Your facets are the most prominent aspects of your character, important to the fiction and the game, which, next to your traits, also lays the foundation for your competence and your dice pool. A facet in the game is always written in a bold italic style. Having a relevant facet in a situation adds one dice to your dice pool. When you face challenges, situational facets or facets from opposition can instead work against you and remove dice from your dice pool.
Your character’s facets are divided into three categories; backgrounds, lifepaths, and skills. The three can work together, increasing your dice pool with up to three dice, but no more than one in each category can be applied in a given challenge.
Background
Pick your background facet. It represents your social standing, upbringing, or birthright, and is used broadly in social interactions or when working on projects. Some backgrounds are naturally negative towards others in their context or a vastly different environment, while others are highly compatible or have nothing but respect for each other. It is up to the GM in a given scene to determine how that can come into play. Each playbook has its own set of backgrounds, some shared with others playbooks, some unique. A facet example:
Outcast – Represents a character’s status as someone who lives on the fringes of society, either due to their past actions or societal prejudice. This facet can be useful in social situations where a character’s outsider perspective or knowledge of the underworld might be advantageous, or it can hinder them when interacting with more refined or lawful members of society. Example during play:
GM: “The townsfolk eye you suspiciously as you enter the bustling marketplace. Most seem to avoid making eye contact, their gazes cold and dismissive.”
Player: “I’ll use my Outcast facet to spot anyone who seems like they’re on the fringes too – someone who might share my walk of life, and be willing to talk or provide information. I know what it’s like to be ignored and overlooked.”
GM: “Alright, so face a challenge using your Outcast background, and describe how you do it, what it looks like, and what trait and other facets of yours that comes into play. What’s obvious to you is that the crowd is not very friendly towards people like you, so they might stay away (which counts as an extra disadvantage).
Lifepath
Pick your lifepath facet. This describes one of your favored approaches in the fiction, and represents your professional and work context. Each playbook uses lifepaths differently; some in behavioral and craftslike ways, others as social, or to determine what mystic path you have walked in life. Lifepaths also work especially well with certain skills; when doing so, they can be applied as an extra facet in the described manner. See each playbook for how this works. A facet example:
Hunter – Represents a character’s experience and expertise in tracking, navigating the wilderness, and understanding animal behavior. This facet is especially helpful in situations that require survival skills, stealth in natural environments, or reading subtle signs in the terrain. Example during play:
GM: “You enter the dense forest, where the trail quickly becomes difficult to follow. A fading daylight and a ground covered with a thick underbrush makes this a lot harder for you.”
Player: “I’ll rely on my Hunter lifepath to pick up the trail again. I’ve spent years learning how to track prey in these kinds of conditions.”
GM: “Alright, let me know how you do this. Face a challenge using your Hunter facet, together with a trait and your other facets, to see if you can pick up the trail despite the difficult conditions. Describe what this looks like when you do it, and how you assemble your dice pool. You have two disadvantageous facets working against you already.”
Skills
Pick your three skill facets. Skills are used for very specific challenges and are applicable only in that area of expertise. There are many skills to choose from, and which you can choose from vary depending on the playbook. Having a skill means you are well-trained in that area. A facet example:
Herbalism – Reflects a character’s skill in identifying, gathering, and using plants for medicinal or mystical purposes. This skill facet can help when crafting potions, diagnosing ailments, or even recognizing poisonous plants in dangerous situations. Example during play:
GM: “One of your companions collapses, clutching their stomach and gasping for breath after eating something from the forest. What do you do?”
Player: “I’ll use my Herbalism skill to quickly assess the symptoms and see if I can identify what might have poisoned them and find a remedy.”
GM: “Okay, face a challenge using your Herbalism skill to determine if you can identify the cause of it, and create an antidote from nearby herbs. Describe how you do it and what it looks like, and from what trait and facets you assemble your dice pool.”
Other Facets
Later, during play, you will amass other facets, both good and bad. When you take harm, for example, the most serious kinds are called conditions. These, along with project and equipment qualities, and other magic effects from spells, can weigh you down – or help you – when relevant in a situation. A few examples:
Broken Arm (Condition) – A condition is afacet that represents a temporary or lasting injury, significantly impacting the character’s ability to use that arm effectively. A condition always affect the fiction, and besides limiting or even stopping a PC from doing certain things tied to it, it also impose a disadvantage in challenges affected by it. Example during play:
GM: “The enemy warrior advances, drawing his sword. You’re outnumbered and still nursing your injured, Broken Arm.”
Player: “I’ll have to be cautious. The Broken Arm condition will make it hard for me to fight effectively, so I’ll focus on evading his attacks rather than trying to parry or strike back.”
GM: “Alright, face a challenge with a disadvantage due to your Broken Arm condition, and let’s see if you manage to avoid harm from his attacks.”
Tool (Quality) – The Tool quality represents a weapon’s versatility beyond combat, allowing it to be used for functional purposes, such as breaking down barriers or manipulating objects. A two-handed battle-axe with the Tool quality can be used not only for combat but also as a powerful instrument to chop, break, or clear obstacles. This quality comes into play when the character uses the axe outside of combat to achieve physical tasks. Example during play:
GM: “You find yourselves blocked by a thick, reinforced wooden door. It looks sturdy and would take a lot of force to get through.”
Player: “Well… I’ll use my two-handed battle-axe to hack through it. Since it has the Tool quality, it should be effective for breaking down obstacles like this.”
GM: “Alright, the door is really thick, and counts as a small project with three progress slots. You need to face a challenge successfully for each slot to break through, and each challenge is faced with an advantage thanks to the Tool quality of your battle-axe, but with one disadvantage due to it being reinforced, summing up to neither an advantage nor disadvantage as they cancel eachother out. Let’s see if you can smash your way through the door and clear the path for the group.”
Protected (Spell Effect) – Protected is a magical spell effect described as a facet that acts as a temporary safeguard against supernatural threats. It provides an advantage in challenges involving malevolent entities, such as spirits or curses, as it wards off dark forces attempting to harm the character. It also counts as heavy protection against regular harm. The Protected facet can shift the narrative by creating a buffer of magical protection. An example during play:
GM: “A dark spirit materializes in the room, its cold, shadowy hands reaching out toward you with malevolent intent.”
Player: “I’m still under the effect of the Protected spell from the amulet I got, so I’ll stand my ground and trust that the magic to keep the spirit at bay.”
GM: “Alright, as you aren’t skilled in spellcraft, you can with the help of the amulet face a challenge with an advantage as you are Protected by it. Let’s see if the magical weave holds strong enough to repel the spirit’s advance towards you.”
