Game Concepts

In this chapter we describe various important game concepts, rules, and general guidelines. Phys-Reps, costuming, and props powerfully contribute to the feel of the game, and this chapter will discuss those, as well. Downtime actions will allow you to have a deeper experience with the game, as they give you a sort of “unbroken,” between-event connection between your character and the world and this chapter will discuss how to go about doing them.

Taglines & Effects

Although Forest of Doors has a great many abilities and spell mechanics, most of them are “internal” and need not be learned by every player. However, there are quite a few taglines that players will run into, and knowing the rules behind them—even in a “quick and dirty” way—will make the game run more smoothly.

Attacks and spells have taglines that let players know what effects are attached to them. Taglines must be spoken before the attack hits or the spell packet is thrown. This list is included to make players familiar with the various effects of the game, and is abbreviated for ease of memory. Extended rules for each case are given elsewhere in the General Skills (ch 5) Combat (ch. 6), and Magic (ch. 7) sections.

Basic Attack Taglines

Attack taglines can be called with either melee or ranged strikes and must be called before the attack is made. Attack taglines are always out of play, technically, but if you hear them called you can assume that you hear the sounds of battle, and can thus react to them.

Advanced attack taglines are rare enough that they are not thumbnailed here. Please refer to the Combat section for them.

“Power Strike X”

Does X damage.

Defense = Parry, Block (take 1 damage to shield arm), Deflect, Dodge

“Poison/Disease/Blindness/Stillness Strike X”

Does X damage. If you would take a wound from the damage, you suffer the stated Persistent Condition at level X. May be defended against as a Power Strike.

“Lightning Strike 2”

Does 2 Lightning damage. Lightning Strikes are granted by the Rune of Thunder’s Might spell. May be defended against as a Power Strike.

“Fire Strike 3”

Does 3 fire damage. Fire Strikes are granted by the Blade of Iron Purpose spell. Treated as Lightning Strike.

“Mortal Blow”

Destroys all Resilience and causes a torso wound.

Defense = Parry, Deflect, Dodge

“Shield Bash”

This attack is not delivered by a weapon. Shield Bash can only be used if you hit someone’s shield and they activate this power in response. You are disarmed of the attacking weapon. Heavy weapon users are not disarmed, but still take damage. No player should actually strike at another with their shield!

Defense = Recover, Dodge

“Shield Pierce”

If this attack hits your shield, you take 1 damage on the arm holding it.

Defense = Parry, Stonewall, Dodge

“Stunning Blow”

If damaged by this attack (which does 1), you are Stunned as a Mental effect for 1 minute. Stunned characters may not move from where they stand, (they may turn around and such) attack anyone with weapons, speak, or cast spells for the duration. Both mundane defenses and defensive combat maneuvers are unaffected by stunning, however. If this mental effect is resisted, both the damage and the Stun are negated. Stunning Blows ignore Threshold.

Defense = Parry, Deflect, Dodge

“Subdue”

An attack from behind delivered as a pommel tap (with a close weapon that has 1” of open-cell foam on its pommel) to the upper back or shoulder; causes the target to go unconscious for 5 minutes. Perceptive characters and characters with helmets are immune to Subdual. Thrown Subdues need only strike a target on the torso, from behind.

Defense = Dodge

“Sweep Attack”

If damaged by this attack (which does 1 point), you are inflicted with Knockdown: you are knocked off your feet (sit or take a knee) for 1 minute, and cannot move from where you are. A Feat of Strength can be used to resist the damage and Knockdown. Sweep Attacks ignore Threshold.

Defense = Parry, Deflect, Dodge

“Weapon Break”

If your weapon is hit by this “attack,” it is Broken. Heavy weapons are immune to this effect.

Defense = Withstand, Dodge

“(Your Name): I strike you with X-fold hate!”

This spell effect (Rune of Hatred’s Name) allows the caster to call unlimited True Strikes against you for 1 minute. This tagline is actually a spell verbal and is most assuredly not out of play! This is always a personal attack, and you probably know the person doing it. If they get your true name wrong, you may call “No Effect” to each True Strike.

Defense = none

Spell Taglines

Spell taglines are included so that players know what spell they are being targeted by. As always, the tagline should be spoken before a spell packet is thrown. Often, spell affects have “X-fold” in their tagline, which indicates the power of the effect (such as the amount of damage it does). Spell taglines are never out of play, and the words that are spoken are fully understandable by all.

All hostile spell effects, unless otherwise noted, can be resisted by general magic resists, or by burning a charge through a Ward. All packet-delivered effects can be Dodged, with rare exceptions.

Currents of Deepspirit

“I wither your limb with the blackfin curse!” (Blackfin Curse)

If you have 1 or fewer limb wounds, you take a limb wound of your choice. This does not affect Resilience. This spell does nothing if you already have two or more limb wounds.

“Know that by the endless turning of the maelstrom, in time, even the sea forgets!” (The Sea Forgets)

If you are maintaining a Circle spell, it is dropped and you cannot cast spells or use Feats of Will until you get 10 minutes of rest. Even if the Circle makes you immune to other magic, this effect still occurs. Characters not maintaining a circle simply take the spell restriction and Will Drain effects.

“The coral serpent moves from silent waters to poison your flesh with its X-fold bite!” (Coral Serpent’s Bite)

You take X damage to the location that is hit. If this causes a wound, then you are Poisoned with a power equal to X. Being Poisoned means you cannot stand without aid; you must lie down, sit, or kneel. You may crawl on your hands and knees, and attack and defend as normal. As a strict roleplaying requirement, Poisoned characters must act as if they are in great pain. After 1 hour, you die.

Dooms of Light and Shadow

“By my will the light converges, bringing X-fold doom upon you!” (The Light Convergent)

You take X light damage to wherever you are hit.

“By the light remembered, I strike you down!” (The Light Remembered)

You take 1 light damage to wherever you are hit.

“Mirror Magic” (Day Mirrors Night)

This is not a packet delivered spell, but rather a ward effect that an opponent calls in response to being hit with your combat spell. You suffer whatever effect you just hit your enemy with at the same power as what you cast, and to the same location, if applicable. It can be resisted or warded as if you were hit with the packet itself.

“With the strength of night-forged steel, I shackle you in the Dark Lords’ fetters!” (Dark Lord’s Fetters)

You are Shackled: You must drop all held items and put your hands behind your back. A Feat of Strength can be used to break out of a Shackle effect with a three count (“Strength 1, Strength 2, Strength 3”). Shackle lasts for 5 minutes.

“With this blackened scourge of X-fold lashes, I flay your body and blind your eyes!” (The Blackened Scourge)

You take X damage to whatever location the spell hits. If this causes a wound, you suffer Blindness of a power equal to X. Blinded characters cannot attack, cast packet-based spells, or run. Defensive abilities and non-packet spells are unaffected. Blindness lasts an hour, after which it disspates; it can be resisted by a Feat of Will. As a strict roleplaying requirement, Blind characters must act as if their vision were almost entirely gone.

“Know fear in the touch of oblivion!” (Oblivion’s Touch)

You suffer Fear: As a Mental effect, and for 5 minutes, you must stay least 15’ from the caster and cannot attack them in melee, with missiles, or with hostile spells, unless the caster physically prevents you from fleeing or moving to the required distance. Defenses are completely unaffected, and you may attack others as normal.

Mysteries of Flame and Iron

“Your flesh burns with sparks of living flame!” (Sparks of Living Flame)

You take 2 fire damage. Shields can block this spell mundanely.

“I cast your bones in lead to slow you!” (Bones of Lead, Skin of Bronze)

You are Slowed: you cannot run and your walking speed is reduced to 1 step per 3 seconds. You may physically attack no faster than 1 swing every 3 seconds, though you can defend normally. Slow lasts 5 minutes, or until you use a Feat of Strength to break free (“Strength 1, Strength 2, Strength 3”).

“By the fires of uncreation, I break that which you hold; may it erupt in X-fold wrath!” (Wrathful Uncreation)

You choose an object you hold, and it is subject to a Break effect. You take X fire damage to the arm that held the object, even if it resists that break effect.

“Forgefire Vengeance X!” (Forgefire Crown)

This is not a packet delivered spell attack, but rather a ward effect that an opponent calls in response to being hit with your melee attack. You suffer an amount of fire damage to the torso equal to X. This ability may not be defended against, but can be reduced or Thresholded, if applicable.

The Naming of Things

“I strike at you with heart-seeking shards!” (Heart Seeking Shards)

You take 1 damage to your torso. Resilience still applies, but if you get hit with this spell while your Resilience is 0—no matter where you are hit—you take a torso wound.

“The wind makes mischief, and steals what you hold!” (The Wind Makes Mischief)

You must immediately drop everything you are holding, including shields. If you can’t drop something within 3 seconds, you take an automatic, irresistible arm wound.

“By these words both fell and terrible, you shall betray your friends in X-fold ways” (Fell Words of Betrayal)

You suffer Betrayal at a power of X: for each level of the Betrayal’s power, you must make one attack against your allies to the best of your abilities, either with weapons or spells. If unarmed, you will attempt to grab any nearby weapons not being used. If you are unable to do either, you must instead hurl truly dire and hurtful insults at your allies. Betrayal is a Mental effect, and it lasts 1 minute, maximum.

“By these words of torment and disease, I bring (mastery)-fold ruin; may your last breath be vileness!” (Words of Vile Torment)

You take X damage to wherever you are hit. If this causes a wound, you are Diseased with a power of X. Being Diseased means you cannot stand without aid; you must lie down, sit, or kneel. You may crawl on your hands and knees, and attack and defend as normal. As a strict roleplaying requirement, Diseased characters must act as if they are terribly nauseous or wracked with coughs. After 1 hour, you die.

Runes of the Stormfather

“By this sign, your honor shall die!” (Sign of Dying Honor)

You suffer Strength Drain: you may not use Feats of Strength or any attack taglines until you rest for 10 minutes.

“By this sign, your power will fade!” (Sign of Fading Power)

You suffer Will drain: you may not use Feats of Will and you may not cast spells until you rest for 10 minutes.

Thirteen Harmonious Changes

“The spiteful earth awakens, and it shall cast you down!” (Awaken the Spiteful Earth)

You suffer Knockdown (see Sweep Attack, above)

“You are only worthy of a Justicar’s rebuke!” (Justicar’s Rebuke)

You are Rebuked as a mental effect, meaning you may not call ANY feats until you rest for 10 minutes.

Woodsong and Moonsecret

“Old Badger is angry, but he can’t catch me!” (Anger the Old Badger)

You are affected by Anger: As a Mental effect, you do nothing but attempt to pursue the caster in order to engage them with weapons or hostile spells. It ends if you successfully strike the target of the Anger with a weapon or spell, or after 5 minutes of suffering it.

“I call weeds that clutch with binding touch!” (Call the Clutching Weeds)

You are Bound: One of your feet is rooted in place and you cannot move it, though you may pivot freely. A Feat of Strength can be used to break out of a Bind effect with a three (“Strength 1, Strength 2, Strength 3”). Bind lasts 5 minutes.

“I draw your glance with the Dragonfly Dance!” (Dragonfly Dance)

You cease whatever you are doing and watch the caster slavishly, as a mental effect, until they drop the gesture, leave your Line of Sight, or you are attacked. You may take no actions of any kind, but an attempted Killing Blow on you will fail, dropping the effect instantly.

“With X-fold sting my thorn strikes true, and the curse of stillness falls on you!” (Stillthorn Curse)

You take X damage to whatever location the spell hits. If this causes a wound, you suffer Stillness of a power equal to X. Stilled characters cannot attack, cast packet-based spells, or run. Defensive abilities and non-packet spells are unaffected. Stillness lasts an hour, after which it dissipates; it can be resisted by a Feat of Will. As a strict roleplaying requirement, Stilled characters must act distant and speak only in whispers.

Invocations

Invocations are innate magical effects produced by supernatural creatures or enchanted items. All battle invocations are delivered by gray packets and called in the following way: “Invoke (name of effect) (level of effect)!”

EX]: “Invoke Ice Breath 5!”

You take 5 ice damage to whichever location is hit.

Note that some invoke effects do not have levels, such as a bind, shackle, slow, etc. Invokes may be resisted like any magical spell:

“Invoke Spirit Binding!”

You suffer a Bind effect.

Invoke effects can also deliver Persistent Conditions (Poison/Disease/Blindness/Silence):

“Invoke Poison 4!”

Unlike the spells described above, they do no damage; you just take the condition at a level equal to the number called.

Skill Taglines

“Etiquette!”

Ignore the last statement the character who just called this made. This can also be used as a question (Etiquette?), and a marshal or qualified player should explain (softly) to the character (out of play) what the proper or expected action would be for the current social situation.

“Healing: Examination”

The character using this skill may ask out of play questions about your condition. You must answer them to the best of your ability.

“Healing: Basic/Intermediate/Advanced Aid”

The character using this ability begins to heal you, and the count for being Critical stops. You are Stable when they complete this effect, and will heal entirely in 1 hour, 30 minutes, or 15 minutes, respectively.

“Healing: Treatment X”

A character using this ability cures you of all persistent effects (such as Disease and Poison) which are of a power X or less. Any higher than X are unaffected.

“Healing: Coax Life”

This is an attempt to revive you from the brink of death. Coax Life works if your body is in good condition, your soul has not passed on, and you were not Diseased, Poisoned, Plagued, or inflicted with Quick Venom. Other effects may prevent such. If you come back, you become conscious in five minutes and will fully heal in an hour (the 5 minutes counts for this healing), and thus count as Stable. No healing enhancement will accelerate this process.

“Inspired Performance”

Hearing this tagline allows you to restore an expended feat if you paid attention to, and gave approval for, the actual performance that preceded it.

“Reveal”

Although technically not an activated skill power, this tagline is called when you are present while another character attempts to Conceal themselves. If you hear the tagline for concealment (Concealing 1, Concealing 2, Concealing 3) and actually see the person, you can stop the process by calling “Reveal.”

Persistent Conditions

These effects have numerical levels associated with them, which affects how easily they are cured. That is, someone inflicted with Poison 10 must have that number reduced to zero before they are cured of it.

Poison

If you take this effect, you become Prone and cannot stand without aid; you must lie down, sit, or kneel. The only way you can move from your position on your own is by crawling on your hands and knees. You may attack and defend from this position, as normal. After 1 hour of being Poisoned, you die. May be resisted by a Feat of Toughness.

Roleplaying requirement : you must act as if you are in terrible pain.

Disease

If you take this effect, you become Prone and cannot stand without aid; you must lie down, sit, or kneel. The only way you can move from your position is by crawling on your hands and knees. You may attack and defend from this position, as normal. After 1 hour of being Diseased, you die. May be resisted by a Feat of Toughness.

Roleplaying requirement : you must act as if you are terribly nauseated and/or suffering from a hacking cough.

Blindness

While Blinded, you cannot run, nor may you attack anyone with weapons or packet-based spells. You may defend yourself mundanely or with defensive abilities, as normal. Blindness lasts 1 hour and can be resisted by a Feat of Will.

Roleplaying requirement : you must act as if your vision is almost entirely gone.

Stillness

While Stilled, you cannot run, nor may you attack anyone with weapons or packet-based spells. You may defend yourself mundanely or with defensive abilities, as normal. Stillness lasts 1 hour and can be resisted by a Feat of Will.

Roleplaying requirement : you must act distant and nearly emotionless, speaking only in soft whispers.

Quick Venom

Quick Venom can only be resisted by a Greater Feat of Toughness, and after 5 minutes of suffering its effects, you die. Otherwise it acts exactly like poison in its debilitating effects and it prevents Coax Life. Poison resistance/reduction/immunity does not apply.

Plague

Plague can only be resisted by a Greater Feat of Toughness, and after 5 minutes of suffering its effects, you die. Otherwise it acts exactly like Disease in its debilitating effects, and it also prevents Coax Life. Disease resistance/reduction/immunity does not apply.

Paralysis

Paralysis can only be resisted by a Greater Feat of Will. If Paralyzed, you are completely incapacitated and cannot move in any way. The condition is permanent until cured, but during its duration you may slip instantly into death, at will. If you die while Paralyzed, your soul immediately passes onward. Blindness resistance/reduction/immunity does not apply.

Caging

Caging can only be resisted by a Greater Feat of Will. If Caged, you are completely incapacitated and cut off from the outside world. The condition is permanent until cured, but during its duration you may slip instantly into death, at will. If you die while Caged, your soul immediately passes onward. Stillness resistance/reduction/immunity does not apply.

Miscellaneous Concepts

What follows is an index of various effects, categories, and mechanics that all players should understand.

Accursed

Accursed creatures are beings of death, suffering, decay, or other unholy forces. They can be damaged by specific effects.

Armor

Resilience granted by wearing armor

Boon

A mysterious enchantment that benefits the dead in the afterlife.

Break

Effects target objects. Broken items cannot be used, but can be repaired using magic or the Craft skill. Some well-made objects can resist Break effects.

Charge

A unit of magical power used to fuel spells.

Concealment

Concealment is represented, for characters, by arms crossed over the chest. Concealed objects will be noted as such with an obvious tag or sign. Both concealed objects and concealed characters should be treated as Out-of-Play. A Feat of Perception can be used to end a single character or object’s Concealment. Regardless, a Perceptive character in the presence of concealed items/people (assuming they actually see them out of play) will have an odd feeling about the general area, though they may not indicate where the concealed are, in any way, unless they use a feat.

Critical

A character who is bleeding to death or dying of injuries. After 5 minutes of bleeding out, a Critical character will die.

Destroy

Destroy effects target objects. Destroyed objects are gone forever.

Fouled

A Ritual that is Fouled cannot be used until a specific action is taken to purify it.

Hallucinating

You are immune to Mental effects, but you may not rest (Vitality and Prowess do not reset) or use rituals. As with Intoxicated, players must roleplay their hallucinating state.

Haste

You cannot be chased by anyone not also under a Haste effect, nor can you be blocked from leaving an area. You must call “haste” with every stride, or the effect ends. Usually, this effect grants free Dodges equal to its power, while active. Attacking, using skills, or stopping will end the effect.

Immaterial

Immaterial states are represented by hands clasped to one’s chest, index fingers pointing upwards. Immaterial characters should be treated as Out-of-Play unless your character is Empathic, or you are also in this state.

Intoxicated

You act drunk. Although it has no mechanical effect, players must roleplay as if they are deep in their cups.

Invisibility

Invisibility is represented by holding one’s hands, palms together, over the head. Invisible characters should be treated as Out-of-Play. Perceptive characters know “something is not right” when someone invisible is nearby, though they don’t know where they are, at all. Feats of Perception are useless on invisible characters.

Joss

A magically conjured substance that spirits covet.

Killing Blow

If you are Unconscious or Critical, someone may finish you off by placing the business end of their weapon on your torso, and then loudly saying “Killing Blow 1, Killing Blow 2, Killing Blow 3.” Killing Blows must be at least 3 seconds long, and if interrupted by someone attacking the killer or striking their weapon, the effect is aborted.

Lumens

Small, brightly colored objects of magic found in the Forest of Doors. Twists (red) are the most common, Spirals (green) are much less common, and Knots (blue) are downright rare. Characters in the Forest of Doors, in light of no common form of currency, use Lumens as money. When used in this manner, 10 Twists equal a Spiral and 10 Spirals equal a Knot.

Mastery

A character’s magical power. Mastery is used to calculate the power of a character’s spells.

Mental Resist

You can ignore a single mental effect.

Mutilate

If you are already dead, someone may desecrate or dismember your corpse by placing the business end of their weapon on your torso, and then loudly saying “Mutilating 1, Mutilating 2, Mutilating 3.” If this effect is not disrupted (as a killing blow), your soul immediately passes on.

Out-Of-Play

Something or someone that is not a part of the game at the moment. Players who are out of play must hold a clenched fist or weapon on their head to indicate such, or they may wear a white headband. Players should be out of play only when absolutely necessary.

Protection

Resilience granted by magical effects.

Prowess

A character’s combat aptitude. Prowess is “spent” to fuel combat abilities.

Resilience

A combination of Armor, Protection and Vitality. This is the amount of damage you can take before taking a wound. Armor is lost first, then Protection, and then Vitality, but otherwise they are all treated the same.

Shattered

Shattered items are unusable and can only be repaired using production actions.

Sleep

This mental effect causes you to become unconscious.

Stable

A wounded and formerly Critical character who is healing. As soon as a character is stabilized, they become conscious. Moving at more than a slow crawl (or aided walk), fighting, or casting spells will cause them to go Critical again.

Threshold

An constant ability or one-time use effect that negates any damage equal to or less than its value. Some effects ignore Threshold.

Vitality

Resilience granted by the Tough Trait

Death & Dying

After 5 minutes of being Critical, after receiving a Killing Blow, or after Poison or Disease have run their course, a character will die. Upon death, a character’s “soul” will remain with their body for 5 minutes. After this final time period, their soul “moves on.”

At this point, the player must leave a “Blood Mark” (a long strip of red cloth that represents a dead body) where they died, along with any in-game items on their person. After this, they must go out of play and find a plot member.

Do note that even death can be overcome, and that this state is not necessarily permanent. Do also note, however, that characters cannot come back from the dead more than a handful of times before truly passing on.

Downtime Actions

At the end of every game, you can submit up to 3 downtime actions which describe what your character is doing between events. Certain abilities will grant you more than this, but for most folks the number is 3. Although many skills have obvious and explicit downtime applications, even characters lacking them can make use of these actions.

Although it is possible for a character to never engage with the downtime aspects of our system, even the most “active,” game-based character can benefit a great deal from them. As well, we often use the downtime actions of players as starting points for the next event. If you do consistent, interesting downtime actions, we guarantee you will be gifted with that most mysterious element known as “plot.”

Here is a list—by no means complete—of basic applications for downtime actions, both skilled and non-skilled (check out individual skill descriptions for details on specific rules for these):

• (Scholarship) Researching any particular topic
• (Survival) Searching for someone/several someones
• (Survival) Foraging for herbs
• (Diplomacy) Attempting to influence factions/groups/individuals
• (Craft) Producing craft items
• (Tinkering) Producing tinkering items
• (Occult) Teaching a new magical skill
• (Mercantile) Speculating in various markets
• (Mercantile) Making business contacts or managing a business directly
• (Performance) Playing at various venues
• Doing odd jobs
• Helping with camp
• Helping another person with a skilled action
• Writing letters to acquaintances

Even if you can’t think of anything in particular for your character to do, we recommend that you write something down: you never know how it could come out in play.

Note that non-production downtimes can be submitted either in paper at the end of an event, or (preferably ) via the “Post Event Form” on our website. Production actions (which require money and/or tagged items) are done in person at the beginning of the following event, though the must be noted in downtime.

Crafters and Tinkers get one free production action they may take during an event. Except in highly unusual circumstances, other downtime actions cannot be performed during in-game production periods.

Phys-Reps, Costuming, & Props

Forest of Doors is a visual game. It is not really much of a revelation, but having a lot of physical and visual elements in a LARP contributes to its immersiveness in a major way. Because of this, we require that players phys rep alchemical items, weapons (of course), armor, healing supplies, etc. If you have a tag on your person, you should have a phys rep on your person, as well.

Our focus on physical representations does not rest solely on the players; if we have an item we want to hand out, we will make every effort to hand out a phys rep with it. Except in the case of Monster weapons/armor, we will probably give you the phys rep directly. We may require it back at some point, but most likely you can keep it for as long as you need to.

If a skill description or rule says you need a phys rep for it, you actually need a phys rep for it! We make allowances where we can, but we are quite strict on this. Frankly, if you have proper physical representations for your items, then using them is just more fun and involving for you and for others around you. If you see someone waving their hands over a prone figure, then who knows what they are doing? If, on the other hand, you see them wrapping bandages around them, you know exactly what is going on; visual information has been communicated to you, and the game’s world seems more “real.”

Costuming

While you are in play as a character, you MUST be in costume. You will have already received the culture packet for your world, and so you will know appropriate costuming guidelines for them. Jeans, T-Shirts, khakis, trenchcoats, tennis shoes, and basically any modern clothing are not appropriate costuming. At the very, very least, a peasant shirt, some simple cloth pants, and dark leather footwear is required. We understand that it can be a little difficult to acquire costuming if you are new to larping, but we will work with you on this, if so.

Props

Props are things that, while not necessarily required, can really enhance the feel of a game. If your character is from the desert of brass, decorating your cabin in the style of that world really helps contribute to immersiveness. The important thing to remember is that it does not take a lot of effort to make things distinctive: a few flourishes here and there are often all that is needed. If you hang a tapestry or put down a rug, or have a small statue or other work of art, you have positively added to the feel of the game.

Props do not require tags, but if you want them to have an in-game value, they can be treated as “mundane” works of art. See the Craft skill (ch. 5) for details on this.

Investigation

Many abilities and feats allow you to take plot-mediated looks at items, locations, or situations. The most prominent among these are feats of Learning and Perception. Some skills such as craft also grant abilities (Master’s Eye) that have similar effects. In order to use any of these abilities in such a way, the involved character or characters must declare that they are formally Investigating the subject in question. Only then will there be a Director/Plot Member/Marshal response.

Investigations are limited in the following ways:

• Only 3 individuals may participate in a particular Investigation
• A character may only participate in an Investigation once per game day (See Healing and Scholarship, Ch. 5 for exceptions to this).
• A character may only investigate the same target once per event, without exception.
• All Investigations have a minimum threshold of abilities and feats that need to be called before they are successful: failure is possible in an Investigation.
• Investigations are handled much like Encounter Tags: if time/availability constraints are a problem, characters will be asked to wait.

Once an investigation is called, the three participants then use whichever abilities they think will be helpful in the investigation. Applicable abilities are as follows:

• Feats
• Abilities which mimic feats
• Skill Specialties
• Artifice (highest value only)

Even though the above are what are allowed generally, not all abilities used will help the investigation. Feats of Learning and Perception are always useful, but other feats may or may not be so, depending upon the target of the investigation itself. Any feat or expendable ability called during an investigation is lost even if it does not apply. Artifice is only of use, obviously, if the item/subject is magical. Note that besides Artifice, no other derived ability has any effect. This means that Explore, Treatment, Research, etc. do absolutely nothing during an Investigation.

All abilities are cumulative among the participants and add to an investigation, but only the highest Artifice value among the 3 participants adds in. After all abilities are called, the staff member will give out information to all involved based on the number, power, and type of the abilities used. They will also answer a set number of questions from each participant, the number of which is based on how successful the Investigation is.

Once the Marshal has started their description, no other abilities may be called for the Investigation.

Some magical items and locations may require staff mediation when they are used in their normal fashion, and this does not count as Investigation. However, any attempt by the character to extract more information out of the subject during such use is, in fact, considered a formal act of Investigation.

General Encounter Tags

General Skills discusses Explore tags in detail and how to resolve them. Although Explore Tags are the most common type of Encounter Tags, there are others. Note that whatever type of ability an Encounter Tag lists as is prerequisite, it is still resolved just as an Explore Tag. Encounter Tags may sometimes be marked with a black diamond (♦). This means that anyone who wishes to accompany the primary character on the encounter must also have all the listed abilities on the tag: black diamond Tags are known as Exclusive Tags for this reason.

Here is a brief listing of examples:

Tag	Translation	Notes
8	Explore 8	If a tag only lists a number, it is an Explore Tag
♦6	Exclusive, Explore 6	All who go on the encounter must have Explore 6
U	Uncanny	Requires Uncanny: Attuned Trait, level 1
V	Vigilant	Requires Vigilant: Perceptive Trait, level 2
M	Medium	Requires Medium: Empathic Trait, level 1