Pay a Price
When a Move tells you to pay a price, tell us what it costs you. A price you pay can be in the form of taking damage, or losing some equipment, or Using some equipment, or losing an Advantage, or suffering a setback of some kind. Whatever the cost, you must pay that price immediately before, during, or after the Move you paid for.




Feast
Food is important in Fellowship. When you are between scenes, you may Use Food to heal one damage. When you share a meal with friends, one person may heal an extra point of damage.

A note on Feast: You don’t need to share with the fellowship to get the bonus healing, but you do need to spend 1 Food per person eating. No matter how many share a meal, there is only one extra point of healing.



THE TWO THINGS:
THING ONE: If you helped a community in need
THING TWO: If you struck a blow against the Overlord and his minions

Yeah time you do one of those two things, the group chooses one of the following options (if the two things finish happening at the same thing, choose twice-- and yes, you may choose an option more than once:

 Each player refreshes one piece of their Gear to its full value.
 Each player chooses one stat to Heal. It does not have to be theirs.
 Each player-character levels up.


Level Up
When you Level Up, increase your level by 1, then choose one option from your playbook's Advancement list. Mark off the option you chose - you can never take it again.




Recover
When you spend a week in a place of safety, you can Recover. Remove all damage from all of your stats, and reset all of your Gear to their starting values. A place you have Fellowship with is always a place of safety.

BUT: While you Recover, the Overlord marches on- they now Advance their Plans, and the fellowship can do nothing about it. What would have been a threat approaching somewhere will be a menace that arrives at that place, and starts...



Damage and Healing
When you take damage, either by making a Move or paying a price, choose a stat and mark it. Sometimes you will not get a choice, and a stat will be damaged for you. While a stat is damaged, you are in Despair whenever you roll that stat. When an enemy's stat or a Companion's stat is damaged, they cannot use it.

You cannot mark a stat that has already been marked. When you heal, remove a mark from one of your stats. When you take damage while all of your stats are already marked, you get Taken Out.

Taken Out
When all of your stats are damaged and you take further damage, you are Taken Out, and no longer able to help out for the rest of the scene. Tell us how you got Taken Out. What happened to you, exactly? What is going to happen to you next? Can the fellowship save you from your fate? If so, how?

If you decide you are dying, describe Death for us. As a hero, your soul is valuable-- what does Death offer you in exchange for your soul? Do you take their offer? If you do, you are most certainly dead. If you die, you can rejoin the game at the same level next session, using a different playbook.

If you are Taken Out in the presence of the Overlord, they will make you An Offer You Can't Refuse. They may ask for your services, for something you hold, or for the end of your life. You can take it or leave it, but if you refuse, you must roll +Bonds with the nearest teammate or Companion (or the last player or companion you were with when you got separated from them) to live.

If you survive being Taken Out, you will be able to continue play starting with the next scene, with all of your stats still damaged.




Finish Them
When you attempt to defeat an enemy you hold an Advantage over, tell us how and roll +Any. If you do not have an Advantage over them, you cannot attempt to Finish Them. An Advantage is something you need to get the upper hand, such as teamwork or the element of surprise.
Which stat you use to Finish Them depends on how you intend to defeat them, or what your Advantage is. If multiple stats are appropriate, use the one you like best.

What Is An Advantage?
An Advantage is any means of fictional superiority you hold over someone else. When you do something that sounds like an Advantage, then you have an Advantage. If they are better than you, you do not have Advantage, and you will need to find a way to turn the tables if you want to Finish Them.

Some of your moves can be used to get an Advantage. Distract and/or Bound In Service easily grant Advantages. Your Gear can also sometimes grant you an Advantage through clever usage.

The answers you receive from Speaking Softly or Looking Closely can usually be used as Advantages, but not always. It depends on how useful the answers are, really.

If you Finish Them by... relying on a Companion's help or skill to do the job for you, damage one of their relevant stats and roll +Bonds with them. +Bonds is equal to how many Bonds you have with them, between +0 and +3.

--On a 10+, you defeat (or maybe destroy) the opponent: tell us what that means.
--On a 7-9, you deal damage to a stat that makes sense and lose your Advantage over them. If an ally was Keeping Them Busy, they aren't anymore.
--On a 6-, you lose the Advantage, and you must face retaliation.

If you Finish Them using a weapon with Ammo, use 1 Ammo. If you have no Ammo, you cannot Finish Them with that weapon.

Examples of When to Finish Them
--When you leap onto an enemy from behind, plunging your sword into them, Finish Them with +Forceful.
--When you trade blows with them repeatedly, outlasting everything they have, Finish Them with +Forceful.
--When you fire an arrow and hit them in the one small spot where you've been told they're vulnerable, Finish Them with +Agile.
--When you hold your arrow for the perfect moment, waiting, waiting, NOW, Finish Them with +Insightful.
--When you reveal your master plans, that you've been three steps ahead of every move they've made so far, Finish Them with +Insightful. You don’t even need to follow through the last step- simply proving you could have may force their defeat.
--When you nurse them back to health after their grievous injuries, Finish Them with +Charming.
--When your Ogre pal comes in like a wrecking ball, fists swinging, slamming into the enemy giving you trouble, Finish Them with +Bonds.


Overcome
--When you attempt to avoid, redirect, or prevent the harm something will cause, roll to Overcome with the appropriate stat. You can Overcome any obstacle, threat, or Move made against you or an ally, if you are in a position to act against it and have the means to stop it.
--On a 10+, you stop the obstacle, threat, or Move from causing harm.
--On a 7-9, choose one: You can pay a price to take the 10+ result, or you can create a temporary solution. A temporary solution will delay the threat, but when time is up, it'll be back in force - the GM will tell you when.

Overcoming harm with a Ranged weapon does not cost Ammo.


Examples of how to Overcome:
--The warrior’s blade comes slamming down and you raise your spear to deflect it.
Roll Forceful to Overcome.
--The floor suddenly opens up beneath you - a Pit trap! When you try to leap aside,
roll Agile to Overcome.
--A wild boar charges your friend, so you try to tackle it away! Roll Forceful to Overcome.



Distract/Keep Them Busy
When you act as a distraction or buy some time, tell us how and roll the appropriate stat.
--On a 10+, you buy as much time as you need, and their attention is all on you.
--On a 7-9, you can only stall them for a short time, and they will retaliate against you when time is up.

While you Distract/Keep Them Busy them in this way, you create an Advantage.

If you Distract/Keep Them Busy using a weapon with Ammo, use 1 Ammo. If you have no Ammo, you cannot Distract/Keep Them Busy with that weapon.

Examples of how to Distract/Keep Them Busy
--You stand in the doorway, holding the missing door as a shield while the enemies try to slam through you. Roll Forceful.
--Your friend wants to sneak past the guard, so you go up and inform the guard of an "incident" you "saw" down the road. Roll Charming.
--The zombie is attempting to grab at your buddy’s feet up on the ledge, so you drop down behind the zombie and try to grab it and hold it until either your buddy can get away or someone can come and help you. Roll Forceful.


Get Away (Agile)
When you need to get somewhere out of reach or out of sight, tell us where you're going and roll +Agile.
--On a 10+, choose two:
--On a 7-9, choose one:
 You get there quickly, avoiding any harm along the way.
 You get there quietly, drawing no attention.
 You grab someone nearby (who is not better than you) and bring them along with you.

If you are wearing armor with the Clumsy tag, you take -1 to Get Away.

Examples of how to Get Away
--You leap over, under, and through the buzz saws of the trapped hallway.
--The troll reaches at you, up on the cliff face, and you attempt to climb higher, up, away, out of its reach.
--You see the guards approaching, and duck behind a corner, hoping to avoid being seen.



Look Closely (Insightful)
When you closely examine a situation or a location, roll +Insightful.
--On a 10+, ask three questions from the following list.
--On a 7-9, ask two.
--On a 6-, ask only one. Anyone can answer, but the GM has the final say. The answers you receive may give you an Advantage.
 What is going on here? What do my senses tell me?
 Is something hidden or out of place? If so, what looks suspicious?
 Tell me about ______ . How could it hurt me? How could it help me?
 Tell me about ______ . What are they doing? What will they do next?
 What will happen if I ______ ?


Examples of how to Look Closely
--You scope out the area, trying to find out the best way to ambush the coming raiders.
--The political council guards their words closely, eyeing each other with suspicion, rarely letting anyone get a word in edgewise. Trying to figure out who stands for what is difficult.
--You come across a fight - a bunch of dock workers are slugging it out with another group, and you can't tell at a glance why they might be fighting, who the other group might be, nor even who seems to be winning.



Speak Softly (Insightful)
When you have a quiet chat with someone, you may roll +Insightful.
--On a 10+, ask them three questions from the following list.
--On a 7-9, ask two.
--On a 6-, ask only one. The answers you receive may give you an Advantage.
 What can this being tell me about ________?
 What was this being doing recently, and what are they going to do next?
 What should I be wary of when dealing with this being?
 What does this being want, and how could we help them get it (if we wanted to)?
 What would this being like us to do next?

Examples of using Speak Softly
--You raise your hands up, offering to parley. The enemy has you at their mercy--they grant your request.
--You sit at the counter, asking the barkeep about the town.
--You and the gremlin breathe a sigh of relief, having narrowly escaped the raft plummeting over the waterfall. But now you’re stuck together on this tiny rock, at least for a little while, with nothing but each other for company.
--The Elf has been really cagey lately, and you want to put a stop to it, right now.
You pull them aside, say “Listen, lad, we’re in this together, so you need to be honest with the rest o’ us here.”




Talk Sense
When you speak with conviction and ask someone for help, tell us what you want from them and why they should help you. If they're willing to listen, roll.
When you detail your plan and their place in it, roll +Insightful.
When you appeal to their emotions or their desires, roll +Charming.
When you impress or dazzle them, roll +Charming.
When you trick them, roll +Insightful.


On a 7+, they do as you ask, to the best of their ability.

On a 9-, you owe them a favor. The more you ask of them, the more they'll ask of you, and they can cash in at any time - even right now, before they do as you ask. (If you pay up, though, they will still do as you've asked, to the best of their ability.)

On a 6-, they choose one:
 The favor you must do for them is expensive, difficult, or demeaning.
 They cannot do what you ask of them, and will tell you why.

Examples of When to Talk Sense
--The politician’s plan will not appease the Overlord. You know this, but the politician says there is no better way. When you try to convince him to stand and fight, providing the logistics behind your assured victory, roll +Insightful.
--While the troll is stirring his stew, ready to drop in the Dwarf for their meal, you tell the troll how nasty dwarves taste, but also, how delicious sheep are, and you know just where some nearby sheep are, too! Roll to Talk Sense with +Charming.
--There is no rational way you could ever convince this man that what you’re doing is good for him, or his family. So you lie. You lie a LOT. Roll to Talk Sense with Charming (because lying depends on you seeming trustworthy, and that's about Charming).


It is important to note that these Moves can be used on other members of the fellowship, not just outsiders.

Each of the other Basic Moves are used to solve problems or avoid danger.

To more closely look at their differences, let's use an example. There is a pair of spear-wielding warriors guarding a hallway.

When a warrior attempts to stab someone, they need to Overcome it to avoid harm, by blocking it, or dodging it, or doing something else. Overcome is used only reactively, in response to sudden danger.

If you attempt to sneak or run past them, you'll need to Get Away. Get Away is used to escape from or avoid danger, and is ideal for escaping from situations you don't necessarily need to fix or fight through.

When you try to distract them with your words or your actions, you'll need to Distract/Keep Them Busy. Distract/Keep Them Busy is used to stall or stop harm proactively, but doesn't solve the problem itself. The guards are still there, and still stopping you, but now they’re not paying attention to anyone else but you.

When you try to convince them to let you through, you'll need to Talk Sense. You Talk Sense to get someone to do something for you, like let you pass, help you out, or do you a favor, and often involves you doing them a favor first.

When you try to defeat them for good, by any means you can think of, roll to Finish Them. Finish Them can use any stat and solve any problem, but you only use this Move when you're trying to get rid of the problem forever, and when you have the ability to do so. This Move is the hardest of the Basic Moves to trigger, but also the strongest.



Special Moves:

Command Lore
When someone asks something about your character or your people, tell them. When you ask about another character or their people, they will tell you the answer. When you ask about the Overlord, only the GM may choose not to answer.

Earning Fellowship with a community:
Fellowship is earned through action. When you have spent some time getting a feel for a community and speaking with the people in it, the GM will tell you what this community needs, what they are lacking, or how the Overlord has harmed them. If you can solve this problem for them, you will earn their respect, their admiration, and their Fellowship.

When you have earned Fellowship with a community, no matter how you earned it, the GM will ask you to pick one of 3 Fellowship Moves. The player who picks the Move is either the one most aligned to the community or the one who played the largest role in earning their Fellowship. The Move you pick applies so long as you keep Fellowship with that community. Fellowship is lost if you betray them, or if you revoke their Fellowship for some reason, or if the Overlord destroys the community.






Forge a Bond:
When you bond with someone over something you did or shared together, record a new Bond with them on your sheet, describing the connection you two now hold. A Bond is a single sentence describing how you feel about them or what you two have done together. If you already had a Bond with them, you can add another Bond, or rewrite an existing one. You can never have more than three Bonds with someone.

If you Forge a Bond with someone outside the fellowship, they will join your cause as a Companion, so long as the Bond holds. You can always give something Precious to someone to immediately Forge a Bond with them.

A note on Forging Bonds: Forging Bonds is something you should do constantly. Whenever two players do something cool or heartwarming together, they should Forge a Bond. When you make a new friend, Forge a Bond. When you help out someone who up until then has been an enemy, Forge a Bond. Bonds are super easy to make, and the fellowship should be making new ones constantly.


The Bonds That Bind Us
When two or more players who have Bonds with each other work together side by side, they roll with Hope. When one of them must pay a price, the other may choose to pay that price instead.

Note: Teamwork is a fairly vague notion, but the intent is that you two have to be working closely together to use this Move. It is primarily intended to be used when you are all doing the same thing (everyone works together to Keep Them Busy, or two players coordinate an ambush to Finish Them together), so one player rolls with Hope instead of everyone rolling separately. However, it doesn’t need to be that - any time two players are working closely alongside one another towards the same goal, they may roll with Hope and pay each others’ prices.


Losing Bonds:
When your actions harm an ally, or result in them being harmed (or captured!), erase one of your Bonds with them immediately.


When you thoughtlessly act in a way that forgets about what a friend needs, break a Bond. When you fail to help a friend who asked you for help, break a Bond. Bonds are easy to break (and the Overlord will seek to destroy the party's bonds whenever possible!)


When you have no Bonds with a member of the fellowship, you cannot work alongside them without getting in each others' way, and you both roll with Despair when working or fighting alongside one another.

When you forget a friend, break a Bond. When you fail to help a friend, break aBond. Bonds are super easy to break and the Overlord should be destroyingthem constantly.



Note that rolling with Bonds is NOT for AFFECTING ANOTHER PLAYER'S ROLL. It's just to help them out if they do something, and then after they try to do it, it still needs doing (or some more doing)-- well, then, you could help with Bonds.





Bound in Service
When you call upon a Companion for help, you may damage one of their stats to create an Advantage related to that stat. If all of a Companion's stats are damaged and they'd take further damage, lose a Bond with them.

When no one has Bonds with a Companion, the Companion leaves the fellowship.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:54, Fri 22 Apr 2022.