KING

Anything you attempt that is not an attack rolls a pool: d6s equal to your stat modifier plus your Tier. Every 5 or 6 is a success, a 6 explodes and rolls again, and you pass when you have Tier successes. Each 1 costs 1 Stamina and hands you a Fate point, and a Fate point buys another die after the roll.

Advantage drops the success number to 4, disadvantage raises it to 6 only. Saves roll the same pool against the tier of whatever is coming at you, and their 1s cost nothing.

Attacks leave the pool behind: d20 + your tree's stat modifier + weapon bonus against AC, which is armor base + Sense modifier. No Tier, no proficiency, nothing else in either number.

A hit rolls no weapon damage. Every player character is a Major and rolls their Tier die, d4 at Tier 1 up to d12 at Tier 5, and a crit rolls two of them. Rank-and-file Minors skip the roll and deal flat Tier. Cunning sets how often you crit, from a 20 at Cunning 10 out to 14-20 at Cunning 22, and no bonus pushes that range past 12-20. Even a miss grinds the shield: Glancing Blow deals Vigor damage equal to your Body die.

Initiative is d8 + your Mind die, rerolled every round, so nobody owns the top of the order for long.

Then the tactical phase, where each player picks one Maneuver for the round and no more. Most happen at once. A Declared one, and casting a spell is always declared, waits for your turn and can be disrupted by any Vitality you lose first: d20 + stat die + Tier against the tier DC, then Stamina equal to the tier to hold it or the maneuver is lost.

Your turn is one action, 30 feet of movement, and one reaction. There are no bonus actions.

Every point of Damage crosses them in order.

Tier is your level halved and rounded up: 1 at levels 1-2, 5 at levels 9-10. It sets the dice you add to a pool, the successes that pool needs, your Vitality, your Vigor cap, your wound capacity, and the die your hits roll.

The tier DC ladder is 11 / 13 / 15 / 17 / 19: the DC of a save against a Tier 1 to 5 effect, and the DC of a disruption check.

Stat scores run their own ladder. 10-11 is +0 and no die, 12-13 is +1 and a d3, then d4, d6, d8, d10, and a d12 at 22. Modifiers go on attacks and AC; dice go on checks, saves, and initiative.

Everyone runs on the same Stamina: 7 at level 1, climbing by alternating 3s and 4s to 38 at level 10. It buys out a failed check outside combat for Tier Stamina, holds a disrupted declaration, and fuels abilities. At 0 you keep acting, but a failed check brings exhaustion, and exhaustion is disadvantage on everything you roll.

A Rest is 8 hours, a ration, and somewhere safe: all Vitality back, Stamina equal to your level, exhaustion gone. A Recovery is 10 minutes: 1 Fate for Tier Stamina, or 2 Stamina for 1 Vitality. Wounds ignore both and close only through their Treatment.