Book of LoreThe core game vocabulary — stats, statuses, the turn structure, and the entities that make up play. Lore keywords (abilities, equipment traits, and Origins) live in Lore Definitions; this page covers everything else, and other sections link here rather than restating. Each term notes its home section.
Status: Reconciled (verified 28 Aug 2026). Skirmish definitions were checked word-for-word against their home sections (all v1.0, except Blessings, which is itself Reconciled). Two inconsistencies were surfaced and ruled on (27 Aug 2026): (1) the rules now standardise on Difficult Ground — the stray Difficult Terrain in the Skirmisher Lore keyword has been corrected; (2) Staggered is not a base Skirmish status — it appears only on the Heights road (campaign), so it sits under Campaign below. Remaining before v1.0: verify the four campaign terms against the campaign rules. Amendment (12 Sep 2026): Equipment was added to this page during the rules-lint session, after the 28 Aug verification; its definition is checked against its home section (→ Equipment) but post-dates the word-for-word pass above. Amendment (12 Sep 2026, rulings): Harm and Free Move Deed were added, and Engaged consolidated to a single wording, in applying the adversarial-pass rulings; these post-date the verification above. Amendment (13 Sep 2026, rulings): Battle was added and Trial reworded so the containment is explicit — a Battle is one engagement, the Trial is the objective it is fought for (per pilgrimage-core) — and the bare noun Shroud in Light source was corrected to the canonical status Shrouded. Both post-date the verification above. Major Trial was then ruled on the same day: it is the primary objective of a Battle, not “a weightier engagement”. It now has its own entry, as does Minor Trial, which had none — both are used throughout the Book of Trials and in the Aftermath scoring. Amendment (30 Sep 2026, ruling): Shadow was added. It is core vocabulary used across the Skirmish chapters with no entry of its own (found by the rules lint, L9); it post-dates the verification above. Amendment (30 Sep 2026, ruling): Aftermath was added. The Book of Trials resolves results “in the Aftermath” throughout, and nothing defined the word (found by the rules lint, L9, in the campaign scope); it post-dates the verification above. Amendment (30 Sep 2026, ruling): Injury, Finale and Champion were added. Each is used across the Book of Trials, and each had a home chapter but no entry here (found by the rules lint, L9, in the campaign scope). They post-date the verification above.
The Oathband & characters
Oathband (Both) — The group of characters a player commands, built from 600 Supplies. Advancement and identity belong to the Oathband, not its members. (→ Recruitment; Core Concepts)
Character — Any miniature in the game, whichever side; a basic character costs 50 Supplies. (→ Core Concepts; Recruitment)
Pilgrim — A character in your Oathband. (→ Core Concepts)
Foe — An opponent character. (→ Core Concepts)
Non-Pilgrim character — A figure decidedly not yours; sometimes named by faction (e.g. Shadow character). (→ Core Concepts)
Shadow (Both) — The side the Oathband plays against. Every Foe belongs to it, and its figures may be called Shadow characters. (→ Core Concepts)
Leader — The Oathband member with the highest Valour; allies within 3” may use the Leader’s Valour for any check that calls on it. (→ Deployment & Turn Structure)
Origin (Both) — An Oathband’s unique founding trait, from Sing of Their Deeds; the specific traits are listed as (Origin) entries in Lore Definitions. (→ Sing of Their Deeds; Lore Definitions)
Supplies (Both) — The point-buy currency for building an Oathband: 600 total, spent on characters (50 each), then abilities and equipment. (→ Recruitment)
Equipment (Both) — The weapons, armour, and items a Character carries, bought with Supplies; each Character has 1 Armour, 2 Weapon, and 3 Item slots (Worn items take no slot). Each piece carries Lore terms that govern its use. (→ Equipment; Recruitment)
Stats
Each character has six attributes (base value in brackets); Might, Aim, and Valour may each be raised to +3.
Might (M) — [0] Bonus to Assault, and to defence against Fire. (→ Recruitment)
Aim (A) — [0] Bonus to Fire Deeds. (Also a Deed, cost 2, granting Advantage on a Fire Deed.) (→ Recruitment; Deeds)
Valour (V) — [0] Bonus to Panic checks; also sets Initiative and who leads. (→ Recruitment)
Ward (W) — [0] Damage reduction, subtracted from incoming damage; raised by armour and some Lore. (→ Recruitment)
Pace (P) — [0] Adds +1” per point to the first Move Deed of an Act only. (→ Recruitment; Deeds)
Endurance (E) — [6] Damage a character can take before going Out of Action. (→ Recruitment)
Sight — Not a character stat: the distance characters can see in a Trial, set by the season / light / weather tables (0”–24”). A character beyond another’s Sight is Shrouded. (→ Sight, Shroud & Light)
The turn & Deeds
Turn — One round: roll Initiative, then sides alternate activating one character at a time until all are Tired; then Tired clears and a new Turn begins. (→ Deployment & Turn Structure)
Initiative — Rolled each Turn: D12 + the highest Valour on your side; the winner activates first. (→ Deployment & Turn Structure)
Act — A character’s activation: up to 3 Deeds in any order; the character is then marked Tired. (→ Deployment & Turn Structure)
Deed — One action within an Act. Standard Deeds: Move, Assault, Fire, Aid, Aim, Climb, Guard, Hide, Stand, Use. Some cost more than one Deed. (→ Deeds)
Move Deed — Moves 3” + Pace on the first of an Act, 3” on later ones (floor 0”); costs +1 Deed through Difficult Ground. (→ Deeds)
Free Move Deed — A Move Deed granted by an event: 3” flat, with no Pace bonus, taken in addition to the Act’s three Deeds. (→ Book of Trials)
Aid — A Deed (cost 1) that lets a Knocked Down ally within 1” Stand at once, out of turn and even if Tired, at no cost to them; not while Engaged. It never appears in the Shadow’s action flow. (→ Deeds)
Guard — A Deed that ends the Act and grants +1 Ward until the character’s next Act. (→ Deeds)
Check — The core resolution: D12 + modifier; 7+ succeeds (a different threshold is written out, e.g. “9+”). Each +1 shifts success by ~8%. (→ Core Concepts)
Advantage / Disadvantage — Roll two D12 and take the higher / the lower; both at once cancel. (→ Core Concepts)
Combat
Assault — Close combat within 1”. Both roll D12 + Might; the winner deals damage equal to the margin (less the loser’s Ward), then may push 2” to break off or remain Engaged. (→ Close Combat)
Fire — Ranged attack: attacker rolls D12 + Aim, defender D12 + Might; the attacker deals the margin as damage if they win. (→ Ranged Combat)
Harm — Damage remaining after Ward is subtracted; this is what comes off Endurance. A blow fully absorbed by Ward deals no Harm. (→ Close Combat)
Charge — Moving into Engagement, or into Reach, and Assaulting in the same Act grants +1 Might; a Character already Engaged at the start of their Act gains nothing. Only the first Assault of that Act benefits. (→ Close Combat)
Group Assault — +1 Might for each allied Character Engaged with the same Foe and not Engaged with any other. (→ Close Combat)
Close Fire — A Fire Deed at a target within 6” gains Advantage. (→ Ranged Combat)
Moving Target — −1 Aim if the firer has moved this Turn, and −1 if the target has; at most −2. (→ Ranged Combat)
Crowded Target — Firing at a Foe within 1” of another character randomly determines who is hit. (→ Ranged Combat)
High Ground — Attacking or defending from more than 2” above a Foe grants +1 Might and +1 Aim on that Deed. (→ Ranged Combat)
Cover — Terrain that obscures a target from the shooter; Fire against a character in Cover suffers −2 Aim, judged from the shooter’s position. (→ The Ground Itself)
Engaged — Within 1” of a Foe. An Engaged Character may take no Deed but Assault or Stand, and leaves only by winning an Assault and pushing 2”, or when a Foe is taken Out of Action. An Engaged Character may repeat the Assault Deed within an Act. (→ Close Combat)
Reach — A weapon trait allowing Assault from beyond 1” without becoming Engaged; full rule in Lore Definitions. (→ Lore Definitions)
Movement, terrain & sight
Difficult Ground — Terrain that cannot be strided freely (bog, rubble, briar, scree, standing water); a Move Deed starting in, ending in, or crossing it costs +1 Deed (distance is normal). (→ The Ground Itself)
Falling — A drop of 3” or less is safe; a longer fall deals Harm equal to inches fallen − 3 (Ward does not apply) and leaves the character Knocked Down. (→ The Ground Itself)
Climb — A Deed (cost 2) that moves a character 3” vertically. (→ Deeds)
Shrouded — Beyond a Foe’s Sight; attacks against a Shrouded character suffer −2 Might and −2 Aim. (→ Effects; Sight, Shroud & Light)
Hidden — Gained by the Hide Deed (behind cover, out of the Foe’s line of sight); cannot be targeted by Fire from behind that cover, and grants +1 Might and +1 Aim on the Deed that reveals them, which then ends Hidden. Also ends on receiving an Assault or Fire. (→ Effects)
Light source — Removes the Shrouded status within its radius; figures inside cannot be Shrouded and are visible to all (the Lore term Light (X”)). (→ Sight, Shroud & Light)
Statuses
Out of Action (OOA) — Endurance reduced to 0 or less; removed from the board, fate resolved in the Aftermath. (→ Effects; Core Concepts)
Wounded — After taking 4 cumulative Harm this Trial, and again at each further 4: −1 Pace, −1 Might, −1 Aim until the next Trial. (→ Effects)
Knocked Down — From taking 4 or more Harm from one attack: must spend a Stand Deed before acting, and −1 Might while down. (→ Effects)
Tired — Marks a character that has completed its Act this Turn; it cannot Act again until every character is Tired and a new Turn begins. (→ Deployment & Turn Structure; Effects)
Shaken — From failing a Panic check: −1 Might and −1 Aim until a Panic check is passed; checks at the start of each Act. (→ Panic; Effects)
Panicked — From failing a second Panic check: spends Deeds fleeing to the nearest board edge (leaving the board counts as OOA). (→ Panic; Effects)
Infirm — Applied outside a Trial: −2 Endurance until the next Trial. (→ Effects)
Panic check — Triggered once a side has lost half its starting number (rounded up) to OOA: D12 + Valour − allies lost this Trial; 7+ passes. (→ Panic)
Trials & objectives
Battle (Both) — One tabletop engagement, from deployment to the end of the final Turn. The environmental tables are rolled once per Battle, and Lore that triggers “once per Battle” or “each Battle” is scoped to it. (→ Deployment & Turn Structure; Sight, Shroud & Light)
Trial (Both) — The objective a Battle is fought for; one Battle plays out one Trial. The three archetypes are the Crossing, the Vigil, and the Reckoning. (→ Book of Trials)
Major Trial (Both) — The primary objective of a Battle, stated on the Trial’s own page. Fulfilling it rolls Battlefield Finds at Advantage in the Aftermath; failing it, at Disadvantage. Referenced by some Vows. (→ Book of Trials; After the Trial)
Minor Trial (Both) — The secondary objective of a Battle — a Waymark count, or a restraint on how the Major Trial is won. Completing it adds +2 to the Battlefield Finds roll. (→ Book of Trials; After the Trial)
Aftermath (Both) — The steps played once a Battle ends, in the order After the Trial gives them: Battlefield Finds, then Injury and Death for every Pilgrim taken Out of Action, then Vows Fulfilled. (→ After the Trial)
Injury (Both) — The Aftermath roll for each Pilgrim taken Out of Action: a D12 on the Injury and Death table, reading Death, Grievous Wound, Injured or Full Recovery. A Pilgrim who was Infirm rolls two and keeps the lower. (→ After the Trial)
Crossing (Both) — A Trial archetype: reach a point or get through. (→ The Crossing)
Vigil (Both) — A Trial archetype: hold ground or endure. (→ The Vigil)
Reckoning (Both) — A Trial archetype: confront or defeat. (→ The Reckoning)
Waymark (Both) — A site placed on the board (D12÷2+1 of them, at least 9” apart); a character within 1” may spend a Deed to roll for a result — Supplies, Vow progress, or a setback. (→ Waymarks)
Songs, Vows & Blessings
Song (Both) — A thematic category of Vows (e.g. Song of Might, Song of Vigil). (→ Songs & Vows)
Vow (Both) — A sworn objective with a completion count (shown in brackets) that grants a reward when fulfilled; up to 3 sworn per Trial, progress persists across Trials, and rewards are distributed once 5 unique Vows are complete. (→ Songs & Vows)
Blessing (Both) — A one-use act of divine aid; choose up to 3 before a Trial, each spent after use. The eight: Lanhesir’s Lantern, Wyrsel’s Turn, Auruin’s Stroke, Maelis’s Calm, Enlaith’s Shelter, Cuthelir’s Step, Brael’s Mercy, Coluin’s Voice. (→ Blessings)
Campaign
Beyond the skirmish game. These four terms are not yet verified against the campaign rules.
Doom (Campaign) — The campaign’s rising peril; it only ever increases. (→ Campaign)
Renown / Legacy (Campaign) — Campaign progression currencies. (→ Campaign)
Hallowed (Campaign) — A volatile, Oathband-level signed stat. (→ Campaign)
Finale (Campaign) — The campaign’s final Landmark, and the Trial played there, which decides the campaign. (→ Measure the Road; Book of Endings)
Champion (Campaign) — A named leader of the Shadow, rolled on the Shadow Champions table when a Trial calls for one. Its abilities come from Champion’s Scars, gained as Doom rises. (→ Shadow Champions; Champion’s Scars)
Staggered (Campaign) — Not a base status: on the Heights road, failing a Pace check on vertical terrain leaves a character Staggered and ends the Move. (→ Campaign / Heights)