Page 21 - Chronicles of Darkness

Other Chronicles time and do not prevent a character from performing another
action within a turn, and contested actions, in which two or
of Darkness more characters compete in a task or for a single goal.
advantage — A character trait such as Health or Willpower
that usually represents abilities derived from other traits.
The Chronicles of Darkness isn’t just one setting, it’s Advantages are measured in dots and sometimes in points.
many. Outside of this book, most of the games focus on aggravated (damage) — A damage point that inflicts a
playing one type of monster. As of this writing, there are ten, grievous or supernatural wound. Vampires suffer aggravated
with more to come. damage from fire; werewolves suffer it from silver. Mortals
Vampire: The Requiem is a game of personal horror might suffer aggravated damage from a dire supernatural
and visceral drama set in a society of predators that exists power such as a lightning bolt summoned from the sky by
alongside ours. a witch. Aggravated wounds normally heal at a rate of one
Werewolf: The Forsaken tells stories of spiritual threats point per week.
and unrelenting hunters. Aspiration — One of a player's goals for her character.
Mage: The Awakening follows mystery-addicted will- An Aspiration can be something the character seeks out, or
workers as they seek to understand the Fallen World. something the player wants to see happen to the character.
Promethean: The Created is about the long road to Attribute — A character trait representing innate capabili-
becoming human. ties, Mental, Physical and Social. An Attribute is added to
Changeling: The Lost explores how to reclaim your stolen a Skill (or another Attribute in certain cases) to determine
life, while defending those around you from forces they could your basic dice pool for an action.
never understand. bashing (damage) — A damage point that inflicts a non-
Hunter: The Vigil is about plain ol’ humans who don’t life-threatening wound. Bashing wounds normally heal at a
just encounter the supernatural… they hunt it down and rate of one point per 15 minutes.
make it pay. Beat — A point gained for performing certain actions.
Geist: The Sin-Eaters follows ghost-bound people given Five Beats becomes an Experience, which can then be used
a second chance, and their efforts to put the dead to rest. to purchase new traits, such as Attributes, Skills, Merits, or
Mummy: The Curse is a game of ancient servants, awo- supernatural powers.
ken in the modern world to play their long games and work breaking point — A trigger that causes a player to have
their ancient magic anew. to check for losing Integrity, Humanity, or a similar trait.
Demon: The Descent tells stories of the fallen servants chance roll — Whenever modifiers reduce your dice pool
of a monstrous God, and their struggle to find their own to zero or fewer dice, you may make a chance roll on a single
personal Hells. die. Unlike a normal dice roll, a chance roll succeeds only on
Beast: The Primordial explores what it means to discover a result of 10. Worse, a result of 1 causes a dramatic failure.
you’re a creature of nightmare, heir to ancient monsters like close combat — Attacks that involve hand-to-hand or
Medusa and Fenris.
weapon fighting. Such attacks use the Strength Attribute
for their dice pools. Characters gain their Defense against
Lexicon close-combat attacks.
Condition — An ongoing effect, which may be physical,
10 Again — A result of 10 on any die is re-rolled in an mental, or supernatural. For example, a character might
attempt to achieve more successes. A further result of 8 on a be Guilty or Mesmerized. Usually, a Condition modifies a
re-rolled die is rolled yet again, over and over, until no more character's dice pools for certain actions. Players are rewarded
10’s are rolled. with Beats when they act on or resolve (end) a Condition.
8 Again — A result of 8 or higher on any die is re-rolled contested action — Two or more characters compete in a
in an attempt to achieve more successes. A further result of task or for a single goal. The one who gets the most successes
10 on a re-rolled die is rolled yet again, over and over, until wins. Contested actions can be instant or extended actions.
no more 10’s are rolled. damage — The points inflicted against a character’s Health
9 Again — A result of 9 or higher on any die is re-rolled or an object’s Structure, rated as bashing, lethal or aggravated.
in an attempt to achieve more successes. A further result of One point of damage inflicts one wound.
9 on a re-rolled die is rolled yet again, over and over, until Defense — An advantage trait determined by taking the
no more 10’s are rolled. lowest of Dexterity or Wits and adding Athletics. Characters
action — A task that takes all of a character’s time and can penalize a close-combat opponent’s accuracy by subtract-
attention. The Storytelling System measures instant actions ing their Defense from his dice pool.
(one to three seconds, taking place within a single turn) and dice — The Storytelling System uses 10-sided dice to
extended actions, taking longer (duration determined by the represent the element of chance. Dice are collected to form
Storyteller). Also, there are reflexive actions, which take no a character’s dice pool for an action.

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INTRODUCTION