Conflict Overview
In The Paradigm, combat actions are a dynamic system of attack and defense, measured by affinity roll-offs where adversaries target each other's Energy Pools. The art of digital conflict relies on a delicate balance of strategic affinities, each representing a character's learned expertise.
- Characters wield class specific affinities, each resonating with one of six affinities.
- Gear (equippables and consumables) can be used to augment affinities.
- Fate Points can sway the outcome by granting an Advantage or imposing a Disadvantage.
- Depletion of one ore more of a character's Energy Pool has consequences.
Each dice roll, each skirmish, each moment of glory or defeat is a thread woven into the grand narrative of The Paradigm. Characters propelled by will and chance carve out their destinies, rise through the tiers of affinity, and leave their indelible mark in the expansive cyber universe of "Paradigm Found."
Success Checks
Each conflict has an attacker and defender. The attacker initiates the conflict and picks an affinity of their character to wield. The defender's affinity is the "opposite" affinity, as shown in the Affinity Map. These are called the Success Checks.
The dice associated with these two affinities are then rolled. The highest value rolled is the winner of the conflict!
Effect Value
Losing a conflict has consequences that are determined by the conflict rolls of the attacker and defender. The effect value is the numerical difference between the attacker and defender's dice rolls. This difference represents the strength or potency of the action performed.
For instance, if a player rolls a total of 15 and the opposing player rolls a total of 10, the effect value is 5.
Energy Pool Reduction
The effect value can have various impacts. One of the most common is a reduction of the opponent's energy pool. This models wear and tear, fatigue, injury, or other depletion of resources in the game.
The Energy Pool affected is associated with the affinity in use, as shown in the Affinity Map.
If a character's Energy Pool is depleted, that character is d'mezzed which has consequences.
Fate Points
Fate Points are a manifestation of a Character's destiny, luck, or providence. These points can be harnessed to sway the tide of events, either favorably for the character or detrimentally for an opponent. Only player characters have fate points. See Fate Points in the Characters section for more details.
All dice rolled for the your Success Check become equal to match the highest single die.