A fan conversion of Heart: The City Beneath to the Escalation system.

Version: 0.1.0

Characters

For character options, see abilities

Traits

Character traits are words or short phrases which represent parts of your character. They suggest what actions are reasonable for your character to take.

When you take dangerous actions, you can invoke up to two traits for more impact.

Concept

Your concept is a phrase which summarizes your character. If you were going to tell a friend about your character, this is your opening pitch.

• Cursed deep-delver with a deathwish.
• The lone wolf of Delelictus
• TODO

Ancestry

Your ancestry shows where you came from. What experiences did you have related to it?

Calling

Your calling is why you delve into the Heart. It must be a good reason, because “normal” people would never take such risks.

Each calling has a list of suggested beats.

Class

Your class gives you an archetype to play into, or against. It also grants you access to special abilities.

Stress

Stress is a resource you can use to push yourself, resist consequences, and use flashbacks.

Burdens

Your burdens are the special things you carry with you — physical or not. Gear, resources, injuries, etc.

Beats

Beats are things you want to see in the game. When you fulfill a beat you get a corresponding ability. For example, a minor beat gets you a minor ability.

Abilities

Abilities give you special permissions. You start with your calling and class’s core abilities, and one major ability.

Mechanics

Tone

The facilitator sets the tone for each scene, which indicates how bad the consequences of your actions will usually be. If the scene becomes more or less dangerous, the facilitator changes the tone to represent that.

Tone	Possible consequences	Default Consequence Severity
Controlled	Lesser injury Worse position Minor complication	Lesser (1)
Risky	Moderate injury Worse position Moderate complication	Moderate (2)
Desperate	Severe injury Worse position Serious complication	Severe (3)
Perilous	Death Permanent injury Major complication	Catastrophic (4)

Impact

Impact describes in rough terms how much you will achieve through your actions.

Impact	Description	Clock Ticks
Limited	You achieve less than usual.	1
Standard	You achieve what we’d expect as “normal”.	2
Great	You achieve more than usual.	3
Extreme	You achieve far beyond what was expected.	4

Dangerous Actions

When you take dangerous actions…

1. Describe your actions and their outcome in vivid detail.
2. The facilitator describes the consequences.
3. You can resist the consequences.

1. Description & Impact

When you describe your actions:

• You must have a trait, ability, or item which allows you to accomplish the actions. Anyone can ask which trait you are using.
• All your actions succeed, and start at limited impact.
• Your description of the outcome should match your impact level.
• Anyone can veto or ask you to revise actions or descriptions.
• Pass narration back and forth if it makes sense. You can build up details with the facilitator and other players.

You can increase your impact (up to extreme) by:

• Having a second trait which helps you.
• Describing how you push yourself (mark 2 stress).
• Describing how you make yourself more vulnerable.
• Having other characters assist you.

Assists

You can mark 1 stress and describe how you assist someone to improve their impact. You also take any consequences.

2. Consequences

The facilitator considers the current situation and the scene’s tone. They then state the consequences.

3. Resistance

When you don’t want to accept a consequence…

1. Declare which consequence you’re resisting.
2. Spend 1 stress to reduce the consequence’s severity by one level, or 2 stress for two levels.
3. Describe in vivid detail how you resist the consequence.

Vetoes and Revisions

Anyone can veto or ask you to revise a description if:

• It is unreasonable or doesn’t fit the tone/genre/setting.
• You don’t have a trait which lets you do it.

This includes the facilitator’s descriptions.

Describe and Follow Through

Don’t describe attempting to take an action. Describe your actions, and their outcome. If you go too far someone will ask you to revise them.

“What are you waiting for? You’re faster than this. Don’t think you are, know you are. Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me.”

— Morpheus, The Matrix (1999)

Burdens

You have 12 burden slots. If all your slots are full you are encumbered, making actions more dangerous.

Regular items take one slot. Special, magicial, and large items take two or more slots.

You can bundle groups of small regular items into one slot.

Gear and resource are both considered items.

Gear

Gear lets you do things you otherwise couldn’t. You start with adventuring gear.

Resources

You can use resources to recover stress at a haven.

Conditions

Injuries, ailments, and so on.

• Lesser conditions are short-term effects. They take one slot, and go away when you have a moment to deal with them. “Bruised”, “clouded thoughts”, “insulted”.
• Moderate conditions are long-term problems. They take two slots, and require action to get rid of them — usually treatment. “Wounded pride”, “despair”, “obsession”.
• Severe conditions are serious problems that need immediate attention, and take three slots. They can prevent you from impacting scenes, and must be treated by a specialist. “Broken arm”, TODO.
• Catastrophic conditions mark a permanent change, or the end of your character. “Bleeding out”, “petrified”, TODO.

Conditions can get worse as the result of a consequence, or from ignoring them for too long.

Procedures

Exploration

• Landmarks: stable places in the Heart.
• Connections: established, stable links between landmarks.
• Delves: new routes between landmarks.

Traveling Through Delves

When you forge a new path to a landmark, the facilitator will start a clock to represent your journey with a clock. You can make progress on it by navigating, scouting, mapping, and so on.

Establishing Connections

Each delve has a goal or challenge. If completed, the delve will stabilize into a connection. Often this involves spending resources, helping denizens, or coming into conflict with dangerous foes.

Conversion Notes

Resources & Gear

Roll	Die Rating	Stress	Resource	Gear
1–5	d4	1	Common	Improvised
6–7	d6	2	Uncommon	Standard
8	d8	3	Rare	Good
9	d10	4	Notable	Exceptional
10	d12	5	Remarkable	Legendary

Resource Domain

1	2	3–4	5	6	7	8
Cursed	Desolate	Haven	Occult	Religion	Technology	Warren