Ritual
This section is currently in the process of being written - AAXW!
Meat Space is currently in pre-alpha, and this page will be expanded with additional guidance, examples and context during development.
A Ritual a type of Ability. They represent an Entity's cumulative efforts to achieve an outcome over time. They take longer to complete than an Action, but rarely result in Failure. A Ritual is not a matter of Success or Failure, but of time. Specifically, how much? A Ritual is best applied when Success is certain, or extremely likely to occur, but the amount of time required is variable, such as breaking into a safe during a heist or attempting to assume a disguise before being discovered by a patrolling security guard. If Failure is still a meaningful possibility, a Check or Attack is usually more Appropriate.
Rituals are most commonly shown in the format of:
Please Note: Invocations are a type of Ritual, and all rules that apply to Rituals also apply to Invocations. However, some rules apply specifically to Invocations and not to Rituals. If an Ability, Item, etc. specifically mentions Invocations, it only affects Invocations, not Rituals. See Invocations for more information.
To perform a Ritual, an Entity performs an Appropriate Skill Check and records its Total. The Entity continues to perform Skill Checks, limited by the Interval. Add the Total of each Check together. When the combined Total equals or exceeds the Severity of the Ritual, the Ritual is completed Successfully.
To determine the Appropriate Skill for a Ritual, there are two methods. If the Ritual is granted by an Ability, the Ability will specify a Skill. For a custom Ritual, the GM determines which Skill is most Appropriate for the Situation.
The Interval specifies how often the Skill Check can be performed to advance a Ritual. An Entity cannot perform a Check to advance a Ritual more often than the Interval allows, even if they have completed the Ritual. An Action-based Ritual can be advanced repeatedly, Action after Action, while a Round-based Ritual can only be advanced once during each Round during that Entity's Turn. See Interval for more information.
A Ritual's Severity represents how difficult, or how much time, the Ritual will take to complete. The greater the Severity, the more difficult the Ritual. A Ritual is completed Successfully when the combined Total of all Checks equals or exceeds its Severity. See Severity for more information.
If you achieve a Critical Success while performing a Check to advance a Ritual, it is treated the same as any other Critical Success on a Check. Double all non-D20 Bonuses added to the Check when calculating its Total. The subsequent Total is then added to the ongoing Total for the Ritual. However, if you suffer a Critical Failure while performing a Check to advance a Ritual, the Check Fails, producing a Total of 0, and the entire Ritual Fails as well, causing all progress to be lost. This is one of the few ways a Ritual can Fail.
Please Note: Certain Rituals, such as Invocations, may have additional outcomes for Failure in this manner, see their page for more information.
Example: Johnny Tutorial is performing the Set Up - 80 Ritual on his favourite Heavy Sniper Rifle. This is a Tech Ritual with a Severity of 80 and an Action Interval. Johnny gets a +8 and 1D4 to Tech Checks. He spends an Action Point to progress the Ritual with his Tech Check. Johnny gets a Total of 23 from his Dice and Static Bonus, he now has progressed the Ritual 23 out of the 80 Severity needed.
Johnny spends another Action Point, this time he Critically Succeeds on his Check, doubling his Static Bonus and Bonus Die to 16 and 6 respectively. All up, Johnny gains a whopping 42 from that Check, for a total progress of 65 out of 80. With his third and final Action Point Johnny completes the Ritual with a Check Total of 16, for a combined progress of 81, greater than the Severity 80 that is needed. Since the Set Up - 80 requires no additional costs, the Ritual Succeeds and Johnny's Heavy Sniper Rifle is setup and ready to fire.
Severity
Severity is a mechanical term involved in Rituals.
Severity denotes the Total required to achieve Success on a Ritual.
Example: If the famous Merc, Buck Texas, was attempting to perform a Mod installation Ritual on his favourite Flashrifle, that Ritual would have Severity of 80 and an Interval of [Periodic]. Buck would require a combined Total of 80, across all of his Tech Checks.
During the previous Periodic Intervals Buck achieved Totals of 27 and 31, meaning the progress of the Ritual is 58 out of a Severity 80, Buck needs a Total of 22 or more to complete the Ritual during this Interval.
Buck rolls his Tech Check and gets a Total of 24, which is added to his progress for a Total of 82. Since 82 is greater than the Severity of 80, the Ritual is Successful and Buck installs the Mod in his Flashrifle with no issue.
Interval
Interval is a mechanical term involved in Rituals.
An Interval denotes the Action speed at which you can perform Checks to progress a Ritual.
Example: If Johnny Tutorial was attempting to perform the Setup - 80 Ritual on his favourite Heavy Sniper Rifle, that Ritual has an Interval of Action. Johnny could only perform a Skill Check any time he could perform an Action, each one costing him an AP.
Multitasking
Once an Entity has started a Ritual, they are preoccupied with it until it is finished or turned into a Project. If they perform another Action or suffer any Damage while maintaining a Ritual, they must perform a Multitasking Save or Fail the Ritual.
A Multitasking Save is a Will Save. However, it gains any other Bonuses or Penalties that an Entity may have to Multitasking, as Appropriate.
If an Entity performs an Action while maintaining a Ritual, the Difficulty of the Multitasking Save is 15. If the Action is unusually complex or simple, the GM may increase or lower the Difficulty. They may also impose Properties, as Appropriate.
However, if an Entity suffers Damage, the Difficulty of the Multitasking Save varies. If they suffer enough Damage that some remains after Mitigation, they must perform a Multitasking Save after the Damage is resolved. The Difficulty of this Save is equal to 10 + the Unmitigated Damage. If all of the Damage is Mitigated, they are not required to perform a Multitasking Save.
Example: Johnny Tutorial is performing the Set Up - 80 Ritual on his favourite Heavy Sniper Rifle. He receives 15 Meat Damage from enemy fire. He has 4 Armour, Mitigating 4 of the 15 Meat Damage, leaving 11 Unmitigated. To maintain the Set Up Ritual, he must Successfully perform a Difficulty 21 Multitasking Save to avoid Failing the Ritual.
Projects
Any Ritual maintained by a Character can be converted into a Project as a Free Action. An Entity can only turn a Ritual into a Project during their Turn. Once a Ritual has been converted into a Project, the Entity is free to move and otherwise act as normal without risking any progress on the Ritual. To resume the Ritual, however, the Entity must perform a Multitasking Save with an Appropriate Difficulty based on the Situation.
If the Situation is calm, such as during a rest period or at a work station, the Difficulty should be around 10 to 15. If the Situation is stressful or dangerous, such as at a loud concert, during a riot, or in a fight, the Difficulty should be around 15 to 25. If the Situation is disastrous or extremely stressful, such as during all-out warfare, life-or-death surgery, or while diffusing a bomb, the Difficulty can be 25 or higher, such as 30, 40, or even 50. Have a discussion to determine what feels Appropriate for the Situation.
If this Multitasking Save is performed Successfully, the Entity resumes the Ritual with the same Total it had when the Ritual was paused and converted into a Project. If they Fail the Save, the Ritual Fails instead. An Entity can only maintain a limited number of Projects.
Changelog
Version 0.5c - Jun 2026
- Various wording changes.
- Various page links updated
Version 0.5c - Aug 2026
- Page moved and updated.