2e:Core Mechanics

''The world of Prognora is a living, breathing place. Spirits reside in everything from the earth and loam to the scattered clouds above. They take the form of angels and demons, mighty beasts and noble apparitions. And yet, for all their power and majesty, these spirits need to come from somewhere. They must be carried, nurtured, and taught the ways of the world they will one day care for. Among all the mortal races, precious few individuals have the potential to shoulder this monumental burden. Fewer still have the unbreakable spark to pursue that potential to the fullest.''

''This is the story of those few that do. Those heroines blessed not only with the capacity to carry spirits to term, but the resolve to wield their new power to shape a better world for their children. This is the story of the maiesta.''

Dice, Tests, and the Core Mechanic
In the Maiesta RPG, nearly all actions with a chance of failure are resolved with a dice roll known as a Check. In a check, a specified number of dice are rolled, their results added together, and the action's outcome determined based on that total. Dice come in five varieties, as follows:
 * Bronze dice are special four-sided dice with sides reading 0, 1, 1, 2. They can be simulated by rolling 2d2-2.
 * Silver dice are special four-sided dice with sides reading 2, 3, 3, 4. They can be simulated by rolling 2d2.
 * Gold dice are special four-sided dice with sides reading 4, 5, 5, 6. They can be simulated by rolling 2d2+2.
 * Platinum dice are not rolled, and have no random element - they always have a result of 7.
 * Crystal dice are standard ten-sided dice, with sides reading 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. They are rolled by certain probability based effects.

Further, a check can be made against a specific Threshold, or as an Opposed check. In a Threshold check, you compare the check's result to a static number, determined by the specific action being made. In an Opposed check, you compare the result to another check, generally made by another creature. In either case, if your result equals or exceeds the threshold or opposed check, your check is a success. The amount by which your check exceeds the threshold or opposed check is the Degree of success. Crystal dice are unique, and may be rolled with unusual mechanics in mind - consult the ability asking a crystal dice be rolled in order to determine how to gauge success on a crystal dice.

Lastly, several special terms apply to some dice.
 * On Bronze, Silver, and Gold dice, a result of 0, 2, and 4, respectively, are considered a Fumble, while results of 2, 4, and 6 are considered to be Critical. This has no innate effect, but certain mechanics may reference Critical or Fumble results. Dice are criticals or fumbles individually - these terms do not apply to the check as a whole.
 * Bronze and Silver dice can be Empowered. Doing so transforms them into Silver and Gold dice, respectively. Gold and Silver dice can be Weakened. Doing so transforms them into Silver and Bronze dice, respectively. Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum dice can be Transformed, changing them into a specific other type of dice specified by the ability in question.
 * Some abilities Destroy a dice. A destroyed dice is removed from a roll entirely after it is rolled, causing it to be disregarded in calculating the check's outcome.

Character Attributes
Each character has a number of core attributes critical to interaction in and out of combat. Most of these are derived directly from a character's class, and can be modified by purchasing advances through the progression system. These attributes are as follows:
 * Capacity: The largest Size a character can comfortably grow to, without experiencing serious impairment or side effects.
 * Affinity: Affinity represents the maximum value a character's Gravitas can reach, at a rate of 4 points for every point of Affinity. Affinity does not grant gravitas on its own. A character must carry gravs or purchase novice active abilities with XP in order to actually accumulate gravitas towards this limit.
 * Battle Rating: The quality of the dice rolled by abilities which call for a Battle Dice.
 * Armor Rating: The quality of the dice rolled to defend against attacks.
 * Movement: The number of spaces a character can move with a basic Move action.

Additionally, characters have a number of derived scores. These can change over the course of battle, and can be determined by a number of factors.
 * Vitality: A character's grit and staying power. As a character is damaged, her current vitality is reduced appropriately. If a character's vitality reaches 0, she is incapacitated and rendered unable to take actions. A character's maximum vitality is determined by her class.
 * Size: The scale of a character's maternal swell, and the weight she is currently coping with. By default, each grav a character is carrying gives her 1 point of size, but various abilities can offer the opportunity for her to increase her size to harness various effects. If a character's size exceeds her capacity, she begins to accumulate fatigue.
 * Fatigue: A character's weariness and physical exhaustion. Fatigue begins a combat at 0, but various effects can increase it, most notably acting at a size exceeding a character's capacity. Each point of fatigue reduces a character's movement by 1. If a character's movement is reduced to 0 in this way, she is Pinned until her fatigue is reduced in some way (see below for a list of conditions and their effects).
 * Gravitas: A character's spiritual reservoir. A character has a base of 1 point of gravitas, gaining 2 additional points for every grav she is carrying, and 2 points for every novice active ability (not Basic or Veteran abilities) she has purchased with XP. A character's maximum gravitas can never exceed four times her affinity score however, regardless of how many gravs she is carrying or how many novice active abilities she has. In other words: a character's maximum gravitas is either (1 + 2*Gravs + 2*number of Novice Actives learned) or (4*Affinity), whichever is lower. A character's Gravitas total represents her maximum gravitas in combat - even if her affinity would theoretically allow her a higher maximum gravitas, without gravs or abilities, she cannot reach it.

Gravs, Gravitas, and Attunement
Ephemeral beings of immense potential, gravs take shelter in the wombs of Maiesta and represent a source of spiritual power that is without equal. With a combination of practice, instinct, and pure willpower, maiesta can shape this raw potential - a force known broadly as Gravitas - into tangible effects they can unleash on command. While there are too many grav varieties to ever count, embodying everything from dust to time to bunny rabbits, sages categorize their most common forms into five broad categories associated with the grand colors of ancient maiesta tradition.

Ardent Gravs embody concepts focused on emotion, passion, energy, movement, or destruction. Feisty and difficult to control at the best of times, Ardents are infamous among maiesta for the strength of their kicks and the intensity of their cravings, and among everyone else for the spectacular nature of their abilities. Ardent Gravs usually take on reptilian or avian shapes - winged serpents, hawks, miniature dragons, and flightless birds have all been recorded, among many others. Ardent magic is associated with flashy, instantaneous effects, many of them elemental and damaging in nature.

Astral Gravs embody concepts focused on community, ideology, faith, healing, or spirituality. While no younger than any other variety of grav in the cosmic sense, scholars often speculate that Astrals were the last of the common grav domains to find widespread use, as the abstract ideals needed to attract them were scarce in the primordial era. Astral Gravs tend to take on stylized, artificial forms - golems, angels, demons, and humanoid machines have all been recorded, often with the markings of a specific myth or culture. Astral magic bolsters, soothes, and heals, rallying its wielders' allies and inspiring them to new heights.

Erudite Gravs embody concepts focused on intellect, abstraction, logic, or control. Favored by maiesta scholars throughout history for the talents they impart, erudite gravs possess a curiosity and wonder that is often infectious. Erudite Gravs tend to take on the forms of aquatic or amorphous creatures - octopi, slimes, fish, and crustaceans are all common forms, and individuals bearing erudite gravs often feel an affinity for water. Maiesta studying the erudite arts find themselves able to harness space and time themselves, manipulating events to be ever in their favor.

Mordant Gravs embody concepts focused on change, endings, absence, or negative energy. Commonly believed to be malevolent by the uninformed, these creatures are truthfully no less innocent than their counterparts, despite their somber nature. Mordant Gravs tend to take on the forms of carrion creatures or other vermin - rats, spiders, insects, and crows, which does little to endear them to the masses. Mordant mysticism concerns itself with stillness and nullification, silencing its flashier sister schools and bringing even the most powerful beings to their knees, while drawing power from destruction and decay.

Savage Gravs embody concepts focused on growth, life, nature, instinct, or endurance. It is posited as likely that the very first Gravs bound were of the Savage domain, as they are by far the simplest to channel for creatures of animal intellect. Savage Gravs tend to take on mammalian or plantlike forms - wolves, cats, dryads, and bear cubs are all well known visages of Savage Gravs. Magic with a savage affinity unleashes primal strength, overwhelming other forms of mysticism with its raw power, but its unrestrained nature can leave even disciplined maiesta wrestling with side effects or losses of control.

Regardless of type, all gravs offer their bearer the same 2 points of gravitas, by default. This gravitas can be spent on any abilities a maiesta has learned and is capable of using, even if the ability in question is attuned to a different variety of grav than the one supplying the gravitas.

A maiesta may carry as many gravs as she wishes - calling for gravs and nurturing them is a fundamental skill all maiesta possess. As sturdy as maiesta bodies are, however, they do have limits. If a character is carrying so many gravs that her resting, out of combat size exceeds her capacity, she does not suffer fatigue normally. Instead, she loses points from her base Movement directly, transferring them to Capacity until she has enough Capacity to carry her gravs. This 'stretched' capacity allows a maiesta to go about her daily business without being utterly exhausted, but it is often awkward and uncomfortable, marking a point where a maiesta's natural resilience against the symptoms of pregnancy begins to give out. If any effect would increase a maiesta's Capacity in combat, lost Movement from "stretched" capacity is lost first. If a maiesta is carrying so many gravs that her Movement is reduced to 0, she generally will not be able to attract any additional ones. While maiesta can safely reach very large sizes on a short term basis, it can be hazardous to one's health to try to maintain them day to day, and gravs will not endanger a mother's health with their presence.

Combat Fundamentals
In the course of their adventures, maiesta - even the most friendly and well-intentioned ones - are bound to eventually encounter scenarios where battle is the only option. When this occurs, gameplay shifts to a Battle Map, taking place over multiple rounds on a hex-based map appropriate for the encounter and environment.

At the start of combat, each character involved in the battle equips a weapon they are carrying and rolls two crystal dice, treating the first die's result as the 10s digit and the second as the 1s digit, and a roll of 10, 10 as 100. This is their initiative score. The character with the highest initiative acts first in a round, followed by others in descending order. In the event of a tie, the character with the highest movement speed goes first.

At the start of each of their turns, characters suffer fatigue equal to the amount by which their size exceeds their capacity, if any. Then, they can take two actions - a Battle Action and a Utility Action. These can be used for class-specific abilities, or on the universal actions (listed below).

At the start of a character's turn, they also regain their Sudden Action. No universal actions require expenditure of a Sudden Action, but many class abilities do. Unlike other action types, a Sudden Action can be used at any time - potentially even on another creature's turn, or in the middle of another action. Individual abilities will detail under what conditions they can be used.

Over the course of battle, characters will likely take damage or be subjected to detrimental effects. As long as a character has at least one point of vitality, she can be healed normally. Dropping to zero vitality, however, implies a serious injury - in such an instance, a character cannot normally recover until she has received a full night's rest. Characters at zero vitality are unconscious, and cannot act. If all player characters are reduced to zero vitality, they might be captured, killed, or worse, depending on the whims of their foes.

Hexes and Positioning
As battles occur on a hex-based grid, certain clarifications may be necessary.
 * Line of Effect: Most effects in the game will not function if there is no Line of Effect, or "LoE," between their origin (such as an attacking creature) and target (such as the target of an attack). To determine if one hex has line of effect to another, trace a line from the center of one hex to the center of the target hex. If the line is not broken by any solid, durable objects (such as a wall), there is a line of effect between the two points.
 * Movement Opacity: As a rule, no more than one creature can occupy a given hex at any given time. It is possible for a creature to allow another creature to pass through their hex, but they may not end their movement there. If a creature would be forced to end its movement in another creature's hex, it returns to the last empty hex it occupied instead.
 * Teleportation: Some movement is referred to as Teleportation. This is a special form of movement which ignores all obstacles, and does not trigger any effect which would normally be triggered by movement. Teleportation deposits the teleporting creature directly in the end hex of the movement, without passing through any intervening space. Teleportation allows a creature to ignore Fatigue, and a Pinned creature can still teleport, but being Immobilized still prevents a creature from Teleporting.
 * Burst Effects: Many abilities refer to an area of effect called a "Burst." A Burst X contains a single targeted hex, and all hexes within X spaces of it. For example, a Burst 1 consists of the target hex and each hex adjacent to it. Hexes that do not have line of effect to the center of a Burst are excluded from the effect.
 * Oversized Creatures: Some creatures in the world of Prognora are exceptionally large, occupying multiple hexes. "Large" creatures occupy three hexes in a triangular formation. "Massive" creatures occupy seven hexes in the shape of a Burst 1. "Titanic" creatures occupy 19 hexes in the shape of a Burst 2. When calculating movement, choose a single hex these oversized creatures occupy to trace their movement path. If any part of an oversized creature occupies an area of effect, it is included in that area of effect. If an oversized creature centers a burst effect on itself, calculate the radius of the burst from every hex the creature occupies. Otherwise, they occupy space in areas of effect normally.
 * Monster Categories: Creatures come in four classifications - Minion, Standard, Elite, and Boss. If targeted by an effect for which classification is relevant, player characters count as Elite creatures.

Vanished Creatures
Certain effects allow creatures to become Vanished for a duration. Becoming Vanished does not remove a token from the battlefield, but it make that creature very difficult to pinpoint using conventional attacks.

A Vanished creature cannot attack, and can move freely through both allies and enemies. Further, a Vanished creature negates any attacks against them unless those attacks target all hexes adjacent to the vanished creature's in addition to their own. Attacks which cannot be redirected or negated can still hit Vanished creatures without this area of effect requirement.

Conditions
There are many ways a creature can be rattled other than outright damage. Conditions can seriously impede a character's ability to do effective battle, and while most are quite temporary, their effects are to be ignored at any warrior's peril.
 * Pinned: A Pinned character cannot take utility actions, has a movement speed of 0, cannot move voluntarily, and has her battle and armor dice weakened by one step.
 * Scanned: A Scanned character reveals its class (whether that is a Monster or Player class), current vitality, maximum vitality, weapon and armor die, as well as any actions and elite traits it might possess. Unlike most conditions, Scanned is generally inflicted until the end of an encounter, or until removed. Players can never be afflicted with the Scanned condition - though GMs should feel free to have particularly cunning or well prepared enemies act as if they know what the party is capable of regardless.
 * Blighted: Whenever a Blighted character starts their turn, they roll a silver die and suffer that much damage. This damage ignores armor and cannot be negated or redirected. Unlike most conditions, Blighted is generally inflicted until the end of an encounter, or until removed. Rarely, effects may apply Blight with a Potency of 2 or higher - when a Blighted condition specifies a Potency, roll that many silver dice, rather than a single silver die, and suffer that much damage. Higher Potency Blight will overwrite any lower potency Blight already on a target, while lower potency Blight effects cannot be applied to creatures already suffering from a more powerful Blight.
 * Dizzy: Whenever a Dizzy character fumbles one of their dice in a check, destroy that die. This triggers independently for every fumbled die in a check.
 * Immobilized: An immobilized character cannot move voluntarily. Their movement is not actually reduced, and being immobilized does not pin a character.
 * Mesmerized: A mesmerized character cannot expend gravitas or use any action or ability with a gravitas cost above 0 (after all cost modifications are applied). A mesmerized monster cannot use any action which does not include a weapon attack, and any conditions they inflict are automatically negated.
 * Vulnerable: A vulnerable character destroys their armor die. If they roll multiple armor dice, destroy the highest ranked one.
 * Weakened: A weakened character destroys their battle die. If they roll multiple battle dice, destroy the highest ranked one.

Resting
Adventuring is exhausting work, and characters rarely finish their efforts in a single burst of energy. Rests, both short and long, are a vital part of exploration, and even the strongest maiesta ignore them at their peril. Generally, rests come in two categories.
 * Short Rests can usually be taken after any combat. During a short rest, a character restores their vitality and gravitas to their maximum amounts, eliminates any fatigue afflicting them, and clears any lingering conditions.
 * Long Rests can only be taken safely at the end of a day of adventuring, while in a reasonably secure location. Long rests offer all the benefits of short ones, and also give a maiesta the opportunity to birth her gravs or attract new ones (up to the limit of a maiesta's Affinity score).