This page is a list of Recommended Metaphors that can be used in a majority of game scenarios and genres. And for more specific scenarios, this page can also provide examples players can use to keep powers and abilities consistent. The list of Metaphors and their Sub-Abilities are hardly comprehensive, but they serve as good starting points and guides on how one may expand Metaphors to suit a character or the things they must contend with. Communicate with your Game-Master in order to establish what can or can't be used in a campaign.
Often, Sub-Abilities are treated as Dice bonuses, meaning a Sub-ability at +1 can be treated as a d4 in most circumstances. A +2 would be d6/2 and so on up to +5 where it becomes a d12/5. For more information on what to do with these dice, see Meta Dice.
Phrases surrounded by quotation marks (“”) are used in Metaphor scope/bonus descriptions for the Metaphor Ability.
This page is currently INCOMPLETE, pending a full write-up of all recommended Metaphors.
Skill Metaphors
Skill Metaphors almost always use the Bonus type Skill, for use in checks with variable outcomes. The Scope component refers to a set of circumstances which the Metaphor can be used for, with Sub-Abilities taking it a step further.
Athletics (Strength)
“Skill bonus to perform physically demanding activities.”
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 some Endurance and Agility based applications under the right circumstances.
Sub-Abilities
• 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 balancing and Parkour. Can use apply Agility to Athletics”
• Push/Pull/Lift: “Meta-Dice bonus to moving objects and creatures around under your own strength.”
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 recognized as a threat, thus the act of Disguising one self can be used to fool hostiles from recognizing 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.
Sub-Abilities
• 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.”
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.
Sub-Abilities
• 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.
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 sub-ability 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 in particular, right when they need to remember them for something else.
Sub-Abilities
• 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."
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.
Sub-Ability
• 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.”
Combat Metaphors
Combat Metaphors almost always uses ToHit for its Bonus component, to help improve the odds of hitting/affecting targets such as creatures and players. Scope usually covers a type of equipment or attack power that benefits from these Metaphors.
In addition, some Sub-abilities 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 fighting something that is two creature types will not stack.
Unarmed Strike
"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.
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."
Melee Weapons
"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).
Sub-abilities
• 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."
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.
Sub-Abilities
• Action-Sequence (Quick Reload): Combines Unload and Reload into one action for Firearm-type weapons, X times per round.
• Action-Sequence (Quick Fire): Combines Nock and Fire into one action for Bow-type weapons, X times per round.
• Contingency (Moving Target): Contingency bonus to ToHit checks against Moving Targets complication.
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 sub-abilities, the player can allow their character to do more.
Sub-Abilities
• Vigilance: "Increases the number of attacks one can dodge per action 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."
Special Metaphors
These kind of Metaphors are commonly found in a lot of other TTRPGs, and it would be best to list some examples here to aid players in starting characters of their own that possess these types of powers and skills with consistency.
Wizardry
Sorcery