Power is both the most unreal and the most real of things. Power does not exist unless people believe it does. Power does not exist unless people continue to give their hearts and souls to the institutions that bring power into being. Power does not exist unless people agree to act in certain ways, and think in certain ways, and love in certain ways. Power does not exist without all of these things, as a fire does not exist without fuel and the tending of a careful hand. Power is a flame without a spark, but people cannot help but become the spark, over and over again. The royal cults know this. They sing hymns to an unreal flame and beckon on the spark. They tell stories to ignite passions and fears and they insist that the land is not burning down. Many of the nobles know this. To be noble means to be warmed by the flame of power. They are the excuse, the justification for the flame, the example that the royal cults can point to and say, “Look there! See! The fire comforts it does not burn!” Many of the commonfolk do not know the secrets of power. Their bodies are the wood beneath the flames and the ash left in its wake. Smoke and pain clouds the minds of those who burn, so that they cannot see the source of their suffering. They invent stories, stories of something other than fire, stories to cool their agony and protect their flesh. Their ignorance is part of their pain. Their fantasies are part of the flame.
The vaishineph are in middle, the space between real and unreal. Everyone knows they are there, somewhere, outside the spaces called culture and morality. No one knows how to define them, even as they know them. Are they living or dead? Are they gods or mortal kind? Are they for everything or do they stand for nothing? What lives will they take and which will they preserve? Which demons will they hunt and which will they set free? The vaishineph cannot burn, as the commonfolk do, but they also refuse to seek shelter in the flames, as the nobility does. Wherever the vaishineph go, the flames of power dwindle and the hymns of the royal cults lull. Wherever the vaishineph go, the comfort of the nobility is lessened. Wherever the vaishineph go, the commonfolk remember a bit more of the chilling bitterness that is theirs by right of oppression. Power is a flame, real and unreal. The vaishineph are ice, and they put questions of reality to rest with word and deed. Where the vaishineph go in force, all fires are slain.
Introduction
TWE's mechanics are designed to emerge as naturally as possible from how player's describe their character's intentions and the desired outcomes of their attempted actions. TWE uses one set of language and mechanics, detailed below, for describing and resolving every kind of scene, whether it involves investigation, stealth, social interaction, combat, or anything else that player characters might undertake. TWE does not have separate game mechanics for these different types of actions or for the different types of conflicts that characters might get involved in. There is no "combat system" separate and distinct from other mechanics. Rather, the player's descriptions of their character's intentions and the desired outcomes of their attempted actions will be the formula for every kind of scene and conflict.
Describing Actions
In TWE, the actions that characters undertake are described in terms of their aims and their ends. An action’s aim is the character’s approach to accomplishing a particular goal, including all of the flavor description a player or gamemaster wants to add to make the action’s attempt more exciting. An action’s end is the actual goal itself. An end can also be thought of as the part of the action that is put in jeopardy with a test or save, the part of the action that a failure denies and a success earns, while the aim is the creative movement up to the moment where the action’s outcome is determined.
If a character delivers a rousing speech to bolster the morale of their allies, “delivering a rousing speech” is the aim and “bolstering the morale of their allies” is the end.
If a character dives off a roof to catch hold of a rope, “diving off the roof” is the aim and “catching hold of the rope” is the end.
If character kneels before a lock with pick in hand to open it, “kneeling before the lock with pick in hand” is the aim and “to open it” is the end.
Simple and Contested Actions
An action is considered to be simple if the action’s aim does not directly affect another character in the scene in a way they would oppose. To put it another way, an action is considered to be simple if there is no character whose response to the action’s aim might jeopardize the action’s end. All of the examples listed above are examples of simple actions. Simple actions have normal target numbers assigned by the gamemaster. When a simple action is tested and fails, it fails to earn the end the player originally described for it. When a simple action is tested and succeeds, it succeeds in earning the end the player originally described for it.
An action is considered to be contested if the action’s aim directly affects another character in the scene, who is called the aim’s target. Contested actions are contested precisely because another character’s response to the action’s aim might negate or compromise the action’s intended end. Contested actions tend to have target numbers based on a non-player character’s power number. When a contested action is tested and fails, the target of the aim has a say in how the action fails. In martial and social conflicts, like fights and persuasion attempts, failed contested actions are opportunities for counter attacks chosen by the target. When a contested action is tested and succeeds, the character who succeeded gets to choose a contested end from the list below. The list is general enough that it can be used for most contested actions. In martial and social conflicts, these contested ends are things like combat maneuvers or techniques of manipulation, each with their own strategic benefits and effects.
If a character shoots a razor sharp glare at another in an effort to intimidate them, “shooting a glare” is the aim but the end would need to be determined by a roll. A success could result in the target being forced back, or being forced to obey the character for a time, but a failure might result in the target standing up to the character and reversing the intimidating glare.
If a character dashes forward and thrusts a huge spear at an opponent in an effort to kill them, “thrusting the spear” is the aim but the end would need to be determined by a roll. A success could result in the opponent being wounded or knocked down, but a failure might result in the spear being disarmed or the attacking character struck in return.
If a character attempts to stick to the shadows and sneak past an opponent unnoticed, “sticking to the shadows” is the aim but the end would need to be determined by a roll. A success could result in the opponent being totally unaware of the character's passing, but a failure might result in the opponent noticing the character and raising an alarm or physically confronting the character.
To summarize: Because the aims of simple actions do not involve other characters, the ends of simple actions are described in advance of any test to achieve them. Because the aims of contested actions do involve other characters, the ends of contested actions are only described after any test or save to achieve them, and they are commonly chosen from a list of ends that provide characters with strategic options.
Responsive Aims
When the gamemaster narrates a contested action taken by a non-player character or environmental challenge against a player character, the player makes a save to resolve the action. A successful save results in the player character’s favor. A failed save results in the non-player character’s or environmental challenge's favor. But before the player makes the roll they describe their character’s reaction to the contested action. That is, they describe what their character is doing to resist the action, or evade the action, or outwit the action, or fight back against the action. This description is called a responsive aim. The nature of a player character's responsive aim determines which of the player character’s three lesser attributes is used for the save. Not every lesser attribute might be applicable in every situation. There may be some situations where it makes no sense to try to self-discipline a character’s way out of a situation with honor, or to physically resist with valor, or to use their reflexes with initiative. Nevertheless, whenever possible, a player’s creativity in the description of their responsive aim should play a large role in determining which of their character’s lesser attributes they bring to bear in an attempt to save against a non-player character or environmental challenges’s action.
If a circle of flames threatens to tighten and burn a character alive, the player might describe how their character overcomes their fear and leaps through the flames to save a friend using their honor, or how they ignore their pain and run through the flames to join the fight again using their valor.
If a dire crocodile charges a character, the player might describe how their character rolls to the side to dodge the attack using their initiative, or how they stand their ground and try to deflect the charge with a shield using their valor.
If a rope trap is sprung, threatening to entangle a character and hang them from a tree, the player might describe how their character senses the trap coming and tries to leap out of the way using their initiative.
While simple aims lead to rolls that earn simple ends of a player’s creation, and while contested aims lead to rolls that earn contested ends from the list below, responsive aims do not have their own ends. Responsive aims lead to saves that either earn simple ends of a player’s creation (if it is an environmental challenge acting against the player character) or to saves that earn contested ends from the list below (if it is a non-player character acting against the player character).
Minor and Major Actions
When a player describes any kind of aim; simple, contested, or responsive, they are doing more than just describing a hypothetical approach to an action. A player is also describing a number of a small actions that lead up to, or set the stage for, or put them in the position to, attempt the simple or contested action at hand. These smaller actions are called minor actions. Minor actions are the sorts of things that would not normally require a test or save in order to accomplish, but nevertheless, can have a significant impact on the way scenes in the game play out, especially scenes of martial or social conflict. An aim can incorporate as many minor actions as seem reasonable, and occasionally this text will make references to minor actions and what can be done with them. Preparing a weapon to be used in combat, for example, requires a minor action. Some feats are performed as minor actions. Some of the less powerful Whispers can be performed as minor actions. When these sorts of references appear, it means that these actions can be done, without a roll, as part of the aim of another action, if the player so desires. Major actions, on the other hand, are the kinds of actions that require a roll, and the kinds of actions that minor actions lead up to.
If a character leaps atop a table to strike at an opponent, leaping atop the table is both part of the aim and a minor action. The outcome of the minor action is not in doubt, and happens as the player describes. Only the outcome of the attack, the major action, is in doubt. If the player succeeds in their roll the attack will strike true, but regardless of whether or not they succeed the character will still leap atop the table.
If a character lights a torch and leans it close to an opponent’s face as they intimidate them, lighting the torch is both part of the aim and a minor action. The outcome of the minor action is not in doubt, and happens as the player describes. Only the outcome of the intimidation, the major action, is in doubt. If the player succeeds in their roll the intimidation will cow the opponent, but regardless of whether or not they succeed the character will still light the torch.
If a character kicks a door open and shoots an arrow at a fleeing opponent, kicking open the door is both part of the aim and a minor action. Again, the outcome of the minor action is not in doubt. If the player succeeds in their roll the arrow will hit its target, the major action, but regardless of whether or not they succeed the character will still kick open the door.
It is entirely reasonable for strategically advantageous or dramatically evocative minor actions to add a single point to a character’s action power for the test or save they are making and the major action intended. The leap atop the table describe above, for example, can plausibly be seen as taking the high ground, and the gamemaster might grant an action power benefit to the strike that follows. Lighting the torch and bringing it close to an opponent’s face can plausibly be seen as threatening, and as enhancing an intimidation attempt, and the gamemaster might grant an action power benefit to the intimidation that follows. Kicking open the door however, though probably necessary to get off a clean shot on the fleeing opponent, does not provide the same obvious benefit to the action itself, and the gamemaster might not choose to reward an action power benefit in that case.
Contested Ends
Generally speaking, one of the following four situations applies to the resolution of contested ends. 1) When a test for a contested action is successful, the player chooses one of the contested ends below to apply to target of their contested aim. 2) When a save against a contested action is successful, the player chooses one of the contested ends below to apply to the non-player character who targeted them with a contested aim. 3) When a test for a contested action fails, the gamemaster chooses a contested end to apply to the player character on behalf of the target of the contested aim. 4) When a save against a contested action fails, the gamemaster chooses a contested end to apply to the player character on behalf of the non-player character who targeted them with a contested aim.
Four terms are used in the descriptions of the contested ends below:
Continuous Action: Continuous actions are major actions that persist over time. Things like chasing and entangling are considered continuous actions, as are the casting of some Whispers.
Maneuvering: A maneuver or maneuvering is the ability to physically move around freely with minor or major actions, and in social situations, the ability to pursue, attract, and keep someone’s attention so they can be engaged in conversation. When a character cannot maneuver, they can only take actions against or with characters that are immediately at hand.
Stagger: Staggering stops a target’s continuous action, if they are engaged in one, and represents a sudden and forceful interruption of a conflict.
Threat: Threat is a small amount of damage appropriate to the action and circumstances at hand, representing a glancing or indirect blow, or a quick and indirect statement. By default, threat in martial conflicts is equivalent to an unarmed attack, which is three bashing damage at base, and in social conflicts it is equivalent to three flush damage.
Block
Description: Blocking involves a sudden and dramatic intervention, where the character interposes themselves between a target and the character’s allies, and stands ready to defend their allies from future harm. Physical blocking sees the character advancing on an opponent, bashing, striking, or driving them back to clear space, then positioning themselves to intercept incoming threats. Social blocking sees the character advancing on an opponent with words that demand attention, while shielding nearby allies with their presence and their admonishments.
Mechanics: The target of the block is staggered and threatened, and the blocking character gains a +2AP bonus on all saves until their next action.
Chase
Description: Chasing involves a full speed attempt to maneuver against a target in such a way that they cannot escape their present circumstances. Physical chasing sees the character sprinting across distances and tearing through obstacles to reach and corner a target. Social chasing sees the character moving more purposefully, but inexorably toward a target, all the while using words to forestall the target’s departure and manipulate them into remaining in a conversation.
Mechanics: The target of a chase takes two penetrating flush or bashing damage from fatigue, is unable to maneuver until their next action, and must take their next action against the chasing character at a -2AP penalty. If they are successful, they may use a contested end against the character and then maneuver away. If they fail, and their stamina (for physical chases) or poise (for social chases) is lower than the chasing character, then they cannot maneuver away again for the rest of the scene. If they fail, and their stamina (for physical chases) or poise (for social chases) is higher than the chasing character, then they must take their next action against the chasing character and try again. If the target of a chase successfully maneuvers away, and the chasing character fails to use a chase against the target on their next action, then the target gets away and cannot be chased again for the rest of the scene by that character. Chasing is a continuous action.
Disarm
Description: Disarming involves the use of finesse and precision technique in order to deprive a target of their advantages. Physical disarming sees the character using accuracy and power to strip a target of their weapon, shield, mount, or cover, any boon they have that is not physically attached to them. Social disarming uses subtle forms of manipulation to undermine a target’s script, costume, circle, or any other boon.
Mechanics: The character forces the target to discard one boon. Physical boons of low quality are destroyed, while boons or higher quality can be recovered with a major action, and readied again with another minor action. Other boons are denied to a character until the end of the scene.
Entangle
Description: Entangling involves close and intense sustained action in order to prevent a target from doing anything other than engaging the character right in front of them. Physical entangling sees a character grappling a target, taking them to the ground with sweeps, tackles, or throws, or pinning them to something in the environment, or simply pressing in on them with such ferocity that they can do nothing but fight back. Social entangling can take many forms; insults, leading questions, riddles, or provocative comments, anything that forces a target into a single minded argument with the character.
Mechanics: The target is threatened and entangled. Entangled characters cannot maneuver and are only permitted to take actions against other entangled characters. Failing an action results in being threatened. Succeeding an action allows the character to either continue the entanglement and threaten the other character, or break off the entanglement and maneuver away. Neither offensive nor defensive boons can be used by entangled characters, not even to resist threats. Other characters receive a -3AP penalty when taking actions against entangled characters unless that character is giant in size, and failing results in a 50% chance of threatening the wrong character in the entanglement. Entangling is a continuous action.
Force
Description: Forcing involves compelling a target to undertake actions and maneuvers that they would not normally do under their own volition, even actions that might indirectly harm them and their allies, though pushing cannot get a target to compromise their deep loyalties or duties. Physical Forcing can be an actual push, moving a target off balance and causing them to move a few steps one way or another. Physical forcing could also be a throw or causing a target to let go of something or get stuck on something. Social forcing can take the form of simple orders or requests that a target might not normally abide by. A target might bow, give deference, answer questions honestly, turn a blind eye, move when they should be still, or be still when they should be moving. Anything that can be communicated by a short phrase, takes little time to do, and does not otherwise compromise a character’s deep loyalties and duties.
Mechanics: The target is staggered and compelled to take minor actions or maneuvers at the character’s insistence, keeping in mind the above limitations. A target who is forced cannot be forced again by any characters until the call after their next.
Mechanics: The target is staggered and compelled to take minor actions or maneuvers at the character’s insistence, keeping in mind the above limitations. A target who is forced cannot be forced again by any characters until the call after their next.
Hide
Description: Hiding involves using distraction and clever maneuvering to cause a target to lose awareness of a character and to become susceptible to surprises when the character takes action again. Physical hiding can be as simple as taking cover or using gaps in a target’s field of view to become unnoticed, or using attacks to temporarily blind and disorientate a target. Social hiding is more nuanced, and draws upon social conventions, body language, and tricks of speech to direct a target’s attention elsewhere.
Mechanics: The target becomes incapable of taking actions against the character until one of the target’s allies does, or the character themselves takes an action against the target. Actions taken against targets when a character is hidden from them receive a +3AP bonus and can ignore defensive boons.
Strive
Description: Striving involves bringing a character’s maximum power to bare against a target, toward the end of defeating or overcoming the target in a long term or permanent fashion. Physical striving sees the character using weapons or unarmed attacks to strike, subdue, or kill a target. Social striving sees the character employ shaming, flattery, or otherwise manipulative language to compel the target into doing what the character wants.
Mechanics: The target of a striving end takes damage equal to the character’s readied offensive boon plus any degrees of success on the action taken against them.
Weaken
Description: Weakening involves a substantial reduction in a target’s ability to defend themselves against threats. Physical weakening knocks a target down or off balance, or tears their guard to pieces, or feints to open up some large window of opportunity for their allies to capitalize on. Social weakening distracts or confuses a target in such way that they are unable to respond effectively to manipulation.
Mechanics: All of the character’s nearby allies gain a +2AP bonus when taking actions against a weakened target and the weakened target cannot maneuver until the weakened target's next action.
Non-player Characters in Action
NPC mobs on the other hand are the background characters, cannon fodder, and anonymous crowds in scenes. These characters are of lesser importance to the ongoing narrative, serving their purpose by dressing up scenes, providing information to players, or being minor to moderate obstacles for the player characters to overcome. NPC mobs can be interesting and/or dangerous, especially when they accompany NPCs as guards and entourages, but their individual significance is relatively minor. NPC mobs are grouped together in units of two to six members, and these units share two face tiers between all of them, and one body tier for each member of the unit.
For example, an NPC mob of two courtiers would have two face tiers and two body tiers, while an NPC mob of six soldiers would have two face tiers and six body tiers. NPC mobs act as a single unit when called, taking one action regardless of the number of members in the unit and NPC mobs are also targetted as a single unit by other characters. NPC mobs have one power number for the mob, but when they initiate actions where their numbers would give them an advantage, they receive a +1 action power bonus per member of their group. So if that NPC mob of six soldiers attacked a player character, and they normally had a power number of six, their attack would have a total power number of twelve that the player character would need to save against. However, if the player character attacked the six soldiers, they would attack them all together and the soldiers would only have a power number of six that the player character would need to test against.
NPC mobs do not gain the conventional bonuses or penalties for their health tiers. If an NPC mob loses both of its face tiers, then the character dealing the damage chooses one of the four Fs to apply to the NPC mob, and the effect applies to each member of the mob. If an NPC mob loses a health tier, then one of its members becomes incapacitated somehow, likely knocked out, killed, or forced to flee. In that case, with one less health tier, they also gain one less bonus action power when they initiate actions. When an NPC mob loses all of its health tiers, the entire group is knocked out, killed, or forced to flee.
Disposition and Persuasion
TWE draws a distinction between simple conversation and more in depth persuasion, and the line between them is marked by disposition. Conversation is any exchange between characters, including requests or changes of belief, which falls entirely within the realm of the characters' dispositions, whereas persuasion is any exchange between characters where the requests or changes of belief exceed what the characters' normal disposition would allow. To put it another way, a disposition determines how much the player characters can get out of a non-player character for free, or without effort. Asking for more than that, be it resources or information or deeds or whatever else, requires either costs to the players characters, or persuasion and potential social conflict, with all the accompanying tests and saves that might involve.
The four dispositions are intimacy, utility, uncertainty, and hostility. A disposition is a property of non-player characters towards a player character. Player characters do not have set dispositions towards non-player characters or towards one another and may always choose how to interact with non-player characters.
The four dispositions are intimacy, utility, uncertainty, and hostility. A disposition is a property of non-player characters towards a player character. Player characters do not have set dispositions towards non-player characters or towards one another and may always choose how to interact with non-player characters.
Intimacy
The intimacy disposition is for friendly characters who would be willing to sacrifice much of their resources and beliefs for another. Intimacy characterizes deep and abiding relationships, the kind that one individual is likely to only have a few of. Characters with the intimacy disposition will do anything they can for the player characters that does not violate their highest values and persuasion rolls are never necessary for them.
Utility
The utility disposition is the default disposition for conventional allies, contacts, merchants, and other associates. Utility characterizes relationships of potential mutual advantage, without much in the way of assumptions of shared past experiences. Characters with a utility disposition will only do things or believe things for another if they can see some benefit in doing do, or if they are incentivized to do so with resources or some other kind of transaction for their services. Utility characters need to be persuaded to reduce the cost of their incentive, or to eliminate it entirely, otherwise interactions with them can be conversations.
Uncertainty
The uncertainty disposition is the default disposition for most characters in the world of TWE, especially those who otherwise have no reason to trust or have an interest in the player characters. Uncertainty characterizes relationships of skepticism, veiled hostility, simmering tension, and avoidance. Characters with an uncertainty disposition will not do or believe anything for the player characters through conversation alone, though they may be patient enough to listen. Persuasion is required to move them, often including additional incentives, threats, or compelling reasons.
Hostility
The hostility disposition is the default disposition for enemies and other antagonistic characters. Hostility characterizes relationships of heated tension and outright violence. Characters with the hostility disposition need to be persuaded to do anything other than come into conflict with the player characters and will not respond to mere conversation at all.
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