An overview of how Wayfarers plays, with links to the detailed rules.
- Tiers instead of proficiency. Many bonuses scale by tier level (1–4) rather than a proficiency bonus.
- Attributes 1–10. Six Attributes, starting from an array around 12 points.
- Action Points. Turns run on a pool of Action Points instead of action/bonus action.
- Boosting. Spend attribute points to boost a roll (Boosting and Pushing).
- Scenes. Many abilities refresh per scene.
- Skill challenges use named difficulty ranks (Skill Challenges).
- Statuses matter. Damage types apply statuses, and vulnerabilities are a big part of combat (Damage Types).
- Cooldown spellcasting. No spell slots (Spellcasting).
- 15-second rounds, with gridless ranges: close (within 30 ft), near (30–60 ft), far (60 ft+).
What die do skill checks use?
The design notes list “Rolling d6 for skill checks” and “Stunts: rolling the same dice number on a skill check”, which suggests multiple d6s. But the difficulty ranks run from 5 to 50, and many rules mention d20-style advantage, crit ranges of 19–20, and saving throws. The core resolution roll needs to be written down.
What does beating the target number by 5 or 10 do?
The Additional Info notes say: “+5 … +10 = Critical Hit. Bypasses some damage reductions.” So beating the target by 10 might be a critical hit, and +5 might be a smaller bonus. This interacts with the crit-range abilities (Improved Critical, rolls of 19–20).
Building blocks
The Additional Info notes name the pieces a character is built from: Skill, Trait, Subtrait, Feat, Attribute. Rules text is described with these descriptors: Race (lineage), Class, Ability, Status, Damage.
Race and class abilities use different resources.
Types of play
The system should support three styles: rules light, tactical and narrative. See also Tiers for campaign types.
Defense Value, AC, or saves?
Most rules use DV (Defense Value) and “tests” with a TV (target value), but Cover and Obscurement still uses AC and Dexterity saving throws, and some abilities say “saving throw”, “save” or “DC”. The notes also ask for two defense systems: one against damage and one against status effects (see Defense).