The Rules — Invictus

I

The Conversation of Play

Roleplaying is both storytelling and game. Everything at the table begins with what people say and how others respond.

The story turns around the Heroes. Players speak and act for them, describing what they think, say, and do. The fiction grows from their choices and the consequences that follow. Every decision comes from the Hero's intent within the story, not from what might be mechanically optimal.

The Narrator guides the world around them. They frame scenes, set questions, and show how the setting reacts. They give voice to everyone beyond the Heroes and decide what happens as a result of their actions.

Play

The wide-angle view

Normal exploration and conversation. Time is loose. The Narrator presents situations; Heroes choose what to do.

Fray

High-stakes action

Time divides into turns. The Narrator states the danger; Heroes respond with clear actions and scarce resources.

Stay

Downtime between conflicts

Days or weeks pass. Heroes rest, pursue projects, and follow personal goals. The world breathes.

II

Rolling Dice

When a Hero attempts something uncertain, dice determine the outcome. Roll one or more d6s and read the single highest result.

Players build dice pools from their Heroes' traits: Actions for deliberate attempts, Attributes for reacting to the world. Most pools contain one to four dice. Players roll; the Narrator never does.

Dice enter play only when the outcome is uncertain and matters to the story. Routine actions, or those where failure carries no consequence, need no roll.

Miss

The attempt fails. The Narrator makes a move or applies the consequences of danger.

Swing

The Hero gets what they want, but not without a cost or complication.

Hit

The Hero succeeds cleanly. Ignore the consequences of any danger.

Crit

Multiple 6s. Decisive success. The player also earns 1 Luck.

The most common result is a Swing. With one die, a Hero achieves a Swing about half the time. With three dice, they have even odds of a clean Hit.

III

Types of Rolls

Invictus uses three kinds of roll, each for a different context. All follow the same Hit, Swing, and Miss structure.

Action Roll

When the Hero acts deliberately

The player describes their approach and chooses the Action that best fits. The Narrator frames feasibility and sets any danger before dice are gathered.

Reaction Roll

When the world acts upon the Hero

The Narrator selects the Attribute most appropriate to the challenge. The player does not choose: the situation dictates.

Downtime Roll

For long-term activities

The Narrator selects any Trait suited to the work. Results create ticks on progress clocks or determine the quality of what is produced.

IV

Difficulty and Danger

The Narrator shapes every roll in two ways: Difficulty adjusts the result, Danger adds consequences when things go wrong.

Favourable

After rolling, raise any die by one.

The Hero's approach fits the task perfectly. A 5 becomes a 6, turning a Swing into a Hit.

Unfavourable

After rolling, drop the highest die by one.

The method works against the situation. A Hit might become a Swing; a Swing might become a Miss.

Danger Dice measure the severity of risk. The Narrator adds one Danger Die per factor raising the stakes, to a maximum of three. On a Hit or Crit, ignore them entirely. On a Swing or Miss, the highest Danger Die determines the consequence: 1-3 prompts a Soft Move; 4-6 prompts a Hard Move.

Active combat or Fray

Superior opposition

Environmental hazard

Time pressure

Hero is vulnerable or exposed

Critical Health

In Fray: a 6 on any Danger Die activates its effect even on a Hit. During open combat, success does not guarantee safety.

V

Narrator Moves

When Heroes fail or fall short of success, the spotlight shifts to the Narrator. Every outcome must move the story forward.

Soft Move

Danger die shows 1-3

Builds pressure without closing doors. Foreshadows threats, shifts circumstances, or cuts to an adversary. Leaves room for the Heroes to respond.

Hard Move

Danger die shows 4-6

Commits to immediate consequence. Creates problems the Heroes must deal with now: harm, lost opportunities, a new threat, or a permanent change.

Fate: The Narrator may spend a Fate token to escalate a Soft Move to a Hard Move, or to trigger special creature abilities. Fate is earned when players Tempt Fate to boost their dice pool.

VI

Flare and Resources

Heroes hold reserves of inner fire that fuel exceptional action. Spending them carries risk: push too hard and darkness takes hold.

Burning Flare (spend 2) lets a Hero add +1d to a roll, amplify a success, or act while incapacitated. Deplete it entirely and suffer a level of Corruption.

Flare

Willpower and heroic fire. Spend 2 to push harder. Deplete it entirely and suffer a level of Corruption.

Luck

Earned on a Crit. Spend 1 after the roll to raise any die by +1. Can turn a Swing into a Hit.

Fate

The Narrator's currency. Earned when players Tempt Fate. Spent to escalate consequences.

VII

Health and Injury

Wounds are marked on a health track, top to bottom. Most Heroes begin with four to six boxes.

Standard wounds are marked with a slash; they clear through rest or healing. Grievous wounds (taken when a Hero is struck by something they are vulnerable to) are marked with an X and require special care before they can be treated as standard injuries.

When the final box fills, the Hero is at Critical Health (-1d to all Actions). When damage overflows past that, the Hero reaches Death's Door. At that threshold, the player chooses one of three fates: a final Blaze of Glory, a desperate gamble to survive, or survival bought at permanent cost.

Healing requires rest and a healer. A Miss advances the healing clock by 1 segment; a Swing by 2; a Hit by 3; a Crit by 5. When the clock fills, one wound downgrades or clears.