Ability : Anything you can apply to solve a problem or overcome an obstacle.
Advance : A package of improvements to your abilities and keywords earned through experience points or milestone advancement.
Advantage Point (AP) : A measure of advantage in an extended contest.
Ally : A supporting character of roughly equal ability to your own.
AP : Abbreviation for Advantage Point.
AP Gifting : When you help another character, whilst uninvolved in a contest, by giving them advantage points in an extended contest.
AP Lending : When you help another character, whilst engaged in a contest, by lending them advantage points, in an extended contest.
Asymmetrical Exchange : In a extended contest, where you are pressed by an opponent, but want to do something other than contend directly for the prize.
Asymmetrical Round : In a scored contest, where you are pressed by an opponent, but want to do something other than contend directly for the prize.
Assist : In a scored contest, if you are unengaged you may use an assist to reduce the resolution points scored against another character.
Augment : Using one ability to help another ability.
Assured Contest : You have an appropriate ability and the GM feels failure is not interesting, or makes the PC looks un-heroic.
Background Event : An off-stage bonus or penalty applied to a resource.
Base resistance : The TN for a moderate resistance class, from which all other resistance classes are figured as a bonus or penalty.
Benefit of Victory : Long term positive modifier, because you won a contest, against a challenging opponent (not -6 or less than your ability). Usually a state of fortune.
Bid : Also an AP Bid or advantage point bid is your wager in an extended contest.
Bolster : A story obstacle to apply a bonus to a community resource
Bonus : A positive modifier.
Boost : Spending points after a group simple contest outcome, to improve the victory.
Bump : An increment of the result of a roll, up or down. So a bump up moves a fumble, to a failure, to a success to a critical, a bump down moves a critical, to a success, to a failure to a fumble. One step is moved per bump. It is usually the impact of a story point or mastery.
Burn : Using a story point as a bump. The story point is lost after burning.
Catch-Up : When you cross a mastery threshold you can increase lesser used abilities to ensure they keep pace.
Climax : A long contest story obstacle that provides the conclusion to a story.
Contact : A supporting character who shares an occupation or interest with your character.
Contest : Where there is uncertainty as to whether a PC can overcome a story obstacle or discover a secret, then your GM can call for a contest to determine if the PC succeeds or fails. A contest may be simple (one roll) of long (a series of rolls).
Consequences : Long term negative modifier, because you lost a contest. Usually a state of adversity.
Contest Framing : Setting the stakes of the contest, what is this conflict about. Often not the immediate aftermath of victory.
Credibility Test : Is it possible to perform the action without an ability, with an ordinary ability, or only with a extraordinary ability?
Crisis Test : Used to determine if a resource that has a penalty creates a crisis.
Defeat : Your result is worse than the resistance's result.
Defensive Response : In a scored contest you can choose a defensive tactic which reduces the resolution points you lose on a negative result.
Dependent : A supporting character who depends on your PC.
Depletion : Use of a community resource leads to its depletion.
Directed Improvement : When your GM grants you a new ability, or an increase to an existing one, to recognize a story event.
Distinguishing Characteristic : The dominant personality ability that others recognize in a character.
Dying : A state of adversity, where the character's defeat will end their participation.
Edge : In an extended contest adds to the APs lost or transferred when you win an exchange.
Exchange : In an extended contest a round is divided into two exchanges where both aggressor and defender act. In a group extended contest a round consists of a sequence of exchanges where everyone acts in turn. The GM determines the order of action.
Extended Contest : A type of long contest in which you track the relative advantage one opponent has over another using advantage points.
Experience Points (XP) : When you experience defeat, or a flaw you may gain an experience point, which accumulate between sessions.
Extraordinary ability : Certain genres allow player characters to have abilities that exceed human norms, these are extraordinary abilities. A genre pack normally outlines what is possible as part of its extraordinary powers framework.
Failure : Rolling over your target number. It can be a fumble or just a plain failure.
Final Action : A last action by a dying character
Flaw : An ability that penalizes you instead of helping you.
Fumble : The worst failure result, a notable failure either due to incompetence or bad luck.
Follower : A supporting character under your control. Either a sidekick or retainer
Framing the contest : You and your GM agree on the prize for the victor, and your tactic in trying to win it.
Group Chained Contest : A chained contest in which more than a pair of opponents contend for the prize
Group Extended Contest : An extended contest in which more than a pair of opponents contend for the prize
Group Scored Contest : A scored contest in which more than a pair of opponents contend for the prize
Group Simple Contest : A simple contest where one side has multiple participants.
Graduated Goals : When a contestant has a primary and secondary goal, and may have to choose between them if you have the same result as your opponent but a better roll.
Handicap : In an extended contest subtracts from the APs lost or transferred when you win an exchange.
Story Point : Allows you to alter fate for a player character, either by a bump to their result or a plot edit.
Keyword : A single ability that encompasses a range of abilities within it, such as an occupation or culture. An ability within an umbrella keyword is a break-out ability, an ability within a package keyword is a stand-alone ability.
Long Contest : A contest where we drill-down to the individual exchanges that resolve the conflict. We support scored, extended, and chained contests
Milestone Advancement : A method for improving a character where the GM declares when you receive an advance.
Modifiers : Adjustments to a target number due to circumstance.
Mastery : An ability score that rises above 20 is said to have a mastery. Masteries cancel each other out in contests. Masteries that are not cancelled provide a bump.
Mismatched Goals : When the opposing sides in a contest want different prizes.
Occupation : An ability that indicates the profession, or primary area of expertise, of your character.
Outcome : A contest has an outcome, described as a victory or defeat in obtaining the prize that was agreed in contest framing for any PCs involved.
Parting Shot : An attempt to make your opponent's defeat worse in a long contest (scored or extended), by 'finishing them off'.
Patron : A supporting character with superior assets.
Penalty : A negative modifier.
Prize : What is at stake in the contest, decided during framing.
Rating : An ability has a rating, between 1 and 20, indicating how likely a character is to succeed at using it.
Rank : The scale of a *bonus or penalty.
Resistance : The forces opposing the PC in a conflict, or concealing a secret that must be overcome by using an ability in a contest. One of: Extreme, Huge, Very High, High, Raised, Moderate, Low, Very Low, Tiny, Rock-bottom.
Resolution Point (RP) : In a scored contest an RP tracks the advantage one contestant has over the other.
Resource : A community ability that your PC may draw on.
Result : The outcome of a die roll against a TN. One of critical, success, failure, and fumble.
Retainer : A follower of your PC who is not 'fleshed out' and cannot act independently.
Rising Action : A scored contest where the story obstacle is a step towards the final story obstacle of this story.
Risky Gambit : In a long contest you can take an action that puts you at more risk on defeat, but enhances victory.
Round : A long contest is broken into a series of rounds, each of which is an attempt to obtain the prize. In an extended contest a round is further broken into a number of exchanges in which all participants have the chance to act.
Score : A score consists of a rating and, if it is above 20, one or more masteries
Second Chance : An attempt by defeated, but unengaged, PCs to re-enter an extended contest.
Scored Contest : A long contest where we track the relative advantage one contestant has over another using resolution points
Sidekick : A fleshed out follower of your PC who can act independently.
Supporting Characters : Additional characters under the player's control that play a supporting role to their PC.
Simple Contest : A one roll resolution method, the default contest type, used when learning the outcome matters more than the breakdown of how you achieved it.
Stand Alone Ability : An ability raised separately to a keyword. It may have been added to the character as part of a package keyword, or on its own.
Story Obstacle : Something that prevents you from getting what you want, the prize. A story obstacle is the trigger for a contest.
Stretch : A penalty applied to an ability because it stretches credibility that it is a reasonable tactic.
Success : Rolling under your target number. It can be a critical or just a plain success.
Tactic : How you intend to use one of your abilities to overcome a story obstacle
Target Number (TN) : The number, either an ability rating, or a resistance, to roll under or equal to in order to succeed.
TN : Abbreviation for Target Number
Unrelated Action : An action when you are disengaged in a long contest that does not relate to your attempt to win the prize.
Victory : Your result is a better roll than the resistance.