top of page

✨ Core Rules

This guide will walk you through the game. You can explore each section as you see fit or follow the Character Creation steps.

​

​

If you want to support Meteor Tales, consider:

1. Buying the books.

2. Becoming a member on Patreon.

3. Buy me a Ko-fi.

Glossary Overview

A first glance at some commonly found terms in the game.

​

Dice

Meteor Tales uses D20, D12, and D10 dice. You may encounter terms like:

  • Bonus Dice

  • Active Dice

  • Explosive Dice

  • and others.

A full list of dice terms can be found in the final pages of the book.

​

Archetypes

Various character templates that define a character’s skills and attributes.
An Archetype is a character with a predetermined number of skills and a defined role in gameplay.

​

Checks & Rolls

When you see terms like Checks or Rolls, they refer to tests characters must perform to determine success or failure in a challenge. This can involve:

  • (a) A player rolling against a set difficulty

  • (b) Opposing another character’s roll

  • (c) The Game Master rolling against a character’s attribute

Examples:

  • (a) A D20 Climbing Roll against a difficulty of 5

  • (b) A D12 Parry Roll against a D20 Attack Roll

  • (c) A D20 Roll against a character’s Vigor to resist disease

All of these are forms of Tests.

​

Legacy Abilities

Innate racial abilities that grant unique advantages.
While Racial Legacies are most common, other types of legacies exist and are covered in additional books.

​

Domains

Areas of expertise or training, divided into:

  • Basic Domains

  • Advanced Domains

These are also referred to as Skills.

​

Feats

Special abilities that offer unique benefits or traits to a character, helping them fill a particular niche.

​

Grit System

The core mechanic determining a character’s overall performance.

  • Grit Points: A numerical value representing resilience, morale, stamina, and more.

  • Grit Level: The die currently used for most actions (D20, D12, or D10).

Combat Rules Overview
  • Your Grit represents your Health, Stamina and overall performance.

  • During combat, you roll to determine who acts first.  

  • All creatures perform actions during their turn, and reactions outside their turn.  

  • Actions can vary from attacking, casting spells, using items, moving, and more.  

  • Reactions can vary from supporting allies with spells or maneuvers, defending, or using spells or maneuvers against an action.

  • You roll to match or beat your opponent’s roll. Ties favor the defender.

  • The roll you make for an attack is the same amount of damage you deal.

  • If you roll high enough, you will add a critical effect determined by your weapon or spell. For weapon attacks, you will add your current Threat value which changes according to your Grit.

  • The round is concluded when everyone has acted. Not all reactions are always used.

  • Damage depletes Grit Points.  

  • Effects from spells and from the environment can affect Grit Levels, meaning the dice you use.  

  • You use different dice according to your Grit Levels (d20, d12, d10).  

  • Your Attributes affect your combat performance and are subject to your Grit Level as well.  

  • Reaching 0  or negative Grit subjects you to a Withering Roll.  

  • Actions that do not face reactions automatically hit unless they roll into risk zones.  

  • Risk measures automatic failure. Powerful spells and maneuvers have high risk.  

  • Rolling into risk makes you very vulnerable for the round, and then resets.  

  • Sustaining multiple spell effects, or suffering side effects from poison and other attacks, will accumulate risk as well.  

  • Weather phenomena affect combat directly by increasing risk, adjusting attributes, and affecting overall performance.  

​

Exploration Rules Overview
  • At the beginning of each day, a roll is made to determine the weather.  

  • Traveling is commonly measured in hexes when using maps.  

  • During the day, you roll once for encounters, and once again during the night when the party is resting.  

  • By default, everyone has 3 Effective Hours to spend daily in a creative manner. Use them to practice for XP, study a skillbook, craft an item, hunt for food, or for other uses.  

  • Effective Hours can be spread throughout the day.  

  • Balancing out Effective Hours between multiple skills can be fun, but consider effective combinations across all characters to cover the needs of the team.  

  • Settlements offer services and items from merchants, safe lodging, troops for hire, and other amenities that can relieve adventurers after a long journey.  

  • Horses, carriages, ships, and even giant eagles reduce traveling time.  

  • Characters must consume 1 ration daily to prevent starvation.  

  • Light sources such as torches, lanterns, and candles have a limited duration measured in real time for more immersion, especially in dungeons and intense moments.  

  • Weather phenomena affect traveling greatly. It is often wise to wait them out.  

  • Skills such as Traveling and Tracking can dramatically reduce the danger while on the road.

Character Creation

To create your Character is to know who you truly are and who you truly wish to become. Take a moment to examine every step of the way and make use of your Character Sheet.

​

1. Basic Information
Choose a Name and Age for your Character.

​

2. Race

Choose a Race from the available Player Character Races.

​

3. Legacy
Copy the Race’s special features and Legacy Abilities into your Character Sheet.

​

4. Attributes

Copy the Race’s Attributes into your Character Sheet.

​

5. Attributes Breakdown
Copy the Attributes and their Stats into your Character Sheet.

​

6. Archetypes & Skills
Choose 5 Skills from the Skills List across many different domains.
Shape your character the way you like them.
If you want inspiration, check out the premade Archetypes.
Copy these Abilities and their effects into your Character Sheet.

​

7. Inventory
Choose your Starting Equipment and copy all items into your Inventory. 
Separate Backpack, Quickbelt and Held/Worn items.

​

8. Character Arcs
Keep track of your character’s behavior to be able to monitor their development by adding 
Character Arcs when the time comes.

​

9. Feats
Add a unique niche to your character by selecting from various Feats 
when the time comes.

Mastery

 

Overview
Mastery represents your character’s growth and power development, achieved through Experience and leveling up. As your character progresses, they gain new feats, skills, and other enhancements, all encompassed under Mastery.

​

Starting Characters

  • 5 Skill Points

  • 50 Grit Points

  • 2 Actions per Round

 

Leveling Up
Your character’s Level reflects their experience and power. When you level up, you gain new skills and other benefits, making your character stronger.

 

Experience Points (XP)
Experience Points (XP) are the currency for leveling up. As you accumulate XP, you increase in level and gain new abilities. You begin with 0 XP.

 

Experience Gaining Methods
Your character can gain experience through two primary methods:

  • Combat 

  • Practice

 
Combat Experience: You earn a fixed amount of XP after each combat, based on its difficulty. The difficulty of each combat is determined by the Game Master:

​

  • Easy: 10 XP per character

  • Medium: 20 XP per character

  • Hard: 30 XP per character

  • Pivotal: 50-100 XP per character

 

Practice Experience: Roll for XP as you train to enhance your character’s abilities (1D10 XP per Effective Hour). This represents sparring, drills, or dedicated practice sessions.

​

Skill Points VS Experience Points
Your character can develop through two primary methods: 

  • Experience Points (XP): Earned through various activities as explained earlier.

  • Skill Focus: Instead of leveling up, you can focus on specific skills by spending Effective Hours practicing, researching, or receiving tutoring. This allows your character to gain skills directly without leveling up. All Skills belong to certain Groups called Domains.

 

Domains are schools of knowledge that group related skills.

  • Basic Domains: These contain essential skills that can be selected to aid your character’s adventures. Some Basic Domains may include Subdomains, offering more specialized skills. Basic Domains are acquired a single time and are considered one-time acquisitions. They do not progress through additional levels; a character either possesses them or does not.

  • Advanced Domains: These are more complex and require certain Basic Domains to be unlocked first. They provide new skills that combine existing ones, opening up new possibilities for your character. Advanced Domains, in contrast, feature multiple levels of progression, allowing for advancement and development over time.

  • Skills: Skills shape your character’s abilities in combat, adventuring, and lore. They are crucial for survival and success in your journey.

 

Skill Focus Methods
Your character can gain a Skill through three methods: Practice, Research, and Tutoring.

  • Practice: Focus on a specific skill by spending Effective Hours practicing. Upon completion, you acquire the skill directly, without needing to level up. This is common for survival and utility skills.

  • Research: Spend Effective Hours studying Skillbooks you carry or accessing a library. This method is commonly used to acquire lore and advanced skills. Certain Advanced Domains require Exercise as a Research Method due to their physical nature.

  • Tutoring: Receive instruction from a master, spending Effective Hours to learn a skill. This approach is typical for the initial stages of craft skills.

​​

  • Starting Skills & Acquired SkillsSkills evolve based on their nature. Starting characters can choose skills from any domain. As the game progresses, skills can be acquired either through leveling up or by using the specific methods mentioned earlier. This dual system ensures continuous character development, both during and between level-ups.

 

Effective Hours & Development
Effective Hours represent the time your character spends developing skills each day. Every character has 3 Effective Hours daily, which can be used for various activities like training, crafting, or gathering resources. This system allows for personalized character progression, with each character developing at their own pace. The Game Master should facilitate in-game time for character development, encouraging creative management of time, especially during rest periods. This approach adds depth and dynamism to your campaign, as characters naturally diverge in their growth, creating a richer, more varied experience.

​

Character Arcs
Character arcs provide guidance for role-playing by helping define your character’s personality and backstory. As you gain experience, it becomes easier to refine your character’s identity using these arcs.

​

Feats
Feats are special abilities your character can acquire at certain Levels. These abilities further define your character’s niche.

 

Attributes
Attributes are determined by each race. When you gain +1 Attribute, simply increase one Attribute by one level (e.g., Medium to High, Low to Medium, etc.).

 

Grit
Characters start with 50 Grit Points by default. Veteran characters gain bonuses as they level up.

 

Actions

By default, all creatures can perform 2 actions per round, either as standard actions or reactions. Veteran characters and certain creatures can perform 3 actions per round. Any additional actions gained (e.g., through magic or potions) are treated as Reactions.

​

Mastery & Power
In Meteor Tales, levels do not necessarily define a character’s power. All characters remain vulnerable. Mastery simply provides more tools and options across different fields.

​

​

Note from the creator

This book would have never been possible without the valuable help of my friends and people who played the game over the years. As an indie creator of games, I never had the means to test my game extensively with thousands of players for thousands of hours. However, the instincts of my friends, their willingness to support me and our experience over the years have made up for what I lack in means.

​

This game is dedicated to you all!
May we keep playing forever!

Yours faithfully,
Angelos Kyprianos

​

How To Play The Game
Meteor Tales requires what most roleplaying games necessitate: a group of friends/players and a Game Master, along with pens, papers, and a grid for placing tokens during combat. Additionally, it requires half a set of polyhedral dice, specifically a D20, D12, and a D10. Each player must create one or two characters (preferably), and the Game Master must prepare a story for the characters to engage with. Following this, all steps for character creation must be adhered to, and the information should be transcribed onto character sheets, which are available Online for free download if not included with the purchase. Once all characters are completed and the Game Master has crafted their story, the adventure can commence!

​

The Game System
Meteor Tales features dynamic combat and introduces a unique system called The Grit System, which lies at the core of the game. The aim was to create a gaming experience reminiscent of a fantasy novel, enabling epic cinematic combat with mechanics that are both simple and engaging. In the Grit System, a character’s performance in all endeavors, including combat, skills, and interactions with the environment, is determined by their Grit. This single bar, named Grit, dictates a character’s effectiveness. Rolls in the game are made using three main dice: a D20, a D12, and a D10, reflecting the character’s performance based on their Grit. As a character’s Grit decreases, so too do the dice they roll, impacting their overall performance. This straightforward mechanic facilitates dynamic shifts between characters without the need for complex calculations, modifiers, or explicit mechanics. It allows for diverse character abilities simply by altering the dice rolled. For example, a character equipped with a torch in a dark room might roll a D20, while a character without a torch would roll a D10, reflecting the torch’s advantage in the dark. Furthermore, external factors such as environmental conditions can influence dice rolls. For instance, during a severe storm, all characters engaged in combat may drop to rolling a D12, reflecting the storm’s adverse effects on their performance.

The Grit System, combined with a classless, boundless design and trademark character development of a Meteor Tales game, as well as a unique, modular approach for magic users, promises to deliver the gaming experience you’ve been longing for.

​

Terminology

​

Dice
Core Dice: These are the primary dice used in most rolls. They factor in all relevant modifiers, including Risk and Critical effects.
Bonus/Penalty Dice: These dice enhance or diminish a roll’s outcome but do not interact with modifiers like Risk or Critical effects. They simply adjust the final result without affecting other mechanics. Bonus Dice can be added to an attack roll before resolution or applied as additional damage or effects after a successful hit.
Strong/Weak Dice: Another die of the same type as the Core Die (or all Core Dice) is rolled and the best or worst roll applies.
Active Dice: A die is rolled automatically, independent of an Action or Reaction. It applies to Critical Effects but is unaffected by Risk (also referred to as Active Damage or Effect).
Mixed Dice: An additional die of a different type is rolled alongside others for special cases. It applies to Critical Effects but is unaffected by Risk.
Explosive Dice: When a die rolls its maximum

value, an additional die of the same type is rolled and added to the total. Risk and Critical factors remain unaffected.

 

Grit
Affected by Grit: Signifies if a selected Action or Skill is affected by a creature’s Grit Level.
Frail Grit: Poor status of a creature referring to performance.
Grit Points: Points that measure a creature’s overall effectiveness.
Grit Level: Determines a creature’s effectiveness varying from Prime, Reduced or Frail levels.
Prime Grit (or Default Grit Level): High status of a creature referring to performance represented by the D20.
Reduced Grit (or -1 Grit Level): Lowered status of a creature referring to performance represented by the D12.
Frail Grit (or -2 Grit Levels): Lowest status of a creature referring to performance represented by the D10.
Core Grit: Represents your character’s Grit Level as determined by internal factors only.
Effective Grit: Represents your character’s Grit Level after applying external modifiers.


Other Terms
Absorption: Indicates an Armor’s capacity to absorb Damage.
Actions: Number of Actions or Reactions a creature can perform in a round.
Active Action: An Action caused by a sustainable effect.
Advanced Domains: List of sophisticated Skill categories.
Advantage: Determines the order of all involved creatures in battle.
Adventuring: Skills that relate to adventuring.
Attributes: Core attributes of all creatures (Threat, Mobility, Vigor, Perception).
Basic Domains: List of most common Skill categories and subcategories.
Catalyst: A resource that fuels rituals and other practices, measured in charges.
Character Arc: A word or set of words that highlight a creature’s personality.
Conditions: Describes specific side effects that a creature suffers due to an event.
CR or Critical Resistance: Indicates an Armor’s capacity to reduce the severity of a Critical attack.
Crafts: Skills that relate to crafting.
Critical: Extra Damage or effect from high roll attacks by weapons or spells.
Critical Range: Determines when a weapon or spell scores a Critical hit across all Dice.
Critical Level: The Critical Level of an attack as a variable (+1 Critical refers to +1 Critical Level).
Difficulty: Target score that must be matched or overcome by Skills, Actions and generally Contested Checks.
Domains: Broad categories of Skills.
Durability Checks: Determine when an item is tested for its durability.
Durability: Determines an item’s resilience against hardships.
Duration: Determines when an effect expires.
Experience: Points that measure a character’s development.
Impact: Property that allows weapons to forfeit Armor Absorption.
Insignia: Refers to add-ons that can enhance spells.
Karma: Points that can be spent to affect the narrative of the story.
Legacy: Special abilities provided by a Race or Tribe.
Level: Milestones of characters gained via experience.
Magic: Skills & Effects that relate to magical combat.
Mastery: Development meter of a character based on experience.
Mental Effects: Spells or abilities that affect the mind of a target, usually related to Core Magic.
Mobile Action: An Action that includes Movement in a single sequence.
Mobility: Attribute that determines a creature’s movement speed.
Natural Range: Reach of a creature based on its size.
Perception: Attribute that determines a creature’s overall perception.
Quickdraw: A weapon that can be used without having to spend an Action to equip it.
Radius: Area of effect of a spell or ability measured in Tiles.
Range: Range of a weapon or spell measured in Tiles.
Risk: Measures the amount of Risk of an Action in combat.
Risk Roll: Success is guaranteed unless the roll falls within a Risk Zone.
Roll: A number value determined by rolling dice.
Round: Measures when creatures concluded their Actions in combat.
Shape: Describes the exact form that a spell can take under the guidance of a magic user.
Slot: Measures the capacity of an item, or the size of an item.
Spellbook: A collection of spells under a main school of magic.
Spells: Spells contained within a spellbook that relate to the main effect of the spellbook.
Sustained: Indicates that the ability or effect is ongoing, imposing Risk on the creature.
Threat: Attribute that determines a creature’s fierceness.
Throwable: Can also be used as a Ranged weapon.
Versatile: Can also be used as a 2-handed weapon gaining a +1 bonus to its Critical Range.
Vigor: Attribute that determines a creature’s innate resistance to spells and effects.
Warfare: Skills that relate to physical combat.
Worn: Can be used at all times without occupying the hand slot.

bottom of page