%% date:: [[2021-04-06]], [[2021-04-05]], [[2023-04-01]] %% # [[13th Age]] [site](https://www.13thagesrd.com/) 13th Age is an open [[Tabletop Roleplaying Games|TTRPG]] created to simplify rules and enhance storytelling [^srd]. ## System Summary Setting:: Medieval, low-magic fantasy ([[Lord of the Rings]]) Classes:: Yes, *callings* - Captain, Champion, Messenger, Scholar, Treasure Hunter, Warden Races:: Yes, *heroic culture* - Bardings, Rangers of the North, Hobbits of the Shire, Men of Bree, Dwarves of Durin's Folk, Elves of Lindon Tests:: d12 (*Feat Die*) + Xd6 (*Success Dice*) vs. character's Target Number (TN) Degree of success:: Yes, for every 6 rolled on success dice Attributes:: Strength, Heart, Wits Player agency:: Low PC hardiness:: Medium - hits reduce Endurance, no return from death PC power level:: Low Rules complexity:: High ## Key features ### Icons Icons are significant factions in a world that tie into the player characters' backstory and motivations. Each character has some type of relationship with an icon. Every session, the players roll to determine how the icon's goals will progress. Icons are _not_ gods; they are physical and living creatures that can shape the world in tangible ways. Players start out with three relationship points, and they get to spend those points on 1-3 icons of their choosing. ### One Unique Thing Players make up one unique thing about their characters that affect both the personality of the character as well as the wider world of the game. Examples [^rules] - _I am a former cultist._ - _I hear pain as music. Sweet, sweet music._ ### Simplified range In combat, characters are either "engaged" (in melee), "nearby" (within one move away), or "far away" (more than one move away). The vagueness of the positioning allows for more flavor in roleplaying combat. ### Escalation die Every fight has an escalation die (d6), beginning at 0 and increasing every round. The value shown on the die is added to players' attack rolls, making it so that combat speeds up the longer it goes on. This also encourages players to save their big attacks for later in combat. NPCs and monsters do not get to add this bonus to their attacks. #### De-escalation If the GM decides that players are avoiding conflict or not increasing momentum of the fight, then the die spins down by one. #### Power effects Some abilities of monsters, NPCs, or PCs can only be done at certain levels of escalation (a certain number, odd, or even). Others have the power to affect the die itself. More dangerous monsters get certain moves that they can do on specific faces of the die, and might even be able to spin it down to another face. ### Increased player involvement in story Players are frequently asked and expected to contribute part of the story. For example, as part of a travel montage [^stranglingsea], the players might be asked to narrate an obstacle that the party faced and how they overcame it. ### Different monster versions Monsters come in different versions, but they're all based on a single monster stat block. Each variation is created by multiplying a factor to the HP (1/5 for mooks, 2 for large, 3 for huge) and/or damage (1 for mooks, 2 for large, 3 for huge). This factor is also used by the DM when building an encounter. Despite the names, large and huge monster creation rules can also be used to create "commander" or "leader" versions of monsters on the fly. #### Mooks Mooks are a weaker version of a monster. These are sometimes called "minions" in other systems, and are monsters that travel in a mob and are threatening in their numbers but are not particularly difficult to kill. 13th Age provides a way to creat a mook of any monster: A single mook's HP is 1/5th of the HP of the normal version. Mook stats are also tracked once for the entire mob. If there are 10 mooks, each with an HP of 5, then a player that deals 15 damage deals it to the mob as a whole, and the mob loses 3 mooks. When mooks attack, however, they still do so independently so as to keep up the danger of thier numbers. #### Large monsters Large monsters have double the HP and deal double the damage of a normal monster. #### Huge monsters Huge monsters have triple the HP and deal triple the damage of a normal monster. ## My impressions of 13th Age ### What I like - ### What I don't like - ### My games of 13th Age - [[ttrpgs/Blood and Lightning/World|Blood and Lightning]] ## Resources - [^srd]: [13th Age SRD](https://www.13thagesrd.com/) [^rules]: Heinsoo and Tweet (2013). _13th Age_. Pelgrane Press Ltd under license from Fire Opal Media. [^stranglingsea]: Laws (2015). _The strangling sea: A 13th Age adventure for 1st-level heroes_. Pelgrane Press Ltd.