Part I - Resolution mechanics and other bits and bobs

Characters

Characters are made up of:

• Measures are both the personality and the capabilities of the character. They go from 1 to 9 balanced around 10. Each one starts at 5/5.
  • Noble / Common - Usually involving how touchy one is to one's own pride, how likely one is to refuse being called out, and how well one impresses high company; extremes includes snobbishness, excessive pride, boorishness, and low class proclivities.
  • Temperate / Bohemian - How persuaded one is to the 'good things in life', such as drink, food, sex, art, gambling, and lazing around instead of energetically moving through the country - it also has to do with how seriously one takes one's religious restrictions and respects their own religious practices; extremes include religious fundamentalism or alcoholism.
  • Fanciful / Practical - How creative one is versus how scientifically minded, also rules how good one is at modern art versus classicist art; extremes includes being a Romantic or a Positivist.
  • Fiery / Calm - How well one takes jokes, but also how possessed one can be by temper to do great feats, as well as one's vengefulness vs forgiving demeanour, how prone one is to cruelty versus being merciful, and how brusque and direct one is; fiery temper is a very military disposition. Extremes include both wrathfulness / cruelty / recklessness and placidity / inaction.
  • Generous / Frugal - How liberal one is with one's money and time versus how much they value it, as well as how good they are with money; extremes include being bad with money or close-handedness.
  • Honest / Deceitful - How liberal one is with the truth including lies by omission, innate sense of justice and right and wrong versus 'fuck you got mine'-ness, as well as how willing one is to believe in the fraternity of Man; excesses include moral inflexibility and gullibility, as well as being a slimy unreliable bastard.
• Reputations and Passions are like Pendragon ones, but a bit more descriptive. Stuff like "Loved by Miss Atherton +2". They can go both ways but if they're one-sided, they won't always be applicable.
  • They can be about a Person or an Institution, like "Feared by the Corsairs of Algiers +2".
  • They're limited to +6.
• Experiences are extra stuff you get, more on that later.
• Traits they add cards in special situations, like +2 whenever you have to sing or perform music. Can probably be freeform.
• Wealth is money. We'll do it by Credit Rating but on a 1 to 10 rather than 1 to 100. (This was stolen wholesale from Call of Cthulhu)

Character Creation

Characters start with 5/5 in every Measure and 5 in the Credit Rating. They get 5 points to distribute between them.

Every character also knows English and French, and are able to read Latin and Greek, if not speak it. More languages require a trait.

Then they get 4 Experiences, each one gives +1 to a Measure and 1 card which can be redeemed thus:

Finally, they get 10 points to spend on Traits. Each Trait can have up to 3 points invested in it. 1 point allows you to do something you might not be able to regularly, but you can make your own to reflect something else. Every Trait which gives a bonus can have more points added to it. - If the Trait gives a special ability that can be used multiple times in a session, it should cost 5 points. If the ability conveyed by the trait can only be used once per session, it should cost 3 points.

In the interest of brevity, I've separated the Traits into their own page.

Changing

Whenever a player-magician acts in accordance to a Measure in a situation that matters, personality-wise, they get a check in it. Once they have 2 checks, they can spend a week alone, soulsearching, and test it. If it fails, the Measure advances 1 point.

Player-magicians with 8 or 9 in a Measure are compelled to test every time the situation might present itself. They may not choose freely.

Resolution Mechanic

To make a test, everyone involved states their intent and gets a picture for what happens on a "win" for each party - usually this involves getting some control of the fiction. The Host then turns one card, that's the Card of Fate.

The player-magician will then add up all of their relevant values - primarily Measures, but also traits, equipment, and reputations - and turn that number of cards. Be careful which Reputations you stake on a test, see below. Other magicians who would like to aid in a test add up to +3 of a relevant Measure to the total.

The Host's opposition will do the same. If the opposition is static, the Host will follow the guidelines:

Routine but something is unusual: 3

Challenging: 5

Damned hard: 7

Heroic: 9

The cards are drawn and compared to the Card of Fate.

If a card is the same SUIT as the CoF count one ORDINARY SUCCESS.

If a card is the same NUMBER as the CoF, count one CRITICAL SUCCESS.

If a card is a JOKER, count one PERFECT SUCCESS.

If a card does not match SUIT or NUMBER, it is a FAILURE

Three successes accumulate into a better tier. So 3 ordinary successes become 1 CRITICAL success; 3 CRITICALS become 1 PERFECT.

Whoever has the best and most successes wins, in that order. If both sides have the same number of the same degree of successes, whoever has the highest cards wins; aces high.

If a player-magician included a Reputation in the card pool and lost, that Reputation is INJURED. If it is already INJURED, it becomes MAIMED. If it is MAIMED, it is DEAD. The specific meaning of this varies with context.

Fighting

If hand-to-hand, both adversaries test their weapon against a Card of Fate. The card pool is generated by the weapon that is used, adjusted by traits and reputations. Each adversary acts simultaneously and each delivers the HIGHEST result from their card overturn upon their enemy as damage.

If ranged against a target without a gun, it's a static challenge. If they can return fire, solve as above.

If the opponent is unaware of the attack, get +2.

One draw means one full combat. If neither side has died, they still surrendered in some way.

Dueling

They're technically illegal and kinda rare nowadays.

To precipitate one, someone will make an affront to someone's honour and refuse to apologise or back down. The hurt party will demand that the remark is withdrawn, and if there is no other option, they'll demand satisfaction. A time and date is stated and seconds are named.

The terms are agreed upon. If it's with swords, then it's "first blood" or "to the death"; if it's pistols, each man will be expected to receive fire at least once. Military officers still prefer to fight with swords.

Pistols

On the day of the duel, both parties will be asked if there's no other way to settle this amicably. If they do not, seconds or one of the combatants will check, prime, and load each pistol. They are then given to the duellists who stand back to back, walk 10 paces, and shoot.

In a duel, there should be 2 Jokers in the deck, to allow for 2 Perfect Successes.

Each duel has 4 phases and each phase you have 5 options: - Fire - You shoot. Make a test with the pistol and apply damage. Once you choose this, subsquently you can only Stand or Beg. - Aim - You hold your fire. Test Calm. If you fail, you Fire. For each round of Aiming, gain +1 card when you do fire. - Stand - You await your opponent's fire. Roll Calm; if you fail, you Fire. If you succeed, your opponent gets -1 to their test when they fire. - Beg - Choose an appropriate reputation and Maim it. Lose all other phases. - Mercy - You shoot on the ground, showing mercy or disdain of your opponent. Now you can only stand or beg in subsequent phases.

On the 4th phase, both sides must choose fire, beg, or mercy, if they haven't already.

Swords

Run it as a 1 x 1 combat challenge, but the combat continues for a few rounds.

If it's to first blood, then the first person to score a success wins. If both are injured, then the one with the worst wound loses.

If the rules are to surrender, then at the end of the test one side can surrender and lose.

Damage

There's 4 states:

Healthy - You're fine.

Injured - A HEALTHY character that loses a contested Test where their opponent’s highest card is a Success is INJURED.

If that character loses another test and takes damage from a Success to that same area, the status changes to MAIMED. If the character suffers damage from a Critical Success to that area, the status changes to DEAD.

All actions related to the area, or including that Reputation, that is Injured suffers a -1 card pool penalty. - Health - This means you're stunned and scratched. - Reputation - This means you've been rebuked or came under scrutiny; this situation added pressure to your relation somehow.

Maimed - A HEALTHY character who loses a contested Test where their opponent’s highest card is a Critical Success is MAIMED. If that character loses another test and takes damage from a Success to that same area, the status changes to DEAD.

All actions related to the area that is MAIMED require an appropriate Measure test for the character to even attempt the action, or the use of the Reputation. This test is made against a single CoF. If this test is passed, the action can be attempted but with a -3 modifier to the card pool. - Health - You took a devastating hit and you're bloodied and broken. - Reputation - You've been revealed as a liar or somehow this feels like a betrayal.

• Dead - Straight up. This happens on a PERFECT SUCCESS.
  • Health - Dead.
  • Reputation - Lost all relation.

To Heal, you need to explain how you convalesce.

• If you're INJURED, you need a week or so for rest or dedicated to writing letters to fix your reputation, and a test.
• If you're MAIMED, you need 2 months and a successful test for that.
• If you fail, you still spend the time required, and you draw an extra card on your next test, cumulatively.

Additionally, if a character’s Health is Maimed they should overturn a card to see if there were any ongoing complications caused by the injury. - RED number – you have a notable, ugly scar. Get the Scarred Trait at +1. - BLACK number – you suffer a life-threatening infection and are bed ridden for an extra month. - RED FACE CARD – you are deliriously sick and can feel yourself changing. Gain +2 Temperate, or have a mild epiphany. - BLACK FACE CARD – the experience of having your body physically wracked by illness tempers your heart. Gain +2 Calm or have a serious epiphany. - ACE CARD – You are actually maimed in some way - you lose an eye, a limb or some such.

Drinking

If you're drinking during a scene, check Bohemian opposed by the strength of the drink.

If you succeed with a Success or Critical, you suffer no penalty.

If you success with a Perfect Success, you have some 'dutch courage' and gain a +1 bonus to the challenge.

If you fail, you suffer a -1 card penalty to the challenge.