Rounds & Activations

V2 status: Core Round and activation structure approved. Players normally go first and choose their own activation order. There is no rolled or Attribute-based initiative. Neutral NPC details, Surprise procedure and GM deck mechanics remain open.

Beginning of the Round

All players and the GM refill their Hands to their respective hand-size limits at the beginning of each Round, before any units activate. Cards already held are retained, not automatically discarded.

A player’s normal maximum Hand is five Skill cards, unless a rule such as a Level card changes it. The GM also draws to their applicable Hand size; the GM’s Hand size and deck-management rules will be established separately.

For player characters, required draws can trigger Fatigue & Recycling, including fatal draw failure. The GM is not affected by card Exhaustion and uses a different deck system, to be designed separately. Do not apply the player’s Fatigue, Exhaustion or fatal failed-draw procedure to the GM.

See Hand Size & Round Refills.

Alternating activations

The player side normally activates first, then activation passes to the GM side, continuing to alternate between the sides. A Neutral NPC activation may occur between the player and GM activations where needed.

Choosing who acts next

The players choose which of their eligible characters activates at each player-side opportunity. They can coordinate the order tactically and choose a different order in later Rounds. There is no Initiative roll, Attribute Test, or Attribute ranking to determine player activation order. Older versions that used random rolls or a character statistic for turn order are superseded by this rule.

Friendly NPCs participate in the player-side activation sequence. Their exact selection and control arrangements can be specified when we review NPC procedures. The GM-side selection process is also still to be defined; this player-choice rule does not invent a GM unit-order algorithm.

Exceptions: the narrative situation or the party being Surprised! can change who begins. The detailed effect and timing of Surprise have not yet been defined.

Each player character or GM-controlled unit normally receives its turn in the Round. Continue until all units have had their activation. If one side has exhausted its eligible activations first, the other side continues with its remaining units. This can leave the GM with several consecutive activations after the player side finishes.

NPC participation

• Friendly NPCs are included in the player-side activation sequence.
• Neutral NPCs act between player-side and GM-side activations when needed. Their exact insertion into the sequence, control and ordering among multiple Neutral NPCs still need a defined procedure.

These relationships are approved; no detailed Neutral NPC turn-order algorithm is implied yet.

A unit’s activation

A player or GM unit can perform as many legal actions as they can afford during its activation, rather than being limited to a fixed universal number of actions.

An action must still meet its card cost and any conditions imposed by the Skill, Equipment or other rule. If the required resources are not available, the action cannot be declared. This ordinary shortage has no special consequence. Once paid, costs remain spent even if an interruption prevents success. If a cost unexpectedly becomes unpayable after declaration, the GM adjudicates the serious complication through the story; see Paid Costs and Interrupted Actions. A player can, for example:

• Burn cards to prepare Attribute adjustments before actions.
• Play Skill cards for their printed effects.
• Discard Skill cards as payment for actions, commonly Equipment attacks, abilities or voluntary position changes.
• Freely Discard unwanted cards without gaining an effect.
• Retain any cards they want for possible off-turn Reactions or a future Round.

This unlimited-by-default number of actions does not mean actions are cost-free or can ignore card-specific timing and requirements. Reaction cards and other explicit effects can be used outside normal activation timing; reactive Burning is not permitted by default.

There is no automatic end-of-activation hand discard or refill.

End of the Round

Normal temporary Burn modifiers expire at the end of the Round. Cards left face up to track those Burns then move to Discard, or to Exhaust where a rule explicitly requires it.

Cards still in Hand remain there for the next Round’s refill.

Exceptional circumstances

Apply the established rules as the normal baseline. In rare situations not fully covered by a rule or Skill, the GM may use the core system logic and the fiction to make a reasonable, case-by-case ruling. Do not assume that unusual exceptions overturn the standing rules or create a new universal mechanic. See GM Adjudication in Rare Cases.

Open design points

• GM unit order: how the GM selects its next eligible unit. Players choosing their own next eligible character is already approved; no rolls or Attribute ranking are used.
• Surprise and narrative exceptions: precisely how Surprise changes the opening activation, when it is determined, and whether it affects anything beyond the first activation.
• Neutral NPCs: exact slots between player and GM turns, control of those activations and how multiple Neutral NPCs are ordered.
• Side imbalance and exceptions: ordinary remaining units continue to activate, but special rules for skipped, delayed, extra or interrupted activations need review.
• GM deck and Hand: their sizes, shared or separate Hand arrangements, recycling and draw-failure procedures. The GM’s exemption from card Exhaustion is already established.
• Start/end timing: priority among simultaneous effects and any formal Upkeep step.
• Action eligibility: basic voluntary position changes cost a Discard per step unless movement is included in an effect. Disengaging from Engaged normally triggers Parting Blows, unless an ability allows Safely Disengage. Parting Blows is a pre-movement Reaction: the withdrawing character remains Engaged while the Hit resolves and cannot complete the movement if incapacitated. Ordinary defensive mitigation applies, but there is no identifiable attacker for counterattacks or Thorns. A failed Disengage does not refund its movement card. Forced movement costs the target no movement card, but leaving Engaged still triggers Parting Blows unless specifically prevented. The forced movement still completes even if Parting Blows incapacitates the target; this differs from voluntary Disengaging. The causing effect determines other consequences. Special terrain, repeated actions and individual Skill/Equipment restrictions remain open. Switching between eligible Engaged targets costs no movement.
• Freeform play: how activations and drawing work outside structured Rounds.

No extra procedure should be inferred from these open points.