Playing Mistborn AG

In this thread I'll summarize the main rules of the game. It will be useful as a reference as we play, and a tutorial for those learning to play.

Beats
Each Beat represents a unit of time chosen by the Narrator. The shortest a Beat can be is a second and the longest is a century, and every increment in-between is fair game (e.g. one or more seconds, any number of minutes, an hour, a day, a week, and so on). No matter how short or long a Beat may be in terms of time, each character may only take one significant action once per Beat.

Beats give you a framework within which to describe the action. If the Narrator shifts the Beats down to just a few seconds at a time, you know the pressure’s on and everyone has to pay a lot more attention to the little details (this is common in combat, for example). If the Beats move up to one a minute, then you can rest a little easier and lavish detail on each Beat. Most of the time the Narrator probably won’t even have to announce the Beats; the natural flow of the conversation will suggest them when they’re needed.

Occasionally your character may "catch a Beat" (meaning he or she can take an extra action immediately), or "lose a Beat" (meaning he or she has to sit the next Beat out, taking no meaningful actions at all). These phrases will make more sense as you see them in context elsewhere in the rules.

Breathers
Sometimes the Narrator will declare that you aren’t using Beats for a while — usually right after a part of your story ends, when there’s a logical period of downtime before anything important happens again in the game world. These periods are called Breathers, and there are two kinds of them.

• Short Breathers typically last an hour to a day of game time, while
• Long Breathers can last multiple days, or even weeks or months.

Dice and Rolling
The Dice Pool
The Mistborn Adventure Game uses six-sided dice (the cube-shaped ones you find in most family board games). Each roll is made with 􏰌 to 10 dice, other- wise known as your "pool." The number of dice in your pool varies based on the action your Hero is attempting, and is determined by the Narrator based on the description of your character’s action. A roll begins with a base pool, which is then modified by your traits, the burdens of your target, the tools you are using and the circumstances.

Generally the Narrator starts by choosing the Attribute, Standing, or Power rating that’s most pivotal for the action. You start with the number of dice your character has in the Attribute or Standing, or a number of dice equal to the Power’s rating.

Your pool grows by one die for each Trait that supports an action. This is true whether the Trait belongs to you, an ally, or an opponent, so long as you can justify how they help. Remember, Traits cut both ways. If the Narrator determines that one or more Traits are detrimental to an action, he or she may describe how it hurts your character’s chances and shrink your pool by a die for each Trait that gets in the way.

If your character is using an item that’s particularly well-suited to the task at hand, your pool grows by 1 die. The reverse is also true: some items are, while not absolutely necessary for an action, still very useful, and when your character lacks an item that is clearly desired, or is forced to use an item that’s damaged or broken, your pool shrinks by 1 die. Your pool may grow or shrink by no more than a single die, no matter how many Tools may apply.

Unlike Traits and Props, Circumstances are always and only applied at the Narrator’s discretion. Like Tools, Circumstances only add or subtract a single die. Whether the Narrator adds or subtracts a die depends on the circumstances at hand. If your character faces two or more favorable conditions (e.g. fight- ing from a fortified position with the sun at your back; transcribing a well- preserved manuscript with assistance from a friend) your pool grows by 1 die. If your character faces two or more adverse conditions (e.g. fighting while knee-deep in ash and wounded; transcribing a water-damaged manuscript without useful reference materials), your pool shrinks by 1 die.

The Difficulty
Once your pool is formed but before you roll the dice, the Narrator declares a Difficulty. This is a number ranging from 1 to 5, based on how hard the Nar- rator thinks your character’s task is.

Rolling the Dice
When you roll your dice, the numbers 1 to 5 are read as actual numbers, while 6’s become Nudges (ways to improve good rolls and offset bad ones). Set those 6’s aside for now and look for matching numbers on the other dice.

If the numbers on two or more of your dice match, the number shown on those matching dice is your Result (if you roll more than one set of matching dice, choose one set as your Result — the higher the better).

Types of Rolls
There are three types of rolls:

• Challenges, when a character tries to do something that’s difficult or􏰋 well, challenging without direct opposition from another character, like climbing a high wall, making an important speech, or using magic in a difficult way
• Contests, when two or more characters compete against one another, as in a chase, when bribing a reluctant noble to keep his mouth shut, or using Allomancy to yank a sword from a foe’s hand
• Conflicts, when one character tries to harm another physically, socially, or emotionally

Standings
Standings, that is your Influence, Resources and Spirit, may be used in the same way as your Attributes (Wits, Charm and Physique) in Challenges, Contests and Conflicts -- but they can also be spent to achieve specific effects. Standings represent your capacity to change the circumstances around you directly and intentionally.

A character may "spend" his or her Standings for the chance (a Challenge roll) to acquire various benefits during play: Influence may be spent to nurture political connections and request favours; Resources may be spent for physical goods and services; and Spirit may be spent for fresh chances when other avenues have been exhausted. Doing so happens in two steps. First, you make a challenge roll (your pool is equal to the number of dice in the standing you are spending, and the difficulty is determined by what you are trying to spend the standing to do). Secondly, you temporarily reduce the spent standing by 1. A standing cannot be reduced to zero.

You recover 1 of each Standing per day, half of each Standing (rounding up) during a Short Breather, and all of your standings during a Long Breather (so don't be afraid to use them).

Resources: The Power of Privilege
A character’s Resources dice cover his or her worldly possessions and the ability to gain more.

You may attempt a Resources Challenge when you try to:
• Bribe a guard
• Assemble an army
• Outfit your Crew for its next exploit
• Secure the services of a kandra
• Host a lavish event
• Appeal to a noble’s greed
• Buy the silence of an unflattering witness
• Impress someone with your wealth
• Bid for a contract
• Get hold of some atium
• Rebuild a ruined town

A Note on Props: The props you have on your character sheet are items your character always has. These are limited by your maximum Resources. During a Long Breather these are automatically replenished (so if you use all charges in your Misting vial, you get them all back during a Long Breather), and you may swap them out for other props during such a breather. Props you gain by spending Resources are not permanent. You have them until they are consumed, lost, destroyed and you automatically lose them during your next Long Breather.

Influence: The Power of Connections
A character’s Influence dice represent his or her political and social position, network of contacts, bureaucratic authority, and popularity.

You may attempt an Influence Challenge when you try to:

Win a political debate
• Broker an agreement or treaty
• Defend someone at trial
• Win support for an idea
• Get a law changed or suspended
• Rally troops to fight
• Tear down a noble house’s reputation
• Call in a favor from a friend
• Convince an organization to join your side

Spirit: The Power of Fate
In addition to gauging confidence and luck, a character’s Spirit dice also represent his or her inner strength, link to the metaphysical realm, and perception and understanding of the grand design. They also let players tap a host of cool game effects like gaining a hint when the Crew’s stuck, quickly recovering from damage, changing the conversation on the fly, and even retrying a failed roll.

You may attempt a Spirit Challenge when you try to:

• Intuit the correct answer from two or more conflicting ones
• Keep your composure in the face of great adversity
• Find a purpose against overwhelming odds
• Convince someone of a larger plan for them or the world
• Catch a lucky break
• Commune with metaphysical powers
• Understand the nature of your destiny or the universe

Secrets
The importance of Secrets — in the novels and in your story — can’t be understated. Secrets take many forms. They can be things, hidden away or never spoken. 􏰉Just as often they’re the essence of the next moment, the surprise yet to come. Secrets also have many different roles in the Mistborn Adventure Game. They can be weapons, answers, leverage, red herrings, and more. They’re often revealed in stages, each clue leading to new questions. Most importantly in terms of the game, they have two levels of importance:

• Minor Secrets are small revelations that enlighten but don’t fundamentally change the story. They may cause slight to moderate inconvenience or injury when scandalous or shameful.

• Major Secrets are huge revelations with devastating, earth-shattering consequences. They rock people to their core and can destroy lives in the right (or wrong) hands.

Using Secrets
Secrets have may uses. Some of these are uses that are 'for the Narrator' to help me figure out how a given secret relates to the game and progress in the story. Some of these are things you can actively do, as players, with secrets. I've included all the possibilities for completeness, but marked with a * the ones you should be familiar with.

As Clues
The most common purpose of a Secret is introducing valuable information. Giving the Crew a clue about how to reach their goals, defeat their enemies, or acquire greater Secrets is a great way to reward their efforts.

As Special Abilities*
Secrets can provide a Hero with exclusive access to items or abilities, like the formula for a new metallic alloy, the location of a weapons cache, the services of a master forger, or a typically restricted Power, Stunt, or Prop. They might also qualify as positive Circumstances: knowing an opponent’s hidden weakness or having something to hold over a person the Crew intends to coerce.

*If a secret grants a prop, power or stunt, I will grant it right away with the secret. However, you should be mindful of ways that secrets you've uncovered can grant you positive Circumstances. Minor secrets can grant circumstances (major secrets will grant props, stunts or powers).

As Leverage*
Secrets often provide valuable insight about the mindsets, histories, and motivations of others. Some Secrets are so damaging or hit so close to home that they grant power over the target, letting any who know them hurt or blackmail the vulnerable party. This is dangerous, as people tend to act irrationally, and often violently, when they feel cornered.

*Minor Secrets might convince the vulnerable party to part with mildly valuable information or assets, or commit slightly dangerous acts in exchange for silence, or delivery of whatever proof is had. Major Secrets can be used to obtain prized information or assets, or to force dangerous actions like harboring a fugitive, lying to an Obligator, or committing an act of violence.

As Weapons*
Some Secrets are so devastating that exposing them can damage a person’s good name (Reputation) or emotional stability (Willpower). Shameful or illegal past deeds, childhood trauma, and sources of great stress could all become harmful Secrets if revealed under the right conditions. Timing is everything when using Secrets as weapons, as those impacted by them have often been preparing for their disclosure for some time, and act very quickly in response.

*When revealed, a damaging Minor Secret inflicts 2 􏰕damage, and a Major Secret inflicts 4 􏰞damage. These can be used during Social and Mental Conflicts.

As Macguffins
A "MacGuffin" is a literary conceit, a plot element used to draw in the reader and drive the characters. Secrets can serve the same purpose, essentially acting as bait for the Heroes and leading them deeper down certain paths of your choosing. Such Secrets have to offer something the Heroes really want, and the danger of this approach is that unless there’s a chance the Heroes can actually gain or achieve the MacGuffin’s promise, you run the risk of violating their investment in the story.