Glossary...

Last Updated - 7 July, 2005

AcMP:- Accumulated Magic points. Used to calculate total Magic Points either a character has or needs to spend to cast a ritual. Is also used to store magic points in Fetishes or Familiars, it represents ratio that magic is stored. The same information is on the Magic Character Sheet

Accumulated Magic Points :- see AcMP above

A.I.:- Artificial Intelligence. Possible character race. See Races

Appearance:- also App. rating of the characters physical Beauty.

App:- Short for the Appearance Stat

Area of Effect:- Explosions etc cause damage to large areas not just a single point. Damage to individuals effected is applied randomly to two locations. A successful Ref+Athletics will reduce the that  to 1 chosen location. Those on the edge of the effect may dodge completely clear. Damage to the same location is cumulative. See Dodge

Armour:- Each point of Armour reduces injuries by one. Damaged reduced to ZERO causes no damage. A Shock check is still required but at a bonus of the Armour value. Also see Shield or the sections Combat and Equipment

Blue :- Blue the Undercity street name for the magical drug 'Sight', a euphoric Highly addictive drug which temporarily adds 1 point of 'Darkness' even in the magically inept. The user must make a Sanity check to avoid addiction. Failure costs a point of Sanity and the user develops a tolerance to the drug, requiring an extra dose to have the same effect. The amount Darkness+Doses exceeds Sanity is the chance in 20 of possession, if a demon is nearby (normally 1 in 20). Doses over the minimum cause a euphoric stupor that halves sanity. Effects wear off after about an hour.

Body: A character's resistance to Physical Damage. Body modifies the number of wounds in each location.

Character Generation: 70 points to allocate between Skills and Stats, extra points (2+2+1+1+1) are also given but these may not be added together nor added to existing Stats or Skills (see picked up skills)

Character Sheet: a place to record a characters abilities skills and personality. see Character Sheet & Magic Sheet

Closest Skill : If the required skill is not available use the most similar skill at a penalty of -2. The GM can impose bigger penalties. Specialisation assumes (within reason) every skill in the Skill Group is at the specialisation.

Cool: the Characters ability to control their thoughts, remain calm in stressful situations. For 'panic' checks use Sanity. Also see Sanity

Crit: Short for Critical Hit

Critical Hit: This is the best possible successful roll. This is when the roll equals exactly the number that was needed. The GM should be creative. Combat rolls  double success level, hit a player specified location, stun opponents etc. see Fumble In situations where a number higher than '19' or '20' would be needed use '18' to represent a 'Critical'

Critical Wounds: Wound boxes may be Marked several times each, representing more serious injuries. The third time a box is filled they are Critical. These are healed at 1 per week of rest, with medical care. This carries an Injury Penalty of -8. Healed critical wounds become serious wounds. See Wounds.

d20: Twenty Sided Dice. Dice are used to provide suspense, to simulate the chance of success for character actions. They can be bought at gaming stores and some toy stores.

Dice: see d20

Disposition:- a brief sum up of a character's personality, for better roleplaying. See Getting into character.

Damage: The number of wounds caused by an attack. See Wounds

+Damage: Pre-calculated bonus for Damage Success Level. Used to speed play and should be calculated whenever a weapon is added. See Wounds and Shock

Damage/Result Chart : located on the Character Sheet. Damage Success Level is compared to give the number of Wounds caused. Converts Success Level into a number for wounds or duration etc. Also converts speed(miles) or falling distance(Yards) to damage.

Damage Success Level: After a successful 'hit' roll the dice number is added to +DAMAGE then compared to the Damage/Result Table on the Character sheet to give the Damage/Wounds caused. Do not re-roll the dice to get Damage both are based on the same roll.

Darkness: A character's affinity to the spirits. It gives a deeper understanding of magic. Magics can still be cast without this skill but such magics are the work of a mere Mage, a dabbler in the arts. Darkness adds to magic Success Levels and allows them to use title Wizard. Wizards with Darkness exceeding their other magic skills are considered Rogue Mages and are ruthlessly hunted by the Circle see Arcana Section

Darkness: (2): 'The Darkness" a way to refer to the spirit plane, the place where spirits live. It is called other things, the ether, astral, chaos. It is the world beyond this one where ghosts, spirits and demons live.

Darkness: (3) Name of roleplaying system. Duh!. See Main Page

Demonground: The playgrounds to chaos and its demons. Where the membrane that separates reality from the Darkness is thinnest and Demons wander looking for flesh. Closer to the centre Magical energy abounds that Wizards can harness (see MP Table on Magic sheet). This surging power at first makes people edgy and emotion then eventually the build up of energy brings insanity. Only the Arcana Inept are immune.

Defence: How well a character avoids being hit in close combat. Applied to opponents rolls (negative values as a penalty) calculated from 12 - Reflexes - Martial arts - Combat (Armed or Unarmed) then halved. (Ignore Halves)

Dodge: A roll under Ref + Athletics can get a character clear from harm. In close combat the Success Level must beat the Attackers if the opponent has initiative.

Droid : Any fully mobile at least semi-intelligent machine. Normally referring to machines with a humanoid form with humanoid intelligence. Can also refer to non-humanoid machines sure as service Droids or even animal/pet replacements.

Element: This defines 'what' a wizard can effect e.g. Earth, Air, Life, Demons, shadow. If the element is close but not ideal a -2 penalty applies. Also see Magic, Sphere, School.

Familiar: A pet that develops a strong bond with the Wizard. A darkness point must be spent to establish the bond. MP up to a Wizard's Darkness may be stored in the familiar also the wizard may 'see' through the familiar's senses, use Darkness to determine range. MP must be spent in AcMP to store equivalent MP. eg 15 must be spent to store 5 points. Magics may be cast using the Familiar's location as a starting point, in some cased effectively doubling wizard range.

Fetishes : Items that may be used to store magical energies. Expensive and Pure items may be used to store MP for later use. Each item is dedicated to a particular Mage and Skill, the item may hold as many MP as the mage has points in that Skill, however the mage must spend MP in AcMP to store equivalent MP (e.g. spend 15 to store 5MP). Each item will only store MP for use with one Skill see Magic

Flaws: See Merits and Flaws

Focuses : Magic items that give bonuses to Success Level when casting. The items are normally specific to a particular sphere. These are typically wands, staves, charms or talismans.

Fumble: a roll of 20 or double the required number on a d20 indicates a fumble. This is the worst possible outcome of a roll the GM should look at the situation and decide their fate. Combat rolls could cause the dropping or breakage, hitting one-self etc. Be creative, be very funny. Fumbling a Magic costs 1 point of Sanity and risks possession. See Magic.

Getting into Character: for the best roleplaying experience the players should really 'get into character' the way a good actor would.  In describing a character's actions a player should try to think as their character would. Acting in the first person not always in the third, this improves the experience for  other players and adds to the story. Character sayings help 'getting into character'.

GM: Short for Game Master, this is the title given the person running the game and telling the story. A good GM concentrates on weaving the players into the story creating challenges and adjudicating actions and consequences fairly with story telling and enjoyment as the ultimate goals.

Injury Penalty : Injuries slow down individuals making them less effective. Wound boxes are Marked several times each time the character progressing through Minor(-1), Serious(-4) then Critical(-8) wounds. Permanent wounds are -1 each in addition to the -8 Critical injury penalty. Generally the penalty effects all actions, the pain effecting concentration, but there are some exceptions. After other wounds heal permanent injuries only effect their own location at -1 each.

Intelligence : this is a character's basic logical ability.

Int: see Intelligence

Location: When a character is hit the location is randomly determined by rolling against the location numbers on the Character Sheet. Players may specify a location but a penalty to hit is imposed (GM's discretion at least -5)

Full Auto: Firing an Automatic weapon on full auto. A successful roll Hits all targets in an area as an Area of Effect weapon. Sufficient bullets must be available. See Rate and Area of Effect.

Luck:  Luck may be spent to adjust rolls, as MP or as Wounds. At the end of a game spent points are recovered. Unspent XP may also be spent this way but is not recovered at the end of the game.

Magic: This is best explained in the Arcana section. Magic skills are split into Schools and Elements. Mages use these to cast the three types of magic; Spells, Weavings or Rituals. The Mage's skill limits the range and size that may be effected. A table of maximum Range & Size is on the Magic Sheet. Also see Arcana Section

Magic Sheet: A place to record a character's magical ability, Copy Skill information across from the Character Sheet as required. Characters with limited Magic skill may not need the extra Magic Sheet, the Arcana section of the character sheet being enough. See the Section Magic Sheet.

Magic Points: See MP

Magically Inept: At character generation if a specialisation is taken away from Arcana the character is considered Inept and they may NEVER learn any Arcana Magic etc but there are benefits in demonground. See Demonground

MCS : Short for Magic Character Sheet. See the Section Magic Sheet.

MERITS and FLAWS: When Generated a character might have things particularly good or bad about them such as a good social status or poor eyesight. These add personality and depth to the character and help roleplaying. Merits cost Starting points and flaws give them back. The costs should be discussed with the GM usually between 1-3 and up to 7+ for very severe (quadriplegic would be 7+)

MINOR WOUNDS : Wound boxes may be marked several times each. The first time the boxes are filled they are Minor wounds. These are healed one a day. These injuries give -1 to actions. Also See Combat Section

MNEMONICS : Items, runes, symbols 'Cheat Cards' etc. that the wizard uses to remember spells. These like fetishes are mostly to add depth to a character making them seem more real. Special Items could have bonus effects or Requiring Items could be taken as a flaw to gain more character points. Also see Magic

MP: or M.P. This represents the characters magical power. It is expended to create magic and is recovered with time and rest. Certain areas, Demonground etc, speed recovery. The Cost of a Magic depends on its Range and Size. A character's total MP = AcMP of the wizards best Magic Skill + Darkness. Extra MP can be added to a spell to increase SuccessLevel, however this requires a SHK check afterwards. (SHK check at MPspent - Darkness)

Opposed Rolls: When two characters are attempting conflicting tasks the Success Levels are compared, the higher wins. If both fail a stalemate is reach. Both will have to be attempted again to get a result. In rare cases where a result is required and no new attempt is possible the higher roll wins.

PC: short for Player Character this is the player's persona within the Game.

Personality:  represents how likeable a character is and how well they can convince others.

Permanent Wounds: Wound boxes are filled in several times each, representing progressively more serious injuries. The Fourth time the boxes are marked they are Permanent Wounds. They will not heal. If left unattended the character will die, due to blood loss. When recovered the damage is permanent and the location loses those wound boxes. Magic or Undercity hospitalisation can reverse 1-2 wounds but more require very powerful magic or limb replacement. Permanent wounds cause a -1 penalty each cumulative with other injury penalties. See Wounds If all the Wounds boxes for a location are 'permanent' the location is useless (loss of limb or death)

Picked- up Skills : Extra points (2+2+1+1+1) are given at character creation but these may not be added together nor added to existing Stats or Skills. These will give the character at least 5 extra skills, Stats or merits of 1 or 2. This is to round out a character and make it more real. These points may be spent anywhere on the character sheet.

Player: person participating in a game playing a character. (Playing a part) also see GM

Race: the Darkness world has many different creatures and races, Characters need not be human. See Races section

Rec: This is how hard a weapon is to 'recover' after it has been swung or fired. This is the penalty to perform further actions in the same round. This is cumulative and high penalties can lead to fumbles. Some weapons rate Rec with TWO values. The first is to recover from firing it the second is to recover from firing it and reloading. Also see Fumble. Rolling over double the need number is also a fumble.

Ref: Reflexes. This represents the character's base ability to move quickly and accurately. To hit targets, to avoid being hit, to control devices etc. See Stats

Reflexes: see Ref

Ritual : Rituals are exhausting and require extra time for preparation and cast. Rituals are dangerous because the magic in question is too complex for the caster. Rituals cost Shock and Magic Points equal to the AcMP for the desired Range and Size. The Shock & MP is spent over time giving the caster time to recover. The MP can be provided by the mage, (over time) or by willing others (Luck+MP). Unwilling others give up their (Luck x2+MP) when slain (hence the unwilling bit). Demonground can also provide the needed energy. The mage may not leave the casting area till the end of the ritual, doing so will end the spell, the roll is still made and fumbles applied. The roll is based on Cool + Skill OR School -2. A copy of the 'Spell' is required to cast a Ritual. Spell Range/Size up to 2 levels over that of the casters ability may be cast. Characters without magic skills can cast rituals so long as the MP can be provided. also see Fumble, Weaving, Spell, AcMP, Closest Skill and Shock

ROLL: Rolling a dice to determine success of actions. Normally under a Stat + a Skill See d20, System Overview

RULES LAWYER:- Roleplayers who continually bring up the 'Rules' often at the expense of the game. Usually some obscure rule from some additional rule book that only that the Rule Lawyer has read that is not strictly appropriate and bringing it up obviously just ruins the flow of the story. DO NOT do this. Enjoy the story and help tell it for everyone there, you'll have a better game and enjoy it more. Both Players and GM's can be guilty of this. In Darkness NO-ONE is allowed to Rule Lawyer. Now watch some Rules Lawyer quote this rule!

Sayings: phrases that the character often uses, very good for getting into character and remembering who you are playing.

Sanity: how well a character will handle horror and extreme stress. The result of a failed sanity check varies from case to case, from inability to cope with the situation to blind rage. In some cases a character will lose a point of Sanity based on how extreme the event is. If the roll is fumbled (roll of 20) the character will lose a point of sanity and could also pick up a mental illness appropriate to the incident; phobias, compulsions etc. When a character fails a Sanity check the GM can assign a reaction. The Player still controls the character's actions but the GM guides the player. Gm's can make suggestions based on the story line or a random roll.

San: See Sanity

School : These skills define 'HOW' a wizard may effect things. e.g. summoning summons. What a wizard may effect is determined by their 'Elements' Also see magic

Serious Wounds: Wound boxes may be filled in several times each, representing more serious injuries. The second time boxes are marked they are Serious Wounds. These heal two per week. Injury causes a -4 penalty for the injured location. Healed serious wounds become Minor wounds. See Wounds

Shield: Most shields provide ONE point of armour to any location. Smaller shields may only be used to guard one location per round. Shields are generally cumbersome and may inhibit movement and actions. See Armour

Shock: This represents the character's stamina or fitness. Failed magics or augmented magics require a shock check as do physical injuries beyond Minor. The GM may require a Shock Check to not become exhausted in extended combats or chases.

SHK : see SHocK above.

SKILLS: These are abilities the character has learned. Rated between -2 and +8 they combine with Stats to give a chance out of 20 to succeed. See Overview

SPECIALISATION: When a character is created a group of skills may be specialised in, and another group of skills will be neglected. This gives a +1 or +2 bonus to the specialised group and gives -1 or -2 to the neglected group/s.
Arcana is different, neglecting it means the character will never be able to take an Arcana skill. Specialisation is required to progress beyond '3' and to be able to have Darkness (or Faith or Mental Discipline). See Arcana. Specialisation can not be changed unless a character's lifestyle has changed DRASTICALLY.

SPELL : pre-written instructions for a certain effect and thus are easier to cast than other magics. The wizard must know at least one of the spheres related to the Spell. The Roll is Cool + Element + School. MP cost is based on Range/Size rated by the chart on the Magic Sheet. The wizard must have an appropriate Skill at least equal to the desired Range and Size, if not see Rituals, Also see Weaving, Magic,

SPHERE : Wizards have spheres of influence these are their magical skills. These determine 'what' and 'how' a wizard can effect things. Elements refer to the 'What' and Schools to the 'How'. Also see magic.

STATS: Short for Statistics, Ratings of character natural/innate ability. These include Strength, Body, Reflexes, Appearance, Intelligence, Cool, Personality, and Luck. Depending on the race of a character these are between 2 and 10

STRENGTH :characters physical strength.

STR:: short for strength

SUCCESS LEVEL:- A Rating of how successful a Roll was. On a successful roll/check (under Stat + Skill) the dice roll result is added to the Skill (not Stat) to give the Success Level, the higher the better. In competitive situations both characters roll and compare Success Levels the higher wins. Failing the roll gives a 0 Success Level. Also see Damage Success Level and Game Overview. Also see Effect Chart

TO HIT : Normally Reflexes + Combat (armed and/or unarmed). To simplify GM record keeping and speed play 'creatures' have extra Stats that characters do not. These are actually just pre-calculated shortcuts. To Hit gives the chance to hit in combat. If necessary the exact combat skill can be calculated by subtracting the beasts Reflexes from this number. This will not work with all beasts as this number can include special bonuses that the beast gets for its attack form (surprise etc.)

Undercity : It is believed that just before the Fall man built vast underground self sufficient cities that could survive the total destruction of the planets surface and still maintain life. These underground cities were controlled by vast computers and maintained life till it was once again safe to inhabit the surface again. Many have remained in these cities either by choice or ignorance of the outside world, indeed most city governments encourage people to stay underground in these cities. The cities have hidden within them much of the remaining technology, indeed their central Over-Computers are the most advanced pieces of technology ever developed. Many technologies have intentionally been lost to prevent yet another Fall. Some believe that these horrible technologies are hidden just waiting to be rediscovered.

W'DAM : Weapon Damage this is the base damage for a weapon. With this +Damage is calculated which is then added to the dice roll to give a Damage Success Level this is compared to the Damage/Result chart to give damage in wounds. Roll under Stat+Skill to hit Add '+damage' to Dice and compare to chart. Simple.

Weaving : Weavings are improvised 'Spells'. To create a weaving the character need understand 'both' the Element(what) and the School(how) of the effect he wishes to create. The effect is only limited by the their imagination and Magic Skills/Spheres. The Maximum Range/Size is determined by the best used Sphere. MP cost is determined by Range/Size. A summary of effect (range, component requirements etc.) is listed on the magic character sheet. The Roll is Int + School or Element. Also see Element, School, Sphere, Spell, Ritual, Magic, and Character Sheet.

World: this covers all that is in the game/story it covers the entire universe that a game is played in.

Wounds: Wound Boxes are marked when a character receives injuries. Each time all of the Wound Boxes in a location are marked the damage becomes more serious. Going through Minor, Serious, Critical and Permanent Wounds. Minor wounds are represented by a slash (/) through the box. Serious wounds change the / to a X. Critical wounds fill the box in with a pencil. Permanent Wounds fill the box in with Pen these are permanent. Also see Combat section.

Wounds (2): The GM can run Beasts on even ground with the players using hit locations, Body and normal damage rules or to speed play a simplified system can be used. Each creature has a number of wounds. Once injured to that number the creature makes a Sanity Check to continue fighting, failing they will flea or play dead. If they continue they are at a -4 Injury Penalty and continue. When the Wounds number is reached again they make another Sanity Check. Failure indicates they will attempt to crawl away or play dead. Continuing on they are at a -8 injury penalty to all actions and lose 1 wound per round. Once damage equals three time their wounds rating they are dead. Location is still rolled for dropping weapons etc. Injuries to the head will do double damage.

XP: eXperience Points, at the end of a game the GM awards XP. These are a reward for good participation and allow players to improve their characters. Award 2-4 per session and then get the players to nominate each other's memorable actions for extra XP. 3-6points each is good and stops characters become too good too fast. See Character Generation.