Between scenes, characters take intermissions: downtime for recovery, maintenance, and narrative. These breathing spaces let heroes step back from danger to heal, reequip, and pursue story threads.
Recovery
Regardless of intermission length, all capacity scores return to their maximums at the start of every intermission. You can also swap equipment to different weapons or armor you own, provided they're narratively accessible.
Intermission Clocks
At the start of each intermission, the DM sets an intermission clock with 1-6 time lines (2-12 segments). More segments mean more time for cutscenes.
| Lines | Segments | Roughly Represents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Several hours |
| 2 | 4 | Half a day, up to a full day |
| 3 | 6 | A few days |
| 4 | 8 | Several days, up to a week |
| 5 | 10 | A couple of weeks, up to a month |
| 6 | 12 | Two or more months |
Each player gets their own allotment of segments equal to the clock size. Players do not share the clock; if the DM sets a 3-line clock (6 segments), each player has 6 segments to spend individually.
Cutscenes
Cutscenes are short narrative montages resolved with a single action roll. Each has a segment cost listed with its description. You describe briefly what your character does, choose an appropriate action, and roll.
Key rules:
- Failures do not give the DM the spotlight. But the DM still gains an Interruption Token on critical failures.
- Critical successes and failures do not adjust capacity scores (use the cutscene-specific outcomes instead).
- You cannot attempt a cutscene if you don't have enough segments remaining.
- Cutscenes should be narratively accessible. You can't find medical care if stranded in the void; you'll need to improvise. The DM can relax this as they see fit.
Cutscene Options
The following cutscenes are common activities available in most situations. They are not exhaustive; you can design custom cutscenes for specific narrative situations (see Custom Cutscenes below).
Heal Wounds
Cost: 2 segments
| Outcome | Result |
|---|---|
| Failure | Heal 1 wound |
| Success | Heal 2 wounds |
| Critical Success | Heal 4 wounds |
Action examples: Cultivate relationships with healers, Craft medical solutions, or whatever makes narrative sense.
Repair Equipment
Cost: 2 segments
| Outcome | Result |
|---|---|
| Failure | Repair one Broken item (restores 1 soak for aetherial armor) |
| Success | Repair one Broken item (restores 1 soak). Repeat once. |
| Critical Success | Repair one Broken item (restores 1 soak). Repeat 3 more times. |
Action examples: Craft the repairs yourself, Cultivate relationships with smiths.
Gain New Weapon
Cost: 4 segments
| Outcome | Result |
|---|---|
| Failure | Gain the weapon, but it's Broken |
| Success | Gain a new weapon (chosen handling and range) |
| Critical Success | Gain the weapon and learn a weapon talent that requires its handling |
Action examples: Seduce weapon merchants, Cultivate connections with crafters, Craft it yourself.
Gain New Armor
Cost: 4 segments
| Outcome | Result |
|---|---|
| Failure | Gain the armor, but it's Broken |
| Success | Gain new armor (chosen type and coverage) |
| Critical Success | Gain the armor and gain 1 life line |
Action examples: Seduce suppliers, Cultivate connections, Craft it yourself.
Add Weapon Handling
Cost: 4 segments
| Outcome | Result |
|---|---|
| Failure | Weapon gains new handling but becomes Broken |
| Success | Weapon gains new handling |
| Critical Success | Weapon gains new handling and learn a weapon talent that requires the new handling |
New handling should share at least one action with an existing handling on the weapon. For example, if you want to add a handling to a Balanced weapon (Clash + Maneuver), you could add Dynamic (Maneuver + Overwhelm) or Support (Clash + Cultivate), but not Chaos (Assert + Overwhelm).
Action examples: Use actions associated with the new handling you want to add.
Deepen Divine Bond
Cost: 4 segments
| Outcome | Result |
|---|---|
| Failure | Gain 1 favor clock segment with the chosen god |
| Success | Gain 2 favor clock segments with the chosen god |
| Critical Success | Gain 4 favor clock segments and learn a boon talent from the chosen god (you must meet the favor prerequisite) |
Action examples: Use actions that align with the god's nature and values, or represent the ritual or ceremony through which their bond is strengthened.
Custom Cutscenes
The cutscenes above are boilerplate. You should design custom cutscenes that fit the narrative moment.
Good custom cutscenes:
- Bridge missed secrets. If players left a scene without uncovering key information, an intermission cutscene can give them another angle. "You spend the evening cross-referencing the shipping manifests you grabbed" or "You track down a dockworker who was on shift that night."
- Deepen relationships. NPC connections built through cutscenes feel earned. A player might spend segments visiting a contact, mentoring a ward, or negotiating with a faction leader.
- Pursue personal threads. A character's focus or ethos might demand attention between scenes. Investigating a family debt, performing a cultural ritual, or following up on a vision from a god.
- Prepare for what's coming. If players know the next scene involves a specific challenge, cutscenes can let them scout, gather supplies, or study the opposition.
Design framework: Choose a segment cost (2-4) based on the significance of the outcome. Define the outcome tiers (critical success, success, failure). Even failure should provide something useful: information, a partial result, or a new lead. Connect outcomes to the fiction, not just mechanical bonuses. Critical failures usually result in nothing (or setbacks).
Example custom cutscene: A player wants to investigate the warehouse district before the next scene.
Investigate the Warehouse District
Outcome Result Failure You learn the layout of the district but are spotted by a patrol. The opposition knows someone is poking around. Success You identify the target warehouse, its entrances, and the patrol schedule. Critical Success You find an unguarded maintenance tunnel that connects to the warehouse basement.