Tags

Tags are the basis of all descriptive sentences in Tag & Tally. Tags should always ease or hinder one or more actions.

Tags should expand what the character can attempt, not repeat something they already do.

When designing your characters, items, creatures, etc. you should start with the umbrella tags and work your way out so that you don't overlap tags that come with types, species, specialties etc.

Tag Categories

There are several categories of tags.

A static tag is a tag that cannot gain tiers through use. These are tags that are fact, they don't change with practice.

An umbrella tag represents a group of other tags, skills, traits and properties that anyone with the tag possess. A tag that is part of a sentence is an umbrella tag.

Umbrella tags cannot gain tiers. But the tags that are underneath the Umbrella (not in the sentence), can gain tiers per use. More on Tiered Tags later.

Every Umbrella tag is a sentence and each umbrella sentence 3 sub-tags — 1 flaw and 2 other tags.

A temporary tag is active until it is removed.

Temporary tags can be removed by actions in game. Most temporary tags wear off. At the start of any new scene, or major change in scene status, a player may roll any die. If the roll is even the tag is cleared, if the roll is odd the tag remains active for the duration of the scene. The next scene the player may roll again.

A permanent tag is a tag that cannot be removed from an attached item. This does not mean through game play that the tag cannot change — only that it is a piece that doesn't disappear without character change.

Tiered Tags

All tags, except umbrella (those in a sentence) and static tags, can increase in Tier. All Tags start at Tier 1 and do not require notation.

Tags with a tier are one source, but they ease by the tier level.

There are 4 Tiers.

Tier Advancement and Mastery

Tags are advanced by using them. When a player uses a tag to ease (or hinder) an action and they roll either a 1 or a 20 (regardless of the success of the roll), the tags used in this action gain 1 Tally. Each Tier requires 5 Tallies before it can advance to the next Tier.

When a Tier 4 tag hits that 5th Tally the Tag is considered Mastered. And can remove the Tally marks and denote the mastery of the tag. See the Notations section.

Tag Notation

Tags have a specific notation

• [Tag information N# (X) !:-]

Where

• N represents the status of the tag, S for Static, or T for Tiered
• # represents the tier of the tag (1-4). If a tier is 1 you can omit both the T and the value.
• X represents the number of tallies a Tag has earned towards the next tier. If its has 0 you can omit both the parenthesis and the number.
• ! represents the fact that a tag has been mastered, you can remove the (5) when the tier 4 master has been reached
• : represents the fact that a tag is temporary.
• - represets the fact that the tag goes in the reverse direction

Tag Types

There are several types of Tags.

A scene tag represent temporary conditions, environmental factors, or narrative elements that affect all participants within a scene.

Scene tags are always applied if applicable and do not count against the number of tags used to ease a player's tasks (even if it is easing the task).

Scene tags expire at the end of the scene unless continued forward specifically when the scene changes.

A background tag represents something that changed the item in the past that has an effect on how the attached item preforms tasks, interact with others, etc.

Background tags cannot gain tiers, they are static.

A trait tag represents a trait, or feature of the attached item's personality or physicality that has an effect on how the attached item preforms tasks, interact with others, etc.

Trait tags cannot gain tiers, they are static.

A skill tag or an ability tag represents something the attached item can do that has an effect on how the attached item preforms tasks, interact with others, etc.

A flaw tag or a weakness tag represents a mostly detrimental trait of the attached item that has an effect how the attached item preforms tasks, interact with others, etc.

Flaw/Weakness tags cannot gain tiers, they are static.

A reputation tag represents a relationship between two sentient beings that has an effect how the attached item interact with other.

A condition tag is temporary and typically a detail of some sort of status on the item it is attached to.

How to Use a Tag

Tags can be used with justification to ease any task. But there is a limit to how many tags you can apply to any given task. This is know as the Task Threshold.

• Principle: If a tag meaningfully contributes to the action, it should be applied; the Task Threshold governs how many can be counted mechanically.
• Each source counts as 1, regardless of how much it eases.
• You may use a maximum of 2 gear or physical assets to ease tasks.
• A source's tier determines how many steps it eases by.
• You must justify each source as relevant to the task at hand.
  • All tags that apply should be applied. Use the information below as a guideline on how to determine what should be applied:
    • Relevance: Does this tag directly interact with or enable the action?
    • Specificity: Does this tag give a distinct detail or context about the action?
    • Contextual: Could using this tag misrepresent the fiction?
• An umbrella tag may not be applied simultaneously with any of its specific sub-tags if both would affect the same action.
• There is no cap on hindrance — flaws and condition tags can still raise the difficulty.
• The Task Threshold limits the number of tags a character may intentionally apply to a task.

• Tags that represent scene conditions, involuntary effects, or automatic abilities do not count toward the threshold unless the tag explicitly states otherwise. (These are applied after the player chooses their tags from the original level.)

Hindrances apply after easing sources have been calculated and the task Level has been reduced. Multiple hindrances stack, and there is no cap.

Using Tags: Intent vs Justification

Tags represent facts about the character, the situation, or the world.

A tag may be applied to a task only if it meaningfully alters how the action is performed or what risks are involved. Tags that merely restate the declared intent or describe the desired outcome do not apply.

When in doubt:

• If the tag would still matter even if the action failed, it applies.
• If the tag only matters when the action succeeds, it does not.

The goal of tags is not to maximize bonuses, but to reflect the fiction accurately.