Contents

the Hub of the Wheel

It Revolves on This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Voices in My Head. c.e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
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dD
Thes Flow of the
aileGame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
/ F itors!)
sse
o
e
c
a
N
Suc Dice . . . . . . . . (t.r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
s/
Ye
Ability Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
When to Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Obstacles to Overcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Open-Ended Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Basic Dice in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Elements of Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Stats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Beliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Instincts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Traits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Resources and Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Gear and Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Magic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Spokes
Testing Your Abilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
What Ability do I Roll? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Standard Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Versus Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Open Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Linked Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Advantage and Disadvantage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Carefully, Patiently, Quickly: Allocating Successes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Let it Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Fields of Related Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Beginners Luck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Testing Abilities in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Advancing Abilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Routine, Difficult and Challenging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Number of Tests Required for Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Pass or Fail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Advancing Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Advancing Circles and Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Experience Log. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Handing Out Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Series of Rolls = One Test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
I Just Learned Something! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Advancement for Open and Versus Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Helping and Advancement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
FoRKs and Advancement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Advantage, Bonus Dice and Advancement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Artha and Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Social Skills and Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Advancement Is Lifeblood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Learning New Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Learning from Another . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Advancement in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Beliefs, Instincts and Traits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Beliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Instincts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Traits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing Traits and Earning New Ones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Beliefs, Instincts and Traits in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55
58
59
61
62

The Artha Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Spiritual Rewards in a World on Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Fate, Persona and Deeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Onward and Upward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Earning Artha. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Obstructionism and Clowns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Spending Artha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Aristeia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Artha and Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Evolving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Epiphany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Artha and Game Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Artha in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

The Spokes in Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Vincents Admonition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Versus Tests Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Make Characters and Play Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specific Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

75
75
76
77
77

the Rim ....................................................................... 79

Wheel Meets Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
The Rim of the Wheel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Pick and Choose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Basis of Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Testing Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Failed Resources Tests: Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Scoring a Deal: Wises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Setting the Price: Haggling and Bidding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Lifestyles, Obligation and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Recovering Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Advancing Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Cash, Goods, Titles and Loans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Currency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Resources in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Duel of Wits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Argument not Mind Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Dueling Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
The Body of the Argument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Walking Away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
The Duel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Elements of Elocution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Speaking the Part. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Baiting Beliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Resolving the Argument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Alternate Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Duel of Wits in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Relationships, Circles, Affiliations and Reputations. . . 109

Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Scope of the Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Testing Circles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Naming the Unknown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Enmity Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Detecting Movement in the Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Circles and Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Exiled and Stripped of Rank: Affiliations and Circles . . . . . . . . . 117
Fallen Stars: Reputation and Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
New Reputations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Buying into New Affiliations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Advancing in Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Advancing in Reputation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Building Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Circles in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Surprise, Fear and Pain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
10 Minus Will = Hesitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Steel Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Conditions for Standard Steel Tests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Steel Test Advantages and Disadvantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Steel and Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Steel in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Range and Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Ranging Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Weapon Range and Dice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Positioning with Missile Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Field Maneuvers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Too Close to Shoot! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
My Range is Longer than Your Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Fixed Positions, Cover and Fortifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Hesitation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Obstacle Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Timing and Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Range and Cover in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Martial Conflict: Fight! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Simple Martial Conflict. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Detailed Martial Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Reflexes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Scripting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Positioning Tests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Basic Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Tandem Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Natural Defenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Martial Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Stances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Forfeiting an Action to Change an Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Hesitation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Surprise and Ambush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Setting Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Advantage in Fight! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Disadvantage in Fight!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Script Sequence in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Weapons Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

To Hit and Damage? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
I M S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Striking Your Opponent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Defender Declares his Posture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Melee Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shooting Your Opponent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Missile and Thrown Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Balance Die . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gunpowder Die. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Explosives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weapons in Brief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

171
173
174
175
176
177
177
179

Armor and Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Armor Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Armor Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Armor Protection Dice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Armor Test Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Weapons Versus Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Armor Damage and Armor Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Armor Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Clumsy Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Mixing and Customizing Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Armor and Artha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Clumsy Weight for Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Shields vs Missile Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Defensive Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Anti-Shield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Armor in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Shields in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Anatomy of Injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Injury, Treatment and Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
The Physical Tolerances Grayscale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Taking the Hit: Registering Wounds on the PTGS . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Effects of Wounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Wounded Dice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Steel and Pain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Bleeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
The Feel of Physical Tolerances in Burning Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Mortal Wounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Shrugging it Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Recovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Stop the Bleeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Injury, Treatment and Recovery in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Sorcery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Gifted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Sorcery Is a Skill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
The Facets of a Spell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
The Basic Spell Cast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Casting Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Area of Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Failed Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Spell Interrupt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Advanced Spell Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Coup de Magie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Duels of Sorcery, Artillery and Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Rain of Fire vs Breath of Wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Sorcerer Advances Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Learning New Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Sorcery Tests for Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Learning Sorcery as a New Skill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Sorcery in Brief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Emotional Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Emotional Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Natural Magic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Spell-Like Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Measurement, Distance and Movement . . . . . . . . . 238

The Pace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Rate of Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
The Chase is On. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Riding and Mounted Combat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Riding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Maneuver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Botched Speed Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Pursuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Untrained Fighting From Horseback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Mounted Combat Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Riding and Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Horse Movement Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Hacking at It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Breaking Through . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Shooting Through . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Thrown Against the Wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Heroic and Supernatural Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Why Black, Gray, White?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
What do the Shades Mean? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Heroic and Supernatural Stats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Heroic and Supernatural Reflexes and Mortal Wound. . . . . . . . 255
Heroic and Supernatural Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Heroic and Supernatural Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Pushing Pain into the Next Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Helping Dice and FoRKs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Weapons Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Melee Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Found Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Missile Weapons IMS and DoF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
DoF Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Missile Weapon Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Specialty Bolt and Arrowheads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
A Little Bomb Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Thrown Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Thrown Weapon Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Hub
of theWheel
the

The Die of Fate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Dispute and Disagreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Abilities DoF! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Weird Random Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Falling from Great Heights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Details and Embellishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Always in the Open. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Never a Roadblock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Playing the Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

ey 3
Voll

Concept, Concept, Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Set Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Tying in Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Tying in Beliefs, Instincts and Traits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Role of the GM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Role of the Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

e Extended Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

: Strik Burning Rogues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
1
n
o
i
Act
Simple NPCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Burned Rogues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

he

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

tain
Main ent

tain

ent

ovem

m
move

But need alone is not enough to set power free: there must be knowledge.
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Wizard of Earthsea

The Hub of the Wheel

The Burning Wheel is a roleplaying game (rpg). Its mood and feel
are reminiscent of the lands and places created by Ursula K. Le
Guin, Stephen R. Donaldson and JRR Tolkien in their works of
fantasy fiction. It is also heavily influenced by the brilliant medieval
historical accounts of Barbara Tuchman and Desmond Seward; a
dirty, complicated world full of uncertainty and questions, but not
without hope or opportunity for change.
Unlike many other rpgs, there is no fixed or predetermined setting
to play in. Burning Wheel is an heir to a long legacy of fantasy
roleplaying games, most of which contain far better worlds and
settings than could be provided here. Also, it is my strong belief
that players of these games are adept at manufacturing their own
imagined spaces for game play; my own world would just pale in
comparison to what resides in your imagination.
In the game, players take on the roles of characters inspired
by history and works of fantasy fiction. These characters are
represented by a series of numbers, designating their abilities, and
a list of player-determined priorities. The synergy of inspiration,
imagination, numbers and priorities is the most fundamental
element of Burning Wheel. Manipulating these numbers and
priorities within situations presented by the game master (GM) is
what the game is all about.
Though the game has no world full of ethics and laws, the rules
do contain a philosophy and outlook that implies a certain type of
place. There are consequences to your choices in this game. They
range from the very black and white, If I engage in this duel,
my character might die, to the more complex, If my character
undertakes this task, hell be changed and I dont know exactly
how. Recognizing that the system enforces these choices will help
you navigate play. I always encourage players to think before they
test their characters. Are you prepared to accept the consequences
of your actions?
The game mechanical consequences of the players decisions are
described in the following sections and in the Character Burner. The
ethical and moral ramifications are left to you.

12

As you read through the rules, you will encounter three little imps. These
imps represent the authors voice and disposition in certain parts of the text.
Basic rules text is not preceded by any of the imps. This rules voice
is used to convey most of the information in the game. The imps offer
comment on the rules.

It Revolves on This

It Revolves on This

Voices in My Head

s/
Ye

This character indicates that I am asking the reader to take note.

The text following him is written in my voice, rather than the
rules voice. I call this guy the Instructor. You can call him Luke if you
want to. For example: Thanks Luke, that was very helpful!
This is the Ranting Imp. He rears his ugly head whenever I am
yelling about something. This usually comes in the form of harsh
advice or warnings regarding the limits of Burning Wheel. Take what he
says with a grain of salt. For example, I wish Luke would shut up!
The Weeper is a strange one, prone to outbursts of tears at the
oddest times; sometimes tears of sadness, sometimes fear, and
sometimes tears of joy. He frequently squirts when death or something
else very scary is near. Whats he carrying on about now?

The Flow of the Game

Burning Wheel is played by people sitting around a table in a group
face to face with your friends. It is, inherently, a social game. The players
interact with one another to come to decisions and have the characters
undertake actions.
One of you must be the GM and play the roles of all of those characters
not taken on by other players. The GM also guides the action and
pacing of the events of the story at hand; he arbitrates rules calls and
interpretations so that play progresses smoothly.
Everyone else plays a protagonist (aka, a character) in the story. Even
if the players decide to take on the roles of destitute wastrels, no matter
how unsavory, their exploits are the main focus of play. The conflicts
of the characters aforementioned priorities creates situations for the
players to resolve, and resolving conflicts (and creating new ones) is
what play is all about.
As conflicts develop, the players use their characters abilities to overcome
and survive. To do this, dice are rolled and the results interpreted via the
rules presented in this book.

13

ses

ces

Suc

The Burning Wheel

The Hub of the Wheel

Successes

Each player is required to keep a written record of his character.

Character sheets are provided in the Character Burner and on
www.burningwheel.org for just this purpose. Characters in Burning
Wheel evolve and grow as play progresses, so I recommend using a
pencil to mark the sheet. There are a few other sheets used in play to
keep track of moment to moment stuff, but theyll be discussed later
down the line.

When a die comes up a 4 or higher, we call it a success. After the dice

are rolled, count up all your successes.

Dice
D6
Burning Wheel uses common six-sided dice for all rolls. From here on
out, these dice are referred to as D6. (Which is gamer-talk for sixsides.) Groups of them are referred to as 3D6, 4D6, 5D6 or 3D, 4D, 5D
for short. Hows that for confusing gamer parlance?
Dice in Burning Wheel are rolled in handfuls (or pools) of usually three
to six dice. In each roll, every die is counted as its own result, either a
yes or a no. The more yeses the better. Any die that comes up as
a no result is a traitor to your cause and doesnt count toward success.
For the purposes of explaining the rules, a yes result is a 4, 5 or 6 on
a die. A no result is a 1, 2, 3. (Traitors!) There are only two instances
where this changes, and these will be discussed later.

s
Ye

ses

ces

uc
/ S

ice

D
iled

a
/ F rs!)
No (traito

Difficulty Number
The number needed for the die to achieve the yes result is called the
target number or difficulty number.

Rolling a handful of five dice, my dismal luck gives me a 1, 2, 2, 4, 5 result.

Two of the dice came up 4 or higher, thus I rolled two successes.
When a player rolls dice, he needs successes so that his character passes
the tests set before him in the game.

It Revolves on This

Sheets of Paper

The GM has the task of keeping notes on a series of characters that he is

using in play. These dont need to be fully fleshed outa few numbers
usually suffice. But there are certain characters that will need to be
described fully in order to give them their due in play.

14

s/
Ye

Ability Ratings
Exponent
The number next to your characters stats, attributes and skills
indicates how many dice to roll when that ability is called upon.
We here at BWHQ call that number the exponent of the ability because
it is the representative of the characters actual ability in that area (not
because it stands for X to the Nth power). Throughout the text youll
see me refer to an ability as exponent 3. Thats just me saying, You roll
three Burning
dice for that,Wheel
bub. Skill and Stat Notation Example
Shade

Carpentry

Exponent

Ability (in this case, a skill)

When I want to test my characters Carpentry skillmy character has

got to reinforce this door before the Orcs come!I roll three dice.
Expertise by Exponent
Below is a list of exponents (exp) in Burning Wheel and what they imply
about the ability they represent. Hopefully, this will help you get a feel
for the system:
Exp 1 is naturally disinclined, crippled or utterly incompetent
Exp 2 is untrained, raw, weak or unpracticed ability
Exp 3 is nominally trained and practiced
Exp 4 is competent; everyday stuff doesnt pose a challenge
Exp 5 is expert
Exp 6 is near mastery
Exp 7 is excellence defined
Exp 8 is total mastery, complete understanding
Exp 9 is uncanny; incomprehensibly good
Exp 10 is as near perfection as the system allows

15

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Shade
Every ability number
in Burning Wheel is
accompanied by a
l e t t e r. T h i s l e t t e r
indicates the level of
potential, or shade, of that
ability. The letters, in turn, correspond
to both a color and a number. B is black
shade and means the player rolling for that ability needs 4s or better
for successes. G is gray shade and needs 3s or better for successes. W is
white shade and needs 2s or better.
Having a G or W shade ability is the only time the difficulty
number for a roll varies from 4 (or B shade). Changing an
abilitys shade is discussed in the Character Burner and in the Artha
section of this book.

When to Roll
Burning Wheel is very much a game. While players undertake the roles
of their characters and embellish their actions with performance and
description, rolling the dice determines success or failure and, hence,
where the story goes.

Tests
When a player takes an action with his character where the result is
uncertain, an ability is tested. When we need to know how well, how
much or how quickly a character performs in game, we roll the dice.

I need to know how well I reinforce the door. How much of an impediment
does it provide against the onrushing Orcs? I roll my characters Carpentry
dice to determine that result.

These instances are called tests, and they are the teeth in the gears of
this game. Without tests, nothing catches and moves forward. In fact, in
a situation involving conflict, a test is required. A player cannot narrate
an act in the game that will affect another character without testing an
ability to back it up.
Testing abilities is a good thing! Not only do they drive the
story by providing tangible results for our embellishments and
performances, they allow the character a chance to improve his abilities
and attain greater heights.

It Revolves on This

So my character with a B3 Carpentry is considered

trained and practiced. He can take care of all the basic
stuff of his trade no problem, but, as you will see, with
just three dice, the more complex practices of his
profession are beyond his reach.

s/
Ye

Obstacles to Overcome
So now we know how to test an abilityroll the number of dice
indicated, 4s or better count as successes, the more successes the
better. Why is that?
Players need to generate successes in order to pass more difficult
teststests that require multiple successes to overcome. The number of
successes needed to pass a test is called the obstacle (Ob). It is the GMs
role to assign appropriate obstacles based on the inherent complexity of
the task at hand.

The GM determines that reinforcing a door is a Routine task for a

carpenter. Therefore, its an Ob 2 test. I need to roll two successes on the
three dice of my characters Carpentry skill.
The higher the obstacle, the more difficult the test, and the more skilled
and lucky the character will need to be to pass it:

Difficulty by Obstacle
Ob 1
Ob 2
Ob 3
Ob 4
Ob 5
Ob 6
Ob 7
Ob 8
Ob 9
Ob 10

Easy
Routine
Difficult
Extremely Difficult
Master-level
Heroic Effort
Ludicrously Difficult
Nearly Impossible
Phenomenally Difficult
Miraculous

Obstacles can be increased (but never decreased) by extenuating

circumstanceslike carrying a baby in a papoose on your back in a
sword fight. Thats +1 Ob.

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You might have noticed that one cant roll 4, 5 or 6 successes on
three dice. It is the philosophy of the system that some tasks are
either too complex to accomplish without help, or simply too difficult to
accomplish at all. Sometimes, high obstacles will force players to think
of another way around.

Open-Ended Tests
Certain tests in Burning Wheel are described as open-ended. This
means that any 6s rolled allow the player to pick up another die and roll
it to try to generate another success.
Tests for Perception, Steel, Faith, and any ability considered magical
(Dwarven Arts, Elven Skill Songs and Sorcery, for example) are all
open-ended. Anything can happen.

Basic Dice in Brief

We roll dice when a conflict arises.
The number of dice rolled is determined by the characters ability that
applies to the conflict. You dont often use Cooking to win a brawl,
know what I mean?
The number of dice thrown is equal to the number next to the ability.
This is called the exponent.
For the majority of tests, 4s and better are successes. 3s and lower are
traitors. This number is determined by the abilitys shade.
The obstacle is the inherent difficulty of the task being attempted. You
need successes equal to the obstacle to pass the test.
Open-ended rolls 6s on Perception, Faith, Steel and magic-type tests
allow you to pick up another die and roll it again, hopefully adding
more successes.

Elements of Character
Burning Wheel is a gritty game. It is designed so the characters
appear and feel like human beings (or a similar analog). They
bleed, strain and sweatthey have limitations, but are also lucky
and miraculous.
As I mentioned in the Introduction, characters are the most important
part of Burning Wheel. They are the players incarnations in the
game, and nothing happens in the game world that doesnt involve
a player character. I wont bore you here with rpg theory, though.
Instead, lets take a look at what comprises a character in this system:
He has stats, attributes and skills; Beliefs, Instincts and traits;
Resources, relationships, reputation, affiliations and Circles; and
of course, hes got his gear and stuff that he totes around with him.
All of these elements affect how the character is played, and thus
how the game is shaped by the characters actions. To help you get
a feel for the system, these aspects are described in general terms in
the following section. Individual uses of the abilities are described
in detail in later sections.

Stats
There are six stats to describe a characters basic mental and
physical composition in Burning Wheel: Will, Perception, Agility,
Speed, Power and Forte.

Will
Will is the social statit represents the characters strength of
mind, empathy and social intelligence. Its not often rolled directly
in game, but it does factor heavily into a number of skills and
attributes.

Perception
Perception is the awareness and mental acuity stat. Its rolled all the
time in game. Players always have their characters searching for
information or clues, and this is the stat tested in those situations.

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Agility represents the hand-eye coordination of

the character. It is tested when a character must
keep hold of something, snatch something or
toss an object. It is also the basis for nearly all
martial skills.

Speed

Steel is a complex attribute that combines factors from many different

stats and elements of the characters background to determine how
steady a characters nerves are. Steel has its own section and is discussed
in detail there.

Emotional Attributes

This quirky stat represents the body control

of the characterhow fast he moves and how
coordinated he is overall. Its rolled all the time
in game, from fleeing your enemies to ducking a
blow. It is also the basis for a number of skills.

Many characters possess an additional ability tied into their emotional

makeup: Faith, Grief, Greed and Hatred are a few examples. These
attributes are factored by answering questions about the character, and
are tested in special circumstances in game. Emotional Attributes have
their own section in the Burning Wheel and are further detailed in the
individual lifepath chapters in the Character Burner.

Power

Mortal Wound

Power is the inevitable physical strength stat.

Its rolled in game when the character has to
push something over or grapple with someone. It
is also the basis for damage in melee attacks.

Forte
Forte (pronounced FORT) represents the
characters physical mettlehow tough and
durable he is. Forte is rarely rolled in game,
but it is a part of two crucial attributes,
Health and Mortal Wound.

Attributes
Attributes are derived from stats in various ways, and are used for more
subtle tests than the raw instances described above. They can also be
avenues to additional abilities, available only to certain characters.

Health
The Health attribute is derived from Will and Forte. It is used in game to
recover from injury and resist the effects of pain and fatigue.

Reflexes
The Reflexes attribute is factored from Perception, Agility and Speed. It
is used to determine how often a character acts in a Burning Wheel fight.
Reflexes isnt tested like other abilities, it is simply a marker.

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Steel

The Elements of Character

Agility

Mortal Wound combines Power and Forte to set the point at which the
character dies in the injury mechanics. Mortal Wound is never tested;
like Reflexes, it is just a marker.

Skills
In Burning Wheel, a skill is a specialized field of knowledge or particular
technique known by the character. A skill allows a character to achieve
his goals more easily than using stats. Examples of skills include: Animal
Husbandry, Mending, Sword, Sorcery and Ugly Truth.
Characters tend to have many skillsfrom four to twelve is
normal. Twenty is not unheard of.

Beliefs
A player must determine the three top priorities for his character.
These are fundamental ideas important to the character. They are a
combination of the outlook of the character and the goals of the player.

There is nothing to life but brutality is an example of a Belief.

Using Beliefs is discussed in their own chapter in this book. Creating
them is described in the Character Burner

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Instincts are similar to Beliefsthey are player-chosen priorities and

reactions for the character. They are based on the characters pre-game
experiences and have a very tangible game-mechanical function.

Circles
Who does the character know from his days as an apprentice? Can he
call on his former gang mates for help? Such questions are answered
using the Circles ability. Its a measure of the characters social influence,
and its scope is shaped by the characters lifepaths.

An Instinct is essentially an if/then statement for the characters

behavior. If surprised, I draw my sword. The player is allowed to
program these actions and reactions into his character. Therefore, he
can be assured that his character will react within certain parameters
whether the player explicitly states it or not at.

The Elements of Character

Instincts

Think of them as a hardwired reaction from training and experience

(and a little insurance the player takes out against the GM).
Instincts have their own section in this book. Creating them is discussed
in the Character Burner.

Traits
Traits are quirks and odd abilities that the character acquires through
the course of his life. A player starts by purchasing traits in character
burning, but they will also be earned in play.
Traits can affect a characters personality, his appearance, or even
grant special abilities. Where Beliefs and Instincts are relatively
loosely defined, the role of traits in game is mechanically fixed.
Using traits is discussed in the Burning Wheel, creating and purchasing
them is talked about in the Character Burner.

Resources and Circles

Resources
Whether wealthy or destitute, every character is assigned a Resources
ability. Its starting rank is determined by how the player spent his
characters resource points in character burning. Thereafter, it is used
like a skill in game. Its function is to determine how economically and
financially viable a character is: Can he afford to buy property? Can he
keep his equipment in repair? Is he forced to beg for food and lodging?
The Resources ability allows all of this to be determined by a roll of
the dice. No need to keep track of pennies unless you really want to!

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Gear and Stuff

No fantasy roleplaying game would be complete without stuff.
Swords, armor, books, spells, clothes, shoes, lanterns, etc. All of the
bits and pieces to make it feel right. In the game, gear augments an ability or
reduces (or increases) a penalty. Swords augment Power when a character
is trying to kill something. Lanterns obviate penalties for Perception
tests in darkness. Clothes keep those social skill test obstacles down.
Gear is initially acquired in character burning. Once in game, it can be
purchased via a Resources test, or even just granted by the GM during
appropriate scenes. A knight is granted a new sword and suit of armor
by his liege, or a magic helmet is found in the burial mound of a longdead god, for example.
Mostly though, gear and stuff are bits of window dressing that add spice
and detail to the shared imagined space.

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Magic
The last element of the game that needs to be mentioned is magic. In
Burning Wheel, it comes in many forms.
Magic makes possible what could not normally be done by human
physical means or ingenuity. Not simply building the pyramids or
preserving bodies for thousands of years, but sealing the tombs with
unbreakable spells and cursing those who penetrate the depths to die
inexplicable deaths.
Its the unexplainable and the potentmystical power over the elements.
In game, this process is represented by Emotional AttributesFaith,
Grief, Hatred and Greedand various magical skills like Summoning,
Enchanting and Sorcery.

the

Spokes

When tested, these abilities have some weird effect in game. The
mechanics of these various bits are discussed in their individual
sections. But before we discuss that madness, weve got to look at some
of the more mundane mechanics.

Who then may trust the dice at Fortunes throw? Who joins in worldly
struggles such as these will be, when least prepared for it, laid low.
Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

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