Intro

There are many stories to be told in the fantasy worlds of Legend in the Mist. Some feature the lowliest peasant, but others tell of the most powerful of gods. Characters can vary greatly in size, social standing, or sheer power. When a being or task is simply on another level than the Hero facing it, Legend in the Mist uses Might.

Might rules also allow you to play parties of mixed power levels, similar to how Frodo, Legolas, and Gandalf are part of the same fellowship in Lord Of The Rings. The Narrator’s chapter has specific advice on how to create encounters for mixed-level parties.

Might

Might is a tool for emphasizing power gaps. It comes in three levels: Origin, Adventure, and Greatness.

Origin is for the ordinary. This is the baseline Might of a regular person or a task in all matters.

Adventure is for the exceptional, like a seasoned monster hunter or a magic sword.

Greatness is for the truly legendary, for forest gods and epic actions that can shape the world.

Might can apply in many different aspects, whether its skill, size, numbers, social influence, or magical power. The key here is that Might is aspect-specific. Characters can be Mighty in some respects and ordinary in others. Might is always a combination of level and aspect.

Take this tree giant for example. A giant may be Mighty at the Adventure level in size and strength. But they may also be dirt-poor and Origin-level in money or have no social clout and be Origin-level in influence.

A Hero’s Might

A Hero is Mighty in the aspects covered by their Adventure and Greatness themes. You can see the Might level of a theme type at the top of its themebook. You don’t have to invoke tags from your Adventure or Greatness themes in an action to be considered Mighty in those fields. Having the theme itself is enough. In every other aspect, your Hero is of Origin level.

A Challenge’s Might

A Challenge’s Mighty aspects are either determined by the Narrator or listed in their Challenge Profile. For example, a siren could possess Adventure-level unnatural allure and, separately, Adventure-level underwater deftness.

That said, some Challenges will also have vulnerabilities that negate their Mightiness. If you’re not looking or listening to the siren, their allure is just not as effective.

An Action’s Might

Finally, an action itself may be Mighty if it requires exceptional or world-shaping ability to accomplish. Crafting basic items is Origin level. Crafting a magic sword is Adventure level. And crafting the one true Amulet of Destiny is Greatness level. 

Using Might in Action

When Might comes up in the game, the Narrator can compare the Hero’s Might to the Might of the action they’re attempting and decide if the Hero is Imperiled or Favored in their action. If the Might levels match, then the action continues as normal.

A Hero that tries a task beyond their Might is Imperiled. They either fail in the case of a Simple action or they lose 3 Power in the case of a Quick or Detailed action.

This penalty doesn’t apply to reactions. Instead, if the Hero takes Consequences from a source Mightier than they are, the Effects of the action’s Consequences go up by 3 status tiers or one tag.

This penalty is even greater if the Hero is two levels of Might below what they need. In that case they are Extremely Imperiled. Their action loses 6 Power and Consequences are increased by either 6 status tiers or 3 tags. If you’re a measly street urchin, you may want to think twice before picking a fight with the Bird God of the Skies.

That said, if a Hero is Mightier than the task they are attempting, they are Favored. Their action gains 3 Power and their Consequences are reduced by 3 status tiers or one tag. If they are Extremely Favored with two levels of Might above what’s needed, their action gains 6 Power and their Consequences are decreased by 6 status tiers or 3 tags.

Might As A Detriment

All that said, Might can also be a detriment. Just as Challenges can have vulnerabilities, Mighty aspects can work against the Heroes.

A king with a Greatness-level influence may be able to deftly navigate a noble banquet, but the same prestige and fame makes it very difficult for him to try and fit in into back alley gambling dens. In such situations, the Narrator can declare the Mighty character is Imperiled because their Might works against them in this action. The King would even be Extremely Imperiled due to his Greatness level theme.

This works both ways, and Heroes can use their enemies’ Might against them, usually by tricking them into a course of action that doesn’t suit their Might. A simple blacksmith Hero can lure a heavily-armored knight with an Adventure-level suit of armor onto a rickety boat where their armor is a detriment; here, the blacksmith would gain the upper hand and become Favored.

In this case, the blacksmith is favored not because of his own Might or lack thereof, but because he is using his opponent's Might against them.

Scale

An optional rule for Might is to use Scale, which reflects the same idea as Might but with more detail. When using Scale, all aspects of Might can be counted on a range from 0 to 6. For example, when looking at numbers, a single person is 0, a handful of people is 1, and a whole army is 5. When looking at prowess, a trainee could have 1, a veteran 3, and a legendary master 5. When using Scale, take all the relevant values and add or subtract them from the action’s Power, depending on whether the Scale helps or hinders that action.

For example, a single wraith is Scale 0 for size, but its occult force is Mighty, at 3. A handful of wraiths also have numbers on their side, which, if combined with their mystical Might, would place them at 4. A single Origin-level exorcist Hero, Scale 0, attempting to banish a group of such wraiths would suffer -4 to their action’s Power.

For more information on the Scale optional rule, check out the full section on Might in the Legend in the Mist core book.

Outro

You can also learn more about Legend in the Mist by watching the rest of our How To Play series. And while you’re going through our channel, be sure to like and subscribe for more Legend in the Mist videos.

Until next time, good fortunes on your journey!