Knightverge Legacy: The Players’ Guide First draft

Knightverge Legacy is a tabletop role-playing game about heroes, vigilantes and villains in a world with no magic. You play a Persona, a character built from an Origin (where your power comes from), an Archetype (how you deal with problems) and nine Traits that measure what you are good at. One person, the Game Master, runs the world and its Foes. Everyone else plays a Persona.

The game runs on the Roll Combat rules from Sparkthunder Entertainment. You tell a story together, and when the outcome is uncertain you roll two twelve-sided dice, add a number from your sheet and compare the total with a Threshold set by the Game Master.

• Two twelve-sided dice (2d12) for Trait Checks, plus a few six-sided dice for healing and damage. The online table rolls for you.
• A Persona sheet. Build one in the Persona builder, or open a ready-made Persona in the sandbox table.
• A small group, one of whom is the Game Master. You can play in person, or online in the Roll Combat VTT.

• Open the sandbox tableA table that is ready to play, with no sign-up.
• Build a PersonaMake your own and keep it on your account.

A session is a conversation with dice. The Game Master describes a scene. You say what your Persona does. If it could fail in a way that matters, the Game Master asks for a Trait Check and names the Threshold. You roll, and the story goes on from the result.

Play moves between a few kinds of scene. Social scenes are talking, persuading and reading people. Survey scenes are exploring and investigating. Skirmishes are fights, played in rounds with turns. Between scenes you rest and recover. The rules are the same in all of them: roll a Trait Check, or take an action in a turn.

Tip. Every rule word has a one-line definition in the Glossary, and the Rules Reference lets you search the lot.

• GlossaryEvery rule term, defined.
• Rules ReferenceEvery rule chapter, searchable and printable.

Read the chapters in order the first time, then come back to the one you need. The last chapter is a one-page cheat sheet you can print. Numbers and tables in these guides come straight from the same rules data the online table uses, so they always agree with it.

Draft. A few rules are still being confirmed. Where a guide describes a rule that is a working guess, it carries a Draft label so you know the Game Master may change it.

Every Persona starts with three things. Your Origin is where your power comes from. Your Archetype is how your Persona deals with problems, with a history, a role in the group and special features. Your Traits are nine scores that say what you are good at.

There are fifteen Archetypes, from Assassin to Vigilante. A Sub-Type sharpens an Archetype into a specialty. Powers come from your Origin, and Abilities are skills anyone can train, granted by your Archetype and level.

• ArchetypesAll fifteen, with their features.
• OriginsWhere your power comes from.
• CompendiumTraits, gear, Foes and Effects in one place.

Each Trait has a Score from 1 to 100. Your MOD is the Score divided by 10, rounded down, so a Score of 62 gives a MOD of +6 and 49 gives +4. Only the tens digit matters for rolling. Every Trait Check you make uses one Trait.

Your sheet marks the Traits your Persona has trained as Adept (the small star). When you roll an Adept Trait you add your EXP as well as your MOD, and you roll with Prowess, which gives you a second chance at a good result. The next chapter explains Prowess.

Draft. The sheet shows the rules value for Guard and Stamina next to your own number, with a "Use rules values" button, so you can see the difference. It never changes your numbers by itself.

1. Pick an Origin and an Archetype that fit the Persona you picture.
2. Spread your Trait Scores. Put your highest scores in the Traits your Archetype leans on.
3. Mark your Adept Traits.
4. Read off your Guard, Stamina and Chance. The sheet works them out.
5. Choose gear, then give your Persona a name, a look and a few personality notes: what drives them, what they fear, who they care about.

Tip. The sheet has prompts for Personality, Drive, Bonds, Fear, Flaws, Catchphrase and Backstory. A line or two in each makes a Persona easy to play on the night.

• Persona builderOpen Your tables, then Build a Persona.

When the outcome is uncertain, the Game Master picks the Trait that fits and a Threshold. You roll two twelve-sided dice, add your MOD for that Trait, and add your EXP if you are Adept in it. If your total reaches the Threshold, you succeed.

You can click or tap a Trait on your sheet in the online table. The roll goes to the chat with your MOD, EXP and any Prowess or Stagger already added.

A Novice task is something most people manage. An Expert task is something only a specialist does reliably. The Game Master picks the Threshold, and a Persona with a high MOD and EXP clears the lower ones almost every time.

• Odds calculatorWork out your exact chance of success against any Threshold.

Prowess and Stagger change how many dice you roll. With Prowess you roll an extra d12 and drop the lowest of the three. With Stagger you roll an extra d12 and drop the highest. Both change the dice you roll and not the Threshold.

• Prowess comes from being Adept, from a flanking ally, from an Assist, and from some Abilities and gear.
• Stagger comes from some Effects and Abilities. For example, a Collapsed Persona rolls Motion with Stagger, and Foes attack a fleeing Persona with Stagger.
• One Prowess and one Stagger cancel each other out.
• More than one of either rolls more dice: keep the best two with Prowess, the worst two with Stagger.

Draft. Each of Prowess and Stagger stacks up to half your EXP, rounded down. That is 0 at levels 1 to 3, so the online table never lets the cap fall below 1. At level 6 the cap is 1, at level 12 it is 3 and at level 20 it is 5.

Tip. On your sheet in the online table, Shift-click a Trait to roll it with Prowess, and right-click it to roll with Stagger.

A failed check is not the end of the scene. How far you missed the Threshold sets the degree of failure, and the degree is what it costs to turn the failure into a success with Chance.

When two people oppose each other, such as Might against Might to Pin someone, or Sneak against Study to Hide, both roll and the higher total wins. The core actions chapter lists which Traits each action uses.

Chance is a small pool of charges. You have as many charges as your EXP. After you fail a Trait Check you can spend charges to succeed anyway. The price is a Complication: something gets harder or more costly later.

1. Make your Trait Check and fail.
2. Look at the degree of failure: Low costs 1 charge, Moderate costs 2, Critical costs 3.
3. If you have enough charges and want to use them, spend them. The check now counts as a success.
4. The Game Master picks a Complication.

If you are Adept in the Trait you just rolled and have 2 charges left, you can spend them to make an ally's failed check succeed instead.

A Complication is a hindrance. It should make the next few minutes more interesting, not end the game. The Game Master chooses, and the table can suggest.

• Additional Trait Check (e.g. Sneak to stay hidden, Resist to prevent extra trap damage)
• Higher Threshold for an important Trait Check later in the day
• Trivial or Harmful injury
• Extra hostile Foes or a Skirmish
• Additional trap or ambush, or a foiled attempt
• Infamy increase
• Foe behaviour changes towards the Persona
• Temporary loss of an ally (imprisoned, threatened, unconscious, bribed)
• Limited access to new Equipment or higher vendor prices
• Temporary imprisonment
• Limited or conflicting information gathered
• Information gained on the Persona in return (secret alliance, weakness, ability)

• Complication generatorRoll a Complication if the table is stuck.

Tip. Chance is for the moments that matter. A Persona that spends it on every miss has nothing left when the boss arrives.

A fight is played in rounds. In each round everyone takes one turn, in initiative order, and then the round ends. On your turn you can move and take actions, paying for them with Stamina Points (SP). Some Effects count down at the end of each round.

Draft. Initiative is not set out in the rules I have yet. The online table rolls a d20 plus your Agility MOD by default, and the Game Master can change both the dice and the Trait in the Table tab.

1. The Game Master calls for initiative and everyone rolls.
2. The highest total goes first, and play moves down the order.
3. On your turn you move, spend SP on actions and may use reactions when the rules allow.
4. When everyone has gone, the round ends and a new one begins.

Stamina is your fuel for acting. Every action has an SP cost, shown as a number, or a number and a plus sign if you can spend more for a bigger effect. Your maximum is your level plus 2, so a level 1 Persona has 3 SP and a level 20 Persona has 22.

Draft. How much Stamina comes back at the start of your turn is still being confirmed. The Game Master can switch on automatic refilling in the online table. If Slowed, every SP cost is doubled.

Damage meets your Guard first, and only what gets through takes Vitality. Guard is the cushion: your armour, reflexes and stance. Vitality is your health. When Vitality reaches 0 you are Unconscious, unable to act or move, until someone revives you with the Heal action.

• Guard is 10 + Resist MOD + Agility MOD, and the Defend action adds more until the start of your next turn.
• Bleeding skips Guard and takes Vitality directly. Burning goes for Guard first, then Vitality.
• Guard can be reduced by Irradiated, and maximum Vitality by Shocked.

Draft. The online table can run damage through Guard, then temporary Vitality, then Vitality when the Game Master turns that switch on. Temporary Vitality is a convenience on the sheet and is not in the rules as written.

The Attack action strikes your chosen Targets. Each Attack or Ability lists its range, its SP cost and its damage. Make the Trait Check it names against your target. The online table lets you mark a target with T, and attacks on the sheet show their damage dice so you can roll them straight away.

Tip. Flanking and Assist both give Prowess to an ally. A coordinated team beats a lone hero, because Prowess is a bonus anyone can pass on.

A reaction happens outside your turn, in answer to something. Retaliate answers an enemy leaving your melee range. Deflect negates a Retaliate. Retreat lets you leave a Foe's reach without being hit. Disrupt weakens a nearby ranged attack, and Negate interrupts a Lethal Blow.

The next chapter lists every action with its cost.

At 0 Vitality you are Unconscious. You cannot act or move. Anyone within 5 feet can use the Heal action to revive you. Until then you are out of the fight, and the table marks your token so everyone can see.

• Run a first fight onlineThe exact clicks to add tokens and start combat.

These are things anyone can do in a fight. Each has an SP cost, a usage (on your Turn, as a Reaction, or Anytime) and, for many, a Trait that is rolled. A cost with a plus sign, like 1+, means you can pay more SP for a bigger effect.

Your Archetype and Abilities add more Attacks and Abilities on top of these.

Tip. You can add all 22 core actions to your sheet with one button, and each one rolls its Trait for you.

An Effect is a condition on a Persona or Foe: Bleeding, Blind, Pinned, Slowed and so on. Each one changes the rules for whoever has it. Some apply once and stay until something removes them. Others are stacking Effects, which build up in charges.

Stacking Effects carry charges. Each has a maximum, worked out from your EXP, so the same Effect can be a nuisance at level 1 and a killer at level 15. Charges drop by 1 at the end of every round. You can also spend Stamina to clear them faster: each SP removes 2 charges.

• Reference cardsPrint the Effects as cards for the table.

Anyone can give first aid to themselves or to someone within 5 feet. It costs at least 1 SP and uses Study. You roll a Study check against the Heal Threshold. On a success you roll healing dice, and the result is the Vitality you give back.

The Heal Threshold is 10, plus the healer's EXP, plus half the healer's level (rounded down). Healing the Unconscious uses the same action.

Draft. The healing table stops at level 15 (6d6). Until the rules say otherwise, levels 16 to 20 use the same dice. Whether a failed Heal costs anything, and whether you can revive someone at 0 Vitality, are still being confirmed.

Draft. The sheet also uses a Full Rest to restore Guard and Stamina. Whether a rest gives back Vitality is not set in the rules, so it does not: Vitality comes back through the Heal action and through injuries healing.

An injury is lasting harm. It comes from the Injured Effect, a Complication, a hazard or a Lethal Blow. There are three tiers, and each injury lowers your dice results, maximum SP and maximum Vitality by its number.

• Five injuries in one tier immediately become one injury of the next tier.
• Harmful injuries need 3 uninterrupted Full Rests. A professional medic speeds this up.
• Grave injuries do not heal on their own. Get medical attention fast.

Draft. The online sheet adds each injury's penalty together (two Trivial and one Harmful is −4) and applies it to Trait Checks made from the sheet. Damage rolls and table rolls are not reduced.

As your Persona levels, your Archetype and Origin grant new Powers and Abilities, and your EXP rises. The top level is 20.

Draft. When you level up is set by your table. The online sheet has a progress bar towards your next level with a target you type in, and a Ready to level up button when the bar is full. There is no official experience table yet.

EXP is half your level, never below 1. It is what you add to checks in Adept Traits, and it sets your Chance and the maximum charges on stacking Effects.

The Level planner shows what each level gives a Persona you build, so you can see what is coming before you get there.

• Level plannerSee every level for your plan, up to 20.

How far you can see depends on how bright it is. Light changes your Vision Range, the distance you can see detail.

Tip. A torch or other light you carry counts as normal lighting for you, so you keep your full Vision Range in a dim or dark place.

Blindsight reaches up to 3 squares. Effects such as Blind, Deaf and Scentless take away a sense entirely, and rolls that rely on it automatically fail.

Your Load Capacity is your Might Score times 2. Every object has a Load Type, and carrying more than your capacity makes you Encumbered: for each full 10 points over, your Motion drops by 10 feet, and you take a Trivial injury for each hour.

Draft. The gear list does not carry a Load for each item yet, so the online sheet uses a stand-in number for each category of gear until it does.

In a High or Deadly environment the survival rules apply. Food, water and medical help are scarce, hazards hit harder and are harder to spot, Trait Checks are tougher, and full rests are hard to come by. Plan for it: bring supplies and a medic.

• Rules ReferenceThe full survival and hazard tables.

1. Sign in and open Your tables.
2. Type the join code your Game Master gave you.
3. Open the table. You are in as a player.

To try it without signing in, open the sandbox table. It is a ready table with two Personas, some Foes and a map.

Open the Personas tab and pick your Persona. Your Traits, Vitality, Guard, Stamina and Chance are all there. Click a Trait to roll it, and the result goes to the chat for everyone. The sheet saves by itself as you change it.

• Temporary Vitality, money, level progress and allies sit alongside your core numbers.
• The Heal panel rolls a Study check and the healing dice for you.
• On a phone, a bar at the bottom of the screen keeps Vitality, Guard, Stamina and Chance in reach.

Click your token to select it. Drag it, or use the arrow keys to move one square. Walls stop you, and doors open when the Game Master opens them. Alt-click to ping a spot, press M to measure a distance and D to draw on the map.

The dice tray on the map rolls any dice. 3D dice with sound can be switched off in the top bar.

The Combat tab and a bar on the map show the round and whose turn it is. When it is yours, you get a banner and a chime. Roll your action from the sheet, move your token, and tell the Game Master when you are done. The Game Master presses Next turn.

Tip. Press ? in the table for the controls, or open the Reference panel to search the rules, check odds and look up an Effect without leaving the map.

• VTT guideEvery control and shortcut, and the Game Master quick start.
• Open the sandbox tableTry it now.

Roll 2d12. Add your Trait MOD (Score ÷ 10, rounded down). Add EXP if you are Adept. Reach the Threshold to succeed.

Prowess: extra d12, drop the lowest. Stagger: extra d12, drop the highest. They cancel one for one.

Chance charges equal your EXP. Spending them brings a Complication. Light Rest gives back 1, Full Rest gives back all.

• EXP = Level ÷ 2, rounded down, minimum 1.
• Guard = 10 + Resist MOD + Agility MOD.
• Stamina = Level + 2.
• Heal Threshold = 10 + EXP + half Level. Healing dice: 2d6 (levels 1 to 3), 3d6 (4 to 6), 4d6 (7 to 9), 5d6 (10 to 12), 6d6 (13 to 15).
• Load Capacity = Might Score × 2.

• Roll initiative. Take turns in order. Spend SP on actions.
• Damage hits Guard first, then Vitality. Bleeding skips Guard.
• At 0 Vitality you are Unconscious. Heal brings you back.
• Stacks drop 1 each round. 1 SP clears 2 charges.