I added quite a lot to the Steam Thieves and the Soaring City ashcan this week. I’m currently working on the Actions & Attributes section of the SRD, this has forced me to further refine my original actions for this game.
Initially I had Deft, Swift and Nerve as our in-flight actions. However, I’ve changed those (mostly in name/tone) and gone with Endure, Thrust and Weave. And I’ve collected those three under the attribute Piloting.
The game now has four attributes, each with three different actions. The original Blades has three attributes, each with four different actions. This is going to reduce the maximum amount you can have as an attribute rating in my game from 4 to 3. Not sure how that will affect what’s to come, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it (one of my mantras on this project).
Here are the new sections:
Actions & Attributes:
Action Ratings
Player characters attempt to overcome obstacles with actions. The following actions may be attempted during any situation.
Command
Consort
Finesse
Skirmish
Study
Survey
Sway
Tinker
Wreck
When a character is in flight, three additional actions become available.
Endure
Thrust
Weave
Each action has a rating (from zero to 4) that tells you how many dice to roll when you perform that action. Action ratings don’t just represent skill or training—you’re free to describe how your character performs that action based on the type of person they are.
You choose which action to perform to overcome an obstacle, by describing what your character does. Actions that are poorly suited to the situation may be less effective and may put the character in more danger, but they can still be attempted. Usually, when you perform an action, you’ll make an action roll to see how it turns out.
Action Roll
You make an action roll when your character does something potentially dangerous or troublesome. The possible results of the action roll depend on your character’s position. There are three positions: controlled, risky, and desperate. If you’re in a controlled position, the possible consequences are less serious. If you’re in a desperate position, the consequences can be severe. If you’re somewhere in between, it’s risky—usually considered the “default” position for most actions.
If there’s no danger or trouble at hand, you don’t make an action roll. You might make a fortune roll or a downtime roll or the Operator will simply say yes—and you accomplish your goal.
Attribute Ratings
There are four attributes in the game system that the player characters use to resist bad consequences: Insight, Piloting, Prowess, and Resolve. Each attribute has a rating (from zero to 3) that tells you how many dice to roll when you use that attribute.
The rating for each attribute is equal to the number of dots in the first column under that attribute. The more well-rounded your character is with a particular set of actions, the better their attribute rating.
Resistance Rolls
Each attribute resists a different type of danger. If you crash into a building, for example, you resist physical harm with your Prowess rating. Resistance rolls always succeed—you diminish or deflect the bad result—but the better your roll, the less stress it costs to reduce or avoid the danger.
When the enemy has a big advantage, you’ll need to make a resistance roll before you can take your own action. For example, when you duel the master sword-fighter, she disarms you before you can strike. You need to make a resistance roll to keep hold of your blade if you want to attack her. Or perhaps you face a powerful ghost and attempt to Attune with it to control its actions. But before you can make your own roll, you must resist possession from the spirit.
The Operator judges the threat level of the enemies and uses these “preemptive” resistance rolls as needed to reflect the capabilities of especially dangerous foes.