Glossary

Action Points. In combat, your character spends Action Points to take specific actions. You determine your Action Points by rolling d4's and adding your Agility and either Dexterity or Cunning.

Action. Actions are specifically the things that your player character can do in combat.

Active Defense. These are reactions that your character can take to try to avoid or mitigate damage. The most common defenses are Block, Dodge, and Parry.

Acuity. A Spirit attribute, this is your physical senses and gut feeling.

AD. Armored Defense.

Advantage. Roll two d20s and take the higher value of the two dice.

Adventure. A series of events or encounters. Sometimes synonymous with a Campaign.

Agility. A Mobility attribute, this is how easily your character can move and run.

Aithea. The default fantasy setting for Unbound Legends.

Alignment. This is how your character sees themselves and the world. Divided into two axis, Ethos and Principles.

Altrustic. A measure of Ethos. Altrustic characters put others before themselves.

Ancestry. This is the physical aspects that make up who you are. Similar to Race or Species in other games.

AP. Action Points.

Arcane. Short for Arcane magic, this is the raw magic that most players associate with fantasy worlds. Uses Mana.

Armor. Usually referring to the item that characters wear to protect themselves, all armors have an armor value, or just armor, that represents how much that item can protect you.

Armored Defense. Half your armor (rounded down) plus your armor skill rank and any skill boosts, you subtract this number from any damage your character receives.

Attack. This is an action taken to deal damage to an enemy. Most often with a weapon or spell. This will use a d20 and add the appropriate Combat Skill.

Attribute. The physical and mental characteristics that make up a character.

Background. These are traits that defined who you are growing up.

Block. This is the ability to use a shield, or other similar item, to deflect or absorb an incoming attack. This uses your Body Defense and Strength.

Body. One half of your character's physical attributes. This is those elements that make up your physical body.

Campaign. Another name for an adventure or story, or a specific set of events in an adventure or story.

Cantrip. Cantrips are simple spells that are considered circle 0. These cost no spellcasting resource to cast.

Capability. This is your ability to use a weapon in the game and lets you add an attribute, usually Dexterity, to weapon attack rolls that you are capable with.

Capacity. This is how much "stuff" your character can hold and carry on them. Rather than calculate size, weight, volume, or other details, items are given a capacity representing all these factors. A small item might have a higher capacity than another item of similar size if the weight of the items is different enough.

Character. Short for player character.

Class. Either a Combat Class or a Job Class. Most often used to describe a Combat Class.

Combat Class. Usually just called Class. This is the training and other abilities that define your character when they fight in combat. There are 12 Combat Classes.

Combat skills. Combat skills are specific skills that allow a player to be more effective in combat.

Combat. The element of play where your character is is in opposition to another force. Usually, this is a fight against an enemy, but it can also be escaping a dangerous situation. A majority of the rules deal with combat.

Counterattack. A counterattack is an attack that is made as a reaction. This is done with weapon damage only, not adding in an attribute such as Strength.

Cover. This is when your character places some of the environment between them and an enemy to help prevent getting hit.

Critical Hit. This is when you roll a 20 on a 20 sided dice, refered to as a "Natural 20" or by rolling 10 over the Target Number associated with the attack.

Cunning. A Mental attribute, this is how quickly you can think and how persuasive you can be.

d20. The largest and most commonly used dice.

Damage. Each weapon, spell, or other feature will list what dice to roll to do damage, and what kind of damage it is. If no damage type is listed, as some spells are, then it is either raw damage based on the kind of magic used, or it is added to the attack that triggers it.

Death Saves. Death Saves, or Death Saving rolls, are made when you are at 0 Health. Each roll of 10 or over on a d20 is a save, and each roll under 10 is a failure. If you have 3 saves, you stabilize and are at 1 Health, and if you have 3 failures, your character dies.

Defense. Associated with the 4 main attributes, Body, Mobility, Mental, and Spirit, this is how able your character is to protect themselves.

Dexterity. A Mobility attribute, this is your eye-hand coordination.

Dice. A set of numbered polyhedra based on Plato's Platonic solids.

Disabled. When you are at 0 Health, you are Disabled and must make Death Saving rolls.

Displeasure. A metric of Social Interactions. Increasing Displeasure makes a creature less likely to interact with or help you.

Divine. Short for Divine magic, this is the power of a deity given to a mortal to use. Uses Threshold.

Dodge. This is your character's ability to move out of the way of an attack. This is sometimes hampered by armor or being over Capacity. Uses your Mobility Defense and Agility.

Disadvantage. Roll two d20s and take the lower value of the two dice.

Dynamic. A measure of Principles. Dynamic characters embrace change and a free lifestyle.

Encounter. Sometimes called an event. Usually combat related where player characters face off against others.

Endurance. A Body attribute, this is how long your character can last at a task.

Ethos. This is how much importance your character puts on the concept of self. Measure in either Altruistic or Selfish.

Event. Sometimes called an encounter. Where player characters face off against others in combat or social interaction.

Expert. Rank 3 in a skill. This represents a skill that your character is very familiar with. Add 6 to any sub-skills in this group.

Exploration. This is the element of play where you use your skills to get from one location to another. This can be a great distance, or from one part of a conversation to another.

Favor. A metric of Social Interactions. Increasing a creatures Favor makes them more friendly to you and more willing to assist you.

Flanking. When two or more characters surround an enemy to prevent them from gaining defensive options.

HB. Health Boost.

Healing. Any spell or feature that restores lost Health or Vitality.

Health Boost. At certain levels of your Combat Class, you receive a boost to your Health.

Health. Health is your player character's physical well-being. Damage to health takes longer to recover from.

Heritage. These are cultural traits from the area that you grew up in.

Intelligence. A Mental attribute, this is your reasoning and memory.

Job Class. Usually just called Job. This is the skill and abilities that your character posses that helps them navigate the world outside of combat.

Level. This is a measure of how powerful and able your character is.

Life. Life is a combination of a character's Health and Vitality.

Lineage. These are unique aspects that separate you from others of the same Ancestry.

Long Range. This is the maximum distance a weapon can be used. Any attacks made within this range, but longer than Short Range, are made at disadvantage.

Magic. Magic is just a unique set of abilities that many characters can share. In a more modern or Sci-Fi setting, you might just call this pseudoscience or advanced technology. Divided into Arcane, Divine, and Primal spells.

Mana. This is the spellcasting resource used for Arcane spells. Mana is a pool of resources that is drained when used.

Master. Rank 4 in a skill. Your character has little to no trouble with this skill. Add 8 to any sub-skills in this group.

Material. This is what armor is made out of and gives bonuses to Active Defenses when wearing armor of that material.

Melee. This is a slightly older term for fighting, and in this context, it means fighting with a weapon or bare handed face to face.

Mental skills. Mental skills are specific skills that allow players to interact with the world inderectly such as talking to others, or learning about things.

Mental. One half of your character's mental attributes. This represents you characters mind and thinking ability.

Minor Failure. Usually, a skill roll must be greater than the Target Number to hit, but a Minor Failure happens when you meet the Target Number but do not go over. For most attacks, you do half damage, but certain skills have other effects.

Mobility. One half of your character's physical attributes. This is your character's ability to move themselves.

Narrator. Sometimes called the Game Master or GM, the Narrator is the one who crafts the story for the players.

Origin. This is the aspects of your character up until they begin the game. This includes your Ancestry, Lineage, Heritage, and Background.

PA. Passive Armor.

Parry. This is using a weapon to deflect an attack. This uses your weapon skill rather than a defense skill.

Passive Armor. Your armor plus your armor skill bonus and any skill boosts. This is the Target Number enemies must roll higher than to hit you if you do not use any Active Defenses.

Passive Defenses. These are features that provide protection to your character without needed to take actions. Most commonly, just Armored Defenses and Passive Armor.

PC. Player Character.

Physical skills. Physical skills are specific skills that allow characters to interact with the world directly.

Player Character. The avatar that a player controls for their adventure.

Player. Either the person controlling a Player Character, or shorthand for Player Character.

Primal. Short for Primal magic, this is the natural magic that pervades the land and all living things. Uses Vitality.

Principles. This is how your character views society, or rather, how they want society to be. Divided into Tradition and Dynamic.

Profession skills. Profession skills are specific skills that allow players to make things, often with the intent to make money.

Proficient. Rank 2 in a skill. This represents more ability with a given skill. Add 4 to any sub-skills in this group.

Range. The distance a weapon can be used at. Most commonly used to describe the distance at which ranged weapons can be effective.

Roll. A roll of the dice.

Selfish. A measure of Ethos. Selfish characters think of themselves before others, if they think of others at all.

Short Range. This is the distance at which a Ranged weapon can be used with no penalty. By default, this is in feet.

Size. How big a character is in the world. This is based on the average human being considered medium. Goes from tiny to small, medium, large, huge, and gargantuan.

Skill Bonus. Your skill bonus in a skill is twice your skill rank plus the attribute associated with that sub-skill.

Skill Boost. A skill boost represents the natural talent, or ability, in a sub-skill, weapon, or other item that you might have.

Skill Rank. A set of values, 0-4, that determines your level of skill in that area. Sometimes listed as Untrained, Trained, Proficient, Expert, Master to represent 0-4.

Skill Roll. Roll a d20 and add any values from your skill to the roll.

Skill. Skills are a measure of a player character's ability to interact with the world. Skills are divided into Physical skills, Mental skills, Profession skills, and Combat skills.

Social Action. Unique actions that take place in a Social Interaction. Social Actions are unique skill rolls.

Social Defense. This is a defense roll for making Social Interactions.

Social Interaction. A unique event where player characters use social actions to resolve a conflict.

Spell Circle. This is how powerful a spell is. The higher the circle, the more powerful the spell.

Spell. An application of magic. Spellcasters can cast spells to affect the world.

Spellcasting Resource. This is the cost of casting a spell. Spell casting resources are mostly: Mana, Threshold, or Vitality.

Spirit. One half of your character's mental attributes. Spirit is mostly about your perception of the world.

Stabilize. You can Stabilize a dying creature by making a Medicine skill roll.

State. A state is like a weaker, more temporary Status Condition.

Status. Status, or Status Conditions, are temporary effects that a character has. Most have a negative effect.

Story. A more generic term for an adventure or campaign.

Strength. A Body attribute, this is how much effort your character can exert.

Sub-Skill. Sub-skills are distinct applications of a skill, tied to a specific attribute.

Talents. Talents are unique features that a character can obtain. These are not limited to any Class or Job, but may have specific requirements. Some of these combine both Combat and Non-Combat aspects.

Target Number. When making a skill roll, this is the numerical value that you must be higher than.

Tech. Generally, this is just future magic.

Threshold. This is the spellcasting resource from Divine spells. Threshold is gained, and when the value exceeds a set amount, casting spells comes with a risk.

TN. Target Number

Tradition. A measure of Principles. Characters with a high Tradition prefer things the way they are, or how they used to be.

Trained. Rank 1 in a skill. This is a skill that your character has some knowledge of. Add 2 to any sub-skills in this group.

Unleash. When you use a spell or ability with Unleash, you remove any effect that the spell or ability has for its unleashed effect.

Untrained. Rank 0 in a skill. Represents a skill that your character has no skill ranks in and has no bonus from skills.

Valor. This is a resource that your character can accumulate and spend to help with various rolls or situations in the game.

Vigor. Vigor is a temporary pool of points that protects your character. Any damage a character takes comes out of Vigor first.

Vitality. Vitality is your character's ability to avoid taking real damage. Similar to the concept of stamina. Also used for Primal spellcasting.

Will. A Spirit attribute, this is your metaphysical or magic senses, and often how stubborn you are.