Rules
Moments
The three structured scenes of Untold Epoch — Combat, Exploration, and Social — and the shared rules that drive them.
Shared Rules
Rules that apply across all three Moments — read these first.
- Moments and Round Structure
In Untold Epoch, time does not flow evenly. Some spans of time are lived, others are fought for. These are Moments — when fate sharpens, stakes rise, and decisions shape the course of survival and legend alike. A Moment represents a structured frame of play, in which action is deliberate, opportunity is finite, and every choice is weighted.
- Surprise
Not every Moment begins on even footing. Sometimes one side sees the other coming, and sometimes they don't.
Combat
Fights, skirmishes, and battles — structured rounds where every action counts.
- Combat Moment 21 actions
Used when battle is joined and lives are at immediate risk. Characters spend Action Points to attack, reposition, defend, or activate abilities drawn from the Combat Actions list.
- Morale
Used in Combat Moments where an enemy's will to fight should matter, not just their HP. This is an optional tool, not a standing rule — most fights resolve on HP alone exactly as they always have. Morale is for the specific fight where the fiction says these foes would break before they'd die: a desperate ambush, a press-ganged conscript, a beast that's more frightened than feral.
Exploration
Travel, discovery, and danger in the world beyond the safety of camp.
- Exploration Moment 7 actions
Used when traversing dangerous or unknown terrain, navigating ruins, solving environmental puzzles, or investigating sites of mystery. Action Points reflect how much each character can contribute in a given Round. Round length is not fixed — the GM sets it to match the scene, whether that's an hour of travel or a few focused minutes searching a room (see Round Structure for the full rule).
- Chases
A chase is a structured Exploration Moment, run with the same Rounds, Phases, and Turns as any other Moment. Rather than tracking literal distance, a chase tracks the Gap — an abstracted measure of how close the pursuer is to the quarry.
- Suspicion
Used for infiltration, stealth, or any Exploration Moment built around the question of whether the party has been noticed.
Social
Negotiations, intrigues, and confrontations resolved with words instead of steel.
- Social Moment 6 actions
Used when engaging in tense negotiations, interrogations, rallies, or deception. Social Moments may represent court scenes, tense town meetings, or crucial personal confrontations. Action Points allow a character to influence others, read the room, or deploy social abilities. As with Exploration, Round length is not fixed — the GM sets it to match the pace of the scene, from a single heated exchange to a longer negotiation (see Round Structure for the full rule).
- Standing
Used for the biggest Social Moments — winning over a crowd, a judge, a king — where a single roll isn't enough to carry the stakes.