Taking Actions with the D4 Dice Pool

Most actions in this system are resolved by rolling a pool of d4s, determined by your character’s Aspects and the situation.

Each Aspect provides a virtual dice pool equal to its value. Your capacity to act is limited during your turn by increasing your 🌀 Action Load as you take actions. This Action Load typically resets to a negative value at the start of your turn.

The d4s you roll represent effort, attention, and precision. The more dice you spend, the more effective you are but the harder it is to keep acting.

Turn Structure and Action Load

At the start of your turn:

Reset your Action Load to 0 - your Load Buffer (with Exhaustion: Exhaustion level - Load Buffer)

When you take an action:

Identify the relevant Aspect
This depends on what you’re trying to do—see the Aspect Table.
Check if the action is allowed
Subtract your current Action Load from the relevant Aspect.
- If the result is greater than or equal to the action’s Action Cost, you may take the action.
- Otherwise you cannot take that action until your Load is reduced (usually at the start of your next turn).

You can take an action if (Aspect − current Action Load) ≥ the action’s Action Cost.
This is the one “can I act?” rule everywhere in the handbook—on your turn, on other turns, for reactions, and for Team Actions. A 0-cost action can be taken whenever Aspect − Load is 0 or more. Advantage and Disadvantage never change whether you can act—only the size of the dice pool once the action is allowed. (This keeps the gate short and matches Load-then-dice: Disadvantage can’t take an action away, and Help still matters on the roll.)

Determine your Net Advantage
Add up all sources of Advantage and Disadvantage to find your Net Advantage for the roll.
Calculate how many d4s to roll
- Start with: Aspect – max(0, Action Load)
- Add or subtract 1d4 for each point of Net Advantage
- You always roll at least 1d4
- Add any extra dice (such as a weapon’s 1d8) as required by the action
Roll and resolve the action
Apply the outcome based on your total roll and the action’s effect.
Increase your Action Load
Add the action’s Cost (usually 1 or more) to your Action Load.

You can keep acting as long as your Aspect − Action Load is at least the next action’s Cost.

Instead of resetting Action Load at the beginning of a creature’s turn, an alternative is to reset everyone’s Action Load to zero at the beginning of each round. This will affect when and by how much creatures (characters, NPCs, and monsters) can take reactions.

We will definitely be playtesting this idea.

Calculating Net Advantage

What is Advantage and Disadvantage?

Advantage is when something boosts your action. It might be an ability you have from a Feature, because of something in the environment, a friend assisting you, or something else.

Disadvantage is when something is hindering your action.

For each instance of Advantage that you have for a particular action, you can add a d4 to your Action Roll.

For each instance of Disadvantage that you have for a particular action, you subtract a d4 from your Action Roll.

Advantage and Disadvantage stack when they come from different sources, unlike in D&D 5e and similar systems (no rolling twice, no dropping dice). This means you can get multiple d4s added to your rolls, but it also means that you could get multiple d4s removed from your rolls.

🔁 Note: You can only gain Advantage or Disadvantage from a single source once per action.
Multiple effects from the same ability, feature, or condition do not stack.

📘 Example: If two allies both use the “Watch My Back” feature to give you Advantage on your next roll, you still only gain +1d4—because both effects come from the same source.

Advantage and Action Load: Load only decides whether you can act and sets your base pool (Aspect − Load). Advantage and Disadvantage are applied after that, so extra Advantage dice never count against the Aspect − Load cap, and Disadvantage never changes your Load. If Disadvantage would take the pool below 1, you still roll 1d4 (the minimum).

Before making an Aspect Check or other Aspect-based roll, but after determining if the action can be taken, calculate the Net Advantage. This is the number of d4s you add to or subtract from your roll.

Example: A character is trying to disable a trap so the game master has them make a Finesse Aspect Check. Their Finesse value is 4 and they already acted this turn, so their Action Load is 0 (it started at −1 from their Load Buffer of 1) - the d4 pool is 4. This trap is in a darkly lit dungeon which gives Disadvantage - the d4 pool is now 3. One of the other characters helps by holding a torch, giving Advantage - the d4 pool is now back to 4. Another character assists by peering over their shoulder and giving advice, granting another advantage - the pool is now 5. The player will roll 5d4.

Resolving the Dice Roll

🧮 Add all dice together and declare the total.

The GM then either:

Subtracts the target’s Evasion (for attacks)
→ The remainder becomes damage dealt
Compares the total to a Difficulty Class (DC)
→ The action succeeds if the total meets or beats the DC

📘 Example:
Your Finesse is 6 and your Action Load is 2. You want to use a dagger (1d4 damage).
You roll 6 − 2 = 4d4 + 1d4 (damage).
Your total is 14. The GM subtracts the target’s Evasion (e.g. 11). The remainder is damage dealt.

Ending Your Turn

You can end your turn at any time, even if you have unused actions. Doing so:

May allow you to take a Team Action later
Reserves dice for reactions or interrupts

This encourages tactical planning and collaboration.

Acting on Other Turns

You may act during other players’ or enemies’ turns, if:

(Aspect − current Action Load) ≥ the action’s Cost
The action is a valid response (e.g., reaction, counter, assist)

These actions:

Follow the same rules as normal actions
Use the current Action Load
Increase the Action Load afterward

Since your Action Load won’t reset until your next turn, acting during another creature’s turn means you’ll have fewer dice available later.

📘 Example:
A goblin attacks your ally. You have an Action Load of 1.
You use a Team Action (cost 1) to impose Disadvantage.
The goblin rolls its attack with disadvantage and you add 1 to your Action Load.

📝 Unlike traditional systems, you are not limited to one reaction per round — act as often as your remaining dice allow. The Aegis (martial) and Warding (magical) Domains are built around this, spending most of their Action Load on other players’ turns.

Additional Notes

If Aspect − Action Load is less than the action’s Cost, you cannot choose to take that action.
If the GM calls for a roll, you always roll at least 1d4, even with a negative Aspect.
- GM-initiated rolls may or may not consider Action Load — this is up to the GM.
Some abilities have a Cost of 0 or 1, enabling small actions even late in the round.
You may take actions using different Aspects in the same turn.

✅ For a visual reference on how d4s support fast, intuitive math, see the D4 Math Tips Sidebar.

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