Glossary
Action: One of three things you can do on your turn in combat.
Action Economy: The total number of actions available to each side in combat.
Advancement Points (AP): Legacy advancement currency from the class-based system. In the classless system, AP is replaced by Character Points (CP) — the cost structures are preserved (1 CP = 1 AP), so all existing ability costs remain valid. Class files in rules/classes/ still display AP costs; read these as CP costs.
Archetype: Your character's foundation class (Warrior, Gunslinger, Mystic, Medic, Technician, Operative, Diplomat, Channeler, Scavenger, Infiltrator, Psion, Mutant). Under the classless system, archetypes are now recommended builds — curated starting points, not rules-enforced restrictions. See rules/classes/index.md.
Augmentation: Cybernetic or biotech enhancement installed in your body. Reduces Humanity when installed.
Bonus Action: An action type that costs 1 of your 3 standard actions per turn and is limited to once per turn. You cannot take two bonus actions in the same turn. Some abilities, items, and features label their cost as a Bonus Action — this means the ability can only be taken once per turn and cannot stack with other bonus actions. See Combat.
Bounded Accuracy: Design principle limiting bonuses to keep challenges relevant across all levels.
Build: A character concept defined by your chassis choice and skill tree investments. Under the classless system, builds are freeform — you choose which abilities to purchase with Character Points (CP). The 12 archetypes (Warrior, Gunslinger, Mystic, etc.) are curated recommended builds that suggest a coherent starting path, but any combination of chassis and skill tree purchases constitutes a valid build.
Burning: Ongoing fire damage condition. Take 1d6 fire damage at the start of each turn. Fortitude save (source DC, or DC 13 for environmental sources) at end of turn to extinguish, or spend 1 action to smother. See Conditions.
Burnout / Burnout Points (BP): Accumulated magical fatigue from overcasting, failed rituals, or using too much magic.
Capstone: The pinnacle ability in a skill tree. Costs 25 CP, requires Level 10+, and requires at least 2 Tier 3 abilities in the same tree. A character can have at most one Capstone across all trees — this is the identity-defining top of a build. See Character Points and Skill Trees.
Challenge Budget (CB): Total party level, used to build encounters.
Challenge Rating (CR): Numerical measure of a creature's combat power.
Character Points (CP): The currency of advancement in the classless system, replacing Advancement Points (AP). You receive 15 CP at Level 1 (20 CP if Human) and 10 CP per level thereafter, for a total of 205 CP at Level 20. Spend CP to purchase skill tree abilities, increase attributes, gain proficiencies, and unlock cantrips. 1 CP = 1 AP — existing ability costs are unchanged. See Character Points for the full economy, costs, and anti-convergence mechanics.
Chassis: Your character's physical and training baseline, chosen at character creation. Permanent — it does not change with level. Your chassis determines your Hit Die, starting HP, HP per level, armor proficiencies, weapon proficiencies, save proficiencies, and starting skill proficiencies. It does not grant abilities, features, or talents — those come from spending Character Points (CP) in skill trees. The five chassis are Heavy, Striker, Specialist, Survivor, and Adept. See Chassis for full descriptions.
Concentration: A sustained mental focus required to maintain certain spells. You can concentrate on only one spell at a time — casting a second concentration spell immediately ends the first. When you take damage while concentrating, make a Will save (DC = 10 or half the damage taken, whichever is higher); on failure, the spell ends. Concentration also ends if you are incapacitated or killed, or if you voluntarily end it Free. See Magic.
Defense Value (DV): Target number enemies must meet or beat to hit you. Replaces Armor Class.
Depth Discount: A CP cost reduction earned by investing heavily in a single skill tree. At 20+ CP spent in one tree, future purchases in that tree cost −1 CP; at 40+ CP, −2 CP; at 60+ CP, −3 CP. Minimum cost is half base (rounded up). Depth discounts offset the generalist surcharge and reward specialists who go deep rather than wide. See Character Points.
Doctrine: A minor passive bonus chosen at Level 1 and Level 6, representing your character's combat philosophy or training focus.
Exhaustion: Six-level stacking debilitating condition from fatigue, environmental hazards, or magical burnout. The levels are:
- Fatigued: Disadvantage on ability checks, -5 ft movement speed
- Weary: Disadvantage on attack rolls, maximum carrying capacity halved
- Drained: Disadvantage on saving throws, maximum HP reduced by 25%, cannot benefit from temp HP
- Severely Weakened: Movement speed halved, maximum HP reduced by 50%, cannot take reactions
- Critically Exhausted: Speed reduced to 5 ft, cannot concentrate, disadvantage on death saves, max HP reduced by 75%
- Death: Character dies from complete exhaustion
Free Action: An action that does not consume any of your 3 standard actions per turn. Free actions represent minor, nearly-instant activities permitted at the GM's discretion. Common examples include speaking a short phrase, dropping an item, falling prone voluntarily, releasing a grapple, and activating certain instant abilities. Unlike Bonus Actions, free actions are not part of the action economy — they are limited only by common sense and GM ruling. See Combat.
Gear Tier: Equipment power level (1-10) that scales with character progression.
Hit Die (HD): Die rolled to determine HP gained per level. Varies by chassis (d6 to d12).
Hit Points (HP): Your character's health. Drop to 0 HP and you're dying.
Humanity / Essence (HUM): Resource representing your biological and spiritual integrity. Starts at 10. Spent on augmentations; limits magical capacity at low values.
Long Rest: 7 consecutive days in a safe settlement with food, water, and shelter. Restores all HP, spell slots, and abilities. This is a core design pillar — not a variant rule.
Mastery Path: A cross-disciplinary specialization available at Level 11-15. Combines abilities from multiple skill trees into a unique identity (e.g., Iron Sigil, Voidwalker, Arsenal).
Milestone: A passive bonus earned by reaching a CP spending threshold in one skill tree. Initiate (15+ CP): +1 to one associated skill. Journeyman (30+ CP): unlock a tree-specific minor passive. Master (50+ CP): +1 to attack rolls, save DCs, or skill checks with abilities from this tree (exact bonus type defined per tree). Milestones reward specialists and cannot be replicated by generalists spreading CP across multiple trees. See Character Points.
Mythic Boon: A GM-granted narrative reward available only to mythic-tier characters (Level 21+) who complete a legendary, world-defining achievement. A Mythic Boon grants +1 to a single bonus category (attribute, proficiency, or equipment), allowing a character to reach the absolute bonus ceiling of +18. A character can benefit from at most one Mythic Boon. Mythic Boons are not purchasable with CP — they are earned through story, not advancement math. See Bounded Accuracy and the Mythic Tier section of Introduction.
Overcasting: Casting spells when you have no spell slots left. Risky; can cause Burnout.
Proficiency Bonus: Level-based bonus (+2 to +6 core, +7 to +9 mythic tier) added to trained skills and attacks.
Reaction: Special action taken outside your turn in response to a trigger.
Ritual Casting: Casting spells without expending spell slots by investing additional time and materials.
Short Rest: 8 hours of rest in a safe location with water. Recovers Hit Dice, 1 spell slot, and per-short-rest abilities. Maximum 1 per 24-hour period. This is a core design pillar — not a variant rule.
Signature: The ultimate ability in a skill tree — the legacy-defining top of a complete build. Costs 30 CP, requires Level 15+, and requires the Capstone in the same tree plus a special prerequisite (varies by tree). Only one Signature ability is possible per character, reinforcing the single-build-identity design of the CP system. See Character Points and Skill Trees.
Skill Focus: A narrow expertise within a proficient skill, granting +2 to checks within a specific domain. Acquired at Level 1 (background), 5, 10, and 15. One focus per skill maximum. See Skills.
Skill Tree: Branching modular advancement path of related abilities, purchased with Character Points (CP). Under the classless system, skill trees are no longer archetype-locked — any character can invest in any tree from Level 1. Each tree has four tiers: Tier 1 (Entry, 5 CP), Tier 2 (Mid, 10 CP), Tier 3 (Advanced, 15 CP), and Capstone (25 CP, Level 10+). Deep investment earns milestones and depth discounts. See Character Points and Skill Trees.
Specialization: At Level 6, characters deepen their identity by choosing one of three specialization branches within their primary skill tree cluster. Each specialization defines a distinct combat role and unlocks new abilities through Level 10. Specialization choice is narrative and mechanical — it determines which advanced abilities you access. See individual build guides in Classes for specialization options.
Threat Level (TL): Monster's power rating; determines encounter budget cost.
Tier Token: Abstract currency for purchasing equipment within the appropriate tier. Replaces gold/credits.
Truesight: A creature with Truesight can see through magical darkness, invisibility, illusions, and shapeshifting within the specified range. Truesight does NOT penetrate solid walls, physical barriers, or mundane concealment — it only pierces magical and psionic concealment effects.
Twilight Event: Catastrophic magical failure with reality-warping consequences, triggered by critical overcast failure.