Game Terms
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D6: A 6-sided die (the most common variety, and 1/2 of the necessary equipment used to play craps)

Authority: A quality of level 5. Human maximum.

Blessed: An advantage usually gained through Blessings, awarded to the players at the beginning of each session. A Blessed roll succeed on a 4, 5 or 6. Additional dice from exploding this roll still succeed only on a 5 or 6. If a quality that is cursed receives a blessing, for the time when both the blessing and curse are active, neither affect this quality.

Bonus: Additional dice added to a dice pool to represent advantageous conditions. Identified in the system by a plus symbol. e.g +1

Cardinal Abilities: The two strongest qualities a new character begins with when using basic character creation. These qualities start at Professional level (4).

Cumulative Success: A target requiring extended durations and a target number of successes to complete.

Cursed: A disadvantage usually gained through injury or insanity. Cursed rolls can only roll a success on a 6 (which still explodes). Additional dice from exploding this roll still succeed on a 5 or 6.

Dice Pool: The total number of dice rolled in any action requiring a roll the character attempts. Usually the dice pool is equal to the relevant Quality, but Specialties, Merits, Flaws, Fortune, Injuries and Insanity can modify a dice pool.

Explode: The benefit of a die that has rolled to a 6. When a die explodes, an additional die may be added to the dice pool and rolled as normal. Dice added through Exploding can Explode themselves, allowing for extraordinary successes.

Fortune: Points awarded through the Luck quality and through GM rewards. Used by characters to re-roll or add 3 dice to a pool.

Flaw: A drawback that a character must suffer. Whenever a flaw does hamper a character, that character earns additional xp for the session.

GM: Short for "Game Master". This is the person who "runs" the game: authors the plot, directs the action, and plays the part of any NPCs (see below).

Inept: A quality of level 0. Characters cannot begin with a 0 quality but can be reduced to 0 by injury or insanity. There is no level below 0 and further penalties to an Inept quality have no effect.

Merit: A benefit allowing more versatility and customization than qualities and specialties alone.

NPC: Short for "Non-Player Character". These are characters you may hear about, witness, or interact with but which are not PCs (personas directed by yourself or a fellow player, see above).

Opposed Roll: Rolls used to represent actions taken in direct opposition to another character or NPC.

PC: Short for "Player Character". This is the persona that you, as a player, create and etch on a character sheet. If roleplaying is improvisational theater, you are an actor and your PC is the part you play. Your fellow players will each have a PC as well.

Penalty: Dice removed from a dice pool used to represent disadvantageous conditions. Identified in the system by a minus symbol. e.g. -1

Poor: A quality of level 1. Below average.

Professional: A quality of level 4. Very competent.

Quality: One of the 13 defining characteristics of a character: Aim, Athletics, Brawn, Education, Luck, Perception, Persuade, Presence, Reflex, Resolve, Streetwise, Survival and Technology.

Rounds: A way to pace in-game action and to log events over time. Rounds are comprised of equal, but pre-ordained, time increments and are used to provide an objective means to gauge what is and is not possible within the context of a scene, since it takes longer for the player and GM to discuss an action than it would for the character to actually TAKE that action. In Hellcrashers, one round is equal to 6 seconds of in-game time. So whatever you believe your character could do in 6 seconds is equal to the action you could direct for one round.

Session: A single, continuous gathering of role-playing.

Scene: An ambiguous unit of time defined by a series of related events usually tied to a single location. A scene might end when a negotiation is completed, a fight is won (or lost) or characters leave a room.

Specialty: A focused application of a Quallity. A Specialty applies a +1 die bonus to relevant rolls.

Success: A single die to have rolled a 5 or 6 representing a favorable outcome. Multiple successes indicate greater degrees of achievement.

Superstitions: A set of taboos that are maintained to conserve Fortune.

Talented: A quality of level 3. Above human average.

Talents: Three qualities of moderate skill a new character begins with when using basic character creation. These qualities start at Professional level (3).

Typical: A quality of level 2. Human average.

Weakness: A Poor (1) quality that a new character begins with when using the basic character creation.

XP: Shorthand for Experience Points. Used to advance a character's abilities.

What We Know
Crasher Jargon
Game Terms
Topside
The "H" Word
Rust and Despair
DEEPWATER

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