Core Rules Overview – ShadowRealms

There are many rules to ShadowRealms, but most can be broken down into three distinct categories: rules that define the characters and creatures that exist within the stories that you, the players and gamemaster are going to tell; the rules that handle the resolution of the actions those characters attempt to perform; and the rules that govern the way players interact with the story. The game is based on death-defying risk where the characters’ skills and abilities are tested and the outcome is uncertain. These are the moments that make great stories.

Character Definition

Bloodlines and Scions

The first thing we look at is the type of creature the character is. For player characters and most NPCs, this is defined by their Bloodline and Scion.

Bloodline: A bloodline is essentially the species of the creature. This covers everything from traditional humans to standard fantasy tropes like Dwarves and Elves, as well as mythological staples like Centaurs and Minotaurs. It even extends to more exotic fare such as the Rythishan (Cat People), Vulgnar (Wolf People), or things that completely stretch the imagination like the Soulforged (living suits of armor) or Arboryan (Tree Men). Your bloodline determines your Aspect Maximums, your base movement speed, your lifespan, and traits that are universal to every member of that species.
Scion: A scion is a subspecies or subrace of the parent bloodline. For example, within the Elven bloodline, you might have High Elves or Wood Elves; among Dwarves, you might find Hill Dwarves or Mountain Dwarves. While bloodlines impact your broader Aspects, scions specifically impact your Attributes. They also grant you specialized traits that further distinguish that scion from the rest of their kin.

Traits

Traits are specific abilities or weaknesses that provide mechanical help or hindrances. While the most common way to acquire them is through your Bloodline and Scion, you can also pick them up during character creation by balancing points in the trait column. They range from high-functioning edges like Ambidextrous and Night Vision to debilitating flaws like Dyslexia and Coward. These are designed to provide flavor and depth; anyone can have them, but their total point balance must align with the character creation table for the power level you are playing.

Aspects and Attributes

A character’s stats are divided into two categories. The core values are called Aspects, and there are four of them. Each Aspect represents a broad pillar of the character, and each has three specific Attributes attached to it. These Attributes represent the actual dice you roll when performing actions.

Body – The Physicality of the Character

The Body aspect governs the raw physical power, health, and endurance of the character’s form.

Might: This is the measure of raw muscular force. It determines how much weight a character can lift, how hard they can strike in melee combat, and the power behind their physical maneuvers.
Stamina: This represents the character’s “fuel tank.” It governs their ability to perform prolonged physical or mental labor and determines how much exertion they can handle before falling into exhaustion.
Vitality: This is the character’s internal constitution. It represents their biological resistance to poisons, diseases, and environmental toxins, as well as their general “hardness” and ability to recover from injury.

Grace – The Fluidity of Movement

The Grace aspect governs the character’s coordination, balance, and fine motor skills.

Agility: This represents total body control. It is used for athletic feats that require balance, such as climbing, tumbling, and acrobatics, as well as maintaining your footing in treacherous terrain.
Finesse: This is the measure of eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity. It is the primary attribute for ranged accuracy, picking locks, performing sleight of hand, or using delicate tools.
Quickness: This governs reflexive speed and reaction time. It determines how fast a character can move their limbs or body to respond to a threat and is a core component of defensive movement.

Mind – The Cognitive Capacity

The Mind aspect governs the character’s intellectual strength, memory, and environmental perception.

Reason: This represents critical thinking and deductive logic. It is used for problem-solving, deciphering ancient codes, and making sense of complex information or puzzles.
Memory: This is the ability to retain and recall knowledge. It is used to remember historical lore, recognize arcane symbols, or recall a map or conversation from the past.
Awareness: This represents the character’s sensory acuity. It determines their ability to perceive small details in their environment, spot hidden enemies, or notice subtle changes in someone’s behavior.

Soul – The Inner Being

The Soul aspect governs the character’s sense of self, their connection to the spiritual world, and their force of personality.

Intuition: This represents gut feelings and spiritual sensitivity. It is used to sense supernatural disturbances, “read” a situation where logic fails, or follow a hunch.
Willpower: This is the measure of mental and spiritual fortitude. It governs the character’s ability to resist coercion, maintain focus under extreme pressure, and withstand psychic or spiritual trauma.
Presence: This is the character’s force of personality and social gravity. It is used to command attention, inspire allies, intimidate foes, or navigate complex social hierarchies.

Resistance Saves

Resistance Saves determine your ability to withstand physical, mental, or spiritual trauma. There are two separate values to track for each save: the Save Modifier (which you add to your d20 rolls) and the Save Rating (the target number an enemy needs to beat to successfully hit you). To calculate the Modifier, you add the three linked attributes; the Rating is that total + 12.

Toughness (Vitality + Stamina + Willpower + 12): Your resistance to physical damage and the target needed to wound you.
Reflexes (Quickness + Agility + Awareness + 12): Your ability to avoid being hit in combat; the target needed to strike you.
Insight (Awareness + Reason + Intuition + 12): Your resistance to mental or psychic damage.
Resolve (Willpower + Presence + Stamina + 12): Your resistance to spiritual damage.

Action Resolution

The Shadowrealms system utilizes a pool of d20s to determine the outcome of most character actions. Resolution is based on a “Success Threshold” mechanic: rather than summing the results of the dice, the player seeks to have at least one die meet or exceed a modified Target Number (TN).

This structure is designed to provide granular tactical depth, emphasizing the distinction between a character’s raw potential (Attributes) and their professional consistency (Skills).

The Test Sequence

All standard actions follow a rigorous seven-step sequence to determine success or failure:

Identify the Pool The Game Master (GM) and player determine the appropriate Attribute and Skill for the task. The character’s Attribute score determines the number of d20s to be rolled (the Dice Pool).
Set the Difficulty The GM establishes the base Target Number (TN). This represents the inherent complexity of the task before character-specific modifiers are applied.
Adjust the Target If the character possesses Inspiration or Expertise, the player rolls the associated Adjustment Dice. The total result of these dice is subtracted from the base TN. This represents the application of specialized insight or fleeting brilliance to simplify the task.
Apply Skill The character’s Skill Rating is subtracted from the remaining TN to determine the final success threshold. While Attributes provide more opportunities to succeed (more dice), Skills directly lower the requirement for success.
The Roll The player rolls the Attribute pool. Any die result that meets or exceeds the final TN is a success. During the initial roll, two critical factors apply:
- Exploding 20s: A natural 20 is a success and allows the player to roll an additional d20 and add it to the results. This effect can chain if subsequent 20s are rolled.
- Consuming 1s: A natural 1 is an automatic failure. Additionally, each natural 1 rolled “eats” (cancels) one successful die in the pool.
Resolve Advantage and Disadvantage Once the initial results (including explosions) are determined, situational rerolls are applied based on the levels of Advantage or Disadvantage present:
- Advantage: For each level, the player may reroll one failed die.
- Disadvantage: For each level, the GM may force the reroll of one successful die.
- Note: These rerolls apply only to the initial dice results. Rerolled dice do not trigger additional explosions or success-consumption mechanics.
Final Outcome The action is successful if at least one net success remains in the pool after all 1s and rerolls have been resolved.

Advanced Tests

Opposed Tests

In situations of direct conflict between two parties, both participants perform the full Test Sequence simultaneously. The participant with the highest number of net successes is the winner. In the event of a tie, the participant with the highest single die result wins; if still tied, the character with the higher base Attribute score prevails.

Assisted Tests

When characters collaborate, a Lead and one or more Helpers are designated.

The Helper Roll: Each helper rolls 1d20 against the Lead’s modified TN. A success grants the Lead +1 Advantage. A natural 1 grants the Lead +1 Disadvantage.
The Lead Roll: The Lead character performs the full Test Sequence, incorporating the total Advantage and Disadvantage levels generated by the helpers.

Prolonged Tests

For tasks requiring significant time or complexity, a cumulative Success Threshold is established.

The Procedure: The GM sets a target number of total successes and a time interval per roll.
Accumulation: The character rolls the Test Sequence at each interval, adding net successes to a running total. Because natural 1s subtract from a roll’s successes, it is possible for a character to lose progress during a particularly difficult interval.
Completion: The task is completed when the cumulative total is met, or failed if a specific number of failures occurs first.

Damage Codes

In ShadowRealms, damage is communicated through a Damage Code. This shorthand acts as a bridge between your character’s skill and the physical reality of the wound they inflict. It translates the precision of your strike and the raw force behind it into a specific degree of trauma. The code follows a three-part structure: X / Y / Z.

X: The Damage Die Pool

This represents the volume of force being applied—the number of d20s you actually roll to see if you bite through the enemy’s defenses.

The Base (A, R, or Fixed): A stands for Attack successes; R stands for Realm successes. If the base is a Fixed Number, the pool is constant, representing a source of damage with a set, unvarying intensity.
The Multiplier (Prefix): Any number appearing before a letter multiplies your base successes. If the code is 2A and you hit with 3 successes, you roll 6 damage dice.
The Addition (Suffix): Any number after the letter is a flat addition of extra dice, representing a bonus to the force of the hit.
- Example: 2A2 with 2 attack successes means you multiply the hits by 2 (resulting in 4) and then add 2 more, for a final pool of 6 dice.

Y: The Attack Strength

This determines the final Target Number your damage dice must meet to cause harm. It represents the armor-piercing capability and concentrated power of the strike.

The Formula: Just like the die pool, a prefix multiplies the attribute (M for Might, R for Realm), and the suffix adds to it.
Calculation: For a code of 2M3, an attacker with a Might of 4 calculates a Penetration of 11 ($[2 \times 4] + 3$).
Application: Subtract your Penetration from the defender’s Toughness Rating. If they have a 22 Toughness and your Penetration is 11, your damage dice succeed on an 11 or higher.

Z: The Damage Type

This designates the physical or elemental nature of the attack, such as Imp (Impaling), Pct (Piercing), or Fir (Fire). This categorization is vital for determining how the damage interacts with specialized armor or environmental resistances.

The Condition Monitor

The Condition Monitor is the physical ledger of your character’s vitality. It tracks your descent from peak health into exhaustion and mortality through two 16-step tracks: Damage and Fatigue.

Geometric Damage Scaling

Damage in ShadowRealms is communicated through geometric scaling. Unlike linear health systems, the severity of a wound doubles and compounds with every successful die in the damage pool, making high-success rolls incredibly lethal:

1 Success: Mark 1 box.
2 Successes: Mark 2 boxes.
3 Successes: Mark 4 boxes (The injury is deep and debilitating).
4 Successes: Mark 8 boxes (The character suffers catastrophic trauma).
5+ Successes: Mark 16 boxes. The track is filled instantly, and the character is Dying.

Penalties and Limit Breaks

The Weight of Pain: Injury has a mechanical cost. After the first 4 boxes of Damage are marked, the onset of pain and shock begins to hinder you. Every marked box thereafter adds a cumulative +1 TN penalty to all active tests.
Fatigue and Overflow: Fatigue represents your stamina. It doesn’t cause incremental penalties; instead, once all 16 boxes are marked, you suffer a flat +3 TN penalty to everything. Any extra Fatigue taken while the track is full overflows into the Damage track, as your body physically begins to fail under the strain.
Limit Breaks: The grey boxes on both tracks are Limit Breaks, representing surges of adrenaline. When your marker crosses a Limit Break, you find a second wind, gaining Full Advantage (reroll all failed dice) on your very next turn. Even if a massive blow crosses two Limit Breaks at once, you only receive a single surge.

Combat Resolution: Hit Locations and Critical Injuries

In the Shadowrealms system, combat resolution is a highly granular process. While a character’s general physical state is tracked via a Condition Monitor, specific anatomical trauma is handled through a secondary system of hit locations and critical effects. This ensures that every successful strike carries the potential for unique, situational consequences beyond simple depletion of the monitor.

The Hit Location Die

Every time an attack roll is made, the player simultaneously rolls a Hit Location Die. This die determines the specific point of impact. The body is divided into specialized zones, with the torso bifurcated to reflect the different physiological risks involved:

Head
Torso (Chest)
Torso (Abdomen)
Arms
Legs

The location is established alongside the attack roll but only becomes mechanically relevant if the attack successfully connects.

The Critical Die Pool

When an attack hits, the number of successes generated in the initial Attribute pool determines the quantity of d6 Critical Dice to be rolled. These dice do not replace the standard damage to the Condition Monitor; instead, they determine the specific effects and injuries caused by the strike.

Building the Pool: For every successful die in the attack roll, one d6 is added to the Critical Die pool.
The Critical Roll: All d6s in the pool are rolled simultaneously. The total sum of these dice determines the severity of the specific effect.

Determining the Specific Effect

The nature of the injury or mechanical penalty is dictated by the total value of the accumulated d6s. This total is compared against the Critical Table corresponding to the Damage Type (e.g., Slashing, Piercing, Bludgeoning) and the specific Hit Location.

Specific Trauma: Because the torso is divided into the Chest and Abdomen, the resulting effects are tailored to those specific areas. A high total against the Chest might result in impaired breathing, while a high total against the Abdomen might impose penalties related to internal trauma.
Effect Severity: Lower sums typically represent minor hindrances or superficial wounds that add flavor to the hit. Higher sums—achieved through high-success attack rolls—result in debilitating specific effects that can shift the course of a confrontation.

By linking the number of successes directly to the sum of the Critical Dice, the system ensures that more skillful or powerful attacks result in more significant and specific physical consequences, alongside the standard progression of the Condition Monitor.

Modes of Play

ShadowRealms transitions between three distinct modes of engagement. These modes act as the connective tissue of the game, dictating how time is parsed and how precisely the rules must be applied to the characters’ actions.

Narrative Play

Narrative Play is the primary mode of the game, serving as the fluid space where the story unfolds through dialogue, investigation, and character interaction. In this mode, time is elastic and dictated by the needs of the story; it can cover a few minutes of intense interrogation or several hours of searching a city’s archives. Narrative Play remains the default state of the game until the focus shifts—either expanding to cover the broad strokes of a journey or narrowing down to the split-second precision of a crisis.

This mode is defined by two primary pillars: Social Interaction and Exploration.

Social Interaction: This pillar handles the “soft power” of the game—negotiations, deceptions, and the building of alliances. Play in this pillar is a blend of active roleplaying and mechanical checks. Whether your group prefers the descriptive style of a novelist or the active performance of improvisational theater, Social Interaction provides the framework for navigating the world’s power structures. When a character’s force of personality or ability to deceive is truly put to the test, the Soul aspect—specifically Presence and Willpower—comes to the forefront. These interactions determine your character’s standing in the world, influencing their Renown and their ability to leverage Resources like titles or connections.
Exploration: Exploration is the process of uncovering the secrets, hazards, and history of the world. It involves navigating the physical space of a scene—from the dark corridors of a forgotten ruin to the bustling marketplaces of a metropolis. Play in this pillar focuses on the Mind aspect, where Awareness and Reason are used to perceive hidden details, solve environmental puzzles, and identify potential threats before they manifest. Exploration allows the Gamemaster to paint a vivid picture of the scene, and it only transitions into a more rigid mode when the environment itself becomes a direct, time-sensitive threat, such as a complex trap or a collapsing structure.

Strategic Play

When the scope of the story expands to cover long-term projects or vast distances, the game enters Strategic Play. In this mode, time is parsed by the day, with each player declaring their character’s primary focus for that 24-hour period. It is the framework used to manage the pillars of Downtime and Travel.

Downtime: During these periods, the frantic pace of adventuring slows down, allowing characters to engage in tasks that require patience and persistence. This includes gathering rare information through scholarly research, carousing to build social renown, earning income through professional labor, or the painstaking crafting of mundane and magical items. Downtime is where the “soft” power of Resources is often put to its best use.
Travel: When the party crosses the wilderness, Strategic Play governs their progress across various biomes. The narrative focus shifts to the logistics of the journey. Players use this time to perform vital survival tasks—following tracks, concealing their own trail, or using Wildcraft to live off the land in lieu of proper provisions. The GM uses this mode to parse the passage of days, checking for environmental hazards or random encounters that might drop the game back into Narrative or Tactical play.

Tactical Play

There are moments where precise timing and the exact orientation of every creature in the scene become a matter of life and death. When the game shifts into Tactical Action, the flow of narrative storytelling is replaced by the calculated precision of strategy. This mode is dominated by the third pillar of play: Combat.

Combat: Just as Social Interaction is a part of Narrative Play and Travel is a part of Strategic Play, Combat is the primary pillar of Tactical Action. This is where the game’s mechanics for movement, positioning, and damage are most strictly applied. In Combat, characters use their skills and powers to overcome enemies, utilizing the environment and their tactical positioning to gain an edge. Every decision—from where you stand to which power you manifest—is governed by the math of Initiative, Resistance Saves, and Damage Codes.
The Grid: Action is managed on a tactical map of 5-foot (1.5-meter) squares known as Areas. All ranges, weapon reaches, and areas of effect are measured in these units to remove any ambiguity regarding distance or positioning.
The Round: Time is parsed into 12-second units called Rounds, which are further subdivided into fraction-of-a-second units known as Phases.
Initiative: The order of these phases is determined by each character’s Initiative Rating, calculated from Quickness, Awareness, and Intuition. This rating dictates not only when you act in the Round, but how many actions you can perform in that 12-second window.

While Tactical Action can be run through “theater of the mind,” the system is specifically designed for use with maps and counters to ensure the mechanical depth of positioning, flanking, and environmental hazards is fully realized.sure the mechanical depth of positioning, flanking, and environmental hazards is fully realized.