1  # Introduction
  2  
  3  *Hilt and Blade* is a storytelling game about teenage pilots (Hilts) of giant, humanoid vehicles (Blades). Think *Neon Genesis Evangelion* or *Gundam*. The game is centered around the Hilts’ conflict with strange, unnatural beings called Imminent Threats (ITs) and moves between two phases of play to highlight the interpersonal drama of the Hilts and the high stakes, intense action of their clashes with Imminent Threats. While there is action, that is not the center of the drama; the Hilts’ interactions and their strange position in society will generate the trouble, which the Hilts carry with them into battle.
  4  
  5  At its heart, *Hilt and Blade* is a coming of age tale with a touch of horror as the Hilts become more than themselves in order to do violence for the greater good.
  6  
  7  ## Hilts
  8  
  9  Hilts are teenagers specially selected, trained or found with some inherent ability to pilot the dangerous war machines called Blades. It is unclear why a Hilt is selected, though their semifamous and isolated existence after they have become Hilts does nothing but generate rumor. A Hilt is an overnight celebrity in a world constantly under existential threat where the glorification of teenaged war heroes is very commonly accepted.
 10  
 11  ## The Squad Leader
 12  
 13  Referenced in the Heir to a Legacy’s playbook, the squad of Hilts is presumed to have a squad leader appointed by the Custodian. This is not a role that needs to be determined before play; often, it is more effective to wait and see who plays their character in a more commanding or leading role and then ask them (about their character), “Oh, you’re the squad leader, aren’t you?”
 14  
 15  Aside from the mechanics introduced on the Heir’s playbook, the squad leader is a purely narrative role. It behooves the Heir to remain or claim the role, but it should also be given the weight it would really have in a paramilitary organization. Responsibility is deferred down from the Custodian and also up from the other squad-mates. Everything is the squad leader’s fault.
 16  
 17  The Custodian will naturally interact the most with the squad leader and more so than with the other Hilts. This is the best way to pressure this role or subvert it; perhaps the current Custodian is mercurial and deigns to ignore the squad leader when they are disappointed in them.
 18  
 19  During operational phases, there is no requirement for the players to have their characters defer to the squad leader. Remember that these are messy teens who have had a crash course at best in military culture; they may very well have no respect for the concept of command or be entirely anti-authoritarian. On the other hand, your group may want to subvert this typical, teenage attitude and have very disciplined war machine pilots.
 20  
 21  Either way, each scenario (and others not counted here) primes relationships between characters and the setting and the mechanics will naturally move the story through dramatic highs and lows.
 22  
 23  ## Blades
 24  
 25  Stories high, Blades share a common profile: a core body, head with exterior cameras that plainly look like eyes, two arms with articulated joints and complex hands and legs with articulated joints and feet. It is the form of the human body stripped of everything but its potential for violence.
 26  
 27  You will see that Blades are often mentioned, but there are no rules or mechanics to guide them; Blades are narrative devices, the looming shells signifying the inevitability of conflict…war taken to a scale larger than ever conceived.
 28  It is assumed that Hilts begin in their Blades at the start of the operational phase and cannot pilot them during the interpersonal phase, but don’t take this as a hard prescription that the phases have to follow.
 29  
 30  When the phase moves from interpersonal to operational, the Hilts do need to be moving toward the conflict, but where exactly you decide to jump in the narrative is up to everyone playing; some scenes describing the Hilts mounting their Blades or a montage of deployments is just as good as staring down the Imminent Threat before the first Hilt acts.
 31  
 32  Blades have their role in the interpersonal phase as well: even if they are in the background, they can be used for dramatic effect to comment on the scale of an event, the futility of human action or perhaps the coldness of war displacing a soldier’s humanity on a machine.
 33  
 34  Training sequences are also an engaging way to break the “Hilts cannot pilot Blades during the interpersonal phase” expectation. In training, as well, may be the only time the Hilts can fight one another. Don’t miss an opportunity to layer and interrogate conflict resolution through violence!
 35  
 36  All of that said, the Genetically Engineered does have an advance that shifts strain to their Blade. How this manifests in your story–narratively and mechanically–is up to you. It certainly invites the Hilts to begin to humanize their Blades.
 37  
 38  ## And Everything Else
 39  
 40  The Hilts and their Blades make up the core drama, but there is a support cast and the setting itself. Every Hilt is beholden to the Paramilitary Organization, which houses and maintains their Blades, trains the Hilts and executes the operations against the Imminent Threats.
 41  
 42  Imminent Threats are the most visible antagonist, but there is much intrigue happening behind the scenes…least of all from the mysterious Custodian, in charge of the Paramilitary Organization and the Hilts themselves, acting as a commander and guardian simultaneously.
 43  
 44  All of this takes place against the backdrop of The City, the last bastion of humanity and shielded against the constant threat of destruction, both of itself and humanity as a whole. As a reprieve from that, there is always School…which can be more vicious than an amorphous monster with world ending, destructive capabilities.
 45  
 46  # How to Play
 47  
 48  Each of the playbooks and setting elements offers options for customization, so the story can take the shape of what everyone at the table wants to play. Hilt and Blade uses the No Dice, No Masters (NDNM) framework introduced in Avery Alder’s *Dream Askew*, so a master of ceremonies (MC) is an optional role as individual groups would like.
 49  
 50  Without a MC, everyone plays a character and setting elements are traded amongst the players as necessary to frame scenes and narrate the story. 
 51  
 52  With a MC, everyone save one player makes a character and the MC takes on all of the setting elements. 
 53  
 54  Don’t fret too much over this: neither play-style is better!
 55  
 56  Hilt and Blade does not use dice; instead, it uses an economy of tokens that players gain and spend in order to move the narrative. Whenever players gain a token, they do something vulnerable or risky–usually disadvantageous in a way–but these dramatic turns set the character up for success later. When you spend a token, you do something powerful or effective, cashing in on the narrative power of the token.
 57  
 58  There will also be explicit permissions granted to characters through their playbook; as they say, these are things you can always do and are a reminder of the themes and motifs that each playbook brings to the story.
 59  
 60  You shouldn’t ever feel forced to gain or spend tokens, but the playbooks are constructed in such a way that you should arrive at the moves naturally in telling the kinds of stories that Hilt and Blade is made to tell.
 61  
 62  ## Phases
 63  
 64  Gameplay is divided into two phases: the interpersonal phase, where the game begins, and the operational phase, which the game moves into when the conditions on the Imminent Threat setting element are met. The ebb and flow between the interpersonal and operational phases cannot be avoided, though play may not shift between the two consistently; it is very common to stay in the interpersonal phase longer than the operational phase.
 65  
 66  It is important to remember to track the phases, as this is counted even if the Imminent Threat is not currently in play. It may be helpful to use a index card that can be flipped between phases to help everyone remember.
 67  
 68  ## Moves
 69  
 70  Moves are the small rules that propel the narrative forward. They either gain you a token, have you spend a token, or don’t interact with the tokens at all. You’ll fall into a natural pattern of gaining and spending tokens to alter the course of the narrative and, when everyone at the table likewise does this, a storyline will emerge from what might look a little chaotic.
 71  
 72  Some of the moves make mundane, everyday events have a token cost, but don’t think of these moves as restrictions; you can always do or say something, but, without spending the token, it doesn’t have the narrative heft behind it that the token brings.
 73  
 74  Setting elements have their own moves and don’t use the interpersonal and operational moves; they also do not gain and spend tokens.
 75  
 76  ### Interpersonal Moves
 77  
 78  Interpersonal moves may be used in either the interpersonal or operational phase.
 79  
 80  #### Comfort or Support
 81  
 82  - Spend a token to remove strain from a squad-mate.
 83  - Gain a token when you let someone get close.
 84  
 85  #### Express Yourself
 86  
 87  - Spend a token to get everyone to listen to you.
 88  - Gain a token when you give in to your impulses.
 89  
 90  #### Get Introspective
 91  
 92  - Spend a token to gain some insight from the current situation.
 93  - Gain a token when you back down or withdraw from the current situation.
 94  
 95  #### Leverage
 96  
 97  - Spend a token to ask for a favor.
 98  - Gain a token when you make a promise.
 99  
100  #### Listen or Reject
101  
102  - Spend a token to reject what an adult tells you.
103  - Gain a token when you let what an adult says affect you.
104  
105  #### Relieve
106  
107  - When you spend a token through strain, remove it.
108  - When you gain a token through strain, keep it.
109  
110  ### Operational Moves
111  
112  Operational moves may only be used during the operational phase.
113  
114  #### Activate
115  
116  - Spend a token to change the battlefield.
117  - Gain a token when you get into a bad spot.
118  
119  #### Engage the IT
120  
121  - Spend a token to counter the IT.
122  - Gain a token when you take a hit.
123  
124  #### Limit Break
125  
126  - Spend a token to stay in control.
127  - Gain a token when you delimit.
128  
129  #### Maneuver
130  
131  - Spend a token to gain the upper hand. 
132  - Gain a token to risk yourself for someone else.
133  
134  #### Reach Out
135  
136  - Spend a token to take a blow for someone else.
137  - Gain a token when you ask for help.
138  
139  #### Transcend 
140  
141  *(You cannot use this move till you unlock it on your playbook)*
142  
143  - Spend a token to show your enemy mercy.
144  - Gain a token when you sacrifice yourself for the greater good.
145  
146  ## Strain
147  
148  Strain represents the psychological and emotional stress of the Hilts. There is not a prescriptive way for Hilts to take strain aside from a few moves that let the player choose to take strain. Instead, the player themselves or everyone as a group should decide as scenes pass and characters interact; if a confrontation left a character feeling mad, it makes sense to take the strain furious. Don’t view strain as a punishment or detriment. Use them to enhance the storytelling. Each strain comes with the means to remove it (alongside the interpersonal move comfort or support), so, if you don’t feel like a particular strain speaks to how the character feels anymore, frame a scene and spend a token.
149  
150  If you are playing with a MC, they will most likely tell you when to take strain, but always feel comfortable to discuss it to ensure everyone’s on the same page.
151  
152  There is one mechanical consideration: if you enter the operational phase with three strain, remove them and immediately take delimited.
153  
154  ### Delimited 
155  
156  *(Remove this strain at the end of the operational phase)*
157  
158  - Gain a token when you ignore the safety of your squad-mates.
159  - Gain a token when you relentlessly pursue the death of the IT.
160  
161  ### Empty
162  
163  - Gain a token when you sigh and gaze blankly.
164  - Gain a token when you ask "does it matter?"
165  - Spend a token to display an emotion you thought you couldn’t.
166  
167  ### Frantic
168  
169  - Gain a token when you agree to something dangerous or risky.
170  - Gain a token when you try to say too many things all at once.
171  - Spend a token to push against your instincts and take a break.
172  
173  ### Furious
174  
175  - Gain a token when you lash out without meaning to.
176  - Gain a token when you bottle everything up and seethe.
177  - Spend a token to express your rage in a constructive manner.
178  
179  ### Grieving
180  
181  - Gain a token when you overflow with emotion.
182  - Gain a token when you hold tight to comfort and refuse to let go.
183  - Spend a token to ask "are you in a place to listen right now?"
184  
185  ### Guarded
186  
187  - Gain a token when you point out a danger, real or imagined.
188  - Gain a token when you refuse to open up to someone else.
189  - Spend a token to step out of your comfort zone, even slightly.
190  
191  ### Hurt
192  
193  - Gain a token when you flinch at someone else’s reactions.
194  - Gain a token when you re-open an old wound.
195  - Spend a token to articulate a step on the path towards healing.
196  
197  ### Lost
198  
199  - Gain a token when you wander deep into the darkness.
200  - Gain a token when you express the disconnect between yourself and the world around you.
201  - Spend a token to seek out the help of someone else to anchor you.
202  
203  ### Nervous
204  
205  - Gain a token when you worry about something you don’t have control over.
206  - Gain a token when you say "I’m sorry."
207  - Spend a token to ask “is everything okay?”
208  
209  ### Starving
210  
211  - Gain a token when you gnaw on what’s left.
212  - Gain a token when you blame the wrong person for your hunger.
213  - Spend a token to name what you are truly hungry for.
214  
215  ---
216  
217  This text is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
218  
219  This work is AI-Free. It does not include content or media that was AI or Machine Generated. Supporting this work means supporting real people.