Dice Rolling & Actions

Beyond the Basic Roll, there are several special circumstances and advanced roll types that can change the stakes of an action.

Rolling Zero Dice

If you have no relevant Tags in play for an action you want to attempt, you roll zero dice. This automatically generates 0 Power. Since most actions require at least 1 Power to succeed, this usually means you fail. Sometimes, you simply can't do the thing you want to do without first changing your situation (and your active cards).

The Dice Cap

Normally, you can roll a maximum of 6 dice on any single action. This cap increases when you have Evolved cards in play:

  • Base cards only: 6 dice maximum
  • Super card in play: 7 dice maximum
  • Ultra card in play: 8 dice maximum
  • Ascended card in play: 9 dice maximum

The dice cap is also raised during Team Attacks: add +1 to the cap for each participant beyond the first, up to a maximum of +3. (So a Team Attack with 4 participants using only Base cards could roll up to 9 dice.)

Advanced Roll Types

These special roll types allow you to change the stakes, pushing for greater rewards at the cost of greater risk.

Dare Rolls

When you attempt an action with a difficulty higher than 1 Power, you can choose to make it a Dare Roll—pushing yourself beyond your limits for a chance at greater reward. In a Dare Roll, you only gain Power on results of 6 or higher (instead of 5+). The risk is greater, but if you succeed, you gain a Cool Point; if you fail, you gain a Trouble Point.

Overclocked Rolls

By spending a Cool Point or a Trouble Point, you can Overclock any roll. Your final Power is doubled, but if at least half your dice show results under 5, all Tags involved in the roll Break. It's a high-risk, high-reward gambit.

Overpowered Rolls

Some Upgrades or Inherits mark specific actions as Overpowered. When you have access to an Overpowered action, you can spend a Positive Token to make the dice explode. Every 1 and every 8 you roll adds another die to the pool (up to a max of 12). This can lead to massive success or spectacular failure.

Spending Power: Action Templates

The Power you generate from a roll is spent to create fictional effects. The Action Templates provide a guide for how to do this. They are flexible frameworks, not rigid rules.

  • Attack: Harm your enemy. Defeat them. Inflict one dot of Hindering Meter (damage in any shape or form) on your enemy per Power spent.
  • Sway: Compel your enemy. Convince them. Inflict one dot of Neutral Meter that reflects the nature of what you're trying to compel the enemy into, per Power spent.
  • Setback: Hinder your enemy. Sabotage them. Inflict one dot of Hindering Meter that represents a way you're making your enemy's life more difficult, per Power spent.
  • Debuff: Weaken your enemy. Wear them out. Remove one dot of Empowering Meter that your enemy holds as you dismantle their strengths, per Power spent.
  • Buff: Empower your ally. Elevate them. Bestow yourself or an ally with an Empowering Meter that reflects your capacity to help and elevate others. One dot per Power spent.
  • Generate: Create an asset. Find it. Produce an Item Meter or Scene Meter representing an item or creature that you created, summoned, found, or whatever way you managed to get ahold of it. One dot per Power spent.
  • Heal: Heal an ally. Tend to them. Remove one dot of Hindering Meter that is hurting or debilitating yourself or an ally, per Power spent.
  • Mitigate: Defend an ally. Protect them. Avoid one dot of Hindering Meter that is going to be inflicted upon you by an attack, per Power spent. Special: You can always Mitigate as a response to an incoming negative effect—whether it's an attack, a debuff, or even an insult—even if it's not your turn.
  • Seek: Find the truth. Look for it. Ask one question about the subject of your investigations, or obtain one piece of information, per Power spent. Special: Seek is intended to make investigations feel rewarding. More Power means more answers, more clarity, more understanding of what's really going on.
  • Extra: For when the rules don't cut it... Just make stuff up with your Facilitator. The templates above cover most situations, but creativity shouldn't be constrained. If you want to do something that doesn't fit neatly into a category, work with the table to figure out what it costs and what it does.