Universal Metaphors are ubiquitous Metaphors that almost every single character can use during their games, regardless of which reality or rules are at play. Because of this quality, these Metaphors are granted automatically to characters based on their starting Attributes. For other useful Metaphors that are more genre-specific, see Recommended Metaphors.
Phrases surrounded by quotation marks (“”) are used in Metaphor scope/bonus descriptions for the Metaphor Ability.
Inherent Metaphors
These Metaphors are granted at a value equal to the character's corresponding Attribute at creation, even if a Metaphor has a value of 0 due to their Attribute value. After creation, they function the same as any Metaphor, with the player/character requiring to spend experience in order to improve the Metaphor's base value and components.
The Inherent Metaphors also begins with a +1 Metaphor component in every available slot. The player/character may choose to partially or consolidate multiple component values, such as three +1s into a +2 and +1, or three +1s into one +3.
The Attribute in parentheses indicates the Attribute that determines starting values, even if other Attributes can be used in skill checks.
Athletics (Strength)
“Skill bonus to perform physically demanding activities using one's own body.”
Athletics is a skill that works with any number physical activities that can be helpful in moving around and moving things around in the world. Primarily a Strength-based skill, it can incorporate Agility for acrobatic feats.
Example Components
• Leaping: “Meta-Dice bonus to checks involving jumping up and across distances.”
• Swimming: “Meta-Dice bonus to navigate above and below through bodies of liquid.”
• Climbing: “Meta-Dice bonus to navigate up, down and across surfaces and other terrain.”
• Acrobatics: “Meta-Dice bonus to performing feats of Agility such as Balance and Parkour. Uses Agility for these types of checks.”
• Push/Pull/Lift: “Meta-Dice bonus to moving objects and creatures around under your own strength.”
Fitness (Endurance)
"Skill bonus to checks involving the character's health and checks to inflict physical statuses upon them."
Fitness is a special kind of Metaphor that helps enhance the character's survivability, as well as their ability to endure injuries and recover from them.
Example Components
• Healing Factor: "Whenever the character heals HP, recover an additional mdX HP."
• Stamina Recovery: "Whenever the character lowers the magnitude of Exhaustion statuses, reduce it by an additional X."
• Immune System: "While affected by diseases and other body-based statuses, add mdX to any checks involving those conditions."
• [Feature] Strong Constitution I: "Costs 5XP, increase HPLV by 2."
• [Feature] Strong Constitution II: "Costs 10XP, increases HPLV by 2. Requires and stacks with Strong Constitution I."
Stealth (Agility)
“Skill bonus to avoid detection and recognition from others.”
Stealth is a useful skill to avoid encounters or to get a better position to start them. Stealth isn’t just about being unseen, it is also about not being recognised as a threat, thus the act of Disguising one self can be used to fool hostiles from recognising you in plain sight.
When Stealth is used to avoid detection it is an Agility-based skill, but when used for disguises it may require Intelligence or Perception for creating and adjusting disguises and Charisma to sell the facade.
Example Components
• Mask Sound: “Meta-dice bonus to moving and acting quietly to avoid aural detection.”
• Blend-In: “Meta-dice bonus to avoid detection/recognition from others while in plain sight.”
• Disguise: “Meta-dice bonus to the creation and quality of a disguise designed to fool others' recognition.”
• Escape: “Meta-dice bonus to checks to break pursuers’ ability to track user’s location and status.”
Stealth Actions
♦ Be Stealthy: User reduces their movement by half (rounded down, min 1sq/5ft) to move around without drawing attention. Passive stealth equals 6 + Metaphor + Agility. If a Metaphor component applies to the stealth approach, you can add the Component bonus as well.
Observation (Perception)
“Skill bonus to notice and detect things occurring around the user. Trained Perception.”
Observation is a form of trained Perception that’s permits characters improve on their standard Perception checks. This versatile skill can be used to help detect specific things or using a general creature sense. When bonuses by Type and bonuses by Sense stack, the player takes the value of the better roll between them. The Game-Master should specify what sense is being checked to apply the appropriate bonuses.
Example Components
• Sight: “Meta-dice bonus to detect and notice things they can see.”
• Hearing: “Meta-dice bonus to detect and identify things aurally.”
• Smell: “Meta-dice bonus to detect and identify things by scent.”
• Touch: “Meta-dice bonus to detect and identify things by texture or tremorsense.”
• "Thing": "Meta-dice bonus to detect and identify 'the thing specified'."
ex. Identify Beasts: "Meta-dice bonus to detect and identify Animals and Beast-like creatures.
Observation Actions
♦ Survey: User can roll for Observation to ascertain details of their surroundings, possibly noticing something immediately. Regardless of result, their minimum result is 6 + Metaphor + Perception.
♦ Passive Observation: Without rolling, user can notice things with a TN equal or lower than 6 + Metaphor + Perception.
♦ Investigation: User can search for something specific in the environment, if the user knows the right clue(s) to find a secret, the discovery TN becomes a progress check instead of a regular check.
Knowledge (Intellect)
“Skill bonus to learn and recall information and facts about general subjects.”
Knowledge serves as a mixture of Lore, History and more advanced intelligence checks about known things in the game's world. The main ability can apply to checks about any commonly known information, though a Metaphor component bonus about a specific subject may allow access to more specialist or secret knowledge about that subject. History can allow a character to recall things that happened to them more easily, and right when they need to remember them that moment.
Example Components
• History: “Meta-dice bonus to recall information about things that happened before the present moment. Including Personal History”
• Engineering: “Meta-dice bonus to recall information about Mechanical Engineering”
• Language: Dwarven: "Meta-dice bonus to decipher and understand Dwarven. Can Speak Dwarven."
Knowledge Actions
♦ Recall Knowledge: Make a check to recall useful information about a subject. If the user recalls a subject from a Metaphor component, failing a check still gives out common information, just not specialist information.
♦ Passive Knowledge: Any subject with a TN equal or less than 6 + Metaphor + Intellect is known to the user. If the subject is specialist, they can add their Component bonus as well.
Discipline-Willpower (Charisma)
"Skill bonus to identify and resist mental effects that can negatively impact the user, or help improve their mental state."
Discipline-Willpower is a defensive Metaphor similar to Fitness, except it affects resistance and recovery from mental conditions. When such conditions affect how the user perceives their environment, Perception can be used as the attribute anchor, whereas if the condition affects the user's state of mind and ability to act, use Charisma.
Example Components
• Stay Calm: "Meta-dice bonus to checks involving resisting/recovering from emotional extremes (Rage, Despair, Mania, Fear)."
• Discern Reality: "Meta-dice bonus to checks involving seeing past or disbelieving illusions and illusory realities."
• Resist Corruption: "Meta-dice bonus to checks involving resisting Mind-Control or Corruption, forcing one to do things against their will."
Influence (Charisma)
“Skill bonus to speak and act towards others in a convincing, believable and endearing way.”
Influence is the general ‘convince others to your ideals’ sort of skill. It is by no means a form of mind control, the check will simply allow a character to say or portray themselves in the most ideal way based on request or intent, or avoid the consequences of poorly phrased or ill-intended actions. Other sub-abilities allow for different ways to speak and act to others and allow varied approaches.
Example Components
• Diplomacy: “Meta-dice bonus to engage others diplomatically to resolve conflicts and come to solutions.”
• Deception: “Meta-dice bonus to tell lies and untruths to others in a believable way and avoid suspicion.”
• Intimidation: “Meta-dice bonus to coerce others assertively, with or without threats of violence.”
• Charm: “Meta-dice bonus to endear others into improving one’s self image or reputation to others or get closer to them.”
Action Metaphors
As well as passive skills listed above, characters also have certain actions they can perform and are enhancable.
In addition, some Metaphor components may include bonus types such as 'Damage' and 'Magnitude'. And they can also have conditions such as only when a specific type of creature or a specific item is used, or even when a 'condition' is in effect such as a target being grappled, under effects and such. All these kind of bonuses can stack provided they do not occupy the same bonus type. As such, a Creature Type and an Item-requirement could stack, but simply using two items or Creature-type bonuses types will not stack.
Unarmed Strike (Strength/Agility)
"Tohit bonus to target and strike foes with bare limbs or other natural weapons"
Unarmed Strike is considered a basic combat style, compared to the likes of 'Martial Arts'. But it can serve as good a use for any character as a last means of self-defense, when they can't rely on equipment or powers. This skill typically works for humanoids but sub-abilities can include other attack forms so long as it is a natural feature of the character. The ToHit bonus works so long as the character attacks with natural weapons.
The player/character must choose whether this Metaphor is based on their Strength or Agility at creation. The starting value of this Metaphor is equal to the chosen Attribute.
Sub-Abilities
• Versus Humanoids: "Meta-Dice bonus to targeting and hitting Humanoid creatures.
• Unarmed Strike (Damage): "Meta-Dice bonus to increase physical damage dealt by Unarmed Strike attacks."
• Humanoids (Damage): "Meta-Dice bonus to increase damage dealt to Humanoid enemies with Unarmed Strike attacks."
• Knockback Bonus: "Magnitude bonus to Unarmed Strikes that inflict Knockback on targets."
Unarmed Strike Actions
♦ Unarmed Strike: Attack a target within reach using the character's limb(s). Base damage: d4+Strength.
♦ Ready Technique: Mentally prepare to perform a special attack (enables bonus effects) on next chosen Unarmed Strike.
♦ Grapple: Reach for a target using a grasping limb, on hit, target is Grappled and must roll a Strength check to move or escape. Grapple magnitude is equal to 6+Core+Strength. Grappler gains Advantage to strike the other. Grappler can subtract Grappled creature's escape roll equal to d12+Core+Strength each Action Frame.
♦ Block: Reduce damage taken from attacks equal to user's Core+Endurance.
Melee Weapons (Strength)
"ToHit bonus to targeting and attacking with Melee Weapons."
Melee Weapons covers the broad category of weapons that are often swung around physically by a character using their Natural Reach. Such weapons can also be thrown but aren't treated as Ranged weapons. Unlike Unarmed Strike, this Metaphor does require a Melee Weapon or something like it in order to work.
Properties of the weapon will apply regardless of the Metaphor used, the user's Metaphor effects can stack with the weapon but only if they were capable of doing so themselves. (A character can't cause a weapon to deal extra fire damage if they can't make weapons deal fire on their own).
Example Components
• Sword Mastery: "Meta-Dice ToHit bonus to hitting targets while wielding Sword-type weapons."
• Sword Damage: "Meta-Dice bonus to dealing damage to targets while wielding Sword-type weapons."
• Block: Sword: "As an action, uses Sword-type weapon to increase user's Deflection by X. Weapon takes hit upon Deflection."
• Bleed Bonus: "Meta-Dice bonus to Bleed Magnitude on attacks that inflict Bleed."
Melee Weapon Actions
♦ Weapon Strike: Attack target within reach with weapon, uses Weapon's stats.
♦ Ready Technique: Mentally prepare to perform a special attack (enables bonus effects) on next chosen Weapon Strike.
♦ Block: Raises user's Deflection equal to half Metaphor's ToHit bonus (rounded up). Full bonus if it is a Shield-like weapon.
Ranged Weapons
"ToHit bonus to targeting and attacking with Ranged Weapons."
Ranged Weapons covers the other category of weapons that often fire projectiles from a projector, like an Arrow from a Bow, or a Bullet from a Firearm. Rarely, Ranged weapons can be used as melee weapons, however unless specified, many ranged weapons are not designed to be used in this way and do not benefit from bonuses granted by this Metaphor.
Different to Melee Weapons, Ranged weapons often require ammunition or projectile to be loaded in order for them to be used properly. Separate actions such a Unload, Reload, or Nock are used to reload firearms, or prime bows. Action-Sequences are good for cutting down on Action-point consumption and keep combat rounds flowing.
Example Components
• Optimise: The Unload action can be performed in half a frame, when used in conjunction with Optimize Reload, can reload a weapon in one Action Frame.
• Contingency (Moving Target): Contingency bonus to ToHit checks against Moving Targets complication.
Ranged Weapon Actions
♦ Unload: Empties the ammo mechanism from a Firearm. Firearm can be Reloaded.
♦ Reload: Loads the ammo mechanism into a Firearm. Can now unload Firearm at any time.
♦ Nock: Draws projectile into ranged weapon (bow/crossbow/sling).
♦ Fire: Consume projectile/ammo of ranged weapon to make an attack (ToHit). Can't fire a weapon that has run out of ammo.
♦ Weapon Strike: Hit target with ranged weapon, treat as improvised weapon.
Dodge
"As an action, increase the user's Evasion by X against a single attack (targeted or otherwise)."
The Dodge Metaphor enhances the 'Dodge' action that is intended to increase the user's Evasion stat. by default, the Dodge action only allows the user to increase their evasion against one attack, but with Metaphor components, the player can allow their character to do more.
Example Components
• Vigilance: "Increases the number of attacks one can dodge per round by +X."
• Dodge-Step: "After using Dodge, allows movement up to +X square(s) in any direction. User counts as a 'Moving Target'.
• Evasion vs. Melee: "Meta-Dice Bonus to Evasion when targeted by Melee attacks.
• Evasion vs. Area-Effects: "Meta-Dice bonus to Evasion when avoiding Area-of-Effect attacks."