Assets

Assets are things like useful items, fungible commodities, favors, ephemeral advantages, summoned creatures, or even simple characters lacking full write ups. Basically, anything at all that can help a character succeed in their efforts could conceivably be represented as an Asset.

Some Assets are single use, others might stick around for a Scene or until a specific story beat is reached, or maybe even indefinitely until something overt causes the Asset to go away. For example a Scroll or Potion defined as an Asset might go away immediately after being used once, but that extra sharp edge a friendly blacksmith put on a favored weapon might last for an entire battle, a writ of authority granted by the sovereign of the realm to aid the heroes in their quest might last until the quest is completed, and your character's ancestral keep on the borderland might remain in their possession forever baring some unfortunate event such as an invasion.

Generally speaking, an Asset is mechanically represented as a label and a die, much like a Trait. Most Assets are rated at a d6 or d8, but some might be more potent at the GM's discretion. For instance, "Potion of Healing: d6" or "Poisoned Dagger: d8" or "Helpful Guardsman: d8" would all be perfectly acceptable Asset definitions.

Usually it will make sense to write the Asset down on a post it note or index card, but longer lasting Assets might deserve a place on a character sheet at the player's discretion. An Asset might optionally also include some descriptive text with it to provide further insight into what the Asset represents or under what circumstances it might be used if that is necessary to avoid confusion or misunderstanding at the table.

Using Assets

Assets can affect the narrative in the same way that Distinctions can simply by existing. Additionally, the die associated with an Asset may be included in any action or reaction where the use of the Asset makes sense. For instance if a character has an Asset defined as Noble Attire: d8 then simply "wearing the fancy clothes to infiltrate the Duke's Feast" has an impact on the story and how others react to the character, but additionally if someone at the ball suspects the character is a phony it would make sense for the d8 granted by the Asset to be included in reactions to avoid being detected as such or in actions such as attempting to blend in with the crowd.

Creating Assets

Assets can be added into the game in many ways. The most direct means is for the GM to introduce them as part of setting a Scene or as a story award or even just as purchasable commodities...many minor "magical" items with a limited number of usages are ideally represented as Assets. However players have multiple ways they can introduce them as well.

Vocations

All Vocations allow the creation of a relevant d6 Asset using the "Create an Asset" Exploit, and some Vocations further allow the creation of specific d8 Assets. For instance the Archer Vocation grants the following Exploit: "With access to materials, during a Transition Scene you may produce a full quiver of extra fine arrows. You gain the Asset 'Special Arrows: d8'; you can give this Asset to someone else to use."

Milestones

When a player defines their character's Milestones, Assets are among the various rewards that they may select. This usually takes the form of some quest goal or represents some logical benefit gained by completing a particular Milestone. Depending on significance, such an Asset might persist for quite a long time. For instance, if a character had a "Become a Knight of the Realm" Milestone something like a "Registered Coat of Arms: d8" Asset might make a lot of sense.

Ability Traits

Some Ability traits allow the creation of Assets as a byproduct of their usage. For instance, the Conjuration trait is almost always used to conjure forth some kind of Asset. Similarly, higher steps of the Earth trait can summon forth Earth Elementals represented as Assets, while the figments created by the Illusions trait are typically also represented as Assets.

SFX

A SFX might allow a character to create a specific kind of Asset under certain circumstances, such as the Armory SFX.

Plot Points

Though it is not a standard allowed usage of Plot Points, under certain circumstances a GM might allow the expenditure of one or more Plot Points to introduce an Asset into play. If abused this has the potential to unbalance the game or trivialize many challenges, but applied sparingly it is a viable option.

Removing Assets

As Assets take many different forms it is difficult to deal in absolutes regarding them, but the cardinal rule applicable to all Assets is simple: when it no longer makes sense for a given Asset to remain in the narrative it is immediately removed from play.

It should be noted that removal of an Asset from play does not necessarily mean that the thing the Asset represents is destroyed. For instance in the case of something ephemeral like a Potion of Healing usage and removal of the Asset does represent the item being consumed, but for something like a Poisoned Dagger removal of the Asset might just represent that the poison has worn off or perhaps that the blade was left stuck in a body somewhere and is no longer available to the character, and removal of a Helpful Guardsman Asset doesn't necessarily mean the Helpful Guardsman is "dead"...maybe they've just exited the Scene or are no longer helping the character.

It is possible to "attack" an Asset with the intent to remove it from play. What form this takes can vary widely depending upon the nature of a given Asset, but generally speaking the Asset can be treated as a Complication by the attacker and the rules for removing a Complication can thus be applied.