Oa

This is a dark fantasy setting for Fate Core with lovecraftian themes. Games in Oa are tough, strategic and pragmatic. The characters must fight not just the world's supernatural threats, but the corruption of mortals and to keep their own sanity.

A thousand years ago, Oari, the Protector god of Oa, was slain by the Enemy. His children, the five blessed immortals, were also murdered, their bodies corrupted, and became great anomalies that still threaten the world today. Magic itself has been twisted, and today all who wield it risk losing themselves to the dark.

# FATE CORE RULE CHANGES

Games on Oa feature several changes from the Fate Core rules, particularly the combat rules.

## STRESS RECOVERY

Lost stress points are not automatically recovered at the end of each scene, or even game session. Each different stress track requires a specific activity to be recovered:

* ***Physical Stress:*** Only recovered when a character with "Lore" uses a dose of "medication" to treat the injured. After this treatment, stress points return at the rate of 1 per hour, or 1 per scene (if the scene is faster than an hour). No testing is required, just spending doses of medication. Dose of "medication" count towards the character's "encumbrance" (see below). Every 10 doses increases encumbrance by 1 point.
* ***Mental Stress:*** Only recovers when the character can rest for a scene in a safe place. Each scene of rest recovers 1 point of mental stress. If the character sleeps, recovers 1 point of mental stress per hour.
* ***Armor Stress:*** Only recovered when a character with "Crafts" uses a unit of "Repair Tools" to repair their armor. After this repair, all armor stress points return. Repairing armor takes an entire scene. "Repair Tool" units are counted in the character's "encumbrance" (see below). Every 10 units increase encumbrance by 1 point.

## 3 ACTIONS AND 1 REACTION

During a round of a conflict, each character is given three actions and one reaction to use. These three actions and one reaction cannot be stored for the next round, and must be used during the character's turn, with the exception of the reaction.

"Overcome" and "Create Advantage" cost 2 actions to perform. "Attack" costs 1 action. In addition, moving becomes a "Move" action and can likewise be used on the character's turn for the cost of 1 action.

### REACTIONS

A reaction is a quick action that can be used outside of the character's turn order. Reactions can be used at any time, until the start of the character's next turn. However, if a reaction is used on a turn of initiative greater than the character's, any rolls related to the reaction will have a -1 penalty per difference in initiative, since the character cannot "react" faster than another character with a higher initiative value.
Typically, characters can use their reaction to perform a defense test for themselves or another character if that character is within range of their weapon. This means that in a round, they can only react with a **defense** to a single opposing attack.
Characters can spend 1 fate point and gain a new reaction to be used immediately, as long as they have an aspect that justifies it.
### OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS

If a character is attacked by another, and later on the opponent attempts to leave the range of their weapon, they can use their reaction to perform an "opportunity" attack on the opponent. This must be a simple attack roll, without benefiting from any stunts.
### STORING ACTIONS

Characters cannot decide to store their actions to use at another time in the round. However, a player can choose to convert one, and only one, action into a reaction, and enjoy he use of two reactions in that same round.
A character has the option to "delay" their whole turn to act later in the initiative order. However, this permanently changes their initiative score to the new, lower value.
### REPEATED ACTIONS

If a character uses more than one action to perform the same type of activity, such as two or three "Attacks", each subsequent action of the same type in the same turn is subject to a cumulative penalty of -2. Thus, a second attack on the same turn is performed at -2, and a third is performed at -4. A second move on the same turn is made with 1 hex less, and a third move is made with 2 hexes less.
### COMPOUND ACTIONS

Characters can use their actions on their turn to improve the odds of another action. Each action used in this way increases the original roll by +2. Thus, an attack roll that uses 2 actions can be made at a +2, and a defense roll that uses 2 reactions get a +2 bonus. It is only possible to combine a single action into another. It is not possible, for example, to perform an attack that uses 3 actions for a +4 on the roll.
### ATTACK OPTIONS

Any melee attack can be done in one of the two options below:
* ***Committed Attack***: You put all your momentum and strength into a reasonably slow attack. This attack can be defended at +1, but if it connects, the physical stress delivered is increased by 1, which can exceed the weapon's maximum damage.
* ***Cautious Strike***: You perform a swift attack in a controlled manner. This attack is defended at -1, but if it connects, the physical stress caused is reduced by 1, though it cannot drop below 1.

## WEAPONS AND ARMOR

Weapons and armor follow a different rule than the one presented in the “Extras” chapter of “Fate Core”. Armor grants the wearer a new stress track instead of reducing the impact taken, and weapons limit the maximum number of stress points an attack can deal, instead of adding a fixed number to the stress points.

Weapons, armor and shields have "Weight", "Range", "Speed", "Attack Type" and "Modifiers" values, explained below.

### WEAPONS

When characters attack each other, the final number of inflicted stress points is limited by the weapon they are using:

A weapon's maximum stress inflicted can change one level up or down depending on its quality. Very cheap weapons have a maximum stress 1 point lower (a rusty knife equals an unarmed punch, for example), and a very high quality weapon has a maximum stress of one point greater.
If a character is defending against a weapon attack and fails, they have the option of reducing the stress received by two points and permanently reducing their weapon's quality by 1. This represents the weapon getting worn out, chipped, etc.
The time needed to craft a weapon depends on the user's level in "Crafts". The time listed is related to a specific level of this skill. If the character has a higher or lower skill level, the time can vary only *one variation step* for more or less, as described in the variation time.
#### WEAPON ATTACK TYPES

Different weapons cause different types of attacks. Each type of attack modifies the way armor relates to inflicted stress (see “armor” below).
* *Crushing attack:* It is the attack caused by blunt weapons, such as punches, staves or maces. Crushing attack follows the standard armor rules below. Fire, lightning, and natural attacks are crushing.
* *Cutting Attack:* This is caused by slashing weapons, such as most types of swords, scimitars, and knives. When striking armor, the slashing attack can reduce one or two levels of armor in a single attack. The second level will be lost if the slashing attack causes 3 points of stress or more.
* *Impaling attack:* Caused by most polearms, some types of swords, arrows, bolts. When an impaling attack hits armor, if it causes 2 or more points of stress, one point of stress always ignores the armor and affects the character's physical stress layer.

#### WEAPON MODIFIERS

In addition to attack types, different weapons may have modifiers that describe their usage in combat.
* *One hand:* These weapons must be used with one hand, leaving the other free.
* *Two Hands:* These weapons require two hands to use properly. If used one-handed, they incur a –2 penalty on the attack roll and their maximum stress drops by 1.
* *Versatile:* These weapons can be used with one or two hands without penalty. If used with two hands, their maximum inflicted stress increases by 1 point.
* *Impact:* These weapons can strike the target so hard that they permanently bend their armor. They remove a new layer of 1 point of stress from the armor for every 2 points of stress caused by the original attack.
* *Heavy:* These weapons are too heavy to be used quickly. If the character wishes to attack with them more than once in the same turn, the second attack consumes two actions.
* *Adjustable:* These bows can be adjusted to cause more or less stress points, for greater difficulty in handling. The character can adjust these bows to cause 1 more point of maximum stress, at the cost of a minus 1 point modifier on their attacks, or minus 1 point of maximum stress for a plus 1 modifier on their attacks. Adjusting a bow requires 5 minutes.
* *Limited by Physique:* The maximum damage of these weapons is limited by the character's "Physique". If the character's Physique is lower than the maximum damage listed for the weapon, its maximum damage will be lower as well.
* *Slow Reload:* After shooting this bow or crossbow, the character must use an action to reload the weapon before taking another shot.

#### WEAPON SPEED

The speed of a weapon serves as a mitigation on the penalty on defense or attack rolls made with it. In this way, characters with fast weapons can defend themselves against attacks that happen in initiatives higher than theirs with less penalty, or even none, depending on the weapon speed.
#### SPECIAL MATERIAL WEAPONS

On Oa, weapons made from special materials (or alloys thereof) have distinct effects on certain types of opponents.
* ***Silver Weapons***: Characters wielding silver weapons can spend 1 fate point and ignore the armor value of any magical creature during a combat turn. The Enemy's minions are not considered magical creatures for the purposes of this effect. Silver weapons cannot be of high quality.
* ***Golden Weapons***: Characters wielding golden weapons can spend 1 fate point and completely ignore a target's "Anomalous Resistance" value (see below) during a turn, making them the weapon of choice for those opposing The Enemy. Gold weapons weigh 1 point higher in and cannot be high quality.
* ***Platinum Weapons***: Characters using platinum weapons can burn the Enemy's minions. When a minion of The Enemy is attacked by a platinum weapon, the weapon wielder can spend 1 fate point and cause half of the stress dealt (rounded up) to be repeated on the next turn. If the creature is the target of several of these attacks in the same combat turn, only the best of the attacks will be repeated in the next turn. Platinum weapons cannot be high quality.
* ***Cold Iron Weapons***: Characters using cold iron weapons can effectively fight spells or wizards. They can spend 1 fate point and parry projectile spells if these are visible. They can also spend 1 fate point to bypass magical protections (such as extra points of physical stress created with magic). Cold iron weapons have a maximum damage that is 1 point less. They do not deal extra damage to magical beings, but a specific class of magical beings, called "fey creatures" cannot touch cold iron without feeling great pain.
* ***Ironwood***: Bows made of ironwood have their maximum damage increased by 1 point. If an elf, and only an elf, is shooting an ironwood arrow through an ironwood bow, it can spend 1 fate point and have the arrow hit its target for sure, no matter how hard the shot is. The arrow will change its trajectory while in the air in order to strike the opponent, who will have no chance to defend from this shot. The character still needs to make a test to determine the stress points dealt, but the lowest possible result of this check is 1.
* ***Mithril***: Mithril weapons have a maximum damage 1 higher if, and only if, they are being wielded by a dwarf.

### ARMOR

Armor grants the character a new stress track that they must check before reducing their own physical stress. This is the "armor level". However, unlike physical stress, each attack received removes one armor stress slot regardless of how much stress was actually caused. However, there is a limit. Armor does not protect the wearer from *any* amount of stress. If the number of stress points a character takes from a single attack exceeds twice their armor level, anything in excess of twice their armor level counts as physical stress.
Anyone can wear armor of any weight, but not everyone can avoid the problems that heavy armor inflicts. Armor also has a "Weight" value that can influence the character negatively (see below: Weight and Encumbrance).

 Light: Chainmail, Reinforced Leather, Brigantine.
 Heavy: Scale Armor, Plate Armor.
 Heavy Reinforced or Composite: Plate + Chain, Mesh + Gambeson, etc.

Quality affects armor by changing its weight up or down one point. Armor level does not change. Thus, a low quality chainmail has a weight of "3" while providing 2 armor levels, and a high quality plate armor has a weight of "3" but 3 armor levels.
When all armor levels are lost, the character still has the option to add a -2 (mild) consequence to their armor representing a lasting damage and reduce the received stress by two points. Once an armor is damaged in this way, its level cannot be recovered in the field and requires the action of a blacksmith with a forge at their disposal.
#### SPECIAL MATERIAL ARMOR

As with weapons, armor made from special materials (or an alloy thereof) has different effects in certain types of situations.
* ***Silver Armor***: Characters wearing silver armor can spend 1 fate point to ignore the stress caused by an attack from a magical creature. The Enemy's minions are not considered magical creatures for purposes of this effect. Silver armor cannot be of high quality.
* ***Gold Armor***: Characters wearing gold armor can spend 1 fate point and ignore all stress taken by an attack from an enemy minion. These armors cannot be of high quality and have a weight *2 points* higher.
* ***Platinum Armor***: When a minion of The Enemy attacks a character protected by platinum, the character can spend 1 fate point and cause the attacker to immediately receive 2 points of indefensible physical stress. Platinum armor has a weight 1 point higher.
* ***Cold Iron Armor***: Characters wearing cold iron armor can use their fate points to neutralize spells that affect them. The character can spend 1 fate point and ignore a magical effect directed at him. Cold iron armor has an armor level 1 point lower. Cold iron manacles neutralize an arcanist's ability to cast spells, and are primarily used to subdue them.
* ***Mithril***: Mithril armor has a level 1 point higher if, and only if, it is being worn by a dwarf.

### SHIELDS

Characters wielding a shield can add a bonus to only one of their defense rolls per turn. If the character is attacked more than once in a turn, a shield's bonus only applies to one of the attacks. However, if using shields that confer more than 1 defense point, the character has the option of distributing the defense points among various defense rolls in a given turn.
Shields are heavy, unwieldy and interfere with physical actions, just like armor. Shields have a "weight" value just like armor.
The bonus a shield grants depends on its size:

 Medium: Round, Heater.
 Large: Tower, Wall.

The quality of the shield does not interfere with the defense bonus they provide, but with its weight. Therefore, a low quality round shield grants a +2 bonus with a weight of "2", while the same high quality shield grants a +2 bonus without weight.
Shields also give characters the option of taking another -2 (mild) consequence to their shield at the expense of it being damaged. Once a shield is damaged, it can only be used again after it has been repaired.
Large shields obstruct the use of weapons, both by opponents and the fighter itself. The range of any weapon used by a fighter with a large shield, or against a fighter with a large shield, is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 1).
### STARTING THE GAME WITH QUALITY EQUIPMENT

There are two ways for characters to start the game with quality equipment. Assuming they bought them with "Resources" or made them with "Crafts".
Resources can allow characters to start the game with a number of quality equipment according to its level:
* With Resources "1", the character can have one high quality equipment.
* With Resources "2", the character can own three high quality pieces of equipment.
* With Resources "3", the character can have as much high-quality equipment as they want, or they can provide 1 such equipment for the whole party.
* With Resources "4" or more, every character in the party can start the game with as much high-quality equipment as they want.

In the same way, "Crafts" allows a character to have created high quality equipment according to its level.
* With Crafts "2", the character may have crafted one high quality equipment.
* With Crafts "3", the character can have created three pieces of high quality equipment.
* With Crafts "4", the character can have created ten pieces of high quality equipment.
* With Crafts of "5" or higher, all equipment this character makes is of high quality.

## SKILLS AND STUNTS

For each skill the character knows at level 3 or higher, they can, for free, select one stunt related to that skill. A skill at level 6 or higher yields a second free stunt.

These stunts can be chosen from the list of original Fate Core stunts, or those listed here.

# WEIGHT, ENCUMBRANCE AND NUMBER OF ACTIONS

Characters with a heavy load, or who are very agile, can have a different number of actions per turn. Each character must take note of an "Encumbrance" value. A character's encumbrance is equal to the weight of all their equipment added together (armor, shield, weapons, medicines, repair tools, etc.), minus their "Physique" value.

For example, a character with "Physique" 2, wearing "chain mail", wielding a "halberd" and a "round" shield would have an encumbrance of "2".

* If the character's encumbrance is 1, they take a -1 penalty on all physical ability checks on their turn. The physical abilities are *Fight, Shoot, Athletics, Physique, Stealth, Burglary and Crafts*.
* If the character's encumbrance is 2, they take no penalties on their checks, but they get 2 actions and 1 reaction instead of 3 actions and 1 reaction.
* If the character's encumbrance is 3, they get 2 actions and no reactions.
* If the character's encumbrance is 4 or more, they only get 1 action per turn.

A character's encumbrance can be *negative*. If this is the case, the character can purchase special "Athletics" stunts:

***Accelerated Reaction*** *(requires Notice 1 and Athletics 1)*: You can react to more threats in combat. If you find yourself with a negative encumbrance, once per scene you can gain a new reaction on your combat turn. You may spend 1 Fate point to gain 1 additional reaction after your free use of once per scene.

***Combat Swiftness*** *(requires Athletics 2)*: You've trained your muscles to be as fast as possible when unencumbered. Whenever you find yourself with negative encumbrance, once per scene you can gain a new action on your combat turn. You may spend 1 Fate point to gain 1 additional action after you have used your free use once per scene.

***Perfect Celerity*** *(requires Athletics 4 and Combat Swiftness)*: You have reached the human limit of muscular swiftness. If you find yourself at -3 encumbrance or less, twice per scene, you can gain one new action on your combat turn (in addition to the free use of *Combat Swiftness*).

***Load Bearer*** You've carried a lot, but a lot of weight in your life, and you know how to best distribute your load around your body to lessen its effects. If you are positively encumbered, your encumbrance is reduced by 2 points to a minimum of 0.

# ZONELESS COMBAT

For the game on Oa, we will not be using zones. Instead, combat will take place on hexagonal maps.

The distance between two zones is defined in 4 hexagons. Any opponent or object that is 4 hexes or less away from the character can be considered to be in the same "zone" as the character. Characters can move 4 hexes per move action they use.

## ENCUMBRANCE AND MOVEMENT

The 4 movement points each character has are modified by their "Encumbrance" value, if this value is positive.
A character's encumbrance can be *negative*, however, negative encumbrance does not increase the character's movement value.
The number of movement points a character can use in a conflict turn is equal to 4 minus encumbrance, up to a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 4.
## WEAPON RANGE

Characters can attack targets that are adjacent to their hex. Pole weapons, such as spears and halberds, allow a character to attack targets 2 hexes away. Ranged weapons such as bows, slings or crossbows can attack targets several hexes away without penalty, and they take a -1 penalty on their attack rolls for each distance multiple of their range value.
Using long-range weapons to attack immediately adjacent targets is possible, but excessive proximity imposes a -2 penalty on attack rolls.
## INTERRUPTING MOVEMENTS

If a character moves into range of an opponent's weapon, without themselves having a weapon of equal range, their opponent can use their reaction to stop their movement. To do so, the opponent must make an attack roll using their reaction. If the attack is successful, even if it does not cause stress, the character has its movement interrupted and cannot move anymore in that move action.
The same can happen in reverse. If a character moves out of range of an opponent's weapon when their own weapon has a greater range, the opponent can prevent the character's movement by using their reaction to make a successful attack roll, even if it doesn't deal any point of physical stress to the character.
## NEW STUNTS

These are new stunts relevant to these rules:
***Armor Specialist***: You have learned to use the hard points of your armor as levers to propel your movement, and can ignore 1 point of weight from an armor you wear.
***Running Training*** (*requires Athletics 2*): You've trained in athletic running for so long that you can move faster than most people. When your encumbrance is *negative*, you gain 1 extra hex of movement per movement action.
***Running Champion*** (*requires Athletics 4 and Running Training*): You are a professional runner, and possibly won several competitions. When your encumbrance is *negative*, you gain 2 more movement hexes for each movement action.
## INITIATIVE

Each character's initiative in combat is fixed and depends on their skills and carried weight. The initiative score equals "Athletics" plus "Notice", minus "Encumbrance".
Characters on the same side of a combat can exchange the initiative of their turns with each other, as long as all characters are grouped before the first opponent.
For example: A group of 5 adventurers is facing a Contaminated Bear. The order of their initiatives is: "Alice (5)", "Bob (5)", "Charlie (4)", "Contaminated Bear (3)", "David (2)" and "Elmer (1)". At the start of their turn, either Alice, Bob or Charlie can act in whatever order they want. At the end of their turn, the Bear acts, and after that, David and Elmer act in whatever order they want.
If Alice, Bob or Charlie wish to act alongside David or Elmer, they can choose to permanently lower their initiative to join David and Elmer's initiative "group".
# FEAR AND HORROR

Adventurers on Oa will invariably come across minions of the Enemy, monsters tainted by darkness, or even living nightmares called "Forbidden Ones". There are many ways to die, many ways to lose oneself, and the constant danger takes a toll on even the most hardened of fighters.

Every character on Oa must choose an aspect that is related to a psychological flaw that is the seed for a form of madness. Whenever the character encounters a particularly disturbing aspect of the setting, that aspect may be compelled.

Common psychological flaws are:

* ***Impulsiveness:*** The character thinks before acting and takes unnecessary risks. Aspects of impulsiveness can force a character to attack without saving actions for defense.
* ***Conservationism:*** The character has difficulty thinking in an original way and tends to act predictably. Aspects of conservationism can be used to force the character into an action they are used to taking, but which has already proved fruitless in that situation, or to cause them mental stress in totally novel situations.
* ***Callousness:*** The character does not think of others and does not consider the needs of others. Aspects of callousness can be used to cause a character to put others at risk in order to save themselves.
* ***Cowardice:*** The character cannot resist danger for long. Aspects of cowardice can be used to force a character to flee combat if they or their allies are injured.
* ***Melancholy:*** The character has a strong tendency towards sadness and pessimism. Aspects of melancholy can be used to make the character give up a combat or activity.

These are just examples. Players can create their own negative aspects for their characters.

Psychological flaws can also be compelled to cause mental stress to the character, if appropriate conditions are met. For example, a cowardly character might gain mental stress from seeing an ally get hit, or a melancholic character might gain stress from being forced into a confrontation before being able to properly rest.

## PSYCHOTIC BREAKS

If a character loses all their mental stress points and is "knocked out" because of that, they doesn't leave the fight. Instead, they go into a "psychotic break". The player momentarily loses control of the character, who will act in an extreme and inconsequential way according to its psychological flaw. A break ends when the character is physically knocked unconscious, or falls exhausted, or when the scene changes, at which point, if they are still standing, they fall unconscious.
## TRAUMA

At the end of a break, the player has the option of adding a "Trauma" to the character sheet. Traumas are new aspects that limit the character's behavior in a certain way. Common examples of trauma are: "Will not climb to high places", "Avoids physical contact with other people", "Horror of spiders and cockroaches", etc. If the character chooses to accept a trauma, all of its mental consequences are instantly removed, and all of its mental stress points are regained.
Traumas can increase the number of aspects of the character. A character can have up to 3 traumas.
On one hand, because they are aspects, traumas offer the character more opportunities to gain fate points. By influencing certain behaviors, the player has a very clear notion of when their trauma can be applied or not.
In addition, traumas offer a kind of mental resistance to the character. In each scene, the character can ignore mental stress as many times as they have trauma. This is regardless of the number of stress points that event would inflict. If, for example, they received a mental attack from a ghost that would inflict 5 points of mental stress, and they have 1 trauma, they can use this trauma to ignore the whole 5 points of mental stress, if they so choose.
However, traumas are an indicator of how close the character is to being swallowed by darkness. The number of trauma points is used as a penalty to the resistance of any effect directly inflicted by creatures aligned with The Enemy. This includes each time they are the target of an arcanist spell (see below).
Characters do not start the game with trauma points (with the exception of particular stunts that determine such).
If the character acquires more trauma beyond the third, they instead develop **aberrations**.
## ABERRATIONS

Aberrations are physical deformities that a person develops as The Enemy takes over their body. They are the clear sign that a person is being lost to darkness. In most civilized places, individuals with visible aberrations are hounded, hunted, and executed.
Characters acquire aberrations when they go through psychotic breaks after having accumulated their third Trauma. Unlike traumas, whose acquisition is optional, aberrations are mandatory if the character goes through a psychotic break with 3 accumulated traumas.
The first aberrations are subtle, and can often be hidden away. However, at a certain point, they start to become too prominent, and the character's only option is to avoid contact with other non-deformed individuals.
* *First aberration*: A small malformation present in an inconspicuous place on the body.
* *Second aberration*: A visible but concealable deformity, such as in an arm, hand, or leg.
* *Third aberration*: A very large deformation, which can be noticed by perceptive people, covering, for example, a good part of the torso, or a good area of the neck.
* *Fourth aberration*: The deformity covers more than half of the character's body and is easily noticeable.
* *Fifth aberration*: The character becomes a living aberration. They are considered a monster and a servant of The Enemy.

Each aberration adds an aspect to the character that can be used to improve non-magical abilities. Example: rock-hard arms (to allow for stronger punches with "Physique"), strong carapace on the torso (to increase physical stress), tentacles in place of arms (increase "Athletics" tests), etc.
Characters with aberrations can use one of their actions on a turn to make a "Physique" roll and gain free invocations on one or more of their aberrations. A single success grants a free invocation of one aberration, plus one for each success shift.
Each aberration the character has reduces any physical stress received by 1 point. Therefore, for example, a character with 3 aberrations is only physically affected by an attack that causes 4 points of physical stress or more. This automatic stress reduction is called "Anomalous Resistance". Only half of anomalous resistance (rounded down) is applied to magical attacks. Attacks performed with gold weapons ignore a target's anomalous resistance.
## NEW STUNTS

The stunts below introduce modifications to the fear and horror rules. They belong to the "Will" ability.
***Hardened Veteran***: You've already fought many of The Enemy's minions, and are as accustomed as you can get to the horror of their existence. You are able to spend fate points to avoid gaining mental stress points. Each fate point ignores all mental stress from a particular event, regardless of the number of stress points the event would inflict you. However, you start the game with 1 trauma.
***Used to Danger***: You've been into and out of many dangerous situations, so much that you can remain calm even when you're in a dangerous and stressful environment. You recover 1 point of mental stress at the end of each scene.
***Meditative Techniques***: You learned to meditate with a true master, and you may know one or more meditative techniques, described below.
## MEDITATIVE TECHNIQUES

After centuries living with the greatest of horrors on a daily basis, the different civilizations of Oa have developed their own techniques to deal with mental stress, with the meditative techniques being the most widespread.
Characters can acquire a new stunt called "***Meditative Techniques***". This stunt allows the character to know a different meditative technique for each point in the "Will" skill. The meditative techniques are:
* ***Deep Meditation***: You have learned to enter a state of deep meditation where the normal sensations of the physical senses are neutralized. *Once per game session, you may recover 1 point of mental stress at any time.*
* ***Transcendental Meditation***: You have developed the technique of meditating by constantly repeating a certain verse or word, such that you can use that verse to enter a meditative state at any time. *Once per game session, you may ignore an event that would trigger a psychotic break. It uses a reaction.*
* ***Creative Visualization***: You've learned to visualize a specific situation very clearly in your mind, so much that you can live entire experiences only mentally. By bringing these experiences into the external world, they offer you valuable insights in specific situations. *You can use your skill in "Will" to, once per game session, create an aspect that helps you with a specific skill, to be used in the next scene.*
* ***Mindfullness***: You know how to meditate by paying attention to everything that happens around you and to your own body, putting all your focus on the outside world. *Once per game session, you may increase your "Notice" by 2 points for one scene. This can increase your initiative, and can be retroactively used mid-scene.*
* ***Martial Meditation***: You learned to enter a meditative state by slowly repeating movements taken from real fighting techniques. *Choose a specific weapon that you are proficient with (unarmed strikes count as a "weapon"), once per game session you gain +2 on all rolls using that weapon during a single combat turn.*
* ***Breathing Meditation***: You know how to control your breathing and other involuntary biological processes, such as your own heartbeat. *Once per game session, you gain a +2 modifier to resistances made with "Physique", or to the final amount of damage dealt on a single strike, which may exceed the maximum limit of the weapon used.*

# MARTIAL FIGHTERS

Oa is home to several styles of martial arts, and the many schools sometimes work alongside or against each other. Virtually every nation has their own fighting style, and many, many independent temples can be found across the continent of Ilith.

Players who wish to create martial fighters choose a stunt called “***Martial Training in <Tradition Name>***". This stunt grants them access to a new ability, named after their fighting style. The name varies with each martial tradition, generally being descriptive of the origins of the studied martial art: "Way of the Tiger", "Iron Hand", or "Blades of Death" are typical examples.

This skill, called the "martial skill", can be used instead of "Fight" for weapon attacks, instead of "Shoot" for ranged attacks, or instead of "Physique" for hand and foot attacks. However, the fighter can only use this martial skill with weapons taught in their style. Each martial skill level allows the character to choose a different weapon that is taught in their style (attacks with hands and feet count as a "weapon" choice). These weapons are the ones that can be used with your martial skill and that benefit from its stunts. Any stunt that affects "Fight", "Shoot", or "Physique" also affects the "Martial Skill" when used with these weapons.

Each level that the character has in the martial skill also allows the selection of a "martial technique", which is nothing more than a stunt that can only be used with the weapons taught in the martial style. Any stunt from "Fight", "Shoot", "Athletics", or "Physique" can be selected as a martial technique, plus the ones listed below.

## MARTIAL TECHNIQUES

These are the martial techniques that fighters can acquire, according to their martial tradition:
* ***Anti-Aerial Training***: When using any weapon of maximum stress 3 or 4, you gain +2 to hit targets that are flying.
* ***Blind Fighting***: Your ability to attack with "Fight" works unhindered by conditions such as darkness or poor eyesight.
* ***Breaking Blow***: When you attack a target and deal at least 1 point of physical stress, you can choose to spend a fate point and deal another 2-point stress hit. This effectively allows you to remove 2 different layers of stress from the target at once.
* ***Climbing Art***: You can climb vertical or nearly vertical surfaces: walls, steep hills, large tree trunks, etc. You must use your empty hands and feet, or even using your elbows and heels. You must make one "Athletics" check per turn when climbing these surfaces.
* ***Defense Specialist***: If you receive multiple attacks in a single turn, you are able to split your full defense value as you wish across the incoming attacks such that you can defend against multiple attacks in the same turn. When distributing your defense points, at least 1 point must be assigned to each defense roll: you cannot make infinite defenses at +0.
* ***Distant Blow***: You are able to focus your inner energy and launch a close range attack with your bare hands. This attack is resolved with a "Physique" check. The target must be 4m away, and each additional 4m imposes a -1 penalty to the check. This attack's maximum damage is equal to your "Physique". This attack launches from your hands or feet and carries any magical or mundane modifiers they may be endowed with. To perform this attack, one of your hands must be free. The path between you and the target must be clear, and you must see the target of your attack.
* ***Dual Weapon Attack***: You learned to use two weapons, one in each hand, in combat. Once per turn, you can choose one of the options below:
	+ *Attack in two different points*: You are able to use two actions to perform two attacks at the same time. Both attacks are at -2. The opponent can only defend against one of these attacks, unless they also know this feat.
	+ *Attack in the same point*: Perform a single attack, without penalty, which can be defended normally. If the attack is successful, its maximum damage equals the sum of the maximum damages of both weapons. This consumes one action.
* ***Elemental Tolerance***: You learned to withstand the elements through intense exposure, in a brutally inhumane training. The bottom line, however, is that you can withstand sudden exposure to intense bursts of elemental attacks. When targeted by an elemental attack, the final stress caused is reduced by 2. You can choose to spend a fate point and reduce the stress by 5. This only protects you against elemental attacks. Bladed, blunt, or mundane attacks are unaffected, but can protect against non-magical elemental attacks, such as a torch or flamethrower. This ability cannot protect against prolonged exposure to an element, such as walking through fire or hiking in the north pole.
* ***Feel the Burn***: You can go through incredible pain to reach your goal. You gain an extra layer of mild consequence. This layer can only be used for physical consequences. (adapted from "Spirit of the Century SRD", §6.11.1)
* ***Flurry of Blows***: (Requires: *Rapid Strike*) After using "Rapid Strike" on a turn, you have the option to spend a fate point and use rapid strike on a second or even third action on the same turn.
* ***Flying Leap***: You can perform incredible jumps. If you make a successful "Athletics" check to jump, you can spend a fate point and jump *very high*, crossing 12 feet (4 hexes) in a single jump. You can also use this to jump towards someone as part of an attack. Such attacks have a -2 penalty to hit, but if you hit, your maximum stress is increased by 2.
* ***Follow Through***: Once per conflict, when you inflict a physical consequence on an opponent with "Fight" or "Shoot", or when you knock out an opponent, if they don't use consequences, you may also inflict a 2-stress physical hit on another opponent in the same zone. (Peter Blake).
* ***Hypnotic Hands***: You can confuse an enemy in combat with your hypnotic moves. You can make a "Provoke" check against the opponent's "Notice". On a success, you impose the "dazed" aspect on them, which can hinder physical attacks or defenses. When you successfully apply the "stunned" aspect to an enemy, you have the option to spend a fate point and prevent them from making any attacks on their next turn.
* ***Immediate Reaction***: Once per turn, you may spend a fate point and take a new reaction.
* ***Improbable Stance***: You can position yourself in combat in positions where the statistical distribution is unfavorable to ranged attacks. When assuming this stance, anyone attempting to attack you with a ranged attack takes an additional -2 penalty, but in return you take a -1 penalty to defend against melee attacks.
* ***Instant Draw***: If you have a weapon, it always counts as being ready to attack or defend, even when you are caught completely off guard.
* ***Invisibility Art***: You can make a "Stealth" check to hide, even from people looking directly at you. However, this can only affect one person at a time. Targets can resist with their "Notice" skill.
* ***Iron Palm***: You are able to cause one more point of maximum stress when attacking with your bare hands and feet. This technique can be combined with "Tiger Strike" and "Steel Palm".
* ***Kiai***: You can channel your internal energy into a powerful scream (a kiai) that paralyzes weaker enemies. This counts as an attack. Make a quick contest: your "Will" against your target's "Will". You can only attempt a kiai against enemies within 4m or less of you. If you win, they get the "stunned" aspect, which can hinder physical attacks or defenses. When you successfully apply the "stunned" aspect to an enemy, you have the option to spend a fate point and prevent them from making any attacks on their next turn. This ability only works against a single victim. Everyone can hear the scream, but its energy is focused on that one enemy.
* ***Last resort***: Through brutal and traumatizing training, you've learned to keep fighting when others would have fallen long ago. Once per scene, if you are knocked out (for example, by taking more stress than you can absorb), you can spend a fate point and continue fighting with no layer of free physical stress.
* ***Lightning Parry***: You can spend one fate point and automatically block all ranged attacks directed at you on your turn, as long as those attacks are physical and can be parried (a fireball, for example, could not).
* ***Magic Push***: You've learned to push magic out of you at any cost. Whenever you are targeted by a spell that requires resistance and you fail to resist, you can spend a fate point and automatically resist the spell's effects.
* ***Mana Block***: This is the ultimate anti-mage attack. Like "pressure points", it allows striking specific points on the body, but with the express intention of blocking the flow of magic and reducing, or even removing, the opponent's ability to perform magic. You must make a successful unarmed attack with "Physique" at -2. If it hits, you can spend a fate die and attack the aspect "mana blocked" on the target, which interferes with any spellcasting roll.
* ***Mana Sensitivity***: You have enhanced your perception to the point where you can sense the use of magical or supernatural powers, even if you have no magical training. Whenever you are the target or target area of a spell or power, you can sense that power with a successful “Empathy” check. If the spell or power is nagically protected, this check may take additional penalties. This can be used to detect when an invisible opponent is nearby (4m away or less), but cannot be used to attack them back.
* ***Mental Strength***: You can actively focus your mind to resist any type of magical attack, not just those that affect the mind. When you fail a spell resistance, you can always make a second resistance roll with your "Will".
* ***Mountain Toughness***: If you are wearing armor of level 3 or higher, once per scene, you can ignore all stress received from a single hit.
* ***Nature's Purification***: This allows you to better protect yourself against any magically created attacks. When hit by any type of magically created or amplified attack, you can spend a fate point and make a "Physique" check. Each success shifts allows you to ignore 1 point of magically created stress. You must be aware of the attack.
* ***Power Strike***: You are able to focus your energy and deliver massive blows to enemies. When you attack a target and cause physical stress, you can choose to spend a fate point and increase the stress dealt by +3. You can combine this technique with "breaking blow" or "flying jump".
* ***Premonition Parry***: You are able to use "Fight" or "Athletics" to defend against attacks that normally come too fast to be parried: bullets, lightning bolts, etc, or even when you are unaware of your attacker, such as in surprise attacks.
* ***Pressure Points***: This is the art of striking at specific pressure points in order to incapacitate an opponent. To use this skill, you must make a successful unarmed attack with "Physique". This attack is at -2. If you cause at least one point of physical stress, make a quick contest of "Physique" against the victim's "Physique". If you win, you apply the "Numb Arm" aspect to your target (or any other "Numb Limb" you attacked). You also get as many free invocations of this aspect as your success shifts.
* ***Pressure Secrets***: This is the knowledge of the most vulnerable vital points in the human body. It allows you to maim and kill by crushing and tearing vital organs and nerve clusters with deadly precision. To use this skill, you must make a successful unarmed attack with "Physique". This attack is at -2. If you hit, you can spend a fate point to reduce your stress dealt by 2 and force the opponent to take a physical consequence, or be knocked out.
* ***Push and Shove***: You can throw yourself at an enemy and knock them violently away from you a number of hexes equal to your success shifts in a given direction. These opponents fall to the ground and must spend their next move action to get back to their feet before they can move freely. This is resolved as a "Physique" roll at -2 against the opponent's "Athletics".
* ***Rapid Strike***: (Requires: *Fight 3+*, or *Physique 3+*, or *Shoot 3+*) Once per turn, You can use an action to attack twice with the same weapon. Both attacks are at -2. The prerequisite for this stunt depends on the type of weapon used in the rapid strike.
* ***Reflect Shot***: (Requires: *Lightning Parry*) When using "Lightning Parry", or defending against a ranged attack by other means, you may spend 1 fate point and use your reaction to make a ranged attack using the projectile you just parried. This attack uses your "martial skill" value.
* ***Shot Right Through***: When using a ranged weapon with a maximum stress of 3 or more, if you hit a target and cause any stress points, you can instantly make a new "Shoot" test against another target that is behind the first one, even if it is in another zone.
* ***Signature Strike***: You can perform a strike that inflicts a specific boost on the target. This boost must be chosen when this technique is learned, and does not change. Examples: "Blinded", "Unbalanced", etc. When you make a successful attack roll on a target, you can choose to spend 1 fate point and force the target to perform a defense against "Athletics" or "Physique" (the exact defense skill is chosen when the technique is learned). If the opponent fails this defense, they receives the determined boost and you gain 1 free invocation to be used at any time thereafter.
* ***Steel Palm***: You have learned to use your hands as deadly weapons. Your unarmed hand strikes are capable of causing slashing and piercing attacks. The maximum stress your hands inflict is equal to your "Physique" skill, and if your attack succeeds with style, your maximum stress increases by 1.
* ***Steel Skin***: Through painful and excruciating training, you've learned to harden your skin and resist most forms of impact. You have an extra layer of physical stress.
* ***Sudden Impulse***: Once per turn, you may spend a fate point and take a new move action on your turn.
* ***Subtle Step***: You can stand on surfaces that would normally not be able to support your weight. You can step on fragile surfaces such as thin ice, loose floorboards, or rotten logs without penalty. More fragile surfaces require an "Athletics" roll per turn, with the corresponding difficulties: Thin branches, bamboo trunks: difficulty 2. Tissue paper, eggs: difficulty 4. Water: difficulty 6. You may spend a fate point to automatically succeed on this Athletics check.
* ***Tiger Strike***: You are able to inflict one more point of maximum stress when attacking with your hands and feet. This technique can be combined with "Iron Palm" and "Steel Palm".
* ***Throwing Art***: You can throw anything as if it were a lethal weapon. Any object in your hand can be thrown with a maximum stress of 2. Objects that already have a maximum stress (like knives, shurikens, etc.) increase their maximum stress by 1 when thrown.
* ***Ultra Block***: You can spend a fate point and perform a "Fight" defense to block area attacks with your shield. If successful, you and everyone behind you in a 60 degree arc are protected.
* ***Water Dance***: While you are wearing no armor, and have a negative encumbrance, all your Athletics defense rolls have a +1 bonus.
* ***Weak Point Strike***: You can attack targets at their weak points. If an opponent has already received at least one point of physical stress in a conflict, you can spend a fate point and perform a "Fight" attack at -2 and attack at the same point again. If successful, this attack ignores the target's armor, if it has any left.
* ***Will to Live***: If you are brought to death's door, you can still, by sheer force of will (or stubbornness), hang on to life and prevent your own downfall. If you receive an amount of stress that knocks you out, you may, once per scene, for free, reduce the received stress by 2 points. This can be used along with consequences to further reduce stress.
* ***Zen Archery***: You use your mind as much as your body to shoot an arrow. You can ignore up to 4 points of increased opposition when shooting, provided those penalties are due to poor eyesight, distance, or movement relative to the target.

# NEW SKILLS

These are new skills for games on Oa, or modifications to existing skills:

## EXPRESSION

This is the skill related to the character's ability for artistic expression, including painting, sculpture, acting, singing, musical instruments, and so on. Its practitioners know not only how to express themselves artistically, but also gain the option of influencing their allies or opponents in combat through specific encouragements.

Characters who know this ability are able to use two actions in combat and create aspects of encouragement in one (or potentially all) of their allies. By "creating an advantage" with Expression, the character can use their success shifts to affect more than one ally. If your test grants you a free invocation of the created aspect, all affected allies gain a free invocation. In addition, any character can spend their fate points to invoke the encouragement of others. Examples of encouragement aspects are: "Reminded of the importance of his mission", "Confident in his own abilities", "Confident that he is fighting for the right side", and so on.

### EXPRESSION STUNTS

Characters who know Expression can acquire the following stunts:

* ***Memorable Artwork***: Once in your life, you composed or created a memorable work of art. Choose a specific aspect of encouragement. At the start of each conflict, you can make an "Expression" check to create this aspect before the first turn.
* ***Masterpiece***: (requires Memorable Artwork) You have created a masterpiece of art, something that will surely immortalize your name in history. Choose a specific aspect of encouragement related to that work. When you perform an "Expression" test to create the aspect you selected, you can automatically create it on as many people as you want that are participating in the scene.
* ***Artistic Presence***: Your very presence is so remarkable that it reminds people of your most famous works. When creating aspects of encouragement, you can spend a fate point and have everyone affected automatically gain a free invocation of it (in addition to any other free invocations you dole out).
* ***Art Critic***: You have learned to analyze and demoralize any existing work of art. You can resist an opponent's attempt to create an aspect of encouragement by using your Expression at a +2 bonus.

## ACADEMIA

This ability comprises mundane, everyday human knowledge and education, including history, science, mathematics, geometry, and medicine. It governs any knowledge that can be gained through study. Academic stunts refer to specialized areas of knowledge and technical skills.

The former "Lore" stunts are hereby divided into "Lore" and "Academia". The following are the stunts applicable to "Academia".

### ACADEMIA STUNTS

* ***Photographic Memory.*** (requires Walking Library.) +2 to Academia rolls whenever you lack direct access to research materials and the answer you seek lies in something you have read before. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.2.2)
* ***Studied Recall.*** (requires Photographic Memory.) Your photographic memory extends outside of books. Once per scene, you may spend a fate point and roll Academia against a difficulty of Mediocre. Each shift you generate may be used to specify a target that you wish to memorize as you might a book – returning later, in your mind, to assess new details (using an appropriate perception skill, usually Investigate). (This ability differs from Investigate’s Eye for Detail stunt in that Eye for Detail covers the entire location, after the fact, whereas Studied Recall requires you to specify which individual pieces of a location you are studying, while you are still in that location.) (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.2.2)
* ***Walking Library.*** Your prodigious reading has paid off in spades, and you are able to recall minute details from even the most obscure literary works. You don’t ever have to spend a fate point to declare that you have the proper tools for research using Academia, even in extreme situations (like being imprisoned and unable to access a library). This source of opposition is just off the table. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.2.2)
* ***Forensic Medicine.*** You can use Academia in place of Investigate when the subject involves medical evidence. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.25.1)
* ***Heal Thyself.*** (requires Scholar, Healer.) +2 to treat your own physical consequences with Academia. (Peter Blake)
* ***Plastic Surgeon.*** (requires Scholar, Healer.) You know how to rearrange someone's face permanently. When you operate on a patient, you may use Academia to inflict physical stress on them. The greater the change you wish to make, the graver the consequence you must successfully inflict. (The GM decides what level of consequence is required for each change, and the consequence acts as justification for the patient to change an aspect to one relating to physical appearance at the next milestone. To alter an aspect against a character's will requires you to inflict an extreme consequence.) (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***Pouring Wine.*** (requires Drinking from the Jug.) You take out a cup and pour a drink from your jug. This elaborate and difficult task causes a pause in the battle. No one may attack you while you pour, and you remove your lowest stress mark. This technique requires an entire action, and you may not perform the technique more than once in a row. (Fate System Toolkit, p.150)
* ***Scholar, Healer.*** Can make physical recovery attempts with Academia. (Fate Core, p.300)
* ***Surgeon/Medical Specialist.*** (requires Scholar, Healer.) You are a respected authority in a specific field of surgical or therapeutic medicine; define it at the time you take this stunt. Possibilities include heart or brain surgery, transplant operations, disease pathologies, and so on. You get a +2 to all Academia rolls relating to that field. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.25.1)
* ***Dizzying Intellect.*** (requires Specialist.) Your area of knowledge is so advanced, there’s usually no one around who can tell if you’re making things up. You may use Academia in place of Deceive to tell lies related to your field of specialization. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.2.3)
* ***It's Academic.*** (requires Specialist.) Once per scene you can spend a fate point (and a few minutes of observation) to make a special Academia roll representing a flash of insight. For each shift you make on this roll you discover or create an aspect related to your field of specialization, on either the scene or the target of your observations, though you may only invoke one of them for free. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.2.3)
* ***Secrets of the Stacks.*** Pick a specific library or other large information resource. You are intimately familiar with this resource's quirks, and gain a +2 to Academia whenever you have sufficient time to consult it. (Peter Blake)
* ***Specialist.*** Choose a field of specialization, such as herbology, criminology, or zoology. You get a +2 to all Academia rolls relating to that field of specialization. (Fate Core, p.115)
* ***Tutor.*** +2 to create advantage on an ally with Academia when you spend an hour or so coaching them on an appropriate topic. (Peter Blake)
* ***Cracker.*** You may use Academia in place of Burglary to defeat computerised security. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***Formal Logic/Master of Riddles.*** Your intelligence lets you run circles around those you talk to. This may take the form of actual riddles, or perhaps just complex logical arguments. You may use Academia to make attacks that inflict mental stress and to create advantages related to confusing and overaweing people. Such actions can be defended against with Rapport, Academia, or Empathy. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***Pre-Prepared Counterpoint.*** You’ve heard that argument before, and you know how to defeat it. You may use Academia to defend against Rapport. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***Professional Teacher.*** You may use Academia in place of Rapport to interact with your students. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***Shield of Reason.*** You can use Academia as a defense against Provoke attempts, provided you can justify your ability to overcome your fear through rational thought and reason. (Fate Core, p.115)
* ***Theory in Practice.*** (requires Specialist.) Once per scene you can spend a fate point to use Academia in place of any other skill for one roll. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.25.2)
* ***Cryptanalyst.*** +2 to overcome with Academia when cracking a code. (Peter Blake)
* ***Dealer in Antiquities.*** +2 to create advantages with Academia based on the monetary value of archaeological finds. (Peter Blake)
* ***Experimenter.*** While others are content to read the journals, you have the training and drive to perform cutting-edge research. +2 to Academia whenever you run original scientific experiments or gather original research data. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikia.com/wiki/Stunts)
* ***I’ve Read about That!*** You’ve read hundreds—if not thousands—of books on a wide variety of topics. You can spend a fate point to use Academia in place of any other skill for one roll or exchange, provided you can justify having read about the action you’re attempting. (Fate Core, p.115)
* ***Legal Eagle.*** +2 to overcome or create an advantage with Academia, whenever you are finding or exploiting loopholes in the law. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.18.2)
* ***World Court.*** (requires Legal Eagle.) Your exposure to international law is so extensive that you’re at ease in any situation involving legal wrangling, wherever you are. You never suffer any increased difficulty from a lack of familiarity with the laws of your locale; your experience is so broad that you’ve either know it already, or can make highly educated guesses about how it functions. (Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.18.2)

## LORE

This is knowledge that falls outside the scope of academics, such as cultural knowledge, about specific terrains, myths, stories, how to behave socially, languages, trade, first aid, knowledge of herbs, animal handling, survival. It comprises any knowledge that can be gained from experience or by traveling. Each skill level in Lore allows the character to know one more language in addition to their native language. The languages of Oa are:

* **Human:** The language of the humans of central Ilith.
* **Nomadic:** The language spoken on the steppes and savannas in the southern part of Ilith.
* **Zereck:** The language spoken by humans in northern Ilith, from Eiben northwards.
* **Elvish:** The Elvish language spoken in Alari.
* **Dwarf:** The language of the people of Anvilar.
* **Lirian:** The language of the cat people of Iruan.
* **Imperial:** The human language spoken before the Death of God. Used by the Church of the Resurrection.

The former "Lore" stunts are hereby split into "Lore" and "Academia". The following are the stunts applicable to "Lore".

### LORE STUNTS

* ***Animal Affinity.*** Pick a particular type of animal (cats, rodents, horses or the like). At the start of any scene, if that type of animal could reasonably appear in the location where the scene is set, you may make a Lore check against a difficulty of Fair (+2). If you succeed, there is an animal of this type in the scene. (Peter Blake)
* ***Animal Friend.*** Pick a particular type of animal (cats, rodents, horses or the like). You can communicate with animals of this type using a combination of speech and gestures. This doesn’t connote a special level of intelligence on the part of the animals, so the communication may be relatively simple. You also gain +2 to your rolls when interacting socially with animals of this type. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.28.1)
* ***Kindred Beast.*** (requires Wild Empathy.) Choose a type of animal. You gain a further +2 to create advantage or overcome when you try to calm or communicate with animals of that kind. (Peter Blake)
* ***King of the Beasts.*** (requires Animal Friend.) This stunt functions as Animal Friend does, but the character may speak to an entire broad category of animals, rather than just one type. For purposes of this ability there are three main categories – creatures from or from near the sea (fish, whales, seabirds), creatures from the land (dogs, primates, cats, birds) and vermin (bugs, rats and other small scuttling things). There is loose overlap between these categories – pigeons are in all three – and the GM is encouraged to be generous in her interpretation. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.28.1)
* ***Wild Empathy.*** +2 to create advantage or overcome with Lore when you try to calm or communicate with animals. (Peter Blake)
* ***The Blessing of a Thousand Tongues.*** You may learn any language quickly. With tutelage, it takes only a day. With only the opportunity to read or listen, it takes a week. If the source material is especially sparse, it may take as long as a month. (Fate System Toolkit, p.94)
* ***Gift of Tongues.*** (requires Linguist). There is no “mainstream” earthly language you cannot read or speak. Not only that, but you read and speak languages you have no business having learned, such as languages from lost cultures. You may spend a fate point to declare that you know any particular language, no matter how strange. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.2.1)
* ***Linguist.*** You know a wide range of languages. +2 to Lore whenever reading, writing, speaking or translating an unusual language. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.2.1)
* ***Shared Humanity.*** Once per scene, you can communicate a short message to another human even if you do not speak a common language. (Peter Blake)
* ***Drinking from the Jug.*** You pause to take a swig of wine from your jug, fortifying yourself for the battle. When you have a drink during a fight, clear your lowest stress box. This requires you to take an entire action drinking. (Fate System Toolkit, p.150)
* ***Herbal Remedies.*** +2 to Lore rolls related to gathering plants suitable for treating the sick or injured. (Peter Blake)
* ***Caveman Lifestyle.*** You know how to live naked in the wilderness. When you undertake survival activities, you never suffer increased difficulty due to a lack of tools. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***Due North.*** You always know which direction north is, flawlessly, even underground, without a compass or stars to guide you. You gain a +2 to Lore rolls whenever trying to find your way out of a place. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.28.2)
* ***Forager.*** Choose a natural habitat (e.g. forests, grasslands, deserts, oceans, or caves). You gain +2 to Lore when gathering food in that habitat. (Peter Blake)
* ***Natural Dowser.*** +2 to create advantage with Lore when you seek sources of water. (Peter Blake)
* ***Pathfinder.*** Navigating on foot with your Lore skill works impeded by poor visibility or difficult terrain. (Peter Blake)
* ***Scout the Path.*** +2 to create advantage with Lore when blazing a trail through the wilderness. (Peter Blake)
* ***Self-Sufficient.*** You don’t ever have to spend a fate point to declare that you are able to find enough food and water for yourself, even in extreme situations (like being dumped in the middle of the desert and separated from all your stuff). This source of opposition is just off the table. (Peter Blake)
* ***Actions Speak Louder Than Words.*** Dealing with animals, who don't talk, has given you an excellent grasp of body language. You may use your Lore skill instead of Empathy to defend against attempts to attack or create advantage with Deceive. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***Animal Magnetism.*** It's a bit demeaning to equate seduction to animal training, but in your experience there isn't all that much difference between the two activities. You may use Lore instead of Provoke to seduce people. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***Frontiersmen Have To Improvise.*** Making stuff out of the things around you is an integral part of wilderness survival. You may use Lore in place of Crafts to build things out of scavenged materials. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***Outdoorsman.*** Your extensive field experience helps you operate in the wild. You may roll Lore instead of Stealth whenever you are in the wilderness, and may also roll Lore instead of Investigate for tracking in those areas. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***They're In the Trees.*** Basic wilderness survival includes a great deal of stealth. You may use Lore in place of Stealth as long as you are outdoors. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)
* ***Well-Travelled.*** You may use Lore instead of Rapport when you have visited the homeland or home state of the person you are speaking to. (Peter Blake)
* ***The Eye Sees All Paths.*** You may not know everything, but you always know how to find out. When looking for a fairly specific piece of information, you may give the GM a fate point to be told the closest place you can go to find out, no matter how obscure or lost the information is. In short, you can never hit a wall when trying to find something out. There are no guarantees of how easy it will be to get the knowledge, but that’s what adventure is for. (Fate System Toolkit, p.93)
* ***Keeper of Folklore.*** +2 to Lore when recalling the history or legends of your people. (Peter Blake)
* ***Meteorologist.*** You are trained as a meteorologist and so you are skilled at weather prediction. +2 to Lore when creating advantages to do with the weather. (adapted from http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Stunts)

## STRATEGY

Oa is a war-torn land, and as such has seen the birth of many strategic techniques learned by its generals. Characters who study these techniques gain new options for aiding their companions in combat, taking advantage of every possible element of a conflict scenario.

"Strategy" is the ability to analyze a combat or pre-combat situation and determine how best to deploy your current resources to gain advantages or negate disadvantages. Strategy can be used both to coordinate the actions of large armed groups as well as a small tactical force, or even to gain advantages in a duel. Strategic skill is something that can grant bonuses to an entire team, even when performed only by one member of this team.

This skill also includes studying famous wars and the strategies employed by their commanders, as well as the heraldry of the world's various military forces.

Each level in this skill allows the character to choose a different "strategic maneuver". The character can use one of their actions on a turn to make a "strategy" skill check against a predetermined opposition in order to activate one of the strategic maneuvers they know.

### STRATEGIC MANEUVERS

* ***Reactive Coordination***: Opposition: 1. The strategist allows an ally to make an extra attack roll against an opponent within range if it moves out their weapon range.
* ***Announced Riposte*** : Opposition: 1. A character aided by the strategist becomes capable of attacking an opponent immediately if they are attacked by that opponent, until the strategist's next turn.
* ***Strategic Withdrawal***: Opposition: 1. The strategist advises allies on the best escape route from combat. All affected characters gain +1 to movement and +1 to all defense rolls as long as they move out of combat on their turns.
* ***Flanking***: Opposition: 2. This maneuver allows two of the strategist's allies who are next to the same opponent to gain +2 on their next attack, if this attack is made against that opponent.
* ***Mobile Positioning***: Opposition: 2. The strategist reevaluates the best positioning of two allies. With that, they change initiative immediately. That can even make one of them act again in the turn. The initiative exchange is permanent.
* ***Ambient Control***: Opposition: 2. The strategist evaluates the best way for one ally to use the combat environment to their advantage. One ally gains a +2 to "create an advantage", until the strategist's next turn.
* ***Easy Movement***: Opposition: 2. The strategist tells an ally the best route he can take when moving. With this, a character gains a +2 hex bonus to his move actions on his next turn.
* ***Defensive Stance***: Opposition: 2. A character aided by the strategist gains +2 to all defenses against ranged attacks for his next turn.
* ***Defensive Focus***: Opposition: 3. An ally of the strategist gains the possibility to perform a new defense test in the turn, without using a reaction to do so.
* ***Announced Cracks***: Opposition: 3. The strategist instructs one ally to attack an opponent at weak points in its armor. A character's next hit can ignore the enemy's armor, as long as it has already received some stress.
* ***Diversion of Attention***: Opposition: 3. The strategist creates a diversion for all opponents, allowing one ally to gain +2 to Stealth checks on its next turn
* ***Tactical Reassessment***: Opposition: 4. The strategist manages to guide all allies to position themselves in places that oppose the enemies' tactical advantages. All combat initiatives are reset to their original values (plus any supernatural modifications).
* ***Strategic Accompaniment***: Opposition: 4. The character aided by the strategist gains a temporary Fate Point to use only on the next turn. This Fate Point cannot be used for spells or supernatural powers.

# LEGENDARY SMITHING

Over the past thousand years, virtually all of Ilith's society has been devoted to resisting the Enemy's onslaughts in armed form. This created a great stimulus in the production of weapons and armor, and, consequently, stimulated the development of forging techniques never before seen.

Characters with Crafts can choose to craft high-quality equipment a number of times according to their skill level:

* With Crafts 2, characters can create a high quality piece of equipment every 3 game sessions.
* With Crafts 3, characters can craft a high-quality piece of equipment each game session.
* With Crafts 4, characters can craft two high-quality pieces of equipment per game session.
* With Crafts 5 or higher, every equipment this character creates is of high quality.

The time required to create high-quality equipment is equal to twice the normal time for that character to create normal quality equipment.

Characters with "Crafts" can acquire special feats below, which allow them to create equipment whose stats vary beyond what is described in the weapons and armor list.

## FORGE STUNTS

Any equipment created using these stunts takes twice as long as it takes the character to create *high-quality* equipment.

* ***Variable Quality.*** (requires Crafts 3) You are able to create high or low-quality equipment whose quality effect differs from what's described. You can change a different parameter of the created equipment instead of the canonical parameter which is changed by quality.
* ***Innovative Quality.*** (requires Crafts 4, Variable Quality) When you create high quality weapons, you can add or alter its "modifiers", or add or alter its damage type, for 1 fate point.
* ***Legendary Equipment.*** (requires Crafts 4) When crafting high-quality equipment, you can choose to spend 1 fate point and craft legendary equipment. Legendary equipment has an aspect associated with it, which its wearer can invoke during a conflict. Examples are: "Blade sharper than Divine Justice", "As resistant as the owner's stubbornness", "This weapon longs to destroy The Enemy", "Only accepts to be wielded by a righteous person", etc.
* ***Uncanny Alloy*** (requires Crafts 5 and Legendary Equipment) You are able to create a metallic alloy that contains a characteristic of a special metal without necessarily incurring the metal's penalties. For example, a sword made with a gold alloy would ignore an opponent's Anomalous Resistance without having the added weight of gold. Only one special metal can be added to an alloy.
* ***Mythological Equipment.*** (requires Crafts 6, Legendary Equipment) Like "Legendary Equipment", but you are able to put two aspects into a single piece of equipment for the cost of 2 fate points.
* ***Mythological Alloy*** (requires Crafts 6 and Uncanny Alloy) Like "Uncanny Alloy", but you are able to smelt two special metals into a single alloy.
* ***Pseudomagic Equipment.*** (requires Crafts 7, Mythological Equipment) Like "Mythological Equipment", but instead of putting 2 aspects, you can only put one aspect with a clearly supernatural description and that has physical effects. Examples: "Glows yellow when near The Enemy's minions", "Burns when touched by someone who is lying", "Vibrates near spells", etc. These pseudomagical aspects should affect *the equipment*, not its *user*.
* ***Perfect Quality.*** (requires Crafts 7, Legendary Equipment, Variable Quality) You are able to craft a high quality equipment that has 2 points of modification to whatever equipment parameters you desire. Such equipment requires 3 fate points to create and must be at least "Legendary".

# MAGIC

Since the death of God, the ancient magic has been corrupted and all who use it risk going mad, or even being lost to the darkness. Even so, some scholars have, over the past thousand years, recovered and reinvented safe ways to interact with supernatural forces.

Magic on Oa follows two separate rules: "Occultism" or "Arcanism". Occultism is "safe" magic, a limited and time-consuming way of performing certain supernatural rituals. "Arcanism" is the most reckless form of magic, flirting with the forces of darkness and invariably eroding its practitioner's sanity.

## OCCULTISM

Occultists work in secret in an attempt to slowly rediscover magical secrets without costing their own spirit. Even so, most people don't know the difference between an occultist and an arcanist, and as much as occult magic is safe, its practitioners face great prejudice and resistance whenever they are discovered.

Occultism use the "Medieval Magic" rules, found **HERE**.

### OCCULTISM STUNTS

* ***Ritualist.*** Use Lore in place of another skill during a challenge, allowing you to use Lore twice in the same challenge. (Fate Core, p.91)
* ***Advanced Ritualist.*** (requires Ritualist.) You gain a +2 bonus when you use Lore in place of another skill during a challenge. This allows you to use Lore twice in the same challenge. (Fate Core, p.94)
* ***Arcane Expert.*** Gain a +2 bonus to create an advantage using Lore, whenever the situation has specifically to do with the supernatural or occult. (Fate Core, p.90)

## ARCANISM

Arcanists follow the magical lineages from mages of old who served and learned their secrets from one of the Five Blessed Immortals, Oari's sons. When the Enemy murdered and corrupted them, the power they had taught was similarly corrupted, and even today all who follow that path are driven slowly and steadily to become servants of the "Five Defiled".

There are five different types of arcanist magic, related to one of the Five Defiled. These are called the five magical "traditions".

* ***The sorcerers of the eternal storm***, follow the tradition of Lareus, the celestial traveler, who upon being corrupted became Vradrak-Hasir, the unquenchable fury. Their spells include controlling lightning, controlling movement, and allowing them to float through the air.
* ***The wizards of the vortex of darkness***, follow the tradition of Ayar, the lord of masks, who at being corrupted became Al-Veknur, the growing darkness. They are able to control illusions, light, darkness, and the various manifestations of fire.
* ***The transmuters of the Blood Glacier***, follow the tradition of Ulia the fleshweaver, who upon being corrupted became Zraldragosh, the unchanging horror. Transmuters control water and ice, as well as the bodies of living beings, being able to transform or dominate them.
* ***The necromancers of the dead tree***, follow the tradition of Eona, the charitable, who when corrupted became Getesh-Hanur, the insatiable monarch. They are able to control the dead, the rock, earth, and to a lesser extent, physical objects.
* ***The mystics of the living fissure***, follow the tradition of Zeerin, the inscrutable, who upon being corrupted became Zrbxrl, the devourer of knowledge. Mystics can read and influence mortal minds.

The description of each tradition contains a series of magical effects that its practitioners can perform. Each of the traditions is a new skill that must be learned by arcanists, and each skill level allows the practitioner to learn one of the magical effects described in the traditions.

### CASTING ARCANIST SPELLS

Each arcane spell is performed with an appropriate skill check with an opposition that is derived from the base opposition of the spell effect, plus modifiers due to its parameters. Arcanist magic on Oa is a condemned, persecuted, and extremely dangerous practice. Each spell runs the risk of causing the caster's mind to touch the mind of one of the Defiled. Because of this, *all arcane magic cast causes 1 point of mental stress to the caster*.
In addition, if the spell check fails, the spell itself drains the caster's mental strength and sanity, forcing them to take 1 more point of mental stress per difference between the check performed and the spell's opposition . In this case, the spell is still cast, but its effective success shifts are 0.
Attack spells take 1 action to cast. All others require 2 actions.
### GRIMOIRES

Anyone, not just a practitioner, can cast an arcane spell, as long as they have a text that explains how to perform it. Such texts were widely copied and compiled into various grimoires. In possession of such an arcanist spellbook, ordinary individuals can perform forbidden magical effects, for a cost.
Arcanist spells inscribed in spellbooks are not versatile. Its parameters are defined and cannot be modified. Furthermore, if the person casting the spell has no training in that tradition, they must assume 1 point of mental stress per point of opposition the spell has.
Spells cast from scrolls or spellbooks are slower than normal. It takes the character a number of uninterrupted actions equal to the spell's opposition to cast them through a spellbook. Such spells can never be cast as reactions.
After a spell is cast from a text, the text doesn't disappear, and can be used again.
### IDENTIFYING AND ANALYZING SPELLS

Any arcanist, practitioner of any of the traditions, can identify or analyze other spells, whether arcanist or occultist. This effect is not a spell, but an applied knowledge that comes from studying how spells manifest and the signs they leave behind.
Facing an ongoing magical effect, arcanists can attempt to identify its presence on a successful check of any of their magical skills. Occultists are entitled to the same test. This test must have a number of successes equal to or greater than the success shifts of the spell being identified. This identification is quick, and can be done in an action while in combat. Characters only get one such check to identify a spell.
Analyzing a spell in progress is a more time-consuming activity, and requires 10 minutes of studying the spell's effect. On a success, the character learns which spell is in progress and what its parameters are. If the test is made on a magical object, the character also learns how to activate or deactivate it. As with identifications, characters only get one chance to analyze a spell.
### GROUP SPELLS

Multiple people can gather in order to help each other cast arcane spells. They don't need to know the associated magical ability if they're being mentored by an actual arcanist, or if everyone involved can follow instructions from a text.
In a group spell, all participants must assume 1 point of mental stress. If, in addition to the combined stress of the participants, the magic requires a greater expenditure of mental stress, this extra stress can be distributed among the participants as they wish.
### ATTACK SPELLS

Many effects allow the wizard to create magic attacks that can be used in confrontational situations. Attack spells can be cast in two ways: as *direct* or *indirect* attacks.
* ***Direct Attacks***: These are attacks that occur directly inside the bodies of the targets. Examples are making the target's blood burn, or freezing their internal tissues. These effects can affect a target up to 5 hexes away. Armor offers no protection against these attacks. The stress inflicted is equal to half the success shifts, rounded up. Targets of a direct magical attack can resist it using "Physique", whether they are aware of the attack or not.
* ***Indirect Attacks***: These are attacks created close to the arcanist, which are then projected towards the target. Classic examples are balls of fire or electrical bolts that come out of the arcanist's hands. These effects manifest as a short-range attack that can hit a target up to 5 hexes away. Armor protects normally against these attacks, and the stress inflicted equals the obtained success shifts. Targets of an indirect magical attack can defend against it using "Athletics", but only if they are aware of the attack.

Arcanists can alter their attack spells with additional parameters.
* ***Distance***: If the spell needs to affect further distant targets, each additional 5m of distance incurs an opposition of 1 point.
* ***Multiple Attack***: If the spell needs to affect more than one target at the same time, each additional target incurs a 1 point opposition.
* ***Explosive attacks***: If the attack explodes, taking up an entire area of 4 hexes radius, increase your opposition by 1 point.
* ***Enlarged Explosions***: If an explosive attack needs to affect a larger area, every 4 additional hexes of radius increase the opposition by 1 point.
* ***Unstoppable Attacks***: If an *indirect* attack "homes in" on the target so that they can't dodge it, increase the opposition by 2 points. Explosive and unstoppable attacks cannot be parried by any of the targets caught in the area.
* ***Reactions***: The effect can be cast very quickly, in the time of a reaction, by an opposition 2 points higher.
* ***Shapeable***: If the attack covers an area, and the arcanist wishes to remove any target from the covered area, increase opposition by 1 point per target.
* ***Cones***: If the attack needs to shoot out of the arcanist in a 60 degree cone, up to 4m away, increase your opposition by 1 point.
* ***Cutting:*** *Indirect* attacks can be modified to be cutting. Increase opposition by 1 point.
* ***Impaling:*** *Indirect* attacks can be modified to be impaling. Increase opposition by 2 points.

### MAGICAL ASPECTS

Many spells create aspects in their targets. Aspects created by arcane magic are called "magical aspects" and last for one scene. If the target wishes to oppose a spell that creates a magical aspect, its "Will" score is added to its opposition. The arcanist must touch the target to impose a magical aspect on it.
Every target of a magical aspect, whether willing or not, receives 1 point of mental stress *per scene* the aspect is active.
If the arcanist succeeds in their spell by a margin of 1 success or more, the aspect is created with a free invocation. If they succeed by 3 or more, the aspect is created with two free invocations. You cannot create magical aspects with more than 2 free invocations.
The duration of a magical aspect can be changed as described below.
In addition, the following modifiers apply::
* ***Area Aspects***: To create magical aspects in an area, increase the spell's opposition by 2 points. The area covered is equal to 5 hexes radius, or up to the "physical boundary" of the location where the spell is cast.
* ***Extreme Aspects***: Some spells can create extreme aspects. Extreme Aspects are those that, instead of inflicting a bonus or penalty onto a target, affect their very ability to act. Examples are: "Petrified", "Blinded", "Paralyzed", "Asleep", etc. Imposing an extreme aspect increases opposition by 4.

### RESISTING MAGIC

Targets of a spell that causes lasting and/or undesirable modifications can choose to resist them. Resistance to a spell follows the same rules as compelling aspects. When a character is directly affected by a spell, they can choose to accept its effect, and thereby **gain a fate point**, or resist it by **paying a fate point**. The target's "Physique" and "Will" values are not used to determine their magic resistance.

Indirect attack spells are defended with "Athletics", but direct attack spells use these resistance rules.

If a spell is resisted by a character, it still causes mental stress to the caster.

### EQUIPMENT AND MAGICAL FOCUS

Arcanists can use specific focuses or equipment (such as wands or crystal balls) to aid in their spells. For that, the character must have learned to use one of these focuses, which must be specified on the character sheet as one of its aspects. Examples are: "Learned to focus energy through a magic wand", "Extends his concentration by staring at a crystal ball", "Knows how to perfect spells by checking his personal notes", etc.
Arcanists who choose to possess one of these aspects can make a check of one of their magical abilities to create an advantage that grants them free invocations of their magical focus. Aspect can be invoked to give them a +2 on their spellcasting checks.
However, if the arcanist cannot use their magical focus, all their spells are performed at -1, even if they have not created an advantage for their magical focus.
### MAGICAL PROTECTIONS AND INFUSIONS

Spells can protect a target from certain conditions, or infuse a magical effect on objects. Both cases are resolved as magical aspects that affect the target, which last for 1 scene.
Protection spells can consume more than one simultaneous invocation to protect the target from a stronger event.
So, for example, to protect a target from an electrical attack, a protection spell is created that grants it the "electro-negative field" aspect. If this target suffers an electrical attack that causes 4 points of stress, it will need to consume 2 aspect invocations to negate all stress.
In the case of infusions, multiple invocations cannot be used to increase the stress caused. A sword wreathed in flames must invoke its magical aspect once per attack if it wishes to benefit from the +2 bonus.
A magic infusion on an armor (or clothing) can automatically cause stress to whoever is next to the target at the end of their turn, and an infusion on a shield can automatically cause stress on whoever attacks the target and is defended, at every successful defense.
### MAGICAL PARAMETERS

Many spells can be altered by different parameters, which increase their opposition. The magical parameters that can be changed are:
* ***Duration***: Spells normally last for one scene. However, this can be modified if the arcanist wishes:
	+ To last 2 scenes: +1 to opposition.
	+ To last a day: +2 to opposition.
	+ To last a week: +3 to opposition.
	+ To last a month: +4 to opposition.
	+ To last a 3 months: +5 on opposition.
	+ To last a year: +6 to opposition.
	+ To last three years: +7 in opposition.
	+ To last permanently: +8 to opposition and 1 fate point. Such spells must always contain a condition that counters them. This condition must be achievable, even if unlikely. If a condition becomes impossible, or so improbable as to be effectively impossible, the spell ends. For example: “*Petrified until kissed by a virgin*”, “*Will fail in combat until he saves the life of a princess*”, “*Will see the spirit world as long as the caster lives* ”. Very, very unlikely spells are not allowed. For example: “*Turned into an opossum until a meteorite strikes his head*”. While this is in theory possible, it is so, so unlikely that it may be declared, in practice, impossible.

* ***Range***: To change the range of a spell, each change in one of the levels of this parameter must increase the opposition according to its effect. If an arcanist lowers a spell's base range, it doesn't reduce its base opposition.
	+ The spell only affects the arcanist: opposition 0.
	+ The arcanist must touch the target: opposition 1.
	+ The spell reaches 4 hexes away: opposition 2.
	+ The spell reaches anyone who can hear the arcanist cast it: opposition 3.
	+ The spell reaches a target within range of the arcanist's visual range: opposition 4.

* ***Area***: Some spells affect fixed areas. The base size of an area spell is a circle of 4 hexes in radius. Each additional point of opposition can increase the radius of the affected area by 4 hexes.
	+ ***Malleable Area***: The arcanist can remove specific targets from the area at the cost of 1 point of opposition per target.

* ***Speed***: Spells that take 2 actions to cast can be cast quickly, requiring only 1 action for an opposition 1 point higher.
* ***Reaction***: Spells that take 1 action per turn to cast can be performed in the time of a reaction. To cast such a spell in the time of a reaction, increase your opposition by 2.

### THE SORCERERS OF THE ETERNAL STORM

This is the magical tradition linked to storms, lightning, weather and movement. Its practitioners can perform spells that affect the speed of targets, as well as powerful electrical attacks. The name of this magic skill is "***Sorcery***".
Its magical effects are:
* ***Electric Attacks***: Built according to the parameters of attack spells.
* ***Electric Wards and Infusions***: Built according to the parameters of protection and infusion spells.
* ***Acceleration or Deceleration of targets***: Built as magical aspects that make targets faster or slower. Extreme Aspects can paralyze a target or grant it 1 additional action per turn.
* ***Motion of objects over a distance***: This base effect allows a 1 kg inanimate object to be moved at 1 m/s. The object must be within vocal range of the arcanist. Base Opposition: 1. For heavier targets, each point of opposition doubles the weight. For faster movement, each point of opposition doubles the speed, up to a maximum of 64 m/s.
* ***Levitation of Living Beings***: This effect allows a living being weighing 60 kg to levitate at 1 m/s. Affects only the arcanist at its base level. Base Opposition: 2. For heavier targets, each point of opposition doubles the sustained weight. For faster movement, each point of opposition doubles the speed, up to a maximum of 64 m/s. If the target requires support from an external object (such as a rug or broom), the base opposition is 1.
* ***Weather Control***: Allows the wizard to create or disperse weather effects. The base opposition is 1. Creating or dispelling each of these phenomena incurs an additional opposition: Wind (1), Rain (1), Fog (1), Lightning Storm (2), Snow (2). Add a modifier for the strength of the effect created or dispelled: Mild (1), Moderate (2), Strong (3), Torrential (4), Cataclysmic (5). The spell affects the arcanist's entire visual horizon, and lasts for its natural duration. The arcanist can create and dispel the phenomenon, and can control its general direction, but cannot control so much it as to make lightning fall exactly where they want it.

### THE WIZARDS OF THE DARK VORTEX

The wizards are arcanists specialized in illusions, in the control of light, darkness, and the various manifestations of fire. The name of this magic skill is "***Wizardry***".
Magic Effects:
* ***Fire Attacks***: Built according to the parameters of attack spells.
* ***Fire Protections and Infusions***: Built according to the parameters of protection and infusion spells.
* ***Fire Control***: An area spell in which flames can be controlled, created or extinguished. The range up to the area is 4 hexes.
* ***Control of Light and Darkness***: An area spell in which the arcanist can control the intensity and characteristics of light. To create an area of darkness, the opposition is 1 for each action penalty. At -4 the area goes into absolute darkness. This effect can also create magical mirrors or reflections. You can also use this effect on individual objects or targets. The range up to the area is 4 hexes.
* ***Magical Illusions***: The magician creates images that look passably real, being able to deceive people only if seen from a distance or in low light. The size of the image is that of a human being (2x1x1 m), and it increases eightfold for each additional point of opposition. Distance is the arcanist's touch. To create illusions that are perfect, realistic enough to fool anyone, increase the opposition by 2. To create illusions that also have a component of solidity, with 1 point of physical stress, and that can be touched and interact with the world around them, increase the opposition by 2. If the illusion requires self-initiative, increase the opposition by 1. These spells can also be placed on individual targets. This effect can make a target invisible by creating an extreme aspect. Invisible targets are blind.

### THE BLOOD GLACIER TRANSMUTERS

These mages are able to manipulate water and ice. Therefore, they can also alter living bodies, controlling or transforming them. The name of this magic skill is "***Transmutation***".
Transmutation Effects:
* ***Freezing Attacks***: Built according to the parameters of attack spells.
* ***Evaporating Attacks***: These attacks are based on evaporating water suddenly, creating great expansions of steam, true "explosions" without heat. Built according to the parameters of attack spells.
* ***Create Ice or Water***: The arcanist can create ice or water by condensing ambient steam. The volume created depends on the base opposition. Once created, it lasts its normal amount of time until it thaws. This effect can also evaporate the same amount of ice or water.
	+ Objects that can be wielded in combat, such as swords, shields or staves: Base opposition 1.
	+ Large human-sized objects such as doors or armor: Base opposition 2.
	+ Pieces of wall or wall-sized objects such as cabinets: Base opposition 3.
	+ Large objects that would take up an entire room, or many lower-level objects, such as granting a team-wide ice armor: Base Opposition 4.
	+ Large objects such as small huts or small houses, with a complete distribution of rooms: Base opposition 5.
* ***Controlling Living Bodies***: The arcanist is able to create a magical aspect on the target that allows control of one of the target's limbs, or even its whole body through an extreme aspect. The arcanist must touch the target. The arcanist does not gain access to the target's senses, and therefore must maintain eye contact to coherently control the target. For the magical aspect to control an internal organ, increase the opposition by 2.
* ***Metamorphoses***: The target of this effect can have part of their body transformed into something else. Each transformation counts as a magical aspect imposed on the target. Transforming the target's entire body requires an extreme aspect. To mimic a specific person or animal, increase the opposition by 2. In this case, a personal object of the mimicked person is required.

### THE DEAD TREE NECROMANTERS

These are the arcanists who are capable of acting on the bodies of the dead, controlling them, and also causing disease and necrosis of living tissue. They can also affect earth, rocks, metals and objects. The name of this magic skill is "***Necromancy***".
Its effects are:
* ***Necrotic Attacks***: Built according to the parameters of attack spells. However, necromancy can only create *direct* attacks.
* ***Zombies***: The necromancer can raise the dead and order them to do their bidding. Summoning zombies lasts for one scene, but can be made permanent for a base opposition of 3. To raise a second zombie simultaneously, increase the opposition by 1. For a third, increase it by 2, and so on. Zombies normally have 2 layers of physical stress and 10 points in physical skills only. Skeletons have 1 layer of stress and 5 skill points, but the opposition to raising them is half the usual one (rounded up). If a zombie is resurrected very close to the time of its death, it's possible that its brain still retains some of the knowledge it possessed while alive.
* ***Diseases***: The target gains a magical aspect that causes a specific disease. After a full scene of effect, the disease ceases to be magical and becomes real. For very serious illnesses, create an extreme aspect. For contagious diseases, increase opposition by 2. While the arcanist can cause these diseases, they are not immune to them.
* ***Rock and Metal Destruction***: A volume of earth can be destroyed, rock can be broken, and metal can be ruined. The affected volume is an area of 4 m radius for earth, the size of a human being for rock (2x1x1 m), and 10 kg for metal. Each extra opposition point doubles these values. This effect cannot affect gemstones. Metal weapons affected by this effect may lose quality, or be immediately destroyed by an opposition 2 points higher.
* ***Object Control, Repair, and Destruction***: Physical objects can be remotely controlled by the wizard. They must touch the target object. Control can place an aspect on the object that facilitates the use of mundane abilities on the object (such as a lock that gives +2 to attempts to pick it). Extreme Aspects can be used to levitate the object and cause it to act independently (like a sword that fights alongside the arcanist). To repair objects, the opposition is 1. To repair armor, each extra point of opposition restores 1 layer of armor stress. To destroy objects, the opposition is 2. To destroy armor, the opposition is 1 point per armor stress layer.

### THE MYSTICS OF THE LIVING FISSURE

Mystics are the magicians who have learned to penetrate the mind of intelligent beings and manipulate them at will. These spells act equally on people and animals. The name of this magic ability is "***Mysticism***". Mysticism is a magical tradition that offers no magical attack options.
Mystics can perform the following effects:
* ***Magical Control***: The arcanist can create magical aspects in certain areas so that they grant bonuses or penalties to all, or a specific type of spells. Extreme Aspects can completely negate the use of spells. This effect can also be used on individual targets. The arcanist must touch the target. This effect can also hide a spell from other spell detections.
* ***Magical Sensations***: This effect allows you to place a magical aspect on a target that allows them to use one of their physical senses to perceive spells, magical emanations, magical beings, etc. Any sense can be used, but the target's mundane perceptions are subject to a -2 penalty to the sense being used. The created aspect can either sense any emanations or only specific magical characteristics. The broader the sense, the more diffuse the perception. Extreme Aspects can be used to perceive invisible beings.
* ***Mind Reading***: The arcanist can pick up on the surface thoughts of the target. They must touch the target. It is possible to pick up deep thoughts, but the opposition increases by 2. Reading deep thoughts, each success shift allows the arcanist to ask the target's mind a question, the answer to which will be as sincere as the target could give. This effect also allows the creation of magical aspects that increase the chance of mundane abilities such as "Rapport", "Deceive", etc.
* ***Mind Control***: The mystic can create magical aspects in a target's mind that influence them to act in certain ways. Extreme aspects can be used to create irresistible commands. The arcanist must touch the target.
* ***Hallucinations***: This effect allows the arcanist to create a magical aspect that alters a target's perceptions so that they see, hear, or interact with with elements that do not exist. The arcanist must touch the target. The base opposition is 1 for minor hallucinations that only change details. 2 for complex hallucinations such as a whole person. 3 to alter the entire environment perceived by the target. This effect can also make the target think that it has been injured, or that it is dying.
* ***Mind Sensing and Mental Communication***: The arcanist is able to access a target's physical senses. The opposition is equal to the number of senses being accessed. For the duration of the spell, the target's senses will overlap with the arcanist's, so that, for example, to see with the target's eyes they need to close their own, otherwise the overlapping images can be quite confusing. The arcanist can also use this effect to send their thoughts directly to the target's ear, and hear what they say, allowing mental communication from a distance. The arcanist must touch the target.
* ***Distant Sensations***: The arcanist is capable of projecting one or more of their physical senses at a distance, thus seeing, hearing, feeling things that happen far from their location. The base range is 4 m. The opposition is equal to the number of senses being projected. The arcanist must determine the exact distance and direction in which they wish to project their senses. This effect lasts for one scene, during which time the arcanist's own senses are neutralized. For an opposition of 6, the arcanist can project all of their consciousness and even speak at the target location.

### MAGIC STUNTS

These are special magical stunts that arcanist characters can choose from.
* **Analyzer:** Any spell you use to detect, analyze, or identify other spells has a +2 bonus on the casting test.
* **Bifocused Attention:** You can divide your attention into two simultaneous tasks. With this, you are able to sustain two concentration spells at the same time.
* **Split Magic:** You can split your magic fluxes into two flows of equal potency. When casting a spell that affects a predetermined number of targets (ie, non-area spells), you can choose one more target for your spells at -1 to the check.
* **Cryomancer:** You specialize in cold spells. Any of your spells that deal with ice and cold are cast with 1 less opposition (up to at least 1).
* **Electromancer:** You specialize in electrical magic. Any of your spells that deal with electrical bolts are cast with 1 less opposition (up to at least 1).
* **Perfected Magic:** Select a specific effect from a magical tradition. When you cast this effect, you face 1 less opposition (up to at least 1). This has no effect if the spell is already at 0 opposition. This stunt can be selected multiple times. Each time, a different effect must be selected.
* **Subtle Mage:** You specialize in casting spells subtly. Anyone trying to notice that you're casting a spell suffers 2 more points of opposition on their checks.
* **Magic Shaper:** When you cast an area spell, you can always select a target and exclude it from the effect for free.
* **Neutralizer:** You are able to cast any anti-magic spells more easily. You get a +2 to cast spells that counter, cancel, or dispel other spells.
* **Pyromancer:** You specialize in fire spells. Any of your spells that deal with fire are cast with 1 less opposition (down to at least 1).
* **Transcendent Power:** Your magical power transcends the normal limits of magic. You can acquire an additional magical effect for each magical lore ability you possess.
* **Magical Readiness:** When choosing this stunt, select a magical effect. Whenever a conflict begins, your character can cast this magical effect once before the first turn of the conflict.
* **King of the Undead:** You can control more undead than normal. Your opposition to raising undead increments for every 2 undead created, instead of incrementing for every undead as usual.

# THE RELIGIONS OF OA

A thousand years ago all faith on Oa was fractured when God, itself, died. Since then, various other religious institutions have sprung up around the world, each dealing with the death of God in its own particular way.

## THE CHURCH OF RESURRECTION

Resurrectionists believe that Oari, the protector god, can be saved and resurrected. They are the remnants of the ancient religion, which came together a thousand years ago to try to oppose the Enemy in every possible way . Today, the resurrectionist church is the most widespread religion on Oa, and the most influential in the kingdoms that still believe the world can be saved.
Resurrectionists are the main opponents of the enemy, and their Church is the institution that most persecutes their minions, which includes arcanists and anyone who displays aberrations. Not all kingdoms support the resurrectionists' extreme methods, but their results are undeniable. Especially when they are used as a political weapon.
## THE HUMANIST RELIGION

Created as a division of the resurrectionist church in its first centuries of existence, the humanist religion believes that fate of Oa is in the hands of humans, and that it is only up to them to fight and defeat The Enemy. Oari had its chance and missed it. Now, humans must rise up and take their place as the world's leaders, and for that, all existing resources must be utilized.
Humanists recognize the threat and danger posed by arcanists and aberrations, but are much more tolerant of their existence, believing that as long as an individual can fight the Enemy, their aid should be accepted, even if they are close to to falling into monstrosity.
Few nations in the world have declared themselves openly humanist, and the religion is mostly seen as a curious sect. Although the Resurrectionist Church is vehemently opposed to the Humanists, the nations do not have much impetus to assist them in their parallel crusade. Especially when various nobles and leaders secretly believe in humanist ideals.
## THE PROPHETS OF THE ABYSS

If a great cosmic being comes and kills God, wouldn't it, then, be a god itself? The prophets of the abyss believe in submission to the Enemy, and that the best way for humanity to move forward is to stop resisting and simply accept It. Not because it's better than Oari, but simply because it's relentless. After all, it killed Oari. The only reason it hasn't destroyed humanity can only be because it is "giving time" for people to realize its power.
In all civilized kingdoms, the prophets of the abyss are regarded as a criminal and forbidden sect. However, hopelessness is a predominant feeling within Oa's civilization, and prophets have no difficulty finding new believers willing to follow the path of darkness.
# MENTALISTS

All over the world, here and there, very rarely, some individuals start to show strange abilities. They can read other people's minds, move objects with their minds, and sometimes even see the future. They are called "mentalists" and the nature of their power remains unknown. It is not magic, although its effects are clearly supernatural.

Anyone can be a mentalist on Oa. Mentalists follow the rules for Psychic Powers, found **HERE**.

Because they are very, very rare, society at large has had no chance to react to them. In most places, a mentalist can use her powers subtly and maintain a mundane social life if they so choose. Often, the danger of being mistaken for an arcanist is enough for them to hold back on their abilities. However, some people who know of their existence harbor nagging suspicions that the nature of their powers may indicate that they are more present, and in more positions of power, than most realize...

# THREATS OF OA

The following is a brief list of Oa's most well-known creatures and opponents, and which characters can expect to encounter if they decide to venture into the continent's forbidden regions. One of the few constants of The Enemy's minions is the immense variety of abilities and powers they possess, so much so that the statistics below represent only a suggestion rather than an exhaustive guide.

 *Skills:*
Athletics 3
Initiative: 5
Stealth 1
Notice 2
Physique 4
 *Attack Options:*
Bite: 4, crushing, Maximum stress 2.

 *Skills:*
Athletics 4
Initiative: 7
Stealth 4
Notice 3
Physique 5
 *Attack Options:*
Bite: 5, crushing, Maximum stress 2.
Tentacles: 5, crushing, Maximum stress 3.

 *Skills:*
Athletics 6
Initiative: 10
Stealth 2
Notice 4
Fight 6
Physique 7
 *Attack Options:*
Tentacles: 7, crushing, Maximum stress 4.
Weapons: 6

 *Skills:*
Athletics 2
Initiative: 7
Stealth 2
Fight 5
Notice 5
Vigor -
 *Attack Options:*
Panic Touch: 8, Psychic, Maximum stress 1.
Despairing Cry: 8, psychic, area, Maximum stress 1.

 *Skills:*
Some magical skill 8
Fight 7
Physique 6
Notice 6
Initiative: 11
Will 6
 *Attack Options:*
Tentacles: 7, crushing, Maximum stress 6.
Weapons: 7
Some magical attack: 8, crushing, No maximum stress.

 *Armor:* 5
 *Skills:*
Athletics 5
Stealth 2
Initiative: 10
Fight: 7
Notice 5
Physique 6
 *Attack Options:*
Tentacles: 6, crushing, Maximum stress 4.
Claws: 7, cutting, Maximum stress 4.
Weapons: 7

 *Skills:*
Athletics 0
Initiative: 4
Stealth 0
Notice 4
Physique 8
 *Attack Options:*
Deformed limbs: 8, crushing, Maximum stress 3.

 *Armor:* 15
 *Skills:*
Athletics 8
Stealth 4
Initiative: 14
Fight: 8
Notice 6
Physique 7
 *Attack Options:*
Tentacles: 7, crushing, Maximum stress 4.
Weapons: 7
Magic Attack: 6, crushing, Maximum stress 6.

# OA SPECIES

On Oa, the main intelligent species evolved in geographically distinct regions. Thus, each species is predominantly found on one of Oa's continents. Each species grants the player a new stunt specific to that species. This stunt is free and does not count towards the character's 3 stunts limit.

## Humans

The main inhabitants of the continent of Ilith, humans are versatile, adaptable, selfish and known for their endless wars for power. It is a fact known by other species that the greatest ability humans possess is to kill each other in ever more creative ways. Many consider them the most corruptible species in the world, and it is said that for this reason The Enemy chose Ilith as its main theater of war.

Humans also have a predominant adventurous spirit that leads them to inhabit all other continents, and can be found in almost any corner of Oa, even far from their homeland.

Human characters can choose one extra stunt at the start of the game, as long as it is not among those listed in this file, but belongs to the list of Fate Core stunts.

## Elves

Elves are the inhabitants of the continent of Alari, slender, tall, patient and composed individuals who live considerably longer than humans, having a lifespan that can reach up to 400 years (equivalent to 100 human years). Elves are known for their peaceful and philosophical nature, and their propensity to overthink everything they do. Many consider them indecisive and even cowardly, but they simply function on a different timescale than other species.

Elves are a slowly dying species. They say that they came to Oa from another world, where they were all great magical beings, but since they arrived here, in each generation they live a little less, and with less power than before. They believe that the first elves on Oa lived thousands of years ago. It is known that when The Enemy came, their lifespan was 500 years, and that since then it has dropped to 400. One day, invariably, they will simply cease to exist.

Elves do not age like other species. They do not suffer the decrepitude of old age. Instead, their mind and body fails and withers away in a process they call "evanescence", up until one day they lose the very ability to think. When that day comes, they turn into actual trees, and that is how they die. These trees are made of a special wood, called "Ironwood", and it is believed that objects made with this wood contain a piece of the soul of the elf that originated it.

Because their species and culture is dwindling with each generation, elves tend to prefer each other's company. This does not mean that they disrespect other species, although there is institutionalized political prejudice. Their homelands of Alari often receive and welcome immigrants, but although they find a pacifist and orderly society in the elven lands, the elves simply do not accept foreign interference in their way of life and culture, which they take great pains to preserve. Other species cannot participate in the political life of the Alari kingdoms, and they usually don't even live in the same cities as the elves. Despite this, these immigrants are basically free to live as they wish, creating actual parallel governments in the elven lands that intertwine with each other.

Despite Alari being called "the elven lands", the fact is that elves only populate a small area of the continent, and most of Alari remains unexplored. This allowed great magical dangers to settle there, and turned the interior of the continent into an extremely dangerous land, although the presence of ancient ruins also makes it an extremely attractive land for treasure hunters.

Elves are notorious for their mental clarity and universal beauty, and therefore start the game with one of the following extra feats:

***Rational Mind***: You understand yourself and the world much more clearly than most people. You gain 1 extra layer of mental stress.

***Evanescent Nature***: You are slowly losing parts of yourself and your mind. As an elf, you are at least 300 years old. Each game session, you may reduce the level of one of your skills by 1 point and gain that point back to use on other skills.

## Half-Elves

Despite being called a different "species", humans and elves can produce fertile offspring, and from these unions are born half-elves: individuals who live longer than humans, less than elves, and represent a blend of the contemplative nature of elves with the adventurous spirit of humans. Half-elves live up to 200 years (equivalent to 100 human years), and can develop the full range of human personalities. However, they tend to be less violent than humans, and less indecisive than elves.

Whereas both humans and elves suffer from an inherent tendency to be parochial and closed off, half-elves often find it difficult to be fully accepted in both Ilith and Alari. For this reason, they are usually drawn into wandering occupations where they may travel frequently: merchants, mercenaries, artists, assassins, spies, etc.

Half-elf characters start the game with one of the following feats:

***Natural Beauty***: You are considered uncannily beautiful by all intelligent species, and you receive a +1 bonus on "Contacts", "Rapport", "Deceive", "Investigation" and "Provoke" checks, as long as these checks rely on personal interaction with a target.

***Resilient Mindset***: You are able to cling to your sanity and resist mental influences with greater ease. You gain a new mild consequence for mental stress.

***Travelled***: You've been to many places and met many people and cultures. +2 on Lore checks to determine elements related to local or cultural lore.

## Dwarves

Hailing from the continent of Anvilar, dwarves are a short, stocky folk known for their natural resilience as well as their stubbornness and skill in the forge. Dwarves are very fond of engineering, calculus, mathematics, and architecture, such that their buildings are among the largest, most resilient, and most functional in the world.

Dwarves have a somewhat... distinctive reproductive process. They do not reproduce through carnal intercourse. Instead, dwarves create each other by carving new dwarves out of stone. When the sculpture is made by a dwarf, and has the shape of a dwarf, at its completion, a new dwarf comes to life. For this reason, there are no child dwarves. This process, however, can only be performed on rocks extracted from mines in Anvilar. Due to their rocky origin, dwarves live indefinitely, although they *are* organic beings and can die from the same causes as other species.

If a dwarf dies "peacefully", he turns into earth, but if he dies in combat, he turns into a statue made of a shiny silver metal called "Mithril". Invariably, at some point in a their lives, they lose their "will" to live, and start to roam the world in search for death in combat, so that they can turn into Mithril and be taken back to Anvilar, to continue being of use for their brothers. For this reason they have gained a reputation for being quarrelsome, violent and good fighters, although in their homeland they are as varied in temperament as other species.

Like humans, dwarves can be found on many other continents. However, what drives them to travel is not so much an adventurous spirit, but a merchant spirit. The dwarves of Anvilar formed the world's first banks and are still first-class merchants. Despite this, they are also known to have, in recent centuries, loaned without interest or simply given away to the human kingdoms absurd amounts of resources in order to help them resist the Enemy's advances. This has established an ever closer alliance between the two peoples.

Dwarves can start the game with one of two stunts:

***Muscular Resilience***: You are able to lift more weight and carry more load than others. If you have positively encumbrance, your encumbrance is reduced by 2 points to a minimum of 0. This stunt can be combined with "Load Bearer".

***Born Blacksmith***: You are a master and in construction, repair, and metalworking. Your "Crafts" checks to create or repair metallic objects have a +2 bonus.

***Rock Nature***: You can summon your stone origin to protect you in difficult situations. Once per game session, and for 1 fate point, you can make your points of physical stress behave like points of armor stress. This effect lasts until the end of the scene.

## Lyrans

The cat people from the continent of Iruan, Lyrans exist in a culture diverse in both appearance and predisposition. There are five predominant types of Lyrans, and hundreds of variations between these. In general, despite being strong, lean, fast and healthy, Lyrans are so individualistic that they never achieved a reasonable political unification, and their continent remains, to this day, a patchwork of small duchies and kingdoms fighting each other over territory.

Lyrians are fundamentally violent territorialists, such that they are only found far from their homelands if they are absolutely forced to leave them, as political exiles, persecuted criminals, or because they absolutely cannot survive there anymore. Thus, even though they are numerous in Iruan, they are rare in other lands, and generally harbor a melancholic nostalgia for their origins.

Each different race of Lyran folk grants the character a different stunt, but players may opt for one of the following feats, open to all Lyrans, instead of their specific racial stunt:

***Claws***: Attacks that Lyrans make with their bare hands or feet have a maximum stress of 1 point greater, and are cutting. This stunt can be combined with "Tiger Strike" and "Iron Palm".

***Cat's Feet***: Lyrans can fall from great heights without harm, as long as they can twist in mid-air to land on their feet. If they fall up to 50 feet (15 meters), they don't get consequences or any negative modifiers, and any effect gained from the fall counts as a fall 50 feet smaller. They can also jump twice as high and far as other species.

### Lynxians

Lynxians start the game with the following stunt:
***Lynx Eyes***: Lynxians receive +2 on all "Notice" checks where sight or hearing is relevant.

### Tigrani

Tigrani start the game with the following stunt:
***Ambushers***: Tigrani receive +2 on all attack rolls against opponents who have not noticed them, or opponents who have yet to take action in combat.

### Leonids

Leonids start the game with the following stunt:
***Authoritarian Stance***: Leonids gain +1 to any social interaction with people who have a lower social status than their own.

### Panthors

Panthors start the game with the following stunt:
***Night Stealth***: Panthors gain +1 on Stealth or Burglary checks in low-light environments.

# THE STORY OF OA

Before the coming of The Enemy, the world lived in the so-called "Mythic Age". The kingdoms of that time fought among themselves unaware of the danger that lurked them, and religion blindly followed the designs of Oari, the Protector God. Oari lived on the island of Valis-Celestia with its greatest agents, the Grand-Archangels. His five sons, called "The Blessed Immortals" lived on Ilith and acted as Oari's main emissaries.

When The Enemy came, Oari was defeated in its own home after a five-day fight. Valis-Celestia was corrupted and turned into the cursed island of Abys-Maledicto. Soon after, The Enemy itself came to Ilith and slew the blessed Immortals, who became the five anomalies from which The Enemy's power began to spread across Ilith.

## The First Defeats (years 0 to 70)

The first reaction of the kingdoms of Ilith to the coming of the Enemy was, surprisingly, one of complete mutual cooperation. Old wars and feuds were put aside in favor of an unprecedented alliance across the continent. The human kingdoms, united in purpose, attacked the newly formed anomalies with all the might at their disposal. Back then, before The Enemy's influence expanded, there was nothing to oppose them other than the Corrupted Ones themselves.

However, despite all the unified strength of the kingdoms of Ilith, the five Corrupted were not defeated. In fact, they were barely injured at all. All armies sent against them were destroyed, and they remained virtually untouched.

After the first massive defeats of the human armies, the Five Corrupted remained immobile, and in the face of their apparent inaction, the formerly unified kingdoms began a blame game among themselves in an attempt to resolve this diplomatic disaster, or at least maintain what influence they had left.

## The First Forbidding (years 70 to 73)

Seventy years after the arrival of The Enemy, without any kind of warning, the five anomalies in Ilith began to expel large numbers of deformed monsters, mostly constructed from the remains of the soldiers who faced the Corrupted decades ago. This first, major onslaught of The Enemy's forces was later known as the "First Forbidding".

The kingdoms, totally unprepared, were hit hard and lost thousands of people and several cities to the corrupted monsters. Worse than that, the terrain near the Five Corrupted began to change, as if the land itself was being corrupted as well. These lands, where the Enemy's strength had already been definitively established, were called "The Forbidden Territories".

After years of fierce onslaught, suddenly the Forbidding ceased, and the human kingdoms, fractured as they were, were left with more questions than answers.

## The Great Await (years 73 to 210)

All peoples fell into chaos after the end of the first Forbidding. Kingdoms faced popular revolts and fell. Kings were deposed by their generals and the world's borders were rewritten simply because no one knew what was going on anymore. Why did the enemy's Forbidding happen after seventy years? Why did it suddenly stop? And, more importantly, would it return?

Great centers of study were founded and theories were created. Even what was left of the Church of Oari was affected by the first Forbidding, when a splinter sect arose among its members, which would later grow to become the Humanist religion.

Filled with fear and resignation, the kingdoms of Ilith waited for seventy years for a new Forbidding, which did not come. Armies were strengthened, social order was forcibly re-established, new kingdoms arose, and mankind seemed ready to forget that The Enemy existed when, in 210, came...

## The Second Forbidding (210)

Suddenly, once again, hordes and hordes of aberrant monsters poured out of the five anomalies, invading human territories and expanding The Enemy's influence. The armies of the human kingdoms, who now had fought these monsters before, valiantly resisted their onslaught. However, the second Forbidding came considerably stronger than the first, and even with the concerted efforts of all kingdoms, it persevered and expanded the Enemy's domains slowly and gradually.

Until, suddenly, it ceased, and once again the human kingdoms, defeated and demoralized, survived the onslaught of The Enemy without even knowing why.

## The Great Uncertainty (years 214 to 420)

Now, the human kingdoms had no doubt that, sooner or later, a new Forbidding would take place. However, the devastation caused by the second one was extreme, and many believed that the world would not survive a third. Several kingdoms were so fragile that disappeared completely, while others were unified, creating large national blocks. The survivors of the second Forbidding were more than willing to give up their nationality if it meant their survival.

Little by little, the continent was rebuilding itself. All the researchers realized that the second Forbidding had taken twice as long as the first to come, and if the trend were to continue, the third should have taken four times as long, which would put it around the year 490. If, however, it took three times longer, it should happen in 420.

During this period, many expeditions were made in the forbidden territories in an attempt to understand the movements that governed the Forbiddings. However, despite all the sacrifices made at this time, no concrete answer was achieved.

This uncertainty has led nations to argue, disagree, and fail to reach consensus on how to proceed. Thus, time passed, and although the whole society was preparing for The Enemy's next onslaught, when it came, everyone was caught off guard.

## The Third Forbidding (420)

When the anomalies returned to activity in 420, a new movement also began in enemy forces. Until then, they had always attacked with physical forces: monsters and aberrations that could be dealt with swords and spears. However, this time, along with its monstrous strength, a strong mental influence was spreading across the continent. As the forbidden territories advanced, all the people in their vicinity began to suffer from nightmares, headaches, and a sense of indescribable horror. The mental impact was so great that the various troops prepared for the confrontation fell apart as soon as they saw the enemy.

The third Forbidding was the largest and most devastating in history. In it, the forbidden territories had their biggest advance so far, and when it irrevocably ended, everyone had no doubt that if the fourth wasn't stopped, it could mean the end of all human society.

## The Great Preparation (years 423 to 700)

However, the mathematical rule behind the Forbiddings was now known. All the kingdoms knew that the next one would begin in the year 700, and so they began a concerted and cooperative preparation to resist it. For 280 years, forbidden territories were studied, martial techniques were developed, alliances were signed, and a strategic plan was meticulously structured.

During this time, the human kingdoms signed a unification into five distinct blocs, which effectively created five supra-nations on Ilith. When the year 700 arrived, humanity was prepared.

## The Fourth Forbidding (700)

The onslaught of the fourth Forbidding was fierce and horrifying. The amount of monsters that came out of the anomalies was the greatest ever, but for the first time, mortal armies resisted. Years and years of intense battle wore down and practically completely destroyed the human forces. However, despite all the losses, The Enemy's advance was considerably smaller this time.

When the fourth Forbidding ceased, the forbidden territories were littered with corpses. The weakened human kingdoms could not sustain a unified government and fell apart again. This time, The Enemy hadn't won, but neither had the humans.

## The Great Darkness (years 704 to present)

Since the fourth Forbidding, immense pessimism has taken over human society. Even though The Enemy had its advance reduced, it did happen. All the efforts of all human kingdoms could not stop it. Many, since then, no longer believe that it is even possible to stop it.

It was at this time that the sect of the "Prophets of the Abyss" emerged, a defeatist group that believes that accepting The Enemy may be the best path. Even so, the nations that had emerged since the fourth Forbidding, and those that were restructured, resumed with redoubled effort their preparations for the fifth, which will take place in the year 1050.

But the great cooperation between kingdoms is no more, and unless a true miracle happens, the fifth Forbidding has a chance to be even worse than the third.

The year is 997.

## The Enemy's Impact on Other Continents

The Forbiddings were certainly prevalent in Ilith. However, the other continents did not come out unscathed from the influence of The Enemy in these last thousand years.

In Alari, with each new Forbidding the elves have faced an increasingly ferocious and intense number of magical creatures. However, unlike Ilith, when a Forbidding ends, the new magical creatures do not retreat. Thus, with each Forbidding Alari has become a continent more and more dangerous, so much that the elves know that it is only a matter of time before their cities can no longer withstand the attacks of Arandellian magical monsters.

In Anvilar, with each Forbidding a number of constructs have risen from the depths of the dwarves' oldest mines. Sealing these mines doesn't seem to be the best option, as the constructs only break these rocks after they recover. The dwarves have been left with fewer and fewer mines to exploit, and this may eventually put an end to their entire society.

On Iruan, Lyrans face a kind of collective madness with every Forbidding. They haven't had problems with monsters, like other societies, but with themselves. With each Forbidding, randomly, lyrans are taken with an uncontrollable anger and start attacking everything they see. This madness has been growing in intensity with each Forbidding, and the fourth one was so strong that only 20% of all Lyrans survived. This seems to affect even those Lyrans who are not on Iruan when the Forbidding comes.

* There is a **portuguese version** of this document.