Each adversary’s stat block presents the statistics, or mechanical information, you need to use them in combat.

Name

Each stat block has a unique name—see the Jagged Knife Bandit stat block example. Abilities that affect adversaries with a certain name include all adversaries who use that stat block, regardless of their in-story name.

Tier

Each adversary is designed to oppose PCs of a certain tier. You can use stat blocks from other tiers, but you might want to adjust their statistics as described in the upcoming “Improvising Adversaries” section. Tier 1 adversaries are appropriate for level 1 characters, Tier 2 for levels 2–4, Tier 3 for levels 5–7, and Tier 4 for levels 8–10.

Type

The adversary’s type appears alongside their tier. The Jagged Knife Bandit is a Standard adversary, meaning they’re an average member of their faction’s forces. The following “Adversary Types” section details possible adversary roles.

Description

A summary of the adversary’s appearance and demeanor.

Motives & Tactics

Each stat block contains the adversary’s motives and tactics. When in doubt, the bandit tries to escape (caring more for their own life than victory), profit (by any means necessary, including lying and stealing), and throw smoke (obscuring the battlefield and escape route). These motives and tactics are suggestions rather than rules—feel free to improvise their choices as you would when playing any NPC.

Difficulty

Adversaries don’t use Evasion like PCs—instead, all rolls against them use their Difficulty. The bandit has a Difficulty of 12, so a roll of 12 or higher succeeds against this adversary. If an adversary’s feature doesn’t specify a Difficulty (like an Agility Reaction Roll), it always uses the adversary’s Difficulty.

Damage Thresholds, Hit Points, and Stress

“Thresholds: 8/14” represents this adversary’s damage thresholds—so their Major threshold is 8 and their Severe threshold is 14. The bandit has 5 Hit Points and 3 Stress. These systems function the same way they do for PCs.

Attack Modifier

When you attack with the adversary, apply this bonus or penalty to your attack roll.

Standard Attack

Each adversary has a standard attack listed next to their attack modifier, which contains the attack’s name (Daggers), its range (Melee), and its damage on a success (1d8+1 physical damage). You can use this standard attack as an action.

Experience

Like PCs, some adversaries have Experiences that make them especially capable in certain situations. This adversary’s Experience is Thief +2, which can aid them in rolls related to skulduggery. See the upcoming “Adversary Experiences” section for further details.

Features

Features represent the bandit’s capabilities in a conflict. There are three kinds of features: passives, actions, and reactions. For example, the bandit has a passive called “From Above” that deals more damage when they’re attacking from above—the 1d10+1 damage replaces their standard attack’s 1d8+1. The upcoming “Adversary Features” section details how to use various features.