When you act, you apply Effort. Effort measures progress toward any goal.
Breaking open a locked chest. Navigating a deadly storm. Convincing a harbormaster to look the other way. Taking down a rival captain.
When enough Effort is applied, the thing is done.
🟩 Roll a 6: apply 1 Effort.
🟨 Roll a 4–5: apply 1 Effort, but pay a price. The GM picks one: mark a Condition, raise Trouble, lose position or gear, or face a hard choice.
🟥 Roll 1–3: no Effort. The GM makes it worse: Trouble rises, danger hits, or the situation shifts against you.
When Effort lands on something living, use Conditions instead. They tell the story better.
Tangled
Blinded
Thrashing
The kraken doesn't have 3 Effort against it. It's Tangled, Blinded, and Thrashing. Same thing. Better words.
For player characters, mark a Condition whenever something harms you physically, mentally, or emotionally. Name it together. Bleeding. Shaken. Humiliated. Cornered.
♥ Four Conditions full means you're out of the scene. The GM and you decide what that looks like.
Conditions are their threshold before they fall. Click a foe to land hits:
No Conditions. 1 Effort drops them.
1–2 Conditions before they fall.
3–4 Conditions before they fall.
For big threats, the GM can name their Conditions before the fight starts. A sea dragon might have: Armored Scales, Fire Breath, Iron Wings. Players know what they're up against. They choose what to strip away first.
For everything else, name Conditions as Effort lands. The GM describes what changes. Players can suggest. GM has final say.