RULES PRIMER

Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince Roleplaying Game is a tabletop

roleplaying game about people who experience love, war, family,
heartbreak, and triumph in the world of Wonderstorm’s
The Dragon Prince. This introductory portion of the rules, along
with the playable characters and tales available at TalesOfXadia.
com, provides you with what you need to try out the game.
In addition to an abundance of Xadian lore, the full handbook
for the Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince Roleplaying
Game includes guidelines for:

ɬ Creating your own unique player characters (PCs),

including rune and dark mages

ɬ Improving your PC with a growth pool built by

recovering stress and achieving goals

ɬ Creating and playing interesting Narrator

characters of all types, including dragons

ɬ Planning and running your own tale

There’s so much more to Tales of Xadia, but that’s why we call

this a Primer. We hope this will be the first of many forays into
the world of Xadia.

What’s in this Primer?

Tales of Xadia uses the Cortex game system. This rules primer
Credits introduces you to key elements of Cortex as it appears in this
WRITING & DESIGN game, from bringing life to the characters you play to spinning
Cam Banks tales of wonder and magic. The Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince
Roleplaying Game Handbook covers all of this and more in much
EDITING
greater depth and detail.
Sally Christensen & Amanda Valentine

GRAPHIC DESIGN & LAYOUT Setup: This is an overview of what you need
Ti Collier in order to play a game of Tales of Xadia.

NARRATIVE LEAD Your Character: We examine an example

Dan Telfer character—Rayla, the Moonshadow elf assassin
from the show—and how the game represents
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
her in the form of her character journal.
Cam Banks
Playing the Game: These are the Cortex system
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
rules you need to know as a player, from making
Michael Chiang
decisions and rolling dice to tracking stress and
keeping notes.
Wonderstorm Running the Game: These are the Cortex
CREATORS system rules for running the game as the Narrator,
Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond including using scenes and sessions to help the
players tell the story of their characters, and
MANAGING PRODUCER
playing the part of Narrator characters.
Joe LeFavi | Genuine Entertainment
Glossary: A list of game terms and their
definitions collected in one place.
© and ™ 2022 Wonderstorm, Inc.
Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince Roleplaying Game is published by Fandom under license from Wonderstorm.
CORTEX, CORTEX PRIME, FANDOM TABLETOP, and associated logos are the trademarks of Fandom Inc.
All rights reserved.
Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 2
Setup
To play Tales of Xadia, one person needs to be the Narrator.
Everyone else is a player. You also need game dice, the character
journals of the premade characters your group wants to play, and
a supply of game tokens such as coins or beads. These game aids
are also available to use digitally at TalesOfXadia.com.

The Players The Narrator

Tales of Xadia works best with two to six players, each playing The Narrator presents exciting scenes, locations, and Narrator
their own player character or PC. You record your player characters (or NCs). As the Narrator, you give the players fun
character’s vital statistics and information in a character journal. situations to respond to and help facilitate all the rules that
As a player, you imagine what your character would do; describe govern how those characters interact with the world they’re in.
their actions, feelings, and experiences; and use the game rules There are two tales available for your use at TalesOfXadia.com,
to see if they succeed or fail. The Tale of the Lost Oasis and The Tale of the Gloaming Glade.
As Narrator, you are responsible for:
As a player, you are responsible for:
ɬ Preparing and presenting the session to
ɬ Deciding what your PC does.
the players.
ɬ Confronting any problems that the Narrator
ɬ Acting out the parts of NCs and deciding
throws in front of your PC.
how they react to the PCs.
ɬ Pointing your PC in directions that make for
ɬ Asking leading questions of the players
good stories.
to lead them into further adventure.
ɬ Supporting other PCs and giving them a shot
ɬ Revealing the important details of the world
at what they’re good at.
to the players.
ɬ Deciding how your PC changes and grows
ɬ Facilitating the game rules at the table and
over time.
maintaining the pace of the session.
ɬ In general, exploring the world of Xadia and
ɬ In general, bringing the world of Xadia to life
telling your character’s story.
in the minds of the players.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 3

Dice Traits and Die Ratings

We use five different kinds of dice in Tales of Xadia: ④, ⑥, ⑧, All characters in Tales of Xadia, whether they’re player characters
⑩, and ⑫. The number tells you how many sides the die has; the or Narrator characters, are described using game traits. Every
more sides, the bigger the numbers. A handful of dice together is trait in the game is rated with a die, called a die rating. Whenever
called a dice pool. Roll all the dice in a dice pool together, right you use a trait, you pick up a die of that many sides for your
out in the open—even if you’re the Narrator! dice pool.
Any time you roll a die, the number you get is called the result. The die rating tells you how much effect that trait has on the
Usually you choose two results to add together to get a total. outcome of any given test, contest, or challenge. They’re a useful
Adding two or more results together is about the only math you shorthand for how strong, smart, or skilled your character is.
need to do in Tales of Xadia.
More sides don’t always mean better, so much as they mean more
Dice are used to resolve tests, contests, and challenges. important or significant in the story. Having a ⑫ in a trait like
Strength versus a ⑫ in a trait like Justice doesn’t mean that
the bigger dice in physical strength or valuing justice measure the
same things. It just means that being inhumanly strong can affect
the outcome just as much as being obsessed with justice can.
Here’s a selection of Rayla’s
attributes (a type of trait)
from her example journal Agility
on page 6. If a test calls for
Agility, add a ⑩ to your Awareness
dice pool.

Stepping Up and Stepping Down

Sometimes you swap out one or more dice in your dice pool
for dice with fewer or more sides. This is called stepping up or
stepping down a die rating. To step up a die by one, swap it for
a die that’s one step bigger than the original, like a ⑥ to a ⑧.
To step down a die by one, swap it out for a die that’s one step
smaller, like a ⑥ to a ④.
TEST CONTEST CHALLENGE
We categorize tests, contests, and challenges with the above Die ratings can only have five possible steps, from ④ to ⑫. If
icons. They are used primarily in our tales, The Lost Oasis, you step a ⑫ in a dice pool up by one, it remains at ⑫, but you
The Gloaming Glade, and The Corrupted Core.
can step up another die in your dice pool by one step instead.
If you step a ④ down by one, it’s removed from the dice pool.

DICE POOL DICE RESULTS TOTAL

If you’re asked to step up a ⑫ that isn’t currently in a dice pool,
it remains at ⑫, but you gain a ⑥ alongside it.
8
17
STEPPING STEPPING STEPPING
UP BY 1 UP BY 2 DOWN BY 1
13
We differentiate the dice results by the color of the outline,
interior, and numbers.

Blue shape with white number is die type.

White shape with blue outline and black number

is a chosen die result.
White shape with grey outline and number is an
unchosen die result.
Green denotes the chosen effect die.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 4

Hitches and Botches Character
Any die that comes up with a result of 1 is called a hitch. Set
Journal
hitches aside; they can’t be included in a total and count as zero.
The Narrator has the special ability to activate hitches; this is Your PC has a character journal that you use to keep track of
covered later in Playing the Game. When the Narrator rolls vital statistics, personality traits, and important game notes.
a hitch, it’s called an opportunity. Why the different terms? All your traits, including their die ratings, are recorded on your
Some game effects only apply to hitches, and some only apply character journal together with other useful information. When
to opportunities. you’re playing the game, the character journal helps you build
your dice pool.
If all your dice come up as 1, that’s a botch and it’s a sure sign
of trouble, especially since your total is effectively zero. With a The character journals for the twelve premade characters can
typical failed roll, not everything is bad. The story still moves be printed out and marked up with pencil. Alternatively, you
forward, just not how your character might like. With a botch, can keep track of your character journal using the digital tools
there’s no ambiguity about it—things are bad for your character, at TalesOfXadia.com.
and sometimes their story hits a brick wall for a moment.
Agility

PONM ALAR Awareness

)
(they /them
measure with a Influence
skilled beyond
Silent, deadly, and soldier
is a former Evenerean

DICE POOL DICE RESULTS TOTAL

heavy bow, Ponmalar often their superiors put
who grew weary
of how of TRESS AL (he/h
them in harm’s
way. In the wake
of the assasination
rather than endure
the
Intellect
im)
they deserted to
Queen Fareeda, their keen eyesight A salty and snarky
teenager, Tressal resents
Ponmalar uses
ensuing chaos. expatriates and Spirit elders for dragging
him into petty political
his
the horizon for fellow Evenerean Originally sent on struggles.
scan a mission to use his
life over conquest. dark magic
those who value gifts to collect and
consolidate power
Strength to bring back
to Neolandia, he’s
grown fond
Liberty ⑩ cultures, and he increasingly of unfamiliar Xadian
Devotion ⑧ for beliefs he was taught.
questions the isolationist
I’m done fighting

0
battles, for
I’ve been through nations; I’m here
precious
and lives are too myself and my
friends. Devotion ④
to risk. Liberty ⑧
Mastery ⑥ I am only just beginning
Glory ④ to learn the value I’m getting a feel DR AY
I spent years perfecting LE NN

VALUES
an for the value of
I’d rather just use about of companionship.
my skills; I’m just my independence. (s he
arrow to defuse
a fight
survival these days. Glory ⑥
A passi
onate /h er
Mastery ⑧ beloved worries keeper
)

VALUES
if I can. friends that of Xadi
Truth ⑥ I was raised to seek she’s open in dang the tumult an wildl
ife, Dray
to parla er. She’s in the
Justice ⑧ builds conquest but find I’m better at what
I do village,
the Hollo ying with sought world lenn
A secret or two it than most people, humans help from puts her
w Woo
Power always seems character, so to
speak. tiresome of late. and
d. if it mean Sunfi
like to make a show s less strifere elves;
to end up in the Justice ⑥ of it.
for her
wrong hands. Truth ⑩
There is a need to Devotio
right Hero worship is for n ⑩ Agility

8
wrongs, but it depends
Evenerean Exile⑧
I can impr
on how I feel. suckers; they all lie
a spell ovise
many
Liberty
out this to stay powerful. Agility if it ⑧
one Ⓟ● when you switch my belov means savin Nature Awa rene
1 Hinder: Gain . ed frien g has brou ss
die rating for a ④ Neolandian Isolationi Glo ds. great
freedom ght me
distinction’s
st ⑧ ry ④

VALUES
Awareness to bask and I love
My life in it. Influenc
⑧
Marsh Ranger 1 Hinder: Gain one
Ⓟ
● when you switch out this is
importantno more Master e
out this distinction’s die rating than y⑥
one Ⓟ● when you switch for a ④. Influence a com
munity’s. I’ve a
1 Hinder: Gain .
thing
or two Inte llec
rating for a ④ Dark Acolyte ⑧ Justice but I’m t
DISTINCTIONS distinction’s die contest, the mom
more
about
to learn
,
you are in a test, ⑧ living
They Are: When is at least twice
Intellect I’m grate ent. in
1 The Bigger an opponent who 1 Hinder: Gain one ful that Truth Spirit
or challenge against Marsh
● to double your in your
Ⓟ
● when you switch out this use my
power I can ⑥
spend a Ⓟ distinction’s die rating

DISTINCTIONS
as big as you are, extra die for a ④. is right
.
for what Only the
die and keep an 1 Price of Darkness:
Spirit
that beamtrees and the
Ranger distinction ASSET When you use a magical light
Stre ngth
asset in any dice pool creature know s thro
total. with your Dark Magic real truth ugh them
step up or double specialty, Strength Moons .
te ⑧ Dark Magic. Convert
Watchful Expatria Corrupted stress
after the roll.
that asset into hadow
Elf
out this Heavy Bow ⑧ 1 Hind ⑧
one Ⓟ● when you switch e bow that fires
spear-Brooding er: Gain
1 Hinder: Gain . A military-grad Wanderer ⑧ distinction one Ⓟ
rating for a ④ dense underbrush. ●
distinction’s die asset for like arrows through ’s die ratin when you
switch
Spend aⓅ● to create a ⑧ 1 Hinder: Gain one
Ⓟ Passion g for a
④ out this
1 Always on Guard: as you are. ● when you switch out this ate Ma .
the same challenge distinction’s die rating
ge ⑧
an ally who is in for a ④.

Black with blue outline and a white “1” is a hitch.

1 Bad to the Bone: 1 Hind
Recover either Afraid, ASSETS er: Gain
SPECIALTIES Exhausted, or distinction one Ⓟ

IONS
Insecure stress when
you create a bad situation Dark Magic Spells ●
’s die ratin when you
Sneaking ⑥ your own actions out of ⑧ 1 Prese g for a switch
Mathematics ⑥ rve out this

DISTINCT
④.
Archery ⑥
• Cigam Rouy Laever
(Reveal) or anot the Spirit: Use
• Eciov Eht Laets her char your eff
(Silence) instead acter ’s ect die
SPECIALTIES • Semalf Gnippiks of infl existing to reco
Gnipael (Dancing icting stres ver
stress
Cooking ⑥
Dark Magic ⑥
Flames) Friend or remo s on a succ your
Politics ⑥ of the ving a ess,
challenge
Forest die.
1 Hind ⑧
er: Gain
distinction one Ⓟ ●
’s die ratin when you
1 Furry g for a switc h out
Frien ④. this
non-host ds Forever:
ile anim When
asset al, you may you first
for
die ratin free; if you gain them meet a
g. spen
Afraid, You may spen d a Ⓟ ●, you as a friendly

Plot Points
Angry, d this may step
or Inse asset up the
cure to reco ASSETS
stress. ver your
Beetle
Brooch
SPECIAL ⑥
Animal TIES An opal
Ally charm
⑧ ancient
beetle
that resem
imbued from bles an
Moon Moon with Moon a bygone
Magic Magic magic era,
⑥ Spel .
• Luce ls ⑥
at
• Myst Candorem
ica Arbo (Dazz
ra (Grou ling Lights)
p Invisi
bility)

Your Character
Plot points (Ⓟ●) are a way for players to affect the story beyond
the roll of the dice. Plot points can be spent to give yourself more
dice for your dice pool, make the dice you have more powerful,
or activate certain traits or trait special effects (SFX) on your
character journal. As a player, your interaction with the rules of Tales of Xadia starts
with your character journal. Everything you need to discover
You need a way to keep track of plot points. One way is to write
new places, puzzle out intrigues, and enjoy high adventure comes
them on your character journal as tally marks. Another option
from the traits and die ratings you have before you.
is to use poker chips or some other kind of token (pennies,
paperclips, glass beads… you get the idea).
The Narrator uses plot points as well. Keep a supply of
them in the middle of the table for everyone to draw
from. Important NCs have their own Ⓟ ●, which are the
Narrator’s responsibility to keep track of.
How It Works
We’re using Rayla’s character journal by way of example. Here’s
what it looks like.

RAYLA (she/her)
As of the end of Book One: Moon.

Devotion ⑩ Liberty ⑧
Love and devotion compel My real allegiance is to
and define me. my heart and those who
know it.
Glory ④
Mastery ⑥ Agility
If those I care about
VALUES

know me, that’s all the I am naturally talented

legacy I want. and feel little need to seek
Awareness
training from others.
Justice ⑧
Truth ⑥
At great personal Influence
cost, I will strive for I search for my own truth,
what’s right. rather than the truth
others feed me. Intellect

Moonshadow Elf ⑧
Spirit
As a Moonshadow elf, Rayla draws power from the Moon and
is at her strongest at night, especially on the night of a full
moon. Her heritage provides her with greater natural agility Strength
and speed than other elves.

ɬ Hinder: Gain one Ⓟ

● when you switch out this distinction’s
die rating for a ④. SPECIALTIES
ɬ Elf Grace: Spend a Ⓟ ● to step up your Agility die in SneaKing ⑥
a test, contest, or challenge that factors in your elven
speed and balance. Used for getting around without being noticed.

ɬ Moonshadow Form: When trying to hide, sneak, or go Swordplay ⑥

DISTINCTIONS

unseen during a full moon, spend a Ⓟ

● to double your Used when doing battle armed with swords, knives, and
Moonshadow Elf distinction die and keep an extra die
other bladed weapons.
in your total.
TracKing ⑥
Reluctant Assassin ⑧ Used when following or pursuing others by the evidence
Rayla’s been trained since she was young to join Moonshadow they leave behind.
elf hunting parties, but her heart just isn’t in it.

ɬ Hinder: Gain one Ⓟ

● when you switch out this distinction’s ASSETS
die rating for a ④. ElVen Butterfly Blades ⑧

Rayla’s twin weapons are both deadly and versatile, capable of

Act First, Think Later ⑧ transforming between lethal blades and curved hooks. While a
More often than not, Rayla leaps into action regardless sharp blade is always useful in a fight, a surprise hook to the legs
of the consequences, which can make her seem both brave can catch an opponent off-guard.
and reckless.

ɬ Hinder: Gain one Ⓟ

● when you switch out this distinction’s
die rating for a ④.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 6

Attributes Each value has a value statement attached to it, which describes
how your character thinks or feels about that value. Rules for
questioning your value statements in play are detailed in the Tales
How do you do the things you need to do? You draw upon of Xadia: The Dragon Prince Roleplaying Game Handbook, but
your attributes. Every character has a rating in these six traits you can also just use the value statement to help you roleplay
from a lowly ④ to a world-class ⑫. You always include one your character.
of your attributes in your dice pool when you attempt a test,
Values always have the same total of fi fteen die steps, with a ④
contest, or challenge. Which attribute you include depends on
counting as one step; if you step up one value’s die rating, you
the circumstances.
step down another.
ɬ Agility: Your hand-eye coordination. Use this
ɬ DeVotion: Have you ever been obligated to
when you need to fight, sneak, aim, or balance.
others? This value is about duty, faith, and
ɬ Awareness: Your ability to perceive your friendship. You’re motivated by the bonds of
surroundings and other people. Use this as you loyalty and your love for others.
pay attention to the world around you.
ɬ Glory: Have you ever wanted to be celebrated
ɬ Influence: Your presence and persuasiveness. by history? This value is about legacy, fame, and
Use this while you convince, coerce, charm, or fortune. You’re motivated by praise, acclaim, and
collude. your desire to be remembered.

ɬ Intellect: Your capacity to comprehend. Use this ɬ Justice: Have you ever been compelled to
to study, learn, recall things you know, or figure fix what’s wrong? This value is about balance,
out a puzzle. righteousness, and reward. You’re motivated by
adherence to fairness and what you think is right.
ɬ Spirit: Your mental resolve and emotional
reserves. Use this when the situation requires ɬ LiBerty: Have you ever resisted the control
courage, determination, perseverance, or of others? This value is about freedom,
willpower. independence, and autonomy. You’re motivated
by a world without oppression or suppression.
ɬ Strength: Your level of physical fitness and
power. Use this if you’re called to be tough, ɬ Mastery: Have you ever needed to rise above
strong, or use brute force. your own limits? This value is about control,
achievement, and skill. You’re motivated by
Rayla has amazing hand-eye coordination, so power, growth, and self-development.
her Agility is ⑩. She’s alert, tough, stubborn,
ɬ Truth: Have you ever sought out all the
and quick-witted, so her Awareness, Spirit, and
answers? This value is about fidelity, certainty,
Strength are all ⑧. Rayla tends to struggle in
and authenticity. You’re motivated by finding
social situations, so her Influence and Intellect
strength in facts and by the principle and pursuit
are ⑥. All of this means that she’s most successful
of knowledge.
when she uses her quick reflexes and speed, and
least successful when trying to convince others to
Rayla will do anything for those she loves, and this
do what she wants
is where she has the most investment: DeVotion
⑩. She is fiercely independent even though she
Values accepts her role in her community, so her LiBerty
is ⑧. She wants to do what’s right, even at personal
cost: Justice ⑧. She doesn’t see power as more
You’re about to embark on a story set in the world of Xadia, so than a tool, so that’s Mastery ⑥. She seeks out her
you need to know what matters to you and why you do what own truth, not that which others tell her: Truth ⑥.
you do—this is represented by your values. Every character’s Finally, she doesn’t have much time for Glory with
investment in these six traits runs from a barely interested ④ a rating of ④. Clearly, when she’s driven by
to a supremely committed ⑫. The bigger the die rating, the her heart, she’s at her peak, with duty
more that value helps you on your journey. You always include and integrity as runners-up.
one of your values in your dice pool when you’re attempting a
test, contest, or challenge; which value depends on what your
character is most motivated by in each situation.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 7

Distinctions Specialties and Assets
Who are you and where do you come from? What do others Your character might be particularly skilled at a couple of
remember about you? How are you described to others in the tales things—their specialties—making it easier for them to succeed
told of your adventures? You are the sum of your distinctions. when those specialized situations come up. Or they might possess
Every character starts with three distinctions rated at ⑧. These an asset—an item, a weapon, an ally, or some other helpful source
may be stepped up later through growth (more on that in the of assistance.
Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince Roleplaying Game Handbook).
You always include one of your distinctions in your dice pool.
Which one you choose may have a part to play in the outcome Specialties
of your test, contest, or challenge.
Each distinction comes with one or more special effects (SFX) A specialty is rated from ⑥ to ⑩ and covers a narrow field of
that let you bend the rules in specific ways under specific expertise or ability, such as SKy Magic, Swordplay, AniMals,
circumstances. This typically involves a benefit such as stepping or Politics. A ⑥ means you’re trained in that specialty. A ⑧
up a die, doubling a die for a roll (adding another die of the means you’re an expert. And a ⑩ means you’re a master. You
same size to your dice pool), including an extra die, creating an can include these dice in your dice pool when you roll so long as
asset, or gaining a Ⓟ
●. This is usually paired with a cost, such as what you’re doing is relevant to the specialty’s area. It’s possible
spending a Ⓟ ●, taking stress, stepping down a die, or rolling a to have as much as a ⑫ in a specialty—grandmaster—but very
④. You may use an SFX whenever it’s appropriate, whether or few characters in all of Xadia are so gifted.
not you’re rolling the distinction die it’s attached to.
Rayla has three specialties at ⑥: SneaKing,
Every distinction has the Hinder SFX by default:
Swordplay, and TracKing. Whenever she’s
sneaking around, fighting with her swords, or
ɬ Hinder: Gain a Ⓟ
● when you switch out this distinction’s die tracking somebody or something, she can include
rating for a ④.
these dice in her dice pool.

All the premade characters have additional unlocked SFX.

Distinctions each belong to one of three broad groups:
Assets
ɬ Your character’s background, kindred,
or ancestry An asset is also rated from ⑥ to ⑩ and is something or someone
who can assist you that isn’t inherent or part of you, such as
ɬ Your character’s training, vocation, or role
a PriMal Stone, an Enchanted Staff, a Glow Toad, or a
ɬ Your character’s most memorable or peculiar Faithful SQuire. A ⑥ means the asset is moderately useful, a
quirk or feature ⑧ means it’s very useful, and a ⑩ means it’s extremely useful.
As with specialties, it’s possible to have a ⑫ asset, but such things
Rayla’s three distinctions are Moonshadow Elf are legendary in nature. Include the die in your dice pool when
⑧, Reluctant Assassin ⑧, and Act First, ThinK the asset might be helpful or beneficial.
Later ⑧. Each starts with the Hinder SFX so Rayla
can use them in dice pools as a ④, representing Rayla has her twin ElVen Butterfly Blades ⑧,
them getting in her way. This is especially true for which she can use to fight and to climb or
Reluctant Assassin and Act First, ThinK Later. scale walls.
She has also unlocked two more SFX under her
Moonshadow Elf distinction: Elf Agility, which lets During any story it’s possible to create or discover other
her spend a Ⓟ ● to step up her Agility in dice rolls temporary assets that typically last for the duration of a test,
when drawing on her elven speed and balance; contest, or challenge—they can last a bit longer if you spend a
and Moonshadow Form, which lets her spend a Ⓟ ● ●. Since temporary assets are by nature always helpful, it’s good
Ⓟ
during a full moon to double her Moonshadow to have them around; but unlike a character’s assets, they always
Elf distinction die and keep an extra die in her go away or become less important.
total when she’s trying to hide, sneak, or go unseen.
Stress
Characters in Tales of Xadia must often endure great hardships At the start of the first session, Rayla has no stress
or suffer through perilous situations in order to triumph. We dice. However, there are places on the character
represent these personal obstacles with stress dice, which are journal for her stress dice to be recorded. During a
rated from ⑥ to ⑫. Your PC acquires stress dice through play; particularly dangerous battle, such as the first attack
track your stress dice on your character journal. on the castle of Katolis, Rayla might acquire Angry,
Exhausted, or InJured stress.
Stress dice are added to your opposition’s pool whenever it might
make things harder for you, so they’re like the opposite of assets.
You can recover stress dice (aside from Corrupted stress, an
exception discussed in Playing a Dark Mage) when your character
has time to rest, recuperate, or gain the benefits of medicine. By
spending a Ⓟ ●, you can also step down one of your stress dice
when the Narrator rolls an opportunity. That represents shaking
it off, taking a breath, or realizing that it wasn’t as bad as you
thought. Stress dice that are stepped down to ④ are removed
from your character journal.

Types of Stress

Stress dice come in six different types. Your character might be

affected by more than one type of stress, but only one stress die
can be added to your opposition in any given roll. If you take
more stress of a given type, it steps up the die, rather than adding
another die of the same type. When any of your stress dice reach
⑫ and would be stepped up again, you are stressed out.
ɬ Afraid: This is the stress of fear and panic.
Once this exceeds ⑫, you are gripped in the
clutches of terror.

ɬ Angry: This is the stress of rage and frustration.

Once this exceeds ⑫, you are lost to your wrath.

ɬ Corrupted: This is the stress of dark magic.

Once this exceeds ⑫, you are consumed
with darkness.

ɬ Exhausted: This is the stress of fatigue and

weariness. Once this exceeds ⑫, you can
no longer remain awake.

ɬ InJured: This is the stress of pain and wounding.

Once this exceeds ⑫, you collapse unconscious
and may die.

ɬ Insecure: This is the stress of apprehension

and worry. Once this exceeds ⑫, you succumb
to insecurity.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 9

Magic in Tales of Xadia
Xadia is full of magic. Many elves are rune mages, channeling ɬ A magical vocation distinction with a connected
a primal source through runes they draw in the air. Elves are SFX; for example, DarK Magic Apprentice,
predisposed to learn the primal magic associated with their SKywing Sage, Acolyte of
people, through the arcanum of the primal—their innate the Sun
connection to a primal source. Elves who haven’t studied rune
ɬ A magical specialty to include in pools when
magic can do some minor magic using their inherent primal
directly using your magic: DarK Magic, Earth
connection. Elves revile dark magic and avoid it at all costs.
Magic, Moon Magic, SKy Magic, Sun Magic
Humans, however, aren’t inherently magic. A rare human dark
ɬ A spells asset: DarK Magic Spells, Earth
mage like Claudia may learn a limited number of rune magic
Magic Spells, Moon Magic Spells, SKy Magic
spells, but it’s difficult and requires much study and the use of
Spells, Sun Magic Spells with two or three
a primal stone or powerful artifact tied to a primal source; this
specific spells
journey should take more than one tale, as these objects are
nearly impossible to find. Human mages like Callum, who can
There are also magic item assets that any character attuned to
channel primal magic without a stone, are so extremely rare that
magic may use, even if they aren’t mages; for example, TreMor
human PCs can’t learn magic this way.
Staff, AMulet of the Winds, SunBlessed Bracers.
It’s easier for a human to become a dark mage, learning dark
To cast a spell, create a dice pool including your vocation
magic that drains the magical essence of another creature and
distinction, your magical specialty, and a magical asset (either
warps the mage’s soul and appearance over time. This difficult,
spells or an item, plus a Magical Creature asset if you’re a dark
dangerous (and, frankly, evil) path repulses most humans and
mage) and describe what you want to do in general and how your
is condemned by all creatures in Xadia, so dark mages are
spell helps you do that.
relatively rare.
Rayla isn’t a mage, but as a Moonshadow elf she’s
att uned to Moon magic. Her Moonshadow Form
Playing a Mage SFX is an example of using magic without being a
rune mage like Callum or a dark mage like Claudia.

Magical ability is represented in the game by a combination of

distinctions, specialties, and assets. A character who uses magic
from the primal sources or dark magic must have:

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 10

Playing a Dark Mage

Dark mages have chosen an easy path to power, but they must use
the arcanum of magical creatures, sacrificing the creature in the
process. To reflect that in Tales of Xadia, the rules for assets and
stress are modified for dark spellcasting. Using dark magic can
inflict Corrupted stress on you, and even though it’s possible to
embrace it and use it to enhance your own spells, it will consume
you if you can’t get rid of it.

Magical Creature Asset

When assembling a dice pool that includes dark magic, you must
either spend a plot point to create a Magical Creature ⑥
Playing
asset, or rely on an asset you acquired earlier. The asset is used
up when the test, contest, or challenge is over. the Game
Getting Corrupted Stress This section tells you how to play your character and determine
how they interact with the world of Xadia using the Cortex game
As a dark mage, you may get Corrupted stress when the
system. It covers tests, contests, and challenges, as well as how
Narrator activates one of your hitches, when you fail a roll using
to roll and read your dice, spend your plot points, and track the
dark magic, or when one of your SFX gives it to you. Most dark
outcome of your decisions.
mages can perform simple parlor tricks, such as lighting a candle,
without requiring dice rolls; these don’t run the risk of getting Being a player doesn’t just mean looking up traits and die
Corrupted stress. ratings and rolling dice, of course. You’re responsible for
making decisions for your character, decisions that you think
your character would make under the circumstances. Sometimes
Corrupted Stress Works for You those might be terrible decisions! That’s all part of the fun of
As a dark mage, you may include your Corrupted stress in your roleplaying. You don’t have to be right all of the time, and some
dice pool when using dark magic, rather than in the opposition of the best scenes in any game come from a character making a
pool. However, if you fail the roll, your Corrupted stress is choice based on their values and what’s important to them or to
stepped up by one. This is similar to pushing other types of stress, their loved ones, which we as players might balk at.
although a dark mage only steps up Corrupted on a failed roll.

Recovering Corrupted Stress Your Dice Pool

Corrupted stress can’t be recovered normally. You can cast
a spell to recover your Corrupted stress, using a Magical Any time you’re called to roll dice for a test, contest, or challenge,
Creature asset as normal. The difficulty is ⑧⑧ plus your you assemble a dice pool out of the following traits:
Corrupted stress.
ɬ One attribute die
On a successful roll, compare the effect die to the Corrupted ɬ One value die
stress (remember that the size of the dice is all that matters). If ɬ One distinction die
the effect die is greater, remove the stress entirely; if it’s equal to ɬ One specialty die, if applicable
or smaller, step it down. On a failed roll, step up the Corrupted ɬ One or more asset dice, if applicable
stress by one. ɬ One of your opponent’s stress dice, if applicable
ɬ Extra dice from SFX, if applicable
This spell can’t be repeated until the dark mage’s Corrupted
stress increases again. If you’re stressed out by Corrupted stress,
The dice pool represents all the things that contribute to your
you gain Corrupted trauma, which is much harder to recover.
success: attributes for your physical or mental talents, values for
Trauma is detailed in the Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince
what motivates you to succeed, distinctions for what makes you
Roleplaying Game Handbook.
who you are, and so on. There’s no maximum number of dice
in a dice pool, but generally the pool includes anywhere from
three to six dice.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 11

Rolling Dice Heroic Success

Whenever you roll dice, you want to get a higher total than your If you beat the difficulty by 5 or more on a test or challenge,
opposition. This is the core principle of Tales of Xadia’s Cortex you’ve got a heroic success. You not only succeed at what you were
game system. The key difference between tests, contests, and trying to do, your roll produces unexpected beneficial results. If
challenges is who rolls the dice first. your opponent loses by 5 points or more in a contest, you get a
heroic success and are the clear victor. As with any success, the
When you roll two or more dice, you choose two dice results to
Narrator should ask you to describe your amazing efforts, but
add together for your total, and a third die to use as the effect
that’s just icing on the cake. There’s an added benefit as well.
die. If you’re rolling one die, your total is equal to the result of
The effect die is stepped up by one for every 5 points you beat
that die. If you don’t have a third die, your effect die starts at
the difficulty by.
④. Your effect die indicates how well your efforts did, beyond a
simple pass or fail. When you pick a die to use as the effect die,
the number it rolled doesn’t matter—just the size of the die.
Heroic Successes on an Effect Die of
OPPONENT YOU RESULT
How Dice Amount Affects Effect Die
DICE RESULTS TOTAL EFFECT DIE
5 10 your effect die steps
up by one to

6 5 15 your effect die steps

up by two to

7 5 19 your effect die steps

up by two to
15

After rolling dice, leave them on the table in view of everyone. Effect Dice
Only pick up the dice once a test, contest, or challenge has been
resolved. The Narrator does not hide dice from the players; all
The effect die is chosen from the dice pool after the dice used
rolls are done in the open.
for the total are taken out and added together. The effect die
When you or the Narrator are rolling to oppose somebody is used for things like overcoming challenge dice or inflicting
else, you’re putting together an opposition pool. For tests and stress dice on others. Only the size of the effect die (number of
challenges, the opposition pool is assembled by the Narrator sides) matters; the result rolled on the effect die has no further
and is rolled first, so you know what total you have to beat. For use in the roll.
contests, however, the opposition pool roll comes after you’ve
already rolled your own dice, and in that case the roll needs to
beat what you’ve rolled.
Dice Result Color Reference Chart
You are free to choose any two dice for your total. You don’t (just in case you forgot)
need to choose the two highest rolling dice. You may want to A hitch has a blue outline and black interior.
save a die with more sides for your effect die, even if it was the Cannot be used in results.
highest result. Likewise, the Narrator may decide to let the dice
fall where they may and always keep the two highest rolling dice Dice type is just blue.

or go easy on you and keep a smaller total. It’s totally up to the A chosen dice result will have a blue outline
person rolling the dice. and a white interior.

You and the other players make decisions for the group in A dice result you chose not to use is grey.
response to the situations the Narrator presents. Not every
decision needs to lead to dice. Unless the outcome of a roll— An effect die is green.
success or failure—would be interesting or move the story
along, or unless there’s something keeping you from doing
what you want to do, then don’t bother picking up the dice. If a
particular outcome is guaranteed to happen, the Narrator can
either describe what happens and move on, or have you narrate
the outcome of what your character does.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 12

Ineligible Dice Effect Dice in Automatic Outcomes

Any die that came up as a hitch can’t be used as an effect die. When a test, contest, or challenge isn’t opposed and you need an
If you spend plot points to add more dice to a total beyond the effect die, use the largest die in the difficulty pool (for a test) or
first two, those dice can’t also be used as effect dice. If there the initiating dice pool (for a contest). Most of the time, however,
are no dice left in the pool once the total is determined (or the you won’t need an effect die if no test, contest, or challenge is
remaining dice are hitches or otherwise spoken for), the effect rolled.
die is always a ④.

Adding Extra Effect Dice

Effect Dice in Opposition
You can spend a Ⓟ ● to keep an additional effect die. This is most
When rolling dice for tests, the effect die can give you an idea often used to represent doing more than one thing at a time
of how well you did in the test. A ⑫ effect die means the test with a single roll. Additional effect dice can be used for different
had a mind-blowing outcome, while a ④ means it was barely things, such as inflicting other types of stress or creating assets.
successful. If you failed the test, the Narrator might give you
a stress die equal to the opposition pool’s effect die, but if you
succeed, the opposition’s effect die doesn’t matter.
Plot Points
When rolling dice for contests or challenges, the effect die is
more important. If you win a contest, you compare your effect die
Plot points (Ⓟ ●) give players a measure of control over their
against the opposition’s effect die (from the roll they just made
character’s fate. They represent luck and fortune, but also
to try to beat you). If your opponent’s effect die is bigger than
narrative authority; they’re how we separate important characters
yours, your effect die is stepped down by one before you use it
in the story from those who aren’t as critical. With plot points,
for a stress die. If it’s equal to or less than yours, it doesn’t matter.
both the players and the Narrator can tweak the results of the
dice, activate SFX to do interesting things, and place a hand on
Your Effect Die in Contests the scales for a moment when the dice are fickle.
THEIR EFFECT DIE YOUR EFFECT DIE Every player gets a Ⓟ ● at the beginning of each session.
Unspent Ⓟ● roll over to the next session, but even if you end a
session without any, you always start the next session with a Ⓟ
●.

If you win a dice roll in a challenge, the effect die lets you know
if you can reduce the challenge pool by a whole die, or just step
down one of the dice in the pool.

Effect Die vs. a Challenge Pool

YOUR EFFECT DIE CHALLENGE POOL

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 13

Earning Plot Points as a Player has a ⑥ die rating and you must give it a name,
like Tree Branch or Higher Ground. You can
assign it to yourself, or to somebody else. It’s
There are several ways for players to earn Ⓟ
● during play. If you an advantageous bonus for a test, contest, or
earn a Ⓟ
● because of a die roll, such as a hitch, you can’t use that challenge, and lasts for as long as the test, contest,
● until your die roll is resolved (so you can’t roll a 1, get a Ⓟ
Ⓟ ●, or challenge lasts. You may include it in your dice
and then spend it to keep more dice in your total).
pool just like you would any other asset. If you
spend an extra Ⓟ ●, the asset lasts for the rest of
ɬ Hitches: The Narrator may hand a Ⓟ ● over to you the session.
to activate one or more of your hitches. They can
step up a stress die on your character, they can ɬ Include More Results: After any roll, you may
create a ⑥ temporary asset for one of their NCs spend a Ⓟ● to include more results in your total
involved in the scene, or they can step up a die out of those you just rolled. This way, your total
in a challenge pool (if there is one). If you rolled may be three, four, or five dice added together.
multiple hitches, the Narrator can step up the The only limit to how many results you may add
stress, asset, or challenge die by one more step to your total is how many dice you rolled to
for each additional hitch you rolled (maximum begin with and how many Ⓟ ● you have available.
⑫) without giving you an additional Ⓟ ●. If the Remember, you can’t add any hitches to your
Narrator wants to do different things with each total.
hitch you rolled, they need to give you a separate
ɬ Keep an Extra Effect Die: Sometimes you want
● for each one. Otherwise you only get one Ⓟ
Ⓟ ● to be able to achieve multiple outcomes with a
even if they use all the hitches to step up one of
single test or contest. In that case, you need more
your stress dice.
than one effect die. You can spend a Ⓟ ● to choose
ɬ Giving in: If you give in during a contest and let another of your remaining dice as an effect die in
your opponent succeed rather than rolling the addition to the first. You can’t do this if you don’t
dice to beat their total, you earn a Ⓟ
●. You only have any dice left over from your roll, or if the
get this Ⓟ
● if you’ve already rolled at least once in only dice left over are hitches. These extra effect
the contest; you don’t get a Ⓟ● if someone starts a dice can’t all be used in the same way: if you’re
contest and you choose not to oppose it. giving a foe Exhausted stress with one effect
die, you must choose a different sort of stress or
ɬ SFX: Some SFX (including the default Hinder SFX
create an asset with the other effect die.
for all distinctions) give you a Ⓟ
●.
ɬ Share an Asset: If you’ve created a temporary
ɬ Roleplaying: The Narrator is always free to hand
asset or you have an asset of your own that you’d
out Ⓟ
● for remarkable moments in play, including like to share with other characters, you can spend
making everyone laugh, doing something truly
aⓅ● to make this asset open, allowing other
heroic and in character regardless of your
characters in the scene to use it in their dice pools.
distinctions, and so forth. This should be limited
This lasts for as long as the temporary asset lasts,
to a Ⓟ
● for each such occasion. or until the end of the scene if it’s one of your
character assets.

Spending Plot Points as a Player ɬ Activate Opportunities: When the Narrator

rolls an opportunity—which is the same as a
player rolling a hitch—you can spend a Ⓟ ● to
You can spend Ⓟ● to do several things. Remember, you can only activate it if the roll is opposing you, i.e., if it’s
spend Ⓟ
● you’ve earned from a die roll after your die roll has been being rolled in opposition to you on a test,
resolved and the total announced.
contest, or challenge. When you do this, the
Narrator assigns it to their personal Ⓟ● supply
ɬ Activate SFX: Some of your SFX must be
that’s used for all Narrator characters. You can do
activated by spending a Ⓟ ●. These effects only one of two things: you can step down one of your
last for the duration of the roll you’re using it on;
stress dice or you can step up an existing asset
once you do something else, the effect must be
(even one of your character assets) until the asset
activated again.
goes away or the scene ends, whichever comes
ɬ Create a Temporary Asset: You can create a first. Some SFX might activate on opportunities,
temporary asset by spending a Ⓟ
●. This asset as well.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 14

Tests, Contests, and Challenges
A test is when you roll dice to resolve a situation That difficulty is the number you need to beat with your own
by determining if there’s a successful outcome or a total when you roll your dice for the test. If you beat it, the test
challenging failure. Examples might include climbing is a success. If you didn’t beat it, the test is a failure. Beating a
a wall, escaping a guard, or solving a riddle. Almost difficulty means rolling higher than the difficulty total. If your
always, tests are initiated by the Narrator asking the total is the same as the difficulty’s total, you didn’t beat it, so this
player, “What do you do?” still counts as a failure.
The difficulty dice are usually two dice of the same number of
When your PC gets into a conflict over something
sides, based on the situation:
they want, this is called a contest, which determines if
any other character can intervene, thwart, or oppose
your character. Examples include fighting a duel with VERY EASY
a foe, arm wrestling a friend, or baking the best pie.
EASY
Contests are almost always initiated by a player, who
picks up dice and essentially says, “I’m doing this. CHALLENGING
Who’s stopping me?”
HARD

A challenge is when the Narrator describes a situation VERY HARD

that might take more than a single test to resolve,
often one that’s time-sensitive or carries an ongoing
In addition to difficulty dice, the Narrator picks up one or more
risk. Examples include fighting back an army,
dice based on traits present in the location, Narrator characters
disarming a complex magical trap, or convincing a
who are in opposition, or anything else that might make things
room full of nobles to do things your way. Challenges
tricky. When in doubt, the Narrator can simply add one or more
start with questions like, “Can I do this before time
runs out?” or “How long is this going to take?”
⑥ to represent increasing risk, threats, or challenges, like “It’s
rocky in here so it’s hard to move around” or “It’s raining a lot, so
it’s hard to see.”
A player can always choose not to respond to a test or a challenge
and find another way forward. The Narrator or other player can Tests are usually uncomplicated. A success means your character
always respond to a contest by declaring that they don’t oppose does what they wanted to do, and a failure means they don’t.
the initiating player, in which case the character simply gets what Occasionally, you might set the difficulty for a NC’s test. In this
they wanted. In all of these cases, there’s usually no need for an case, you roll first and the Narrator rolls to beat the difficulty
effect die; if one is needed, use the largest die in the dice pool (the set by you. Usually, though, the Narrator sets up scenes where
opposition pool for a test, or the player’s dice pool for a contest). you roll tests as opposed to NCs trying to do things while you
just sit and watch.
Examples of tests include: trying to climb something, craft
Tests: Success or Failure something, use rune magic to affect a non-living target, search
a room, or decipher a mysterious inscription on a wall.
In a test, the Narrator assembles an opposition pool and rolls it,
(See Example: Rayla’s Test.)
setting the difficulty by adding together two dice from the roll
and announcing the total.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 15

 Example: Rayla’s Test
Rayla has been separated from her friends after a battle with Del
Barian bandits and hurries to catch up to them. She arrives at a TEST: Get to the other side of a ravine
mysterious ravine filled with howling winds. Her destination is (CHALLENGING ⑧ ⑧)
on the other side, so her player declares that she’s going to try to
scale the ravine walls to get above the winds. The Narrator says
this requires a test with a difficulty of ⑧⑧. 1
Narrator’s Difficulty Roll
Rayla’s player looks at her character journal and assembles
her dice pool: Strength ⑧ because that’s the attribute that DICE POOL DICE RESULTS TOTAL
covers physical effort; DeVotion ⑩ because she’s desperate to 10
reunite with her friends and the ravine is in her way; Act First,
ThinK Later ⑧ because her impulsive nature often helps her
Since the Narrator only had
avoid hesitation; and her ElVen Butterfly Blades ⑧, which two dice, the default ④ effect
she’s using in their hook configuration to help her climb. That’s die is used
⑧⑧⑧ + ⑩, a prett y good dice pool!
2
1 The Narrator rolls the ⑧⑧ difficulty: 4 and 6. Total: 10.
Rayla’s Roll Against Narrator’s Roll
2 Rayla’s player rolls her ⑧⑧⑧ + ⑩ dice: 6, 3, and 2 on the DICE POOL DICE RESULTS TOTAL
⑧s, and 6 on the ⑩, for a total of 12 (6 + 6). If she needs it, she
picks one of the remaining ⑧s as her effect die, but for this test 12
all the Narrator needs is the total.

Because the 12 beats the Narrator’s 10, Rayla is successful and

reaches the top of the ravine wall and safety… for the moment!

Contests: The Struggle

For a contest, you’re the one initiating it, so you pick up the Sometimes the Narrator may initiate a contest when a NC
dice and roll first, adding together two results for a total. If your chooses to do a thing; the Narrator is essentially asking you,
opposition decides against opposing you after seeing what you “What are you going to do about it?” However, the PCs are the
rolled, you automatically win the contest. If your opposition heroes of the story, so Narrators shouldn’t do this too often or
decides to stop you, they assemble a dice pool and try to beat else the players are just watching the NCs do things.
the difficulty you just set.
Examples of contests include dueling across a
If your opposition doesn’t beat your difficulty, you’ve won the battlement, putting your case before the king’s
contest and you put stress on your opponent equal to the last court, struggling over a prize that your rival
effect die you set aside. also wants.
If they do beat your difficulty, it goes back over to you; you can Contests are very often made between PCs
choose to give in, in which case you define the failure on your and other PCs, or between a PC and a
own terms, and you get a Ⓟ ●. Otherwise, your opposition’s total catalyst (see page 25). However, it’s
becomes the new difficulty, and you must roll again to try to beat perfectly fine to initiate a contest with
it. Failing to beat your opposition means your opponent gets to a non-catalyst Narrator character.
define how they stopped you and can put stress on you, instead. (See Example: Rayla’s Contest.)
Contests go back and forth until one side gives in or fails to beat
the difficulty. The losing side takes stress, and the winning side
comes out with the advantage. It returns to a conversation—is
the loser going to back down, or is the winner going to press
their advantage? If the winner isn’t given what they want from
the loser, another contest might be necessary.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 16

 Example: Rayla’s Contest
Hurrying across the rocky clifftops to join her friends, Rayla is
surprised to see one of the Del Barian bandits, Ulfred, from the CONTEST: Sneak past Ulfred
battle earlier that day. It looks like he was pursuing her friends as without him noticing Rayla
well, but took a moment to catch his breath. Rayla’s player wants
to avoid engaging with this rough character for too long, even if
she thinks she could easily take him. She decides to sneak along
1
the cliff just out of sight, and hope that he doesn’t see her. Rayla’s
Rayla’s Difficulty Roll
player declares this and asks the Narrator if Ulfred is going to
stop her (or, in this case, notice that somebody’s sneaking around DICE POOL DICE RESULTS TOTAL
him). The Narrator says yes, Ulfred’s on high alert for anything 13
that isn’t a bandit, so he’s going to contest Rayla’s attempt.

Because Rayla initiates the contest, she assembles her dice pool
first. She picks Agility ⑩ since this falls under her ability to 2
move carefully; Truth ⑧ because, while she’s still trying to Ulfred’s Roll Against Rayla’s Roll
reach her friends, she’s hoping to hide the truth of her presence DICE POOL DICE RESULTS TOTAL
from Ulfred; Moonshadow Elf ⑧ because sneaking is a thing
her people do well; and her SneaK ⑥ specialty, for obvious 9
reasons. That’s ⑩ + ⑧⑧ + ⑥ for her dice pool.

1 Rayla’s player rolls the dice to set the starting difficulty for
Ulfred: 7 on the ⑩, 5 and 2 on the ⑧⑧, and 6 on the ⑥. The By winning the contest,
7 and 6 add up to a total of 13! She chooses one of the remaining she can choose to
inflict a type of stress
⑧s as her effect die. on Ulfred based on the
size of her effect die
The Narrator looks at Ulfred’s character journal. He’s got
Catalyst ⑧, Truth ⑥, and Del Barian Bandit ⑧. He doesn’t Exhausted
have any specialties that seem relevant, but the Narrator spends
one of Ulfred’s Ⓟ
● to create a temporary asset: Watchful ⑥.
That’s ⑧⑧ + ⑥⑥ for his dice pool.

2 The Narrator rolls to try to beat the difficulty Rayla set: 3 and 2
on the ⑧⑧, and 5 and 4 on the ⑥⑥. That’s a grand total of 9.
Even if the Narrator spends a Ⓟ● to keep one of the other dice,
the most he could get is a 12 (from adding the 3 to the 9). He
decides not to, and the contest is over.

Because Ulfred lost the contest, Rayla inflicts stress on Ulfred

with her ⑧ effect die, and she chooses to make it Exhausted
stress. Ulfred’s clearly worn out and it’s dulling his senses! The
Narrator makes a note of this in case Ulfred shows up again
during the session, and elects to have Ulfred remain
unaware of Rayla’s presence. If this was a particularly
important scene of discovery and intrigue, perhaps
the Narrator would have taken it to another contest
until either Ulfred or Rayla were stressed out.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 17

Challenges: Overcoming Extended Obstacles

In a challenge, the Narrator sets out a challenge pool based Alternatively, the Narrator can choose to strengthen the
on how difficult the challenge is and how long it will take to challenge pool by stepping up one of the dice in the pool by one
overcome it. The former uses the same difficulty ratings as a test; step. Once the Narrator has had their turn, it’s back to the first
the latter is several dice from three to five, or sometimes more, PC, and play continues like it did the first round.
where fewer dice means it won’t take as long to overcome and
In a challenge, the Narrator rolls the challenge pool to set the
more dice means it takes concerted effort by multiple characters
difficulty, just like a test. Then you roll your own dice pool and
to do it quickly.
try to beat the difficulty. If you don’t, you fail to progress the
Challenges take place over several rounds. Each round represents challenge, and you take stress equal to the Narrator’s effect die.
some passage of time; it could be a few seconds, or it could be If you beat it, you make progress, and compare your effect die to
minutes or hours. Fighting your way out of a water-logged tunnel one of the dice in the challenge pool. If it’s bigger, the challenge
fi lled with rats might use rounds of only a few seconds each, but die is removed from the challenge pool. If it’s equal to or smaller,
trying to transcribe a complex spell from a wall carving might the challenge die is stepped down by one step.
take rounds of several hours to achieve.
Getting a heroic success in a challenge lets you overcome the
The Narrator may declare that something happens after a certain challenge faster. Each heroic success lets you step up your effect
number of rounds, such as guards arriving, a cave collapsing, die by one step, or keep an additional effect die from your
or the sun going down over the horizon. If this happens, the remaining dice; if you choose the latter option, you can compare
challenge may be a failure. If there’s no such time-sensitive this added effect die to another die in the challenge pool and
element to the challenge, then it becomes a matter of how long it either eliminate it or step it down, as well.
takes you to overcome the challenge without getting stressed out.
Once the challenge pool is reduced to zero dice, the challenge is
Other PCs might help you take on challenges, but everyone must over, and you’ve won!
take turns, one turn per player per round. The Narrator decides
Examples of challenges include sneaking past dangerous guards,
which of you goes first, but once a PC has had their turn, that
confronting a group of hungry beasts, overcoming a magical trap,
player chooses who goes next out of the remaining PCs. Finally,
dismantling an enchantment, laying siege to a fortified castle.
the Narrator gets a turn for the challenge pool, just as if it were a
character of its own—the Narrator chooses a PC to test against, (See Example: Rayla’s Challenge.)
and that player sets the difficulty with their dice.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 18

 Example: Rayla’s Challenge
Rayla’s nearly reached her friends—she can see their trail
clearly—but one more obstacle is in her way. A group of spiders, CHALLENGE: Get past the giant spiders
each as big as a cat, skitters through the forest, watching for prey. (EASY ⑥⑥, SHORT ⑥)
Her only option is to fight her way through the spiders. The
Narrator says this is a ⑥⑥⑥ challenge: not too dangerous, but
also not the kind of inconvenience Rayla needs right now.
1
DICE POOL DICE RESULTS TOTAL
1 The Narrator rolls the ⑥⑥⑥ challenge pool first to set the Narrator 10
difficulty: 6, 4, and 3, for a total of 10. The effect die is ⑥.
Rayla 18
Rayla’s player reviews her traits and selects the following: Agility
⑩ for her fighting skills; DeVotion ⑩ because her main Heroic Success!
motivation is reaching her friends; Reluctant Assassin ⑧ as 2
that’s where she gets her battle training from; Swordplay ⑥ as Adjusted DICE RESULTS TOTAL
her specialty; and her ElVen Butterfly Blades ⑧ as her asset. Results 18
That’s a heft y ⑩⑩ + ⑧⑧ + ⑥—this is where Rayla shines.

Rayla’s player describes her leaping into the trees, jumping from Due to the heroic success,
branch to branch, her blades going snicker-snack. She rolls: 10 Rayla can add another effect die
and 2 on the ⑩s, 8 and 1 on the ⑧s, and 5 on the ⑥. Ugh, a
3 CHALLENGE POOL
hitch! She sets aside the ⑧ that rolled the 1 and adds the two
best dice together for 18, using her other ⑩ as the effect die. Steps down
She easily wins the first round of the challenge. due to Rayla’s
⑥ effect die
2 She beat the Narrator’s total by more than 5 (18 vs 10), so that’s
Eliminated by Rayla’s
a heroic success. Rayla can either step up her ⑩ effect die or ⑩ effect die
choose an additional effect die. She chooses the only remaining
die in her pool, the ⑥. So her effect dice are ⑩ and ⑥.
Angry
3 The Narrator says that the ⑩ effect die removes one of the ⑥s
Narrator buys Rayla’s
in the challenge pool, reducing the pool to ⑥⑥. The ⑥ effect hitch to give her stress
die isn’t bigger than the dice in the pool, so it steps one down +1
from ⑥ to ④. The challenge pool is now ⑥ + ④. The Narrator
hands over a Ⓟ● to activate Rayla’s hitch and give her Angry ⑥ 4
stress: dodging spider webs is raising Rayla’s temper. DICE POOL DICE RESULTS TOTAL

On the spiders’ turn, the Narrator says they regroup in respose

Narrator 10
to Rayla’s attacks. He steps up the ④ to a ⑥ again. Rayla 17
4 It’s the second round. The Narrator again rolls the spiders’
Heroic success allows Rayla to
challenge pool, which is now ⑥⑥ for the challenge and a ⑥ add a second effect die again
for Rayla’s Angry stress from last round. He rolls: 5 on two of the
⑥, and a 4 on the third! Total of 10, with a ⑥ effect die. 5 CHALLENGE POOL

Rayla could tweak her dice pool, but she’s happy with her pool Since both of Rayla’s effect die are
from round one, and she isn’t doing anything different. More bigger, the entire pool is eliminated
leaping, more flashing of knives. She rolls: 9 and 8 on the ⑩s, 5
and 4 on the ⑧s, but a hitch on the ⑥. She adds the 9 and 8 for
Angry
17 total, another heroic success, and uses both ⑧s as effect dice.
Narrator buys Rayla’s
5 The Narrator says that her two ⑧ effect dice eliminate the hitch to increase her
remaining two ⑥ in the challenge pool. Rayla's Angry stress was existing stress
included in the dice pool, but it isn't part of the challenge. With +1
all the challenge dice gone, Rayla has defeated the spiders. The
Angry
Narrator gives Rayla’s player another Ⓟ ● to activate the hitch she
rolled on that ⑥, which steps up the Angry stress to a ⑧. Rayla
runs off into the woods, frustrated and tangled up in webs.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 19

Outcomes If you step down a value, you don’t recover it until the end of the
session. It’s polite to ask if they need help, of course—and be sure
to describe what this help looks like (spirited encouragement,
When a player wins a test, contest, or challenge, they get what
linking of hands, distracting the opposition, and so on).
they wanted and they can narrate the outcome. What this means
usually depends on what they said they were trying to do. Was
Callum’s player wants to help Ezran at a risky river
a player character trying to dispel the magical effect? It’s gone.
crossing. He decides to step down his Mastery
Knock out the bad guy? They did that. The player describes it
value by one to step up Ezran’s Mastery by one for
and then the story moves on. If the player can’t think of what
this roll; He describes Callum cut slowing down and
might happen if they succeed, the Narrator can do the honors,
aiding Ezran with encouragement and advice. Ezran
and remind the player to think about what the consequences of
can’t keep the stepped up value after the roll, but
success are before they roll the dice next time.
for this test it may determine if Ezran gets across the
When a player fails, however, they should try to be entertaining river or is swept away.
in how they describe their failure. The only lasting effect is the
story heading in a different direction than they wanted, unless
they picked up stress or they rolled all hitches and came up with Interfering with Others
a total botch.
If there’s a contest underway in the same scene as you and you
Outcomes Change the Status Quo want to join in or bring it to a halt, you can attempt to interfere.
Usually this means you want something neither of the other two
When your character fails, it doesn’t necessarily mean the scene
characters wants, or maybe you want the same thing as one of
ends and their goals are thwarted permanently. A scene can
them but on your own terms. To interfere, spend a Ⓟ ● to jump in
have many tests and contests in it, involving many characters,
and roll your dice before the outcome is resolved, but only after
sometimes even several tests or contests going on at the same
both original contestants have had a chance to roll. If you beat
time. Failure should always mean that the situation has changed
the highest roll of the other two characters, you bring the contest
in one way or another. Consequences should always come from
to an immediate halt. Nobody wins, nobody is stressed out… yet.
failure, even if they’re as simple as “You dropped it; now what
do you do?” If both sides are really keen on continuing their contest, they
may each hand you a Ⓟ ● to continue. That’s two Ⓟ ●! At this
In some cases, losing a test, contest, or challenge can result in
point, the original characters reroll their dice, just like they
your character being taken out of the scene. But in most cases,
were starting a new contest, and neither side in the contest may
your character only needs to revisit their new circumstances and
give in. The combatants should describe how they’re fighting
take a different course of action, perhaps with a stress die making
around, over, or at the cost of your interference. Compare the
their lives a little trickier.
two original contestants to see who wins the contest; the winner
inflicts a stress die on the loser. In addition, if either or both of
the original contestants rolls higher than you, you also take stress
Helping Others dice—possibly from both contestants. In other words, if your
interference fails, the contest may continue.
When a friendly PC makes a test or challenge, you can contribute
to their success in several ways:
Using Interference as a Group Contest
ɬ When it’s your turn, you can make a test The rules for interference can be used for all-out scrambles for
(difficulty based on the situation—usually some kind of object, goal, or prize. The highest roller is the
⑥⑥ or ⑧⑧) and give the friendly PC your successful character; everyone else takes their lumps. Nobody
effect die as a temporary asset for their next roll. needs to spend Ⓟ ● to join in, but everyone risks taking stress
if they aren’t the winner. If you lose, describe how things went
ɬ When it’s not your turn, you can spend a Ⓟ
● badly for you. The winner chooses their effect die and gives it
to give the other player a ⑥ asset.
to all of the other contestants as stress, but they can make it a
ɬ On the other player’s turn, you can step down different type of stress in each case if they like (it still uses the
one of your value die ratings by one and step up same effect die to determine the size of the stress die).
that same value in their own dice pool for that roll.
To assist a character in a group contest like this without joining
ɬ In a challenge, you can take your own turn against the contest yourself, use the same helping rules as described in
the challenge pool. Helping Others—either create an asset before the contest starts,
or step down a value to step up a contestant’s value.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 20

Stress
Your character takes stress when they fail at a test, challenge, or Activating one of the Narrator’s hitches lets you step down a
contest. The size of the stress die is equal to the effect die of the stress die by one. Other characters can attempt to recover your
opposition pool, with a minimum of ⑥. Whoever inflicted the stress by making a test against an opposition pool based on
stress die on you gets to choose what type of stress it is, based on difficulty dice equal in size to the stress die being recovered. If
the nature of the test, contest, or challenge. The Narrator can they succeed, compare their effect die to your stress die. If it’s
also step up one of your existing stress dice when you roll a hitch larger, your stress goes away. If it’s equal to or less, your stress
and they activate it; if you don’t have any stress dice, the Narrator steps down by one.
can inflict one on you at ⑥.
Stress can’t go lower than ⑥. If it gets stepped down from ⑥,
it’s eliminated.
How Effect Die Creates Stress
(starting from none)
How Each Outcome Recovers Stress of Insecure
EFFECT DIE STRESS RATING

InJured Activating an Opportunity Insecure

InJured Winning the test with
Eliminated!
a bigger effect die
InJured
Winning the test with a
Insecure
smaller or equal effect die
If all of your dice come up as hitches, this is called a botch. The
Narrator can inflict ⑥ stress of any type on your character and Losing the Test Insecure
step it up by one for every hitch on the roll past the first. If this
ends up being more than ⑫ stress (i.e. you rolled five hitches,
which is a ⑥ stepped up four times) or it steps up existing stress Stressed Out
past ⑫, then your character is stressed out. You don’t get Ⓟ ●
for a botch.
If any stress die is ever stepped up past ⑫, your character is
stressed out and no longer takes part in the scene they’re in. Once
1 Hitch InJured the scene is over, and your character is somewhere that they can
rest or recover, the stress die goes away entirely and is replaced
2 Hitches InJured
by a trauma die.
3 Hitches InJured
Afraid Stressed Out!
4 Hitches InJured Character is taken TRAUMA
out of the scene ⑥ Afraid

By default, no character has any stress dice. On occasion, the

It’s possible that you don’t get to safety or a place of healing
Narrator might introduce a NC who has already taken stress
soon enough, in which case the Narrator might say that your
from something, such as an injured soldier, an afraid child, or
character has been lost, died, or suffered some other terrible
an anxious mage.
fate. Taking a character permanently out of the game should
be a conversation between the player and
the Narrator. This doesn’t happen
Recovering Stress often, but if it does, there
should be some dramatic
During any scene in which your character spends most of the send-off to your character.
time sleeping, resting, or otherwise taking care of themselves, all Tears are shed, friends swear
of your stress dice (except for Corrupted stress) step down by revenge, and songs are sung.
one. At the end of every session, all of your stress dice also step Next session, you can start
down by one, unless the Narrator decides there’s some reason for with a new character and a
the stress to persist (such as ending the session on a cliffhanger). new story.
You can also recover stress dice in other ways, usually by seeking
out somebody or something to step them down more.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 21

Pushing Stress Dice Trauma

You can choose to have your character shoulder through their Trauma is like long-term stress. Any time a PC’s stress is stepped
pain and suffering and use it as a motivator rather than a setback. up past ⑫, they’re stressed out of the scene they’re in, and they
To do this, spend a Ⓟ● and add your stress die to your own dice gain ⑥ trauma of the same type as the stress that just increased.
pool for that test, contest, or challenge, rather than adding it to Trauma functions just like stress but is much harder to recover.
the opposing dice pool.
During any scene in which your character is stressed out and
Using stress dice in this fashion has an additional cost, however. has taken trauma, additional stress of that same type to your
After the test, contest, or challenge is resolved, the stress die you character goes directly to trauma of that type. This won’t happen
included in your dice pool is stepped up by one. This may result often! You’re already out of the scene, after all. But it might occur
in your PC being stressed out if the die is stepped up past ⑫. under some circumstances. Once trauma is stepped up beyond
⑫, your character is permanently out of options—they’re dead,
hopelessly incoherent, lost to their own psyche, or whatever
Last-Ditch Effort seems most appropriate.
If the next scene is one in which your PC can be taken care of
In some cases, you may be able to temporarily recover enough or allowed to recuperate, your character’s stress is reduced to
stress during a scene after you have been stressed out, which is zero, but the trauma remains at the level it was at the end of the
something we call a last-ditch effort. Th is must be prompted previous scene. Recovering trauma requires somebody else to
by somebody trying to rouse you, snap you out of it, clear your make the tests to help you. This works like recovering stress but
head, or inspire you with words. The character trying to help you the effect die isn’t used, as follows:
makes a test similar to a recovery test: ⑧⑧ difficulty plus the
⑫ stress you still have. Take note of their effect die; you may If the player beats the difficulty, the trauma is
get to use it as an asset in your roll. stepped down by one.

If they’re successful, you can attempt something in the current If the player fails to beat the difficulty, the trauma
scene, so long as it’s a short or immediate sort of activity. This does not get any better or worse. The player can’t
might be taking a turn in a challenge, or making a test. A contest try to recover that trauma again until time passes,
is probably out of the question! The downside to this is that although another friendly character might try
instead of adding two dice to get your total, you can only use one. to help.
You can spend Ⓟ ● to include more into your total, as normal. If the player rolls a hitch on a successful attempt to
You may also add the effect die of the test that was made to rouse
recover trauma, the Narrator may hand over a Ⓟ ●
you as an asset for that roll, if that helps.
and inflict stress of a different type than the trauma
After your moment of activity, you go back to being stressed out. that’s being recovered, starting at ⑥ (or stepping
up by one if the PC already had stress of that type).

If the player rolls a hitch on a failed attempt, the

trauma gets worse, stepping up by one for each
hitch rolled. If this steps the trauma up past ⑫,
that’s all, folks.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 22

Running the Game
As the Narrator, your role in Tales of Xadia is to present the Imagine a scene in Lux Aurea, where Amaya and Janai are looking
players with exciting opportunities for their characters to engage at the devastation caused by the corruption of the Sunforge. This
in heroic feats, charming moments, deadly secrets, and wondrous scene is about Amaya and Janai at odds with each other about
exploration of the world around them. The Narrator sets the what to do next. The Narrator frames this scene, and then we see
stage, plays the parts of the supporting cast, and helps the players what happens: can Amaya convince her friend to abandon the
tell their characters’ stories. city? Will Janai get Amaya to agree to help her set things right?
This sounds like a contest.
You may have big ideas about what you want to see happen in
the story. Maybe you have some Narrator characters you want Often, a scene involves an antagonist or danger of some kind.
to introduce, like a villain or a helpful ally. Perhaps you always These scenes involve challenges. An example might be a scene
wanted to set a story in the human kingdom of Del Bar, with where Callum and Ezran have to sneak out of the castle without
frosty mountaintops and dark woods. attracting the attention of the Guard Captain, who’s been told
to find them both. The location is the castle grounds, and the
These are all great ideas, but resist the urge to plan out the ending
situation is “Can the boys sneak out without being seen? What
of the story. In Tales of Xadia, nobody knows how the ending
happens if they’re discovered?”
will happen! The Narrator and the players are playing the game
to find out. Who will triumph? Who will despair? Who will As the Narrator, you don’t have to overthink scenes. Scene
become the allies of the PCs? Who will fight them until the very framing can be as simple as, “Okay, you’ve arrived at the camp
end? The excitement that comes from not knowing the ending is and the young High Mage of Neolandia is there, waiting for
what drives a lot of the game, so avoid trying to write the finale you. He looks worried, maybe even scared. What do you do?”
and let it be something you all discover along the way.
During a scene, you can usually resolve one or two tests, or
To help make that discovery, Tales of Xadia uses scenes and perhaps a contest or a challenge. If there’s more to the scene than
sessions. that, consider switching over to another scene with different
characters who aren’t involved in the current one, and returning
to the first group to continue the story with a new scene, possibly
Scenes in the same place and with the same characters as before.
A scene is over when the Narrator decides that the situation or
question in that scene has been resolved satisfactorily or that
A scene is like a scene in the TV show: it has a location, where
there’s a great point to switch focus to another group. That
things happen; it has characters, who interact in the scene in
usually means any contest is over and settled, or the characters
various ways; and it has a situation, which is the answer to “what
have moved on from the location they were in, or a challenge
is this scene about?” The Narrator sets up a scene—who’s there,
has been overcome—but it can also mean there’s a big decision
where it takes place, what time of the day it is—which is called
to make and we’re leaving it as a cliffhanger to resolve later. It’s
scene framing.
time to switch to the next scene and see what happens.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 23

Dramatic Order

When you’re the Narrator and you’re running a scene, you may
sometimes wonder in which order things should happen. This is
especially true when there are multiple PCs all doing something!
Just like in any episode of the show, the spotlight shifts from
character to character, with each of them resolving a test, or being
part of a contest, or taking their turn in a challenge.
We call this the dramatic order. It can become something of a
juggling act, more of an art than a science, but the best way to
manage it is to shine the spotlight on a PC and ask the player,
Narrator Characters
“What do you do?” This player is the dramatic lead. Based on
what that player says, maybe you roll dice for a test, or maybe In Tales of Xadia, there are many characters who act as the
they initiate a contest. If you presented a challenge when you supporting cast of the story for the PCs—the antagonists,
framed the scene, maybe they’re the first to take it on. Once their friends, and neutral parties along the way. It’s your job as Narrator
test, contest, or turn in a challenge has been resolved, switch to to play all of these people, making the players feel as if there’s a
a different dramatic lead PC and repeat until everyone has had living, breathing world around them populated by individuals
their go. and groups who have their own goals, dreams, and obsessions.
If a NC in the scene has their own motivations and goals, Some Narrator characters (NCs) are just names, and they don’t
they should get their own turn in the spotlight as a dramatic need game stats like PCs do. They’re often little more than part
lead. Give the players the option to go first, even if the NC is of the location the scene is set in, and if they don’t try to get
particularly fast or aware, unless you’ve framed a scene as an in the PCs’ way, they don’t need to have traits. If you need to
ambush or surprise reveal. The NC is part of the dramatic order, involve them, they might be part of a challenge or a test. When
and players can choose for the NC to go next once they’ve had a in doubt, assign them two or three traits—⑥, ⑧, or ⑩—and
turn. Challenges always take their own “turn” last, after everyone have them add to a test or challenge when they’re in opposition
involved in the challenge has taken a turn. to a PC or add to a PC’s dice pool if they’re helping, just like
stress and assets.
More important and active NCs have attributes, values,
Sessions distinctions, specialties, and assets just like PCs do. You don’t
need to have as many of these traits as the PCs have; a NC might
only have two distinctions, or no assets. But they must all have
A session is the length of play from when you sit down at your
die ratings in the six values and the six attributes, at least one
table (or at your computer desks) with your characters to play the
distinction that summarizes who or what they are, and the
game, to when you wrap up and take notes for next time. Most
Hinder SFX attached to that distinction. Good examples of
sessions last anywhere from two to four hours, sometimes longer!
these NCs from The Dragon Prince include the tracker Corvus
It depends on the group, and the time of day, or how much you
and Gren, Amaya’s friend and translator.
get done. Sometimes it’s good to end a session after a big climactic
scene, or you might end it with a cliffhanger or shock reveal that
leaves everyone excited for next time.
Every session starts with the players getting a Ⓟ
●, in addition to
any Ⓟ
● they have left from last time. You as the Narrator get a
fresh pool of Ⓟ
● equal to the number of players. Then, you can
either ask the group to do a quick recap of what happened last
time and where you left off, or you might do that yourself. Some
Narrators use the time between sessions to communicate this
sort of information to the players via emails or chat.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 24

Catalysts In some tales, PCs might spend an entire session never meeting
a catalyst face to face while still engaged in a challenge against
the catalyst’s servants. The Narrator can always choose to frame
A catalyst is a special kind of NC that’s more pivotal than the
a scene in which such a confrontation occurs, and adjust the
others. They’re the potential movers and shakers of Xadia, the
catalyst’s values and catalyst die to account for it, even though
sort of character that really drives the PCs to be great themselves,
the catalyst was only present in spirit.
either in opposition to them or mentored by them. Examples
of The Dragon Prince characters that could be called catalysts Narrators should feel free to create a catalyst whole cloth in the
include Lord Viren of Katolis, the Archdragons, and Khessa, middle of a tale if the choices of their PCs seem to will one to
the Queen of the Sunfire Elves. life, or perhaps upgrade a minor NC to catalyst status.
A catalyst has many of the same traits as an active NC—
distinctions, values, specialties, and assets—but in place of their
attributes they have a catalyst die that usually starts out as either The Narrator
a ⑥ or a ⑧. Use this trait in any dice pool the catalyst puts
together. At the end of every session, this die steps up if there was and Plot Points
some important or significant interaction with the PCs during
that session. The most common example of this is a contest,
The Narrator keeps track of plot points for their own NCs,
either in direct competition with the catalyst or with one of the
who share a single reserve supply of them; at the beginning of
catalyst’s agents or proxies, or a challenge, with some scheme or
the session, the reserve is either equal to the number of players
problem that the catalyst has created for the PCs to deal with.
or, if greater, the amount of Ⓟ● left over from last session. The
A catalyst’s values may change as a result of a contest. When a Narrator uses this reserve for the NCs, the same way players use
catalyst succeeds in a contest, the value they used steps up, and PP for their PCs.
the Narrator steps down a value of their choice. When a catalyst
fails a contest, the value they used steps down, and the opposing
player steps up their choice of the catalyst’s values. Alternatively, Earning Plot Points as the Narrator
the player might ask for the opposite to happen, especially if
it’s their goal to step up the catalyst’s value. Th is represents
Narrators can add more Ⓟ
● to their personal reserve supply by:
PCs directly influencing the catalyst’s views and feelings—the
catalyst’s behavior should always reflect any change in their value ɬ using their Narrator character SFX
die ratings. ɬ giving in to contests with players
ɬ having players activate opportunities rolled on
A catalyst’s die can never be greater than their highest rated
the opposition pool
value, so Narrators may want to focus on stepping up values with
contests during play. Eventually the catalyst die reaches a ⑫ and
can go no higher, and at that point this NC is fully realized as
either an ally of the PCs or a bitter foe. At this point a catalyst
Spending Plot Points as the Narrator
gains an SFX that the Narrator can use at any time when the
catalyst is in a scene or where their influence is felt strongly: Plot points can be spent by Narrators on their own NCs to do
all the same things that PCs can do:
ɬ Twist: Step down the catalyst die
ɬ activate SFX
to end the current scene in the
ɬ create temporary assets
catalyst’s favor. Award each PC in
ɬ include more results or more effect dice
the scene a Ⓟ●. ɬ share assets

Narrator characters don’t tend to share assets very

often. To do any of these things, the Narrator spends
● from their personal reserve of points.
Ⓟ
The Narrator can of course give players Ⓟ●
to activate hitches or for good roleplaying,
but these come from a limitless supply.

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 25

Glossary & Index

A Asset
A helpful trait that belongs to a PC and
Dice Pool
A group of dice rolled by a player or Narrator
represents important things or connections
Die Rating
that may sometimes help the PC out
The size of the die assigned to a trait, goal,
Attribute or difficulty
A trait set of basic areas of innate ability:
Die Size
Agility, Awareness, Influence, Intellect,
The number of sides a die has, such as ⑥
Spirit, and Strength
or ⑩
B Beat
Get a total higher that the opposition;
Difficulty Die
A die, usually a pair of dice, that represents
a tie is a failure
how hard a test or other opposition is
Botch
Distinction
A critical failure. All your dice came up 1. Total
A trait that represents a character’s vocation,
zero. In addition to the normal result of the
kindred, and quirks in the game
failed roll, the Narrator may also step up or add
stress to the PC without giving the player a Ⓟ ● Dramatic Order
Tests and contests play out in an order that
C Catalyst
A character, similar in traits to the PCs, with
makes sense for the unfolding story
a catalyst trait die that changes size based on
interactions with the PCs
E Effect Die
A die chosen from the roll that wasn’t used
for the total, which then gets used for things
Catalyst Die
like creating assets, giving a character stress,
A trait die included in any dice pool put
or reducing a challenge pool; the size, not
together for a catalyst; the size changes
the result, of the die matters
based on interactions with the PCs
Challenge F Framing a Scene
The Narrator sets up a scene, saying who’s
A more complicated obstacle that may
there, where it is, and the time of day
involve several parts to overcome
Challenge Pool G Give In
When called to make a roll, usually in a
Dice that represent the difficulty and
contest, a player may choose not to roll
duration of a challenge, used to set the
and instead accept the consequences on
difficulty for each turn
their own terms
Character Journal
The player’s record of game stats and H Heroic Success
A total of 5 or more points higher than the
information about their character
difficulty set by the opposing roll or, in a
Contest contest, when the opposing roll is 5 or
A series of dice rolls between opponents, more points below the previous roll
each trying to beat the previous roll
Hinder SFX
D Dark Mage
Humans who wield dark magic
Gain a Ⓟ
● when you switch out this trait’s die
rating for a ④ in your dice pool
Dark Magic Hitch
A unique kind of magic practiced by humans A die that comes up as 1 in a player’s roll;
that uses the primal magic of magical creatures the Narrator may give the player a Ⓟ
● to
activate it

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I Interfere
● to enter a contest that’s
Spending a Ⓟ
R Recover
Make a test to step down or eliminate stress
already underway
Result
N Narrator
The person who facilitates the game,
The number that comes up on any given die
after it’s been rolled
presents the session, and plays the parts
Round
of every character and thing that isn’t a PC
Each player taking a turn in a challenge,
Narrator Character (NC) represents some passage of time
A character played by the Narrator
Rune Mage
O Opportunity
A die that comes up as 1 in a Narrator’s roll;
Someone who casts spells by drawing runes
connected to a primal source
players may pay a Ⓟ
● to activate it Rune Magic
Opposition Pool Casting spells using access to a primal source
The dice pool put together to oppose
another roll S Scene
A unit of time in the game, usually in one
Outcome location and with one set of characters
What happens after the dice are rolled
Session
and all game effects are decided
All the gameplay that takes place in one sitting
P Player
One of the people playing the game,
around the table or online
Setting the Difficulty
specifically the people who aren’t
Generating a total on the dice that indicates
the Narrator
how difficult it is for the other side to succeed
Player Character (PC) at what they want to do
A character run by a player, one of the stars
SFX
of the show
A special effect, usually attached to a trait,
Plot Point (Ⓟ
●) that allows a player to influence the story in
A resource earned by getting invested in some way
the game and taking risks and spent to alter
Specialty
the outcome of tests, contests and challenges,
A trait that represents narrow areas of focus
or to do other cool things
Spend
Push Stress
● or die or other tracked currency
Using a Ⓟ
Using your stress die in your dice pool, at the
cost of stepping it up afterward Step Down
Replacing a die with the next lowest die size,
i.e. a ⑥ becomes a ④
Step Up
Replacing a die with the next highest die size,
i.e. a ⑥ becomes a ⑧
Stress
A type of complication that represents
harm and hinders action. Includes Afraid,
Angry, Corrupted, Exhausted, InJured,
and Insecure
Stressed Out
Having a stress die stepped up beyond ⑫,
which means the character can no longer
act in the scene

Tales of Xadia | Rules Primer 27

T Tale
A story set within the world of Xadia, with a
specific set of starting situations and one or
more catalysts, and no fixed ending; might take
multiple sessions to finish
Temporary Asset
Helpful trait created during play that can
be included in a dice pool when appropriate;
these range from lasting a single roll, to a
scene, to a session
Test
A use of the dice to determine
the outcome of an objective or
goal, needs to beat the difficulty
set by the Narrator
Total
Usually, your two highest rolling dice
results added together; may be more or
fewer results added together, depending on the
circumstances
Trait
Game stats rated by dice of various sizes,
usually included in a dice pool, and belonging
to a trait set.
Trauma
Long-term stress that’s harder to recover from,
gained when a character is stressed out
Turn
In a challenge, each player gets one turn per
round, rolling against a difficulty set by the
challenge pool

V Value
A type of trait that represents deeply held
beliefs or attitudes: DeVotion, Glory, Justice,
LiBerty, Mastery, and Truth
Value Statement
A phrase attached to a value that provides
context and connection