Parry

Trigger: When an enemy initiates a Melee Exchange against you, choose Melee Full Guard and Boost that response with at least 1 AD. Declare Parry when committing to Full Guard, before rolling.

Cost: One Parry Use, plus Full Guard's normal Base Cost and Boost.

Effect: Add +1 to your final Full Guard total for this Exchange. A tie stops the attack. Full Guard still cannot wound the attacker.

Rank: R Uses per Rest. Each application remains +1.

Example: Your total of 2 becomes 3, stopping an attack total of 3. The Parry Use was declared and spent before either result was known.

Breach

Trigger: Initiate a Melee Exchange and Boost your attack with at least 1 AD. After the target commits to Full Guard, but before either combatant rolls, you may declare Breach.

Cost: One Breach Use, plus the attack's normal payments.

Effect: Add +1 to your final attack total against that Full Guard. If you win, calculate harm normally. Armour and equipment are unaffected; a tie still stops the attack.

Rank: R Uses per Rest. Each application remains +1.

Example: Your total of 2 becomes 3. Against Full Guard 2 you win with Hit Margin 1; against Full Guard 3 the attack is stopped.

Footwork

Trigger: After a Melee Exchange you initiated during your own Activation fully resolves, including harm, state changes and any Continuation Check, you may take this Reaction if you Boosted your own attack with at least 1 AD, remain Active, can move voluntarily and have not used Footwork during this Activation.

Cost: One Footwork Use and a 0-AD Reaction. Spend the Use when the Reaction begins.

Effect: Move up to 6m along a legal route as additional movement. This does not spend your normal Base Movement allowance. Difficult terrain consumes the allowance normally; Slowed halves it before Scene Mode conversion. You may stop early. Normal opportunity attacks resolve step by step before you continue.

The movement grants no attack, jump, Sprint or passage through a blocked route. It cannot override Steady Aim's movement commitment. Winning the Exchange is unnecessary if you still meet the Trigger. If movement is interrupted, the Use stays spent.

Rank: R Uses per Rest; once per own Activation. Every Use grants up to 6m.

Scene Modes: Preserve the route and distance in Story Mode. Normally 6m gives 3 Tactical Spaces or 1 Cinematic Zone. While Slowed, 3m gives 1 Space or a local reposition within the current Zone. Apply terrain costs and other explicit allowance modifiers before the normal conversion: Spaces = floor(metres/2); Zones = floor((metres+5)/10).

Steady Aim

Trigger: When you initiate a Ranged Exchange during your own Activation, before the target chooses its response, you may declare Steady Aim if you have not moved voluntarily during that Activation and Boost your own attack with at least 1 AD.

Cost: One Steady Aim Use, plus the attack's normal costs. Commit not to move voluntarily until this Activation ends.

Effect: After Edge and any other rerolls already applying to this attack, but before totals are compared, you may reroll one of your own dice still showing a Miss. Keep its replacement, including another Miss. If no eligible Miss remains, the Use is still spent. Weapon, range, ammunition and loading requirements remain.

A Miss previously rerolled during Edge may be chosen, unless a specific rule prohibits rerolling it. This activation cannot reroll the replacement again or spend another Use on the same attack. Resolving the declared reroll creates no additional trait activation, Skill Check, attack or proactive Skill use.

If another effect moves you before the attack roll, lose the reroll benefit but retain the spent Use and movement commitment. Forced movement after the roll does not retroactively cancel the benefit. The commitment lasts until the end of your Activation even if no die is rerolled.

Rank: R Uses per Rest. Each Use rerolls at most one Miss.

Example: One Hit and one Miss give a total of 1 after Edge. Reroll the Miss: a Hit makes the total 2, a Critical makes it 3, and another Miss leaves it at 1.

Quickload

Trigger: Immediately after a Ranged Exchange in which you fired a Loading weapon fully resolves, including harm, state changes and any Continuation Check, you may use Quickload if you Boosted your own attack with at least 1 AD. You must remain Active, still hold the unloaded weapon, have the required unfired ammunition and usable hands, and be able to pay the reduced cost. This may follow your initiated attack or a Ranged Clash response.

Cost: One Quickload Use, plus the reduced payment for one loading Action. Reduce that Action's base cost by 1 AD, minimum 0, then apply ordinary cost modifiers. Pay any remaining AD when the loading Action begins.

Effect: Perform that loading Action using the weapon's actual procedure. If an ordinary load takes one Minor Action, you may perform it immediately as a Reaction, provided you can take Reactions. A longer procedure retains its normal Action types, legal timing, steps, checks and remaining costs. Quickload cannot turn a Major Action or a sequence of Actions into one Reaction. If no loading Action may legally begin now, you cannot activate Quickload.

Use it once for this resolved-Exchange opportunity. Several Uses cannot deepen the discount on that Action or the same reload. If you pass the opportunity or take another Action or Reaction instead, it expires without creating a stored discount. Interruption after commitment leaves the Use and paid AD spent; follow the loading procedure for progress and ammunition.

The weapon becomes loaded only when its actual procedure finishes. The shot still expends its ammunition; Quickload supplies no ammunition or extra shot and cannot make an unloaded weapon eligible for an Exchange that has already resolved. It adds no Skill Check or proactive Ranged use; a special loading procedure retains its own requirements.

Rank: R Uses per Rest. Each Use reduces one base loading cost by 1 AD.

Example: An ordinary 1-AD bow load becomes a 0-AD Reaction. Slowed doubles the reduced cost of 0 to 0. Any longer loading procedure still needs its remaining steps and payments.

Covering Fire

Trigger: When you commit a Ranged attack in a Combat Exchange and Boost your own attack with at least 1 AD, declare Covering Fire against its creature target before any dice are rolled. This may accompany your initiated attack or a legal Ranged Clash response.

Cost: One Covering Fire Use, plus normal attack costs.

Effect: If you win the Exchange and the target remains Active after harm and its Continuation Check, halve its Base Movement during its next scheduled Activation only. Identify the first scheduled Activation starting after this Exchange resolves. The reduction begins at that Activation's start and expires at its end, even if the target cannot act. It affects no remaining movement in an Activation already in progress. Wounding is unnecessary; a loss or tie applies no reduction and leaves the Use spent.

Apply the reduction before movement calculations and Scene Mode conversion. It does not stack with another BM halving, including Slowed or encumbrance: use the lowest resulting BM once. Repeated applications for the same scheduled Activation neither halve again nor queue additional Activations. A new paid success during an affected Activation may apply to the next one, starting at that next Activation.

This affects only the attacked creature. It does not apply Slowed, raise action costs, prevent all movement or generate reaction shots. It needs no continuing loaded weapon or action by the holder after the shot.

Rank: R Uses per Rest. The reduction always lasts for one identified Activation.

Example: BM 14 becomes BM 7 for the next scheduled Activation. If you fire a Clash response during the target's current Activation, its current movement is unchanged. A target already at BM 7 because of another halving stays at BM 7.

Brace

Trigger: After a source's Physical harm has been converted into a batch of at least 1 Wound against you, but before any Wounds from that batch are applied, you may take this Reaction while Active.

Cost: One Brace Use and a Reaction with a base cost of 2 Ready AD. Apply ordinary cost modifiers; Slowed makes it 4 AD. You must be able to take the Reaction and pay its full cost.

Effect: Reduce that batch by 1 Wound, minimum 0, then apply the remaining Wounds normally. Pay before applying them: AD spent on Brace become Used and remain unwounded until the normal Wound procedure takes them.

Use Brace once per batch. It affects Physical harm only, heals no existing Wound, prevents no Condition and adds no Soak. Other harm domains are unaffected.

Rank: R Uses per Rest. Each Use prevents at most one Wound.

Example: With Ready 5 and Used 3, pay 2 AD: Ready 3 and Used 5. A batch of two Physical Wounds becomes one; take it normally, leaving Ready 2, Used 5 and Wounded 1.

Power Attack

Trigger: When committing a Melee attack that uses Strength as its Damage Vital, causes Physical harm and includes at least 1 of your own Boost AD, declare Power Attack before any dice are rolled. On an initiated attack, declare it before the target chooses its response. It may also accompany a legal Melee Clash response or another legal qualifying Melee attack; it cannot accompany Full Guard.

Cost: One Power Attack Use, plus the attack's normal Base Cost and Boost. This modifies the attack; it creates no separate Action, Reaction, Skill Check or proactive Skill use. Melee still governs the attack, its Boost limit and its normal proactive-use accounting.

Effect: If your attack wins, calculate its normal Strike Rating, including the weapon's Damage Vital Cap, then add +2 Strike Rating to that attack's Physical harm. Apply normal Protection, Wound Margin and Wound Conversion. Apply it once to the hit on the declared target, not to later or secondary harm.

The bonus changes no roll total, Hit Margin, Vital or weapon cap. It grants no automatic hit, armour bypass, displacement or extra attack. A loss, tie, interruption or attack that ceases to qualify leaves the Use spent and supplies no bonus, including to the opponent's winning attack.

Rank: R Uses per Rest. Each application remains +2 Strike Rating.

Example: An arming sword's Damage 2 plus Strength 4 capped at 3 gives normal Strike Rating 5. Power Attack makes it 7. Winning by 1 against Protection 1 changes Wound Margin 5 to 7: three Wounds become five.

Second Wind

Trigger: During your own Activation while Active, you may take this Minor Action if you have at least one Used AD before payment, have not used Second Wind during this Activation, have a proactive Athletics use remaining and can pay.

Cost: One Second Wind Use, one proactive Athletics use and a base cost of 1 Ready AD, modified normally. Make no Skill Check.

Effect: After paying, move up to 2 currently Used AD to Ready, including AD just spent on Second Wind if you choose. Return no more dice than exist in Used AD.

Used MD and Wounded AD are ineligible. This creates no dice and changes no Vitality. It is an immediate refresh: make no Impaired Refresh roll for it. It does not remove Impaired Refresh or change a later scheduled refresh.

Rank: R Uses per Rest; once per own Activation. Each Use returns up to two Used AD.

Example: Ready 2 / Used 3 becomes Ready 1 / Used 4 after payment, then Ready 3 / Used 2. You gain one Ready AD overall. While Slowed, paying 2 then returning 2 gives no net Ready AD gain.