DORONAI NUI

QUICK START GUIDE

VERSION 0.9.1.2

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction - Page 3

II. Character Creation - Page 4

Concept Generation and Alignment - Page 4

Attribute Scores and Stat Rolling - Page 5

Species Selection - Page 5

Supertypes and Archetypes - Page 6

Paths - Page 7

Skills, Talents, and Expertise Tokens - Page 7

III. Equipment - Page 9

Weapons Overview - Page 9

Armor - Page 10

Kanohi - Page 10

Elemental Overview - Page 11

Powers - Page 11

IV. Gameplay - Page 12

Gameplay Essentials - Page 12

Dice - Page 12

Advantage and Disadvantage - Page 12

Critical Successes and Failures - Page 12

Conditions - Page 12

General Adventuring - Page 13

Traveling - Page 13

Difficulty Class - Page 13

Saving Throws - Page 13

Stealth - Page 13

Downtime - Page 13

Combat and Encounters - Page 15

Actions - Page 15

Attacks - Page 15

Damage Types and Resistance/Vulnerability - Page 15

Death - Page 15

Player Characters - Page 16

Team Cohesion - Page 16

Story Progression, Path Progression, and Leveling Up - Page 16

Game Masters - Page 17

The Game Master’s Role - Page 17

When to Make Rolls - Page 17

Fudging the Numbers - Page 17

Party Progression and Loot - Page 17

Setting Up the Setting - Page 18

V. Glossary - Page 19

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 I. INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Doronai Nui Quick Start Guide! The Doronai Nui can be a daunting experience for players that are
new to tabletop games, the world of BIONICLE, or both, so this guide aims to provide newcomers with the information
they need to quickly hop into the game, either as Player Characters (PCs) or Game Masters (GMs).

One of the most important things to note about the Doronai Nui first and foremost is that all of our rules are
separated across a wide variety of documents, with each document covering a single, significant topic. This was done
intentionally to prevent load time bloat while reading through the rules, but it also allows players and GMs to quickly find
mechanical concepts they need, while ignoring the ones they don’t. For example, not every player is going to need to use a
Kanohi mask, and being able to just move past sixty or so pages of the rules because your character doesn’t need to use
those in particular is pretty convenient.

This Quick Start Guide contains a condensed version of information found in documents from all over the Doronai
Nui. At any time, you may find an expanded version of the rules for a given subject in their respective Index or Corpus.
Where possible, we may put the specific document in bold at the end of a section to help guide you.

We intend for this guide to be as comprehensive as possible without being too formal, but since this is the first time
we’ve done something like this, we know it’s possible that we might miss the mark by just a touch. Please let us know how
you feel about it - your feedback will help shape future iterations of the Quick Start Guide!

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 II. CHARACTER CREATION
Character creation can seem like a lengthy process that can act as a barrier to entry for many would-be players; this
guide aims to collect as much of the relevant information as possible in one easy-to-read package. This section of the
Quick Start Guide is written from what we believe is the most sensible chronological order for building a PC. However,
you can start with any portion of character creation at any time, and are not required to use this particular sequence. For
example, you could figure out your Supertypes and Archetypes well before you decide what Species to pick, or could wait
until your character is practically finished before deciding to determine your Stats. In many cases, there will be some
content you can completely ignore to streamline the process. Additionally, much of what is written here has been lifted
from other documents, including the full Rules Guide.

The basic process is detailed in brief below. However, a slightly more in-depth explanation of each stage is also
included in this document:

● Generate a Concept - Decide what your general playstyle and Alignment will be.
● Attribute Scores - Roll or use a Stat Array to determine your Attribute Scores.
● Species - Choose a Species that is appropriate for your campaign, determining additional Attribute Score Bonuses,
Resource Pools, starting Equipment, etc.
● Supertypes/Archetypes - Choose a starting “class”, unlocking new Skill Proficiencies and abilities, as well as an
Equipment Pack.
● Equipment - Pick out Weapons, Armor, and other Items for your adventures.
● Paths - Using your Species’ Path Point Calculation, invest them into Paths to gain more Skill Proficiencies and
(usually) social benefits.
● Skills and Talents - Assign your Species’ Expertise Tokens to further enhance Skills, or purchase Talents such as
Initiative Training or an HP increase.

CONCEPT GENERATION AND ALIGNMENT

When creating a character, it’s usually best to start off with a basic concept to anchor the rest of the
character-building process. If you’re just starting out, it’s recommended that you come at your character from a narrative
angle - an idea of who you want the character to be at their core, what their values and motivations are, and how they
interact with the world around them. This is best-articulated in brief with the Alignment system below, which can help
you build a starting point for your character’s personality.

Alignment works differently in the Doronai Nui than in some other systems. All characters have the following features:

● Temperament - A character’s overall behavior and attitude.

● Aspirations - A character’s goals or general motives.

● Ideals - The rules or codes that a character tries to follow or live by.

● Limits - Things that a character will refuse to do.

● Flaws - A character’s moral, mental, and/or physical weaknesses.

● Relationships - The bonds a character has forged with other beings, creatures, or groups; alternatively, how
a character interacts with and views other individuals.

The details of a character’s Alignment are subjective and not set in stone - in fact, most will experience some kind of
change or update to Alignment over the course of a campaign or larger story. Additionally, an Alignment has no
mechanical effect, and is intended to be a guide for roleplaying your character. As you play, your character may grow or
change, and that will influence the six attributes of their Alignment.

Here’s an example of Alignment might look for an existing character:

Turaga Vakama:
Temperament: Insightful
Aspirations: Lead the Matoran of Mata Nui and protect Ta-Koro.
Ideals: Unity, Duty, and Destiny.
Limits: As a Turaga, Vakama will refuse to kill others, and will not act in ways that contradict the Three Virtues.
Flaws: Vakama occasionally doubts his ability to lead others. He also experiences strange visions, which he finds
disturbing. During his time as a Toa, he had to overcome his doubts and fears in order to save the Matoran.
Relationships: Vakama has a strong, almost paternal relationship with the Ta-Matoran, and a strong relationship of
camaraderie with the other Turaga of Mata Nui.

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ATTRIBUTE SCORES AND STAT ROLLING
In the Doronai Nui, a character’s most basic aspects are expressed through their Attribute Scores (also known
colloquially as stats), which are a numerical representation of your character’s physical and mental capabilities. Your
overall Attribute Score produces an Attribute Score Modifier, which is added to any associated roll, attack, Skill Check,
etc. The higher the Score, the higher the Modifier, with a Score of 10 or 11 representing the average being’s abilities (+0).

Score Modifier Score Modifier

1 -5 16 - 17 3

2-3 -4 18 - 19 4

4-5 -3 20 - 21 5

6-7 -2 22 - 23 6

8-9 -1 24 - 25 7

10 - 11 0 26 - 27 8

12 - 13 1 28 - 29 9

14 - 15 2 30 - 31 10

Each Attribute is associated with different kinds of Skills, and sometimes affect important resources like Hit Points
(HP) or your ability to use an Elemental ability or Power. For example, having a high Strength Score may mean you are
more athletic, able to carry more Items, and perform better in Melee combat. Some Attributes If you’ve played 5e or its
counterparts before, or if you’ve at least heard about those games, you’re likely familiar with these:

● Strength (STR) - Your physical capability.

● Dexterity (DEX) - Your agility, reaction time, and effectiveness in long-range combat.

● Constitution (CON) - Your overall physical health and endurance.

● Intelligence (INT) - Your understanding of complex problems and designs (book-smarts).

● Wisdom (WIS) - Your perception and insight (street-smarts).

● Charisma (CHA) - Your ability to persuade or charm those around you.

These may be referred to as Physical Attributes (STR, DEX, CON) or your Mental Attributes (INT, WIS, CHA).

Certain Species may also have Attribute Score Bonuses when you first create your character. These details should
be taken into account before you assign any scores to your Attributes.

There are a few ways to determine what your Attribute Scores should look like. You can either choose to Roll your
Stats, or Use a Stat Array, where you’re given Attribute Scores generally cannot be adjusted during gameplay (although
they may be changed over the course of the game by various factors), so pick carefully! If an Attribute Score changes
during gameplay, any additional stats or resource pools associated with that Score will change as well.

Attribute Scores are a numerical representation of your character’s physical and mental capabilities. The higher
an Attribute Score is, the better you are at things related to that Attribute.

SPECIES SELECTION
Choosing what Species you intend to play as is quite possibly one of the biggest decisions you can make during
character creation. While many other TTRPGs place their playable species on a roughly equal playing field, the world of
BIONICLE doesn’t really allow for that - no matter what you do, a Toa is almost always going to be more dangerous than
the Matoran they start off as. This is because of how much of an impact your Species makes on your Stats, including the
following:

● Resource Pools - All Species have a variety of Resource Pools, which dictate how much Health or Energy they have
for abilities like Elemental Powers or Universal Powers. All Species have a Health Pool. These Pools all have a
Floor, the minimum amount of the Pool’s resource that you can have; a Rate of Climb, the amount of points you
gain for this Pool each time you level up, as well as a Minimum Roll that you can take instead if you roll
particularly low while leveling up; a Natural Cap, which is the maximum amount of that resource that you can
naturally gain; and Rest Recovery Dice, which dictates the type and quantity of dice you may roll to recover this
resource when you take a Rest.

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 ● Armor Class - Each Species has a different number of limbs and body parts, most of which have Armor Slots, each
of which can be outfitted with an Armor Piece. Your overall Armor Class is a single numeric value, which your
enemies must roll higher than on their Attack Roll in order to successfully damage you. Each Species has a listed
Armor Class, which usually assumes you’re wearing a full set of Medium Armor (though some Species may also
start with some Heavy Pieces). Depending on your Species, you may be able to wear heavier Armor Pieces without
any limitations. More information about Armor Pieces can be found in the Equipment Index.

● Expertise Tokens (ET) - Earned at each Level, Expertise Tokens are spent to gain Proficiency in Skills, or to
purchase Talents (see Skills, Talents, & Expertise Tokens for more information).

● Inventory Spaces & Sheathes - Inventory Spaces allow you to store Items on your person without assistance.
Sheathes work similarly, but are specifically for Weapons, allowing you to draw them at a moment’s notice instead
of needing to root around in your pockets.

● Path Points - When you initially create your character, you must fill in their life before beginning their adventure.
This is represented by the sum of one or several of their Attribute Score Mods, with the specific calculation
determined by their Species (this represents the various levels of skill and commitment each Species traditionally
has to their non-adventuring activities). Once you have this sum, you can spend the Path Points to purchase Path
Ranks on Paths relevant to your character’s background.

● Movement Speeds - Your ability to walk around, Swim, Dig, Hover, or Fly. Each Species has at least one Movement
Speed, and all are measured in Xft per 1AP.

● Additional Major and Minor Boons, as well as any Restrictions (see the Species Index).

For these reasons, we’ve assigned all of our playable Species to a Species Category, which is used to help players
and GMs identify how powerful a player is likely to become. These Categories are A, B, and C, with Category A containing
Species that are frail or otherwise weaker than many other Species within the Matoran Universe; Category B containing
many powerful Species that often have the ability to use Kanohi, Powers, or the Elements; and Category C containing
Species of exceptional strength and skill. Category C Species specifically tend to require an experienced player of great
knowledge with the system in order to play them effectively.

Everyone should use this as a metric when beginning a campaign. While it’s possible for a C-tier player such as a
Vhisotai to join a party of, say, Matoran, this usually requires the Game Master to more carefully fine-tune combat
encounters and possibly grant the weaker members of the party specific advantages so that they can stay relevant.
Inexperienced GMs could find this difficult, and improper tuning could lead to unfortunate, boring, or frustrating results
in gameplay sessions. Our personal recommendations for a first Species would be a Matoran if you’re wanting to start
slow and pick up abilities along the way (such as transformation into a Toa), or one of the Prime Species (the six Barraki’s
species) if you want to be a bit stronger without having to worry about Elements or Powers.

To further help players understand what parts of the Doronai Nui they’ll innately have access to, if they choose a
specific Species, refer to the table below:

System Applicable Species

Kanohi Toa, Turaga, Ancient Skakdi, Vortixx, Dahkini, Prime Species, Akiamu, Vhisotai, Vokaru, Barramoi

Elements Toa, Turaga, Modern Skakdi

Powers Atureas Minors & Majors, Layamat, Akiamu, Vhisotai

SUPERTYPES AND ARCHETYPES

The next major step is to select a Supertype and Archetype. Supertypes describe the basic traits of a profession
(for example, the Melee Supertype grants abilities focused around Melee combat), while Archetypes are more specific and
act as the equivalent to what would be “classes” in other systems. Both Supertypes and Archetypes play an important role
in determining your character’s Proficiencies, starting Equipment, and abilities.

You gain an Archetype Level each time you level up, and can choose to either continue down whatever
Archetype(s) you already have, or begin a new one entirely. Archetypes that are within the same Supertype all contribute
to that Supertype’s bonuses, allowing you to try new things while still working towards general synergies. The Doronai
Nui also ensures that you begin “multi-classing” much earlier in your adventure than other systems, both by offering
many enticing options, and by only having up to 6 Levels in a single Archetype.

Here is a sample of some of the most commonly chosen “beginner-friendly” Supertypes:

Supertype Description

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 Masters of martial arts who use a multitude of weapons and
Melee armor.

Ranged Warriors who specialize in bows, blasters, and launchers.

Slow and steady, nothing gets past a Captain of the Guard...unless

Defense he wishes it.

A powerful being of their respective element whose attacks

Elementalist revolve around their ability to channel their element.

Kanohi
Fighter A collector that hoards Kanohi masks to combat their enemies.

A compassionate companion who focuses on keeping other allies

Support on their feet.

Stealth Stealthy figures with a flair for infiltration and execution.

For new players, we recommend sticking to one Supertype for a while until you get the hang of things. Melee,
Ranged, Combat Arts, and Defense are all solid choices for all kinds of playstyles related to combat, while Diplomat,
Stealth, and Scout can all make for some interesting social gameplay. If you want to focus on using your Powers,
Elementalist and Kanohi Fighter are solid options with all kinds of utilities. Generally, Engineer and Protodermist are not
recommended for beginners, as these both primarily deal with Equipment and Crafting respectively, and as such get
complicated quickly.

To date, there are close to 100 Archetypes and Half-Archetypes, spread out across more than a dozen Supertypes.
All of them can be found in the Supertypes and Archetypes manual.

PATHS
Paths describe your character’s background and profession from before they began their adventure. Think of them
as an extension of your backstory, but with tangible benefits. This concept is represented by Path Points - the sum of one
or several of their Attribute Score Modifiers (depending on their Species), representing the various levels of skill and
commitment each Species traditionally has to their non-adventuring activities. If you choose your Path(s) wisely, they can
open the door to interesting synergies with your Archetypes and Supertypes.

Paths can be taken at character creation using Path Points (bypassing the roleplay requirements to do so, unless
specifically noted otherwise) or gained during gameplay by meeting a given Path’s requirements. Path Points that are left
unused expire after character creation, so it is strongly recommended that you invest all Path Points that you are given!
See the Species Index to find out how many Path Points you have.

Paths themselves can be found in the Rules Guide near the back of the book. However, we expect that they will be
moved into their own document at some point in the future once we’ve written enough of them. We encourage players to
work with their GMs to come up with new Paths if the provided selection doesn’t match what they’re hoping to do with
their character (if you do, drop them somewhere the development team can see them!).

SKILLS, TALENTS, AND EXPERTISE TOKENS

Skills
Skills are general concepts that describe a whole host of actions and knowledge. At this point, you’re probably
ready to start determining all of your Skill Bonuses, the numerical value you add to a roll when you need to make a Skill
Check. Skill Checks represent an attempt to use your knowledge to solve a related problem; your success depends on the
complexity of the task you’re attempting to complete, your investment in that Skill, and any potential external factors that
might cause complications.

In addition to the listed Skills for each Attribute Score, there are also Knowledge Skills and Freeform Skills.
Knowledge Skills are all Intelligence-based, and are usually used when your character wants to figure something out that
you yourself might not be able to. This allows you to get context clues and direct information about topics like
engineering or botany without needing to actually be an engineer or botanist yourself.

Proficiency and Expertise

As you’ve gone through earlier steps of character creation, you may have noticed that most Species, as well as most
Supertypes and Archetypes, provide Proficiency (or PROF for short) to one or more Skills. Being Proficient in a Skill
means that your character has some considerable experience with the subject of that. Based on your chosen Species, you
will start the game with a certain number of Proficient Skills, and will also gain Expertise Tokens, which can be spent to

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become Proficient in new Skills or gain Ranks of Expertise (see below). You are also usually considered Proficient with
any Weapons you start out with, allowing you to add your PROF to Attack Rolls.

If you’re already Proficient in a Skill and gain another Proficiency in that same Skill, it is converted into a Rank of
Expertise (abbreviated to EX), which is an additional flat +2 bonus on top of your PROF. Expertise is denoted as Expertise
X, where X is the level of Expertise you have with a given Skill. Your total Skill Bonus is usually equal to (Attribute Score
Modifier + PROF + Ranks of Expertise).

Talents
Talents are similar to Skills in that you spend Expertise Tokens in order to gain them. However, rather than being
about directly impacting your Skill Checks, Talents affect other aspects of your PC. For example, there’s a Talent that
allows you to increase the size of your Resource Pools, and another one that lets you learn new Languages. Most Talents
can be purchased more than once, though they usually have some kind of limit.

A more in-depth explanation of Skills and Talents, as well as a full list of Skills, can be found in the Rules Guide.
Elemental Talents are exclusive to Elementally-Aligned Beings, and can be found in the Elemental Index.

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 III. EQUIPMENT
Equipment generally refers to any Item (a term that refers to nearly anything that isn’t a PC or NPC) that you have
on your person, be it a Weapon, Armor Piece, or one-off trinket. All players will almost always start off with varying
amounts of Equipment, though the various properties and nature of this Equipment largely depends on what you’re
allowed to have based on your Species, as well as the build you’re trying to go for. Some types of Equipment, such as
Kanohi, may be entirely inaccessible to you based on these choices.

All Items are made using a Slot-based system. Based on the Size of an Item (or in the case of something like a
Weapon, the Size of its Handle), as well as its Quality Tier (a measure of how durable, powerful, and valuable the Item is),
all Items gain a certain number of Component Slots. You can then choose from the list of Components, parts of an Item
that change or add additional functions to an Item by filling that Item’s Slots. Certain Components can only be placed on
certain kinds of Items; however, general Item Components can be placed on anything if it has enough Slots to
accommodate it.

Other than generic Items, which represent a massive class of objects (pretty much any tool you can think of, from
welders to crowbars, blocks of metal, fishing rods, etc.) the main types of Items are as follows: Weapons (for punching,
stabbing, and shooting), Armor (ideally, designed to prevent Weapons from doing that stuff to you), and Machines
(complex Items that are capable of power generation, movement, or even Vehicles).

When you begin play, you will also be given an Equipment Pack, which is essentially a backpack full of extra Items
that you may find useful. All Equipment Packs have some essentials, like drinking water, climbing rope, and Lightstones
to light your path, but each variant also contains different goodies. The Equipment Pack you start off with is specific to
your first chosen Supertype; for example, most Supertypes directly related to fighting things will grant you a Combat
Pack, which contains a few things you could use to maintain your weapons and dress your wounds, while something like
the Stealth Supertype would provide a Burglary Pack, which contains tools for thieving. Specific information about
Equipment Packs can be found in their section in the Equipment Index.

All information about the specifics of how to make Items can be found in the Equipment Index. However, we
recognize that this system can be one of the most difficult to grasp at the beginning of a new player’s journey. For that
reason, at any time during character creation, a player can choose to trade off the opportunity to build out a custom set of
Equipment for themselves and instead opt into the Off-The-Rack section of the Equipment Index.

WEAPONS OVERVIEW
Weapons are the meat and potatoes of your arsenal. There are several kinds of Weapons, all of which are capable
of different things, and have access to their own unique selections of Item Components. The major types of Weapon (also
known as Formats), are Melee, Ranged, Thrown, and Trap. In addition to a Format, most Weapons require at the very
least a Handle (determines the overall Size of the Weapon, and how many Item Slots it has), Style (the Attribute Score
Modifier that is added to both the Attack and Damage Rolls), a Damage Type (determines what additional effects are
imposed on a target), and a Damage Size (determines the size of the Damage Di(c)e). When making an Attack Roll with a
Weapon you’re Proficient with, the Roll is equal to (1d20 + PROF + Style Mod + Quality Bonus), alongside any special
bonuses your Weapon may have.

Melee
Melee Weapons are used in close-quarters combat and typically have a range equal to your Reach (the natural
distance you can reach, typically your arms’ length). You perform a Strike Action when you make an Attack Roll with a
Melee Weapon. Melee Weapons can also be used to Parry other melee attacks, or make an Attack of Opportunity when a
melee attack misses them. See the Combat or Actions section, either in this document or the Rules Guide, to learn more
about how to use Weapons.

Ranged
Ranged Weapons are intended to be used from afar. When you perform an Attack Roll with a Ranged Weapon, you
perform a Fire Action. Ranged Weapons come in three distinct varieties: Single-Fire, Cyclic-Fire, and Launchers.

All Ranged Weapons make use of Magazines. Magazines hold Weapon Ammunition and determine how many
Attacks you can perform before you need to reload. An unmodified Magazine allows you to make 3 Attacks with it before
you need to reload as a 2AP Action. Ammunition are the individual projectiles that are fired from a Ranged Weapon. The
Damage Type Component is installed on the Ammunition of a Ranged Weapon, not the Weapon itself.

All Ranged Weapons must have a Range. Your Weapon’s Range is divided into two categories: its Core Range,
within which your Ranged Weapon will perform at its maximum effectiveness, and Maximum Range which is the
farthest a target can be for you to successfully hit it. These Ranges are denoted as X/Yft, where X is the Core Range and Y is
the Maximum Range.

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Thrown
Thrown Weapons act as an intermediary between Melee and Ranged Weapons, as they can be both used in Melee
combat as well as thrown from a distance. When you make an Attack Roll with a Thrown Weapon in Melee range, you use
the Strike Action. When you throw your Weapon to make an Attack Roll with it, you use the Fire Action. Thrown Weapons
require a Range Component, as detailed under the Range Format description.

Traps
Traps are Weapons designed to be deployed and left behind so that when they are sprung, an unfortunate target is
subject to their effects when you’re long gone. When undeployed, Traps are placed into either your normal Inventory
Spaces or Quick-Draw Inventory Spaces. All Traps require an Intricacy (determined by the Trap’s Size), Radius (the
distance at which the Trap can hit a target), and Trigger (determines the conditions under which the Trap will be sprung).

ARMOR
Every character in the BIONICLE universe has some form of Armor. Armor fits into Body Units; each Species has its
own set of Body Units and basic Armor, as listed in the Default Armor section of the Species Index. Armor is used to
improve your character’s Armor Class (abbreviated to AC), which represents the amount of protection afforded by said
Armor. The default Quality for Armor is Tier 0.
Armor pieces have one of five potential Weights: Ultralight, Light, Medium, Heavy, or Ultraheavy, each with their
own benefits and drawbacks - heavier Weights require more Slots but have higher AC values.
Armor comes in two varieties: Pistons (which improve Touch AC, used in response to attacks that bypass or ignore
the armor of a being) and Plates (which improve Flat-Footed AC, used in response to surprise attacks or when a being
otherwise is unable to respond to an assault as dexterously as normal).

Some players may find it important to determine their Armor’s Item Hit Points, or IHP. The IHP of most Items is
equal to (Item’s Size + Material IHP Modifier) * the Item’s Quality Tier.
An Armor Piece fitted for a given Oropi or Rahi is typically three Size Categories smaller than the intended wearer.
If an Armor Piece is larger or smaller than this value, you cannot wear it.
For smaller or larger Species, or for individuals using different Materials for their Armor, see the below Tables.
Refer to the Crafting Guide and Equipment Index if you’re looking to get ambitious.
As an example, Medium Species all wear Diminutive Armor Pieces. Assuming their Armor is made from Protoiron,
which has an IHP Modifier of +8, each Armor Piece they wear would have 10IHP.

Size Category IHP Quality IHP Multiplier

Tier

Fine 1 -1 0.5

Diminutive 2 0 1

Tiny 3 1 1.5

Small 4 2 2

Medium 5 3 2.5

Large 6 4 3

Huge 8 5 3.5

Gargantuan 10 6 Special

Colossal X 10+2X

KANOHI
Kanohi are masks of great power, worn by various Species of the Matoran Universe, and are for many an essential
part of a character. Kanohi masks come in several different types: Powerless, Noble, Great, and Nuva. While Powerless
masks only provide the wearer the small amount of energy needed to prevent the Unmasked condition (for those that
suffer from it), all other types of masks grant a specific power to their wearers if they are able to use them. It is not an
uncommon occurrence for a being to wear a Powerless Kanohi even if they have no need to or no opportunity to use a
powered one.

Noble masks provide minor powers, and are sometimes more limited than their Great counterparts. Great masks
offer substantial power, and some players may choose to predicate their main strategies for battle off of a single Great

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mask. Nuva masks are special, powerful forms of Noble or Great masks, only worn by beings who have been transformed
into Nuva in the world of BIONICLE. Each Kanohi grants a different power to its user - however, only certain species are
capable of accessing these powers. The Use Kanohi Skill grants the wearer with Kanohi Charges, which are spent
whenever their mask power is activated.

All Kanohi can be found in the Kanohi Index, broken up into categories based on what the Kanohi’s power is; we
anticipate this document will grow in size over time.

ELEMENTAL OVERVIEW
Elements are a core staple of BIONICLE’s identity, with each Elemental Tribe bearing distinct differences from one
another in terms of physical appearance, cultural identity and values, and overall function in society. Most importantly, of
course, is the ability to wield different powers like fire and water in combat. Few Species are able to naturally use
Elemental Powers, though technically any being is able to gain the ability to use them under the right conditions (focused
training, divine intervention, or freak accidents are some of the more common routes).

Elemental Powers can be used to strike individuals or groups of targets, defend yourself, create Items from thin air,
and even shape the landscape around you should you become sufficiently powerful. These different abilities are called
Elemental Attack Forms. All of them use Elemental Energy (abbreviated to EE), a resource similar to Health Points that
is expended whenever you use these Powers. Additionally, Species that have a natural attunement to an Element often
receive Elemental Expertise Tokens every Level, which can be spent on unlocking new Attack Forms or on Elemental
Talents, which allow you to modify and specialize your Element to further bolster your playstyle.

The Elemental Index is currently the home of 18 different Elemental Tribes, and one of the most robust magic
systems in the tabletop gaming sphere. It is considered an essential document if you intend to play as a Toa or other
Element-wielding Species.

POWERS
Depending on your character’s Species, they may be granted certain powers or boons. If you are playing a Species
that has a particular power, it is often selected during character creation and (in most cases) cannot be changed later, so
choose carefully! Some powers may grant additional bonuses that will need to be taken into account as you continue
through the process of setting up your character. If your Species does not feature Powers, feel free to skip this subsection.

To confirm if you have access to Powers, refer to the Species Index; Powers are generally listed under Major
Species Boons or Minor Species Boons. To build your own Powers, or to see a list of prebuilt Powers, see the Powers
Index.

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 IV. GAMEPLAY
GAMEPLAY ESSENTIALS
Dice
Much like other tabletop games, the Doronai Nui relies on 7 types of dice: the d4, d6, d8, d10 (sometimes used twice
to roll as a “d100”, with one representing the first digit and the other representing the second), d12, and d20; the number
associated with each is the number of faces on that die. The most important of these is absolutely the d20, which is used
for everything from Skill Checks to Attack/Elemental Attack Rolls to Saving Throws.

These dice (often referred to as a 7-set of dice) can be purchased from nearly any game hobbyist store, and come in
a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and materials. However, if you need a significant number of them or aren’t able to
buy them, there are plenty of online resources to allow you to use them as random number generators. Several Discord
bots have dice-rolling features; our dev team even uses them frequently for testing and internal gameplay.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Beings can gain Advantage (ADV) and Disadvantage (DADV) on rolls, a bonus/penalty, respectively. When a being
gains Advantage (ADV) on a roll, they roll multiple dice, taking the highest result from among the dice rolled. Likewise,
when a being gains Disadvantage (DADV) on a roll, they also roll multiple dice, but take the lowest result from among the
dice rolled. A being can have ADV or DADV on any type of roll, but it is usually applied to Attack Rolls, Skill checks, Saves,
or any other roll that requires a d20.

Advantage and Disadvantage add and subtract from each other. If one of your abilities or bonuses gives you ADV2
on an Attack Roll, but an enemy applies an effect that causes DADV1, you’d have ADV1 on that Attack Roll.

Critical Successes and Failures

On nearly every roll of a d20 you make, there is both a 5 percent chance of a Critical Success, and a 5 percent
chance of a Critical Failure, caused by landing on a 20 or a 1 respectively.

Critical Successes are extremely valuable, as they usually guarantee that you were able to do whatever you were
attempting so well that there are also added benefits. For example, if you were to Critically Succeed on an Attack Roll, it
may double your subsequent Damage Roll’s Damage output, or if you were Assembling an Item, it may have been done so
flawlessly that it increases the Item’s Quality Tier or adds some unique bonuses.

Conversely, a Critical Failure represents awful performance or unexpected issues, and for example can result in
dropping your weapon on your own foot during an Attack, accidentally blowing something up, or blundering your way
through a diplomatic plea.

Crits add a degree of randomness to gameplay that players and GMs always need to watch out for. However, GMs
should also try to massage these results to their liking when necessary. Outside of a few key instances (such as Attack
Rolls), Critical Rolls do not have set-in-stone effects, and the GM will need to decide how to best approach it.

Conditions
Conditions are effects applied to a target by Powers, abilities, or circumstance, typically a hindrance or penalty that
lasts for a specified duration, as specified by what triggered the Condition. Many of them are environmental factors, like
getting too Hot, becoming Dehydrated, or if you’re really unlucky, somehow becoming Irradiated. A full list of Conditions
can be found in the Rules Guide.

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GENERAL ADVENTURING
Traveling
The speed at which a group of traveling adventurers can move at, their Overland Travel Speed (abbreviated to
OTS), is determined by the slowest Movement Speed of any given member of the group, regardless of which Movement
Speed it is. This form of movement also assumes the party is sticking together; if one were to travel alone, they wouldn’t
be hindered by the slower members of their party.

OTS is also subject to the Environmental Factors of the area your party is traveling through. Some areas can
become especially perilous, either due to altitude, clutter in the Environment, or because the ground itself threatens to
crumble beneath your feet.

More information about traveling long distances can be found in the Rules Guide and Environmental Guide.

Difficulty Class
In the game, when a player wants to take an Action of a certain complexity or difficulty, the GM may declare a roll
is required; they will note (but not disclose) a Difficulty Class (frequently abbreviated to DC) that the player has to meet
in order to successfully take the Action. To do so, the player rolls a d20 and, if applicable, adds any related modifiers their
character may have to the result of the roll. If the total meets or exceeds the DC, the Action is successful, and if it does not,
the Action is unsuccessful. The GM may choose to reward very high rolls or penalize very low rolls at their own
discretion.

Saving Throws
Your Attribute Scores in part determine the values of your Saving Throws (also known as Saves) - Rolls that are
made in response to various types of threats. A Saving Throw is generally 1d20 plus the relevant Modifier. There are three
types of Saves:

● Reflex (REFL) - Your ability to react to and evade incoming attacks. Uses the DEX Modifier.

● Will (WILL) - Your ability to resist mental attacks such as induced confusion or mind control. Uses the WIS
Modifier.

● Fortitude (FORT) - Your ability to resist damage effects inflicted by attacks or environmental sources. Uses
the CON Modifier.

Saving Throws are one of the most common Rolls you will make, after Attack/Damage Rolls and Skill Checks. They
are most often made when you are about to be subject to a negative effect, attack, or Condition, such as when you wade
through corrosive waters, are about to be struck by a fast-moving, ranged Power, or when passing through an AoE attack.

Stealth
A being may attempt to conceal themselves from others, sneaking their way through combat or their environment
to gain the upper edge to sneak past or strike an unaware combatant. This is typically done by attempting to muffle their
movement, sticking to the shadows, or staying in a being’s blind spot. They must make a Stealth check, the DC of which is
equal to 10 + the Perception modifier of any beings who can see them. Stealth Checks cannot be made against a being who
already knows where they are, unless they can break line of sight somehow (GM’s discretion). Depending on the result of
their Stealth Check, it is possible that not all the beings who can see them are aware of their presence.

Cover
Through clever usage of one’s Environment, a being may seek Cover in order to defend themselves from others and
grant themselves a crucial edge, either while hiding or during combat. Cover can be provided by a number of things, such
as a tall shield, a ditch, or a sufficiently thick tree. There are three tiers of Cover that can be found in most environments,
each with scaling bonuses and penalties. More information can be found in the Rules Guide.

Downtime
As time passes, heroes may rise and fall, groups of adventurers may loot and run amok, but for most beings in the
universe, life remains steady. Although most members of an adventuring team lead a more active and dangerous career
than what is usually the norm, even the busiest party will still need to take breaks both during and between their quests -
every once in a while, the time is right to settle down for a bit, relax, recuperate, and plan your next moves. This
low-activity period is referred to as Downtime.

The most common activity performed during Downtime is Resting, as most Rests are taken during an adventure
rather than before or after it. A Rest is a brief period of recovery that allows participating beings to relax, rest, eat and
drink, and perform light activities. Resting helps players recover from Exhaustion, a negative Condition that can impact

13
their ability to perform well in battle, as well as when making Skill Checks. If Exhaustion is allowed to persist, it will get
worse over time, and can even result in death. Additionally, whenever a being completes a mostly uninterrupted Rest,
they may spend Recovery Dice to recuperate their Resource Pools, such as HP or EE.

It is possible to take Rests back-to-back if necessary, though staying in one place can be dangerous if the area is
hostile.

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COMBAT AND ENCOUNTERS
Combat is broken up into Rounds, a cycle during which everyone gets to take Actions and respond to the Actions of
other beings. These periods are referred to as Turns. Generally, when a party or individual enters combat, the GM will
ask everyone at the table to roll Initiative. Initiative is a process where everyone rolls 1d20 + their DEX mod. Whoever
has the highest Initiative roll gets to go first, followed by the next highest roll, and so on. This also includes any NPC’s that
are involved; it is entirely possible that an enemy will begin to take action in between members of your party.
Alternatively, the GM can choose to just have Initiative start with whoever had the highest score, and then move
clockwise or counterclockwise. This can help people remember the order in which they’re supposed to go, provided
you’re all seated at the same table.

Actions
During a Round, each PC and NPC has a set number of Action Points, or AP. Most beings have 5 AP, which can be
spent on Offensive Actions (Actions meant to cause harm to a target), Defensive Actions (Actions to protect yourself or
others from harm), Combat Maneuvers (special Actions that revolve around contests of strength with an opponent, such
as trying to Trip them or steal their weapon through Disarming), and Utility Actions (includes Movement, using special
Items, pulling Items out of storage, etc.). Each Action costs a certain number of AP to use.

It is possible to Ready an Action, sacrificing the AP required to take an Action, and waiting for a specific set of
criteria before you actually perform the Action for 0AP before your next turn. For example, if you wanted to use a blaster
once an enemy rounds a tight corner, you could spend the 2AP necessary to do so, and then Fire at them for 0AP when
they move around the corner before you take your next turn.

Additionally, some Actions are referred to as Reactions. Reactions can only be taken in response to some kind of
criteria. For example, if an enemy were to move past you (within your Reach), you could make an Attack of Opportunity
as a Reaction, or if you were about to be struck with a Melee attack and could see it coming, you could spend 1AP to Parry
that attack and try to avoid it. If necessary, you can even spend AP from the next Round on Reactions if you’ve already
run out. However, this can leave you with less options later in that Round.

A full list of Actions and Reactions can be found in the Rules Guide. We recommend getting familiar with the most
common Actions (Attacks/Elemental Attacks, Movement, Use Item, and Load Weapon) before figuring out what
specialized Actions you want to incorporate into your playstyle most frequently. Players that spec into Supertypes like
Defense can often make spectacular use of Defensive Actions like Hunker or Full Dodge, while there are many Archetypes
in other Supertypes that focus on specific Combat Maneuvers like Grappling.

Attacks
Attacks can be made against any target that’s within your Reach, or for Ranged and Thrown Weapons, any target
that you can see within your Maximum Range. In most cases, when making an Attack, you’ll be asked to make an Attack
Roll. An Attack Roll is usually equal to (1d20 + PROF + Format Attribute Score Modifier). The resultant value must meet or
exceed the target’s Armor Class. If successful, the target has been hit and you may now make a Damage Roll, which is
mostly dependent on the Damage Dice associated with your Weapon.

Damage Types and Resistance/Vulnerability

Most Attacks have Damage Types - a descriptor of additional effects that can be imposed by damage or certain
abilities. Many of these are related to Elements, such as Fire, Electricity, or Plasma. When facing these Damage Types, it is
important to know what unique properties they have, and if you (or your enemy) are Resistant or Vulnerable to a
specific Damage Type. Resistance means that you take half damage from any source of that Damage Type, while
Vulnerability means you take twice as much. There are multiple stages of each, with the upper and lower ends allowing
you to either completely ignore a Damage Type, or be nearly erased by minimal exposure to one.

Information about Damage Types can be found in the Rules Guide and Equipment Index, while Resistances and
Vulnerability are also described in the Rules Guide.

Death
If you reach zero HP, you are considered Dying and must roll Death Saving Throws each turn. A Dying being
automatically suffers the Unconscious Condition until they stop Dying.
In order to survive, you must get back up to at least 0HP, rolling Death Saving Throws once every Turn. When
rolling Death Saving Throws, roll an unmodified d20. On a result of 11 or more, the Dying being regains one-fourth of
their max HP, rounded up. On a result of 10 or below, they lose one-fourth of their max HP, rounded up.
If a being has negative HP equal to or greater than their total HP, they are instantly killed, and are rendered Dead.
It is possible for allies to provide you with First Aid, using their Medicine Skill to heal you or otherwise prevent your
condition from worsening.

15
PLAYER CHARACTERS
Team Cohesion
BIONICLE is built on the idea that people of different walks of life coming together for the betterment of everyone
isn’t just mutually beneficial, but is a moral obligation. While this is a general rule that can be bent depending on your
Species cultural and individual values, it largely remains a vital component of playing the Doronai Nui. As such, the first
and most important rule that everyone needs to abide by is respect, both in and out of character. The point is to have fun,
and that can’t happen unless everyone’s voice is heard.

This plays into actual gameplay through two major avenues. Firstly, there are some mechanics in place that can
make disunity an actual risk, such as the Anger Condition. Should a PC or group of PCs build up enough Anger as a result
of influence from someone’s Power, arguments between PCs or their players, or by failing badly enough while trying to
create an Item, they may become so furious with one another that a combat encounter is forced to happen. At a
sufficiently high enough Level, a brawl between fully kitted-out players could result in a catastrophe.

The second avenue of team cohesion is the actual, physical makeup of the party. While it can be fun to build an
entire party’s characters all as gunslinging Toa of Fire, that can leave you vulnerable once somebody shows up with a
fast-swinging club made of ice. A versatile party with all kinds of skill sets is less likely to get stuck, and less likely to suffer
a Total Party Kill (abbreviated to TPK), which effectively spells the end of an adventure and tends to put a damper on the
mood.

For parties who want to play out tensions between PCs, a word of caution: everyone thinks they’re more mature
than they really are, and some overestimate by a Mio or more. Be very careful with how you would choose to portray
relationships between your PC and your friends’ PCs, and out of character discussion, clear and open communication, and
the establishment of boundaries beforehand should be considered standard before delving into this particular chamber
of roleplaying.

Story Progression, Path Progression, and Leveling Up

Leveling up in the Doronai Nui is a relatively informal process. There are no experience points to gain, as we
believe that assigning a point value to all potential threats encourages harming innocent Oropi and Rahi. Instead, the
process of leveling up is split up in a few avenues: Story Progression and Path Progression.

Story Progression requires that the party reach key narrative milestones, as determined by your Game Master.
These can be large, overarching goals, such as stopping the big bad Makuta from blowing up an island, or it can be
something more personal, such as showing restraint in a situation that would’ve previously angered you or your
character. Alternatively, it’s possible for a character to train in new techniques or survive enough combat experiences to
have learned something of value.

For players who want to forge their own destiny with less influence from the GM, you may choose to work towards
completing a Path during Downtime. This requires being presented with the right conditions (for example, you can’t
become a better blacksmith if you don’t have access to the tools and materials you need to do it). While it isn’t guaranteed
to increase your Level, it does give you new Skill Proficiencies or Ranks of Expertise, and it can pave the way to unique
social benefits or material wealth.

When the GM decides you should level up, your Resource Pools will increase in size, you’ll gain more Expertise
Tokens to spend on Skills and Talents (Resource Pools and ET gain are determined by your Species), and you’ll be able to
invest in another Level of an Archetype. Every 4 Levels, your Proficiency Bonus will increase by 1, and you will also gain
2 Attribute Score Points, which you can put into any Attribute Score you want.

The decision of when a PC should level up is largely up to the GM’s discretion. Before beginning a campaign, players
and the GM should set expectations for how fast they want to progress through the game, and what would be considered
a reasonable milestone for the player(s) to reach in order to level up. This criteria may be different for each PC, and the
GM does not need to grant a level up to everyone at once, though it’s recommended that everyone stay within 1 or 2
Levels of each other to ensure that combat encounters remain fair.

16
GAME MASTERS
We generally do not recommend that first-time players start right away as Game Masters. The role of the GM, when
done well, can be demanding. BIONICLE in particular does not make it an easy task, as in order to tell a good story within
it, you need to be familiar with the rules of the setting, the histories and lore of entire islands and continents, and the
thematic elements that made BIONICLE what it is today. You need to be able to weave player decisions into consequences,
plan for both fun combat encounters and cool NPCs with funny voices, and on top of all of that, you need to be fairly
familiar with the rules of the Doronai Nui, which as you may have noticed, is a tall order on its own.

So if that sounds like a lot to take in, that’s because it is! Standard players have no need to look further unless
they’re wanting to check out the Glossary, to get familiar with both lore terminology and mechanics.

The Game Master’s Role

One of the biggest mistakes a GM can make (and a mistake the writers of this guide have made themselves) is to
view the role of Game Master solely as a commander or director, with the players of a party as your followers; speaking
from experience, nothing could be further from the truth. As with all tabletop games, if you try to plan out your
adventure with a strict order of operations, and with events that absolutely, positively have to happen the way you expect,
you’re probably not going to enjoy GMing. This kind of behavior is often referred to as “railroading”, and is an unpleasant
experience for everyone involved. If you commit to railroading, you are going to end up telling your players “you can’t do
that, don’t do that” far too often, and your players will feel like they don’t have any input in what’s going on.

So first and foremost, throw out the idea that you’re somehow more in control of the narrative than your players,
and start viewing them as peers. The goal of a good campaign isn’t to pit yourself against your friends and see how many
hits it takes to get them all killed (unless they’ve expressed an interest in that); the goal is to tell a story together, and have
fun doing it. Develop an outline for how you want things to go and what NPCs you think would be interesting for them to
play off of, but be ready to go off the beaten path at a moment’s notice. Never try to plan for all outcomes, because all it’s
going to take is a player who’s slightly more well-read than you on a particular mechanic, and they’re going to pull an idea
you’ve never even considered.

When to Make Rolls

Depending on your style of play, as well as how involved your players have chosen to be, they are almost certainly
going to need to frequently make rolls. In Combat, these are primarily Attack and Damage Rolls, and Saving Throws,
while Downtime might see them make more use of Skill Checks. To prevent players from abusing particularly high Skill
Bonuses or similar abilities, we recommend that GMs never let their players decide when it would be appropriate to make
a Skill Check or Saving Throw. Players that are a bit too eager to chomp at the bit may be difficult to catch Surprised by
threats they should’ve been unaware of, or the party’s thief might just find a way to pick the lock on every door they come
across. Players may ask if a roll is needed for a given event to happen, which you may answer at your discretion (in the
event you needed their thief to pick that specific door). We also do not recommend telling the player(s) what the DC of a
given Skill Check or Saving Throw is, and in the event of the roll being a Contested Roll (their results are pitted against
the results of an opponent), you should avoid letting them see the results. This may seem to run directly against what we
said about the give-and-take between players and GMs, but there is good reason for this. See below.

Fudging the Numbers

Changing the results of any dice roll you make in secret, or Fudging the Numbers, is an absolutely valuable tool in
the Game Master’s toolbox, and don’t let anyone tell you any different. Adhering entirely to the will of the dice gods can
result in some fantastic moments, but it can also derail a campaign or even kill important characters at extremely
inopportune moments. Sometimes a player might deal a bit more damage than you were anticipating, or maybe you beat
them across the brow unexpectedly. The cure to all of this is twofold: never let your players know the exact stakes, and
never show them your dice rolls.

Keeping your NPC statblock information a secret and refusing to reveal information about your party’s opponents
until their characters discover themselves keeps an air of mystery for them to unveil. It also helps prevent metagamers -
players who have read all of the manuals front and back so that they know how to best approach any situation you throw
at them. This behavior can get tiring very quickly. If a PC has never encountered a Nui-Jaga before, but the player
controlling them already knows how to counter their sting and their ability to dig underground, it can make what
would’ve been an exciting combat encounter all but trivial.

Massaging the rolls just a little bit here and there to change fate in subtle ways can lead to a more organic narrative
pace, and encourages players to fail upwards. We recommend that new GMs make use of number-fudging if they’re not
sure they remember an NPC statblock off the top of their heads, or maybe wrote it down a while ago and then forgot the
DC for a certain Save.

Party Progression and Loot

Striking a balance of consistent or satisfying opportunities for leveling up can be tricky. If you don’t offer them
often enough, players may begin to lose interest. If you offer them too often, PCs may become powerful too quickly for
you to keep up, and you’ll get outpaced by the team.

17
 The other element of this - the element that sometimes gets overshadowed in our game - is making sure that players
are rewarded for their bravery, oftentimes with physical loot that’s better than whatever they started off with. Loot can
come from a number of sources and can take many forms. This could be a shiny gem found at the bottom of an aquifer, a
particularly nasty broadsword pilfered from a fallen foe, or a unique Kanohi mask hidden in the depths of a
long-forgotten temple.

While some forms of Equipment and Items can be found on defeated enemies, if your players want something
more exotic than whatever’s in the Off-The-Rack section of the Equipment Index, building out a small armory of gear with
them in mind using the Equipment or Crafting manuals should be one of the first “advanced” Game Master moves that
you invest time into. A jobber enemy with a unique pair of punch-’o-matic gloves that would just fit perfectly on Toa
Praso, the punchiest Po-Toa you ever did see, will go a long way into making him and his player feel special. This can
become even more fun when you realize that you as the GM have very few obligations to adhere to the economies of Slots
that most of the customization systems in the DN use, so you can make it even super extra cooler if you need to roll out an
end-of-arc upgrade.

Setting Up the Setting

As the person who has to keep track of all of the NPCs and their intentions, you will likely find it prudent to actually
figure out where in the world your players’ adventures are meant to begin. The Matoran Universe is vast and complex,
and as such, you will need to learn about the world’s history and geography. For this, we recommend visiting
BIONICLEsector01 (www.biosector01.com) for information on canon islands and their history, as well as referring to our
own Map Companion document on our website, www.redstargames.org.

Supplements
Now that we’ve covered the basics, we can (briefly) discuss some of the more advanced documents that are mostly
intended for your use - namely the Rahi and NPC Indexes, which provides information on all kinds of beings your party
may encounter during their adventures (friend or foe); and the Environmental Guide, which allows you to build the
natural world as your party navigates it.

The statblocks found in the NPC and Rahi Indexes contain similar information to that of the players, albeit in a
much more condensed and easily digestible format, giving you all the information you need to know at a glance. The most
important thing for you to watch out for is the Challenge Rating associated with each being. Challenge Rating is a
numerical approximation of how difficult it is for your party to take their enemy down safely, and is balanced around the
idea that the average party is composed of 4 players, each belonging to Species Category B. Generally, if your party
matches that description, they should be able to take on any threat that has the same Challenge Rating as their average
Level, and will start to struggle around 1 or 2 Challenge Ratings above their Level. As such, you may need to use
something with a lower CR if they’re a Category A party, or increase the CR if there are more than 4 party members.
Hint: This is also part of why number-fudging is a good idea.

The Environmental Guide contains everything you need to deliver an Environmental storytelling experience,
complete with information related to temperature, light, and altitude, regional Storms, natural disasters, and the specific
nuances of biomes such as rainforests, deserts, and grasslands. This document also tells GMs which Rahi and Materials
can be generally found in a given Environment, and specifies which Elemental Tribes will benefit from passing through
an area. This is a subsystem we’re especially proud of, and intend to expand on in the future. We also plan on adding a
subsystem related to Buildings at a later date so that players and GM’s can more readily explore urban Environments and
even build their own from the ground up.

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 V. GLOSSARY
● Advantage - When a dice roll has Advantage, make the roll twice, and take the higher result.

● ADV - Abbreviation of Advantage. Often written as ADVX, where X is the stacks of Advantage the roll has (i.e. ADV 2
means roll 3 dice and take the highest result).

● Alignment - A set of six descriptors (Temperament, Aspirations, Ideals, Limits, Flaws, and Relationships) that
outline a character’s personality, motivations, etc. Alignment does not have any mechanical effect, and is meant
only to assist in role-playing.

● Archetype - A specific part of a Supertype; invested into using Levels.

● Armor Class - The numerical representation of the protection afforded by a being’s armor.

● AC - Abbreviation of Armor Class.

● Attribute Check - A roll that pertains to a specific Attribute Score. The roll made for an Attribute Check is usually
(1d20 plus your Modifier in the related Attribute).

● Attribute Scores - A set of six statistics (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) that
represent a character’s basic capabilities. Each of the six has a Modifier that is often added to dice rolls that use that
Attribute Score; Modifiers are usually represented by the shortened three-letter abbreviation for each Attribute
Score so as to delineate when to use them. Attribute Scores are generated and assigned at character creation, and
generally cannot be adjusted freely afterward (although they may be changed over the course of the game by
various factors). If an Attribute Score changes during gameplay, any additional stats or resource pools associated
with that Score will change as well.

● Attribute Score Increase - Certain level milestones that allow you to increase your Attribute Score for either one
Attribute of your choice by +2, or two Attributes of your choice by +1. ASIs are granted every four Levels, starting at
Level 4.

● ASI - Abbreviation of Attribute Score Increase.

● BIONICLE - The franchise the Doronai Nui was intended for. Red Star Games is not affiliated with The Lego Group,
which retains all rights to their IP.

● Body Units - The sections of a character’s body that can hold Armor.

● Campaign - An ongoing story that occurs over the course of multiple sessions.

● Character sheet - A sheet that allows you to track your character’s stats, inventory, and more; may be physical or
digital. A fillable character sheet .PDF is included with the Doronai Nui game files.

● Charisma - A character’s ability to persuade or charm those around them.

● CHA - Abbreviation of Charisma; usually refers to the Modifier.

● Component - An addition that modifies how an Item functions (see the Equipment Index). Also may refer to an
addition that defines how a Power works (see the Powers Index).

● Condition - A (usually) negative effect applied to a target by powers, abilities, or circumstance.

● Constitution - A character’s overall physical health and endurance.

● CON - Abbreviation of Constitution; usually refers to the Modifier.

● Death Saving Throws - A being who has the Dying Condition must make Death Saving Throws each turn. When
rolling Death Saving Throws, roll an unmodified d20. On a result of 11 or more, the Dying being regains one-fourth
of their max HP, rounded up. On a result of 10 or below, they lose one-fourth of their max HP, rounded up.

● Dexterity - A character’s agility, reaction time, and effectiveness in long-range combat.

● DEX - Abbreviation of Dexterity; usually refers to the Modifier.

● Disadvantage - When a dice roll has Disadvantage, make the roll twice, and take the lower result.

19
 ● DADV - Abbreviation of Disadvantage. Often written as DADVX, where X is the stacks of Disadvantage the roll has.
(i.e. DADV2 means roll 3 dice and take the lowest result.)

● Downtime - An in-game period of low activity that allows the party to pause and take a Rest or pursue other
actions. A selection of Downtime Activities is furnished in the Rules Guide.

● Dying - A Condition that occurs if a being reaches zero HP. Unless healed to or above 0 HP, the Dying being must
make Death Saving Throws each turn. If a being has negative HP equal to or greater than their total HP, they are
instantly killed, rendered Dead.

● Elemental Energy - Resource used by Elementally-aligned beings to use their powers. Regenerates during Rest
using a being’s EE Recovery Dice.

● EE - Abbreviation of Elemental Energy.

● Element - Certain species in the BIONICLE universe are aligned to some degree with one of the Elements, aspects of
the natural world that can be controlled or manipulated by those who have the power to do so. There are sixteen
Elements in the “prime” universe setting (as well as a few non-canon additions that may be found in alternate
universe settings); for more information, see the Elemental Index.

● Expertise - Term used to describe gaining Proficiency with a Skill more than once (e.g. through multiple sources
that grant the same Proficiency). For each level of Expertise you gain with a Skill, add a +2 modifier on top of your
normal Proficiency.

● Expertise Tokens - Tokens that are granted upon a level-up to invest into Skills. Different Species gain Expertise
Tokens at different rates.

● ET - Abbreviation of Expertise Tokens.

● EX - Abbreviation of Expertise.

● Flat-Footed AC - An Armor Class value used in response to surprise attacks or when a being otherwise is unable to
respond to an assault as dexterously as normal.

● FFAC - Abbreviation of Flat-Footed AC.

● Fortitude - A character’s ability to resist damage effects inflicted by attacks or environmental sources. Uses the
CON Modifier.

● FORT - Abbreviation of Fortitude.

● Game Master - The person who runs a game session or campaign.

● GM - Abbreviation of Game Master, the person who runs a game session or campaign.

● Hit Points - A game abstraction that represents how much damage a being can take before they are knocked
unconscious or killed. Regenerates during Rest using a being’s HP Recovery Dice.

● HP - Abbreviation of Hit Points.

● Intelligence - A character’s understanding of complex problems and designs (book-smarts).

● INT - Abbreviation of Intelligence; usually refers to the Modifier.

● Inventory Spaces - A measurement of the amount of space it takes to store an Item. Each Species has a different
number of Inventory Spaces by default.

● IS - Abbreviation of Inventory Spaces.

● Item - Any object that a being can interact with. Generally, Items are inanimate, though they can be given
mechanical or electrical minds of their own. Examples of an Item include Weapons, Armor, and Vehicles.

● Item Hit Points - A numeric value related to the ability of an Item to function normally even while
partially-damaged. Unless otherwise specified, all Items have IHP determined based on their Size Category,
Material, and Quality Tier.

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 ● IHP - Abbreviation of Item Hit Points.

● Kanohi - A special mask worn by many Species, with the ability to bestow its user with a wide variety of Powers.
There are dozens of known Powers and designs.
● Kanohi Expenditure Limit - When activating a Kanohi, you may not spend more Kanohi Charges in a single
activation than your Proficiency Bonus.
● Koro - The Matoran word for village, commonly used to describe small or particularly remote settlements.

● Level - A representation of a character’s experience; Levels are invested into Archetypes.

● Level Up - An increase in a character’s Level. Levels are granted at milestones determined by the Game Master.

● Mata Nui - Also known as the Great Spirit, Mata Nui is a deity figure, revered by peoples all across the Matoran
Universe, particularly by the Matoran themselves.

● Metru - The Matoran word for city or district, commonly used to describe heavily populated and industrialized
areas.

● Metru Nui - The Great City of Legends, located at the northernmost point of the known universe, and an incredibly
important site of historical and technological developments.

● Modifier - A number derived from an Attribute Score; often added to dice rolls that use that Attribute Score. A
higher Score will impart a positive Modifier, whereas a lower score will result in a negative Modifier. Modifiers are
usually represented by the shortened three-letter abbreviation for each Attribute Score so as to delineate when to
use them.

● Mod - Abbreviation of Modifier.

● Module - Often refers to a portion of a Campaign, written by game developers for groups to experience the game
with a set structure. Red Star Games has not yet produced any Campaign Modules, but would like to in the future.

● Non-player character - A character who is not played directly by a player; usually (but not always) a character
played by the Game Master. Non-player characters may or may not have character sheets, at the GM’s discretion.

● NPC - Abbreviation of “non-player character”.

● Off-the-Rack - A pre-built Item.

● One-shot - A shorter story that usually only requires a single session to complete.

● Oropi - A catch-all term for the sapient species that inhabit the world of BIONICLE.

● Paths - Game abstractions that help describe a character’s background and profession from before they began their
adventure. Paths can be taken at character creation using Path Points or gained during gameplay by meeting a
given Path’s requirements.

● Path Points - Given at character creation to invest into Paths. Path Points that are left unused expire after character
creation, so it is strongly recommended that you invest all Path Points that you are given!

● Plates - One of two Armor types; improves Flat-Footed AC.

● Pistons - One of two Armor types; improves Touch AC.

● Player - A person who is playing in a game session or campaign.

● Player Character - A character who is played by a player. Every player character has a character sheet.

● PC - Abbreviation of “Player Character”.

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 ● Power Expenditure Limit - The amount of Universal Energy that can be spent at once, usually equal to (3 times
your Use Powers Skill).

● PEL - Abbreviation of Power Expenditure Limit.

● Proficiency - Term used to describe mastery of a given Skill. When you are Proficient in a Skill, you add your
Proficiency Bonus to Skill Checks that use that Skill.

● Proficiency Bonus - A value determined by your level that is added to rolls using tools and skills in which your
character is Proficient.

● PROF - Abbreviation of Proficiency.

● Quality Tier - A measure of how powerful an Item is. The higher a Quality Tier is, Item Slots, IHP, and Damage it
has. There are also Quality Tiers that are regionally- or historically-specific, and can paint a picture of the Item’s
history.

● Rahi - The equivalent of an animal in the world of BIONICLE. Rahi of all shapes and sizes can be found in nearly
every Environment, on nearly every island.

● Rank - A stage of a Path.

● Red Star Games - The group that produces the Doronai Nui system.

● RSG - Abbreviation of Red Star Games. (Editor’s Note: Hey! That’s us!)

● Reflex - A character’s ability to react to and evade incoming attacks. Uses the DEX Modifier.

● REFL - Abbreviation of Reflex.

● Rest - An in-game break for your characters to relax and recover during or between sessions. Certain powers and
other resources only refresh during a Rest. The in-game length of a Rest is determined by the GM, but the
“standard” length is usually 6 hours.

● Rest Recovery Dice - The type and quantity of dice you roll during a Rest to determine how much HP, EE, UE, and
other resources you recover.

● Round - A measure of the passage of time during combat. Each Round takes place across about 6 in-game seconds,
with a new Round beginning once all players and NPC’s Turns have ended.

● Saves - Slang that usually refers to Saving Throws.

● Saving Throws - Three types of rolls (Reflex, Fortitude, and Will) that are made in response to various threats. A
Saving Throw is generally 1d20 plus the relevant Modifier.

● Session - A term commonly used to describe a single “installment” of a larger, ongoing campaign.

● Skills - General concepts that describe a whole host of actions and knowledge, which are advanced by investing
Expertise Tokens into them.

● Skill Check - A roll made when encountering a situation that requires the use of a specific Skill. The difficulty of the
Check will depend upon the complexity of the task you’re attempting to complete, your investment in that Skill, and
any potential external factors that might cause complications.

● Slot - A space into which a Component can fit. Many types of Slots exist, such as for Equipment, Admixtures, or
Powers.

● Species Category - A denotation of how powerful or dangerous a Species is, and the kinds of threats a Game Master
should be prepared to pit against their party. Species Categories include A (smaller or less-powerful Species), B
(strong Species who often have access to certain abilities), and C (Species that have particularly potent capabilities).

● Starting Wealth - The amount of currency you receive at character creation.

● Stat - Slang that usually refers to Attribute Scores.

● Stat Array - One of the methods of generating a character’s Attribute Scores at character creation. The Stat Array is
a list of six values - 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8 - each of which you assign to an Attribute Score of your choice.

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 ● Strength - A character’s physical capability.

● STR - Abbreviation of Strength; usually refers to the Modifier.

● Supertype - Supertypes describe the basic traits of a profession, and contain a number of Archetypes.

● Suva - The Matoran word for shrine; Toa can store masks, tools, or other objects at a Suva, and if they have attuned
themselves to it, can summon stored Kanohi at will.

● Talent - Features that you can spend Expertise Tokens on to gain bonuses relevant to common qualities such as
Movement Speed, Initiative Bonuses, or Combat Maneuvers.

● The Three Virtues - Unity, Duty, and Destiny, the three fundamental tenets of the Matoran’s way of life and
religion.

● Total Party Kill - Occurs when all Player Characters in a team are Dead. This outcome is best avoided unless your
game is specifically designed to kill characters (which should be discussed with your players before the game
begins).

● TPK - Abbreviation of Total Party Kill.

● Touch AC - An Armor Class value used in response to attacks that bypass or ignore the armor of a being.

● TAC - Abbreviation of Touch AC.

● TTRPG - Abbreviation of “table-top role-playing game”.

● Turn - The time each Player Character and NPC spends to take Actions during a Round.

● Universal Energy - A Resource spent to activate most Powers. Regenerates every Rest using UE Recovery Dice.

● UE - Abbreviation of Universal Energy.

● Wahi - The Matoran word for region, commonly used to describe large areas of a similar environment.

● Weight - Determines the AC value of a piece of Armor.

● Widget - A special gear that is used as a form of currency by most Species across the Matoran Universe, due to their
value in all manner of machinery. They come in several varieties of incremental value.

● Will - A character’s ability to resist mental attacks such as induced confusion or mind control. Uses the WIS
Modifier.

● WILL - Abbreviation of Will.

● Wisdom - A character’s perception and insight (street-smarts).

● WIS - Abbreviation of Wisdom; usually refers to the Modifier.

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