Encounter
When a check or a complication just doesn't offer enough detail or drama for a pivotal conflict, it's time for an encounter. An encounter is played in a map zone made up out of nine tiles to allow for tactical movement and positioning. Time is broken down into rounds, and during each round every character present will receive a turn and be allowed to act.
Exchange
Just like a complication, an encounter uses reflex and is run in exchanges of 5 rounds. After each exchange conditions may change and you may want to switch to a complication or just a check to resolve any other details. Any applicable reinforcements usually arrive between exchanges as well.
Turn
Each round, on your reflex, you get your turn. During your turn you reset your guard, you gain a snap and an action, and resolve any ongoing states affecting you like bleeding or falling. You can do these things in any order you choose, so you might use your action to try to grab a ledge before resolving your falling state. Anything that is in effect until your next turn counts as a state to resolve, and regardless of the order you choose you can't do something that conflicts with a current state. So for example if you are down it specifies that you will lose your next action, so you can't use your action for anything else until your resolve the down state.
Guard
Your guard is a special defense you get once each turn to contest any opponent's check against you. You can wait to see the result of the opponent's check before you choose to use your guard. Once you use your guard it is gone until it resets on your next turn. You may have defenses other than your guard, and if so you may use both a defense and your guard to contest the same check. You may use your guard after seeing the result of the defense, and your guard cooperates with the defense check. However, you must use a different type of check for each, so if you parry with your defense you must dodge with your guard. In addition, there are special defensive options only available when used with a guard, rather than with a standard defense:
- Counter: A special parry that lets you to attack in place of diverting the attack.
- Dive: A special dodge that lets you move an area or more.
- Retort: A special insight that cooperates with other defenders.
Snap
A snap is a very quick act that you may take once each turn. Your snap may be executed before or directly after your full action. Abilities may add new options for your snap. If you do not use your snap it is simply lost when your turn ends. You may give up your action to take a second snap.
- Creep: While hidden, make a sneak check or lose 1 decoy.
- Crouch: Use when adjacent to cover. Until your next turn you gain a bonus (+2) to dodge attacks the cover applies to.
- Distract: Check perform as a social attack. If you succeed your target gains interference.
- Fend: You gain an extra parry defense until your next turn.
- Equip: Change items to Equipped or Stored.
- Hustle: Make a move check to maneuver extra areas equal to half your speed (rounding down), minimum 1 if you used your action to maneuver.
- Look: You eliminate a decoy or discover details if you succeed at a study check. A decoy's owner may contest with sneak.
- Order: Control the actions of followers.
- Prepare: Gain a bonus (+2) on your next check or until your next turn.
- Quip: You gain an extra retort defense until your next turn.
Action
Your action is what you spend most of your time doing on your turn. Abilities or the encounter may add new options for your action.
- Attack: Hack, aim, or taunt a target. Roll damage if you succeed.
- Convince. Negotiate to change a the opinion of a target with no sway or grit.
- Defend: Gain an extra guard and a defense against any check that targets you until your next turn.
- Hide: Sneak to become hidden, placing 2 decoys in adjacent areas.
- Maneuver: Move your speed in areas, steer a vehicle, or ride a creature.
- Recover: Eliminate the down state.
- Recruit: Temporarily assume command of denizens.
- Screen: Abort to defend yourself. See below.
Defense
A defense contests an opponent's check against you. You may declare your defense (and what type) after seeing the opponent's result. If you use a defend action or screen you may use one defense against each check that targets you. Otherwise your guard may be used as a single defense.
- Dodge: You check move to contest an attack. You can try to dodge any attacks that aren't surprise or social, but still suffer a penalty (-2) if the attack is from behind your flank.
- Parry: You check fight to contest an attack. You can only try to parry any attack forward of your flank and within your reach. Note that you may parry a ranged attack if the attacker is within your reach.
- Insight: You check influence to contest a social attack. You only avoid effects to yourself, so insight won't stop the creation of a perjury or stop denizens from being convinced
Screen
A screen is a special action that allows you to contest every check that targets you. Normally you would need to take the defend action on your turn to do this, but a screen lets you abort your next action to defend yourself in emergencies. When you screen you lose your next action, but you have defenses until the turn after that, just as if you had used a defend action on the action you lost. The only difference is you do not gain an extra guard. On your turn you gain your snap and reset your guard as usual. Note that with screening you should always have defenses and still be able to act every other round.
Zone
An encounter happens in a zone, a map made up of 9 tiles placed together to make a square. Each tile represents a certain type of terrain, and has a 5x5 grid of areas on it. Movement and ranges are expressed in areas (or sometimes entire tiles), corresponding to the squares in the zone. When you move off the edge of the zone either you exit the encounter or a new row of tiles is placed to extend the zone. At the end of each exchange tiles should be removed until the zone is a 3x3 grid again. Exiting the encounter doesn't necessarily mean you are out of danger. The referee should declare if there are consequences to exiting, and if those consequences are different for certain edges or tiles. Some encounter zones may be pre-configured, while others may be comprised of random tile draws. Tiles are split into thematic sets, and any new tiles are drawn from the same set.
Segment
A tile may have areas outlined and labeled, or just obviously distinct from other areas. Everything within that outline or distinction is called a segment. A segment is assigned properties, although those properties will vary depending on the encounter. Each tile set comes with a list of random properties for segments. Encounters that call out specific tiles may also set completely different properties for the same segments. A segment or an entire zone may have special options for snaps, actions, momentum, or interference.
| Segment | Sample Effect |
| Rough | It costs 2 speed to enter the area instead of 1. |
| Slippery | You must make a balance check when you enter or on your turn or you fall down. |
| Cover | Attack lines that cross suffers a penalty (-2). |
| Ledge | If you gain interference in the area you fall to the bottom of the segment. |
| Steep | You must use your climb speed, and if you gain interference in the area you fall to the bottom of the segment. |
| Water | You must use your swim speed and may drown. |
Setup
When an encounter begins the referee decides which side should setup first (the band or the band's opponents) and if there are limits as to how or where the band may start. Often the band must start in a specific tile or along a specific edge of the map. Different encounter modes and abilities may change your setup options. After the initial setup, any new arrivals will enter at specified edges of the zone at the end of each exchange.
Movement
You can use an action to move to different places in the zone. This action is labeled maneuver. You have different speeds that tell you how many areas you can move depending on the type of terrain. The hustle snap lets you increase this movement or change your position without dedicating your action to it. By default you can move into any adjacent area, but after you are finished with your maneuver or hustle you need to pick a facing. This facing will establish your flank until your next turn. Your front 180 degrees counts as in front of your flank line, your rear 180 degrees count as behind your flank line. Anything directly on the line counts as in front. You can face any direction you like, and it doesn't have to be directly aligned with the grid. You will suffer a penalty (-2) on any contest that originates behind your flank.
| Move Type | Normal Speed |
| Run | 2 |
| Climb | 1 |
| Jump | 1 |
| Swim | 1 |
When flying you ignore segments unless they have altitude. If you jump you count the area you start in and the area that you end in, but ignore segments in between unless they have altitude. If you are knocked the down while flying you fall (called a stall) and suffer a penalty (-2) to all checks until you recover the stall and the down state..
Overlap
Areas are large enough to contain several characters. When more than one character is in the same area, it's called an overlap. If the characters are friendly there's no effect. However moving into an opponent's overlap (or any individual that chooses to interrupt you) ends your movement. Once you are in an overlap, you must make a move check to exit past opponents in the same area, and opponents may use a defense to contest you. If you fail or the defense (either a dodge or a parry) wins then you may exit to an adjacent area in front of the opponent's flank and then your movement ends.
Persevere
After an encounter that lasts more than an exchange you must make a check against your strength score. If the check fails you become exhausted. A strenuous project adds a penalty (-2) to the check. An encounter that lasts more than two exchanges counts as strenuous. Your success margin must exceed the number of days since you've had rest. If you are already exhausted you lose grit equal to your failure margin. An encounter with less physical activity (such as a dispute) may grant a bonus (+2) to the check.
Mode
Modes offer different ways to play an encounter to fit different approaches. The basic structure remains the same between all the encounter types, but different rules are emphasized depending on how you approach resolving your conflict:
- Battle - Resolve a conflict with force.
- Chase - Escape a conflict.
- Dispute - Resolve a conflict with persuasion.
- Infiltration - Avoid a conflict entirely.
Note that a single encounter could have elements of some or all of the modes at once, or transition to different modes dynamically, usually at the end of an exchange.
Version 2.5.0
©2014 Frameworks Games
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