Glossary and ORC Attribution

Glossary

Alphabetical reference of mechanical, setting, and world terms used throughout the Ix Player Guide. Mechanical terms describe how the rules work. World terms describe places, organizations, and facts of Dort as a player character would know them.

Ability Die, A positive d8 die that forms the base of a dice pool before upgrades are applied. Represented as an eight-sided green die in play. See also: Mastery Die, Pool Construction.

Accord, the, The organized faith of the god Echo. Operates through networks of mediators and keepers who earn standing by being useful to local communities. Known for contract clinics, archive services, and conflict resolution. No central authority and no homeland by design.

Action, The primary activity on a character's turn in structured play. Characters receive one Action per turn. Actions include attacking, casting spells, using items, making skill checks under pressure, and assisting allies. A second Maneuver can replace an Action.

Adventuring Lore, The Intellect-linked knowledge skill covering practical dungeon and ruin knowledge: monster behavior, trap patterns, relic identification, and the lore of the delver rather than the scholar.

Adversary tiers, The three grades of adversary used in Ix. Minions operate as a group with a single pooled Wounds track and are defeated when it reaches 0. Elites are individuals with their own Wounds track and no Strain track; Strain results convert to Wounds at 1:1. Nemeses carry both Wounds and Strain, hold Peril Points, and use the full rules. The GM Guide, Chapter Nine, holds the full procedure.

Agility (AGI), One of the six Characteristics. Governs speed, reflexes, ranged combat, stealth, and vehicle operation.

Ancient Magic, The direct application of a divine-tier will to the planes with no technique, focus, or intermediary required. Not available to mortal characters. The capacity of the Ancients, not a mortal school.

Arcana, The Intellect-linked casting skill for mortal-tradition spellcasting. Governs all structured arcane technique. At rank 0, a character cannot cast Arcana spells.

Arcana Plane, The source of all arcane energy in the cosmos. A plane made of magic rather than merely containing it. Sealed from the Prime by the Divine Barrier, which prevents direct mortal access to the full unfiltered source. Most mortal magic draws on an attenuated version filtered through the barrier.

Arcanum Conclave, The institutional body that regulates magical practice in Irna. Controls which schools are licensed, which practitioners are certified, and which applications of magic are permitted. Maintains independence from the crown through mutual necessity and mutual suspicion.

Attunement, The process of bonding a permanent magic item to a bearer. Takes days of carrying and use. A character can hold a number of attuned permanent items equal to their Willpower. Items beyond this limit go inert. Augmentations are counted separately from the Willpower-based attunement pool.

Augmentation, A category of magic item worn in or on the living body: tattoos, brands, inscribed bone, bound implants. Augmentations grant a bonus (not a score increase) to a characteristic, skill, sense, or derived value. Up to three augmentations can be sustained simultaneously, counted separately from the standard attunement pool. An augmentation can be removed or suppressed; unlike a permanent characteristic increase, it is a property of the item, not the character.

Background, One of the two character identity choices (alongside Career) made at creation. Determines where a character came from; the social world that shaped their early instincts. Together with Career, determines which skills are profession skills (cheaper to advance).

Bane, A negative secondary result on a dice roll. Banes describe what went wrong alongside or despite success. They do not cancel the primary result directly but introduce complications, costs, and setbacks. One Bane cancels one Boon.

Bane Die, A negative d6 die added to a pool for unfavorable conditions: injury, poor tools, difficult terrain, or opposition. Represented as an orange six-sided die.

Bespoke Item, A permanent magic object: a weapon, ring, relic, or similar item made by an Ancient or a god, once, for a reason. Permanent enchantment is Ancient magic, so no mortal maker, however skilled, can produce one. Bespoke items are found in play, never bought or commissioned, and they require attunement, occupying one of the bearer's Willpower-based attunement slots. See Chapter Eight. Compare Consumable, Augmentation, Zoranti.

Boon, A positive secondary result on a dice roll. Boons describe what else went right; side effects, advantages, and benefits beyond the primary task result. They can occur even on a failed check. One Boon cancels one Bane.

Boon Die, A positive d6 die added to a pool for favorable conditions: assistance, superior equipment, environmental advantage, or talent effects. Represented as a blue six-sided die.

Breakthrough, An exceptional positive result that contributes one Success to the pool and triggers a significant beneficial effect. Breakthroughs are never cancelled by any symbol. A Breakthrough on a failed check still produces its positive effect.

Calamity, An exceptional negative result that contributes one Failure to the pool and triggers a significant negative effect. Calamities are never cancelled. A Calamity on a successful check still produces its negative effect.

Career, One of the two character identity choices (alongside Background) made at creation. Represents what a character does or did before adventuring. Determines profession skills alongside Background. Careers do not grant free skill ranks; they make certain skills cheaper.

Catch Breath, A Maneuver usable once per encounter to recover 1 Strain (or 2 Strain with the Catch Breath Tier 2 talent). The default way to manage Strain mid-fight.

Characteristic, One of six core attributes: Might, Agility, Intellect, Savvy, Willpower, and Charisma. All begin at 2. A Characteristic combines with a Skill to determine dice pool construction. Characteristics can only increase after creation through the Growth (Tier 3) or Greater Growth (Tier 4) talents.

Charisma (CHA), One of the six Characteristics. Governs social skills including Charm, Deception, Negotiation, and Leadership.

Combined Tradition, A magic tradition that draws on two casting skills simultaneously. The three combined traditions in Ix are Theomancy (Arcana + Divine), Necromancy (Arcana + Primal), and Shamanism (Divine + Primal). Requires a ranked Tradition talent to unlock. Casting check skill rank = floor of the average of the two prerequisite skills.

Concentration, A spell Duration that requires the caster to hold a continuous mental lock on the working. Only one Concentration spell may be active at a time, and casting a second spell ends the first immediately. Suffering Wounds forces a check to maintain it; any Calamity on any roll while concentrating ends it outright. See Chapter Nine.

Consumable, A magic item that is used once and destroyed: potions, scrolls, single-charge wands, alchemical substances. Consumables require no attunement and no Willpower slot. They are the most accessible tier of magic item and can be crafted by skilled practitioners or purchased from licensed suppliers.

Crisis Die, A negative d12 die representing upgraded difficulty. More volatile than a Trial Die; more Banes, more Failures, and the only die that can show a Calamity. Produced by upgrading a Trial Die.

Critical Injury, A serious wound requiring medical attention. Triggered when Wounds reach 0 or below, by a Breakthrough spend on an attack, by Boons equal to or greater than a weapon's Crit rating, or by an attack that causes an already incapacitated target to suffer at least 1 Wound or 1 Strain. Roll d100 and add +10 for each Critical Injury the target already carries, then read the matching row of the twenty-five-entry Critical Injury table reprinted in Chapter Twelve (canonical copy: GM Guide, Chapter Nine). Injuries persist and stack until treated. A result of 141 or higher is the Killed entry.

Damage, Incoming harm before Resistance. A source deals damage; a target takes damage by applying Resistance to that incoming amount. If an effect says a target suffers Wounds or suffers Strain, apply that amount directly to the named track unless the effect says otherwise.

Death-Keepers, The organized priesthood of Nyxollox, god of death and peaceful transition. Marked by shaved and painted skulls. Tend the dying, maintain archives of the dead, and actively oppose necromantic interference with souls. They do not carry weapons as a rule; they do not require them to be dangerous to necromancers.

Defensive Guard, A combat Action that commits a character to defense until their next turn, adding 1 Bane Die to all attacks against them. Distinct from the Guarded talent, which uses a Maneuver and upgrades a Trial Die to a Crisis Die.

Demoralized, The group form of Frightened, used for Minion groups and Elite NPCs. A Demoralized group will not advance, adds 1 Bane Die to its attacks, and spends its Action to withdraw, surrender, or defend. It ends when an allied leader spends an Action and succeeds on a Leadership check at difficulty equal to the Fear rating that caused it, when the source leaves or is defeated, or at the end of the encounter. Nemeses become Frightened instead.

Derived Values, Stats calculated from Characteristics and other factors rather than purchased directly. Include Wound Points (species Wound base + Might), Strain Points (species Strain base + Willpower), Resistance (½ Might rounded up + armor), and Initiative (Savvy + Perception or Willpower + Readiness).

Difficulty, The number of Trial Dice (and any upgraded Crisis Dice) the GM adds to a roll. Ranges from Simple (no roll) through Easy (1), Average (2), Hard (3), Severe (4), and Extreme (5). Upgrading Trial to Crisis Dice raises volatility without raising the difficulty tier.

Divine, The Willpower-linked casting skill for faith-channeled spellcasting. Requires a patron deity chosen at character creation. Power comes through the relationship, not study; and can be revoked by the patron deity for sustained doctrinal violation.

Divine Barrier, The seal the gods placed between the Prime plane and the Arcana plane. Prevents unfettered mortal access to the source of all arcane energy. Requires powerful or ancient magic to open deliberately. Wild rifts can temporarily tear it open without anyone's permission.

Dort, The world in which Ix is set. A feudal world with medieval-plus technology, active planar geography, politically active gods, and a soul economy that makes death practically significant.

Elemental Magic, A form of mortal magic that draws from an elemental plane (Ember, Mineral, Tidal, Zephyr) rather than the Arcana plane. Requires genuine orientation toward the element; closer to devotion than technique. Falls under the Primal casting tradition in game terms.

Empower, Optional upgrade effects listed in a spell block. If a spell succeeds, the caster may spend specific symbols from the roll to trigger Empower effects. Additive with the spell's base effect.

Encumbrance, A measure of an item's bulk and carry weight. Used to determine how much a character can carry and affects item-specific rules throughout Chapter Eight.

Fallout, The collective term for Bane, Calamity, and Mishap results on a casting check. The price of unstable power. Usually does not prevent the spell from functioning but shapes its costs and complications.

Fear rating, A rating from 1 to 4 carried by some adversaries and situations. The first time that source is brought to bear on you in a scene, make a Readiness check (the source arrives suddenly) or a Discipline check (the dread builds over time) at a difficulty equal to the rating: 1 is Easy, 2 is Average, 3 is Hard, 4 is Severe. Failure inflicts Strain equal to the rating and leaves you Frightened. Once per source per scene. See Chapter Thirteen.

Flargon, The standard unit of currency in Irna and the most common medium of exchange across Dort's trade routes. It circulates in two denominations, silver and gold, at twenty silver to one gold; one gold flargon is roughly a day of unskilled labor. Starting characters receive 2d10 gold flargons plus their career package.

Forbidden Grant, The one category of working each deity refuses to empower, listed under that god's What [God] Will Not Grant entry in Chapter Ten. Judged by purpose rather than loophole wording. It applies to any working that uses that deity's Divine channel, including Theomancy and Shamanism workings.

Fortune Point, The player side of the Story Points economy. Each player begins every session with 1 Fortune Point. Spent to upgrade a die, activate a Breakthrough, or introduce a minor favorable narrative detail. When spent, flips to the GM as a Peril Point.

Frightened, A condition: afraid of a specific source. Add 1 Bane Die to checks made against that source and to checks made while it is present, and you cannot voluntarily move closer to it. You may still attack it, defend, hold your ground, and retreat. Ends at the end of the encounter, when the source is defeated or leaves your sight for a full round, when an ally spends an Action and succeeds on an Average Leadership, Charm, or Negotiation check to steady you, or when a talent or spell that removes fear effects is applied to you.

High Magic, The apex magical tradition, drawing on Arcana, Divine, and Primal simultaneously. Requires the Archmage talent tree, with prerequisites in all three casting skills and all three combined tradition talents. Intended to take years of play to reach. Casting skill rank = lowest of all three casting skills.

Incapacitation, The state reached when a character is reduced to 0 Wounds, or when accumulated Strain meets or exceeds Strain Points. An incapacitated character is unconscious, helpless, or otherwise out of the fight. Incapacitation by Strain differs from Wounds in recovery.

Initiative, The check that determines turn order when the GM calls for structured play. On Watch (prepared): Savvy + Perception. Surprised: Willpower + Readiness. Higher net Successes act earlier.

Intellect (INT), One of the six Characteristics. Governs knowledge, technical skills, and Arcana-tradition casting.

Irna, The primary region of Dort in which most Ix campaigns are set. Home to Irna's capital city and the hub of aerial trade routes. Where the Arcanum Conclave is headquartered.

Ix, The name of this campaign setting, and also the name of the primordial being whose shattering formed the gods and the Shattered Domain. As a campaign setting, Ix refers to the world of Dort and the Exodus NDS rules used to play in it.

Lore, The Intellect-linked knowledge skill for mainstream scholarship: history, cultures, institutions, factions, laws, and interpreting clues about the known world. Does not cover forbidden knowledge (Secret Lore), dungeon practical knowledge (Adventuring Lore), or cosmology (Planar Lore).

Maneuver, A minor supporting activity on a character's turn. Characters receive one free Maneuver per turn. A second Maneuver costs either the Action for the turn or 2 Strain. Common Maneuvers: Move, Aim, Draw/Stow, Take Cover, Catch Breath, Guard, Stand Up.

Mastery Die, A positive d12 die produced by upgrading an Ability Die. More powerful and more explosive than an Ability Die; the only positive die that can show a Breakthrough. Represented as a purple twelve-sided die.

Medicine, The Intellect-linked technical skill for treating injury, diagnosing conditions, stabilizing the wounded, and aiding recovery.

Might (MIG), One of the six Characteristics. Governs physical force, melee damage, Wound Points, Resistance, and Fortitude.

Necromancy, A combined magical tradition (Arcana + Primal) focused on the study of death, remains, and what persists after life ends. Legitimate in practice but carries significant theological weight in Ix; Nyxollox's faith opposes the specific act of animating the dead or binding souls against their passage, and the Death-Keepers are a persistent institutional opposition.

Order, the, The institutional faith of Oshala, god of dominion and conquest. Organized like a government because in its theology, government is worship. Operates through three coordinated sects (Manis, Armenites, Nasallians) that arrive, conquer, and consolidate in sequence. The Accord's deepest structural rival.

Overload, An optional mechanic in spellcasting. Chosen before rolling. Increases a spell's output by raising its difficulty, adding instability, or accepting a drawback. Listed per spell in the spell block.

Patron Deity, The god chosen by a Divine-casting character at creation. Required to cast Divine spells; the power flows through the relationship. Each patron belongs to an alignment group (Positive, Neutral, Negative) that determines which generic Faith talent tree is available. Can be changed through in-fiction reckoning adjudicated by the GM.

Peril Point, The GM side of the Story Points economy. The GM begins each session with 1 Peril Point. Spent to upgrade a Trial Die to a Crisis Die, activate a Calamity, or introduce a complication. When spent, flips to the players as a Fortune Point.

Planar Lore, The Intellect-linked knowledge skill for cosmological knowledge: the planes, divine geography, the Shattered Domain's politics, Silver Road navigation theory. Does not cover rift transit (Rifts skill) or forbidden cosmological edges (Secret Lore).

Pool Construction, The procedure for assembling dice before rolling. See Building a Dice Pool in Chapter Twelve or the Quick Reference summary in Chapter Fifteen.

Primal, The Savvy-linked casting skill for instinct-driven elemental and wild spellcasting. Draws from elemental planes through orientation and attunement rather than formal technique. Foundation skill for the Necromancy and Shamanism combined traditions.

Prime, the, The main material plane; the world of Dort. Distinguished from the Arcana plane, the Shattered Domain, the elemental planes, and the Hells. Most mortals live their entire lives on the Prime.

Profession Skill, A skill that appears on a character's Background or Career list. Cheaper to advance at every rank. Most characters have six to ten profession skills depending on Background and Career overlap.

Quick Action, A brief, reflexive activity that does not require a check or meaningfully change the battlefield. Speaking a sentence, dropping an item, glancing around. Some talents specifically grant Quick Action triggers. The GM has final authority on what qualifies.

Range Band, An abstract measure of tactical distance. The five bands are Engaged, Short, Medium, Long, and Extreme. Moving between adjacent bands costs 1 Maneuver, except Medium→Long and Long→Extreme which cost 2.

Resistance, The damage reduction applied before Wounds are calculated. Resistance = ½ Might (rounded up) + armor. Resistance can reduce incoming damage so the target suffers 0 Wounds.

Revocation, The withdrawal of divine magical access by a patron deity. Occurs when a cleric sustains doctrinal violation or genuinely betrays the covenant. Never a random failure. Always a GM-adjudicated narrative event. Recovery requires genuine in-fiction reckoning on terms the god sets.

Rift, A wild, uncontrolled tear in the planar fabric that opens between the Prime and another plane without anyone's permission or planning. More common in some regions than others. Can be read, navigated, and sometimes pushed shut by characters with the Rifts skill. Cannot be predicted. The rift at the old tannery has been opening for years; no one has fixed it.

Rifts, The Intellect-linked skill for identifying, reading, and safely transiting wild planar rifts. Using a rift without any ranks is a roll of unaugmented Intellect alone, at a difficulty set by the GM.

Ritual, An extended form of casting available only to spells that carry a Ritual box. The box states the extended casting time, any change to difficulty and Strain, the altered or expanded effect, and any requirements such as a focus, a consecrated space, components, assistants, or a particular hour. A spell with no Ritual box cannot be ritualized. See Chapter Nine.

Savvy (SAV), One of the six Characteristics. Governs awareness, perception, social reading, and Primal-tradition casting.

Secret Lore, The Intellect-linked knowledge skill for forbidden and esoteric knowledge: occult traditions, banned magical practices, Ancient lore, void phenomena, and the deeper truths that someone actively wanted kept quiet.

Shamanism, A combined magical tradition (Divine + Primal) built from kept promises and long-maintained bargains with unseen spirits. What divine magic looks like in cultures without formal temples. Requires the Shaman talent tree.

Shattered Domain, The divine plane formed from the pieces of the primordial being Ix after its shattering. The gods live and hold territory here. Souls travel here after death to reach their patron's vaults. Also contains Godless, the island where unclaimed souls accumulate.

Short Rest, Fifteen minutes of relative safety. Recover Strain equal to Willpower; Wounds do not recover. A second short rest in the same session requires genuine safety, not just a pause: defensible shelter, a secured room, friendly protection, or enough distance from immediate pursuit that the characters can actually stand down.

Silver Road, The organized planar portal network that connects the Shattered Domain to the Prime and other planes. Distinct from wild rifts; structured, constructed portals with known destinations. Requires Planar Lore and Lore to navigate, not the Rifts skill.

Soak, See Resistance. Soak and Resistance are used interchangeably in some contexts; the formal term in Ix is Resistance.

Soul Economy, The practical fact that souls in Dort are real, countable, and valuable. A mortal's soul coin becomes accessible after Sheol's judgment and produces power for whatever deity or entity holds the recognized claim. Infernal contracts can create lawful claims that supersede devotional claims. The Death-Keepers exist partly to protect the dying from illegal interception before judgment.

Strain, Mental and physical stress tracked separately from Wounds. A character whose accumulated Strain meets or exceeds their Strain Points is incapacitated. Also a voluntary resource; characters may choose to suffer Strain to take a second Maneuver (2 Strain) or to activate certain talents. Recovers at a rate of Willpower at the end of any structured encounter.

Strain Points, The threshold before Strain incapacitates a character. Calculated as species Strain base + Willpower.

Structured Play, The mode the GM calls when timing and turn order matter: combat, chases, and situations where the sequence of actions has real consequences. Governed by initiative, turn structure, and the Action/Maneuver/Quick Action economy.

Theomancy, A combined magical tradition (Arcana + Divine) that treats the sacred as something that can be measured, named, and reproduced. Blasphemous to priests; sentimental to arcanists; uncomfortable to be near for everyone. Requires the Theomancer talent tree.

Tradition, One of the three casting disciplines available to player characters: Arcana, Divine, or Primal. Each links to a Characteristic and a distinct casting philosophy and source. Combined traditions (Theomancy, Necromancy, Shamanism) blend two. High Magic blends all three.

Trial Die, A negative d8 die that forms the base of a difficulty pool. Added by the GM to represent task challenge. May be upgraded to a Crisis Die for more volatile circumstances.

Willpower (WIL), One of the six Characteristics. Governs mental fortitude, readiness, Strain Points, and Divine-tradition casting.

Wound Points, A character's maximum Wounds. Calculated as species Wound base + Might.

Wounds, Physical injury capacity, tracked separately from Strain. Characters begin at full Wounds and lose Wounds when damage gets through Resistance or when an effect directly causes them to suffer Wounds. A character reduced to 0 Wounds is incapacitated. Wounds recover at Might per full rest; Medicine from another character adds to recovery.

XP (Experience Points), The advancement currency earned after sessions (typically 15–20 per session with meaningful progress, danger, and engagement, plus GM-awarded bonuses for major faction, soul-economy, or relationship milestones). Spent on skill ranks, talents, and (through specific talents only) characteristic increases. Unspent XP does not expire.

Zoranti, Sentient bespoke weapons: Ancient-tier workings that are permanent, awake, and possessed of a mind of their own. They are GM-placed treasures, never purchased or made; their rules are in the GM Guide, Chapter Seven. Henry Carna of House Carna is the best-known public bearer of one (Chapter Eleven).

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Ix Player Guide — ORC Notice

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The following elements of the Exodus NDS Core Rules (used as the mechanical foundation of this work) are designated as Licensed Material under the ORC License and may be freely used in your own works:

The dice pool resolution mechanic, including pool construction, the cancellation system, and difficulty ratings
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The six die types (Boon Die, Bane Die, Ability Die, Trial Die, Mastery Die, Crisis Die) and their face distributions as described herein
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The Story Points mechanic as described in Exodus NDS Core Rules
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