Every Echo is defined by five Essences — the fundamental aspects of being that determine what you can do, what you can endure, and how deeply Nowhere Land has changed you. Three are core attributes (Forma, Anima, Umbra), one is a spendable resource (Reverie), and one tracks transformation (Drift).
“Body, mind, voice, dream, and the space between — these are the five threads that make you real. Cut any one, and the tapestry unravels.”
The Five Essences
Essence Summary
| Essence | Range | Type | Governs | Harm Track | At −5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⚡ Forma | −5 to +5 | Physical | Strength, agility, endurance | Wounds | Incapacitated |
| 🧠 Anima | −5 to +5 | Mental | Intellect, perception, will | Fractures | Mental collapse |
| 👥 Umbra | −5 to +5 | Social | Charisma, empathy, authority | Scars | Exiled |
| ✨ Reverie | 0 to 10+ | Imagination | Spent for effects (not rolled) | N/A | N/A |
| 🧭 Drift | 0 to 10 | Reality | Domain resistance, identity | Gaps | Transformation |
⚡ Forma — The Body
Forma represents physical prowess: strength, agility, endurance, and reflexes. It determines your dice pool for physical actions and your capacity to withstand bodily harm.
Linked Skills
Derived Values
- Wound Capacity: Forma + 5
- Initiative: Forma + Anima (dice pool)
- Movement: 6 + Forma (hexes/turn)
- Max Load: Forma + 3
Wound Thresholds
| Wounds | Status | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Healthy | No effect |
| 1–2 | Hurt | No effect |
| 3–4 | Battered | −1 die to Forma rolls |
| 5+ | Severely Injured | −2 dice to Forma rolls |
| At Capacity | Incapacitated | Cannot act; begin Dying checks |
🧠 Anima — The Mind
Anima governs mental acuity: intellect, perception, willpower, and memory. It fuels investigative and scholarly pursuits and protects against psychological harm.
Linked Skills
Derived Values
- Fracture Capacity: Anima + 5
- Initiative: Forma + Anima (dice pool)
- Corruption Check TN: 12 + uses beyond 2
Fracture Thresholds
- At 5 Fractures: Test Anima (TN 16) or one Potential becomes Tainted (Trickster chooses which)
- At 10 Fractures: Lost — consumed by Nowhere Land. Character becomes NPC or monster (retired).
- Recovery: 1 Fracture per Long Rest in a safe place. Domain healers and rituals can also cleanse.
👥 Umbra — The Voice
Umbra represents social presence: charisma, manipulation, empathy, and authority. It determines your effectiveness in social encounters and your resilience against social harm.
Linked Skills
Derived Values & Effects
- Scar Capacity: Umbra + 5
- At Umbra −5: Exiled — socially destroyed
- Scars from: Social defeat, betrayal, Reached dice
Negative Essence Penalties
Acting with Negative Essences
If an Essence is negative (−1 to −5), you face severe limitations:
- May only Reach for 1 die total per check
- Each Reach costs 1 Wound/Fracture/Scar upfront (matching the Essence type)
- Cannot Reach on the next check after Reaching
- Exploding 6s still apply — a lucky 6+6=12 can still turn the tide
Essences & Dice Pools
Dice Pool Formula
Dice Pool = Essence + Skill Ranks + Edges − Banes
- Skills from careers grant +1 die per rank to relevant pools
- Edges (advantages): each allows reroll one die or lower TN by 2
- Banes (disadvantages): each increases TN by 2 or removes one die
The Veil — Target Numbers
TN = Essence × Difficulty Multiplier
| Difficulty | Multiplier | Example (Forma +3) |
|---|---|---|
| Trivial (Routine) | ×1 | 3 (auto-success) |
| Easy (Simple) | ×2 | 6 |
| Moderate (Standard) | ×3 | 9 |
| Challenging (Hard) | ×4 | 12 |
| Daunting (Extreme) | ×5 | 15 |
| Epic (Legendary) | ×6+ | 18+ |
GM Shortcut: Challenging (×4) is the baseline difficulty for most meaningful tasks.
✨ Reverie — Imagination Made Real
Reverie is unlike the other Essences. You never roll dice equal to Reverie for tests — instead, Reverie fuels a spendable Imagination Pool that lets you bend reality, enhance rolls, and activate supernatural abilities.
Imagination Pool
Imagination Pool = 5 + ⌊Reverie ÷ 2⌋
Starting Reverie is determined by age: Youth (+5), Prime (+2), Elder (+0). Most PCs have 3–6 Reverie. Spending it all leaves you unable to bend the world until you recover.
Upend — Die Escalation
Spend Reverie to upgrade a die’s size. Each step costs 1 Reverie and must be accompanied by a description of how imagination reshapes reality.
Die Escalation Chain
Cost: 1 Reverie per step. 10 Reverie reaches d100.
Fortify — Minimum Results
Spend Reverie to set a minimum result for a die. No matter what you roll, the die produces at least this value.
Fortify Cost Table
| Reverie Spent | Minimum Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 6 |
| 6 | 7 |
| 7 | 8 |
| 8 | 9 |
| 9 | 10 |
| 10 | 11 |
Limit: Natural 1s always fail — reality’s backlash cannot be overridden.
Reverie Recovery
Reverie regenerates through:
- Rest in safe locations (full recovery)
- Witnessing wonder or beauty in domains
- Creative expression and artistic endeavors
- Dreaming true in dream domains
- Completing quests that inspire imagination
- Between sessions or during dramatic moments of inspiration
Reverie as Potential Fuel
- All Potentials require spending Reverie (typically 1–3 per use)
- If the activation check fails, Reverie is still spent but the effect doesn’t occur (or misfires)
- Using a Potential 3+ times per session triggers a corruption check:Corruption TN = 12 + (uses beyond 2)
- Failure on corruption check: gain 1 Fracture
🧭 Drift — The Price of Belonging
Drift measures how deeply Nowhere Land has changed you. It’s a spectrum from fully human (Grounded) to a creature of the domains (Lost). Higher Drift unlocks domain powers but erodes your identity and connection to the outside world.
Drift Status Levels
| Status | Value | Max Gaps | Mechanical Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grounded | 0 | 0 | Safe in the Outside. No domain influence. +1 resist domain. Cannot use Domain Weaving. |
| Displaced | 1–2 | 2 | Between worlds. Leaving requires Anima roll. Basic Domain Weaving unlocked. May suffer 1 Gap on domain shifts. |
| Adrift | 3–6 | 4 | Losing your anchor. Cannot leave without Count's help. Full Domain Weaving. 1–2 Gaps on new domains. |
| Lost | 7–10 | 6 | Forever bound. Gain domain trait. Immune to some effects, vulnerable to others. Risk permanent transformation. |
How Drift Increases
Sources of Drift
- Deep Rest: Full recovery rest requires dreaming and grants +1 Drift. Duration: 6 hours + exploding d6.
- Portal travel: At high Drift levels, crossing portals triggers Drift checks
- Domain exposure: Witnessing impossible things, entering chaotic domains
- Reckless Domain Weaving: Causes 2+ Gaps, pushing toward higher Drift
- The Count’s influence: Bargains and debts carry Drift as currency
- Pushing powers too far: Overusing Potentials or domain abilities
How Drift Decreases
Reducing Drift
- Grounding rituals: Performed by healers or the character themselves
- Therapy and meditation: Requires safe location and time
- Domain healers and The Count’s favor
- Downtime: 4 weeks of downtime removes 1 Scar or grants +1 to next Drift recovery
Gaps — Reality’s Scars
Gaps are tears in your connection to reality — the harm track for Drift. They represent warped perception, impossible memories, and moments where the world doesn’t quite make sense.
Gap Sources & Capacity
Sources of Gaps
- Witnessing impossible things
- Entering chaotic domains
- Reckless Domain Weaving (2+ Gaps)
- Watching a domain collapse (1 Gap)
- Pushing powers too far
Gaps Capacity
| Grounded (0) | 0 Gaps |
| Displaced (1–2) | 2 Gaps |
| Adrift (3–6) | 4 Gaps |
| Lost (7–10) | 6 Gaps |
Filling your Gaps track causes transformation or permanent domain marks — the Trickster determines specifics based on domain exposure.
Portal Drift Checks
Crossing Portals at High Drift
- Portal Drift checks begin at Drift 5+
- Travelers roll decreasing dice (d100 → d4) when entering portals
- Rolling 1 sends them to the Abyss instead of their intended destination
Domain Weaving & Arcane Resonance
Domain Weaving (Skill)
- Linked Essence: Anima
- TN Formula: Domain’s Willpower × 4
- Requires: Minimum Drift 1 (Displaced) for basic use; Drift 3+ (Adrift) for full access
| Use | Details |
|---|---|
| Ask a domain a question | Success: clear answer. Failure: cryptic or misleading. |
| Build an anchor/portal | Anima + Domain Weaving TN 18. Takes 1 day. |
| Predict weather/shifts | Domain Weaving check (TN varies by domain). |
| Navigate shortcuts | Bypass portals using domain pathways. |
| Create a Domain Birth | Arcane Resonance + Domain Weaving TN 20. Legendary. |
Arcane Resonance (Skill)
- Linked Essence: Anima
- Purpose: Activate Potentials, detect magic, sever magical effects
- Key TNs: TN 8 (teleport, shadow walk), TN 12 (combat potentials), TN 14+ (complex effects), TN 20 (learn new Potentials)
- Sever magical effects: TN = power level × 4
Named Domains of Nowhere Land
Each domain influences Drift through exposure. Domains have a Willpower rating (1–5) that determines interaction difficulty.
Known Domains
Essence Advancement
Progression During Play
| Advancement | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Raise an Essence | 20 XP | Rare upgrade. Requires narrative justification. |
| Raise a Skill | 5 XP | Requires accumulated Skill Marks. |
Skill Marks are earned through:
- Pushing — spending extra Essence and suffering consequence
- Failed Reach — the attempt matters even in failure
- Critical Success — exceptional triumphs
After accumulating marks, you must complete a training session or project to advance. You cannot earn Skill Marks when using Drift for a test.
“The five Essences are not separate things. They are five facets of a single truth: that you exist, that you think, that you speak, that you dream, and that you are changing. Lose any one, and the others fracture.”
— The Count’s Archivist, On the Nature of Being