COMPENDIUM oF RuLeS
How to interact with the game
In an AnK session, the story moves forward by alternating between three main dynamics that define the tone of what is happening. Most of the time, characters are exploring: they investigate ancient ruins, speak with the inhabitants of a distant city, decipher riddles, or try to anticipate invisible threats. It is the space where the world breathes and reveals itself. At other times, tension erupts into confrontation. Whether against wild creatures, organized enemies, or beings that defy reason, the pace becomes sharper and every decision carries weight. Finally, there are moments of rest. After surviving dangers and resolving conflicts, characters may devote time to recovering, refining their abilities, or preparing their next expedition. These periods allow the narrative to move faster and let the group grow stronger before stepping back into danger. Over the course of an adventure, play may move between these three approaches as often as the story demands. Each has its own rhythm and atmosphere, but the transition from one to another usually feels natural and fluid.
1. The Heart of the System
During play, situations will arise in which the outcome is uncertain. Your character may need to climb a ruined wall, follow the trail of a fugitive in the rain, or slip silently through a guarded corridor. When failure carries real consequences, a check comes into play. To resolve it, you normally roll a twenty-sided die (1d20) and add a modifier tied to the relevant capability. In Korvalian, high numbers are always in your favor. The Game Director sets a Difficulty Class (DC) to measure how hard the action is. If the final result is equal to or higher than the DC -> the action succeeds. If it falls below -> the action fails. There is also a more extreme scale: Beating the DC by 10 or more counts as a critical success, which usually means a particularly favorable result. Failing by 10 or more causes a critical failure, which may trigger additional consequences. As a rule, rolling a natural 20 on the die (before adding modifiers) is treated as a critical success. By contrast, a natural 1 usually becomes a critical failure. However, not all actions have special effects tied to these extremes; sometimes they are simply read as normal successes or failures. Example in play Imagine you are chasing a smuggler fleeing through a wet forest. Suddenly, a deep chasm cuts across your path. The only way to keep up is to jump from one ledge to another. The Game Director determines this is dangerous and asks for an Athletics check. On your sheet, your character has a +7 modifier. You roll the d20 and get a 15. Added to +7, the total is 22. The DC was 14. You beat the difficulty by 8: it is a solid success. Your character lands safely and continues the chase. If you had reached 24 or more, it would have been a critical success: perhaps you would have gained extra ground. With a result below 14, your character might have fallen badly injured or ended up hanging from the edge of the rock in a far more dangerous position. Checks like this are the core of play. They are used in exploration, combat, or downtime whenever the outcome of an action is uncertain. Although the die introduces uncertainty, the real difference often lies in the modifier added to the roll. Each character has different values representing their skill across many areas. These modifiers combine: The relevant attribute. The degree of competence. Possible bonuses or penalties. Factors such as gear, specialized training, powers, particular advantages, or other circumstances may affect the final result. Taken together, this creates a system where chance exists... but preparation and character growth make the real difference.
2. Exploration Phase
A large part of the adventure takes place while your character travels through the world, forms bonds, investigates situations, and deals with unexpected obstacles. This framework is called exploration. In this phase, the session flows with greater freedom. There is no rigid moment-by-moment structure; players act according to what they consider appropriate in response to what is happening in the story. Venturing into an unknown valley, questioning a suspicious merchant, infiltrating hostile territory, or negotiating support before a confrontation are all examples of scenes that belong to this mode. Exploration may involve long travel, investigation, diplomacy, planning, or covert maneuvers. It is the space where the group chooses its direction and where decisions shape the future development of the plot. While this is happening, the Game Director will often ask what each character is doing: who watches the surroundings, who examines clues, who talks, who stays alert, or who gets distracted. These choices are not decorative. If the situation turns dangerous and a confrontation begins, what the characters were doing at that moment may directly influence how it starts. It may grant strategic advantages, reveal information early, or even determine the initial position when conflict breaks out. Exploration, therefore, is not merely the stretch between combats. It is the ground where the conditions of the future are prepared... for better or worse.
3. The Encounters
Throughout your adventures there will be situations that cannot be resolved with a single check. When a challenge demands step-by-step resolution, such as a fight against hostile creatures or a scene where every second matters, you enter what is known as an encounter. Most commonly, this means combat, but it is not limited to it. It can also be used for tense chases, disarming traps under pressure, or crossing a place that is falling apart. Whenever time and turn order matter, this structure is used. Unlike exploration, the game becomes more precise here. All participants roll initiative to determine the order in which they act. From that point on, the encounter proceeds in turns. Actions on Your Turn When your turn arrives, you have three actions to use. Most simple actions, such as moving a few meters, drawing a weapon, opening a door, or striking with a sword, take a single action. There are also activities that require two or even three actions to complete. These are usually special maneuvers, class techniques, or standout abilities. For example, most spells require two actions. There are also actions that do not consume your usual limit. Dropping an object or speaking briefly may be treated as free actions. These do not count against your three actions. Outside their turn, each character may perform up to one reaction and one interruption per round for free, provided they have an aptitude that allows it. A reaction is triggered outside your turn as an immediate response to a specific trigger. An interruption also happens outside your turn, but it represents a special intervention that alters or cuts off the progress of another action, if your abilities allow it. Both are limited and strategic resources, and they can only be used when the specific conditions that enable them are met. Attacking and Defending One of the most common actions in combat is Strike. To resolve it, you make an attack roll, which is compared against the target's Armor Class (AC). You roll 1d20 and add: Your proficiency with that type of attack. The relevant attribute. Situational bonuses or penalties. The target's AC reflects its protection: armor, dexterity, and defensive training. If the result equals or exceeds the AC, the attack hits and deals damage. If you exceed the AC by 10 or more, you deal double damage. You can use more than one action to attack on your turn, but each additional attempt loses accuracy. The second attack suffers a -5 penalty, and the third a -10 penalty. This penalty resets at the end of your turn. Some abilities and resources may reduce it. In addition, attacking is not the only thing that matters: you will also need to defend yourself. When an enemy hits you, you may try to dodge or block the impact if you carry a shield or have a weapon or aptitude that allows you to stop the attack. To do so, a 1d20 roll is made. Appropriate modifiers are applied to that roll: on one side, the pressure of the enemy attack (such as its attack bonus or other penalties derived from the situation), and on the other, any defensive bonus you have available. The goal is for the final result to remain below your AC value. That is why the higher your AC is, the more room you have to survive and avoid attacks getting through. Evading and Enduring Sometimes you are not the one attacking, but the one who must endure. If you are the target of a magical blast, a trap, or a creature's poison, you must make a saving throw. This is a special roll representing your ability to avoid or withstand the effect. There are three types: Fortitude: resists attacks against the body, such as toxins, diseases, or extreme exhaustion. Reflexes: lets you evade sudden effects, such as cave-ins or explosions. Will: protects your mind against magical influence, fear, or mental manipulation. In a saving throw, you compare your result against the effect's DC. A success reduces the damage or consequence. A critical success usually negates it entirely. Damage, Conditions, and Consequences Attacks, spells, and hazards may cause damage, impose conditions, or both. Damage reduces your Hit Points (HP), which represent your physical endurance and ability to keep fighting. If your HP reach 0, you fall unconscious and may die if you receive no help. A combat encounter normally ends when one side has been defeated. That may mean surrender or retreat, but often it happens when one group is incapacitated or on the edge of death. Conditions represent adverse states: being stunned, poisoned, slowed, frightened, among others. They may limit your actions or impose penalties. Some disappear after a while; others require specific intervention, and even powerful magic, to remove them.
4. Downtime
An adventurer's life is not only about crossing ruins, wielding steel, or facing the unknown. Between one expedition and the next, there are periods in which characters stop their march and devote themselves to other matters. This phase is known as downtime. During downtime, the passage of hours, days, or even months becomes faster. Instead of representing each action in detail, the game summarizes longer activities that require sustained dedication. It is the moment when characters rebuild themselves, grow, and project the future. Many will use this interval to recover, heal lingering wounds, or stabilize their situation after a particularly harsh mission. Others will use it to plan their next moves, prepare expeditions, or weave alliances that may prove decisive later. Downtime also allows a character to practice a profession. A character may work as an occasional mercenary, blacksmith, scribe, navigator, or any other trade fitting their background, gaining modest but steady income. Not everyone seeks constant glory; some need to sustain their lifestyle or finance future adventures. Those with the proper competencies may invest this period in crafting. Forging weapons, repairing armor, assembling specialized gear, or even creating items imbued with magical energy requires prolonged dedication. Downtime represents that focused effort that cannot be improvised in the middle of danger. In addition, this space offers the possibility of reflecting the character's personal evolution. With the proper narrative justification, they may redefine certain past choices to adapt to new priorities, changes of mindset, or transformative experiences. The story leaves a mark, and the system acknowledges it. Some characters will devote this time to deep research, deciphering ancient manuscripts, developing new spells, or analyzing future threats. Others will assume greater responsibilities: managing a business, leading an organization, or even governing a territory. Downtime is not an irrelevant pause. It is the ground where the foundations of the next chapter are planted. It is where adventurers stop merely reacting to the world... and begin shaping it.