Rewards

Characters earn XP and Shards primarily by participating in adventures. Participating in an adventure grants a character 1 XP and 3 Shards. They may earn one more Shard by writing an adventure report.

Completing a community project can have different effects. Some projects may advance the Guild's or Bastion's story, whereas other community projects can grant contributing characters spark. Finally, some community projects might provide further options for downtime actions or change the Marketplace for a certain time.

Characters do not get spark for completing a character arc, they instead earn it with the downtime action Pursue.

Magic and Wild Surges

After the cataclysm, magic has become unstable in areas with heavy Bloom. GMs can declare that a scene features heavy Bloom, such that all magic use and Arcana use may cause Wild Surges:

When casting, rolling two or more 1s (including thorns) triggers a secondary wild surge—raw magic spirals out of your control. Make a 2d story roll to see what happens. The effect might stem from your touchstones, raw magical essence, or something chaotically random. Use the GM crucible or ask around your group for ideas.

Death

Facing death is an important part of adventuring. You fight the odds for fame, fortune, power, or so that others don’t have to. Should a character die (or permanently retire), the player gains their unspent Shard, plus any extra, as if all of their items were sold in the marketplace. When a character is dropped, all arcana and other items they had can still be used by other characters in the scene if it makes sense. These items aren’t lootable and aren’t lost by the character. Once a character is dropped, the player has three choices to pick from:

• Defeat: You leave the scene with a 4d condition related to the injury. The condition is rolled after each game and when healed. It will leave a lasting scar. Discuss the details with your GM.
• Blood: You push yourself to the limit, gambling with your life to fight on. Make a 2d story roll. On a:
  • Critical: You rejoin the scene and take spark.
  • Perfect: You rejoin the scene and fight on.
  • Messy: You rejoin the scene with a 4d condition related to the injury.
  • Grim: Your soul moves on, and you die.
• Glory: You sacrifice yourself to go out in a blaze of glory. You take a single action, then die. This action is more powerful than anything you could do in life, requires no roll, and should drastically alter the scene in the party’s favor.

The Passage of Time

Months aren’t tracked; instead, we go through seasons. We go through Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, each separated into three intervals: Beginning of Season, Height of Season, and End of Season. When time passes, we move to the next interval, which resets Downtime Actions and gives certain benefits for Marketplace purchases.

Arcana

These are magic items usable by the character. Arcana creation and rules have been overhauled for Grim Marches, allowing them to have a bit more uniform power. Characters may have 1 arcana from each tier, excluding expendable arcana and those granted from talents.

• Each season, the Marketplace will have a selection of random arcana that can be bought with Shard. Once purchased, they disappear from the shop.
• Arcana created from downtime actions can be created by the player using the arcana rules, picking the touchstones.

Full arcana rules can be found here.

Trading

Characters may permanently transfer Shard to others freely. Marketplace items are kept by the player and are not transferable.

• Arcana and marketplace items can be sold, though usually at a fraction of the price. Characters selling arcana to another player take the normal sell price, while the buyer pays the price for a rumor of that tier.
• You may request that arcana be transferred between your characters.