  evolved from (or at least been influenced by) the 
  longship, and is in wide use. The cog is a wide 
  and spacious transport ship. Primitive cogs have
  open hulls and can be rowed short distances. 
  More advanced versions have become larger 
  and received a deck, as well as a raised platform
  in the bow and stern. 
   
  Carrack 
  The largest ship in use on the planet, it is a three
  or four-masted sailing ship for use in the deep 
  oceans. It has a high rounded stern with large 
  aftcastle and forecastle. It is usually 
  square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast 
  and lateen-rigged on the mizzenmast. 
  Price List
  Barge, 10G
  Carriage, 8G
  Carrack, 800G
  Cart, 4S
  Cog, 400 G
  Ferry crossing, 1C
  Galley 250G
  Knarr, 230G
  Longship, 180 G
  Queenly carriage 400G
  Sedan chair , 8S
  Wagon, 8S
  Weapons and Armour
  It is mandatory for all citizens to own certain 
  types of weapons and armour. These vary from 
  realm to realm, but often include a mail shirt, a 
  helmet, and a spear. All, including serfs, must 
  own bows, and archery practice is compulsory at
  least once per week and holidays. 
  This is a double-edged sword for the rulers of 
  the realms. It means they have huge armies of 
  trained fighters at their disposal at a moment's 
  notice, but it also means that any rebellion will 
  be well equipped, armed and dangerous. 
  Weapon Restrictions
  Mail, plate, longswords and war hammers are for
  military practice, protecting the village from 
  monsters and warfare only. They are otherwise 
  banned for public use within settlements of all 
  sizes, though it is tolerated to wear these items 
  in some frontier areas. Such equipment must 
  usually be removed and stored in a locked chest.
  Wearing such ‘wargear’ will attract the attention 
  of the city guard. The heavy mob will be called in
  – usually a group of tough dwarves in war gear 
  and an elven archer or two on roof tops. The 
  characters caught so garbed and equipped will 
  be engaged, and if possible arrested and 
  interrogated, possibly using torture, to ascertain 
  if they are attempting to incite rebellion. 
  Rebellion is a constant worry all over the 
  continent, where even a medium size irregular 
  force often proves equal to or better than the 
  government's own regular military in combat, 
  due in part to their compulsory military training. 
  Brigandine and a rapier is acceptable for wear, 
  by both men and women, and is even a mark of 
  rank. A lady or gentleman adventurer, and those 
  that style themselves as such, often wear 
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  brigandine and rapier as they go about their 
  business in town. 
  To defeat plate armour, the mace, for cavalry 
  riding at head cracking hight, and the longsword 
  for fighting on foot, are the weapons of choice. 
  They are both expensive however, and most 
  combatants are armed with cheaper alternatives 
  such as pikes, mauls or warhammers. 
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  Weapons
  Arming Sword
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage type: slashing  
  The arming sword is often worn as a backup 
  weapon by those wielding the two-handed 
  longsword. It is a light, but not very versatile 
  weapon capable only of doing slashing damage.
  They are typically used with a shield or buckler. 
  When used as a primary weapon, arming sword 
  combat is possible without the benefit of a 
  shield. In the absence of a shield the empty 
  (normally left) hand can be used for grappling 
  opponents. 
  Battle Axe
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage type: slashing
  Battle axes generally weigh far less than axes 
  for splitting wood, because they are designed to 
  cut legs and arms rather than wood; 
  consequently, narrow slicing blades are the 
  norm. This facilitates deep, grievous wounds. 
  Moreover, a lighter weapon is much quicker to 
  bring to bear in combat and manipulate for 
  repeated strikes against an adversary. 
  Club 
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage: clubbing
  Description: A club (also known as cudgel, 
  baton, truncheon, or bludgeon) is among the 
  simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a 
  short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and 
  wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times. 
  Composite bow 
  Range: 425m 
  Rate of fire: miss 1 round between shots for 
  reload and draw.
  Damage type: low velocity projectile
  The composite bow is the most advanced bow 
  design, and can be easily used from horseback. 
  Cross Bow
  Range: 400m
  Damage type: high velocity projectile
  Rate of fire: miss 3 rounds between shots for 
  reload, and winding the mechanism.
  These are more powerful than other bows, and 
  more accurate, but much more expensive and 
  very slow to reload. They can shoot an armour 
  penetrating high velocity projectile, 'the bolt' 
  which can be devastating to wearers of plate 
  armour.
  Flail
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage types: pummelling, and trapping
  The military flail is an unusual hand weapon in 
  which the handle is attached to the striking part 
  of a weapon by a flexible chain or cord. It does 
  pummelling damage like a mace, but is also very
  good at doing trapping damage, to catch and 
  throw opponents and put them at a 
  disadvantage. This leaves the opponent open to 
  a thrusting strike at a weak point in their armour, 
  often administered with a rondel (the knightly 
  dagger).
  Grasping Glove
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage Type: trapping
  Rapiers are quick and agile, but they can still be 
  quickly seized and held tightly by even a bare 
  hand. There is little chance of the hand being 
  injured in doing this. Indeed, even wider cutting 
  swords can be held by the blade or grabbed 
  safely if done correctly.  Several rapier treatises 
  depict the empty hand being used to slap away 
  or deflect rapier thrusts. 
  This is a common technique and if the special 
  grasping glove, covered in mail or heavy leather,
  is worn then grabbing or swatting away a sword 
  is even safer.
  Halberd 
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage Type: thrusting, slashing and trapping 
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  damage
  The halberd is a cheap and versatile weapon. It 
  consists of an axe blade topped with a spike 
  mounted on a long shaft. It also has a hook or 
  thorn on the back of the axe blade for grappling 
  mounted combatants.
  The halberd is very versatile in battle. It is able to
  push back approaching horsemen and the hook 
  opposite the axe head can be used to pull 
  horsemen to the ground or pull them off balance.
  Additionally, halberds are reinforced with metal 
  rims over the shaft, thus making effective 
  weapons for blocking other weapons like 
  swords. Expert halberdiers are as deadly as any 
  other weapon masters on the battlefield.
  It is often carried by lower-ranking officers in 
  infantry units, used to ensure that infantrymen 
  drawn up in ranks are standing correctly aligned 
  with each other.
  Heavy Cloak
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage Type: trapping 
  Gentlefolk typically wear a cloak or cape which 
  can be easily unclasped and wound around their
  free hand to be used to parry sword strikes and 
  trap the blade of opponents.  
  Javelin
  Range: 30m 
  Damage type: low velocity projectile 
  A javelin is a light spear designed primarily for 
  casting as a ranged weapon. Some elven 
  nations have developed a military tactic to 
  maximize the advantages of the combination 
  between horse and javelin. In this tactic the 
  horsemen ride around in circles, toward and 
  away from the enemy, continually hurling 
  javelins. The tactic is usually employed against 
  heavy infantry. The constant movement of the 
  horsemen gives them an advantage against slow
  infantry and makes them hard to target. The 
  manoeuvre is designed to harass and taunt the 
  enemy forces, disrupting close formations. 
  Lance 
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage type: Thrusting
  A Lance is a spear designed to be used by a 
  mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stouter and
  heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for 
  throwing, or for close-in fighting. They are often 
  equipped with a vamplate, a small circular plate 
  to prevent the hand sliding up the shaft upon 
  impact.  As a secondary weapon, lancers bare 
  swords, maces or something else suited to close
  quarter battle, since the lance is basically a 
  one-use-per-engagement weapon; after the 
  initial charge, the weapon is far too long, heavy 
  and slow to be effectively used against 
  opponents in a melee.
  Longsword 
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage: slashing, thrusting, pummelling, or 
  trapping
  This weapon is also referred to as the 
  two-handed sword, bastard sword and great 
  sword. Longswords have long cruciform hilts 
  with grips that provide room for two hands. 
  Versions with short grips can also be held with 
  two hands; one hand on the grip and one hand 
  on the lower part of the blade.
  They have straight double-edged blades, which 
  are often over 1m in length, and are very heavy.
  The longsword is commonly held in combat with 
  both hands, though they may also be used 
  single-handed. 
  All parts of the sword are used for offensive 
  purposes, including the, blade (slashing), point 
  (thrusting), pommel (pummelling) and 
  crossguard (trapping). 
  Longswords can therefore do whatever damage 
  the user needs depending on their opponent's 
  armour and other circumstances. Lightly 
  armoured foes can be slashed causing swift and 
  grievous wounds, while armoured opponents 
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  can be pummelled to weaken them, then trapped
  and brought to the ground where a final thrust 
  finishes them, all with a single weapon. 
  Mace 
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage type: pummelling 
  A mace is a simple weapon that uses a heavy 
  head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful 
  blows. It differs from a hammer in that the head 
  of a mace is radially symmetric so that a blow 
  can be delivered just as effectively with any side 
  of the weapon. A mace consists of a strong, 
  heavy, wooden or metal shaft, often reinforced 
  with metal, featuring a head made of stone, 
  copper, bronze, iron, or steel. 
  The head of a military mace can be shaped with 
  flanges or knobs to allow greater penetration of 
  plate armour. The length of maces can vary 
  considerably. The maces of foot soldiers are 
  usually quite short. The maces of cavalrymen 
  are longer and thus better suited for blows 
  delivered from horseback. 
  Maces, being simple to make, relatively cheap, 
  and straightforward in application, are quite 
  common weapons. 
  Maul
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage: clubbing or thrusting (when equipped 
  with a spike)
  The maul is a long-handled hammer with a 
  heavy metal head, either of lead or iron. It is 
  similar in appearance and function to a 
  sledgehammer but sometimes has a spear-like 
  spike projecting from it. It is popular with archers,
  who use it to drive stakes into the ground, to 
  deter cavalry charges, and then keep it handy as
  a melee weapon. 
  Pike
  Range: special 
  Damage type: thrusting, slashing and trapping
  Special: -2 at ranges less than 6ft, +1 at ranges 
  between 10 and 25ft. 
  The pike is an extremely long weapon, varying 
  considerably in size, from 3 to 7.5 metres (10 to 
  25 feet) long. The great length of these weapons
  allows a great concentration of spearheads to be
  presented to the enemy, with their wielders at a 
  distance, but also makes pikes unwieldy in close
  combat. 
  This means that pikemen have to be equipped 
  with a shorter weapon such as a sword, mace, 
  or dagger in order to defend themselves should 
  the fighting degenerate into a melee. In general, 
  however, pikemen attempt to avoid such 
  disorganized combat, at which they are at a 
  disadvantage. To compound their difficulties in a 
  melee, pikeman often do not have a shield to 
  use in close-quarters fighting.
  Rondel, or Knightly Dagger
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage type: thrusting
  This dagger has a rounder cross-section than a 
  normal dagger and is designed for winkling into 
  armour and thrusting through chain and the 
  small holes in face plates. It's the weapon of 
  choice for threatening or finishing off a captured 
  knight on the battle field. Almost all knights carry 
  them for this purpose. 
  Quarterstaff 
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage type: trapping and pummelling
  A shaft of hardwood from 5 to 9 feet (1.5 to 
  2.7m) long, sometimes with a metal tip or spike 
  at one or both ends. The quarterstaff is a 
  versatile weapon that is taught as the first 
  introduction to the arts martial. Some foresters 
  consider it the noblest of weapons and value it 
  above even the longsword. 
  Rapier 
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage type: thrusting 
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  A relatively long-bladed sword characterized by 
  a complex hilt which is constructed to provide 
  protection for the hand wielding it. 
  It allows for fast reactions, and has a long reach. 
  The rapier is well suited to civilian combat, and 
  as longswords have evolved to meet the needs 
  of the battlefield, so the rapier has evolved to 
  meet the needs of civilian combat and decorum. 
  It is lighter, shorter and less cumbersome to 
  wear than a longsword.
  A rapier blade is by no means fragile nor 
  vulnerable to being easily broken or cut by other 
  swords (though its slender tip might on occasion 
  snap). The rapier can be quite sturdy and 
  capable of parrying the cuts of heavier swords, 
  but only with the thicker section of its blade or 
  hilt and (preferably) in a deflecting action to 
  redirect the attacking point rather than a passive,
  rigid block. It is, however, better to avoid or 
  dodge cuts from broader blades than to parry 
  them with a slender sword. 
  Rapiers are capable of piercing soft armours but 
  chain is a sufficient defence against them and is 
  often worn under clothing for this very reason.  If 
  an opponent is wearing any portion of plate 
  armour, for example on the battlefield or within 
  urban militias, attacks must naturally be directed 
  to other more vulnerable areas. 
  Self Bow (Long Bow)
  Range: 180m 
  Rate of fire: miss 2 rounds between shots for 
  reload and draw
  Damage type: low velocity projectile
  The self bow is the most basic bow design, and 
  requires special flexible wood to work well. 
  Scimitar 
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage type: Scimitars do thrusting and 
  slashing damage
  Scimitars are used in horse warfare because of 
  their relatively light weight, compared to 
  longswords, and their curved design. They are  
  good for slashing lightly armoured opponents 
  while riding on a horse.
  Throwing Dagger 
  Range: hand-to-hand, or thrown (range 6m)
  Damage Types: slashing, or low velocity 
  projectile
  A dagger is a small double-edged blade used for
  slashing and throwing. They often fulfil the role of
  a secondary defensive weapon in close combat. 
  War Hammer 
  Range: hand-to-hand
  Damage type: trapping, slashing or pummelling
  The war hammer is intended for close combat 
  action. War hammers often have a spike on one 
  side of the head, thus making it a more versatile 
  weapon than a mace. 
  War hammers transmit the impact of a blow 
  through even the thickest helmet and cause 
  concussions. The spike is used against other 
  parts of the body where the armour is thinner, 
  and penetration easier. 
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  The spike end can also be used for trapping the 
  target's armour, reins, or shield and bringing 
  them to the ground. Against mounted opponents,
  the weapon can be directed at the legs of the 
  horse, toppling the foe to the ground where they 
  can be more easily attacked.
  Price List
  Arming sword, 2G
  Battle Axe, 1G
  Bow, 2S
  Club, 4C
  Composite bow, 4S
  Crossbow, 4G
  Flail, 2G
  Grasping Glove, 4S 
  Halberd, 1G
  Heavy Cloak, 5S
  Javelin, 5S
  Lance, 3G
  Longsword 10G
  Mace, 2G
  Maul, 2G
  Pike, 8S
  Rondel Dagger, 1G
  Quarter Staff, 2S
  Rapier, 8G
  Self Bow, 2S
  Scimitar, 8G
  Throwing dagger, 8S
  War hammer,
  Armour
  Armour is a common possession, with even 
  lowly serfs being required by law to own a 
  leather jerkin. 
  Armour Rating and Damage Type 
  Armour ratings tell you what the maximum 
  number of shifts of stress you’ll take from an 
  attack is. Armour ratings start at 4 (for minimum 
  protection) and go down to 1 (for the best 
  protection). If the armour provides no protection, 
  this is marked with N/A. It is possible for armour 
  to make you more vulnerable to a certain type of 
  attack. Plate armour is famously vulnerable to 
  being trapped, because of the many crevices a 
  hook can find purchase. This is marked by a 
  negative number indicating the extra stress this 
  type of attack causes. 
  When the attacker succeeds with style, ignore 
  the armour rating. The attacker does full 
  damage.
  There is no armour that provides protection 
  against every damage type, however. Damage 
  types include:
  Clubbing; this is damage caused by blows from 
  soft organic materials such as wood or human 
  fists.
  Constriction; this is the damage done by 
  monsters that wind around targets and crush 
  them. 
  Energy attacks; this is damage caused by heat, 
  cold, electricity, etc. 
  High velocity projectile; this damage caused by 
  fast projectiles travelling along straight lines, 
  such as crossbow bolts. 
  Low velocity projectile; this is the damage 
  caused by arrows, darts and rocks.
  Pummelling; this is damage caused by blows 
  from hard inorganic materials such as metal or 
  stone. 
  Slashing; this is damage caused by cutting 
  swipes with edged weapons.
    
  Thrusting; this is damage caused by penetrating 
  thrusts from pointed weapons.
  Trapping ; this represents catching the opponent 
  with a hook, net or grapple, or even the cross 
  guard of a longsword, and pulling them to the 
  ground, or otherwise immobilising them. 
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  Brigandine
  This is the most popular armour with urban 
  civilians. It is a cloth jacket with metal plates 
  inside, held in place with rivets – often arranged 
  to make an attractive pattern on the outside of 
  the cloth. It is just as effective as plate, but 
  usually only the torso is covered. 
  Clubbing; this is damage caused by blows from 
  soft organic materials such as wood or human 
  fists.
  Clubbing; 2
  Constriction; N/A
  Energy attacks; N/A
  High velocity projectile; 3
  Low velocity projectile; 3
  Pummelling; 4
  Slashing; 4
  Thrusting; 2
  Trapping; N/A
  Chain Mail 
  The most expensive armour is chain mail (often 
  simply called mail), due to the time consuming 
  method of construction, where links are riveted 
  together to make a garment of chains. It is a 
  component of a suit of plate mail – or can be 
  worn on its own. A mail shirt can even be worn 
  concealed below clothing (with the same armour 
  ratings as brigandine). The full mail hauberk, 
  often worn under plate, can not be concealed 
  below clothing.   
  Depending on his or her fitness, a fighter 
  wearing a mail hauberk can run, lie, stand up, 
  jump, do somersaults (or even cartwheels), and 
  even swim wearing full armour.
  Clubbing; 1
  Constriction; N/A
  Energy attacks; N/A
  High velocity projectile; 1
  Low velocity projectile; 1
  Pummelling; 3
  Slashing; 1
  Thrusting; 1
  Trapping; N/A
  Leather Jerkin 
  This is a small leather vest that provides 10% 
  protection from slashing, hand-to-hand, and 
  thrusting/stabbing damage.
  Clubbing; 3
  Constriction; N/A
  Energy attacks; N/A
  High velocity projectile; 4
  Low velocity projectile; 4
  Pummelling; N/A
  Slashing; 4
  Thrusting; 4
  Trapping; N/A
  Plate 
  Plate armour, is personal armour made from 
  large metal plates, worn on the chest and 
  sometimes the entire body. It gives superior 
  protection to mail. It has largely supplanted mail 
  on the battlefield for those that can afford it. All 
  plate armour is lined with cloth, to pad the 
  wearer, quiet the armour, and reduce wear 
  between the pieces. This, along with the 
  necessary straps, is a significant amount of the 
  expense. 
  A complete suit of plate armour made from 
  well-tempered steel weighs around 15-20 kg 
  (33-44 pounds). The wearer remains highly agile
  and can jump, run and otherwise move freely as 
  the weight of the armour is spread evenly 
  throughout the body. 
  The armour is articulated and covers the entire 
  body completely from neck to toe. Large armies, 
  numbering thousands or even more than ten 
  thousand, (as many as 60% of any given army) 
  fight on foot wearing full plate, accompanied by 
  archers with a mix of bows and crossbows. 
  Clubbing; 1
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  Constriction; 4
  Energy attacks; N/A
  High velocity projectile; 1
  Low velocity projectile; 1
  Pummelling; 2
  Slashing; 1
  Thrusting; 1
  Trapping; -2
  Silk Shirt
  A silk shirt worn below armour provides excellent
  arrow protection, as the arrow can be pulled out 
  more easily. It is arrow removal after all, rather 
  than arrow strikes that are most often fatal. 
  Clubbing; N/A
  Constriction; N/A
  Energy attacks; N/A
  High velocity projectile; N/A
  Low velocity projectile; 1
  Pummelling; N/A
  Slashing; N/A
  Thrusting; N/A
  Trapping; N/A
  Spiked Armour
  Spikes give protection against constrict and bite 
  attacks, where the monster brings delicate parts 
  of their body – the face, underbelly – close to the
  wearer. 
  Clubbing; N/A
  Constriction; 2
  Energy attacks; N/A
  High velocity projectile; N/A
  Low velocity projectile; N/A
  Pummelling; N/A
  Slashing; N/A
  Thrusting; N/A
  Trapping; N/A
  Shields
  These give varying amounts of protection from 
  weapons and make the user more susceptible to
  trapping attacks to varying degrees. The shield 
  user can use either the armour protection or 
  shield protection against an attack, not both. 
  Fist shield
  Damage type: pummelling
  This is more of a weapon than a protection and 
  can be used to do pummelling damage. It is 
  sometimes confusingly called a buckler (it is not 
  buckled to the forearm). 
  This is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm (6 in to 18 in) 
  in diameter, gripped in the fist; it is generally 
  used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand 
  combat, as its size makes it poor protection 
  against missile weapons (e.g. arrows) but useful 
  in deflecting the blow of an opponent's sword or 
  mace. 
  There are two major forms of bucklers. The first 
  is a simple round shield with the fist positioned 
  directly behind the boss with a variety of shapes 
  of face and depths of rim. The second major 
  form is a corrugated rectangle.
  A buckler can be used as a ‘Metal fist’ to directly 
  attack an opponent by punching with either its 
  flat face or its rim. Most shields are too big and 
  unwieldy to be used this way. The buckler does 
  not however give any protection against missile 
  weapons.
  Clubbing; 4
  Constriction; N/A
  Energy attacks; N/A
  High velocity projectile; N/A
  Low velocity projectile; N/A
  Pummelling; N/A
  Slashing; N/A
  Thrusting; N/A
  Trapping; N/A
  Heraldic shield
  This is smaller than the kite-shield, but is more 
  manageable and can be used either mounted or 
  on foot. They are typically made from thin wood 
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  overlaid with leather. Some shields, incorporate 
  additional layers of gesso, canvas, and/or 
  parchment.
  Smaller versions are available with a notch to 
  support a lance, but these are really specialised 
  jousting equipment, and of little use outside the 
  tournament. 
  Clubbing; 2
  Constriction; N/A
  Energy attacks; N/A
  High velocity projectile; 4
  Low velocity projectile; 3
  Pummelling; 4
  Slashing; 2
  Thrusting; 2
  Trapping; N/A
  Kite shield
  This shield is rounded at the top and tapers to 
  the bottom, it is cumbersome but gives some 
  protection to the legs. It is often used by cavalry.
  Clubbing; 2
  Constriction; N/A
  Energy attacks; N/A
  High velocity projectile; 3
  Low velocity projectile; 2
  Pummelling; 4
  Slashing; 2
  Thrusting; 2
  Trapping; N/A
  Round shield
  This is the typical, simple round shield made 
  from wood. It is very effective and cheap to 
  produce, which means there are an awful lot of 
  them, hanging on walls, abandoned on 
  battlefields and also actually in use.
  Clubbing; 2
  Constriction; N/A
  Energy attacks; N/A
  High velocity projectile; 4
  Low velocity projectile; 4
  Pummelling; 4
  Slashing; 2
  Thrusting; 3
  Trapping; N/A
  Price List
  Brigandine, 30G
  Chain mail, 10G
  Expensive (gilded and engraved) plate, 340G
  Leather, 5S
  Plate mail, 80G
  Shield, 8C
  Skills 
  Once you have chosen aspects and gear, it’s 
  time to pick skills. You’ll find descriptions and 
  details for each skill in the Skills and Stunts 
  chapter. 
  Your skills form a pyramid, with a single skill 
  rated at Great (+4)—which we’ll usually refer to 
  as the peak skill—and more skills at each lower 
  rating on the ladder going down to Average (+1):
      One Great (+4) skill 
      Two Good (+3) skills 
      Three Fair (+2) skills 
      Four Average (+1) skills 
  THE SKILL CAP 
  By default, we make Great (+4) the highest rated
  skill PCs start with. As characters advance, they 
  can improve beyond this cap, but it’s more 
  difficult than improving skills rated below the cap 
  (see Major Milestones). 
  Mediocre (+0) is the default for any skill you do 
  not take. Sometimes, a skill will state that it’s 
  unavailable if a character didn’t take it; in those 
  cases, it’s not even at Mediocre. 
  Note: a few skills have special benefits, notably 
  those skills that affect the number of stress 
  boxes and consequences you have available. If 
  you know you want a certain number of those, 
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  put those skills on the pyramid first. 
  Stunts and Refresh 
  Pick or invent three to five stunts. Determine 
  how many fate points you start play with. 
  Stunts change how skills work for your character.
  Picking and inventing stunts are covered in the 
  Skills and Stunts chapter. 
  You get three stunts for free, and you can take 
  up to two more stunts at the cost of lowering 
  your refresh by one each. (The gist is this: the 
  more cool tricks you can do, the more you’ll 
  need to accept compels to get fate points.) 
  Figuring out stunts can take a while, so you may 
  want to pick one for now and determine the rest 
  of them during play. 
  A player character starts with a refresh of 3. That
  means he’ll start each session off with at least 3 
  fate points. 
  If you pick four stunts, your refresh is 2. If you 
  pick five stunts, your refresh is 1. 
  Stress and Consequences 
  Determine how much of a beating your character
  can take. 
  When Fate characters find themselves in harm’s 
  way—a fairly common occurrence when you’re 
  highly competent, proactive, and facing drama at
  every turn—they have two ways to stand their 
  ground and stay on their feet: stress and 
  consequences. 
  In brief, stress represents the ephemeral toll of 
  participating in a conflict, whereas 
  consequences are the lingering effects, and 
  sometimes quite traumatic ones, of taking harm. 
  Every PC has two different stress tracks. The 
  physical stress track deals with physical harm, 
  and the mental stress track mitigates mental 
  harm. The more boxes in a stress track, the 
  more resilient the character is in that regard. By 
  default, a character has two boxes in each stress
  track. 
  Every PC also has three  consequence slots. 
  One is mild, one is moderate, and the last one is 
  severe. Unlike stress, these aren’t classified as 
  either physical or mental—any of them can apply
  to any type of harm. As mentioned above, 
  consequences are the injuries and traumas you 
  can’t just shake off after the dust settles. 
  Certain skills and some stunts can add to these 
  defaults. See the Skills and Stunts chapter for 
  more on that. For the sake of quick reference, 
  these are the skills in Hearts of Steel that alter 
  stress and consequences: 
  Physique helps with physical stress, and Will 
  helps with mental stress. Either skill grants one 
  more stress box of the respective type (physical 
  or mental) if rated at Average (+1) or Fair (+2), or
  two more stress boxes if rated at Good (+3) or 
  higher. At Superb (+5) or higher, they also grant 
  an additional mild consequence slot. Unlike the 
  standard three, this consequence slot is 
  specifically restricted to either physical harm 
  (Physique) or mental harm (Will). 
  The List of Skills 
  Here is a basic list of example skills for you to 
  use in your Fate games along with example 
  stunts tied to each. They’re the ones we’re using
  for all the examples in this book, and should give
  you a good foundation from which to tweak your 
  own lists, adding and subtracting skills as best 
  fits your setting. 
  Some of the skills, like Shoot and Crafts, imply 
  the need for gear. We presume by default that if 
  you have a skill, you also have the tools you 
  need to use it, and that the effectiveness of 
  those tools is built into the skill result. 
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  Athletics 
  The Athletics skill represents your character’s 
  general level of physical fitness. 
  Overcome: Athletics allows you to overcome any
  obstacle that requires physical movement—
  jumping, running, climbing, swimming, etc. You 
  use overcome actions with Athletics to move 
  between zones in a conflict if there’s a situation 
  aspect or other obstacle in your way. You also 
  roll Athletics to chase or race in any contests or 
  challenges that rely on these types of activities. 
  Create an Advantage: When you’re creating an 
  advantage with Athletics, you’re jumping to high 
  ground, running faster than the opponent can 
  keep up with, or performing dazzling acrobatic 
  manoeuvres in order to confound your foes. 
  Attack: Athletics is not meant as an attack skill. 
  Defend: Athletics is rolled for defence in a 
  physical conflict, against close-quarters and 
  ranged attacks. It represents dodging out of the 
  way of blows and diving for cover at just the right
  time. You can also use it to defend against 
  characters trying to move past you, if you’re in a 
  position to physically interfere with whoever is 
  making the attempt.  
  Athletics Stunts 
      Sprinter. You move two zones for free in a 
  conflict without rolling, instead of one, provided 
  there are no situation aspects restricting 
  movement. 
      Hardcore Parkour. +2 to overcome actions 
  with Athletics if you are in a chase across 
  rooftops or a similarly precarious environment. 
      Dazing Counter. When you succeed with style
  on a defend action against an opponent’s Fight 
  roll, you automatically counter with some sort of 
  nerve punch or stunning blow. You get to attach 
  the Dazed situation aspect to your opponent with
  a free invoke, instead of just a boost. 
  Burglary 
  The Burglary skill covers your character’s 
  aptitude for stealing things and getting into 
  places that are off-limits. This skill also includes 
  a proficiency in the related tech, allowing the 
  character to hack security systems, disable 
  alarm systems, and whatnot. 
  Overcome: As stated above, Burglary allows you
  to overcome any obstacle related to theft or 
  infiltration. Bypassing locks and traps, 
  pickpocketing and filching, covering your tracks, 
  and other such activities all fall under the 
  purview of this skill. 
  Create an Advantage: You can case a location 
  with Burglary, to determine how hard it will be to 
  break into and what kind of security you’re 
  dealing with, as well as discover any 
  vulnerabilities you might exploit. You can also 
  examine the work of other burglars to determine 
  how a particular heist was done, and create or 
  discover aspects related to whatever evidence 
  they may have left behind. 
  Attack: Burglary isn’t used for attacks. 
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  Defend: Same here. It’s not really a conflict skill, 
  so there’s not a lot of opportunity to use it to 
  defend 
  Burglary Stunts 
      Always a Way Out. +2 on Burglary rolls made 
  to create an advantage whenever you’re trying to
  escape from a location. 
      Security Specialist. You don’t have to be 
  present to provide active opposition to someone 
  trying to overcome security measures you put in 
  place or worked on. (Normally, a character would
  roll against passive opposition for that.) 
      Talk the Talk. You can use Burglary in place of 
  Contacts whenever you’re dealing specifically 
  with other thieves and burglars. 
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  Contacts 
  Contacts is the skill of knowing and making 
  connections with people. It presumes proficiency
  with all means of networking available in the 
  setting. 
  Overcome: You use Contacts to overcome any 
  obstacle related to finding someone you need to 
  find. Whether that’s old-fashioned “man on the 
  street” type of work, polling your information 
  network, or searching archives and computer 
  databases, you’re able to hunt down people or 
  somehow get access to them. 
  Create an Advantage: Contacts allows you to 
  know who the perfect person to talk to is for 
  anything you might need, or to decide that you 
  know the perfect person already. It’s likely that 
  you’ll create story details with this skill, 
  represented by aspects. (“Hey, guys, my 
  contacts tell me that Joe Steel is the Best 
  Mechanic For A Thousand Miles—we should talk
  to him.”) 
  You can also create an advantage that 
  represents what the word on the street is about a
  particular individual, object, or location, based on
  what your contacts tell you. These aspects 
  almost always deal with reputation more than 
  fact, such as Known as a Mean Guy or 
  Notorious Swindler. Whether that person lives up
  to their reputation is anybody’s guess, though 
  that doesn’t invalidate the aspect—people often 
  have misleading reputations that complicate their
  lives. 
  Contacts could also be used to create aspects 
  that represent using your information network to 
  plant or acquire information. 
  Attack: Contacts isn’t used for attacks; it’s hard 
  to harm someone simply by knowing people. 
  Defend: Contacts can be used to defend against 
  people creating social advantages against you, 
  provided your information network can be 
  brought to bear in the situation. You might also 
  use it to keep someone from using Deceive or 
  Contacts to go “off the grid”, or to interfere with 
  Investigate attempts to find you. 
  Contacts Stunts 
      Ear to the Ground. Whenever someone 
  initiates a conflict against you in an area where 
  you’ve built a network of contacts, you use 
  Contacts instead of Notice to determine turn 
  order, because you got tipped off in time. 
      Rumormonger. +2 to create an advantage 
  when you plant vicious rumors about someone 
  else. 
      The Weight of Reputation. You can use 
  Contacts instead of Provoke to create 
  advantages based on the fear generated by the 
  sinister reputation you’ve cultivated for yourself 
  and all the shady associates you have. You 
  should have an appropriate aspect to pair with 
  this stunt. 
  Deceive 
  Deceive is the skill about lying to and 
  misdirecting people. 
  Overcome: Use Deceive to bluff your way past 
  someone, or to get someone to believe a lie, or 
  to get something out of someone because they 
  believe in one of your lies. For nameless NPCs, 
  this is just an overcome roll, but for PCs or 
  named NPCs, it requires a contest, and the 
  target opposes with Empathy. Winning this 
  contest could justify placing a situation aspect on
  your target, if buying into your lie could help you 
  in a future scene. 
  Deceive is the skill you use for determining if a 
  disguise works, whether on yourself or others. 
  You’ll need to have the time and supplies to 
  create the desired effect. 
  You can also use Deceive to do small tricks of 
  sleight-of-hand and misdirection. 
  Create an Advantage: Use Deceive to create 
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  momentary distractions, cover stories, or false 
  impressions. You could feint in a swordfight, 
  putting an opponent Off-Balance and setting you 
  up for an attack. You could do the whole, “What’s
  that over there!” trick to give you a Head Start 
  when you run away. You could establish a 
  Wealthy Corporate Cover Story for when you 
  attend a board meeting. You could trick someone
  into revealing one of their aspects or other 
  information. 
  Attack: Deceive is an indirect skill that creates a 
  lot of opportunities you can capitalize on, but it 
  doesn’t do direct harm to an individual. 
   Defend: You can use Deceive to throw off 
  Investigation attempts with false information and 
  to defend against efforts made to discern your 
  true motives with the Empathy skill. 
  Deceive Stunts 
  Lies upon Lies. +2 to create a Deceive 
  advantage against someone who has believed 
  one of your lies already during this session. 
      Mind Games. You can use Deceive in place of
  Provoke to make mental attacks, as long as you 
  can make up a clever lie as part of the attack. 
      One Person, Many Faces. Whenever you 
  meet someone new, you can spend a fate point 
  to declare that you’ve met that person before, 
  but under a different name and identity. Create a 
  situation aspect to represent your cover story, 
  and you can use Deceive in place of Rapport 
  whenever interacting with that person. 
  Drive/
   
   Pilot/
   
   Ride/
   
   Sail
   
   
  The Drive skill is all about operating vehicles and
  things that go fast. 
  Overcome: Drive is the equivalent of Athletics 
  when you’re in a vehicle—you use it to 
  successfully accomplish movement in the face of
  difficult circumstances, like rough terrain, small 
  amounts of clearance, or stunt driving. 
  Obviously, Drive is also ripe for contests, 
  especially chases and races. 
   
  Create an Advantage: You can use Drive to 
  determine the best way to get somewhere in a 
  vehicle, and a good enough roll might allow you 
  to learn features of the route that get expressed 
  as aspects, or declare that you know a 
  Convenient Shortcut or something similar. 
  Attack: Drive isn’t usually used as an attack skill 
  (though stunts can certainly alter this). If you 
  want to ram a vehicle, you can attack with Drive, 
  but you take the same shifts of harm you inflict. 
   
  Defend: Avoiding damage to a vehicle in a 
  physical conflict is one of the most common uses
  of Drive. You can also use it to defend against 
  advantages being created against you or 
  overcome actions of someone trying to move 
  past you in a vehicle. 
  Drive Stunts 
      Hard to Shake. 
  +2 to Drive whenever you’re pursuing another 
  vehicle in a chase scene. 
      Don't Spare the Horses. You can coax more 
  speed out of your vehicle than seems possible. 
  Whenever you’re engaged in any contest where 
  speed is the primary factor (such as a chase or 
  race of some kind) and you tie with your Drive 
  roll, it’s considered a success. 
      Ramming Speed! When ramming another 
  vehicle, you ignore two shifts of damage. So if 
  you ram and hit for four shifts, you only take two 
  yourself. 
  Empathy 
  Empathy involves knowing and being able to 
  spot changes in a person’s mood or bearing. It’s 
  basically the emotional Notice skill. 
  Overcome: You don’t really use Empathy to 
  overcome obstacles directly—normally, you find 
  out some information with it, and then use 
  another skill to act. In some cases, though, you 
  might use Empathy like you would Notice, to see
  if you catch a change in someone’s attitude or 
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  intent. 
  Create an Advantage: You can use Empathy to 
  read a person’s emotional state and get a 
  general sense of who they are, presuming you 
  have some kind of interpersonal contact with 
  them. Most often, you’ll use this to assess the 
  aspects on another character’s sheet, but 
  sometimes you’ll also be able to create new 
  aspects, especially on NPCs. If the target has 
  some reason to be aware that you’re trying to 
  read them, they can defend with Deceive or 
  Rapport. 
  You can also use Empathy to discover what 
  circumstances will allow you to make mental 
  attacks on someone, figuring out their breaking 
  points. 
  Attack: Empathy can’t really be used in this 
  capacity. 
  Defend: This is the skill to go to in order to 
  defend against Deceive actions, allowing you to 
  pierce through lies and see through to 
  someone’s true intent. You can also use it to 
  defend against those creating social advantages 
  against you in general. 
  Special: Empathy is the main skill you use to 
  help others recover from consequences that are 
  mental in nature. 
  Empathy Stunts 
      Lie Whisperer. +2 to all Empathy rolls made to
  discern or discover lies, whether they’re directed 
  at you or someone else. 
      Nose for Trouble. You can use Empathy 
  instead of Notice to determine your turn order in 
  a conflict, provided you’ve gotten a chance to 
  observe or speak to those involved for at least a 
  few minutes beforehand during this scene. 
      Psychologist. Once per session you can 
  reduce someone else’s consequence by one 
  level of severity (severe to moderate, moderate 
  to mild, mild to nothing at all) by succeeding on 
  an Empathy roll with a difficulty of Fair (+2) for a 
  mild consequence, Good (+3) for moderate, or 
  Great (+4) for severe. You need to talk with the 
  person you’re treating for at least half an hour in 
  order for them to receive the benefits of this 
  stunt, and you can’t use it on yourself. (Normally,
  this roll would only start the recovery process, 
  instead of changing the consequence level.) 
  Engineering 
  Engineering is the skill of working with 
  machinery, for good or ill. 
  Overcome: Engineering allows you to build, 
  break, or fix machinery, presuming you have the 
  time and tools you need.
  Create an Advantage: You can use Engineering 
  to create aspects representing features of a 
  piece of machinery, pointing out useful features 
  or strengths you can use to your advantage 
  (Armor-Plated, Rugged Construction) or a 
  vulnerability for you to exploit (Flaw in the 
  Cross-Beam, Hasty Work). 
  Creating Engineering advantages can also take 
  the form of quick and dirty sabotage or 
  jury-rigging on mechanical objects in the scene. 
  For example, you might create a Makeshift 
  Pulley to help you get to the platform above you. 
  Attack: You probably won’t use Engineering to 
  attack in a conflict.
  Defend: As with attacking, Engineering doesn’t 
  defend, unless you’re somehow using it as the 
  skill to control a piece of machinery that you 
  block with. 
  Engineering Stunts 
     Always Making Useful Things. You don’t ever 
  have to spend a fate point to declare that you 
  have the proper tools for a particular job using 
  Engineering, even in extreme situations (like 
  being imprisoned and separated from all your 
  stuff). 
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      Better than New! Whenever you succeed with 
  style on an overcome action to repair a piece of 
  machinery, you can immediately give it a new 
  situation aspect (with a free invoke) reflecting the
  improvements you’ve made, instead of just a 
  boost. 
  Fight 
  The Fight skill covers all forms of close-quarters 
  combat (in other words, within the same zone), 
  both unarmed and using weapons. For the 
  ranged weapons counterpart, see Shoot. 
  Overcome: Since you don’t really use Fight 
  outside of a conflict, it’s not often used to 
  overcome obstacles. 
  Create an Advantage: You’ll probably use Fight 
  for most of the advantages you create in a 
  physical conflict. Any number of special moves 
  can be covered with advantages: a targeted 
  strike to stun, a “dirty move,” disarming, and so 
  on. You could even use Fight to assess another 
  fighter’s style, spotting weaknesses in his or her 
  form that you can exploit. 
  Attack: This is self-explanatory. You make 
  physical attacks with Fight. Remember, this is for
  close-in work, so you have to be in the same 
  zone as your opponent 
  Defend: You use Fight to defend against any 
  other attack or create an advantage attempt 
  made with Fight, as well as pretty much any 
  action where violently interposing yourself could 
  prevent it from happening.  
  Fight Stunts 
   Heavy Hitter. When you succeed with style on a 
  Fight attack and choose to reduce the result by 
  one to gain a boost, you gain a full situation 
  aspect with a free invocation instead. 
      Backup Weapon. Whenever someone’s about 
  to hit you with a Disarmed situation aspect or 
  something similar, spend a fate point to declare 
  you have a backup weapon. Instead of a 
  situation aspect, your opponent gets a boost, 
  representing the momentary distraction you 
  suffer having to switch. 
      Killing Stroke. Once per scene, when you 
  force an opponent to take a consequence, you 
  can spend a fate point to increase the 
  consequence’s severity (so mild becomes 
  moderate, moderate becomes severe). If your 
  opponent was already going to take a severe 
  consequence, he must either take a severe 
  consequence and a second consequence or be 
  taken out.  
  Investigate 
  Investigate is the skill you use to find things out. 
  It’s a counterpart to Notice—whereas Notice 
  revolves around situational alertness and 
  surface observation, Investigate revolves around
  concentrated effort and in-depth scrutiny. 
  Overcome: Investigate obstacles are all about 
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  information that’s hard to uncover for some 
  reason. Analysing a crime scene for clues, 
  searching a cluttered room for the item you 
  need, even poring over a musty old tome to try 
  and find the passage that makes everything 
  make sense. 
  Racing against the clock to collect evidence 
  before the cops show up or disaster occurs is a 
  classic way to use Investigate in a challenge. 
  Create an Advantage: Investigate is probably 
  one of the most versatile skills you can use to 
  create an advantage. As long as you’re willing to
  take the time, you can find out just about 
  anything about anyone, discover nearly any 
  detail about a place or object, or otherwise make
  up aspects about nearly anything in the game 
  world that your character could reasonably 
  unearth. 
  If that sounds broad, consider the following as 
  just a few of the possibilities for using 
  Investigate: eavesdropping on a conversation, 
  looking for clues at a crime scene, examining 
  records, verifying the truth of a piece of 
  information, conducting surveillance, and 
  researching a cover story. 
   Attack: Investigate isn’t used to make attacks. 
  Defend: Same here. 
  Investigate Stunts 
      Attention to Detail. You can use Investigate 
  instead of Empathy to defend against Deceive 
  attempts. What others discover through gut 
  reactions and intuition, you learn through careful 
  observation of microexpressions. 
      Eavesdropper. On a successful Investigate roll
  to create an advantage by eavesdropping on a 
  conversation, you can discover or create one 
  additional aspect (though this doesn’t give you 
  an extra free invocation). 
      The Power of Deduction. Once per scene you 
  can spend a fate point (and a few minutes of 
  observation) to make a special Investigate roll 
  representing your potent deductive faculties. For 
  each shift you make on this roll you discover or 
  create an aspect, on either the scene or the 
  target of your observations, though you may only
  invoke one of them for free. 
  Lore 
  The Lore skill is about knowledge and education.
  Overcome: You can use Lore to overcome any 
  obstacle that requires applying your character’s 
  knowledge to achieve a goal. For example, you 
  might roll Lore to decipher some ancient 
  language on a tomb wall, under the presumption 
  that your character might have researched it at 
  some point. 
  Frankly, you can use Lore as a go-to skill any 
  time you need to know if your character can 
  answer a difficult question, where some tension 
  exists in not knowing the answer. 
  Create an Advantage: Like Investigate, Lore 
  provides a lot of very flexible opportunities to 
  create advantages, provided you can research 
  the subject in question. More often than not, 
  you’ll be using Lore to get a story detail, some 
  obscure bit of information that you uncover or 
  know already, but if that information gives you an
  edge in a future scene, it might take the form of 
  an aspect. Likewise, you can use Lore to create 
  advantages based on any subject matter your 
  character might have studied, which gives you a 
  fun way to add details to the setting. 
  Attack: Lore isn’t used in conflicts
  Defend: Lore isn’t used to defend 
  Lore Stunts 
      I’ve Read about That! You’ve read hundreds—
  if not thousands—of books on a wide variety of 
  topics. You can spend a fate point to use Lore in 
  place of any other skill for one roll or exchange, 
  provided you can justify having read about the 
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  action you’re attempting. 
      Shield of Reason. You can use Lore as a 
  defence against Provoke attempts, provided you 
  can justify your ability to overcome your fear 
  through rational thought and reason. 
      Specialist. Choose a field of specialization, 
  such as herbology, eldritch knowledge, 
  criminology, or zoology. You get a +2 to all Lore 
  rolls relating to that field of specialization. 
  Notice 
  The Notice skill involves just that—noticing 
  things. It’s a counterpart to Investigate, 
  representing a character’s overall perception, 
  ability to pick out details at a glance, and other 
  powers of observation. Usually, when you use 
  Notice, it’s very quick compared to Investigate, 
  so the kinds of details you get from it are more 
  superficial, but you also don’t have to expend as 
  much effort to find them. 
  Overcome: You don’t really use Notice to 
  overcome obstacles too often but when you do 
  it’s used in a reactive way: noticing something in 
  a scene, hearing a faint sound, spotting the 
  concealed gun in that guy’s waistband.  
  Create an Advantage: You use Notice to create 
  aspects based on direct observation—looking 
  over a room for details that stand out, finding an 
  escape route in a debris-filled building, noticing 
  someone sticking out in a crowd, etc. When 
  you’re watching people, Notice can tell you 
  what’s going on with them externally; for internal 
  changes, see Empathy. You might also use 
  Notice to declare that your character spots 
  something you can use to your advantage in a 
  situation, such as a convenient Escape Route 
  when you’re trying to get out of a building, or a 
  Subtle Weakness in the enemy’s line of defence.
  For example, if you’re in a brawl you could make
  a Notice roll to say that you spot a puddle on the 
  floor, right next to your opponent’s feet that could
  cause him to slip. 
  Attack: Notice isn’t really used for attacks. 
  Defend: You can use Notice to defend against 
  any uses of Stealth to get the drop on you or 
  ambush you, or to discover that you’re being 
  observed. 
  Notice Stunts 
      Danger Sense. You have an almost 
  preternatural capacity for detecting danger. Your 
  Notice skill works unimpeded by conditions like 
  total concealment, darkness, or other sensory 
  impairments in situations where someone or 
  something intends to harm you. 
      Body Language Reader. You can use Notice 
  in place of Empathy to learn the aspects of a 
  target through observation. 
      Reactive Shot. You can use Notice instead of 
  Shoot to make quick, reactive shots that don’t 
  involve a lot of aiming. However, because you’re 
  having a knee-jerk reaction, you’re not allowed 
  to concretely identify your target before using 
  this stunt. So, for example, you might be able to 
  shoot at someone you see moving in the bushes
  with this stunt, but you won’t be able to tell if it’s 
  friend or foe before you pull the trigger. Choose 
  carefully! 
  Physique 
  The Physique skill is a counterpart to Athletics, 
  representing the character’s natural physical 
  aptitudes, such as raw strength and endurance. 
  Overcome: You can use Physique to overcome 
  any obstacles that require the application of 
  brute force—most often to overcome a situation 
  aspect on a zone—or any other physical 
  impedance, like prison bars or locked gates. Of 
  course, Physique is the classic skill for 
  arm-wrestling matches and other contests of 
  applied strength, as well as marathons or other 
  endurance-based challenges. 
  Create an Advantage: Physique has a lot of 
  potential for advantages in physical conflict, 
  usually related to grappling and holding 
  someone in place, making them Pinned or 
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  Locked Down. You might also use it as a way of 
  discovering physical impairments possessed by 
  the target—grappling the old mercenary tells you
  that he has a Bum Leg or somesuch. 
  Attack: Physique is not used to harm people 
  directly—see the Fight skill for that. 
  Defend: Though you don’t generally use 
  Physique to defend against attacks, you can use
  it to provide active opposition to someone else’s 
  movement, provided you’re in a small enough 
  space that you can effectively use your body to 
  block access. You might also interpose 
  something heavy and brace it to stop someone 
  from getting through. 
  Special: The Physique skill gives you additional 
  physical stress or consequence slots. Average 
  (+1) or Fair (+2) gives you a 3-point stress box. 
  Good (+3) or Great (+4) gives you a 3-point and 
  a 4-point stress box. Superb (+5)and above give 
  you an additional mild consequence slot along 
  with the additional stress boxes. This slot can 
  only be used for physical harm. 
  Physique Stunts 
      Grappler. +2 to Physique rolls made to create 
  advantages on an enemy by wrestling or 
  grappling with them. 
      Take the Blow. You can use Physique to 
  defend against Fight attacks made with fists or 
  blunt instruments, though you always take 1 shift
  of stress on a tie. 
      Tough as Nails. Once per session, at the cost 
  of a fate point, you can reduce the severity of a 
  moderate consequence that’s physical in nature 
  to a mild consequence (if your mild consequence
  slot is free), or erase a mild consequence 
  altogether. 
  Provoke 
  Provoke is the skill about getting someone’s 
  dander up and eliciting negative emotional 
  response from them—fear, anger, shame, etc. 
  It’s the “being a jerk” skill. 
  To use Provoke, you need some kind of 
  justification. That could come entirely from 
  situation, or because you have an aspect that’s 
  appropriate, or because you’ve created an 
  advantage with another skill (like Rapport or 
  Deceive), or because you’ve assessed your 
  target’s aspects (see Empathy). 
  This skill requires that your target can feel 
  emotions—robots and zombies typically can’t be 
  provoked. 
  Overcome: You can Provoke someone into doing
  what you want in a fit of emotional pique. You 
  might intimidate them for information, piss them 
  off so badly that they act out, or scare them into 
  running away. This will often happen when 
  you’re going up against nameless NPCs or it 
  isn’t worthwhile to play out the particulars. 
  Against PCs or important NPCs, you’ll need to 
  win a contest. They oppose with Will. 
  Create an Advantage: You can create 
  advantages representing momentary emotional 
  states, like Enraged, Shocked, or Hesitant. Your 
  target opposes with Will. 
  Attack: You can make mental attacks with 
  Provoke, to do emotional harm to an opponent. 
  Your relationship with the target and the 
  circumstances you’re in figure a great deal into 
  whether or not you can use this action. 
  Defend: Being good at provoking others doesn’t 
  make you better at avoiding it yourself. You need
  Will for that. 
  Provoke Stunts 
      Armour of Fear. You can use Provoke to 
  defend against Fight attacks, but only until the 
  first time you’re dealt stress in a conflict. You can
  make your opponents hesitate to attack, but 
  when someone shows them that you’re only 
  human your advantage disappears. 
      Provoke Violence. When you create an 
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  advantage on an opponent using Provoke, you 
  can use your free invocation to become the 
  target of that character’s next relevant action, 
  drawing their attention away from another target.
      Okay, Fine! You can use Provoke in place of 
  Empathy to learn a target’s aspects, by bullying 
  them until they reveal one to you. The target 
  defends against this with Will. (If the GM thinks 
  the aspect is particularly vulnerable to your 
  hostile approach, you get a +2 bonus.) 
  Rapport 
  The Rapport skill is all about making positive 
  connections to people and eliciting positive 
  emotion. It’s the skill of being liked and trusted. 
  Overcome: Use Rapport to charm or inspire 
  people to do what you want, or to establish a 
  good connection with them. Charm your way 
  past the guard, convince someone to take you 
  into their confidence, or become the man of the 
  hour at the local tavern. For nameless NPCs, 
  this is just an overcome action, but you may 
  have to enter a contest to sufficiently ingratiate 
  yourself to a named NPC or PC. 
  Create an Advantage: Use Rapport to establish 
  a positive mood on a target or in a scene or to 
  get someone to confide in you out of a genuine 
  sense of trust. You could pep talk someone into 
  having Elevated Confidence, or stir a crowd into 
  a Joyful Fervor, or simply make someone 
  Talkative or Helpful. 
  Attack: Rapport doesn’t cause harm, so you 
  don’t use it for attacks. 
  Defend: Rapport defends against any skill used 
  to damage your reputation, sour a mood you’ve 
  created, or make you look bad in front of other 
  people. It does not, however, defend against 
  mental attacks. That requires Will. 
  Rapport Stunts 
      Best Foot Forward. Twice per session, you 
  may upgrade a boost you receive with Rapport 
  into a full situation aspect with a free invocation. 
      Demagogue. +2 to Rapport when you’re 
  delivering an inspiring speech in front of a crowd.
  (If there are named NPCs or PCs in the scene, 
  you may target them all simultaneously with one 
  roll rather than dividing up your shifts.) 
      Popular. If you’re in an area where you’re 
  popular and well-liked, you can use Rapport in 
  place of Contacts. You may be able to establish 
  your popularity by spending a fate point to 
  declare a story detail, or because of prior 
  justification. 
  Resources 
  Resources describes your character’s general 
  level of material wealth in the game world and 
  ability to apply it. This skill is in the default list to 
  give you a basic, easy way to handle wealth as 
  an abstraction without getting into minutiae or 
  bookkeeping. 
  Overcome: You can use Resources to get 
  yourself out of or past any situation where 
  throwing money at the problem will help, such as
  committing bribery or acquiring rare and 
  expensive things. Challenges or contests might 
  involve auctions or bidding wars. 
  Create an Advantage: You might use Resources 
  to grease the wheels and make people more 
  friendly, whether that represents an actual bribe 
  (I Scratch Your Back...) or simply buying drinks 
  for people (In Vino Veritas). You can also use 
  Resources to declare that you have something 
  you need on hand, or can quickly acquire it, 
  which could give you an aspect representing the 
  object. 
  Attack: Resources isn’t used for attacks. 
  Defend: Resources isn’t used to defend. 
  Resources Stunts 
      Money Talks. You can use Resources instead 
  of Rapport in any situation where ostentatious 
  displays of material wealth might aid your cause.
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      Savvy Investor. You get an additional free 
  invoke when you create advantages with 
  Resources, provided that they describe a 
  monetary return on an investment you made in a
  previous session. (In other words, you can’t 
  retroactively declare that you did it, but if it 
  happened in the course of play, you get higher 
  returns.) 
      Trust Fund Baby. Twice per session, you may 
  take a boost representing a windfall or influx of 
  cash. 
  Shoot
  The counterpart to Fight, Shoot is the skill of 
  using ranged weaponry, either in a conflict or on 
  targets that don’t actively resist your attempts to 
  shoot them (like a bull’s-eye or the broad side of 
  a barn). 
  Overcome: Unless, for some reason, you need 
  to demonstrate your Shoot ability in a 
  non-conflict situation, you probably won’t be 
  using this skill for normal obstacles much. 
  Create an Advantage: In physical conflicts, 
  Shoot can be used to perform a wide variety of 
  moves, like trick shots, keeping someone under 
  heavy fire, and the like. 
  Attack: This skill makes physical attacks. You 
  can make them from several zones away, unlike 
  with Fight. Range is usually only truncated by 
  line of sight obstacles, but the GM can decide 
  that a target is at long range or out of range. 
   Defend: Shoot doesn’t really have a defence 
  component to it. You could use it to lay down 
  some covering fire—which might act as a 
  defence for your allies by creating an advantage 
  (Covering Fire or Hail of Bullets, for example). 
  Shoot Stunts 
      Called Shot. During a Shoot attack, spend a 
  fate point and declare a specific condition you 
  want to inflict on a target, like Shot in the Hand. 
  If you succeed, you place that as a situation 
  aspect on them in addition to hitting them for 
  stress. 
      Quick on the Draw. You can use Shoot instead
  of Notice to determine turn order in any physical 
  conflict where shooting quickly would be useful. 
      Uncanny Accuracy. Once per conflict, stack an
  additional free invoke on an advantage you’ve 
  created to represent the time you take to aim or 
  line up a shot (like In My Sights). 
  Stealth 
  The Stealth skill allows you to avoid detection, 
  both when hiding in place and trying to move 
  about unseen. It pairs well with the Burglary skill.
  Overcome: You can use Stealth to get past any 
  situation that primarily depends on you not being
  seen. Sneaking past sentries and security, hiding
  from a pursuer, avoiding leaving evidence as you
  pass through a place, and any other such uses 
  all fall under the purview of Stealth. 
  Create an Advantage: You’ll mainly use Stealth 
  to create aspects on yourself, setting yourself in 
  an ideal position for an attack or ambush in a 
  conflict. That way, you can be Well-Hidden when
  the guards pass by and take advantage of that, 
  or Hard to Pin Down if you’re fighting in the dark.
   Attack: Stealth isn’t used to make attacks. 
  Defend: You can use this to foil Notice attempts 
  to pinpoint you or seek you out, as well as to try 
  to throw off the scent of an Investigate attempt 
  from someone trying to track you. 
  Stealth Stunts 
      Face in the Crowd. +2 to any Stealth roll to 
  blend into a crowd. What a “crowd” means will 
  depend on the environment—a subway station 
  requires more people to be crowded than a small
  bar. 
      Ninja Vanish. Once per scene, you can vanish
  while in plain sight by spending a fate point, 
  using a smoke pellet or other mysterious 
  technique. This places the Vanished boost on 
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  you. While you’re vanished, no one can attack or
  create an advantage on you until after they’ve 
  succeeded at an overcome roll with Notice to 
  suss out where you went (basically meaning 
  they have to give up an exchange to try). This 
  aspect goes away as soon as you invoke it, or 
  someone makes that overcome roll. 
      Slippery Target. Provided you’re in darkness 
  or shadow, you can use Stealth to defend 
  against Shoot attacks from enemies that are at 
  least one zone away. 
  Will 
  The Will skill represents your character’s general
  level of mental fortitude, the same way that 
  Physique represents your physical fortitude. 
  Overcome: You can use Will to pit yourself 
  against obstacles that require mental effort. 
  Puzzles and riddles can fall under this category, 
  as well as any mentally absorbing task, like 
  deciphering a code. Use Will when it’s only a 
  matter of time before you overcome the mental 
  challenge, and Lore if it takes something more 
  than brute mental force to get past it. Many of 
  the obstacles that you go up against with Will 
  might be made part of challenges, to reflect the 
  effort involved. 
  Contests of Will might reflect particularly 
  challenging games, like chess, or competing in a
  hard set of exams. 
  Create an Advantage: You can use Will to place 
  aspects on yourself, representing a state of deep
  concentration or focus. 
  Attack: Will isn’t really used for attacks.  
  Defend: Will is the main skill you use to defend 
  against mental attacks, representing your control
  over your reactions. 
  Special: The Will skill gives you additional mental
  stress boxes or consequence slots. Average (+1)
  or Fair (+2) gives you a 3-point stress box. Good
  (+3) or Great (+4) gives you a 3-point and a 
  4-point stress box. Superb (+5) and above give 
  you an additional mild consequence slot along 
  with the additional stress boxes. This slot can 
  only be used for mental harm. 
  Will Stunts 
     Strength From Determination. Use Will instead
  of Physique on any overcome rolls representing 
  feats of strength. 
      Hard Boiled. You can choose to ignore a mild 
  or moderate consequence for the duration of the 
  scene. It can’t be compelled against you or 
  invoked by your enemies. At the end of the 
  scene it comes back worse, though; if it was a 
  mild consequence it becomes a moderate 
  consequence, and if it was already moderate, it 
  becomes severe. 
      Indomitable. +2 to defend against Provoke 
  attacks specifically related to intimidation and 
  fear. 
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  Magic 
  Magic is a special skill. It is the skill of placing 
  blessings and curses upon a person or place. 
  While the skill itself is generic, its specific 
  manifestations are not. A practitioner must 
  have a set of rules and trappings that they follow
  to use magic. 
  Those rules may be based on a real-world 
  practice, be totally made up, or anywhere in 
  between, but they must be consistent and they 
  always demand time, effort, and ritual. 
  There are other limitations listed below. 
  Overcome: The most concrete use for overcome 
  is to overcome the scepticism of others. 
  Create an Advantage: The primary activity with 
  the Magic skill is creating an advantage. 
  Assuming a single target—a person, or a thing 
  perhaps as large as a house—about a round’s 
  time, and the appropriate ritual incantations and 
  gestures, the roll is made against a difficulty of 
  Average. So long as the character gets a 
  success, then the target gains the aspect of the 
  spell for three days and three nights. 
  Further modifications : 
  •
   If the target is not present, then the 
  difficulty is increased from between +1 to +3. +3 
  if the target is merely named, +1 if a powerful 
  symbolic tie to the target is present—their blood, 
  a treasured possession—and if it’s not clearly 
  either, then a +2 is appropriate. 
  •
   If the target is large—a small group of 
  less than a dozen or a large place like a castle or
  market—difficulty increases by +3.  Some spells 
  have a secondary target, such as a spell that 
  makes the King mad at someone. The absence 
  of that secondary target similarly impacts the 
  difficulty—+0 if present, +3 if you only have a 
  name, as above. The one qualifier is that if the 
  secondary target can be made to accept some 
  token of the spell—a potion, a trinket—then they 
  are effectively “present”. Such tokens must be 
  used within three days. 
  •
   Success with style extends the duration 
  to a week. 
  •
   No target can be the subject of more 
  than one spell at a time. The newest spell 
  replaces the existing ones. This allows a mage 
  to dispel magics by simply casting a new spell, 
  such as a healing spell on the recipient. 
  •
   Some blessings and curses have their 
  own additional modifiers. 
  •
   A spell on an area effectively creates a 
  scene aspect that can be used normally by 
  anyone in the location. 
  Attack: Magical attacks have all the power of 
  physical attacks, but use the magic skill instead 
  of combat.
  Defend: Magic can also be used for defence, but
  in a similar way to ‘Attack’ the Magic skill is 
  substituted for making defence rolls. 
  MAGIC STUNTS 
  By Rote: You may pick three spells that you 
  know well enough that you don’t need to consult 
  your notes to cast. 
  Evil Eye: You can attempt to put Bad Luck on a 
  target with nothing more than an obvious 
  gesture. This lasts only a day. 
  Permanence: If you put a spell on a place or an 
  item, the effect lasts for up to a season—or until 
  someone dispels it. 
  SPELLS 
  Aspects put on a target are generally referred to 
  as blessings or curses, depending on their 
  intended effect, but collectively, they are all 
  considered spells. 
  Spells are complicated enough that they are very
  difficult to commit to memory and still get exactly 
  right, so they are kept in notebooks, on scrolls, 
  and in other archives. 
  Poaching another magician’s spellbook can be 
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  informative, but even if they haven’t actively 
  obscured them, they can be very idiosyncratic to 
  understand. And, of course, there’s no real way 
  to distinguish between a spell that’s a dud and a 
  real one. 
  Spells
  Any character can cast spells by learning the 
  Magic skill. Magic users and mages simply have 
  advantages that give them access to more 
  spells. They are literate meaning they have 
  access to spells written in books, and they are 
  members of magical orders meaning they have 
  access to libraries of spells or a teacher to 
  impart spells.  
  Even illiterate characters can be taught magic, 
  however they are incapable of doing the 
  research necessary to uncover spells for 
  themselves, from ancient elven books. 
  Spell Results
  Just make a Magic roll to create an advantage 
  against the target of the spell, with special 
  effects based on the spell description. 
  If the spell is not a directly targeted attack like 
  the Fire Tongue spell, or does not pit the mage 
  against a target, like the Telepathy and Mind 
  Control spell, then the more abstract success roll
  described in ‘Create Advantage’ is required. In 
  this case, remember look at your situation 
  aspects in this scene to see if any of them justify 
  some sort of obstacle, or consider the 
  circumstances (like rough terrain, a complex 
  lock, time running out, a situational complication,
  etc.) to provide passive resistance. 
  This is the case for example with the Unlock 
  spell, where the quality of the lock, and 
  especially something like elven provenance, 
  might easily make it more difficult to cast the 
  spell.
  Sometimes you’re going to run into edge cases, 
  where something inanimate seems like it should 
  provide active opposition (like a dancing sword) 
  or an NPC can’t provide proactive resistance 
  (like if they’re unaware of what the PC is doing). 
  Follow your gut and use the type of opposition 
  that fits the circumstances or makes the scene 
  more interesting.
  Source
  There are a multitude of types of magic-using 
  characters, from wild talents at conjuring the 
  elements, to those who have entered into pacts 
  with supernatural beings, or even are 
  supernatural beings themselves. Some get their 
  magic power from their god, and others from the 
  psionic power of their own mind. Characters can 
  freely choose the source of their magic. 
  Sample Spells
  This list can be extended by the gamemaster, 
  and also players, with gamemaster approval. 
  Wall of Electricity
  A wall of blue flame bursts into existence, either 
  around the caster, or somewhere nearby. 
  Passing through the wall subjects the target to 
  an attack using the caster's Magic skill. It's 
  possible to surround a target in a wall, 
  entrapping them. It is also possible to tighten the
  wall around the victim too, doing either 
  constricting or energy damage, at the casters 
  choice. The wall can be used to do non-lethal 
  damage. 
  Brave The Inferno
  Ignore damage from any single type of attack 
  (thrusting for example, or energy) for the 
  duration of the spell. This allows walking around 
  in a burning house for example, or passing 
  through a wall of fire unharmed. 
  Create Golems
  Golems are magical constructs that either are 
  alive, or are a very clever simulation of life, even 
  the magic users who create such creatures 
  disagree about exactly how ‘alive’ they are.
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  A golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, 
  created entirely from inanimate matter. The main
  disability of the golem is its inability to speak. 
  A golem master must study the Cifer Entstia 
  (Book of Golem Creation) to attain the mystical 
  ability to create and animate a golem. Golems 
  are activated by an ecstatic experience induced 
  by the ritualistic use of various letters of the old 
  magical High Elvish language. This ceremony is 
  pleasurable in itself, and there are mages who 
  devote their life to doing nothing but designing 
  and speaking life into golems. 
  Some golem masters regard all life as golems, 
  and regard the gods as just very powerful golem 
  masters. 
  The golem master must impose their will and 
  control over the golem at least once per year, 
  and every time the golem is required to carry out
  a task that will last more than one day. This is 
  done using the magician's Magic skill vs the 
  golem's highest attribute. The greater the 
  magician's skill, the more powerful the golems 
  they can create and control.  
  It is possible for a golem master to write the 
  animating words onto paper rather than speak 
  them when performing the ceremony to animate 
  a golem, but the piece of paper must be 
  attached to the golems forehead or placed in the
  golems mouth. This leaves the golem vulnerable 
  to having the paper removed, which deactivates 
  the golem.
  A golem can not be ordered to remove its 
  animating word, and it will fight anyone and 
  anything who tries to remove it. The golem is 
  fighting for its life in such a situation. There is a 
  10% chance of a golem falling into dust on 
  deactivation. These golems animated by paper 
  are regarded as lesser golems, while those 
  animated by words spoken to them are known 
  as greater golems as the words can not simply 
  be taken away. 
  Golem masters often use the lesser method of 
  words on paper to animate golems in order to 
  build up an army of golems that can be stored 
  and animated very quickly with the simple 
  insertion of pieces of paper, rather then the usual
  long ceremony. Even a huge army of lesser 
  golems could be brought to life in less than an 
  hour this way. It would take a much longer time 
  to perform the number of ceremonies that would 
  be required for greater golems.
  Dark Path Navigation
  The dark paths are a network of magical secret 
  paths used to travel around the realms. The 
  chances of meeting wandering monsters and 
  evildoers is much increased on these hidden 
  roads. There are also many entrances to the 
  underworld. 
  Superhuman Jumping
  Allows jumps, whose distance is based on the 
  skill level of the mage. They are quicker jumps 
  than usual, and even jumps of very long 
  distances are accomplished in a single round. 
  Move Object
  Allows a mage to slowly lift and reposition 
  something potentially very large. The item can 
  alternatively be hurled for crushing damage.
  Set Insides a'Boiling
  This is a nasty energy weapon attack that 
  doesn't appear to have any effect on the surface.
  It does internal energy damage. 
  Summon Energy Creatures
  This imprints a life pattern on some magical 
  force. This produces an ethereal and ghostly 
  version of a real creature. The size of the 
  creature that can be created is dependant of the 
  skill of the mage. The creature is immune to 
  non-magical weapons, and the mage must be 
  reached and incapacitated for the creature to be 
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  dispelled. The creature has a combat skill equal 
  to the strength of will of the mage. 
  Mental Magnetism
  This magnetism is powered by magic, the size of
  the metal objects that can be attracted and 
  repelled are potentially large. The objects can be
  used to do crushing damage. 
  Understand Languages
  This is a strange mystical force that allows the 
  patterns of a language, including non human 
  languages, to be understood directly.
  Seeing the Future and the Past
  The caster may seek information about events, 
  no matter how remote in time and space. 
  Hammer Hands
  The spell casters hands become like hammers, 
  and can be used in combat like a war hammer, 
  or used to hammer at an obstacle like a sledge 
  hammer. The mage does pummelling damage 
  with their hands, rather than the usual clubbing 
  damage. 
  Healing
  This is similar to normal healing, but it is 
  powered by magic and is instant. 
  Telepathy and Mind Control
  This pits the Magic skill of the mage against that 
  of the target, in a battle for control over the 
  target's body. 
  Weather Control
   Weather can only be controlled in a limited area 
  commensurate with the power of the mage. 
  Lightning can be called down from the sky, 1 
  strike per round, using the mage's Magic skill 
  and doing energy damage.  
  Danger Sense
  The mage concentrates and may determine the 
  rough distance and direction of a nearby danger.
  Fire Tongue
  An energy weapon, similar to dragon breath, that
  is literally spat by the magic user.
  Glacier Walker
  Freezes the floor at a rate of 1 square meter per 
  round. All who do not have something like an ice
  skating skill must make an athletics roll to stay 
  on their feet. Otherwise they become prone. 
  Invisibility
  The caster of the invisibility spell is still present 
  however and can take damage. They can also 
  be given away by things such as stark shadows 
  on a sunny day or an outline in the rain. They 
  can be located by noises they make. The 
  gamemaster should determine the awareness 
  roll required from the mage's adversaries to 
  locate the mage, based on how noisy what the 
  mage is doing is.  
  Unlock
  This spell is used to open doors that have been 
  locked, and even barred shut.
  Teleport
  The location to be teleported to must have been 
  visited previously. If you know this spell you can 
  detect people who are teleporting to your 
  location. 
  Underworld Ally
  A creature from evil planes of existance is 
  summoned and tamed, this must be done before
  the first time the spell is used in a stressful 
  situation and takes 1d10 days. 
  The areas beyond the demonic underworld 
  gates are so immense and varied that the 
  creature can basically be designed by the 
  gamemaster. Only one underworld ally can be 
  had at a time. Underworld allies can be powerful 
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  but they can also be super intelligent, deceitful 
  and sly. 
  Make Water
  Summons up 1 cubic meter of water a round. A 
  real torrent can potentially be created and used 
  to snuff out magical fires and drown victims.  
  Summon Void
  Makes a small hole in reality. On the other side is
  some uncharted and far off region of deep 
  space. This often leads to explosive 
  decompression of the room, forest clearing or 
  whatever location it is used in. Only areas that 
  are already without an atmosphere will not 
  decompress. It requires a mid difficulty roll every 
  round to avoid being sucked through. This might 
  seem like instant death, but there might be 
  somewhere to hide from the void on the other 
  side. 
  Summon Void Walker
  Monstrous uncontrolled creatures of pure 
  energy. They are impervious to anything but 
  magic weapons, but can be disrupted by sound 
  waves if there is still an atmosphere for them to 
  propagate. There must be some void to summon
  them from, so use the summon void spell first. 
  Chasm
  Opens up a chasm that starts as a crack 1 meter
  long and 1 meter deep and increases in depth, 
  length and width by 1m each round. It can follow 
  a twisting path and be targeted at people who 
  must save at -80 to avoid falling in. 
  Summon Chasm Creatures
  Devilish ape like creatures with tentacles for 
  arms, which inhabit the edge of reality and will 
  not leave the chasm. But they have long 
  tentacles and can reach targets near the chasm. 
  Fly
  Flight is possible with this spell. The flight is as 
  agile and fast as that of an eagle. 
  Smoke Snake
  The caster summons a snake made of smoke, 
  that attacks with a venomous bite. 
  Summon Flying Creature
  A flying creature which the spell caster has 
  studied can be rode if summoned with this spell. 
  The flying creature must be big enough to be 
  rode, a griffin for example. 
  Binding Bands
  The bands, which can look like snakes, metal 
  rods or whatever the magician desires, shoot 
  from the ground and try to restrain the victim, or 
  victims. 
  Confounding Words
  The mage becomes a trusted source of 
  information for the victim. The victim gets a roll to
  resist this manipulation. 
  Power Symbol
  Creatures who are bound or summoned by a 
  magical force can sometimes be held at bay, or 
  even turned and forced to flee by the power of a 
  symbol used by someone who knows this spell. 
  The creature pits its Magic skill against that of 
  the mage to avoid fleeing.
  Smoke Screen
  A lot of smoke is created, that can be used to 
  hide in, provide cover from archers, and other 
  useful purposes. 
  Summon Tiny Creatures
  Insects, rats, land shrimp or whatever is 
  available in huge numbers are attracted, and 
  there is always something. They also have tiny 
  teeth or claws and fill up 1 square meter per 
  round. Can cause damage. Only summoner and 
  one square meter around them is immune. 
  Wake the Forest
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  This gives you control over an area of forest. The
  trees act as if they were animals under your 
  control but rooted to the spot. They can bring 
  information to you by passing along the 
  information from one to another in whispers. You
  can pass back orders along the same whispered
  route. 
  Animate Objects 
  Objects  are brought to life by this spell, to attack
  the magician's foes. Some objects, such as 
  gardening equipment and kitchen knives are 
  better at this job than others. The magician does 
  not need to concentrate to maintain the spell for 
  its full duration, but it is the only attack spell that 
  can be used. Casting another, breaks this spell.  
  Freezing Touch 
  A touch that can freeze the very heart of an 
  enemy. The enemy must be successfully hit in 
  hand to hand combat using Magic rather than 
  the Combat skill, for the effects to apply.  
  Detect Secret Doors 
  Reveals secret doors within the casters line of 
  sight and the range. 
  Cloaking Disguise
  The caster can look like another being. The 
  effect may not fool those who know the other 
  being well, but is good for being a generic 
  wandering old man, and hiding your true power. 
  Dream World Hunting
  The mage can enter the same dream world as a 
  subject they have met. They can look for the 
  subject in this dream world. It is possible to fight 
  in the dream world, but causing death simply 
  wakes the subject. 
  Earthquake 
  When earthquake is cast, a very localized tremor
  runs through the ground. The shock can knock 
  creatures down, collapse structures, open cracks
  in the ground, etc. 
  Clarify Poison 
  Immunises the subject against poison, detoxifies
  venom in or on subject, and returns them to 
  health. 
  Poison Finger
  The caster infects the subject with a horrible 
  poison, chosen from poisons the mage has 
  knowledge of, by making a successful melee 
  attack. The victim must save to avoid the effects 
  of the poison.
  Repel Creature
  A creature failing to best the mage on strength of
  will is forced away from the spell caster. It will 
  continue to retreat, unless attacked, when the 
  effect is negated.
  Paralyse Creature
  A creature is paralysed. It will be unable to 
  move, unless attacked, when the effect is 
  negated.
  Rust Finger
  The mage's touch corrodes iron and alloys. In 
  combat, a roll is required, but using the mage's 
  Magic skill. Organic creatures receive no 
  physical damage. 
  Sleep Command 
  A sleep spell causes a magical slumber to come 
  upon the targeted creature, or creatures, who 
  are close enough to hear the command.  
  Interrogate the Dead 
  The corpse will answer questions truthfully if 
  bested by the mage, and simply remain silent 
  otherwise. 
  Spell Mirror
  Spells and spell-like effects targeted at the mage
  are automatically turned back upon the original 
  caster. The original caster can try to best the 
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  mage in a contest of Magic skill to prevent the 
  spell being returned.  
  Lizard Feet
  The mage can walk on vertical surfaces and 
  ceilings as though they were level ground. 
  Rune Carving
  Any spell can be carved as a rune. The magic 
  user carves the rune into an appropriate surface,
  wood, stone and metal is best. The spell is 
  activated once per day, if the rune is touched. 
  Mind Sharing
  The caster creates a telepathic link between 
  themselves and a number of willing creatures. 
  Transmutation
  Placing your hands on a substance and 
  concentrating will allow you to change it from 
  one substance to another. Metal can be turned 
  into stone, and coal into diamond. Organic 
  material is unaffected, except that petrified 
  characters can be returned to their original state 
  using this spell. 
  Minute Prison
  Imprisons the victim within a gem, lamp or other 
  small space. The victim is shrunk to fit – if the 
  spell caster wins a contest using Magic skill.
  Impersonate Object
  The caster can take the form of a roughly human
  size inanimate object, such as a grandfather 
  clock or scarecrow. 
  Create Skeletons
  Raw material in the form of mostly complete sets
  of bones must be at hand, and the magic user is 
  assumed not to be one of the good guys. 
  Create Zombies
  There is no chance of getting information from a 
  person reanimated using this spell, they are 
  simply a monster. The caster must have raw 
  material close at hand, and zombies are capable
  of bursting out of graves under their own power. 
  They require 1d10 rounds to accomplish this. 
  Vampire Strike
  Your next successful attack will provide healing 
  equal to the damage you do to your opponent. 
  Inflicting an injury on your opponent will heal an 
  injury that you are suffering from. 
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  Earth Bones
  This spell summons the rocks of the earth to the 
  surface, in an amount according to the spell 
  casters level. These can then be shaped and 
  positioned as the caster wishes. Architectural 
  features can even be added.  
  Vicious Hedge
  The hedge's thorns damage anyone who tries to 
  pass. The hedge takes 1d6 rounds to grow, and 
  will last according to the mages wishes. The 
  thorns do slashing damage.  
  Web Wall
   Web Wall creates a thick and strong, mass of 
  sticky ropes and strands. These trap those 
  caught in them if they fail a contest of Magic skill 
  with the mage. 
  Long Whisper
  You send a message or sound by throwing your 
  voice to a designated spot. The distance you can
  send the message depends on the range 
  selected. 
  Shape Materials
  This spell allows you to reshape materials to suit
  your purposes. Turn a sword into a scimitar or 
  put an aperture in a wall, for example. 
  Command of Returning
  Command of Returning teleports the mage 
  instantly back to their castle, tower, hovel, or 
  wherever they feel safe, when they give the 
  word.
  Silence Command 
  By commanding silence, you nullify sounds 
  around you so that you and those within the 
  spell's area can converse normally, but no one 
  outside can hear your voices or any sounds you 
  make. 
  Truth Tongue 
  Creatures within the effected area (or those who 
  enter it) can't speak any deliberate and 
  intentional lies. Each potentially affected creature
  is allowed a save to avoid the effects when the 
  spell is cast or when the creature first enters the 
  zone.
  Fate Points 
  GMs and players, you both have a pool of points
  called fate points you can use to influence the 
  game. You represent these with tokens, as we 
  mentioned in The Basics. Players, you start with 
  a certain number of points every scenario, equal 
  to your character’s refresh. You’ll also reset to 
  your refresh rate if you ended a mid-scenario 
  session with fewer fate points than your rate. 
  GMs, you get a budget of fate points to spend in 
  every scene. 
  When your aspects come into play, you will 
  usually spend or gain a fate point. 
  THE FATE POINT ECONOMY 
  For the most part, the use of aspects revolves 
  around fate points. You indicate your supply of 
  fate points by using tokens, such as poker chips,
  glass beads, or other markers. 
  Ideally, you want a consistent ebb and flow of 
  fate points going on throughout your sessions. 
  Players spend them in order to be awesome in a
  crucial moment, and they get them back when 
  their lives get dramatic and complicated. So if 
  your fate points are flowing the way they’re 
  supposed to, you’ll end up with these cycles of 
  triumphs and setbacks that make for a fun and 
  interesting story. 
  Here’s how that works. 
  Refresh 
  Each player gets a number of fate points to start 
  each session off with. That total is called the 
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  refresh rate. The refresh for a default, starting 
  character is three fate points, but you can opt to 
  spend up to two of your refresh to buy additional 
  stunts. 
  You get additional refresh as your character 
  achieves a major milestone (which we discuss in
  The Long Game), which you can spend on 
  getting more stunts or keep in order to increase 
  your starting fate point total. You can never have 
  less than one refresh at any time. 
  You might end a session of play with more fate 
  points than your actual refresh. If that happens, 
  you don’t lose the additional points when you 
  start the next session, but you don’t gain any 
  either. At the start of a new scenario, you reset 
  your fate points to your refresh rate no matter 
  what. 
  STUNTS AND REFRESH 
      Three Stunts = Refresh of 3 
      Four Stunts = Refresh of 2 
      Five Stunts = Refresh of 1 
  Spending Fate Points 
  You spend fate points in any of the following 
  ways: 
      Invoke an Aspect: Invoking an aspect costs 
  you one fate point, unless the invocation is free. 
      Power a Stunt: Some stunts are very potent, 
  and as such, cost a fate point in order to 
  activate. 
      Refuse a Compel: Once a compel is 
  proposed, you can pay a fate point to avoid the 
  complication associated with it. 
      Declare a Story Detail: To add something to 
  the narrative based on one of your aspects, 
  spend a fate point. 
  Earning Fate Points 
  You earn fate points in any of the following ways:
   
      Accept a Compel: You get a fate point when 
  you agree to the complication associated with a 
  compel. As we said above, this may sometimes 
  happen retroactively if the circumstances 
  warrant. 
      Have Your Aspects Invoked Against You: If 
  someone pays a fate point to invoke an aspect 
  attached to your character, you gain their fate 
  point at the end of the scene. This includes 
  advantages created on your character, as well 
  as consequences. 
      Concede in a Conflict: You receive one fate 
  point for conceding in a conflict, as well as an 
  additional fate point for each consequence that 
  you’ve received in that conflict. (This isn’t the 
  same as being taken out in a conflict, by the way,
  but we’ll get into that later.) 
  The GM and Fate Points 
  GMs, you also get to use fate points, but the 
  rules are a little bit different than the rules for 
  players. 
  When you award players fate points for compels 
  or concession, they come out of an unlimited 
  pool you have for doing so—you don’t have to 
  worry about running out of fate points to award, 
  and you always get to compel for free. 
  The NPCs under your control are not so lucky. 
  They have a limited pool of fate points you get to
  use on their behalf. Whenever a scene starts, 
  you get one fate point for every PC in that scene.
  You can use these points on behalf of any NPC 
  you want, but you can get more in that scene if 
  they take a compel, like PCs do. 
  You reset to your default total, one per PC, at the
  beginning of every scene. 
  There are two exceptions: 
      You accepted a compel that effectively ended 
  the last scene or starts the next one. If that 
  happens, take an extra fate point in the next 
  scene. 
      You conceded a conflict to the PCs in the 
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  previous scene. If that happens, take the fate 
  points you’d normally get for the concession into 
  the next scene and add them to the default total. 
  If the immediate next scene doesn’t present a 
  significant interaction with NPCs, you can save 
  these extra points until the next scene that does.
  You’re All Set! 
  At the end of this process, you should have a 
  character with: 
      A name 
      Four aspects, along with some backstory 
      One Great, two Good, three Fair, and four 
  Average skills 
      Between three and five stunts 
      A mental and physical stress track of 2–4 
  boxes each 
      A refresh rate of 1–3 fate points 
  Now you’re ready to play! 
  ACTIONS, OUTCOMES 
  You roll the dice when there’s some kind of 
  interesting opposition keeping you from 
  achieving your goals. If there’s no interesting 
  opposition, you just accomplish whatever you 
  say you’re trying to do. 
  Whenever you take action, there’s a good 
  chance that something or someone is going to 
  be in your way. It wouldn’t be an interesting story
  if the bad guy just rolled over and handed you 
  victory on a plate.
  That’s when it’s time to take out the dice. 
      Choose the character’s skill that is appropriate
  to the action. 
      Roll four Fate dice. 
      
  Rolling the Dice 
  When you need to roll dice in Fate, pick up four 
  Fate dice and roll them. When you read the dice,
  read every + as +1, every 0 as 0, and every - as 
  –1. Add them all together. You’ll get a result from
  –4 to +4, most often between –2 and +2. 
  Here are some sample dice totals: 
  -+0+ = +1 
  +-00 = 
  +++- = +2 
  -000 = −1 
  The result on the dice isn’t your final total, 
  however. If your character has a skill that’s 
  appropriate to the action, you get to add your 
  character’s rating in that skill to whatever you 
  rolled. 
  So, once you’ve rolled the dice, how do you 
  determine what a particular result means? Glad 
  you asked. 
  The Ladder 
  In Fate, we use a ladder of adjectives and 
  numbers to rate the dice results, a character’s 
  skills and the result of a roll. 
   
  Here’s the ladder: 
  +8 
  Legendary 
  +7 
  Epic 
  +6 
  Fantastic 
  +5 
  Superb 
  +4 
  Great 
  +3 
  Good 
  +2 
  Fair 
  +1 
  Average 
  0 
  Mediocre 
  -1 
  Poor 
  -2 
  Terrible 
  Results can go below and above the ladder. 
  Interpreting Results 
  When you roll the dice, you’re trying to get a high
  enough roll to match or beat your opposition. 
  That opposition is going to come in one of two 
  forms: active opposition, from someone rolling 
  dice against you, or passive opposition, from an 
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  obstacle that just has a set rating on the ladder 
  for you to overcome. (GMs, you can also just 
  decide your NPCs give passive opposition when 
  you don’t want to roll dice for them.) 
  Generally speaking, if you beat your opposition 
  on the ladder, you succeed at your action. A tie 
  creates some effect, but not to the extent your 
  character was intending. If you win by a lot, 
  something extra happens (like doing more harm 
  to your opponent in a fight). 
  If you don’t beat the opposition, either you don’t 
  succeed at your action, you succeed at a cost, or
  something else happens to complicate the 
  outcome. Some game actions have special 
  results when you fail at the roll. 
  When you beat a roll or a set obstacle, the 
  difference between your opposition and your 
  result is what we call shifts. When you roll equal 
  to the opposition, you have zero shifts. Roll one 
  over your opposition, and you have one shift. 
  Two over means two shifts, and so on. Later in 
  the book, we’ll talk about different instances 
  where getting shifts on a roll benefits you. 
  You use tokens to represent how many fate 
  points you have at any given time during play. 
  Fate points are one of your most important 
  resources in Fate—they’re a measure of how 
  much influence you have to make the story go in
  your character’s favour. 
  Whenever you roll the dice, you’re comparing 
  your roll to your opposition. Opposition is either 
  active, meaning it’s another person rolling dice 
  against you, or passive, meaning that it’s just a 
  set rating on the ladder which represents the 
  influence of the environment or situation you’re 
  in. GMs, it’s your job to decide what the most 
  reasonable source of opposition is. 
  The Four Outcomes
  When you roll the dice, either you’re going to fail,
  tie, succeed, or succeed with style. 
  Every roll you make in a Fate game results in 
  one of four outcomes, generally speaking. The 
  specifics may change a little depending on what 
  kind of action you’re taking, but all the game 
  actions fit this general pattern. 
  Fail 
  If you roll lower than your opposition, you fail. 
  This means one of several things: you don’t get 
  what you want, you get what you want at a 
  serious cost, or you suffer some negative 
  mechanical consequence. Sometimes, it means 
  more than one of those. It’s the GM’s job to 
  determine an appropriate cost. 
  Tie 
  If you roll the same as your opposition, you tie. 
  This means you get what you want, but at a 
  minor cost, or you get a lesser version of what 
  you wanted. 
  Succeed 
  If you roll higher than your opposition by 1 or 2 
  shifts, you succeed. 
  This means you get what you want at no cost. 
  Succeed with Style 
  If you roll higher than your opposition by 3 or 
  more shifts, you succeed with style. 
  This means that you get what you want, but you 
  also get an added benefit on top of that. 
   
  FOR THE GM: SERIOUS COST VS. MINOR 
  COST 
  When you’re thinking about costs, think both 
  about the story in play and the game mechanics 
  to help you figure out what would be most 
  appropriate. 
  A serious cost should make the current situation 
  worse somehow, either by creating a new 
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  problem or exacerbating an existing one. Bring 
  in another source of opposition in this scene or 
  the next one (such as a new opposing NPC or 
  an obstacle to overcome), or ask the player to 
  take a consequence at their lowest free level, or 
  give someone who opposes the PC an 
  advantage with a free invocation. 
  A minor cost should add a story detail that’s 
  problematic or bad for the PC, but doesn’t 
  necessarily endanger progress. You could also 
  ask the PC to take stress or give someone who 
  opposes the PCs a boost. 
  It’s okay if the minor cost is mainly a narrative 
  detail, showing how the PC just barely scratched
  by. We give more advice about dealing with 
  costs on in Running the Game. 
  FOR THE GM 
  HOW HARD SHOULD SKILL ROLLS BE? 
  For active opposition, you don’t really need to 
  worry about how hard the roll is—just use the 
  NPC’s skill level and roll the dice like the players 
  do, letting the chips fall where they may. We 
  have guidelines about NPC skill levels in 
  Running the Game. 
  For passive opposition, you have to decide what 
  rank on the ladder the player has to beat. It’s 
  more an art than a science, but we have some 
  guidelines to help you. 
  Anything that’s two or more steps higher than the
  PC’s skill level—Fair (+2) skill and Great (+4) 
  opposition, for example— means that the player 
  will probably fail or need to invoke aspects to 
  succeed. 
  Anything that’s two or more steps lower than the 
  PC’s skill level—Fair (+2) skill and Mediocre (+0)
  opposition, for example—means that the player 
  will probably not need to invoke aspects and 
  have a good chance of succeeding with style. 
  Between that range, there’s a roughly equal 
  chance that they’ll tie or succeed, and a roughly 
  equal chance that they will or won’t need to 
  invoke aspects to do so. 
  Therefore, low difficulties are best when you 
  want to give the PCs a chance to show off and 
  be awesome, difficulties near their skill levels are
  best when you want to provide tension but not 
  overwhelm them, and high difficulties are best 
  when you want to emphasize how dire or 
  unusual the circumstances are and make them 
  pull out all the stops. 
  Finally, a couple of quick axioms: 
  Average is called Average for a reason—if 
  nothing about the opposition sticks out, then the 
  difficulty doesn’t need more than a +1. 
  If you can think of at least one reason why the 
  opposition sticks out, but otherwise just can’t 
  decide what the difficulty should be, pick Fair 
  (+2). It’s in the middle of a PC’s range of skills, 
  so it provides a decent challenge for every skill 
  level except Great (+4), and you want to give 
  PCs a chance to show off their peak skill 
  anyway. 
  The Four Actions 
  When you make a skill roll, you’re taking one of 
  four actions: overcome, create an advantage, 
  attack, or defend. 
  There are four types of actions you can take in a 
  game of Fate. When you make a skill roll, you 
  have to decide which of these you’re going to try.
  The skill descriptions tell you which actions are 
  appropriate for that skill and under which 
  circumstances. Usually, the action you need to 
  take will be pretty obvious from the skill 
  description, your intent, and the situation in play, 
  but sometimes you might have to talk it over with
  the group to find out which is the most 
  appropriate. 
  The four actions are: overcome, create 
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  advantage, attack, and defend. 
  Overcome 
  Use the overcome action to achieve assorted 
  goals appropriate to your skill. 
  Every skill has a certain niche of miscellaneous 
  endeavours that fall under its purview, certain 
  situations where it’s an ideal choice. A character 
  with Burglary tries to jimmy a window, a 
  character with Empathy tries to calm the crowd, 
  and a character with Crafts tries to fix the broken
  axle on his wagon after a desperate chase. 
  When your character’s in one of these situations 
  and there’s something between her and her 
  goals, you use the overcome action to deal with 
  it. Look at it as the “catch-all” action for every 
  skill—if it doesn’t fall into any other category, it’s 
  probably an overcome action. 
  The opposition you have to beat might be active 
  or passive, depending on the situation. 
      When you fail an overcome action, you have 
  two options. You can simply fail, which means 
  you don’t attain your goal or get what you were 
  after, or you can succeed at a serious cost. 
      When you tie an overcome action, you attain 
  your goal or get what you were after, but at a 
  minor cost. 
      When you succeed at an overcome action, 
  you attain your goal without any cost. 
      When you succeed with style at an overcome 
  action, you get a boost in addition to attaining 
  your goal. 
  You may occasionally run into situations where it
  seems appropriate to provide a different benefit 
  or penalty for a given action result than the one 
  listed. It’s okay to go back to the basic 
  description of the four outcomes and sub in 
  something that makes sense. 
  For example, on the overcome action it says you
  get a boost in addition to success when you 
  succeed with style. But if that overcome roll is 
  going to end the scene, or you can’t think of a 
  good boost, You may choose to offer a story 
  detail as an extra benefit instead. 
  Create an Advantage 
  Use the create an advantage action to make a 
  situation aspect that gives you a benefit, or to 
  claim a benefit from any aspect you have access
  to. 
  The create an advantage action covers a broad 
  range of endeavors, unified around the theme of 
  using your skills to take advantage (hence the 
  name) of the environment or situation you’re in. 
  Sometimes, that means you’re doing something 
  to actively change your circumstances (like 
  throwing sand in an opponent’s eyes or setting 
  something on fire), but it could also mean that 
  you’re discovering new information that helps 
  you (like learning the weakness of a monster 
  through research), or taking advantage of 
  something you’ve previously observed (like your 
  opponent’s predisposition to a bad temper). 
  When you roll to create an advantage, you must 
  specify whether you’re creating a new situation 
  aspect or taking advantage of an aspect that’s 
  already in place. If the former, are you attaching 
  that situation aspect to a character or to the 
  environment? 
  Opposition might be active or passive, 
  depending on the circumstances. If your target is
  another character, their roll always counts as a 
  defend action. 
  If you’re using create an advantage to make a 
  new aspect… 
     When you fail, you either don’t create the 
  aspect, or you create it but someone else gets 
  the free invoke—whatever you end up doing 
  works to someone else’s advantage instead. 
  That could be your opponent in a conflict, or any 
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  character who could tangibly benefit to your 
  detriment. You may have to reword the aspect to
  show that the other character benefits instead—
  work it out with the recipient in whichever way 
  makes the most sense. 
      When you tie, you get a boost instead of the 
  situation aspect you were going for. This might 
  mean you have to rename the aspect a bit to 
  reflect its temporary nature (Rough Terrain 
  becomes Rocks on the Path). 
      When you succeed, you create a situation 
  aspect with a free invocation. 
      When you succeed with style, you get a 
  situation aspect with two free invocations instead
  of one. 
  If you’re using create an advantage on an 
  existing aspect… 
      When you fail, you give a free invoke on that 
  aspect to someone else instead. That could be 
  your opponent in a conflict, or any character who
  could tangibly benefit to your detriment. 
      When you tie or succeed, you place a free 
  invocation on the aspect. 
      When you succeed with style, you place two 
  free invocations on the aspect. 
  Attack 
  Use the attack action to harm someone in a 
  conflict or take them out of a scene. 
  The attack action is the most straightforward of 
  the four actions—when you want to hurt 
  someone in a conflict, it’s an attack. An attack 
  isn’t always physical in nature; some skills allow 
  you to hurt someone mentally as well. 
  Most of the time, your target will actively oppose 
  your attack. Passive opposition on an attack 
  means you’ve caught your target unaware or 
  otherwise unable to make a full effort to resist 
  you, or the NPC isn’t important enough to bother
  with dice. 
  In addition, passive or not, the opposition always
  counts as a defend action so you can look at 
  these two actions as being inexorably 
  intertwined. 
      When you fail at an attack, you don’t cause 
  any harm to your target. (It also means that your 
  target succeeded on the defend action, which 
  could get you saddled with other effects.) 
      When you tie an attack, you don’t cause any 
  harm, but you gain a boost. 
      When you succeed on an attack, you inflict a 
  hit on your target equal to the number of shifts 
  you got. That forces the target to try and “buy off”
  the value of your hit by taking stress or 
  consequences; if that’s not possible, your target 
  gets taken out of the conflict. 
      When you succeed with style on an attack, it 
  works like a normal success, but you also have 
  the option to reduce the value of your hit by one 
  to gain a boost as well. 
  Defend 
  Use the defend action to avoid an attack or 
  prevent someone from creating an advantage 
  against you. 
  Whenever someone attacks you in a conflict or 
  tries to create an advantage on you, you always 
  get a chance to defend. As with attacks, this isn’t
  always about avoiding physical sources of 
  danger—some of the skills allow you to defend 
  against attempts to harm your mind or damage 
  your resolve. 
  Because you roll to defend as a reaction, your 
  opposition is almost always active. If you’re 
  rolling a defend action against passive 
  opposition, it’s because the environment is 
  hostile to you somehow (like a blazing fire), or 
  the attacking NPC isn’t important enough for the 
  GM to bother with dice. 
      When you fail at a defense, you suffer the 
  consequences of whatever you were trying to 
  prevent. You might take a hit or have an 
  advantage created on you. 
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      When you tie a defense, you grant your 
  opponent a boost. 
      When you succeed at a defense, you 
  successfully avoid the attack or the attempt to 
  gain an advantage on you. 
      When you succeed with style at a defense, it 
  works like a normal success, but you also gain a 
  boost as you turn the tables momentarily. 
  CAN I DEFEND AGAINST OVERCOME 
  ACTIONS? 
  Technically, no. The defend action is there to 
  stop you from taking stress, consequences, or 
  situation aspects—basically, to protect you 
  against all the bad stuff we represent with 
  mechanics. 
  But! You can roll active opposition if you’re in the
  way of any action, as per the guidelines. So if 
  someone’s doing an overcome action that might 
  fail because you’re in the way, you should speak 
  up and say, “Hey, I’m in the way!” and roll to 
  oppose it. You don’t get any extra benefits like 
  the defend action gives you, but you also don’t 
  have to worry about the aforementioned bad 
  stuff if you lose. 
  NO STACKED EFFECTS! 
  You’ll notice that the defend action has outcomes
  that mirror some of the outcomes in attack and 
  create an advantage. For example, it says that 
  when you tie a defence, you grant your opponent
  a boost. Under attack, it says that when you tie, 
  you receive a boost. 
  That doesn’t mean the attacker gets two boosts
  —it’s the same result, just from two different 
  points of view. We just wrote it that way so that 
  the results were consistent when you looked up 
  the rule, regardless of what action you took. 
  You’ll notice that the defend action has outcomes
  that mirror some of the outcomes in attack and 
  create an advantage. For example, it says that 
  when you tie a defence, you grant your opponent
  a boost. Under attack, it says that when you tie, 
  you receive a boost. 
  That doesn’t mean the attacker gets two boosts
  —it’s the same result, just from two different 
  points of view. We just wrote it that way so that 
  the results were consistent when you looked up 
  the rule, regardless of what action you took. 
  Challenges and Contests 
  Most of the time, a single skill roll should be 
  enough to decide how a particular situation in 
  play resolves. You’re not obligated to describe 
  actions in a particular timeframe or level of detail
  when you use a skill. Therefore, you could use a 
  single Athletics roll to find out whether you can 
  safely navigate a rock face that will take days to 
  climb, or use that same single skill roll to find out
  whether you can safely avoid a swiftly falling tree
  that’s about to crush you. 
  Sometimes, however, you’ll be in a situation 
  where you’re doing something really dramatic 
  and interesting, like pivotal set pieces in a movie 
  or a book. When that happens, it’s a good idea 
  to zoom in on the action and deal with it using 
  multiple skill rolls, because the wide range of 
  dice results will make things really dynamic and 
  surprising. Most fight scenes fall into this 
  category, but you can zoom in on anything that 
  you consider sufficiently important—car chases, 
  court trials, high-stakes poker games, and so on.
  We have three ways for you to zoom in on the 
  action in Fate: 
      Challenges, when one or more characters try 
  to achieve something dynamic or complicated 
      Contests, when two or more characters are 
  competing for a goal 
      Conflicts, when two or more characters are 
  trying to directly harm each other 
  Challenges 
  A single overcome action is sufficient to deal with
  a straightforward goal or obstacle—the hero 
  needs to pick this lock, disarm this bomb, sift out
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  a vital piece of information, and so on. It’s also 
  useful when the details of how something gets 
  done aren’t important or worth spending an 
  intense amount of time on, when what you need 
  to know is whether the character can get 
  something done without any setbacks or costs. 
  Sometimes, however, things get complicated. It’s
  not enough to pick the lock, because you also 
  have to hold off the hordes of attacking zombies 
  and set up the magical ward that’s going to keep 
  pursuers off your back. It’s not enough to disarm 
  the bomb, because you also have to land the 
  crashing blimp and keep the unconscious 
  scientist you’re rescuing from getting hurt in said 
  landing. 
  A challenge is a series of overcome actions that 
  you use to resolve an especially complicated or 
  dynamic situation. Each overcome action uses a 
  different skill to deal with one task or part of the 
  situation, and you take the individual results as a
  whole to figure out how the situation resolves. 
  GMs, when you’re trying to figure out if it’s 
  appropriate to call for a challenge, ask yourself 
  the following questions: 
      Is each separate task something that can 
  generate tension and drama independently of 
  the other tasks? If all the tasks are really part of 
  the same overall goal, like “detaching the 
  detonator,” “stopping the timer”, and “disposing 
  of the explosive material” when you’re disarming 
  a bomb, then that should be one overcome 
  action, where you use those details to explain 
  what happened if the roll goes wrong. 
      Does the situation require different skills to 
  deal with? Holding off the zombies (Fight) while 
  pushing down a barricade (Physique) and fixing 
  your broken wagon (Crafts) so that you can get 
  away would be a good instance for a challenge. 
  To set up a challenge, simply identify the 
  individual tasks or goals that make up the 
  situation, and treat each one as a separate 
  overcome roll. (Sometimes, only a certain 
  sequence for the rolls will make sense to you; 
  that’s okay too.) Depending on the situation, one 
  character may be required to make several rolls, 
  or multiple characters may be able to participate.
  To conduct a challenge, call for each overcome 
  action in whichever order seems most 
  interesting, but don’t decide anything about how 
  the situation turns out until after you’ve collected 
  all the results—you want to have the freedom to 
  sequence the events of each roll in the order that
  makes the most sense and is the most 
  entertaining. Players, if you get a boost on one 
  of your rolls, feel free to use it on another roll in 
  the challenge, provided you can justify it. 
  GMs, after the rolls have been made, you’ll 
  consider the successes, failures, and costs of 
  each action as you interpret how the scene 
  proceeds. It could be that the results lead you 
  into another challenge, a contest, or even a 
  conflict. 
  If you have any boosts that went unused in the 
  challenge, feel free to keep them for the rest of 
  this scene or whatever scene you’re transitioning
  to, if the events of the challenge connect directly 
  to the next scene. 
  Advantages in a Challenge 
  You can try to create an advantage during a 
  challenge, for yourself or to help someone else 
  out. Creating an advantage doesn’t count 
  towards completing one of the challenge goals, 
  but failing the roll could create a cost or problem 
  that negatively impacts one of the other goals. 
  Be careful using this tactic; advantages can help 
  complete tasks more effectively and create 
  momentum, but trying to create them is not 
  without risk. 
  Attacks in a Challenge 
  Because you’re always up against passive 
  opposition in a challenge, you’ll never use the 
  attack action. If you’re in a situation where it 
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  seems reasonable to roll an attack, you should 
  start setting up for a conflict. 
  Contests
  Whenever two or more characters have mutually
  exclusive goals, but they aren’t trying to harm 
  each other directly, they’re in a contest. Arm 
  wrestling matches, races or other sports 
  competitions, and public debates are all good 
  examples of contests. 
  GMs, answer the following questions when 
  you’re setting up a contest: 
      What are the “sides”? Is every character in the
  contest in it for herself, or are there groups of 
  people opposing other groups? If you have 
  multiple characters on a side, they roll together 
  using the Teamwork rules. 
      What environment does the contest take place
  in? Are there any significant or notable features 
  of that environment you want to define as 
  situation aspects? 
      How are the participants opposing each 
  other? Are they rolling against each other 
  directly (like in a straight sprint race or a poker 
  match), or are they trying to overcome 
  something in the environment (like an obstacle 
  course or a panel of judges)? 
      What skills are appropriate for this contest? 
  Does everyone have to roll the same one, or do 
  several apply? 
  A contest proceeds in a series of exchanges. In 
  an exchange, every participant gets to make one
  skill roll to determine how well they do in that leg 
  of the contest. This is basically an overcome 
  action. 
  Players, when you make a contest roll, compare 
  your result to everyone else’s. 
      If you got the highest result, you win the 
  exchange. If you’re rolling directly against the 
  other participants, then that means you got the 
  highest rank on the ladder out of everyone. If 
  you’re all rolling against something in the 
  environment, it means you got the most shifts 
  out of everyone. 
  Winning the exchange means you score a 
  victory (which you can just represent with a tally 
  mark or check mark on scratch paper) and 
  describe how you take the lead. 
      If you succeed with style and no one else 
  does, then you get to mark two victories. 
      If there’s a tie for the highest result, no one 
  gets a victory, and an unexpected twist occurs. 
  This could mean several things depending on 
  the situation—the terrain or environment shifts 
  somehow, the parameters of the contest change,
  or an unanticipated variable shows up and 
  affects all the participants. GMs, you should 
  create a new situation aspect reflecting this 
  change. 
      The first participant to achieve three victories 
  wins the contest. 
  During any exchange, you can try to create an 
  advantage before you make your contest roll. If 
  you’re targeting another participant, they get to 
  defend normally. If someone can interfere with 
  your attempt, they provide active opposition as 
  normal. 
  Doing this carries an additional risk—failing to 
  create an advantage means you forfeit your 
  contest roll, which means there’s no way you can
  make progress in the current exchange. If you at
  least tie, you get to make your contest roll 
  normally. 
  If you’re providing a bonus via the Teamwork 
  rules, failing to create an advantage means the 
  lead character doesn’t benefit from your help this
  exchange. 
  Attacks in a Contest 
  If someone tries to attack in a contest, then 
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  they’re doing direct harm, and it ceases to be a 
  contest. You should immediately stop what 
  you’re doing and start setting up for a conflict 
  instead. 
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  CONFLICTS 
  In a conflict, characters are actively trying to 
  harm one another. It could be a fist fight, a 
  shootout, or a powersword duel. It could also be 
  a tough interrogation, a psychic assault, or a 
  shouting match with a loved one. As long as the 
  characters involved have both the intent and the 
  ability to harm one another, then you’re in a 
  conflict scene. 
  Conflicts are either physical or mental in nature, 
  based on the kind of harm you’re at risk of 
  suffering. In physical conflicts, you suffer bruises,
  scrapes, cuts, and other injuries. In mental 
  conflicts, you suffer loss of confidence and 
  self-esteem, loss of composure, and other 
  psychological trauma. 
  Setting up a conflict is a little more involved than 
  setting up contests or challenges. Here are the 
  steps: 
      Set the scene, describing the environment the
  conflict takes place in, creating situation aspects 
  and zones, and establishing who’s participating 
  and what side they’re on. 
      Determine the turn order. 
      Start the first exchange: 
          On your turn, take an action and then 
  resolve it. 
          On other people’s turns, defend or respond 
  to their actions as necessary. 
          At the end of everyone’s turn, start again 
  with a new exchange. 
  You know the conflict is over when everyone on 
  one of the sides has conceded or been taken 
  out. 
  Setting the Scene 
  GMs, when you’re setting the scene, keep an 
  eye out for fun-sounding features of the 
  environment to make into situation aspects, 
  especially if you think someone might be able to 
  take advantage of them in an interesting way in 
  a conflict. Don’t overload it—find three to five 
  evocative things about your conflict location and 
  make them into aspects. 
  Good options for situation aspects include: 
      Anything regarding the general mood, 
  weather, or lighting—dark or badly lit, storming, 
  creepy, crumbling, blindingly bright, etc. 
      Anything that might affect or restrict 
  movement—filthy, mud everywhere, slippery, 
  rough, etc. 
      Things to hide behind—vehicles, obstructions,
  large furniture, etc. 
      Things you can knock over, wreck, or use as 
  improvised weapons—bookshelves, statues, etc.
      Things that are flammable 
      Things that are toxic – for example in an 
  abandoned genetics lab, where it was easier to 
  start again than to clean up the mess.
      Things that dazzle and blind – The streets of 
  the sprawl are bathed in the light of a thousand 
  displays, an animated crawl of commercial 
  information 
      Autonomous things – Often a building AI has 
  been ‘taken over’, extremely dangerous on a 
  completely automated construction site. Such as
  site might be a giant robot ring rising into the sky
  and leaving a skyscraper behind. The lower 
  floors of the building already occupied. 
     Things that are contagious – A deserted 
  hospital, where the hospital has been cleared 
  due to the danger posed by one of the 
  patients/inmates 
     Things that are caged – a prison, only a few 
  days away from riot and disorder 
      Deserted things – behind a police cordon, 
  evacuated, and the power cut. 
      Jagged things – the scrapyards of Earth 
  stretch for many kilometres and go deep, deep 
  underground. 
     Insanitary things – Many slum districts have 
  taken over or are built over or around nearby 
  industrial districts. There is no sanitation, and the
  open sewers are full of industrial waste as well 
  as human excrement.
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  Mental Conflicts 
  In a mental conflict, it might not always make 
  sense to use situation aspects and zones to 
  describe a physical space. It’d make sense in an
  interrogation, for example, where the physical 
  features of the space create fear, but not in a 
  really violent argument with a loved one. Also, 
  when people are trying to hurt each other 
  emotionally, usually they’re using their target’s 
  own weaknesses against them—in other words, 
  their own aspects. 
  So, you may not even need situation aspects or 
  zones for a lot of mental conflicts. Don’t feel 
  obligated to include them. 
  Zones 
  GMs, if your conflict takes place over a large 
  area, you may want to break it down into zones 
  for easier reference. 
  A zone is an abstract representation of physical 
  space. The best definition of a zone is that it’s 
  close enough that you can interact directly with 
  someone (in other words, walk up to and punch 
  them in the face). 
  Generally speaking, a conflict should rarely 
  involve more than a handful of zones. Two to 
  four is probably sufficient, save for really big 
  conflicts. This isn’t a miniatures board game—
  zones should give a tactile sense of the 
  environment, but at the point where you need 
  something more than a cocktail napkin to lay it 
  out, you’re getting too complicated. 
      If you can describe the area as bigger than a 
  house, you can probably divide it into two or 
  more zones—think of a cathedral or a shopping 
  center parking lot. 
      If it’s separated by stairs, a ladder, a fence, or 
  a wall, it could be divided zones, like two floors 
  of a house. 
      “Above X” and “below X” can be different 
  zones, especially if moving between them takes 
  some doing—think of the airspace around 
  something large, like a blimp. 
  When you’re setting up your zones, note any 
  situation aspects that could make moving 
  between those zones problematic. They’ll be 
  important later, when people want to move from 
  zone to zone. If that means you need more 
  situation aspects, add them now. 
  Establishing Sides 
  It’s important to know everyone’s goal in a 
  conflict before you start. People fight for a 
  reason, and if they’re willing to do harm, it’s 
  usually an urgent reason. 
  The normal assumption is that the player 
  characters are on one side, fighting against 
  NPCs who are in opposition. It doesn’t always 
  have to be that way, however—PCs can fight 
  each other and be allied with NPCs against each
  other. 
  Make sure everyone agrees on the general 
  goals of each side, who’s on which side, and 
  where everyone is situated in the scene (like 
  who’s occupying which zone) when the conflict 
  begins. 
  It might also help, GMs, to decide how those 
  groups are going to “divvy up” to face one 
  another—is one character going to get mobbed 
  by the bad guy’s henchmen, or is the opposition 
  going to spread itself around equally among the 
  PCs? You might change your mind once the 
  action starts, but if you have a basic idea, it 
  gives you a good starting point to work from. 
  Turn Order 
  Your turn order in a conflict is based on your 
  skills. In a physical conflict, compare your Notice
  skill to the other participants. In a mental conflict,
  compare your Empathy skill. Whoever has the 
  highest gets to go first, and then everyone else 
  in descending order. 
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  If there’s a tie, compare a secondary or tertiary 
  skill. For physical conflicts, that’s Athletics, then 
  Physique. For mental conflicts, Rapport, then 
  Will. 
  Exchanges in a conflict are a little more 
  complicated than in contests. In an exchange, 
  every character gets a turn to take an action. 
  GMs, you get to go once for every NPC you 
  control in the conflict. 
  Most of the time, you’re going to be attacking 
  another character or creating an advantage on 
  your turn, because that’s the point of a conflict—
  take your opponent out, or set things up to make
  it easier to take your opponent out. 
  GMs, if you have a lot of nameless NPCs in your
  scene, feel free to have them use passive 
  opposition to keep your dice rolling down. Also, 
  consider using mobs instead of individual NPCs 
  to keep things simple. 
  However, if you have a secondary objective in 
  the conflict scene, you might need to roll an 
  overcome action instead. You’ll encounter this 
  most often if you want to move between zones 
  but there’s a situation aspect in place making 
  that problematic. 
  Regardless, you only get to make one skill roll 
  on your turn in an exchange, unless you’re 
  defending against someone else’s action—you 
  can do that as many times as you want. You can 
  even make defend actions on behalf of others, 
  so long as you fulfil two conditions: it has to be 
  reasonable for you to interpose yourself between
  the attack and its target, and you have to suffer 
  the effects of any failed rolls. 
  Full Defence 
  If you want, you can forgo your action for the 
  exchange to concentrate on defence. You don’t 
  get to do anything proactive, but you do get to 
  roll all defend actions for the exchange at a +2 
  bonus. 
  Resolving Attacks 
  A successful attack lands a hit equivalent to its 
  shift value on a target. So if you get three shifts 
  on an attack, you land a 3-shift hit. 
  If you get hit by an attack, one of two things 
  happen: either you absorb the hit and stay in the 
  fight, or you’re taken out. 
  Fortunately, you have two options for absorbing 
  hits to stay in the fight—you can take stress 
  and/or consequences. You can also concede a 
  conflict before you’re taken out, in order to 
  preserve some control over what happens to 
  your character. 
  If, for whatever reason, you want to forego your 
  defence and take a hit (like, say, to interpose 
  yourself in the path of an arrow that’s about to 
  skewer your friend), you can. 
   
  Because you’re not defending, the attacker’s 
  rolling against Mediocre (+0) opposition, which 
  means you’re probably going to take a bad hit. 
  Stress 
  One of your options to mitigate the effect of a hit 
  is to take stress. 
  The best way to understand stress is that it 
  represents all the various reasons why you just 
  barely avoid taking the full force of an attack. 
  Maybe you twist away from the blow just right, or
  it looks bad but is really just a flesh wound, or 
  you exhaust yourself diving out of the way at the 
  last second. 
  Mentally, stress could mean that you just barely 
  manage to ignore an insult, or clamp down on an
  instinctive emotional reaction, or something like 
  that. 
  Stress boxes also represent a loss of momentum
  —you only have so many last-second saves in 
  you before you’ve got to face the music. 
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  On your character sheet, you have a number of 
  stress boxes, each with a different shift value. By
  default, all characters get a 1-point and a 2-point
  box. You may get additional, higher-value stress 
  boxes depending on some of your skills (usually 
  Physique and Will). 
  When you take stress, check off a stress box 
  with a value equal to the shift value of the hit. If 
  that box is already checked, check off a higher 
  value box. If there is no higher available box, 
  and you can’t take any consequences, you’re 
  taken out of the conflict. 
  You can only check off one stress box per hit. 
  Remember that you have two sets of stress 
  boxes! One of these is for physical stress, the 
  other for mental; you’ll start with a 1-shift and a 
  2-shift box in each of these. If you take stress 
  from a physical source, you check off a physical 
  stress box. If it’s a mental hit, check off a mental 
  stress box. 
  After a conflict, when you get a minute to 
  breathe, any stress boxes you checked off 
  become available for your use again. 
  Boss Monster Onion Skins
  Boss monsters, which are the bigger and more 
  dangerous monsters, such as dragons and 
  giants, often have one profile representing a 
  healthy monster, and a second representing a 
  wounded monster, and perhaps even a third 
  representing a near death version. Effectively 
  meaning that three monsters must be fought 
  consecutively, instead of just one, because that 
  creature just won't ‘stay down’. 
  This process is like peeling an onion, where 
  each skin must be removed before the last 
  monster at the core can be engaged. It makes 
  boss monsters even more powerful. 
  Vehicle Onion Skins
  Being inside a vehicle is a huge advantage in 
  combat. This is because some vehicles have 
  stress boxes of their own. Before occupants can 
  be targeted, all the vehicles stress boxes must 
  be filled in, and the vehicle taken out. 
  The crew is usually safe from external fire 
  however, and they must be extracted, or a 
  boarding party must be sent in before the crew 
  can be harmed. Any vehicle, such as a ship, that
  has stress boxes and a character sheet, rather 
  than just providing aspects counts as a vehicle 
  for this rule. 
  Affecting Multiple Targets 
  Explosions are a staple of physical conflict, but 
  are by no means the only example—consider 
  tear gas or stunners. You can extend this to 
  mental conflict also. For example, you might use 
  Provoke to establish dominance in a room with 
  your presence, or Rapport to make an 
  inspirational speech that affects everyone 
  listening. 
  The easiest way to do this is to create an 
  advantage on the scene, rather than on a 
  specific target. A Gas-Filled Room has the 
  potential to affect everyone in it, and it’s not too 
  much of a stretch to suggest that the 
  Inspirational Mood in a room could be 
  contagious. In this context, the aspect presents 
  an excuse to call for a skill roll (using the 
  overcome action) from anyone in the scene who 
  attempts to get past it. Generally speaking, it 
  won’t cause damage, but it will make things 
  more difficult for those affected. 
  Attacking a whole zone or everyone in a scene is
  something you’re going to have to judge by 
  circumstance, like any other stretch use of a 
  skill. Depending on the circumstances of your 
  setting, this might be a totally normal thing to do 
  (for example, because everyone uses magic with
  an area effect attack), it might be impossible, or 
  it might require a stunt. As long as you can 
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  justify it, you don’t need to apply any special 
  rules—you roll for the attack, and everyone in 
  the zone defends as normal. Depending on the 
  circumstances, you may even have to defend 
  against your own roll, if you’re in the same zone 
  as the attack! 
  COMPELS AND MULTIPLE TARGETS 
  Just a quick note: players who want to compel 
  their way out of a conflict don’t get a free lunch 
  on affecting multiple targets, whether it’s one 
  aspect or several that justify the compel. A 
  player must spend one fate point for each target 
  they wish to compel. One fate point compels one
  individual, period. 
  Consequences 
  A consequence is more severe than stress—it 
  represents some form of lasting injury or setback
  that you accrue from the conflict, something 
  that’s going to be a problem for your character 
  after the conflict is over. 
  Consequences come in three levels of severity—
  mild, moderate, and severe. Each one has a 
  different shift value: two, four, and six, 
  respectively. On your character sheet, you have 
  a number of available consequence slots, in this 
  section. 
  When you use a consequence slot, you reduce 
  the shift value of the attack by the shift value of 
  the consequence. You can use more than one 
  consequence at a time if they’re available. Any 
  of the hit’s remaining shifts must be handled by a
  stress box to avoid being taken out. 
  However, there’s a penalty. The consequence 
  written in the slot is an aspect that represents 
  the lasting effect incurred from the attack. The 
  opponent who forced you to take a consequence
  gets a free invocation, and the aspect remains 
  on your character sheet until you’ve recovered 
  the consequence slot. While it’s on your sheet, 
  the consequence is treated like any other 
  aspect, except because the slant on it is so 
  negative, it’s far more likely to be used to your 
  character’s detriment. 
  Unlike stress, a consequence slot may take a 
  long time to recover after the conflict is over. 
  Also unlike stress, you only have one set of 
  consequences; there aren’t specific slots for 
  physical versus mental consequences. This 
  means that, if you have to take a mild 
  consequence to reduce a mental hit and your 
  mild consequence slot is already filled with a 
  physical consequence, you’re out of luck! You’re 
  going to have to use a moderate or severe 
  consequence to absorb that hit (assuming you 
  have one left). The exception to this is the extra 
  consequence slot you would get from a Superb 
  (+5) Physique or Will is reserved for physical or 
  mental harm, respectively. 
  Still, it’s better than being taken out, right? 
  Naming a Consequence 
  Here are some guidelines for choosing what to 
  name a consequence: 
  Mild consequences don’t require immediate 
  medical attention. They hurt, and they may 
  present an inconvenience, but they aren’t going 
  to force you into a lot of bed rest. On the mental 
  side, mild consequences express things like 
  small social gaffes or changes in your surface 
  emotions. Examples: Black Eye, Bruised Hand, 
  Winded, Flustered, Cranky, Temporarily Blinded. 
  Moderate consequences represent fairly serious 
  impairments that require dedicated effort toward 
  recovery (including medical attention). On the 
  mental side, they express things like damage to 
  your reputation or emotional problems that you 
  can’t just shrug off with an apology and a good 
  night’s sleep. Examples: Deep Cut, First Degree 
  Burn, Exhausted, Drunk, Terrified. 
  Severe consequences go straight to the 
  emergency room (or whatever the equivalent is 
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  in your game)—they’re extremely nasty and 
  prevent you from doing a lot of things, and will 
  lay you out for a while. On the mental side, they 
  express things like serious trauma or 
  relationship-changing harm. Examples: 
  Second-Degree Burn, Compound Fracture, Guts
  Hanging Out, Crippling Shame, Trauma-Induced 
  Phobia. 
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  Recovery
  Physical recovery can only happen through the 
  use of a Lore stunt or a magical effect. This 
  makes physical fights dangerous and is because
  advanced medical training is quite rare. For 
  mental recovery, use the Empathy skill. 
  In order to regain the use of a consequence slot,
  you have to recover from the consequence. That
  requires two things—succeeding at an action 
  that allows you to justify recovery, and then 
  waiting an appropriate amount of game time for 
  that recovery to take place. 
  The action in question is an overcome action; 
  the obstacle is the consequence that you took. If 
  it’s a physical injury, then the action is some kind
  of medical treatment or first aid. For mental 
  consequences, the action may involve therapy, 
  counselling, or simply a night out with friends. 
  The difficulty for this obstacle is based on the 
  shift value of the consequence. Mild is Fair (+2), 
  moderate is Great (+4), and severe is Fantastic 
  (+6). If you are trying to perform the recovery 
  action on yourself, increase the difficulty by two 
  steps on the ladder. 
  Keep in mind that the circumstances have to be 
  appropriately free of distraction and tension for 
  you to make this roll in the first place—you’re not
  going to clean and bandage a nasty cut while 
  ogres are tramping through the caves looking for
  you. GMs, you’ve got the final judgement call. 
  If you succeed at the recovery action, or 
  someone else succeeds on a recovery action for
  you, you get to rename the consequence aspect 
  to show that it’s in recovery. So, for example, 
  Broken Leg could become Stuck in a Cast, 
  Nearly Gutted aspect could be Bandaged, 
  Scandalized could become Damage Control, 
  and so on. This doesn’t free up the consequence
  slot, but it serves as an indicator that you’re 
  recovering, and it changes the ways the aspect’s
  going to be used while it remains. 
  Whether you change the consequence’s name 
  or not—and sometimes it might not make sense 
  to do so—mark it with a star so that everyone 
  remembers that recovery has started. 
  Then, you just have to wait the time. 
      For a mild consequence, you only have to wait
  one whole scene after the recovery action, and 
  then you can remove the aspect and clear the 
  slot. 
      For a moderate consequence, you have to 
  wait one whole session after the recovery action 
  (which means if you do the recovery action in the
  middle of a session, you should recover 
  sometime in the middle of next session). 
      For a severe consequence, you have to wait 
  one whole scenario after the recovery action. 
  Extreme Consequences 
  In addition to the normal set of mild, moderate, 
  and severe consequences, every PC also gets 
  one last-ditch option to stay in a fight—the 
  extreme consequence. Between major 
  milestones, you can only use this option once. 
  An extreme consequence will absorb up to 
  8-shifts of a hit, but at a very serious cost—you 
  must replace one of your aspects (except the 
  high concept, that’s off limits) with the extreme 
  consequence. That’s right, an extreme 
  consequence is so serious that taking it literally 
  changes who you are. 
  Unlike other consequences, you can’t make a 
  recovery action to diminish an extreme 
  consequence—you’re stuck with it until your next
  major milestone. After that, you can rename the 
  extreme consequence to reflect that you’re no 
  longer vulnerable to the worst of it, as long as 
  you don’t just switch it out for whatever your old 
  aspect was. Taking an extreme consequence is 
  a permanent character change; treat it as such. 
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  Conceding the Conflict 
  When all else fails, you can also just give in. 
  Maybe you’re worried that you can’t absorb 
  another hit, or maybe you decide that continuing 
  to fight is just not worth the punishment. 
  Whatever the reason, you can interrupt any 
  action at any time before the roll is made to 
  declare that you concede the conflict. This is 
  super-important—once dice hit the table, what 
  happens happens, and you’re either taking more
  stress, suffering more consequences, or getting 
  taken out. 
  Concession gives the other person what they 
  wanted from you, or in the case of more than two
  combatants, removes you as a concern for the 
  opposing side. You’re out of the conflict, period. 
  But it’s not all bad. First of all, you get a fate 
  point for choosing to concede. On top of that, if 
  you’ve sustained any consequences in this 
  conflict, you get an additional fate point for each 
  consequence. These fate points may be used 
  once this conflict is over. 
  Second of all, you get to avoid the worst parts of 
  your fate. Yes, you lost, and the narration has to 
  reflect that. But you can’t use this privilege to 
  undermine the opponent’s victory, either—what 
  you say happens has to pass muster with the 
  group. 
  That can make the difference between, say, 
  being mistakenly left for dead and ending up in 
  the enemy’s clutches, in shackles, without any of
  your stuff—the sort of thing that can happen if 
  you’re taken out instead. That’s not nothing. 
  Getting Taken Out 
  If you don’t have any stress or consequences left
  to buy off all the shifts of a hit, that means you’re 
  taken out. 
  Taken out is bad—it means not only that you 
  can’t fight any more, but that the person who 
  took you out gets to decide what your loss looks 
  like and what happens to you after the conflict. 
  Obviously, they can’t narrate anything that’s out 
  of scope for the conflict (like having you die from 
  shame), but that still gives someone else a lot of 
  power over your character that you can’t really 
  do anything about. 
  Character Death 
  So, if you think about it, there’s not a whole lot 
  keeping someone from saying, after taking you 
  out, that your character dies. If you’re talking 
  about a physical conflict where people are using 
  nasty sharp weapons, it certainly seems 
  reasonable that one possible outcome of defeat 
  is your character getting killed. 
  In practice, though, this assumption might be 
  pretty controversial depending on what kind of 
  group you’re in. Some people think that 
  character death should always be on the table, if
  the rules allow it—if that’s how the dice fall, then 
  so be it. 
  Others are more circumspect, and consider it 
  very damaging to their fun if they lose a 
  character upon whom they’ve invested hours 
  and hours of gameplay, just because someone 
  spent a lot of fate points or their die rolls were 
  particularly unlucky. 
  We recommend the latter approach, mainly for 
  the following reason: most of the time, sudden 
  character death is a pretty boring outcome when 
  compared to putting the character through hell. 
  On top of that, all the story threads that 
  character was connected to just kind of stall with 
  no resolution, and you have to expend a bunch 
  of effort and time figuring out how to get a new 
  character into play mid-stride. 
  That doesn’t mean there’s no room for character 
  death in the game, however. We just recommend
  that you save that possibility for conflicts that are
  extremely pivotal, dramatic, and meaningful for 
  that character—in other words, conflicts in which
  that character would knowingly and willingly risk 
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  dying in order to win. Players and GMs, if you’ve 
  got the feeling that you’re in that kind of conflict, 
  talk it out when you’re setting the scene and see 
  how people feel. 
  At the very least, even if you’re in a hardcore 
  group that invites the potential for character 
  death on any taken out result, make sure that 
  you telegraph the opponent’s lethal intent. GMs, 
  this is especially important for you, so the 
  players will know which NPCs really mean 
  business, and can concede to keep their 
  characters alive if need be. 
  Movement 
  In a conflict, it’s important to track where 
  everyone is relative to one another, which is why
  we divide the environment where the conflict’s 
  taking place into zones. Where you have zones, 
  you have people trying to move around in them 
  in order to get at one another or at a certain 
  objective. 
  Normally, it’s no big deal to move from one zone 
  to another—if there’s nothing preventing you 
  from doing so, you can move one zone in 
  addition to your action for the exchange. 
  If you want to move more than one zone (up to 
  anywhere else on the map), if a situation aspect 
  suggests that it might be difficult to move freely, 
  or if another character is in your way, then you 
  must make an overcome action using Athletics 
  to move. This counts as your action for the 
  exchange. 
  GMs, just as with other overcome rolls, you’ll set 
  the difficulty. You might use the number of zones 
  the character is moving or the situation aspects 
  in the way as justification for how high you set 
  passive opposition. If another character is 
  impeding the path, roll active opposition and feel 
  free to invoke obstructing situation aspects in aid
  of their defence. 
  If you fail that roll, whatever was impeding you 
  keeps you from moving. If you tie, you get to 
  move, but your opponent takes a temporary 
  advantage of some kind. If you succeed, you 
  move without consequence. If you succeed with 
  style, you can claim a boost in addition to your 
  movement. 
  Vehicle/Monster Movement
  Vehicles often become locked in combat, 
  chasing each other around the Circus Maximus. 
  The same is true of mounted beats such as 
  dragons or riding wyverns. The combat may be 
  moving forward at very high speed but that is not
  relevant to those involved. 
  The vehicles involved in the chase or the 
  dogfight are stuck inside the same zone with 
  each other, even as the world streaks past at 
  high speed. 
  Moving out and away from the zone occupied by
  a dogfight or chase is the same mechanic as 
  moving zones. 
  Tactical Map Movement
  Tactical maps can be drawn by hand, created 
  with GIMP or similar image processing software 
  and printed out on the computer or purchased. 
  A map could represent anything from a small 
  area around a castle, to a wide expanse of 
  forest. Any map can be used and movement is 
  determined freely in any direction. 
  Features that provide cover, impede movement, 
  or impose any other kind of modifier are marked 
  on the map. These include things like 
  battlements and trees.
  Advantages in a Conflict 
  Remember that aspects you create as 
  advantages follow all the rules for situation 
  aspects—the GM can use them to justify 
  overcome actions, they last until they’re made 
  irrelevant or the scene is over, and in some 
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  cases they represent as much a threat to you as 
  an opponent. 
  When you create an advantage in a conflict, 
  think about how long you want that aspect to 
  stick around and whom you want to have access
  to it. It’s difficult for anyone besides you and your
  friends to justify using an advantage you stick to 
  a character, but it’s also easier to justify getting 
  rid of it—one overcome action could undo it. It’s 
  harder to justify getting rid of an aspect on the 
  environment (seriously, who is going to move 
  that Huge Bookcase you just knocked over?), 
  but anyone in the scene could potentially find a 
  reason to take advantage of it. 
  Covering Fire
  When you’re trying to prevent someone else 
  from getting attacked, the main way to do it is by 
  creating an advantage. You can pass your buddy
  the invocation and make it harder to hit them. 
  You could also put yourself directly between the 
  attack and the intended target, such that the bad
  guy has to get through you to get to your buddy. 
  Then you’re just defending as normal and taking 
  the stress and consequences yourself. 
  If you want to defend other people without 
  directly interposing yourself between them and 
  the attack, you’ll need a stunt. 
  In terms of options for advantages, the sky’s the 
  limit. Pretty much any situational modifier you 
  can think of can be expressed as an advantage. 
  If you’re stuck for an idea, here are some 
  examples: 
      Temporary Blinding: Throwing sand or salt in 
  the enemy’s eyes is a classic action staple. This 
  places a Blinded aspect on a target, which could 
  require them to get rid of the aspect with an 
  overcome action before doing anything 
  dependent on sight. Blinded might also present 
  opportunities for a compel, so keep in mind that 
  your opponent can take advantage of this to 
  replenish fate points.
   
      Disarming: You knock an opponent’s weapon 
  away, disarming them until they can recover it. 
  The target will need an overcome action to 
  recover their weapon. 
      Positioning: There are a lot of ways to use 
  advantages to represent positioning, like High 
  Ground or Cornered, which you can invoke to 
  take advantage of that positioning as context 
  demands. 
      Winded and Other Minor Hurts: Some strikes 
  in a fight are debilitating because they’re painful, 
  rather than because they cause injury. Nerve 
  hits, groin shots, and a lot of other “dirty fighting” 
  tricks fall into this category. You can use an 
  advantage to represent these, sticking your 
  opponent with Pain-Blindness or Stunned or 
  whatever, then following up with an attack that 
  exploits the aspect to do more lasting harm. 
      Taking Cover: You can use advantages to 
  represent positions of cover and invoke them for 
  your defense. This can be as general as Found 
  Some Cover or as specific as Behind the Big 
  Oak Bar. 
      Altering the Environment: You can use 
  advantages to alter the environment to your 
  benefit, creating barriers to movement by 
  scattering Loose Junk everywhere, or setting 
  things On Fire. 
  Other Actions in a Conflict 
  As stated above, you may find yourself in a 
  situation where you want to do something else 
  while your friends are fighting. You might be 
  disarming a death trap, searching for a piece of 
  information, or checking for hidden assailants. 
  In order to do this, GMs, set the player up with a 
  modified form of challenge. One of the tasks is 
  likely “defend yourself”—in any exchange where 
  someone attacks you or tries to create an 
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  advantage on you, you must defend successfully
  in order to be able to take one of the other 
  actions in the challenge. So long as no one has 
  successfully attacked you or stuck an advantage
  on you, you can use your action to roll for one of 
  the challenge goals. 
  Free Actions 
  Sometimes it just makes sense that your 
  character is doing something else in conjunction 
  with or as a step toward their action in an 
  exchange. You quick-draw a weapon before you 
  use it, you shout a warning before you kick in a 
  door, or you quickly size up a room before you 
  attack. These little bits of action are colourful 
  description more than anything else, meant to 
  add atmosphere to the scene. 
  Ending a Conflict 
  Under most circumstances, when all of the 
  members of one side have either conceded the 
  conflict or have been taken out, the conflict is 
  over. 
  GMs, once you know a conflict has definitively 
  ended, you can pass out all the fate points 
  earned from concession. Players, take the fate 
  points for when your aspects were invoked 
  against you, make a note of whatever 
  consequences you suffered in the fight, and 
  erase any checks in your stress boxes. 
  Transitioning to a Contest or Challenge 
  You may find yourself in a conflict scene where 
  the participants are no longer interested in or 
  willing to harm one another, because of some 
  change in the circumstances. If that happens, 
  and there’s still more to resolve, you can 
  transition straight into a contest or challenge as 
  you need. In that case, hold off on awarding the 
  end-of-conflict fate points and whatnot until 
  you’ve also resolved the contest or challenge. 
  As an example, a PC manages to get a vault 
  door open so the three members of the party can
  escape an endless horde of temple guardians. 
  They all decide to run and try to lose them. 
  Now, the guardians and the PCs have mutually 
  opposing goals but can’t harm one another, so 
  now it’s a contest. Instead of running the next 
  exchange, the GM just starts setting up for the 
  chase. 
  Even though the PCs may have some 
  consequences and are due some fate points, 
  they won’t get them until after we find out if they 
  can get away, or if they get caught. 
  Teamwork 
  Characters can help each other out on actions. 
  There are two versions of helping in Fate—
  combining skills, for when you are all putting the 
  same kind of effort into an action (like using 
  Physique together to push over a crumbling 
  wall), and stacking advantages, for when the 
  group is setting a single person up to do well 
  (like causing multiple distractions so one person 
  can use Stealth to get into a fortress). 
  When you combine skills, figure out who has the 
  highest skill level among the participants. Each 
  other participant who has at least an Average 
  (+1) in the same skill adds a +1 to the highest 
  person’s skill level, and then only the lead 
  character rolls. So if you have three helpers and 
  you’re the highest, you roll your skill level with a 
  +3 bonus. 
  If you fail a roll to combine skills, all of the 
  participants share in the potential costs—
  whatever complication affects one character 
  affects all of them, or everyone has to take 
  consequences. Alternatively, you can impose a 
  cost that affects all the characters the same. 
  When you stack advantages, each person takes 
  a create an advantage action as usual, and 
  gives whatever free invocations they get to a 
  single character. Remember that multiple free 
  invocations from the same aspect can stack. 
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  World Guide
  Now it's time to take a look at the world that the 
  player characters will be adventuring in. Some 
  gamemasters prefer to keep all of this 
  information secret. The game master then dolls 
  out the information as the players encounter it. 
  Let's start by exploring the continent of Hyrope, 
  where the game is set. Looking at the realms in 
  alphabetical order by species leads us to start 
  with the dwarves. 
  Dwarven Kingdoms 
  The lands of the dwarves may not look very 
  extensive when seen on maps of the surface of 
  the Realms land mass, there seem to be just a 
  handful of realms on high, rocky infertile and 
  mountainous ground, all isolated from each 
  other, landlocked and surrounded, but this 
  impression is deceptive. 
  In fact, the dwarven realms extend far 
  underground and some are so big that they 
  actually have underground borders with each 
  other. The food source for these underground 
  kingdoms is giant fungi. There are huge 
  underground caves full of huge fields of giant 
  mushrooms underground, and they are the 
  dwarves' most jealously guarded treasure. They 
  are constantly under attack by the wild and 
  gigantic creatures of the pits. 
  Dwarven architecture consists of strengthening 
  the tunnels, left behind by the burrowing of the 
  great worms, with columns and gantries of 
  stone. They build defensive walls across the 
  tunnels and excavating large complexes of 
  corridors and rooms into the tunnel sides, some 
  of them as big as, or bigger than human cities. 
  Natural caverns are given over to mushroom 
  cultivation, but the most precious chambers are 
  lava pits, these are given a false floor with wells 
  and plunge holes, and water is diverted here into
  pools, to make the famous dwarven smithies. 
  Dwarves do not have complete control of this 
  subterranean realm however, there are chasms 
  and crevasses down to deeper darker levels that
  the dwarves can not seal up or cover, no matter 
  how hard they try. 
  From these cracks, terrible monsters come, orcs,
  kobolds, earth elements, and the giant kings and
  queens of the underworld, and their baleful 
  titans. 
  There are also cracks that connect to the above 
  ground world, but in undead and unholy places. 
  These are shunned by the dwarves, and marked
  by signs in Dwarvish.  
  Rock Home 
  This is the powerful dwarven realm located 
  below the Dragon's Teeth mountain range. It 
  shares borders above ground with several 
  human, elven, halfling and mixed lands. Under 
  ground it borders Smithhammer, another equally 
  powerful dwarven realm, and has well defended 
  borders with other less wholesome undead, orc 
  and baleful titan kingdoms. 
  Fairy Realms
  The most powerful of the underworld peoples 
  are the fairy, who although they have one name, 
  are more than one people.
  Fairy Queen's Realm  
  The realm of the fairy queen is the most 
  enchanted in all of the fairy realms. Magic use is 
  very common here, with everyone born within 
  the realm's border having at least one innate 
  magical power. 
  The entire surface fairy realm, small as it is, is 
  forested. Although their real lands are below in 
  the underworld. There is only one city, and that 
  has many Parks. The court of the fairy queen 
  however is not in the city, it is in a giant tree 
  house in the deepest darkest centre of the 
  realm. 
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  The queen exercises her power in a very 
  informal way, people contact her for advice, send
  her presents, and treat her as the ultimate 
  authority in the realm, although she insists her 
  position isn't formal. She claims her title of queen
  is more of a nickname, and says she could be 
  replaced at any time, if anyone wanted the 
  bother of doing what she does.
  The Forest of the Fee
  The fee are a type of fairy folk who have a 
  reputation for being unpredictable and vindictive.
  They also prefer larger, more powerful 
  manifestations than some of their more playful 
  brethren. 
  Cloud City 
  This is a city using magic to hover above the 
  landscape. It is ruled by the fairy folk, but 
  humanoids also live there. It doesn't actually 
  hover as high as the clouds, and can be reached
  via ladders and gantries from a settlement 
  below. 
  Elven Kingdoms 
  The elves rule the areas away from the roads. 
  Their domains are the hidden forest valleys and 
  high grassy plains. These kingdoms are no less 
  sophisticated because of their remote locations 
  however. 
  Their cities are designed to be open, and have 
  tall, vaulted architecture that is the true envy of 
  Hyrope. Elves are long lived, compared to the 
  other peoples of the world, and their kings and 
  queens tend to stay in power for periods 
  measured in centuries, and this lends a certain 
  continuity and stability to elven politics and 
  geographical borders. Treaties about land hold 
  for longer and wars over resources are less 
  frequent among the elves. 
  This stability brings prosperity with it and the 
  elves are rich. They are the best customers for 
  light and strong dwarven armour and weapons. 
  They are virtually the only customers who can 
  afford the very best military weapons and 
  armour. Some say this stability and prosperity 
  makes the elves a little conservative however, 
  even boring. The last new elven poem was 
  written hundreds of years ago for example. 
  The theatre groups of the elven woods are justly 
  famous, and they set up in the woods just 
  outside human towns, halfling mounds and 
  dwarven mountains. The locals then come to see
  the shows for a week or so, before the elves 
  move on. 
  After the fall of the Lizardeen, it was the elves 
  who were first to create an empire across the 
  surface of almost the entire planet. That empire 
  is broken and fragmented now, overpowered in 
  many places by younger human kingdoms. The 
  eleven powers are still the richest and most rich 
  in magic of the surface people though, and they 
  can wait for the period of human expansion to 
  pass.  
  Quanar 
  A powerful elven realm in a long valley leading 
  right up to the Dragon's Teeth. This gives them a 
  border with the dwarven realm of Rock Home, 
  with who they trade food and timber for 
  weapons. 
  The Elves or the Darkest Dell
  These elves were once the predominant power 
  on the continent. The whole land mass was ruled
  from one city, in a deep dark valley, in a deep 
  dark wood. The influence of this mighty empire is
  still felt, for example in language. Although 
  Human is starting to supplant Elvish across 
  Hyrope as a lingua franca, it is still High Elvish 
  that is used as a language of diplomacy, 
  learning, religious thought, and the writing of 
  magical formula. 
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  The Silver Bark Elves
  This nation is very numerous, for elves, and is 
  one of the most welcoming to non elven 
  members. Dwarven artisans provide their 
  weapons and armour, humans negotiate good 
  trade deals and charge into battle for them, 
  Halflings provide their wine and entertainment, 
  and the elves of the nation provide their eerily 
  accurate archery, convoluted strategies and 
  deep, dark magics. They are a hungry nation, 
  who want to stamp their unique camaraderie on 
  the continent. Many are predicting that they will 
  soon take over from the Central Empire as the 
  most powerful force in Hyrope. Of course soon 
  can mean thousands of years according to the 
  glacial pace of change among elves.  
  Halfling Realms
  Halfling powers are relatively small as a rule, few
  of them meriting titles more exalted than a 
  dukedom or principality. There are a few 
  exceptions though. 
  High Borealis
  A realm in the far north, which is under halfling 
  government, but has as many of the other 
  peoples living within its borders too. The country 
  is infested with giants. Giants and High Borealis 
  are so well connected in the minds of the 
  peoples of nearby countries that giants are 
  sometimes called Borealans by common folk.  
  Mounds of Merriton 
  This is a very large halfling settlement. The 
  largest mounds are as big as any human castle, 
  dwarven chamber or elven tree hall.
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  Human Realms
  The realms of the humans are the most 
  expansive and most populace of any species. 
  They are also very cosmopolitan. One of the 
  strengths of human culture is that it welcomes 
  immigration. 
  The Central Empire
  This is the most powerful force across Hyrope. It 
  considers itself predominantly human, though 
  the actual proportion of humans is nearer to fifty 
  percent, but there is no xenophobia, or racism 
  there, and members of other species can rise to 
  positions of power and influence. 
  The Free City of Haradad
  One of the major powers in the area around a 
  feature called the Dragon's Claws. The free city 
  has become very wealthy as a staging post for 
  the distribution of gold taken from griffin nests. 
  Vinarea
  This is a city located at the centre of a lagoon on
  the coast of Vinaremo. Vinaremo is a country 
  providing one of the precious few safe harbours 
  on the coastal circuit taken by the never-ending 
  trade ships.
  Lower Faringdon
  This is a principality in southern Hyrope. It has a 
  small sliver of coastline, and the rest of the 
  country is like a long corridor stretching into the 
  continent.  
  Stormharbour 
  A coastal city on the rough Tanamarian Sea. 
  Though theoretically a free city, Stormharbour is 
  in actuality a possession of Maranay, a small 
  realm, but wealthy, and Stormharbour is the 
  centre of Maranarian trade. A large proportion of 
  the local exports and imports go through the 
  docks here.
  Borderlands 
  The borderlands are the countries along the 
  mountains to the east, and the desert to the 
  south that separates Hyrope from the other three
  corners of one giant continent. 
  The southern borderlands tend to be very hot 
  and arid. The houses of the wealthy are built 
  around fountains and have channels of water 
  running through them to bring cooling and 
  humidity. 
  These areas are plagued by skeletons bleached 
  and become restless in the sun, the deserts are 
  strewn with them, the relics of countless ancient 
  battles. The great power in the area is Fortura. 
  This country is very advanced, benefiting from 
  the best Hyrope has to offer, and many 
  advances brought by visitors from the south. 
  The eastern borderlands on the other hand tend 
  to be cold and dark for most of the year. Snowfall
  is heavy and regular and there are also great 
  problems with vampires and other undead, who 
  love the long nights and lack of running water. 
  Summer is traditionally vampire hunting season, 
  and winters are a time of fear. The most 
  dominant power in the east is the Twin Empire, 
  formed by the uniting of two already formidable 
  empires over a thousand years ago. Their 
  emblem is a two headed eagle and they are one 
  of the great powers vying for control across 
  Hyrope.
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  The Wilds
  These are the areas that have not been subdued
  enough to have a border drawn around them by 
  any humanoid species. 
  The Underworld 
  Below the lands trodden by most humanoids, 
  even below the dwarven halls and the lands of 
  the fee, are descending spheres, each controlled
  by a different form of life. 
  The first sphere is the hidden world of the 
  undead. Then brave adventurers who manage to
  delve even deeper will find sphere after sphere 
  of heat, flames and gateways to other realities. 
  The creatures that come through these 
  gateways and inhabit these spheres are often 
  called demons and are thought of as evil.
  The Badlands
  This is a southern desert well known to be full of 
  deserted cities and terrible monsters. It was 
  once a hub of lizardeen society, bit the lizardeen 
  caused some kind of environmental damage 
  known to tales of prehistory as 'the scorching'. 
  Their cities remained but the lizardeen 
  themselves are just one band of desert nomads 
  among many now.
  Law Enforcement
  Most of the continent is wilderness and dungeon,
  where the law of the jungle holds sway. Cities, 
  on the other hand, are held together by a code of
  laws. Some laws and customs are somewhat 
  universal.
  Religion
  It is common, in terms of religion, to adopt the 
  local habits. So a human who lives in a 
  predominantly dwarven community, for example, 
  might well follow the local dwarven religion, 
  especially if their family has been among that 
  community for more than a generation. This 
  means that although some gods are referred to 
  as a god of a specific species, this does not 
  mean that only members of that species will be 
  found among the worshippers.  
  Set 
  The worship of some gods is a throwback to a 
  primeval period, now long forgotten. These 
  ancient, and often strange, gods are mostly 
  inherited from the creatures who once shared 
  the primeval swamps, and grassy plains with 
  humans. These gods are brutal and jealous 
  creatures, who are not above appearing in 
  person (if you can say ‘in person’ about these 
  gibbering inhuman things) to forward their aims.
  These gods are usually savage and unthinking 
  beasts, uninterested in the humans, whose 
  energies they feed on. These ancient gods 
  include a certain animal god called Set. Set is 
  the focus of a snake worshipping cult that is 
  growing in power as the other primitive animal 
  cults decline. Set was always the most powerful 
  of the animal cults and has now joined the big 
  leagues. During this epoch it gains self 
  awareness and starts organising its cultists to 
  spread its worship and increase its power. It 
  can't seem to wean itself off human sacrifice in 
  the same way as some of the other gods 
  however. 
  The Horned One 
  Another ancient god with a powerful body 
  covered in horns, worshipped primarily by 
  magician's apes. The God loves its ape 
  worshippers and often grants them enormous 
  powers to attack other species. It creates demi 
  ape gods almost indiscriminately and also grows
  wild apes to enormous size.
  Gnashing Teeth 
  This god is a physical entity within a pit in the 
  largest and deepest orc warren. It is also the 
  gateway to a pocket universe that it taps to 
  provide its power. The god provides the warrens 
  with defences of powerful earth elementals and 
  tolerates the orcs that replaced its lizardperson 
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  worshippers because they bring it tasty 
  sacrifices.
  Fee 
  The most powerful religion in the Fairy Realm is 
  the worship of chaos, called Fee by the fairy folk.
  The realm's chaotic, but basically good, ruler 
  encourages the religion, and discourages lawful 
  religions, especially where a single god or 
  goddess is worshipped according to a strict set 
  of rules. 
  Many fairy folk, and some humanoid 
  worshippers too, carry a deck of Fee cards, and 
  no two decks are exactly alike. The decks are 
  used for predicting the future, to help in making 
  decisions, conflict resolution, agreeing the terms 
  of a business deal, and many other purposes. 
  There is even a school of magic in the Fairy 
  Realm that has found a way to bind powerful 
  magic into a deck of cards. The card mage 
  simply draws a card, to have that effect happen. 
  The card that the mage draws is random, but his
  intent is not. 
  A card can be drawn with one of the following 
  intents, or another intent entirely. 
  Hurting – The card is drawn to deal with an 
  adversary, and the card will channel its power in 
  this direction. Great care must be taken when 
  doing this, because the cards can kill. 
  Healing – The card is drawn to help a person 
  who is sick, wounded or otherwise not feeling 
  Hale and hearty. 
  Moving – The card is drawn with the intention of 
  moving personally, or moving an object nearby.
   
  Entertaining – The card is drawn to provide 
  entertainment, which is seen as one of the 
  primary purposes by the fairy folk inventors of 
  this style of magic. 
  For example if the thunder eagle card is drawn, it
  might hurt by calling down a lightning strike on 
  the victim. It might heal by donating a feather to 
  be brewed into a healing potion. It will offer a ride
  on its back as movement. And call up a great 
  storm with lightning like fireworks to entertain. 
  Human Gods
  With the humans in the ascendancy for the last 
  few hundred years, worship of human gods has 
  never been so popular, they are seen as strong 
  gods at the moment, although the elven gods 
  are also strong, and seen as their main rivals in 
  the tiffs and falling outs that gods are prone to. 
  Dragon King of the Sea
  The Dragon King of the Sea is an eastern god, 
  who most often takes human form, but will 
  become a dragon when riled.
  Droo – God of the woods
  Droo is thought of as the father of the pantheon 
  of human gods, after all the land mass of Hyrope
  is still 80% forested. 
  The Lich King 
  The fist human to try to spite the gods was 
  Alamaar Aneen. His challenge came many years
  ago when the numbers of the gods had been 
  reduced after battling titans. He killed a god with 
  his own hands, and seemed to take delight in it. 
  He was eventually defeated, but returned 
  thousands of years later as a Lich King at the 
  head of the greatest undead army that the 
  Realms has ever seen. He was defeated again, 
  but whether he was really killed is a subject of 
  much theological debate. He has become both a
  god and a devil, worshipped and feared. 
  Raganaar – Goddess of Battle
  Battle and war is a stressful experience for all 
  involved and, although Raganaar is popular with 
  warriors seeking to hide their fear and overcome 
  it, she is also invoked by civilians, who are after 
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  all often the ones who suffer the most during 
  times of war. Raganaar must be placated with 
  sacrifices, and kept contended and docile, 
  because if she becomes displeased, war will 
  stalk the land. 
  Halfling Gods
  The halflings worship Silver Moon, the second 
  moon in the sky over Hyrope. 
  Silver Moon 
  This deity is a quiet god that doesn't require 
  much attention or bother, and worshipping it 
  suits the relaxed ways of many halfling 
  communities. 
  Dwarven Gods 
  Dwarven gods tend to be grim faced, and even 
  their trickster god doesn't smile much. 
  Bearded Gaziantep 
  This god is a huge dwarf with a giant beard. He 
  is the inventor of the special dwarven processes 
  for embedding magic in the items they forge. His
  statue is in every forge across the planet. 
  Shroom 
  This is a trickster god, a tall thin being with 
  leathery skin like a mushroom. This god must be 
  appeased, or the edible fungus harvest will go 
  hallucinogenic. Many adventurous dwarves 
  value shroom's powers of deception and seek 
  out his visions.
  Elven Gods
  Elven gods are complex, and the ways of their 
  worship are sometimes hard to explain to 
  outsiders. One saying goes that if you can 
  explain how you are worshipping, then you aren't
  doing it right. 
  The Storyteller 
  Many elves believe that the world is not real, but 
  that it is instead just a very good story. The 
  storyteller is an ancient elf, whose sex name and
  whereabouts have become lost to remembering, 
  but they must still be there telling their story. 
  The Red Elf 
  This is the elven devil, a very powerful demon 
  who demands the sacrifice of thousands of 
  barrels or red wine every year. Every barrel 
  short, he will collect in blood.
  Sport
  Sport is an important part of life in the Realms of 
  Hyrope. 
  Canes
  This is a sport popular across Hyrope involving 
  teams of horsemen who hurl javelins made of 
  cane at one another. These are not lethal, and 
  the aim is to dodge or deflected with the shield. 
  Like many Magic Realms sports, it is also good 
  training for battle. 
  Quarterstaves
  The quarterstaff is seen as one of the noblest 
  weapons by many of the people of Hyrope, and 
  fighting techniques for all other melee weapons 
  are said to derive from it. Gladiatorial ‘prize 
  playing’ bouts between exponents of the 
  quarterstaff can attract huge crowds, and skilled 
  combatants are often local celebrities. 
  Societies and Orders
  Organisations banding together for protection 
  against the dangers of the world, are very 
  common in the realms. Over the endless 
  stretches of Hyropean history, a lot of different 
  organisations have sprung up and although 
  some die out again, some ancient ones have 
  survived from various long-ago times. 
  Magic User's Organisations
  Magic is everywhere, and although magicians 
  tend to be jealous loners, some seem to be 
  attracted to the security and support they can 
  find by banding together.
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  The Universities
  The primary organisation of magic users across 
  Hyrope is the magical university system. There 
  are universities in  many great cities, and others 
  tucked away in hidden corners and obscure 
  towns, and they all try to stay on more or less 
  friendly terms with each other. 
  The Druideen
  A group of magic users, who have a deep 
  respect for the forests of the great continent, and
  also see themselves as their guardians.
  The Scholars 
  This is a warrior order dedicated to preserving 
  the writing of the ancients. Their based are huge 
  libraries of esoteric knowledge and they prefer to
  speak an obscure and ancient Elvish among 
  themselves. They tend to be conservative, and 
  are against newfangled devices like plate armour
  and longswords.
  The Rangers
  The rangers are an organisation that is doing a 
  job too large to be funded by any one country 
  alone. They are protecting the borders and trade 
  routes used by humanoids, from the predations 
  of monsters, dragons and the undead.
  They are an egalitarian order who do not have 
  any staff doing administrative tasks. They have 
  only field agents who claim the resources they 
  need directly from any nearby military or civilian 
  settlement they can find, or they simply fend for 
  themselves in the wilderness. 
  Although rangers do not have ranks like a 
  conventional military, they do have a system of 
  honorific titles. These include, ‘giant killer’, and 
  ‘dragon slayer’ and are all based on activities 
  actually accomplished in the field against the 
  enemies of the humanoids. 
  These titles do not bestow authority, as they 
  recognise that sometimes even the bravest giant
  slayer is not the ranger that should be making 
  strategic decisions. 
  Instead they try to be as democratic as possible 
  in small gatherings, and very occasionally large 
  meetings. 
  The Weaponed 
  There is an organisation dedicated to vigilante 
  activity against organised crime across the 
  whole continent, not just in Hyrope. They employ
  magicians to help gather information, and many 
  learn magic themselves, but primarily their focus 
  is physically laying hands on bad guys and 
  meeting out rough justice. 
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  RUNNING THE GAME 
  If you’re the gamemaster, then your job is a little 
  different from everyone else’s. 
  Judge the Use of the Rules 
  It’s your job to make most of the 
  moment-to-moment decisions about what’s legit 
  and what’s not regarding the rules. Most often, 
  you’re going to decide when something in the 
  game deserves a roll, what type of action that is 
  (overcome, attack, etc.) and how difficult that roll 
  is. In conflicts, this can get a little more 
  complicated, like determining if a situation 
  aspect should force someone to make an 
  overcome action, or deciding whether or not a 
  player can justify a particular advantage they’re 
  trying to create. 
  You also judge the appropriateness of any 
  invocations or compels that come up during play,
  like we talked about in the Aspects and Fate 
  Points chapter, and make sure that everyone at 
  the table is clear on what’s going on. With 
  invocations, this is pretty easy—as long as the 
  player can explain why the aspect is relevant, 
  you’re good to go. With compels, it can get a 
  little more complicated, because you need to 
  articulate precisely what complication the player 
  is agreeing to. 
  Narrating the Action
  There is a bubble of action around every player, 
  and the gamemaster must make the action 
  interesting for every player, and give each 
  something significant to do.
  Create Scenarios 
  You’re also responsible for making all of the stuff
  that the PCs encounter and react to in the game.
  That not only includes NPCs with skills and 
  aspects, but it also includes the aspects on 
  scenes, environments, and objects, as well as 
  the dilemmas and challenges that make up a 
  scenario. 
  Types of Aspects
  There are a few different kinds of aspects: game 
  aspects, character aspects, situation aspects, 
  consequences, and boosts. They mainly differ 
  from one another in terms of what they’re 
  attached to and how long they last. 
  Game Aspects 
  Game aspects are permanent fixtures of the 
  game, hence the name. While they might 
  change over time, they’re never going to go 
  away. If you’ve already gone through game 
  creation, you’ve already defined these—the 
  current or impending issues that you came up 
  with. They describe problems or threats that 
  exist in the world, which are going to be the 
  basis for your game’s story. 
  Everyone can invoke, compel, or create an 
  advantage on a game aspect at any time; they’re
  always there and available for anyone’s use. 
  Situation Aspects 
  A situation aspect is temporary, intended to last 
  only for a single scene or until it no longer makes
  sense (but no longer than a session, at most). 
  Situation aspects can be attached to the 
  environment the scene takes place in—which 
  affects everybody in the scene—but you can 
  also attach them to specific characters by 
  targeting them when you create an advantage. 
  Situation aspects describe significant features of 
  the circumstances the characters are dealing 
  with in a scene. That includes: 
      Physical features of the environment (Dense 
  Underbrush, Obscuring Snowdrifts). 
      Positioning or placement (In the Trees, 
  Backyard). 
      Immediate obstacles (Burning Barn, Tricky 
  Lock, Yawning Chasm). 
      Contextual details that are likely to come into 
  play (Disgruntled Townsfolk). 
      Sudden changes in a character’s status (Sand
  in the Eyes, Disarmed, Cornered, Covered in 
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  Slime). 
  Who can use a situation aspect depends a lot on
  narrative context—sometimes it’ll be very clear, 
  and sometimes you’ll need to justify how you’re 
  using the aspect to make sense based on what’s
  happening in the scene. GMs, you’re the final 
  arbiter on what claims on an aspect are valid. 
  Sometimes situation aspects become obstacles 
  that characters need to overcome. Other times 
  they give you justification to provide active 
  opposition against someone else’s action. 
  Consequences 
  A consequence is more permanent than a 
  situation aspect, but not quite as permanent as a
  character aspect. They’re a special kind of 
  aspect you take in order to avoid getting taken 
  out in a conflict, and they describe lasting 
  injuries or problems that you take away from a 
  conflict (Dislocated Shoulder, Bloody Nose, 
  Social Pariah). 
  Consequences stick around for a variable length 
  of time, from a few scenes to a scenario or two, 
  depending on how severe they are. Because of 
  their negative phrasing, you’re likely to get 
  compelled a lot when you have them, and 
  anyone who can justifiably benefit from the 
  consequence can invoke it or create an 
  advantage on it. 
  Boosts 
  Boosts are a super-transient kind of aspect. You 
  get a boost when you’re trying to create an 
  advantage but don’t succeed well enough, or as 
  an added benefit to succeeding especially well at
  an action. You get to invoke them for free, but as
  soon as you do, the aspect goes away. 
  If you want, you can also allow another character
  to invoke your boost, if it’s relevant and could 
  help them out. 
  SITUATION ASPECTS ARE YOUR FRIEND 
  When you’re trying to figure out if there’s a good 
  reason to ask the PCs to make an overcome roll,
  look at the aspects on your scene. If the 
  existence of the aspect suggests some trouble 
  or problem for the PC, call for an overcome roll. 
  If not, and you can’t think of an interesting 
  consequence for failure, don’t bother. 
  For example, if a character is trying to sprint 
  quickly across a room, and you have a situation 
  aspect like Cluttered Floors, it makes sense to 
  ask for a roll before they can move. If there is no 
  such aspect, just let them make the move and 
  get on to something more interesting. 
  Difficulty Levels
  Setting a difficulty low is mainly about 
  showcasing a PC’s awesomeness, letting them 
  shine in a particular moment and reminding us 
  why this character is in the spotlight. You can 
  also set lower difficulties during periods when 
  you know the PCs are low on fate points, giving 
  them the chance to take compels in order to get 
  more. You should also set lower difficulties on 
  anything that’s in the way of the PC’s getting to 
  the main action of a scene—you don’t want them
  to get stalled at the evil overlord’s drawbridge if 
  the point of the scene is confronting the evil 
  overlord! 
  Finally, some actions should take lower 
  difficulties by default, especially if no one’s 
  contesting or resisting them. Unopposed efforts 
  to create advantages in a conflict should never 
  be harder than Average (+1) or Fair (+2), and 
  neither should attempts to put an aspect on an 
  object or location. Remember that opposition 
  doesn’t have to always take the form of an NPC 
  getting in the way—if the evil mastermind has 
  hidden the evidence in his office away from 
  prying eyes, you might consider that a form of 
  opposition, even though the mastermind might 
  not be physically present. 
  If the PCs are overflowing in fate points, or it’s a 
  crucial moment in the story when someone’s life 
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  is on the line, or the fate of many is at stake, or 
  they’re finally going against foes that they’ve 
  been building up to for a scenario or two, feel 
  free to raise difficulties across the board. You 
  should also raise difficulties to indicate when a 
  particular opponent is extremely prepared for the
  PCs, or to reflect situations that aren’t ideal—if 
  the PC’s are not prepared, or don’t have the right
  tools for the job, or are in a time crunch, etc. 
  Setting the difficulty right at the PC’s skill level is,
  as you might imagine, sort of a middle ground 
  between these two extremes. Do this when you 
  want some tension without turning things up to 
  11, or when the odds are slightly in the PC’s 
  favour but you want a tangible element of risk. 
  You might also try using “out of place” difficulties 
  to indicate the presence of unanswered 
  questions during the game—for some odd 
  reason, the stable you’re trying to break into has 
  an Epic (+7) lock on the door. What could be so 
  important in there that you don’t know about? 
  Or maybe you’re trying to finish the famed 
  initiation test of the scholastic Amethyst Order, 
  and the test is only a Fair (+2) Lore roll—what’s 
  the deal? Are they going easy on you? Is your 
  appointment a political necessity? Who pulled 
  the strings on that? Or is it just that the 
  reputation of the Order’s scholars is a 
  fabrication? 
  Dealing with Extraordinary Success 
  Sometimes, a PC is going to roll far in excess of 
  the difficulty, getting a lot of shifts on the roll. 
  Some of the basic actions already have a built-in
  effect for rolling really well, like hitting harder on 
  a good attack roll. 
  You want to make sure those extra shift results 
  have some kind of meaning and reflect how 
  competent the PC’s are. 
  Here are a few choice options. 
  Go Gonzo with the Narration: It might seem 
  superfluous, but it’s important to celebrate a 
  great roll with a suitable narration of over the top 
  success. This is a great time to take the 
  suggestions above for Making Failure Awesome 
  and applying them here. Let the success affect 
  something else, in addition to what the PC was 
  going for, and bring the player into the process of
  selling it by prompting them to make up cool 
  details. “Three extra shifts on that Burglary roll—
  tell me, is anyone ever going to be able to lock 
  that crypt again?” “So you got five shifts on that 
  Contacts roll—tell me, where does Nicky the 
  Fink usually go when he’s running out on his 
  wife, and what do you say when you find him 
  there?” 
      Add an Aspect: You can express additional 
  effects of a good roll by placing an aspect on the 
  PC or on the scene, essentially letting them 
  create an advantage for free. “So your 
  Resources roll to bribe the guard succeeded with
  four shifts. She’ll let you through the gate all 
  right, and she’ll also act as Available Backup if 
  you should need some help later.” 
      Reducing Time: If it’s important to get 
  something done fast, then you can use extra 
  shifts to decrease the time that it takes to do an 
  action. 
  Discovery vs Creation 
  From the player’s point of view, there’s almost no
  way to know what you’ve made up beforehand 
  and what you’re inventing in the moment, 
  especially if you’re the kind of GM who doesn’t 
  display or consult any notes at the table. Thus, 
  when a player tries to discover something you 
  haven’t made up yet, you can treat it as if they 
  were making a new aspect or story detail. If they 
  succeed, they find what they’re looking for. If 
  they fail, you can use what they were looking for 
  as inspiration to help you come up with the real 
  information. 
  If you’re really comfortable with improvising, this 
  means that you can come to the table with very 
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  little prepared beforehand, and let the players’ 
  reactions and questions build everything for you. 
  You may need to ask some prompting questions 
  first, to narrow down the scope of what 
  information the player’s looking for, but after that,
  the sky’s the limit. 
  Looking over the skill descriptions, you might 
  notice that there are a few places where we give 
  an abstraction for something that in real life 
  depends on precise measurement. Physique 
  and Resources are strong examples—many 
  people who are into strength training have some 
  idea of how much weight they can dead lift, and 
  people spend specific amounts of money from a 
  finite pool when they buy things. 
  So how much can a character with Great (+4) 
  Physique bench press? How much can a 
  character with Fair (+2) Resources spend before
  going broke? 
  The truth is, we have no idea, and we’re 
  reluctant to pursue a specific answer. 
  Though it may seem counter-intuitive, we find 
  that creating minutiae like that detracts from the 
  verisimilitude of the game in play. As soon as 
  you establish a detail like, “Great Physique can 
  dead lift a car for five seconds,” then you’re 
  cutting out a lot of the variability that real life 
  allows. Adrenaline and other factors allow 
  people to reach beyond their normal physical 
  limits or fall short of them—you can’t factor every
  one of those things in without having it take up a 
  large amount of focus at the table. It becomes a 
  thing for people to discuss and even argue 
  about, rather than participating in the scene. 
  It’s also boring. If you decide that a Fair (+2) 
  Resources can buy anything that’s 200 gold 
  pieces or less, then you’ve removed a great deal
  of potential for tension and drama. Suddenly, 
  every time you have a Resources-based 
  problem, it’s going to hinge on the question of 
  whether or not the cost is 200 gold pieces, rather
  than whatever the point of the scene is. It also 
  turns everything into a simple pass/fail situation, 
  which means you don’t really have a good 
  reason to roll the skill at all. And again, this is not
  realistic—when people spend money, it’s not 
  about the raw dollar amount as much as it is a 
  question of what someone can presently afford. 
  Remember, a skill roll is a narrative tool, meant 
  to answer the following question: “Can I solve X 
  problem using Y means, right now?” When you 
  get an unexpected result, use your sense of 
  realism and drama to explain and justify it, using 
  our guidelines above. “Oh, you failed that 
  Resources roll to bribe the guard? Guess you 
  spent just a bit more at the tavern last night than 
  you thought... wait, why is your belt pouch gone?
  And who’s that shady character walking a little 
  too quickly just past the line of guards? Did he 
  just wink at you? That bastard... now what do 
  you do?”  
  NPCs  
  First of all, keep in mind that you’re never 
  obligated to give any NPC a full sheet like the 
  ones the PCs have. Most of the time, you’re not 
  going to need to know that much information, 
  because the NPCs aren’t going to be the center 
  of attention like the PCs are. It’s better to focus 
  on writing down exactly what you need for that 
  NPC’s encounter with the PCs, and then fill in 
  the blanks on the fly (just like PCs can) if that 
  NPC ends up becoming more important in the 
  campaign. 
  The NPC Types 
  NPCs come in three different flavors: nameless 
  NPCs, supporting NPCs, and main NPCs. 
  Nameless NPCs
  The majority of the NPCs in your campaign 
  world are nameless—people who are so 
  insignificant to the story that the PCs interactions
  with them don’t even require them to learn a 
  name. The random shopkeeper they pass on the
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  street, the archivist at the library, the third patron 
  from the left at the bar, the guards at the gate. 
  Their role in the story is temporary and fleeting—
  the PCs will probably encounter them once and 
  never see them again. In fact, most of the time, 
  you’ll create them simply out of reflex when you 
  describe an environment. “The plaza is beautiful 
  at midday, and full of shoppers milling about. 
  There’s a town crier with an extremely shrill, 
  high-pitched voice barking out the local news.” 
  On their own, nameless NPCs usually aren’t 
  meant to provide much of a challenge to the 
  PCs. You use them like you use a low-difficulty 
  skill roll, mainly as an opportunity to showcase 
  the PCs’ competence. In conflicts, they serve as 
  a distraction or a delay, forcing the PCs to work a
  little harder to get what they want. 
  Action-adventure stories often feature master 
  villains with an army of mooks. These are the 
  mooks. 
  For a nameless NPC, all you really need is two 
  or three skills based on their role in the scene. 
  Your average security guard might have Fight 
  and Shoot, while your average clerk might only 
  have Lore. They never get more than one or two 
  aspects, because they just aren’t important 
  enough. They only have one or two stress 
  boxes, if any, to absorb both physical and mental
  hits. In other words, they’re no match for a 
  typical PC. 
  Nameless NPCs come in three varieties: 
  Average, Fair, and Good. 
  Average 
  Competence: Rank-and-file order-takers, local 
  conscripts, and the like. When in doubt, a 
  nameless NPC is Average. 
      Purpose: Mostly there to make the PCs look 
  more awesome. 
      Aspects: One or two. 
      Skills: One or two Average (+1). 
      Stress: No stress boxes—a one shift hit is 
  enough to take them out. 
  Fair 
      Competence: Trained professionals, like 
  soldiers and elite guards, or others whose role in
  the scene speaks to their experience, such as a 
  sharp-tongued courtier or talented thief. 
      Purpose: Drain a few of the players’ resources
  (one or two fate points, stress boxes, possibly a 
  mild consequence). 
      Aspects: One or two. 
      Skills: One Fair (+2), and one or two Average 
  (+1). 
      Stress: One stress box—a two shift hit is 
  enough to take them out. 
  Good 
      Competence: Tough opposition, especially in 
  numbers. 
      Purpose: Drain the players’ resources—as 
  Fair, but more so. Provide a decent stumbling 
  block (in numbers) on the way to a more 
  significant encounter. 
      Aspects: One or two. 
      Skills: One Good (+3), one Fair (+2), and one 
  or two Average (+1). 
      Stress: Two stress boxes—a three shift hit is 
  enough to take them out. 
  Nameless NPCs as Obstacles: 
  An easy way to handle nameless NPCs is simply
  to treat them as obstacles: Give a difficulty for 
  the PC to overcome whatever threat the NPC 
  presents, and just do it in one roll. You don’t 
  even have to write anything down, just set a 
  difficulty according to the guidelines in this 
  chapter and Actions and Outcomes, and assume
  that the PC gets past on a successful roll. 
  If the situation is more complicated than that, 
  make it a challenge instead. This trick is useful 
  when you want a group of nameless NPCs more
  as a feature of the scene than as individuals. 
  For example, to convince a group of research 
  scientists that continuing their research into 
  Nanotechnology Atomic Reactors will doom 
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  them all, and possibly a good-size chunk of the 
  sprawl. The steps of this challenge are: establish
  your bona fides (Lore), turn them against each 
  other (Deceive), and cow them into submission 
  by preaching doom and gloom (Provoke). The 
  GM chooses a passive opposition of Great (+4) 
  for the challenge. 
  NPC First, Name Later 
  Nameless NPCs don’t have to remain nameless.
  If the players decide to get to know that barkeep 
  or town crier or security chief or whatever, go 
  ahead and make a real person out of them—but 
  that doesn’t mean that you need to make them 
  any more mechanically complex. If you want to, 
  of course, go ahead and promote them to a 
  supporting NPC. But otherwise, simply giving 
  that courtier a name and a motivation doesn’t 
  mean he can’t go down in one punch. 
  Bar-Keeper (Average) 
  Aspects: I Don’t Want No Trouble in My Place 
  Skills: Average (+1) Contacts 
  Trained Thug (Fair) 
  Aspects: The Ways of the Streets, Violent 
  Criminal 
  Skills: Fair (+2) Fight, Average (+1) Athletics and
  Physique 
  Mage (Good) 
  Aspects: Haughty Demeanor, Devoted to the 
  Arcane Arts 
  Skills: Good (+3) Magic, Fair (+2) Deceive, 
  Average (+1) Will and Empathy 
  Supporting NPCs 
  Supporting NPCs have proper names and are a 
  little more detailed than nameless NPCs, playing
  a supporting role in your scenarios (hence the 
  name). They often display some kind of strong 
  distinguishing trait that sets them apart from the 
  crowd, because of their relationship to a PC or 
  NPC, a particular competence or unique ability, 
  or simply the fact that they tend to appear in the 
  game a great deal. Many action-adventure 
  stories feature a “lieutenant” character who is the
  right-hand man of the lead villain; that’s a 
  supporting NPC in game terms. The faces that 
  you assign to the locations you make during 
  game creation are supporting NPCs, as are any 
  characters who are named in one of the PCs’ 
  aspects. 
  Supporting NPCs are a great source of 
  interpersonal drama, because they’re usually the
  people that the PCs have a relationship with, 
  such as friends, sidekicks, family, contacts, and 
  noteworthy opponents. While they may never be 
  central to resolving the main dilemma of a 
  scenario, they’re a significant part of the journey, 
  either because they provide aid, present a 
  problem, or figure into a subplot. 
  Supporting NPCs are made much like nameless 
  NPCs, except they get to have a few more of the
  standard character elements. These include a 
  high concept, a trouble, one or more additional 
  aspects, one stunt, and the standard two stress 
  tracks with two boxes each. They should have a 
  handful of skills (say four or five). If they have a 
  skill that entitles them to bonus stress boxes, 
  award those as well. They have one mild 
  consequence and, if you want them to be 
  especially tough, one moderate consequence. 
  Skills for a supporting NPC should follow a 
  column distribution. Because you’re only going 
  to define four or five skills, just treat it as one 
  column. If your NPC has a skill at Great, fill in 
  one skill at each positive step below it—so one 
  Good, one Fair, and one Average skill. 
      Skill Levels: A supporting NPC’s top skill can 
  exceed your best PC’s by one or two levels, but 
  only if their role in the game is to provide serious
  opposition—supporting NPCs who are allied with
  the PCs should be their rough peers in skill level.
  (Another action-adventure trope is to make the 
  “lieutenant” character better than the main villain 
  at combat, contrasting brawn to the villain’s 
  brain.) 
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  Concessions: Supporting NPCs should not fight 
  to the bitter end, given the option. Instead, have 
  them concede conflicts often, especially early in 
  a story, and especially if the concession is 
  something like “They get away.” Conceding like 
  this serves a few purposes. For one, it 
  foreshadows a future, more significant encounter
  with the NPC. Because conceding comes with a 
  reward of one or more fate points, it also makes 
  them more of a threat the next time they show 
  up. What’s more, it’s virtually guaranteed to pay 
  off for the players in a satisfying way the next 
  time the NPC makes an appearance. “So, 
  Landon, we meet again! But this time it shall not 
  go so easily for you.” 
  Finally, it implicitly demonstrates to the players 
  that, when things are desperate, conceding a 
  conflict is a viable course of action. A PC 
  concession here and there can raise the stakes 
  and introduce new complications organically, 
  both of which make for a more dramatic, 
  engaging story. 
  Finn
  Aspects: Retired City Guard Captain, Too Old 
  For This Shit, Character's Mentor 
  Skills: Great (+4) Shoot, Good (+3) Fight, Fair 
  (+2) Will, Average (+1) Ride  
  Stunts: Battlefield Expert. Can use Fight to 
  create advantages in large-scale tactical 
  situations. 
  Teran the Swift, Thief Extraordinaire 
  Aspects: Cutpurse and Scoundrel, I Just Can’t 
  Help Myself 
  Skills: Superb (+5) Burglary, Great (+4) Stealth, 
  Good (+3) Lore, Fair (+2) Fight, Average (+1) 
  Physique [Note: 3 physical stress boxes] 
  Stunts: Inside Man. +2 to Stealth in an indoor, 
  urban environment. 
  Og the Strong 
  Aspects: Og Smash!, Og Not Terribly Bright 
  Skills: Fantastic (+6) Fight, Superb (+5) 
  Physique [Note: 4 physical stress boxes, 1 extra 
  mild consequence for physical conflicts], Great 
  (+4) Athletics 
  Stunts: none 
  Main NPCs 
  Main NPCs are the closest you’re ever going to 
  get to playing a PC yourself. They have full 
  character sheets just like a PC does, with five 
  aspects, a full distribution of skills, and a 
  selection of stunts. They are the most significant 
  characters in your PCs’ lives, because they 
  represent pivotal forces of opposition or allies of 
  crucial importance. Because they have a full 
  spread of aspects, they also offer the most 
  nuanced options for interaction, and they have 
  the most options to invoke and be compelled. 
  Your primary “bad guys” in a scenario or arc 
  should always be main NPCs, as should any 
  NPCs who are the most vital pieces of your 
  stories. 
  Because they have all the same things on their 
  sheet as PCs do, main NPCs will require a lot 
  more of your time and attention than other 
  characters. How you create one really depends 
  on how much time you have—if you want, you 
  can go through the whole character creation 
  process and work out their whole backstory 
  through phases, leaving only those slots for 
  “guest starring” open. 
  Of course, if you want, you can also upgrade 
  one of your current supporting NPCs to a main 
  using this method. This is great for when a 
  supporting NPC has suddenly or gradually 
  become—usually because of the players—a 
  major fixture in the story, despite your original 
  plans for them. 
  You could also do things more on the fly if you 
  need to, creating a partial sheet of the aspects 
  you know for sure, those skills you definitely 
  need them to have, and any stunts you want. 
  Then fill in the rest as you go. This is almost like 
  making a supporting NPC, except you can add 
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  to the sheet during play. 
  Main NPCs will fight to the bitter end if need be, 
  making the PCs work for every step. 
  Regarding skill levels, your main NPCs will come
  in one of two flavours—exact peers of the PCs 
  who grow with them as the campaign 
  progresses, or superiors to the PCs who remain 
  static while the PCs grow to sufficient strength to
  oppose them. If it’s the former, just give them the
  exact same skill distribution the PCs currently 
  have. If it’s the latter, give them enough skills to 
  go at least two higher than whatever the current 
  skill cap is for the game. 
  So, if the PCs are currently capped at Great 
  (+4), your main NPC badass should be able to 
  afford a couple of Fantastic (+6) columns or a 
  pyramid that peaks at Fantastic. 
  Likewise, a particularly significant NPC might 
  have more than five aspects to highlight their 
  importance to the story. 
  Barathar, Pirate Queen: 
      Remorse is For the Weak
      A Harem of Thugs 
      I’ve Got the Law in My Pocket 
  Skills: 
      Fantastic (+6) Deceive and Fight 
      Superb (+5) Shoot and Burglary 
      Great (+4) Resources and Will 
      Good (+3) Contacts and Notice 
      Fair (+2) Crafts and Stealth 
      Average (+1) Lore and Physique 
  Stress: 3 physical boxes, 4 mental boxes 
  Stunts: 
      Takes One to Know One. Use Deceive instead
  of Empathy to create an advantage in social 
  situations. 
      Feint Master. +2 to use Deceive to create an 
  advantage in a physical conflict. 
      Riposte. If you succeed with style on a Fight 
  defence, you can choose to inflict a 2-shift hit 
  rather than take a boost. 
  Playing NPCs
  Here are some tips for using the opposition 
  characters you create in play. 
  Right-sizing 
  Remember, you want a balancing act between 
  obliterating the PCs and letting them walk all 
  over your opposition (unless it’s a mook horde, in
  which case that’s pretty much what they’re there 
  for). It’s important to keep in mind not just the 
  skill levels of the NPCs in your scenes, but their 
  number and importance. 
  Right-sizing the opposition is more of an art than
  a science, but here are some strategies to help. 
      Don’t outnumber the PCs unless your NPCs 
  have comparatively lower skills. 
      If they’re going to team up against one big 
  opponent, make sure that opponent has a peak 
  skill two levels higher than whatever the best PC
  can bring in that conflict. 
      Limit yourself to one main NPC per scene, 
  unless it’s a big climactic conflict at the end of an
  arc. Remember, supporting NPCs can have 
  skills as high as you want. 
      Most of the opposition the PCs encounter in a 
  session should be nameless NPCs, with one or 
  two supporting NPCs and main NPCs along the 
  way. 
      Nameless and supporting NPCs means 
  shorter conflicts because they give up or lose 
  sooner; main NPCs mean longer conflicts. 
  Creating Advantages for NPCs 
  It’s easy to fall into the default mode of using the 
  opposition as a direct means to get in the PCs’ 
  way, drawing them into a series of conflict 
  scenes until someone is defeated. 
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  However, keep in mind that the NPCs can create
  advantages just like the PCs can. Feel free to 
  use opposition characters to create scenes that 
  aren’t necessarily about stopping the PCs from 
  achieving a goal, but scouting out information 
  about them and stacking up free invocations. Let
  your bad guys and the PCs have tea together 
  and then bring out the Empathy rolls. Or instead 
  of having that fight scene take place in the dark 
  alley, let your NPCs show up, gauge the PCs’ 
  abilities, and then flee. 
   
  Likewise, keep in mind that your NPCs have a 
  home turf advantage in conflicts if the PCs go to 
  them in order to resolve something. So, when 
  you’re setting up situation aspects, you can 
  pre-load the NPC with some free invocations if 
  it’s reasonable that they’ve had time to place 
  those aspects. Use this trick in good faith, 
  though—two or three such aspects is probably 
  pushing the limit. 
  Change Venues of Conflict 
  Your opposition will be way more interesting if 
  they try to get at the PCs in multiple venues of 
  conflict, rather than just going for the most direct 
  route. Remember that there are a lot of ways to 
  get at someone, and that mental conflict is just 
  as valid as physical conflict as a means of doing 
  so. If the opposition has a vastly different skill set
  than one or more of your PCs, leverage their 
  strengths and choose a conflict strategy that 
  gives them the best advantage. 
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  SCENARIOS 
  By now, you and your group have created the 
  PCs. Now you have a pile of aspects and NPCs, 
  brimming with dramatic potential and waiting to 
  come to life. 
  What do you do with them? 
  It’s time to get into the real meat of the game: 
  creating and playing through scenarios. 
  The GM plans out the plot of the story where the 
  player characters will become heroes (or villains,
  or rich, or whatever); creating the setting, 
  populating that region of space with villains and 
  other NPCs, and assigning them any necessary 
  backgrounds, motivations, plans and resources. 
  It is the most creative part of the gamemaster's 
  duties and many find it very rewarding. While 
  authoring a session, it is important to remember 
  a few points. 
  Give goals
  If there is to be a huge battle in the streets 
  between warring vigilante tribes, and the 
  outcome is predetermined, allow the players 
  some small victory that they can achieve. The 
  battle was lost, but the vital plans were rescued 
  from the galleon before it went below the waves. 
  Names are Important
  Giving your characters, and non-player 
  characters memorable names will make them 
  more interesting to the players. It is an 
  opportunity to enrich your world and story.  
  Reuse Previous Settings
  Revisiting the ruined castle from the first 
  adventure creates a sense of familiarity, and this 
  time the characters may learn a strange new 
  secret about it. 
  Characters Must Make Progress 
  Don't constantly move the party's goal further 
  and further away, in case the players begin to 
  get a sense that their accomplishments are 
  meaningless. Players should feel that they are 
  moving toward some sort of conclusion and that 
  they are doing so because of their decisions. 
  Let the Setting Reveal Itself
  The territory of the realms is huge. The backdrop
  to the characters' adventures is complex and 
  fantastic. Luckily, you don't have to teach any of 
  it to the players. As long as you are consistent 
  about your setting, the players will gradually 
  learn about it as they play. You don't need to 
  explicitly explain anything. The characters will 
  work it all out for themselves.  
  Plan for Success  
  If your plot requires that the villain will win, you're
  setting yourself up for a fall. Players are brilliant, 
  especially when it comes to defeating your 
  carefully planned scenes. When you're authoring
  a session, you're pitting your own mind against 
  the combined minds of all of your players. Have 
  backup plans, villains, and plot twists to handle 
  unexpected player brilliance. 
  Plan Failure 
  If the players must make a check to continue on 
  the plot, such as to uncover a stealthed 
  assassin, they will probably fail. Have fall back 
  plans. Can the characters call in a professional 
  to help? Will another attack by the villain reveal 
  them this time? 
  Have Mini-Encounters Ready 
  Players can be very unpredictable. Things you 
  thought would take a while happen quickly, or 
  the players just ignore them all together. It's 
  good to have some small adventure ready at 
  hand, to use to fill unexpected gaps when you 
  run out of preplanned scenario to run. Build up a 
  store of generic encounters which can be tossed
  in almost anywhere. 
  Hit Their Aspects 
  A good way to figure out the interesting action for
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  a scene is to turn to the PCs’ aspects, and 
  create a complication or an event-based compel 
  based on them. This is especially good to do for 
  those PCs whose aspects did not come into play
  when you made up your scenario problem, 
  because it allows them to have some of the 
  spotlight despite the fact that the overall story 
  does not focus on them as much. 
  Scenarios Structure 
  Each game session will be based on a scenario. 
  A very long game session might need more than 
  one scenario. A scenario is usually written using 
  technical jargon and tight, spare prose, like 
  describing stage directions. Unlike a novel or 
  short story, a scenario, also called an adventure, 
  focuses on describing the literal, visual aspects 
  of the story, rather than on the internal thoughts 
  of its characters, except for the major characters 
  and nemesis NPCs. 
  An adventure often has three parts. These are 
  setup (of the location and characters), 
  confrontation (with an obstacle), and resolution 
  (culminating in a climax and a dénouement). 
  This can also be thought of as before the action, 
  during the action, and after the action. 
  This basic structure is fleshed out with plot 
  points. Plot points are important structural 
  functions that happen in approximately the same
  place, like the verses and choruses in a popular 
  song. Plot points might include:
  Opening Image
  The first image in the screenplay should 
  summarize the entire film, especially its tone. 
  Often, writers go back and redo this as the last 
  thing before submitting the script. 
  Inciting Incident
  Also called the catalyst, this is the point in the 
  story when the Protagonist encounters the 
  problem that will change their life. This is where 
  Boy meets Girl, and where the adventurer is 
  assigned their task by their fat and untrustworthy
  patron.
  Plot Point 1
  The last scene in Act One, Turning Point One is 
  a surprising development that radically changes 
  the complexion of the adventure. Perhaps the 
  characters discover that the item they have been
  sent to retrieve is not the beneficial technology 
  they were led to believe, but something more 
  sinister.
  Pinch 1
  The characters are confronted by a surprisingly 
  tough force, intent on stopping them, and leading
  them to realise that this job is more important, 
  and attracting more attention than is 
  comfortable. 
  Pinch 2
  Another tough encounter, that is somehow linked
  to Pinch 1 in reminding the characters of the 
  importance of their mission.
  Plot Point 2
  A dramatic reversal that ends Act 2 and begins 
  Act 3, which is about confrontation and 
  resolution. Sometimes this is the moment when 
  the hero has had enough and is finally going to 
  face the opponent. Sometimes, it's the low-point 
  for the hero, and they must bounce back to 
  overcome the odds in Act 3. 
  Showdown
  About midway through Act 3, the Protagonist will
  confront the main problem of the story and either
  overcome it, or come to a tragic end. In video 
  gaming, this is the boss level. 
  Resolution
  The issues of the story are resolved. 
  Tag
  An epilogue, tying up the loose ends of the story,
  giving the audience closure. This is also known 
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  as denouement. This is more important for a one
  off game than for an ongoing sequence of 
  adventures using the same characters, where 
  the characters will simply roll out of one 
  adventure into the next. If you have been 
  planning ahead, the new adventure may even 
  have been foreshadowed in the action the 
  characters just survived. 
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  Example Scenario
    
  Opening Image
  The party is camping in the forest for another 
  night, the sound of wolves clearly to be heard 
  from the shadows beneath the trees. Then they 
  hear the blowing of temple trumpets in the 
  distance. 
  Inciting Incident
  One of the PCs is approached by a high-ranking 
  member of an organisation they belong to. For 
  example; if one of the player characters is a 
  magic user who is a researcher at a university of
  magic, they are approached by their head of 
  department one day in a college corridor. The 
  head of department is a man or woman that the 
  PC has rarely seen and never met. 
  The head of department tells the PC that they 
  should recruit a team of minions for an important
  job – the minions will be paid 5G at the start of 
  the mission and 5G at the completion.
  The head of department has ascertained from 
  their researches that a powerful magic item 
  might be found at a location described on a 
  treasure map found in one of the university 
  libraries.
  If the PC has no idea where to go to hire 
  minions, the head of department will suggest the
  Dreaming Dragon Inn. 
  Preparations 
  The PC must go to the Dreaming Dragon and 
  recruit the team, consisting of the other PCs. The
  map will stay in the possession of the mission 
  leader PC. It is hard to estimate distance from 
  the map, so the group is advised to equip 
  themselves with plenty of food and beasts of 
  burden to carry wargear and supplies. 
  While they are going about town, each character
  gets the chance to roll Notice. If they succeed, 
  they become aware that they are being followed 
  and observed. 
  It will be difficult to catch one of these observers,
  as they are content to watch from a distance, but
  if the PCs set a trap they can catch a man called
  Grimshultern. He is a minor NPC and will 
  surrender almost as soon as captured, if it 
  seems to him that there is little chance of 
  escape.
  He will not divulge his mission, except by 
  magical means. If tortured he will make up a 
  cock and bull story about a dark stranger on 
  horseback camped outside town to the East. 
  (Grimshultern knows that there is an abandoned 
  bandit camp there that will make his story seem 
  believable). 
  If magic is used to find his secrets, he will tell 
  that he is working for his usual paymaster, who 
  he believes works for – insert name of PC 
  nemesis, or nemesis organisation here. The 
  nemesis knows the PCs are looking for 
  something. He also knows they have a map. 
  A Long Journey 
  The former temple of Amak Raa is a long 
  journey away, the state of local map making can 
  provide the adventurers with no more exact 
  estimate than that. This means that the GM can 
  have fun making the characters trek through 
  deep, dark forest, beset by monsters and 
  encounters, one after another without worrying 
  about exactly how much territory has been 
  traversed, or how many days the characters will 
  be trekking for. 
  The deep forests contain many dangers, and a 
  short list of the horrible things that can happen to
  the characters can be found below, but the GM 
  should not hesitate to add suitable encounters 
  from their own imagination.
  Lizard Patrol
  A patrol of at least one lizardperson per player 
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  character is encountered. The commander of the
  patrol is seated on the back of a sabre-toothed 
  tiger.
  The lizardpeople will attempt to capture the 
  humans and take them to a coastal trading 
  station to sell them as galley slaves or gladiators
  for the arena. 
  If the party fails to escape – they will eventually 
  be sold and have to survive some bouts in the 
  arena. This is a detour that would waste many 
  months, and cause much displeasure to the 
  patron who commissioned the adventure. 
  Damsel in Distress 
  A giant snake is wrapped around a rock and 
  there are female halfling cries of terror from the 
  summit. The giant snake (see bestiary) has the 
  woman trapped and there doesn't seem to be 
  anything keeping it from devouring its prey.
  In fact the snake had no interest in her and was 
  hypnotised by her to look as though it was 
  threatening her. 
  When rescued the woman introduces herself as 
  the Princess Camelia. She will ask to be taken 
  back to her halfling realm, where the characters 
  will be richly rewarded. A lore skill is required to 
  realise that the halfling realm she mentions is a 
  place believed only to exist in myth and fairytale.
  The woman is a thief who has learned how to 
  cast a spell that hypnotises creatures and 
  humans. 
  She is a brave and daring thief, and has the 
  following profile. She does not have any 
  weapons and must steal weapons from sleeping 
  characters to arm herself. She prefers to 
  hypnotise than to fight.
  Fight: 3 – using stolen daggers
  Shoot: 4 – throwing stolen daggers
  Magic: 3
  Stress: 2 
  Spells: Hypnotise. A character failing a Magic 
  save is under the control of the hypnotist, and 
  must follow their verbal commands (for intelligent
  victims) and hand gestures (for animal 
  intelligence victims) enthusiastically.  
  The first night that the party make camp on the 
  way to her ‘kingdom’ she will steal a selection of 
  their equipment and valuables, including the 
  treasure map. If she is detected she will 
  hypnotise a character to fight their friends while 
  she makes her escape. She will hypnotise 
  anyone who follows her, until the party is caught 
  up in a battle among themselves, or they 
  blindfold her. 
  The Former Temple 
  Most of the action of this adventure takes place 
  here in the former temple of Amak Raa. It is a hill
  in a forest clearing, with sides steep enough to 
  require a climb roll. Without the map, this place 
  would not even be worth a second look, and 
  even with the map it is not obvious that they 
  have arrived at the right place. 
  When they climb the hill, they find a small mound
  with a depression in the top, hiding it from 
  observation from below. In this depression, there
  is a blood stained alter with an entrance behind 
  it. 
  The characters must climb the mound and enter 
  at the top. As they are climbing however a group
  of magician's apes  (see bestiary) rush from the 
  entrance to defend their sacred site. 
  There are as many ape worshippers as there are
  characters and NPCs in the party.
  Upper Chambers
  Once inside, the dungeon has four levels. 
  The uppermost level is a temple with five 
  chambers. There is no light in the temple, except
  what streams in from the single entrance in the 
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  roof at the front end of chamber 1. The floors are
  of pounded earth with slabs of rock laid on top, 
  and the walls are also of pounded earth, but with
  irregular stones embed on them. 
  The apes use this part of the temple for their 
  sacrifices and other ceremonies. 
  Chamber 1 
  This is the main gathering place and once held 
  primitive human statues. These now lie about 
  broken, replaced by three even more primitive 
  ape statues. 
  Chamber 2 
  This is where an ape priest can commune with 
  their god, the Horned One. There is a large 
  statue of the god here. The ape high priest is 
  cowering behind it, and he will attack if he is 
  discovered. He has rigged the room with a pit 
  trap that he can trigger if a character is standing 
  on it. The pit trap leads down to the level below, 
  the catacombs.
  Chamber 3 
  This chamber contains captives who were 
  scheduled to be sacrificed. They are a band of 
  adventurers from a local human tribe and will be 
  eternally grateful for being reprieved from their 
  terrible fates. They will leave to go back to their 
  tribal lands, stopping on the way out of the 
  mound to equip themselves from the weapons 
  chamber. 
  However once outside they will reconsider. They 
  will rightly surmise that the characters are here 
  in search of some treasure. They will return to 
  the mound, follow the characters and attack 
  them on the way-out, once they have their 
  treasure. A character making a difficult -1 Notice 
  (or similar) roll will notice that the party is being 
  followed. 
  Chamber 4 
  This is the 'weapons' chamber, although it 
  contains other clothes and equipment as well. It 
  is all taken from the apes' victims. The apes 
  have not been attacking difficult targets and so 
  much of the clothes and equipment is simply 
  mouldering animal skins and dirty jackets and 
  trousers. 
  A search of the disturbingly large pile of stuff, at 
  +1 to the search roll for ease, will allow a 
  character to equip themselves with any desired 
  basic equipment for a 'fighter' type. Warhammers
  and helmets are here a plenty. 
  Chamber 5 
  This chamber was once the room where the 
  items used in rituals were kept, but is now in 
  disuse. The apes prefer to bash in the heads of 
  sacrifices with rocks rather than use the 
  wicked-looking selection of knives contained in 
  this room among the brightly coloured but 
  mouldy robes former cult leaders.
   
  Catacombs 
  Level 2 is the catacombs where the skeletal 
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  remains of the countless human sacrifices are 
  stored. The floor plan of these levels can be 
  generated by the GM to house extra encounters 
  – dungeon style – or generated randomly to 
  reflect their relative vastness. 
  As the PCs explore they find room after room, 
  full of skeletal remains, sometimes piled right up 
  to the ceiling. These unfortunates almost 
  exclusively went unwillingly to the sacrificial alter,
  and a spirit of vengeance has been gathering 
  about the place. 
  This ‘spirit’ manifests as a skeletons, 1d4 per 
  round for 1d4 rounds. The spirit is attracted by 
  the sounds of battle or argument, or any loud 
  noise the party makes.  Once the spirit has 
  animated a batch of skeletons, it dissipates for 
  1d10 rounds, and will only return if there are 
  again loud noises. 
  This is a very extensive level of the dungeon. It 
  is so extensive because it joins with the 
  catacombs below a lizardperson city. The 
  lizardperson city is little more than ruins, but the 
  catacombs are in quite good condition. 
  There are cave ins and blocked passages, but 
  fewer than would be expected. Characters with 
  any architectural or engineering knowledge can 
  be given a roll to notice that they have moved 
  from the catacombs below the temple mound to 
  catacombs of the lower levels of the ruined city. 
  The architecture becomes more advanced, with 
  wider corridors and higher ceilings. 
  The skeletons in the ruined city are different too. 
  They are more massive lizardperson skeletons 
  with a larger mouth full of teeth, still chisel sharp 
  after all the centuries that have passed.
  After at least one encounter, the party will find 
  the stairs down to level 3. 
  level 3 
  Level three is almost identical, but after some 
  exploring the characters will find that it has a foul
  and stinking river running through it. The river 
  bubbles up from deep beneath the earth, and 
  sinks away underground after only a mile or so. 
  The river is scalding hot and a tribe of goblins 
  (see bestiary) live along its banks. 
  The only way to cross is via a strong wooden 
  bridge, but the bridge is unfortunately not high 
  enough above the water to be out of range of the
  goblins throwing rocks. 
  level 4 
  This level is also full of bone rooms, but the 
  skeletons are more ancient even than lizard 
  people. The skeletons have massive frog heads,
  and move by walking, but it is as much a 
  shambling hop as a walk. 
  This level is where the treasure chamber is 
  located. The party have finally reached the goal 
  of their quest. But it is guarded by the most 
  fearsome creature they will encounter over the 
  course of this adventure. The treasure is 
  watched over by one of the 'children' of Amak 
  Raa. It becomes obvious to characters with the 
  Lore skill that Amak Raa must be a name for the 
  Horned One, an ancient primeval god that still 
  has some followers among the most ancient 
  species with the longest memories, such as 
  lizardpeople and magician's apes.  A horned one
  (see bestiary) stealthily approaches and tries to 
  ambush the party. 
  The Treasure Vault
  The treasure vault is revealed hidden behind a 
  wall. The wall is melted away by acid spilling 
  from the dead mound of the defeated horned 
  one. Behind the wall is a vault where the party 
  will find a jade sceptre. 
  The sceptre is a rod of quaking, causing huge 
  earthquakes for 1d10 rounds when used. It also 
  causes time quakes, although this is presently 
  unknown to magical research on the item. It 
  attracts the attention of extra-temporal beings 
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  (beings from the far past and far future) 
  whenever used. 
  All the PCs have to do now is get home, but of 
  course on the way home they will be ambushed 
  by the nemesis who was watching them so 
  closely at the start of the adventure.  
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  ADVANCEMENT 
  Your characters aren’t going to remain static 
  through the entire campaign. As their stories 
  play out, they’ll have the chance to grow and 
  change in response to the events that happen in 
  play. The conflicts they face and the 
  complications they overcome will alter your 
  sense of who they are and push them toward 
  new challenges. 
  In addition to your characters, the game world 
  will change also. You’ll resolve threats as you 
  play, or change the face of a location, or make 
  such an impact on the world that one of the 
  issues may need to change. We’ll get more into 
  world advancement later. 
  Character advancement in Fate comes in one of 
  two flavours: either you can change something 
  on your sheet to something else that’s 
  equivalent, or you can add new things to your 
  sheet. The opportunities you get to do this are 
  collectively called milestones. 
  Defining Milestones 
   A milestone is a moment during the game where
  you have the chance to change or advance your 
  character. We call them milestones because they
  usually happen at significant “break points” in the
  action of a game—the end of a session, the end 
  of a scenario, and the end of a story arc, 
  respectively. 
  Obviously, things won’t always line up that nicely,
  so GMs, you have some discretion in deciding 
  when a certain level of milestone occurs. If it 
  seems satisfying to give out a milestone in the 
  middle of a session, go ahead, but stick to the 
  guidelines here to keep from handing out too 
  many advancement opportunities too often. 
  Milestones come in three levels of importance: 
  minor, significant, and major. 
  Minor Milestones 
  Minor milestones usually occur at the end of a 
  session of play, or when one piece of a story has
  been resolved. These kinds of milestones are 
  more about changing your character rather than 
  making him or her more powerful, about 
  adjusting in response to whatever’s going on in 
  the story if you need to. Sometimes it won’t 
  really make sense to take advantage of a minor 
  milestone, but you always have the opportunity if
  you should need to. 
  During a minor milestone, you can choose to do 
  one (and only one) of the following: 
      Switch the rank values of any two skills, or 
  replace one Average (+1) skill with one that isn’t 
  on your sheet. 
      Change any single stunt for another stunt. 
      Purchase a new stunt, provided you have the 
  refresh to do so. (Remember, you can’t go below
  1 refresh.) 
      Rename one character aspect that isn’t your 
  high concept. 
  In addition, you can also rename any moderate 
  consequences you have, so that you can start 
  them on the road to recovery, presuming you 
  have not already done so. 
  This is a good way to make slight character 
  adjustments, if it seems like something on your 
  character isn’t quite right—you don’t end up 
  using that stunt as often as you thought, or you 
  resolved the Blood Feud with Edmund that you 
  had and thus it’s no longer appropriate, or any of
  those changes that keep your character 
  consistent with the events of play. 
  In fact, you should almost always be able to 
  justify the change you’re making in terms of the 
  game’s story. You shouldn’t be able to change 
  Hot Temper to Staunch Pacifist, for example, 
  unless something happened in the story to 
  inspire a serious change of heart—you met a 
  holy man, or had a traumatic experience that 
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  made you want to give up the sword, or 
  whatever. GMs, you’re the final arbiter on this, 
  but don’t be so much of a stickler that you 
  sacrifice a player’s fun for consistency. 
  Significant Milestones 
  Significant milestones usually occur at the end of
  a scenario or the conclusion of a big plot event 
  (or, when in doubt, at the end of every two or 
  three sessions). Unlike minor milestones, which 
  are primarily about change, significant 
  milestones are about learning new things—
  dealing with problems and challenges has made 
  your character generally more capable at what 
  they do. 
  In addition to the benefit of a minor milestone, 
  you also gain both of the following: 
      One additional skill point, which you can 
  spend to buy a new skill at Average (+1) or 
  increase an existing skill by one rank. 
      If you have any severe consequences, you 
  can rename them to begin the recovery process,
  if you haven’t already. 
  When you spend your skill point, it’s worth one 
  step on the ladder. You can use it to buy a new 
  skill at Average (+1), or you can use it to 
  increase an existing skill by one step on the 
  ladder—say, from Good (+3) to Great (+4). 
  Skill Columns 
  During character creation, you organized your 
  skills into a pyramid. You don’t have to stick to 
  that for character advancement. 
  However, there’s still a limitation you have to 
  deal with, skill columns. This means you can’t 
  have more skills at a certain rank than you have 
  at the rank below it. So if you have three Good 
  columns, you have at least three Average (+1) 
  skills and at least three Fair (+2) skills to support 
  your three Good (+3) skills. 
  The pyramid follows this rule already, but when 
  you’re adding skills, you need to make sure you 
  don’t violate that limit. It’s easy to forget that if 
  you use a skill point to upgrade one of your own 
  skills, you might suddenly not have enough skills
  to “support” it at the new rank. 
  So, let’s say you have one Good (+3), two Fair 
  (+2), and three Average (+1) skills. 
  At a milestone, you want to upgrade a Fair (+2) 
  skill to Good (+3). That’d give you two Good 
  (+3), one Fair (+2), and three Average (+1): 
  You see how that doesn’t work? You’re now 
  missing the second Fair skill you’d need to be 
  square with the rules. 
  When this happens, you have one of two 
  options. You can buy a new skill at the lowest 
  possible rank—in this case, Average (+1)—and 
  then upgrade it in subsequent milestones until 
  you’re in a position to bump the skill you want to 
  the appropriate level. Or you can “bank” the skill 
  point, not spend it now, and wait until you’ve 
  accumulated enough to buy a skill at whatever 
  rank you need to support the move. 
  So in the case above, you could buy an Average 
  (+1) skill, promote one of your Average skills to a
  Fair (+2), then bump the original skill up to Good 
  (+3). That would take three significant or major 
  milestones to do. Or, you could wait, bank up 
  three skill points, buy a new skill at Fair (+2), 
  then bump the original skill up to Good (+3). It 
  just depends on whether you want to put new 
  stuff on your sheet or not in the interim. 
  GMs, strictly enforcing how the skills work can 
  be a pain in the ass sometimes. If you and the 
  players really want to be able to upgrade a 
  certain skill in a way that breaks the rules now, 
  simply ask that the player spend the next few 
  milestones “correcting” their skill spread, rather 
  than making them wait. It’s okay. We won’t come
  after you. 
  You might notice that this means that the further 
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  you get up the ladder, the harder it is to quickly 
  advance your skills. This is intentional—no one 
  is going to be able to get to the point where 
  they’re awesome at everything, all the time. 
  That’s boring. 
  Major Milestones 
  A major milestone should only occur when 
  something happens in the campaign that shakes
  it up a lot—the end of a story arc (or around 
  three scenarios), the death of a main NPC 
  villain, or any other large-scale change that 
  reverberates around your game world. 
  These milestones are about gaining more power.
  The challenges of yesterday simply aren’t 
  sufficient to threaten these characters any more, 
  and the threats of tomorrow will need to be more
  adept, organized, and determined to stand 
  against them in the future. 
  Achieving a major milestone confers the benefits
  of a significant milestone and a minor milestone, 
  and all of the following additional options: 
      If you have an extreme consequence, rename
  it to reflect that you’ve moved past its most 
  debilitating effects. This allows you to take 
  another extreme consequence in the future, if 
  you desire. 
      Take an additional point of refresh, which 
  allows you to immediately buy a new stunt or 
  keep it in order to give yourself more fate points 
  at the beginning of a session. 
      Advance a skill beyond the campaign’s current
  skill cap, if you’re able to, thus increasing the 
  skill cap. 
      Rename your character’s high concept if you 
  desire. 
  Reaching a major milestone is a pretty big deal. 
  Characters with more stunts are going to have a 
  diverse range of bonuses, making their skills 
  much more effective by default. Characters with 
  higher refresh will have a much larger fountain of
  fate points to work with when sessions begin, 
  which means they’ll be less reliant on compels 
  for a while. 
  GMs, when the player characters go past the 
  skill cap, it will necessarily change the way you 
  make opposition NPCs, because you’re going to 
  need foes who can match the PCs in terms of 
  base competence so as to provide a worthy 
  challenge. It won’t happen all at once, which will 
  give you the chance to introduce more powerful 
  enemies gradually, but if you play long enough, 
  eventually you’re going to have PCs who have 
  Epic and Legendary skill ratings—that alone 
  should give you a sense of what kind of villains 
  you’ll need to bring to get in their way. 
  Most of all, a major milestone should signal that 
  lots of things in the world of your game have 
  changed. Some of that will probably be reflected 
  in world advancement, but given the number of 
  chances the PCs have had to revise their 
  aspects in response to the story, you could be 
  looking at a group with a much different set of 
  priorities and concerns than they had when they 
  started. 
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  Travelling
  The world outside city gates is so dangerous and
  inhospitable that travel is a very serious 
  business for the inhabitants of the realms. 
  Accommodation
  When travelling, characters will not run into 
  convenient inns very often. For the most part, 
  they will have to camp on their own or seek 
  shelter in people's homes. 
  Provided they are friendly and not wearing mail 
  or plate and longswords or war hammers 
  (rapiers and brigandine is acceptable), the latter 
  option should be no trouble. A farmer can live in 
  a single place all his life, and he will welcome 
  news and stories of adventures, not to mention 
  any money the heroes might offer.
  Settlements
  Settlements tend to cluster tightly along the 
  arteries of travel between the cities. Between 
  these clusters are relatively large gaps of 
  wilderness in the middle, even along well 
  travelled roads. 
  There are roughly five types of settlement that 
  might be encountered as adventurers travel 
  along the roads of Hyrope. 
  Village
  Villages range from 50-300 people in size. Most 
  realms will have thousands of them. Villages are 
  agrarian communities with their houses usually 
  huddled together for safety. They are much more
  open and healthy than cities and towns. The 
  village usually has wide streets and a central 
  green and pond. 
  Hamlet
  This is usually a village that cultivates orchards 
  (instead of grain fields or animals). These tend to
  be smaller than normal villages, and have 
  populations of only 20-150.
  Town
  Towns typically have populations of two or three 
  thousand. Towns tend to have walls and train 
  and prepare for sieges. This siege training is 
  additional to the military training expected of 
  almost men and women judged able-bodied 
  enough. 
    
  City
  Cities tend to be tens of thousands of people in 
  size. A typical large realm will have a few cities 
  in this population range. Magic colleges can 
  sometimes even be found in cities of this size. 
      
  Big City
  Big Cities can be of any size from 100,000 
  people to millions of people. A city is able to 
  grow particularly huge if it has a stable history 
  and some magical source of food. 
  Cavern Complexes 
  These are often referred to simply as dungeons. 
  Heroes entering these must navigate a 
  labyrinthine environment, battling various 
  monsters, and looting any treasure they may 
  find. 
  These elaborate structures are very common 
  across Hyrope and only a fraction have been 
  investigated to any degree. They may have been
  designed and built by the fairy folk, as gateways 
  to their underground realms, or survivals from 
  the times when the lizardpeople ruled the planet.
  These labyrinths are modified and added upon 
  at various times, and used and reused again and
  again over the millennia . 
  Visual aids such as maps, models, or miniature 
  figures are often used to represent the 
  landscape of a dungeon. 
  Bridges
  The association of ogres and trolls with bridges 
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  has some basis in fact. The arches of rural 
  bridges are often home to an ogre shunned by 
  his pack, finding shelter in a place that must 
  seem little different to a natural cavern, at least 
  to the troll's minuscule brain. 
  Castle
  Active castles are much more common than 
  ruined ones, because ruins that are at all solid 
  are constantly put back into service. The role of 
  castles is something too various to be easily 
  described. Most castles mark the landholdings of
  Barons and Dukes, but some may be local 
  strong points, treasuries, prisons, even bandit 
  strongholds, or the outposts of goblin warlords. 
  Farm
  Farming dominated the lives of most of the 
  people of Hyrope. It is very rare that an isolated 
  farm is encountered though, the landscape is 
  just too dangerous. Most people live in villages 
  where they can help each other fight off threats.
  Huge Castle
  Huge castles may be founded by orders of 
  knights to use as forward bases as they push 
  back their enemies, or grow organically as the 
  surrounding community that will need to flee 
  there in time of trouble grows. 
  Huge castles are often the result of smaller 
  castles being expanded several times to host 
  growing number of knights as its importance 
  increases. Huge castles may have 146,621 
  square meters of space contained within their 
  walls. Crossing through tens of gates may be 
  required to reach the central section, and a 
  complex of sites may have been contained. 
  These sites might include a huge temple, a 
  keep, barracks, armouries, smithies, stables, 
  grain stores and many other structures. These 
  castles often exhibit a mixture of architectural 
  styles, as they are rebuilt after each sacking in 
  the style of the new occupants, or according to 
  the changed tastes of the surviving original 
  occupants. 
  Mansion
  These large walled structures are a cross 
  between a large village and a small castle. The 
  mansion is located very near outlying houses 
  and is built for defence. Often having a moat wall
  and gatehouse. 
  Ranger Towers 
  The roads of Magic Realms are so dangerous 
  that a special force has been established to keep
  them clear. The forest rangers also have the duty
  to regularly patrol the forests, on the lookout for 
  large build ups of evil forces that might threaten 
  the lives and lands of the peoples of Magic 
  Realms. They are particularly watchful for 
  unusually large orc forces, or necromancers, or 
  liches building large undead armies. 
  They are based in fortresses that are often 
  placed half way between settlements in the 
  longer and more dangerous roads, but they 
  range far and wide from there.
  Ruins
  The landscape is covered in overgrown ruined 
  temples left by the lizardpeople and even more 
  ancient inhabitants of the realms. They tend to 
  open onto artificial cavern complexes beneath, 
  and these in turn often open onto the 
  underworld.
   
  Simple House
  Most houses are half-timbered and jettied, which
  is a building technique used in timber frame 
  buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond
  the dimensions of the floor below. This has the 
  advantage of increasing the available space in 
  the building without obstructing the street. 
  In most cities on Orb houses are taxed 
  according to ground-floor area (square footage) 
  extensive jettying is employed to create higher 
  storeys of greater area, and jettied houses seem
  to almost touch above the street. Jettying is even
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  used in villages, where space is abundant, 
  because of the tax advantages. 
  Shop
  A shop usually occupies the ground floor of a 
  building, and one wall is often completely open, 
  like an unglazed display window.
  Temple
  Temples are also a medium of disseminating 
  news. Travelling priests and holy people bring 
  news back, and it is spread among the populace.
  There are two or three temples on almost every 
  street, providing information, small markets and 
  hospitality. They are an excellent place to start, 
  for an adventurer hunting their nemesis.
  Worm Tunnels
  These tunnels are big enough to accommodate 
  any monster, even huge dragons. They criss 
  cross the centre of the planet and connect the 
  whole subterranean ecosystem of ancient 
  dungeon complexes left by civilisations long 
  dead, fairy underworld, demonic gates, realms of
  the giants and dwarven citadels together. 
  City Streets
  Typical city streets are narrow and twisting, 
  sometimes no broader than a person's 
  shoulders. These glorified alley ways double as 
  gutters, slaughterhouses, and latrines. Cities are
  noisy and smelly. Little light and air reaches the 
  reeking streets. Streets are pitch-black at night 
  (there is no light pollution), and watchmen and 
  thieves patrol these arteries.
  Cobblestones in good condition allow normal 
  movement, but ones in poor repair and heavily 
  rutted dirt streets can reduce speed significantly. 
  Crypt
  A place of the dead, or the undead. These are 
  often tunnel complex with numerous rooms with 
  tombs and bone heaps, and sometimes 
  treasure.
  Hazards
  There are any number of hazards that a traveller
  could face when they are out adventuring across
  the wild places. Many of them will have to be 
  designed by the GM on the fly. 
  Is the hazard something that can harm a PC? 
  Give it a skill and let it make attacks just like an 
  opponent. 
      Is it more of a distraction or harassment than 
  a direct threat? Let it create aspects. 
      Does it have sensors it can use to discover a 
  PC’s aspects? Give it a skill for that. 
  And in return, let the PCs use their skills against 
  the threat just like they would an opponent. An 
  automated security system might be vulnerable 
  to “attacks” from a PC’s Burglary skill, or they 
  might escape a trap by winning an Athletics 
  contest. If it makes sense for the hazard in 
  question to take a good deal of effort to surpass, 
  give it a stress track and let it take a mild 
  consequence or two. In other words, cleave to 
  whatever makes narrative sense—if a fire is too 
  big for a PC to put out, the scene should focus 
  on avoidance or escape, and work like a 
  challenge.
  There are some hazards that are so common, 
  however, that we can go into a little more detail. 
  Disease
  Disease is commonplace, and is very often fatal.
  Disease are not commonly infectious, but 
  instead can be acquired at any time. They are 
  caused by the Miasma. This is a diffuse 
  poisonous cloud that sometimes thickens around
  a person, and infects them. 
  (This is the situation in the realms, and does not 
  equate to the scientific realities of disease 
  encountered in our reality) 
  Each disease has a severity and this is used to 
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  attack in the same way as the combat skill. The 
  best maps have areas of miasma marked, but 
  good maps are unfortunately all too rare. The 
  disease stops attacking if it fails to cause 
  damage, but if damage is caused, it will attack 
  again. If it causes a consequence, use the 
  consequence listed below. 
  Apoplexy 
  Severity: 2 – Paralysis of the limbs. 
  Bilious fever 
  Severity: 3 – Intestinal pain and soreness. 
  Black Death 
  Severity: 4 – Coughing fits – death. 
  Bloody Flux 
  Severity: 5 – The same as flux, but involving a 
  discharge of blood.
  Break Bone Fever 
  Severity: 5 – Bones spontaneously break in a 
  sudden noisy destruction of the sufferers 
  skeleton. 
  Canker 
  Severity: 3 – A severe, ulcer of the cheek and lip.
  It is often fatal. 
  Dropsy 
  Severity: 1 – Swelling of part of the body due to 
  a build-up of clear watery fluid.
  Flux 
  Severity: 1 – Inflammation of the large intestine 
  and attended by frequent stools containing blood
  and mucus.
  Galloping Consumption 
  Severity: 2 – Massive tissue death begins, and 
  quickly consumes the victim's flesh – and 
  eventually life force.
  Grocer's Itch 
  Severity: 2 – This is a skin disease caused by 
  miasmas attracted to food. It is not fatal, but is 
  so distracting that those suffering from the itch 
  are at -1 to all rolls. 
  Horrors 
  Severity: 1 – The sufferer sees more and more 
  realistic and horrible hallucinations, until 
  eventually – driven mad – they expire shortly 
  thereafter. 
  King’s evil 
  Severity: 4 – It evolves into cold abscesses, 
  multiple skin ulcers, and draining sinus tracts. 
  Mortification 
  Severity: 2 – Gradual rotting of the body, starting 
  at the extremities.
   
  Palsy 
  Severity: 4 – Paralysis or difficulty with muscle 
  control.
  Purples 
  Severity: 3 – This is a rash due with 
  spontaneous bleeding from the skin. It is a 
  severe illnesses that invariably results in – 
  death.  
  Sweating Sickness 
  Severity: 5 – constant sweats – fatal sweats.
  Becoming Lost
  There will be many occasions where characters 
  run the risk of getting lost. Trying to cross large 
  forests, or following a small animal path in the 
  fog, is an invitation to losing your way. The 
  difficulty level is set by the gamemaster, based 
  on the familiarity of the terrain. 
  The roll is made by the character with the best 
  Notice. Negative circumstances include; 
  unfamiliar terrain, fog, and darkness.  
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  Characters get a second roll to realise they are 
  lost every hour. If they fail this they will carry on 
  in a random direction every hour until they do 
  make a roll. If the characters see a famous 
  landmark, or the fog lifts or the sun comes up, 
  their roll to realise they are lost will improve.
  They will then be allowed a roll to regain their 
  bearings, with a difficulty based on factors such 
  as how far the characters wandered from the 
  original route. 
  Poison
  There are various substances used to kill and 
  harm in Hyrope. Many are naturally occurring 
  and easily encountered by a traveller. The 
  following list is a short selection. The potency is 
  the number used by the poison to attack the 
  character. The poison will continue to attack until
  it fails to cause damage.
  Abassy Venom 
  Potency: 6
  From demons that have teeth of iron. They look 
  just like humans, or sometimes elves, but their 
  metal teeth give them away as supernatural 
  fiends. They dress as normal humans, and use 
  swords or other melee weapons, but can also 
  bite with their venomous teeth. It causes 
  paralysis. 
  Akalon 
  Potency 10
  A poison derived from a blood-red flower that 
  grows in desert oases, it is odourless, tasteless, 
  but red in colour - leading to its frequent use in 
  red wine. It is almost immediately lethal, 
  producing symptoms resembling those of heart 
  disease. In small doses it can be used as a 
  stimulant. 
  Grabberweed Sap 
  Potency: 9 
  Derived from the many-times boiled sap of a 
  carnivorous plant. It is said the poison is most 
  potent if the plant has recently been fed a human
  victim. The poison causes a speedy but painful 
  death.
  Gu 
  Potency: 7
  The preparation of gu poison involves sealing 
  several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede, 
  snake, scorpion) into a closed box, where they 
  devour one another and concentrate their toxins 
  into a single survivor. 
  Harionago 
  Potency: 8
  Derived from a monster that resembles a 
  humanoid female with barbed, prehensile hair. 
  The hair is coated with a deadly and waxy 
  poison. The poison causes instant death if it 
  takes effect.  
  Hebenon 
  Potency: 11 
  Description: It curdles the blood, producing 
  stiffening and death in the victim. 
  Lich Dust
   
  Potency: 5 
  Lich dust is a white powder which kills a victim 
  within seconds of skin contact. The powder 
  causes the skin of the victim's body to shrivel, 
  tighten, bleach and fall away, while causing the 
  hair to fall out. The poor victim soon resembles 
  the  skeletal creature used to take its life. . 
  Lye 
  Potency:  4
  This is among the many different alkalis leached 
  from hardwood ashes. Eye protection, 
  chemical-resistant gloves, and adequate 
  ventilation are required for the safe handling of 
  lye. A  face mask is also recommended. 
  Handling lye without this protection can result in 
  serious injuries. If the poison takes effect it 
  causes internal burning that deprive the victim of
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  oxygen, and kill them slowly. 
  Opiates 
  Potency: 3
  Derivatives of the poppy, these compounds have
  medicinal and recreational uses, but can also be 
  used to kill. 
  Services
  Most people across Hyrope are very self reliant, 
  butchering their own meet, and making their own
  clothes. It takes a relatively large population to 
  support any business, and so particular services 
  are not always available in every location. The 
  chances of finding particular services are listed 
  below. 
  Business             Village Town City
  Big 
  City
  Shoemakers 
    20%
  30%
  50%
  70%
  Bookbinders
  20%
  30%
  50% 
  70%
  Booksellers 
  20%
  30%
  50%
  70%
  Hatmakers 
  20%
  50%
  70%
  90%
  Harness-Makers
  30%
  50%
  70%
  90%
  Bakers 
  30%
  50%
  70%
  90%
  Inns
  30%
  50%
  70%
  90%
  Merchant
  30%
  50%
  70%
  90%
  Ropemakers
  5%
  20%
  50%
  70%
  Chandlers
  5%
  20%
  50%
  70%
  Weavers
  30%
  50%
  70%
  90%
  Locksmiths
  30%
  50%
  70%
  90%
  Carpenters 
  50%
  60%
  70%
  90%
  lluminators          20%
  30%
  50%
  90%
  Blacksmiths 
  50%
  70%
  80%
  90%
  College of Magic
   2%
   4%
   20%
  50%
  Doctors
  30%
  40%
  70%
  90%
  Masons 
  20%
  30%
  50%
  90%
  Roofers
  20%
  30%
  50%
  90%
  Taverns  
  30%
  50%
  70%
  90%
  Spice Merchants
  5%
  20%
  30%
  50% 
  Barbers 
  30%
  50% 70%
  90%
  Fishmongers 
  20%
  30%
  50%
  90%
  Butchers 
  30%
  50%
  70%
  90%
  Jewellers 
  5%
  20%
  30%
  50%
  Tailors
  5%
  20%
  30%
  50%
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  Trade
  Coastal Trade 
  The main shipping trade route for the planet's 
  super continent is a large circuit that is timed to 
  pass the pole in summer, when there is less 
  chance of the sea being frozen. Many of the 
  boats do not have a home port, and have very 
  cosmopolitan crews. 
  Pirate castles can be found all around the coasts
  of the single giant continent. They tend to be 
  improvised structures, often a mix of rock, drift 
  wood, salvage and other improvised materials. 
  They are used ad bases by pirates, and some of 
  the larger ones also become centres where 
  trade is carried out. 
  Shipping on the coastal circuit often has to bribe 
  the local pirate princes and princesses, fight 
  them off,or try to sneak past each of the big well 
  known fortresses.
  Terrain
  Realms that share borders can often have very 
  different characters based purely on their terrain.
  A list of some terrains that can be encountered 
  across Hyrope is included below. 
  Beach
  The thin ribbons of sand between ocean and 
  land are good places to haul a pirate ship ashore
  for repairs. 
  Caverns
  The most important feature of caverns is the 
  high probability that they will lead down to the 
  underworld. They are shunned and avoided by 
  travellers, who prefer to set up a lean to, even in 
  the heaviest downpour, than shelter in a cavern 
  where they might be accosted by the fee, the 
  undead, or worse.
  Gravel Flats
  These are mostly stable, but there can be 
  dangerous areas, where a thin covering of gravel
  covers deep crevasses. 
  Forest 
  These can be lush, sparse, or dark. The trees 
  and bushes provide cover, but undergrowth 
  slows movement.
  It must also be remembered that a healthy 
  covering of lush vegetation is no guarantee of 
  the stability of the terrain below. 
  Pathways wind through some forests, allowing 
  normal movement and providing neither cover 
  nor concealment. These paths are not common 
  in the forests of Hyrope, but even unexplored 
  forests will have occasional game trails. All 
  stealth rolls are at +1 in a forest.
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  Hedgerows
  Hedgerows are tangles of low trees and thorny 
  bushes. They provide cover, and take time to get
  through. A tool or weapon may be required to 
  hack a way through a particularly thick 
  hedgerow. Hedgerows are hugely common 
  across the realms, and often contain goblins and
  other monsters. 
  Marsh Terrain
  In these moors, swamps, and bogs, deep mud or
  standing water of at least 1 foot in depth, slows 
  movement by half. Athletics is much harder in 
  this type of terrain (-1 to athletics rolls) but the 
  water and undergrowth in this terrain can provide
  cover.
  Orchard
  Orchards are rarely found alone, usually they are
  near other orchards, and there will often be a 
  hamlet nearby containing the people who 
  cultivate it and keep it free of monsters.  
  Quicksand
  A character approaching a patch of quicksand at 
  a normal pace is entitled to a Notice check to 
  spot the danger before stepping in. Charging or 
  running characters get the same roll, but at an 
  increased difficulty level. 
  Characters in quicksand must be pulled out, or 
  they will eventually be sucked under. They must 
  make a swim roll each round, Each fail sucks 
  them another 5% further into the hazard. 
  Pulling out a character trapped in quicksand can 
  be difficult. A rescuer needs a branch, spear haft,
  rope, or similar tool that enables him to reach the
  victim with one end of it. The rescuer must make 
  a successful strength check for every 5% the 
  victim was pulled under to rescue them. A failed 
  check results in them being sucked 5% further 
  in. 
  Rock Blisters
  These look like solid terrain, but are fragile, and 
  will collapse on a failed roll. Below might be an 
  ordinary crevasse, a dungeon complex, or even 
  the underworld. 
  Sandy Dessert
  This is a huge expanses of sand dunes, almost 
  impossible to map, with rock islands poking up 
  between them. They slow movement to a quarter
  of normal, or less.
  Sea of Ooze 
  This has the same dangerous character as 
  quicksand, but there is a huge expanse of it. It 
  can only be navigated by flat-bottom barge, and 
  even then there are many dangers. 
  Scree 
  An area of small unstable stones, characters 
  must slow to one quarter speed to negotiate the 
  scree or risk sliding, possibly towards a cliff 
  edge. 
  Tundra (cold deserts)
  Because snow and ice cover much of the tundra 
  landscape, it’s easy to find water. Cold is an ever
  present danger however. 
  Bestiary
  The following bestiary of monsters that can be 
  encountered by adventurers exploring the planet
  is far from exhaustive, and the game master 
  should not hesitate to add to it. 
  Each monster has one monstrous aspect. This is
  like a normal aspect, but the monster may add 
  +3 to their roll instead of +2 when they invoke it. 
  Monsters are often singularly driven to obtain 
  their goals, and the players will have to work to 
  overcome these foes. 
  Zombies, for example, have the monstrous 
  aspect Hungry for Brains. Anytime that a zombie
  invokes their aspect, they get a +3 to their roll.
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  Abassy
  Size: human 
  Attack: +2 – crushing (constrict) or thrusting 
  (fangs) 
  Defence: +2 – Agility and leather skin 
  Stress: 2
  Senses: +1 on rolls to smell 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: Potency 5, Delivery Bite 
  Monstrous aspect: Monstrous metal teeth.
  Demons that have teeth of iron. They look just 
  like humans, or sometimes elves, but their metal 
  teeth give them away as supernatural fiends. 
  They dress as normal humans, and use swords 
  or other melee weapons, but can also bite with 
  their venomous teeth.
  Amarok or Great Wolf
  Size: Elephantine  
  Attack: +2 –  thrusting (fangs) 
  Defence: +1 – Agility and fur 
  Stress: 4
  Senses: +1 on rolls to smell 
  Stealth: +1 
  Poison: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Pack Animals 
  They tower over humans, and are roughly the 
  size of elephants. They are intelligent and 
  dangerous. They can however be subdued, 
  tamed and made into steeds. Unlike normal 
  wolves who hunt in packs, Amarok hunt alone, 
  or in groups of two or three.  
  Appalling Yard Watchers
  Size: human 
  Attack: +2 – slashing (scythe)
  Defence: +0 
  Stress: 2
  Senses: senses life within 10 miles 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: Potency 5, Delivery Bite 
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: 2
  Spells: x2
  Monstrous aspect:  Hate Life as Unnatural
  Skeletal grave lurkers with a lantern and a 
  scythe. The yard watchers are the henchman of 
  Death. They protect graveyards and the souls 
  inside from necromancers, and are very 
  suspicious of the living. They see life as an 
  unnatural state, and attack to bring people to the
  more natural states of death or undeath. They 
  are minor royalty among the undead and have 
  subjects, mostly skeletons and zombies, who 
  have their own particular paths along which their 
  sacred processions move.
  Asena, or Blue Wolf 
  Size: Wolf size  
  Attack: +2 –  thrusting (fangs) 
  Ranged Attack: +1 – energy (frost bolt)
  Defence: +1 – Agility and fur 
  Stress: 2
  Senses: +1 on rolls to smell 
  Stealth: +1 
  Poison: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Pack Animals 
  The Asena, or blue wolf, is found mostly in cold 
  northern territories. They hunt in packs and try to
  disable their prey with frost bolts before 
  attacking. They are no bigger or cleverer than 
  normal wolves, but their formidable ranged 
  attack makes them much more dangerous.
  Baleful Titans 
  Boss Monster 1
  Size: 12m tall
  Attack: +5 – trapping (whip) – pummelling 
  (hammer)
  Defence: +4
  Stress: 5
  Senses: 360 degree vision 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: 5
  Spells: x5
  Monstrous aspect: Lords of the Underworlds 
  If their boss monster 1 incarnation is defeated 
  they emerge from the ashes as
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  Boss Monster 2
  Size: 6m tall
  Attack: +3 – trapping (whip) – pummelling 
  (hammer)
  Defence: +0 
  Stress: 3
  Senses: human 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: 2
  Spells: x2
  Monstrous aspect: Weakened Lord 
  These are giant 12 metre tall creatures, with skin
  like burning coal, hot enough to burn flesh, wood
  and fabric. They are the subjects of their ruler, in 
  his fiery realm deep down in the underworld, but 
  also rulers in their own right across many other 
  realms and planes of existence. 
  They are immune to all but magical weapons 
  and are powerful magic users. They are the 
  reason the dwarves have become so good at 
  forging magic weapons. 
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  Basilisk 
  Size: 5 – 15m 
  Attack: +3 – bite
  Ranged Attack: +2 breath weapon 4x1m cone
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 5
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: potency 4/delivery, breath
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: 5
  Spells: x5
  Monstrous aspect: All Wilts and Dies 
  This is a huge multi-limbed, venomous lizard. It 
  is so venomous that it leaves a wide trail of 
  deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze is 
  likewise lethal. The basilisk's hole, (recognizable 
  because all the surrounding shrubs and grass 
  has been scorched by its presence), can be 
  home to many hundreds of the creatures. 
  It destroys all vegetation, not only by its contact, 
  but those even that it has breathed upon. It 
  burns up all the grass too, and breaks stones 
  and causes earthquakes, so tremendous is its 
  noxious influence. If a knight kills one of these 
  creatures while mounted, the poison will run up 
  the weapon and may kill, not only the rider, but 
  the horse as well. For this reason it is advisable 
  to use ranged weapons against the basilisk. 
  Despite its killing glare and its poisonous breath, 
  many are willing to hunt basilisk. Basilisk venom 
  is highly prised, because a skilled magic user, 
  with access to a lab, can use it to transform 
  copper into gold. 
  Its ashes are less potent, only turning silver to 
  gold, but are also much in demand. Caution is 
  advised when hunting basilisk however, because
  the beast is capable of breathing fire and killing 
  with the sound of its voice. It can kill not only by 
  touch, but also by touching something that is 
  touching the victim, like a sword held in their 
  hand.
  Bokken, or Rider Ghosts 
  Size: human 
  Attack: +2 – bite
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 2
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Ride the Enemy Down
  These are the ghosts of bandits, these bandits 
  fell so in love with plundering travellers that they 
  are unable now to stop, even in death. They can 
  no longer spend their booty however, and it is 
  often found among the ruins of their old bandit 
  castles.
  Bone Wolf
  Size: human 
  Attacks: x2
  Attack: +3 – slashing and thrusting (fangs) – 
  pummelling (claws)
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 3
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Guard Beast Created by 
  Powerful Mage
  A particularly terrible type of bone golem. They 
  are usually encountered in packs and have 
  found some way of reproducing. They are 
  intelligent, and use tactics when hunting, such as
  using bait. 
  They will often keep one character alive from a 
  group of victims, to use as bait to attract a new 
  group. Their clawed forelimbs are clumsy, but 
  with some time and effort, they can tie victims to 
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  a tree, gag them and even set traps. They can 
  both bite and claw in the same exchange, their 
  hide is equivalent to plate armour and their skill 
  in combat is Great. 
  Bronze Dragon
  Size: 50-100m  
  Attacks: x3
  Attack: +2 – thrusting and slashing (bite) – 
  pummelling (claws)
  Ranged Attack: +3 (energy) breath weapon
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 5
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: 3
  Spells: x3
  Monstrous aspect: Love of the Horde of 
  Treasure 
  These dragons breath molten bronze, and 
  weapons made from this bronze are +1 magical 
  items. They are capable of speech and magic, 
  and are very highly skilled. They grow to a length
  of over 100 meters, which is about as long as a 
  football pitch.  
  Centaur 
  Size: horse/human 
  Attack: +2 – as weapon
  Ranged Attack: +2 – as weapon 
  Defence: +2 – as armour 
  Stress: 4
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Run Free or Charge 
  These are a composite folk, that are sometimes 
  counted as humanoid, and sometimes as 
  monsters, depending on what writer of bestiaries
  is doing the counting. They are part human and 
  part horse. They have wild animal natures and 
  refuse the constraints of civilisation. They prefer 
  nomadic hunter gatherer lifestyles, but their 
  culture is deep and complex, and their magic 
  users are powerful. They are also very cunning. 
  A hero of a human tribe they were fighting was 
  found to have a magic spell cast on him that 
  made him invulnerable to weapons, so he was 
  beaten into the earth by Centaurs wielding rocks 
  and the branches of trees. 
  Copper  Golem 
  Size: human 
  Attack: +1 – pummelling (fists)
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 4
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Absolutely Will Not Stop 
  The copper golem looks a little like an antiquated
  suit of copper armour. The armour has a beaten 
  and hammered look. 
  Cyclops 
  Size: 3m tall
  Attack: +2 – as weapon
  Ranged Attack: +1 – pummelling (hurled rocks)
  Defence: +2 – as armour 
  Stress: 4
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Artisans of the Giants 
  One-eyed giants, each with a single eye in the 
  middle of their forehead. The Cyclopes are 
  builders of near impregnable fortifications. To say
  the walls of a castle are ‘Cyclopean’ is a huge 
  compliment, of which most humanoid 
  fortifications are unworthy. 
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  They also make magic weapons, jewellery and 
  other artefacts, but all of course on such a giant 
  scale that it is useless to humanoids. They often 
  build their fortresses in the underworld, right 
  down at the sources of some of the continent's 
  mightiest volcanoes. The noises they make 
  pounding on metal can be heard all the way up 
  on the surface sometimes. The dwarfs look up to
  them for their prowess in shaping stone and 
  metal. 
  Doppleganger 
  Size: human 
  Attack: +1 - as weapon
  Ranged Attack: +1 – as weapon 
  Defence: +2 – as weapon 
  Stress: 2
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Completely Takes On the 
  Character 
  Melted looking creature that can steal someone's
  identity, by stealing a mirror from them. As the 
  original ages and they can no longer pass for 
  their target, using their credit and rooming with 
  their friends, they must steal another mirror and 
  begin the process again.
  Sometimes the double will impersonate the 
  victim and go about ruining them, for instance 
  through committing crimes or insulting the 
  victim's friends. Sometimes, the double even 
  tries to kill the original or use their fame to 
  advance a nefarious political agenda, but these 
  dopplegangers are rare, most just try to live at 
  their victim's expense. 
  Fire Dragon, or Red Dragon 
  Size: 6 – 10m  
  Attacks: x3
  Attack: +2 – slashing, pummelling (tail)
  Ranged Attack: +2 – energy (fire breath)
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 5
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Fierce in Loyalty and 
  Emnity. 
  These are large creatures in the region of 8m in 
  length, which makes them fearsome, but also a 
  manageable size to use as a steed. They can 
  breath fire and have a metal axe shaped like an 
  arrowhead on the end of their tale which they 
  can use on targets behind them, beside them or 
  even in front of them, striking over their shoulder 
  like a scorpion. 
  Fomorian 
  Size: 3m 
  Attack: +2 – pummelling (horns)
  Ranged Attack: +2 – energy (eye rays)
  Defence: +2 – as armour 
  Stress: 4
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: heat
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Ancient and Calm, but 
  Deadly. 
  These have the body of a giant humanoid and 
  the head of a goat. They can also shoot heat 
  rays from their eyes. These rays are very 
  powerful and can even be used to burn a hole 
  for a well. The ray will continue beaming for 1d10
  rounds, if the fomorian is decapitated while using
  it. The beam can then be used as a weapon by 
  picking up and aiming the fomorian's head.
  Forest Lurkers
  Size: bear 
  Attack: +1 – pummelling (claws)
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  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 2
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: 3
  Spells: 1 (brain bolt)
  Monstrous aspect: Shadow Lurkers 
  Lurkers are large fierce creatures, of animal 
  intelligence, that nevertheless have an innate 
  psionic ability that makes them very dangerous 
  indeed. It is a raw spike of pure psionic energy 
  directed at the brains of their prey. Lurkers hunt 
  human through the forests with enormous relish.
  Frost Giant 
  Size: 5m  
  Attack: +2 – as weapon 
  Ranged Attack: +2 – energy (breath weapon)
  Defence: +1
  Stress: 4
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Cold as Ice 
  They inhabit a world of mist, chill and ice, and its
  gate can be found in the lower levels of the 
  underworld. Their skins are white and blue and 
  they wear clothes fashioned from the hides of 
  woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceroses. They 
  can breath a chill cloud of cold that instantly 
  frostbites or even kills a humanoid. They find 
  heat uncomfortable and are rarely encountered 
  anywhere remotely warm. They rarely venture to 
  the surface world at all, and if they do it is almost
  always in freezing northern latitudes that they 
  have some errand to run. 
  Giant Snake
  Size: 20-50ft long 
  Attack: +3 – crushing (constrict) or thrusting 
  (fangs) 
  Defence: +3 – Agility and leather skin 
  Stress: 5
  Senses: +2 on rolls to smell 
  Stealth: +2 on rolls to hide and sneak 
  Poison: Potency 3, Delivery Bite 
  Giant snakes are common, both above and 
  below ground. 
  Gnarly Face Ogre
  Size: bear size 
  Attack: +2 – pummelling (fists)
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +1
  Stress: 3
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: +3 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: ‘Almost’ invisible. 
  Camouflage skin. Skin is as hard as plate mail. 
  This ogre is a large, cruel, and hideous 
  humanoid monster. The gnarly face is found ugly
  and repellent even by other ogres. This creature 
  has a face like the bark of an old and wizened 
  tree. The rest of their skin is similarly gnarled, 
  and they often go naked to take advantage of 
  the camouflage it affords in a forest environment.
  Goblin
  Size: human child  
  Attack: +0 – as weapon or slashing (bite)
  Ranged Attack: +0 – as weapon 
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 1
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: +3 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Mischievous 
  Goblins are very common and numerous 
  monsters. They have green reptilian skim, like 
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  Kobolds, but they are small, weak, 
  uncoordinated, and just a little below human 
  intelligence.
  Only about half of those encountered have 
  weapons, and those that do have very poor 
  quality weapons that have been allowed to fall 
  into disrepair. When not armed, they attack with 
  their mouths like a dog, leaping at the opponents
  and going for the jugular. Their strength is in 
  numbers. 
  They also have a warrior class of ‘hobgoblins’ 
  which can be given higher stats - if normal 
  goblins are proving no challenge at all to the 
  players. Goblins make their lairs wherever they 
  can, but will only turn to actually digging a 
  primitive tunnel complex if forced to by bad 
  climate and a lack of other structures to 
  appropriate.
  Great Deep Worms 
  These stats are for a single zone – 1d6 zones 
  must be destroyed to temporarily disable this
  monster. 
  Size: truly huge  
  Attack: +5 – pummelling (head bash)
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +5 – super thick hide 
  Stress: 5
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: A Force of Nature 
  Giant armoured worms that burrow through the 
  crust of Magic Realms. They are the largest 
  living creatures on the planet and many worship 
  them as gods. They leave tunnels big enough for
  a giant to walk down. They are never 
  encountered on the surface. The only times they 
  have ever been seen there are legendary and 
  have presaged cataclysmic events. 
  They are more usually encountered underground
  where they fill the tunnel and all that can be seen
  is a giant disk of iron and diamond teeth 
  embedded in flesh as hard as ceramic. The 
  worm, if attacked is likely to unleash a flood of 
  acid from the giant vats in its body cavities, 
  enough to fill the tunnel with a wall of liquid. 
  Even giants give the great deep worms a wide 
  berth. 
  Griffin
  Size: horse 
  Attack: +2 – thrusting and slashing (bite)
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 2
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Elegant and powerful. 
  This creature has the body of a lion and the 
  head and wings of an eagle. As the lion is 
  traditionally considered the king of the beasts 
  and the eagle is the king of the birds, the griffin is
  thought to be an especially powerful and 
  majestic creature. 
  The griffin is also thought of as king of the 
  creatures. Griffins are known for guarding 
  treasure and priceless possessions. They are a 
  protector from evil, witchcraft and secret slander.
  Griffins not only mate for life, but also, if either 
  partner dies, then the other would continue 
  throughout the rest of its life alone, never to 
  search for a new mate.
  A griffin's claw has medicinal properties, it 
  doubles healing for someone who drinks out of it
  that day. One of its feathers can also be used to 
  restore sight to the blind. 
  Griffin feathers and goblets fashioned from griffin
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  claws are therefore highly prized in Hyropean 
  courts. When flying, a griffin can move as fast as
  lightning from place to place within 100m. 
  Ghoul 
  Size: human 
  Attack: +2 – slashing (bite)
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +0
  Stress: 1
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: +5 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Hungry for Dead Flesh.
  Blubbery skin is like leather armour.
  A monster associated with graveyards and 
  consuming human flesh, often classified as 
  undead. It dwells in burial grounds and other 
  uninhabited places. They are unintelligent and 
  are primarily driven by their instinct to feed. They
  are nocturnal because they prefer the night to 
  disguise their cannibal activities. Ghouls are 
  known to be deterred by sun and artificial light.  
  Hook Horrors
  Size: human 
  Attacks: x2
  Attack: +2 – trapping and slashing (hooked 
  tentacles)
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +0
  Stress: 2
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Flailing Tentacles. 
  These are ugly green humanoids. These 
  denizens of the underworld have long hooked 
  tentacles for arms, and large circular mouths for 
  grinding up whatever prey comes their way. 
  Horn-Face Ogre
  Size: bear 
  Attack: +2 – thrusting (horn) or as weapon 
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +1 – as armour 
  Stress: 3
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Like Rhino's with Swords. 
  An ogre often found feeding on human beings. It 
  has a large head, abundant hair, a voracious 
  appetite, and a strong body. The horn face has 
  the extra ugly feature of a giant horn sprouting 
  from the centre of their elongated faces, like a 
  rhino. They are surprisingly adept at finding 
  weak points in plate mail armour with the razor 
  sharp tip of their horn.
  Horned One
  Size: hippo size 
  Attack: +2 – thrusting (horn) or entangling 
  (tongue) 
  Ranged Attack: +1 – corroding damage (acid 
  spit)
  Defence: +0
  Stress: 5
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: +2 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: Immune to everything except fire and
  magic weapons
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Brainless and Devoid of 
  Thoughts, Except Kill or Swallow Unbelievers.
  This creature is not the Horned one itself, but 
  merely a flesh avatar. The Horned One often 
  creates one or two to infest temples and impress
  local worshippers. 
  This is a horribly mutated and lumpy creature 
  that looks like a bit like a horned toad, the horns 
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  are as big as those on a rhino nose. It spits acid 
  like a snake spits venom and is savage and 
  unintelligent. It is immune to all weapons except 
  fire, which does not burn it, but shrivels it. 
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  Jack-In-Irons, or Road Giants 
  Size: 5m 
  Attack: +3 – pummelling (giant club)
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 7
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: +1 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Silent – for a Giant. 
  Malevolent giants who haunt lonely roads. They 
  sometimes wear a belt made of a drawbridge 
  chain, and from it they hang the heads of their 
  victims. They wield large, spiked or studded 
  clubs. 
  Kobold 
  Size: human 
  Attack: +4 – pummelling (fist) or as weapon 
  Ranged Attack: +0 – as weapon 
  Defence: +2 – as armour 
  Stress: 4
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Ancient and knowledgeable 
  They are very similar to Dwarves, and share 
  their love of dark underground habitats, but they 
  are even stronger and their skin is thick and 
  tough, and looks like rock. This is great 
  camouflage underground. Many are naked, but 
  some have been influenced by Dwarven culture 
  and wear clothes and armour, and various 
  weapons, although they do not need them. 
  Kraken 
  Boss Monster Incarnation 1
  Size: vast - 1d6 zones 
  These stats are for a single zone, all zones 
  must be destroyed to defeat this monster – 
  unleashing the second incarnation.
  Attacks: x8
  Attack: +2 – slashing and pummelling 
  (tentacles)
  Ranged Attack: +2 – energy (electricity)
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 7
  Senses: Knows all 
  Stealth: +6 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: 5
  Spells: x3
  Monstrous aspect: Cthonian Elder God 
  If the boss monster 1 incarnation is defeated, 
  this monster splits into 1d6 boss monster 2 
  creatures per original zone.
  Boss Monster Incarnation 2 
  Size: bear 
  Attack: +2 – pummelling and slashing (single 
  tentacle)
  Ranged Attack: +1 – energy (electricity)
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 2
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Cthonian Entities. 
  These giant sea monsters are a cross between a
  whale and a squid, then monstrously mutated.  
  The Kraken has eight tentacles per zone and 
  they are equipped with sharp hooks. Some 
  swivel, others are three-pointed. The colossal 
  kraken also has very large eyes. .
  Lich
  Size: human 
  Attack: +0 – as weapon
  Ranged Attack: +0 as weapon 
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  Defence: +0 as weapon 
  Stress: 2
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: non magical weapons
  Magic: 9
  Spells: 1d6+10 
  Monstrous aspect: Combat is for Undead 
  Minions. 
  Liches have a natural commanding presence felt
  by other undead, they also know at least ten 
  spells and usually have superior or magical 
  equipment, including their wargear. 
  They are the result of a transformation, as a 
  powerful magician, king or queen striving for 
  eternal life uses spells or rituals to bind their 
  intellect to their own animated corpse and 
  thereby achieve a form of immortality. Liches are
  skeletal and have an innate power to command  
  hordes of lesser undead creatures, using them 
  as their soldiers and servants. 
  Unlike a zombie, which is often depicted as 
  mindless and/or under the control of some 
  magician, a lich retains its independent thought 
  and is as intelligent as a living human - and 
  often, far more so. They are necromancers who 
  are unsatisfied with the level of power that they 
  currently have, wish for longer lives, and seek to 
  unburden themselves from the necessities of 
  bodily functions (such as eating and sleeping) so
  that they might dedicate every moment of their 
  existence to the attainment of knowledge and 
  power. 
  Lizard People
  Size: slightly larger than human 
  Attack: +2 – as weapon
  Ranged Attack: +2 – as weapon 
  Defence: +2 – as armour 
  Stress: 4
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Cold blooded 
  The lizard people are huge and strong but also 
  intelligent, in game terms their only disadvantage
  is that they are cold blooded. They are both 
  literally cold blooded, and think in strange, 
  cold-hearted, logical ways compared to the 
  human characters of Magic Realms. 
  The lizardpeople are even more ancient than  
  humans. Their empire used to have a higher 
  technological development than it does at the 
  present epoch. 
  Magician's Ape 
  Size: gorilla  
  Attack: +2 – thrusting or slashing (bite) or 
  pummelling (fists) 
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +2
  Stress: 4
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: 2
  Spells: 1
  Monstrous aspect: Malevolent but inquisitive 
  Magicians are often a solitary breed, and have 
  no need of human contact. They are absorbed in
  the study of their terrible arts, but they do 
  sometimes need helpers and minions. The 
  magic users of the lizardpeople raised hulking 
  apes to be their brutish helpers in their sorcery. 
  These apes overthrew the lizardpeople and 
  returned to their trees, but didn't forget the magic
  they had picked up. Some human mages have 
  started using the apes as helpers again, in 
  foolish imitation of the ancient lizardeen ways. 
  Minotaur
  Size: slightly larger than human 
  Attack: +2 – thrusting (horns)
  Ranged Attack: N/A
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  Defence: +2 – as armour 
  Stress: 4
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: +2 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Stealthy Brutes found in 
  Labyrinths. 
  This is a creature with the head and tail of a bull 
  on the body of a man. They devour humanoids 
  for sustenance, and construct gigantic labyrinths 
  as strongholds. Each minotaur labyrinth can be 
  home to hundreds, or even thousands of these 
  creatures. 
   
  Orcs 
  Size: human 
  Attack: +2 – as weapon
  Ranged Attack: +1 – as weapon 
  Defence: +2 – as weapon 
  Stress: 2
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Strength Comes from 
  Numbers 
  Orcs are very human looking, though their skin is
  much paler and often has livid red scars from 
  their many battles for rank and dominance. They 
  also have smaller eyes, with strange colourless 
  grey irises. Their lips are thin, making their 
  mouths resemble an ugly red slit across the front
  of their faces. Their mouths are also very big, 
  more like an animal's, with a collection of 
  impressive teeth and tusks. 
  There are a few characteristics of orc society 
  that set it apart. The orcs see themselves more 
  as an army than a society, and their rulers - often
  liches or baleful titans - take advantage of this to 
  more easily organise and control them. 
  Although rank and file orcs are poorly equipped 
  and badly trained, their leaders, heroes and 
  champions are a different matter altogether. 
  They are formidable opponents who rival the 
  very best dwarf warriors for melee abilities, are 
  as swift as humans, as stealthy as halflings and 
  as accurate with the bow as elves. 
  Their equipment is the best and they have the 
  mental discipline to use any magic item, weapon
  or armour. (They should be created as NPCs) 
  Their only real disadvantage is that they are 
  opportunistic, untrustworthy and evil. 
  Leaders who rely on orcs for the majority of their 
  forces must liberally distribute more trusted 
  lieutenants to make sure that their army does not
  quickly destroy itself through, looting, corruption, 
  dereliction of duty and bloody infighting between 
  the various orc nationalities. 
  Razor Back Ogre 
  Size: bear 
  Attack: +3 – slashing and crushing (razor spine)
  or as weapon 
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +0 – as armour 
  Stress: 4
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Surprisingly Agile for such a
  Huge Brute 
  This ogre has a large head, abundant hair and 
  beard, a voracious appetite, and a strong body. 
  The razor back is a particularly nasty type, with a
  row of sharp plates protruding from its spine. 
  With its curved spine, round fat body, and small 
  bandy legs, the ogre is well designed to roll over 
  small opponents, slashing and cutting them at 
  the same time. 
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  Skeleton
  Size: human 
  Attack: +0 – as weapon 
  Ranged Attack: +0 – as weapon 
  Defence: +0 – as armour 
  Stress: 1
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Automaton Warriors 
  These are the remains of humanoids, 
  reanimated as undead monsters. The skeletons 
  do not usually spontaneously reanimate, 
  although that is not impossible, and instead 
  require a lich to force them back into the 
  pretence of living. They have usually been so 
  long dead that they retain little or no free will, 
  and can be easily ordered around by their 
  master. 
  Warg
  Size: warhorse 
  Attack: +3 – slashing and thrusting (bite) or as 
  weapon 
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +0  
  Stress: 3
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: +2 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Stealthy and Sly 
  These are giant wolves, about the size of a 
  warhorse. They are used as mounts by many 
  evil warriors and champions. These creatures 
  are so debased and demonic that they will allow 
  themselves even to be ridden by the undead, 
  making them a favourite of liches.  
  Zombie
  Size: human 
  Attack: +0 – slashing (bite)
  Ranged Attack: N/A
  Defence: +0
  Stress: 1
  Senses: N/A 
  Stealth: N/A 
  Poison: N/A
  Immunity: N/A
  Magic: N/A
  Spells: N/A
  Monstrous aspect: Hungry for Brains 
  These are often encountered in large numbers, 
  and have an instinct to swarm, victims are at -1 
  to combat rolls per swarming zombie within 2m 
  of them, from crowding stench etc.
  These are very similar to skeletons, but have 
  more of a memory of their lives, and, for the 
  necromancer who created them, that makes 
  them just a little harder to control. 
  Treasure
  Magic Items
  Magic items add wonder to a fantasy 
  role-playing game. They keep things fresh and 
  are a great reward for players who have 
  overcome great odds. 
  The strange and secret places of Hyrope are 
  littered with artefacts that are dangerous, 
  super-powerful or sometimes just impossible to 
  understand. Some of these items, either are 
  weapons, or can be used that way. 
  Armour
  Protection in combat has long been a goal of 
  those exposed to this danger, and some of them 
  are able to bring the powers of magic to bear on 
  the problem. The following are items, or full suits 
  of magical armour, created by wizards and 
  dwarven smiths for the mighty heroes of old.
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  Arrow Turning Armour
  This plate armour gives a +10 bonus to defence, 
  but only against ranged weapons. Arrows, 
  daggers and javelins can be seen to turn 
  magically in the air as the approach the wearer, 
  and sometimes this effect is enough to make the 
  missiles miss their target entirely.
  Dragon Plate
  This plate is made of dragon scales and is totally
  silent. It is much easier to be stealthy in than 
  normal plate, or even chain. 
  Ghost Armour
  This powerful mail armour allows the wearer to 
  become ghost-like, and float through walls and 
  other obstacles. The wearer moves slowly in this
  state and can not attack opponents. They are 
  also immune to non-magical weapons in this 
  state.
  Hidden Armour
  This armour – it could be brigandine, mail, or 
  plate – looks like normal clothing of the wearers 
  choice. It can appear to be the most delicate 
  lace garments, or a beggars rotting rags. 
  Scorpion Armour
  This suit of plate has a pointed tail. The wearer 
  gets an extra tail attack, with a skill level of 90. 
  This armour is bound to excite mistrust and 
  negative reactions in NPCs, as the tail is difficult 
  to hide, and has a demonic look to it.
  Weapons
  One of the most popular uses of magic is, 
  unfortunately, to cause damage and injury. 
  Magical weapons are just that much better at 
  intimidating and causing injury to enemies. 
  Autonomous Blade
  Many bladed weapons, such as long swords and
  rapiers, can be found as magical autonomous 
  blades. The wielder must fight an exchange with 
  the intended target. The wielder can then let go 
  of the blade and it will continue to fight with the 
  same skill as the wielder until the target is taken 
  out, or the blade itself is taken out, by being 
  disarmed. 
  If the blade is taken out, it is slapped to the 
  ground, and may then be picked up and used by 
  anyone. It will once again become autonomous 
  after a round.
  If the target is taken out, the blade will return to 
  its scabbard, where it can be drawn and used 
  again.
  Far Shot
  This magical property can only be added to a 
  ranged weapon. A weapon of far shooting has 
  double the range of a comparable weapon and a
  +1 magic bonus to hit. 
  Fire Tongue
  If the wielder desires, a fire tongue weapon 
  bursts into flame. The fire does not harm the 
  wielder. The effect remains until another 
  command is given. The fire gives the weapon a 
  +1 magical bonus and can be used to create fire 
  based advantages. 
  Ice Brand
  This magical blade is incredibly cold, giving the 
  weapon +1 to attack, and has the Frozen Corpse
  aspect.
  Severely Venomous Sword 
  This magical blade is incredibly venomous, 
  giving the weapon +1 to attack, and an extra 
  poison attack per round, potency 6.
  Sword of Fierce Wounding 
  This magical blade is incredibly sharp, giving the
  weapon +1 to attack, and an extra slashing 
  attack.
  Sword of Stern Smiting 
  This magical blade hits with an incredible impact,
  giving the weapon +1 to attack, and an extra 
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  pummelling attack.
  Sword of Cleaving
  This magical blade is vorpal, giving the weapon 
  +1 to attack, and an extra slashing attack.
  Returning
  A returning weapon flies back to the creature 
  that owns it, immediately after their attack. It  is 
  therefore ready to use again in the very next 
  exchange. Returning javelins are often 
  encountered, and every now and then even 
  returning throwing daggers. 
  Searching
  The weapon, usually a ranged weapon, 
  searches out its target, negating any negative 
  modifiers to the roll that would otherwise apply, 
  such as from concealment and cover. 
  Speedy Strikes
  The wielder of a speed weapon may make one 
  extra attack with it. 
  Rune Weapon
  A weapon with a spell stored in it. Any spell can 
  be stored, and is activated when the weapon 
  strikes either its target, or some other object. 
  Poison Barb
  This +1 dagger has the ability to inject poison 
  into its victim. Only one type of poison is 
  available, chosen from the poison section. 
  Other Magic Items 
  Belt of Flying
  A large metal belt that hums slightly when in 
  operation. It allows the user to fly, the direction 
  and speed is determined by mental command. 
  The user is kept upright, feels no wind at speed, 
  and can swing their arms in combat as though 
  firmly planted on the ground. 
  Boots of Running 
  The character wearing these boots can run as 
  fast as a horse, with the stamina of a horse. 
  Cloak of Shadows
  Closing this cloak around the wearer gives them 
  a +10 to hide rolls, due to the excellent 
  camouflage it provides in dimly lit conditions. It is
  useless if there are no shadows nearby to take 
  advantage of though, for example, at noon in the
  open desert. 
  Dragon Helm 
  These are available in Bronze and Silver. They 
  give the wearer a breath weapon attack that can 
  be used three times per day. The silver helmet 
  gives the same breath weapon as a fell dragon, 
  and the bronze helmet gives the same breath 
  weapon as the bronze dragon. 
  Helmet of Mind Control 
  This device allows the user to dominate any one 
  creature's mind. The wearer must best the target
  in a contest of their Strength of Will. If they win, 
  the target is mentally dominated by the user, 
  forced to do their bidding.
  Ring of Shivaraj 
  Two extra ghostly arms grow from the wearer's 
  torso, giving an extra attack each.
  The Skeleton Key 
  A key that can open any lock.
  Stave of Splitting 
  When this stave is struck against a wall, no roll is
  required for this, the wall splits in two. This 
  creates a gap big enough for one size 4 creature
  at a time(such as a human) to squeeze through. 
  The gap does not reseal and there is a small 
  chance that real structural damage is done.
  Undead Masters Helm
  This is a helmet decorated with skulls, and gives 
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  the wearer power over undead creatures. 
  Zombies and Skeletons do not get a saving roll 
  to avoid its effects, but other undead do. The 
  wearer pits their best mental skill or 
  characteristic against that of the undead target. 
  Staves and Wands
  Staves are the traditional weapons of magicians.
  Many weapons masters rate the stave as the 
  supreme weapon, and a quarter staff is the first 
  weapon taught to students of the martial arts 
  across Hyrope. 
  The quarter staff has been superseded in 
  physical combat by more modern and versatile 
  weapons such as the longsword and war 
  hammer, but the trusty staff will never go out of 
  fashion entirely. Especially ancient and magical 
  examples like these. 
  All these magic items can also be found as 
  wands, which are more concealable and easier 
  to use in confined spaces. 
  Control Undead
  The wielder can bend undead to their will, with 
  almost irresistible power (+80). The undead get 
  a roll to avoid this effect based on their strength 
  of will.
  Hurting Bolt Stave
  A loud blast of energy projects a little fire ball at 
  the target when the stave, or wand, is 
  commanded to attack the enemy.
   
  Invisible Bolt Stave
  The user simply points, and mentally commands 
  the stave, or wand to attack their opponent, and 
  if their aim was good, using their combat skill, 
  this device will magically make a small 
  cauterised hole appear in their enemies. It is 
  invisible and silent, and so can be used without 
  giving away the user's position. There is no 
  difference in power between a stave or wand, 
  but a wand is easier to use in confined spaces. 
  Thunderbolts
  This staff strikes with the power, and frightening 
  noise, of a thunderbolt. It is +10 and forces less 
  motivated opponents to roll against the wielders 
  weapon skill with their strength of will, or similar, 
  to avoid running away. It also attracts a lot of 
  attention, from a wide radius, some of it 
  undoubtedly unwanted. 
  Viper
  If thrown to the ground this staff grows to 
  become a giant viper, in a single round. It is 
  ready to attack in the very next round.
  POTIONS
  A potion is a magic liquid that has an instant 
  effect upon the drinker.
  If there is no label on the bottle, or no linguist 
  capable of reading the label, then there is no real
  way to know what the effect of the potion will be. 
  Some examples of potions that might be found 
  among the effects of a powerful mage are;
  Healing Potion
  If the character is dead, but still warm, they will 
  come back to life when this potion is poured into 
  their mouths. A live character drinking the potion 
  is healed of all wounds injuries and other 
  damage, and they feel revitalised too. 
  Strength Potion
  This gives the drinker a Mighty . 
  RINGS
  Rings bestow magical powers upon their 
  wearers. Some are described below.
  Elemental Command
  An elemental lives in this ring and can be called 
  forth at the wearers whim, a maximum of once 
  per day. 
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  Horn-Headed Ring 
  This ring induces two horns to grow on the 
  wearers head, giving an extra clubbing attack, at
  the same level as the wearers combat skill.
  Invisibility
  This ring gives the character the power of 
  invisibility. They may still be given away by such 
  things as a shadow in strong sunlight and an 
  outline in the rain. 
  Scrolls and Books
  These are magicians recipe books, their study 
  notes, observations and diaries. They are 
  invaluable to another magic user. However to be 
  useful the magic user must be able to 
  1 – read the language the writer used. This 
  requires an intelligence roll against the obscurity 
  of the language.
  2 – They must be able to break any codes that 
  were employed, (which requires a roll against 
  the complexity of the code) and 
  3 – then understand the arcane secrets being 
  written about. (this requires a roll against the 
  intelligence of the magic user writing the scroll)
  4 – The mage can then learn the new spell, 
  which takes 1d6 days. Alternatively the spell can
  be cast from the page, which shrivels and 
  scorches the page, making the spell unreadable.
  Artefacts 
  Artefacts are devices that have awesome power.
  Visually, artefacts are rarely subtle – they are 
  covered in arcane runes and mystical carvings, 
  and their use is definitely likely to raise 
  eyebrows. 
  Artefacts often have intelligence, alignment, and 
  other aspects that give them a will and life of 
  their own. 
  The Dreaming Sword
  When it injures an opponent it forces them to roll
  to avoid being drawn into its dream world. If the 
  victim fails their roll, they disappear from this 
  world, to become one of the sword's playthings 
  in its private prison dimension.
  It is possible, occasionally, for beings to escape 
  this dimension. They magically reappear near 
  the sword, disorientated, and often driven half 
  mad.  
  The sword is a malevolent presence, but 
  ingratiates itself with its wielder. It can 
  communicate telepathically with those within a 
  five foot radius. It only whispers, never shouts. 
  Cursed Items
  Not all magic items are always a boon for their 
  finder. Some are a curse.
  Arrow Attraction
  The owner of this item becomes inexplicably 
  attractive to enemy archers, and missile weapon 
  users of all types. 
  Dancing
  A dancing character becomes absorbed in the 
  dance, and can do nothing else. 
  Poisoned
  The handle of this magic item turns into a snake 
  and administers a poisoned bite. 
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/FATE (fudge) [multi]/Realms-of-FATE.pdf