The system governing what you can do on your turn. Understanding action economy means knowing how to maximize your effectiveness with the actions available to you.

Advantage

A mechanic where you roll two d20s and take the higher result. Represents favorable circumstances, good positioning, or helpful conditions.

Agility (Draw Steel)

Speed, reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and nimbleness. Used for ranged attacks, acrobatics, and avoiding danger.

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Alchemy (Draw Steel)

Creating and identifying alchemical substances.

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Alertness (Draw Steel)

Noticing threats, ambushes, and subtle environmental changes.

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Ancestry (Draw Steel)

Your character's ancestry, which grants innate traits and ancestry abilities.

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Architecture (Draw Steel)

Understanding and designing structures and fortifications.

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Armor Class (AC)

A defensive stat representing how hard a character is to hit in combat. Attack rolls must meet or exceed the target's AC to deal damage.

Attack Roll

A roll made to determine if an attack hits its target. Compare the result to the target's AC or defense - meeting or exceeding it means you hit and can roll damage.

Attribute

A core stat representing broad innate capability like Strength, Intelligence, or Charisma. Attributes combine with skills or other factors to determine your effectiveness at tasks.

B

Blacksmithing (Draw Steel)

Forging and repairing metal items and weapons.

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Brag (Draw Steel)

Boasting and exaggerating to impress or intimidate.

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C

Campaign

An ongoing series of connected game sessions with the same characters and storyline, often spanning months or years of real-world play.

Career (Draw Steel)

Your character's career before becoming a hero, granting a skill and career-related benefits.

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Character creation step 1 (Draw Steel)

Choose an Ancestry (determines innate traits and ancestry abilities)

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Character creation step 2 (Draw Steel)

Choose a Culture (Environment, Organization, and Upbringing determine languages and skills)

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Character creation step 3 (Draw Steel)

Choose a Career (your life before becoming a hero, grants a career skill)

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Character creation step 4 (Draw Steel)

Choose a Class (your heroic role, determines abilities and features)

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Character creation step 5 (Draw Steel)

Choose a Subclass (specialization within your class)

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Character creation step 6 (Draw Steel)

Choose a Kit (combat loadout that provides bonuses to stats and damage)

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Character creation step 7 (Draw Steel)

Set Characteristics (assign Might, Agility, Reason, Intuition, Presence)

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Character creation step 8 (Draw Steel)

Choose Skills (select trained skills from the skill list)

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Character creation step 9 (Draw Steel)

Calculate Derived Stats (Stamina, Recoveries, Speed, Stability)

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Class (Draw Steel)

Your character's heroic class, defining their abilities, role, and progression.

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Climb (Draw Steel)

Scaling walls, cliffs, and other vertical surfaces.

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Complications (Draw Steel)

Story complications that create drama and provide opportunities for heroic moments.

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Concept (Draw Steel)

A brief concept summarizing who your character is and what drives them.

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Connections (Draw Steel)

NPCs, organizations, and relationships that tie the character to the world.

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Cook (Draw Steel)

Preparing meals and identifying edible substances.

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Craft (Draw Steel)

Creating and repairing mundane items.

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Criminal underworld (Draw Steel)

Navigating criminal networks and understanding illegal operations.

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Critical Failure

An exceptionally bad roll that causes additional negative consequences beyond normal failure. Often dramatic or humorous, representing bad luck or spectacular mistakes.

Critical Success

An exceptionally good roll that grants bonus effects beyond normal success. The definition varies by system but typically represents lucky or spectacular outcomes.

Culture (Draw Steel)

Your character's cultural background, consisting of Environment, Organization, and Upbringing.

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Culture (Draw Steel)

Knowledge of customs, traditions, and social norms of various peoples.

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D

Damage Roll

A roll made after a successful attack to determine how much damage you deal. Add relevant modifiers and subtract from the target's HP.

Dance (Draw Steel)

Performing and understanding dance forms.

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Deceive (Draw Steel)

Lying convincingly and creating false impressions.

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Dice Notation

The standard way to write dice rolls: NdX+M means roll N dice with X sides and add M. For example, 2d6+3 means roll two six-sided dice and add 3 to the total.

Dice Pool

A dice mechanic where you roll multiple dice at once and count successes or take the highest result, rather than rolling a single die and adding modifiers.

Difficulty Class (DC)

A target number that a dice roll must meet or exceed to succeed. Higher DCs represent harder tasks. The GM sets the DC based on circumstances.

Disadvantage

A mechanic where you roll two d20s and take the lower result. Represents unfavorable circumstances like bad positioning, fear, or hindering conditions.

Disrupt magic (Draw Steel)

Interfering with magical effects and enchantments.

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Dress (Draw Steel)

Creating disguises and presenting a particular appearance.

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Drive (Draw Steel)

Operating vehicles and mounts at speed.

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E

Endurance (Draw Steel)

Withstanding physical hardship, fatigue, and environmental effects.

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Engineering (Draw Steel)

Designing and understanding mechanical devices and siege equipment.

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Equipment (Draw Steel)

Weapons, armor, gear, and other items the character carries.

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Experience Points (XP)

A progression currency earned through play and spent to improve your character. Different systems award XP for different activities and spend it differently.

F

Fletching (Draw Steel)

Crafting arrows, bolts, and other projectiles.

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Flirt (Draw Steel)

Using charm and romantic attention to influence others.

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Fudging

When a GM secretly changes dice results to achieve a desired outcome. Controversial - some see it as protecting fun, others as betraying the game's trust.

G

Game Master (GM)

The player who runs the game: describing the world, playing NPCs, presenting challenges, and adjudicating rules. The GM facilitates the story but doesn't 'win' or 'lose.'

Gather rumors (Draw Steel)

Collecting gossip and information in social settings.

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H

Handle animals (Draw Steel)

Calming, training, and communicating with animals.

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Heal (Draw Steel)

Treating wounds and diagnosing ailments.

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Hide (Draw Steel)

Concealing yourself from observation.

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History (Draw Steel)

Knowledge of historical events, civilizations, and figures.

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Hit Points (HP)

A numeric measure of how much damage a character can take before being incapacitated or killed. Damage reduces HP; healing restores it.

Homebrew

Custom content created by GMs or players rather than official publishers. Can include house rules, new classes, monsters, settings, or entire game systems.

I

Initiative

The system for determining turn order in combat or other time-sensitive situations. Higher initiative usually means acting sooner.

Intimidate (Draw Steel)

Using threats and imposing presence to coerce others.

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Intuition (Draw Steel)

Awareness, instinct, reading people, and sensing the supernatural. Used for perception, insight, and healing.

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J

Jump (Draw Steel)

Leaping across gaps and over obstacles.

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K

Kit (Draw Steel)

Your combat loadout, providing bonuses to stamina, speed, stability, damage, and distance.

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L

Lead (Draw Steel)

Inspiring and directing others in coordinated efforts.

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Leather working (Draw Steel)

Creating and repairing leather goods and armor.

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Level (Draw Steel)

Your character's level (1-10).

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Lie (Draw Steel)

Telling falsehoods convincingly under pressure.

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Lift (Draw Steel)

Carrying heavy objects and feats of raw strength.

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Lines and Veils

A safety tool where 'Lines' are content that will never appear in the game, and 'Veils' are content that can happen but will be glossed over (fade to black).

M

Magic lore (Draw Steel)

Knowledge of magical theory, traditions, and arcane phenomena.

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Mechanics (Draw Steel)

Operating, repairing, and sabotaging mechanical devices.

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Medicine (Draw Steel)

Diagnosing diseases and understanding anatomy.

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Metagaming

Using out-of-character knowledge that your character wouldn't have. Often discouraged because it breaks immersion and can feel unfair.

Might (Draw Steel)

Physical power, endurance, and the ability to overpower others. Used for melee attacks, feats of strength, and resisting physical effects.

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Modifier

A number added to (or subtracted from) a dice roll. Modifiers come from attributes, skills, equipment, magic, or situational bonuses/penalties.

Monsters (Draw Steel)

Knowledge of creatures, their weaknesses, and their behaviors.

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Music (Draw Steel)

Playing instruments and performing vocal music.

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N

Name (Draw Steel)

Your character's name.

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Nature (Draw Steel)

Knowledge of plants, animals, terrain, and natural phenomena.

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Navigate (Draw Steel)

Finding your way in unfamiliar territory and reading maps.

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Non-Player Character (NPC)

Any character in the game world controlled by the GM rather than a player. NPCs can be allies, enemies, or neutral parties the players interact with.

O

One-Shot

A self-contained adventure designed to be completed in a single session, often with pre-made characters. Great for trying new systems or one-time events.

P

Party

The group of player characters adventuring together. Parties often have a mix of roles (combat, healing, skills, magic) and a reason to stick together.

Percentile (d100)

A dice mechanic where you roll two d10s as a number from 01-100 and succeed if you roll equal to or under your skill rating. Lower rolls are better.

Perform (Draw Steel)

Acting, oratory, and putting on a show.

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Persuade (Draw Steel)

Convincing others through reasoned argument and diplomacy.

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Pick lock (Draw Steel)

Opening locks without the proper key.

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Pick pocket (Draw Steel)

Stealing items from others without being noticed.

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Player Agency

The players' ability to make meaningful choices that affect the game world and story. Good games give players agency while still presenting interesting challenges.

Player Character (PC)

A character controlled by a player (as opposed to NPCs controlled by the GM). PCs are the protagonists of the story.

Presence (Draw Steel)

Force of personality, leadership, charm, and intimidation. Used for social interactions, inspiring allies, and commanding attention.

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Proficiency

A bonus added to rolls for skills, tools, weapons, or saves your character is trained in. In 5e, proficiency bonus scales with level from +2 to +6.

Psionics (Draw Steel)

Knowledge of psionic phenomena and mental powers.

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R

Railroading

When a GM forces the story along a predetermined path regardless of player choices. Generally considered poor practice because it removes player agency.

Read person (Draw Steel)

Detecting lies, reading body language, and gauging intentions.

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Reason (Draw Steel)

Logic, memory, deduction, and technical knowledge. Used for recalling lore, crafting, and problem-solving.

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Recoveries (Draw Steel)

The number of times you can recover stamina during a rest or through abilities.

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Religion (Draw Steel)

Knowledge of deities, religious practices, and divine phenomena.

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Ride (Draw Steel)

Riding and controlling mounts.

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Roleplaying

Speaking and acting as your character, making decisions based on their personality, goals, and knowledge rather than your own. The 'RP' in TTRPG.

Rumors (Draw Steel)

Evaluating the truthfulness and importance of gossip.

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Run (Draw Steel)

Sprinting and maintaining speed over distance.

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S

Sandbox

A play style where the GM creates a world with locations, factions, and situations, but the players choose what to engage with. The story emerges from player choices rather than a pre-planned plot.

Saving Throw

A roll made to resist or avoid harmful effects like spells, traps, poison, or environmental hazards. Success typically reduces or negates the effect.

Search (Draw Steel)

Finding hidden objects, secret doors, and concealed items.

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Session

A single play meeting, typically lasting 2-5 hours. Sessions may be standalone or part of an ongoing campaign.

Session Zero

A pre-campaign meeting where players and GM establish expectations, discuss themes and boundaries, create characters together, and align on the type of game everyone wants to play.

Skill

A learned capability representing training or experience in a specific area, like Stealth, Persuasion, or Medicine. Skills usually combine with attributes to determine success.

Sneak (Draw Steel)

Moving silently and avoiding detection.

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Speed (Draw Steel)

The number of squares you can move on your turn. Modified by ancestry and kit.

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Spotlight

The narrative focus on a particular character at a given moment. Good GMs share the spotlight so everyone gets moments to shine.

Stability (Draw Steel)

Your resistance to forced movement. Higher stability means you're harder to push, pull, or knock down.

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Stamina (Draw Steel)