Art of Arbiters: Gaining Edges and Changing Conditions

[Ves]

Arbiters

Arbiters are the other driving force behind your characters, the heart of much of the action you’ll carry out against your fellow characters. They’’re the complementing forces to your Traits that can augment the ebb and flow of combat and challenges, crafted by your character’s background and experiences. Arbiters can be either physical or supernatural and cost one action in an individual post and can be of one of four classes, with specific properties associated with each. Their individual anatomy looks like this:

Name: Your arbiter’s given name
Class: Ava, Bea, Cea, or Dea
Type :Offense or Defense, Seen or Unseen. (Seen means it acts on the physical world i.e. fire, punches, kicks, rocks. Unseen means it acts on subtle energies i.e. psychic, spirits, emotional effects.)
Edge/s (Read more below): The Arbiter’s additional effects. Each effect that can be applied increases the total Cost or Prep of the Arbiter
Cost: Total cost of Pool to use the Arbiter.
Prep: Some Arbiters may require the preparation of Naten in the way of certain Ava or activation of certain Dea skills to use as an additional Cost. Prep reduces the Cost of an Arbiter -1

Arbiters all cost one action per post and roll an Edge Die. You can read more about Actions here.

Ava Class
These techniques represent foundational knowledge of being able to utilize Naten. Ava class Arbiters allow your character draw upon a deeper well of Naten to perform a task. Any form of hand seals, magic circles, runes, or special triggers necessary to do another technique in your arsenal falls into this category.

Ava must be used as preparation for Bea, Cea, and Dea techniques, costing only an action on your post and they add +1 to your Pool each time they are used.

Bea Class
These techniques are used with intent from the user. Arbiters in this class can be used freely in combat and only need the corresponding amount of Pool to activate.

Bea Class Arbiters have a minimum Cost of 2 Pool.

Cea Class
These are techniques that are a step beyond Bea Class, typically a beefy, souped up, specialized version of Bea Class Arbiters.

Cea Class Arbiters have a minimum Cost of 3 Pool.

Dea Class
These techniques, once activated, are in use continuously. Techniques like areas of effect, summons, and transformations fall into this class. Dea skills are also special in that they can be used as conditions for more complex skills, similar to the way that Ava class Arbiters work.

Dea Class Arbiters have a minimum Cost of 3 Pool, and consume 1 Pool per user turn they are active

Edges

Arbiters with an Edge carry have a number of added effects to change the narrative. Typically, these Edges are cast in Buffs or Debuffs, but For each Edge that is added to the Arbiter, either the Cost of that Arbiter increases by +1 or there is a certain Prep that is added to the Arbiter:

• Buffs - Increases one of the character’s Passive Stats after use
• Debuffs - Changes to the scene or the opponent’s Condition

V Specials

These are a special kind of Arbiter that are unique to your character, a signature move that is considered the peak of their abilities. In addition to regular Edges, V Specials can also have a special Edge reserved just for these types of Arbiters:

• V Specials Designate the Edge Dice that can be used against them.
• V Specials also can also be used as Offense or Defense AND Seen and Unseen.

Edge Dice Designation increases the Cost or Prep for each die excluded as does its Type being used for both Offense and Defense or Seen and Unseen effects.

A V Special that can be used for Offense or Defense on Seen and Unseen realms that can only be responded to with a Defend Dice automatically carries +4 extra Cost.

A character can gain their first V Special at level 10 and gets one V special for every 10 levels after that. And because they’re so powerful, V specials also need to have certain Ava used in the post they’re activated, no matter how much Pool the character has charged.

For examples of how to build your skills, check out these characters:

Zero Venkage
Ovan Hellgate
Kilik

[Ves]

Conditions

Certain Arbiters and events in the environment can impose change the Condition of characters and the setting. These Conditions can be stacked in four layers, I-II-III-IV, and typically last until the end of the thread or a long enough rest to change settings.

Because of the nature of Play-by-Post roleplay, you can have an extended Condition on your character, if they’re blinded or impaired as part of a larger Arc of development so you’d begin every thread with at least Condition I until your Arc resolves the Condition.

Applicable Conditions

Character Conditions

Staggered

A staggered opponent has their movement completely hindered for a turn. Effects such as Paralysis, Frozen, Petrified, etc. impose a hindrance to your opponent and prevent them from using a movement action on their turn. Afflicted players roll 2 * 1d12 against the effecting player’s next Arbiter. They use the lower of the two 1d12 during Edge Resolution.

Impaired

Arbiters that cause an impairment prevent players from using Arbiters and responding with precision. Effects like Blindness or Confusion, apply this effect. Afflicted players roll 1d8 instead of 1d12 against Edge Dice.

Damage Over Time(D.O.T.ed)

Arbiters that apply this effect drain a player’s HP over time, inflicting damage at the start of the afflicted player’s turn. This effect stacks up to 4 times minus any number of Condition layers already applied, dealing maximum 4 health each turn, doing -1 HP damage for each successive turn. It lasts a maximum of 3 turns unless cleansed by another Arbiter. Effects such as Burn, Poison, Corrode, etc. may apply this effect.

Shatter

Arbiters that apply this effect will lower a player’s Defense -2 to impose this effect.

Transmute

Arbiters with this effect are able to take energy and convert it directly into another energy. On a winning roll, it takes the difference between two rolls and adds that value to the next roll’s HP/Offense/Defense before calculating battle.

Regen

Arbiters with this effect will, on a successful roll, add the difference between the player and the opponent’s rolls to the victor’s HP or removes a layer of Condition applied.

Environment Conditions

Uneven

The ground becomes hard to stand on through slippery, uneven, or icy conditions. Removes -2 from Dodge Edge rolls.

Miasma

The air becomes harder to breathe in due to small particles, dust, poison, or other means. This effect stacks up to 4 times dealing maximum 4 health each turn, doing -1 damage for each successive turn. It lasts a maximum of 3 turns unless cleansed by another Arbiter

Visibility

Fog, smoke, or illusions make it harder for characters in that environment to see. This effect stacks and lowers Deflect(Parry) Edge Dice by -1 for each layer.