alFresco.v2

Four Colors al Fresco
A Roleplaying Game of Pulp-Style Superheroes in an Alternate Renaissance

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Explaining the Basis of this Entertainment

Character Creation 3

Wherein We Meet the Main Characters

Roleplaying 7

Playing a Role; Being a Hero; Contributing to the Story; Grommets

Storyguiding 8

Wherein We Become Acquainted with the Storyguide’s Role

Storypath Cards 11

Wherein the Balance of Play is Explained

Panels, Pages, Issues, Miniseries, & Titles 13

An Explanation of the Structure of the Entertainment; Use of Hooks; Between-Issues

Rolling the Planets 16

A Mechanical Aid to the Beleaguered or Unsure Storyguide

Degrees of Success 22

An Optional Set of Rules for Greater Mechanical Detail

Italia 23

Wherein the World of the Entertainment is Given a Brief Overview, Including Lists of Significant Personages

Appendix I: Glossary 24

An Explication of the Terms Special to this Entertainment

Appendix II: Example Descriptors

List of Powers, Both Known and Supposed, with Possible Power Stunts; List of Weaknesses, Both Known and Supposed; List of Traits; List of Flaws

Appendix III: Names 26

List of Italian Names, Male, FEmale, and Family; Lists of Names for Other Peoples

Appendix IV: Quickstart Rules

Simplified Explanation of How to Describe a Character; Character Worksheet; Character Sheet

Appendix V: Designers’ Notes 34

An Explanation of Why this Entertainment Has Been Created; Evolution; Inspirography

Appendix VI: October Open Game License 36
Indices 39

Four Colors al Fresco

woodelf & Epidiah Ravachol, designers
woodelf, writer
, cover artist
, illustrators
woodelf, typesetter & layout artist
Akira Barnes & Dan Bongert, additional contributors
Michael Bourne, playtesters

Special Thanks to
Alex Weldon, Travis Casey, & Klaus Æ. Mogensen, for help with the probablities
Jonathon Tweet, Robin Laws, ... for making us wonder what else might be out there

Copyright © Anno Domini 2001 by woodelf & Epidiah Ravachol.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the October Open Game License, Version 1.0 or any later version published by the RPG Library; with the Invariant Sections being “Appendix V: Designers’ Notes” and “Colophon”, with the Front-Cover Texts being “Four Colors al Fresco: A Roleplaying Game of Pulp-Style Superheroes in an Alternate Renaissance”, and with no Back-Cover Texts.
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “October Open Game License”.
An editable copy of this document may be found at <http://webpages.charter.net/woodelph/Gaming/Astrology/index.html>

This game is a roleplaying game (RPG). RPGs may be very different from the games you are used to, in some fundamental ways. First of all, not everyone has the same role in the game. Most of the participants will be the players. They will each take on the role of a single character. These characters are much like the central characters in a book, movie, or comic book–they are the ones around whom the action revolves, though there are often other important characters present, and they themselves may not be present for every scene.
For each Issue¹, one of the characters will take on the role of the Storyguide. As the name implies, it is her job to guide the unfolding story that you will tell. She must assume the roles of all of the characters that the other players are not playing, define the world around the characters, adjudicate the characters actions, and often provide the scenario.
Together, the Storyguide and players create a participative, collaborative, extemporary, storytelling amusement. That is, the point of the game is to enjoy yourselves while together creating a story off the top of your heads. Everyone has a say in how this story unfolds–the players manage the Main characters and the Storyguide everything else–and nobody really knows ahead of time how the story will turn out.
Secondly, the part of the game that makes up the “rules” is actually a relatively small portion of the game, unlike in many other games². What is much more important for understanding and playing this game is understanding the assumptions that underlie these rules:

The players³ have complete authorial control over their personal characters in matters that are unimportant or uncontested. In the case of inanimate objects, the closer a thing is to the character, the more control the player has over it. In the case of other characters (not controlled by other players), the less significant and more appropriate the action, the more control over it the player has.

The Storyguide⁴ may contest a players’ authorial control of her character in matters that are significant or contested, at which point the rules for Planets and Traits come into play to resolve the outcome.

The Storyguide has authorial control over everything else.

Players may assume temporary complete authorial control (including other objects and characters, but excluding other players’ characters) by playing Storypath Cards.

The game is played on a dual level, where the players both inhabit their characters and craft a story that the players can appreciate. At the level of the characters, genre conventions should be the primary basis for reality and should inform the characters’ decisions. At the player level, appropriate literary trappings (framing stories, cliffhangers, issue/title distinctions, variable consistency) should shape the narrative on a broader scale.

Further, there are a set of assumptions about the descriptions of characters that are very important:

Planets⁵ are a measure not of the character’s internal capabilities, but of how the universe around the character reacts to her. A character with a very high (small die⁶) Known is not necessarily learned or intelligent, and a very physically fit and powerful character could have very low (large die) Static and Dynamic scores.
Similarly, Traits⁷ are not in any way “linked” to a particular Planet. Once character description is finished, the effects and uses of a Trait (and relationships to particular Forces⁸) should be considered only in light of the player’s description of how the Trait is being used and the situation at hand. Powers⁹ and Weaknesses¹⁰ are related to their source Force, but since the player will only rarely be rolling a die for that Planet, see the next point.
Descriptors¹¹ generally decide an action, when applicable. Rolling the Planets is only used to decide actions that the Descriptors do not govern, or when two characters are too close in ability to decide the results from comparing their Descriptors.
There are no absolute or objective hierarchies. In particular, the dice used for the Planets do not sit upon a scale, so someone with a d4 in a Planet is not necessarily more governed by that Force than someone with a d10--it depends only on the relationship within the Planets of a given character. Likewise, Descriptors are not rated in any way; decisions of relative power in that area are generally decided by a combination of dramatic fiat and narrative comparison.

Whenever a term first appears, it will be briefly defined in a footnote. If not all of the terminology is completely clear at this point, don’t worry about it; as you read the rules and learn the terms, remember these principles, and they should become clear. A complete glossary of game terms, with more-detailed definitions, appears in an appendix.

The first thing that needs to be done to play a game of Four Colors al Fresco is the creation of characters. Everyone in the group should create a character. It is important th

at these characters be able to work together, at least some of the time. So they should not have any inherent incompatibilities (one can only breathe under water, while another can’t breathe under water) nor any unresolvable differences (a fanatical Catholic witch-hunter and a Church-hating witch).
In general, it is assumed that the characters are heroes, rather than villains. Not all heroes need be a shining example of truth and purity, however. Heroes with a shadowy past are perfectly in-genre, as are heroes with a strong moral code that is somewhat at odds with the dominant religion or law. Vigilantes are acceptable¹², but they push the edge of the envelope, and care should be taken not to let the game slip into the grays of moral ambiguity. While the details are up for debate, on a broad scale this is a world of absolute morality, where the good are Good and the evil are Evil, and only very rarely can someone find a place between those two extremes. Heroes do not kill or allow innocents to die–not even for the “greater good”.
Ideally, the characters should share some sort of unifying group or experience (a team that serves the Cardinal; they all have been repeatedly bested by the Seven Deadly Sins). This group is what will form the

basis of the Main Title¹³ for the game. Not all of the Issues will take place within this Title, nor will they all include all of the characters, but you will generally want to include most of the characters (generally, all but 1) in most of the Issues, and this provides an excellent way to explain their companionship. Other methods can of course bring the characters together–friendship, common threat, or coincidence–and the nature of the comic-book universe is such that such contrivances need not impinge upon suspension of disbelief¹⁴.
The common quality that all Omegas have is their f

undamentally unbalanced nature. Most people are balanced in their interactions with the world–the Forces of the world affect them all equally. What makes Omegas special is that something has happened to upset this balance. The Forces of the world no longer affect them in equal measure. They may have greater affinity for the ruling actions of some f

orces, and they defy the normal laws of at least one of the Forces. In the process, they gain what the rest of the world see as superpowers.
The first step in creating your character is to come up with a superhero concept. This should revolve around a power, or, very rarely, Powers. Once you have the Omega’s Power in mind, you should figure out which Force this Power violates, and thus which Planet she has Wed. It is also very important at this point to come up with the Omega’s name. Once you have a name and Power, and a good idea of which Force the Power violates, you are ready to begin determining the character’s game representation.
The first step is assigning the Planets. One of the Planet’s ratings you will have already decided. For the Planet of the Force that the Omega’s Power stems from, you assign an W. Because that Force does not govern the character normally, she is “out of the sight of” that Planet, and the degree to which it governs her can not be represented numerically like the other Forces.
Next, you should consider the Omega’s nature in other ways, and assign the rest of the Planet ratings. For each Planet, you will assign a die type, normally from d4¹⁵ to d20. This is the die that you will roll for that Planet when using the dice to resolve actions. A smaller die type means that that Force governs the character’s actions more strongly. However, all that really matters is the relative sizes of the dice for a character, not their absolute size. When attempting an action, all of the Planets will be rolled, and the results ordered from least to greatest, so the larger the die, the less likely it will be near the top of the Hierarchy.¹⁶ For example, someone with d20 Dynamic, d10 Static, d10 Passion, and d10 Known would find Static besting Dynamic roughly as often as someone with d12 Dynamic, d6 Static, d6 Passion, and d6 Known. However, the smaller the die size, the less variable the results, so, using the example just mentioned, the person with the d6 Planets would find them tying much more often than the person with three d10s. Also, other aspects of character creation and action resolution favor, slightly, smaller dice. So, within your character concept, it is generally better to take the smaller dice types, if there is no particular reason not to.
Once you have assigned the dice to your Planets, the next step is to detail your Power, Weakness, and Quirk. The character has one Power, one Weakness, and one Quirk for each Wed Planet (normally only one). All three of these must tie directly into the nature of the Force in question. Powers, Weaknesses, and Quirks fall outside the normal bounds of reality. They should be somehow exceptional, either in nature or degree, which is why they are not normal Traits. The Power is, as the name implies, an advantage to the character. Many Weaknesses tie in to the Omega’s Power in some way, limiting it, negating it under some circumstances, or defining a counter to the Power. But this is not necessary, and many viable Weaknesses are merely related to the Omega’s Power, while some have nothing to do with it. The Quirk is a supernatural Descriptor of the Omega that is, on the whole, neither advantageous nor disadvantageous.
Once the Planets are assigned and the Descriptors stemming from the Wed Planet are detailed, the next step is to determine the rest of the character’s Descriptors, called Traits. For every non-Wed Planet, the character will get a number of Traits as determined from the Descriptors Chart on this page. Traits may be anything the player desires, but they should all relate to the Planet that they are derived from. It is up to the SG to determine if a Trait is appropriate for the Planet in question, and if it is too powerful or too limited.
Not all Traits are created equal. In particular, there are two special kinds of Traits; Flaws and Power Stunts. A Power Stunt is a special use of a Power

that governs something that is neither clearly outside of nor clearly within the purview of the Power. By devoting a Trait to it, the player assures that her character can use the Power in that way. A Flaw is a Trait that is a hindrance to the character in some way. Except as the Descriptor Chart dictates, as many or as few of your Traits may be Flaws or Power Stunts as you wish. With some die sizes, you are required to have one or more of your Traits be Flaws.
When recording Traits on your character sheet, do not make any indication of the Planet they were derived from. The Planet is only a tool for character creation, and has no bearing on the Trait in play.
Once you have decided upon all of your Traits, and recorded them on the character sheet, there are only a couple of finishing touches to completing your character. First you should draw your initial Storypath Cards from the deck, and record them. All Omegas begin play with as many Storypath Cards as they have non-Wed Planets. If you are going to be using the same dice all of the time, it’s a good idea to record the color of each die next to the Planet, especially if you have more than one Planet of the same die type. Finally, you can come up with your Omega’s Title. Often, this is the same as her name, but it needn’t be.
You will notice that the W’s origin isn’t mentioned above. If you wish, you may decide how your W got her Powers, but it is very common for that to only be revealed (and thus decided) at a later date, usually as a pivotal point of a Miniseries. On a related note, anything that is not detailed at this point is not part of your character. All that is known about the character is encapsulated by the Name, Title, Planets, and Descriptors–everything else is in flux, and will only be solidified later.

As the name of the game implies, the principle point is to play a role. But there is more to a roleplaying game than just this, or it would simply be improvisational theater. As one of the players, your job is multi-faceted. You have two sets of priorities, the meta-game, and the in-game. The meta-game level is the one most like what you are familiar with from other games–it is the level of playing the game as a game, and is most like storytelling. The in-game level is more like theater, and carries with it responsibilities much like acting.
On an in-game level, you want to assume a role–your Main character–and attempt to get into the mindset of that character. At every point, as your character, you are looking at the situation and responding as she would. At the same time, on the meta-game level, you want to do and say what will make for the most enjoyable story. Often, these two aspects to playing the game are referred to as the character and the player, emphasizing their primary points of view. As may be apparent, it is easy for these two points of view to come into conflict. Luckily, there are a number of tricks and techniques that help to mesh them.
First, especially since this is a larger-than-life, super-heroic, black-and-white story, you need to start by building a character that fits that mold. If your character’s ideals and beliefs are carefully constructed, you will often find yourself choosing, as your character, the path most interesting–without any need to step back and consider things from the detached player perspective. Likewise, when you play the character, you can then more easily do what will make for an interesting story, without compromising the integrity of the character. So, there are several general principles that will usually help in constructing a character. First, the character should be a hero. That is, not only should she be good, but she should be actively good, going out of her way to confront evil, injustice, or wrongdoing. And she should not, generally, spend too much effort considering the wisdom of her choices, at least not in terms of immediate ramifications. This is not to say that wise characters are discouraged (just the opposite, in fact), but a true superhero does not hesitate to fight the villain–or track her to her lair, or thwart her nefarious plot–just because it might be dangerous or difficult. She will, of course, be cautious if there is a risk of collateral damage to innocent people, or if she is not certain that she has the right person, or if there is some other reason that direct, immediate action is ill-advised. Just usually not because charging headlong into combat against superior foes is suicidal.
Most, though not all, superheroes have a “shtick”. Your shtick is a very short (usually just a few words) summary of who your character is, as a superhero.

“Vengeful master sleuth and inventor”; “super-human man from another planet”; “blind martial artist”; “super-fast”; “the physique of a human-sized spider”; “millionaire inventor”.

An equally important consideration when designing your character is niche: each character should be unique. In a group of characters, each character should be clearly the best (among the group members) in some area. This makes it much easier for the SG to give your character spotlight time. This unique niche often stems from the character’s “shtick”, but it could be secondary to it. The easiest sort of shtick is being best at something, or at least exceptional. Strongest, fastest, smartest, cleverest, most faithful–these are the sorts of shticks.

As stated previously, one of the participants in a roleplaying game has a special role to play. She will take on the role of Storyguide (SG). Who this is can vary from Issue to Issue, though often one person will continue being Storyguide for an entire Miniseries.
It is the Storyguide’s job to guide the story. She is not telling a story for the amusement of the other participants, but is just providing the framework within which the story occurs. Her role is different, perhaps greater than, but not more important than, that of the players. Her primary responsibility is to play all of the other people that the characters meet, and describe the world around them. Often, she will also be responsible for setting up a scenario or at least providing the broad outlines of a plot–or, better yet, just a plot set-up.
Much of the time, one of the Main characters or the group’s previous exploits will provide the hooks to get them involved in the Issue, making the set-up as simple as coming up with a recurring villain’s next nefarious plot, or figuring out what someone important to the Main characters is doing now. Other Issues can come from considering the latest trends in the world around the Main characters–perhaps a change in the political or social winds will affect them.
There are a number of important aspects to SGing, but they all fall into two broad categories: in-game and meta-game. In-game aspects are the techniques and concerns as seen from the perspective of the characters involved in the game world. Meta-game aspects are those that take place on the level of the players, and are not directly perceivable to the characters. The Storyguide should strive to always guide the game in such a way that it is satisfying at the meta-game level, while also being sufficiently in-genre at the in-game level.
Meta-game concerns primarily revolve around using appropriate frameworks to guide the story, such as determining what constitute Panels and Pages, ensuring that the feel of the Issue is appropriate for the Title it takes place within, and attempting to guide the story to utilize appropriate literary conventions, such as cliffhangers, flashbacks, and dramatic irony. Also, Meta-game concerns include making sure the game is enjoyable, by making opponents and obstacles appropriate, by creating Issues that are thematically interesting to the players, and by adjudicating actions fairly. Another important meta-game concern is respecting the players’ visions for their characters. While, strictly speaking, only what is on the character sheet is canon, it is very poor form to knowingly define an element of the character in a way that conflicts with the concept or background the player had in mind. The player, of course, is free to establish any element with a Storypath Card (via retcon), and players should be given greater latitude when adding details or Traits that conflict with established precedent.

The Cardinal is played as an upstanding former clergyman, who has chosen to use his power to uphold justice and the Word of God. The SG should not, as a plot element, say that he knows an underworld crime boss due to his well-hidden shady past, as this infringes on the player’s idea of The Cardinal as beyond reproach. She could, however, say that The Cardinal once took confession from this crime boss, back when she was just an amateur housebreaker. The player saying the first thing, however, would be allowed, since The Cardinal has no Descriptors that specifically contradict this.

Most in-game concerns have to do with upholding the genre conventions of 4-color superheroes. In their service, retroactive continuity (retcon) should be used in preference to being bound by a previous Issue; villains should frequently have Powers that address the heroes’ Weaknesses (and vice versa); moral absolutism should guide the actions on all sides; and heroes and villains should reap what they sow.
There are a number of ways to pass on the role of Storyguide. The current Storyguide may have her character show up at the end of an Issue, thus signifying that she does not intend to run the next Issue. She may likewise (temporarily) remove one of the players’ characters from the

scenario¹⁷, thus sig

nifying that it is that person’s turn to be Storyguide next time. Especially in the latter case, you should make sure it’s acceptable to the other players before turning over the reins. Ideally, everybody should take approximately equal time at being Storyguide, but if everyone is ok with it, there’s nothing inherently wrong with some of the players rarely or never Storyguiding¹⁸.
Above and beyond all of these story and genre concerns, the Storyguide is responsible for adjudicating the characters’ actions. The most basic way of doing this is through simple Descriptor comparison. Look at the relevant Descriptors on all sides, and decide what occurs. Remember that someone with a relev

nt Descriptor should always best someone without (though the Descriptor-less character is better off than the one with a Flaw Trait in that area), and that a Power should almost always best a Trait. Circumstances should of course be considered, which may significantly alter these simple rul

es. If the results aren’t clear from such a comparison, then the Storyguide has the Planet scores to fall back on. For rules to help with that, see Section V.
Don’t forget that this is a four-color superhero game; this brings with it some specific considerations, in order to maintain the feel. First, obstacles, and especially opponents, should almost always be scaled to match the abilities of the Main characters. The power level of the Main characters, rather than “realism”, should be what determines the power level of challenges. Secondly, death is rare. Ws almost

never need to be killed in order to be defeated–and a body is rarely found if they do die. Innocents should only die through the tragic error of the Main characters, and other Diceless characters should die only if they voluntarily serve the villains–and usually not even then.
On a meta-game level, you should try to always end an Issue with at least a minor cliffhanger. Even if it is the resolution of a major Miniseries, throw something into the end of the last Issue that opens up a new path or plot. Another meta-game concern is spotlight time. All of the Main characters should be approximately equally important in the Issue. This rule can be relaxed somewhat in the case of an Issue in a Main character’s Title, where any other Main characters are Crossovers. But, no matter how improbable, in every Issue each of the Main characters should be faced with an obstacle that only they c

an overcome.
A final concern of Storyguiding is switching Storyguides. Only one person should Storyguide for a given Issue, in order to maintain a consistent tone. You may decide for yourselves, either as a blanket rule or on a case-by-case basis whether you want to maintain one Storyguide for an entire Miniseries. Another option would be to always use a particular Storyguide for the Main Title. But whatever you de

cide, you will eventually have to switch Storyguides.
A couple of tricks while you are Storyguiding will help to make the transition between SGs less jarring. First, if you define a new element of the world, whether a setting, a new Diceless or Guest character, or something else, make some notes. It is important that you write down everything that you have definitely decided, even if it wasn’t revealed to the players during the Issue. Be sure and mark what the Main characters know of this. Normally, you will hand these notes over to the next SG if she requests them (she may be planning on an Issue for which they don’t matter).
However, there’s nothing wrong with having elements of the world exclusively under your control. If you want to keep the secret of one of the villain’s Powers to yourself, just make sure that the notes you hand over note that that detail is decided, but you’re not revealing it. There are two advantages to doing this. First, it can make the game more enjoyable for the players, as they don’t have to work as hard to separate player and character knowledge, and they can be genuinely surprised by something. Second, it tends to make the world seem more alive and real if everything isn’t interconnected. By having several SGs with plots and/or plot elements that aren’t shared, they weave intersecting but not interconnected Issues. It’s only imperative that you don’t have accidentally-conflicting ideas about the world. It’s always acceptable to deliberately alter something after the fact–”retcon”¹⁹ was, after all, invented to describe comic books. As a matter of manners, however, you should try not to retcon other SG’s material too often–it may take away from their feeling of contribution to the shared stories.
Another tool for aiding in the interleaving of Issues from different Titles and with different Storyguides is to drop unused clues and tidbits. Make it a practice to increase the level of detail in your descriptions, and even to throw in minor occurrences that have no significance. One of the players will often mistake these for something important, and, upon learning (from looking at your notes when they SG) that you have not fleshed them out, use them as hooks for their own plots when they next SG. After all, if they are interesting enough to catch the player’s attention, they are interesting enough to matter. Also, chances are that they will have already come up with an explanation or backstory (which was, at the time, “wrong”) while playing, so this also cuts down on inspirational effort. As an added bonus, these sorts of details often provide hooks or inspiration for the use of Storypath Cards (see the next section) during the current Issue. And, on that note, don’t forget to use the additions of Storypath cards (both your own and others’) when next you Storyguide.
As Storyguide, one of your duties is to come up with opponents for the heroes. A special sort of oppontent is the Nemesis²⁰. As the game goes on, and the heroes face different threats and villains, sometimes a villain will prove a particularly appropriate foil to one of the Main characters. Due to issues of motivation and/or powers (preferably both), this villain may become a Nemesis for one or more of the characters. Generally, a Nemesis either selects one hero, or the entire group. Perhaps, if there is a special group of heroes within the group²¹, the Nemesis might focus on them, rather than the group as a whole.

In general, play proceeds by the Storyguide and the players narrating what occurs. The players have absolute control over their characters, and use their Descriptors to affect other parts of the world. The Storyguide not only has authority over the rest of the world (including all of the Guest and Diceless characters), but over reality itself. She is allowed to decide what happens in any contested situation, which means she effectively has veto power over even a player’s use of her character’s Descriptors.
Doesn’t sound very fair, does it?
Well, if your SG is fair-minded, and concerned primarily with everyone having a good time, it’ll work out just fine. For the most part. But, this is supposed to be a collaborative storytelling game, and giving one person final say over almost everything doesn’t really aid collaboration. So, there is a tool for giving the players more control over the story, beyond their characters. Each of the players has some Storypath Cards (initially equal to the number of diced Planets).
If the Storyguide declares a result that you dislike, you may overrule it with the use of a Storypath Card. They may be used to alter any part of the story, regardless of whether or not the player’s character could have affected the change, or is even involved. In effect, the play of a card gives the player (almost-)complete authorial control over a small portion of the story, just as the SG generally has.
How a Storypath card is used is completely up to the player. The suggestions on them may be used or ignored, and the title may be taken literally or metaphorically (or both)–though the title or primary meaning of the card does need to be used. There are only a couple of concrete rules governing their use. First, any player gets veto power over a card used directly on her character. She doesn’t need a reason, and is encouraged to veto card plays that would violate the spirit of her character. Second, the SG gets final veto over all card plays, though she is advised not to use that power unless absolutely necessary. Third, the player of the card gets complete authorial control over the outcome. Others may contribute suggestions, but, except for veto of undesired effects on their characters, the player is not required to use those suggestions. Likewise, the SG shouldn’t rewrite a use of a card, but should instead veto its use and give the player a chance to do the rewrite herself; the whole point is to give the player authorial control.
Every player starts out with as many cards as her character has diced Planets. When a card is spent, the SG should look at how it was spent. If it is, on balance, to the detriment of that player’s character, the player gets to immediately draw another card. If it is, on balance, to the advantage of the character, the card is not replaced. Cards are maintained from session to session, until spent. In addition to replacing cards spent as a detriment, the SG may hand out more cards as rewards for success and/or good roleplaying.
In addition to players having Storypath Cards, Titles also can have Storypath cards. Any Main character of that Title can spend these cards, but only during an Issue that takes place in that Title. The section on Titles and Issues has more on the rules governing this use of Storypath cards.
There is one further use for Storypath cards. Blank cards, as you might guess, function as a “wild card”–the player may use them to do whatever she wishes. However, a blank card can also be used in a special way. If the player so desires, a blank Storypath card may be played to give a character (usually her own) a new Trait. This new Trait may be explained either with retcon or as a newly-acquired Trait, depending on what works the best for the story.
The balance of power in this game is between the Storyguide, the players, and the Storypath Cards. Under normal circumstances, all of the participants have agreed to abide by the Storyguide’s decisions, and the Storyguide has implicitly agreed to be as fair as possible, to both the players and the story. Usually, the gentle give and take of simple discussion will resolve any disagreements about the capabilities of a character or the outcome of an action–there will be no need to use anything beyond the Descriptors of a character and the circumstances she is in to decide the outcome. At worst, the player may have to explain to the SG how a Descriptor is relevant, or the SG may have to rule that a Descriptor isn’t relevant in this situation. At no point should the Storyguide take away the players’ control over their characters²².
But sometimes a player may simply have a different vision of how to steer the story. That is why the Storypath Cards exist. Not as a means to trump or “beat” the Storyguide, but to have a mechanism to give the player authorial power without stepping on the SG’s toes. By using the cards, you clearly delineate who is in charge when, eliminating arguments that stem from each side believing their decision should hold sway.

In Four Colors al Fresco, there are several units of time, all derived from the comic books that are its source. The shortest of these is the Panel. A Page is usually longer, consisting of dozens of Panels strung together, but it may be as short as a Panel, or as long as an Issue. An Issue is an entire evening’s play, while a Miniseries is a series of Issues that together comprise a single plot.
Binding all of this together are the Titles, which serve as an organizational scheme for all of the Issues and Miniseries.
A Panel is the shortest unit of time in the game. It is the amount of time it takes to complete one simple action, such as punch the villain, lift the sinking ship, speak a line of dialog, sneak across the room, or witness a lightning strike. If an action is more complex, such as executing a complex martial arts kata or delivering a monologue, it requires multiple Panels. Likewise, the results of an action can take multiple Panels–while punching the villain might only take one panel, the villain could take several more Panels to fly across the room and smash through the wall. If in doubt, refer to this simple test: could it be reasonably illustrated in a single panel of a comic book?
There are no units of time shorter than the Panel. While a few characters (particularly super-fast Ws) will be able to take multiple actions during a single Panel, the game doesn’t track time in units small enough to differentiate them. Also, you will notice that a Panel is not a fixed length. In relation to the world of the game, some variance will occur. As an extreme example, if you have two super-fast Ws fighting, and no other characters involved, a Panel might correspond to one of their actions. At the other extreme, if the only thing happening is an inventor working on a project, or a sneak searching an empty house, a Panel could encompass minutes, hours, or possibly even days.
The only time a Panel becomes anything like fixed is when multiple characters are involved. Even then, it may vary in length from Panel to Panel. But so long as anybody is engaged in a typical-speed action, the rest of the characters use that as their reference point for a Panel. So, if during a fight one of the characters is attempting to build an ornithopter, and another is sneaking out of the room to get the villain’s secret plans, each of those actions would now take several Panels. In the meantime, the W with superspeed would be accomplishing several actions each Panel. It is in these situations that the Panel can be used to aid in conflict resolution. If two characters are trying to accomplish something where it matters which gets done first, consider their actions in terms of Panels. Whichever can be accomplished in the fewest number of Panels succeeds. Only if they take the same number of Panels (often 1) do you need to directly resolve the actions. Comparing Panels is particularly useful when two characters’ actions interfere with one another, but they aren’t in direct conflict.
Pages are a very different sort of time unit. Rather than being designed to segregate actions, or otherwise aid in action resolution, Pages are intended to aid with story structure. A Page is everything that takes place at more-or-less one time, and in more-or-less one place, as an interconnected series of events. In other words, a scene. Pages are special to the game because a great many things are governed by them. Generally, Main characters remain injured or hindered only for the duration of the page. Many Ws have Powers that are limited to the Page–and, if in doubt, you can assume that Powers and so forth end with the Page.
The Issue is an entire evening’s (or afternoon’s) play. It is a unit of time used mostly on the meta-game level, as an element of story. Ideally, the Issue should have a structure, most of which is consistent from Issue to Issue. The beginning of each Issue should set the scene and introduce the plot. If it is the 2nd or later part in a Miniseries, it should start with a brief recap of the Miniseries up to that point. If it is standing on its own, or is the first Issue of a Miniseries, it should get to the main plot as quickly as possible. You might even start it in media res, and then fill in the backstory either through narration or played-out flashback. This is not to say that an Issue should never have a slow or mysterious start, just that such Issues should be the exception.
The ending of an Issue is similarly formulaic. Every Issue should end with at least some things unresolved. Most Issues should end with a blatant cliffhanger. Doubly so if they are part of a Miniseries (and not the final Issue). While the final Issue of a Miniseries should resolve the major plot, even there you should sow the seeds of something new–perhaps a hook for the next plot.
Something else that is normally part of an Issue’s ending is meta-game awards. It is usually immediately after the end of an Issue that the Storyguide hands out any reward Storypath Cards.
The internal structure of an Issue is much more flexible. If your sessions are long enough, you should duplicate the structure of the Issue in miniature, and repeat. So if it’s an action plot about breaking into the villain’s lair and defeating him, you can build up to that final climax with several lesser climaxes, as the heroes overcome successively-tougher obstacles and/or henchmen. And if it’s a mystery plot, they should start by uncovering a little mystery, which when “solved” leads to a bigger mystery, and so on.
The next-largest unit of time is again one of the story, rather than the game. A Miniseries is any series of Issues which together tell one story. Oftentimes, a story spills over the bounds of a single Issue. As soon as you have a single plot stretching over two or more Issues, you have a Miniseries. The Issues that comprise a Miniseries may come from one or many Titles, and will often come from several different Titles if different Storyguides handled different Issues in the Miniseries.
The Title is not a unit of time, but is nonetheless an organizational unit. A Title is all of the stories about a particular W or group of Ws. In the case of individuals, it is often, but not always, the same as the W’s name, or a close derivative thereof. The most important thing to know about a Title is which characters are the Main characters–the ones who appear in it almost without fail.
Each game of Four Colors al Fresco will probably involve several different Titles. At the very least, each character has a Title of her own. Usually, there is also a Main Title, within which all of the players’ characters are Main characters. When someone is Storyguiding, her character will usually be absent. Unless she says otherwise, it is assumed her character is having adventures in her own Title, and she may detail what those are. Oftentimes in dialog once the character returns, when next that participant is a player. Whenever an Issue begins, part of the introduction should be the SG announcing which Title it takes place within. Usually, it will be the Main Title, but it may be in one of the characters’ individual Titles, with the rest of the characters Crossing Over²³.
Each Title has Storypath Cards associated with it. Only the Main characters of that Title may use these Storypath cards, and only during an Issue of that Title. Unlike character Storypath Cards, when one of these cards is used, it is not replenished, no matter how it was used. Instead, any player currently playing a character in an Issue of that Title may transfer one or more of her Storypath Cards to the Title, and then draw a replacement for her hand.
Unlike a character, a Title has a limited number of “slots” for Storypath Cards. Normally, it has five, minus one for every Main character after the first, but all Titles have at least one slot, regardless of how many Main characters there are. A card may only be given to a Title if that Title has an open slot, and cards may only be removed from the slots by being used (by a Main character, of course).

If you are unable to decide the outcome of something which the Main characters are involved in by considering Descriptors alone, or a conflict between characters is too close to call, you may resort to “rolling the Planets.” This takes into account the Forces of the universe in order to resolve an action that, on the merits of those involved, alone, is unclear. Rolling the Planets may also be used to give the player a chance when her character doesn’t have any relevant Descriptors, but the action is not completely impossible.
To roll your Planets, roll the appropriate die for each of your Planets (except the W Planet), and order them according to the results. It is probably easiest to have a different color die for each Planet, even if they are of different types. Line them up on the table with the lowest-resulting die at the top, and the highest at the bottom. The size of the die (number of sides) doesn’t matter. The Force associated with the 1st (lowest) die is the Dominant Force. The 2nd is the Major Force, the 3rd is the Minor Force, and the last (highest) is the Weak Force. Position is the only thing that matters, not value. Results of 4,5,6,7 and 1,6,10,20 are identical (assuming those results correspond to the same Forces in the same order). In the case of ties, the extreme positions are lost first. The following examples²⁴ of reading the Hierarchy should make it perfectly clear.
In example 1, each of the dice has come up with a different value, so the results are straightforward: Dynamic is Dominant, Passion is Major, Static is Minor, and Known is Weak.
In example 2, the two lowest dice have tied. Since extreme results are the first ones lost, it is read as Known and Lost Major, Passion Minor, and Static Weak.
Example 3 is essentially the inverse of example 2. Here, the highest two dice have tied, so no Force is Weak. It is read as Passion Dominant, Known Major, and Static and Dynamic are Minor.
In example 4 we have a pair of ties. Since neither the lowest nor the highest rolls are unique, there are no Dominant or Weak Forces. This would be Dynamic and Passion Major, and Known and Lost Minor.

Example 5 shows a three-way tie with one low die. Lost is Dominant, and Static, Dynamic, and Passion all are Major.
In Example 6 we see an internal tie. In this case, both the lowest and highest rolls are unique, so Dominant and Weak Forces are present. Since Major is favored over Minor, the tied dice are both read as Major. This would be read as Dynamic Dominant, Static and Known Major, and Lost Minor.
Finally, we have the least-extreme case in example 7. All four dice have come up with the same result. There are no unique rolls, so there can be no Dominant or Weak Forces, and since Major is favored over Minor, Static, Known, Lost, and Passion are all Major.
Some characters will have fewer than 4 Planets to roll, due to having more than one W Planet. In those cases, the dice must be read slightly differently. The same basic principles apply, with the addition that Minor is the least-important position to consider. Examples 8-11 illustrate the character with 2 W Planets, while examples 12 and 13 are for someone with 3 W Planets.
In the basic case (Example 8), the character with only three Planets to roll produces a regular result, but without a Minor Force. So this would be read as Passion Dominant, Static Major, and Known Weak.
In the case of a tie, it will be either two Major and a Weak, or a Dominant and two Major. Example 9 is Dynamic and Lost Major, and Passion Weak.
Example 10 shows the other possible tie. This is Static Dominant, and Dynamic and Lost Major.
Like a 4-way tie for a regular character, a 3-way tie means all Forces are Major. So in Example 11, Lost, Known, and Static are all Major.
There are only two possible results for the character with 3 W Planets. Either the dice tie, or they don’t. Example 12 shows Dynamic Dominant and The Lost Weak, while example 13 shows The Lost and Dynamic both Major.
There are two complications to the die rolls. The first is the Circumstance die. Circumstance dice sit outside the hierarchy. While they do not disturb the hierarchy, it is important to know how they relate to it. Set up the hierarchy normally, and then put the Circumstance die alongside it, according to its result. Examples 14 through 17 show 4 possible results, depending on the result on a Circumstance die. They range from stronger than the Dominant to weaker than the Weak.
In Example 14, a Major Circumstance die would rule the situation and, while a Minor Circumstance die would not change the degree of the outcome, it would strongly color its nature.
Examples 15 and 16 show some of the possibilities of the more-common results of a Circumstance die falling somewhere within the hierarchy, sometimes tying one of the Planet dice. When it ties a Planet, treat it as having the same position as the Planet–Major in Example 16. If it falls between steps of the hierarchy, consider it just before the Major position, if it is between the Dominant and Major dice, as in Example 15. If it is between the Major and Weak positions, it serves only to color results–much like the Minor position–unless it is a Major Circumstance die and none of the Dominant, Weak, or Major positions could determine the outcome.
If a Circumstance die sits below the Weak position, as in Example 17, it has essentially no impact. No matter where it falls, remember that a Minor Circumstance die can not determine results, only color them.
The other complication is the combined roll. When two Omegas come into conflict, their Planets interact. Both are governed equally strongly by a Force, except where they are Wed. To represent this in game terms, the dice of their Planets are combined, so that you only roll one die for each Force, which then applies to both characters. Both characters’ Hierarchies are then read from this set of dice, with each character ignoring any Wed Planets. For each Force, compare the Planet scores of the two characters, and select only one of them. If the characters are working against one another, results get less predictable, so roll the larger die of the two.

The Cardinal (Mercury d8, Venus W, Mars d6, Jupiter d6, Saturn d20) and Renaissance Man (Mercury d4, Venus d8, Mars d4, Jupiter W, Saturn d10) are arm wrestling. You would roll d8 for Known, d8 for Passion, d6 for Dynamic, d6 for Static, and d20 for Lost. The results are Known: 1, Passion: 3, Dynamic: 3, Static: 4, Lost: 5, and are laid out as in Example 18. The Cardinal would have a result of Known Dominant, Dynamic Major, Static Minor, and Lost Weak, while Renaissance Man’s result would be Known Dominant, Dynamic and Passion tied for Major, and Lost Weak.

A combined roll is also used for characters acting in concert. The same procedure is followed, but when characters work together, results become more predictable, so use the smaller Planet die for each Force. Again, read both characters’ Hierarchies, ignoring their respective Wed Planets, but in this case the more advantageous result is used and the other ignored, instead of using one result for each character.

So if The Cardinal and Renaissance Man, as above, were working together to left a heavy stone, they would roll d4 for Known, d8 for Passion, d4 for Dynamic, d6 for Static, and d10 for Lost. If the results were Known:1, Passion: 4, Dynamic: 3, Static: 5, and Lost: 6, the dice would be laid out as in Example 19. The result would be either Known Dominant, Dynamic Major, Static Minor, and Lost Weak, or Known Dominant, Dynamic Major, Passion Minor, and Lost Weak, whichever was more advantageous.

Now that you know how to read the Hierarchy, using the Planets to resolve actions just involves understanding the Forces. The basic die-rolling procedure is as follows:
1) The SG sets the Difficulty for the action, and picks the Favored and Opposed Forces.
2) The SG decides whether or not a Benefit or Hindrance (or both) applies, and if so, assigns the die or dice.
3) The player rolls her character’s Planets, and orders the dice according to the results, from lowest to highest.
3a) The player also rolls any Circumstance dice, and compares them to the Hierarchy of the Planets.
4) The SG determines whether or not the action is successful, based on the Hierarchy of the Planets.
Taking each of the steps in turn, we’ll begin with an in-depth look at step 1, picking the Forces. There are two aspects to picking the Forces: how many, and which ones. Generally, we recommend that you start by assigning a Difficulty to the task, and then picking a number of Forces to match that Difficulty. You may, however, just choose the Favored and Opposed Forces, and allow the Difficulty to fall where it may, thus providing the Difficulty “naturally”. In general, we discourage this method, as almost any Force can be described as governing almost any action, so it will tend to produce the Difficulty you want it to–thus leading back to the first method.
The basic difficulty for a task that requires a roll is Moderate. If you are considering using the Automatic or Impossible Difficulty levels, reconsider. In many situations, they are identical to the Simple and Hard Difficulties²⁵. If what you want is a particularly difficult or easy task, assign a less-extreme Difficulty, and apply a fairly small Circumstance Die. If the action really should be automatic or impossible, declare it such, and don’t roll. About the only time when those Difficulties are appropriate is in a case of opposed action, when the action would normally be futile or simplistic, but you want some chance for the opponent to fail or succeed, respectively.
Once you have a Difficulty in mind, the first question is which Forces are Favored for an action. These are the Forces that are in alignment with the action and likely to come into play for a successful outcome. The Opposed Forces are those which are most likely to come into play if the action fails. All actions should have at least one neutral Force, a Force which is neither Opposed nor Favored, and thus is given no consideration when interpreting the results. Remember that these Forces are picked with reference to the task being accomplished, and with no regard for the character accomplishing them.
Once the SG has decided, she should tell the player what Forces are Favored and Opposed. At this point, it is the player’s responsibility to let the SG know if she has overlooked any mitigating circumstances that would alter the relevant Forces. The player may argue for different Forces, but the SG has final say. Generally, the only reason the SG should change the Forces picked is if she has forgotten a relevant Descriptor of the character, or the character changes strategies (presumably to play to her strengths). Ideally, the player will have already taken her character’s strengths into account when choosing a course of action, and so the SG’s choice of Forces will be well-tuned. Whether or not the SG accepts any of the player’s suggestions, the Favored and Opposed Forces should be settled upon before the roll is made. It is too late once the dice have been rolled.
The other element that should be decided upon before the roll is the application of any Circumstance (Benefit or Hindrance) dice. Circumstance dice are used for two different purposes. A Minor Circumstance die is applied for circumstances that affect the nature of the outcome, but won’t actually help or prevent it, such as wounds, special tools, distractions, and extreme cleverness. When a result is read that includes a Minor Modifier die, the outcome is determined normally from the Planets, but the placement of the Circumstance die is used to help explain the outcome. Remember that Diceless characters can’t roll for themselves, so allies and opponents are often translated into a Benefit or Hindrance die, respectively, for the Main characters.
A Major Circumstance die is used for those cases where the actual outcome could be affected. Again, the Planets are rolled normally, and the Circumstance die is placed with regards to the Hierarchy. But if a Major Circumstance die is stronger than (has a smaller value than) all of the Planets, it instead rules, causing failure or success, respectively. At the SG’s discretion, it may also rule the situation with other placements, depending on the rest of the Hierarchy. Major Circumstance dice should be used for particularly amazing stunts, very significant Diceless opposing or allied forces, or other major impacts on the possible outcomes.
In any case, the size and type of Circumstance die should be left up to the SG, with player input, of course. Most Circumstance dice should be Minor, and you should mostly stick to the d20 to d4 range. Consider carefully before assigning a Major Circumstance die, because you are lessening the player’s impact on the story by putting a factor outside her control into the Hierarchy. A character may have both a Hindrance and a Benefit die at the same time, but only 1 of each (whether each is Minor or Major doesn’t matter).
Once you have the Forces and Circumstances determined, roll the dice. There are two types of rolls, a basic roll and a combined roll. A combined roll is only used when two characters with dice (i.e., Planet scores) are involved in the same action, either in concert or opposition. A basic roll is used in all other circumstances, even when the character is in conflict with another (Diceless) character.
For a basic roll, roll all of the character’s Planets, and order the dice (and thus the Forces they represent) according to their results, from lowest to highest–die type doesn’t matter for this ordering. To expedite this, it is a good idea to have a different color for each Planet die, even if they are of different types. Consult the die-rolling examples if you’re not sure how to deal with ties and other complications. If you have any Circumstance dice, you can either roll them along with the other dice (provided they are of different colors, so you can keep them separated), or afterwards. Alternately, you could roll Major Circumstance dice along with the Planets, since they are necessary for determining success, and roll Minor Circumstance dice separately, since they only flavor the result.
For a combined roll, look at the characters’ Planets, and select the smallest die for any that they both have. You should end up with a die for each Planet that either character has, and that die should be the smaller of the two if both characters have it. Roll the dice together and order them, pulling any Wed results to the side, away from that character. Then determine the Hierarchy for each character, using only dice that are not Wed for that character. If the characters are working against each other, each uses her own Hierarchy. If they are working together, they both use the more-favorable Hierarchy.
The final step is to determine the success or failure. This is done by checking the Hierarchy in a particular order. First the Dominant die is checked. If it is one of the Favored Forces, the action succeeds, and if it is one of the Opposed Forces, the action fails. If it is neither, or there is no Dominant die, proceed to the Weak. If that die is an Opposed Force the action succeeds, and if it is a Favored Force the action fails. If it, too, is neutral or non-existent, look to the Major die. Once again, a Favored Force means success, while an Opposed Force means failure. If, after checking the Major position, there still is not a result, the action is considered to have been unproductive; there has been no change in the situation. In most cases, this means that nothing happened (the arm wrestlers are at a standoff, with neither having made any progress), but in some situations doing nothing is tantamount to a bare success (if you’re trying to resist someone pulling you down, just not going anywhere is almost a success). If an Opposed and Favored Force are tied in a position, treat that position as neutral and move on. If there are more Opposed than Favored Forces tied in one position, treat the position as Opposed, and vice versa.
Remember that a Major Circumstance die will determine success if it is strong enough.What exactly constitutes “strong enough” is up to the SG. If it is lower than all of the Planets, it certainly rules, but the rest of the time it is up to the SG to interpret its relative importance from its position, especially with regards to the Opposed and Favored Forces.

If you want a more-detailed result, there are two techniques for getting more information from the Hierarchy. The first, and most important way, is to consider the particular Forces involved in greater detail. While you simply assigned Forces as Favored, Opposed, or Neutral in the basic die-rolling system, here we will consider their specific natures. Which Forces come up where, particularly of the Favored and Opposed Forces, will tell you the nature of the success. A success with Passion (Favored) Dominant and Static (Favored) Weak is very different from one with Static (Favored) Dominant and Passion (Favored) Weak, even though both give the same nominal result. Consider the Descriptors of the characters involved, and take advantage of that distinction to describe both the nature and degree of the success or failure. If the results make sense, their relative magnitude will take care of itself.
Directly comparing successes and making sure that one success is appropriately “greater” than another is a secondary and rather minor consideration. But if you wish to be more consistent in your rulings, or you just wish finer gradations than simply analyzing the Forces can give you, the Hierarchy (with or without Circumstance dice) can be used to give degrees of success. In general, more Favored Forces in the Dominant and Major positions, more Opposed Forces in the Weak position, and stronger results from Benefit dice mean a better result, while more Opposed Forces in the Dominant and Major positions, more Favored Forces in the Weak position, and stronger results from Hindrance dice mean a worse result. Also, the Dominant position is slightly stronger than the Weak, which is in turn stronger than the Major. A suggested ordering of results is given in the chart on this page, but it is by no means definitive, nor does it cover every possible situation. The chart works from the greatest success at the upper left to the greatest failure at the lower right. Failures are white-on-black and Successes are black-on-white.
The Circumstance dice can also be used to give a more-detailed description of the results. When a Circumstance die ties a Planet, treat it as having the same position as the Planet. If it falls between steps of the hierarchy, consider it just before the Major position if it is between the Major and Dominant dice. If it is between the Major and Weak positions, it serves only to color results, unless it is a Major Circumstance die and none of the Dominant, Weak, or Major positions determine the outcome.
If a Circumstance die sits below the Weak position, it has slightly more importance than the Weak die–but is not inverted in meaning (a Benefit die is still helpful, and a Hindrance die is still limiting). But remember that a Minor Circumstance die can not determine results, only color them.
Another optional rule is to allow multiple Hindrance dice when facing a small number of significant opponents. A separate Hindrance die can be assigned for each opponent, and you can then look at where they fall to individually determine how the opponents did, thus giving a more-detailed result. If a Main character is facing a couple of Omegas for whom you don’t have Planet scores yet, you could just treat each as Major Hindrance die, and if their particular Hindrance die is the one that causes the character to fail, or do less well, they are the cause of it, and have succeeded in inverse measure.

Italia is essentially Renaissance Italy as we wish it had been, with the addition of superheroes. Everything is more exciting and more amazing and more dangerous than it was in real life. There are not merely politics, but Machiavellian secret societies behind the scenes controlling everything. The Church isn’t just in charge, it’s right. And the inventions of da Vinci’s that we know are just the ones he didn’t keep secret²⁶.
If you want to add more detail to the world, just follow this simple principle: if it seems right to you, it probably is. This is Renaissance Italy according to movie history. If a few facts get changed to make things more interesting, that’s all for the better?
There is, of course, one major change to the real Renaissance Italy to come up with Italia: the Omegas. Like many superhero settings, this one does not fully integrate the superheroes into the setting. The world is not altered to anywhere near the degree it most likely would be with a large body of superpowered persons within it.

Crossing Over: the act of an W, especially a Main character, appearing in a Title that they are not normally a part of.
Descriptors: everything, besides the Planet scores, that expresses your character in game-mechanical terms; essentially everything on your character sheet except for the Storypath cards and Planets (and Name). Some have special names, such as Traits, Flaws, Powers, etc.
Diceless: non-W characters. Characters who are in balance with reality, and thus have no need for Planet scores (and the dice that are used for them) in describing them. Since they have no Wed Planets, they do not have any Powers, but they often still have Traits, and, if played by a Player, will have Storypath Cards. For purposes of helping the SG out, they are classified, in increasing order of Issue importance, as Extra, Walk-on, Recurring, Supporting, and Major (q.v.).
Dominant: see Hierarchy
Dynamic: the Force of action and movement and change. Governed by Mars, God of War.
Extra: a Diceless character, generally without any Traits, who occupies a very minor role in the Issue. Usually doesn’t even have a name.
Flaw: A special kind of Trait. Flaws are Traits that are almost always negative in effect, and thus a detriment to the Character. A Flaw is something that the Character would like to be rid of.
Forces: There are 5 Forces that govern the world. They are Static, Dynamic, Known, Lost, and Passion. Like the 4 modern forces that govern our world (gravity, electromagnetism, strong, and weak), everything that happens happens according to the laws of these Forces. However, these Forces are much more archetypal, and more readily observable to the average person. Also, there are some people who are not governed normally by one or more of the Forces, and thus do not abide by its laws. These are the Ws (Omegas) (q.v.).
Guest Characters: all of the Ws other than the Main characters. Usually, there are one or more villainous Guest characters in an Issue, and there may also be heroic Guests, who are not part of the Main characters, but are Crossing Over (q.v.). They are almost always played by the Storyguide.
Hierarchy: The ordering of the dice, and thus their corresponding Forces, when they are rolled. It is the Hierarchy that determines the outcome of an in-question action. The smaller the number on the die, the higher it is in the Hierarchy. The top position (lowest number), which may only be occupied uniquely, is labeled Dominant. The next highest position, or highest if the lowest number is tied, is labeled Major. The lowest position, which again may only be occupied uniquely, is labeled Weak. The final position, above Weak and below Major, is labeled Minor. The Dominant and Major positions are favorable, and indicate success if Favored Forces fall into them. The Weak position is unfavorable, and indicates failure if a Favored Force falls into it.
Issue: a single session (evening/afternoon) of game play. Most Issues contain multiple Pages, and they are often grouped into Miniseries.
Known: the Force of science, reason, and the rational world. Governed by Mercury, Patron of Discovery.
Lost: the Force of the mystical, magical, and forgotten. The source of faith and magic, and the governing Force for esoteric occult knowledges. Governed by Saturn, the Mystic.
Main character: a character played by one of the Players. They are the characters around whom the stories of every Issue revolve.
Main Title: The exploits of the characters are organized in a number of ways. One of those is the concept of Title(q.v.). The Main Title is the Title that includes all of the characters as Main Characters (q.v.).
Major: see Hierarchy
Major character: a very important Diceless character, on par with the Main and Guest characters. She will be named, with a well-detailed personality and background, and a full complement of Traits. She may even be a Main character, and thus have Storypath Cards.
Miniseries: a series of Issues that are all linked together to form a single plot. The Issues of a Miniseries usually are part of a single Title, but this is not necessarily the case, and it’s perfectly reasonable for a Miniseries to span as many Titles as it has Issues.
Minor: see Hierarchy
Nemesis: a villain who has a particular interest in defeating a hero or group of heroes, and who is often of particular interest to the hero(es) in return.
Passion: the Force of emotions and feelings. Governed by Venus, Goddess of Passion.
Page: a series of events that are all tightly tied together and take place in a short span of time in a single location. Essentially, a scene. A Page may be made up of any number of Panels, including none. Depending on the nature of the activities it encompasses, it won’t always be divided into Panels. A Series of Pages make up an Issue.
Panel: the smallest unit of time in the game system. During one Panel, a character may accomplish one simple action, such as making an attack, lifting a sinking ship, or delivering some dialog. More complex actions, such as disarming a complex trap, delivering a monologue, debating a course of action, or laying an ambush, will take multiple Panels. Planets: the dice ratings on your character sheet. They rate how much the various Forces affect your character; Smaller numbers indicate a stronger influence. also, a metaphorical term for the Forces; each Force is thought to be governed by one of the known Planets.Players: while all of the participants of most games are referred to as players, here the term has a slightly more specific meaning. The players are all of the participants except the Storyguide (q.v.).Power: The advantageous special Descriptor associated with your Wed Planet. Powers generally fall outside the bounds of normal reality in the world. A Power should be somehow exceptional, either in nature or degree, so as to keep it distinct from other Traits.
Power Stunt: a special kind of Trait. Power Stunts are special uses of a Power that aren’t outside of its purview, but aren’t necessarily an inherent part of it, either. A Power Stunt guarantees the ability to utilize the Power in this borderline area.Quirk: the Descriptor that stems from an Wed Planet. which is neither advantageous nor disadvantageous on the whole. Like a Weakness or Power, it should be somehow exceptional or supernatural.
Recurring character: a Diceless character that has appeared in several Issues; often starts out as a Walk-on. She is almost always named, and her personality and background are usually at least sketched out. Recurring characters generally have several Traits.
Retcon: Retroactive Continuity. Claiming that something was always true, and that history is now the way it would have been, had it been true. One method of altering something (usually a character) and maintaining consistency.
Static: the Force of stability and the status quo. Governed by Jupiter, the Eternal Ruler.
Storyguide (SG): the Storyguide is the participant who currently isn’t a regular player. It is her job to detail the setting, play all of the extra characters, provide a scenario, and adjudicate actions.
Supporting character: a Diceless character with a regular role in a Title. She is named, and her personality and background are somewhat detailed. Supporting characters generally have quite a few Traits.
Title: the collected adventures of a particular W or group of Ws. Traits: Descriptors other than your Power/Weakness/ Quirk. Some of these are in turn given special names, such as Flaws and Power Stunts.
Walk-on: a Diceless character who has a very minor, usually one-time, role in an Issue. She is usually only minimally detailed, and has only a few Traits.Weak: see Hierarchy
Weakness: The disadvantageous special Descriptor associated with your Wed Planet. Many Weaknesses tie directly to the Power, and either limit it in some way, negate it under some circumstances, or provide a way to counter it. But this need not be the case, and a Weakness could work in any way. What is important is that it be somehow exceptional, either in degree or nature, or it would simply be a Flaw Trait.
W (Omega): Someone who is “out of the sight of” one of the Planets, and therefore not limited to the normal rules of the Force it governs. As a result, they have what we would call superpowers, and are often capable of feats well beyond human norms. Also, Ws are literally unseen by the Planet(s) they have Wed, and thus cast no shadows in their light–though this lack of shadow is overwhelmed by the light of all the other stars, as well as the Sun and Moon, without a special ability to notice it. Nobody knows who first used the term “W”, but it is suspected that it was someone trying to be clever and show their learning by making a reference to the end of normal laws where these people are concerned.

Italian Female

Agabitta
Agata
Agnesa
Agnesina
Agnola
Agnoletta
Alamanna
Albiera
Albizzina
Aldighiera
Alegreza
Alessandra
Allegranza
Ambra
Ambrosina
Andrea
Andreiuola
Andreola
Andreuola
Angela
Anna
Antonia
Antonio
Apollonia
Banca
Bandecca
Barba
Barbara
Barbera
Bartola
Bartolomea
Beatrice
Belcolore
Bella
Bellina
Bene
Benedetta
Benevenuta
Benvenuta
Bernarda
Bertina
Besina
Betrina
Betta
Bettina
Biagia
Bianca
Bianchetta
Bianchina
Bice
Bilia
Bionda
Bonda
Brigida
Buona
Camilla
Cammilla
Campagnola
Canduccia
Cara
Catalana
Catarina
Caterina
Cecca
Celia
Cella
Chiara
Chiarita
Ciana
Cilia
Cinta
Ciula
Colleta
Contessa
Contessina
Corradina
Cosa
Crestina
Cristina
Cristofana
Dea
Diamante
Diana
Dianora
Dinora
Dionegia
Doccia
Domenica
Dona
Donata
Donnina
Dora
Dorata
Doratea
Dovizia
Druda
Duccia
Elizabeta
Ermellina
Falchetta
Fea
Fecca
Felice
Fia
Filippa
Fina
Fiondina
Fiore
Florentia
Flos
Franca
Francesca
Franchina
Fresca
Frosina
Gaia
Gemma
Gentile
Gera
Gerita
Gessa
Gherarda
Gherardesca
Ghilla
Ghita
Giana
Gianetta
Gianotta
Gilia
Gilla
Ginevra
Giovanna
Girolama
Giuliana
Gostanza
Grana
Grazia
Guccia
Guglielmina
Guida
Helena
Iacopa
Isabella
Isabetta
Ismeralda
Isotta
Labe
Lagia
Laldomina
Lapa
Lapaccia
Lascia
Lena
Leonarda
Leonetta
Letta
Lia
Lippa
Lisa
Lisabetta
Lora
Lorenza
Lotta
Lottiera
Luca
Lucia
Lulla
Maddalena
Magdalena
Mandina
Manetta
Margherita
Maria
Marianna
Marietta
Marte
Maruccia
Masa
Mattea
Mea
Mechera
Michelina
Micola
Migliore
Milia
Mina
Mostanda
Naldina
Nanna
Narda
Nastagia
Nastasia
Navilia
Nencia
Nente
Nera
Nese
Niccola
Niccolosa
Nidda
Nigia
Nofra
Nonnina
Nora
Nuta
Nutina
Onesta
Orsa
Orsina
Pace
Pagola
Papera
Paperina
Papina
Pasqualina
Pencina
Penina
Piccarda
Picchina
Piera
Pippa
Primavera
Pulisena
Ricca
Riccarda
Richa
Rosa
Rossa
Rugiada
Salvaggia
Salvagia
Salvatica
Salvestra
Sandra
Santa
Sapia
Sappia
Savia
Scatta
Selvaggia
Simona
Smeralda
Solia
Spinetta
Stefana
Stella
Taddea
Tancia
Tedesca
Telda
Tellina
Tessa
Thomisina
Tina
Tita
Tommasa
Tona
Toncia
Tora
Uliva
Ulivetta
Vaggia
Vangelista
Vanna
Vegnante
Venna
Vera
Verdiana
Veronica
Vettoria
Villana
Vivola
Zaneta
Zanobia
Zebaina
Zenobia
Zita

Italian Male

Abram/ Abramo
Accerrito
Acorri
Adamo
Adovardo
Agabito/ Agapito
Agnesa
Agnola/ Agnolino/ Agnolo
Agostino
Aiolfo
Alamanno
Alberto/ Albertino
Albizzo
Aldighieri
Aldobrandi
Alessandro/ Alesso
Alfonso
Aliotto
Almerico
Altobianco
Altomanno
Aluysio/ Luysio/ Loysio/ Aloysius
Amadio
Amadore
Amannito
Amati
Ambrogio
Amerigo
Amideo
Andrea/ Andream/ Andreano
Andreolo
Andreozzo
Anechino
Anfrione
Angelo
Angino
Anichino
Antonello/ Antonio/ Antonolo
Apardo
Apollonio
Appiano
Arcolano
Ardingo
Argometto
Aringhieri
Aringo
Arnoldo
Arnolfo
Arrichino
Arrigo
Astore
Attaviano
Aureo
Averardo
Avito
Avveduto
Azzerello
Baccio
Baiamonte
Balda/ Baldasera/ Baldassare/ Baldassarr/ Baldese
Baldinacci/ Baldinotto
Baldo
Balsamo
Bambo
Banchello
Banco
Bandetto/ Bandino/ Bandoccio
Barbus
Bardo/ Barduccio
Barla
Barone
Barto/ Bartoletto/ Bartolo/ Bartolomeo
Barzalone
Basilio
Bastiano
Battista
Begni
Belcaro
Belfralle
Bello/ Bellozzo
Beltramone
Benasuto
Benci
Bencivenni
Bene
Benedetto
Benevenuto/ Benvenuto
Benghi
Benincasa
Benino
Benintendi
Benozzo
Benuccio
Berna
Bernaba/ Bernabas
Bernardino/ Bernardo
Bernassa
Bertacchin
Bertino/ Berto/ Bertoldo
Bertuccio/ Bertucio/ Bettuccio
Bettino/ Betto
Biagio
Bianco
Biligiardo
Biliottino
Bindaccio
Bindello/ Bindo/ Bino
Biondo
Biordo
Bivigliano
Bizzello/ Bizzero
Blasio/ Blaxio
Boccaccio/ Boccio
Bonacorso
Bonaguida
Bonaiuto
Bonamico
Bonanno
Bonaventur
Bonavere
Boncenni/ Bonchello
Bonfigliol
Bonifazio
Bonino
Boninsegna
Bono
Bonsi
Bonsignore
Borgo/ Borgognion
Bottiglio
Braccio
Brancazio
Brando
Breusio
Briccoldo
Brigliador
Brizio
Brogio
Brunaccio
Brunellesc
Brunetto/ Bruno
Buccio/ Bucello/ Buffillo
Buono
Buto
Caccino
Cafferello
Calderino
Calvano/ Calvetto/ Calviano
Cambino/ Cambio/ Camillo
Canaffo
Cante/ Cantino
Cardinale
Carlo
Caroccio
Casino
Castellano/ Castello/ Catalano/ Cataldo
Caterino
Cavalcante
Cecca/ Cecchino/ Cecco
Cederno
Cenni/ Cennino
Ceo
Cerbino
Cesare
Cetto
Chello
Chiaramont
Chiarello
Chiarissim
Chiaro/ Chiarozzo
Chimenti/ Chimento
Chino
Chiovo
Chirico
Chiuolo
Ciai/ Ciaio
Ciango/ Ciano/ Ciapo/ Ciardo
Ciatino/ Ciattoro
Cima/ Cimetto
Cinello/ Cino/ Cinozzo
Ciolo
Cione
Cipolla
Cipriano
Ciriagio
Ciridonio
Ciuccio
Ciulo
Ciupo
Clario
Co
Cola
Colombo
Compagno
Concio
Conetto
Consiglio
Conte
Contro
Coppino/ Coppo
Corradino/ Corrado
Corsello/ Corsino/ Corso
Cosimo
Covone
Credi
Cresci
Cristiano
Cristofano/ Cristoforo/ Cristofo
Daddo
Damiano
Daniele/ Danieli/ Daniello
Dante
Dardano
Dardi
Dato
Davanzato
Davizzo
Dego
Dello
Deo
Diedi
Dietaiuti
Dino/ Dioneo/ Dionisio
Doffo/ Dolfo
Domenico
Donato/ Donnino/ Dono
Dore
Dragano
Duccino/ Duccio
Durante
Duti
Elia
Enrico
Ermolao
Fabbrino/ Fabiano
Facio
Falco
Falcone
Fantino
Fastello
Fecino
Fede
Federico/ Federigo
Felice
Felle
Fenso
Feo
Ferrante/ Ferrantino/ Ferretto/ Ferrino
Figlio
Filippo/ Filippozzo
Fino
Fiore/ Fioretto
Folco
Forese/ Foresta
Franceschi/ Francesco/ Francescino/ Checo
Franchino
Franco
Frangibus
Friano
Frolio
Fronte
Frosino
Fuligno
Fulino
Gabbriello
Gaddo
Galaxio
Galeazzo
Galeotto
Galileo/ Gallo
Gamberino
Gano
Gasparo
Geminiano
Gennaio
Genovino
Gentile
Geragio
Gerardo
Geremia
Geri
Germia
Gerozzo
Ghelere
Gherardino
Gherardo
Gherarducc
Gheruccio
Ghetto
Ghezzo
Ghino
Ghinozzo
Ghirigoro
Giachetto
Giambono
Giambruno
Gianbernar
Gianbonino
Giandonato
Giannino
Giannotto
Giannozzo
Giano
Gierozzo
Giliberto
Gilio
Gimignano
Gino
Giorgio
Giosaffe
Giotto
Giovacchin
Giovachino
Giovanna
Giovannell
Giovanni/ Gian/ Nanino/ Zanino
Giovanniba
Giovannone
Giovannozz
Giovenco
Girolamo
Gisiberto
Gismondo
Giudo
Giugno
Giuliano
Giunta/ Giuntino/ Giunto
Giusafa/ Giusaffa
Giustiniano
Giusto/ Zusto
Goccio
Gonzo
Goro
Gostanzo
Grazia/ Grazino/ Graziuolo
Gregorio
Grifo
Guadagno
Gualberto
Gualente
Gualterone/ Gualterott/ Gualtieri
Guardi
Guarente/ Guarenti
Guasparre
Guccio
Guelfo
Guernieri
Guerriante
Guglielmin/ Guglielmo
Guidetto
Guido
Guiduccio
Guigliador
Guilelmo
Guinnozzo
Guisberto
Gurian
Gusme
Iacomo
Iacopao/ Iacopo/ Jacobo/ Jacopo/ Jacobino/ Iacobino/ Jacobello/ Giacomo/ Jacomelo/ Puzinello/ Bolezino/ Bolino.
Inghilese
Isau
Istagio
Lamberto/ Lambetto
Landino/ Lando
Lapaccino/ Lapaccio/ Lapino/ Lapo/ Lappino/ Lapuccio
Larione
Laro
Latino
Lattanzio
Lazzero
Lello
Lennino
Lenuzo
Leonardo
Leone/ Leonello
Lerino
Libero
Ligo
Lippaccio/ Lippo/ Lippozzo
Lisa/ Liso
Lodovico
Lore
Lorenzo
Lorino
Lotteringo
Lottieri
Lottino
Lotto
Luca/ Luchas
Lucchesino
Luchetto
Luciano/ Lucio
Luigi
Lupo
Luti
Lutozzo
Maccio
Madore
Maestrino
Mafeo/ Mapheo/ Matheo/ Maffeo
Mainardo
Malacresta
Manente
Manetto
Manfredi
Mannino/ Manno
Marcello
Marchionne
Marciano/ Marco
Mari
Mariano
Marino/ Marin
Mariotto
Marmuccia
Martello
Martino
Maruccio
Masaio/ Maso
Matteo/ Matteone
Mea/ Meo
Meglino/ Meglio
Merlino
Michael/ Michaleto/ Michele
Micheleagn
Michelino
Mico
Micuccio
Migiotto
Migliore/ Migliorozz
Miniato
Mino
Modesto
Mola
Monaldo
Monte
Montuccio
Mora/ Moreto/ More
Morello
Morosino
Naldino/ Naldo
Nanna/ Nanne/ Nanni/ Nannino
Napoleone/ Napolo
Nardo
Nastagio
Navanzato
Nebrotto
Nello
Nencio
Nera/ Neri/ Nero
Nerone
Nerozzo
Neso/ Netto
Niccola/ Niccolaio/ Niccoletto/ Niccolino/ Niccolo/ Nicolo/ Nicolaus/ Nicoleto/ Nicolino/ Niccolucci
Nigi
Nino
Nofri
Noldo/ Nozzo/ Nuccino/ Nuccio/ Nutino/ Nuto/ Nuttino/ Nuzzio
Oddo
Oderigo
Oliverio
Onesto
Orabuono
Orinolo/ Orlandino/ Orlando
Ormanno
Orsino/ Orso
Otto
Ottolino
Pace
Pacino
Paganello/ Paganino/ Pagano/ Pagno/ Pagnozzo/ Pagolo
Paladin
Palla
Palmerio
Palmieri
Pandolfo
Panelo
Pangratio
Pannuzzo
Pantaleo/ Pantaleone/ Pantalione
Panuzio
Paolo/ Paolino
Papera/ Papero
Papi/ Papino/ Papo
Parente
Parigi
Parisse
Pascal
Pasqua
Pasquale
Pasquino
Pazzino
Pellegrino
Perino/ Perone
Petruccio
Phylipo
Piccardo
Piera/ Piero
Pieroanton
Pierozzo
Pietro
Pinaccio/ Pino
Pippo
Piramo
Poggino
Poggio
Polito
Poltrone
Poluccia
Porcello
Prelatus
Prete
Priano
Priore
Prospero
Puccino/ Puccio
Raffaello
Raffiano
Rambaldo
Ramondo
Raynucio
Recco
Riccalbano
Riccardo/ Ricco/ Riccoldo/ Riccuccio
Riccuomo
Ridolfo
Rigi/ Righi
Rinaldo
Rinieri
Rinuccio
Ristoro
Rizardo
Roberto
Rolandino
Romaso
Romigi
Romolo
Rossello/ Rosso
Rota
Ruggieri
Rustico
Rutino
Saladino
Salamone
Salimbene
Salito
Salvadore
Salvestro/ Salvetto-Salvi
Sandro
Santi
Santino
Santore
Saraceno
Scelto
Schiatta
Sclavo
Scolaio
Segna
Semelino
Senso
Seraffo/ Serafino
Setriano
Sicurano
Signorello
Simon/ Simoneto/ Simone
Sinibaldo
Sisto
Smeraldo
Soderino
Sodo
Soldo
Sozzo
Spina
Spinello
Stagio
Stefano
Stoldo
Strozza/ Strozzo
Taccino
Taddeo
Taldo
Talento
Tamerighi
Tano/ Tanuccio
Tarvixio
Tedaldo
Tedesco
Teglia
Tegno
Tellero/ Tello
Tendi
Tendino
Tenghi
Tento
Testa
Thadeo
Tieri
Timo
Tinaccio
Tingo
Tinoro
Toccio
Tolosino
Tomaso/ Thomas/ Tome/ Tommaso/ Tomme
Tone
Toro
Toso
Totto
Triadano
Tribaldo
Tubbia
Tuccio
Tura/ Turco
Turino
Tusco/ Tuscus
Ubaldino
Ubaldo
Uberto/ Ubertino
Ugo/ Ugolino
Uguccione
Ulivieri
Ulivo
Urbano
Vaggio
Vagno
Valore
Valorino
Vangelista
Vanna/ Vanni
Vannozzo/ Vannuccio
Vendramino
Ventura
Venzi
Verdiano
Verso
Vespasiano
Vettorio
Vico
Victor
Vieri
Vincenzo
Vincilago
Vitaliano
Vito/ Vitti
Vivaldo/ Viviano
Volta
Zaccheri/ Zaccheria
Zanobi
Zelone
Zilio
Zonta

Italian Surnames

ab Aqua
Adoldo
Alberti
Alberto
Aliprando
Angelo
Antelini
Antonio
Badoer
Balbi
Barbarigo
Barbaro
Barberigo
Barbo
Barozzi
Baseggio
Basilio
Bedheloto
Bembo
Berberio
Bertaldo
Boccassio
Boccono
Boldù
Bollani
Bon
Bondemiro
Bonifati
Bono
Bragadin
Bredani
Buscharino
Buticularo
Calderario
Cancharello
Caotorta
Cappello
Caravello
Caresini
Caroldo
Carrara
Celsi
Chavalerio
Chodeschino
Cimator
Cocco
Collegario
Contarini
Corner
Correr
d'Armano
d'Artusio
D'Este
da Barleto
da Bologna
da Brabante
da Canal
da Carrara
da Cernia
da Chioggia
da Cimento
da Cola
da Ferrara
da Firenze
da Forli
da Frixaturo
da Lucca
da Milano
da Molin
da Monte
da Mosto
da Munego
da Mutina
da Negroponte
da Padova
da Parma
da Peraga
Da Polenta
da Quaterno
da Raguso
da Riva
da Sabardia
da Segna
da Treviso
da Valaseno
da Vale
da Venzone
Da Verardo
da Verona
da Vicenza
da Vigonovo
da Ziliolo
Dal Sol
Dalioto
dalla Stava
dalle Boccole
Damiani
Dandolo
Darmo
de Buora
de Mezzo
della Cava
Della Scalla
Dente
Desiderato
di Leonardo
Di Pigli
Dolfin
Donà
Doro
Duodo
Emo
Enzignerio
Faber
Falier
Famizi
Fanutio
Felone
Foscari
Francesco
Furlano
Galinarion
Gamba
Gardesano
Garzone
Girardo
Giustinian
Gonzago
Gradenigo
Graffaro
Grassi
Greco
Grissoni
Gritti
Karelo
Loredan
Malipiero
Marano
Marcella
Marcello
Mare
Marino
Marmagna
Memo
Menegi
Michiel
Minorita
Mocenigo
Molin
Moro
Morosini
Mudazzo
Muxe
Nani
Natale
Paolo
Papacizza
Paradiso
Pasqualigo
Paxe
Petri
Pisani
Polani
Premarin
Priuli
Purus
Querini
Rambaldo
Rizo
Rosso
Sanuto
Sartor
Sartore
Scrovegni
Simoneti
Solario
Solsa
Soranzo
Sorto
Sourosin
Spira
Stornado
Stornello
Taiapetra
Tansuro
Tanto
Tartare
Thadei
Tiepolo
Tomado
Torta
Trentavasi
Trevisan
Tuloni, Tulon
Turri
Utino
Venier
Vidal
Zancani

Byzantine Female

Anna
Eirene
Eudokia
Euphrosyne
Helene
Ioanno
Kale
Leonto
Maria
Simonis
Theodora
Thomais
Zoe

Byzantine Male

Alexandros
Alexios
Andreas
Andronikos
Bardas
Basil
Basileios
Christophoros
Demetrios
Georgios
Gregoras
Ioannes
Isaakios
Konstantinos
Leo
Leon
Manuel
Michael
Nikolaos
Nikophoros
Paulus
Pantoleon
Petros
Philippos
Romanos
Stephanos
Theodoulos
Theodoros
Theophylaktos
Thomas

Byzantine Feminine Monastic

Elaiodora
Eugenia
Theodosia
Xene

Byzantine Masculine Monastic

Bartolomaios
Dionysios
Gabriel
Gerasimos
Iakobos
Ionnikios
Isaias
Leontios
Makarios
Meletios
Nikodemos
Niphon
Sabas

Byzantine Surnames

Aboures/ Avouris
Adrianos
Agallon
Akropolites
Angelos
Aoinos
Apokaukos
Aprenos
Arbantenos
Arianites
Argyros
Asanes
Atrapes
Balsamon
Batatzes
Botaneiates
Boumbalis
Bourtzes
Branas
Bryennios
Chandrenos
Choniates
Choumnos
Chrysaphes
Chrysoloras
Dalassenos
Dermokaites
Diasorenos
Dokeianos
Doukas/ Doux
Eirenikos
Exazenos
Gabras
Glabas
Iagaris
Kabakes
Kabasilas
Kalamanos
Kaloethes
Kalothetos
Kamateros
Kantakouzenos
Katrares
Kaukadenos
Komnenos
Kontostephanos
Koresses
Kourtikes/ Kourtikios
Kourkouas
Laskaris
Limpidares
Machoneos
Makrembolites
Malakes
Maliasenos
Mamalis
Mandromenos
Manouelites
Melachrinos
Mourtzouphlos
Mouzakios
Mouzalon
Neokaisareites
Nestongos
Palaiologos
Pantechnes
Paraspondylos
Petraliphas
Petzikopoulos
Philanthropenos
Phokas
Pleustes
Prasomales
Prinkips
Psellos
Radenos
Raoul
Rossatas
Sarantenos
Sebastopoulos
Sgouropoulos
Sgouros
Skleros
Spartenos
Sphrantzes
Strabomytes
Synadenos
Syraneres
Syropoulos
Tagaris
Tarchaneiotes
Tornikes/ Tornikios
Trichas
Tsaphas
Tzamplakon
Tzykandeles
Zarides

Greek Female

Agathyros
Agaue
Aglaia
Aia
Aiaia
Aigialeia
Aigina
Aithra
Aitolia
Akarnaia
Akhaia
Alekto
Alkmene
Alkyone
Althaia
Amaltheia
Amyklai
Anteia
Antikleia
Antioos
Arakhne
Arethousa
Atalante/ Atalanta
Athene/ Athena
Boiotia
Deianeira
Deidamia
Dikte
Dirke
Elektra
Epikaste
Erytheia
Euadne
Euboia
Europe/ Europa
Eurydike
Eurykleia
Galateia
Graiai
Hekabe/ Hecuba
Hekate
Helenos
Hippodameia
Iokaste
Iphigeneia
Iphimedeia
Kallidike
Kalliope
Kallisto
Kalypso
Kassandra
Kasseipeia
Keto
Khalkiope
Kirke
Kleio
Klymene
Klytaimnestra
Komaitho
Kreousa
Kybele
Kythera
Laodameia
Leukippe
Leukothea
Lykia
Makaria
Medeia
Meliai
Moirai
Nausikaa
Oreithyia
Panathenaia
Penthesileia
Phoibe
Prokne
Rheia
Sibylla
Skylla
Stheneboia
Thaleia

Greek Male

Ademtos
Adrastos
Aglauros
Aiakos
Aias
Aietes
Aigeus
Aigimios
Aigis
Aigisthos
Aigyptos
Aineias
Aiolos
Aipytos
Aison
Akamas
Akastos
Akestes
Akheloos
Akheron
Akhilleus
Akis
Akontios
Akrisios
Aktaion
Alexandros
Alkeides
Alkestis
Alkibiades
Alkinoos
Alkmaion
Alkyoneus
Alpheios
Althaimenes
Amphiaraos
Amykos
Anios
Ankaios
Antaios
Antilokhos
Apsyrtos
Areion
Aristaios
Arkas
Askanios
Asklepios
Asopos
Augeias
Autolykos
Bakchos
Briarios
Daidalos
Danaos
Dardanos
Deukalion
Dionysos
Dioskouroi
Ekhemos
Epeios
Epigonoi
Eteokles
Eumaios
Euneos
Glauke
Glaukos
Haides
Haimon
Hekatonkheires
Hektor
Helios
Hippolytos
Hyakinthos
Hyllos
Iakchos
Iason
Ikarios
Ikaros
Inakhos
Iolaos/ Iolaus
Iolkos
Iphikles
Iphiklos
Iphitos
Kadmos
Kaineus
Kalkhas
Kanake
Kapaneus
Kastor
Kelaino
Keleus
Kephalos
Kerkopes
Kerkops
Kerkyon
Keyx
Khairephon
Khariklo
Kheiron
Khronos
Khrysippos
Khthonios
Kithairon
Kodros
Koios
Kolkhis
Kolonos
Koronis
Kreon
Kroios
Kyknos
Kyparissos
Kyszkos
Kytisoros
Labdakos
Laios
Learkhos
Leukippos
Leukothoe
Likymnios
Lykaon
Lykomedes
Lykos
Lykurgos
Lynkeus
Makareus
Makhaon
Melikertes
Menoikeus
Musios
Myrtilos
Neoptolemos
Nessos
Nykteus
Oileus
Oinomoas
Orkhomenos
Orthros
Palaimon
Parthenopaios
Patroklos
Peisistratos
Peneios
Periklymenos
Phaiakes
Philoketes
Phoibos
Plouton
Ploutos
Podaleirios
Poias
Polybos
Priamos
Prokris
Prokrustes
Rhesos
Salmakis
Seilenos
Skeiron
Skhoineus
Tantalos
Telemakhos
Teukros
Thorikos
Thrinakie
Tityos
Troizen
Xanthos
Xouthos
Zethos

Moorish Female

Aicha
Alegria
Anita
Biba
Estrella
Fadma
Fatma
Habiba
Hayat
Ikram
Ladan
Luna
Mercedes
Messody
Molly
Nashiema
Perla
Racquel
Rica
Sanae
Sara
Selua
Simha
Simy
Sol
Zahra

Moorish Male

Aben Amoras
Abrahen
Afadala
Alcaçari
Aldara
Ali
Almançor
Alnayal
Amete/ Amate/ Hamate/ Hamet/ Hamete
Amran
Anbariz
Anquete
Ansa
Archiebald
Azene
Boumediene
Boutlellis
Bulcozin
Cabi
Caçin
Cherki
Cidy/ Cide/ Cidi
Çegri
Çulema
Denni
Elmnouar
Fadma
Habib
Idir
Ishoa
Jamal/ Jimol
Le'on
Messod
Mhmd
Mimoen
Mochluf
Mohammed/ Muhammad/ Maoma/ Mahoma/ Mahomad/ Mahamete/ Mahomed/ Mohamad
Noah
Nordin
Rhali
Tamito
Waffi
Ysaque
Yuça
Yuçafe
Zenete
Zinnediene
Zumini

Arabic Female

Abdah
Abia
Abida
Abir
'Abla
Adara
Adila
Afaf
Afra
Ahlam
A'isha
Ain
Akram
Alima
Alya
Amal
Amani
Amimah
Aminah
Amira
Amna
Ara
Arub
Arwa
Ashraf
Asiya
Asma
Atifeh
Atikah
Awatif
Ayda
Aziza
'Azza
Badr
Bahiga
Bahija
Bahira
Banah
Barika
Basimah
Basma
Biba
Bibi
Bilqis
Budur
Busyna
Buthayna
Cab'ah
Calah
Cantara.
Dahah
Daifa
Dalal
Dalia
Danamir
Dima
Du'a
Duqaq
Ehteram
Elaheh
Elham
Elmira
Emine
Fadia
Fadila
Fadl
Faizah
Fakhirya
Farah
Faridah
Fatimah
Fatin
Fatma
Fayza
Fidda
Fukayna
Fayruz
Fayza
Fidda
Fizza
Ghada
Ghadir
Ghaniyah
Ghaythah
Ghufran
Hababah
Habibah
Hadil
Hadya
Hafsa
Hagir
Haideh
Hajar
Haleh
Halima
Hamideh
Hana
Hiba
Huda
Humai
Husniyah
Ihab
Ihsan
Ilm
Iman
Inam
Inan
Ismat
Isra
Itidal
Jaida
Jalila
Jamal
Jamilah
Jannat
Jasmine
Javairia
Jawahir
Jinan
Juml
Kahena
Kahina
Karam
Karima
Khalida
Khayriyya
Kobra
Kokab
Laila
Lamya
Layla
Leila
Leylah
Lina
Lissa
Lubna
Lujayn
Luluah
Madihah
Maha
Mahasin
Mahlagna
Maiza
Malak
Maliheh
Manal
Manar
Manhalah
Mariyah
Marwa
Maryam
Marzieh
Maysa
Mayy
Mirvat
Monir
Muhsina
Muna
Munira
Munna
Muslimah
Myisha
Nabila
Nada
Nadereh
Nadira
Nadra
Nadya
Nagat
Nagiba
Nagla
Nagwa
Naheed
Nahida
Nahla
Na'ila
Na'ima
Najat
Najiba
Najila
Najwa
Naseem
Nasim
Nathifa
Nawal
Nibal
Nihab
Nihad
Nihal
Ni'mat
Nini
Noura
Nuha
Nu'm
Nuri
Oma
Qabihah
Qabul
Qaribah
Qubilah
Rabab
Rabiah
Radwa
Raful
Raghda
Raja
Rajya
Randa
Ranya
Rashida
Rawiya
Raym
Rayya
Rida
Rim
Ruqayya
Ruqayyah
Rusa
Sabah
Sabra
Sadaf
Saduf
Safa
Safia
Safinaz
Safiyya
Safwah
Saham
Sahar
Sahba
Sajah
Sakan
Salameh
Salha
Saliha
Salwa
Samar
Sameen
Samiha
Samira
Samya
Sana
Sanam
Saniyya
Sara
Sarab
Sehba
Semeeah
Shadya
Shafiqa
Shahira
Shahrazad
Sharifa
Sheba
Shukriyya
Siha
Sisi
Su'ad
Suhad
Sulma
Sumnah
Surayya.
Taghrid
Taherah
Tahiyya
Talayeh
Tannaz
Tarifa
Tarub
Tayyebeh
Thara
Thuhayba
Thurayya
Touba
Ulayyah
Umayma
Umniya
Utbah
Uzma
Wafa
Wahiba
Wahshiyah
Warwar
Widad
Yasmin
Yusra
Yusriyya
Zada
Zahr
Zahrah
Zakiyya
Zara
Zaria
Zaynab
Zebeebah
Zizi
Zubaydah
Zuhayr
Zukha
Zulaikha

Arabic Male

Adel/ Adil
Adnan
Ahmad/Ahmed
Akbar
Akil
Akram
Ala
Ali
Amal
Amin
Amir
Amjad
Amr
Anbar
Arif
As'ad
Asghar
Ashraf
Asim
Aslam
Aswad
Attiah/ Attiyah
Ayman
Ayub
Ayyub
Az'ar
Az'regh
Aziz
Azizudeen
Badda
Badr
Baha
Bahir Bahjat
Bakhtiyar
Bakr/Bakor
Balban
Balj
Baqiyya
Barmak
Basasiri
Bashshar
Basim
Bassam
Beddis
Berkan
Bezz'i
Bouid
Bursuq
Butrus
Dabir
Dali
Da'ud
Dawud
Dekel
Dharr
Diya
Duqaq
Durayd
Ebi
Ebrahim
Ehsan
Emad
Esmaeel
Fadi
Fadil
Fadl
Fahd
Fahim
Faiz,
Fakhr/ Fakhir
Fakhri
Faraj
Farraj
Farid
Faruq
Fathi
Fawzi
Fayiz
Faysal
Fihr
Fikri
Firas,
Firhun
Fu'ad.
Gadi
Ghalib
Ghanai'm
Ghanim
Ghassan
Ghayth
Ghazi
Gildun
Gulussa
Gulzar.
Habib
Hadi
Hadya
Hafiz
Haidar
Hajjaj
Hakeem/ Hakim
Hamdan
Hamet
Hamid
Hamza/ Hamzah
Hani
Hanef/ Hanif
Harith
Haroun/ Harun
Hasan
Hashim
Hasim
Hassan
Hatim
Haytham
Hedayat
H'emmu
Heydar
Hiba
Hibah
Hikmat
Hilal
Hilel
Himmi
Hisham
Hisein/ Hossein/ Hussain
Hotha
Huda
Humam
Husam
Husayn
Husni
Ibrahim
Ifni
Ifser
Iften
Ighlaf
Igider
Igmi
Ihab
Iher
Ihsan
Iken
Ilyas
Imam
Immeghar
Immel
Iraten
Irgen
'Isa
Isfahan
Isli
Issam
Ishaq
Isma'il
Ismat
Isra'il
Itbir
Itri
It'ij
Ixzi
Ja'bar
Jabir/ Jabbar
Jabr
Ja'far
Ja'lal
Ja'mal
Jamil
Javad
Jawdat
Jawhar
Jericho
Jibril
Jinan
Jubair
Jurdik
Kadar
Kadidu
Kadin
Kadir
Ka'im
Kalil
Kamal
Kamil
Karam
Kardal
Karidena
Karif
Karim
Kasib
Kateb
Kenan
Keraja
Khalid
Khalil
Khayrat
Khayri
Khayrat
Khurdadhbih
Kutaiba
Labid
Lahab
Lu'la'a
Lu'lu
Luqman
Madidu
Mahir
Mahbub
Mahmud
Maimun
Majdi
Majduddin
Majid
Majnun
Makram
Malik
Malu
Mamduh
Ma'mun
Manal
Manar
Mansur
Marid
Masgaba
Masmud
Masruq
Massin
Mas'ud
Masudi
Maudad
Maziba
Mazin
Meddar
Mehdi
Mejdan
Mellal
Meq'wran
Mezwar
Mika'il
Mimum
Mojtaba
Mubarak
Muhammad
Muhsin
Muhyiduddin
Mu'in
Mukhtar
Mun'im
Munir
Murshid
Musa
Mus'ad
Musaykah
Mushtaq
Mu'tasim
Muwas
Mutawakkil
Mu'taz/Mu'tazz
Nabil
Nadim
Nadir
Na'il
Na'im
Naji
Najib
Namdar
Nasawi
Nasir
Nasr
Nguna
Nizar
Nuh
Numair
Nur
Omar
Othman
Owais
Oukesson
Qadir
Qamar
Qaraja
Qasim
Qays
Qusay
Qutaiba
Qutuz
Rabi
Ra'd
Radi
Radwan
Rafi
Rafiq
Raghid
Rahim
Rahman
Raisul
Rajab
R'akibum
Ramadan
Rashad
Rashid
Ra'uf
Reza
Rida
Ridwan
Riyad
Rushdi
Ruzbihan
Ruzzik
Sabah
Sabir
Sa'd
Sadaqat
Sadiq
Safwat
Sa'id
Sajid
Sakhr
Salah
Salih
Salama
Salim
Sami
Samir
Sattar
Sayyar
Sayyid
Sbaih
Seghada
Seif
Sekla
Selim
Sha'ban
Shadi
Shafiq
Shahriar
Shakir
Shamit
Sharif
Shukri
Sifal
Sifaks
Soheil
Suggut
Suhayl
Sulaiman
Sulayman
Sunqur
Tabat
Takfren
Tahir
Talal
Talib
Tamir
Tammam
Tarafa
T'ar'iq
Tashfin
Tayyib
Tegama
Tiljad
Todros
Tulun
Tutush
Ubaida
Ugdada
Uksem
Umar
Uqessun
Urz'ig
Usama
Usman
Uthman
Uzmir
Wafid
Wagih
Wahib
Wa'il
Wasim
Wathiq
Watt'as
Wayaasi
Yaghoub
Yahyah
Yanni
Ya'qub
Yasar
Yasin
Yasir
Yazdanyar
Yazid
Yeften
Yeh'lem
Yellel
Yidir
Yildirim
Yousef
Yuba
Yusri
Yusuf
Zafar
Zahir
Zaid
Zaki
Zang
Zayd
Zayn
Z'effun
Zer'wal
Zia
Z'idan
Ziyadatallah
Zubair
Zuhayr

Jewish Female

Beila
Belet
Chana
Doltza
Esther
Guta
Guthela
Madrona
Matrona
Minna
Pultzelina
Rachel
Rivkah
Saris
Scolaster
Shluida
Shoinlin
Shonlin
Tziporah
Yehudis
Yeintil

Jewish Male

Alechsandri
Aharon
Asher
Avraham
Baruch
Binyamin
Chayim
Chelbo
Chiyya
Chizkiyah
Chizkiyahu
Daniel
David
Efrayim
Elazar
Eliezar
Elyakim
Gedalyah
Gershom
Hillel
Kalonymos
Komlin
Levi
Machir
Meir
Menachem
Meshulam
Mordechai
Moshe
Na'aman
Nasan
Natronai
Nechemiah
Nesanel
Peter
Reuven
Shabsai
Shem Tov
Shemaryah
Shemaryahu
Shimon
Shimshon
Shlomo
Shmuel
Shneiur
Simchah
Sulam
Tamar
Uri
Yaakov
Yakar
Yechiel
Yehoshua
Yehudah
Yekusiel
Yelivah
Yitzchak
Yoel
Yom Tov
Yosef
Zelekman
Zuiskind

Spanish Female

Agueda
Aldonça
Ana
Andrea
Angel/ Angela
Antona/ Antonia
Barbola
Beatriz/ Beatris
Blanca
Castellana
Catalina
Clara
Constanza/ Constança/ Costança/ Costanza
Cristina
Crus
Damiana
Elena
Elvira/ Elvyra
Engraçia
Felipa
Floriana
Francisca/ Françisca/ Françisquita
Geronima
Graçia
Gregoria
Guiomar/ Guyomar
Jerónima
Juana/ Juanica
Juliana
Leonor
Lucia/ Luisa/ Luzia
Madelena/ Magdelena
Manuela
Margarida/ Margarita
Mari
Maria/ María
Mariana/ Marina
Mayor
Melchora
Mencia/ Mençia/ Mencía
Olall/ Olalla
Pascuala
Quiteria
Sancha
Serena
Susana
Teresa/ Theresa
Ursula
Violante
Ynes/ Ines/ Ynés/ Inés
Ysabel/ Isabel/ Isabelica

Spanish Male

Agustin
Alonso
Alvaro
Andrés
Antonio
Antón
Baltasar
Barros
Bartolomé
Bastía
Bautista
Benito
Bernardino
Blas
Cambranes
Carlos
Chico
Cosme
Cristóbal
Diego
Domingo
Esteban
Eyague
Felipe
Francisco
Frutos
Gabriel
Garci
Gaspar
Gines
Giraldo
Gonzalo
Gregorio
Guillen
Hector
Hernando
Hernán
Jaime
Jaén
Jerónimo
Jorge
Jose
Juan
Jusepe
Lope
Lorenzo
Lucas
Luis
Manuel
Marcos
Martín
Mateo
Matias
Melchor
Mergildo
Miguel
Mosen
Nicolas
Pablo
Pascual
Pedro
Rodrigo
Salvador
Sancho
Santiago
Sebastian
Simón
Tomas
Tomé
Truylos

Spanish Surnames

Abril
Aguado
Alcaçar
Alcon
Almayda
Aragones
Ayere
Badelas
Bajas
Balboa
Bamonte
Banbela
Banegas
Barbero
Barril
Baylín
Bertino Sans
Bogado
Bota
Brasa
Bretanzos
Briçianos
Brusa
Bárba
Cabrero
Cacho
Calabaças
Calahorra
Calante
Calderon
Caminante
Cano
Cardoso
Carperon
Carral
Carrasco
Carreño
Carrillo
Cascon
Casteles
Castellano
Castellon
Catala
Catarribera
Cavallero
Cañero
Cenisçeros
Chacon
Chanta
Cherino
Cintero
Cocon
Cola
Coll
Collaço
Colmenares
Colon
Comete
Conchada
Correa
Corredor
Cortes
Corvacho
Cotado
Covarrubias
Cuello
Çafra
Çahera
Çapata
Çatico
Çenturion
Çeron
Çorrilla
Dey
Donant
Donayre
Duran
Escalante
Escalera
Fajardo
Ferrer
Florentin
Flores
Fogaça
Fonte Poutein
Fontesar
Forentin
Gajardo
Galas
Galiano
Galvan
Galves
Garavito
Garnica
Garrido
Gaytan
Girao
Girán
Gramaja
Grand
Guerrero
Guerrey
Herrero
Hortolano
Hurtado
Justeniano
Lascaris
Loriguero
Lusicori
Maderuelo
Madraso
Mafaraxas
Maldonado
Malon
Marañon
Marques
Marroqui
Martil
Mata
Mato
Maça
Mexica
Mexía
Mirones
Mondexar
Mondragon
Mora
Moya
Natalez
Navaroo
Oleylas
Oller
Onte
Ordas
Ordoñes
Orejón
Orenes
Ortelano
Osorio
Ospital
Ozalla
Pacheco
Palafox
Palomino
Pardo
Patudo
Patyño
Pedrosa
Pellicer
Pereyra
Pimentel
Pina
Pinedo
Pinto
Piquier
Porras
Preto
Quadrado
Quexada
Quicedo
Rache
Rachen
Ram
Rancha
Raso
Raçoso
Rejón
Roche
Roman
Romano
Romero
Rosa
Rosil
Salazar
Sandin
Sandino
Santos
Saravia
Sariñena
Sarmiento
Sarria
Serra
Serrano
Sesto
Seve
Situ
Soler
Sorje
Sosa
Symilor
Tasina
Texen
Texera
Texil
Tinoco
Torrero
Toxenes
Tuñon
Vaca
Vaes
Valdés
Valera
Vanegas
Varela
Vela
Velez
Vello
Venegas
Vera
Vida
Yebera
Ynfante

Persian (Male?)

Ainairya
Ardumanish
Ariyamna
Arses
Arshaka
Arshâma
Artavardiya
Artaxshasa/ Ardaxcashca
Artostes
Arxa/ Arkha
Âsina
Aspacanah
Atamaita/ Mamaita/ Umamaita
Athiyabaushna
Bagabuxsha/ Megabyzus
Bagâbigna
Bardiya/ Gaumâta/ Smerdis
Cincixri
Cisantaxma
Cishpi
Kûru
Dâdarshi
Dârayavahu
Dâtuvahya
Fravarti
Frâda
Gaubaruva/ Gobryas
Haldita
Haxâmanish/ Achaemenes
Imanish
Kambûjiya
Marduniya
Martiya
Nabukudracara/ Nebuchadrezzar
Nabunaita
Nidintu-Bel
Phraotes
Skunxa
Sogdianus
Taxmaspâda
Thuxra
Upadarma
Utana
Uvaxshtra
Vahauka
Vahumisa
Vahyavishdâpaya
Vahyazdâta
Vaumisa
Vindafarnah
Vindarna
Vishtâspa
Vivâna
Vâyaspâra
Xshathrita
Xshayârshan

Designers’ Notes
We like to think of this game as what the second generation of RPGs might have looked like if Everway–or Heaven & Earth, or Nobilis–had been the first published RPG, instead of D&D. In short, if RPGs had grown out of games like Once Upon a Time, instead of wargames. These are its spiritual ancestors, though perhaps not its mechanical ancestors.
We created this game in rather a backward order. It started out with the concept of a game mechanic, and only much later did we begin putting a world around it.
The original precept was to see what happened if we broke a pair of sacred cows of the RPG: focusing on the character, and giving quantitative results. We wanted to see if we could come up with a meaningful mechanic that focused on the setting, and that told us only how things happened, not to what degree. Well, as we experimented with different things, we decided that qualitative results were insufficient for our purposes–an RPG resolution system needs to tell you whether or not you’ve succeeded, and what we had couldn’t answer that question with any kind of certitude. However, we did come away with the idea of a system that was without hierarchical scales, so that while the system now tells you that X is better than Y, and X is better than Z, it refuses to tell you by how much, and therefore whether or not Y is better than Z.
The focus on externalities is what became the Planets. Most (all?) RPGs consider the world the static, or at least definite, part of the equation, and the character striving is what the mechanics/dice rolls represent. We wanted to see what a system looked like that didn’t take the character into consideration, except perhaps analogously to the modifiers that situation might have on a roll in a “normal” RPG. Instead, it would look at the world half of the world-character interaction. All of those “random factors” that most game system sum up in the luck of the dice–uncertain footing, great distance, a change in the wind; in short, chance–would become the focus of our mechanic, while those things that are usually considered under character control–skill, natural aptitude, “attributes”, etc.–would become the chance factors summed up by the die roll. In the end, it didn’t end up quite that way, but it still informs the philosophy behind the mechanics. The idea has been refined into a somewhat-detailed mechanical view of the world around the character–the Planets–which consciously ignores all other aspects of character.
Once we had the mechanic that became “Rolling the Planets”, though without specific forces in mind yet, we set about looking for a setting/genre where this sort of heavy-handed fate intervention would feel reasonable, or even appropriate. A couple of possibilities were tossed around, but we finally settled on low-powered supers, and thought that a pseudo-period setting with supers would be grand fun. We hope you agree on that count. The “pulp” part of the setting came from two imperatives. First, it seemed more appropriate for the setting, and, second, the lower power and less-special-status for supers seemed a better mesh for the pseudo-historical setting–with supers having less power, we could minimize the degree to which they had warped the setting.
Oh, and for those of you who care: yes, we have analyzed the probabilities for the dice, at least to a degree. And we’re not telling. This isn’t a game about that sort of thing. It only matters whether or not one die is less than, equal to, or greater than another, not by how much, so suffice it to say that, yes, a d20 beats a d16 about as often as a d6 beats a d4 (within a few percentage points), or for that matter, about as often as a d12 beats a d10, and this holds true so long as you only use the recommended die sizes.
Inspirography
A great many things have gone into this game, in terms of antecedents. The most obvious and significant, from a setting point of view, are several comics, while much of the mood can be traced to movies. The mechanics, and the game side in general, come from a mix of RPGs and comics.
Astro City
Kingdom Come
It’s not just the concept of a more realistic setting that actually responds to the existence of supers. Also, some of the deconstruction of the superhero, which shows up in the self-parody and tongue-in-cheek references that many of our heroes and villains display.
Unbreakable
not just a deconstruction of the superhero mythos, this one also reconstructs it. He rips the foundations out from under the superhero at the very same time that he is building a new foundation, from many of the same parts, put together completely differently. In the end, we see a completely different, yet infinitely similar superhero–a postmodern reconstruction of the concept of superhero. Everything underneath has changed, but the flowers are still standing.
The Shadow
The Numerous Comics from which we have shamelessly stolen inspiration (and then some) for many of our stock characters.
Everway
Over the Edge
Story Engine
Theatrix
I was rereading my copy of Theatrix as this neared completion, looking for inspiration to clean up a few areas. It turns out that this game has more in common, mechanically, with Theatrix than any other RPG I’m aware of. I honestly can’t tell you how much of this was convergent evolution, and how much was inspiration. I didn’t consciously borrow much at all from Theatrix, but I had read it (long) before we even started on this project, so there’s no telling how much of it had lodged in my subconsious.
Castle Falkenstein

A Final Note
So, why are we releasing this as open content? Well, there’s definitely a bit of hubris involved. We believe that this game marks a significant departure from most, if not all, RPGs published to date. But we also think that it is, at best, a first, rough, expression of an idea. Much as it took several games to really refine the model that D&D originally put forth, If this model for an RPG is to have any real value it must be refined. While there is nothing we could do to prevent others from reusing our mechanics in their creations, we know that some shy away from what they see as “stealing” in an ethical or legal sense. We want to make it absolutely clear that we don’t object to, and in fact encourage, others taking this work and building on it. Our greatest hope is that this really is a different way of looking at the RPG, as we believe it is, and that somewhen down the line we can look back and trace at least one jewel of an RPG back to this genesis.

October Open Game License
Version 1.0
December 2000

Copyright © 2000 RPG Library
1633 Leckie Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704-1717

Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed.

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Table of Contents

0. Preamble
1. Applicability and Definitions
2. Verbatim Copying
3. Copying in Quantity
4. Modifications
5. Combining Documents
6. Collections of Documents
7. Aggregation with Independent Works
8. Translation
9. Termination
10. Future Revisions of This License
11. How to Use This License for Your Documents

0. Preamble

The purpose of this License is to make a rulebook, game manual, sourcebook, supplement, or other written role- playing game document “free” in the sense that everyone is permitted to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.

This License is a kind of “copyleft”, which means that derivative works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It is based largely upon the GNU Free Documentation License, which is a copyleft license designed for software manuals and textbooks.

We have designed this License in order to use it for rulebooks and sourcebooks for role-play gaming, in the hope that a convenient and complete open license for role-play gaming material will encourage the cooperative creation of a greater variety and quality of games. We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is instruction or reference for a role-playing game.

1. Applicability and Definitions

This License applies to any manual or other work that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms of this License. The “Document”, below, refers to any such manual or work, including its text, charts, artwork, and other content. Any member of the public who accepts this license is a licensee, and is addressed as “you”.

A “Modified Version” of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language.

A “Secondary Section” is a named appendix or a front-matter section of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject. (For example, if the Document is in part a compendium of creatures and monsters, a Secondary Section may not describe or depict any creatures or monsters.) The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them.

The “Invariant Sections” are certain Secondary Sections whose titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License.

The “Cover Texts” are certain short passages of text that are listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License.

An “Editable” copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy, represented in a format whose specification is available to the general public, whose contents can be viewed and edited directly and straightforwardly with generic text editors or common word processors or (for images composed of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some widely available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of formats suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an otherwise Editable file format whose markup has been designed to thwart or discourage subsequent modification by readers is not Editable. A copy that is not “Editable” is called “Fixed”.

Examples of suitable formats for Editable copies include plain ASCII text without markup, Rich Text Format (RTF), SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and standard- conforming simple HTML designed for human modification.

Fixed formats include PostScript, Adobe Acrobat (PDF), proprietary formats that can be read and edited only by specific word processors such as WordPerfect or Microsoft Word, SGML or XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally available, and the machine-generated HTML produced by some word processors for output purposes only.

The “Title Page” means, for a printed book, the title page itself, plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the material this License requires to appear in the title page. For works in formats which do not have any title page as such, “Title Page” means the text near the most prominent appearance of the work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.

2. Verbatim Copying

You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you distribute as many copies as described in the opening paragraph of section 3, you must also follow the conditions in section 3.

You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above, and you may publicly display copies.

3. Copying in Quantity

If you publish printed copies of the Document numbering more than 100, and the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you must enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The front cover must present the full title with all words of the title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.

If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto adjacent pages.

If you publish or distribute Fixed copies of the Document numbering more than 100, you must either a) state in or with each Fixed copy a publicly-accessible computer-network location containing a complete Editable copy of the