Hack and Slash
When you attack an enemy in melee, roll+Str.
--On a 10+, you deal your damage to the enemy and avoid their attack.
If you want, you may choose to do +1d6 damage, but expose yourself to the enemy’s attack.
--On a 7–9, you deal your damage to the enemy and something bad happens (probably the enemy makes an attack against you).

Hack and slash is for attacking a prepared enemy, plain and simple. If the enemy isn’t prepared for your attack—- if they don’t know you’re there or they’re restrained and helpless-— then that’s not hack and slash. If they're not prepared to deal with you when you attack, you just deal your damage or murder them outright, depending on the situation. Cold-blooded (or hot-blooded) stuff, eh what?

The enemy’s counterattack can be any GM move made directly with that enemy. A thief might just attack you back, or they might jam a poisoned needle into your veins. Life’s tough, isn’t it?

If the action that triggers the move could reasonably hurt multiple targets, roll once and apply damage to each target (they each get their armor).

Some attacks may have additional effects depending on the triggering action, the circumstances, or the weapons involved. An attack might also knock someone down (forceful), restrain them, or leave a big bloody splatter (messy).



Volley
When you take aim and shoot at an enemy at range, roll+Dex. On a 10+, you have a clear shot—deal your damage. On a 7–9, choose one (whichever you choose you deal your damage):

--You have to move to get the shot placing you in danger as described by the GM
--You have to take what you can get: -1d6 damage
--You have to take several shots, reducing your ammo by one

Volley covers the entire act of drawing, aiming, and firing a ranged weapon or throwing a thrown weapon. The advantage to using a ranged weapon over melee is that the attacker is less likely to be attacked back. Of course they do have to worry about ammunition and getting a clear shot though.

On a 7–9, read “danger” broadly. It can be bad footing or ending in the path of a sword or maybe just giving up your sweet sniper nest to your enemies. Whatever it is, it’s impending and it’s always something that causes the GM to say “What do you do?” Quite often, the danger will be something that will then require you to dedicate yourself to avoiding it or force you to defy danger.

If you’re throwing something that doesn’t have ammo (maybe you’ve picked up a spear or something?) you can’t choose to mark off ammo. Choose from the other two options instead.



Defy Danger
When you act despite an imminent threat or suffer a calamity, say how you deal with it and roll. If you do it
--by powering through, +Str
--by getting out of the way or acting fast, +Dex
--by enduring, +Con
--with quick thinking, +Int
--through mental fortitude, +Wis
--using charm and social grace, +Cha
On a 10+, you do what you set out to, the threat doesn’t come to bear. On a 7–9, you stumble, hesitate, or flinch: the GM will offer you a worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice.

You defy danger when you do something in the face of impending peril. This may seem like a catch-all. It is! Defy danger is for those times when it seems like you clearly should be rolling but no other move applies.

Defy danger also applies when you make another move despite danger not covered by that move. For example, hack and slash assumes that’s you’re trading blows in battle—you don’t need to defy danger because of the monster you’re fighting unless there’s some specific danger that wouldn’t be part of your normal attack. On the other hand, if you’re trying to hack and slash while spikes shoot from hidden traps in the walls, those spikes are a whole different danger.

Danger, here, is anything that requires resilience, concentration, or poise. This move will usually be called for by the GM. He’ll tell you what the danger is as you make the move. Something like “You’ll have to defy danger first. The danger is the steep and icy floor you’re running across. If you can keep your footing, you can make it to the door before the mage's magic gets you.”



Defend
When you stand in defense of a location, item, or person (including yourself), roll+CON.
On a 10+, hold 3.
On a 7-9, hold 1.

As long as you stand in defense, when you or the thing you defend is attacked you may spend your hold, 1-for-1, to choose an option from the list below:
■ Redirect the attack from who/what you're guarding to yourself.
■ Halve the attack’s effect or damage.
■ Grant an ally +1 forward against this enemy.
■ Deal half your damage (rounded up).
■ Hold them back
■ Draw all attention from your ward to yourself
When you go on the offense, cease to focus on defense, or the danger passes, lose any Readiness that you hold.

If the attack doesn’t deal damage then halving it means the attacker gets some of what they want but not all of it. It’s up to you and the GM to work out what that means depending on the circumstances. If you’re defending the Jewel of Ossein and an thief tries to grab it from its pedestal then half effect might mean that the gem gets knocked to the floor but the thief doesn’t get his hands on it, yet. Or maybe the thief gets a hold of it but so do you—now you’re both fighting over it, tooth and nail. If you and the GM can’t agree on a halved effect, you can’t choose that option.



Discern Realities
When you closely study a situation or person, roll+Wis. On a 10+, ask the GM 3 questions from the list below. On a 7–9, ask 1.

Either way, take +1 forward when acting on the answers.

--What happened here recently?
--What is about to happen?
--What should I be on the lookout for?
--What here is useful or valuable to me?
--Who’s really in control here?
--What here is not what it appears to be?

Also, the GM may ask YOU to answer the questions as you like...


Aid
--When you help another character, roll a d6; they can use this roll in lieu of one of their own roll's dice. (If more than one player helps them, they can only keep the best 1 die from amongst all dice rolled). You are exposed to any risks, consequences or costs of their move, even if they didn’t use your die.
--If you roll a 1, the GM will probably put you at risk, make trouble for you, or make things worse in general, even if the GM can't think of any way for you to share the same problems as the character you tried to help.



Special Moves


OH NO!
When you drop to 0 HP, make a CON check.

10 or higher: You're just unconscious, and will wake up (with 1 HP) when the GM says, which will be in as little as a minute or maybe as much as a couple of days (but not more).

7-9: You're just unconscious, and will wake up (with 1 HP) when the GM says, which will be in as little as a minute or maybe as much as a couple of days (but not more)... AND... you're wounded, too. Among other possibilities, this may very likely mean a penalty to 1 or more scores until you get medical care (that is, more than you might have already gotten while you were unconscious).

6 or lower: You're unconscious, and will wake up (with 1 HP) when the GM says, which will be in as little as a minute or maybe as much as a couple of days (but not more)... AND... you're wounded, too. Among other possibilities, this may very likely mean a penalty to 1 or more scores until you get medical care (that is, more than you might have already gotten while you were unconscious) AND... you lose all XP toward your next level (although you don't lose the levels you already officially locked in).



MAKE CAMP
When you rest and recover for several hours in the wild, roll +Ration spent (max of 2).
On a 10+, each PC choose 2.
On a 7-9, they choose 1.
• Recuperate: Heal half your hp (round up)
• Partake: Keep Company
• Relax: Heal 1 Debility
• Prepare: Gain +1 forward

Keep Company:
When you spend significant time with others in close quarters or on the road, choose one traveling companion and say what ability you use to help you find common ground with them. If the Judge agrees with your choice of ability, ask your companion a question about one subject:

* Their past
* Their heritage
* An experience they've had
* Their current intentions
* Their feelings about a person or thing

Then, roll +your chosen ability:
--on a 10+, play out the conversation to a positive end, and each of you takes +1 forward to Aid the other in future;
--on a 7-9, they will answer as they see fit, and you must answer a question from them in return;
--on a 6-, mark XP, and describe what caused the conversation to go badly. You must make amends before you can Keep Company with this particular companion again.

You can also Keep Company with yourself: choose 1 of the subjects above and share your private thoughts about it. Then, take +1 forward to the next time you act on those thoughts.



TAKE WATCH
When you take watch and something approaches, roll+WIS.
--On a 10+, you notice in time to alert everyone and prepare; everyone in the camp takes +1 forward.
--On a 7-9, you’re a few moments too late; you manage to alert everyone, but nobody has time to prepare. They have weapons and armor but little else.
--On a miss, whatever lurks outside the campfire’s light has the drop on you.



Undertake a Perilous Journey
When you lead a group through hazardous or unfamiliar lands or explore a perilous site, roll +…

■ … +STR if you carry most of the gear.
■ … +DEX if you move cautiously and stealthily.
■ … +CON if you push on with resilience.
■ … +INT if you analyze the best path based on knowledge.
■ … +WIS if you follow land features and stars.
■ … +CHA if you motivate your group.

On a 10+, you reach a waypoint and gain 2 Progress.
On a 7-9, you reach a waypoint and gain 1 Progress, but use up 1 extra Ration or one Adventurer’s Gear.

VIGNETTE
When your reach a waypoint, tell the GM about:
■ A trait or quirk of your character
■ A vista, landmark or terrain feature
■ A task you undertook to help the journey
■ A hardship you endured or overcame
-------------------------------------------------

After the third Waypoint, roll +Progress.

REACH YOUR DESTINATION
When your journey or exploration comes to an end, roll 1d6 + Progress.
--On a 10+, you reach your destination and take +1 Forward.
--On a 7-9, you reach your destination, but face an unforeseen hazard or complication.
--On a 6-, your objective falls out of reach, you have been misled about the nature of your objective, or there is something you missed.

If you push on, reset your Progress to 1.


RESUPPLY
When you hunt, forage, or scavenge, roll +WIS.
On a 10+, you bolster your resources. Take +2 supply.
On a 7-9, take +1 supply, but the GM makes a move.



End of Session
When you reach the end of a session, if you fulfilled your alignment at least once this session, mark XP. Then answer these three questions as a group:

--Did we learn something new and important about the world?
--Did we overcome a notable monster or enemy?
--Did we loot a memorable treasure?

For each “yes” answer everyone marks XP.


LEVEL UP
When you have downtime, and XP equal to (or greater than) your current level+7, you can reflect on your experiences and hone your skills.
When you do, subtract your current level+7 from your XP, increase your level by 1, and then:
■ Increase one of your stats by +1 (to a maximum of 18/+3).
■ Choose a new move from your class playbook, OR, increase your HP by 3, OR increase your lowest stat by 1.



Carouse
When you return triumphant and throw a big party, spend 100 coins, and roll +1 for every extra 100 coins spent.  On a 10+, choose 3. On a 7–9, choose 1. On a miss, you still choose one, but things get really out of hand (the GM will say how).
--You befriend a useful NPC.
--You hear rumors of an opportunity.
--You gain useful information.
--You are not entangled, ensorcelled, or tricked.

You can only carouse when you return triumphant (unless a move says otherwise), because that’s what draws the crowd of revelers to surround adventurers as they celebrate their latest haul. If you don’t proclaim your success or your failure, then who would want to party with you anyway?



Recover
When you do nothing but rest in comfort and safety after a day of rest you recover all your HP. After three days of rest you remove one debility of your choice. If you’re under the care of a healer (magical or otherwise) you heal a debility for every two days of rest instead.


Bolster
When you spend your leisure time in study, meditation, or hard practice, you gain preparation. If you prepare for a week or more, take 1 preparation. If you prepare for a month or longer, take 3 instead. When your preparation pays off spend 1 preparation for +1 to any roll. You can only spend one preparation per roll.