ADVANCEMENT
The Oath ladder
The oath you speak to receive a frame is only the second rung. Over a campaign your Stone climbs a nine-rung ladder, from the break that started you, through the virtue that first turns to face your Fracture, up to the capstone that transmutes it. This is how a Cantor grows.
The shape — three anchors, four invoked rungs
Every Stone's ladder is the same shape, so you learn one and you know them all. Nine rungs sit on Resonance 1 through 9, and the first two are the same for every Cantor. Rung 1 is the Catalyst— the break that started you. It is the one rung you do not swear; it happened to you, and the ladder begins because you cannot go back. Rung 2 is the Binding, I will change, the oath every Cantor speaks to receive a frame. The path forks at 3, where your Stone's own seven begin. Three of those are anchors — rungs 3, 6, and 9:
- Anchors (3 / 6 / 9) grant a small always-on passive once you unlock them. You can hold at most three, so the stack stays legible.
- The four in-between rungs grant no passive. They are invoke-only: a one-time effect you fire when you need it.
How you climb — reach, unlock, invoke
- Your reach. Your Resonance can only climb to your highest unlocked Oath plus one — the single rung you can reach for. Early on that's about 4 (everyone on the first Oath at 3, reaching for 4). It rises as you climb.
- Unlocking a rung. When your Resonance reaches your reach-tier, the game offers you that rung's challenge: say the Oath, in character, carrying its idea (the line in quotes on each ladder). The first time you unlock a rung it also grants a Bond Token. Unlocks are permanent.
- Invoking an Oath fires its full effect and spends your band to 0— once per day per Oath. Because invoking empties the band, you can't chain Oaths in one scene: to land a high one you build all the way up and save it, spending nothing lower.
- The Fracture is a failed reach. Overcharge to a rung you can't yet speak and your band Fractures at that grade. The first reach at every rung is a Fracture you walk through: clearing it with your Bond Move is what opens the rung. The Fracture is the Oath said wrong; saying it right opens the door.
The Burden of Holding
Saving your band for a high Oath means carrying its charge, and the weight grows: a penalty to one of your frame's stats at Resonance 7, worsening at 8 and 9. Each Stone carries it in a different stat, so it bites where that frame lives. It clears the moment you invoke (spend to 0) or bleed below 7. This is why the squad screens whoever is climbing to the top: they're loaded, and they can't spend to defend.
The Wheel
An Oath you unlock but then go a whole mission without living slips, and must be re-earned by walking its Fracture again. Courage coasted becomes recklessness; Trust coasted becomes naivety. Re-voicing an Oath keeps it living. Coasting on it lets it curdle.
The Choir Rule — nobody climbs alone
A Cantor is a voice in a choir, not a soloist, and the squad climbs the ladder together. The choir floor is the lowest unlocked rung across everyone in the scene. You may reach for one rung above the floor, no further:
your next rung is capped at (choir floor) + 1
You can reach for that rung and even walk its Fracture, but it won't setuntil the whole choir is level. When the trailing Cantor catches up, the floor rises and the next rung opens for everyone at once. A Cantor who lags can't just coast on the others' anchors: on their turn they either walk their own Fracture toward the rung or steady themselves to hold level. Steadying yourself costs the action; the Bond Move costs the whole activation, Move included, so the round you walk your Fracture is a round you stand still. Advancement becomes a shared, deliberate beat — the whole squad swearing in.
The exact numbers below are first-guess and get tuned at the table — the shape is what's fixed. Anchor rows are shaded; PASSIVE means always-on while held, INVOKE means once-per-day, spends your band to 0.
THE SEVEN LADDERS
Granite · Earth
Fear → Gratitude
| Res | Oath | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | CourageANCHOR“the fear faced” | PASSIVEWhile held: immune to forced movement, +1 Armor, and adjacent allies can't be shoved either. |
| 4 | Steadfastness“I will not be moved” | INVOKECan't be knocked Prone; once a round, take a forced-move meant for a nearby ally onto yourself. |
| 5 | Belonging“my place is here” | INVOKEAllies near you share your immunity to being shoved. |
| 6 | ProvisionANCHOR“what I hold, I hold for you” | PASSIVEReaction: hand an ally some of your own HP or Resonance. |
| 7 | Bulwark“I am the ground they stand on” | INVOKEWhile immovable, nearby allies gain +2 Armor and ignore rough terrain. |
| 8 | Unclenching“I let go the stone I clutch” | INVOKEShed a condition; release stored Resonance as a stability buffer. |
| 9 | GratitudeANCHOR“gratitude for what I feared to lose” | PASSIVECapstone: turn what you feared to lose into strength shared with the whole band. |
Carnelian · Water
Guilt → Flow
| Res | Oath | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | TrustANCHOR“the guilt released” | PASSIVEWhile held: pull damage off any ally within reach onto yourself; half of what you then take bleeds into terrain. |
| 4 | Feeling“I let myself feel it” | INVOKERe-enter a shut-down emotion and act on it for a bonus. |
| 5 | Desire“I am allowed to want” | INVOKEName something you want; gain ground toward reaching it. |
| 6 | ConnectionANCHOR“I move with you” | PASSIVEPaired action with a bonded ally; you share a movement pool. |
| 7 | Grace“the current carries me” | INVOKEIgnore rough terrain; redirect one incoming forced move each round. |
| 8 | Forgiveness“I set down the blame I carry” | INVOKERelease a self-blame condition; feel it without drowning in it. |
| 9 | FlowANCHOR“the water guilt cannot hold” | PASSIVECapstone: fully fluid; sustained redirection and evasion-through-motion. |
Pyrite · Fire
Shame → Action
| Res | Oath | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | WorthinessANCHOR“the shame refused” | PASSIVEWhile held: your first committed attack each turn can't miss; a self-doubt penalty is cancelled. |
| 4 | Assertion“I will act” | INVOKESeize initiative: an extra small action or a will-based push. |
| 5 | Autonomy“the choice is mine” | INVOKEBreak one control or compel effect; choose your own move. |
| 6 | KindlingANCHOR“I light you too” | PASSIVEGrant a nearby ally your assertive bonus this round. |
| 7 | Confidence“I do not need permission” | INVOKEBuff yourself; steady the squad's morale around you. |
| 8 | Temperance“I burn only what I choose” | INVOKEA controlled burst: no collateral, no overreach, a clean hit. |
| 9 | ActionANCHOR“the sun that asks no leave” | PASSIVECapstone: decisive, clean, self-possessed force. |
Malachite · Air
Grief → Vulnerability
| Res | Oath | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | CompassionANCHOR“the grief turned to care” | PASSIVEWhile held: your link strengthens (linked allies +1 to saves); you can heal or shield an ally. |
| 4 | Openness“I let the outside in” | INVOKEBecome able to receive aid again; re-enter connection. |
| 5 | Love“I am allowed to love and be loved” | INVOKEForge or deepen a bond: a mutual buff that must include receiving. |
| 6 | CommunionANCHOR“the air between us carries it” | PASSIVEYour field links nearby allies; they share a chosen buff. |
| 7 | Equanimity“I hold the balance” | INVOKESpread a burden evenly across the band; steady everyone near you. |
| 8 | Boundaries“I give without emptying myself” | INVOKERefuse a harmful pull without breaking the bond; cap your own over-giving. |
| 9 | VulnerabilityANCHOR“the open heart” | PASSIVECapstone: love that asks nothing and takes the hit anyway. |
Lapis · Sound
Deception → Expression
| Res | Oath | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | TruthANCHOR“the betrayal named” | PASSIVEWhile held: when you speak, allies in sensor range get +1 to their next action, and an enemy that lies or feints takes damage. |
| 4 | Voice“I break the silence” | INVOKESpeak and be heard: rally an ally or reveal a hidden thing. |
| 5 | Testimony“this will be heard” | INVOKEDeclare a binding truth; others must reckon with it. |
| 6 | HarmonyANCHOR“we sound as one” | PASSIVEAttune to nearby allies: synchronized action, shared cadence. |
| 7 | Alignment“my word is my deed” | INVOKEYour word becomes law for you; act in perfect keeping for a bonus. |
| 8 | Restraint“I yield the floor to hear the true signal” | INVOKEListen: give up your speech to gain the real read or insight. |
| 9 | ExpressionANCHOR“the Song that cannot be faked” | PASSIVECapstone: the unfeigned voice that moves whatever hears it. |
Obsidian · Light
Illusion → Vision
| Res | Oath | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | ClarityANCHOR“the illusion seen through” | PASSIVEWhile held: enemies in your line of sight can't hide; call an enemy's next move, and if you're right you act first. |
| 4 | Discernment“I see the real pattern” | INVOKEPerceive the true pattern; reveal something hidden or a way forward. |
| 5 | Insight“I have the right to see” | INVOKERead intent; foresee an enemy's next move. |
| 6 | RevelationANCHOR“I show you what I see” | PASSIVEShare your read with nearby allies; they act on the revealed truth. |
| 7 | Foresight“I move on what will come” | INVOKEGlimpse the next beat; pre-position or pre-empt. |
| 8 | Detachment“I release the fantasy I fixed on” | INVOKEDrop a fixation feeding you a false read. |
| 9 | VisionANCHOR“the clear witness undeceived” | PASSIVECapstone: see truly, without projection; can't be deceived. |
Quartz · Thought & Spirit
Attachment → Presence — The crown Stone is never picked at creation. It invites.
| Res | Oath | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | SurrenderANCHOR“the grip released” | PASSIVEWhile held: release a held condition or a fixed target from yourself or an ally; +1 to acting on the larger situation. |
| 4 | Release“I loosen the grip that costs me” | INVOKEDrop a fixed belief that was costing you. |
| 5 | Understanding“I have the right to know the whole” | INVOKEGrasp the whole of a situation; meaning made plain. |
| 6 | UnityANCHOR“the many act as one” | PASSIVEMerge effort with the band; act in concert. |
| 7 | Faith“I act on the whole I cannot see” | INVOKEAct on the larger pattern without a guaranteed outcome, for a surge. |
| 8 | Groundedness“I return to the body, here” | INVOKEEnd a dissociation; re-anchor in the now. |
| 9 | PresenceANCHOR“wholly here, given over” | PASSIVECapstone: the self surrendered, wholly present, the field made present. |