Welcome to Xor'veil.
Enter a world of history and empire. A world of grand and terrible cities, horizonless jungles, and lonely mountain top monasteries on snow covered peaks. A world shaped by war, politics, and history. Where whispered word is more powerful, than armies, ships, or swords. The rise and fall empires, through the feats of heroes and villains, but which is which? A realm where adventure lays in ruin filled jungles, where danger lies on silk sheets, and where the greatest trap of all is the smile at ballroom dance. Only eye the holds that answer, because in Xor’Veil you can’t trust your ears.
At its beating heart, you. You are the investigator. You must wade through mire of lies, deception, and politics. You traverse this world of shadows and smoke, of love and lies, and of sinister secrets and terrible truths. For what is more terrible than the truth?
Realising the lie must be preserved.
At is heart, you.
The investigator.
You don’t have to read everything, just the part that is important right now.
The only part you must read is the
Golden Rules
Click on any plus to expand the information
+ What is Xor'Veil?
Xor’Veil is Neo Noir Fantasy Role-playing with Pulp Action Adventure, in a Richly Detailed and Fully Realised world. You will play the investigator in a world where the politics is as murky as Machiavelli and danger can come from you least expect it. However, you are not alone, your friends join you for intrigue, daring, and drama in your own cinematic experience.
It’s a game which mimics the style of classic noir movies. It does this by adopting a film like structure with rules for dramatic scenes, action scenes, and investigations scene. This works hand in hand to make an accessible system which blends theme and rules.
Drama scenes are social conflicts with mechanics for wise cracking deduction, wispy guile, or hard-edged intimidation. It can be tricky to play the vampy femme fatal, wise cracking smart guy, or the scarred guy smiling in the corner. Some people would have difficulties with these scenes, but Xor’Veil allows for anybody to play any role.
Action scenes are built around the language of cinema, each person has an action reel with each turn representing a frame in that reel. This encourages players to visualise, what would be fun, what looks cool, rather than math and rules.
Investigations scenes are many and varied, from chase scenes, to crime scene investigation, or montages of combing through the clues for the eureka moment. Investigations can be challenging for those who run the game and the investigators, but Xor’Veil allows anyone to play the master detective or flat-footed gumshoe without being one.
All of this gives you Xor’Veil, but who will you be? The vampy fem fatal on a mission of mercy in the city Grand Port where a soul isn’t worth a coin. The wise cracking detective trekking the wretched the under city allies to the gilded towers of Barzon, all for an answer. Or perhaps you’re the scarred man going into the wind scorched desert of Tebnet because you’re the only one who can, the only one left alive anyway. All of this and more await you inside Xor’Veil.
THE GOLDEN RULES
TRUST THE CONSPIRATOR
You have come to play a game together with other people and across from all of you, is the sinister Conspirator. However, it’s just a name, it’s to get you in the mood, they’re not out to get you. The Conspirator has the exact same goal as you do, to have a great game and to make a great story. All of you together will create a mystery which you will talk about for ages. Remember both you, the Conspirator, and everyone else at the table has the exact same goal, your goal. To make the most amazing story you can.
Trust your fellow Investigators
This game uses the term Investigator, not player or character, you are your Investigator. Which means you do the actions of your Investigator, you are your role. However, some of the times your Investigator is a muppet of the highest order, they create conflict, and they may butt heads with fellow Investigators. That is great, having conflict between investigators shows you have both invested enough to have that conflict. Trust them that they are just making some Investigators with interesting stories as well, not trying to upset you or anyone else, they are just trying to make a great story too.
Roleplaying
You are the Investigator, your role is that of your Investigator, the idea is that you are them. This means sometimes your investigator isn’t a good guy (or gal). Maybe you wanted to play the bad guy, the street tough and you got into the role a lot and then suddenly you realised they do things you would never do, sometimes things they don’t want to do. Kindness can appear as weakness, and to the ruthless, weakness isn’t allowed. Sometimes they will do things you don’t want to role out, so don’t, just ask the Conspirator can we skip over this part? They will help you out, so well your fellow investigators. We all play roles in life we don’t want to but, this is a game and, games are meant to be fun.
Reciprocity
This is Jazz, beat poetry, and the Conspirator is laying down a constant beat, throwing ideas at you, it is your job to riff off those story beats and create the Jazz which is this story. Give something back to your conspirator, when they are throwing out something pick it up and run with it. Remember everything you do in the game helps show the Conspirator the kind of game you want. Are you following the dirty money to get Al, the legal way? Or are you doing a favour for bad people so worse go down? You're making this story together, so if you don’t like the taste of what your baking, remember your one of the chefs. All of this is a two-way street, help everyone make the best story they can and they will do the same for you as well.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
Your all here to make a great story. One you and your friends will talk about for ages and will reminisce fondly about. But you are here right now, so what is the most important thing? Trust your fellow table mates and have fun! You can have temporary discomfort to have a better story, there is still the most important thing. Trust your fellows and Have fun. Have fun.
+LEGEND
Conspirator: This the person who runs the game. They will play the extras or non-playable characters, describe the world, and often help with game questions. They help you create the story together with them.
Investigator: This is the term used for both a player and the character they are playing.
Session: A session is the game your having tonight (or whenever you may be having it) it is one gaming ‘session’ where you get together for a game.
Scene: A single moment where the action is now. These are meant to mimic film, so a scene when it transitions to another scene. These can be investigation scenes, chase scenes or action scenes.
Ability: This is one of the six abilities that give you a ‘free’ point in your skill. For each ability you have in a skill you gain an additional dice you may roll.
Skill: These are the core mechanics behind the game skills are described in the skills section of the game. Skills allow you to see if the investigator can perform a task based on the number of dice you roll.
Virtue: This is a beneficial ability you gain from your homeland.
Vice: This is a negative ability you gain from your homeland.
Talent: This is a special ability that your investigator gained from training and effort.
Flaw: This is a negative ability that often resembles a trope from noir story telling.
Drama: This is a mechanic representation of an argument as depicted in film. A best two of three contest in how they are decided.
Action Scene: These are ‘combat’ scenes where the players attempt to best the bad guys
+How to play?
This book will explain how to play an investigator they are the players of this game, and the conspirator is the ‘computer’ running the game. This game is very simple to play, it requires a maximum of six sixed-dice for each person, pen and paper as well as some friends to play it. Together, you and your conspirator will tell a tale of adventure, intrigue, and action.
+GET YOUR GROUP TOGETHER
So, you want to play next step is to find some people who also want to play. You want at least three people a conspirator and two players will be a lot like buddy cop films, more than that and you’re a motley group of go getters out to sort something or someone out. If you have a very large group say any more than seven the game will become fairly chaotic and things will start to break down. But it is your game if you want to play with as many people as you can you do it just be warned it will get a bit hectic.
+Making your investigator
Your investigator should feel as much like a person as someone on screen. They have a history and inner thoughts. As such there the creation chapter (chapter 1) in this book that goes over how to create a character. In Xor’Veil the conspirator should have pre-game sessions with the players to help them fit into the world and know what is going on this is your character creation story. This helps everyone get on the same page of the script so to speak. However, if your having one and done session maybe you will just make your character quickly, have them be very trope-like and finish an investigation that night.
+Rolling the Dice
Each scene will have rules on how to run them, but they all revolve around a really simple idea, your roll your dice to show what your investigator can do. You may not be a master swordsmen, but your investigator is. You may not be a great speaker, but your investigator is. You may not a great detective, but your investigator is. Use the game to allow you to play the person you want to play.
+INVESTIGATING
There is usually an inciting incident. Something that gets the story rolling and you have to investigate it. Why you, because you’re the last resort, there isn’t anyone else. If you won’t do it who will? You will find out what happened, maybe it happened recently so you can investigate the scene, or maybe you will have to collect clues in other ways. Once you find out what happened you have to decide how to resolve it. Maybe you will expose the corruption, or you will cut the cancer out with your blade… or maybe that’s just the way life is. The most important thing is this is your story and you decide what happens!
+Wraping up
Usually your conspirator will wrap the whole story up by describing a closing scene and tell you how things changed because of what you did or maybe telling you that life goes on. Whichever one they go with they will help close things out ready for the next session.
+Ongoing
If your investigation isn’t finished in a single session (which can happen a lot of the time) find a good place to wrap up. Maybe where you find a vital clue or after something big in the story just happened but don’t let it in the middle of an action scene or in the middle of a drama. Some stories may take a long time to finish, but that is okay so long as your having fun, but the best stories always have an end.
+GAME MODES
Xor’Veil has several game modes which is meant to help with allowing people to be introduced to the rules. Anyone can learn any rule set, but not everyone has the same level of time or desire to learn a set of rules to play a game. Some people just want to play and put away. So Xor’Veil allows for modular play allowing you to scale the level of complexity you desire.
XOR’VEIL SIMPLE
Xor’Veil simple does not use homeland or exile
This is designed for players who want the least rules they can in their game, this means you ignore the following sections of the book. Homeland and Exile. You only use your skills and the basic combat abilities, and it is highly suggested that you ignore amour in this system, as it is designed for telling stories more than it is combat.
It is recommended for people who have not played role playing games before and not played the Xor’Veil system before. It is ideal to introduction for players and very quick games. You can find how to make simple Xor’Veil investigators in ‘Chapter 1 Creation’
XOR’VEIL HOMELANDS
Xor’Veil Homelands uses homelands, but not exile.
This allows everyone to have unique characters as each person will be allowed a homeland ability. However, and homeland ability that gives you talent points or requires to used talent points such as Way of the Cycle which gives talent point or Imperious Homeland which requires talent points are removed. This is a quick play option for people who understand role playing games or the Xor’Veil `game but lack the time to play in-depth games.
It is recommended for people who have played role playing games before but not Xor’Veil or people who have had one or more session with Xor’Veil Simple. It is ideal for quick play games. You can find how to make Homelands Xor’Veil investigators in ‘Chapter 1 Creation’ and ‘Chapter 6 Homalands’
XOR’VEIL EXILE
Xor’Veil Exile uses both homelands and exile.
However, you use trees rather than the point system. The reason for this is twofold, in part because it is easier to create investigators in this system and it avoids choice paralysis. This system also allows for the use of flaws, but they do not grant points, but an additional tree branch instead.
It is recommended for people who have played rule heavy role-playing games or played multiple games of Xor’Veil Homelands. It is ideal for pilots, miniseries length games, and season length games. You can find how to make Xor’Veil Exile investigators in ‘Chapter 1 Creation’ and ‘Chapter 7 Exile’
XOR’VEIL
Xor’Veil Ruleset or just plain Xor’Veil is the full game. This ruleset uses all of the rules presented in this the Investigators handbook, rulesets beyond this will be called Xor’Veil Plus. As an example it would be Xor’Veil plus the Others.
It uses a point based system for talents and flaws. This allows for highly customisable investigators more so than any other system. Spreading talents can be quiet time consuming so it is recommended that you prepare characters before sessions begin.
It is recommended for people who have played Xor’Veil exile and are playing Xor’Veil regularly. It is not recommended for new players who may be overwhelmed by talent and flaw system. It is ideal for pilots and season length games. You can find how to make Xor’Veil investigators in ‘Chapter 1 Creation’ and ‘Chapter 7 Exile’