TREMULUS is governed by the use of moves the characters make throughout the game. These moves are broad and flexible enough to cover all aspects of play: from gunfights and car chases, to flipping through an ancient tome while a leathery-winged beast smashes against the window, trying to get through.
The concept of moves may require an adjustment in how you may be used to gaming. Sit back. Don’t worry—this’ll be quick and painless.
When you make a move, you roll two six-sided dice and add an attribute. A 10+ is great, meaning you’re completely successful at whatever you were trying to do. A 7-9 usually means you were successful, mostly, but something else also happened, usually something you won’t like. A 6 or less means you failed, definitely something you’re not going to like. And it’s the Keeper’s job to make sure you won’t
The Paradigm Shift
As noted above, TREMULUS is a player-facing game. This means that the Keeper will never roll dice. The player describes their action and rolls the dice and the resulting dice score determines the consequences of that act.
The Power of Narrative
Whenever a move takes place, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The player should describe what their character wishes to do, and the Keeper will explain what transpires, based upon the result of the player’s roll. Conversely, if a player says they do it, then they do it. Roll the dice, and deal with what happens. While success is clear-cut, things can get quite interesting on a partial success. And failure is always interesting.
Types of Moves
Basic Moves: Actions available to all characters.
Keeper Moves: Moves restricted to the Keeper, detailed further in the Keeper’s Section.
Lore Moves: Moves powered by the expenditure of Lore, allowing the characters to do some extraordinary things.
Special Moves: Each character has unique moves available only to them (found in each playbook).
Fiction First
Take the action to get its effect.
Narratively decide what you’re going to do, determine the most appropriate move, and roll the dice. If you decide to look through some dusty boxes in the attic, you Poke Around. Simple as that. Roll and see what happens.
Don’t think of things mechanically. Always think of things in terms of what your character would do in any given situation or circumstance, not what move you will take next. The move is fitted to the action.
Using Basic Moves
ACT UNDER PRESSURE (roll + reason)
When to use: whenever the character is under the gun, trying to maintain composure, or wanting to flee.
CONVINCE (roll + affinity)
When to use: whenever the character is in non-violent situation and wants to bring an individual around to her way of thinking, avoid a fight, or get someone to reveal a personal detail.
HELP/HINDER (roll + trust)
When to use: whenever the character wants to help out another character or prevent them from doing something.
POKE AROUND (roll + luck)
When to use: whenever the character wants to explore a new area, check for danger, or look for clues or items that are not obviously evident.
PUZZLE THINGS OUT (roll + reason)
When to use: whenever the character wants to piece together disparate pieces of information, draw conclusions from a clue, read an enemy, or figure out a group dynamic.
READ A PERSON (roll + passion)
When to use: whenever the character is engaged in conversation with someone and wants to figure out what’s really going on in their head or if they’re lying.
RESORT TO VIOLENCE (roll + might)
When to use: whenever the character has decided that the definite use of force is the only way to accomplish his ends.
THREATEN (roll + might)
When to use: whenever the character makes a promise of violence he is not afraid to keep.
Using Lore Moves
Characters may expend a point of Lore to use their Lore Move. Each playbook has a unique Lore Move the character begins with. The Lore Move allows you to push yourself farther and perform tasks normally beyond your abilities. Using your Lore may come with a secret cost that unfolds in play.
Consequences
Every time you attempt some action, it’s like trying to skip a stone across the water. You may get three or four skips. It might skip only once. It might slip out of your hand and hit your friend in the face. Or it might even bounce off a tree branch and hit the windshield of a passing police car. Or you might slip and fall into the water. Who knows? And the stone might sink to the bottom, causing some eldritch horror to stir in its slumber. Keep this in mind as you decide what you’ll do next.
Character Creation
1. Choose Playbook: pick the one you find most appealing, as long as no one else already has chosen it.
2. Choose Name: choose one from playbook or one of your own
3. Choose Look: as above
4. Choose Attributes: Pick a set that works with how you plan to play your character.
5. Choose Gear: Pick the stuff which best reflects your character. Certain things, like weapons, may be difficult (or impossible) to get in play, so factor that carefully into your decisions.
6. Choose Special Move: You get two, so choose wisely.
7. Review Lore Move: See what your uniqueness is all about. Who knows? It might save your life. Briefly.
8. Establish Trust: You begin with a number of Trust points to distribute equal to the number of players (not counting the Keeper) present. Assign a Trust score (from 0 to 3) to each character. You may not start with negative Trust in another character, though it may arise during play. Each Trust score represents your character’s faith and belief in the particular character, and serves to quickly establish relationships. Your Trust in others is used when you Help/Hinder them, so if you have Trust +2 in Meg, and she has Trust +1 in you, you’d roll +2 to Help/Hinder her while she would roll +1 to do the same for you.
Playbooks
The following characters (Playbooks) may be chosen from;
Alienist: You have studied at fine universities the world over. You know the inner workings of the human mind, and have a knack for uncovering people’s darkest secrets and deepest desires. You help to heal the soul, much as a doctor heals the body.
Devout: You have been called to minister to a flock of souls who have lost their path. You have encountered evil in its many guises and know it falls upon those of strong heart and conviction to stay the course.
Doctor: You have more than a calling, you have a gift. You are a skilled healer who has decided to leave the grind of the big city behind in search of greener pastures.
Professor: Learning is your greatest love, and you happily share your knowledge through teaching. You have taught in various colleges and universities across the country. Over the years, you have learned life is strange and history is often hysterical.
Playbooks can be downloaded for free here, (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/120 ... term=tremu) All of the various playbooks can be found within. Several of these are not used in this tale. Choose whichever Character you would like to play and download the appropriate playbook. But only one of any given playbook may be used, so, only one Professor, one Journalist and so on.
So, choose you character; dowload the playbook; study up; and once that is done we will move to the next part - Questions.
