1.5. Abilities

During Freeplay and Encounters, you will often rely on the various Abilities listed on your Character Sheet. You can also improvise activities that are not official Abilities and are not found on your Character Sheet.

Abilities on the Basic Ability List are available to all characters and will be discussed in more detail in chapter 1.7. Basic Abilities.

At the top of each Ability you will find a header containing some or all of the following details that will serve as quick references:

Time. (Referred to as the Ability Time.) Defines how long the Ability takes to start and take effect.
Target. The qualifications of what can be targeted by the Ability.
Triggers. Conditions that, when met, allow you to use the Ability as a Reaction.
Requirements. Conditions that must be met to start an Ability.
Components. Conditions that should be met in order to easily start and maintain an Ability.
Test. A summary of the type of Test you will need to make for the Ability.
Saves. A summary of what types of Saves your targets may need to make to avoid extra effects.
Effects. A summary of what types of effects the Ability will cause.
Duration. A description of how long the effects can last for.

Following the header, you will find a full description of the Ability and its effects. Any header information with an asterisk will also be described in more detail in the Ability's description.

Ability Time

An Ability's "Ability Time" describes both when you can start the Ability and how long it takes before the Ability will take effect. (Note that this is different from Effect Duration, which describes how long the Ability's effect can last.)

Ability Time will matter less in Freeplay, but when an Encounter begins, you will need to pay close attention to your Ability Times, as they will determine if and when you can use each Ability.

There are seven Ability Times: Action, Free Action, Slow Action, Reaction, Free Reaction, Passive, and Episodic.

Action

"Action" is the most common Ability Time.
You must spend a Beat on your Turn to start an Action. Immediately after that, the Ability's Score is determined. Once the Score is finalized, the Ability's effect immediately becomes active.

Free Action

A "Free Action" can only be used on your Turn, but does not cost a Beat. Immediately after it has been started, the Ability's Score is determined and then it takes effect.

You can also improvise a handful of Free Actions to do things that would be easy to incorporate into your other actions on your Turn, like opening a door, dropping an item, or talking smack.

Slow Action

A "Slow Action" must be started on your Turn by spending a Beat and choosing your targets. After that, you will need to wait until the start of your next Turn before you can perform the Ability's Test (if it needs one) and activate the Ability's effects.

In the time before your Slow Action can take effect, your Slow Action can be interrupted. Slow Actions are generally stronger, so if an ally begins one, you may want to help protect them or keep enemies in the area of effect. Similarly, if an enemy uses a Slow Action, you may want to try to get out of the way or interrupt it.

You must choose your target for the Ability when the ability is started. That said, you may choose targets that are initially invalid (due to being out or range, sight, etc.) as it is only when the time comes for the Ability to take effect that the Ability's targets, Test, Requirements, and Components will be evaluated. This means that a Slow Action can also be interrupted by interfering with its Requirements and Components, which will be discussed later in this chapter.

Important: Using Movement can interrupt your own Slow Actions.

If a Slow Action targets an area, the area will not move if you move, but may instead be considered invalid if you move. For example, the Cone Shape and the Line Shape target the spot where you stand and emanate outward. Moving from that spot would invalidate that target area. Other Shapes instead target a point within a certain range. For those, so long as that point remains within range and targetable, the Slow Action will not be interrupted.

Reaction

A "Reaction" is much quicker and takes but a moment to complete, provided that conditions are right.
Reactions can be started at any point in a Round immediately after its Reaction Trigger occurs. Starting a Reaction requires that you spend a Beat. Immediately after you start a Reaction, its Ability Score is determined, then it takes effect.

If ever more than one character uses a Reaction for the same Reaction Trigger, the Reactions are resolved in the same order as the current Turn Order.

Only one Reaction or Free Reaction can be used per Reaction Trigger per Player.

Remember

Using a Reaction in an Encounter uses up one of your Beats for the Round, meaning it will not be available on your next Turn.

Free Reactions

Free Reactions are the same as Reactions, but do not cost a Beat to start.

Only one Reaction or Free Reaction can be used per Reaction Trigger per Player.

Unlimited Free Reactions

Unless the Ability states otherwise, there is no limit to the number of Free Reactions that you can perform in a Round, provided that their Reaction Triggers occur and you are only performing one Reaction or Free Reaction per Reaction Trigger.

Passives

A Passive Ability does not need to be started and is always in effect. For example, the Climber Ability is a Passive that always provides you with the ability to Climb a Spitting Distance.

Episodics

Episodic Abilities work a bit different than others. All Episodic Abilities are performed at the start of a new Episode. These Abilities often include effects like granting you points that you can spend later in an Episode or grant you visions of things to come. Anything gained from an Episodic Ability will be lost at the end of the Episode, so you will want to be sure to use it while you have it.

Example: Episode Abilities

#David has the 'Visions' Episodic Ability.

A new Episode is starting. #David uses his 'Visions' Episodic Ability.
#David rolls a 10, granting him a vague vision of a danger to come in this Episode.

Targets

Each Ability will lay out what targets are valid for that Ability. This will often include the types of creatures you can affect along with a Distance at which you can affect said targets.

Creature Tags

Some Abilities will only affect certain types of creatures. This is indicated using Appendix/Tags/Creature Tags/0index like Undead or Construct.

Distances

In The Kleptonomicon, a set of Theater of the Mind Distance are used. There are 5 Distances used by Abilities for describing what targets can be hit. If those distances are prefixed with the word 'True', then you do not need to be able to see the target and that target cannot benefit from taking cover.

Below are some examples of the 5 Distances:

Targets in Swinging Distance are close enough for melee combat. This includes martial arts, swordplay, etc.
Targets in Spitting Distance are close enough to spit on, splash with a potion, or spray with a spell that shoots out a wave of fire.
Targets in Throwing Distance are close enough to effectively throw darts, rocks, spears, or magical bolts.
Targets in Shooting Distance are in range of bows, crossbows, slings, and longer range magical attacks.
Targets in Sniping Distance are only in range of longbows and the most distant of magical effects.

If you would rather play with more exact map measurements, the following conversion chart can be used to convert the Theater of the Mind Distances to square units used by many other tabletop games:

Swinging Distance	Spitting Distance	Throwing Distance	Shooting Distance	Sniping Distance
1	4	8	16	200

Shapes

Abilities may be able to affect many creatures or objects in an area. Such Abilities will target an area known as a Shape instead of directly targeting creatures or objects.

Every Shape will have a Shape Origin. This serves as the actual target of the Ability and the point from which the effects will flow outward in straight lines. This flow is easily blocked by objects, unless the shape is described as a True Shape. Anything touching a portion of the Shape to which the effect can flow can be affected by the Ability.

A Shape's Origin and orientation must be specified when you start an Ability. Because of this, the creatures within the Shape may have a chance to escape to safety outside of the Shape if it has a slower Ability Time and you have no one there to help you keep the potential targets in range.

Below is a detailed description of each of the five Shapes:

Cone Shape

The Cone Shape's Origin is located where you are and extends outward from you. The cone's width at a given point along its length is equal to that point's distance from the Origin. The cone's length will be a Distance provided by the Ability. The cone's Origin is not included in the shape, unless you decide otherwise.

Cube Shape

The Cube Shape's Origin lies anywhere on a face of the cubic area. The Shape Origin must be within the Distance described by the Ability. The cube's size will be expressed as a Distance in the Ability that is equal to length of each side. A cube's Origin is not included in the cube's area of effect, unless you decide otherwise.

Cylinder Shape

The Cylinder Shape's Origin is the center of a circle. The circle's radius will be given as a Distance in the Ability. The circle must either be on the ground or at the height of the spell effect. The energy in a cylinder expands in straight lines from the Origin to the perimeter of the circle, forming the base of the cylinder. The spell's effect then shoots up from the base or down from the top, to a Distance described in the Ability as the height of the cylinder. A cylinder's Origin is included in the cylinder's area of effect.

Line Shape

The Line Shape's Origin is placed at your location and extends in a straight line outward a Distance provided by the Ability. A line's point of origin is not included in the line's area of effect, unless you decide otherwise.

Sphere

The Sphere Shape's Origin is a point you choose within a Distance specified by the Ability. The sphere extends outward from that point by a Distance also provided by the Ability. A sphere's point of origin is included in the cylinder's area of effect.

Triggers

Triggers, or "Reaction Triggers," are only used by Abilities with an Ability Time of Reaction or Free Reaction. Reaction Triggers describe the events that will allow you to start a Reaction Ability. Unless the described Reaction Trigger arises, you will be unable to use the Reaction Ability.

Many Reaction Triggers will note that they trigger when a creature "starts an Ability". In these cases you will be able to use your Reaction Ability after the triggering Ability has been started and its targets chosen, but before its Test is performed and its effects become active. This is a powerful way to affect the actions of others, possibly interrupting them.

Requirements

From the Glossary:

Requirement

Some Abilities will list Requirements. Requirements can be generic things like “hands” or “standing,” or Requirements can be a specific type of point that you must spend from one of the Point Banks on your Character Sheet (Note: Your Shield, Health, and Vitality are Point Banks. You may also have Point Banks unique to your Class or Constitution.)

An Ability with Requirements will instantly be considered a Fail if you are lacking a Requirement at any point between the start of the Ability and when the Ability's Score and effect are determined. If points are Required, those points are only deducted at the time of determining the Ability's Score (but they must be available from the Ability's start to its scoring.)

Components

Some abilities may also list Components, which are similar to Requirements, but they must remain unbroken during your entire Effect Duration, or you will need to re-roll the Ability's Skill Test, or the Ability's effects will end early.

From the Glossary:

Component

Some Abilities will list Components needed by the Ability. Components can be generic things like “hands” or “standing,” or a specific type of point you must spend from one of the Point Banks on your Character Sheet (Note: Your Shield, Health, and Vitality are Point Banks. You may also have Point Banks unique to your Class or Constitution.) If points are listed, then you must spend that many points before the Ability can be rolled for.

If you are lacking a Component when it comes time to roll the Ability's Skill Test, you will receive a Disadvantage for every missing Component. Note that that means that Abilities with an Ability Time greater than one Beat will only need to meet their Components when spending the final Beat needed to fulfill the Ability's Ability Time. This includes Slow Actions.

Unlike Requirements, Components also need to remain unaffected for the entire Effect Duration as well. If a Component is interrupted at any point during your Effect Duration, you will need to re-roll the Ability's Skill Test and get a Mixed Score or the Ability's effects will immediately end. This Test is performed for each Component that was interrupted.

If one of the Components is a Point Bank, that Point Bank gains a soft lock (often tracked with a small token.) If that Point Bank changes, up or down, that change counts as an interruption of the Component.

It is worth noting that the Component 'Concentration' adds a second layer of difficulty. Concentration imposes a Disadvantage to an Ability's initial Ability Skill Tests for each other active Concentration Ability.

Any listed Components will be needed for both the Ability Time and the entire Effect Duration to maintain the Ability's effect, but lacking a Component, or having it interrupted or broken, will not mean automatic failure.

Components will first list one of the three Saves, followed by generic things like “hands” or “standing,” or a specific Point Bank on your Character Sheet (like your Shield Health, or a Point Bank unique to your Class or Constitution.) If a Point Bank is listed, that Point Bank is "locked" and cannot be altered, up or down, without potentially causing your Ability to fail.

If you find yourself lacking a Component at some point during your Ability Time, you must roll the final Ability with a Disadvantage for every Component that is missing. If the number of missing Components takes you beyond the maximum number of 3 Disadvantages for a roll, the Ability gets an automatic Low Score.

Similarly, if ever a Component is affected in some way during the Effect Duration, you will need to Pass the Save or the effect will immediately end. If more than one Component is affected, you will roll the Save with a Disadvantage for every Component affected beyond the first.

Concentration

Many spells will note Concentration as a Component. For each Concentration Ability that is active beyond the first, you will gain a stack of the Concentrating Status Condition. This Status Condition adds an additional Disadvantage to Saves for Concentration Abilities, making it harder to maintain more than one at once.

Abilities that have a Concentration Component also implicitly have a Health and Vitality Component, meaning you will need to make a Save if ever you take damage or are healed in a way that effects those specific Point Banks.

Ability Tests

A majority of Abilities will describe a Test that needs to be performed. The resulting Score from that Test will affect what effects become active.

The most common Tests will use one of the three Archetype Stats: Fighter Stat, Rogue Stat, or Mage Stat. That said, an Ability can list any Modifier from your Character Sheet.

Whichever Modifier is listed, you will need to find that Modifier on your Character Sheet and apply it when making the Test to determine your Score for that Ability. To see what effect each Score Range has on the Ability, look for the Score Range shorthand in the Ability's description.

Some Ability Tests will also be affected by situational Bonuses and Penalties. Bonuses and Penalties will be discussed more later in this chapter in the section on Bonuses and Penalties.

Occasionally, you will see an Ability that has no Test listed (and no Score Ranges in its description.) For these Abilities you will not need to make a Test at all, as it automatically gets a Mixed Score and the effects described are the ones that will become active. A few rare effects can still cause you to Fail these automatic Abilities. In those cases, the Ability will have no effect.

Ability Saves

Abilities that list a Save will require that the targets of the Ability perform a Test. Most often this Test will be performed using one of the target's Saves. In the description of the Ability you will find a description of what happens when a target Passes or Fails the Test.

All Saves are affected by the Score you get on the Ability in the following ways:

[0!] Critical Failure. The target automatically Passes their Save.
[..6] Low. The target gets an Advantage on their Save.
[7..9] Mixed. The target makes their Save with no extra modifications.
[10..] High. The target must make their Save with a Disadvantage.
[10!] Critical Success. The target automatically Fails their Save.

Ability Effects

The header's description of an Ability's effects is mostly there for quick reference, but may be used when describing Reaction Triggers or other components of the game. For example, if a Reaction Trigger were to stat "When a creature uses a Healing Effect Ability," then that Reaction could be used whenever a creature uses an Ability that lists "Healing" in its effects header.

Ability Duration

While most Ability's effects are instantaneous and then abate, some can last for longer stretches of time. Abilities that note an Effect Duration can have their effects last up to that amount of time. These longer effects remain active for the entire Duration listed. Effect Durations are usually listed in terms of Rounds. A Round, in terms of an Effect Duration, will always ends at the start of the Turn on which it began.

If an Effect Duration is not listed, the duration is negligible and any effects end right after they begin.

Ending Triggers

Some Effect Durations may end earlier than their listed time if certain events occur. Unless stated otherwise, you can also end any effect early if it was created by you and you spend a Beat on your Turn to do so.

As discussed earlier in this chapter, an Ability may also end early if any of its Components are affected.

Flavors

When you take a new Ability that has a list of Flavors to choose from, you must choose your starting Flavor at the time of gaining the Ability. The Flavor that you chose will then remain fixed for the entire life of that Ability. Flavors often change the Damage Type of an Ability or what Saves it can impose on your targets.

Bonuses and Penalties

An Ability will often list Bonuses and Penalties that will change either the Test or the effects of the Ability.

Each Penalty will describe a condition that, when met, means you must apply that Penalty's effect. Each Bonus works in the same way except you can choose to skip it (unless it states otherwise.)

There are many Bonuses and Penalties that will simply apply an Advantage or Disadvantage, respectively, to the Ability's Test. This should be resolved during the Ability's Test before any of the Ability's effects have been applied.

There are three Penalties that are more common than any others. They each impose stacks of a Status Condition, which in-turn will impose Disadvantages on future tests for the Abilities with that same Penalty. From the Glossary:

Straining

Abilities with the "Straining" Penalty (or "Straining Abilities") impose one stack of Strained if you Pass their Test.

All future Straining Ability Tests have one Disadvantage for each stack of Strained that you have.

Exhausting

Abilities with the "Exhausting" Penalty (or "Exhausting Abilities") impose one stack of Exhausted if you Pass their Test.

All future Exhausting Ability Tests have one Disadvantage for each stack of Exhausted that you have.

Concentration

Abilities with the "Concentration" Penalty (or "Concentration Abilities") impose one stack of Concentrating when they take effect and remove one stack of Concentrating when that effect ends.

All Focus Saves and Concentration Ability Tests have one Disadvantage for each stack of Concentrating that you have. If you Fail such a Test, all active Concentration Ability effects end.

If ever a Component of a Concentration Ability is affected, you must make a Focus Save.

Status Condition will be discussed further in 2.5. Status Conditions and Saving Throws.

#Alice uses a Concentration Ability

#Alice uses the Illusion Spell Ability that has the Concentration Penalty.
#Alice performs her Test for the Ability and gets a High Score. #Alice creates an illusory image of a book on the altar. This active effect imposes a stack of Concentrating on #Alice.
#Alice attempts to use Illusion again to try to create spooky whispers coming from the book. This time #Alice must make the Test with a Disadvantage, since she has a stack of Concentrating. #Alice gets a Low Score, forcing all of her active Concentration Ability effects to end, making her illusory book disappear. On a Low Score, Illusion still takes effect, so the whispers begin to chant in the empty spot where the illusory book used to be.
#Alice is out of Beats and ends her Turn.

Upgrades

Upgrades will be described more in 2.9. Tracker Boxes. In short, gaining an Upgrade permanently improves an Ability, often making it deal more Damage or have less restrictions and stipulations.

Prepared Abilities

Some Abilities, when used, will "Prepare" a different Ability so it can be used. For example an Ability may "Prepare a Reaction" or "Prepare a Free Reaction" etc. When this happens, you get to add Prepared Ability to your Character Sheet for a limited time.

Each Prepared Ability will stipulate a different case for when it expires (a.k.a. when it is once again removed from your Character Sheet.) For example, if a Prepared Reaction "expires after one use," then it can only be used once, becoming unavailable again immediately after its use. The most common expiration descriptions include expiring after a certain span of time or if you lose Concentration on an Ability.

Glyphic Spell Ability Rules

The Glyphic Spells are often used to create security systems and magical mechanisms. The Glyphic Spells rely on shared sets of rules that allow them to be connected together to form complex networks of magical machinery.

Learning the shared Glyphic Spell Rules will help you interact with security systems, avoid traps, and possibly even create a few Glyphs combos of your own.

Unless otherwise stated, all Glyphs created by Glyphic Spells have the following shared rules:

A Glyphic Spell creates a Glyph that appears as a rune, set of runes, sigil, or magic circle that is Invisible.
Glyphs do not have a Turn of their own during an Encounter, but have one Beat per Round that can be used to perform Reactions. Glyphs can also use certain Free Reactions. A Glyph's Beat is reset at the start of the Turn Order for a Round.
Each Glyphic Spell has a set of Glyph Abilities that can be given to the Glyph at the time of casting. For every Glyph Ability added beyond the first, you will need to extend the casting time by spending an additional Beat per Glyph Ability. Possible Glyph Abilities are described by each Glyphic Spell. Unless otherwise stated, the same Glyph Ability can be added more than once, provided that you specify different details each time. Glyph Abilities cannot be altered or changed after you have finished casting a Glyph.
When starting a Glyph Ability, you can specify that a Glyph should be connected to any other Glyph within Swinging Distance of it. Many Glyph Abilities can send out a Glyph Command as a part of its effects. When a Glyph is about to send out a Glyph Command, it shines with visible light for just a moment (of a color of the creator's choice.) At the start of the next Round (or 6 secs later) all connected Glyphs, and the glyph itself, will receive the Glyph Command which may trigger their Glyph Abilities. Note that that Glyph Ability may issue its own Glyph Command, creating a slow chain reaction that moves along the Glyphs at a rate of one Glyph per Round. A skilled Glyph hacker may be able to figure out what Glyph Commands are being used by a network of Glyphs and possibly even twist the network to do their bidding.
Often, Glyphs will be attached to surfaces. If two connected Glyphs are ever moved more than a Spitting Distance apart, their connection is permanently broken.
All Glyphs can have the following Glyph Abilities in addition to any described in their Glyph Ability description:

Dismiss

[Time:: Free Reaction] [Target:: Self]
[Trigger:: Upon receiving a predefined Glyph Command]

Permanently dismiss this Glyph.

Deactivate

[Time:: Free Reaction] [Target:: Self]
[Trigger:: Upon receiving a predefined Glyph Command]

Temporarily disable this Glyph for a specified amount of time.

Next Up: 1.6. Covert Operations