1.8. Basic Abilities
There are 19 Basic Abilities that can also be found in the Basic Ability List in the Appendix. In this chapter we will discuss each Ability and give some examples on how to use them.
Basic Attacks
There are three Basic Attacks: Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, and Magic Missile.
These three Abilities form the heart of all the Damage you will deal in the game. Almost all of the Abilities that deal damage will use these Basic Attacks as a starting point, building on them by altering their Damage amounts and Types.
An example of an Ability that builds on the Basic Attacks is the Opportunity Attack Ability.
Melee Attack
Your Melee Attack is a great way to deal Damage at close range. It is based on your Fighter Stat (which is based on your Might Stat) so if you are more of a Rogue or Mage, this Ability might not do as much. That said, unlike the other Basic Attacks, the Melee Attack can still deal Damage on a Low Score, provided that you have a Melee Weapon.
If you Wield a Melee Weapon, you can increase the damage of your Melee Attack by 1 (cannot be stacked.) Rare Melee Weapons (those of a higher Item Grade) can also grant you other bonuses or uses for your Melee Attack.
"Wield" is an Item Tag. Item Tags are common sets of rules that many items can reference at once. All possible Item Tags can be found in the Item Tag List Appendix and will be discussed in more depth in a future chapter (2.3. Inventory Box.)
In short, the Wield tag simply means that you can only use one Wield item at a time. That means you may have to put down your Lockpicks if you want to pick up your Melee Weapon. There are some Abilities that let you Wield a second Item, but even with two Wield Items, you can only modify an Ability using one Wield Item at a time.
Not having a Melee Weapon is not the end of the world. Since a Melee Weapon can only increase your Damage by 1 at most, going in unarmed is generally still a valid strategy. If you use some of the Fighter Upgrades that you have gained from Leveling Up to improve the Damage output of your Melee Attack, then going in unarmed can even be a breeze.
From the Appendix:
Opportunity Attack
The Opportunity Attack Ability is a perfect example of an Ability that builds on one of the Basic Attacks. The Opportunity Attack allows you to use your Melee Attack or Ranged Attack the moment a creature would leave Swinging Distance(1u) of you. In a way, this is like adding a Reaction Trigger to the Basic Attacks, though you can also Upgrade your Opportunity Attack to add even more affects to your Basic Attacks.
From the Appendix:
Ranged Attack
Your Ranged Attack is very similar to your Melee Attack. The major difference being that a Ranged Attack does not deal any Damage on a Low Score. The Ranged Attack also takes Rogue Upgrades instead of Fighter Upgrades and has a different set of Bonuses and Penalties.
The Ranged Attack can benefit from Wielding a Ranged Weapon in the same way that the Melee Attack benefited from Wielding a Melee Weapon.
If ever you find yourself unarmed, you can often still perform a Ranged Attack by throwing objects around you or that you found in your pack. These count as Improvised Weapons, which give you a +1 to Damage, but a Disadvantage on the Test.
From the Appendix:
Magic Missile
The last of the Basic Attacks is the Magic Missile Ability. To use this Ability, you will need to know at least one Spell Ability.
Magic Missile deals 1 less Damage compared to the Ranged Attack, and its Damage Type is Fluid/Blunt Damage. Its Damage can be increased by Wielding a Magic Weapon.
Of the three Basic Attacks, this one is the one most commonly built upon. Abilities like Elemental Blast and Planar Blast simply add-on effects to Magic Missile, changing its Damage Type or adding Status Conditions that it can inflict.
From the Appendix:
Combat Utility Abilities
There are several other Abilities that you will want to know in order to stay alive and well when a fight breaks out. The Dash Ability will help you run a further distance than you would otherwise be able to. The Dodge Ability lets you avoid some Damage altogether. There are also three Abilities for restoring your Dodge Points, Shield, Health, and Vitality. They are: Dodges Up, Shields Up, and Heal Up.
Dash
The Dash Ability allows you to give up a Beat to move further than you otherwise could. If you ever use it a second time within the same Round, you will need to Pass an Athletics Test or gain a stack of Slowed.
From the Appendix:
Dodge
The Dodge Ability is a reaction that you can use when being targeted with an Ability. Dodge allows you to reduce any incoming Damage and possibly give yourself an Advantage or two on Saves.
The number of times you can use the Dodge Ability is limited, however, by your Dodge Points. Dodge Points can mostly only be recovered using the Dodges Up Ability (discussed next) which is a Slow Action. As such, you will want to use your Dodge Points wisely, plan ahead, and not let Encounters drag on too long if you are running out of Dodge Points.
From the Appendix:
Dodges Up
When you run low on Dodge Points, you can use the Dodges Up Ability to regain them. Take care when you use it, however, as it is a Slow Action. Gaining upgrades in the Dodges Up Ability also lets you have a higher maximum number of Dodge Points.
Shields Up
The Shields Up Ability lets you reset your Shield. If you pick up the Fighter Upgrades for it, you can not only restore your Shield to a higher value, but if you still have some Shield, you may be able to gain a little boost to your Shield as well! Using Shields Up does take a Beat, so you may have to give up attacking in order to use it.
From the Appendix:
Heal Up
The Heal Up Ability lets you regain Health or Vitality.
Since Heal Up is a Slow Action, you will need to make sure you are out of harm's way, otherwise you could be left vulnerable while you attempt to heal yourself.
In order to restore Health or Vitality, you will also need to spend one Recovery point or use a First Aid Kit. Restoring your Shield or Dodge Points does not have any extra Requirements.
From the Appendix:
Take Cover
If you can Take Cover so that only half of yourself (or less) is visible, then you can reduce any incoming Solid Damage by half (rounded down.) This Resistance is available to anyone, so take care that you have a clear shot of your opponents when a fight breaks out!
Covert Abilities
There are four basic Abilities that will allow you to sink into the shadows or wield those shadows to dodge, move, and attack. These were covered a bit in the last chapter (1.7. Covert Operations) but it will help to see their full text laid out.
Sneak
The Sneak Ability is perfect for avoiding Opportunity Attacks or setting up to use one of the other Covert Reactions.
Simply put, the Ability gives you the Sneaky status.
From the Appendix:
Sneak Attack
The Sneak Attack requires that you have the Sneaky status, but can allow you to deal large amounts of Damage, especially if you gain its Rogue Upgrades.
From the Appendix:
Sneak Dash
The Sneak Dash Ability builds on the Dash Ability, allowing you to attempt to Dash as a Reaction against enemies getting close to you or targeting you. The effects of Sneak Dash are not guaranteed, though. You will need to Pass a Sneaking Skill Test for it to work.
From the Appendix:
Sneak Evade
The Sneak Evade Ability gives you a chance to completely evade an Ability altogether.
From the Appendix:
Item and Inventory Abilities
These next three Basic Abilities all deal with your inventory and the items in your pack. This will be discussed more in 2.3. Inventory Box, but in short, you pack will contain generic resources called "Goods" rather than specific items. These Goods come in 4 flavors: General Goods, Grey Goods, Obscure Goods, and Fine Goods.
The Goods are representative of all the items you've gathered, without requiring the GM provide specifics. These Goods also take the place of any money you would have otherwise had to have.
Whenever you need a more specific Item, you can use Goods with the Item Search Ability in order to turn those Goods into Items.
You can also use the Item Sell Ability to turn Items back into Goods or the Item Trade Ability to swap one type of Good for another.
Item Search
At any time you can perform an Item Search to try to turn your Goods into actually specific items.
For example, if you needed a rope, you could use 1 General Good with the Item Search Ability to try to turn that Good into an rope for use in the game. To do so, you would simply give up your 1 General Good, then roll your General Wealth Skill. The Score you get would determine whether you found the rope or not. As indicated in the "Improvised Items" portion of the Item Search Ability, you'd need to get a Passing Score, otherwise you may not find a rope or the rope you do fine might be frayed or weaker. The GM will set the difficulty of Improvised Item searches and will describe the results of your Tests.
There are many Items you can gain that are not Improvised Items, but can be found in the Item List Appendix. These such Items will describe their own Test and whether you get the item or if it has any bonuses or weaknesses based on your Test.
Each Item will be organized into one of the 4 types of Goods: General Goods, Grey Goods, Obscure Goods, and Fine Goods. You will need to spend a Good that matches the type of item you want.
From the Appendix:
Item Sell
If ever you wish to sell an Item that you previously found or got from the Item Search Ability, you can do so using the Item Sell Ability.
You will need to give up the Item before rolling the Item Sell Ability. If you Fail the following Test, you will not get anything in return. The item was likely too damaged, flawed, or in some other way not worth anything. For all other Score Ranges, you can get back a Good or at least half a Good. The Good(s) regained will be of the same type used to create the Item in the first place, or of the type listed on the Item or chosen by the GM.
From the Appendix:
Item Trade
If ever the 4 types of Goods in your pack become unbalanced and you wish to trade one type for another, you can do so using the Item Trade Ability. This Ability requires no roll and instead allows you to simply exchange things at the going rates.
Note that the exchange rate from Fine Goods to other types of Goods is at a rate of 1 to 5 instead of the usual 1 to 1.
From the Appendix:
Grapple
The Grapple Ability is one of the lesser-used Abilities and comes with some complexity, but it can really come in handy in a pinch. In short, you have 3 options you can try to use against a target: Grab, Mount, or Move.
After choosing an effect option for your Grapple, you will need to roll a Fighter Test, which will determine, as usual, if your target must modify their Save Test. If you got a High Score, they must roll with a Disadvantage. If you got a Low Score, the target can roll with an Advantage. If the target Fails their Save, then the Grapple takes effect.
Most of the effects of the Grapple Ability deal with Status Conditions. These will be discussed further in a later chapter. Each Status Condition is a set of effects that help form a common set of rules that many Abilities can reference.
From the Appendix:
Investigate
The Investigate Ability will often be the first thing you do when entering a new room or area. Investigate is a Reaction to the GM describing a new location and allows you to ask probing questions about the area without having to walk around or touch things.
When you Investigate a new area, you will first choose if you are using Recon, Analysis, or Sensing to do it. The Perception Skill you choose will affect what types of questions you get to ask as a result.
The GM will respond with basic, but accurate information. Answers gained from this Ability will generally never put you in danger or reveal you. Further info can be gained by engaging with the location, but that can be dangerous. Such investigations may yet require further Skill Tests.
If ever a GM's description of a room or area is lacking or confusing, feel free to ask clarifying questions. These questions will not count toward the number you get from the Investigate Ability, though the GM may require your character take some exploratory action before revealing the answer. If those exploratory actions carry with them a risk, like if those actions would be Loud, the GM should warn you of the danger first.
From the Appendix:
Next Up: 1.9. Damage