As a distortion dice game, you take an action by first selecting a stat and adding the relevant die to your pool, while the GM adds the associated harm die to their pool. Then each of you add in relevant aspects and assets to increase your odds, and spend Spark for a temporary boost if you want. Then both you and the GM roll your dice pools and keep the highest die. If your die is higher, that’s a success, if you win by 5 or more that’s a critical success, if you tie that’s a success with consequences, and if your dice is lower you lose. A loss means taking harm, which means that your harm track goes up, or your asset gets damaged and the die is lowered.

  • Force: Used when your Gladiator needs brute strength or is using a very direct approach
  • Focus: Used to figure out complex situations, or when you want to apply knowledge that would help you
  • Finesse: Used when you need precision or speed, or when using a careful approach

Harm is dealt to Stress tracks, each one tied to a stat

  • Strained: Force Stress
  • Scattered: Focus Stress
  • Sluggish: Finesse Stress

In addition to standard tracks, Stress can also be dealt as special conditions, and some abilities will target a specific Stress regardless of their opponents approach, such as a special poison ability for an enemy with poison attacks, an entanglement ability always raising sluggish, or illusions that can always target scattered

Your fighting style Strength is used only when you are able to fight in your ideal conditions. If you have to change tactics or fight in unusual conditions, you must spend Spark to use it.

Special Techniques can be magic spells, power ups, complex movements, enhanced attacks, etc. Notably they can allow you to attack outside of your normal range with your full weapon die.

On each turn, you can do 2 actions. Actions include:

  • Move: Move to a zone connected to the zone you are in
  • Attack: Make a roll to attack an enemy within your range. You are limited by the number of zones of your weapon and line of sight.
  • Use Your Words: Hype up an ally or get under your opponents skin. Make a roll to lower an allys stress or to raise an opponents stress. Use Your Words cannot be used to take out an enemy
  • Create an Opportunity: When you want to help an ally, roll to create an opportunity. Select the size asset you want to create for your ally and roll against it. On a success you create a one time use Opportunity asset of that die size that lasts until the start of your next turn, it also counts as a condition on you until the end of your next turn. On a failure, reduce the Opportunity asset and raise the condition. On a Heroic success raise the Opportunity asset and lower the condition. Failure and Success with a cost raise your Stress as normal.
  • Hold a Zone: Until your next turn, force any enemies to roll to move into or out of the zone you are in.
  • Use a Special Technique: Activate one of your special techniques if you meet the requirements or spend a Spark.
  • Tend to Wounds: Make a roll against a stress track to reduce it. The opposing pool is composed of your own Stress and the targeted Stress, your own Stress twice if you are tending your own wounds. Tend to Wounds can be attempted once per stress track each day.

All actions can be done twice on the same turn, with the exception of Hold a Zone. If you would like to create two opportunities, add both potential Opportunities to the opposing pool and make a singular roll. This still counts as 2 actions.