Zi’Dara
Contents

Part V · Appendices & Index

Appendix C: Every Lever in the Game

A lever is anything that changes a result: a bigger die, a second try, a blow that lands somewhere else. Here’s every one of them, and where it comes from. Use it to plan a character, to pick an archetype or a Boon, to write a trait or an item, or to answer a question at the table without making something up.

Where a lever comes from a trait, a condition or an item, treat those as examples and write your own in the same shape. Where it comes from an archetype, it’s that archetype’s, and nobody else gets it.

Dice

Lever Where it comes from
One more step Every line on your set action that fits: a Title, a permission, an item, a trait, or a permission on an attuned thing. Every action in the roll. A condition for you, or on the threat you go at. What you’ve got for the scene, free wherever it fits: a Scholar’s truth, or a trait that makes one, like Tactical Mind. A Shifter’s animal tag, when it fits. A tag a Maker gave your item, when it says so. A Charge.
One more step, for 1 Aura Anything that fits but isn’t on your set action: one of your own permissions, items or traits, the ground, a threat’s tag you know, a Catch turned your way, or a friend’s permission through a thread you share. 1 Aura each, every time you bring one in.
Steps from friends A combo: they put their actions into the same thing, their set actions add to yours, and nobody pays Aura. A Leader’s order or rallying song: steps handed to you for this round. They don’t have to fit, and they don’t bring a split.
3 steps a Hurt The Bloodsworn’s: every Hurt you take adds 3 steps. Take one on purpose as you act and they go on that roll. Take one any other way and they go on your next action.
Dice from hiding The Shadow’s pool: the dice you rolled to get into hiding, added to any roll after that, talking and Study included, as their own dice or as steps (a d8 is 4 steps). Each one’s gone once you use it.
A bigger die More steps. Two sides a step: 1 is a d2, and 6 is a d12.
More dice Past 6 steps, a second die built the same way: 7 is a d12 and a d2, and 12 is two d12s. Every split. The Mark die, when you act against something Marked.
A split One for every action in the roll, and one more when you go past 6 steps. The Splits Boon gives one more, and the Burden takes one away. Share your steps between the dice you’ve got, too: a d12 and a d8 can be two d10s.
A smaller telegraph The Oracle’s steps: each one takes a telegraph’s die down a size, and a die with no steps left is gone. Strip the tag that makes it bigger, like Commanding. A glancing blow, when the GM says so. A Challenge never shrinks, unless a tag like Crumbling says so.
An area The Elementalist’s: one of your dice can be how far instead of an intent, as a burst, a cone or a line. It takes a split and costs no Aura. A Sweep weapon, free, for anyone, at everyone within reach.
Reach a second friend A ward, a blessing or any condition you put on a friend goes on one friend, at the die you built, and the second die of a split can put it on another friend you can touch. A Healer’s heal reaches a second person the same way.
Advantage Several dice on one intent: your best die counts.
Win a tie Free, when you’re defending. 1 Aura, when you’re acting. An Illusionist’s illusion only has to meet the Challenge. Fortunate (condition). The Ties Boon: every tie, attacking too, with no Aura. In downtime, a step of the crew’s Wealth. The Ties Burden loses every one, even defending.
Roll again 1 Resolve, on a roll you just failed: all your dice or just one, and the threat’s dice stay where they landed. In downtime, 1 Resolve rolls your own dice again. Lucky (one die, once a scene). Blessed (condition, if that action fails).
+2 on a die 1 Aura, on most archetypes’ mechanics, after you roll. It’s +3 if you’ve taken the archetype twice, and +4 three times. A die it takes to its top face, or past it, doesn’t give you Aura. See Archetypes.
Dice that add A Move action’s dice. The archetype’s +2. A Warrior’s dice in a fight: a top face gives you 1 Aura, then you roll that die again and add the new number on, for as long as it keeps landing on top.
A die counts as its highest face Focused (once a scene). Sprinter (a Move action).
A die becomes a d12 Surging (condition).
A failure becomes a success Silver Tongue (social, once a scene).
Their win becomes a tie Hexed (condition).
One of their dice doesn’t count Blinded (condition).
No roll at all A permission that plainly covers it, with nothing pushing back. Spending a condition. A quick heal (1 Aura). The Oracle’s steps. Spare lockpick, Acid vial, Disguised.

Aura and Resolve

Lever Where it comes from
Fill up Every new scene, to your maximum.
Gain 1 Every top face, area dice included, but not a die the archetype’s +2 took there, or a summon’s. Letting a Catch bite, as often as you like, as long as it brings real trouble. Bringing real trouble on yourself with no Catch written down. The GM, when a great setup doesn’t land. Killer Instinct. Inspired (condition). A top face when you roll the Oracle. The Boons Beat a threat and In your element (that one even past your maximum).
Gain 3 Battle Focus (once a scene).
A bigger maximum Deep Well (+1). The Aura Boon (+2). Anything else on your sheet that says so.
A smaller maximum The Aura Burden (−2).
Share it A top face when you’re full goes to anyone in the scene.
Spend it 1 Aura each: bring something in, win a tie when you’re acting, what 1 Aura gets your archetype, or a quick heal. With the Take the hit Boon, 1 Aura rolls your Armour when you take the hit. A Bloodsworn can spend as much as they like, with their action, to clear that many boxes on their own Hurt track.
Keep a Catch quiet On your own roll, 1 Aura turns a Catch your way for a moment, or keeps it quiet this time.
Traits Free, as often as they say. An Invoked trait costs the Aura it names.
Resolve As much as you’ve got Titles, so 2 to start, and you can’t hold more. Every Title you earn brings 1 more. The Resolve Boon is +1 to your maximum, and the Burden −1.
Gain 1 Resolve The end of every scene. A Catch that bites in a big way, one that changes the scene or costs you something you wanted, instead of the Aura (your call when). The GM, for great roleplay, like facing your fear or keeping a promise to yourself. Straining a thread.
All your Resolve back After downtime.
Spend 1 Resolve An extra action this round. Reroll a roll you just failed. Go beyond what a permission normally does. Hold your ground when fear, lies or pressure get through. Go at a threat when you’re shaken. In downtime, roll your own dice again.

Threads

Lever Where it comes from
Borrow 1 Aura brings a friend’s permission into your roll through a thread you share. It doesn’t strain anything. You can’t borrow through a strained thread until it’s mended.
Strain Lean on them in the story, like calling in the favour, using their name, dragging them into it or using the secret, and take 1 Resolve. It’s free, it doesn’t take an action, and the thread’s strained. A thread with someone in the crew is strained for both of you.
Mend Make it right with them, by roleplaying it, doing them a favour or paying them, whatever suits them. That happens in downtime or in a scene with them, not in the middle of the fight where you strained it. Then it’s whole again.
Snap Strain it again before it’s mended. You still take the Resolve, but cross the thread out. When the last thread goes, so does the bond.
New threads Three when you make your character, and a fourth if you write one as a debt. A Grow. Everyone writes one when the Party Goal’s done. Network (3 when you take it, on bonds you’ve already got). Charming (one for the scene).

How a strained thread plays out at the table, from both sides, is in Playing the strain.

Actions

Lever Where it comes from
An extra action Hold it: nothing this round but your stride, and you’ve got two next round. 1 Resolve. Coming out of hiding (one, even if you’re Unseen as well). Cashing in fired-up Confidence. Second Wind (once a scene). Unseen (condition). The Extra action Boon (once a scene).
Put them together A combo: actions into the same thing at the same time, yours or your friends’, added up and rolled once, with no Aura. Your own extra action brings in another set action as a new approach (Fight with Sneak is a sneak attack), or the same one again for +1. Lines on both count once.
Hand out steps The Leader’s: build an order or a rallying song from your set action, and give its steps to friends who can hear or see you, for this round. They don’t have to fit. 1 Aura is +2 on one of a friend’s dice, on a roll your steps went into.
A free action, for one thing Fast (a Move action). Quick weapons (drawing, even from a bag). Ready Hand (the bag, once a round). Rallied (an answer). Putting something away.
Someone on your side The Summoner’s: your action, with a reason in the story. Each of your Summon dice that beats a soul’s die brings it out, and it acts in the round like anyone. 1 Aura is +2 on one of your dice, +3 if you’ve taken Summoner twice.
Take an action away Exposed, Frightened (condition). On a threat, that’s one of its telegraphs.
Lock it in The Extra action Burden: you say your action before the GM telegraphs, and you’re stuck with it.
Shut one thing off Stunned (no answering). Silenced (no speaking). Deafened (no joining a friend’s roll, or having one join yours). Pinned (no moving). The Defend Burden (no Defending).
Choose what they do Taunted (at you). Charmed (one thing you ask).
Get rid of a condition Break it: an action that beats its die, on you or a friend in reach. It fades a size every round anyway. The Conditions Boon: one you name can’t touch you. The Conditions Burden: one doesn’t fade on you, and stays until someone breaks it.
Stop a telegraph Answer it. Take down its source. Take away what it needs: strip the tag, disarm the crossbow. The Bard’s song: one roll answers all the fear, lies and pressure coming at you and friends who can hear you, and stops every one it beats. Running doesn’t stop one aimed at you, but getting out of an area does.

Defence

Lever Where it comes from
One roll for the round Anything attacked rolls its defence once a round, and that roll stands against every die that comes at it. Ties go to the defender. A telegraph you don’t answer or Defend, you let ride, and it lands against that roll at the end of the round.
A roll for every die Defend (your action, and it uses no steps): roll your Armour once for every die coming at you, then choose which roll blocks which. Confidence works the same against fear, lies and pressure.
Draw the blows Defend: everything one enemy aimed at friends within your stride comes at you instead. The Guardian’s Defend takes every attack aimed at friends within your stride, whichever enemy it’s from, and 1 Aura is +2 on one of your Armour dice. A Guardian who’s a Teleporter as well reaches every friend within 10 units. A summon can pull the attacks on someone onto itself, as its action, and roll against each.
Take it for a friend Take the hit: step in front of an attack aimed at someone within your stride and take it, free, with no defence roll. Anyone can, summons too. The Take the hit Boon: 1 Aura to roll your Armour against it. The Burden: taking the hit costs you 1 Aura. Answer for them, standing in the way. Covered (condition).
Armour one size bigger Each piece of plain armour you wear. Gear that says so. The Armour Boon. Warded, Covered (condition). Steady Hands.
Armour down A consequence. Spending Poisoned. The Armour Burden, which can’t go on a d2.
Past d12 Armour only: a second die, keep the best. The extra die steps down first.
Armour back to full A purse of gold at a smith, or a downtime slot.
Put the blow somewhere else The GM names the cost. Offer another that fits and costs about as much: Armour, Confidence, a Hurt, something you carry, your Aspiration, the Party Goal, a clock. Attuned things can’t be broken. When fear, lies or pressure get through, the choice is yours (see Confidence).
Cancel a Hurt Warded (condition). Tenacious (once a scene). Break a tag a Maker gave the thing you’re holding. Strip one of your animal tags, if you’re a Shifter.
Stay where you are Braced (condition).

Confidence

Lever Where it comes from
Where it starts d6, every scene. A size up for clothes that fit the scene, the Confidence Boon, Iron Will, and Style when your look fits. A size down for the Confidence Burden. Titles and bonds don’t change it.
Fear is a telegraph Fear, lies and pressure come at your Confidence like any attack: answer it, Defend or let it ride.
Up a size Stop all the fear, lies and pressure that came at you. Take a threat down. If nothing came at you, it doesn’t move. The Bard’s Lift them (every friend who can hear, as far as d10) and Hold them (anyone who had all of it stopped). Heartened (spend it, as far as where you started the scene).
Take a breath Spend your action and it comes up a size, as far as d6.
Up three sizes Cool Under Pressure (once a scene, as far as where you started the scene).
A step on the roll Heartened (condition). Steady Hands, when you’ve had a moment to prepare.
When it gets through You choose, for each one: let it shake you and drop a size, bury it and take a Hurt, or hold your ground and spend 1 Resolve so neither happens.
Down a size Letting it shake you. Filling a Hurt bar and writing its Catch. Spending Shaken. Refusing what Charmed asks. A miss, when that’s the cost that fits.
Never below d2 Anything that’d take it lower is a Hurt instead, or 1 Resolve to hold your ground.
Fired up At d12, and it never goes higher. Cash it in for an extra action, or to clear a Hurt box, and it drops back to d6.
Shaken At d2. You won’t go at a threat, in a fight or face to face, unless you spend 1 Resolve each time.
Back to d6 The end of every scene. Anything that should last is a Catch.

Hurt and Healing

Lever Where it comes from
More bars Unyielding (+1 bar). The Hurt Boon (+1 bar, as often as you take it). Playing solo (+1 bar). The Hurt Burden takes one away.
Heal in a scene The Healer’s heal: an action against the patient’s wound die, and every die that beats it clears a box. It reaches one person, so split it to clear more boxes, or to reach a second person you can touch. 1 Aura is +2 on one of your dice when you heal. A quick heal, for anyone: 1 Aura, one box on one person, no roll, and it still takes your action. Traits and gear that say so, like Field Dressing, Healer’s Hands and a Medical kit.
A smaller wound die It’s a d6, a size bigger for each Catch on your Hurt track. The Heals on you Boon makes it a size smaller, and its Burden a size bigger. With the Regen Burden, your wound die’s rolled twice when someone heals you, and the higher counts.
Heal yourself The Regen Boon: at the end of each round, roll your wound die, and a top face clears a box. The Bloodsworn’s Aura, with their action: a box for every 1 they spend. Fired-up Confidence, cashed in: one box.
Clear the loose boxes The end of every scene, free: you’re back to 3 boxes for each Catch on your Hurt track.
Heal in downtime A slot for each Catch on your Hurt track, and none heal free. A trait that says so, like Tend the Crew, spends one slot to clear a Catch on everyone in the crew. The Hurt Catches Boon heals one free each downtime, and with the Burden yours only heal with someone else’s slot.
Lose a box for good A Scar, when you Blaze and don’t choose to die. It’s for the story, and it doesn’t do anything else.
Blaze Take a Hurt with every box full: something extraordinary happens, no roll. From your first Blaze, you can choose to die.

Threats

Lever Where it comes from
One roll to beat The first time it’s attacked in a round, it rolls its Challenge, and everyone who goes at it that round has to beat that roll. A Layered threat rolls its dice, and its best one stands.
Strip a tag A win aimed at it. Spending Burning, Bleeding or Poisoned. An Acid vial.
End it in one win An opening: its weak point, helpless, or getting around everything that keeps it going. A Boss only falls to its weak point. Any other opening strips two tags, Tough or not.
Wear down Tough It works like hit points. Every winning die against it takes off the number it rolled. A condition that would strip a tag takes its die’s size off instead.
Find a hidden tag Study. Quick Study, Predator’s Eye. Sighted, Spotted (condition).
Turn a tag against it Bring it into your roll (1 Aura).
Mark it The Hunter’s: your action, rolled against a creature. Win and it’s Marked at the die you won with, and anyone who acts against it rolls the Mark die too. The Hunter can spend 1 Aura for +2 on the Mark die whenever it’s rolled, whoever’s rolling. It fades a size a round.
Turn its blows The Face’s: build your action but don’t roll it, and put it on a threat as influence. Before one of its telegraphs lands, roll your influence against it, and every one of its dice your best influence die beats does what you say instead, as long as it fits the story. 1 Aura is +2 on one influence die.
One die fewer Against a Layered threat or stake, every tag stripped.
End it without a fight Strip what drives it, or bring it into your roll.
Cover for each other Anyone can take the hit, threats too: one steps in front of a blow meant for another within its stride.
Catch its soul The Summoner’s: when a creature falls, your action, your Summon dice against its Challenge, and 1 Aura is +2 on a die. Beat it and its soul goes into one of your utility slots. Miss and it’s gone.

Moving

Lever Where it comes from
Stride 3 to start, free every round, before, between or after your action. Light on my Feet +2. The Stride Boon +2, and the Burden −2. A Heavy Catch on an attuned thing −1. Fleet (condition): your stride again.
Further A Move action: roll whatever makes you fast here, plus the action, and the number is extra squares. Its dice add. Fast, Sprinter.
Difficult ground 2 a square. Sure-Footed ignores it. The Getting around Boon: climb, swim or cross it at full stride (one of them each time you take it). The Burden: 3 a square.
Somewhere else The Teleporter’s stride can be a teleport of up to 10 units. 1 Aura opens a portal to another spot within 10 units for the round, and anyone who steps in comes out the other end.
Pin, drag, knock down Pinned, Grabbed, Staggered, Prone. Grapple weapons.

The Scene and the Story

Lever Where it comes from
Make something true The Scholar’s truth: win a Study and say something that wasn’t obvious to anyone else. It’s true and it matters here, and it counts as a permission for the crew this scene. Prepared Mind, Contingency. The Oracle, when all three dice match.
Point out what’s there Tactical Mind: if it could be here, it is, and it’s a permission for the crew this scene. Perfect Recall.
Use the place Bring the ground into your roll (1 Aura). Guided (condition) does it for free. Scout Ahead adds three ground tags.
Do more than a permission does Go beyond, for 1 Resolve: phase through a wall, an aimed shot that takes out the tag you choose, calling up someone who died a hundred years ago. The Going beyond Boon: once a scene, without spending Resolve.
Do something big A bigger roll against a bigger Challenge: more lines on your set action, more Titles that fit, friends in a combo, a Leader’s steps.
Hit many things The Elementalist’s area. A Sweep weapon, free, within reach.
Make them believe it The Illusionist’s: roll your illusion dice against the threats’ Challenge, and if you meet or beat it, they believe your illusion until they interact with it or try to get through it. To see through it before then, a threat has to beat what you rolled.
Do what an animal does The Shifter’s animal tags: your action, rolled against the tag’s die (most are a d4, swimming’s a d6, flying’s a d8 and a breath attack’s a d12). Beat it and the tag’s yours until downtime.
Give a thing a tag The Maker’s: your action against the item’s size, from a d4 for something tiny like a ring to a d12 for anything intricate. Each die that beats it gives the item a tag for the scene.
Have the right thing I Have the Thing. Never Unarmed. Cache. A purse of gold, mid-scene, from someone selling.
Carry more The Kit Boon (one more item, each time you take it). Prepared. The Kit Burden carries one fewer.
Stop a clock Work the stake: its clock doesn’t tick that round. Beat an event to slow it.
Speed up a clock Beat an event to drive it. Hunted (condition). A consequence.
Know something A permission that plainly covers knowing it. Study. Cold Reader, Hard to Lie To. Truth serum. The Oracle.

Growth

Lever Where it comes from
A step closer Beat the die of your Aspiration, the Goal or a project: an action when it’s within reach, or a slot in downtime. One step a roll.
A new archetype An Aspiration climbs past d12. It comes with a Title you name for it and one permission, and 1 more Resolve to your maximum. Take one you’ve already got and its +2 grows.
A new permission A Grow in downtime, on one of your Titles, up to six on it. It has to fit inside the Title. Put it on every set action it fits nearly every time.
A different permission Swap one in downtime for another that fits your Title, as long as it makes sense for your character.
A Boon Two permission slots on one of your Titles: built in when you make your character, or two permissions swapped for it in downtime, and back. A Burden on an attuned thing can pay for one instead.
A new trait, thread or item A Grow each: a new trait, a new thread, or get something. Everyone writes a new thread when the Party Goal’s done.
More on an attuned thing A downtime slot for every new permission, and a material for every new stage: Awakened (1, or 2 with a Catch), Tempered (2, or 4 with a Burden), Perfected (3, or 6 with a Burden and a Catch).
A new soul A Summoner catches one when a creature falls, and puts it into their summoning attunement in downtime.
An extra slot Tireless (once a downtime).
A bigger crew The Party Goal’s done: a new Reputation and two picks (Power, Wealth, a crew tag, a party resource). The crew takes something big, or a faction it struck falls: one pick. A job that says so. Rebuild, back to its best.

Boons and Burdens

A Boon turns one of these levers your way for good, and it costs two permission slots on one of your Titles. A Burden turns one against you. It only ever comes on an attuned thing, where it pays for two more permissions on that thing, or for a Boon for you. You can take the same one more than once, and you give each one a name from the story, like Iron Lungs for an extra Hurt bar.

The menu covers your Hurt bars, heals on you, regen, Hurt Catches in downtime, your Aura maximum, stride, getting around, an extra action, splits, ties, going beyond, Armour, Confidence, conditions, Defend (a Burden only: you can’t Defend), taking the hit, your Resolve maximum and how much you carry. Two more Boons get you Aura back, Beat a threat and In your element, and they’ve got no Burden. Bringing things in, leading, downtime slots and bonds aren’t on it, and that’s on purpose. The whole menu, every Boon next to its Burden, is in Boons and Burdens.

Archetypes

Every Title is an archetype, and every archetype has a mechanic only it can do, so a lot of the levers above come from them. How Archetypes Work has the whole of it, and each archetype is in The Archetypes.

  • 1 Aura, +2. On most archetypes, 1 Aura puts +2 on one die on its mechanic. Spend it after you roll, once you know you need it. The +2 is added to the number you rolled, and a die it takes to its top face, or past it, doesn’t give you Aura. A Warrior’s still explodes.
  • Three spend it another way. The Bloodsworn’s Aura, with their action, clears boxes on their own Hurt track, as many as they spend. The Oracle’s buys 2 more steps to take off. The Teleporter’s opens a portal.
  • The same archetype twice. Its +2 becomes +3, three times it’s +4, and so on. The Oracle’s 2 more steps grow the same way.

Bram’s Defending, and a d10 comes at him. It lands on 5 and his d6 Armour comes up 4, so he spends 1 Aura to make the 4 a 6, and it’s stopped. That’s his d6’s top face, but the +2 got it there, so there’s no Aura back. If he’d taken Guardian twice, it’d be a 7.

Writing Your Own

Everything in Zi’Dara is built from the same few shapes, so price new things against them.

You’re writing It gets
A passive trait +1 step on one kind of thing, or one number moved a little: stride +2, one more thing carried, one more Hurt bar, Aura maximum +1.
A once-a-scene trait One lever from this appendix, used once: an extra action, a second roll, something small that was there all along, a failure made good in one narrow field.
An invoked trait The same kind of lever, for 1 Aura each time.
A once-a-downtime trait Something that changes the next session: a meeting, a hidden fact, an extra slot.
A condition One step for or against, and one strong lever when it’s spent.
A tag A reason it’s still standing, a way it comes at you, or what drives it. A tag only changes dice when it says so.
A Maker’s tag A special property for the scene, and it follows the same rules as a permission: a ring that gives you an extra step to dodge is fine, and a ring that gives you haste isn’t.
A plain item Just what it is: a line on your roll when it fits, and it does what that thing does. A weapon brings its properties, and each piece of armour is a size of Armour. No Catch.
A utility item you use up One lever, used once, with no roll. Cross it off.
A keepsake Something that matters to your character. It does what it would plainly do in the story, and it has no rule of its own.
An attuned thing Permissions of its own: 1 at Awakened, 2 at Tempered and 3 at Perfected, and as many again for a Catch, then a Burden, then both. Six at most, with one Catch and one Burden.
A Boon or a Burden One lever off the menu, with a name from the story. A Burden has to cost something you actually use.

Rule

The test. If what you wrote adds a number to a number, like +2 to hit, rewrite it as a permission, a step, or a lever from this list. Zi’Dara compares dice. The only things that add are a Move action’s dice, a Warrior’s dice exploding, and the +2 that 1 Aura buys on an archetype’s mechanic.