Core Rules

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Philosophy

In Cerberus, the GM judges and the dice decide. There is no skill list, Armor Class, or collection of situational modifiers to memorize. Whenever an action has an uncertain outcome, the GM turns that judgment into a probability. Three types of roll resolve every situation.

Attributes

Every character has six attributes, expressed directly as modifiers: Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), and Charisma (CHA). There is no hidden score out of 20 behind them: a Barbarian's +8 Strength is their Strength.

Roll No. 1—The Prescribed Chance Roll

The prescribed chance roll replaces every skill. When a character attempts something with an uncertain outcome, the GM announces a probability based on the character—their attributes, history, and equipment—and the player's proposed plan.

One convention, always from the player's perspective: the GM announces “X chances out of Y.” The player rolls 1dY. On a result of X or lower, the player gets what they wanted.

GM: Climbing that wall at night, with your agility and rope: 4 chances out of 5. Player: (rolls 1d5) I rolled 2. GM: You clear the wall without a sound.

Three golden rules for the GM:

1. Do not roll when the outcome is certain. A master thief picking an ordinary lock succeeds. A peasant trying to jump a 30-foot chasm fails. Roll only when genuine uncertainty exists.
2. The plan matters more than the character sheet. Waiting for the guard shift, creating a diversion, or crossing the roof improves the odds. The system rewards player engagement, not character-sheet optimization.
3. Announce the odds before the roll, never after. The stated probability is a contract. A player can withdraw after hearing the odds, but cannot negotiate once the die has been cast.

Roll No. 2—Opposed Checks

An opposed check directly compares two conflicting forces. Each side rolls a d20 and adds the indicated value. The higher result wins. The effect that caused the check specifies what happens on a tie.

The most common opposed checks are:

Check	Formula
Reflex check	Reflex Save against Reflex Save
caster level check	1d20 + CL against 1d20 + CL
DC check	1d20 + DC against 1d20 + DC

A character's Reflex modifier is their Reflex Save. Without a class, it equals DEX + level. With classes, it follows the Save quality assigned by the class: a good Reflex Save adds the character's full level, while an ordinary Reflex Save adds only half.

There is no separate value for priority, attack, or defense. Whenever the rules call for a Reflex duel, the character uses their Reflex Save.

The Reflex Duel (Priority)

When two actions conflict in time—who strikes first, whether the spell fires before the arrow—each side makes a Reflex Save. The highest result acts first. On a tie, roll again.

A duel is not limited to two participants. When several actions compete for the same instant, each participant rolls once and the results order every action from highest to lowest. Tied participants reroll without changing the rest of the order.

The Declaration Bonus

Declaring first means exposing your intent: the opponent gains the information needed to react, and you risk being countered. The game rewards that risk.

The character who declares their action first gains +5 to the Reflex duel or +25% to their result, at the GM's discretion.

The percentage applies to the total result after rolling the d20 and rounds down like everything else. The GM calibrates it for the table; some groups prefer a subtler bonus of about 10%.

The exact number matters less than what it prevents. Without this bonus, waiting is always the best strategy: everyone lets someone else commit before reacting with full information, and reactive combat freezes. The declaration bonus makes boldness viable.

When to Roll—and When Not to

Never roll the duel before actions are declared, and roll only when their order actually matters. The Reflex duel is the game's only initiative mechanism: there is no initiative roll at the beginning of combat and no fixed turn order to track. See the Reactive Combat chapter.

Roll No. 3—Saving Throws

When the world acts on a character, they resist with one of three Saves:

Save	Formula	Resists
Reflex	Character's Reflex Save	anything avoided by moving
Will	1d20 + WIS + level	illusions, fear, mental manipulation, invisibility
Fortitude	1d20 + CON + level	poison, disease, exhaustion, transformation

Compare the Save with the effect's DC. For a spell, DC = 10 + CL/2 + the caster's magic attribute. For an environmental danger, the GM sets the DC; see the Environment chapter. The defender wins a tie. Classes can replace the level bonus for any of these three Saves with their own progression.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Some feats, items, or circumstances grant Advantage on a roll: roll twice and keep the better result. Disadvantage is its mirror: roll twice and keep the worse result. For example, Osseur's Mental Stability gives him Advantage on Will Saves against illusions, invisibility, and mental manipulation.

Rounding Convention

When a calculation produces a fraction, retain it through every step. Round the final result down once.

Round each independent value separately. Round a DC, derived attribute, or number of slots when calculating it. For damage, retain fractions while applying bonuses, percentages, critical hits, and DR, then round down the final damage of each attack.

With CL 5 and INT +8: 10 + 5/2 + 8 = 20.5, resulting in DC 20.

Attacks: No Roll to Hit

An attack that is neither dodged nor parried hits automatically. Roll damage directly. Defense is not a passive statistic: it consists of an active choice by the defender—dodge, parry, or shield; see the Martial Combat and Defenses chapter—and passive reduction from armor DR.

Accuracy is not a separate roll. Anything that would increase the chance to hit in another system instead grants a bonus to the attacker's Reflex roll during a dodge or parry duel. A more accurate strike does not ignore armor; it is harder to dodge or parry. Any old “attack bonus” from an item or feat becomes a bonus to the attacker's Reflex roll.

The accompanying d20. Roll a d20 with the damage of every attack. On a natural 20, the attack is a critical hit: multiply its damage by the weapon's multiplier—×2 by default, ×3 for an axe, and so on. This d20 serves no other purpose.

Chapter Summary

• General uncertainty → prescribed chance roll (“X out of Y”; low is success).
• Direct conflict → opposed Reflex or caster level check. Reroll ties in a Reflex duel.
• Declaring first → +5 or +25% in the Reflex duel. Waiting must never be the best option.
• The world acts on you → Save against DC.
• Attack → direct damage, mitigated by dodge, parry, and DR.

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Philosophy

Perception and stealth use no dedicated statistic. The GM judges the situation from the characters and their environment, then chooses a prescribed chance roll, a Reflex check, or a Will Save.

Perception and Stealth in a Scene

Outside combat, resolve an attempt at stealth with a prescribed chance roll. The GM considers the character's talents and experience, equipment, size, scent, noise, terrain, lighting, the observers' viewing angles, and any distractions.

Use the same method when a character searches for a hidden creature, a trail, or an environmental detail. Always announce the odds from the player's perspective before the roll.

An experienced thief tries to enter a well-guarded castle at night. After comparing the thief's experience and equipment with the guards' vigilance, the GM grants 4 chances out of 5 of remaining unnoticed.

Physical Disguises

A physical disguise has no DC and causes no Will Save: it is not an illusion. When an observer has reason to look closely, the GM calls for a prescribed chance roll. Consider physical resemblance, light, distance, the quality of clothing and makeup, preparation time, the observer's familiarity with the copied identity, and above all the character's behavior.

Without proper equipment, creating a simple disguise normally takes one hour and a detailed disguise one full rest. A Disguise Kit reduces these times to 10 minutes and 1 hour. Putting on and adjusting a prepared disguise normally takes 10 minutes. The Lightning Disguise feat greatly reduces these times.

A simple disguise changes a social silhouette—traveler, guard, servant, merchant— without copying a specific person. A detailed disguise can imitate a studied identity, but changes neither voice, size, nor memories. A long conversation with a close acquaintance is therefore far more dangerous than passing a sentry. Water, sweat, injury, or a lost accessory can degrade the disguise and justify a new roll.

Perception and Stealth in Combat

Invisibility

Invisibility is an illusion that deceives visual senses. A creature looking toward an invisible character makes a Will Save against the effect's DC to notice them.

If the invisibility also masks sound, the same Save can reveal the deception. Scent, tracks, moving objects, or other physical evidence may grant a bonus to the Save or prompt a separate chance roll at the GM's discretion.

Attacking from Hiding

When a character who is not invisible attacks from hiding, the GM first decides whether the defender could plausibly react in time. If not, the attacker acts first and every attack in that action is an automatic critical hit.

If the defender could react, attacker and defender make a Reflex duel. If the attacker wins, they act first and every attack in that action is an automatic critical hit. If the defender wins, they act first; the attacker is revealed when their action begins, and their attacks are not automatic critical hits.

The GM may grant either side a bonus for the hiding place, viewing angle, available senses, and other circumstances.

Visibility and Lighting

Magical darkness. Creatures with Darkvision can see within it. If the darkness is an illusion, others can make a Will Save against its DC to see through it.

Magical light. A luminous effect may blind creatures looking at it. The spell specifies the Will Save and the consequences of failure.

Natural darkness. No Save allows a creature to see through natural darkness. It needs a light source, Darkvision, or another suitable sense. Each source of Darkvision specifies its range; not every creature sees the same distance in darkness.

Chapter Summary

• Stealth or perception scene → prescribed chance roll.
• Invisibility → Will Save against the effect's DC.
• Attack from hiding → automatic critical, or a Reflex duel if the defender can react.
• Natural darkness → light, Darkvision, or another suitable sense.

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Philosophy

HP in Cerberus grows exponentially: a level 9 hero can withstand what would vaporize an army of level 1 soldiers. Every health threshold is a percentage of maximum HP, never a fixed value. A fixed threshold would be lethal at level 1 and irrelevant at level 9; a percentage retains the same weight at every level.

Health States

• Unharmed / wounded (above 0 HP): no mechanical penalty. HP represents endurance, luck, and the will to continue. While any remains, the character fights at full capacity. The GM describes wear—short breath, cuts, dented armor—without penalizing it.
• Down and dying (0 HP or less): the character collapses, falls unconscious, cannot act, and deteriorates as described below.
• Dead (negative HP equal to 25% of maximum HP): a 60 HP character dies at −15. A 3200 HP character dies at −800. The dying margin is always one quarter of total vitality. Death remains proportionally as close for an epic hero as for a beginner.

Dying

At the beginning of each turn, a dying character makes a DC 15 Fortitude Save:

• Success: the character remains stable for this turn. Three consecutive successes stabilize them: they remain unconscious but are no longer in danger.
• Failure: the character loses 10% of maximum HP and moves closer to death.

An ally can stabilize a dying character with a general action and a chance roll prescribed by the GM—typically 3 out of 5 with equipment, 2 out of 5 with bare hands, or automatically with healing magic.

Coup de grâce: finishing a dying opponent requires only a deliberate attack. No one “misses” an inert body.

Conditions

Every condition uses ticks because they are combat's unit of time. The GM applies conditions sparingly: a condition is a significant event, not routine bookkeeping.

• Prone. Standing costs one tick's movement. While prone, a character takes −5 to Reflex duels and cannot dodge melee attacks through movement, though parrying remains possible.
• Grappled. The character's hands are neutralized. They cannot attack with a weapon or cast spells with gestures. Escape is resolved as a grapple movement; see the Martial Combat and Defenses chapter. One attempt is allowed per tick.
• Blinded. A character cannot dodge or parry what they cannot perceive. Resolve their attacks with a prescribed chance roll, typically 1 out of 4 to hit the intended target.
• Stunned. The character loses their next tick: no action and no secondary action.
• Paralyzed. The character can take no action or movement while the effect lasts. Will and Fortitude Saves remain possible when the effect allows them.
• Poisoned / diseased. The poison or disease defines its own DC, effect, and frequency. The standard pattern is a Fortitude Save on exposure, followed by one effect per tick or round until cured. Garen's snake, for example, imposes −40% DEX per tick until paralysis.
• Bleeding. Lose X% of maximum HP per round, typically 5%, until a general action or healing closes the wound.
• Frightened. Fear always has a named source, and the condition is carried toward that one creature. The frightened character cannot willingly approach it and cannot attack it. If the source comes within 30 ft, unless the effect names another distance, they must run: every tick they take an action that allows full Speed and spend all of that movement heading away from the source. Casting a spell, taking a general action, and holding a ritual allow less than full Speed, so none of them is possible while fleeing, unless a feat such as Mobile Caster or Steady Hands raises that action to full Speed for them. A frightened character who cannot flee—cornered, held, or out of room—automatically loses every Reflex duel against the source: they do not dodge it, do not parry it, and never act before it. Nothing stops them from fighting anyone else. Once they have put the required distance between themselves and the source, they may attempt a new Will Save each round. The effect that caused the fear sets its duration.
• Gagged / silenced. The character cannot cast spells with verbal components.
• Nauseated. The character can take only one action of their choice per tick and no secondary action.

Physical Poisons

A physical poison is an item, not a spell. It has its own Fortitude DC, exposure method, frequency, and antidote. It depends on no caster level, and Dispel Magic cannot remove it. Poison can amplify it, but still requires a real substance as a component.

A dose can be administered in five ways:

Exposure	Resolution
Ingestion	Full DC if swallowed.
Injection	Full DC if introduced directly into the blood.
Injury	Full DC, but only if at least 1 damage passes through DR.
Contact	−5 DC or −20%, whichever is the greater reduction.
Inhalation	−7 DC or −25%, whichever is the greater reduction.

Coating a slashing or piercing weapon requires a 2-tick general action and one dose. Application begins in the first tick and finishes at the end of the second. If interrupted, the dose is lost. Quick Application reduces this time for trained characters.

The dose remains on the weapon until it wounds a creature, is cleaned off, or dries after one hour. A parry, dodge, or DR that absorbs all damage prevents injection and does not consume the dose. One dose coats one weapon or three projectiles.

New exposure to the same poison prompts a new Save, but its effects do not stack. Keep the strongest consequence and renew its duration. Creatures without living biology are immune unless otherwise stated.

Harvest and preparation. A toxic gland, plant, or mineral gathered in the field is a raw ingredient. During a rest, a character who knows the recipe and has alchemical equipment can turn it into doses. If the outcome is uncertain, the GM prescribes a chance roll based on experience, the recipe, ingredient condition, time spent, and available equipment. An Alchemist's Kit is therefore a favorable factor in that judgment, never an automatic probability. Failure may destroy the ingredient; particularly dangerous handling may also expose the alchemist.

The four reference preparations are Cerberus Nerve Venom, Drow Sleep, Black Flower Sap, and Suffocating Spores.

Treating poison. An Alchemical Antidote prepared from the correct ingredient immediately grants a new Fortitude Save with +5; success ends the poison. Remove Poison can neutralize the substance directly. Healing HP does not remove poison, but can keep the victim alive while a remedy is found.

Healing

• Rest. See the Rest chapter. Natural recovery is a percentage per night for the same reasons of invariance as death thresholds.
• Magic. Healing spells restore HP according to their formula, which scales with the caster's CL. Magic follows the same exponential curve as life.
• Alchemy. A healing potion is the Heal spell bottled. It restores what the spell would restore at the spell level and caster level used in preparation; see the Magic chapter. Drinking a potion is a general action.

Positive and Negative Energy

Positive energy repairs the living and burns the dead. Negative energy consumes living matter and sustains the dead. Neither allows a Save.

DR applies to damage, never to healing. An undead can therefore throw a healing potion as a grenade, while armor protects it from the same potion.

The Undead Body

An undead is a dead body animated by magic. It produces no red mana, so Harvest and the Partage cannot reach it. A mage who becomes undead loses the mana he held while living and never recovers any.

Scipion's unusually stable formulas allow many undead to last forever.

Necromancy creates undead and partial undead.

The Undead

When the brain is gone, magic drives the entire corpse. This is the undead of armies.

• No Fortitude. An undead has no Constitution or Fortitude Save. It is immune to poison, disease, exhaustion, suffocation, extreme temperatures, and bleeding. It does not eat.

• No mind to reach. It is immune to magic that acts on a mind—fear, charm, domination, sleep. Magic that reshapes the body still finds a body: the undead opposes it with the spell DC of the necromancer who raised it in place of a Will Save.

  Undead Resurrection and Create Undead King instead preserve the mind. Their subjects resist mental magic with their own Will Save.

• Borrowed senses. Magical sensors replace its eyes and ears.

• A stronger body. It feels no pain and is generally stronger and better armored than it was in life.

The Partial Undead

Faint Current runs just enough negative energy through a fresh, whole corpse to preserve what its body and brain could already do.

The corpse can be dead for no more days than the necromancer's caster level.

• It keeps its memories, its skills, and its way of fighting.
• It eats and drinks.
• It keeps its Constitution, its Fortitude Save, and its own Will Save.
• It produces no mana.
• It stands permanently at +2 to all six attributes. The current running through it is the same filament as Graveworld Boost, never switched off.
• Both energies burn it, and neither one heals it.

A partial undead recovers HP only through rest and regeneration magic. Potions do not work, and Heal damages it.

What Destroys an Undead

An undead is destroyed at 0 HP, with no dying state or negative margin.

A partial undead goes down and dying at 0 HP, uses the usual negative margin and DC 15 Fortitude Save, and can be stabilized by hand. No spell can heal it while it is down.

Either kind also falls when the spell animating it is dispelled.

Spells with Two Gates

When a spell calls for both Will and Fortitude, an undead missing one of those Saves has no defense against that part of the spell. An undead can resist the Will effect of Telekinesis, but not its Fortitude effect.

Dispelling an Undead

Gold seals an undead like any enchantment (see 15). A gem, usually an emerald at 200 gp, attracts negative energy and makes it 25% harder to dispel. Before the gem is set during creation, Dispel Magic faces no such penalty.

Setting an emerald into a partial undead increases its Dispel DC by 25%.

The Lich

A lich keeps its vital organs alive and hidden elsewhere. They produce red mana, which it draws into its undead body; if they are destroyed, it can no longer cast.

A lich recovers slots through meditation (see 4). It uses the bestiary entry for its body and keeps its mind, caster level, and learned formulas.

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Philosophy

Recovery defines the game's pace: how many battles fit into a day and how many days a dungeon requires. Every resource recovers at a percentage rate.

The rates below assume an ordinary character. Constitution modifies them: the GM raises them for a remarkably enduring body that heals and recovers mana faster, and lowers them for a sickly character; see the Character Creation and Progression chapter.

Three Levels of Rest

Break (10+ minutes). Catch your breath, drink, or bind a wound. This restores no measured resource, but provides time to stabilize the dying, stop bleeding, or prepare a simple potion.

Active rest (1 hour, awake). Quiet travel, night watch, or study.

• Spell slots: recover 10% of the slots at each level per hour for red magic, divine magic, and the converted blue powers of a Cerberan Psychic. Innate blue spell slots recover only through meditation.
• HP: none. The body does not repair itself while walking.
• Limit: without a true rest, no spell level recovers beyond 50% of its maximum. Five hours reaches this limit; further recovery requires sleep.

True rest (a full night of sleep or meditation).

• Red slots, divine slots, and the converted blue slots of a Cerberan Psychic: recover 20% of the slots at each level per hour. Five hours restores all slots regardless of caster level; a full night guarantees it.
• Innate blue spell slots: recover fully after a night containing at least one hour of meditation. Two users are slower. The implants of the Monks of Kaz'Nakaram restore 50% of maximum per hour of meditation and cap recovery at 50% per day. Drows recover 10% per hour of meditation on the surface and 20% below it, and are capped at 50% per day either way: a drow's power comes back faster at home, and never as fast as a Cerberus human's. Refilling an emptied reserve therefore costs a drow two days.
• HP: recover 20% of maximum HP per night of true rest, doubled to 40% with treatment, a bed, a healer, or a safe and comfortable environment.
• Reset every ability usable “per day” or “per long rest.”

Interrupted Rest

A night interrupted by combat or a prolonged watch counts as active rest during the disturbed hours. The GM decides without detailed calculation: “You slept poorly; count half.”

The Resulting Economy (GM Note)

At these rates, an exhausted group needs about one complete day to return to full strength. The GM controls pressure through access to rest. A hostile dungeon where true rest is impossible exhausts the group in two or three encounters; a journey with safe nights allows one major battle per day. Access to rest sets the difficulty.

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Philosophy

In Cerberus, the character comes before the sheet. Players do not “build” a character by optimizing points: they describe one, and the GM translates that description into numbers. Progression follows the same logic. It is decided in play by what the character experiences, eats, finds, and learns.

Attributes are never rolled at random. Rolling scores puts min-maxing at the heart of character creation: the player discovers a number, then invents a concept around it. Cerberus works in the opposite direction. The player arrives with an idea, discusses it with the GM, and the numbers follow. A character who starts one step behind the others is not doomed: organic progression gives them the entire campaign to catch up.

Creation in Five Steps

1. Concept and origin. Before writing any number, the player writes a few paragraphs: who the character is, where they come from, and why they became an adventurer. Add one defining anecdote. Osseur once went an entire month without eating chicken to test his resolve. That sentence contains the whole character.

The format matters little. A few lines of dialogue the character might have spoken often establish a personality better than a page of biography; one memorable story does the rest. These are the fragments the GM will reread when deciding what the character earns later.

2. Attributes. In dialogue with the GM, assign the six modifiers. As a guideline for a starting character, give them one dominant attribute between +8 and +10, one or two strong attributes between +5 and +7, and the rest between +2 and +5. Attributes must express the concept, not define it after the fact. A sickly scholar has high Intelligence and low Constitution, and that weakness is part of the character. The section What Attributes Mean below defines the scale and exact role of each one. After creation, attributes increase only through organic progression, never by gaining a level. See the two progression engines below.

3. Starting feats (2 to 4). Write each feat in prose, including its narrative justification and, where relevant, its future progression by level. A good Cerberus feat passes three tests: it follows from the character's history, asks for behavior in play—studying an enemy, being surrounded, fighting from horseback—and will still be enjoyable to read two years later.

A feat is a plugin applied to the character. It can modify a spell or general rule, grant a bonus, or provide a special technique. That technique can be passive or cost one or more actions, expressed in ticks.

The feat must provide everything needed to use it: trigger, action cost, targets, range, duration, frequency, and effect whenever those elements apply. When a feat contradicts a general rule, the feat's text takes precedence.

4. Power path, if any. Red magic, blue psychic magic, divine magic, alchemy—or none. Record the caster level, DC, regeneration rate, highest spell level actually mastered, and starting spell list.

Every character begins play at caster level 1. What a character adds to that base comes from what they are, not from what they studied:

Power path	Caster level from attributes	Slots
Human, red mana	+1 CL per 2 points of Charisma	4 per spell level + ½ CHA
Human, power of the Partage	granted by rank, capped at 7 × CHA (6)	6 per spell level + ½ INT
Dwarf, Valerium implant	none—experience and story only (8)	4 per power level + ½ WIS
Drow, psychic	none—experience and story only	4 per spell level + ¼ INT

A human with +10 Charisma therefore opens at CL 6 at Level 1: the base of 1, plus the 5 their Charisma buys. Everything above that is earned in play and awarded by the GM. A class can improve the racial ratio (Using Classes); none of them lowers it.

Two power paths have no attribute route at all. A drow and a Monk of Kaz'Nakaram raise their caster level only through experience and the story—which is why an old drow is dangerous and a young one is not, and why the Valerium in a dwarf's skull rewards the years spent training with it rather than the mind it was installed in.

The GM may open a character higher still when the story already accounts for it: a prodigy, an apprenticeship served before the campaign, an implant installed years earlier.

caster level alone does not unlock complex spells. A character needs both the minimum CL required by the spell level and the corresponding level of mastery in the story. At creation, a Level 5 Wizard or Cleric can normally be considered to have mastered spells through Level 5, but not Level 6 spells. An unusual history may justify slower mastery.

5. Derived values and equipment. Calculate everything that follows from attributes and level:

• HP = 10 × Strength at Level 1. See the progression chart below.
• Saves = 1d20 + attribute + level: Reflex (DEX), Will (WIS), Fortitude (CON).
• Speed: 30 ft per tick by default, +2 ft per point of Dexterity, then modified by race, size, class grade, or a feat.
• Jumps: horizontal distance = 1× Speed; height = ¼ Speed.
• Level 1 action economy: 3 attacks, 2 spells, 1 dodge, and 3 general actions per round.

Starting equipment is narrative: exactly what this character would possess, no more and no less.

What Attributes Mean

A modifier means nothing until the table knows what it looks like in the world. Strength is the benchmark because it is the easiest attribute to imagine. Read the others on the same scale.

Strength	What It Represents
+1 to +2	an ordinary adult with no particular training
+5	a visibly powerful human: muscular, fit, and tough
+10	a Brazzant barbarian, strong enough to rival a wild beast
+15	a small giant or an ogre
+20	an average giant

Strength is also the easiest attribute to increase and the only one magic doubles without complication. An effect that changes a creature's size category routinely doubles its Strength. See Size below.

Dexterity uses the same scale, but climbs it less often. A human with +5 has remarkable reflexes—an experienced rogue. At +10, they are plainly superhuman. Extremely high Dexterity is rarer than extremely high Strength because the game's monsters gain Strength, not Dexterity. An ogre is much stronger than a human, but not quicker.

Intelligence and Charisma are the rarest and hardest attributes to increase. An Intelligence of +10 describes a mind that defines an era, not merely a well-built character.

What Each Attribute Governs

Strength (STR)—muscle, and therefore half of a martial character's sheet.

1. HP, multiplied by the progression chart below.
2. Damage, both in melee and at range (see 11).
3. Grapple maneuvers, whose prescribed chance accounts for both opponents' Strength, Dexterity, size, and experience (see 11).
4. Prerequisites for feats based on raw power.
5. Countless roleplaying situations that nothing else resolves.

Dexterity (DEX)—the game's most frequently tested attribute for both martial characters and mages, because Cerberus is built around reactive actions.

1. The Reflex Save, which determines which action occurs first and therefore governs dodging, parrying, initiative, and spell interruption (see 1).
2. Attack damage when Dexterity exceeds Strength: a quicker character strikes with speed (see 11).
3. Speed: +2 ft per tick per point (see 9).
4. Prerequisites for the most sought-after feats, especially those granting additional attacks or actions.

Constitution (CON)—the body's ability to endure.

1. The Fortitude Save against poison, disease, exhaustion, and magic that attacks the body.
2. Natural recovery: HP regained during rest and, for humans, the rate at which mana returns. The GM may adjust the rates in 4 for remarkably high or low Constitution. An iron constitution recovers spells faster.

Intelligence (INT)—the first mental attribute.

1. Spell DC: the more intelligent the sorcerer, the more tightly constructed and difficult to resist their spell is (see 12).
2. Enchanting objects (see 15).
3. Crafting objects: higher Intelligence improves the prescribed chance that completes the work, with the character's experience counting just as much.
4. Many prescribed chance checks and roleplaying situations.
5. Prerequisites for advanced feats, especially wizard feats.

Wisdom (WIS)—the mind's ability to endure and reject both magical manipulation and ordinary lies.

1. The Will Save against illusions, invisibility, fear, and domination. A wise character is less likely to fall for traps and ambushes.
2. Prerequisites for some high-level feats.
3. Roleplaying situations reserved for it by the GM.

Charisma (CHA)—the mind's ability to exist fully in its own right. Charisma influences not only other people but the universe itself.

1. Mana power, meaning caster level. In a human, red mana answers to Charisma:

   +1 caster level per 2 points of Charisma, rounded down, on top of the base caster level of 1.

   A character with +9 Charisma therefore opens at CL 5. This is racial and not studied—it is what a human body does with red mana—and a class can improve the ratio but never removes it (Using Classes). Everything beyond it is earned in play (see 12). Charisma also governs the slot reserve: 4 per spell level + ½ CHA.

2. The ability to influence others during roleplay.

3. The potential to develop strange powers. At high levels, some characters enchant objects through their presence alone.

Attribute Affinities in Magical Progression

When the GM assigns weeks or months to develop a spell, feat, or magical technique, the relevant attribute helps determine that time. These affinities are guidance for organic progression, not automatic prerequisites or universal multipliers.

• Intelligence governs study, formulas, research, crafting, enchantment, and the deliberate design of spells. It is also strongly associated with controlling blue mana: a human Psychic uses Intelligence to organize converted blue mana and train new pathways in their cerebriles.
• Charisma is the primary affinity of human red mana. It is especially relevant when developing Metamagic and other feats that expand, accelerate, suspend, preserve, or otherwise force red mana beyond its ordinary limits. Quicken Spell, Long Spell, Suspend Spell, Grab Gold, and Additional Time are typical examples.
• Wisdom governs self-mastery: Will, meditation, Ki, resistance to mental influence, and techniques internalized through disciplined practice. It may support appropriate Monk and Barbarian feats, but does not replace the physical attributes required by feats built primarily on strength, speed, or endurance.

Blue mana is not universally Intelligence-based. The Monk of Kaz'Nakaram is the central exception: Wisdom governs both the implant's Ki reserve and the amount of its blue mana the Monk can direct. The specific class or power-path rule always overrides these general affinities.

Example: Building Osseur from Nothing

Apply the five steps to an actual character as they would emerge from creation, before play changes them.

1. Concept. Osseur the Steady is a young barbarian of Brazzant's Feather Clan, known for his resolve. He once went an entire month without eating chicken to test his mind. The whole character is in that sentence: a colossus with an iron will.

2. Attributes. The concept demands an overwhelming physique and extraordinary willpower. The GM assigns WIS +10, his famous resolve; STR +8; DEX +8; CON +5; CHA +5; and INT +2. Osseur is an exceptionally gifted beginner. Most start one step lower.

3. Starting feats. Two feats, each rooted in his history and requiring behavior in play: Mental Stability, advantage on Will Saves against mental effects—his anecdote turned into a rule; I Love to Fight, one additional attack each tick when two enemies surround him.

4. Power path. Almost none. Brazzant barbarians have no system of magic. He has no CL and no spell list, only what play may unlock later. His tree leaf will eventually grant him a minor mist spell.

5. Derived values, at Level 1:

• HP = 10 × 8 = 80
• Saves, attribute + level: Reflex +9, Will +11, Fortitude +6
• Speed 30 ft/tick; horizontal jump ~30 ft, vertical jump ~7 ft
• 3 attacks, 2 spells, 1 dodge, and 3 general actions per round
• Equipment: his village's axe (1d12), a bow too weak for his Strength, leather armor, and barbarian clothing

Progression after creation. The rest of his current sheet came from play: the +2 Strength gained by eating the tree leaf, the mist spell unlocked by the same leaf, additional feats, and reaching Level 2, which grants +1 to Saves but leaves his action economy unchanged. None of these elements can be purchased during creation.

The Two Progression Engines

Organic progression (continuous). The GM grants advancements as direct consequences of play: +2 Strength for eating the tree leaf, a spell unlocked by an artifact, or a feat earned through an exploit or training. This engine belongs entirely to the GM. Every organic advancement should fit into a sentence beginning with “because.”

Level progression (discrete and slow). Level governs general elements: HP, action economy, Saves at +1 per level, and feat thresholds. It never changes attributes, which belong exclusively to organic progression. The GM grants a level at major campaign milestones. As a guideline, grant one level every three to five sessions. Level 10 is the game's epic horizon—the equivalent of Level 20 in D&D—and a Level N+2 character is worth roughly two Level N characters.

Progression Charts

HP per point of Strength. HP doubles every two levels. This exponential curve governs the entire game.

Level	1	3	5	7	9	10
HP per point of Strength	10	20	40	80	160	320

Multiply this value by the character's Strength. A Level 1 beginner with +5 Strength has 50 HP; a Level 10 epic hero with +10 Strength has 3,200.

The base of 10 belongs to a combatant. This is the only number to adjust: the curve doubles every two levels regardless, so changing its starting point produces a more fragile or durable profile. A GM who wants to distinguish archetypes can give a wizard-like character a lower base:

Level 1 Base	1	3	5	7	9	10	Intended For
12	12	24	48	96	192	384	barbarian
10	10	20	40	80	160	320	default, combatant
8	8	16	32	64	128	256	rogue
6	6	12	24	48	96	192	wizard

These four curves, along with the rest of their progression, are detailed in Using Classes.

Action economy per round. A round contains three ticks. The table lists totals per round gained at the indicated levels; each value remains until the next threshold.

Level	1	3	5	7	9
Attacks	3	6	9	12	15
Spells	2	2	3	3	4
Dedicated Dodges	1	1	2	2	3
General Actions	3	3	4	4	5

Attacks progress fastest: one per tick at Level 1, then one additional attack per tick every two levels—2 per tick at Level 3, 3 at Level 5, 4 at Level 7, and 5 at Level 9.

Dodges are the scarce resource. A character has only one dedicated dodge per round at Level 1 and three by the end of the progression. No one dodges everything. This makes parrying decisive because it allows a character to spend attacks on defense (see 11). Classes modify this axis most sharply, ranging from one dodge throughout a wizard's career to four for an accomplished rogue.

The reserve empties during the round and refills at the next. Levels, feats, spells, and objects increase the reserve itself. Some conditions temporarily shrink it instead, including nausea, curses, and poison (see 3).

Capacity and the Action Board. Each point in a reserve represents an action token. A character with 9 attacks has nine attack tokens to spend during the round. Do not add these reserves together to determine how many actions fit into one tick. The largest reserve—attacks, spells, or general actions—sets the board's width: one slot for every three tokens, rounded up. A largest reserve of 4 therefore opens two slots per tick; a reserve of 9 opens three; and a reserve of 15 opens five.

An action spanning multiple ticks spends one action at every stage. A Standard spell therefore normally requires two spell actions—casting, then release—and can be lost if the character does not reserve a second action and slot on the next tick. 8 explains how to build and fill the board, mix categories, maintain long actions, and resolve priority conflicts.

Dodges occupy no slots: they use their dedicated reserve and trigger outside the Action Board. A parry, by contrast, converts an attack into defense. It spends one attack token and occupies a slot during the tick. See 11.

Classes as an Optional Layer

The charts above are sufficient for play. A Cerberus character is defined by concept, attributes, and feats; no label is required.

A GM who wants to deliberately widen the differences between profiles—most often to restrain spellcasters, the game's most powerful characters (see 12)—can have every player choose a class. A class is a complete set of charts replacing the general action economy, HP base, dodge progression, quality of all three Saves, and base Speed. Everything else remains unchanged.

Five archetypes are written: Fighter, Barbarian of Brazzant, Rogue, Ranger, and Wizard. The Using Classes chapter establishes their shared conventions and explains how to write more. An epic class, Lazy Wizard, deliberately breaks those conventions for a character whose history has already placed them above everyone else.

All or nothing. If the table uses classes, every character has one; otherwise, no one does. Each class chart is designed to be clearly stronger than the general chart on one or two axes and clearly weaker on the others. Mixing them lets one player take the benefits without the costs.

How Damage Keeps Pace with HP

HP doubles every two levels, so damage must do the same; otherwise a Level 9 hero would strike the same wall forever. Several axes of power multiply together, each fed by organic progression. Their product keeps damage on the same curve as HP.

• Strength and its enchantments. Every point of Strength gained through a leaf, ring, potion, or training increases damage alongside HP.
• Magic weapons. A higher-tier weapon deals more damage and penetrates DR more effectively (see 10 and 15). Beyond tier 5-6, an ordinary weapon is no longer enough.
• Number of attacks. This rises with level, from 3 to 15, and also with character size: twice the attacks means twice the damage per round.
• Size. Enlargement spells and animal or colossal forms raise Strength, HP, and weapon damage at the cost of Reflex. Each spell or form defines the magnitude.
• Combat styles. A signature feat with a bonus that doubles at thresholds—such as Osseur's “Combat Style,” from +2 to +64—is common among martial characters.
• Spell scaling. Magical damage grows sharply with caster level. This lets spellcasters catch up where martial characters rely on Strength and weapons.

A martial character follows the curve through Strength × weapon × attacks × combat style. A caster follows it through spell CL. The GM advances these axes at the pace of the campaign.

Size

Some effects—Giant Form, a Polymorph form, or a naturally colossal creature—change a character's size category. The entire game uses one scale:

Medium · Large · Huge · Gargantuan · Colossal. Some effects extend it to “Colossal+.”

Increasing size by one step raises Strength, HP, Speed, and weapon damage. Reflex falls in exchange, through Dexterity. Reflex governs dodging, parrying, priority contests, and avoiding areas of effect. A colossus is devastating but vulnerable to quick opponents.

The effect granting the size defines the exact magnitudes: increased Strength, reduced Dexterity, and the form's abilities. See Giant Form, Polymorph, and the creature templates. The GM adjudicates anything the effect does not specify: a colossus cannot hide or fit through a narrow door and may sweep allies aside in melee.

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Philosophy

The GM converts every physical hazard into a prescribed chance roll, a Save against a DC, or damage. The table below provides benchmarks for those decisions.

Natural hazards do not scale. A 60-foot fall deals the same damage to a peasant and a level 9 hero. Because HP grows exponentially, the ordinary world becomes gradually less dangerous to epic characters. At level 9, a character can leap from a cliff and survive.

Damage Benchmarks

Hazard	Benchmark
Falling	1d6 per 10 feet; the target falls prone (DC 15 Reflex to land standing when a safe landing is plausible)
Ordinary fire (torch, bonfire)	1d6 per tick of exposure
Inferno or bed of embers	3d6 per tick; Reflex to cross quickly
Drowning / suffocation	A character lasts (CON) minutes; then DC 10 Fortitude per round, +5 per roll; three failures = dying
Unprotected extreme cold	DC 12 Fortitude per hour; failure = −10% maximum HP and a cumulative −1 to physical rolls
Extreme heat	As extreme cold: DC 12 Fortitude per hour
Acid, lava, natural lightning	2d6 to 10d6 per tick based on intensity; the GM announces it before the player commits

Movement Benchmarks

• Difficult terrain—scree, swamp, deep snow—halves speed.
• Climbing and swimming halve speed. Use a prescribed chance roll in poor conditions; do not roll in good conditions.
• Jumping: length = 1× speed; height = ¼ speed. Feats and magic can change these ratios.

The Method in One Line

For anything absent from the table, ask: “How likely is this to go wrong, and how much would it hurt?” Announce both answers, then let the player decide. An announced danger is a choice; a hidden danger is a trap, and traps use the perception rules in the Perception and Stealth chapter.

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Philosophy

Cerberus uses four nested time scales. The GM always announces the current scale and moves freely between them.

Four Scales

Tick (~2 seconds). Combat's atomic unit. Three ticks make one round. Track only actions and movement.

Scene (minutes or hours). The scale of roleplay, exploration, and infiltration. Do not count actions; prescribed chance rolls and Saves are enough. Most play occurs at this scale.

Day (and night). The scale of resources: spell-slot regeneration, healing, abilities used “per day,” and alchemical preparation. The Rest chapter operates at this scale.

Journey (days and weeks). The map scale. One day of walking covers about 20 to 30 miles depending on terrain. Play only events worthy of a scene at this scale; narrate the rest.

Action Durations in Ticks

Spells, feats, and items express their time cost with a label such as Standard or Swift, or in rounds. This table converts them to combat's common unit:

Label	Ticks
Swift (or Fast)	1 tick
Standard	2 ticks
Full	3 ticks (= 1 round)
1 round (1 turn)	3 ticks
2 rounds	6 ticks

Round = turn. Beyond the table, convert when necessary: 2 turns = 6 ticks, and 1 minute ≈ 30 ticks. As soon as combat ends, return to scene scale and stop counting.

Zooming In: Entering Tick Mode

Move to tick scale whenever priority becomes a question: an ambush, a duel, or a guard reaching for an alarm bell. If the situation requires a Reflex duel, play it in tick mode.

Zooming Out: Leaving Tick Mode

Return to scene scale once priority is no longer contested: the last enemy falls, the pursuers lose ground, or surrender is accepted. Outside conflict, stop counting ticks.

Moving Between Scales

Some actions begin at one scale and end at another. If an attack interrupts an hour-long ritual, the GM determines how far the ritual progressed, then zooms in. A potion simmering during travel becomes ready “at the evening camp,” not “in 5,400 ticks.” Conversion is always narrative, never arithmetic.

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Philosophy

Combat has no initiative order fixed at the start of an encounter. Combatants declare what they do; when two actions conflict in time, a Reflex duel determines which occurs first. The system lets a character see an arrow leave the bow and raise a shield, strike a mage before an incantation ends, or raise a wall before a fireball reaches them.

Combat is still divided into rounds to limit how much each participant can accomplish. A round contains three ticks. Each character has three action reserves—attacks, spells, and general actions—plus dedicated dodges. The reserves define what the character can attempt during the round; the Action Board defines what fits into each tick.

Action Tokens and the Action Board

A character has a pool of tokens in each category: attacks, spells, and general actions. As the character gains expertise in a category, that reserve grows. Expertise does more than permit repetition: attacks, incantations, or manipulations become fast and efficient enough to be combined with slower actions. An expert combatant can strike while drinking a potion; an expert mage can sustain an incantation while releasing a second power or manipulating an object.

The Action Board represents this fluidity. Each tick contains a number of generic slots:

Slots per tick = largest reserve ÷ 3, rounded up.

Largest Reserve	Slots per Tick	Total over Three Ticks
1 to 3	1	3
4 to 6	2	6
7 to 9	3	9
10 to 12	4	12
13 to 15	5	15

Calculate this when the character sheet changes, not at the start of every round. The sheet can simply record A 9 · S 3 · G 4—3 slots per tick. During combat, the player tracks spent tokens mentally or checks them off on the sheet.

The scale continues beyond the table: a reserve of 18 opens six slots per tick. The largest reserve determines capacity even when the character does not use that category during the round. A weapon master with 12 attacks therefore retains four slots when choosing to cast or manipulate objects instead.

Each slot accepts one attack, spell, or general action token. Categories can be mixed during the same tick, but every spent token leaves its own reserve. Unused tokens are lost at the end of the round; all reserves refill at the beginning of the next.

Important: the board defines available space, not a list of required actions. Having four slots and twelve attacks does not require filling them or attacking. Any other action placed on the board simply occupies space that could have held one of those attacks.

Action Categories

Attack. An ordinary attack lasts one tick and spends one attack token. A character with several slots and enough tokens can attack several times during the same tick.

Spell. Every tick spent casting or releasing a spell costs one spell token. A Standard spell normally requires two spell actions: one to begin casting and another during the next tick to sustain and release it. A quickened spell requires only one spell action and resolves immediately. This action cost is separate from mana: a Standard spell can require two actions while costing fewer slots than a spell made instantaneous with Quicken Spell.

General Action. Drinking a potion, opening a door, picking up an object, or mounting a horse normally lasts one tick and spends one general action token.

Reaching for something takes as long as it is buried. What a character carries ready comes to hand with a 1-tick general action: a sheathed weapon, a flask at the belt, a cartridge in its pouch, a wand at the hip. What is stowed takes a 2-tick general action, and follows the rule for actions spanning several ticks below—a backpack, a bedroll, a saddlebag, the bottom of a satchel. Where a thing is carried is therefore a decision made before the fight, not during it.

Dodge. A dodge is a reaction. It spends one dedicated dodge but occupies no Action Board slot.

Parry. A parry converts an attack into defense. It spends one attack token and occupies one slot during the tick when declared. Without both a token and a free slot, the character cannot parry.

Actions Spanning Multiple Ticks

An action that spans several ticks must be sustained without interruption. Every stage spends one action of the relevant category and occupies an available slot, though that slot can change from one tick to the next.

A Standard spell occupies one slot to begin casting, then another slot during the next tick to sustain and release it. Each stage spends one spell token.

The player must retain enough actions and reserve a slot for every stage. If they cannot or choose not to pay for the next stage at the required tick, the action is lost. A spell's incantation ends without effect, and actions already spent are not refunded. The damage interruption rules in 12 apply in addition to this requirement.

An action can cross a round boundary. It continues during the first tick of the next round, but committed actions do not recover until the action finishes or is lost. The GM places a marker on the board as a reminder.

Declaring, Reacting, and Resolving Priority

At the beginning of a tick, the GM asks what each combatant does. No one must fill the entire board in advance: actions can be declared as the fiction makes them relevant. The first character to declare risks revealing their intent and receives the declaration bonus from 1.

Roll nothing if every action can occur. When actions conflict—does an arrow leave before the wall rises, or does an attack reach the mage before the spell is released?—the participants make a Reflex duel. The winner acts first. That result can make the other action impossible, interrupt it, or merely change the tick's narration.

Controlled Creatures and Coordinated Groups

A character and creatures under their direct control can declare their actions together and resolve them at the same instant. An animal companion, trained mount, combat familiar, or summoned creature can form a coordinated group with its master. Coordination does not make a creature more intelligent: it must still understand and be capable of carrying out the order.

The group makes only one Reflex roll when its priority is contested:

1. if a player character belongs to the group, use that character's Reflex;
2. if the group is mounted, use the rider's Reflex;
3. otherwise, use the best Reflex among the group's members.

Choose the member providing Reflex before rolling. Controlling several creatures never allows several rolls followed by keeping the best result.

The shared result orders every coordinated action. It also applies when members respond together to the same danger, but each member retains and spends their own tokens, slots, dodges, and other resources. Effects remain individual: one creature may be protected by DR, knocked prone, or unable to dodge even when its companion acts at the same moment.

Coordination merges no resources. Each member keeps their Action Board, attacks, spells, general actions, movement, HP, DR, range, and targets. A Ranger can strike while the companion bites another enemy. Both attacks occur together, but each spends the attack belonging to its source.

Subgroups. When several similar creatures fight together, the GM divides them before rolling according to position and intent. Eight scattered bandits might form one group of three in melee, two archers on a roof, and a final group of three on the move. Each subgroup rolls separately and acts together.

Large Battles. When tracking individual combatants or subgroups becomes unmanageable, leave tactical combat. The GM prescribes the chances of decisive maneuvers based on numbers, experience, command, terrain, equipment, magic, morale, and casualties. Return to ticks when an individual action deserves to be played: holding a gate, reaching a mage, or confronting a captain.

Example 1—A Starting Character

A character has 3 attacks, 2 spells, and 3 general actions. The largest reserve is 3, so the board has only one slot per tick.

Tick	Slot	Reserves after the Tick
1	Standard Spell—casting	A 3 · S 1 · G 3
2	Standard Spell—release	A 3 · S 0 · G 3
3	Attack	A 2 · S 0 · G 3

The character has three types of resources but only one slot per tick and therefore cannot drink a potion during the incantation. Abandoning the spell at tick 2 to drink would cause the spell to be lost.

Example 2—Two Slots per Tick

A character has 6 attacks, 4 spells, and 6 general actions. The largest reserve is 6, so every tick has two slots. The character can mix all three categories freely without exceeding their respective reserves.

The character chooses the following round:

Tick	Slot 1	Slot 2
1	Attack	Standard Spell—casting
2	General Action	Standard Spell—release
3	Attack	General Action

This spends 2 attacks, 2 spell actions, and 2 general actions. The slots could hold any other combination allowed by the available tokens.

Example 3—Mage-Fighter with Four Slots

A mage-fighter has 12 attacks, 4 spells, and 3 general actions. Attacks are the largest reserve and provide four slots during every tick.

The character wants to prepare a Standard spell, cast a second spell with Quicken Spell, attack, and leave time to drink a potion:

Tick	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 4
1	Attack	Attack	Spell 1—casting	Spell 2—quickened
2	Attack	Attack	Spell 1—release	Drink a potion
3	Attack	Attack	Attack	Attack

At tick 2, releasing the first spell spends a second spell token and occupies a new slot. It does not need to use the same column as the incantation.

If the character had already spent the final available spell action or filled every slot before release, the prepared spell would be lost. Planning a long incantation therefore means reserving both a future action and future board space.

Example 4—Parry, Volley, and Slot Count

A starting fighter has 3 attacks, so only one slot per tick. Three archers standing opposite fire together. The GM groups their arrows into one volley, and the fighter raises a shield. The fighter spends one attack, occupies the tick's slot, and makes one Reflex duel against the group. On a success, the fighter blocks all three arrows. Two attacks remain for later ticks, but nothing else fits into the first tick.

If two archers fire while a soldier charges from another direction, the arrows form one volley while the soldier's blow remains a separate attack. The fighter can use the slot to block the arrows, then spend the dedicated dodge against the soldier. The fighter could accept the blow instead, but cannot make a second parry without another slot.

With 4 attacks or more, the board has two slots per tick. The fighter can spend two attacks during the same tick: one to block the volley with the shield and another to parry the soldier's sword with a weapon. Progression allows several martial techniques in the same instant; it grants no free defense.

Example 5—Two Actions Counter Each Other

At tick 1, an archer declares a shot at a mage. The mage responds by casting a quickened Wall of Stone between them. Both actions last one tick and have a valid slot on their owner's board, but both cannot produce their full effect in either order.

The archer and mage make a Reflex duel. If the mage wins, the wall rises first and the arrow strikes it. If the archer wins, the arrow reaches the mage before the wall cuts the line of effect. The duel grants no additional action: it orders two actions already declared and paid for.

Chapter Summary

• A round contains three ticks, each with an Action Board.
• Every available action is an attack, spell, or general action token.
• The largest reserve determines the board: one slot for every three tokens, rounded up. Slots freely accept all three categories.
• Every stage of a long action spends one token and one slot. The action is lost if not sustained during the next tick.
• A Standard incantation normally requires two spell actions; a quickened spell requires only one at the cost of additional slots.
• Dodges are reactions outside the board. A parry spends an attack and occupies one slot during the tick.
• Make a Reflex duel only when the order of declared actions matters. With several participants, each rolls once and the results order every action.
• A character and controlled creatures can form a coordinated group. They act at the same instant with one Reflex roll but retain separate resources.

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Philosophy

Cerberus has no movement modes. There is no run, charge, sprint action, or double move. A character has a Speed measured in feet per tick and spends it while doing something else: striking, shooting, casting, or drinking a potion. Movement is never an action. It is a resource that accompanies one.

The action determines how much Speed remains. Attacking costs no movement; casting costs half. A feat can remove that restriction, as Mobile Caster does. Measure distance in feet, not squares.

There is no grid. The GM tracks distances mentally or with a sketch. When doubt remains about whether someone is inside an area or within range, rule in favor of the defender, as everywhere else in the game.

Speed

• A human's base Speed is 30 ft per tick, or 90 ft over a full round. With the class layer, each archetype carries a speed grade that raises it with level (see 1).
• Dexterity adds 2 ft per point. A quick body covers more ground with the same effort, at every level and in every class.
• Race, size, feats, and spells can modify it as well. Muscular Speed adds Strength, Barbarian Bounds and Speed adds 20 ft, while Speed and Haste alter it magically.
• Jumping: horizontal distance = 1× Speed; height = ¼ Speed.
• Climbing and swimming use half Speed. Difficult terrain also halves Speed (see 6).
• A flying creature has two Speeds, one on the ground and one in flight. Its sheet lists both.

Movement Allowed by an Action

The following defaults apply during each tick.

Action during the Tick	Movement Allowed
Attack (melee, shot, or throw)	full Speed
Dodge or parry	full Speed—the dodge is movement
Cast a spell	half Speed
General action (drink, open, pick up)	half Speed
Stand up	all movement for the tick (see 3)
Long incantation, ritual, or concentration	none
Do nothing except move	full Speed and nothing else

Two rules govern the table:

1. The action's text takes precedence. A spell, feat, or creature technique can state its own movement limit, replacing the corresponding line. Mobile Caster does exactly this by raising casting movement from half to full Speed.
2. The final line is the game's only “run.” Giving up every other action does not make a character faster. It leaves full Speed available, just like an attack. There is no sprint multiplier.

Movement can be split around the action. A character does not need to spend it all at once: they can advance, strike, and finish moving during the same tick. Entering melee, attacking, and leaving is the game's default behavior—subject to the cost of leaving when an opponent has the feat that grants an opportunity attack (see 9).

Momentum doubles nothing by default. A character arriving at full Speed does not strike harder. That benefit always comes from a feat or creature text: Good Rider for a mounted charge, Attack from the Sky for Einar's leap, or the griffin's and dragon's dives.

Mounted Combat

A rider and mount naturally form a coordinated group. While the rider remains in the saddle, they share movement and position but remain two separate creatures.

Movement. The pair uses the mount's Speed. Its movement carries the rider without spending the rider's movement or creating a second move. The rider can move independently only by dismounting or jumping from the mount.

Being carried does not restrict the rider's actions. The rider can attack, shoot, or cast, including a Standard spell, while the mount advances at full Speed. The rider spends their own actions normally, while the mount retains its actions. The mount can therefore attack at the same instant its rider strikes or casts.

Position, Range, and Targets. Rider and mount occupy the mount's space, but each can be targeted and injured separately. Measure the rider's range from that space; a reach weapon extends it normally. The mount retains its own reach and threat range. An area effect covering their position can strike both.

Reactions. A mount's dodge automatically carries its rider, but only the mount spends a dodge. This movement does not guarantee that the rider avoids an attack aimed personally at them; the rider may need to use a separate dodge or parry. Every coordinated reaction uses the rider's Reflex.

Opportunity Attacks. The pair's movement counts as a single exit from a threat range, so it does not provoke two opportunity attacks from the same enemy. The enemy chooses whether to target mount or rider, provided its reach can strike that target.

Mounted Charge. A charge requires traveling at least the mount's full Speed in a straight line before impact. Mount and rider can strike simultaneously. Each applies their own charge effect to their first eligible attack if they have an ability granting one; later attacks during the round receive no such benefit. If the mount is stopped, knocked prone, or forced from its path before impact, both lose the charge. Parrying the rider does not cancel the mount's attack, or vice versa.

Control. A trained mount performs familiar maneuvers freely. An unusual order, an untrained mount, or a situation that should cause panic may require a general action or a prescribed chance check. The GM considers training, danger, the bond with the rider, and the mount's Intelligence.

Being Unhorsed. If the mount falls, dies, strikes an obstacle, or stops abruptly, the GM prescribes the chances that the rider remains mounted, jumps and lands standing, or is thrown prone. Consider Speed, the rider's Dexterity and experience, the saddle, the mount's size, and the cause of the fall. Failure normally leaves the rider prone near the mount. The fall deals additional damage only when circumstances justify it: a collision, ravine, trampling, obstacle, or flying mount.

Example—Two Impacts, One Instant. A rider with Good Rider travels 60 ft in a straight line on her warhorse. She strikes with her lance while the horse attacks with its hooves. The group makes one roll using the rider's Reflex, increased by 25% for the impact. The rider's first attack and the warhorse's first attack each deal double damage. If a defender parries the lance, the hooves still land; later attacks during the round are no longer charge attacks.

Chases

Because movement accompanies actions and no mode multiplies it, a chase is subtraction:

Ticks to catch up = gap ÷ difference in Speed per tick.

The GM need not play through those ticks. Calculate mentally and announce the result.

Player: I run after him. GM: You move 50 ft per tick, he moves 30, and he has about thirty feet on you. You catch him before the street corner.

A pursuer who is not faster will never catch anyone through Speed alone. They need a shortcut, obstacle, mount, spell, or plan. Resolve that approach with the prescribed chance check from 1.

Player: He's faster than me. I cut across the rooftops to land on him at the alley exit. GM: Good plan, but the timing is tight: 3 chances in 5.

When to Zoom In. Enter tick mode only when priority during the chase is contested: someone shoots, releases a spell, or closes a door (see 7). Otherwise, resolve the chase at scene scale and count nothing.

Ranges

Spell entries use named ranges:

Range	Distance
Touch	the caster must touch the target
Close	30 ft + 5 ft per CL
Medium	100 ft + 10 ft per CL
Far (or Long)	400 ft + 40 ft per CL
Global	no practical limit on the same plane

• Far and Long are synonyms in spell entries and use the same line.
• A distance written in the spell entry takes precedence over this table. Ray of Frost says “Medium, 80 ft,” so its range is 80 ft.
• Range grows with caster level because everything grows with caster level (see 12). A powerful mage reaches farther without changing the spell.

Ranged weapons have their own distances. The GM can adjust these benchmarks:

Weapon	Effective Range
Sling, thrown dagger	30 ft
Shortbow, light crossbow	300 ft
Heavy crossbow	400 ft
Longbow	600 ft, up to 1,000 ft for a powerful archer
Pistol	100 ft
Repeating pistol	100 ft
Musket	600 ft
Blunderbuss	30 ft cone

Because there is no attack roll (see 1), there is no range penalty. Within effective range, the shot lands unless dodged or parried. Beyond that range, the GM calls for a prescribed chance check or simply refuses the shot.

Reach and Threat Range

Every melee combatant projects a threat range: the space their weapon—or fists—can reach without movement. An enemy “who can be touched without moving” is inside it. Use the following geometry:

Size	Base Reach
Medium	5 ft
Large	10 ft
Huge	15 ft
Gargantuan	25 ft
Colossal	40 ft

• Fists, short weapons, and one-handed weapons use base reach.
• Spears, pikes, halberds, and whips add +5 ft.
• Forced movement out of a threat range is involuntary and provokes no opportunity attack.

Threat range also serves abilities that count nearby opponents. Osseur's “I Love to Fight,” for example, triggers when two enemies are simultaneously inside his range. The GM adjudicates exact reach when an unusual weapon or anatomy falls outside these benchmarks.

Opportunity Attacks

Voluntarily leaving a threat range is allowed but reckless: it can grant the enemy one attack outside their round against the exposed creature. A mage retreating to cast, an injured combatant fleeing, and an ally crossing a melee all expose themselves this way.

This attack requires the Opportunity Attack feat. By default, a character watches the target leave without attacking for free. The feat is available to everyone and exploits the opening only once per tick.

Line of Sight, Line of Effect, and Cover

Keep two distinct requirements separate:

• Line of sight allows a character to choose a target. Without it, they target a point rather than a creature. See 2 for senses that replace sight.
• Line of effect is an uninterrupted path to the target. A solid wall blocks it; a grate, pane of glass, or smoke curtain may allow sight without passage. The GM decides.

Cover is the true defense against magic. A damage spell allows no Save (see 12): characters do not resist it, they prevent it. Apart from interrupting the incantation, getting behind a wall is the game's only reliable protection.

Cover	Effect
Light—an ally, slender trunk, smoke	+2 to the defender's Reflex duel
Substantial—a low wall, arrow slit, wall corner	+5 to the defender's Reflex duel
Total—a solid wall	the target cannot be targeted

A defender who does not defend—because no dodge remains, they are prone, or they are unconscious—receives no bonus. The attacker instead makes a prescribed chance check for the blow to find an opening: typically 4 in 5 behind light cover and 2 in 3 behind substantial cover.

Cover does not protect against an area effect unless it is total.

Areas of Effect

Shape	Measurement
Radius	a sphere around an origin point declared by the caster
Cone	begins at the caster; its width at the far end equals its length
Line	5 ft wide along its full length
Emanation	centered on the caster and moves with them

• The caster needs line of effect to the origin point. The area then spreads from that point, and a solid wall stops it.
• Everything inside the shape is affected without a Save (see 12), except when the GM allows a high-level character a Reflex Save to leave the radius.
• Allies inside the area are affected like enemies.
• When unsure whether a creature lies at the edge of an area, it is outside.

The Third Dimension

• Altitude is measured like any distance. A creature 100 ft above is 100 ft away; ranges and areas do not change in kind when they rise.
• Effects grant three degrees of freedom: Levitate moves only up and down; Air Walk follows the slopes allowed by its spell level; Fly moves freely.
• Flight defeats melee. A grounded creature threatens nothing beyond its reach. An enemy holding an altitude of 30 ft cannot be touched with an axe. Defeat it with ranged weapons, spells, or a fall. A colossus with 40 ft of reach is the exception.
• Falling. If flight ends because a spell is dispelled, its duration expires, or the creature reaches 0 HP, the creature falls and takes the damage from 6: 1d6 per 10 feet unless protected by Feather Fall.
• Attacking from the air follows the ordinary rules. Momentum grants no bonus without a feat or explicit creature text.

Forced Movement

A spell, breath weapon, or giant's backhand can move a creature against its will.

• The effect states the distance. Forced movement does not spend the target's movement or cost an action.
• If pushed toward a real danger—a chasm, blaze, or spikes—the target makes a Reflex Save against the effect's DC to stop at the edge.
• A creature one size category larger than the effect allows moves half the distance; a creature two categories larger does not move.

Chapter Summary

• A character has one Speed, spent during actions. There is no run, charge, or sprint mode.
• The action determines remaining movement: full Speed while attacking or dodging, half while casting unless a feat says otherwise.
• Chase = gap ÷ Speed difference. A slower pursuer needs a plan to catch the target.
• Ranges: Close 30 + 5/CL, Medium 100 + 10/CL, Far 400 + 40/CL, Global. A value written in the entry takes precedence.
• Reach by size: 5, 10, 15, 25, 40 ft; polearms add +5 ft.
• Voluntarily leaving a threat range can trigger an opportunity attack when the opponent has the required feat; forced movement never does.
• Total cover makes a target untargetable and is the only true defense against a damage spell.
• Flight defeats melee; falling deals 1d6 per 10 feet.

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Philosophy

This chapter describes objects before they enter the Action Board: dice, DR, price, material, and manufacture. Two weapons of the same shape are not necessarily equivalent; workmanship, material, and enchantment are separate layers. Rules for attacking, dodging, parrying, and grappling appear in Martial Combat and Defenses.

Basic Weapons

A weapon is defined by two numbers. The table provides benchmarks that the GM can adjust. Any exceptional weapon—magical, legendary, or unusually crafted—states its own values. Damage does not include Strength, which is added under Martial Combat and Defenses.

Melee Weapons

Weapon	Damage	Critical	Hands
Dagger, knife	1d4	×2	1
Shortsword, mace, hatchet, spear	1d6	×2	1
Longsword, flail, morningstar	1d8	×2	1
Battleaxe	1d8	×3	1
Staff, club	1d6	×2	2
Trident-staff	1d8	×2	2
Pike, longspear	1d10	×2	2
Greatsword	1d12	×2	2
Greataxe, maul	1d12	×3	2

Ranged Weapons

Weapon	Damage	Critical	Notes
Sling, thrown dagger	1d4	×2	—
Shortbow, light crossbow	1d6	×2	—
Longbow	1d8	×3	caps usable Strength (see above)
Heavy crossbow	1d10	×2	slow reload

Bow Strength. A mundane M1 bow can use no more than +5 Strength, even when its wielder is stronger. From M2 onward, a superior bow can use up to +10 Strength; this limit does not rise at M3, M4, or M5. Magical and ironwood bows always use the wielder's full Strength. These limits apply only to the attribute added to damage, not other bonuses from the weapon, character, or feats.

An axe is the weapon of the killing blow: it cuts deep on a critical (×3) but remains ordinary otherwise. Two-handed weapons add 1.5× Strength, making the greatsword and greataxe the rulers of raw damage.

Shields. A shield primarily parries, but can strike for 1d2 when necessary. Its price and that of other equipment appear below.

Firearms

Ordinary Cerberus firearms are dwarven powder weapons, generally muzzle-loaded and built for one shot before reloading. Rare repeating mechanisms are exceptions. They are expensive, loud, and slow, but place considerable power in the hands of someone without a warrior's Strength or an archer's Dexterity. Dwarven merchants often carry them; Askenon closely guards their mechanisms and powder.

M1 Weapon	Damage	Critical	DR Ignored	Range	Capacity	Reload	Price
Pistol	2d8	×3	8	100 ft	1	2 ticks	100 gp
Repeating Pistol	2d6	×3	6	100 ft	4	1 tick/chamber	400 gp
Musket	3d10	×3	16	600 ft	1	3 ticks	200 gp
Blunderbuss	2d8	×3	8	30 ft cone	1	3 ticks	250 gp

A loaded firearm shoots with an ordinary attack, spending one attack token and one tick slot before becoming empty. Strength and Dexterity never add to its damage. Dexterity, level, and other Reflex sources still matter in a duel against a dodge or parry, but an exceptional physique does not make powder explode harder. Enchantment and quality bonuses add to damage normally.

Reloading. Reloading is a general action spanning several ticks. Every stage spends one general action token and one slot under Reactive Combat. Stages must follow without interruption: prepare powder and ball, insert them, then ram and prime the mechanism. A pistol combines the last two operations and therefore needs only two ticks. Interrupting a stage loses the current reload, though not necessarily all ammunition; the GM decides what was spilled or damaged.

Carrying several loaded pistols is therefore valid. It trades reload time for price, weight, and the need to recover and reload every weapon after combat.

Repeating Pistol. This complex dwarven weapon has four chambers that its mechanism rotates before the barrel. It fires four times before becoming empty, with each shot spending an available attack token and slot. Each chamber reloads separately with a 1-tick general action; the wielder need not wait until all chambers are empty. With two general action tokens and two free slots, two chambers can be prepared during one tick.

Its rate of fire does not merge several shots into one attack. Every bullet spends its own token, produces its own critical d20, and meets DR separately. It remains a powder weapon: Strength and Dexterity do not add to damage.

Blunderbuss. Its shot fills a 30 ft cone and strikes every creature inside, including allies. Each target chooses and resolves a separate defense; damage, critical d20, and DR are also resolved separately. A target does not face several d20s merely because the blast contains several projectiles.

Parrying a Bullet. A primarily metal shield can intercept a firearm shot using normal parry rules. A large metal blade wielded in two hands—a greatsword or similar weapon—can also do so, but the defender has disadvantage on the Reflex duel. A small weapon, wooden weapon, or bare hand cannot parry a bullet. This restriction applies to firearms; arrows and other projectiles still follow Deflect Projectiles.

A successful parry stops the projectile entirely. When several shooters form a coherent volley, the grouping rules from Martial Combat and Defenses apply. The shield must cover the direction of every grouped shot.

Unreliable Powder. A maintained firearm loaded with dry powder requires no routine misfire roll. If powder is wet, the mechanism damaged, the charge improvised, or the chamber deliberately overloaded, the GM instead announces a prescribed chance check before the shot and states the consequences of failure:

Result	Outcome
Hang Fire	The primer burns without igniting the charge. The shot fails; resetting costs a 1-tick general action, after which the shot can be attempted again.
Misfire	The charge is lost. The weapon must be fully reloaded.
Jam	The mechanism locks. The weapon cannot fire until dismantled: ten minutes, tools, and skilled hands.
Burst Chamber	The weapon is destroyed, and its wielder takes the model's damage without DR to hands and face.

The GM chooses according to the fault. Wet powder or a misplaced primer causes a hang fire or misfire. A dirty, dropped, or forced mechanism jams. A chamber bursts only from a deliberately excessive charge, a fatigued weapon, or improvised manufacture—and never without warning the shooter of the risk.

Firearm Quality

Machining precision, chamber sealing, and tolerance for a stronger charge make quality especially important. For a firearm, this progression replaces the ordinary weapon quality damage bonus rather than adding to it. Price multipliers remain those of M1 to M5.

Quality	Added Damage	Additional DR Ignored	Suggested Price
M1	—	—	×1
M2	+5	+4	×2
M3	+10	+8	×5
M4	+20	+16	×10
M5	+40	+32	×25

Fixed damage is multiplied on a critical. An M5 pistol deals 2d8 + 40, ignores 40 DR, and normally costs 2,500 gp; an M5 musket ignores 48 DR. Penetration does not distinguish physical DR from magical DR.

Enchanting a Firearm. An enchantment adds its fundamental bonus to damage and nothing else: it never grants penetration. Ignored DR comes from machining—the chamber's caliber, seal, and supported charge—and only quality raises it. A power designed with the GM can be an exception, but must be written on the weapon sheet like any other enchanted effect.

Humans enchant almost all such weapons. Askenon builds the mechanism, Cerberus applies red magic, and the fortune in gold demanded by the ritual adds to the weapon's already considerable price. No one controls both halves alone. Runic firearms exist, but the rune caste makes few and almost never sells them. A rune-marked pistol belongs to a dwarven hero or is the spoils of a theft remembered for years.

Ammunition. One pistol charge—powder and ball—costs 5 sp. A musket or blunderbuss charge costs 1 gp. A repeating pistol uses one pistol charge per chamber. Special powder, adamantine projectiles, and experimental ammunition are not included.

Price and Availability. A listed price describes what a weapon might cost when a seller agrees to part with it; it never guarantees market availability. Powder, plans, and advanced mechanisms are Askenon military and trade secrets. Even a simple pistol may require a contact, favor, smuggler, or authorization.

Quality makes rarity decisive. An M4 or M5 firearm may be unavailable regardless of the buyer's wealth. The GM should treat one as a reward, exceptional commission, or adventure objective rather than catalog merchandise. The multiplier measures labor; it does not create an artisan capable of the work.

Special Manufacture. Rifling that increases range, a waterproof mechanism, double barrel, compact weapon, cartridge that accelerates reloading, or reinforced chamber are nonmagical crafting projects. The player describes the effect with the GM, who prescribes the chances based on the artisan's experience, Intelligence, tools, plans, available time, and desired quality. A property producing a magical effect follows enchantment rules.

Cannons. A cannon follows the same principles but is siege equipment rather than a personal weapon. Damage, crew, loading time, and area depend on size; the GM sets them for the scene. A true cannon ignores at least 32 DR before quality and can damage fortifications. Valerium cannons are not ordinary powder weapons but exceptional creations with model-specific rules and risks.

Exploding Powder

Black powder can explode when flame, sparks, or electricity reaches a confined quantity. A loaded weapon does not explode merely because it is struck: its container must be pierced, opened, or exposed to an event capable of igniting the charge. When uncertain, the GM announces a prescribed chance check before determining whether the powder catches.

Powder Quantity	Damage	Radius
Powder horn or personal reserve	2d8	5 ft
Small barrel	6d8	15 ft
Large barrel or military reserve	10d8 or more	30 ft or more

DR applies normally, and the explosion cannot produce a critical. There is no standard Save to reduce its damage: every creature in the radius is struck. At the GM's discretion, a high-level character with exceptional Reflex may try to leave the area under the general rule; success avoids rather than reduces the explosion. An explosion ignites exposed powder in its radius and can cause a chain reaction.

Lighting a fuse takes a 1-tick general action. The character preparing it states whether it burns for one, two, or three ticks; an improvised or wet fuse may require a prescribed chance check. Carrying powder in closed containers is normally safe. This rule supports plausible accidents, traps, and deliberate destruction, not automatic explosions of every shooter's reserves when struck.

Destroying an Object or Structure

Cerberus gives no universal HP reserve to every sword, door, and wall. When a character tries to break something and the outcome is uncertain, the GM prescribes the chances of achieving the declared result: splitting a shield, breaking a weapon, tearing out a lock, opening a breach, or collapsing a beam. One roll covers both striking the right point and overcoming the material.

In combat, deliberately targeting a carried weapon, shield, armor piece, or other specific object spends one attack and one tick slot. It always requires a prescribed chance check, even when an ordinary attack would have struck the wielder. The GM considers:

• the object's size and movement;
• its wielder's Reflex, position, and experience;
• the attacker's Strength and experience;
• both objects' shape, quality, material, and enchantment;
• the angle, footing, and actual force of the blow.

Before rolling, the GM states what success achieves. Depending on plausibility, success may chip, deform, disable, or completely destroy the object. Failure spends the attack without automatically harming the wielder; aiming at a sword is not a free attack against the body. A feat or technique can explicitly state another consequence.

Outside combat, no roll is needed when the result is certain. Given enough time, an axe breaks a wooden door and equipped workers open an ordinary wall. Prescribe a check only when time, noise, tools, resistance, or consequences make the result genuinely uncertain. A massive structure does not become destructible because of a good roll: the GM may require a cannon, explosives, an appropriate tool, or several stages before an attempt is possible.

Adamantine Destroys. Its density, hardness, and weight radically change the prescription. An adamantine weapon against wood, iron, steel, or stone makes the chances far more favorable and enables destruction a mundane weapon could not attempt. Against a stationary, sufficiently thin object, success may be automatic. This does not permit cutting a fortress in half with one blow: tool size, displaced mass, and the result's scale still matter.

Conversely, a true adamantine object is almost impossible to destroy. Another adamantine weapon, epic creature, high-level magic, or comparably violent event may damage it; an ordinary tool simply receives no chance. Compare enchanted objects in the same manner: adamantine does not automatically cancel a superior enchantment but remains a major physical advantage against the material supporting it.

Adventuring Equipment

Starting equipment remains narrative (see 5): characters do not go shopping during creation. Once money matters—re-equipping in town, bargaining, or buying a mount—the GM needs benchmarks.

Economic benchmark. A day laborer—lumberjack, porter, or servant—earns about 2 gold pieces (gp) per day. Smaller purchases use silver pieces (sp) and copper pieces (cp): 1 gp = 10 sp = 100 cp. Read every price against that wage: a 1 gp rope costs half a day's labor.

Adventuring Gear

Item	Price	Item	Price
Backpack	1 gp	Hemp rope (50 ft)	1 gp
Bedroll	1 sp	Silk rope (50 ft)	10 gp
Blanket	5 sp	Grappling hook	1 gp
Tent (2 people)	10 gp	Pitons (×10)	1 sp
Torch	1 cp	Waterskin	2 sp
Candle	1 cp	Dry rations (1 day)	5 sp
Hooded lantern	7 gp	Crowbar	2 gp
Oil flask	1 sp	Hammer, shovel	1-2 gp
Flint and steel	1 gp	Healing kit (bandages)	5 gp
Polished steel mirror	10 gp	Manacles, padlock	15-20 gp
Blank grimoire	15 gp	Ink (vial) and quill	8 gp

Lodging, Food, and Services

Service	Price	Service	Price
Mug of beer	4 cp	Private room for the night	2 gp
Simple meal	3 sp	Stabling per night	5 sp
Good meal	5 sp	Hot bath	1 sp
Common-room floor for the night	5 sp	Ship passage per day	1 gp

Mounts and Transport

Animal / Vehicle	Price	Animal / Vehicle	Price
Donkey, mule	8 gp	Riding horse	75 gp
Pony	30 gp	Warhorse	200 gp
Saddle and harness	10 gp	Cart	15 gp

Mundane Weapons and Armor. As a benchmark, a simple weapon such as a dagger or club costs 1-2 gp, a common martial weapon such as a sword, axe, or bow costs 10-40 gp, and a shield costs 7 gp. Armor prices appear in the category table below. Even the weakest enchantment escapes this scale and costs thousands of gp (see 15). A warhorse costs less than a barely enchanted spearhead.

Alchemical Projectiles

Throwing an alchemical bomb, ampule, or vial takes a 1-tick general action. It targets a visible point within 30 ft and shatters there. This is not an attack: it spends no attack token and can never produce a critical. Beyond 30 ft, the GM may allow the throw with a prescribed chance check and choose the landing point on failure.

The DC printed on the item is not a crafting DC. It is the DC of the Save caused by the effect: Reflex to turn away or escape spreading material, Fortitude to resist an impact, gas, or toxin, and Will only when the preparation genuinely attacks the mind or deceives the senses. A projectile without a DC simply changes the environment.

A physical projectile has fixed power because it comes from its ingredients, not its user's level. Alchemical spells remain the way to create an effect that scales with caster level. Reference preparations include:

Projectile	Primary Effect
Acid Flask	burns and corrodes nonmagical DR
Incendiary Grenade	creates a persistent area of fire
Shrapnel Grenade	projects fragments in every direction
Smoke Grenade	blocks lines of sight
Spider Resin	sticks feet, a door, or an object
Blinding Salt	blinds for one tick
Thunderstone	blocks hearing and verbal components
Suffocating Spores	causes nausea and prevents speech

Smoke, wind, water, fire, and cover interact with these effects normally. A player can invent a use not anticipated by the item entry; the GM resolves it through the fiction and, when needed, a prescribed chance check.

Armor Categories

Armor subtracts its DR from every blow that reaches the character, and does nothing else. Roll the attack's damage directly, subtract DR, and remove the remainder from HP.

DR does not distinguish blade from spell. Spell damage reaching the character is reduced in the same way, whether a parry has already blocked half or the full effect lands.

The category indicates how much of the body is covered. Each material gives the physical DR of medium armor; then apply the coverage factor. Functional armor always retains at least 1 DR after rounding.

Category	Physical DR Factor	M1 Iron DR	M1 Iron Price	M1 Steel Price	Time to Equip
Light	×0.5	1	10–15 gp	20–30 gp	3 ticks
Medium	×1	2	50 gp	100 gp	1 minute
Heavy	×2	4	250 gp	500 gp	10 minutes alone, 5 with help

These are benchmarks for functional M1 metal armor. Leather, reinforced cloth, wood, and bone have their own constraints, described with their materials. Custom work and exceptional quality cost more. Mithril and adamantine have no fixed price: the GM considers purity, quantity, mine of origin, politics, and the object's history.

Light Armor

Light armor reduces neither Speed nor Reflex. It can generally be hidden under clothing, worn during a true rest, and used without unfavorable circumstances for stealth, swimming, climbing, or acrobatics. When prepared and accessible, equipping or removing it requires one general action during each of three ticks.

Medium Armor

Medium armor imposes no numerical penalty to Speed or Reflex. It does create an unfavorable circumstance when silence, flexibility, or swimming genuinely matters. Sleeping in it normally provides no true rest. It is the usual compromise between coverage and freedom of movement.

Heavy Armor

Heavy armor favors parrying and endurance over dodging.

• Its physical DR is twice the material's medium-armor DR.
• Speed decreases by 10 ft or 20%, whichever reduction is greater. Calculate this from Speed before armor, then round final Speed down to the nearest 5 ft.
• Reflex rolls to dodge take −5 or −20%, whichever penalty is greater. Apply the percentage to the total Reflex modifier before the d20. Attacks, parries, and other uses of Reflex are unaffected.
• It creates a strongly unfavorable circumstance for stealth, swimming, climbing, and acrobatics, and normally prevents true rest while worn.
• Against a weapon attack, it reduces the critical multiplier by 1, to a minimum of ×1. A ×2 critical becomes an ordinary hit; a ×3 axe critical becomes ×2. DR then applies normally.

For example, a Speed of 60 ft loses 12 ft rather than 10, then becomes 45 ft after rounding down to the nearest 5. A character with a +40 Reflex modifier takes −8 to dodge rather than −5.

Enchantments are never multiplied by armor category. Add them after physical DR: light, medium, and heavy armor with the same enchantment all receive the same magical bonus.

Enchantment Level	Added Magical DR
Levels 1–2	4
Levels 3–4	8
Levels 5–6	16
Levels 7–8	32
Level 9	64
Level 10	128

Magical DR doubles at every threshold, like HP. Armor meant to face epic weapons must therefore combine exceptional material with an enchantment.

Metals and Crafting Materials

A weapon or suit of armor first has the physical properties of its material. Iron, steel, wood, bone, mithril, and adamantine do not produce the same object even when an artisan gives them identical shapes. Material can modify DR, damage, Reflex, or how the object interacts with its environment.

Material and enchantment are separate, cumulative layers. Armor's physical DR adds to its enchantment DR, and other material properties remain active. Dispel Magic can suppress or destroy an object's magic, but never turns mithril into iron or removes its physical and natural advantages.

Several objects made from the same material do not stack the same roll bonus repeatedly unless their entries explicitly allow it. A mithril weapon and mithril armor therefore do not grant +10 to the same Reflex duel. The properties below also require a genuine piece of equipment: a shard, coin, or decorative jewel does not protect like armor.

Craftsmanship Quality

Shape defines what an object is, material defines what it is made from, and quality defines the care used to produce it. These three layers stack. Enchantment then forms a fourth independent layer: an M4 steel sword retains its quality and added damage when enchanted or when its magic is dispelled.

Every nonmagical crafting project targets a quality from M1 to M5. M1 represents a functional object made by a competent artisan. Each subsequent rank adds +2 weapon damage or +1 physical armor DR.

Quality	Workmanship	Weapon	Armor	Suggested Price
M1	Functional	—	—	×1
M2	Fine	+2 damage	+1 DR	×2
M3	Superior	+4 damage	+2 DR	×5
M4	Masterwork	+6 damage	+3 DR	×10
M5	Masterpiece	+8 damage	+4 DR	×25

A weapon's bonus is part of its fixed damage and follows critical rules normally. An armor bonus is added after the coverage factor, so heavy armor never doubles quality. Magical DR is added afterward. For example, M3 heavy steel armor has 4 × 2 + 2, or 10 physical DR, before enchantment.

Price multipliers are benchmarks rather than a universal catalog. They represent labor, material lost to trials, experimentation, and the rarity of artisans capable of the required rank. Actual price always depends on region, commission, and access to a proper workshop.

Crafting a Nonmagical Object

Before beginning, the artisan declares the shape, material, and target quality. The GM prescribes the chances of success based on:

• Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence relevant to the work;
• the experience of the artisan and assistants;
• available tools, forge, plans, and models;
• the material's difficulty and target quality;
• time invested and material sacrificed during trials.

High quality does not come from rapidly repeating the same roll. It requires a more demanding project from the beginning. M4 may need a master workshop, weeks or months of work, and specialized assistants. M5 can become a life's work, require a lost technique, or depend on exceptional circumstances. The GM can declare the project impossible until those conditions are met.

On failure, the GM chooses a consequence proportionate to the announced risk: no progress, lower quality, additional delay, a correctable flaw, or loss of some materials. An ordinary repair restores function, but only an artisan capable of the object's quality can guarantee preservation of every bonus.

Iron

Iron is common, easy to work, and simple to repair. An iron weapon deals the normal damage for its shape with no penalty for being cheaper. Medium iron armor has 2 physical DR before quality and enchantment.

Ordinary iron can reach M3. Iron objects beyond this limit rely on exceptional ore, treatment, or technique and are considered separately by the GM. Iron oxidizes more readily than steel and endures long campaigns poorly without maintenance, but remains the metal of armies, villages, and field repairs.

Steel

Steel holds an edge longer, withstands repeated impacts better, and permits much more precise work. A steel weapon also deals the normal damage for its shape; its advantage lies in durability and the qualities a master can achieve. Medium steel armor has 4 physical DR before quality and enchantment. M1 heavy steel armor therefore has 8 physical DR.

Steel can reach M5. At equal shape and quality, a steel object costs about twice as much as its iron equivalent. This remains a benchmark: where ore and blast furnaces are plentiful, the artisan's work may matter far more than the metal difference.

Ordinary Wood

Wood produces bows, staffs, clubs, hafts, shields, and plate or lamellar armor. Giving it the shape of a sword does not reproduce a fine blade; the GM decides which weapons suit the material. An appropriate wooden weapon deals normal damage for its shape.

Property	Effect
Light Armor	DR 1
Medium Armor	DR 2
Heavy Armor	DR 4
Maximum Quality	M3
Buoyancy	Wood floats and makes recovery from water easier
Insulation	When dry, halves remaining electrical damage

Insulation requires armor, a shield, or cover made primarily from wood. A simple wooden handle does not protect its wielder. Apply all DR first, then halve the remaining electrical damage and round down. Soaked wood loses this property until dry.

Ordinary wood grants no DR against fire. Sustained exposure can ignite or warp it and destroy its quality; the GM considers intensity, duration, and whether the object can be extinguished or repaired.

Ironwood

Ironwood is not a tree species. It forms when a magical technique transforms real wood down to its substance. The result retains grain and buoyancy but becomes as hard as metal, rotproof, and impossible to ignite with ordinary fire. The magic sustaining this transformation can still be dispelled until it permanently settles into the material.

Property	Effect
Light Armor	DR 2
Medium Armor	DR 4
Heavy Armor	DR 8
Maximum Quality	M5
Ironwood Bow	Uses the wielder's full Strength without a cap
Insulation	Halves remaining electrical damage even when wet
Resilience	Does not burn or rot and still floats

Ironwood retains shapes compatible with wood: bows, staffs, clubs, hafts, shields, lamellar armor, and similar constructions. The Ironwood spell can temporarily create this material or assist its manufacture. A caster can maintain one object per caster level for free or fix the transformation with a gold enchantment. After five uninterrupted years in the second form, the object can no longer be dispelled. The spell never grants M quality for free: the artisan's skill, tools, and project still determine the final rank.

Leather and Reinforced Cloth

Leather, fur, padded layers, and woven fibers make armor that is easiest to wear discreetly. They can also produce a sling, whip, or other appropriate flexible weapon, dealing normal damage for its shape.

Property	Effect
Light Armor	DR 1
Medium Armor	DR 2
Heavy Armor	Impossible with ordinary materials
Maximum Quality	M3
Insulation	When dry, halves remaining electrical damage

Light leather or cloth armor receives all ordinary benefits of its category: it can be hidden, worn while resting, and does not hinder movement. Medium armor made from many layers remains hotter, thicker, and unfavorable for swimming. Soaked material loses insulation until dry. Cloth can burn and leather can char; like wood, their DR does not apply against fire.

Hide, fur, membrane, or silk harvested from a remarkable creature can exceed these limits and receive an effect chosen by the GM, like the bone, horn, and shell below. Dragonhide armor or monstrous silk is not treated as ordinary leather or cloth.

Bone, Horn, and Shell

Long bones become spikes, clubs, or hafts; horns make short blades and composite bows; shells and broad bone plates make shields or armor. Common animal material uses these values:

Property	Effect
Light Armor	DR 1
Medium Armor	DR 2
Heavy Armor	DR 4 if the creature provides sufficient plates
Maximum Quality	M3

The harvested creature can completely change the result. The GM may increase DR, permit M4 or M5, and give the object one effect inspired by the creature: elemental resistance from dragon armor, protection against petrification from a basilisk, abnormal repair from troll hide, or a similar property. This effect is never automatic and does not copy the monster's entire sheet. The GM considers the creature's age and power, the harvested part and its condition, available quantity, and the artisan's skill.

Harvesting a material does not craft the object. The pieces must be preserved, cleaned, cut, and assembled with the crafting prescribed chance check. Failure may lose the desired property without destroying all the material.

Composite Objects

An object can combine several materials but does not automatically gain every advantage. For an attack, the material that actually delivers the blow—blade, point, mass, or projectile—determines damage and penetration. For armor, shields, or cover, the material forming most of the protective surface determines DR and resistances. A wooden handle does not insulate a steel sword, while an adamantine arrowhead is sufficient because it strikes the target.

Mithril

Mithril resembles bright silver crossed by cold reflections. It is light, but lightness does not explain everything: the metal leads its wearer through movement. A warrior enclosed in mithril armor can move faster than an unarmored person, reacting before fully understanding the danger as though the metal began the motion first.

Property	Effect
Light Armor	4 physical DR and +5 Reflex
Medium Armor	8 physical DR and +5 Reflex
Heavy Armor	16 physical DR, +5 Reflex, and critical reduction
Mithril Weapon	+5 Reflex when attacking or parrying with it
Mithril Shield	+5 Reflex when parrying with it
Poison Resistance	Armor or a significant protective piece grants +3 on Fortitude Saves against poison
Stacking	Mithril bonuses do not stack with one another on the same roll but stack with enchantments

Mithril armor ignores the Speed and dodge reductions of its category, then grants its own +5 Reflex. Heavy mithril armor remains a complete shell: it cannot be concealed beneath clothing, still takes time to equip, and retains unfavorable circumstances from its bulk when swimming, squeezing through spaces, or sleeping.

The Purifying Metal. Pure mithril destroys physical poisons that touch it. A dose placed on the metal is neutralized even when amplified by Poison: when the substance carrying the magic disappears, the amplification collapses with it.

This purification provides the following protection:

• parrying with a mithril weapon or shield destroys poison applied to the opposing weapon;
• a poisoned weapon striking mithril armor loses its dose before poisoning the wearer, even when damage passes through DR;
• liquid poison, powder, or paste placed on the metal is neutralized;
• a mask or helmet designed to pass inhaled air over mithril neutralizes poison before it reaches the lungs.

Ordinary mithril armor does not purify an entire cloud by itself; vapor can circulate around it. The wearer still gains +3 on the Fortitude Save. Mithril does not remove poison already inside the body, restore lost HP or attributes, or neutralize disease, acid, or curses.

Purifying Water. A pure mithril object placed in a waterskin, pitcher, or cauldron neutralizes poison in about one minute. Armor or a helmet left in a poisoned well can make the water drinkable, but a large volume takes more time. The GM considers poison quantity, water volume and circulation, and the mass and exposed surface of mithril. A fragment can purify a waterskin; it cannot instantly clean a river.

Fed Mithril. Mithril does more than destroy poison: it draws strength from it. When mithril armor absorbs a true toxic dose, directly or through a protective piece in the same set, its surface tightens, fine scratches vanish, and its veins brighten. It gains +5 physical DR until the next true rest. Several poisons do not stack this bonus. A trace or heavily diluted toxin is insufficient; armor immersed in a genuinely poisoned well is always fed.

Acclimated Mithril. Years of exposure or an exceptional toxic event can make this reinforcement permanent. Acclimated armor gains +5 physical DR regardless of category: medium armor rises from 8 to 13. A new poison can still feed it for a temporary 5 additional DR, reaching 18 in this example. Equipment normally acclimates only once. Objects exceeding this limit are artifacts with histories told by the GM, not products of mechanically repeating cheap doses.

Mithril in the World. The largest known veins lie in Kaz'Baba, the dwarven realm of mithril. Its smiths do not merely speak of smelting it; they say they cultivate it. Some pieces rest in toxic pools between two stages of forging. The water emerges clean and the metal denser. Ancient armor can carry the memory of poisons lost for generations.

Mithril is also political. Askenon controls its extraction, while Cerberus controls much of its enchantment. Gold and mithril cross the sea in one direction, while potions, enchantments, and war beasts travel in the other. The metal has already changed history: during the war against Vlad Varanov, the dwarves supplied the mages of Cerberus with enough mithril for three suits of armor. A mithril suit is never merely expensive gear. It can be a treaty, a debt between kingdoms, or proof that a secret mine survives.

Jumping into the Wine. Portin, the dwarf of numbers serving King Merenin, owned a mithril beard pencil. At a reception, it slipped from his hand and fell into a barrel of costly Cerberus wine. Alcohol is a poison, albeit a mild one, so the mithril immediately began purifying the wine into water.

Portin understood and jumped into the wine to recover the pencil before the entire barrel was lost. He remained completely submerged for fifteen seconds, found it, and emerged before an audience that had missed nothing. He had tried to limit the damage; the wine was ruined anyway, along with his dignity.

Dwarves now say “jump into the wine” when someone ruins something valuable, especially when an attempt to repair one's own mistake only makes it more spectacular. Merchants eventually carried the expression across the sea, to Portin's dismay. He knows exactly how many seconds he spent beneath the surface and still corrects exaggerations.

Adamantine

Adamantine is a black metal that reflects almost no light. Its density defies an object's proportions: a sword weighs like a siege ram, armor like a fortress gate. It is incredibly heavy, dense, and hard.

Property	Effect
Light Armor	8 DR; minimum +10 Strength
Medium Armor	16 DR; minimum +15 Strength
Heavy Armor	32 DR; minimum +20 Strength
Small or One-Handed Weapon	minimum +10 Strength; doubles damage dice
Two-Handed Weapon	minimum +15 Strength; doubles damage dice
Shield	minimum +15 Strength
Light Penetration	a light weapon or projectile ignores 8 DR
Medium Penetration	a one-handed weapon ignores 16 DR
Very Heavy Penetration	a two-handed weapon ignores 32 DR
Quality	can reach M5; quality bonuses stack normally

Extreme Mass. Minimum Strength is a true usage requirement measured against the character's current Strength. A creature below it can move the object with levers, a cart, or help, but cannot attack or parry properly with the weapon. Armor can be placed on such a creature but immobilizes it enough to make combat impossible. Dexterity never replaces Strength for this requirement; once met, Dexterity can replace Strength for damage when the weapon and technique normally permit it.

Ingots themselves require rails, cranes, and crews. Discovering a vein is not enough to steal it; the ore must still be removed from the mountain.

Weight in the Impact. An adamantine weapon retains its length, reach, number of hands, and threat range but rolls twice its damage dice. Double the number of dice without changing their size: 1d2 becomes 2d2, 1d8 becomes 2d8, 1d10 becomes 2d10, and 2d6 becomes 4d6. Apply this multiplication after any change genuinely caused by the size of weapon or wielder.

Its mass also adds fixed damage according to use:

Category	Examples	Added Damage
Light	Dagger, knife, arrowhead, bolt, light projectile	+5
Medium	Sword, mace, axe, or other one-handed weapon	+10
Very Heavy	Greatsword, greataxe, maul, pike, or other two-handed weapon	+20

Strength, quality, and enchantment bonuses add after dice and mass. All fixed bonuses follow the critical multiplier normally. An M3 adamantine longsword therefore deals 2d8 + 10 + 4 + attribute before other effects. An adamantine arrowhead gives the entire attack doubled dice, the +5 bonus, and penetration even when the bow uses another material.

Piercing Matter. When an adamantine weapon or projectile applies DR, it ignores 8, 16, or 32 points according to the mass category in the damage table: light, medium, or very heavy. Apply this to total DR down to a minimum of 0, without distinguishing physical armor, natural shell, cover, or magical protection. A target with 20 physical DR and 24 magical DR has 44 total DR; it applies 36 against an adamantine arrow, 28 against a sword, and 12 against a maul.

Near-Absolute Hardness. Ordinary weapons, falls, common tools, and mundane acid normally cannot break or permanently deform true adamantine. High-level magic, an epic creature, or another adamantine object can still damage it. Working or repairing it requires a forge, tools, and technique capable of overcoming that hardness; possessing ore never guarantees the ability to make an object.

Adamantine Vigil. In light, adamantine remains matte black. When no outside light reaches its surface—during night or when supernatural darkness smothers it—its edges and veins emit a cold white glow. Its own light does not end this state.

Exposed Adamantine	Illuminated Radius
Fragment, rivet, or small tool	5 ft
Weapon or shield	15 ft
Armor	30 ft
Large structure	Based on size, at the GM's discretion

The vigil works in natural and supernatural darkness. Creatures inside its radius see normally: magical darkness is not dispelled but no longer blocks vision. It immediately returns when the adamantine moves away. Completely covering the metal blocks its light, allowing the wielder to hide it deliberately.

The glow neither harms nor automatically blinds drow; it simply removes their advantage from fighting in darkness. Adamantine grants no special resistance to lightning or electrical damage.

Adamantine in the World. Dwarves mine it for weapons and armor, but also for mining tools, counterweights, fortress anchors, vault doors, and siege projectiles. Adamantine rivets mark their most valuable tunnels: an extinguished lamp does not doom the miners, and a drow incursion cannot turn those galleries into absolute darkness.

A vein sometimes reveals itself simply. Prospectors extinguish their lanterns and wait. If white lines appear in the black rock, they have found adamantine. They must then find a way to move it.

Chapter Summary

• A mundane weapon is defined by its dice, critical multiplier, and required hands.
• A loaded firearm provides high damage and penetration without adding Strength or Dexterity. Reloading then takes two or three ticks. Quality adds +5 to +40 damage and +4 to +32 ignored DR.
• An enchantment adds its fundamental bonus to weapon damage or magical armor DR, never to Reflex. An enchanted shield gains a magical level without an automatic numerical bonus.
• Material and enchantment are separate, cumulative layers; dispelling magic never removes material properties.
• Quality ranges from M1 to M5. Every rank after M1 adds +2 weapon damage or +1 physical armor DR, added after the coverage factor.
• Iron, wood, and ordinary animal materials give medium armor 2 DR, compared with 4 for steel and ironwood. Dry wood, leather, and cloth halve remaining electrical damage.
• Medium mithril armor has 8 physical DR; light has 4 and heavy has 16. All accelerate the wearer and neutralize poisons touching the metal directly.
• Medium adamantine armor has 16 DR but requires +15 Strength. Adamantine weapons double their dice, add +5 to +20 damage, and ignore 8 to 32 DR according to mass, regardless of source. In total darkness, the black metal produces light even against supernatural darkness.
• Prices are economic benchmarks. Exceptional objects, rare materials, and uncertain crafting projects remain subject to GM judgment.
• An M1 pistol costs 100 gp, a musket 200 gp, a blunderbuss 250 gp, and a repeating pistol 400 gp. Quality uses ordinary multipliers ×1, ×2, ×5, ×10, and ×25, but a high-quality weapon may be unavailable at any price.
• Alchemical projectiles use a 1-tick general action and cause the Save stated by their effect; their DC is never a crafting difficulty.
• Confined powder can explode when genuinely ignited. Incendiary, shrapnel, and smoke grenades form the standard explosive assortment; more specialized ammunition remains a unique object designed with the GM.
• Destroying an uncertain object uses one prescribed chance check. In combat, targeting a weapon or equipment piece spends one attack and one slot; adamantine enables destruction normally beyond reach.

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Philosophy

Defense in Cerberus is not a passive statistic. An attack normally lands, but the defender can dodge or parry through a Reflex duel. If the defender takes the blow, armor DR subtracts from damage. This chapter covers that resolution and the physical maneuvers that replace ordinary attacks.

Weapons: Strength and Damage

Because there is no attack roll (see 1), a weapon entry needs only two numbers: damage dice and critical multiplier. Add the character's Strength according to how the weapon is wielded:

Weapon Use	Strength Added to Damage
Thrown or ranged weapon (bow, thrown dagger)	1× Strength
One-handed melee weapon	1× Strength
Two-handed melee weapon	1.5× Strength
Firearm	none

Feats can raise these values—for example, a barbarian applying 2× Strength with two hands. Some ranged weapons also cap usable Strength: a bow too flexible for its wielder cannot exploit all that power. Firearms are the complete exception: neither Strength nor Dexterity adds to damage, even when Dexterity is higher.

The Quick Strike with Speed. When a character's Dexterity exceeds Strength, use Dexterity for damage instead, with the same multipliers. Always use the better attribute without a declaration. This lets rogues and archers exist without being colossi. The GM disallows this substitution when the weapon clearly cannot use finesse—a maul is not wielded delicately.

Resolving Damage

An attack combines damage dice with a fixed bonus. An axe dealing 1d12 + 8 rolls 1d12, then adds 8.

Roll the accompanying d20 described in 1 at the same time. A natural 20 automatically triggers the weapon's multiplier; Cerberus uses no confirmation roll. Multiply both dice and fixed bonuses:

1d12 + 8, on a ×3 critical, becomes 3d12 + 24.

Apply percentage bonuses before the critical multiplier. An attack receiving +20% damage calculates that bonus first, then applies any critical. A feat, spell, or item can state a different order; its description takes precedence.

Apply DR last and separately to every attack. Three attacks striking a target with DR 16 each lose 16 damage, for 48 total reduction. Armor does not reduce critical chance; it affects only remaining damage.

Dodging

A dodge avoids a blow through movement. The defender spends one dedicated dodge from the round's reserve and makes a Reflex duel against the attacker. On a win, the attack misses: roll no damage, and DR is irrelevant. On a loss, the attack lands normally.

Fast Late-Game Dodge Resolution

When many attacks and dodges must be resolved at once, the GM can group them into a single Reflex duel. The defender declares how many dedicated dodges they spend. On a win, each spent dodge cancels one attack. On a loss, the dodges are spent and cancel nothing.

For example, a defender with 5 dodges facing 12 attacks makes one Reflex duel. On a win, the 5 dodges cancel 5 attacks. The remaining 7 attacks land normally; roll their damage separately, apply DR to each, then subtract the remaining damage from HP.

What Can Be Dodged. Anything realistically avoidable at the GM's discretion: an axe blow, a visible arrow, a rock thrown by a giant, or a trap triggered underfoot. Weapon level does not matter because the defender does not oppose the blade but leaves its path. A successful dodge avoids an epic sword as easily as a club, while parrying requires suitable equipment.

What Cannot Be Dodged.

• A damage spell. It allows no Save (see 12). Total cover, interruption, or a shield parry that blocks half remain available.
• An unperceived attack. A blinded character or one struck by an undetected invisible attacker can neither dodge nor parry (see 2 and 3).
• An area effect. A dedicated dodge does not cancel it. Only a Reflex Save granted by the GM to an exceptionally quick character can leave the radius.

What Prevents It. Dodging requires room and working legs.

• While Prone, a character cannot dodge melee attacks through movement, though parrying remains possible (see 3).
• While Grappled, immobilized, pinned against a wall, or caught in tight melee, the GM refuses the dodge or allows it through a prescribed chance.
• A dodge is movement (see 9). It is a reaction and occupies no Action Board slot.

Dodge or Parry. Both use the same Reflex duel and differ in three ways:

	Dodge	Parry
Resource Spent	one dedicated dodge	one attack and one tick slot
Equipment Requirement	none	shield up to two levels below, or weapon up to one level below
What Prevents It	being Prone, Grappled, or unable to move	no positional restriction

A shield fighter therefore has far more defensive reactions than a character relying only on dodges, but every parry replaces another action during that tick. An agile character remains hard to strike even with a legendary weapon but has only dedicated dodges. A visible arrow can be dodged; parrying it requires Deflect Projectiles.

A target chooses one personal defense against each attack or attack group: dodge or parry. Choose before the Reflex duel. A failed defense spends its resource and does not allow trying the other afterward. An ally's interposition can be an exception when a feat explicitly permits it.

Parrying with Shield or Weapon

Parrying is not dodging. A dodge avoids through movement; a parry intercepts the blow. Both use the same Reflex duel, but parrying adds an equipment requirement: not every object can stop every attack.

Declare a parry after the attack is announced but before the Reflex duel and damage. It spends one attack token and occupies one slot during the current tick. Both must be available; retaining attacks is insufficient when the board is full. A character can make several parries during the same tick with enough tokens and free slots.

Grouped Attacks and Volleys

The GM can group several attacks into one defensive threat when they:

1. target the same creature;
2. begin at the same time;
3. arrive from sufficiently similar directions;
4. can plausibly be intercepted by one movement.

A line of archers firing together normally produces a volley. Archers surrounding a target form several groups according to direction. Melee attacks normally remain separate unless position and movement make a shared defense obvious. The GM declares groups before rolls.

A coordinated group makes one Reflex duel against the parry. This shared roll resolves only the defense and triggers no critical. On a successful defense, one movement blocks every attack in the group. On failure, every attack lands and resolves separately with its own accompanying d20. Damage, criticals, and DR are never merged. Grouping simplifies defense; it does not turn several weapons into one.

A shield is the natural tool against a volley. A weapon can intercept several projectiles only when a feat or its own text permits it, as with Deflect Projectiles.

Parrying with a Shield is the best option. The parry succeeds when:

1. the defender wins the Reflex duel;
2. the shield can face a weapon up to two levels above its own.

A Level 8 enchanted shield therefore blocks an epic weapon; a Level 7 shield cannot.

Parrying with a Weapon. The parry succeeds when:

1. the defender wins the Reflex duel;
2. the parrying weapon is no more than one level below the attacking weapon.

A mundane weapon can parry a Level 1 magical weapon, but nothing higher. Ordinary steel cannot deflect a Level 2 or higher enchanted blade.

Parrying a Spell. A sufficiently powerful shield or weapon also intercepts magic. Use the same equipment requirements, reading spell level like weapon level: a shield parries a spell up to two levels above its own, and a weapon up to one level above its own. The Reflex duel occurs when the spell is released (see 12).

A successful spell parry blocks half the damage. The remainder passes through, then DR applies. The defender diverts an explosion rather than stopping it; a weapon parry instead stops the blow entirely.

Only spells that deal damage can be parried. A spell affecting mind or body without projecting damage—Dominate, Hold, or a curse—passes the shield and resolves with its Save.

Each enchanted object can define its own percentage and conditions. A shield renowned against fire may block 100% of fire spells; a blade may intercept one level beyond the general rule. The object's text takes precedence over these defaults.

Grappling

Grappling covers holds, throws, locks, and forced movement at close range. Resolve an uncertain maneuver with one prescribed chance check, always announced from the attempting character's perspective. The GM must compare four factors:

1. Strength, to impose or resist movement.
2. Dexterity, to place footing, seize the right moment, and escape.
3. Size, which determines weight, reach, and possible holds.
4. Experience, represented first by level and refined by class, feats, training, and character history.

These factors produce no fixed formula. They give the GM reasons for the prescription. A stronger but much less agile combatant may have even chances; an immense creature may dominate a Hold yet remain vulnerable to a technique exploiting its footing. A class or feat that “adds more experience” asks the GM to give that character's level greater weight when comparing the grapplers.

As with any prescribed chance check, roll nothing when the outcome is certain. Reject an impossible maneuver—grabbing a cloud or moving a mass the character physically cannot shift—and grant an uncontested hold automatically. There is no preliminary Reflex check.

Unless stated otherwise, attempting a grapple technique requires one attack and resolves during one tick. A target trying to break a hold also spends one attack, with one attempt per tick. Voluntarily releasing a hold is free.

Grapple Techniques

Hold. After a successful check, the target becomes Grappled. The attacker must keep at least one hand or suitable limb occupied maintaining the hold. The condition lasts until released or until the target succeeds on a prescribed chance check to escape.

Trip. After a successful check, the target becomes Prone. This technique does not grapple the target by itself. If the attacker already maintained a Hold, they can retain it during the fall by falling with the target or having plausible leverage.

Forced Movement. This technique requires an already Grappled target. After a successful prescribed chance check, the attacker moves the target up to half their own Speed and must follow. This movement provokes no opportunity attack. A passage too narrow or a solid obstacle stops it.

Immobilize. This technique requires an already Grappled target. After a successful prescribed chance check, the attacker pins the target's entire body: the target cannot move, takes −5 on Reflex duels, and retains all Grappled restrictions. The attacker must use at least two limbs to maintain the immobilization and cannot move without converting it to Forced Movement.

Disarm. The attacker grabs a weapon or the limb holding it. After a successful prescribed chance check, the target drops one chosen held object into its space. The technique does not make the target Grappled unless another effect says so.

Chapter Summary

• An attack requires no attack roll. It deals its dice plus the character's Strength or, for a suitable weapon, Dexterity. Firearms add neither.
• A natural 20 on the accompanying d20 triggers a critical. Apply DR last and separately to each attack.
• Dodge and parry use a Reflex duel; parrying also requires equipment of sufficient level (shield: +2; weapon: −1 at most).
• Dodging ignores weapon level but requires room and does nothing against damage spells.
• A sufficiently powerful shield or weapon parries a damage spell for half; each enchanted object can state its own percentage and conditions.
• A dodge spends its dedicated reserve and remains outside the board. A parry spends one attack and one tick slot; a target attempts only one personal defense per attack or group.
• Simultaneous attacks against the same target from the same direction can form a volley: one parry blocks them together, but failure resolves damage, criticals, and DR separately.
• Grappling uses a prescribed chance check. The GM always compares both characters' Strength, Dexterity, size, and experience before announcing the chances.

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Philosophy

Magic dominates combat in Cerberus. At equal power, it is not balanced against martial characters. An accomplished caster ranks among the world's most dangerous forces. This power is earned slowly through study and play (see 5). Every spell defines its damage, duration, and range.

Paths of Power

Each race draws magic from a different source. This table summarizes their mechanical differences; the world book develops their origins and place in Cerberus societies.

Path	Users	Mechanical Trait
Red Magic	Humans	Most powerful and abundant, but chaotic: low-level spells have short durations, and enchantments cost fortunes in gold. Poor at healing, hence alchemy.
Divine Magic	Humans of the Ark	Stabilized red magic: fewer spells, but easier to execute without genius and cheaper to enchant.
Psychic Magic	Drows, Psychics, psychic monsters, Monks of Kaz'Nakaram	Stable, normally requiring neither speech nor gesture. Recovery follows the source: converted human mana recovers like red mana, while innate and implanted reserves depend on meditation (see 4).
Runes	Dwarves	Dwarves ordinarily cast no spells; they slowly produce magical objects instead.

Spell Memory

Magic leaves traces. When a person enters a room, they shed a few particles of red mana. These particles absorb fragments of the place around them: images, sounds, and emotions. Spell effects leave denser traces of the same kind.

This spell memory is not a creature's memory. It is the memory held by magical particles, and divination can explore it when a spell provides a way to gather or read those particles. A rich trace can preserve an illusion in great detail; a weak one may offer only a face, a cry, or the fear that filled the room.

Blue mana leaves a narrower and cleaner memory. It preserves the shape, direction, and intention of the Psychic act itself, but little unrelated scenery from the place around it.

DC and Saving Throws

When a spell acts on a creature, it resists with the appropriate Save (see 1):

• a spell striking the mind—fear, illusion, control—uses Will;
• a spell striking the body—poison, transformation, exhaustion—uses Fortitude.

An undead makes neither Save in the ordinary way; see 3.

The DC is:

DC = 10 + CL/2 + INT, plus any bonuses.

Roll the Save like every other Save: 1d20 + attribute + level, using the character's full level rather than half. Against an illusion, the Save occurs automatically once the character can perceive it; the GM rolls once at the beginning of the day and reuses that value.

The Caster's Three Resources

A mage manages three separate axes.

1. Spell slots, the reserve. A character carries an ocean of mana in the blood. Concentration capacity, or mental maturity, limits how many spells can be cast. Slots represent that limit:

Slots = 4 per spell level + ½ CHA.

A mage with +6 Charisma therefore has 7 slots per spell level (4 + 3). Casting a Level N spell spends a Level N slot; metamagic spends more. A higher-level slot can also pay for a lower-level spell, but the difference is lost. This is legal and rarely desirable. Whenever a spell, feat, or other rule requires additional spell slots, each of those slots must also be of the spell's level or higher. A lower-level slot can never pay any part of that cost.

Psychics and monsters call this unit a spell slot. The Monks of Kaz'Nakaram call it a Ki point. The names are mechanically identical: one Ki point equals one spell slot.

Recovering Slots

Mana is not the scarce resource. The ocean in the blood continually renews itself; the mage's concentration is what tires and rests. Slots are therefore the only reserve the game tracks. The rates below apply to red and divine magic, as well as blue powers converted from a human's red mana. Innate blue reserves follow their own meditation rules (see 4).

Rest	Per Hour	Result
True Rest (sleep, meditation)	20% of slots at each level	full reserve in 5 hours
Active Rest (walking, watch, study)	10% of slots at each level	50% ceiling in 5 hours

Each spell level recovers separately at the same rate. A mage cannot sacrifice minor spells to recover powerful ones faster.

Calculate from the beginning of rest, not hour by hour. Multiply the rate by elapsed hours, then round down once under 1. For a reserve of 7 slots per level:

Hours of True Rest	1	2	3	4	5
Slots Recovered per Level	1	2	4	5	7

Rounding every hour instead of the total would make recovery slower as the reserve grows.

The rate is identical at every level. A CL 5 mage recovers 4 slots per hour from a reserve of 21; a CL 20 mage recovers 16 from a reserve of 81. Absolute values explode, but recovery time does not change: five hours to refill and five hours to reach the ceiling. Blue spell slots do not follow this rule; see 4.

2. Spells per round, the action economy. This determines how many spells can be cast during one round, independently of the reserve: 2 at Level 1, 3 at Level 5, and 4 at Level 9 (see 5).

3. caster level, raw power. This determines each spell's strength.

At equal level, a charismatic mage has more slots and uses more metamagic; an intelligent mage has better DCs and crafting, adjudicated by the GM; a quick mage with Dexterity and feats wins Reflex duels and releases spells before opponents.

caster level

caster level (CL) is the caster's magical density—power in its pure form.

Every character begins at CL 1. A human adds 1 CL per 2 points of Charisma, rounded down: red mana answers to Charisma, and that is racial rather than studied (see 5). Everything else is earned during play and awarded by the GM; a specialized class can improve the ratio (Using Classes). CL then governs two things.

Magnitude. Damage, durations—often “X rounds per CL”—animal-form HP such as “10 HP per CL,” and range scale with CL. Each spell provides its formula. Casters follow the power curve through CL as martial characters follow it through Strength and weapons (see 5).

Access to High Levels. A slot is not enough. To cast a Level N version of a spell, a character must satisfy two independent conditions:

1. they learned that version and reached its mastery level in the story;
2. their caster level reaches the minimum in the table.

Three thresholds structure the required power—Level 1: CL 1; Level 9: CL 20; Level 10: CL 30—with the intervening values below:

Spell Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Minimum CL	1	3	5	7	9	11	14	17	20	30

caster level measures available power, not maturity. A CL 10 Wizard who has learned only Level 2 spells remains limited to Level 2 even though that CL could technically fuel a Level 5 spell. High CL strengthens known spells without teaching more complex formulas.

Conversely, knowing a formula does not provide the minimum power. A Wizard who studied a Level 5 spell but has CL below 9 must wait until that power reaches the threshold.

When creating a Level N Wizard or Cleric directly, the story can normally be assumed to provide mastery through Level N, but not the next level. A Level 5 character may therefore know Level 5 spells, never Level 6 merely by assumption. They must still meet minimum CL, know the relevant spells, and possess the slots. The GM can assign lower mastery when the story describes a powerful but inexperienced or uneducated character.

The GM can therefore increase CL without raising mastery or character level. Known spells become stronger, but no new spell level unlocks automatically.

At very high CL, abjuration becomes devastating. A mage whose CL greatly exceeds an opposing effect can dispel or counter it without understanding its construction, temporarily deactivate a permanent enchantment, or even destroy it. See 15 for the added difficulty of magical objects.

Casting a Spell: Casting Time and Interruption

Most spells take two ticks, or two-thirds of a round. A spell designed to take longer, three ticks or more, can be more powerful at the same level; metamagic can instead accelerate it.

The caster remains vulnerable during casting. Cerberus uses no “concentration check.”

If the caster takes more than 25% of maximum HP while casting, the spell fails: the slot and action are lost. Below that threshold, the caster takes damage but completes the spell.

Stable blue mana raises this threshold by 10 percentage points. A blue spell fails only when its caster takes more than 35% of maximum HP during the casting.

The Reflex duel from 1 determines who acts first. A quick archer or rogue can interrupt the mage before the incantation ends.

Mage: I cast Fireball at the archer. DC... no, there is no DC; it deals direct damage. Archer: I loose an arrow before he finishes. GM: Reflex duel, both of you. Archer: 24. Mage: 19. Ouch. GM: The arrow leaves first. (It deals 18% of the mage's maximum HP—below the threshold.) It sinks into his shoulder. He grimaces but holds steady and completes the gesture. The archer disappears into the fireball.

Had the arrow exceeded 25%, the spell would have died on his lips, losing slot and round.

Maintaining a Spell through Concentration

A concentration spell remains active while its caster devotes attention to it. After casting, the caster spends one spell token per round to maintain the spell. That token occupies one Action Board slot during a tick chosen by the caster; the other two ticks remain available. Maintenance spends no new spell slot.

If no tick is devoted to the spell before the round ends, concentration breaks and the spell ends. During the maintenance tick, damage can interrupt concentration like an incantation: taking more than 25% of maximum HP ends the maintenance and the spell. Use the blue threshold of 35% when the maintained spell is powered by blue mana.

Each maintained spell requires its own spell token. A character maintaining two spells must devote two ticks per round unless a feat or power says otherwise. A spell can impose another rhythm or become autonomous at a higher level; its text then takes precedence.

Concentration does not automatically grant the target another Save. The spell states when resistance can be attempted again. With Hold, for example, the victim makes a Will Save every tick while the caster devotes only one of the round's three ticks to maintenance.

Resolving Offensive Spells

A direct damage spell allows no Save: it deals damage. Defense has three forms: interrupt the incantation, reach cover, or intercept it with a sufficiently powerful shield or weapon, blocking half (see 11). Armor DR then subtracts from what reaches the target, as against a weapon blow. Area spells are especially powerful.

At the GM's discretion, a sufficiently quick creature can make a Reflex Save to leave the radius of an area spell. Reserve this option for high-level characters with exceptional Reflex.

Metamagic

Metamagic feats bend a spell to the caster's will, and most are paid for in additional spell slots. The spell's own slot is always spent as well.

Feat	Additional slots	What it changes
Long Spell	+4	The duration rises one category
Quicken Spell	+3	A casting time of 2 or 3 ticks falls to 1
Delay Spell	+1	The effect lies dormant, then fires on its own
Form Cascade	+1	A broken Polymorph form gives way to another
Overcast	Higher-level slot	+50% base damage per level of difference
Additional Target	—	A single-target spell reaches several
Suspend Spell	—	A finished spell is held, then released later
Efficient Spell	−1	Close range falls to Touch

Efficient Spell is the only discount. It applies once per casting, however many feats modify that casting, and never reduces the cost below the spell's own slot.

Removing a component—verbal, somatic, or material—has no feat of its own. When a caster finds a way to do it, the GM prices it as metamagic: the spell becomes more complex, and therefore more expensive in slots.

Metamagic exhausts the reserve quickly even for a charismatic mage.

Meta-Spells

A meta-spell is a learned spell whose formula transforms, contains, or gives a new shape to another known spell. That other spell is called the source spell. For example, Elemental Wall turns elemental magic into a lasting wall, while Spell Trap holds a spell until its trigger occurs.

A meta-spell is not metamagic. It must be learned like any other spell and has its own entry. That entry states which source spells qualify, which levels they may have, and which spell slots are spent or committed. Unless the entry says otherwise, a meta-spell borrows only the parts of the source spell that it explicitly names.

Cooperative Casting

Several casters can cast one spell together. This is cooperative casting, or a ritual when extended over hours. One sorcerer casts the spell—the primary sorcerer—while the others lend power.

Cooperation raises the spell's caster level and nothing else. The spell remains entirely the primary sorcerer's: spell list, slot, and components. DC uses only the primary sorcerer's Intelligence, even when a helper is more intelligent. Helpers contribute no spells, feats, or attributes—only caster level.

Who Can Cooperate. Sorcerers must have comparable power: a master cannot be pushed by a crowd of apprentices. Compare each helper with the primary sorcerer.

Allowed caster level gap: 5 CL, or 20% of the primary sorcerer's CL when that is more generous, rounding the percentage down.

A CL 20 sorcerer can accept help from CL 15; CL 50 from CL 40; CL 100 from CL 80; and two CL 3 and 4 apprentices can cooperate. The 5 CL allowance dominates through CL 25; beyond that, 20% takes over and the circle widens as mages grow stronger.

The Price Is Time. Each additional sorcerer adds 3 ticks to casting time. The spell still costs only one slot, paid by the primary sorcerer; helpers spend time and expose themselves. Each remains vulnerable throughout casting under the 25% rule above.

A helper's contribution depends on their own caster level. Each value holds until the next threshold:

Helper's CL	Contribution
1 to 4	+1 CL
5 to 19	+2 CL
20 to 24	+3 CL
25 to 29	+4 CL
30 or higher	+5 CL, then +1 CL per interval of 5

Ceiling: cooperation never adds more than 50% of the primary sorcerer's caster level. A CL 20 sorcerer never exceeds CL 30 regardless of the number of colleagues. Beyond the ceiling, the competing wills interfere rather than combine.

It increases magnitude, not access. The primary sorcerer must already be able to cast the spell alone. Judge minimum CL for spell level from the primary's own CL before contributions. A gathering of CL 25 casters does not unlock Level 10 spells.

If Casting Breaks. A helper who takes more than 25% of maximum HP loses their contribution, and the spell continues at reduced CL. If the primary sorcerer takes that damage, the spell fails entirely and the slot is lost. Protecting the circle is part of the plan.

Example. Three House Alois mages want to subjugate a prisoner with Dominate. Gérard leads: CL 20, INT +9. The allowed gap is 5 CL, placing his colleagues at CL 15 and CL 20 inside the window, with the first exactly at its edge.

CL 15 contributes +2, and CL 20 contributes +3, so the spell resolves at CL 25. The ceiling is CL 30 and is not reached. DC rises from 10 + 20/2 + 9 = 29 to 10 + 25/2 + 9 = 31.5, therefore DC 31—using Gérard's Intelligence even though his CL 20 colleague is sharper. Dominate is Standard, so casting takes 2 + 3 + 3 = 8 ticks, nearly three full rounds.

This is why cooperation belongs in rituals, sieges, and interrogations rather than duels, except with the Cooperative Caster feat.

Alchemy

Alchemy is the human Cerberus path around red magic's poor healing. An alchemist combines their blood with ingredients to make a potion that must be drunk almost immediately or lose its effect. Ingredients let alchemy produce effects no spell can create.

Casting through Alchemy

An Arcane or Divine sorcerer normally shapes a spell through verbal and somatic components, sometimes adding a material component. An alchemist reaches the same magic primarily through material components: ingredients are mixed into an unstable solution during the spell's casting time. A particular formula can still require verbal or somatic components; its spell entry remains authoritative.

The listed casting time is the entire process for either method. A Standard spell takes 2 ticks for a sorcerer to shape and release. Its Alchemy version takes the same 2 ticks to prepare and immediately drink, apply, or throw. Delivery occurs as part of the final casting tick and requires no additional general action. If the unstable solution is not delivered immediately, its magic collapses and the spell is lost.

Quicken Spell works on both methods. By spending its additional slots, the sorcerer completes the incantation in 1 tick, while the alchemist prepares and delivers the unstable solution in 1 tick. Either casting can still be interrupted during that tick.

An unstable alchemical casting is not a stored potion. A potion stabilized through a long crafting ritual exists before combat and is later consumed with the normal 1-tick general action. Quicken Spell accelerates the live preparation of an Alchemy spell; it does not shorten the action required to retrieve, drink, or apply a potion crafted in advance.

To make a potion—or any spell—permanent, wrap it in gold. Gold forms a barrier that prevents magical particles from escaping and stabilizes the effect. Object enchantment relies on the same barrier (see 15).

Crafting a Preparation

Alchemical crafting is entirely GM-driven. A known recipe, clean ingredients, enough time, and a suitable laboratory can make success obvious: no roll. When interesting uncertainty remains, the GM announces a prescribed chance check and considers:

• the alchemist's experience and Intelligence;
• whether the recipe is known;
• freshness, rarity, and quantity of ingredients;
• time genuinely devoted to the work;
• distractions, transport, and local conditions;
• equipment quality.

An Alchemist's Kit, a Master Alchemist's Kit, and a Portable Alchemical Laboratory therefore grant no universal numerical bonus. They change the circumstances assessed by the GM: a preparation impossible with a knife and bowl may become risky with a kit, reasonable with master instruments, and routine in a laboratory. Equipment never replaces the main ingredient or knowledge of the recipe.

Before the roll, the GM also announces the risk: lost ingredient, fewer doses, unstable preparation, accidental exposure, or wasted time. Failure does not create an unrelated extra consequence.

Learning Magic

Spells are not learned by gaining a level. Learning happens during play through the character's choices. A player devotes one month of game time to studying a new spell; after that month, the GM grants it. This keeps progression slow and tied to the character's decisions.

Learning a higher-level version of a known spell also requires study during play. It generally takes less time than learning an unfamiliar spell because the caster already understands the spell's foundation. The GM sets the time according to the difference in complexity, available instruction, and circumstances.

There is no maximum number of known spells. This applies especially to the Wizard and Cleric of Archon: their repertoire is limited by the time, means, and opportunities they actually had to learn, not by a class value.

A divine spell with an existing formula is generally learned faster than an arcane one. Its liturgy is stable, recorded, and designed for reproduction. Converting an arcane spell into a divine spell is considerable work: the formula must be redesigned for the mana of the Partage, stabilized, and transmitted. This research can take months or years.

Chapter Summary

• DC = 10 + CL/2 + INT. Defender's Save: 1d20 + attribute + level (mind → Will, body → Fortitude).
• Three axes: slots (4/spell level + ½ CHA, the reserve), spells per round (action economy), and caster level (power).
• Slots are the reserve. Red, divine, and converted human blue slots recover 20% of each level per hour of true rest, or 10% during active rest to a 50% ceiling. Innate blue reserves follow their own meditation rules.
• CL scales magnitude and sets the power threshold for high levels (CL 1 → spell 1, CL 20 → spell 9, CL 30 → spell 10), but never teaches them. Each spell level must also be earned in the story.
• Casting takes 2 ticks. Taking > 25% of maximum HP during that time causes a red spell to fail; stable blue mana raises the threshold to > 35%. A Reflex duel resolves priority.
• Damage spells allow no Save, only damage; the GM may grant Reflex to escape an area. Metamagic costs slots. Learning a spell takes about one month of study during play.

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Summon and Polymorph use the same creature patterns. Each creature page assigns its profiles a minimum spell level. The caster can use any profile they know whose requirement is no higher than the level actually cast. The same profile always has the same requirement for both spells.

Knowing either spell does not teach its creature patterns. Each one must be earned through play under the GM's direction. Studying a new species, finding a teacher, obtaining a rare specimen, or understanding a magical creature can demand as much time and effort as learning a new spell. Mastering a pattern teaches it for both Summon and Polymorph if the caster knows both spells. This access is one of the main limits on their versatility.

Size does not set the required level. It remains an important physical trait, but a simple Colossal body can possess a less difficult pattern than a smaller creature with flight, spells, immunities, and complex powers. The selected profile supplies the body's values; the effect's Spell DC determines its quality. A natural creature uses its own attributes and level instead of these formulas.

Creating the Body

Each template gives a Strength multiplier, Dexterity multiplier, and HP per Strength point. Calculate the body when the spell takes effect:

STR = Spell DC × Strength multiplier

DEX = Spell DC × Dexterity multiplier

Effective CON = Spell DC

Maximum HP = HP per STR × STR

Round every result down. Use the complete Spell DC at the moment of creation, including temporary caster-level increases and every other active modifier. These physical values remain fixed for the life of the summon or the duration of the Polymorph casting. Losing the bonus that raised the original Spell DC does not weaken an existing body.

The template's Strength and Dexterity replace separate damage bonuses. A physical attack adds the higher of STR or DEX under the normal weapon rules; an attack that clearly cannot use finesse remains limited to Strength, and firearms add neither. Grappling uses these attributes along with size, anatomy, and experience as described in Martial Combat and Defenses.

Unless a template states an exception, its Ground Speed is 30 ft per tick + 2 ft per point of DEX. Fly, Swim, Burrow, and supernatural movement remain in the template.

Saves and Ability DCs

A summoned creature uses its generated DEX as its Reflex modifier. Its Fortitude modifier and effective CON equal the locked Spell DC, and its Will modifier also equals that DC.

A polymorphed creature uses the generated DEX for Reflex and the locked Spell DC for Fortitude and effective CON, but retains the transformed creature's original Will Save. The body replaces physical attributes, not the mind wearing it.

The DC of a magical body's Breath Weapon and other racial ability is the controlling Spell DC unless its template explicitly says otherwise. Effective CON does not enter the DC formula a second time.

Reading a Template

A template retains only values that cannot be derived from these rules: each profile's minimum spell level, attribute multipliers, HP per STR, size, attack dice, action reserves, dedicated dodges, DR, Reach, special movement, racial magic, and unique traits. Higher profiles may improve any of them. Casting the spell above a profile's minimum does not silently invent a stronger body: use a higher profile only when the creature page provides one. The resulting sheet is calculated once and can be used without repeating these formulas during play.

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Philosophy

On paper, each rule fits in a few lines. At the table, they all collide at once.

The following scene plays out a full round, tick by tick. Declaration and priority decide the order of actions, reserves run dry, cover saves a life, and a few points of damage threaten a spell. Every roll appears, even when it changes nothing: in Cerberus, failure also tells the story of how a battle turns.

The Combatants

Osseur and Séra tracked the witch Maelis to a harbor warehouse. She heard them approach. When the door opens, her bodyguard Brant already stands waiting fifteen feet before her, axe in hand.

Osseur enters at ground level, 60 ft from Maelis. From a catwalk 80 ft away, Séra has the witch in her sights. Rows of crates lie between them, enough to slow a charge or vanish briefly behind cover.

	Séra	Osseur	Maelis	Brant
Level	5	3	5	4
Strength / Dexterity	+4 / +9	+10 / +8	+2 / +5	+6 / +5
HP	160	200	80	120
Reflex	+14	+11	+10	+9
Armor (DR)	leather, 2	leather, 2	Level 1 robe, 4	mail, 2
Weapon	shortbow, 1d6+9	greataxe, 1d12+19, ×3	—	battleaxe, 1d8+6
Reserves	9 · 3 · 2 · 4	6 · 2 · 1 · 3	9 · 3 · 2 · 4	6 · 2 · 1 · 3
Slots per Tick	3	2	3	2

Reserves appear in this order: attacks · spells · dedicated dodges · general actions.

Three facts will shape the entire scene before the first declaration:

• With 80 HP, Maelis is interrupted as soon as she takes more than 20 damage during a spell.
• Her nine attacks give her a three-slot Action Board, even though she does not plan to use a weapon. Her three spell tokens can occupy those slots freely.
• Osseur's greataxe deals 1d12+19: 15 from his +10 Strength and two-handed grip, then +4 from his Level 3 Fighting Style.

The GM announces that the +5 declaration bonus is in use instead of +25%.

Tick 1 — The First Volley

Séra: I fill her with arrows before she opens her mouth. Three shots. Maelis: I cast Fireball and retreat behind the crates. Osseur: I rush her. Brant: I hold my ground before my mistress.

Séra spoke first: she gains the +5 declaration bonus and immediately reveals her intent. Her three shots fill her entire board and consume three of her nine attacks.

Maelis begins a Fireball. The spell is Standard: she casts during this tick and releases it on the next. Half her movement remains, or 15 ft. She slips behind the crates and gains light cover, granting +2 in her duels. Osseur only advances for now, moving 30 ft at full speed and reaching Brant.

There is no Reflex duel to order these actions. Whether Séra fires an instant before or after Maelis's first word changes nothing: the arrows strike during the casting either way. Roll priority only when the order can change the result.

The bowstring snaps three times.

• On the first arrow, Maelis spends a dodge. Séra rolls 11 + 14 + 5 = 30, against 14 + 10 + 2 = 26. The arrow pierces her robe: 1d6 rolls 4, for 13 damage, and DR 4 removes four points. Maelis takes 9.
• On the second, she spends her last dodge. This time, her 18 + 10 + 2 = 30 beats Séra's 3 + 14 + 5 = 22. The arrowhead buries itself in a crate.
• When the third flies, Maelis has no dodges left. Light cover provides no active defense; it merely forces Séra to make a prescribed 4 in 5 chance roll to find an opening. The die shows 3. The arrow hits for 1d6 + 9 − 4; the d6 rolls 2, so she takes 7 damage.

Maelis ends the tick having taken 16 damage during the casting. Four more points would have smothered the spell. She still holds, but both dodges are gone for the rest of the round.

Tick 2 — One Second Ahead

Osseur: I break through and split her skull before she releases that fireball. Séra: Three more arrows. Maelis: Release.

Osseur declares his charge first and takes the +5. Making one attack leaves him his full speed: the 30 ft between him and Maelis are within reach, provided he crosses Brant's threatened area.

This time, every fraction of a second matters. Maelis has already taken 16 damage toward her threshold of 20. Even the weakest arrow will deal 6 after DR; if a single hit lands before release, Fireball vanishes along with its slot.

Maelis, Séra, and Osseur therefore each make a Reflex duel. Their results set the tick's order:

	Roll	Total
Maelis	17 + 10	27
Séra	12 + 14	26
Osseur	9 + 11 + 5	25

By a single point, Maelis releases her spell before the first arrow.

1. Fire. Maelis casts Fireball at Level 1 with a caster level of 8: 8d12, for 52 damage, in a 20 ft radius centered on the catwalk. Séra gets no Save. A dedicated dodge cannot leave an area, and only total cover could protect her. Her DR 2 absorbs what it can: she takes 50 damage and remains standing at 110 HP amid the blackened planks.
2. Arrows. Séra's response comes too late to interrupt the spell, but not to wound Maelis. Reserves return only at the start of the next round: the witch still has no dodges and still depends on her cover. The three 4-in-5 chance rolls show 2, 5, and 1. Two arrows find their way through; Maelis takes 10, then 8 damage, falling to 46 HP.
3. Axe. Osseur crosses Brant's threatened area. The bodyguard has the Attack of Opportunity feat and can strike Osseur as he passes. Without it, he could do nothing to stop the charge. Osseur keeps his only dodge in reserve, accepts the blow, and takes 1d8 + 6 − 2: the d8 rolls 5, for 9 damage. He presses on. In melee, Maelis has neither cover nor dodges; the axe hits directly. The d12 rolls 8: 8 + 19 − 4, for 23 damage taken. The accompanying d20 rolls 14, with no critical. Maelis staggers at 23 HP.

Tick 3 — The Last-Chance Wall

Osseur: Two blows. She's mine. Maelis: Quickened Wall of Stone, between us. Then I retreat. Séra: I finish her.

Osseur declares first again. Maelis answers with her last escape: Quicken Spell. Metamagic reduces Wall of Stone to a single tick and removes every interruption window, but costs her 4 additional slots. At 23 HP, the price seems trivial. She also has 15 ft of movement left to retreat.

They must still determine whether the axe falls before the stone rises. Osseur rolls 8 + 11 + 5 = 24; Maelis rolls 9 + 10 = 19.

• The first blow beats the wall. The d12 rolls 2: after DR, Maelis takes 17 damage and falls to 6 HP.
• Stone then erupts between them. The quickened spell is already complete when Osseur brings his axe around. His second blow meets only the wall.
• Séra loses her line of fire. The wall grants Maelis total cover; the witch can no longer be targeted.

Séra immediately changes targets and looses two arrows at Brant. The guard can parry them with his shield thanks to Deflect Projectiles. His Level 2 shield surpasses these ordinary projectiles by two levels and can therefore stop them entirely. Each parry consumes an attack, not a dodge: this is the reserve Brant has preserved until now. Both of his tick slots are free, and each parry occupies one.

• First arrow: Brant rolls 18 + 9 = 27, Séra 6 + 14 = 20. Fully deflected—a successful weapon parry stops the blow, whereas it would block only half a spell.
• Second arrow: Brant rolls 11 + 9 = 20, Séra 13 + 14 = 27. It gets through: 13 damage, minus 2—11 taken.

The round ends there. Reserves will refill, but the battlefield has changed. Maelis survives at 6 HP behind an opaque wall. Séra has spent eight of her nine attacks. On the other side of the stone, Osseur is already searching for the shortest way around it.

Chapter Summary

• The largest reserve sets the width of the Action Board, even when it is not used (see 8).
• A Reflex duel matters only when action order changes the outcome. On the first tick it would decide nothing; on the second, everything depended on it (see 1).
• The declaration bonus rewards speaking early but reveals intent to others. Here it helps Séra land her first arrow, then forces Maelis to answer Osseur's revealed plans.
• Dedicated dodges run out quickly. Maelis spends hers during the first volley and remains vulnerable until the next round.
• Without an active defense, light cover imposes a prescribed chance roll on the attacker (see 9).
• A damage spell grants no Save and cannot be dodged. DR reduces its damage like weapon damage; against an area, only total cover protects (see 11 and 12).
• A spell breaks if the caster takes more than one quarter of maximum HP. Quicken Spell closes that window in exchange for slots.
• An attack of opportunity requires a feat, whether made by a PC or NPC (see 9).
• A parry consumes an attack and a tick slot, and requires suitable equipment. A dodge consumes a dedicated dodge and requires room to move.

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Philosophy

A magic item in Cerberus is a spell made material. Enchanting means binding a spell into an object, wrapping it in gold so its magic cannot escape (see Alchemy in 12). Any known spell can become an enchantment. The chosen spell gives the item its nature; the player and GM design its exact behavior together.

Enchanting rests on a deliberately simple foundation. Magic makes weapons more destructive and armor more resilient, but it adds no bonus to Reflex rolls, whether attacking or defending. Anything beyond that foundation—a lightning blade, armor that teleports its wearer, or a bow that releases its spell on an attack—is a custom item.

The Fundamental Bonus

An enchantment's level produces the following value while its magic remains active:

Enchantment Level	Fundamental Bonus
1–2	+4
3–4	+8
5–6	+16
7–8	+32
9	+64
10	+128

• A weapon adds this value to its damage. The bonus is part of the attack's damage and follows the normal rules for critical hits.
• Armor adds this value to its magical DR.
• A shield does not automatically gain DR or Reflex. Its magic level determines what it can block, and any special power is designed with the GM.
• Any other item gains no fundamental bonus; its value comes from the spell it holds.

A weapon or suit of armor receives this bonus only once, even when its enchantment combines several spells or properties.

An Enchanted Item's Numbers

Every enchanted item carries two numbers, sometimes three. Recording them describes the item.

1. Item Level (0 for nonmagical, up to 10) is normally the level of the most powerful spell bound within it. For a wholly custom enchantment, the GM sets this level according to the actual effect. It determines:

• a weapon's fundamental damage bonus, what it can parry, and what can parry it;
• the magical DR added to armor's physical DR;
• what a shield can block, up to two levels higher;
• the power of any item's enchanted effect.

2. Item caster level is the enchanter's CL when the ritual was performed. It differs from Item Level: it measures the density of magic fixed in the material and therefore the difficulty of dispelling or disenchanting it. Every enchanted item has one, and it must always be recorded.

3. Effect DC applies only when the item's power requires a target to succeed on a Fortitude Check, Will Check, or another roll. Record the DC alongside the required roll.

The item sheet also states everything needed to use it without improvisation: action or tick count, range, targets, duration, trigger, number of uses, and recovery method, as agreed with the GM.

Material and Magic Stack

Exceptional material outperforms ordinary steel even before receiving magic. Its physical DR and other properties add to the values produced by the enchantment. Enchanted mithril armor does not stop being mithril: it retains its physical DR, Reflex bonus, and cleansing power, then adds the magical protection of the bound spell. A dispel removes only this second layer. The material catalog and its rules appear in 10.

Craftsmanship quality from M1 to M5 also stacks with an enchantment. It is neither a magical capacity nor a fixed limit on the number of properties an item can receive.

Designing an Enchantment with the GM

The player first describes the item they want to create in the world, then identifies the spell or spells that could produce that effect. Player and GM then define its exact operation. A power may be passive, activated, limited to a few charges, triggered by an attack, or bound to a particular condition: there is no universal conversion between these forms.

The Enchant spell provides a simple temporary infusion, but permanent magic items do not require it. The spell or spells that actually produce the effect are enough.

For example, a weapon based on a lightning spell might add lightning to every blow, release a lightning attack on command, or activate only on a critical hit. A weapon based on teleportation might transport its wielder, its target, or only itself. These versions are not equivalent; their range, frequency, action, and limits are decided before the ritual.

As a rule, a permanent or free effect, or one triggered by every attack, is more ambitious than a power that requires an action, has few charges, or answers a narrow condition. That difference affects cost, time, materials, and chance of success without imposing a formula. Several effects may coexist on one item if the GM considers the project feasible. Each additional effect normally makes the ritual more demanding, but never multiplies a weapon or suit of armor's fundamental bonus.

The Enchantment Ritual

Enchanting requires the enchanter to know the necessary spell or spells, possess a suitable vessel, and perform a long ritual. A ritual makes a spell more powerful for its slot cost, but is extremely slow to cast—time, not reserves, is its price. An unusual item may require research, plans, rare material, or a combination of spells.

Several casters may cooperate in one ritual if their caster levels are close enough. Cooperative Casting in 12 gives the allowed gap, each helper's contribution, and the +50% ceiling. A circle enchantment is therefore more powerful than a solitary one and is the normal way to create a high-tier item.

Gold Cost. Permanence is paid for in gold. The GM sets the amount by one simple principle: the higher the caster level, the more gold the ritual demands. A Level 9 or 10 enchantment represents colossal wealth, sometimes more than a kingdom's treasury. This is no accident of lore: the humans of Cerberus trade with dwarves, who supply gold and purchase their enchantments and potions in return.

Gold binds red and divine enchantments. It has no effect on blue mana and cannot make a Psychic enchantment independent of its creator. A Psychic instead maintains the object by reserving the required spell slot, as described by Enchant.

The ritual ends with a prescribed chance roll. The GM considers the enchanter's Intelligence, Charisma, experience, and caster level; known spells and received help; the item's M quality and materials; tools, location, invested time, and the ambition of the requested power. None of these factors sets an automatic probability. They help the GM prescribe a chance suited to the project.

Before the roll, the GM also states what failure places at risk: some gold or materials, time, enchantment stability, power, or a magical complication. Failure need not destroy the entire project.

Dispelling or Destroying an Enchantment

An abjurer can attack an item's magic with an opposed caster level check:

1d20 + Item CL (the item defends) against 1d20 + abjuration spell CL.

• If the abjuration score exceeds the item's by 25%, the magic is disrupted and the item is disabled for 1d3 rounds.
• If it exceeds the item's by 50%, the enchantment is permanently destroyed.

Dispelling attacks all the item's enchantments at once. It cannot select one property: when the item is disrupted, all its magical powers cease together; when the enchantment is destroyed, every magical property is destroyed. Material and craftsmanship remain intact.

Item caster level determines resilience. A high-CL enchantment is almost impossible to breach, while a low-CL trinket yields to the first abjurer who comes along.

Dwarven Runes

Dwarves cast no spells. Their path produces only objects, and produces them slowly. A rune is not a spell bound in metal, but an engraved form that draws directly on the power of its surroundings.

A caster imposes a will upon mana, then traps the result in an object. A dwarf works differently, shaping matter so it can work alone. Once complete, the rune holds no waiting spell and no longer needs its creator. It obeys a law written in its lines, feeds on its surroundings, and produces its effect for as long as its vessel endures.

Power Without caster level

A runic item has no caster level. It cannot be dispelled, an antimagic field cannot silence it, and it requires neither maintenance, renewal, nor gold to remain active. Breaking its power requires destroying the rune or the object that bears it.

Human enchantment is defined by its level and caster level. A rune bears only one number: its level, from 1 to 10. This measures both the complexity of its form and the power of the effect it can draw from the world.

A Level N rune of power grants the fundamental bonus for that level from the enchantment table. A weapon bearing a Level 5 rune of power therefore grants the same fundamental bonus as a Level 5 enchanted weapon. The resemblance ends with the result: one depends on an enchantment and caster level, the other on a physical engraving in the material. Every other rune has its own effect, described on its sheet.

Two Incompatible Paths

A rune and an enchantment can never coexist on the same item. The two forms of power oppose each other from the first inscription. A dwarven weapon may receive human red magic or dwarven runes, never both. The choice must be made before work begins and binds the item for its entire existence.

This incompatibility explains why dwarves sometimes sell a magnificent weapon without engraving it. Its human buyer remains free to enchant it. Conversely, a true runic weapon is never merely a vessel that can later be improved with a spell.

The Work of Two Castes

Creating a rune demands cooperation between two castes. The rune caste knows the forms, calculates their relationships, and designs the inscription. The forge caste prepares the vessel and carves the form into the material without breaking its balance. One may understand a rune perfectly without knowing how to carve it; the other may possess an exceptional hand without knowing the law it inscribes.

This division explains the rarity of runic objects. A talented artisan is not enough: two specialists must be brought together, given time, and entrusted with a worthy vessel. The item must be M2 quality or better. A rune does not forgive the flaws of ordinary work.

The art is secret. It cannot be learned by copying a symbol from a book or studying a finished weapon. Only a tiny minority of dwarves truly master engraving, and an outsider admitted into this tradition would be the subject of an entire story, never the result of ordinary training.

When a character truly possesses this knowledge, every inscription ends with a prescribed chance roll. The GM considers experience, Intelligence, tool quality, invested time, the vessel's quality and material, and the rune's level. These factors guide the prescription; they do not form an automatic formula. Player and GM design a new rune like any other custom item.

How Many Runes Can an Item Bear?

One rune is the norm. Two runes on one item constitute a masterpiece and require a vessel of M4 quality or better. Both forms must be designed together rather than simply added one after the other.

Items bearing three runes belong to the tales dwarves tell of their ancestors. They are not impossible, but lie beyond ordinary craftsmanship. Finding such an item, discovering how it was made, or attempting to create one can sustain an entire adventure.

Conditional Runes

Not every rune draws indiscriminately from the world. Some require a specific state in their bearer: fury, hatred, fear, flowing blood, or approaching death. They remain inert until the condition is met, then find in that state the power to awaken.

A handful of these forms are called demonic. Said to have appeared in a smith's corrupted dreams, they grant far more than a rune of their level should provide. Dwarves who know of them do not consider them progress. An ordinary rune draws from its environment; a demonic rune always raises the question of what it is truly consuming.

Distribution (GM Note)

There are no magic-item shops. Tier 3+ items are found, earned, or commissioned at great expense from a named enchanter with personal demands—and from a kingdom wealthy enough in gold to pay the bill. Every magic item has a provenance that can be told in one sentence.

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Philosophy

Cerberus hides no rules from the GM: the entire system rests on three rolls and one judgment. That judgment must be reproducible—fast and consistent from one session to the next, without inventing a new rule for every question.

“Does It Exist?”

Players ask this every session: is there a stable behind this inn, a rope in this warehouse, a healer in this village? There is no single right answer.

A GM who always agrees lets players write the world in their place. One who always refuses kills their inventiveness and teaches them to stop proposing anything. The right balance is neither extreme: it means calibrating player imagination.

The tool already exists: the prescribed chance roll in 1. The GM does not answer the question directly, but converts uncertainty into a probability, announces it, and lets the die decide the world.

Player: Does this inn have a stable with horses? GM: Probably. One chance in two: roll 1 on a d2 and the stable is there.

Three safeguards apply, identical to those in 1:

1. Do not roll when the answer is obvious. An inn on a trade road has a stable; it is there without a die. A mountain hermitage does not. Roll only for genuine uncertainty, or the GM hides behind chance instead of describing the world.
2. A good argument improves the odds. “Horses were tied outside, so there is probably a stable” deserves better than one chance in two. A player's reasoning about the world matters as much as their plan for an action.
3. Announce the odds before rolling. After the roll, the answer becomes canon. Record it; it remains true for everyone throughout the campaign. A world decided by dice remains coherent as long as nothing is undone.

Failure does not punish. “There is no stable” is the complete answer. It does not mean “there is no stable and the innkeeper distrusts you.” The player asked a question; they did not attempt an action.

The GM remains neutral without becoming a wall, and players no longer feel that the setting is dictated to them. They discover it, which is the same process viewed from the other side of the screen.

Social Interactions

Cerberus has no social skills. No Diplomacy, Bluff, or Disguise: the prescribed chance roll replaces them all (see 1). The reason is direct—a social skill invites the player to portray a character minimally, then roll for the rest. Cerberus wants the opposite.

Yet characters are not socially equal. What distinguishes them is not a roll modifier, but how the GM makes NPCs react. A barbarian with +8 Strength does not need an Intimidation roll. They need the GM to portray NPCs who see a colossus enter the room.

Adjust for attributes. Read the sheet and adapt NPC behavior:

Attribute	High	Low
Strength	difficult to impress, respectful tone, asked for demonstrations	patronized, capabilities underestimated
Dexterity	grace admired, entrusted with delicate tasks	concern whenever precision is required
Constitution	endurance respected, physically challenged	health concerns, offers of rest
Intelligence	complex vocabulary, opinions sought on difficult subjects	simplified explanations, extra patience, underestimation
Wisdom	advice sought, moral judgments entrusted	distrust on important decisions, everything explained
Charisma	immediate attention, open tone, rapid trust	greater effort needed to persuade, neutral or wary reception

Adjust for background. A character's origin opens and closes doors:

Origin	Effect
Noble	titles respected, conduct expected, easier access to circles of power
Humble	kinship with commoners, distrust from elites
Military	respect from other warriors, direct language, strategies valued
Religious	reverence from believers, skepticism from others, wisdom expected
Criminal	underworld contacts, distrust from authorities, street codes recognized
Foreign	curiosity or suspicion depending on context, cultural misunderstandings
Local	customs understood, easy connections, loyalty expected

Five concrete levers. To apply these adjustments quickly, change an NPC's tone, vocabulary, body language, level of trust—how much information they share—and what they offer or ask of the character.

Three practices make this sustainable throughout a campaign: prepare flexible NPCs capable of several reactions; remain consistent from one session to the next; and tell players that their attributes work this way, so they can lean into them rather than search for a roll. Finally, give everyone their scenes. A low attribute is a color to play, not a permanent punishment.

Building Martial NPCs

Player characters earn most of their power organically. An ingredient changes their Strength, two months with a teacher grant a feat, and a weapon carries the history of how they found it. A newly written NPC has lived through comparable years, but the GM does not need to reconstruct every month before using them.

Build a martial NPC from five visible decisions:

1. Choose class and level. These set HP progression, Saves, Speed, and the Action Board. They describe professional experience, not the whole person.
2. Assign attributes from the NPC's life. A Level 7 soldier need not possess enormous Strength. A giant, altered barbarian, veteran archer, and aging swordmaster can reach the same level through very different bodies.
3. Give them believable equipment. Rank, wealth, culture, and employer determine the weapon and armor. Do not grant an enchanted weapon merely because the NPC needs a number; if they own one, know where it came from.
4. Choose two or three techniques that will matter in the encounter. A shield guard, mounted hunter, grappler, and assassin should play differently even when their totals are close.
5. Add a damage progression when training must carry the profile. Basic Fighting Style gives a professional NPC reliable weapon damage according to class and level. Use it when the NPC lacks a stronger named style. It is especially useful for a veteran whose threat comes from experience rather than extraordinary Strength, transformation, or a famous weapon.

Basic Fighting Style is a feat on the NPC's sheet, not a free class feature. A player can earn it through training under the normal organic progression rules. An NPC may instead possess a personal style when their history supports one; the personal style replaces the basic bonus rather than stacking with it. Spellcasting classes have lower grades, but can still receive the feat when the NPC's history includes serious weapon training.

Before play, compare one ordinary attack to the party's DR. If every blow disappears, decide whether that is the intended story. A poorly equipped soldier may truly be unable to harm an armored hero. A martial boss intended to remain dangerous needs a plausible answer: greater Strength, a better weapon, a fighting style, grappling, or control of the terrain. These answers are not interchangeable, because each creates a different fight.

Building an Encounter

A good encounter need not push players until all their ingenuity, strategy, and luck become essential. Easy fights belong in a campaign. They confirm that characters have grown: bandits who once posed a threat now fall to an area spell or a few well-placed attacks. If every opponent grows with the heroes, advancement becomes invisible.

Difficulty is not the starting point. Begin by imagining what is happening in the world: who is present, what they want, how they are armed, where they chose to fight, and what they will do if events turn against them. Only once the scene is visible should the GM estimate the numbers needed to make it work.

Imagine Before Balancing

Two bands of thieves have no reason to look alike. One carries bows and knives, another crossbows and swords. Highwaymen may have two riders. Street thieves might wield poisoned daggers while three accomplices fire hand crossbows from windows.

A few details are enough:

• their objective—to rob, kill, capture, delay, or frighten;
• their equipment and fighting style;
• two or three interesting positions on the battlefield;
• their discipline and the point at which they flee;
• a memorable face, voice, or behavior.

These choices make the encounter memorable before the first number appears.

Estimating Power

No formula perfectly predicts a Cerberus group's actual strength. Characters grow organically, know different spells, and approach each session with different levels of caution. Make a quick estimate, then learn from what actually happens at the table.

Six Level 1 bandits, for example, may challenge three Level 2 or 3 characters. They become more dangerous if the players are rusty, spread out poorly, or swagger into an obviously prepared position. Conversely, one well-placed area spell may end the encounter.

Judgment is a muscle. After every fight, remember what truly mattered: DR, action count, Reflex, an area ability, dominant terrain, or a weakness the players exploited at once. The next estimate will be better.

Counting Damage Upward

When an opponent's proper HP total is difficult to predict, the GM need not set it immediately. Simply add damage taken—38, then 71, then 119—instead of starting from an uncertain maximum and subtracting. After seeing a few representative player attacks, choose an appropriate threshold and announce death when an opponent reaches it.

This technique is especially useful for a group of comparable creatures. Once the first bandit dies, that total normally becomes the benchmark for other bandits of the same constitution. Do not then move the threshold merely to negate a spectacular critical or arbitrarily save an opponent. Adjustment exists to understand power that preparation could not predict, not to take away the consequences of player actions.

For a boss, the GM can wait a few exchanges before locking the total. Once the boss's condition has been clearly described—gravely wounded, nearly fallen—the numbers and the narrative must continue to answer each other honestly.

Model 1 — Bandits

Fighting a numerous but weaker group is one of the game's most useful models. It lets the GM play tactically and gives players room to use multiple attacks, area spells, and powers that would overwhelm a single target.

The encounter usually follows four stages:

1. The GM prescribes the chance that someone in the group notices the threat.
2. A short roleplaying scene occurs if the bandits speak, threaten, or negotiate.
3. Positions are established and combat proceeds normally.
4. A new scene begins if bandits flee, surrender, or are captured.

Ordinary bandits usually have no magic. They may still have experience fighting casters: spreading out against area spells, shooting from cover, interrupting a casting, using smoke, or sending a fighter into melee. Experience makes them interesting without artificially granting supernatural powers.

Numbers are their main strength. The coordinated groups from 8 divide naturally by position: archers, melee fighters, and those circling the players need not share the same Reflex roll.

Model 2 — The Boss

A boss confronts the group with a character more powerful than any individual member. The players retain one fundamental advantage: together, they possess more actions, reactions, and perspectives. They can surround the boss, exhaust defenses, and create openings for one another.

A martial boss is often best for the first encounter of this kind. Their intentions remain readable: charge, strike, parry, seize, or knock down. The GM learns to manage a superior creature without simultaneously consulting a long spell list. More complex bosses can follow once the table understands this rhythm.

The performance does not end when weapons come out. A boss may speak before the fight, react to player techniques during it, and reveal something in defeat. Even an opponent destined to die benefits from remaining a character until the final moment.

Model 3 — Counterparts

Counterparts are a group of opponents built like true characters, with distinct classes, feats, spells, and roles. A party of barbarian, rogue, and wizard might face a Fighter, Cleric, and Inquisitor. They need not be exact copies; the interest lies in a different combination of strengths.

This model requires more preparation and remains the hardest to estimate, especially at high level. The GM has two reliable levers:

1. create deliberately weaker opponents, then use their abilities fully;
2. give them power close to the heroes', but play them with mistakes, hesitation, bad information, or objectives that prevent them from optimizing every action.

The second method is not cheating: opponents are characters. They may panic, protect an ally, preserve a spell for later, or misunderstand the players' strategy. In complex high-level combat, nobody plays perfectly—not the players, not the GM—and the system does not require it.

Model 4 — The Ambush

An ambush uses the ordinary rules, but begins with a hidden threat and a violent advantage for the attacker.

First prescribe the chance that a group member notices the danger. On success, the scene may become a contest of position or a normal fight. On failure, attackers strike from hiding under the Perception rules (2). If several characters are equally exposed, the GM may choose the first target at random.

If the failed detection leaves no plausible time to react, the hidden attackers act first and their opening attack actions are automatic critical hits. Otherwise, use the ordinary Reflex duel for attacking from hiding; a quick defender may remove the critical and act before the ambushers.

An ambush need not be balanced like a frontal battle. It asks a different question: can the characters absorb the first shock, find cover, and regain control before the attackers exploit their advantage?

Controlling Power Growth

This is an eternal GM problem. Casters are the most powerful characters in the game, and that is not a flaw: Cerberus does not balance every race and profile against the others (see 12). Yet a caster's rise to power should take time and be earned.

The recommended approach:

• Advance levels slowly. Level governs general capabilities and need not increase often.
• Grant no spell automatically on gaining a level. An important new spell demands study time within the game—this binds roleplay to gameplay instead of advancing them on parallel tracks.
• Separate caster level from character level. The GM grants mana power without granting a level.

CL governs the magnitude of spells already known, while level opens complex spells and the action economy (see 5). Raising CL alone lets the player feel progress—spells hit harder, last longer, and reach farther—without adding any new spell or invalidating written scenarios. The sensation without the leap.

Where Are the Other GM Notes?

The remaining techniques live in the chapters they support:

Technique	Chapter
The three golden rules of prescribed rolls	Base Resolution
Converting a hazard into odds and damage	Environment and Physical Hazards
Access to rest sets difficulty	Rest and Recovery
Distributing magic items	Enchanting Magic Items
Surprise and attacking from hiding	Perception and Stealth

Chapter Summary

• Resolve a question about the world like an action: announce the odds, then roll.
• Do not roll when the answer is obvious; a good argument improves the odds.
• What the die decides becomes canon and is not undone.
• Failure answers “no”; it adds no consequence.
• There are no social skills: NPC behavior changes with a character's attributes and background, rather than through a roll modifier.
• An encounter need not be difficult. It must first belong in the fiction and reveal what the characters have become.
• Bandits, bosses, counterparts, and ambushes are four reliable structures the GM can reskin and reuse.
• To advance a caster without unbalancing everything, raise caster level without raising character level.