Introduction

This chapter of the book will go over basic things like how to play, the dice used in the game, and general rules to follow.

How To Play

The play of most tabletop roleplaying games unfold according to this basic pattern.

1. The GM describes the environment. The GM tells the players where their characters are and what’s around them, presenting the basic scope of options that present themselves (how many doors lead out of a room, what’s on a table, who’s in the tavern, and so on).

2. The players describe what they want to do. Sometimes one player speaks for the whole party, saying, “We’ll take the east door,” for example. Other times, different players want to do different things: one character might search a treasure chest while a second examines an esoteric symbol engraved on a wall and a third keeps watch for monsters. The players don’t need to take turns, but the GM listens to every player and decides how to resolve those actions.

Sometimes, resolving a task is easy. If a character wants to walk across a room and open a door, the GM might just say that the door opens and describe what lies beyond. But the door might be locked, the floor might hide a deadly trap, or some other circumstance might make it challenging for a character to complete a task. In those cases, the GM decides what happens, relying on the roll of a die, or more often multiple dice, to determine the results of an action.

3. The GM narrates the results of the characters’ actions. Describing the results often leads to another decision point, which brings the flow of the game right back to step one.

This pattern holds whether the player characters are cautiously exploring a ruin, talking to a devious prince, or locked in mortal combat against a mighty dragon. In certain situations, particularly combat, the action is more structured and the players (and GM) do take turns choosing and resolving actions. But most of the time, play is fluid and flexible, adapting to the circumstances of the adventure.

Often the action of an adventure takes place in the imagination of the players and GM, relying on the GM’s verbal descriptions to set the scene. Some GMs like to use music, art, or recorded sound effects to help set the mood, and many players and GMs alike adopt different voices for the various player characters, monsters, and other characters they play in the game. Sometimes, a GM might lay out a map and use tokens or miniature figures to represent each creature involved in a scene to help the players keep track of where everyone is.

The Dice

Ascension is a d6-based system, meaning the main dice used will be your standard six-sided dice.

When you need to roll dice, the rules tell you how many dice to roll. For example, “3D” means you roll three dice in order to determine the degree of success. You might also have a base degree of success where, for example, in the case of "2D & 2", you would have a minimum of two successes and a max of four.

Rolling The Dice

Does a characters’ sword swing hurt a dragon or just bounce off its iron-hard scales? Will the ogre believe an outrageous bluff? Can a character swim across a raging river? Can a character avoid the main blast of a fireball, or does he or she take full damage from the blaze? In cases where the outcome of an action is uncertain, Ascension relies on rolling a number of d6s to determine success or failure.

Every character and monster in the game has capabilities defined by six attributes. The attributes are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. These attributes are the basis for almost every roll that a player makes on a character’s or monster’s behalf.

The steps to follow when making a roll are rather simple.

1.  Dice Count. Roll this number of dice. Every four, five, or six that show up counts as one success.

2.  Result Modifier. If you see an asterisk, that indicates a result modifier. Pick one of the dice you rolled and add one to it. For example, if one of your dice is a three, treat it as a four. This can potentially turn a failure into a success.

3.  Base Successes. This is your base success level. Once you've rolled your dice and applied the result mod (if present) then add this number to the amount of successes you rolled. This final success count is your success level, or Degree of Success (DoS).

4.  Compare your DoS to a target number called the Difficulty Class (DC). If the DoS exceeds the DC, then the roll is a success. Otherwise, if the DoS is lower, then the roll is a failure. If the DoS is equal to the DC, then the state of the game before the roll is maintained. A door might remain locked, an enemy might remain hidden, or a trap might go undiscovered. The GM is usually the one who determines target numbers and tells players whether their rolls succeed or fail.

Specific Beats General

This book contains rules that govern how the game plays. That said, many abilities, magic items, and other game elements break the general rules in some way, creating an exception to how the rest of the game works. Remember this: If a specific rule contradicts a general rule, the specific rule wins.

The Three Pillars Of Gameplay

Characters can try to do anything their players can imagine, but it can be helpful to talk about their activities in three broad categories: exploration, social interaction, and combat.

Exploration

Exploration includes both the characters’ movement through the world and their interaction with objects and situations that require their attention. Exploration is the give-and-take of the players describing what they want their characters to do, and the Dungeon Master telling the players what happens as a result. On a large scale, that might involve the characters spending a day crossing a rolling plain or an hour making their way through caverns underground. On the smallest scale, it could mean one character pulling a lever in a dungeon room to see what happens.

Social Interaction

Social interaction features the adventurers talking to someone (or something) else. It might mean demanding that a captured scout reveal the secret entrance to the goblin lair, getting information from a rescued prisoner, pleading for mercy from an orc chieftain, or persuading a talkative magic mirror to show a distant location to the adventurers.

The rules discussed further in the book support exploration and social interaction, as do many abilities and personality traits.

Combat

Combat, which is further discussed in a later section, involves characters and other creatures swinging weapons, using abilities, maneuvering for position, etc., all in an effort to defeat their opponents, whether that means killing every enemy, taking captives, or forcing a retreat. Combat is the most structured element of the game, with creatures taking turns to make sure that everyone gets a chance to act. Even in the context of a pitched battle, there’s still plenty of opportunity for characters to attempt wacky stunts like surfing down a flight of stairs on a shield, to examine the environment (perhaps by pulling a mysterious lever), and to interact with other creatures, including allies, enemies, and neutral parties.

The Wonders of Higher Understanding

Few adventures end without something seemingly magical happening. In reality, many powerful beings have certain insights into the natural laws of the world, whether it manifests as the ability to create a small flame or creating a void that can destroy the fabric of space.

In the many worlds of this game, beings of the latter level of power are rare, set apart from the masses of people by their extraordinary talent and abilities. Common folk might see evidence of these insights on a regular basis, but it’s usually minor, being a fantastic monster, a visibly answered prayer, or an immortal walking through the streets with an animated shield-carrying golem as a bodyguard.

For some people though, these insights are the key to their survival. These people go by many names, with adventurers being the most common. For example, without methods of healing like abilities or potions, weaker adventurers would quickly succumb to their wounds. Without the enhancement of defensive or movement abilities, they might be overwhelmed by powerful foes. Without various offensive abilities, every threat would be magnified tenfold.

Some insights or abilities are also a favored tool of some the more nefarious people you might encounter. Many quests are driven by the machinations of those who are hellbent on using their power for some ill end. A cult leader seeks to awaken an ancient deity who slumbers beneath the sea, a hag kidnaps children to drain them of their spirit or vigor, a necromancer labors to invest an army of automatons with a facsimile of life, a dragon begins a mystical ritual to rise up as a deity of destruction. These are just a few of the threats that the player characters might face. But with power of their own, in the form of abilities, magic items, talismans, or potions, the players might prevail!