Skills and Domains#

This section covers the basic and advanced skill rules, and provides a list of generic skill nodes that should work as-is in most game settings and genres.

When making skill checks, you can add multiple skill nodes to your dice pool so long as you can justify to the GM the reason for the combination of skills you are adding to a dice pool.

List of Common Skill Nodes#

The skills listed in this section are some examples that you can use in your game settings.

Academic Skills#

  • Accounting

  • Architecture

  • Astronomy

  • Biology

  • Botany

  • Chemistry

  • Cryptography

  • Economics

  • Engineering

  • Geology

  • History

  • Law

  • Literature

  • Medicine

  • Physics

  • Kinetics

  • Psychiatry

  • Structural Engineering

  • Systems Engineering

Acumen#

The ability to make good judgements and take quick decisions.

  • Investigation

  • Command

  • Insight

  • Persuasion

  • Inspiration

  • Intimidation

  • Tactics

Art and Creativity#

  • Crafting

  • Dance

  • Drama

  • Music

  • Painting

  • Graphic Design

  • Creative Writing

Athletics#

  • Acrobatics

  • Balance

  • Climbing

  • Contortion

  • Running

  • Swimming

  • Wrestling

Subterfuge#

  • Deception

  • Disguise

  • Lipreading

  • Slight Of Hand

  • Stealth

Survival#

  • First Aid

  • Foraging

  • Survival

  • Tracking

  • Trapping

Environmental Biomes#

  • Desert Biome

  • Forest Biome

  • Jungle Biome

  • Tundra Biome

  • Marsh Biome

  • Mountain Biome

  • Plains Biome

  • Wasteland Biome

  • Asteroid Biome

Miscelaneous#

  • Animal Handling

  • Drone Operations

  • Driving

  • Piloting

  • Sensors

Domains and Specialisations#

Domains are special skill domains that give characters access to special abilities and feats. Characters have access to these domains via special training, specialisation or as a favour granted by a supernatural entity or force.

Mechanically domains work like skills, you add it to your dice pool when you are using the domain.

Characters can have access to more than one domain, so long as this makes sense for the character background and the game setting.

Think of the domains listed here not as fixed rules, but more as a guide or blueprint, something you can change to suit your game worlds, genre and settings.

Domain Features#

Every domain will give the character access to new Abilities, Damage Types, Boons and/or Conditions. We will call these Domain Features.

Characters can buy Domain Features with XP, within the following limitations:

  • You cannot have more domain features than the domain rank.

  • You can only purchase one feature per month (in-game).

  • Every domain feature will cost 2XP to train.

Activating or Using Domain Features#

The following common rules apply to activating or using domain features for any domain.

Damage Types

To use a specific damage type in the domain, you can just channel the damage type through touch or, use any domain ability that can apply the damage in some other way.

Abilities

Every ability will has it’s own energy cost, rules and roll requirements. Read the Ability description to find out how the ability works.

See Shout (AB) or Pulse (AB) as examples.

Boons and/or Conditions

Apply a boon to yourself by rolling Focus › (Domain) » 1 Energy, where (Domain) is the governing domain for the boon.

Apply a boon or condition to others by rolling Control › (Domain) » 1 Energy, where (Domain) is the governing domain for the boon.

When granting boons or conditions to others, the character must have a mechanism to do so, usually through an ability.

A Brawler for example, can use a battle cry to grant all allies within earshot empower or, they can use the battle cry to Daze opponents.

Traits

Some Domains can have traits as features. The are just boons or conditions that are permanently available to the character. They never decay, and will always be on Rank 1.

If for some reason a trait is boosted with higher ranks/stacks from another source, then those extra stacks will decay as normal back down to Rank 1.

Custom Domains#

Creating your own custom domains for your settings is simple.

Characters can pick any intention as a domain feature, so long as they can justify a narrative or rational reason as to how/why they have access to that intention within the domain.

For example, it may be difficult to rationalise how you have Cold Damage as a Fire Domain feature.

Tip

You can also convert plain skills into a domain of it’s own. This is between the GM and the player to figure out the details.

The system is flexible in this way by design. This way, it’s easy to create something unique for players.

List of Generic Domains#

Brawler (A)#

After upgrading this skill into a domain, the following domain features become available for purchase.

Abilities

Shift (AB), Evasive Movement (AB), Battle Cry/Shout

Conditions

Dazed (E), Stunned (E)

Boons

Empowered (E),

Unarmed Combat (A)#

Tip

Unarmed combat count as Dual Wielding.

After upgrading this skill into a domain, the following domain features become available for purchase.

Abilities

Shift (AB), Evasive Movement (AB)

Boons

Blur (E), Fleet Foot (E)

Conditions

Crippled (E), Dazed (E)

Traits

Combat Awareness (E)

Marksman (A)#

After upgrading this skill into a domain, the following domain features become available for purchase.

Abilities:

Disarm (AB)

Conditions:

Crippled (E), Bleeding (E)

Traits

Deadeye (E), Point Blank (E), Combat Awareness (E)

Melee Arms (A)#

After upgrading this skill into a domain, the following domain features become available for purchase.

Abilities

Disarm (AB), Shift (AB)

Boons

Blur (E), Fleet Foot (E)

Conditions

Crippled (E), Dazed (E)

Traits

Combat Awareness (E)

Guardian (A)#

Requires: A handheld shield or buckler, or any defensive weapon that can act as a shield.

After upgrading this skill into a domain, the following domain features become available for purchase.

Abilities

Shift (AB), Aura (AB),

Boons

Natural Defender (E), Resilience (E)

Conditions

Dazed (E), Staggered (E), Stunned (E)

Cantrips (A)#

Create temporary illusions and sounds.

The distance at which you can create these effects depend on the amount of energy you use with this ability.

After upgrading this skill into a domain, the following domain features become available for purchase.

Abilities

Amplify (AB), Illusion (AB), Shape (AB), Shift (AB)

Boons

Blur (E)

Conditions

Confusion (E), Marked (E)

Death Domain (A)#

You have control over the death domain.

Damage Types

Cold Damage (E), Corrosive Damage (E) Toxic Damage (E),

Abilities

Beam (AB), Pulse (AB), Shape (AB)

Conditions

Fear (E), Frozen (E), Poisoned (E), Weakness (E)

Earth Domain (A)#

You can manipulate geology and earth. You can damage them by making rocks fly at them or smash into them from below. In the same way you can cripple or stagger them by making the ground shift break beneath your opponents.

Defensively you can use this to create armour of rock and stone around yourself or allies.

Damage Types

Crushing Damage (E), Kinetic Damage (E)

Abilities

Manifest (AB), Pulse (AB), Shape (AB), Wave (AB)

Boons

Resilience (E)

Conditions

Crippled (E), Staggered (E)

Fire Domain (A)#

You have the ability to create and manipulate fire or plasma.

Damage Types

Heat Damage (E)

Abilities

Beam (AB), Explode (AB), Pulse (AB), Manifest (AB)

Conditions

Burning (E)

Glamour Domain (A)#

Damage Types

Psychic Damage (E)

Abilities

Illusion (AB), Manifest (AB)

Boons

Blur (E), Camouflage (E), Invisible (E)

Conditions

Charmed (E), Confusion (E),

Protection Domain (A)#

Abilities

Amplify (AB), Manifest (AB)

Boons

Blur (E), Resilience (E), Immunity (E)

Conditions

Dazed (E),

Life Domain (A)#

Abilities

Aura (AB), Beam (AB), Cleanse (AB), Heal (AB)

Boons

Regeneration (E)

Conditions

Exhaustion (E), Marked (E)

Light Domain (A)#

Abilities

Beam (AB), Shape (AB), Manifest (AB)

Damage Types

Holy Damage (E)

Boons

Valour (E)

Conditions

Blind, Marked (E)

Shadow (A)#

You have knowledge and control over darkness and shadow.

Abilities

Aura (AB), Manifest (AB), Pulse (AB), Shape (AB)

Boons

Camouflage (E), Invisible (E), Dark Sight (E)

Conditions

Blind, Marked (E)

Technomancy (A)#

Abilities

Aura (AB), Beam (AB), Detection (AB), Explode (AB), Implode (AB), Pulse (AB), Shape (AB), Split (AB), Timer (AB), Wave (AB),

Combat Stances#

Combat stances are domain specialisations that are difficult to obtain initially, but once you have them they can become a game changer on the battlefield.

Stances are difficult to obtain for two reasons.

  1. They always require that a character have a prerequisite skill on at least Rank 2.

  2. The character needs training and guidance from someone that mastered the combat form in question.

Unlike other domains, characters do not have access to all the stance features all the time. Characters must first use an action “enter” or “activate” the stance before the stance features become available.

If a player have more than one stance trained, they can only use one stance at a time.

When looking at the stance examples below, notice that the majority of the stance features are Trait (T). This is the reason why stances are so powerful, since they can instantly give the character a number of traits.

Note

The stances below are some quick examples. We will add more over time, but in the meantime these will serve as examples on how to create your own.

List of Combat Forms and Stances#

Aggressive Stance (A)#

Requirements: Melee combat only. You must have a melee combat skill on at least Rank 2 and, you must have the Intimidation skill on at least Rank 1.
Activation Required: Stance features are not available until the character uses an action to activate the stance.

When using this combat stance, your body language and movements are of such a nature that enemies within your melee range feel threatened, even when you don’t intend to attack them directly.

Abilities

Shout (AB)

Boons

Resilience (E)

Conditions

Fear (E),

Traits

Combat Awareness (E), Empowered (E), Ferocity (E),

Butterfly Dance (A)#

Requirements: Short Bladed Weapons only. Must have a related combat skill on at least Rank 2 and, dancing, acrobatics or any other similar skill on Rank 1 at minimum.
Activation Required: Stance features are not available until the character uses an action to activate the stance.

You are light-footed and flow unpredictably between your opponents while taking deceptive and opportunistic strikes at your enemies.

Abilities

Opportune Striker (A)

Traits:

Agile Striker (E), Ambidexterous (E), Blur (E), Combat Awareness (E), Mobility (E), Vigilant (E)

Defensive Stance (A)#

Requirements: When using this stance the character cannot make any offensive actions. This stance will end the moment you make any attack or offensive action.
Activation Required: Stance features are not available until the character uses an action to activate the stance.

Focus your attention and awareness on your opponents to anticipate their attacks.

Abilities

Aura (AB), Evasive Movement (AB)

Conditions

Taunted (E)

Taits

Alert (E), Vigilant (E), Endurance (E), Keen Sense (E), Natural Defender (E), Resilience (E), Valour (E), Vigilant (E)

Gun Kata (A)#

Requirements: Only one-handed pistol(s) (single or dual wielded)
Activation Required: Stance features are not available until the character uses an action to activate the stance.

Note: While in the stance you have a lesser penalty to all melee actions.

Your stance and movement while in this form have been carefully developed to make it harder for ranged attackers to hit you, while also increasing your own accuracy with pistols.

When using this stance you get the following accumulating effects, based on the stance rank:

Abilities

Evasive Movement (AB),

Conditions

Marked (E)

Traits

Ambidexterous (E), Blur (E), Combat Awareness (E), Deadeye (E), Point Blank (E), Mobility (E), Vigilant (E)

Shield Warden (A)#

Requirements: Only usable with handheld shields or shield-like items
Activation Required: Stance features are not available until the character uses an action to activate the stance.
Note: While in this stance, you have a lesser penalty to any offensive action that doesn’t use your shield.

Developed for those wielding shields to defend themselves or allies, this form allows for a strong but mobile stance, that can quickly adapt to using even the largest shields.

Abilities

Aura (AB), Shift (AB)

Conditions

Staggered (E)

Traits

Alert (E), Combat Awareness (E), Empowered (E), Endurance (E), Fleet Foot (E), Natural Defender (E), Valour (E), Vigilant (E)