Riesgos
La tirada básica del juego se llama Riesgo (y representa a los héroes asumiendo alguna clase de riesgo). El proceso para resolver estas tiradas es el siguiente:
Hay algunas situaciones que pueden hacer que la secuencia anterior se vea modificada. Las más comunes son:
- Improvisar: No tienes por qué llevar a cabo Acciones siempre dentro de tu Aproximación, si llevas a cabo acciones que se salen del ámbito de tu Aproximación, debes gastar 1 Aumento adicional.
- Sin Habilidad: Si no tienes la Habilidad para tu Aproximación, puedes llevar a cabo el Riesgo, pero la Acción te costará 1 Aumento adicional (acumulativo con Improvisar).
En caso de que no consigas ningún Aumento, no tienes por qué fallar necesariamente, pero van a pasar cosas. Interesantes.
Ejemplo de Riesgo
Tu Héroe pasa a través de una habitación en llamas - volveremos a esto más tarde - y el máster dice "Eso es un Riesgo. Las Consecuencias son llevarte 2 Heridas, pero tienes la Oportunidad de coger una carta secreta antes de que el fuego la alcance." Tiras los dados y obtienes 2 Aumentos. Usas el primer Aumento para llevar a cabo una Acción - recorres la habitación, sin importar el daño que recibas en el proceso. Puedes usar tu segundo Aumento para negar la primera Herida (cuando las Consecuencias causan Heridas, cada Aumento anula una) o para coger la carta secreta. Como no tienes un tercer Aumento, tienes que decidir, y además recibirás como mínimo 1 Herida de las Consecuencias.
Sobre el pasar por la habitación en llamas, esto podría llevarse a cabo de varias formas, y es tu forma de hacerlo lo que define tu Aproximación. Si decides pasar por la habitación apartando los mueves a mazazos y utilizando la fuerza bruta (y tu arma) para abrirte paso, podría ser Músculo + Armas. Si vas a cruzarla saltando y esquivando las llamas, podría ser Destreza + Atletismo. Si vas a convencer a alguien para que te ayude a cruzarla a hombros, sería Donarie + Convencer.
Estilo
La primera vez que usas una Habilidad en una Escena, obtienes un bono de 1 dado a la tirada. Si al describir tu Aproximación, das detalles interesantes y lo haces narrativamente dinámico (a discreción del máster), recibes 1 dado a la tirada. Ambos bonos son acumulables.
Presión
Como Acción, puedes imponer Presión a un Villano (u otro Héroe) para obligarle a actuar de cierta forma. El Héroe (o el Villano) que pone la presión, define primero la acción "atacarme", "huir". Normalmente, se utilizan Habilidades como Convencer, Intimidar, Seducir o similares. El objetivo de la Presión tendrá que gastar un Aumento adicional para romper la presión y actuar de forma diferente a la Presión impuesta. Sólo se puede poner una vez presión sobre un mismo objetivo y una vez rota la Presión, ya se puede actuar libremente (hasta que vuelvan a ponerte Presión, claro).
Puntos de Héroe
Los Puntos de Héroe son un recurso de cada jugador que puede gastar durante la partida.
Ganar Puntos de Héroe
Ganas un Punto de Héroe cuándo:
Usar Puntos de Héroe
Los jugadores pueden usar Puntos de Héroe para obtener los siguientes beneficios:
La Reserva de Peligro
El máster dispone de un recurso similar a los Puntos de Héroe, que son los Puntos de Peligro. No quiero entrar en cómo funciona la mecánica, pero le permite hacer cosas como (entre otras) incrementar la dificultad de los Riesgos, mejorar las tiradas de los Villanos, desencadenar habilidades especiales de los matones o matar a un Héroe Incapacitado.
Porté
The most famous sorcery (perhaps because of its spectacular and violent effects) belongs to the nobility of Montaigne, the sorcier de Porté. Using this powerful magic, a sorcier can bend the rules of reality, traveling a great distance in a moment or pulling an object to him that he has previously marked as his own. La Magie des Portails, also known as “Porté,” or “doorway magic,” involves the sorcier cutting holes in the fabric of the universe. The doorways bleed and scream in horrible, blood-curdling voices and fill the room with an ice-cold wind that could chill the marrow in your bones. Not only is the “bleeding” of the doorway itself a part of the sorcery, but bleeding of the sorcier is also necessary. Occult scholars call the nether dimension linking the doorways “the walkway,” a place as deadly and mysterious as the Seventh Sea itself. No one knows what beings reside there, but most sorciers know better than to linger in their realm for long. Those that tempt fate do not usually return to tell tales of what they have seen on their journeys.
How It Works
Porté magic is inherited through the blood. If an ancestor of yours had Porté, you may have Porté. The Montaigne keep a strict track on lineages, ensuring the gift does not travel too far from noble blood. There have been non-noble Porté mages, but those who have the gift either keep it secret or never cultivate it. Stories of black carriages showing up in the middle of the night—dragging young children away, never to be seen again—are more than just folklore. A young Porté mage first learns the art of the Blood Mark: the ability to mark an object with your own blood. A mage can feel the object’s presence when it is nearby or know where it might be at a distance. After he’s learned how to Mark an item, he learns how to Pull the item toward himself. He bloodies his hands, opens a portal, and reaches through the portal toward the Marked object. When he’s grasped it, he can pull the item through the portal to where he currently stands. The sorcier may only bring objects that can easily fit in one hand. If he can’t lift it, he can’t pull it through the portal.
After learning how to pull objects, the next skill a sorcier learns is how to Walk. This allows the sorcier to open a portal and walk to a location or object he has Marked. This is a dangerous practice because it exposes the sorcier to the otherworldly walkway in full. However, the sorcier can move from one continent to another in a matter of minutes. Far easier than chartering a ship or traveling overland, but while exposed to the walkway, the sorcier must keep his eyes shut tight and ignore the voices he hears urging him to open his eyes.
Pulling Through
Heroes with Porté can pull objects through the doorways toward them and pull themselves toward blooded objects. There is no other physical connection between the two doorways. In other words, if a Hero drops a blooded pin into the ocean and opens a doorway to that pin, water will not rush out through the doorway; however, the pin will be wet when the Hero pulls it through. Likewise, if a Hero tries to pull himself through a doorway toward an object and the object is in a place the Hero cannot enter, he will find his passage blocked and he’ll be forced to go to another blooded object in order to get out of the portal…not a very pleasant option. For example, if a Hero leaves a blooded pin in a lady’s chamber and the lady places the pin in her jewelry box, the Hero will not be able to move through the portal into the jewelry box. However, he will be able to pull the pin toward him without compromising the integrity of the box.
Trapped on the Walkway
If a Hero steps through a doorway, walks to his item, finds that he cannot connect with it and has no other blooded objects to home in on, he’s trapped in the walkway forever, or at least until something finds him. For this reason, many sorciers create and hide blooded objects that can act as emergency exits, safeguarding the knowledge of their existence from even their close friends and family.
Blood Marks
A Porté sorcier’s power comes from her blood—literally. When a sorcier wishes to place her Mark upon someone or something, she pricks her finger, places a drop of her blood upon an object and concentrates, forging a bond between herself and the piece of her that she’s used to anoint the object. Then she spends a Hero Point. That object is now Marked.
Minor Marks
Smaller objects (something that can be held in one hand such as a sword, locket, hat) are usually marked with a Minor Mark, allowing the sorcier to know where the object is and Pull the object to her using Porté.
Major Marks
Large objects (something too large to be held in one hand such as a boat, wagon, treasure chest), a place, or another person can only bear a Major Mark, allowing the sorcier to also Walk to the object, place, or person. Smaller objects can bear Major Marks as well, but it’s more common for a sorcier to place a Major Mark on stable locations or buildings. A direct, one-step blood relative (such as a brother, a daughter, or a mother) is always considered to have a Major Mark placed upon them at no cost to the sorcier, so long as they are alive.
Maintaining Marks
A sorcier can only maintain her connection to a certain number of marks at a time. Once placed, a Mark remains until something explicit happens in order to remove it (such as the mark being discovered and purposefully washed away) or the object is destroyed. Incidental contact or washing is usually not enough to erase a Mark. If a sorcier were to mark the wall of a tavern with a Major Mark, for example, a routine cleaning by the tavern staff would not remove the mark. If the Mark is discovered, however, it can be quickly and easily removed. For each time she has purchased the Sorcery Advantage, she can maintain a connection to 2 Minor Marks and 1 Major Mark. If the sorcier is already at her maximum number of Marks and wishes to place a new one, she must sever her connection to one that already exists. Severing a connection takes just a few moments of concentration. During an Action Scene, it requires one Raise.
Using a Mark
A sorcier can, with a moment’s concentration, know the general direction and distance to any of her Marks. Using Porté during an Action Sequence requires a Raise. The sorcier chooses a Mark, and then the GM informs her the rough distance and general direction (“that Mark is around 250 miles away, roughly north”). If a sorcier comes within approximately 100 feet of any of her Marks, she immediately knows but cannot pinpoint its location any more closely. In order to Pull or Walk to one of her Marks, a sorcier must spill her own blood. While creating a Mark requires only a drop (and thus doesn’t cause significant harm), opening a portal is different. It is a bloody affair. The sorcier practically opens a vein. This causes a Dramatic Wound. If this Dramatic Wound would cause the sorcier to become Helpless, she becomes Helpless as soon as she completes her Sorcery. If a sorcier wishes to open a portal during an Action Sequence, it costs a single Raise in addition to the Dramatic Wound. A sorcier can Pull a Minor Mark to herself. This allows her to open a portal, reach through, and take hold of the Marked object. A sorcier can Walk to a Major Mark. This allows her to open a portal and step through, appearing through a similar portal standing within 5 feet of her Major Mark. If there is not enough space for the sorcier to occupy on the other side, the Walk fails—she must immediately choose another Major Mark to walk to (but doesn’t need to suffer an additional Dramatic Wound), or become lost in the Place Between Worlds.
Example: Earlier in the Episode, Roseline marked her nephew's sword with a Minor Mark. When she finds herself in trouble later, she can't Walk to the sword—she would need a Major Mark to Walk and neither the sword nor her nephew are strong enough connections—so she Pulls the sword to herself instead. Hopefully, he wasn't using it.
It is possible for a sorcier to bring other people with her when she Walks through a portal. The sorcier must spend 1 Hero Point for each character she wishes to bring along. Of course, the larger a group a sorcier tries to bring through the Place Between Worlds, the more attention the group will draw.
Blessures
A Heroic sorcier uses her magic in subtle ways, when she needs it. She opens portails, or doors. She realizes that what she does is painful to the world itself, and so she minimizes the pain that she causes. This is why she bleeds to do so—she harms herself to spare the world. She is surgical, cutting only when and where she needs to. Villainous sorciers have no such scruples. He uses his magic like an axe, chopping away at their problems and letting the world itself bleed to pay the cost. He opens blessures, literally Wounds, upon the world. If a Heroic sorcier is a surgeon, a Villainous sorcier is a butcher. These blessures are screaming, bleeding fissures in the fabric of the world. Some Heroic sorciers see it as a responsibility to mend these injuries, and to seek out those who cause them and put a stop to it. Such a task comes with great danger—a blessure can only be closed from the inside, from within the Place Between Worlds, and the things there do not take kindly to trespassers, no matter how noble their intentions. Opening a blessure functions the same as opening a portal, but the sorcier doesn’t take a Dramatic Wound—instead, the world pays the cost. Opening a blessure always results in Corruption. Let me be clear—opening a blessure ALWAYS results in Corruption. There are no exceptions. There is no end that justifies that means.
Secuencias Dramáticas
Las secuencias dramáticas son el contrapunto a las secuencias de acción. En esta, el ritmo de juego es más calmado, con la tensión creciendo poco a poco en lugar de violentamente como en las de acción. Para ello, se utiliza el siguiente esquema:
Quedarse sin Aumentos
Si un personaje se queda sin Aumentos durante una secuencia, no vuelve a tirar. Puede seguir participando, pero no puede llevar a cabo acciones. Así que ojo con dónde se gastan los aumentos.
Lista de Habilidades