Core Mechanic

The core mechanic of the game is 2d6 + + vs either a static targent number or an opposing roll. Usually a static number. So, for example, say Bull's Ranged Combat is 7 and his Agility is 8, he rolls 2d6+15 whenever he attacks, then adds in any modifiers from Talents, Traits, or other sources to get his final roll.

This is then compared against his target number. For every full 5 he beats his target by, he gets a Critical Step. If the roll is for damage or healing, he deals/heals an extra 20% for each Critical Step. For most other rolls, the Critical Step will have some other effect, such as spells lasting longer or giving a higher buff/debuff. The actual effect is defined by the skill or spell, so its always the same.

Defense

Defense in Apoch's Twilight is broken down into three categories: Defense Score, Damage Reduction, and Active Defense.

Defense Score is a score that represents how hard you are to hit, and is the base Target Number enemies need to match or beat to hit you with an attack. It's a derived attribute based on twice your Focus plus your Agility. So a character with 5 focus and 6 Agility has a Defense of 16 ((5*2)+6). Some gear, such as shields, will add to your Defense as well, but most gear does not.

Damage Reduction is based on your armor. Each piece of armor will usually provide one or more points of Damage Reduction and you add that all up to determine your characters overall DR. This is a flat reduction of damage taken. So if you are hit by an attack that deals 50 damage and have 25 DR, you'll only take 25 of that damage.

Active Defense is a bit different in that it's a skill test, and there are two types of Active Defense Skills: Parry and Dodge. Parry is Strength-based, and you cannot parry ranged attacks, magic, or a Strength-based weapon with an Agility-based one (larger one-hand weapons such as long swords, warhammers, and axes are STrength-based, while daggers, short swords, and rapiers are Agility based, and all two-handed weapons are strength based). Dodge is Agility based and can be used against most attacks.

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The downside to Active Defense is that it uses up your action, so you cannot attack while using it.

Base Stats

One point of confusion I've seen is exactly how stats are applied, since gear adds bonuses. It's pretty simple: Any time a stat is a requirement to equip a piece of gear or to learn a new Trait or Talent, you use the base, unmodified Stat. That way there's never a question of whether you can keep a piece of gear equipped or if you lose a Talent or Trait later on because you took your boots off or something.

Hit Points and Mana Points are calculated based on your Modified Stats, and any temporary HP/MP from buffs (Such as Well-Rested or Food Buffs) comes off your maximum, not your current total. So if you're in combat and down to 100 HP out of 1000, and your Well Rested Buff drops off suddenly, you still have 100 HP, it's just now 100 out of 900 instead of 100/1000.

XP Costs

To raise an Attribute, it costs 100x the current Base Attribute in XP.  So raising an Agility 7 to 8 costs 700 XP.

Skills are 20x the current Base Skill.

Traits costs are based on their Tier Level. Tier 1 Traits, which are currently the only ones available to the players, are 500 XP per Trait.

Talents have no cost, but you only get a limited number of them. YOu get 2 at to start at Level 1, an additional point at Level 2 and level 3, and then one point every 3 levels after that.

Money

"Why do you mention Copper and Silver, but everything operates in Gold?"

Good question. This is frankly a leftover artifact from the TTRPG, and is something I decided to simplify for the story, because doing book-keeping is a pain in the ass. There's a lot of little stuff that's supposed to cost coppers and silvers rather than full gold, but it's all minor, piddling stuff that's not worth mentioing or dealing with. It's something I'll have to fix in a future editing pass.