Glossary of Terms

Canonical vocabulary for the Rhune rules. When two words mean the same thing, the canonical one is listed first and the others are marked as deprecated aliases. Update this file whenever terminology shifts.

Status: 🌱 draft — built from a scan of RULES/ on 2026-10-26; terminology decisions locked 2026-10-26. Resolved discrepancies are folded into the tables below.

Core mechanic

Term Meaning Notes
Move A packet of rules with a trigger, a result table, and fiction guidance.
Trigger The fictional condition that fires a move. "To do it, you have to do it."
RISKY move Any move that tells you to roll — you push your luck. Your pool grows only on RISKY moves.
Safe move A move that doesn't tell you to roll — just do what it says. Doesn't grow your pool.
Push your luck The core resolution: roll a pool of d6, starting at 1 die and adding 1 per RISKY move this turn. Replaces "roll +stat". Rhune is stat-less.
Pool The dice you roll for a push. Grows by 1 per RISKY move; resets to 1 at the start of your turn.
Bust A player roll where any die shows a 1. The GM makes a hard move; mark XP equal to the number of 1s in the final roll. Canonical failure term.
Bust with only 1s present A bust where every die in the final roll shows a 1. The worst case; a few moves key off it by name. Otherwise identical to a bust.
Success A roll with no 1s.
Bands (player) Player outcomes: bust (any 1), success with no 6, success with a 6.
Bands (community) The GM's stat-dice outcomes: 6 (best), 4–5 (success), 1–3 (it goes badly).
Success with no 6 A player roll with no 1s and no 6 — the weaker success.
Success with a 6 A player roll with no 1s and at least one 6 — the stronger success.
Stat dice The GM's community roll: roll a number of d6 equal to the stat, take the highest. At 0, roll 2d6 and take the lowest.
Reroll Spend 1 (you have a number equal to your level) to reroll every die showing a 1. Resets only when you end your turn before busting — not after a bust.
Turn GM's turn (soft move, "what do you do?") → your turn (push your luck).
Soft move A GM move that presents a threat without landing it yet.
Hard move A GM move that lands consequences. Triggered by a bust.
Advantage Player: roll an extra die, discard the lowest. Community: roll one extra die.
Disadvantage Player: roll an extra die, discard the highest. Community: roll one extra die and take the lowest. At 0, disadvantage = roll 3d6, take the lowest.
Die of Fate A d6 the GM rolls when no move applies. High is good, low is bad.
Fictional positioning The sum of established facts that decides what's possible and which move fires. Resolved before the dice.

Character

Term Meaning Notes
Stat-less Rhune has no stats. Dice are identical for everyone; traits differentiate.
Trait A signature ability; the whole character layer. Pick 2 from the shared list (species-traits.md).
Trait swap Temporarily replace one of your traits with another from the shared list. House replacement for the old stat-swaps.
Extra trait access Temporarily hold a third trait alongside your 2. House replacement for the old stat-swaps.
Trait loss Lose access to one of your traits' benefit for a time. You still have the trait; it just fails you. House replacement for a stat reduction.
Earned trait Permanent access to one trait from a short curated list, granted by a move or background. Sits alongside your 2. Skill at Arms, Well-Read, Penitent, Wide Wanderer.
Improved Trait Level-up move: pick a trait and, with the GM, make it more powerful (fiction-driven). Replaces Improved Stat.
Superior Trait Level-up move (level 6+): boost an already-Improved trait even further — a capstone. Replaces Superior Stat.
Ƭ (trait item) Optional signature possession that comes with a trait. Deprecated — signature items cut 2026-10-26; traits are inherited, not gear.
Playbook The character archetype (Blessed, Fox, Heavy, Judge, Lightbearer, Marshal, Ranger, Seeker, Would-Be Hero).
Insert An add-on archetype (Animal Companion, Crew, Initiates of Danu, Invocations, Arcana).
Instinct A playbook prompt describing your character's driving reflex.
Appearance A playbook prompt describing how your character looks.
HP Hit Points. Stat-independent; starts at your playbook's max.
Damage die Your playbook's die for hurting foes. Independent of weapon.
Armor Reduces incoming damage. "x armor" doesn't stack; "+1 armor" does.
Debility Weakened / Dazed / Miserable. Each gives disadvantage on two named moves.
Problematic wound A lasting injury; healed by Convalesce under a healer, or a Make a Plan.
Death's Door The dying move. Sixes = back with HP = # of sixes; success no six = out of action; bust = die.
XP Experience. Mark XP equal to the number of 1s in a bust, or when a move says so.
Level Starts at 1. At XP = 6 + twice your level, Level Up at home.

Currencies & tracks

Term Meaning Notes
Preparation Held currency from Outfit (and provisions). Spent for gear, recovery, etc. Formerly called "supplies."
Value Rough worth of a thing in trade (0–4); used by Trade & Barter and improvements. See 01-character/value.md.
Readiness Held currency from Defend. Spent 1-for-1 on defensive options.
Acumen Held currency (from Noruba's Ice Sphere). Spent on extra questions or to upgrade a roll.
Prosperity Steading stat. Feeds Preparation holds, Trade & Barter, Recover HP, and iron-weapon piercing.
Piercing Reduces a target's armor by the weapon's piercing (min 0). On iron/steel weapons, piercing = Prosperity (min 0). Defined in Have What You Need; no separate gear sheet.
Fortunes Steading stat. Rolled for Seasons Change; reduced by disaster/muster.
Surplus Steading resource. Generated in summer/autumn, consumed in winter.
Population Steading stat. Rolled for Muster/Pull Together; consumed in winter.
Defenses Steading stat. Rolled for Deploy; raised by Muster.
Stock Blessed's resource (increases at even levels).
Loyalty A follower's bond to you (max 3). Spent to have them act.

Followers

Term Meaning Notes
Follower An NPC in your charge with tags, a cost, and Loyalty. Canonical — all former "companion" uses are now follower.
Companion Retired as a rule term. Use follower. "Companion" survives only as informal fiction, if at all.
Cost What you must pay to Strengthen Your Bond (e.g. genuine affection, coin, training).
Tags Short descriptors on a follower that grant advantage/disadvantage when relevant.

The steading

Term Meaning Notes
Steading The home settlement you protect and manage. Canonical — replaced "Keep" and "village".
Community The people of the steading, collectively. Kept as-is: "the community" = the folk, not the place.
Keep Retired. Use steading. (Except the title Keep & Company.)
Village Retired. Use steading.
Steading debilities Diminished / Lacking / Malcontent. Marked by disaster, cleared by Return Triumphant.

Setting

Term Meaning Notes
The Last Door The threshold of death; glimpsed at Death's Door.
The Lady of Crows The figure at the Last Door.
The Things Below Entities that can be called on (Thrall insert).

Meta / table

Term Meaning Notes
GM Game Master. Doesn't roll and doesn't trigger moves.
PC Player character.
NPC Non-player character.
Duet One PC, one GM. Rhune's default mode.
IC In-character fiction. Always blockquoted + italicized.
OOC Table-talk; the default layer.

Resolved discrepancies

Locked 2026-10-26. Kept for the record; folded into the tables above.

  1. Failure band — a player busts (any 1 in the pool); the community's failure band is 1–3 on the GM's stat-dice roll. "Miss" purged; "botch" never existed. XP = number of 1s in the busted roll (when you don't reroll).
  2. Home settlement — steading everywhere; "the community" kept for the people; "Keep" and "village" retired (except the title Keep & Company).
  3. Typography — en-dash 4–5, true minus 1–3. Standardized. (Superseded 2026-10-28: bands are now plain numbers 6 / 4–5 / 1–3.)
  4. Playbook vs class — kept both. "Class" is fine where it reads naturally.
  5. Follower vs companion — follower is the only rule term. "Companion" retired.
  6. Stale checklists — Aid/Interfere references and "2d6" phrasing swept from _index.md files.

Add new terms as they're locked. When a discrepancy is resolved, fold the winner into the table above and move it here.