When you defend and maneuver, you’re protecting yourself or others, focusing on the environment and advantages you can build or disadvantages you can inflict.
You change your position, maybe try to escape, maybe get to higher ground.
You’re not attacking directly, but you do your best to block enemy blows.
This approach isn’t as aggressive as advance and attack, but it isn’t as standoffish as evade and observe. It’s a solid, resistant, tactical approach.
When you advance and attack, you move into direct battle with your foes, sticking to them aggressively, sending countless blows their way.
This is a very aggressive approach, not standing back and letting your foe come to you but instead coming at them, hard.
You might also expend energy attacking the environment to reshape it to your advantage in some way, but it’s still framed by aggression, advancement, forward-motion—you don’t carefully change the terrain, you break it with force!
When you evade and observe, you keep your distance, not running away from your foe but avoiding letting them get close enough to really land any major hits.
You dance and dodge, avoiding more than blocking, trying to take in a better sense of your foe and your environment.
Instead of intensely focusing on your enemies, you observe the situation and possibly formulate a better strategy.
Note that when you choose evade and observe as your approach, you immediately clear 1-fatigue.If you don’t have any fatigue marked, you don’t get this benefit.
This represents how you fundamentally take a step back, calm yourself a bit, and refocus every time you choose this approach.
Mark 1-fatigue to ready yourself or your environment, assigning or clearing a fictionally appropriate status of nearby characters or yourself.
Steel yourself for their blows.
Each time a foe inflicts fatigue, a condition, or shifts your balance in this exchange, inflict 1-fatigue on that foe.
Move to a new location.
Engage/disengage with a foe, overcome a negative status or danger, establish an advantageous position, or escape the scene.
Any foe engaged with you can mark 1-fatigue to block this technique.
Strike a foe in reach, forcing them to mark 2-fatigue, mark a condition, or shift their balance away from center, their choice.
Mark 1-fatigue to instead choose to hammer them with your blows, forcing them to mark 2-fatigue, or strike where they are weak, inflicting a condition.
Impress or intimidate a foe.
Choose an approach—your foe cannot choose to use that approach in the next exchange.
Mark 1-fatigue to destroy or destabilize something in the environment—possibly inflicting or overcoming a fictionally appropriate positive or negative status.
Mark 1-fatigue to challenge an engaged foe’s balance.
Ask what their principle is, they must answer honestly.
If you already know their principle, instead shift their balance away from center by questioning or challenging their beliefs or perspective.
Aid or impede a nearby character, inflicting an appropriate status.
Recenter yourself amidst the fray.
Shift your balance toward one of your principles, the next time you live up to that principle, do not mark fatigue.
When you assess a situation, roll with Creativity. On a 7–9, ask one question. On a 10+, ask two. Take +1 ongoing when acting on the answers.
• What here can I use to _________?
• Who or what is the biggest threat?
• What should I be on the lookout for?
• What’s my best way out/in/through?
• Who or what is in the greatest danger?
When you rely on your skills and training to overcome an obstacle, gain new insight, or perform a familiar custom, roll with Focus. On a hit, you do it. On a 7–9, you do it imperfectly— the GM tells you how your approach might lead to unexpected consequences
When you try to honestly guide and comfort another person, roll with Harmony. On a hit, they choose one:
• They embrace your guidance and comfort. They may clear a condition or 2-fatigue, and you may ask one question
When you plead with an NPC who cares what you think for help, support, or action, roll with Harmony.
On a 7–9, they need something more—evidence that this is the right course, guidance in making the right choices, or resources to aid them—before they act
When you push your luck in a risky situation, say what you want to do and roll with Passion.
On a hit, you do it, but it costs you to scrape by, the GM tells you what it costs you.
On a 10+, your boldness pays off despite the cost
When you trick an NPC, roll with Creativity. On a hit, they fall for it and do what you want for the moment.
On a 7–9, pick one.
On a 10+, pick two.
• They stumble
When you take appropriate action to help a companion, mark 1-fatigue to give them a +1 to their roll (after the roll).
You cannot help ina combat exchange in this way.
When you intimidate an NPC into backing off or giving in, roll with Passion.
On a hit, they choose one.
On a 10+, first, you pick one they cannot choose.
• They run to escape or get backup.
• They back down but keep watch.
• They give in with a few stipulations.
• They attack you, but off-balance