The ledger
Power is a loan
Every cultivator in the Nine Fords draws on qi that belongs to Heaven. When a roll goes wrong, you can borrow to lift it a step. The Codex keeps the ledger like this:
From the Codex, Chapter I
- Breakthroughs add Debt.
- The Collector. On a Partial Success, the GM may have you mark 1 Debt instead of paying the price. Once per Scene. Never the last box.
- A full track. Only you can fill the last box (by Borrowing or by a Breakthrough), so the GM can never force it. When you fill it, your Tribulation begins at the worst moment.
- Tribulation. The more Debt you carry, the harder its waves.
- Paying down. When you survive a Tribulation, you clear all your Debt. A real sacrifice may clear 1 Debt, if the GM agrees.
Fist cultivators borrow nothing. They pay in Wounds instead, and their Tribulation is a Trial of the Body.
Chapter III
The Duel
A Duel is a few Rounds of secret choices. You and your foe each pick a Stance, then reveal. The foe never rolls: you hold the die every Round.
From the Codex, The 4 Stances
| Stance | Check uses | Beats | Loses to | When it lands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | Force | Feint | Guard | 2 harm |
| Guard | Grace | Attack | Qi Burst | 1 harm, and you gain 1 Momentum |
| Feint | Guile | Qi Burst | Attack | 1 harm, and the foe is Off Balance |
| Qi Burst | Insight | Guard | Feint | 3 harm (spend 1 Qi) |
The circle. Attack beats Feint. Feint beats Qi Burst. Qi Burst beats Guard. Guard beats Attack. Any other pair, and 2 of the same Stance, is a Draw.
Then you roll a d20, add the Stance's Attribute and your Realm Bonus, and check the result table:
| Success | Partial Success | Failure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You win the Clash (+2) | your Stance lands | your Stance lands, the foe Grazes | the foe Grazes |
| Draw | your Stance lands | your Stance lands, the foe's Stance lands | the foe's Stance lands |
| You lose the Clash (-2) | you Graze | you Graze, the foe's Stance lands | the foe's Stance lands |
Example. Suyin (Insight +3, Realm Bonus +1) chooses Qi Burst. Her foe, Defense 20, chooses Guard. Qi Burst beats Guard: she wins the Clash and adds 2. Her bonus is +6. She rolls 11: total 17, 3 below 20. Partial Success. Her Qi Burst lands for 3 harm, and the foe Grazes her.
Pick the same Stance twice and you are Predictable: -2, and the foe answers with the Stance that beats yours. Win Clashes and land Guards to build Momentum. At 3, you can call a Finisher. Give it a name.
Group or solo
A GM, or no GM
At a table. The GM runs the Nine Fords and the foes. The players make cultivators in 6 steps: a Path and a School, an Origin, Attributes, 2 Techniques, a Bond and a Grudge, and a name. The campaign gives the GM a summary, Scenes with branch points and an encounter table for every Session.
Alone. The Codex gives every GM job a solo procedure. A Session runs on this loop:
From the Codex, Chapter IV
- Set up a Scene. Say what you want and where you go. Roll the Scene Die.
- Play the Scene. Describe what you do. Roll when the rules say to roll. When you would ask a GM something, ask the Oracle.
- When a fight starts, play it as a Duel. You choose your Stance; the Temperament table chooses the foe's.
- End the Scene when its question is answered. Write 1 line in your Journal.
- Check the Omen. If it is full, the Collector's Herald arrives.
- Repeat. End the Session at a Checkpoint.
When you would ask a GM, you ask the Oracle a yes-or-no question and roll the d20 on this table:
| d20 | Very unlikely | Unlikely | 50/50 | Likely | Very likely |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No, and | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| No | 2-15 | 2-12 | 2-7 | 2 | none |
| No, but | 16-18 | 13-15 | 8-10 | 3-5 | 2 |
| Yes, but | 19 | 16-18 | 11-13 | 6-8 | 3-5 |
| Yes | none | 19 | 14-19 | 9-19 | 6-19 |
| Yes, and | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
The campaign
The First Debt
The river is falling. Under the lowest ford, a door that has been wet for 300 years is about to stand in the open air, and everyone who owes Heaven wants to be there when it does.
The First Debt is a 12-Session campaign in 3 Acts. It takes a party, or 1 solo hero, from Realm I to the first Tribulation. Solo players read only the pages marked safe for them, and open each numbered Secret only when a Session says so.
| Act | Sessions | Realm | The question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. The Fords | 1 to 4 | I | Who are we working for? |
| II. The Dry Season | 5 to 8 | II | What is under the river? |
| III. The Collector | 9 to 12 | II, breaking into III | Who opens the door, and who pays for it? |
One package
What you get
The PDF edition has all of this as downloads: the Codex, the campaign The First Debt, the fillable play aids and the Scene Maps. The paperbacks on Amazon come as 2 books, and the play aids and maps are free from the bonus page with the access word printed in each book.
- The Codex (PDF, 208 pages, 6 x 9 in). The full rules in 9 chapters, plus a worked example of play and a glossary: 3 Paths, 9 Schools, 9 Origins, 20 Techniques, Realms I to VI, Heavenly Debt and Tribulation, the Duel, a complete solo chapter, GM advice, 27 foes and the Nine Fords setting. 14 Scene Maps are printed in the book.
- The First Debt (PDF, 160 pages, letter). A 12-Session campaign in 3 Acts that takes a party, or 1 solo hero, from Realm I to the first Tribulation. Every Session has a GM summary, Scenes with branch points, an encounter table, Duels on Scene Maps and a solo Checkpoint.
- Play aids (PDF, letter): a character sheet, a Debt & Tribulation tracker, a solo journal, a Duel tracker and a reference card, each as a fillable PDF and a print PDF.
- Maps (PNG): the 15 Scene Maps used by the Codex and the campaign, each 1801 x 2700 px (6 x 9 in at 300 dpi), plus the region map of the Nine Fords.
- Free, separately: the Quickstart (PDF, 60 pages). The core rules, the Duel, solo play, 4 ready-made heroes and Session 1 of the campaign, The Midnight Ferry.
How it was made. Rules and setting were written and playtested with AI assistance and edited for play. The cover, the illustrations and the map paintings are AI-generated. Diagrams, sheets and map layouts are drawn in code.
Before you buy
Questions
Can I play it alone?
Yes. Chapter 4 of the Codex replaces the GM: a d20 Oracle for yes-or-no questions, a Scene Die, tables for complications, strangers, reactions and the foe's Stance, and a Journal for what you owe and who hates you. The campaign marks which pages a solo player may read and keeps its Secrets numbered and sealed until a Session tells you to open one. Bosses written for a party are set at your own Realm when you play alone.
What dice do I need?
One d20. A spare die helps to track your foe's Momentum.
Do I need to know other RPGs?
No. The Quickstart teaches the Check in about 10 minutes, and every chapter opens with its key words defined. If you have played other tabletop RPGs, the Duel and the Debt track are the parts to read first.
What format is it, and can I print it?
PDFs with bookmarks, readable on a tablet or laptop. The Codex is a 6 x 9 in book; it prints on letter or A4 at actual size, or 2 pages per sheet. The campaign, the Quickstart and the play aids are letter size. Every play aid comes as a fillable PDF and as a print version. The maps are PNG images at print resolution.
Is it for a group or for one player?
Both. The same rules and the same campaign work at a table with a GM and a few players, or alone. The Quickstart has 4 ready-made heroes, so a table of 4 can sit down and play.
Where do I buy it?
The PDF edition is $29.99 here, through Whop. The paperbacks are on Amazon: the Codex at $29.99 and the campaign The First Debt at $19.99.
What is in the PDF edition?
The Codex, the 12-Session campaign The First Debt, the fillable play aids and the Scene Maps, all as downloads. It is a one-time purchase.
Can I get a refund?
For the PDF edition, yes. Within 14 days of purchase, no questions asked. Contact the support chat on your Whop order page with the order reference from your Whop receipt. For the paperbacks, Amazon's return policy applies.
How do I get the PDF files?
Right after you pay, the files are in your Whop library. Download the PDFs; they are yours to keep. If a file will not open, contact the support chat on your Whop order page.
What is the bonus page?
Each paperback prints an access word. Type it on the bonus page to download the play aids (fillable and print editions) and the 15 Scene Maps with the region map. The Codex's word also unlocks the Quickstart.