Chapter 1: Setting

Hecate and the Accords

Hecate was a powerful mage in the classical age who bartered an agreement yadda yadda.

Creatures

Archtype Abilities

• Starting Experience: 100
• Reanimated: As a reanimated corpse, Revenants have several quirks, some beneficial and some detrimental. Your character does not recover wounds through natural rest, but they add bb to any medical check to heal them (they don't flinch). Your character also doesn't need to eat, breathe, or sleep.
• Dead Nerves: Your character removes bb added to any checks they make due to fatigue or injuries (including Critical Injuries)

Archetype 2: Werewolf

Werewolves yadda yadda.

Step 3: Choose a Career

Choosing your career is a bit different than the core rule book. In the core book, they attempt to consider what careers may exist and assign them skills. In the real world though, a person learns a multitude of various skills in their lifetime, and have natural tendencies for certain types of learning. To model this effectively, there will be no predefined careers for this setting. Instead, each character's career will be created with the rules outlined here.

First, select 8 Career Skills. No more than 4 of these skills can utilize a single Characteristic, and no more than 3 may be combat and/or magic skills. Choose 4 different skills from the Career skills you chose to gain a free rank in. Note, just as in the core rules, you cannot have any skill start above rank 2. Finally, you can choose a name for your Career representative of your background or profession.

Steps 4, 5 and 6: Experience, Attributes, and Motivation

There is no change to these steps - you may spend experience just as in the core rule books (though you are encouraged to look at all the new talents available Genesys Talents Expanded - please just check with me before choosing one, though most will be fine.)

Derived attributes are still calculated the same way, and each character should determine all of their Motivations. You are free to create your own motivations using the existing ones as a guideline.

Step 7: Choose Gear, Apperance, and Personality

In addition to the normal steps of choosing your starting gear, appearance, and personality here, you should also assign your Wealth Points. For more information about Wealth Points, refer to chapter 8. This is also the stage where you should select your character's ** Heroic Ability ** and Theme Music (see Chapter 9).

I have attempted to make a fairly extensive list of gear and equipment, but its impossible to list out everything you might buy. If there is some tool, weapon, armor, equipment, etc that you want but is not listed, please just let me know and I will create the stats for you.

CHAPTER 3: SKILLS

This setting will use its own custom skills list, drawing most skills from among those in the core rule books.

It is recommended that your Character Sheet reflect the skills available in the setting to prevent confusion during play.

Dreaming (Cunning)

The Dreaming skill represents the ability to tap into the natural energies that infuse most worlds and the Fae. Often viewed as primitive yet elegant, dangerous yet beautiful. Dreaming magic can be incredibly powerful, as it draws on the life-force of every living thing around you, and on the Dreaming Dark itself.

Faith (Willpower)

So-called "faith magic” is the ability of priests, holy warriors, and their like to produce miraculous effects by invoking or channeling the power of their deity or faith. For many practitioners, this is completely different from magic, but many others see little practical distinction between the alleged sources of the wondrous effects worked by mages and priests.

Lore (Intellect)

Lore covers knowledge of things that are not taught in school, things that only the Woken would understand. It is the knowledge of all things supernatural.

CHAPTER 4: EQUIPMENT

Iron

Iron is not as strong or workable as steel, but it is cheaper to make. In addition, iron weapons are rumored to have special effects on certain otherwordly foes, such as the Fae.

Armor: Increase the armor’s encumbrance value by 2. In addition, your character adds b to Athletics, Coordination, Riding, and Stealth checks they make while wearing this armor.
Weapon: Increase the weapon’s Critical rating by 1.
Price: Cost x ½.
Rarity: –1.

Weapons

Armor

Potions and Elixers

Unless stated otherwise, consuming a potion or elixir (or administering one to an engaged character) is a maneuver and consumes the item in the process. The effects of multiple doses of the same potion do not stack.

Some alchemists and herbalists produce highly specialized potions for sale, and such items vary greatly in quality, potency, and safety. Some potions are simply too rare to be purchased like ordinary goods.

Table 4-7: POTIONS AND ELIXERS

Bottled Courage

Bottled courage is usually nothing more than a stiff measure of alcohol mixed with a concoction of stimulating herbs and mushrooms. The imbiber becomes heedless of danger and immune to sights and experiences that might otherwise leave them traumatized.

When your character uses bottled courage, they upgrade Discipline checks made to resist fear and Coercion once until the end of the scene or encounter.

Health Elixer

Health elixirs are the most common potions created by apothecaries. They imbue the taker with feelings of warmth and nourishment and are used to ward off illness. They do not actually heal injuries, although they can help comfort and stabilize an injured individual.

A health elixir is a painkiller, as described on page 116 of the Genesys Core Rulebook.

Immunity Elixer

Immunity elixirs are concocted to act as antidotes to a wide variety of common poisons and diseases. Once a person has imbibed an immunity elixir, they will not as easily succumb to the disease or poison it is designed to counteract for a short period of time thereafter.

Using an immunity elixir immediately nullifies any mundane poisons or toxins currently afflicting your character (some magical or otherwise extraordinary poisons might not be affected, at the GM’s discretion).

In addition, for the rest of the encounter or scene, your character upgrades Resilience checks made to resist poisons and toxins twice.

Invisibility Potion

Potions such as the fabled invisibility potion blur the line between the scientific craft of the alchemist and true magic. In this case, the ingredients (razor-sharp strands of silk from shadowlurker spiders, the crystalline herb avathian, and a puff of elemental air) are certainly magical, even if the process of combining them is not. In any case, consuming the potion renders the user completely invisible to the unaided eye.

When your character imbibes an invisibility potion they become invisible for 3 rounds. During this time, your character cannot be seen and casts no reflection or shadow. They produce noise, smells, and so on as usual, and they have a physical presence. An invisible character may also be detected through magical means. An invisible character benefits from concealment worth +4 dice (see the Concealment section on page 110 of the Genesys Core Rulebook).

Poison

Every culture in the world and Dreaming Dark has its own poisons, ranging from abundant botanical extracts to refined alchemical potions. Most are easy to use, if not easy to obtain.

Your character can apply poison to a target’s food or drink, in which case the target suffers the effects when they ingest it. Poison can also be applied to smokebombs or other items at your GM’s discretion. As a maneuver, it can also be applied to a weapon with a sharp point or edge, such as a dagger or arrow, that can induce the poison into the target’s bloodstream. If applied to a weapon, the first successful hit that deals at least one wound causes the target to suffer the effects of the poison. Once the poison has affected one target, it is depleted and another dose must be applied.

Characters affected by poison or within a poison cloud must make a Hard (ddd) Resilience check as an out-of turn incidental or suffer 4 wounds (not reduced by soak) plus 1 strain per h. You or your GM can spend d on the check to inflict a Critical Injury or to force the target to repeat the check at the beginning of their next turn, as the poison continues to wrack their body.

Power Potion

Power potions are similar to speed potions, save that they increase upper body and core strength in particular. Those who imbibe power potions are better able to strike and block blows. Feats of strength, such as hefting weights and shifting objects, are also facilitated through the use of a power potion.

When your character uses a power potion they increase their Brawn by 1. This effect lasts until the end of the encounter or scene. If your character’s Brawn is already 5, they instead add bb to all checks using Brawn. When the potion wears off, your character suffers 6 strain.

Protective Tonic

Protective tonics imbue the drinker with reserves of physical and psychological resilience. They do this through mildly soporific effects that deaden pain and increase feelings of well-being. They also have an effect on the body, shrinking the capillaries near the skin’s surface to reduce bruising and bleeding, and speeding the clotting process.

When your character imbibes a protective tonic they gain +1 soak for your character's next three turns.

Regeneration Elixer

Regeneration elixirs help heal injuries. They take the form of a drink to be taken orally or a poultice to be applied to the wounded area. The elixir causes torn flesh to knit back together and broken bones to fuse. Even internal wounds can be cured by regeneration elixirs.

When your character uses a regeneration elixir they make a Simple (–) Resilience check, healing 1 wound for each s and 1 strain for each a. You may spend t to repeat the check at the start of your character's next turn, as the elixir continues to accelerate their healing.

Smokebomb Vial

Smokebomb vials contain yet smaller vials that each hold different concoctions. When the vials are broken the various chemicals mix to produce a cloud of thick, choking fog. The fog is not harmful (unless treated with poison), though it is unpleasant to be caught within and is impossible to see through.

As a maneuver, a character can throw a smokebomb vial at a point within short range. Upon impact, the vial shatters to create a thick smoke screen large enough to conceal a single character and other characters engaged with the target. The smoke screen provides concealment worth +2 dice (see the Concealment section on page 110 of the Genesys Core Rulebook).

Speed Potion

Speed potions affect the muscles of the drinker, especially those used for running and other forms of movement. Once a speed potion is taken, the imbiber is better able to sprint for a short period. Speed potions allow for short and immediate bursts of top performance. Some people have been known to combine stamina elixirs and speed potions for longer periods of high performance. The morning after can only be described as truly nightmarish.

When your character imbibes a speed potion they gain one additional maneuver during their turn. While under the effects of a speed potion, your character can perform a maximum of three maneuvers in a turn, rather than two. A speed potion lasts for your character's next three turns, after which your character suffers 6 strain.

Stamina Elixer

Stamina elixirs can be taken to provide the patient with a feeling of improved vitality. When a stamina elixir is drunk, the imbiber benefits from increased reserves of energy over a lengthy period. It ought to be mentioned that hangovers from stamina elixirs can be particularly dire.

When your character uses a stamina elixir they immediately heal 5 strain. Each subsequent elixir used in the same day heals 1 less strain, so that the sixth elixir (and further) has no effect. After one day, the lingering effects of the stamina elixir wear off, and your character may again use a stamina elixir to full effect.

Magic Implements

Magic, as with any other skill, can be augmented and enhanced by various items. You may recognize them as magical staples such as staffs, wands, and orbs. We call them magic implements, and they’re a type of equipment.

The each have various effects on spells, increasing the range of a spell, or reducing the difficulty of certain types. Most increase the damage of Attack spells as well.

There are two hard-and-fast rules when it comes to using magic implements, however. The first is that your character can only benefit from one implement at a time. So, if your character has an orb and a wand, for example, they choose which one to use when casting a spell. The second is that holding an implement does not impose b on your character’s magic skill check for not having their hands free.

Table 4-8: Magic Implements

*=Can only be selected once

Aquiring an Implement

Magic Implements can almost never be purchased. When creating a character, you may use your starting XP to purchase one like normal, but once play begins they must normally be crafted using the rules in Chapter 7. Magic Implements have a base rarity of 3, and this is increased by 2 for each characteristic selected, up to 10 though each negative qualitie reduces the rarity by 1 instead.

Each Arcane Tradition uses its own type of Implements, and so if you aquire a foe's Implement in the course of play it may or may not be useful to you (or anybody else). See Chapter 6: Magic for more info.

Armor and Weapon Enchantments

Item attachments follow the rules on page 206 of the Genesys Core Rulebook. Enchantments are attachments that are magical in nature. Enchantments follow the normal rules for attachments but are generally much harder to obtain, as they can only be “installed” by someone with magic ability. Additionally, characters with magic skills may be able to detect the presence of enchanted items. The following new attachments are available to characters in the Miami by Night setting. Appropriate attachments from the Genesys Core Rulebook are available as well.

Armor Enchantments

TABLE 4-8: WEAPON ATTACHMENTS

Frost

This runic inscription coats the weapon with icy chill that saps strength from those it strikes.
Use With: This attachment can be applied to any melee weapon.
Modifiers: The weapon gains the Ensnare 1 and Stun 4 item qualities.
Hard Points Required: 1.

Thunder

When its weapon strikes a foe, this rune carving flashes white like a bolt of lightning. The deafening boom of thunder comes a half-second later, staggering the foe with concussive force.
Use With: This attachment can be applied to any weapon.
Modifiers: The weapon gains the Concussive 1 item quality.
Hard Points Required: 2.

Severing

A sword or knife with this rune inscription unerringly seeks out a foe’s vitals for a killing blow. When an enemy falls gasping to the floor, the rune glows faintly with a deep crimson hue.
Use With: This attachment can be applied to any bladed melee weapon.
Modifiers: The weapon gains the Vicious 5 item quality.
Hard Points Required: 2.

Corrupted

Pacts with dark powers may confer baleful powers unto otherwise mundane weaponry. Demons can infuse nearly any weapon with a measure of their unnatural strength…for a price.
Use With: This attachment can be applied to any weapon.
Modifiers: The weapon increases its base damage by 2; whenever your character suffers strain while wielding or wearing this weapon, they increase the strain suffered by 1.
Hard Points Required: 1.

Woundrous Magic Items

A woundrous magic item is one of those rare objects that possess magical properties, whether as the result of a Fae spell worked into the item, a runic inscription, or some other form of enchantment. Some magic items are the intentional creation of a wizard or other crafter, while others might have developed their power through exposure to arcane energies, proximity to great events, or even stranger ways. No matter their origins, magic items—even those that produce similar effects—are each a unique wonder of the world. Magic items are almost never offered for sale and cannot be crafted except through exceptional narrative events.

Chapter 5: VEHICLES

Vehicles will play an important role in this setting. Car chases, shootouts, and back-of-limo meetings are all likely to be common occurances in the game. Instead of creating a comprehnsive list of all vehicles, though, we'll have a list of "base models" - then upgrades to these models are made to emulate more expensive and higher class vehicles. There will be more info on that in the "Wealth" chapter.

Beast of Burden (Minion)

Mules, oxen, draft horses, and other strong, hearty animals are put to many working uses, such as pulling wagons and carts.

Vehicle Attachemnts

By tinkering with existing parts or installing new, upgraded, or modified parts a mechanic can make changes and improvments to a vehicle beyond what was originally inteneded by the vehicle's engineers.

To make an upgrade, a character must purchase the parts and or tools needed to perform the upgrade. Then, the character (or another character) can make an Average (dd) Mechanics check to apply the upgrade.

CHAPTER 6: MAGIC

In this setting, most of the ideas and guidance in the Genesys Core Rules for magic stays true. There are some differences, notably with the way magic is learned between different characters. The default "Arcana", "Divine", and "Primal" distinctions are removed, as is any reference and restriction based upon them. Instead, there are Arcana, Faith, and Dreaming - they are similar in many ways, but there are differences.. There have also been changes to existing Magic Actions and new Magic Actions have been added. If you have an idea for a new Magic Action, discuss it with the group, and we will determine if it should qualify as a new action, or as an additional effect of another action.

Magic in Narrative Encounters

Magic in Structured Encounters

Interspersed through this chapter are tables showing changes to the Additional Effects of existing spells, along

with the new additional effects from the new spells presented in this chapter. You'll find that all "School" restrictions have been removed to accommodate the new system for choosing your magic tradition, and some abilities effects have been moved to new spells. Additionally, there are some entirely new effects.

Magic Traditions

CHAPTER 7: CRAFTING

Characters may craft almost anything, from swords and guns to cars and homes, given sufficient time, resources, and skill. Regardless of the skill used, we call all skill checks to craft an item a crafting check. All crafting follows the same basic guidelines, although the process your character undertakes within the narrative of the game may vary greatly. Of course, your GM might modify these rules based on the situation and the specific item, and might impose additional requirements.

Alchemy

Characters can use the Alchemy skill to prepare elixirs, poisons, salves, unguents, and other concoctions, including those listed in Chapter 4. For simplicity, these various concoctions are referred to as potions. Preparing a potion follows the normal rules for crafting, with the exceptions noted in this section.

The process of brewing a potion takes one hour, plus a number of hours equal to the rarity of the potion. If the check is successful, the character creates enough of the potion for a single dose or application. The player and GM may spend dice symbols for additional effects, as per the examples in Table 2–17: Spending Symbols on Alchemy Checks

Normally, an alchemist’s lab or kit is required in order to prepare a potion. In some cases, your GM might allow a character to make a check at an increased difficulty to prepare certain concoctions without access to the proper tools. Likewise, your character needs access to suitable ingredients.

Alchemy Ingredients

Most ingredients, whether available for purchase or not, can be gathered in the wilderness or the Dreaming Dark. To gather the necessary ingredients for a potion, your character (or perhaps an ally) must travel to an appropriate location and spend some time — probably at least the better part of a day — finding and obtaining the ingredients. The character makes a Survival check, with a difficulty equal to half the rarity of the potion, rounded up. If the check is successful, the character gathers enough ingredients to prepare one batch of the potion.

Rare or singular ingredients, or those that by necessity are dangerous to acquire, may require more than a single Survival check to obtain. The acquisition of such components could become the basis of an encounter or even an entire adventure.

CHAPTER 8: WEALTH

In order to reduce bookkeeping while still maintaining the feel and immersiveness of living in the 80s, the Wealth system was created to abstract much of the player's income.

TABLE 8-2: VEHICLE

CHAPTER 9: Other Rules

Connected

Your character seems to know everyone — or at least everyone who’s worth knowing. Many people who are highly placed or just plain powerful owe you favors, and you can call these in when the time is right. Alternatively, your character might have blackmail information or other leverage over such NPCs.

Base: When your character activates this ability, choose one NPC and reveal that they owe your character a favor. Work with the GM to establish the relevant details of the existing relationship between your character and the NPC. In some cases, the GM might determine that there is just no way you could know the NPC in question, in which case your Heroic Ability does not activate (you don’t spend any Story Points, and you can still activate it later in the session). The NPC won’t risk their life or kill anyone as the favor. They also won’t do something that’s obviously going to ruin their social standing, finances, or so on. However, your character might be able to convince them there is no such risk!

Improved: While this ability is active, your character downgrades the difficulty of all social skill checks they make once.

Supreme: While this ability is active, when an intelligent adversary declares your character the target of an attack, as an out-of-turn incidental you may force the adversary to choose a different target instead.

Foretelling

Your character possesses mystical means of predicting future events, or lives their life in pursuit of an ancient prophecy — of which they might even be the subject. Whether through interpreting others’ dreams, seeing omens in the movement of animals, scrying in a crystal ball, or interpreting the words of ancient prophets, your character has access to useful information about events in progress and those yet to happen.

Base: Each round while this ability remains active, each round you may ask the GM one yes-or-no question about knowledge your character doesn’t have any mundane or logical reason to possess, which the GM must answer truthfully. Your character gains this information through whatever esoteric means are appropriate. (Acting on this information is another matter entirely, of course. You can’t go around accusing people of crimes without evidence just because some spirit told you!)

Improved: While this ability is active, you may reroll one skill check relevant to a question you asked the GM.

Hard to Kill

When your character steels their resolve and tightens their grip on weapon or staff, they can shrug off the worst the enemy throws at them. In moments of dire import, they face down overwhelming opposition without taking a scratch. This might represent raw toughness and the will to power through, or it might be an effect of magic.

Base: While this ability is active, your character gains +4 soak.

Improved: While this ability is active, your character also increases the difficulty of combat checks targeting them by one.

Supreme: While their Heroic Ability is active, your character becomes immune to damage; reduce all damage the character suffers to 0.

Influential

Your character is an unparalleled orator, impossibly charming, or even possessed of a supernatural ability to influence others. Whether through lying, impassioned speeches, moving poetry recitations, or any number of methods, your character gets people to do what they want.

Base: While this ability is active, when your character uses a social skill to inflict strain during a social encounter (see page 118 of the Genesys Core Rulebook), they inflict additional strain equal to their characteristic linked to the skill. If the social encounter is resolved with a single skill check, your character instead adds a number of s equal to their characteristic linked to the skill.

Improved: While this ability is active, your character only needs to spend aa to trigger a “critical remark” (see the sidebar on page 123 of the Genesys Core Rulebook) and inflict 5 strain on the target. Your character can inflict multiple critical remarks with a single check.

Supreme: While this ability is active during a social encounter, your character also reduces any strain they suffer by an amount equal to their Presence or their ranks in Cool (whichever is higher). This reduction applies to skill checks, talents, and abilities that inflict strain, but it applies only during a social encounter and does not apply to strain your character suffers voluntarily.

Miraculous Recovery

Your character’s injuries often turn out to be not as bad as they look, or perhaps your character actually heals physical wounds so rapidly as to defy explanation. In any case, they have a tendency to walk away from bloody fights with nothing more than scratches.

Base: When your character activates this ability, and at the beginning of their turn each round while it remains active, your character heals 3 wounds.

Improved: When you activate this ability, your character heals all current wounds they are suffering.

Supreme: When you activate this ability, your character heals one Critical Injury they are suffering.

Paragon

When it comes to a particular skill, your character is simply the best. Whether their abilities really are supernatural (or just seem that way), your character always achieves the check they want when it really counts. More importantly, even when things could go disastrously wrong, they never do.

Base: When you select this primary ability effect, choose one skill. While this ability is active, after rolling the dice for a check using that skill but before resolving the results, you may remove d of your choice from the pool. (Ignore the symbols shown on that die when resolving the check.)

Improved: While this ability is active, you may remove b of your choice from the results of checks using your chosen skill.

Supreme: While this ability is active, you may remove c instead of d from the results of checks you make using the chosen skill.

Sixth Sense

Your character possesses a rare, maybe even unique, capacity to perceive that goes beyond the five senses that limit most mortals. They might be able to understand the language of animals, sense the thoughts of others, or even communicate with the spirits of the recently dead.

Base: When you choose this Heroic Ability, you and the GM decide what type of entity your character’s extrasensory perception applies to, such as animals, the dead, others’ minds, and so on. While this ability is active, your character can communicate in a limited fashion with this type of entity, receiving emotions and vague impressions. In addition, when you activate this ability, your character uses this method of communication to automatically gain one important piece of information relevant to the current encounter.

Improved: While this ability is active, your character can understand and exchange simple ideas through their unusual method of perception and communication. In addition, they automatically gain another important piece of information that is relevant to the current session.

Supreme: While this ability is active, your character can engage in complex conversations through their unusual method of perception and communication; it is just as effective and efficient as ordinary speech, if not better. In addition, they automatically gain another important piece of information that is relevant to the adventure or campaign.

Signature Weapon

Some heroes (and their reputations) are inseparable from their chosen weapon. These weapons are often just as famous as the heroes who wield them. Your character’s signature weapon may be enchanted, or even intelligent. It could instead simply be a well-crafted weapon that your character wields effortlessly. The full capabilities of such a singular weapon, particularly one of magical or unknown provenance, sometimes only become apparent in the crucible of battle, in moments of true hardship and heroism.

Base: Your character has a signature weapon, which is chosen from Table 9–1: Signature Weapons which can be of Dark Iron or Fae craftsmanship if you choose. You and the GM should work together to determine what form the weapon takes and how it came to your character’s possession. The appearance of the weapon does not affect its profile, but may dictate what attachments are available. (For instance, if you describe your Signature Weapon as a halberd, you can’t add the weighted head attachment.) In addition, choose one attachment that the signature weapon does not possess. When you activate this ability, your signature weapon gains the effects of that attachment while the ability remains active (this does not have a cost or require any hard points). Other attachments can be added to the signature weapon in the standard way.

If your character’s signature weapon is ever lost or destroyed, it either finds its way back to your character against all odds, or your character obtains a new signature weapon. Work with the GM to decide how this happens, based on the ongoing story. Your character should obtain their new weapon (or reacquire it) at the start of the next session, if not sooner. Conversely, your character can never possess more than one signature weapon at a time. If this ever occurs (as a result of finding a lost signature weapon after obtaining a replacement, for instance), work with the GM to remove all but one signature weapon from your character’s possession in a suitably dramatic fashion.

Improved: Your character’s signature weapon gains either the Reinforced quality or can be revealed to actually be of Ancient craftsmanship and thus gain that benefit.

Supreme: Your character’s signature weapon gains 2 hard points and an attachment of your choice of rarity 9 or less at no cost (subject to the limits of its new total hard points).

Unbowed

Your character can fight on despite having the most horrendous injuries. It might be sheer willpower that lets them accomplish this feat, or perhaps they are something more than mortal. In any case, even the most grievous wounds do not slow them down in the heat of battle.

Base: When you activate this Heroic Ability, choose one Critical Injury your character is suffering (except for “dead’). As long as this ability is active, do not suffer any effects of that Critical Injury, including adding +10 to further rolls on the Critical Injury Result table. You can also activate this Heroic Ability as an out-of-turn incidental when your character suffers a Critical Injury.

Improved: While this ability is active, your character does not suffer the effects of any Critical Injuries they are suffering (except for the “dead” Critical Injury).

Supreme: While this ability is active, your character also ignores the effects of the “dead” result. They still die when the ability ends, unless the Critical Injury is somehow removed first.

Unleash

When pushed to the breaking point—or maybe just when they want to show off—your character unleashes their full abilities, laying low any who oppose them. This might be achieved in a flurry of blows as your character lays about with weapon strikes, or in a sudden surge of magical energy that blasts away whatever monsters and foes stand too close. This effect could even represent your character calling down the wrath of a deity or other supernatural being.

Base: While this ability is active, your character may perform a maneuver once per round on their turn to immediately defeat one minion group within short range.

Improved: While this ability is active, your character may instead perform an incidental once per round on their turn to immediately defeat one minion group within short range. (This replaces the base effect.)

Supreme: When you activate this ability, your character immediately defeats all minions within short range.

Heroic Ability Upgrades

As your character grows in experience, they gain ability points to spend on upgrades for their Heroic Ability. Obviously, upgrades improve the ability, but more importantly, they help to differentiate it. Even if two player characters have the same primary ability effect for their Heroic Abilities, different choices of upgrades can result in very different abilities.

Your character receives ability points based on the XP they gain through play. Every time your character’s XP total increases by 50, they gain one ability point to spend. Your character does not gain ability points based on their starting XP determined by their species, but if you are creating a character with additional XP (see the Experienced Characters sidebar on page 44 of the Genesys Core Rulebook), your character does gain an ability point for each additional 50 XP.

When your character gains ability points, you decide how to spend them. Each upgrade includes a cost, and spending the required ability points on an upgrade permanently adds the benefit of that upgrade to your Heroic Ability. Some upgrades have a cumulative effect if you purchase that upgrade multiple times.

Power

Cost: Special
The first time you purchase this upgrade, it costs one ability point and your character's primary ability gains the improved effect. You may purchase this upgrade a second time at a cost of another two ability points to gain the supreme effect.

Secondary Effect

Cost: 1 Ability Point
Add a secondary effect to your character’s Heroic Ability. When you purchase this upgrade, select one of the following secondary effects. You may purchase this upgrade a second time to choose a different effect, for a total of two secondary effects. As with the primary ability effect, you should work with the GM to come up with an exciting narrative explanation for each secondary effect.

Even if the primary effect is instantaneous, the duration of the Heroic Ability matters for many secondary effects. Remember, a Heroic Ability lasts until the end of your character’s next turn, or longer if you take the Duration upgrade.

Story

Cost: 1 Ability Point
Your character only needs to spend one Story Point to activate the ability. You can only purchase this upgrade once.

Heroic Ability Origins

Your character’s Heroic Ability is an important part of who they are, so you’ll want to decide how they came by such an impressive ability. It’s likely that during this process you’ve already thought about the explanation for your character’s ability and how they first obtained it, in which case you should discuss your ideas with the GM and make sure you both agree on what it means for the campaign.

If you don’t have an idea yet, or just want to leave it to fate, you can roll on Table 9-2: Heroic Ability Origins to find out how your character obtained their ability.

Mounted Combat

In the Dreaming Dark you may find yourself riding a bewildering array of creatures ranging from common steeds to flying reptiles to gain speed and maneuverability in combat. A skilled rider also has numerous advantages over opponents on foot.

Mounting or dismounting from a riding animal requires a maneuver. Once mounted, a rider and steed should be treated as one character in most situations (attacks target the rider, the steed does not act independently in structured encounters, and both act when a player chooses an initiative slot for their mounted character).

A mounted character can perform a maneuver to direct their mount to move. The rider and mount immediately move as if they had performed two maneuvers to do so. In certain situations, such as controlling a mount not trained for combat in the midst of a large battle, your GM may instead require the character to make a Riding check as an action to direct and control the mount.

Generally, a mounted character has an advantage in melee against opponents on foot and should add b to melee combat checks targeting them, while opponents on foot add b to melee attacks against mounted characters. Conversely, firing a ranged weapon or casting a spell from the back of a galloping horse is more difficult, and a mounted character should add b to ranged attack checks and magic skill checks. Your GM will make the final call on adding b and b to checks performed while mounted, as with any check.

Since we treat a mount and rider as one character, the only way to target a mount is by using the aim maneuver to target specific "parts" of an opponent, as per page 98 of the Genesys Core Rulebook). (In certain circumstances, your GM may allow characters to attack a particularly large mount such as a dragon without penalty.)

A character whose mount is slain or incapacitated is knocked prone and suffers 3 strain. Depending on the situation and the results of any related check, the character might suffer additional damage or become trapped under the fallen mount.