Perception

Environment description

As characters move and take action, the GM describes to the players everything that their characters can see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. The players should take notes on the map or on paper about what the GM says. The GM knows everything, but should strive to control their characters realistically, based on the information they actually have.

Line of sight

Characters can see something if you can draw a straight line between the two positions without crossing an obstacle, such as a wall or another character. There is no need to be too strict about this: characters aren’t standing still, so if they could draw a line of sight to something by moving a little bit, they can see it. Dim lighting and fog can restrict visibility to far, close, or even nearby range.

Blindness

Characters who are blinded or in pitch darkness can’t do anything relying on sight. Activities which can still be performed blind are possible but impaired: The character must pass a WIT roll, in addition to any other required roll, to be successful.

Sound & smells

Sounds and smells travel a certain range based on their intensity, as adjudicated by the GM.

• Nearby: whispering, opening a well-oiled door, body odour.
• Close: normal talking, picking a lock, cooking smell.
• Far: shouting, bashing a door, stall smell.
• Extreme: monster’s roar, gunshot, lingering swamp smell.

Secret features

Secret features (hidden treasures, secret doors, traps, etc.) aren’t immediately revealed.

As a round action, characters can examine something to obtain more information about it. The GM reveals additional details and related secret features.

As a stretch action, characters can thoroughly search a zone. The GM reveals all additional details and secret features in the zone.

Hidden features which aren’t perfectly hidden can be passively noticed by characters moving within close range if they pass a collective WIT roll. If they fail, they can still find them by examining or searching.

Stealth

Characters who are moving carefully and not making any obvious noise can only be heard if they move within close range of someone else and fail an AGI roll. Roll only once per activation.

As a round action, characters can hide somewhere in their zone. They must declare exactly where they hide, and in some places it might not be possible at all. Hidden characters can be found like secret features: with an examine or search action, or by passing a WIT roll when close if their hiding place isn’t particularly good.

In order to move without being seen, a character must be able to trace a movement path behind obstacles blocking line of sight. The players can ask the GM where other characters are looking to plan how to move. Most of the time, hiding while moving is either trivial or simply impossible. However, an AGI roll is required to succeed when staying out of sight requires good timing.

Knowledge

What characters know is adjudicated by the GM based on their skills, background, and history. If player characters are knowledgeable about something, the GM may provide additional information on the subject. The players can also ask the GM for more information if they think their character might know more.

Characters can’t read, write, or perform complex calculations unless they have the literate skill. Education is a privilege for the few! Being able to read is also the main prerequisite to be able to cast spells, since they must be read from scrolls.

Player characters can speak a common language, typically what’s most spoken in the region where the game takes place. The ability to speak additional languages is granted by skills.