THE BASIC MOVES

The seven basic moves are:
--unleash an attack
--escape a situation
--persuade an NPC
--figure someone out
--mislead, distract, or trick
--keep your cool, and
--let it out.


UNLEASH AN ATTACK
When you unleash an attack on someone, roll with Blood. On a hit, you inflict harm as established and choose 1:
• Inflict terrible harm
• Take something from them

On a 7-9, choose 1 from below as well:
• They inflict harm on you
• You find yourself in a bad spot

Unleash an attack is for those times when violence is the answer-- or at least it’s your character’s answer. And we’re not talking about threats or some pushing and shoving. Unleash an attack triggers when you get down to the business of hurting people-- breaking bones, pulling crossbow triggers, and generally trying to fuck up your opposition before they do the same to you.

You usually unleash with a weapon, but you can also trigger this move with your own body provided you have the right training-- or magical attacks, so long as the goal is to harm another character. The latter part is key: this move is about hurting people, full stop.

Note that you can’t unleash on inanimate objects like barriers; the move doesn’t trigger if your goal is to knock down or move through stuff that can’t fight back.

Inflicting harm as established means that you do as much harm to your target as makes sense given the fiction. If you’re fighting with nothing but your empty fists (1-harm or 0-harm), you do a lot less damage than someone using a magical weapon.

»Options for Unleash an Attack
Inflicting terrible harm means that you escalate your attack to something really serious--adding +1 harm to whatever you would normally inflict-- even if you’re already using a potentially-lethal weapon. If you’re punching someone out, you keep punching even when your target is curled up in a ball; if you’re swinging a swords at someone, you’re still swinging even if they go down. Inflicting terrible harm is the cold crunch of broken bones in a street fight, the rattling gasp of someone sliced open with a knife at close range. Use it carefully.

Taking something from your opponent is a bit broader; it can represent literally taking an object they’re holding or it can be more conceptual, such as seizing the high ground, unseating their footing on a precarious surface, or capturing their complete attention when your ally is trying to escape. In many cases, you can use this option to open an opportunity for someone else to unleash an attack or escape a situation. When you pick this option,
the GM works with you to describe how the situation changes because of
your dominance.

When you select They inflict harm on you after rolling a 7-9, your opponent is able to perform a counterattack against you while you’re unleashing your attack on them. They get their punches, shots, and stabbings in, same as you.

It can also represent their allies, if present, inflicting harm on you. The GM tells you how much harm you suffer.

When you select You find yourself in a bad spot after rolling a 7-9, you find yourself in a worse position than you held before you made the roll. The GM ups the ante somehow and further complicates the scenario. Sometimes that means that you’re physically threatened by the existing opposition or new forces, but it can also mean that you’re socially or emotionally vulnerable after striking out.



ESCAPE A SITUATION
When you take advantage of an opening to escape a situation, roll with Blood. On a hit, you get away. On a 10+, choose 1. On a 7-9, choose 2:
• You suffer harm during your escape
• You end up in another dangerous situation
• You leave something important behind
• You owe someone a Debt for your escape
• You give in to your base nature and mark corruption

Escape is how you get out of a situation that you would prefer to avoid. It doesn’t matter how dangerous the circumstance is, so long as your leaving could be considered risky. It’s obvious that you’re escaping if you’re running from arrows being shot at you, but attempting to flee from a tense family gathering or a difficult emotional situation also triggers this move.

In order to trigger escape a situation you need to either create or take advantage of an opening-- a difficult task when you’re cornered and have no clear avenue of escape. Unleash an attack; mislead, distract, or trick; and let it out are all excellent ways to create the opening you need to trigger escape.

»Options for Escape a Situation

Suffering harm during an escape might be the result of your pursuers attacking you on your way out or because you run into something that blocks your path; the GM tells you how much harm you take. As always, you suffer harm as established, which makes choosing this option much more dangerous when the people chasing you are using automatic weapons or the path in
front of you is riddled with deadly magical traps.

Ending up in another dangerous situation puts your fate into the hands of the GM. The new danger may be an old foe catching up to you or some novel threat presenting itself for the first time. The type of danger may change as well; you might get out of an awful professional situation and run right into a group of thugs sent by a rival.

Leaving something important behind means that you drop, forget, or leave something on your way out of the situation. Note that this doesn’t give the GM carte blanche to ruin your day; you’re much more likely to leave something incriminating or personally significant than you are to leave a priceless magical item or the very object you were trying to get out of the scene in the first place.

Owing someone a Debt for your escape signals that someone-- perhaps a character who wasn’t even in the scene previously-- provides a crucial resource or opportunity that enables your escape. Often this will be an obvious choice, especially when another PC helps you get out the door by covering your escape, but it’s the GM’s final call who you owe. Perhaps one of your enemies within the city is suddenly eager to help at just the right moment…

Giving in to your base nature and marking corruption means that you call upon whatever darkness lurks inside your character to get to safety. This seems cheap compared to suffering harm or owing Debts, but corruption is more costly than it might initially appear to be.


PERSUADE AN NPC
When you persuade an NPC through seduction, promises, or threats, roll with Heart. On a hit, they do what you ask. On a 7-9, they modify the terms or demand a Debt.

If you cash in a Debt you have with them before rolling, you may add +3 to your roll.

Persuade an NPC triggers when you try to get an NPC to do something for you by seducing them, promising them something, or threatening their interests. Simply talking isn’t enough here; you have to have some leverage for the move to trigger. In other words, they have to want something you’re offering or be afraid of the consequences you can bring to bear.

At the same time, your request has to be proportional to your leverage. It’s absurd to think that an NPC will betray a close friend just because you asked them to flip. Promising them something they want or threatening their safety (to give just two possible examples) might work, but the leverage has to match the request. The GM is the final judge on what counts as proper leverage.

When you spend a Debt to add +3 your roll, explain how you’re bringing that Debt into play. Just saying “I spend the Debt” isn’t enough; you have to include it in your persuasion, perhaps by referencing the Debt that has yet to be paid or threatening to reveal secrets kept or go back on promises made.

Spending a Debt always counts as providing moderate leverage for this move, such that most NPCs will consider moderate favors and demands. When you hit this move with a 10+, NPCs generally accede to your wishes, albeit with their own idea of how to give you what you want. If you ask a violent werewolf to find someone for you, there’s no guarantee they’re going to play nice with that person unless you make that part of your request. Wolves
be wolves, after all. Nothing changes that.

On a 7-9, though, the NPC has some more input on the deal itself. It’s their choice: they can either modify the terms of the deal-- essentially making you a reasonable counter offer on the spot-- or take a Debt up front to follow your plan. If they modify the terms, you can still back down from the arrangement, but you won’t be able to propose anything new until the situation has changed.



FIGURE SOMEONE OUT
When you try to figure someone out, roll with Mind. On a hit, hold 2. On a 7-9, they hold 1 on you as well. While you’re interacting with them, spend your hold 1-for-1 to ask their player a question:
• Who’s pulling your character’s strings?
• What’s your character’s beef with ______?
• What’s your character hoping to get from ____?
• How could I get your character to ____?
• What does your character worry might happen?
• How could I put your character in my Debt?

If you’re in their Faction, ask an additional question, even on a miss.

Figure someone out involves learning another character’s motivations and worries by scrutinizing their body language, tone of voice, smell, or other telltale clues. In order to trigger the move, you have to narrate how you’re studying the other character, including what kinds of things you’re looking for in their behavior and appearance.

The focus here is on the data your character takes in from the environment-- info that might be unspoken or subtle.

Figure someone out usually requires interacting with your target, but there may be cases where you can trigger the move by watching them at a distance or rifling through their belongings. As with other moves, the way you trigger the move shapes the outcomes, so the answers you get from the character may be a little more vague when you’re working at a distance.

When you hit this move on a 10+, you’re in complete control of your observations. On a 7-9, you let something slip, giving your target a chance to ask questions about you as well. If you’re reading them at a distance, you might leave something behind at the scene or disturb the location in such a way that your target gets some information about your machinations.

Remember that you get an additional question, even on a miss, if the character you’re figuring out is in your Faction. You know a bit more about how people from your own community act and think, so it’s easier for you to piece together what they’re up to, even when you don’t get a full read on them.



MISLEAD, DISTRACT, OR TRICK
When you try to mislead, distract, or trick someone, roll with Mind. On a hit, they are fooled, at least for a moment. On a 10+, pick 3. On a 7-9, pick 2:
• You create an opportunity
• You expose a weakness or flaw
• You confuse them for some time
• You avoid further entanglement

Mislead, distract, or trick is used whenever your character tries to gain the upper hand over another character through deception. The goal could be to deflect someone’s attention away from or toward something, convince someone that the lie you’re offering them is the whole truth, or fool them into taking an action-- or not taking an action—by your prompting.

Triggering this move, however, involves offering a plausible lie, distraction, or trick. You can’t walk into a bar full of vampires and pretend to be one of them if you’ve previously established that all vampires in the city know each other… unless you’ve got a magic spell that makes you look like a particular vampire.

You’ve got to offer some plausible falsehood that makes it possible for your target to believe your lie, especially when you’re facing some long odds of successfully deceiving another character. You haven’t reached the point of uncertainty-- the point at which a move triggers—if it’s obvious you’re not telling the truth.

That said, the move has a broad trigger based on intent: throwing a rock at the city guards to distract them is definitely mislead, distract, or trick, but throwing rocks with the intention of hurting the city guards would probably be unleash.

Mislead, distract, or trick triggers any time you’re trying to put one over on another character and it seems possible that they’d fall for it. If you’re being sneaky while trying to accomplish another goal—like harming someone-- you need to roll mislead first, knowing that it might tip your hand, or just go straight for the jugular with whatever you’re trying to do.


»Options for Mislead, Distract, or Trick
Creating an opportunity gives you a chance to act when you otherwise wouldn’t be able to act-- an escape route in tight quarters-- or makes an action you were going to take considerably more successful-- fooling your pursuers for long enough to hail a cab. When you choose this option, your GM tells you what opportunity you get as a result of your trickery.

Exposing a weakness or flaw lets you discover a vulnerability within your opposition. Sometimes this is because you mislead them into revealing a particular weakness or distract them long enough for you to observe something meaningful that they would rather keep secret. It’s up to you to act on the weakness, which may lead you to trigger another move.

Confusing them for some time means your gambit lasts longer than it would normally. The deception may last until you’re ready to act on it, or may extend for several scenes or sessions. Note that not picking this option means that your opposition is only fooled for a short time. If you want your tricks to stick, you need to give up one of the other options.

Avoiding further entanglement allows you to get away more or less clean. After this, the attention is no longer on you and is unlikely to return or your enemy can’t quite pin you down. Your opposition may blame someone else or simply overlook you, but their focus falls elsewhere. Further engagement might reopen their interest.



KEEP YOUR COOL
When things get real and you keep your cool, tell the GM what situation you want to avoid, and roll with Spirit.
On a 10+, all’s well. On a 7–9, the GM will tell you what it’s gonna cost you.

Keep your cool triggers when your character’s focus and willpower are needed to accomplish an important goal or avoid serious danger. Note that the move only triggers when the pressure is on, so you won’t have to roll this move unless something else in the scene has already brought some pressure to bear on your character.

When you do trigger keep your cool, you set the stakes by declaring what situation you’re trying to avoid. If you’re worried about the crossbows already pointed at you, you might say, “I don’t want to get shot”; if you’re nervous about your girlfriend's reaction to some terrible news, you might say, “I’m trying avoid a misunderstanding about what happened last night.”

When you roll a 10+ with keep your cool, you see the stressful situation through, dodging bullets, avoiding calamity, and generally coping with shit.

On a 7-9, you find yourself in a bit deeper than you expected-- the GM will always provide a way out for you… but you might not like the costs. Remember, though, a hit is a hit. A 7-9 result here offers a real way forward, provided you’re willing to pay the cost. The GM isn’t obligated to bring that threat to bear on a miss, but they are obligated to give you a way out if you get a hit.

Keep your cool is one of the most flexible moves in the game. When your GM is looking for a move but not sure which one to use, they’ll probably choose this one. If you’re looking for another move instead of keep your cool, push back a little and explain why you think another move ought to trigger instead. Anytime there’s some uncertainty in the fiction that’s not covered by an existing move, keep your cool is a solid way to find out what happens next.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:37, Thu 09 June 2022.

LET IT OUT
When you let out the power within you, roll with Spirit. On a hit, choose 1 and mark corruption. On a 10+, ignore the corruption or choose another from the list.
• Take +1 forward on your next roll
• Extend your senses, supernatural or otherwise
• Frighten, intimidate, or impress your opposition
• Take definite hold of something vulnerable or exposed

Let it out is the catch-all supernatural and preternatural move. If you’re wondering how to mesmerize a mortal with your vampiric powers or tear off a car door with your werewolf strength, look no further: let it out allows your character to access whatever strange powers and abilities you don’t find elsewhere on your Archetype.

On occasion, you might find that there’s some overlap between letting it out and using an Archetype move. A faerie, for example, might decide to get in touch with their connection to Arcadia rather than casting faerie magic.

Remember that triggering let it out isn’t just activating magic powers; you’re actively letting out the power within you, giving it control to get what you want. The risks and rewards of such an opening are greater, and you might decide you want these options rather than the ones tied to an Archetype move.

Mortals might be hesitant to use this move, but the lack of supernatural abilities isn’t an impediment to triggering let it out. Mortals have power supernatural beings don’t have: human instinct, adaptability, untapped potential, etc. Find a way to tap into the power within you, no matter how overt or subtle it may be. You might surprise yourself.

»Options for Let It Out
Taking a +1 forward to your next roll means that you’re using your abilities to gain an immediate advantage on the next move you make. You might tap your inner wolf before you unleash on an enemy or open up your third eye to see clearly before you figure someone out. Work with your GM to describe what it looks like when you choose this option.

Extending your senses, supernatural or otherwise gives you direct information about the situation at hand. The GM tells you what you find, depending on the fiction. An Oracle investigating a murder scene might get glimpses of what happened, while a Hunter might notice an overlooked clue that points toward the supernatural. Note that there’s no guarantee you’ll find anything when you open up your senses; sometimes there’s nothing there for you to find.

Frightening, intimidating, or impressing your opposition causes them to rethink their current course of action or sets you up to make them vulnerable or exposed. This effect can be subtle—a vampire’s hypnotic gaze—but it generally gets the attention of those around you. Work with your GM to describe what it looks like when you choose this option.

Taking definite hold of something vulnerable or exposed allows you to seize what others have, including their possessions, their position, or their life. It’s similar to choosing “take something from them” from unleash, but it allows for more nuance. You can use this to rip off a car door or to banish an elemental back to the elemental plane it came from with an arcane ritual. Note that the target must be vulnerable or exposed; you can’t affect secure targets. What’s vulnerable or exposed depends on the situation and your character’s native talents and abilities.


LEND A HAND OR GET IN THE WAY
When you lend a hand or get in the way after a PC has rolled, roll with their Faction. On a hit, give them a +1 or -2 to their roll. On a 7-9, you also expose yourself to danger, entanglement, or cost.

Each move is a moment in the fiction, an event that needs to resolve before you can move on to the next event. Only one character can have that kind of spotlight at a time, so you resolve one move at a time. If you try to escape a situation, we need to see how that resolves before you can let it out or unleash on the opposition. One move at a time. After a player rolls, however, other players can jump in to help or interfere with their plans, provided they are fictionally available to do so. (You can’t help someone beat up an elemental while you’re watching through a crystal ball-- unless you’ve got some secret knowledge about elementals of that type that you could shout to the other character!) Some of these actions might normally trigger a basic move-- like trying to trick another character or beat them up—but since you’re acting while another player has the spotlight, you roll with their Faction instead of rolling the basic move.

The bonuses and penalties for these rolls tell you when they’re useful-- you can’t help when someone has rolled a 4, and you can’t interfere when someone has rolled a 12. Your character can obviously undertake whatever fictional action they deem appropriate, like providing cover fire or intimidating an NPC, but these two moves only trigger when they make sense for the situation and have mechanical meaning. If you can’t help or interfere, it’s likely that your assistance can trigger a new move after the current one is resolved, lashing
out with violence or attempting to persuade the NPC yourself.

When you roll a 10+ while lending a hand or getting in the way, things go smoothly and you can apply your bonus or penalty to the other player’s roll without cost. On a 7-9, you still get the bonus, but you find yourself in a tough spot as a result of your interference in the situation. On a miss, the GM tells you what happens, just like with any other basic move. You roll with Faction because your character is trying to evaluate the best way to help or
interfere with a person from this particular community; misses here may indicate misperceptions about other communities (or your own).

This move is crucial when the players oppose each other. Since unleash isn’t an opposed roll, whoever unleashes first might do a lot of damage before the other player’s character can react. Getting in the way allows players targeted by other players to weaken attacks and resist trickery without everyone rolling dice all at once. It’s not uncommon for the GM to turn a move back on someone who misses when they’re targeting another player, effectively giving them a 10+ on the same move in reverse.

Only one character can successfully lend a hand, and only one character can successfully interfere, on any given roll. All the characters can try, but you can’t keep racking up the +1s as every other PC lends a hand (or -2s if everyone jumps in to get in the way). If a player misses while lending a hand or getting in the way, however, other characters can jump in and try, exposing themselves to the potential costs and complications that result from these kinds of rolls.

Note that lending a hand or getting in the way has to make sense within the fiction. You can’t interfere by silently thinking evil thoughts (unless you’ve got mind magic or telepathy!) when someone unleashes an attack with a machete, and you can’t help someone escape a situation by whispering encouragement across a room. You also can’t lend a hand or get in the way with Faction moves as those moves center around a character’s relationship with an entire faction.



FACTION MOVES
Faction moves complement the basic moves, allowing your character to interact more broadly with the Factions that vie for power within the city. Instead of rolling with a main stat when you trigger one of these moves, you roll with a Faction stat that describes your relationship with the community with which you’re engaging.

The three core Faction moves are hit the streets, put a face to a name, and investigate a place of power. Other moves might also make use of the Faction stats on your Archetype, but only these count as Faction moves.

HIT THE STREETS
When you hit the streets to get what you need, name who you’re going to, and roll with their Faction. On a hit, they’re available and have the stuff. On a 7-9, choose 1:
• Whoever you’re going to is juggling their own problems
• Whatever you need is more costly than anticipated

Hit the streets lets you seek out contacts and connections within the city to help you get what you need: info, magical items, information, your nightly fix, whatever. Any time your character goes out looking for resources, roll hit the streets.

You must say who you’re making contact with before you roll; it should be reasonable that they can provide you with whatever you need. Whenever possible, try to circle back to already-mentioned characters with this move: the city gets a little crowded if there’s a knowledgeable monster hunter on every corner. Better to go to the person everyone already knows.

Notice that you actually have to get out into the city to trigger this move. It’s not enough to make a few calls with a crystal ball and hope that the goods come directly to you. Supernatural beings-- and the mortals who deal with them on a daily basis-- are always skeptical of impersonal communication. Magical calls are too easily monitored by their enemies. Best to see someone in the flesh. Safer.

»Options for Hit the Streets
If whoever you go to is juggling their own problems, it doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t help you. In fact, they might be more open to bargaining because they’ve got a ticking time bomb on their hands, some situation that they can’t resolve on their own because they lack the resources or skills needed to get out from under the rock. Your request for help is certainly messier when their business gets dragged into it, but they definitely have whatever you’re looking to get from them.

If whatever you need is more costly than anticipated, then either your contact is suffering some sort of shortage or scarcity, or you don’t know the real value of what you’re requesting. Maybe whatever you’re looking for is more dangerous than you realize, or you overlooked something obvious about the costs of the thing in question. Your contact may need you to pay with more than just Debts or money, like immediate favors or valuable items, magical or mundane. They have it, but it’s going to cost you.



PUT A FACE TO A NAME
When you put a face to a name or vice-versa, roll with their Faction (the GM will tell you their Faction, and then you have to roll). On a hit, you know their reputation; the GM tells you what most people know about them. On a 10+, you’ve dealt with them before; the GM will tell you something interesting and useful about them, or they owe you a Debt. On a miss, you don’t know them or you owe them; the GM will tell you which.

The city is filled with more people than anyone can possibly know, but your character is bound to have met—or at least heard of—most of the movers and shakers in the city. This move lets you establish history or learn someone’s reputation upon seeing them or hearing about them for the first time.

The question “What do I know about them?” or “Have I heard of this person?” is going to come up often while playing; this move lets you answer the question and build on the answer quickly.

You only roll this move the first time you meet someone new or hear a new name. It’s not something that you can trigger later when you sit down to really think about the person that you met earlier. Either the name (or face) hits you and you remember something, or you proceed in the fiction to build a new relationship with that character. It’s always an option to just say, “I don’t know this person,” and skip the roll.

If you get a hit on this move, you’re familiar with the person in question, but they might not know who you are at all. They’ve got a reputation, but information isn’t always a two-way street. On a strong hit, you get their reputation and a little bit more: choose a Debt for services previously rendered or dig a bit deeper into their story. On a miss, the GM tells you if they’re a stranger or someone you owe.



INVESTIGATE A PLACE OF POWER
When you investigate a place of power, roll with the Faction that owns it. On a hit, you see below the surface to the reality underneath. On a 10+, you can ask the GM one question about the schemes and politics of the Faction in question.

Investigating a place of power comes in many forms: you might literally go through the files in someone’s study or subtly observe the dance floor in a mortal nightclub. In order to trigger the move, you’ve got to be looking for answers beyond what you can see with a quick glance. Walking through a crowded room doesn’t trigger the move; you’ve got to slow down and really look around at the place.

Sometimes other moves might offer you unique opportunities to investigate places of power, triggering the move when it would otherwise be difficult to trigger. For example, a vampire might let it out to supercharge their senses and listen closely to what individuals are whispering to each other. These other moves don’t do the investigating all on their own, but they set you up to trigger investigate a place of power in a difficult situation.

A place of power is one that others in that Faction would consider important: a werewolf bar, the law office owned by an ifrit, the fae’s tattoo parlor, a city guard post, you get the idea. The question you can ask on a 10+ should fit within the context of the place and situation, but your GM might allow you to ask broader questions if the location might offer clues to the Faction’s larger political machinations.



DEBT MOVES
There’s no way to make another player character dance to your tune besides Debt. You can’t persuade them with logic or intimidate them with violence; you might get them to go along with you, but only because it’s easier than fighting with you. There’s no way to roll the dice to make folks make tough choices.

Unless you’ve got a Debt. Once people owe you, you can ask them for all kinds of things. And when you put the weight of a Debt behind something, it carries all new meaning. If they want to be taken seriously in the city, then they need to pay what they owe. Only someone who can’t be trusted-- who isn’t worth saving when the chips are down-- goes back on their accounts.

Debt moves deal with interactions fueled by Debt. There are four Debt moves: do someone a favor, cash in a Debt, refuse to honor a Debt, and drop someone’s name.


DO SOMEONE A FAVOR
When you do someone a favor, they owe you a Debt. Gaining Debts means going out of your way to do a favor for other characters. Anytime you help someone out without recompense, you get to claim a Debt from them that can be cashed in at a later time. You can claim Debts from both PCs and NPCs, provided you do something useful for them.

A favor has to be acknowledged by the other party or it isn’t a Debt; you can’t do something for someone and claim a Debt if they don’t really care about your efforts. It’s cool to work this out in the fiction in advance-- “Yeah, I can totally help you out, but you’re going to owe me” --or to step out of character and draw attention to something that happens in the moment-- “I just saved your character's life. I think she owes me a Debt.” If you forget to call out a Debt in the moment, don’t fret. You have a chance at the end of each chapter to collect Debts you think you’re owed if you miss them in the moment.

If you do someone a favor because you’re already getting something from them, it doesn’t count. No need to keep the books when everybody’s breaking even. That said, one-sided deals-- “Rat out your friends, and I’ll give you a ride across town” --don’t count as even exchanges. You can’t avoid a Debt by offering something paltry.



CASH IN A DEBT
When you cash in a Debt, remind your debtor why they owe you in order to...

...make a PC:
• Do you a favor at moderate cost
• Lend a hand to your efforts
• Get in the way of someone else
• Answer a question honestly
• Erase a Debt they hold on someone
• Give you a Debt they hold on someone else

...make an NPC:
• Answer a question honestly about their Faction
• Introduce you to a powerful member of their Faction
• Give you a worthy and useful gift without cost
• Erase a Debt they hold on someone
• Give you a Debt they have on someone else
• Give you +3 toward persuading them (choose before rolling)

Cashing in a Debt is easy. Whenever you want something from someone who owes you a Debt, remind them why they owe you and tell them what you want. Anything from the list is legit at all times, including making them answer questions honestly or giving you a Debt they’re holding on someone else. Provided they follow through on your request, the Debt is used up and erased.

You don’t need to quote the reason for the Debt exactly when you cash in a Debt; alluding to the favor owed is plenty reason enough to trigger the move. What matters is that both parties recall the Debt and acknowledge it, and that they both know that it’s been spent if the debtor honors the Debt. Of course, PC debtors can always refuse to honor a Debt with all the cost and consequences that come with going back on their word.

»Options for Cash In a Debt with PCs
Getting a favor at moderate cost is a broad option, encompassing all sorts of favors that aren’t already on the list. You might ask someone to hide something sensitive for you, steal something valuable, or back you up in a tough situation. It’s all dependent on the skills and talents of the character who owes you the Debt. For some characters, killing someone is a favor they can perform at moderate cost. As always, the GM arbitrates any disputes on what’s "moderate," but look to the fiction to get a sense of what might be moderate for any given character.

Lending a hand or getting in the way both involve engaging with another PC’s roll. If you want to make another character to help you in the moment, this is the option to choose. Note that this means that you might resolve cashing in a Debt in the middle of another move to determine if someone will lend you a hand or get in the way of someone else.

Demanding that a PC answer a question honestly is the only way to get the absolute truth from another PC. None of the options on figure someone out tell you if a character is lying about any particular statement-- figure someone out focuses on the political situation a character is in, not the truth-- but you can force another PC to be honest by cashing in Debts. If the PC honors the Debt, their answer to the question must be full and complete: no misleading or tricks!

Erasing Debts means that you’re spending a Debt to erase a Debt, effectively clearing the books. You lose a bit of your control over the person who owes you the Debt, but you can get out-- or get someone else out-- from under their thumb, assuming they don’t hold other Debts over you or the person you’re trying to save.

Transferring Debts requires that you know about the Debts in question. Most people are pretty open with who owes them, but you’ve got to get the information before you start asking people to hand over their Debts to you.


»Options for Cash In a Debt with NPCs
Demanding that an NPC answer a question honestly is a bit narrower than demanding an answer from the PC. The question must be about their Faction, either broadly about the politics of the Faction or confirmation of gossip or rumors about individual members. If you want NPCs to answer questions about themselves honestly, you’ll have to persuade them.

Getting an NPC to introduce you to a powerful member of their Faction allows you to bypass the obstacles such NPCs usually put up to avoid dealing with riffraff. Your debtor may not like you, but they must give you a friendly introduction and guarantee safe passage to the powerful NPC. If you screw things up while you’re surrounded by the NPC’s goons, though, that’s on you. Try to play nice.

Demanding they give you a worthy or useful gift without cost means that you’re offering the NPC a chance to pay off their Debt by giving you material goods. NPCs don’t have to honor specific requests, but they do have to give you something that you actually want. If they make an offer and you reject it, however, you can’t go back and demand it after you see a few more things.

Erasing and transferring Debts with NPCs works exactly the same as it does with PCs. Remember that you have to know a Debt exists in the fiction before you can cancel it or get the NPC to give it to you.

Adding a +3 to your persuade roll before rolling is essentially asking for a moderate favor from the NPC. Since NPCs can’t roll to refuse to honor a Debt, persuading them with a +3 is effectively calling in a moderate favor with the Debt. A miss on a persuade roll can sometimes mean that the NPC weasels out of the Debt, returning the Debt to you as if they had successfully refused it. You always have leverage if you’re willing to cash in the Debt and take the +3 before you roll.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:40, Thu 09 June 2022.

REFUSE TO HONOR A DEBT
When you refuse to honor a debt, roll with Heart. On a hit, you weasel out of the current deal, but still owe the Debt. On a 7-9, you choose 1:
• You owe them an additional Debt
• You lose face with their Faction
• You mark corruption

On a miss, you can’t avoid it: you either honor your Debt or face the consequences-- they pick two from the list above, or force you to lose all the Debts owed to you.

Just because someone has a Debt over you doesn’t mean you have to honor it… right now. Maybe it’s not a good time or the thing they’re asking for is just out of your reach at the moment. You can’t be all things to all people all the time. And sometimes people ask for “reasonable” things that are going to cost you more than you want to pay.

Refuse to honor a Debt lets you try to slip out of your obligations. It won’t mean you no longer owe the other character-- the best you can hope for is delaying the payback for another time-- but it might keep you out of the fire until you can sort the situation out. Live to fight another day and all that shit.

When you try to push off your Debts and miss, you face a tough choice: honor the Debt or face the consequences. Your debtor gets to pick two different options off the list for you or cancel all the Debts you hold over other people. If you won’t honor a Debt, then why should anyone honor their Debts to you? Best be careful.

If you successfully refuse a Debt, the character who tried to cash in a Debt can’t cash another in with you until the situation changes. After all, they already asked for one favor, right? No point in asking again so soon. You’ve already said “no” once.


»Options for Refuse to Honor a Debt

Owing another Debt means that the owner of the Debt gets to mark down another Debt on their Archetype sheet with your name on it. Basically, you’re getting out of what you owe now by owing more in the future-- it's interest (in the banking sense).

Losing face with their Faction means that other characters from their Faction start to think less of you because you didn’t pay up when asked. This is a subtle cost, but it means that the Faction is a little colder to your advances, a little less likely to go out on a limb for you when it really matters. Best of luck surviving in the city when roughly a quarter of the folks who matter think you’re a flake.

Marking corruption means that you shut out the Debt with the sheer force of your will… at a cost. Relationships are what keep us grounded; when you push them away, you might find yourself drifting toward the worst parts of yourself. At some point, you won’t be able to come back toward the light.



DROP SOMEONE’S NAME
When you drop the name of someone who owes you a Debt, roll with their Faction. On a hit, their name carries weight and gives you an opening or opportunity. On a 10+, you keep the Debt and mark their Faction. On a 7-9, you have to cash in the Debt. On a miss, erase the Debt and brace yourself.

Dropping someone’s name means using it as leverage against your opposition, granting a moment’s advantage or hesitation and creating an opening that was previously closed. You might use it to get someone to rethink hurting your character or to gain access to a sensitive location. It’s useful any place you think the person’s name might help you get by.

Just saying the name of the person who owes you isn’t enough; you’ve got to inform your opposition that who you’re naming owes you and you could call in that favor against them specifically. On a hit, that threat carries a serious amount of weight, enough to get you an opening or opportunity. When you miss, you find out too late that you’ve overstepped your bounds, that the name you dropped isn’t going to offer you much assistance. In fact, it might even get you killed.

You have to cash in the Debt on a 7-9, marking it off your sheet and marking Faction, because you’ve already used up that favor; you have to erase the Debt on a miss because you’ve been throwing the Debt around recklessly. No one wants their name dragged through the mud every time you want something. Erasing the Debt means that you don’t get to mark Faction
for spending it.




MARKING FACTION:
In order to advance, you’ve got to mark all four Factions. There isn’t any particular order in which you need to mark the Factions, but you can’t mark a Faction again until you’ve marked all of them once; if you hit the streets with Mortality when you’ve already got Mortality marked, you can’t mark it. Here are all the ways that you can mark Faction:
• make a Faction move
• trigger an intimacy move
• cash in a Debt
• honor a Debt
• make a move that tells you to mark Faction

Successfully refusing to honor a Debt means that you don’t mark Faction for that Debt. You have to actually be true to your word to mark Faction for honoring your Debts. On the other hand, the person cashing in the Debt gets to mark Faction even if their debtor refuses to honor the Debt.

Once you’ve marked all the Factions once, erase all your Faction marks and take your advancement: choose one of the options under “Standard Advances” in your Archetype playbook. You can only take each of these advancements once, but you’re free to mark Factions again as soon as you erase the last set of marks and advance.

It’s possible to gain multiple advancements in a single chapter, especially if you’re making a lot of Faction moves and spending Debts. In other words, the pace of your character’s advancement is entirely within your hands.




DRAMA MOVES
Drama moves are central and unique to your playbook; they describe how your character responds to the big stuff, like slipping toward the darkness, having an intimate moment with others, and… dying.

Each playbook includes three drama moves: a corruption move, an intimacy move, and an end move.


CORRUPTION MOVES
Every playbook has a unique corruption move written specifically for that playbook, aimed at exploring the major themes of darkness associated with their story. Corruption is more than just darkness or evil. It represents your character slipping toward the worst parts of their nature, becoming that which should be feared instead of respected, hated instead of loved. Yet, as your corruption mounts, your power only grows...

When the conditions of your corruption move are met, add another point of corruption. If you’re unsure if the conditions have been met, ask the GM. There might be other moves that call for you to mark corruption-- or other times that the GM tells you to mark corruption based on your terrible actions—but the primary source of corruption for your character is your corruption move. Look carefully for it during your story. The GM can help remind
you, but it’s tough for them to watch everyone’s corruption moves.

When your corruption track fills, mark a corruption advance and clear the track. You get some new moves, but at a cost. Eventually you won’t be able to fight the corruption any longer...


INTIMACY MOVES
Intimacy moves are also unique to each playbook, reflecting how your character connects with others during moments of closeness. What defines a moment of emotional or mental intimacy is up to the parties involved, but the GM might ask, “Is this a moment of intimacy?” if no one is bringing it up. Intimacy moves require both or all parties to agree intimacy occurred: it means they’ve shared a poignant and personal moment with one another.

There are obvious moments of intimacy-- vampires feeding, transcendental psychic experiences-- but urban fantasy also has a broader set of emotional connections. Two characters might get drunk together or tell each other a painful secret or open up about their real desires in the face of the city’s daily grind. Any and all of these moments are triggers for the characters to go deeper into their connection by activating their intimacy move.

When you trigger an intimacy move, both players should read their intimacy moves out loud and follow the instructions given. If an intimacy move requires you to hold one, note that on your Archetype sheet. Sometimes an intimacy move gives other characters moves or bonuses. Tell them to note those on their character sheet as well.



END MOVES
End moves may only trigger when your character dies or-- in many cases-- retires. Retirement is only available as a result of character advancement, but death might strike at any time.

Note that faking your death doesn’t trigger the move. You’ve got to go for real if you want your end move to happen.

When your character fulfills the criteria of their end move-- death or retirement--they’re removed from the story and their end move triggers (unless they have a way to come back from the dead). Read the move out loud and follow the instruction as written, like any other move. Some end moves involve a quick resolution in the scene that triggered the move; others have long-term effects on the remainder of the story.



ADVANCEMENT
When you make a Faction move, trigger an intimacy move, cash in a Debt, or honor a Debt, mark the Faction involved. When you’ve marked all four Factions, erase the marks and advance.

Advancement allows you to improve your character’s stats, gain new moves, and unlock additional improvements outside of corruption. When you make a Faction move, it doesn’t matter if it’s a hit or miss; rolling for a Faction move allows you to mark the Faction. Cashing in a Debt on someone who successfully refuses the Debt allows you to mark Faction, although the character that refuses the Debt doesn’t get to mark Faction, since they didn’t honor the Debt.

Note that you can only mark a Faction one time until you advance and clear all your marks. Marking Mortality twice in a row isn’t helpful; you’ve got to mark the other three Factions and advance before marking Mortality is useful to you.


SESSION MOVES
Given the long-term nature of the game, we like to think of each chapter as an episode of a television show or entry into a series of novels. Each story stands on its own, but they link up together into something broader and grander. Debts accumulate, feuds build, and the city watches over every bloody street.

In order to open and close these episodes, there are session moves, mechanics that your group will use to start and finish each session of play. These moves aren’t tied to any one character; each character triggers the move when sessions open and close.

CHAPTER INTRO
At the beginning of every chapter, announce which character your character trusts the least; their player will spotlight a Faction for your character (that isn’t already marked). Mark that Faction. Tell the GM about a rumor or conflict that you’ve heard about that Faction,
building on previous established information if you’d like, and roll with the Faction.

On a 10+, you’re prepared for the conflict you laid out: you’ve got a Debt on someone in that Faction or a useful piece of information or equipment, your choice. On a 7-9, you’re neck deep in it: you owe someone in that Faction a Debt, and someone in that Faction owes
a Debt to you. On a miss, you’re caught flat-footed, unprepared, or unaware: the GM will tell you who is coming at you.

The chapter start move is used to expand upon or create new threats and conflicts in the city. The move puts some pressure on you as the player to create story, but don’t let this intimidate you. The rumor or conflict you choose to create or build upon can be simple and direct: maybe a powerful supernatural being is angry at an ally, or some monster hunters are getting ready to move on a nest of vampires. Feel free to ask your fellow players or GM for help if you need it.

A chapter's beginning is also an opportunity for you to create threads in the story that interest you personally. If your Ranger specializes in targeting elementals and faeries, then introduce a conflict or rumor that ties into those two groups. The GM will take those threads and run with them, building a story that fits your interests. Be direct about the kinds of stories you want to tell!


CHAPTER END
At the end of every session, if you learned something meaningful about a Faction, increase your score in that Faction by 1 and decrease your score in a different Faction by 1. Tell the GM how your relationships to those communities have changed. If someone did you a favor at a cost, you owe them a Debt. If you did someone a favor without recompense, they owe you a Debt.

What defines something as meaningful is entirely up to you: this is always in your hands, no one else gets to make this call. You decrease your score in another Faction because it’s impossible to keep up with everyone-- the more time you spend with one group, the less you can spend with another.

Debts are exchanged at the end of the chapter to catch up on any missed Debts that should have been collected during play. Afterward, you may realize you owe or are owed a Debt from actions taken in the story: this is your chance to correct that. That said, some chapters will end without you collecting or owing any new Debts.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:38, Thu 09 June 2022.