Core Rules Primer

Ix uses the Exodus Narrative Dice System. If you have played Exodus NDS before, this chapter is your refresher. If you have not, this chapter is everything you need to sit down and play. It covers the dice, how to build and roll a pool, how to read results, how Story Points work, and how structured play (combat) runs. It is not a replacement for the full Core Rules, but it is a complete enough summary that you will rarely need to open that book at the table.

The Six Dice

Every roll in Exodus NDS uses a combination of six dice arranged in three opposing pairs. Positive dice build your pool. Negative dice represent difficulty and opposition.

Each die face shows one or more symbols. Symbols are read together after all dice are rolled to determine what happened. There are three opposing pairs of symbols. Symbols within a pair cancel each other out.

Success and Failure

The primary result. Net Successes mean the task is accomplished. Zero net Successes (even if no Failures were rolled) means failure. A tie fails.

Boon and Bane

Secondary effects that layer onto the primary result. Even a failed check can produce Boons. Even a successful check can produce Banes. They describe what else happened beyond whether the task worked.

Breakthrough and Calamity

Exceptional results. A Breakthrough contributes one to the pool and triggers a significant positive effect. A Calamity contributes one and triggers a significant negative effect. Their special effects always trigger regardless of whether the check succeeds or fails. A Breakthrough on a failed check still produces its exceptional effect.

Die Face Summary

Boon Die (d6)

Bane Die (d6)

Ability Die (d8)

Trial Die (d8)

Mastery Die (d12)

Crisis Die (d12)

Building a Dice Pool

Every check begins by assembling a pool of positive dice, then the GM adds negative dice for difficulty.

Your Positive Dice

When making a check, the GM identifies which Characteristic and Skill apply. Use whichever rating is higher as the total number of positive dice. Then upgrade a number of those dice equal to whichever rating is lower.

Upgrading means replacing an Ability Die with a Mastery Die .

Situational Dice

Beyond the base pool, circumstances add Boon or Bane Dice:

• Boon Dice , favorable conditions: assistance, superior equipment, environmental advantage, talent effects
• Bane Dice , unfavorable conditions: injury, poor tools, difficult terrain, opposition

Boon and Bane Dice can both be in the pool at once. Roll everything together and cancel opposing symbols after.

Pool Limit

A dice pool should not exceed 12 total dice after all modifiers. If additional dice would push the pool past this limit, the GM may instead convert excess dice into automatic Boons or Banes, or apply a narrative effect reflecting overwhelming advantage or disadvantage.

Difficulty

The GM sets difficulty by adding Trial Dice to the pool. For especially dangerous or volatile situations, one or more Trial Dice may be upgraded to Crisis Dice without increasing the base difficulty level.

Upgrading a Trial Die to a Crisis Die adds volatility (more Banes, more Failures, and the chance of a Calamity) without adding another die to the difficulty count.

Resolving a Check

Roll all positive and negative dice together and read the results in this sequence:

Step 1; Account for Breakthroughs and Calamities. Each contributes one to the pool. Each contributes one . Set the Breakthrough and Calamity symbols aside; they resolve in Step 5, and their special effects cannot be cancelled.

Step 2; Cancel opposing symbols. Each cancels one and vice versa. Each cancels one and vice versa.

Step 3; Determine success or failure. At least one net remaining = success. Zero net = failure. Ties fail.

Step 4; Count net Boons or Banes. Remaining are available to spend for secondary effects. Remaining introduce complications.

Step 5; Apply Breakthroughs and Calamities. Their special effects trigger regardless of whether the check succeeded or failed.

Spending Boons and Banes

Boons and Banes describe what else happened; separate from whether the task succeeded. They never duplicate the main result. Use these defaults when no specific rule applies.

Boon Spends

Unused Boons: If no stronger use is available, spend 1 Boon to recover 1 Strain. Boons are never wasted; this is the floor.

Bane Spends

The GM applies Banes to shape complications. The player may suggest, but the GM has final authority.

Breakthroughs and Calamities

A Breakthrough or Calamity is meaningfully stronger than a 3+ Boon or Bane spend. These results change the shape of a scene; a Critical Injury inflicted, a truth revealed, a reversal of fortune. Their special effects are defined by the situation and the GM. The only guarantee is that they always trigger.

A Breakthrough on a failed check still produces its positive effect. A Calamity on a successful check still produces its negative one. Rolling both at once means both effects trigger; something goes very right and very wrong at the same moment.

Unspent Breakthrough: If no specific effect is defined, the GM uses the Breakthrough to give the table a moment of relief; the next ally to make a check in this scene adds 1 Boon Die, reflecting the shift in momentum.

Unspent Calamity: If the GM does not name a specific consequence, the GM gains 1 Peril Point from the table's pool.

Story Points

Story Points are a shared narrative resource representing momentum, fortune, and dramatic pressure. They flow between the players and the GM throughout the session.

The Pool

At the start of each session:

• Players receive 1 Fortune Point each.
• The GM receives 1 Peril Point.

Both pools refresh at the start of every session. Points do not carry over.

Spending Fortune Points

A player may spend 1 Fortune Point to:

• Upgrade one Ability Die in their pool to a Mastery Die (declared before rolling)
• Activate a Breakthrough effect after rolling, in addition to any rolled
• Introduce a minor narrative detail favorable to the players (subject to GM approval)

A player may spend a Fortune Point on their own check or on another player character's check. Only one Fortune Point may be spent per check (reactive talent triggers do not count toward this limit).

When a Fortune Point is spent, it flips to the GM's side as a Peril Point.

Spending Peril Points

The GM may spend 1 Peril Point to:

• Upgrade one Trial Die to a Crisis Die in the difficulty pool
• Activate a Calamity effect after a player rolls, in addition to any rolled
• Introduce a complication into the scene

When a Peril Point is spent, it flips to the players' side as a Fortune Point.

Types of Checks

Opposed Checks

When two characters are in direct active competition, both build normal dice pools. Neither side adds Trial Dice or Crisis Dice for the opposition; each character's own positive pool is the whole pool. Both roll. The character with more net Successes wins. Ties favor the defender, or the character not initiating the action.

Example: A pickpocket rolls Subterfuge; their mark rolls Perception. Neither adds difficulty dice; they just roll their positive pools and compare.

Assisted Checks

When another character meaningfully helps with a task, they add dice to the primary character's pool. A meaningful helper adds 1 Boon Die; they add 1 Ability Die instead if their skill rank exceeds the primary character's skill rank in that skill. No check can benefit from more than two assisting dice total, and no more than one of those dice may be an Ability Die.

Group Checks

When a group must accomplish something together (lifting a gate, carrying a wounded ally, holding a barricade, rowing a boat in a storm), choose the best-positioned character as the performer. Compare that character's relevant skill rank to the lowest relevant skill rank among the necessary participants. Add Bane Dice equal to the difference. If the task is mostly raw physical effort, the GM may compare the relevant characteristic instead of the skill rank.

If the group succeeds, everyone benefits; if it fails, everyone suffers the consequence. Characters who are not necessary to the task can still help with tools, position, lookout work, or fiction, but they do not add assisting dice unless the GM calls for an Assisted Check instead.

Alternatively, the GM may call for each character to roll independently and apply results per individual; this is appropriate when individual performance matters separately (such as each character crossing a crumbling bridge one at a time).

Extended Checks

When a task requires sustained effort over multiple attempts, the GM sets a success threshold (typically 3–6 net Successes total), a time unit per attempt, and optionally an attempt limit. Each check consumes the stated time. Successes accumulate across attempts until the threshold is met (success) or attempts run out (failure). Banes from any check may consume time, introduce complications, or remove a previously earned Success. Extended Checks are used for tasks like extended research, lockpicking a complex vault, or negotiating a difficult treaty over multiple rounds.

Structured Play

The GM calls for structured play when timing and sequence matter: combat, chases, and any situation where the order of actions has real consequences.

Initiative

At the start of structured play, every participant rolls an Initiative check:

• On watch or prepared: Savvy + Perception
• Surprised or under sudden pressure: Willpower + Readiness

Results are ranked by net Successes. Initiative slots alternate between player slots and GM slots. Players choose which character acts in each player slot; the GM chooses for each GM slot. Ties between a player and GM slot favor the players. Initiative order remains fixed between rounds unless a specific ability changes it.

Your Turn

Each round, every participant takes a turn. On your turn you may:

• Take 1 Action: a significant activity
• Take 1 Maneuver: a minor supporting activity
• Take any number of Quick Actions, brief, reflexive activities (talking, dropping an item, glancing around)

A second Maneuver costs either your Action for the turn or 2 Strain. You may never take more than two Maneuvers in one turn.

Quick Actions cannot substitute for meaningful effort. If it requires a check or more than a moment of attention, it is an Action or Maneuver. The GM has final authority on what qualifies as a Quick Action.

Common Actions

• Attack — make a combat check against a target
• Cast a Spell — activate a spell using the appropriate casting skill
• Skill Check — use any skill under time pressure
• Use an Item — activate a power, potion, or piece of gear with a meaningful effect
• Aid an Ally — assist another character's check (adds 1 Boon Die, or 1 Ability Die if your skill rank is higher). A check can benefit from a maximum of 2 assisting dice total, and no more than 1 of those may be an Ability Die

Common Maneuvers

• Move — change position by one range band
• Aim — add 1 Boon Die to your next attack this turn
• Draw or Stow — ready or put away an item
• Take Cover — move behind available cover
• Catch Breath — recover 1 Strain (or 2 Strain with the Catch Breath talent); once per encounter
• Guard — take a defensive posture (requires the Guarded talent); upgrades one Trial Die to a Crisis Die on all attacks against you until your next turn

Range Bands

Exodus NDS uses an abstract range band system. Moving between adjacent bands costs one Maneuver. Moving between Medium and Long, or Long and Extreme, costs two Maneuvers.

Attack Difficulty

Damage and Resistance

A successful hit deals the weapon's base damage. Each additional Success beyond the first adds 1 to the total.

Resistance reduces damage before it reduces your current Wounds. Resistance = half Might (rounded up) + armor.

Damage − Resistance = Wounds suffered (minimum 0)

Use damage wording consistently: a source deals damage before Resistance; a target takes damage by applying Resistance to that incoming amount; a target suffers Wounds or suffers Strain when the listed amount is applied directly to that track unless the effect says otherwise.

Defense makes you harder to hit; it adds Bane Dice to the attacker's roll rather than reducing damage. Melee Defense comes from shields and weapons with the Defensive quality. Ranged Defense comes from cover and certain talents.

Defense cap. No character's Melee Defense or Ranged Defense may exceed 3, regardless of how many sources are stacked. If stacking armor, shield, talents, and cover would push a Defense value above 3, it stays at 3. Both Defense types are capped independently; a character can have Melee Defense 3 and Ranged Defense 3 simultaneously.

Wounds and Strain

Characters have two damage tracks.

Wound Points = your species' Wound base + Might. This is your maximum Wounds. You begin at full Wounds and count down as damage remains after Resistance. Match the base value listed in your species entry in Chapter Four.

Strain Points = your species' Strain base + Willpower. Match the base value listed in your species entry in Chapter Four.

Strain is also a resource. You may voluntarily suffer Strain to gain advantages; the default is 2 Strain to take a second Maneuver instead of your Action.

Reaching 0 Wounds — Incapacitation

Ix uses a stricter wound incapacitation rule than the core default. In Ix, dropping to 0 Wounds does not simply leave a character stable after the encounter; it starts a bleed-out clock until someone stabilizes them. Ix also adds the automatic Critical Injury trigger for attacks that harm an already incapacitated target.

When a character's Wounds reach 0 or below, they are incapacitated: unconscious, helpless, and out of the fight. The moment this happens, immediately roll on the Critical Injury table (+10 for each Critical Injury already carried).

Wounds continue to be tracked below zero. Any negative Wound total must be healed back to 0 before positive recovery can begin.

Bleed out. At the start of each of the incapacitated character's turns, they lose 1 additional Wound. An ally can stop the bleed with a successful Average Medicine check (an Action). A stabilized character stops losing Wounds each round but remains incapacitated until healed above 0.

Death threshold. When a character's wounds reach a negative total equal to their full Wound Points, they die. A character with Wound Points 12 who reaches −12 (24 total wounds taken from full health) cannot be saved by medicine. Only magic (the Revive spell within 24 hours, or Resurrection) can return them.

Attacks on incapacitated characters. Any attack that causes an incapacitated character to suffer at least 1 Wound or 1 Strain automatically triggers a Critical Injury. No Boons or Breakthroughs are needed. Roll on the table as normal (+10 per existing injury).

Death from Critical Injury. A Critical Injury roll of 141 or higher produces the Killed entry: instant death. No medical check can prevent this.

Incapacitation by Strain

When accumulated Strain meets or exceeds Strain Points, the character is incapacitated by exhaustion. This is a different state than wound incapacitation: the bleed-out clock and death threshold do not apply. After a full rest, Strain reduces to half Strain Points (rounded down) rather than recovering fully.

Recovery

Short rest (about 15 minutes of relative safety): Ix adds this recovery option to the core default. Recover Strain equal to your Willpower. Wounds do not recover on a short rest. A second short rest in the same session requires genuine safety, not just a pause: a secured room, defensible camp, friendly shelter, or enough distance from immediate pursuit that the group can actually stand down.

Strain recovers at the end of any structured encounter; restore Strain equal to your Willpower. During a full rest, recover all Strain (unless you were incapacitated by Strain, in which case recover only half, rounded down). As a Maneuver once per encounter, any character may Catch Breath to recover 1 Strain (2 with the Catch Breath talent).

Wounds recover after a full night's rest; restore Wounds equal to Might. A character at negative Wounds must be healed back to 0 first; natural recovery cannot proceed from a negative total. A Medicine check from another character adds 1 Wound per net Success.

Critical Injuries

A Critical Injury is triggered when:

• A character's Wounds reach 0 or below (immediately, at the moment of incapacitation)
• An attacker spends a Breakthrough on an attack against you
• An attack generates net Boons equal to or greater than the weapon's Crit rating, and those Boons are spent to inflict one
• Any attack causes an already incapacitated character to suffer at least 1 Wound or 1 Strain

Roll d100 and add +10 for each Critical Injury the target already has. Read the matching row from the Critical Injury table below.

Critical Injuries compound. Each untreated injury adds +10 to every future roll. A result of 141 or higher is the Killed entry: instant death regardless of remaining Wound total. Every other injury persists until treated.

Critical Injury Table

The GM Guide (Chapter Nine) holds the canonical copy of this table; it is reprinted here so you can read your own injury at the table. It uses the standard Exodus NDS line format: twenty-five entries, 5-point bands up to 100 and 10-point bands above it, five severity tiers, and a Killed row at 141–150. Severity bands run Minor 01–30, Moderate 31–60, Severe 61–85, Deadly 86–100, Mortal 101+.

Treatment by severity. Minor: Easy Medicine check, rest, or simple field care. Moderate: Average Medicine check with proper supplies and time. Severe: Hard Medicine check with extended care, proper tools, and a safe place to work. Deadly: Severe Medicine check with a skilled healer, rare materials, or story resolution. Mortal: Severe Medicine check plus a temple infirmary, rare materials, or divine intervention; some Mortal entries leave a permanent mark even when treated. On success the injury is removed and stops adding +10 to future rolls. On failure it remains; Banes or a Calamity on the Medicine check may consume supplies, worsen the condition, or extend recovery.

Divine healing. Where a spell entry says so, a divine working substitutes for the Medicine check (see Chapter Nine: Cleanse, Greater Heal, Vital Heal, and Tide Heal). No working short of Revive or Resurrection answers a Killed result.

Stepping an injury down. When a rule reduces a Critical Injury "by one step," move it down one row on this table and apply the new entry. Minor entries clear on their own or with simple care. Moderate and Severe entries require the listed treatment. Deadly entries require a skilled healer. Mortal entries are immediately life-threatening and do not step down through ordinary medicine; they must be answered on the clock the entry names.

A fresh target with no untreated injuries can roll no higher than 100, so a first Critical Injury is never lethal. The Mortal rows are reached only after the +10-per-injury climb stacks several untreated injuries together, four or more in practice.

Light and Darkness

Visibility matters in Dort; torchlit dungeons, moonless roads, and enchanted vaults all produce conditions that affect what characters can do.

There are three visibility conditions: bright light, dim light, and darkness.

Bright light, Full illumination. No visibility penalties apply. Torchlight, lanterns, daylight, and magical light sources all produce bright light within their radius.

Dim light, Reduced illumination. The edge of a torch's reach, indoor moonlight through a narrow window, heavy overcast. In dim light: ranged attacks add 1 Bane Die; Perception checks to notice detail are one difficulty step harder. Melee is unaffected; you can see your target, just not perfectly.

Darkness, No meaningful light source. In darkness: all ranged attacks add 2 Bane Dice; melee attacks add 1 Bane Die (unless the attacker has another sense to locate the target); Stealth checks gain 1 Boon Die; Perception checks to locate targets are Hard (3 Trial Dice) using hearing and touch alone, and impossible for pure visual targets.

Light Sources

A character can douse a light source as a Quick Action. Lighting one requires a Maneuver (with tinder) or an Action without equipment.

Darkvision

Darkvision removes the that darkness adds to Perception and Readiness checks. It reaches Short range unless the species entry states a different range. Chapter Four specifies which species have darkvision and gives the exact wording of the trait. Magical darkness is not fully defeated: a darkness spell created by a caster still adds one unless the species entry or the spell states otherwise.

Social Encounters

Not every conflict in Ix ends with a blade. Negotiations, interrogations, court audiences, con jobs, and arguments over policy all follow the same underlying structure as combat; there is a goal, there are obstacles, there are actions taken, and outcomes matter. This section gives you the language to run those scenes with the same clarity structured play gives combat.

The Eight Axes of Change

Every social encounter is really a contest over one or more of eight things that can change between parties. When the GM and players are clear on which axes are actually in play, the scene sharpens.

These are Ix's social-facing adaptation of the core Eight Axes of Change. Use the core list for general scene adjudication; use this list when the scene is primarily negotiation, pressure, persuasion, status, access, or threat.

Most social encounters involve two or three axes simultaneously. A negotiation over a guild contract touches Resources (the terms), Status (whose name carries weight), and possibly Force (what happens if the deal collapses). A court audience might hinge entirely on Attitude; the noble's opinion shifting is the win condition.

Structure of a Social Encounter

Social encounters are not usually fully structured the way combat is; characters take narrative actions rather than mechanical turns. But when the stakes are high and time pressure is real, the GM may call for structured social play that runs like combat with the following beats:

Establish the scene's axis. The GM states what is actually at stake. "The Guildmaster's Attitude toward the party is currently hostile. You need it at neutral before he'll hear your offer."

Player actions. Each character can take one meaningful social action per round: make an argument, reveal information, call in a favor, apply subtle pressure, or offer something of value. These typically resolve as skill checks (Charm, Intimidation, Deception, Leadership, Negotiation, Streetwise).

Spend Boons and Banes. After each roll, Boons and Banes represent what else happened. The GM and players interpret these in terms of the active axes.

Breakthrough and Calamity. These work exactly as in combat; except the consequences are social. A Breakthrough might shift an axis by two steps at once, or reveal a critical piece of information. A Calamity might poison a separate axis entirely (you got the agreement you wanted, but word is getting out that you coerced someone important).

Spending Results in Social Encounters

Examples

The Negotiation: The party wants the Merchant Prince to extend their line of credit. The axes in play are Resources (the credit itself) and Attitude (whether he trusts them). A successful Charm check with 2 Boons might shift his Attitude to friendly and move the Resources discussion forward. A Calamity on that same check might get the credit approved but simultaneously tip off his rival (who was listening) that the party is overextended.

The Interrogation: The party has a captured scout. The axes are Information (what does he know) and Force (whether he believes the threat is real). An Intimidation check that succeeds with a Breakthrough reveals the information and shifts Force in the party's favor; he becomes a cooperative asset, not just a source of facts.

The Court Audience: A character seeks an introduction to a noble. The axis is Access, pure and simple. Boons on the Charm check might improve Attitude as a bonus; Banes might shift Status downward, and word gets around that you needed to charm your way in.

Travel

Dort is large and the distances between things are real. Your GM will tell you when time matters: when a journey is a narrative transition and when the travel itself is a source of encounters, decisions, and resource management.

Travel Speeds

Terrain multiplies the daily distance: three quarters in open country or hills, one half in forest, desert, or snow, one third in mountain or marsh. Trackless ground drops one step further. A forced march adds half again to the day's distance and costs Strain; your GM has the full journey procedure.

Flying ships move faster than anything else, but require crew, have fuel and maintenance costs, need port authority clearance in major cities, and landing in unregistered locations in Oshalan territory is a different kind of problem.

Navigation: In clear terrain on a known road, no check is needed. In wilderness or poor visibility, the GM may call for a Survival or Planar Lore check. Failure adds 4–8 hours to the journey and may stray the party into somewhere they should not be.

Downtime

Between sessions, when the campaign skips significant time, characters can use that period for pursuits beyond rest. Each character may attempt one downtime activity per significant gap (typically a week or more).

Downtime Activities

Rest and Recovery. No roll needed. Clear all Strain and recover Wounds equal to Might. The default when nothing else is chosen.

Recover. Receive extended medical care for a Critical Injury. A physician or the injured character makes an Average Medicine check to accelerate recovery by one step. Extended care over a full downtime block can clear a single Critical Injury entirely with a Hard Medicine success, except for the 121–150 entries, which follow the life-threatening recovery limits in the combat chapter and GM Guide.

Training. Dedicate downtime to practicing one specific skill. At the end of the downtime period, reduce the XP cost of the next purchase of that skill by 5 (minimum 5 XP). Applies only to the next purchase, does not stack.

Research. Pursue specific information on a topic (a faction's history, a relic's provenance, an infernal contractor's network). Make a relevant knowledge check (Lore, Secret Lore, Planar Lore, etc.) at Average difficulty. On success: one confirmed, specific piece of information. On Breakthrough: two pieces. Research provides accurate facts, not speculation.

Establishing a Contact. Build a genuine relationship with a specific NPC: not a faction, a person. Make a relevant social check (Charm, Negotiation, or Lore for professional relationships) at Hard difficulty. On success: the NPC becomes a reliable contact who will take your message, share their knowledge within their domain, or provide access to places you could not otherwise reach.

Crafting or Production. Create something requiring time and materials: a document, a preparation, a device, an alchemical item. The GM sets time and material costs. Success produces the item; failure may waste materials or produce a flawed result.

Earning Income. Work your career for pay. No check required for baseline income; an Average Career-relevant check can improve the result. Most starting-tier characters earn 50 to 150 silver flargons per week of honest work.

Learn a Language. Requires the Linguist talent. Make a Lore check during the downtime period: Average for a language related to one you already know, Hard for an unrelated one. On success, the language is learned. Languages cannot be acquired without the Linguist talent.