Human Scale Moves
Act Under Pressure, used for any difficult or dangerous action that isn’t covered by another move.
This covers trying to do something under conditions of particular stress or danger. Examples of acting under pressure are: staying on task while a banshee screams at you; barricading a door before the giant rats catch up; resisting the mental domination of a brain-worm; fighting on when you’re badly injured. When you act under pressure, roll +Cool. On a 10+ you do what you set out to. On a 7-9 the Keeper is going to give you a worse outcome, hard choice, or price to pay. On a miss, things go to hell.
Help Out, used to help another hunter do something. If you succeed, you’ll give them a bonus on their task.
When you help another hunter with a move they are making, roll +Cool. On a 10+ your help grants them +1 to their roll. On a 7-9 your help grants them +1 to their roll, but you also expose yourself to trouble or danger. On a miss, you expose yourself to trouble or danger without helping. Note that help bonuses do not stack: if two people help out, the hunter just gets +1 on their roll.
Investigate a Mystery, used to work out what kind of monster you are dealing with, what it can do, and what it’s planning.
Investigating can be done any number of ways: following tracks, interviewing witnesses, forensic analysis, looking up old folklore in a library, typing the monster’s name into Google, capturing the monster and conducting tests on it, and so on. Anything that might give you more information about what’s going on is fair game for an investigate move. When you investigate a mystery, roll +Sharp. On a 10+ hold 2, and on a 7-9 hold 1. One hold can be spent to ask the Keeper one of the following questions:
What happened here?
What sort of creature is it?
What can it do?
What can hurt it?
Where did it go?
What was it going to do?
What is being concealed here?
On a miss, you reveal some information to the monster or whoever you are talking to. The Keeper might ask you some questions, which you have to answer. It’s important that your attempts to investigate (and the results you get from them) are plausible and consistent with what’s happening. For example, if you’re using laboratory equipment to investigate evidence, you probably won’t be able to learn anything about the monster’s magical origins. The Keeper is obliged to answer truthfully, but not necessarily in full—just what you can work out in your current situation and using your current methods. The Keeper may choose to describe how something you’ve just discovered relates to something you learned previously. The Keeper may ask, “How do you find that out?” If you don’t have a good answer, choose another question instead.
Kick Some Ass, used for fighting. Fighting monsters, mainly.
This is used when you are fighting something that’s fighting you back. When you get into a fight and kick some ass, roll +Tough. On any success (i.e., total 7 or more) you and whatever you’re fighting inflict harm on each other. The amount of harm is based on the established dangers in the game. That usually means you inflict the harm rating of your weapon and your enemy inflicts their attack’s harm rating on you. You can take seven harm before you die. If you roll a 10+, choose one extra effect:
You gain the advantage: take +1 forward, or give +1 forward to another hunter.
You inflict terrible harm (+1 harm).
You suffer less harm (-1 harm).
You force them where you want them.
On a miss, you get your ass kicked instead. You suffer harm or get captured, but don’t inflict any harm back.
Manipulate Someone, used to try and get someone to do something for you, after you give them some kind of reason.
This move is used when you want someone to do something for you and they don’t want to do it. To get them to do what you’re asking you’ll need a good reason. What counts as a good reason depends on what you are asking for and your relationship with them. For friends and allies, you might just need to ask. For witnesses to a monster attack, you could tell them you are with the police, or just offer them some cash for answering your questions. Once you have given them a reason, tell them what you want them to do and roll +Charm.
For a normal person:
If you get 10+, then they’ll do it for the reason you gave them. If you asked too much, they’ll tell you the minimum it would take for them to do it (or if there’s no way they’d do it). On a 7-9, they’ll do it, but only if you do something for them right now to show that you mean it. If you asked too much, they’ll tell you what, if anything, it would take for them to do it. On a miss, your approach is completely wrong: you offend or anger the target.
For another hunter:
On a 10+, if they do what you ask they mark experience and get +1 forward. On a 7-9, they mark experience if they do what you ask. On a miss, it’s up to that hunter to decide how badly you offend or annoy them. They mark experience if they decide not to do what you asked.
Protect Someone, used to save someone from danger.
If someone is about to suffer harm and you can somehow prevent it, then you can try to protect them. When you prevent harm to another character, roll +Tough. On any success (i.e., 7 or more), you protect them okay, but you’ll suffer some or all of the harm they were going to get. If you got a 10+ choose an extra: You suffer little harm (-1 harm). All impending danger is now focused on you. You inflict harm on the enemy. You hold the enemy back. On a miss, then you end up making things worse.
Read a Bad Situation, used to work out what dangers are immediately threatening you. For instance, if you think you are walking into a trap, or want to do some tactical analysis.
When you look around and read a bad situation, roll +Sharp. On a 10+ hold 3, and on a 7-9, hold 1. One hold can be spent to ask the Keeper one of the following questions:
What’s my best way in?
What’s my best way out?
Are there any dangers we haven’t noticed?
What’s the biggest threat?
What’s most vulnerable to me?
What’s the best way to protect the victims?
If you act on the answers, you get +1 ongoing while the information is relevant. For example, if you ask for the best way into the monster’s lair then you’ll get +1 while you are infiltrating it. But once you’re in, the information doesn’t help you any more. The bonus is only applied once on each roll, even if more than one question applies to your course of action. On a miss, you might mis-read the situation (e.g. “Everything is fine here! It will be totally safe to go investigate alone!”), or you might reveal tactical details to your enemies (which means the Keeper can ask the questions above of you).
Use Magic, used to cast magic spells or use enchanted items. This also applies to hyper-science devices that are so advanced they might as well be magic.
When you use magic, say what you’re trying to achieve and how you do the spell, then roll +Weird. If you get a 10+, the magic works without issues: choose your effect. On a 7-9, it works imperfectly: choose your effect and a glitch. The Keeper will decide what effect the glitch has. On a miss, you lose control of the magic. This never ends well. By default the magic has one of the effects listed below, lasts for around thirty minutes, and does not expose you to danger, unwanted attention, or side-effects. If there’s a glitch that might change. Effects:
Inflict harm (1-harm ignore-armour magic obvious).
Enchant a weapon. It gets +1 harm and +magic.
Do one thing that is beyond human limitations.
Bar a place or portal to a specific person or a type of creature.
Trap a specific person, minion, or monster.
Banish a spirit or curse from the person, object, or place it inhabits.
Summon a monster into the world.
Communicate with something that you do not share a language with.
Observe another place or time.
Heal 1-harm from an injury, or cure a disease, or neutralize a poison.
Glitches:
The effect is weakened.
The effect is of short duration.
You take 1-harm ignore-armour.
The magic draws immediate, unwelcome attention.
It has a problematic side effect.
The Keeper may require one or more of the following:
The spell requires weird materials.
The spell will take 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or 1 minute to cast.
The spell requires ritual chanting and gestures.
The spell requires you to draw arcane symbols.
You need one or two people to help cast the spell.
You need to refer to a tome of magic for the details.
If you want to do magic that goes beyond these effects, it counts as big magic. Big magic uses different rules, described below.
Big Magic
Sometimes the everyday spells and rituals of the use magic basic move aren’t enough. Big magic covers everything more powerful, such as bringing someone back from the dead or opening a portal to another dimension. Big magic is both more powerful and more dangerous than the basic use magic. Decide what magical effect you want to make happen, and tell the Keeper. They will determine what you must do in order to cast the spell. The options (and the Keeper can pick more than one) are:
You need to spend a lot of time (days or weeks) researching the magic ritual.
You need to experiment with the spell—there will be lots of failures before you get it right.
You need some rare and weird ingredients and supplies.
The spell will take a long time (hours or days) to cast.
You need a lot of people (2, 3, 7, 13, or more) to help.
The spell needs to be cast at a particular place and/or time.
You need to use magic as part of the ritual, perhaps to summon a monster, communicate with something, or bar the portal you opened.
It will have a specific side-effect or danger.
Once you know the requirements, you need to arrange them. Once you’ve done that, the magical effect you want will simply happen. You don’t need to roll any move for big magic itself, but you might need to roll some other moves, as you try to meet the requirements.
Titan Scale Moves
The only thing that matters when you're a monster is how big you are, but size has a downside as well as an upside; some rolls miss on 6-, but others miss on 10+. You can start your monster with any size you choose from -1 to +2, but it won't change much after that. Here are the basic moves and how they work out; remember that you roll+size for every move:
Smash, used for inflicting damage on other Titans or ruining the scenery.
When you smash, on a 10+ you inflict damage; on a 7-9, you exchange damage; on a 6-, you miss.
Stride, used to move from one location to another. Large Titans are more likely to ruin the scenery this way.
When you stride, on a 10+ you miss; on a 7-9, you only reach your destination if you inflict damage; on a 6-, you reach it without inflicting damage.
Roar, used to assert dominance on other Titans.
When you roar, on a 10+, opponents must give way to you; on a 7-9, they choose to give way or take damage; on a 6-, you miss.
Grab, used to take hold of a Titan sized opponent or object.
When you grab, on a 10+, you miss; on a 7-9, you can only grab your target if you inflict damage; on a 6, you can grab it without inflicting damage.
Block, used to protect yourself or others from Titan sized dangers.
When you block, on a 10+ you prevent damage to yourself or the target; on a 7-9, the damage is deflected to the nearest available target; on a 6-, you take full damage but anything you were protecting suffers none.
Sense, used to turn your titan instincts to the task of better understanding the situation.
When you sense, on a 10+ you miss; on a 7-9, you only get a question answered if you inflict damage; on a 6-, you get an answer to a question without inflicting damage. Questions that you may ask are listed below:
What happened here?
What sort of creature is it?
What can it do?
What can hurt it?
Where did it go?
What was it going to do?
What is being concealed here?