Quick Reference


What are checks?

Checks are the way that Conclave determines what happens when you or any other being in the game tries to perform an action where success is uncertain. Whenever you make an attack or use certain abilities, you perform a check.

A check always has a subject, which is the person or thing attempting to do something. Usually it also has an object, which is the person or thing being acted upon. If I attack you, I'm the subject and you are the object; if you try to Feint me, you are the subject and I'm the object. In each case, we compare some score of the subject's with a score of the objects. For example, if I try to hit you with my sword, I'm comparing my Attack score with the sword versus your Melee Dodge score.

Check scores are easy to calculate:

Trait + Level + Modifiers = Score

For example, if I need to make a Strength check, my score is my Strength plus my level, plus any modifiers that happen to apply right now.

If I'm making a skill check - say, we're checking my Persuasion - then my trait score is whatever trait is associated with the skill in question. For example, Persuasion is Insight-based, so my Insight would be used. In addition, if I don't have the skill in question, I take a -5 penalty to my score. As you'll see, that's a pretty big deal.

Occasionally, a check has no object: you are just, say, making a Lore check to see if you recall some important bit of knowledge. In that case, we generate an opposing score for "the world" or "the environment". This score equals your character's level + 5.

Once we have a score for both the subject and the object, we subtract the second from the first, to get a check score differential. Then we look up the score on the following table to see what your percentage chance is of getting at least normal, solid, or great success:

Table of check result probabilities


We roll some virtual dice, and get our result. Note that the table extends beyond what you see here: if your differential is lower than -5, your chances of success get progressively worse, and if it's higher than +5 then your chances of success improve further. However, you never have more than a 50% chance for great success, and never less than a 20% chance of normal success.

Sound complicated? Here's the short and sweet summary: Every time you make a check, you compare your score against your opponent's. The more you beat your opponent's score by, the better your chance of succeeding, as well as of getting a solid or great success. That's it.

Attack Check Results

How do attack check results affect damage?

When you make an attack in Conclave, your level of success affects on the potency of your attack. If you achieve normal success, you hit, and deal damage between the minimum possible and the midpoint of your damage range. For example, if you can deal 2-8 damage in general, you deal 2-5 with a normal hit (because 5 is the midpoint between 2 and 8). If you achieve solid success, you achieve a solid hit, and deal damage between the midpoint and maximum damage. In the example above, that would be 5-8 damage. If you achieve great success - a critical hit - you deal maximum damage, guaranteed. What's more, you give your target a condition from the table below:

Table of conditions created by critical hits

Damage typeCondition

Tactical Situations

What are tactical situations?

Tactical situations are common occurrences on the battlefield that can help or hurt you for as long as they last, and that present opportunities to use certain abilities. Being feinted out of position, and left vulnerable to a knife in the ribs; surrounding a foe so it's besieged from all sides: these are examples of tactical situations. Knowing these, and how to use your positioning and abilities to create (or end) them, can make a major difference in your chances for success on the battlefield.

Table of tactical situations

Engaged-2 to attack with ranged weapons
UnnoticedNot seen by enemies; +2 to Dodge
Vulnerable-1 to Dodge


An engaged combatant is in close contact with the enemy, wary of being struck, and challenged to use missile weapons. A combatant is engaged when one of its foes is adjacent to it. While you are engaged, you take a -2 penalty to attack with missile weapons like bows.


A flanked combatant has enemies next to it on either side, far enough apart that defending against either one is difficult - and the distraction of doing so makes the combatant vulnerable to attacks from other sources too. A combatant becomes flanked when it is engaged by two or more foes, and at least two of those enemies are not adjacent to each other. This is best described with pictures:

This character is flanked by the two skeletons, which are adjacent to her but a square apart from each other.
Not flanking
Not flanked
This character is not flanked. Though she has two boggart scouts engaging her, they are right next to each other.

A flanked character is vulnerable.


An unnoticed combatant is evading detection by enemies through stealth or magical means. If an enemy tries to move through a space occupied by an unnoticed combatant, however, the combatant immediately loses the buff. The same holds true if the combatant successfully attacks an enemy or takes damage. When you are unnoticed, you have a +2 bonus to your Dodge.


Vulnerability can be produced a number of ways. The two most common are being flanked, and being staggered. When you are vulnerable, you take a -1 penalty to your Dodge.

Negative Conditions

What are negative conditions?

Negative conditions are temporary problems affecting a combatant. Each condition makes the combatant less effective in some way, or causes it to take ongoing damage - or both.

A negative condition lasts at least until the end of the combatant's turn. At that point, the combatant makes a check against a certain trait, like Will or Fortitude. If the combatant gets at least a solid result, the combatant recovers from the condition. If not, it sticks around, affecting the combatant for another turn, and requiring another trait check the following round. The first of these checks is made at -3; on each successive round, the modifier improves by 1 (so by the fifth check, it's at +2).

Some negative conditions counter an existing positive condition. This means that if a combatant has a positive condition, and gains the negative one which counters it, it loses the positive condition. For example, if a combatant is focused, and it becomes dazed, it stops being focused.

Table of negative conditions

These are the negative conditions that can afflict combatants:

NameIconEffectTrait CheckedCountered Conditions
Abjured-2 to arcane checksWillFocused
Afraid-1 to checksWillEnraged, inspired
Bleeding2 damage/turnFortitude-
Burning2 damage/turnFortitude-
Dazed-1 to Ag, In, Wi; vulnerableWillFocused
Nauseated-1 to St, AgFortitude-
Off BalanceVulnerableAgility-
Poisoned-1 to Fo; 1 damage/turnFortitude-
Restrained-2 to Ag; vulnerableStrength-
Staggered-2 to Ag, In; vulnerableFortitude-
Weakened-2 to StFortitude-


An abjured combatant has had its place in the Concordance disrupted. It receives a -2 penalty to arcane checks. The condition requires a Will check to recover.


An afraid combatant has been spooked badly by something, to the point of serious distraction. Such combatants have -1 to all checks. It takes a Will check to recover.


A bleeding combatant has an open wound that's leaking blood (or whatever passes for blood in the creature's body). This means the combatant will take two physical damage after acting each turn. It takes a Fortitude check to recover.


A burning combatant is partially on fire. This means the combatant will take two fire damage after acting each turn. It takes a Fortitude check to recover.


A dazed combatant is having trouble concentrating and paying attention. This could be because something's been done to his senses (e.g., he's been dazzled or deafened), or because something's affecting his mind. Dazed combatants have -1 to Agility, Insight, and Will, and are vulnerable. It takes a Will check to recover.


A nauseated combatant is physically sick to her stomach. Nauseated combatants have -1 to Strength and Agility. It takes a Fortitude check to recover.

Off Balance

An off balance combatant is struggling to keep from falling over. This could be from being drawn out of position by a foe, getting hit, or overextending with an attack. Off balance combatants are vulnerable. It takes an Agility check to recover.


A poisoned combatant is suffering the ill effects of some sort of toxin. Poisoned combatants suffer -1 to Fortitude and take one poison damage after acting each turn. It takes a Fortitude check to recover.


A restrained combatant is not able to move freely. Webs, nets, and constriction are some of the possible sources of restraint. Restrained combatants have -2 to Agility, are unable to use abilities involving movement, and are vulnerable. It takes a Strength check to recover.


A staggered combatant has been physically shocked. A hard bludgeoning blow can cause this, as can an attack upon a pressure point. Staggered combatants have -2 to Agility and Insight, and are vulnerable. It takes a Fortitude check to recover.


A weakened combatant has had his bodily strength sapped in some way. The effect could be magical, or the result of a careful blow by a skilled warrior. Weakened combatants have -2 to Strength. It takes a Fortitude check to recover.

Positive conditions

What are positive conditions?

Positive conditions are temporary enhancements to a combatant's capabilities. Each makes the combatant more effective in some way.

As with negative conditions, each positive condition lasts at least until after the combatant takes a major action. At that point, the combatant makes a check against a certain trait, like Will or Fortitude. If the combatant gets at least a solid result, the condition is maintained for another round, at which point a new check is made. The first of these checks is made at +3; on each successive round, the modifier worsens by 1 (so by the fifth check, it's at -2).

Some positive conditions counter an existing positive condition. This means that if a combatant has a negative condition, and gains the positive one which counters it, it loses the negative condition. For example, if a combatant is afraid, and it becomes inspired, it stops being afraid.

Table of positive conditions

These are the positive conditions that appear in Conclave today:

NameIconEffectTrait CheckedCountered Conditions
Enraged+1 to St, WiWillAfraid
Focused+1 to In, attackInsightDazed
Inspired+1 to all checksInsightAfraid


An enraged combatant is filled with fury, and is a more dangerous attacker as a result. Enraged combatants get +1 to Strength and Will. You can maintain this condition with a Will check.


A focused combatant is keenly attuned to the world and her place in it. Focus is usually magically produced by abilities of the True Sight Tradition. A focused combatant has +1 to attack and Insight. You can maintain this condition with an Insight check.


An inspired combatant is filled with heroic vigor. An inspired combatant gets +1 to all checks. You can maintain this condition with a Insight check.


What are traits?

Traits represent any being's most basic and inherent capabilities: how strong are they? How intelligent?

Traits have a wide variety of effects on the game. First, some abilities can only be selected by characters who meet a certain trait requirement. Second, traits are used in many checks within combat: attacking, defending, using magic successfully, maintaining positive conditions and recovering from negative ones, and so on. Third, some equipment cannot be equipped unless you have the necessary score in a trait. Fourth, some vote options are only available to parties with characters that have a sufficiently high score in a certain trait. Finally, other scores in the game derive from certain traits: for example, your Health score depends partly on your Fortitude.

Table of traits

These are the traits shared by all beings in Conclave:

StrengthStrengthMuscular power.
AgilityAgilityReflexes, coordination, and physical flexibility.
FortitudeFortitudeOverall health and physical toughness.
WillWillMental toughness and discipline.
InsightInsightIntelligence and perceptiveness.

Strength Strength

Strength improves the Axe, Bludgeon, Heavy Blade, and Polearm skills and increases the damage dealt with those weapons. A high Strength also increases the chance of throwing off the restrained condition.

Agility Agility

Agility improves the Bow, Light Blade, and Stealth skills and the Dodge score. A high Agility also increases the chance of getting rid of the off balance condition.

Fortitude Fortitude

Fortitude improves the Health score and allows tougher armor to be worn. A high Fortitude also increases the chance of recovering from the bleeding, burning, nauseated, poisoned, staggered, and weakened conditions.

Will Will

Will improves the Runecasting skill. A high Will also increases the chance of recovering from the afraid and dazed conditions, and of sustaining the enraged positive condition.

Insight Insight

Insight improves the Lore, Persuasion, Tactics, and True Sight skills. A high Insight also increases the chance of sustaining the focused and inspired positive conditions.

Other Stats

What are the other stats?

Conclave contains a wide variety of other statistics, all of which can potentially get boosted or decreased in combat or by equipment. Some of the most important of these are listed in the "Secondary Stats" section of your character page. Most often, you'll see these stats appear when they get modified by an ability or terrain, as combat animations will show the stat being modified.

Table of other stats

Here's a list of all the other stats, and a brief description of each:

AttackAttackImproves chance to hit and get better successes with attacks.
DodgeDodgeReduces chance of being hit and of getting hit with higher successes.
Melee DodgeMelee dodgeReduces chance of being hit by melee attacks and of getting hit with higher successes.
Ranged DodgeRanged dodgeReduces chance of being hit by ranged attacks and of getting hit with higher successes.
DamageDamageDamage dealt.
Main Hand DamageDamageDamage dealt by weapons in the main hand.
Off Hand DamageDamageDamage dealt by weapons in the off hand.
Blunt DamageBlunt damageBlunt damage dealt.
Edged DamageEdged damageEdged damage dealt.
Acid DamageAcid damageAcid damage dealt.
Cold DamageCold damageCold damage dealt.
Fire DamageFire damageFire damage dealt.
Poison DamagePoison damagePoison damage dealt.
Spirit DamageSpirit damageSpirit damage dealt. Spirit damage ignores physical protection.
HealthHealthAbility to take damage and remain standing; depends on level and Fortitude.
Physical ProtectionPhysical protectionReduction to damage taken from all sources except spirit damage.
Blunt ProtectionBlunt protectionReduction to blunt damage taken.
Edged ProtectionEdged protectionReduction to edged damage taken.
Acid ProtectionAcid protectionReduction to acid damage taken.
Cold ProtectionCold protectionReduction to cold damage taken.
Fire ProtectionFire protectionReduction to fire damage taken.
Poison ProtectionPoison protectionReduction to poison damage taken.
Spirit ProtectionSpirit protectionReduction to spirit damage taken.
ChecksChecksChance of accomplishing anything.
Arcane ChecksArcaneChance of accomplishing anything with arcane abilities.
SuccessSuccessLevel of success when attempting anything.