Maneuvers & Deeds
On this page16
- Types of Special Actions
- Maneuvers
- Universal Maneuvers (Available to Everyone)
- Declared Maneuvers
- Declaration Tiers
- Disruption
- Checks & Creative Actions
- Check Tiers
- Deeds
- What Are Deeds?
- Why Martial Trees Have Both Deeds AND Tactical Abilities
- Spellcasting
- In-Combat Spellcasting
- Out-of-Combat Spellcasting
- Spellcasting by Class
- Mystic Attack
One tactical pick per round, what a hit can interrupt, and how spells are declared.
Types of Special Actions
There is ONE tactical choice per round: your Maneuver. Some maneuvers carry the Declared tag.
| Type | Chosen When | Resolves | Can Be Disrupted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Action | Your turn | Your turn | No |
| Maneuver (instant) | Tactical Phase | Immediately | No |
| Declared Maneuver | Tactical Phase | On your turn | Yes |
| Reaction | When triggered | Immediately | No |
Quick Reference:
- Basic Action = decide on your turn, can't be stopped (Attack, Dodge, Sprint, etc.)
- Instant Maneuver = pick early, happens immediately, flat Stamina cost, can't be stopped
- Declared Maneuver = pick early, resolves on your turn, CAN be disrupted. Spellcasting is the big one: casting a spell IS your Maneuver for the round
Maneuvers
Picked in the tactical phase. Limit: ONE Maneuver per round, total. A Declared Maneuver (including any spell) consumes the same pick.
Universal Maneuvers (Available to Everyone)
Core Maneuvers (always solid defaults):
| Maneuver | Effect |
|---|---|
| Defend | +2 AC until start of next turn |
| Empower | +1 crit range on your attacks this round |
| Focus | Advantage on one saving throw type until start of next turn |
| Brace | Regain your Tier in Vigor, up to your cap |
| Fortify | Convert Stamina to Vigor 1:1, up to your cap |
| Steel Yourself | Convert Stamina to Vitality 1:1, up to your max |
Situational Maneuvers (specific tactical uses):
| Maneuver | Effect |
|---|---|
| Drink Potion | Consume one potion immediately (only way to drink in combat) |
| Provoke | Next enemy you hit must target you on their turn |
| Step | Move 5 ft without provoking (even if flanked) |
| Disengage | Your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks this round |
Tree-specific Maneuvers include: Rage, Takedown, Bestial Maneuver, and others (see tree descriptions). All martial tree maneuvers are instant.
Declared Maneuvers
Announced in the tactical phase, resolved on your turn. CAN be disrupted if you lose Vitality before your turn.
What is Declared:
- Spellcasting (Wizard, Invoker, Druid) - tier = spell tier
- Prayer invocation (Prophet) - tier = stack count
- A handful of telegraphed abilities marked (Declared)
- Psions and Martial Artists never declare (spontaneous)
Unresolved Declared Maneuvers are lost at end of round.
Declaration Tiers
Every Declared Maneuver has a tier (1-5) that sets its disruption DC and Stamina cost on failure:
| Tier | Disruption DC | Stamina on Fail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 1 |
| 2 | 13 | 2 |
| 3 | 15 | 3 |
| 4 | 17 | 4 |
| 5 | 19 | 5 |
Disruption
When you lose Vitality (a hit past your Vigor) before resolving a Declared Maneuver, make a disruption check:
Roll: d20 + relevant stat die + Tier vs DC (by declaration tier).
Success: Maintained, no cost.
Failure: Spend Stamina equal to the tier to maintain, or lose it.
Multiple hits: One check per point of Vitality lost.
Important: Vigor loss does NOT trigger disruption. Declaring paints a target on you; your shield is what stands between your spell and their steel.
Checks & Creative Actions
A Check is any active attempt, whether using trained abilities from skill trees or improvised creative actions. All checks use the dice pool system (see section 1).
What Triggers a Check:
- Using skill tree abilities
- Martial/mystic tree signature actions
- Throne abilities used creatively
- Any creative action outside normal combat rules
Check Tiers
| Tier | Effect Level | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basic | Catch a tossed weapon, shove off balance |
| 2 | Improved | Suplex through a table, catch an arrow |
| 3 | Greater | Break a wooden door, rally panicking allies |
| 4 | Heroic | Cut a spell in half, break a stone column |
| 5 | Legendary | Wrestle a giant, defy death itself |
Deeds
What Are Deeds?
Deeds are narrative, interpretive actions from martial trees with flexible outcomes. Unlike tactical abilities (which give precise mechanical bonuses), deeds describe what your character can do in fiction.
Every martial tree grants two: its initial deed at Tier 1 and its ultimate deed at Tier 5.
Why Martial Trees Have Both Deeds AND Tactical Abilities
The tactical abilities establish a baseline for power. When you know what one Vitality, one Vigor point, or +1 crit range is worth, you can measure deed effects against those concrete benchmarks.
A Tier 2 deed should accomplish something roughly equivalent to a low-tier tactical effect. A Tier 4-5 deed should match an Ultimate. Tactical abilities are the ruler. Deeds are what you measure.
Spellcasting
In-Combat Spellcasting
Declare: In the tactical phase. Casting is your Maneuver for the round (no Defend, Brace, or Empower on a casting round).
Resolve: On your turn.
Disruption: Can be disrupted by Vitality loss (see Declared Maneuvers above).
No check required - declare and resolve. Disruption is the risk.
What spells do: see the Magic Conversion table at the start of Part 4. A damaging spell deals flat Damage equal to its SPELL tier on a failed save, 1 Vigor damage on a save (each target, for area effects). Healing heals Vitality equal to its tier, refills Vigor, or removes wounds (a wound is a lasting injury; removing one heals a real injury).
Out-of-Combat Spellcasting
When casting spells outside of combat, use the d20 system:
Roll: d20 + casting stat die + Tier vs DC (Tier 1-5: DC 11/13/15/17/19).
Success: Spell works, no Stamina cost.
Failure: Spend [Spell Tier] stamina to succeed, or spell fails.
Fate Points: Spend 1 Fate point to reroll the ability test. Must take the new result.
Spellcasting by Class
Wizard (Mind): spellbook + preparation + interpretations. Declares.
Prophet (Faith): prayers with the litany die. Declares.
Druid (Sense): aspects + attunement. Declares.
Invoker (Heart): patron magic, all spells known. Declares.
Psion (Cunning): manifests on their turn, never declares, keeps their Maneuver, immune to disruption. Not magic; unaffected by anti-magic.
Martial Artist (Body): jutsus and primal spells, spontaneous, never declares.
Mystic Attack
All mystic trees except Martial Artist gain access to a basic ranged attack:
Mystic Attack: 120 ft range- Attack: d20 + casting stat modifier vs AC
- On hit: deals 1 Vigor damage (a crit deals your Tier die of Vigor damage, d4 at Tier 1 up to d12 at Tier 5; damage type appropriate to your class).
- Vigor damage never touches Vitality and never wounds, against anything. But a Minor's whole pool IS Vigor, so against Minors it is simply damage: the mystic attack grinds Major shields and clears mooks. Real damage against Majors comes from your spells.
- A missed mystic attack triggers your Glancing Blow (section 2) like any weapon attack.
- No declaration required. This is a standard attack action.