Rolling
one skill die vs TN · meet or beat · no opposed rollsTarget numbers
How bad is a miss
Breaks
Max on the die → step up (), roll the new die, add, repeat. The die stays stepped up. d20 is the ceiling: a 20 counts, no step.
Advantage / Disadvantage
Roll twice, keep higher / lower. Both cancel. Never stacks. Breaks apply to the kept die.
Set Form
Calm and unhurried: take half the die, no roll. . No adv/dis. GM calls when it is too hot. 1 Composure forces it anyway.
Grit
Fail → +1 Grit (cap , start 0). Spend 1:1 after seeing the result. Only a natural max breaks; Grit never does.
Skills
Start: seven at d4, one d6, one d8. The dice choose which skills climb.
Harm
progressive · levels replaceIn a fight, harm follows the miss
Tracks
Fight Exchange
one exchange can be the whole fight- GM: who has position, who is exposed, armed, watching.
- Each says what they want: hurt, humiliate, escape, protect, disarm, endure.
- Each makes one skill roll vs a TN the GM sets.
- GM reads all results together, describes, updates.
- Ends on concession, Harmed out (Hollowed + fail), or the fiction.
Who goes first
Higher Face → higher Composure → GM on position. Spend 1 Composure to go first regardless.
A hit can be
Knockout, warning, pin, public lesson, disarm, shove through a door, the moment they know they lost.
Social Conflict
same exchange · usually BearingDemands, accusations, apologies, formal challenges, refusing an order, claiming a debt, exposing a lie, asking mercy. Stakes: Face, heat, access, alliance, The Cut. Never Harm.
How bad is a social miss
Face 0 mid-scene: finished in that scene. They can stay, but they have no leverage left.
Clans
who wants whatTechniques
click a nameObligations & Heat
Calling in always works, no roll. Heat +1. Already Burning → the bond may break.
Fail one: lose Face, heat up, new enemy, dojo shamed, The Cut, a painful choice later.
Honor at real cost: recover Face, cool it, deepen it, Name if significant.
Telegraph heat changes openly. Players should always see a burn coming.
The Cut · Sunset Walk · Dojo
The Cut
Witnessed, formal severance. −1 Face, that bond's help is gone, shared obligations poisoned, Name may be shaken (no Name spends, disadvantage when identity is at stake).
Sunset Walk
The player's choice, never a punishment. One declaration, one decisive act, one ending scene.
The Dojo
Public credit → Face. Public shame → lose Face and the dojo obligation heats.