Frequently Asked Questions

■■■ Q: What dice and what kinds of rolls are used in THE AXIS? THE AXIS uses a wide variety of polyhedral dice, from d2 to d100. Reflecting the chaos and unpredictability of battle while also serving speedy game resolutions, combat rolls are d20-based, which has a less predictable distribution of results. Skills and most regular checks have more stable and predictable results, using pools of dice, most commonly 3d6, though variations apply at the extremes: below average or above-human Attributes will change the die (3d4, 3d8, 3d10…), while very high levels of Skill may increase the number of dice rolled (4d6, 5d6…). ------------------------------------

■■■ Q: How does the system modulation in THE AXIS work? Many sections of the book, mainly those containing rules and game mechanics, include an option to simplify whatever is being discussed in the section, and an option to make it more detailed. Take, for instance, damage and vitality: the standard rules separate Vitality in: ▪ Life, which is the character’s physical condition; ▪ Mind, the character’s mental condition; ▪ and (for non-realistic genres) Energy, a pool of “heroic” vitality points that shields both Life and Mind, absorbing damage before these are affected. Having Life or Mind stat reduced by damage has consequences, such as impaired movement, reduced cognition... The simplified option fuses Life, Mind, and Energy into a single vital stat, the “Hit Points”. Having reduced Hit Points may or may not hinder characters (and creatures), the former case applying if the GM still wishes to maintain a hint of realism in this simpler modulation. Otherwise, he simply treats HP as binary: standing (1 or more HP) or fallen (0 or fewer HP). In more detailed modulations, optional mechanics for more serious and realistic damage consequences such as shock, bleeding, and others are offered. ------------------------------------

■■■ Q: What are the characters' attributes in THE AXIS? THE AXIS has, in its standard modulation, eight Attributes for player characters, divided in: ● Physical Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution; and Athletics (the latter deriving from an average of the other three). ● Mental Attributes: Intelligence, Awareness, Charisma; and Psyche (the latter deriving from an average of the other three). In lighter modulations of the system, the eight Attributes can be condensed into six, five, four, three, or two Attributes, better suiting some gaming styles and genres. This is done by simply merging two or more Attributes. For example, Strength and Constitution merge into “Might”, Intelligence and Awareness merge into “Insight”, all four mental Attributes merge into “Mind”… The system’s rules and mechanics easily comport with these variations. As an optional, more detailed variation, the eight original Attributes can be expanded, specifying three individual aspects of each. For example, the three aspects of Charisma are “Appeal”, “Leadership”, and “Manipulation”; hence, if the player wants his character to be an unpleasant-looking natural leader, he simply reduces the “Appeal” and increases the “Leadership” aspects. The same is true for other Attributes. ------------------------------------

■■■ Q: Action economy: how to perform actions in THE AXIS? For scenes in which there is no urgency involved, players may describe their character’s actions freely, as long as it makes narrative sense (and as long as they don’t talk over each other). The GM can easily arbiter this, giving time for each player to play out his/her character’s actions in a way that corresponds to what they’re doing. In action scenes, THE AXIS uses turn-based rules, in which each individual involved in a scene acts on his/her turn with a limited number of actions. In any given round, these are: ▬ one main action, plus one secondary action, plus one minor action, plus any number of free actions (within reason). Or instead, a full action can be taken in place of both the main and the secondary action in the round, with a minor action and free actions still allowed. Examples of actions: ● FREE Actions: passive defense, passive perception, making a Ward check, speaking, looking around casually... ● MINOR Actions: plodding (half movement), jumping, tossing a weapon to an ally, cocking a gun… ● SECONDARY Actions: walking (normal movement), using or activating a simple item or mechanism, maintaining concentration, picking up an object in the belt, handing someone an object already at hand… ● MAIN Actions: attacking, running (doubled movement), active defense, active perception, using instantaneous skills, special abilities, magic, miracle, or powers, reloading a gun with a light magazine, drinking a potion already at hand, using a magical item, activating a mechanism, standing up after falling (or being knocked) down, picking up a fallen object… ● FULL Actions: sprinting (tripled movement), running and attacking in the same round, using an ability that takes 1 round or longer to activate, aiming, using a full-round skill, special ability, magic, miracle, or power, picking up an object in the backpack, switching weapons, donning clothes or armor, full attack or full defense… ▬ TRIUMPH Actions (optional): reserved for more fantastic and heroic genres, these are a group of special actions granted by Standing, which can be taken in addition to the regular actions above (in the same round), possibly interrupting and countering the actions of others. However, they can only be used a limited number of times. ------------------------------------

■■■ Q: How does combat work in THE AXIS? THE AXIS has several optional mechanics to enrich the combat experience, such as shifting momentum, counterattacking, finishing moves, dueling, and others; as well as options to simplify combat, such as simultaneous rounds, cinematic brawl, and more. At its core, however, combat in THE AXIS follows standard turn-based attack vs. defense: 1) Initiative: roll 1d20 and add the “Initiative” stat, the side that scores higher gets to act first. 2) Attacking: whether or not an attack hits is determined by the attacker rolling the attack di(c)e (either 1d20 or 2d10) + the “attack roll modifier” (ARM) stat. The result must meet or surpass the defender’s Defense stat in order for the attack to hit. 3) Dealing damage: if an attack hits, damage is determined by rolling damage die (or dice) plus modifier (if applicable). The result is reduced by the defender’s damage reduction (if applicable), and the remaining damage is dealt to his vitality. Pretty standard stuff. ------------------------------------

■■■ Q: How do skills work in THE AXIS? Skill checks are made using a pool of dice (usually 3d6), adding modifiers from Attribute and number of ranks. The levels of proficiency typically range from 1 (novice) to 5 (expert), though higher levels are attainable: 6 ranks (master), 7 ranks (grandmaster)… and possibly beyond. Four lists of skills are offered, with the GM adopting the one that best fits the genre/setting of the game he intends to run. Generally, reality-oriented games benefit from an extensive set of specific skills, while more fantastic or heroic games are better served by a condensed set of skills with broader utility. The four lists are: ● The Full Set of Skills, containing a few hundred skills, each specific in its application. For example, driving a car is different from driving a truck (though they are related and knowing one allows a fair attempt at the other). ● The Compiled Set of Skills, grouping together similar or related skills. For example: firing a handgun and firing a shotgun use the same Skill. ● The Reduced Set of Skills, listing only a few skills with very broadened application. For example, acrobatics, balance, climbing, jumping, running, and swimming are all categorized within the “Athleticism” Skill. ● The Minimum Set of Skills, presenting the bare minimum number of skills, each with ultra-broadened application. ------------------------------------

■■■ Q: How does magic work in THE AXIS? In THE AXIS, “Magic” is one of three “Realms of the Supernatural”, the others being “Divinity” and “Psionics”. Superpowers also exist in the system, however, they do not fit the concept of “supernatural”, being described elsewhere. Each of the three Realms has particular ways of manifesting in reality and its own internal rules and subdivisions. For example, Magic is divided in High, Low, White, Grey, and Black Magic, with combinations among them originating different “Streams of Magic”, such as Illusion, Incantation, Necromancy, Metamagic, and others. Within each Realm, the “Supernatural Mediums” are what actually define the relationship of an individual with the supernatural forces. For example, practitioners of Formulaic Magic, Ritualistic Divinity, Ego Magic (“Sorcery”), Pact Magic (“Witchcraft”), Ego Psionics, Instrumental Divinity, and others, all handle the supernatural differently. In THE AXIS, “Magic” itself has two different systems: •spellcasting•, based on vancian magic in which each spell has a singular and unchanging effect; and •magic-wielding•, unleashing magic surges that can be molded at the magic user’s will. ------------------------------------

NOTABLE CHARACTER FEATURES

CHARACTER POINTS (CPs): The “currency” used by player characters to purchase positive traits such as high Attribute Scores, Talents, Skill Ranks, Social Assets, and whatnot. The initial number of CPs is determined by the GM upon character creation, and more can be gained by acquiring negative traits such as low Attribute Scores, Hindrances, Social Handicaps, and others. Further CPs are awarded to player characters as they advance in their in-game endeavors.

STANDING ([S]): Akin to "level", Standing is an optional feature that reflects an individual’s station on a hypothetical cosmic ladder of greatness. For player characters, it's complementary to character points, granting special traits and abilities and the possibility to evolve, i.e.: to climb the cosmic ladder of greatness.

Standing is a feature reserved for fantastic and heroic gaming genres, and if it’s in play, the starting Standing is determined by the GM. Player characters can evolve by achieving certain milestones set in a campaign.

STANDING

SPECIES & ARCHETYPES: Besides humans, which exist in pretty much every genre and setting, available species are divided by broad genres: FANTASY, including dwarves, elves, orcs, half-elves, gnomes, dragonkin, and many others; SCI-FI, including genetically engineered humans, mutants, aliens, and others; DIVINITY & OCCULT, including angels, demons, werewolves, vampires, undead; SUPERHEROES, including altered humans, mutants, tech humans, and others.

Archetypes are much like “character classes”, however they are entirely optional for player characters. Divided in two generic genres/settings: MEDIEVAL FANTASY, including ranger, paladin, magic user, druid, different styles of warriors, and others; and MODERN & FUTURISTIC, including gunslinger, hacker, hustler, soldier, urban samurai, and others.

In THE AXIS, archetypes bundle related character traits and give a discount in CPs to acquire them, in additional to granting some special (and maybe supernatural) abilities. For example, the barbarian archetype groups several thematic Talents, Skills and combat options (such as Hardiness, Survival, Tracking…), in addition to granting the “Battle Frenzy” special ability. Since the archetype itself is optional, special abilities related to archetypes, such as a knight’s “Bonded Steed”, a rogue’s “Swindle”, a bard’s “Storytelling”, can be acquired independently, by spending their corresponding CPs.

Species & Archetypes

ATTRIBUTE SCORES (AS): The core physical and mental qualities of individuals. The scores are categorized in tiers, which are: Micro Tier, Human Tier, Above Tier, Grand Tier, Supreme Tier, Beyond Tier.

In the full modulation of the system, there are eight Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution, Athletics, Intelligence, Awareness, Charisma, and Psyche. As an optional feature, for a more thorough representation, each Attribute can be divided in sub-Attributes; for instance, Agility is divided in "Balance", "Dexterity", and "Reflex".

In simpler modulations of the system, the eight Attributes can be condensed into six, five, four, three, or two Attributes, better suiting some gaming styles and genres. This is done by simply merging two or more Attributes. For example, Strength and Constitution merge into “Might”; Intelligence and Awareness merge into “Insight”; all four physical Attributes merge into “Body”… The system’s rules and mechanics easily comport with these variations.

Attribute Tiers

SKILLS: The learnable skills used to perform most feats and actions, such as combat, social interactions, trades, and general knowledge.

In the full modulation of the system, a thorough list with hundreds of skills is offered, each skill having its specific functionality. In lighter modulations, related skills are grouped, with leaner lists provided to simplify the choice. Example: in the full modulation, the skill “Anatomy” is its own skill; in a lighter modulation, it’s part of the “Biology” skill, which has a broader scope (including Botany, Genetics…); in an even lighter modulation, it’s subsumed by the even broader “Life Sciences” skill (which also includes Biochemistry, Neuroscience…); and in the lightest modulation of the system, it’s under the “Hard Sciences” skill, which covers all hard sciences and its broadened uses (Earth, Life, Physical Sciences, Medicine, Survival…).

TALENTS & HINDRANCES: Talents are general advantageous traits, divided in: Physical (ambidexterity, heightened sense, toughness…); Social (leadership, inconspicuous presence, sex appeal…); Mental (bravery, iron will, light sleep…); Supernatural (danger sense, luck, animal affinity…). Hindrances are general disadvantageous traits, divided in: Moral (code of honor, devotion, penitence…), Physical (blindness, disabilities, noisy…), Mental & Social (anger, paranoia, split personality…); Supernatural (bad luck, curse, possession…).

SOCIAL ASSETS & HANDICAPS: Wealth, fame, status, connections, employment, military ranks, allies, enemies, dependents, obligations, social liabilities, and anything else related to the character’s social interactions in the world.

SPECIAL ABILITIES, SUPERNATURAL ABILITIES, AND SUPERPOWERS: Distinct abilities possessed by individuals (player characters, NPCs, creatures…).

Special abilities are those that may “bend” the normal rules of engagement: combat, social, or other. Examples are the archetype special abilities (Bardic Knowledge, Battle Frenzy, Knightly Valor, Familiar Biomes, Enemy Species…), exceptional combat moves (Sneak Attack, Spin Attack, Weapon Artistry…), and many others.

Supernatural abilities are those that bend the laws of the universe, originating from one of three realms: The Arcane Realm of Magic, The Numinous Realm of Divinity, and The Innermost Realm of Psionics. Each of them functions in its particular ways and alter the world in peculiar fashions. Magic in THE AXIS is split in two distinct systems: Spellcasting (based on the concept of Vancian magic) used by mages, artificers, and others; and Magic-Wielding, in which magical effects are moldable, used by sorcerers, weavers, and others. Divinity is both the essence and the product of the deities in THE AXIS' omniverse. Psionics are their own distinct form of supernatural abilities, deriving from the mind.

Superpowers are those possessed by super beings, mostly present in the “Superheroes” genre. They are generally unlimited in their use, varying more in level of power than any other ability-related feature. Some superpowers produce faint breezes, while others explode stars or entire galaxies.