At climax Pilot rolls dice equal to total intimacy of relationships that make up his ANIMa and allocates them to categories.
Flashback: If pilot places a "-" in both Mission and Pilot Safety categories he may call for a flashback, a privileged interlude action. If the flashback results in intimacy building for a relationship which does not right now form part of his ANIMa, and the pilot brings in that relationship as part of his ANIMa immediately, the pilot may choose to read the "-" in the mission category as a "0". Even if trust is broken, there are no fallout actions from flashbacks.
| + (5-6) | Success! Pilot successfully completes mission goal. |
| 0 (3-4) | Mission moves along. Pilot does not complete goal now, but may try again. |
| - (1-2) | Mission goal stalled. Pilot may not complete goal in next roll (read all + results in mission success as 0 results). At pilot's option, mission goal is simply failed. |
| + (5-6) | Pilot stays safe. Anchor retains control over dream. | 0 (3-4) | Pilot's safety jeopardized. Pilot gains one terror. Anchor loses some control over the dream: GM and other players may introduce nightmarish or alien elements. | - (1-2) | Pilot's safety abandoned. Pilot gains one trauma and one terror. Anchor loses control of the dream entirely. |
| + (5-6) | Relationship unharmed. ANIMAa part functions perfectly. |
| 0 (3-4) | Relationship gains one stress. ANIMA part damaged by attack or over-use. |
| - (1-2) | Relationship suffers malfunction, gaining one stress and losing one trust. ANIMa part rendered useless or destroyed. If it is not the anchor's relationship, this relationship is no longer part of pilot's ANIMa. It gives no dice, does not require the pilot to place a die, and may not be called back for the duration of the mission. |
| + (5-6) | Pilot gains three bliss. |
| 0 (3-4) | Pilot gains no bliss. |
| - (1-2) | Pilot gains one bliss. |
| + (5-6) | Anchor is fine. |
| 0 (3-4) | Feedback. Anchor harmed. Elements of the dream leak into reality. |
| - (1-2) | Backlash. Anchor killed. Inhabitants of the dream enter reality. |
If pilot has no relationships at all to compose ANIMa, he is abandoned naked to the dream world. He instead rolls Id dice, up to four times his trauma score, and allocates to Mission Success, Pilot Safety and Anchor Safety. All dice rolled, not just unassigned dice, give Bliss. Unassigned "0" dice give one terror.
| Anchor is... | After pilot has placed dice, anchor may... |
|---|---|
| Driven | reroll one or more die placed in Mission |
| Kind | reroll one or more die placed in Pilot Safety |
| Tempestuous | reroll one or more die placed in own relationship |
| Savvy | reroll one or more die placed in someone else's relationship |
| Comforting | reroll one or more die placed in a threatened or endangered category |
| Experienced | add one stress to relationship to pilot to reroll any one die. |
During an interlude action: A pilot with 3+ trauma may cause harm (and kill harmed characters), a pilot with 5+ trauma may kill a non-pilot character.
Trust Breaking: Anyone may say that their character's Trust was broken in the action. If so, reduce the trust in the relationship by one, the player of the character who broke trust may call for a follow-up action involving any characters (p122).
| Action Type | Possible Result If... | Mechanical Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Trauma Relief (must have Trauma) | Action exhibits pilot's problems | -1 Trauma |
| Stress Relief (must have Stress) | Action exhibits relationship's problems | Stress -> 0 |
| Trust Building (must not have Stress) | Action defines, redefines, or reaffirms the core of the relationship |
+1 Trust, max 5 |
| Intimacy Building | Action escalates intimacy | +1 Intimacy |
| Rebuilding | Two characters with destroyed relationship | New relationship at 1/1 |
| Humanization | Action has no pilots | New relationship x/2 or +1 Trust |
| Intimacy | Level | Action |
|---|---|---|
| One | Names and Eyes | Exchange Names, Make Eye Contact |
| Two | Hands and Mouths | Touch, Sing, Share work, Share food |
| Three | Touch and Mess | Cuddling, Make food, Get drunk, Fight |
| Four | Blood and Spit | Kiss, Touch Sexually, See each other naked, Exchange blood, Physically fight for real |
| Five | Sex | Have sex |
Art Copyright 2007 Shizero Nezze and text Copyright 2007 Ben Lehman -- http://www.tao-games.com/bliss-stage/