Core Terms (Glossary)

The 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.

The Oathband & characters

• Oathband — 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)
• 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 — 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 — The point-buy currency for building an Oathband: 600 total, spent on characters (50 each), then abilities and 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, 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)
• 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 fight on. (→ Close Combat)
• Fire — Ranged attack: attacker rolls D12 + Aim, defender D12 + Might; the attacker deals the margin as damage if they win. (→ Ranged Combat)
• Charge — Causing an Assault during your Act grants +1 Might. (→ Close Combat)
• Group Assault — +1 Might for each ally in base contact with the same Foe and not engaged elsewhere. (→ Close Combat)
• Close Fire — A Fire Deed at a target within 6” gains Advantage. (→ Ranged Combat)
• Moving Target — −1 Aim per Move Deed taken by the firer or the target this Turn. (→ 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 (locked in Assault); cannot move except by winning an Assault. (→ Close Combat; Lore Definitions)
• Reach — A weapon trait allowing Assault from beyond base contact; 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 direct damage equal to inches fallen − 3, ignores Ward, 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 / +1 Aim when attacking on a Turn begun Hidden. Ends on using or receiving an Assault or Fire. (→ Effects)
• Light source — Removes Shroud 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 below 0; removed from the board, fate resolved in the Aftermath. (→ Effects; Core Concepts)
• Wounded — After losing 4 cumulative Endurance: −1 Pace, −1 Might, −1 Aim until the next Trial. (→ Effects)
• Knocked Down — From taking 4+ damage in 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 on the next Act; checks each Act to recover. (→ 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

• Trial — A single battle. The three archetypes are the Crossing, the Vigil, and the Reckoning. A Major Trial is a weightier engagement, referenced by some Vows. (→ Book of Trials)
• Crossing — A Trial archetype: reach a point or get through. (→ The Crossing)
• Vigil — A Trial archetype: hold ground or endure. (→ The Vigil)
• Reckoning — A Trial archetype: confront or defeat. (→ The Reckoning)
• Waymark — 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 — A thematic category of Vows (e.g. Song of Might, Song of Vigil). (→ Songs & Vows)
• Vow — 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 — 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 — not yet verified against campaign rules)

• Doom — The campaign’s rising peril; it only ever increases. (→ Campaign)
• Renown / Legacy — Campaign progression currencies. (→ Campaign)
• Hallowed — A volatile, Oathband-level signed stat. (→ Campaign)
• Staggered — 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)