#import "../templates/interior_template.typ": *
#show: chapter.with(chapter_name: "How It Works")
= How It Works
#show: columns.with(2, gutter: 1em)
In a tabletop roleplaying game, each player takes on the role of one or more characters. The characters adventure through an imaginary world (which can range from the fantastical to the mundane), and the players use the game's rules to determine the results of their characters' actions. In Cortex, everybody contributes to the story, but at some point you break out dice, contributing just enough randomness so no one knows what will happen until events unfold during play.
== Example characters
Throughout the book there will be examples of play included, those examples feature the same players, ST, and characters for consistency. They are:
- *Rhinemann (he/him)*: Storyteller
- *Lydia (she/her)*: Fashionista Hermetic mage with small stature and large personality
- *Aurelius (he/him)*: Studious Hermetic wizard balancing brilliance and madness and Lydia's grandson
#block(breakable: false)[
== Traits & Dice
Each character has a few different collections of traits, called trait sets. Each trait in a set is rated with a die size: #spec_char.d4, #spec_char.d6, #spec_char.d8, #spec_char.d10, or #spec_char.d12. Generally, larger die sizes make a trait more effective, so #spec_char.d6 is better than #spec_char.d4. Examples of trait sets used in Mage are attributes (Physical, Mental, and Social groups), skills (Physical, Mental, and Social groups), Spheres and signature assets (items or other factors that provide an advantage, such as Hidden Knife or Magnifying Glass). One example trait set for a character might be the attributes Intelligence #spec_char.d8, Wits #spec_char.d8, Resolve #spec_char.d8, Strength #spec_char.d6, Dexterity #spec_char.d6, Stamina #spec_char.d6, Presence #spec_char.d6, Manipulation #spec_char.d6, and Composure #spec_char.d6.
]
When you want your character to do something, if there's nothing getting in your way, you just do it. If there is opposition (such as an opponent, a difficult environment, or a time limit), you roll the dice for certain traits to figure out if you succeed or fail.
#block(breakable: false)[
=== Your Total
After rolling, you add two of the die results together for your total. (So if my highest rolls were a 7 on a #spec_char.d8 and a 3 on a #spec_char.d6, I'd probably want to add those two together for a total of 10.)
]
#block(breakable: false)[
=== Your Effect Die
After choosing die results for your total, you pick one of the other dice you rolled to be your effect die. This choice doesn't affect whether you succeed or fail. It's kind of like how a die for damage in the most popular fantasy RPGs is separate from your attack roll to hit.
]
#block(breakable: false)[
=== Opposition
When you roll, another player (often the Storyteller, or ST) builds their own dice pool and rolls it. You compare your roll's total to theirs, and the higher roll succeeds. The player who rolls first sets the bar for how difficult the opposition's roll should be, so that player wins ties.
]
#block(breakable: false)[
=== Success
If you win, the size of your effect die (not the number it rolled) determines how big of an effect your success had. You might say, "My effect die is #spec_char.d8."
]
For example, if you roll to hit someone with a weapon, your total determines whether you hit (like comparing an attack roll to armor class in traditional fantasy RPGs), and your effect die would be how much damage you inflict. Your total tells you whether the story goes your way; your effect die tells you how far it goes.
#block(breakable: false)[
=== An Example Of Play
Lydia was going home late evening after shopping for new fabrics when she noticed a man following her. Not wanting to tip off the stalker she decides to read his aura. She grabs an amulet on her neck that looks like a burning spider, feels its warmth and whispers a spell almost silently to get a reading on the strange man.
]
The ST asks the player to roll the dice to see if the succeeds. She rolls Spider in the Web (her distinction) #spec_char.d8 Perception #spec_char.d8, Awareness #spec_char.d6, Ars Potentiae (Prime) #spec_char.d6
Myriad-Dreamin
commented
3 months ago
Describe the bug The code highlighting highlights everything as a quote after a closing quotation mark.
Package/Software version:
VSCodium version(Help -> About):
tinymist extension version:
v0.11.17.Additional context
The whole code: