ENG - KotRA - Corebook

Knights of the Round: Academy is a heavily narrative role-playing
game inspired by Shonen anime, ‘90s super and real robot

anime, Japanese school comedies and JRPGs.
Your Student, that is to say, player character, is defined by their

Traits - words or short sentences that describe something they
can do (Hide, Shoot), what they have studied (Ancient History,
Sidhe Magic) or something they simply have talent for (Finding
the Way, Persuading).
You can use Traits to add dice to a Test if you can find a way to
describe how a Trait will help you in the Scene.
You can also make the Student exceed their own Limit by
spending points to influence what will happen.
Every Student you play as, will have to juggle ruthless rivals,
gruelling training, teenage love affairs, and monsters from the
past of a planet split by war.
To play you will need one Student sheet each, this Corebook and
some 12-sided (d12), 8-sided (d8), 6-sided (d6), and 4-sided (d4)
dice.
ISBN: 978-88-32117-25-7
www.msedizioni.it fumblegdr.it
FB/IG: @MSEDIZIONI bit.ly/FumbleDiscord
KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND: ACADEMY
A GAME BY CLAUDIO SERENA
Game Design & Editing
Claudio Serena
Art Direction and layout

Claudio Serena e Claudio Pustorino
Sensitivity Reading
Marta Palvarini
Lineages, Job and Knight illustrations

Ave Tetsuya Studios
Core Playtesters
Mariella Gallo, Andrea Cioni, Sara Berton e Marco Barison
Playtest Proofreaders
Andrea Romani, Angelo Diego Crabolu, Davide Cester, Emanuele Cracolici, Enrico Fregnan,
Fabio Maria Piacentini, Francesco Poggio, Giovanni Micolucci, Maria Ludovica Bozzo, Marta
Palvarini, Mattia Boni, Michele Massei, Pierluigi Lezzi, Pietro Sgherzi, Riccardo “BabaRick”
Sassi, Riccardo Siligato, Roberto Codato, Stefano / InsomniaLibro, Stefano Sabato Caiazza,
Tommaso Maggioli e Tebra Hansing
Knights of the Round: Academy is published by

Fumble srls, Via Sarzana 40, 20159, Milano, MI, Italy
MS Edizioni / Magic Store srl, viale Gramsci 57, 47122, Forlì, FC, Italy
This manual is issued under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 IT.

Feel free to share it with your fellow players and get ideas from it.
If you have any questions after reading this manual, please write to us at
gamemaster@fumblegdr.it or visit the appropriate channel on our Discord server
http://bit.ly/FumbleDiscord
You can find free game materials on our website https://fumblegdr.it
First Edition: May 2022
Stampato da: XXX

A
2
Summary
Introduction 5
Creating a Student 11
Rules 129
The role of Affinity 169
Growing up 179
The Knights 191
The world of Brit’an 197
Location Sheet 215
The Round Academy 223
Life in the Academy 241
The Academy’s motto 246
The war for Brit’an 249
Threats 255
Threats and Phases 290
Session Zero 297
The First Scene 309
The Opening 313

Storytelling tips 319
Acknowledgements 347
A
3
Introduction
Knights of the Round: Academy is a roleplaying game inspired by
Shonen anime, ’90s super and real robot anime, and by JRPGs.
KotR:A is a storytelling game where:
B Pilots are one with their mechas

B There is no technical detail in terms of weapons or
technology
B There
detail
are no tables for range, damage or any other tactical
The game takes place as a conversation between the storyteller

and the players, i.e. the persons playing a Student.
Students are the characters who live, love and fight within the
Academy.
The conversation consists of a back and forth between the

storyteller and players, following the flow of the story, to create
a shared story, in which everyone participates according to their
role and what the story requires.
To play, you will need one Student sheet each, called Curriculum
(which you can find on our website), and some 12-sided (d12),
8-sided (d8), 6-sided (d6) and 4-sided (d4) dice.
A 5
Themes
KotR:A is strongly inspired by ‘90s / ‘00s anime, particularly three main
genres:
B Real robot anime which talk about war, how terrible and unjust it is,
and the fact that sometimes it’s inevitable to have to fight to defend
what you cherish
B Shonen anime where characters find their place in the world not
through violence, but through respect and friendship, and where a
rival isn’t necessarily someone you have to beat, but rather someone
forcing you to become your best self
B School drama anime where teenage love, friendly rivalries and the
spirit of youth are at the core of the story, without forgetting a touch
of magic or a little action
Use the list below as inspiration for other stories.
REAL ROBOTS AND THE LIKE: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Mobile Suit Gundam 00,
The Vision of Escaflowne, Brain Powerd, Nobunaga the Fool, Code Geass
SHONEN, SUPER ROBOTS AND THE LIKE: Tenjho Tenge, Naruto, Black Clover, Magic
Knight Rayearth, Dragon Ball
SCHOOL DRAMAS AND THE LIKE: His and Her Circumstances, Ranma ½, Full Metal
Panic!, Love Hina, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, Toradora!
A 6
The world
KotR:A is also strongly inspired by JRPGs, i.e. Japanese role-playing games:
B Nations are always on the verge of war and although they are in a
truce, turmoil is just beneath the surface, ready to burst
B There’s always some kind of Empire trying to find new (or old)
technology that will give them the edge; be it alchemy, tech from the
old Avalon or something even older
B The ancient world is full of mystery, dangers and power which

hide the answers to the questions characters will face during their
adventures
B There’s always a plot twist that will flip the table: the good guys
aren’t that good, the bad guys are actually trying to save the world or
the main characters’ actions set the Apocalypse in motion
FINAL FANTASY: Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII,
Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy Tactics
OTHER RECOMMENDED JRPGS: 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Breath of Fire IV, Children of
Mana, Dragon Quest (series), Ni no Kuni (series), Radiant Historia, Romancing SaGa,
Super Robot Wars, Tales of Zestiria, Trails of cold steel (series), Xenogears, Xenoblade
Chronicles
A 7
The pillars
B The stars of the show are the young Students in the Academy, not
the adults around them: even if they ask for help from the teachers
and paladins who live in the Academy, they will always be those to
solve the problems they encounter, perhaps under the guidance of
those more experienced than them
B Becoming an adult is not easy: the Academy’s Students will explore

difficult topics, face their own nemeses and fears and come out more
mature on the other side
B Destiny is not set in stone: no prophecy can deny the doggedness

of a young Student, with strong feelings and the support of their
classmates, and even those who seem destined to be an adversary
could become an ally
B Feelings are stronger than reality: our memories are forged by our
feelings and bonds, which will grow stronger during our journey
through life, and allow us to accomplish impossible tasks
While playing KotR:A you will sometimes find yourself wondering how to
move the story forward, or how to grow your Student.
In those moments, re-read these pillars and ask yourself how they can
be applied to what you have played so far: perhaps it is time to prove the
teachers wrong, that the Students are not just a bunch of troublemakers
and can indeed save the Academy from a Threat that the adults cannot
see, or perhaps it’s just time to shed light on a past that is weighing on your
conscience.
A 8
Creating a Student
In KotR:A, the characters you will play are called Students: after
all, they are young students at the Round Academy. Although it
is a military academy, Cadet is only one of the Jobs you will be
taking on (we didn’t want to create confusion).
Creating a Student is easy, but there are several terms that you
should understand well before you start. We have set up an
orientation procedure to follow step by step to create your first
Student.
Before arriving at Student orientation, you will find the main

definitions of the game and an explanation of what to expect in
the Student sheets, which we will call Curriculum.
If this is the first time you are creating a Student, follow the
procedure step by step, if you know KotR:A well, get crazy and
create all the Students you want, following your instincts!
A 11
Lexicon
Affinity
The most important relationships you’ll build during your time at the
Academy
Core
The alchemical element you and your Knight are bound to
Curriculum
Your character sheet
Flaw
Your dark side, that you can manifest during a Scene
Frame
The kind of Knight you will be piloting
Job
Your role and, literally, your job. Each Job grants access to different
Techniques
Knights
Giant robots built to fight
Legacy
Each Lineage will give you access to special abilities you can choose from
at creation
Limit
Points that represent your affinity with Dragon Particles, which you can
accumulate to improve your Tests or use your Techniques
A 12
Memories
Meaningful moments in your past. They affect your Overdrive and
Advanced Techniques. They also let you re-roll your dice
Name
The name you have decided to go by (it could be a nickname or a
codename)
Nemesis
Something or someone that scarred you and that will make your blood boil
Overdrive
When you surpass your Limit you will be able to achieve incredible results,
but you will put yourself in danger
Lineage
The species or culture you feel you belong to
Soul
A special Trait defining who you really are
Techniques
Unique abilities your Job will give you that will
allow you to spend your Limit Points to achieve
other effects
Traits
The words that describe you, your knowledge,
skills and general abilities
A 13
Student Orientation
Follow this simple wizard to create your Student:
01. Write your Name
02. Choose your Lineage
03. Write your Core
04. Write your Soul
05. Write your first Traits
06. Write your Flaw
07. Write your Nemesis
08. Choose your first Job
09. Mark Limit and Overdrive
10. Write the name of your Knight
11. Write the Frame of your Knight
12. Write your Kin Spirit
I’m GALLAD, an AVALONIAN of ANCIENT BLOOD. My Core is FIRE. My Soul is that of an

ACE PILOT. I’m a CADET, and I’m CONFIDENT and RELENTLESS, I like TEAMWORK and I’m
seeking THE TRUTH.
My Flaw is that I FEEL I DON’T BELONG. MyNemesis is AGGRO VAIN.
My Knight is CORBENIK, its Frame is a LANCER.
My Kin Spirit is NIMUE.
A 14
1. Write your Name
The Name should be the first Trait to be written in your Curriculum for
many reasons.
You will need to use your Student’s Name to:
B Attend a class roll call
B Understand your Student’s family
B Use your reputation, or your family’s, as a Trait during a Test
B Re-roll dice once per Session (as a normal Memory)
Your Name is your first Memory, and it represents you in a very special
way: not only does it allow the other players to address your Student, it
also tells other Students something about your past. For this reason, the
Name should be chosen as the first Trait.
Gallad
Name
A 16
The importance of a name
In KotR:A, you put yourself in the shoes of an alternative version of the
Knights of the Round Table, and the easiest way to convey this mood is to
use the right names.
KotR:A is inspired by anime and JRPGs of the late ’90s/early 2000s, and
this is also an important factor in deciding who your Student will be:
it’s one thing to play King Arthur, another to play Arthur Pendragon the
Cadet and yet another to play Arthia Ryu Atama (where Ryu Atama can
be translated as “Dragon Head”, i.e. Pendragon, the name of King Arthur’s
house in the Arthurian cycle).
A Knight should have a name, usually in English, that recalls an aspect of

the character to which they are related, the legend they wish to recall or
the name of another original member of the Round Table.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Knight’s name should also
represent the Core element. Arthia’s Knight could then be Cal Burn,
which recalls Excalibur and fire; or it could be Paindragon, which recalls
Pendragon and the pain of loss – if the Arthia in your campaign is not a
brave paladin destined to rule, but rather a black knight who has sworn
revenge against the tyrant who killed their father, Uther.
Obviously, this also applies to the Knight’s weapons, the places you visit,
the skyships... Everything important in a KotR:A campaign should be a
mispronunciation of the Arthurian cycle.
On the next page we give you some suggestions on names for characters,
knights, weapons etc...
A 17
People Places
B Arthas / Arthia (Arthur) B Kamel’oth (Camelot)
B Lotte / Lance (Lancelot) B Lionheart (Caerleon)
B Percy (Parsifal) B Camm Rann (Camlann)
B Gallad (Galahad) B Mount Bad’on (Badon)
B Aggro Vain (Agravain) B Tech Dome (Tech Duinn)
B Uriel (Urien) B Tintajet (Tintagel)
B Gwen (Gawain) B Stone’s Edge (Stonehenge)
B Kaine (Kay) B Wasteland
B Izzy (Isolde) B Narrow Borderland
B Triss Tam (Tristan)
B Belveder (Bedivere)
B Palomides (Palamedes)
B Mor Dread (Mordred)
B Morrigan (Morgane)
B Vortex (Vortigern)
B Mel (Meliodas)
B Hunter (Uther)
B Lamarr (Lamorak)
B dr. Merlin (Merlin)
B Exlab (Esclabor)
B Nimble (Nimue)
B Hextor (Hector)
A
18
Knights and Skyships Knight Abilities
B Cal Burn B Infinite Joust
B L4-NCE B Once and Future Crown
B King Fisher B Doomlance
B Lady of the Lake B Drinking Horn
B Dark Knight B Joyous Guard
B Storm Bearer B Sunderer
B Albion B Crossing Sword
B Ship of Solomon B Round of Ammos
B Pain Dragon B Holy Grail
Gender bending: let’s do it!

In anime and JRPG inspired by known literary works, it’s not strange to
find characters with a swapped gender from the original, and that’s totally
fine!
Indeed, it might be much more interesting to see Arthia saved by Lance or

Gwen for once, reversing not only the gender, but also the roles within the
story.
If the idea is tantalising, you know that it’s perfectly on point.
A 19
2 - Choose your Lineage
Lineage indicates the people who raised you, who welcomed you or of
whom you still feel to be part of.
Some Lineages are simply different human cultures, while others are the
species that inhabit Brit’an.
Students can choose one of these Lineages:
B Andruid: Bio-mechanical beings created in a lab but now independent
B Avalon: Long-lived heirs of the first humans to arrive on Brit’an
B Bret’on: Humans from the rich Kingdom of Kamel’oth
B Colonists: Humans still living in the Space Colonies
B Dragonblood: Humans mutated by Dragon Particle radiation
B Sax’on: Humans from the Great Empire of Sax’onia
B Sidhe: Shape-shifting humanoid wanderers
Each Lineage gives access to four different Legacies: physical, mental or

cultural abilities that you can access.
Students can choose one of these Legacies.
A 20
Gallad
Name
Avalon
Lineage
LEGACY
E Ancient Blood
Your blood is bound to the Dragon’s Breath more than a
Dragonblood’s: you don’t leave the Scene when you exhaust your
Overdrive Capacity, but you are in Mortal Danger.
My blood is darker than twilight, older than time itself. As the eons pass,
it rests waiting for the moment when I will need its power to surpass my
limits.
A 21
LINEAGE
Andruid
Bio-mechanical beings developed by Dr Merlin, who hoped to replace the
Knights, Andruids are linked to the Dragon’s Breath at a very deep level, so
much so that they are influenced both in appearance and in character by
the type of radiation they consume.
King Pendragon recognized their independence after the Battle of

Lyonesse 30 years ago, and asked them to stay and live in Kamel’oth to
help the Round develop a better and more sustainable Knight technology.
Nobody really knows what the potential of an Andruid really is, even
though their ability to manipulate the energies of the Breath with their
bare hands makes them very important in the economic and scientific
development of Kamel’oth. Dr Merlin now has serious doubts about them.
Themes to Explore Recommended Traits
B Posthumanism B Connector
B What’s a soul? B Customised hardware
B Artificial Intelligence B Software update
Option: Half-Blood
Even if the blood of these people flows in you, one of your parents (or who
raised you) belonged to another people: you can choose a Legacy from
another Lineage. Don’t explain how or why you have that Legacy - it will
definitely be the focus of a Flashback!
A 22
LEGACY
E Bio-Logical
When you try to understand someone’s mood, you can rely on your
bio-logical sensors and read the most basic physiological data:
temperature, heartbeat, pupil dilation... If you do so, you can roll
1d8, even if you do not have enough Traits to overcome the Test’s
Difficulty.
My sensors indicate a clear increase in your heartbeat and a reddening

of your cheekbones every time I try to approach you. I suggest an urgent
medical examination, unless you have something you want to confess to
me.
LEGACY
E Dual Core
Choose a second element that you have affinity for, and mark it in
the Lineage space of the Curriculum. You can use that element as
if it were your base Core, and you can also create creative combos
with the two Cores. When something hurts your Core, you have to
consider the Lineage as if it were a Core, but you choose which Core
is Wounded. If something hurts your Lineage, you will no longer have
access to the secondary Core.
Dr Merlin has given me the ability to manipulate both Time and Space.
You have no chance of winning.
A 24
LEGACY
E Bio-mechanical interface
You can literally talk to machines as if they were living creatures.
Machines will understand you, but they may be uncooperative if they
are designed as so.
Requiring direct access to your database...

Maybe we don’t know each other well enough for you to give me access?
I promise to back it up before I get my hands on it, now let me read what
the teachers think of Mor Dread...
LEGACY
E Memories in the GR.A.I.L.

Reserve a Trait on your Curriculum as a Backup Unit. During each
Session, you can replace it with your preferred Trait, as you download
the necessary knowledge from the GR.A.I.L.’s cloud. You can’t replace
it more than once per Session.
I know Knight-fu.
A 25
LINEAGE
Avalon
The people of Avalon are one of the oldest in Brit’an, they were here
before humans’ arrival, and will probably be here when the last human
king will have occupied their throne. Avalonians can be easily recognised
with their long, pointed ears and ivory skin, but rarely go beyond their
island boundaries.
Their matriarchal society rewards merit more than descent, but many
of their legends and prophecies speak of the importance of blood ties,
making the Avalonians a people marked by a deep dualism, continually
divided between future and tradition, between family and duty to the
community.
The first Knights were built by them to defend Avalon, and Dr Merlin, an
exiled Avalonian, developed his Knights from them.
B Lost technology B Traditionalist
B Duty and loyalty B Thirst for knowledge
B Isolationism and racism B Prophet
Option: Half-Blood
A 26
LEGACY
E Atavic link
Your connection to Avalon is so strong that just by focusing you can
gain access to the collective memories of Avalonians who came
before you. In this trance state, your ancestors lead your actions
and you can access powers that would otherwise be precluded. You
can use a Basic Technique of a Job you don’t own as if it were yours,
spending 2 Limit Points (plus any Points to spend on the Technique
you want to copy).
Legends say that when an Avalonian dies, their spirit does not abandon
Brit’an, but remains in the Dragon’s Breath, which binds us all.
LEGACY
E Honour of merit
Whenever another Student achieves a Complete Success, your words
of encouragement can make them recover 1d6 Limit Points, as if they
had achieved a Triumph. You must be present to really encourage
them. You can’t use this Legacy more than once per Scene per
Student, but you can use it several times on different Students.
A masterful blow! Coach Vortex will be as proud of you as I am! Keep it up!
A 28
LEGACY
E Ancient Blood
Your blood is bound to the Dragon’s Breath more than a
Dragonblood’s: you don’t leave the Scene when you exhaust your
Overdrive Capacity, but you are in Mortal Danger.
My blood is darker than twilight, older than time itself. As the aeons pass,
it rests waiting for the moment when I will need its power to surpass my
limits.
LEGACY
E Tourist
You left Avalon a long time ago – it doesn’t matter why –, and since
then you’ve travelled to different places, amassing extremely varied
knowledge. When you try to get to know the customs of a people or
regional features of a place, you get a bonus of +1.
I know this place. I spent a lot of time here with my family when we left
Avalon. It seems like an inhospitable place, but local people are always
willing to talk to someone who offers them freshly baked pies.
A 29
LEGACY
Bret’on
The Bret’ons consider themselves to be the original inhabitants of Brit’an,
and for this reason believe they are the only ones who are truly able to
manoeuvre Knights properly.
Nothing really distinguishes them from Sax’on except their culture: while
Sax’ons represent the “savage” part of humanity, Bret’ons have built
castles, libraries and the Round, the great research centre where Knights
are developed and where Dragon’s Breath is studied, Its radiation allows
not only the Knights to move, but the towns of Kamel’oth to have street
lights, elevators and communications.
Kamel’oth has overwhelming technological superiority, but the small size

of the Kingdom balances out this superiority, allowing Sax’ons to fight
almost on par with the Bret’on Knights.
B Nobility B Important heritage
B Family and blood ties B Family heirloom
B Technological exploitation B Higher education
Option: Half-Blood
A 30
LEGACY
E Elective Affinity
When you help or receive help from your Kin Spirit, you can double the
help you receive or give (maximum +6d12 or +6 on the dice), but only
if you make explicit the positive feelings of love or friendship that bind
you.
Give me an M! Give me an O! Give me an R!

Mor Dread! Mor Dread!
You’re magnificent! Show them you’re the best!
LEGACY
E Commoner
You belong to the people of Kamel’oth and this fills you with pride.
Once per Session, you can appeal to this sense of belonging to prove
that you have nothing to envy to any nobleman, and you can re-roll
your Positive (but only Positive) Dice in a Test.
My blood may be as red as anyone else’s and not as blue as the lords’, but
Kamel’oth is my home and I can be of use too!
A 32
LEGACY
E Noble blood
You belong to a noble house, whether you know it or not. Once per
Session you can leverage your Lineage to gain small favours from a
Secondary Character, who will see something noble and ancient in
you, to which should be paid due respect.
Take the Test with no Difficulty.
My family created this Kingdom by shedding its blood in the King’s

battlefields, I will not allow it to be destroyed while you stand idly by and
watch from the stands.
LEGACY
E Natural talent
Choose an additional Job and add it to the Lineage space of your
Curriculum. It works like a normal Job in every way: you can use it as
a Trait and it will give you access to all connected Techniques (you still
can only have 8 Techniques in all).
When something wounds your Lineage, you can no longer use the Job
as a Trait, but you still have access to Techniques.
I’ve trained my whole life to be the best swordsman in all of Kamel’oth, I’m
the Champion of Lyonesse!
A 33
LINEAGE
Colonist
Bret’ons and Sax’ons have forgotten that humans were not born on
Brit’an, but the inhabitants of the 12 Space Colonies have not forgotten
that Brit’an is only one of the many planets that humans have colonised
over millennia.
Almost completely unaccustomed to gravity due to centuries spent in

orbit, Colonists very rarely travel to Brit’an. The only thing that really
distinguishes a Colonial resident from a Bret’on or a Sax’on is the colour
of the skin, which is almost ashen, an adaptation due to life in the Space
Colonies.
Many people on the surface see them as charlatans and schemers

whenever they talk about the Colonies and how Brit’an is not the human
homeland, but just a slightly bigger Colony.
B Colonialism B Archaeology
B Separatism B Old Earth tech
B Reclaiming what is owed B Adapted to Space
Option: Half-Blood
A 34
LEGACY
E Memories of Earth
The Colonies have kept the databases of the ships with which the
first Earthlings arrived to Brit’an intact, and this gives them access to
various knowledge forgotten by planetarians, and jealously guarded
by the Colonists, who retain a considerable advantage. When another
Student doesn’t obtain Triumphs in a knowledge Test, you get an
automatic Success and remember something you’ve seen in the
colonial archives.
I remember in the archives there was talk of an animal called “horse” that
looks a lot like this creature...
LEGACY
E Newkind
There are those who say that Newkind are the next evolutionary
stage of human beings, that they are able to expand their awareness
beyond the limits imposed by their bodies: once per Scene you can ask
the storyteller a question about the mood of someone you see and
they will have to answer you honestly, unless the person is a Newkind
themself.
Being a Newkind is both a blessing and a curse: our heart can reach
anyone, but it means being always aware of what others feel about you.
A 36
LEGACY
E A different perspective
You can always reach your destination even without apparent
landmarks: underwater, you instinctively know which way is up and
down; at night, you just need to see even one or two stars to know
which way you have to go, and so on. Space is vast, you can’t risk
getting lost.
When you’re in space, alone, aboard a mecha, you can’t afford the luxury
of hitting the open road, because that would mean drifting into the Sea of
Stars.
LEGACY
E Space flight
Your body is accustomed to the low gravity of the space you grew up
in, and you have no problem with using a Knight or a ship in space:
when you’re piloting something in space, you lower the Difficulty of
your Tests by 1 (it can go to 0).
Let me fly, you surface inhabitants always go crazy with the acceleration,
then we must unnecessarily overheat our systems to slow down or take a
bend.
A 37
LINEAGE
Dragonblood
Humans exposed to Dragon Particles for a long time often produce
children who are called Dragonblood, or draich in Avalonian. Exposure to
radiation causes physical mutations in children, whose ears extend to
resemble those of Avalonians, skin and hair always have warm colours,
reminiscent of flames, and each Dragonblood has some kind of birthmark
on the body in an intense red colour.
Typically, Dragonblood tends to be impulsive, curious, and rash, partly

because they are immune to the heat of flames.
Their connection to Breath is evident, and very similar to that of the

Andruids, particularly with Fire Core. Their average body temperature is 42
degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit).
B Unexpected mutations B Braggart
B Ostracism B Sign of the prophecy
B Radioactivity B Huge size
Option: Half-Blood
A 38
LEGACY
E Extraordinary strength
The Dragon’s Breath gives you exceptional strength and endurance,
and you are able to even fight with a mecha and many monsterson
equal footing: you can ignore Traits that refer to the strength or size of
the opponents you face.
What do you mean “Arthia fought Mor Dread’s Knight with her bare
hands”? Doesn’t she realise that she could damage it irreparably if she
doesn’t know how much strength she uses?
LEGACY
E Mutant
The Dragon Particles that flow in your blood have changed your body
markedly, changing your physiology: one or more additional arms, a
tail, wings, horns... Mark your mutation in the Lineage sllot.
A prehensile tail is great for grabbing an extra tray when you’re in the
cafeteria, you’ve just finished chess-wrestling training and are starving!
A 40
LEGACY
E Dragon’s Breath perception

You can sense the Breath that flows through every creature,
understand how powerful they are and what element they are bound
to. You can also sense high concentrations of Dragon Particles in
nature, and use these senses to locate Breath-powered machinery
nearby.
I feel a strong concentration of Dragon Particles 50 metres away, behind

that stone wall. It could be traces of a Knight, be careful...
LEGACY
E Hot head
Your body temperature is extremely high, and Dragon Particles burn
inside your body like a furnace.
You’re immune to flames and heat, and your accelerated metabolism
also makes you resistant to diseases, poisons and substances of
various kinds: the Difficulty for ignoring their effects is always halved
for you (minimum 1).
You call these flames? I can barely feel them, they will never hurt me.
A 41
LINEAGE
Sax’on
The Sax’on Empire occupies most of Brit’an, but its territories are wild and
harsh, which is why Sax’ons have had to get used to living by engineering
the few natural resources they have.
Sax’on cities are typically built underground, or on the flanks of the rocky
mountains that expand across the horizon, to try to extract what little
Dragon’s Breath they can gather.
The Sax’on Warlords blame Kamel’oth and the Bret’ons for this energy
shortage, accusing them of draining the planet’s natural resources.
The titanic Divine Sword is located near Kamml’ann, one of the largest
Sax’on cities.
B Scarce resources B Making do
B Border life B Emergency repairs
B Looming war B Survival of the fittest
Option: Half-Blood
A 42
LEGACY
E Hybrid Frame
Choose a second Frame for your Knight and mark it in your
Curriculum’s Lineage space. You can switch from one mode to another
whenever you want, and also use them at the same time.
When something Wounds your Frame, you have to consider the
Lineage as if it were a Frame – but you get to choose which Frame
is Wounded. If something damages your Lineage, you will no longer
have access to the secondary Frame.
Change! Briar King, switch mode! Taste the axe of my Briar King Lancer
while I stay safely in the Briar King Tanker!
LEGACY
E Coreless
No one knows why, but you don’t even possess a single Dragon
Particle: replace the Core with the Spark; that is, the ideal or
motivation that drives you to commit to overcoming your limits – such
as defending something or someone, becoming the best in a given
field and so on. This also means that your Knight uses an alternative
energy source.
The Core is simply a crutch that those who do not want to commit
themselves lean on, but I know what it means to commit and truly make a
sacrifice.
A 44
LEGACY
E Surviving at any cost

Every Sax’on is ready to do anything to survive, even muddy their
name: you can use your Name as an additional Wound, but only if you
are facing your Nemesis.
I can’t afford to leave here, not after everything you’ve done. And if that
means dragging my name through the dirt, I will gladly do that to bring
justice to all those you have hurt over the years.
LEGACY
E Life in the Empire

Life in the Empire is hard, every day is a fight with the world: when
you think a Test is too difficult, roll ONLY 1d12. What you roll will be
your Success or your Failure. No given Consequences, no halfway
Failures or Successes: a Sax’on is ready to give anything or everything.
All or nothing!
A 45
LINEAGE
Sidhe
The Sidhe are, amongst Brit’an’s indigenous populations, those that best
adapted to the arrival of humans several centuries ago. Bret’ons and
Sax’ons call them Little People because of their ability to change shape
into small animals, such as foxes or cats, which also makes them ideal as
spies and infiltrators.
Despite this ability, a Sidhe can rarely be persuaded to accomplish a task

that does not amuse them in any way. And, despite being notoriously
mercenary, you cannot buy their services with money.
There are no real Sidhe cities, but it is likely that you find small groups of
Sidhe in every human city, be it Bret’on or Sax’on.
B Nomad life B Lone wolf
B Tribalism B Rattle the cage
B Animism B My pack
Option: Half-Blood
A 46
LEGACY
E Wander
You’ve spent your life wandering without a fixed home, which has
led you to know a little about everything and everywhere: when you
or other Students need to find a particular piece of knowledge, you
always know where to find it; but at the same time, you know that
those keeping it will surely ask for a substantial favour in return.
We could ask Bertilak for a hand, but the last time I saw him, he tried to
sell me a crystal to purify the air from Dragon Particles. They’ll definitely
ask us to help them to place some in the city on our own, since he can no
longer go there.
LEGACY
E The shape of the Dragon’s Breath

You can change the size and appearance of your Knight (but not its
mass), growing new limbs, wings and so on. When it mutates, your
Knight becomes almost flesh-like and you can feel it breathing,
following the flow of the Dragon Particles.
Briar King, listen to my request: Let the Breath mould you and give you
wings to reach the sky.
A 48
LEGACY
E Shape-shifter
You can change your appearance in any living creature you have seen
or can imagine. The storyteller may ask you to spend Limit Points to
make the transformation more realistic or long-lasting. When you lose
consciousness, you become normal again.
Woof! Woof!
LEGACY
E Taboo
When a creature dies in your presence, you can absorb part of its
Breath, and from that moment on you can transform perfectly into
that creature, passing for the original, even to those who knew it
intimately. You also absorb its memories (at least, superficial ones).
These voices in my head remind me of all the people who gave their
lives to help me get here. Their sacrifice will not be in vain, I will use their
memories to give me the strength to move forward.
A 49
3 - Write your Core
The Core represents the element which a Student and their Knight are
bound to. Everyone on Brit’an is bound to the Dragon’s Breath, the force
tying all things, living or otherwise, to natural elements.
This bond is reflected not only in the ability to manipulate the element to
which one is bound, allowing, for example, those who are bound to Fire to
light small flames with the snap of their fingers, or those who are bound
to Time to move faster than others without making the slightest effort: a
Student’s bond with an element also reflects in their character, and their
Knight’s abilities.
A Student bound to Earth will be sure of themselves, stoic and sturdy,

while one bound to Air might be absent-minded and cryptic.
At the same time, a Knight bound to Water could move effortlessly in the
deepest ocean.
Gallad
Name
Fire Avalon
Core Lineage
A 50
Effects of the Core
The Cores presented on the next page are just a few example Cores, the
ones that most tickled our fantasy, and are in no way a list to follow to the
letter.
If you think it’s cool for a Student to have the Fog Core, use it; you should
also avoid using the Order Core if you have no idea how to use it, or if it
doesn’t seem interesting.
However, Cores should be interpreted according to your personal point of

view: Fire could indicate passion and violence, as well as one’s hearth and
warmth.
Cores are left deliberately only loosely described to let you use them as
you prefer, without worrying about how the Core you have chosen will
mechanically work.
The storyteller could also ask for a cost to use the Core creatively, or they
could say that, given the context, it’s not possible for you to do something.
Order and Chaos can, for example, be played in a very “mental” way; so Order will
perhaps let you see “the Matrix” of the world and let you be very analytical, while
Chaos will allow acting on emotions.
However, they can also be seen in a more cosmic light, – playing on the idea of entropy
vs syntropy – or even in a key more related to personal control, pushing towards
subjugating minds and putting opponents into a state of fury.
You could even use Chaos with a Sidhe Student to let them shift into fearful
chimaeras...
A 51
Ideas for Cores
The following list is not intended to be in any way an exhaustive list of all
possible Cores, nor to guide you in choosing one Core over another. Take it
only as a useful resource in case you have to come up with a Student or a
Secondary Character quickly without having a clear idea of who they are.
Cores can be used very broadly and you shouldn’t feel constrained by what
you think is feasible because it works a certain way in other games: you
could have Cores of Love, Deep Space, the Mind... As long as it’s clear to
you and the rest of the group what you’re referring to, you can use it as a
Core!
B Fire B Metal
B Air B Fauna
B Water B Flora
B Earth B Chaos
B Ice B Order
B Electricity B Time
B Gravity B Space
B Sound B Soul
B Light B Abyss
B Shadow B Corruption
A 52
4 - Write your Soul
The Soul, what the Japanese might call Kokoro, represents the most
intimate part of your Student, your actual self.
The Soul is a couple of words describing what, to you, is the most

important thing about your Student’s past, present or even future destiny.
The Soul can be your role in the group (Leader, Rival...), something you did
before arriving at the Academy (Soldier, Archaeologist...) or something
about your personality (Scoundrel, Explorer...).
Of all the Traits, the Soul is the least likely to change, because it’s the
cornerstone on which your Student is built, and only extraordinary events
should change it.
If you are in doubt about which Soul to choose, you can find a few
suggestions on the following page.
Gallad
Name
Fire Avalon
Core Lineage
Ace
Pilot
Soul
A 54
Past Present
B Child soldier B Model student
B First-born B Intelligence agent
B Child prodigy B Prince
B Thief B Reject
B Ex-gladiator B Researcher
B Born in battle B Mecha enthusiast
B Black sheep B Misunderstood genius
B Tormented B Pure of heart
B Farmer B Untalented
Future Your role in the group

B Heir to the throne B Leader
B Chosen by prophecies B Rival
B Hidden potential B Beautiful and dark
B Ace B Sidekick
B Budding scientist B Gentle giant
B Chosen by the elements B Curator
B Ignored by Fate B Tsundere
B Perfect weapon B Yandere
B Messiah B Handyman
A
55
5 - Write your first Traits
Traits are words or short sentences that describe something the Student
can do (Hide, Shoot), that they have studied (Ancient History, Sidhe Magic)
or that they simply have a knack for (Finding the Way, Persuading).
A Trait might even be an iconic item (Excalibur, My father’s watch), a

loyal pet (My steed, My familiar) or a relationship with someone (My new
family, Guinevere).
You can use Traits to add dice to a Test, if you can figure out a way to
describe how a Trait will help you in the Scene: you might use Guinevere
if their life is in danger and you want to save them, or if the thought of
getting back to them will give you the strength to endure your adversities,
you might use Excalibur in a duel or Finding the Way if you are lost in the
forest.
A Student will start with four Traits. You can write them in your Curriculum
now or after you choose your Job.
Gallad
Name
Fuoco Avalon
Core Lineage
Ace
Confident Pilot Relentless
Soul
Teamwork The Truth
A56
6 - Write your Flaw
Your Flaw isn’t a Trait you can use to add a die to a Test, but like the
Legacy, it has a mechanical effect, as well as enriching your Student’s
personality.
The Flaw is something that might endanger a Student under pressure, by

showing their weaknesses.
You can use your Flaw to restore 1d6 Limit Points during a Test, before
rolling the dice, but only if you describe how the Flaw makes it more
dangerous for the Student, raising the Difficulty of the Test by 1: you might
describe how being shy makes it all the more difficult to convince a guard
to let you through, or how you ignore your friends’ pleas to retreat in a
desperate situation because you’re too hot-headed to abandon a conflict.
If the Test’s Difficulty was already 6, adding your Flaw will work as a
Threat Trait.
BP HYSICAL: I can’t manage my strength; I can’t control my Core
BC HARACTER: act without thinking; I think too much and always act late
S : I don’t know which people I belong to; I want to be better than

B everyone
OCIAL
else
A 57
7 - Write your Nemesis
A Nemesis is someone or something that left a deep scar on your Student:
it might be the man who killed your family, the hunger that gnawed at you
when you lived on the streets or the death of a loved one.
Whatever it is, it’s something you still have to deal with, and that will
haunt you until you do something about it. The storyteller can tell you that
your Test will be affected by it whenever the presence of your Nemesis
becomes known in the Scene.
You can add or change a Nemesis whenever you feel like it makes sense,
and you can remove it as soon as your Student manages to defeat it. Each
Job has a list of Nemeses to use as a cue, but it is only indicative.
Choosing a Nemesis isn’t mandatory, although we strongly recommend it.
B PNimue,: my
Triss Tam, the school fencing champion for the Knights of Sax’onia;
EOPLE
love rival, who I’m probably just as in love with
B Tinterfering
: The hunger I felt when I was an orphan living on the street; The heat
HINGS
with my Ice Core
I : Injustice towards the weakest makes my heart burn with the

B desire
DEALS
to right wrongs; Authority imposed by force or by violent words
A 58
8 - Choose your first Job
Every Student at the Academy should pursue the path most in line with
their skills and desires, being as complementary as possible to those of
their classmates.
Each Job will give you access to Techniques and Themes to explore,
and whenever you want to add a new Job or replace an existing one
your Student will have to show interest in some of those themes and
train under the tutelage of a teacher of the Academy (or anyone equally
proficient in their field of expertise).
Jobs can be added or exchanged for different ones to help you shape your
student life as you feel appropriate.
Each one of the 15 Jobs also has a list of suggested Traits or ideas for a
Nemesis.
Cadet
Job
A 59
JOB SYSTEM
Alchemist
Although the Dragon’s Breath, or Dragon Particles as scientists call it, is
Brit’an’s main energy source, it is certainly not the only one.
The task of an Alchemist is to find alternative methods to power Knights

and improve the lives of all through research.
In order to obtain something, it is necessary to give something else with the

same value in return.
This is the Equivalent Exchange Principle!
Themes to Explore Nemesis
B Trial and error B Mad scientist
B Progress B Obscurantism
B Difficult choices B Experiment gone wrong
Recommended Traits
B Experiment
B Research
B Trial and error
A 60
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A Equivalent exchange
You can voluntarily take a Wound once per Scene and immediately
recover 2d6 Limit Points.
If you are already Wounded, you can put yourself in Mortal Danger
due to radiation and recover 2d12 Limit Points. You can also share
these points with the other Students.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Shaping the world
The world is nothing but a toy in your hands, now that you have
discovered the most basic laws of nature.
Once per Session, you can invert the number of d4 and d12 put into
play by you or another consenting Student in a Test.
A 62
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Philosopher’s Core
You can increase the flow of Dragon Particles in your Knight and
spend 3 Limit Points to change the state of the Knight itself, from
solid to liquid.
You can also turn it into gas by spending 3 more Limit Points.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Homunculus
When you are in Overdrive, you can use this Technique to absorb one
of your (or another Student’s) physical Wounds : thanks to Alchemy
you can create a homunculus that suffers the Wound in your place.
You can use this Technique only once per Scene.
A 63
JOB SYSTEM
Augur
Unlike the Champions, who seek a wartime application of the Dragon’s
Breath, the Augurs seek balance with it.
The task of an Augur is to thoroughly investigate and understand the

Breath, to come to an understanding of the very Nature of Brit’an.
You call them Dragon Particles, as if they were something separate from our
very nature, without understanding that everything that exists in the cosmos is
made of the same matter. The Sea of Stars beyond the Colonies also responds
to the same natural laws as Brit’an.
B Balance of the world B Progress
B Natural magic B Unscrupulous scientist
B Ancient traditions B Crazed beast
Recommended Traits
B Nature
B Perfect balance
B Natural magic
A 64
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A One with nature
Spending 1 Limit Point allows you to talk to almost anything
that exists in nature, awakening the spirits that live in it: plants
and animals, as well as rocks, rivers and flames... Even if you can
understand the spirits that dwell in these things, it’s not a given that
they will be willing to cooperate with you, and their character will
reflect their innermost nature: flames will be impetuous, rocks calm,
and so on. It lasts for the whole Scene.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D The circle of life
When a Student suffers a Wound when facing a Threat, roll 1d12: if

you roll 10+ the Threat also suffers a Wound. Reveal how.
You may not re-roll the die in any way, but you may roll it for each
Wound
A 66
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B The awakening of the Dragon’s Breath
You can infuse the Dragon’s Breath into your Knight and awaken it for
a short time, giving it a spark of life.
Spending 5 Limit Points, you can make your Knight a semi-living

construct, which can move and act independently, performing
separate Tests for you and the Knight. If you get a Disaster on a
Knight’s Test, the storyteller cannot inflict a Wound on your Student.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Meteoropathy
When you are in Overdrive, the elements around you begin to react to
your state of mind: the wind rises, hail falls, the air becomes charged
with lightning, rocks crack...
11s count as Triumphs. However, your Core is highly unstable and

wild: 2s with Negative Dice count as Disasters if you have used it in a
Test.
A 67
JOB SYSTEM
Cadet
This is the Job assigned to Students who have not yet decided which path
to take, waiting to develop their true potential.
A Cadet’s task is to learn the basics of piloting Knights and to develop the
appropriate affinity with the Dragon’s Breath.
The future is not yet decided for anyone, it is we who shape our lives, and
no one else. That’s why I’m at the Academy, to perfect myself and discover
something about who I really am, to decide who I want to become!
B Being the very best B Rival pilot
B Overcoming one’s limits B Mentor turned evil
B Idealism B Cynicism
Recommended Traits
B Pilot
B Student
B Training
A 68
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A A hard lesson
Failure is the first step on the path to improvement, and the only way
to understand one’s limits before overcoming them.
When you receive a Wound, you can mark it on your Name, unless you
have already used it as a Memory in a Test to re-roll the dice.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Learning from your mistakes
If you get one or more Disasters, you can recover 1 Limit Point for
each Disaster obtained.
If you are maxed out, another Student in the Scene can recover the
same number of Limit Points.
A 70
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B As long as it’s a mecha
Every time you board a mecha, the excitement of being just like the
heroes in stories you heard as a child gives you the strength to tackle
anything: when you board a mecha for the first time in a Scene, you
regain 1d6 Limit Points, or remove a Wound – whichever you choose.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Friendship conquers all
When you are in Overdrive and not alone in a Scene, you can use this
Technique to absorb one of your Wounds: the strength of love or
friendship will always give you the strength to go on!
You can only use this Technique once per Scene.
A 71
JOB SYSTEM
Champion
Those who follow this path are the most diverse and extroverted in the
Academy; as skilled with the sword as with elemental magic.
A Champion’s task is to find the most suitable methods and techniques for
using the Dragon’s Breath in martial arts.
The Way of the Sword and the Way of the Breath do not differ at all, except
the direction in which one’s efforts are channelled: both lead those who follow
them on a path of personal discovery, to refine increasingly complex techniques
to the point where there is no longer any need to use rituals and techniques,
because one has become one with the Breath and one’s sword.
B Fighting to the death B Entropy
B Jack of all trades B Famous swordsman
B The way of the Sword B Fallen warrior
Recommended Traits
B Jack of all trades
B Swordsman
B Elemental magic
A 72
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A One with the Breath
You can dissolve into the Dragon’s Breath and teleport to a place you
can see clearly enough, by spending 1 Limit Point.
You can also take someone with you, spending 2 additional Limit
Points for each person you want to take with you (spending can be
shared).
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Elemental weapons
You can spend 2 Limit Points for each Student you want to activate
this effect on, which remains active for the whole Scene, or until it is
used up.
Emotions bubbling up inside you materialise as physical weapons:

whoever wields one can ignore a Disaster and sacrifice their weapon
(the weapon has to be part of the Test).
A 74
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Elemental Core
Your Knight is home to a real elemental – a creature with its own will
that lives in symbiosis with your mechanical giant.
You can free it by spending 5 Limit Points and having it act

independently of your Knight: perform Tests using your elemental
Traits. It has a Wound.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C A thousand sword strikes
The moment you go into Overdrive, you automatically inflict one

Wound on one opponent you are fighting.
If there are no opponents, you can inflict a Wound on the first

opponent you will face, if you are still in Overdrive.
You can only use this Technique once per Scene.
A 75
JOB SYSTEM
Hunter
A Hunter is not only someone who is trained to find game and catch
woodland creatures, but also someone who wants to bring criminals to
justice.
The task of a Hunter is to train to track down guilty parties and hand them
over to the guards, who will judge and condemn them.
Those who have enough strength or power to crush those weaker than them
often think that this gives them the right to impose themselves on others.
Sometimes it is necessary to remind these people that they live in a state with
laws written precisely so that this does not happen.
B The cruelty of society B Serial killer
B Loneliness B Crazed scientist
B Vengeance B Legendary beast
Recommended Traits
B Finding tracks
B Waiting for the moment
B Making do
A 76
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A A good nose
You can spend 2 Limit Points to sense the presence of a specific
creature or a certain type of creature in the area you are in.
If you spend 5 Limit Points instead, you can not only sense their
presence, but also klnow where exactly they are, or how long ago they
left and in which direction they went.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Synaesthesia
You can swap one of your senses for another for an entire Scene
(e.g. sight for smell, or touch for hearing), thus being able to perceive
things that would otherwise be impossible and making life difficult for
those opponents who use the elements to confuse your senses.
Your senses remain switched throughout the Scene, or until you lose
consciousness.
A 78
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Stealth mode
Your Knight is equipped with a Dragon Particle camouflage system,

which makes it almost impossible to find.
Mark 3 Limit Points for one of these effects (cumulative):
B Invisibility
B Silent mode
B Radar cloaking
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C A worthy opponent
Hunting is not an activity for the faint-hearted, especially when you’re

hunting a person, and not an animal.
When you go into Overdrive, choose a Threat you are facing: as long
as you are in Overdrive you can ignore the Threat’s Traits.
A 79
JOB SYSTEM
Jester
Laughter can be deadly... However, the real thinking behind this idea is that
a good Jester can fill their classmates with courage.
A Jester’s task is to alleviate the suffering of their classmates while

demoralising their opponents, breaking the status quo.
So what if the teachers told us to leave it be, to not go near the old abandoned
building, to not try to get into the Round’s secret laboratories, and, most of all,
to not ask questions about where our classmate has gone? You can only learn
from your mistakes, so now hand me that lockpick, this trapdoor won’t open by
itself!
B Breaking the status quo B Authority
B Laughter is the best medicine B Someone you hurt
B Just a secondary character B Despair
Recommended Traits
B Sharp words
B Instilling courage
B Lowering morale
A 80
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A Costume
You always have a costume in your backpack, and everything you
need to disguise yourself and your classmates.
When using your costumes either to go unnoticed or attract attention,

you can turn a Consequence into a Success by spending Limit Points
equal to the Power of the Threat.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Distraction
When you try to draw an opponent’s attention to yourself, you can

spend 3 Limit Points: the next Student to perform a Test on a Threat
will halve the Difficulty score of that Threat.
You can spend points in this way during another Student’s Test, not
necessarily before.
A 82
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Game of mirrors
By spending 5 Limit Points, you can use any two reflections you see
to move your Knight from one reflection to another, as if it were
teleporting.
Whether it is just an illusion, a game of mirrors, or whether you are

able to move matter as if it were light, is a mystery you might want to
investigate.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Troll
When you are in Overdrive and a Threat inflicts a Wound on you, roll
1d12: if the result is 10+, it is not you who suffers the Wound, but
your opponent. However, you cannot do this again in this Scene!
If you score 9–, the next time you are Wounded you can try again.
You can try as many times as you like, until you manage to reflect a
Wound.
You can only reflect one Wound per Scene.
A 83
JOB SYSTEM
Paragon
The followers of the Divine Sword firmly believe that the titanic sword
which can be seen from all over Brit’an is a sign that the Gods have chosen
this world as their favourite.
The sacred duty of a Paragon is to exorcise evil and defend Brit’an.
Against the oppressors, against the liberated lie, against the traitors, I swear
to wield the dual sword: that of polished steel and that of the shining and
fulminating word.
B The sins of the fathers B Demon
B Last hope B Corrupt politician
B Purity B Guilty relative
Recommended Traits
B Divine magic
B Last hope
B Demon hunter
A 84
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A Divine Light
The blessing of the Dragon’s Breath allows you to perform small
miracles: you can spend 3 Limit Points to remove one of your own
Wounds, or that of another member of your team, showing how the
power of Breath allows you to manipulate reality itself.
Likewise, you can also heal a Secondary Character, but you cannot
bring them back to life.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Exorcism
When you inflict a Wound on a Threat using Dragon Particles, roll a

d12: if you roll 10+, the Threat can no longer rely on Particles, Core or
Breath Traits and Techniques until you suffer a Wound.
A Disaster or a Complete Failure, even if obtained from other

Students, can end the effect, if the storyteller decides to use it this
way.
A 86
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Shining Armour
Your Knight, like the colossal Divine Sword that dominates Brit’an’s
horizon, comes from the Heavens, and can resist the corruption of
Dragon Radiation.
When facing creatures mutated by Dragon Particles, you may re-roll a

Negative Die without using up a Memory.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Paragon of Virtue
When you are in Overdrive, and score a Complete Success in a Test, all
other Students have the choice of either regaining 1d6 Limit Points or
adding a +3 bonus to their next roll in this Scene.
Your example will spur the group to give their best in everything they
are doing.
A 87
JOB SYSTEM
Seeker
A Seeker is a wanderer who makes the world their home, in search of
forgotten knowledge and hidden truths.
The task of a Seeker is to travel and uncover the truth about Brit’an’s past,
exploring ruins and recovering artefacts.
The world we see is only a small part of what our reality is. The memories
of those who have come before us, and of those who seem to have left no
trace of themselves are just hidden better – often in such plain sight as to be
impossible to notice.
B Use your head, not your sword B Professional gravedigger
B Finding the culprits B Repeat offender
B It should be in a museum B Judicial system
Recommended Traits
B Investigating
B Solving puzzles
B Discovering the truth
A 88
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A Grail
Only those who doubt themselves can find the Truth: when you
achieve Success with Consequences (and not a Failure) during a Test,
you will have a brief insight into the near future. The vision will give
you an extra 1d12 on the next Test, during the same Scene.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D The devil is in the detail
When you are analysing a scene, looking for traces and signs of
something that has happened before, you can spend 2 Limit Points
for each useful clue you want to find, without performing any Tests:
the storyteller will tell you what you have noticed, and why this
seems like a useful clue.
A 90
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Relic
Your Knight was not built in the Round, it is a relic of the past built by
Avalonians – or by someone even more ancient.
When you face Threats from Brit’an’s past, your Knight resonates
with the planet’s ancient energies and is strengthened by them: you
can spend 5 Limit Points to turn a Success into a Triumph.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Oracle
When you are in Overdrive, the Truth becomes clearer to your eyes:
you see through any illusion and you can spend 3 Limit Points to allow
your teammates to see through an illusion, as long as you are near
them.
You can also spend 3 Limit Points to remove any mind control from
yourself, or another Student.
A 91
JOB SYSTEM
Slinger
Whether throwing daggers or shooting arrows, bullets, and plasma
cannons, a Slinger will certainly be able to make good use of them.
The Slinger’s task is acting from the rear, striking from afar to offer cover
fire and disappearing quickly after.
The difference between you and me is that I’ve already calculated all the sides
that this pool ball will have to hit to land in the pocket and win the bet, while
you’re still putting chalk on the cue.
B Dirty work B Master Swordsman
B Loneliness B Wandering lone wolf
B Guns and dishonour B Responsibility
Recommended Traits
B Quick-handed
B Keen-sighted
B Loner
A 92
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A Trick Shot
When the storyteller tells you that a hit is Impossible, you can spend
1 Limit Point and turn it into a highly improbable hit: you can perform
a Test as if the Difficulty were exactly the number of Traits you could
put into play (you can push the Limit further to add any d12 to the
pool).
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Gun Kata
By entering into a trance, your body can move between different

Threats with perfect reflexes and timing, following a kata that mixes
martial arts and bullets.
When outnumbered and acting without the help of any other Student,
you can inflict a Wound even with a Complete Success, and not just a
Triumph.
A 94
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Cannone Orbitale
Your Knight is linked to an orbital cannon, capable of hitting large

areas from space over Brit’an. You can spend 5 Limit Points and
automatically inflict 1 Wound on a Threat in a Scene.
You may fire a second shot in the same Scene, but this will cost 10
Limit Points.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Akimbo
When you’re in Overdrive and you leap into the fray, firing shots left
and right, you ignore the increased Difficulty of multiple Threats, or
Traits such as ‘Swarm’, ‘Group’ and so on.
The first Disaster you obtain in Overdrive cannot be a Wound, but will
necessarily indicate that you have run out of bullets (or whatever you
were using as a ranged weapon).
A 95
JOB SYSTEM
Squire
Whoever chooses to become a Squire humbly decides to put themselves
at the service of their classmates, the opposite of showing off.
The task of a Squire is to defend their classmates, help them in their time
of need and remind them of the Academy’s motto.
This is your story! I’m only here to help you tell it, giving you support when
tiredness gets the better of you and offering you a shoulder to lean on when
you need to vent.
B Serve and protect B Rogue guardian
B Being humble B Berserker
B Code of chivalry B Childhood friend
Recommended Traits
B Defending
B Code of chivalry
B Supporting
A 96
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A Fortress
When a Student asks for help in a Test, you can help them even
if you are not in the Scene at the time, because your words of
encouragement and incitement ring in their ears even when you are
far away, as does your example.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D At your service
When, during a Scene, you help someone by pushing your Limit, you
simultaneously add 1d12 to the pool and a +1 bonus (the maximum a
Student can receive is still 6d12 and +6).
A 98
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Bastion
When the Threats you face are too strong, you stand like a shield to
defend your classmates from certain death.
You can share the spending of Limit Points (minimum 1) which other
Students are doing, whatever the reason.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Come on!
When you are in Overdrive and another Student suffers a Wound, you
can take that Wound in their place. You can also take Wounds inflicted
on Knights, damaging yourself or your Knight as you wish.
When you take a Wound in this way, you and the other player can also
recover 1d6 Limit Points.
A 99
JOB SYSTEM
Summoner
Brit’an is full of creatures that live in the flux of the Dragon’s Breath, and
only manifest when Dragon Particles are sufficiently concentrated.
The task of a Summoner is to study these creatures in order to harness

their power.
The very concept of life is bizarre, if you think about it: we give so much
importance to the body, to the beating of a heart, to the breathing of a creature,
forgetting that we are also made of spirit, and that there are creatures that do
not even have a physical form.
B Looking beyond the Veil B An ancient spirit
B We are the monsters B An unscrupulous sorcerer
B Dangerous talent B Creatures from another time
Recommended Traits
B Esotericism
B Manipulating radiation
B Monster tamer
A 100
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A Evocation
By spending 1, 3 or 5 Limit Points:
B 1: You summon an illusionary creature that acts as you

command. It is not a real creature, but it can look like it
B 3: You summon a physical copy of a creature that acts as you

command. Even if it is only a copy, it is physical in every way
B 5: You summon a consenting creature. You cannot summon

creatures that do not want to be summoned by you
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Eidolon
By recalling your Memories, you can put a Threat you have faced and
beaten in the past into play: mark a Memory as having been spent to
roll the dice and put a Threat you have faced into play.
You can use their Traits as if they were your own during Tests.
A 102
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Transfiguration
Even though it is only a weapon without a soul, your Knight is still

inextricably bound to you.
Your Knight can be summoned by you at any time by spending 5 Limit

Points, as if it were a willing creature.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Shikigami
When you are in Overdrive, your essence begins to disperse into

Dragon Particles, and you become not only more difficult to hit
(+3d12 when defending against something); you can also move and
manipulate matter by relying solely on your mind, exploiting Dragon
Particles.
A 103
JOB SYSTEM
Tactician
In a world that is perpetually in conflict, finding compromises between
parties while avoiding unnecessary bloodshed is vital.
The task of a Tactician is to settle differences both in and outside the

Kingdom, settling conflicts at a table instead of on the battlefield.
“Everything is going according to my plans.”

They adjust their glasses on their nose, white light reflecting off their lenses.
Their opponent swallows loudly, realising they are trapped...
B Avoiding conflict B Army general
B Understanding the different B Terrorist
B The pen is mightier B Emotionless automaton
Recommended Traits
B Intuition
B Empathy
B Strategizing
A 104
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A Strategic genius
When you spend Limit Points to add d12 to another Student’s Test,
you can add the same number of d12 to the Test of another Student
(including yourself) without spending any more Limit Points.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Checkmate
When another Student inflicts a Wound to a Threat, you can spend (3

+ Power) Limit Points to inflict a second Wound, without carrying out
a Test.
If you want, reveal how this was all part of your plan from the
beginning.
A 106
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Analyst
Your solid preparation enables you to quickly understand the

weaknesses of the Threats you face: the first time a Threat suffers
a Wound, you can use your mecha’s sensors to identify the Threat’s
Weak Point, which the storyteller will communicate to you.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Revelation
When you go into Overdrive, you can tell a short flashback as if you
were the one doing the storytelling for a few moments: saying how
the difficult situation you are now in was part of your plan from the
beginning, and explain how this will allow you to turn the situation
around in your favour.
This will count, for all purposes, as a Complete Success.
A 107
JOB SYSTEM
Templar
While Paragons are cast in the light of the Divine Sword, Templars are
devoted to improvement and self-sacrifice.
The Templars’ task is to be the Kingdom’s last bulwark; ready to do

everything, including sacrificing their own lives, to achieve their goal.
There is no personal growth without sacrifice: only by giving up something we

love can we understand what it was really worth to us.
B Guilt B The wrong friends
B Martyrdom B Dark reflection
B Forbidden magic B Collateral victim
Recommended Traits
B Pain
B Sacrifice
B Black magic
A 108
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A No pain, no gain
Whenever you suffer a Wound, the first Success you get will be
considered a Triumph.
If you obtain one or more Triumphs in your next Test, you can still
count this as an extra Complete Success and spend it as you would
spend one obtained with dice.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Deathly visions
When you rest, or when you are in a place heavy with Dragon
Particles, roll 1d12 and ask the storyteller to reveal something about
the near future.
The storyteller will reveal a vision of avoidable events (6+), or of those

that are too late to change (5-).
A 110
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Sacrifice
When you face dangerous Threats, you can damage your Knight
voluntarily to reduce the Threat’s Power throughout the Scene by a
number equal to the Knight Traits (Name, Frame, Capacity) that you
decide to sacrifice.
You can choose to damage the Knight at any time, even during
another Student’s Test.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Limit Break
A limit is only made to be surpassed, and once surpassed, a Templar

must prove that they can go where a normal person could never
reach.
When you are in Overdrive, you can spend 3 Limit Points to turn a
Disaster into a normal Failure.
A 111
JOB SYSTEM
Thaumaturge
A Thaumaturge soon learns to handle all kinds of energy, coming to
understand the Dragon’s radiation at a profound level.
A Thaumaturge’s task is to help their classmates using their knowledge

and cunning, supporting and advising them.
Science and magic are two sides of the same coin, intrinsically bound and yet
incredibly different. Anyone who thinks they only know one of them is lying to
themselves.
B Magic and Science B Jealous advisor
B Academic study B Extremist scientist
B Forgotten knowledge B Chaos
Recommended Traits
B Academic knowledge
B Energy lines
B Strategizing
A 112
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A Grimoire
There’s always something useful in your notes to help you resolve a
situation: when you perform a Test, actively browsing your notes, you
can consider the Grimoire as an Item without having to write it down
in one of the spaces in your Curriculum.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Familiar
You made a pact with a spirit that took the form of a small animal
which can help you when you find yourself in difficulty: when you
want to get information about anything mystical you come across,
you can spend up to 3 Limit Points.
For every Point spent, you can ask a question to the storyteller about
a place, event or mystical being that you have ahead of you, and they
will answer through your Familiar.
A 114
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Magic Knight
Your Knight is not a simple mechanical apparatus powered by Dragon

Particles, but a real magical being.
Two Disasters are needed to damage the Knight’s Name, but only
when you are aboard your Knight.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C Wild Breath
The nature of the Dragon’s Breath around you is constantly changing

when you’re in Overdrive. You can invert a Threat’s Difficulty score
with its Power.
Apply this Technique before reducing the Difficulty in any other way.
This Technique works only once per Scene (you can therefore not
invert the Difficulty to multiple Threats in the same Scene).
A 115
JOB SYSTEM
Tinkerer
A good Tinkerer is essential for the construction and maintenance of the
Knights and all Brit’an’s tech.
The Tinkerers’ task is to repair damaged equipment and develop new

technologies that make life on Brit’an better.
I had an idea for a new trinket to build! It’s basically an alchemically powered
drone which can find things that we’ve lost; like keys, books and so on, and
keep them secure in a safe that can only be opened by those with the same
energy track as the owner!
B Fixing what’s broken B Rival genius
B Dangerous curiosity B Eco-terrorist
B Inventing something B Uncontrollable machine
Recommended Traits
B Repairing
B Practical sense
B Inventor
A 116
BASIC TECHNIQUE
A Makeshift transport
When you have to move quickly from one place to another, you can
spend 1 Limit Point to find or build makeshift transport: it won’t be
elegant or particularly sturdy, but it will take you where you want to
get, before it finally falls apart.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUE
D Stroke of genius
When you face a mechanical Threat, you can mark a Memory, as if you
used it to re-roll the dice, to discover its Weak Point.
If you discover the Weak Point this way, you and the other Students
add 2d12 instead of 1d12 when you use it.
A 118
KNIGHT TECHNIQUE
B Gattai!
Your Knight has been modified to combine with any other Knight:
when you and another Student decide to combine, you can access the
other Student’s Knight and Core Traits as if they were your own, and
vice versa. However, any Disasters will be applied to both.
OVERDRIVE TECHNIQUE
C The right gadget
When you are in Overdrive and you write an Item in your Curriculum,
that Item’s bonus becomes +3 instead of +1. However, you cannot
split it across multiple dice. If you exit Overdrive, the Item remains,
but becomes a normal Item.
Items already marked in the Curriculum do not change when you

enter Overdrive.
A 119
9 - Mark Limit and
Overdrive
The Dragon’s Breath binds everything on Brit’an, just as friendship binds
the Students to one another.
Little by little, a Student who’s pushing their abilities using the Dragon’s
Breath or helping their friends, will reach their Limit.
Every Student has 8 Limit Points to spend to do what would otherwise be

impossible.
A Student can overcome their Limit and use all of their energy, entering
Overdrive as soon as they spend their 8th Limit Point. They will stay in
said state until they either restore some Limit Points, returning below
their Overdrive threshold, or they consume their Overdrive Capacity,
ending up Leaving the Scene.
For each Memory (Name included) on the Curriculum, the Overdrive

Capacity will increase by 3 points.
Name Memory Memory Memory
Limit Overdrive o
A 120
10 - Write your Knight’s
Name
Your Knight’s Name is as important as yours: it’s always the first Knight
Trait you will write on the Curriculum and it describes what your Knight
can do even more than its Frame or Abilities.
Unlike super-robots from the ’70s, Knights always have Names that mean
something. Names should be linked to the Arthurian canon, and should
clearly state what kind of Knight it is.
If you don’t know enough about the Arthurian Cycle, no problem: you can
take cues from a lot of other things, such as the Core, the name of the
family your Student belongs to, your favourite fantasy book, what the
mecha looks like in your head, or anything else.
The important thing is that the Name of your Knight clearly evokes what
kind of robot your opponents will find themselves up against!
E B is clearly a royal Knight (Excalibur was the sword of the

B ruler
XCALI URNER
of all Britannia) and by adding “Burner” you’re making it clear it has

a fiery look
B Kto fishing,
F
ING ISHERrelates both to the Quest for the Holy Grail as well as
and so to water, which is its pilot’s Core: maybe it’s an
amphibious Knight?
B TDagonet,
F , iDagon’s Knight, is a weird mecha, built to surprise its enemies.
HE OOL
the character Dagon is based upon, was King Arthur’s jester
A 121
11 - Write your Knight’s
Frame
While the Core is the energy that moves a Student’s Knight, its Frame
represents its function. Below is a list of the most common Frames.
However, the Frame can be any Trait that highlights what your Knight was
built for. There are many more than those marked in the official Round
list, so write down whatever you prefer, as long as it is clear what specific
function it responds to (there are no generic, all-purpose Knights).
Dr Merlin developed a series of basic Frames, which, when linked to

different Cores, can create endless combinations of Knights, making these
mechas perfect for an endless array of tasks.
Frame prototypes (still under development), called Hybrids, combine the

strengths of different Frames into one, but are currently only used by
some Sax’on Students.
BL ANCER: specialised in melee assaults
BA RCHER: armed with guns or other ranged weapons
BT ANKER: robust armour capable of taking several hits
BS COUTER: smaller in size and very fast
BC ASTER: capable to absorb and exploit Dragon Particles
A 122
12 - Write your Kin Spirit
Every Curriculum has two Affinity slots, where you can write the name
of another Student or any Secondary Character. You will then assign
these characters (called Kin Spirits, abbreviated as KS) some Affinity
Points, which can range from 0 to 10. The total sum of Affinity Points in
a Curriculum can never be more than 10. If you have already assigned 10
Affinity Points, split between two Kin Spirits, and want to assign more to
one of them, you will have to subtract them from your other one.
These Points represent the commitment you are making to build a

relationship, whether reciprocal or not, and will increase as your bond
grows stronger.
Affinity Points are never spent, their increase and decrease only depend
on your actions. They grant access to various abilities, in line with the
strength of your feelings.
When you mark a new Kin Spirit in one of the two Affinity spaces, assign
them 0 Affinity Points: you can remove them when they no longer interest
you.
4
Nimue
Affinity
A 123
Handling feelings
Handling someone’s feelings, fictional or not, is always a sensitive matter.
When you decide to use Affinity Points, make sure that:
B Everyone at the table is ok with that
B The person who manages the Student you want to build a

relationship with agrees to explore this aspect of their Student
Also:
B Complex relational interweaving is only interesting if everyone

involved thinks it’s interesting
B You’re Students in an anime with big robots. Young boys and girls
experiencing strong feelings for the first time.
B We’re talking about feelings, not necessarily love and sexuality (which
may be part of the discussion, but on which, as we said before,
everyone at the table must agree)
B If anyone asks you not to pursue an Affinity with them anymore,

delete the Kin Spirit from your Curriculum without insisting on why
B The storyteller is not an arbiter of the player’s feelings, and they

should not be the one to decide whether an Affinity should continue
or not: only those involved can decide
B The storyteller is a person who has feelings just like any other person
at the table, and can ask that an Affinity with a Secondary Character
be interrupted without having to explain why
A 124
Final touches
Student, your Academy enrolment process is almost complete.
All you have to do is make sure you have noted the Techniques you have
at your disposal (a newly created Student does not yet have access to
Advanced Techniques) in the second part of your Curriculum, along with
the Legacy you have chosen.
After noting the Techniques and Legacy, you briefly describe how you wear
your School Uniform (it could be neat and clean, or dirty and messy; you
could wear the uniform of another school from where you just transferred,
or you could have changed it for some reason).
After that, write down a distinctive trait or quirk that everybody notices
when they look at you and says something about who you are, and write
down a phrase that you often say or a personal motto, for example, “I
want to overcome my limits,” “Bon Appetit!” Or “Get up, you worm...”
The last thing to write down is the School Club you’d like to join. Since the
Students spend every moment of their academic life within the Academy’s
walls, they’re naturally encouraged to organise and take part in student
clubs – non-mandatory extra-school activities – which surely put Students
in a better light when they come to being evaluated at the end of the year.
The most important is of course the Student Council, which is involved

in many of the Academy’s decisions (and which certainly conceals
secrets that a normal Student would never discover). The other two
most important clubs are the fencing club and the Knightball team, the
competitive sport played onboard mecha, which often leads students
to clash with students from other Academies. There are countless other
clubs, so get lost in your imagination.
A 126
Rules
KotR:A has a very story-oriented set of rules, but there are still
some things you should read before diving into play, especially
about Student’s Techniques, Memories and Limit.
KotR:A doesn’t split combat and non-combat Tests; a Test is

always something that might have unforeseen consequences.
A Test will usually involve a single task, like walking past

someone unseen, hitting an enemy or remembering useful
information.
To perform a Test, you will need up to 6d8, representing the

Traits of the Student, 6d12, representing their Knight and their
willpower, 6d6, representing the Difficulty of what the Student is
trying to do, and finally 6d4, representing the Traits of the Threat
that the Student is facing.
A 129
Building the Student’s pool
When a Student is facing a situation where results are uncertain or
dangerous, they will have to perform a Test. Their player will build a pool of
dice, adding 1d8 for each Trait that somehow relates to the Test at hand,
up to a max of 6d8.
Every Trait written inside a square on the Curriculum, Name and Memories
included, can be used as Dice in a Test.
Players can then push their Student’s Limit to add d12 beyond the d8
already in the Pool, spending Limit Points equal to the Power of the Threat
(minimum 1) for each d12 they want to add. They can also add 1d12 if
the Student is aboard their Knight or another mecha, and 1d12 if they are
using its Frame, up to a maximum of 6d12.
The Student’s Pool can be made of only d8, a mix of d8 and d12 or only
d12 (if they have no useful Traits but are using their Knight or Limit). These
are all Positive Dice.
Four Students face four Fir Bolg, eco-terrorists armed with anti-Breath weapons, and a
Tuatha, an alchemical Knight.
Mari, who’s using Gallad, moves his Knight Corbenik near Perzival to shield him from
the Fir-Bolg, giving him enough time to run. She will use: “Ace Pilot”, “Relentless”,
“Sacrifice” and “Teamwork”, to which she adds Gallad’s Job, Cadet, for a total of 5d8.
She also adds Gallad’s Knight, Corbenik, which is also a Tanker, so her pool becomes
5d8 + 2d12. Then, given the Fir-Bolg’s Power is 2, she spends 4 Limit Points to add 2
more d12, for a total of 5d8 + 4d12.
A 130
Difficulty of a Threat
Every Threat (a dangerous creature, a terrible foe or a risky situation) is
defined by a number of Traits, representing its strengths and weaknesses,
a Difficulty score, a Power score and one Technique the storyteller can use
in given situations.
The storyteller will never make any tests for a Threat, leaving it up to
players to react to situations, although a Threat might still act if the
Students ignore them.
Having more Threats in a Scene, acting together (like, say, 3 enemy

soldiers), will raise the higher Difficulty by 1 point for each additional
Threat beyond that directly being confronted, up to 6.
Not every Test involves a Threat: convincing the janitor to let you in the
science room without their supervision will involve a simple Test, with a
Difficulty score decided by the storyteller.
The Fir Bolgs have a Difficulty score of 4 and move in a single group with the Tuatha,
whose Difficulty is 5, but the targeted Students will not have to perform a test for
each enemy in the Scene: when acting in a group, multiple Threats increase the
Difficulty of a single Test.
The Difficulty for this Test becomes 6: 5 (the Tuatha’s Difficulty) + 1 for each Fir Bolg
unit (max 6).
A 131
Building the Hardship pool
Each Difficulty point, defined by the storyteller or by the Threats involved,
transforms a die in the Student’s pool into 1d6, starting from d8s, then
continuing with possible d12s.
The Difficulty of a Test, whether it’s a Threat or some generic Test, will
always be between 0 and 6: this means some Tests, usually knowledge
ones, will be made without a Difficulty score, just to see how well they go,
while other will be impossible to succeed at without spending a few Limit
Points.
Threats, just like Students, have Traits which will make Tests even riskier:
for each Threat Trait the storyteller might use in the Scene, a d6 will be
changed into a d4, making it impossible to have a Success with that die,
however, raising the chance of a Disaster.
The Hardship pool will then consist of a maximum of 6 dice that can be
only d6, only d4 or a mixture of d6 and d4, which are all Negative Dice.
The Students have decided to face the four Fir Bolg first. The Difficulty is 6: 4 (the
Fir-Bolg Difficulty score) + 1 for any other Fir-Bolg in addition to the first (maximum 6).
This means that 6 dice from the Student’s Pool will be turned into 6d6.
The storyteller also tells the players how this team of soldiers moves in a coordinated
way, pointing their assault rifles at the Students and being certain of their actions.
These actions correspond to some Fir Bolg Traits (“Soldier”, “Assault Rifle”, “Certainty
of One’s Actions”) and the Hardship pool is thus composed of 6 dice, 3d4 (one for each
Trait) and 3d6 (the remaining Difficulty dice).
Mari’s Pool is now 3d4 + 3d6 + 3d12.
A 132
Setting the Difficulty of a
Test
When Students aren’t facing a Threat while still doing something
dangerous or uncertain, the Test will have a Difficulty score anyway.
Below you can find a rating of the Difficulty scores, ranging from 0
(remembering where you saw a familiar face) up to 6 (facing a berserk
Questing Beast).
Difficulty can never go beyond 6, but Threat Traits can make everything
way more dangerous.
1 - Easy-peasy 2 - Everyday stuff
3 - Challenging 4 - There will be sweat
5 - Someone will get hurt 6 - Over 9000!!!!
A 133
Rolling the dice
Once you roll the dice, you keep the highest result of the Student pool
and the highest result of the Hardship pool: each of these two dice with a
result equal to or greater than 6 is a Success, 5 or less is a Consequence.
There are also Triumphs (12 on a Positive Die) and Disasters (1 on any
Negative Die).
The player can, after rolling, turn a Consequence into a Success (not a
Disaster into a Triumph, and not even a Disaster into a Consequence),
spending 2 + the Threat’s Power (minimum 1, even when there’s no
Threat) Limit Points.
Each Success can be spent to improve the Test’s result or to activate some
Techniques.
Consequences are complications which might beset just a single Student

or the entire group, according to what makes sense in the Scene. The
storyteller decides how to assign these.
MARI: I scored 8, 7 and 6 with the Positive Dice. 5, 4, 4, 3, 3 and 2 with the Negative
Dice. I end up keeping an 8 and a 5.
STORYTELLER: You dodge the hit with your Pentecost, but the Fir-Bolg anti-Breath
generator drains your Knight’s engine, leaving you open to their next hit.
MARI: I scored 8, 7 and 6 with the Positive Dice. 5, 4, 4, 3, 3 and 2 with the Negative
Dice. I end up keeping an 8 and a 5. I spend 3 Limit Points to turn that 5 into another
Success.
STORYTELLER: You dodge the hit with your Pentecost and with a flourish you also destroy
the Fir-Bolg anti-Breath generator, restoring energy to all the Knights.
A 134
Reading the results
Scoring at least one 6 or more on any of the highest dice from both Pools
means you managed to do whatever you wanted to do.
Scoring 6 or more on both dice means you had an extraordinary Success,

and you can describe how what you did had an unforeseen positive
outcome.
Scoring 5 or less on any of the highest dice from both Pools means there
will be Consequences.
Scoring 5 or less on both dice means it’s really turning for the worse for
the Student, who might now be in real danger.
Successes and Consequences should be interpreted together, before

applying any side effects or Techniques, unless explicitly stated.
A Complete Success (2 Successes in a Test) does not equal a Triumph, but

it can still be used to permanently lower the Difficulty score of a Threat for
the Scene.
5- / 6+ = SUCCESS WITH CONSEQUENCES

You manage to hit your opponent, but you lower your guard and the Difficulty rises
temporarily
6+ / 6+ = COMPLETE SUCCESS
You manage to hit and disarm your opponent, who is now at your mercy
5- / 5- = FAILURE
You miss your opponent, who manages to disarm you: you’re at their mercy now
A 135
Triumphs and Disasters
Every 12 obtained by rolling Positive Dice or by adding bonuses to any kind
of die is a Triumph and can be spent in different ways by the player:
B Restoring 1d6 Limit Points
B Restoring a disabled Knight Ability
B Helping a Student without spending Limit
B Wounding a Threat (or a Student)
B Reducing the Power of a Threat by 1 in the next Test
A 12, being the highest die of the Student’s Pool, counts first as a Success,
then as a Triumph.
Each Negative Die scoring 1 (regardless of the Success of the Test) is a

Disaster. The storyteller can spend them to:
B Put the Student in Mortal Danger (if it makes sense)
B Inflict a Wound on the Student
B Destroy a piece of equipment
B Put parts of the Knight out of use
B Add Consequences (even in a Test with two Successes)
If 1 is the highest die of the Hardship Pool, it counts first as a

Consequence, then as a Disaster.
Triumphs and Disasters cannot cancel each other out and must all be
spent at the end of the Test.
A 136
SARA: I scored 12, 12, 7 and 6 with my Positive Dice, 6, 3 and 1 with the Negative Dice.
STORYTELLER: You have a Full Success, with two Triumphs and a Disaster. Silvanha
manages to hold off the Tuatha with some powerful vines. How do you want to spend
your second Success and your two Triumphs?
SARA: With the second Success, I douse the Tuatha’s flames, smothering them with wet
moss, I will use both Triumphs to Wound him twice: the vines entangling him start to
pierce their engine, absorbing their power.
STORYTELLER: Cool! I will then spend the Disaster to add a Consequence to the Scene,
even if you’ve obtained a Complete Success: while you hold the Tuatha still, the Fir-Bolg
creep up on you, surrounding you: the Difficulty of your next Test will increase by 1.
A 137
How a Test Works
1 - Count the number of Traits 2 - Add 1d8 to the Pool per Trait
3 - Transform d8 to d6 based on 4 - Apply Threat Traits and spend

Difficulty Limit Points
5 - Roll the dice and hold the

highest for each Pool
3 8 6
5
WARNING: You will also have to keep
7 all 1s on Negative Dice
1
A
138
Narrative authorities
The storyteller can: A player can:
B Add new Threats to a Scene B Decide how their Student will

act or react to something
B Create locations
B Decide which Traits to play
B Ask a player for details on
a location or event that the B Decide which Techniques to
storyteller has put into play use
B Spend Consequences to make B Suggest starting a new

a Scene more difficult Romance
B Spend Disasters B Suggest details on a location

or character put in the Scene
B Ask a Student to push their by the storyteller
Limit to achieve something
out of the ordinary B Spend Successes
B Suggest how a Student can B Spend Triumphs

spend their Successes
B Suggest how to spend
B Suggest how a Student can Consequences to the
spend their Triumphs storyteller
B Suggest how to spend

Disasters to the storyteller
A
139
Overcoming Threats
A Threat is overcome when it makes sense in the fiction that it should be
overcome, or when players mark all of a Threat’s Wounds.
Threats might sustain more or less Wounds, depending on how important

they are in the story. A Threat can usually sustain 3 Wounds, just like
Students.
You can find out more in the Threats chapter.
If the player exploits the Threat’s Weak Spot, assign 1d12 extra to the pool
(this die is always added after applying the Difficulty Points and Threat
Traits).
Students don’t have to defeat all four Fir Bolg units in the Scene and the
Tuatha to overcome them. Once the first two Fir Bolg are defeated, the others
may try to escape or surrender.
Facing Fir Bolg on board Knights will perhaps allow them to resolve the issue
faster (after all the Fir Bolg are not 20 metre mechas, armed to the teeth). The
storyteller can then declare a Threat overcome simply because it is no longer
interesting: a group of Fir Bolg could be challenging for Students in the open
field, but stop being so once they reach an underground bunker.
A 140
Tests without Difficulty
Actions with uncertain results that the storyteller does not consider
dangerous, such as looking for something hidden in a room without traps
and in which no one will go looking for the Student, do not have Difficulty;
they still might require a Test, in which only d8 and d12 will be used. In this
case, the result will be composed of a normal Success (because there is
no Difficulty and therefore the Negative Dice cannot fail) and the highest
Positive Die.
Tests where only d6 and d4 are rolled could still result in a Success with
Consequences: at the end of the Test, only the highest Negative Die will be
held, which will be added to the base Consequence (because the Test has
no Positive Dice and therefore cannot succeed).
Impossible tests do not require a roll of the dice, but some Legacies or
particular Techniques could make even a Test that is impossible for other
Students, possible.
MARI: Cailean wants to sneak into the teacher’s room using his Sidhe shapeshifting
and becoming an ant. I’m putting my Lineage into play and I get an 8.
NARRATORE: As there is no danger, Cailean takes advantage of his new size to go
unnoticed, even to Merlin’s attentive eyes.
NARRATORE: Gallad’s pool for this Test is just 6d6. You’re sure that the test will have
at least one negative effect, but you might still be able to get away with it somehow.
MARI: I got 6, 6, 5, 3, 2, 2.
NARRATORE: Even though the enemy Knight has disarmed your Knight, you can still put
him in a tight spot. He’s now surrounded by all of you.
A 141
Knowledge Tests
Unless they are trying to read a passage from a forbidden book sealing an
ancient demon within it, while at the same time trying not to lose it and
cause the end of the world, Students should carry out Tests concerning
their own memories or academic knowledge without risking extreme
Consequences.
This means that, in these cases, Students can carry out a Test without
Difficulty, if they have at least one Trait that can be useful. They can also
of course push their own Limit, even if they have no Trait to support their
Test.
Even though this applies for every Test without Difficulty, we prefer to
make it clear: in the Academy, Students will surely find themselves trying
to remember details of what they have seen, or will spend hours in the
library in search of answers to questions.
LUCA: What does Torbal know about the castle we’re heading to?
STORYTELLER: He definitely knows something, just roll the dice using any Trait that
matches your local knowledge.
LUCA: I only have one Trait, “Avalonian ruins”, and I rolled 8.
STORYTELLER: Torbal remembers a story his mother told him...
A 142
Pushing your own Limit
The Limit represents how much a Student is working to achieve
something, and how much pressure they are under.
A Student can push their Limit by spending Limit Points to:
B Add d12 to a Test (1 x Power = 1d12, max 6d12)
B Change a Consequence into a Success (2 + Power, minimum 1)
B Activate a Technique (depends on the Technique)
B Use the Dragon’s Breath to do someething unsual, through their Core
B Help another Student
The Limit can be recovered by spending a Triumph, with some Techniques,

or spending a few days in a quiet situation, away from exams, duels to
the bitter end and martial arts tournaments. Relaxing activities, such as
attending one’s School Club, could also help a Student regain Limit Points.
A 143
Limit and Power
A Student can spend their Limit whenever they feel like it, if they want to
do something incredible, but doing so when there’s a Threat could subject
the Student to a lot of stress.
A Threat’s Power coincides with how many Limit Points a Student has to
spend to add dice to their pool, or how many Limit Points must be spent to
help another Student.
This means that it’s completely normal to reach one’s Overdrive when
there’s a Threat, as a Student will have to give their everything to
overcome it (careful to not exhaust your Overdrive too quickly or you’ll end
up Leaving the Scene)!
Power and Difficulty

Power and Difficulty are two scores that say very different things about a
Threat: while Difficulty represents a Test’s danger, Power represents the
commitment with which a Student will have to face the situation in order
to hope to do their best.
Some Threats will have Low Difficulty and High Power (passing an
experimental trigonometry exam isn’t very dangerous, but to get good
grades, you will have to spend sleepless nights on the books), others
will have High Difficulty and Low Power (making a student council
member angry by wearing a non-standard uniform is very easy, but the
Consequences could be terrible).
The most terrible Threats, such as Dragons or Questing Beasts, will have
very high Difficulty and Power: Students will have to put a lot of effort into
trying to get out unscathed.
A 144
BEFORE A TEST a Student can push the Limit to add extra d12 to their Pool
BEFORE ANOTHER STUDENT’S TEST phey can spend Limit Points to add extra dice or bonus
to the Test
AFTER THEIR OWN TEST a Student can push the Limit to change a Consequence (not a
Disaster) into a Success (not a Triumph)
All these options depend on the Threat’s Power.
WITH POWER1: Aggiungere d12 costerà 1 Punto Limite per dado, sia per la Matricola
che sta effettuando la Prova sia per chi la aiuta, mentre trasformare una Conseguenza
in Successo costerà 3 Punti Limite
WITH POWER 4: Aggiungere d12 costerà 4 Punti Limite per dado, sia per la Matricola
che sta effettuando la Prova sia per chi la aiuta, mentre trasformare una Conseguenza
in Successo costerà 6 Punti Limite
EXAMPLE
Arthia and Mor Dread are inside their Knights, facing an ancient Majin whose
Power is 3.
The Difficulty of the Test for Arthia is 5 and Claudio, who is playing Arthia,
has already put 6 Traits in play, adds 1d12 to their pool to roll 5d6, 1d8 and
1d12. He spends 3 Limit Points to do so.
Roberto, playing Mor Dread, spends 6 Limit Points to add 2d12 to Arthia, who
will then have 5d6, 1d8 and 3d12.
A 145
Helping other Students
Each Student can help another that is about to perform a Test, i.e. before
the dice are rolled, in two ways:
B Spending Limit according to Power to increase the pool level by 1d12

(max 6d12)
B Spending Limit according to Power to increase the final result of a die

by 1, chosen after the roll
Secondary Characters always use their action as if they were helping

Students, adding a + 1 to the end result of a die. These bonuses can even
turn Successes into Triumphs or turn a Disaster into a normal Failure.
If you help someone, in any way, you will share any Consequences that the
Test might cause them!
You can never exceed 6d12 and +6 dice bonus.
You can also push your Limit in a mixed way to help someone.
Roberto could spend 2 Limit Points to allow Alice to add 2d12 to her pool.
Claudio could spend 2 Limit Points to give her an overall bonus of +2 to split
as she thinks best on dice thrown during the Test. Giulia could instead spend
2 Limit Points and give Alice a 1d12 bonus to the pool and a +1 dice bonus.
Without help from other Students, or without using an item during the Test,
Alice will not be able to turn that 1 on a Negative Die into a 2, avoiding a
Disaster.
A 146
Equipment
Objects owned by a Student can be written down as Traits or Memories, or
added, when needed, in one of the two Item slots on the Curriculum.
Those used as Traits or Memories are iconic objects that describe a

Student as much as any other Trait: King Arthur’s Sword, or the Holy Grail
for Parsifal, are so tied to who they are as characters that they deserve to
be Traits a player can use often.
Anything that is not part of a Student’s very essence can be added when
needed in one of the Item slots, if there are free ones: the slot will remain
occupied until the object is destroyed, lost or loses importance in the
story. Playing an Item in a Test entitles you to a bonus of +1 on any of the
dice rolled, such as the one derived from help from another Student.
The storyteller can, by exploiting the Consequences or the Disaster,

destroy or have you lose an object in one of these slots, but he cannot
destroy an object that is a Trait. A destroyed Item can only be replaced in a
new Scene.
Money Crossbow
Armour Suit iDruid
pouch (broken)
Item Item Item Item
The The
Crown of Propehcy GR.A.I.L.
Excalibur
Kamel’oth of the System
Sword
A
147
Knight Abilities
A Knight’s Abilities work exactly like Items, and can be created in the same
way: as long as the Student has a free Ability slot, they can write down the
name of any Ability, at any time.
Playing an Ability in a Test entitles you to a bonus of +1 on any of the dice

rolled, such as that derived from a Student’s help, or from a regular Item.
Unlike an Item, a Knight’s damaged Abilities cannot be replaced or

removed at the end of a Scene – they must be repaired, and can only be
replaced by justifying it in the story: for example, asking Round engineers
to work on the Knight for some time, or collecting Knight spare parts from
defeated opponents, or from an Avalonian ruin.
A Student should always remember that Knight Abilities are activated

vocally, so their name must be pronounced each time for them to activate
correctly.
Some examples
WEAPON ABILITIES
B Round Flame (a devastating ring of fire)

B Light of Justice (disintegrating light beam)
B Infinite Joust (the Knight can make 1000 attacks in a single moment)
DEFENSIVE ABILITIES
B Prophecy (the Knight’s sensors can predict the enemy’s next moves)
B Stone Wall (a rock shield wraps around the Knight, protecting it)
B Wrath of the Storm (a raging storm keeps enemies at bay)
VARIED ABILITIES
B Shadow step (the Knight can disappear for a few seconds inside a shadow)
B Sylphid (the Knight can move at supersonic speed)
B Standing Stone (the Knight can create its own stone copy to use as bait for
opponents)
A 149
Player vs Player
When two Students face each other, the attacker will add Traits as
with any other Test, while the defender will define the Test Difficulty by
counting their relevant Traits.
The attacker carries out the Test and the results are split between attack
and defence: Consequences and Failures are told by those who defend
themselves, and Successes by the attacker, in this order, thus giving the
defence a certain advantage.
You cannot push your Limit to change Test results or add dice bonuses, but
you can spend Limit Points to increase the dice pool, or to turn d6 into d4,
as if they were Threat Traits, and the others can help one or the other as
they best believe.
Both attacker and defender can mark their Memories to re-roll (or have
re-rolled) dice, giving the attacker precedence.
If you can’t agree who the attacker is, let a die decide: pick evens or odds
and roll the die.
Arthia will use Flames, as passion inflames him, Bravery, Duelling and
Dragonblood, as his superhuman strength will come in handy in this case. Mor
then uses as Difficulty: Rival, Cunning and Royal Blood, because he knows he
has the right to speak their mind as a King’s peer.
Arthia’s Test Pool at the moment is made of 3d6 + 1d8.
Arthia spends 2 Limit Points to add 2d12, Mor spends 2 to turn 2d6 into 2d4.
The final Test Pool is then 2d4 + 1d6 + 1d8 + 2d12.
A 150
Memories in a Test
After seeing the Result of a Test, a player can decide to mark one of their
Memories, telling how it gives the Student the strength to grit their teeth
and carry on: this will allow them to re-roll all the dice they want.
They might decide to only re-roll Disasters, or all Consequences, or

everything except Triumphs, whatever they feel would be better at that
moment.
They will have to keep the second set of results, whatever they are, but
they will still be able to add bonuses from other Students, Secondary
Characters or Items.
A single Memory can be used like this only once per Session, but a player
can use more than one Memory in a single Test.
Lotte is trying to concentrate on manipulating the Dragon’s Breath energy to open the
door to an ancient Avalonian ruin.
Giorgio, who is playing Lotte, rolls all the dice in the Test, 3d6 and 2d8, and gets 1, 1
and 4 with d6 and 5 and 6 with d8.
He tells the group how Lotte remembers when, as a child, her tutor taught her to
empty her mind and focus only on what was in front of her, before challenging her to a
chess match. Giorgio marks Lotte’s “My Tutor” Memory and re-rolls all the d6, together
with the d8 that failed.
A 151
Nemesis in a Test
If, during a Scene, the presence of your Student’s Nemesis weighs on
them, Successes (6+ on one of the two highest die) are considered
Triumphs, Consequences (5 –on one of the two highest die) are Disasters.
A result of 5 and 6 would then be treated as 1 and 12.
Even if the Nemesis is in the Scene, a Student can still push their limit to
turn Consequences into Successes, or in this case, we could say Disasters
into Triumphs, but can only do so at twice the expense ((2 + Power) x 2).
Bonuses given by other Students, Secondary Characters or miscellaneous

Items also work normally and must be applied to the dice before declaring
whether they are Triumphs or Disasters.
Normal Disasters and Triumphs are counted as usual, so getting 12 as the

highest result of the d12 does not grant an extra Triumph, because that
would have been a Triumph anyway.
Gal Van finds herself face to face with Mor Riggan, Dr Merlin’s assistant,
the only one he listens to now. Gal Van tries to explain to Dr Merlin and Mor
Riggan why one of the Knights missed the Round’s roll-call, without being
expelled.
Marta, who plays Gal Van, gets 3, 4, 4 and 6 with the Negative Dice and 2
and 5 with the Positive Dice. She holds the 6 and 5, which would be a Success
with Consequences, but given the presence of Mor Riggan, her Nemesis, the
result is treated as if it were a Triumph and a Disaster. If she had obtained 3,
4, 4 and 6 on the Negative Dice and two 12 on the Positive ones, she would
have had, in all, 3 Triumphs available.
A 152
Using the Core
Each Student is closely bound to an element, reflecting not only their
affinity with the Dragon’s Breath, but also their own character.
For this reason, small miracles such as lighting a small flame to make light,
or cooling the tea you are going to drink, are always available freely to all
Students.
More demanding actions, or actions that have a greater effect on the

Scene, can instead be performed by spending 1 or more Limit Points,
according to what the storyteller decides, evaluating the desired result.
B 1 Point: Obtains a clear but limited result, for example using

heat to warm up the entire class, which had fallen into a freezing
underground lake
B 2 Points: Obtains a great result, for example using ice to lock the
Round’s missile launch door for a few minutes
B 3 Points: Obtains an epic result, for example using gravity to drag a

Dreadnaught class Sax’on imperial ship ashore
Pushing the Limit in this way allows the Student not only to perform
otherwise impossible actions, but also allows them to avoid doing Tests if
there are no negative Consequences, while still obtaining epic results.
The storyteller could also temporarily lower the Difficulty of a Test if the
Core is used in a particularly interesting way.
Students who do not possess an elemental Core (for example the Core of
Love), or who do not have one at all and have a Spark, can still benefit from
using it: sometimes you just have to overcome your limits to get incredible
results, you only need to imagine how!
A 154
Arthia wants to make a small flame to light a cigarette, which he wants to
smoke away from the teachers, in order to impress Gwen with his devil-may-
care attitude. For this small, trivial action there is no need to spend Limit
Points.
Mor Dread wants to illuminate the cave he’s staying in with their classmates
during the day, to discover the Sax’on agents who are following them. Lighting
an entire cave by day requires them to spend 1 Limit Point, but there’s no
need for a Test.
Iwan wants to freeze all entrances to the theatre, even those he cannot see,
to prevent the Fir Bolg who attacked the Academy from escaping. Pushing
their Limit this far may require them to spend as much as 2 Limit Points.
The storyteller decides that by cutting off the escape routes to the Fir Bolg,
they will be in great difficulty, not being able to fully exploit their tactical
battlefield skills. The Difficulty score of the Fir Bolg is lowered by 1.
Overdrive
The Limit isn’t a measure of the energy that a Student can spend, but of
the energy they can spend safely.
A Student that reaches their own Limit threshold, that is, when they mark
the eighth Limit Point on their Curriculum, goes into Overdrive and can
continue to push their Limit up to a number of Points equal to 3 for each
unlocked Memory, including Name. The Overdrive Capacity can therefore
range from 3 to 12 Limit Points.
Once this Overdrive Capacity is filled, the Student ends up Leaving the
Scene at the end of their action. It’s impossible to push one’s Limit beyond
the Overdrive Capacity.
While in Overdrive, Tests are like those carried out in the presence of one’s
Nemesis: all Successes (6 + on the highest die of one of the two Pools)
and Consequences (5– on the highest die of one of the two Pools) become
Triumphs and Disasters.
Gallad has a total of 14 Limit Points, i.e. 8 base Points, plus 3 Points for his
Name and 3 for a Memory, making his Overdrive Capacity equal to 6.
During the Session, he has already spent 7 Limit Points and now wants to
spend 2 to have bonus dice in a Test. He ends up spending 9 Limit Points and
goes into Overdrive.
During the Test, he gets 5 on the Negative dice and 8 on the Positive ones,
therefore his Test will end with a Disaster and a Triumph. Gallad can still
spend 5 Limit Points before automatically Leaving the Scene.
A 156
Turns and... Round
Ironically, there are no rounds in Knights of the Round: Academy, and you
don’t have to keep track of initiative or need to wait until everyone has had
their turn before you act again.
The action, flowing as much from the storyteller as it does from the
players, is focused on what’s happening in the Scene and, although
everyone should have the chance to put their Student under the spotlight,
sometimes a conflict going back and forth between a Student and their
Nemesis might be a lot more interesting for everyone than waiting for
Students who can’t or won’t act to pass their turn.
As we are talking about Scenes of conflict between the Students and the
various Threats that they will encounter, it should be specified that the
storyteller, besides being able to use Consequences to make Threats act,
can make them act even before the Scene begins if Students are caught
unawares, or during the Scene if the players ignore them.
STORYTELLER: The Dragon Knight is nosediving towards you, flames coming out of its
mouth: what do you do?
ANDREA: Midas shields the others with his Knight, trying to catch the Dragon Knight
before it can scorch the whole village!
SARA: Silvanha uses her Flora Core to grow a wall of trees to protect the nearby village,
in case Midas fails.
STORYTELLER: Silvanha, you perform your Test first, then Midas will follow.
A
157
Techniques
There are different types of Techniques: Basic, Advanced, Knight and
Overdrive.
Basic Techniques can be used anytime, either by spending Limit Points, as

specified by the Technique, or by fulfilling a requirement.
Advanced Techniques are only available when you have all 3 Memories
on the Curriculum filled up, and they come into play according to their
requirements.
Knight Techniques are only available when the Student is interacting with
a Knight, typically their own, although some Jobs may have Techniques
which are useful with any kind of mecha.
Overdrive Techniques can only be used while in Overdrive, and are usually
very powerful – because everything becomes a matter of life or death in
Overdrive.
Each Job gives you access to four Techniques, and a Student can hold a
maximum of eight Techniques.
They can use any Technique they want during a turn, as long as they pay
the cost or meet the conditions.
Threats also have a Technique, but unlike Students, they don’t have Limit
Points to spend to activate them: the storyteller can put them in play
using Failures and Disasters, or if certain conditions occur.
A 159
Wounds
The three central Traits, with a red border and a cut angle, form the Heart
of a Student and represent their fundamental parts as a person: Lineage,
Core and Soul. These Traits also represent the Wounds that a Student can
suffer before Leaving a Scene.
When a Test obtains a Disaster, the storyteller can ask the player to mark
a Wound on one of those three Traits (usually chosen by the player, but the
storyteller might choose it, in case a Threat has a Technique that targets
a specific Trait), which can no longer be put into play until the Student has
time to recover from the trauma suffered, or until someone helps them to
recover.
Wounds do not necessarily represent physical harm, on the contrary,

Wounds will very often represent a Student’s doubts, inadequacies and
limitations, rather than cuts and bruises: when a Trait is Wounded, the
Student is no longer able to draw strength from it to move forward, or the
Threat facing them understands how the Student reasons and has learned
to predict their moves.
Fire Avalon
Core Lineage
X
Ace
Pilot
Soul
X
A 160
Recovering from Wounds
Recovering from Wounds is easy when you are not under pressure.
A Student can recover a Wound for every rest Scene, without doing Tests
or spending Limit Points, as long as they are in a quiet situation, where
maybe they have the support of other Students, who help them recover.
A Student can also spend 5 Limit Points to recover from a Wound at any
time, even in the midst of a fight or in other situations, even after just
suffering it.
Another Student can help you recover from a Wound by performing a Test
when the situation is dire (during rest Scenes it is assumed that help from
other Students is already part of the Scene).
Some Techniques allow a Student to heal Wounds under specific

circumstances.
REST SCENES
“Resting” in KotR:A does not mean laying in bed bandaging wounds, nor eating rations
around a makeshift campfire. That’s what adventurers do in other role-playing games.
In KotR:A, rest means spending time away from stress and doing something that can
restore the Student’s soul and resolve: it could be an afternoon spent in the reading
room with a nice book, a gruelling fencing workout or a movie watched with their
friends.
A 161
Damaging Knights
When Students are in their Knight’s cockpit, they can do epic, almost
impossible stuff, but at the same time, they risk damaging their mechas.
A Knight can be damaged just like a Student, i.e. by suffering a Failure

or Disaster during an action. Some Threats might have other ways to
damage a Knight.
Unlike Students’ Wounds, however, a Knight is always damaged by

following the mecha’s order of Traits; that is, always putting the Frame out
of use first, then the Name. Abilities can be disabled, but since they don’t
count as Traits, they can only be damaged when actively used in a Test.
When the Name is also put out of use, the Knight will be considered
a wreck and it won’t be possible to use it in a Test; just as it will be
impossible to use a Knight Technique without a working Knight.
Lady of the Lancer

Lake
X Knight X Frame
2 1
A 162
Repairing Knights
Once damaged, a Knight can be fixed in two ways: using specific
Techniques, like those of the Tinkerer Job, or by entrusting it to the
Round’s care (or any other lab with enough resources).
Repairing a Knight using Techniques will be faster, but it might be taxing to

push one’s Limit that far and may require more or less difficult Tests.
Entrusting it to a lab won’t require any Test or cost, but only one Knight
Trait per Session can be repaired (Flashbacks or Sessions that will last less
than a day in game will still be counted as one Session for this purpose).
A Knight’s Abilities will be restored automatically when any Knight Trait is
repaired.
A Knight, to work, only needs its Name Trait to be active, and repairs are
always done by repairing the Name first, then the Frame.
Lady of the Lancer

Lake
Knight X Frame
1 2
A 163
Leaving the Scene
A Student will leave the Scene when:
B They do not obtain any Success in a Test (including those which they
can buy by spending Limit Points) and there’s at least a Disaster
B The storyteller inflicts them the third Wound
B They voluntarily Leave the Scene to save someone in Mortal Danger
B They exhaust their Overdrive Capacity
A Student can return to the Scene:
B Spending 5 Limit Points for each Wound they want to remove (more
players can share the cost, but at least 5 Limit Points must be spent)
B Doing a Test with Difficulty 3 (this will restore 1 Wound or 1 Limit

Point)
B After a Scene where they can rest; returning to the Scene this way
will remove 1 Wound and restore 1 Limit Point
It is not necessary for a Student who Left the Scene due to Wounds to
recover from all their Wounds to return to the Scene.
A Student who Leaves the Scene due to exhausting their Overdrive

Capacity returns to Scene with only 1 Limit Point available.
A Student who Left the Scene cannot act, but is not necessarily
unconscious.
A 164
Ronan tries to disarm a trap in an Avalonian ruin, but the results of his Test
are 1, 2 and 2 on the Negative Dice and 2, 3 and 4 on the Positive Dice: the
trap was way more complex than expected and it opens beneath his feet,
separating him from the group.
Lamarr stays behind to give the others enough time to run away, but the
Revenant is relentless and hits her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of
her. This is Lamarr’s third Wound and she falls to the ground, unconscious.
Nimble sees a Fomóir lift Hextor by the neck and hears her classmate’s bones
crack in the giant’s hands. She charges the Fomóir without a second thought
and while she manages to free Hextor, the giant hits her so hard that she is
stunned, unable to react, at least for the moment.
Arthias tried with all his might to bring down the Dark Knight of Aggro Vain,
the man who killed his father, who proved superior to him in every respect:
Arthias’ third Wound is on his Leader Soul. Arthias falls to his knees, doubting
that he will be able to lead his classmates to victory. Devoured by these
thoughts, Arthias is helpless to think what he could have done to change the
desperate situation.
Lancia has already given two incorrect answers to the end-of-year exam, the
first in geography (she did not know which is the most populous city in the
Sax’on Empire – which they she actually belongs to), and she could not answer
Dr Merlin’s question on what Gravity’s complementary alchemical element is.
The next answer could mean failing, and then she will be forced to spend the
next few afternoons studying for the retake.
A 165
Mortal Danger
When a Student is endangered by something while they Left the Scene,
they are in Mortal Danger. This does not mean that the Student is already
dead or dying, but it indicates a situation that, if left unattended, will lead
them to certain death.
To avoid dying or to help someone escape death when in Mortal Danger,

any Student can:
B Use a Triumph
B Spend a number of Limit Points equal to the Power of the Threat

(even the Student who Left the Scene can do that)
B Voluntarily Leave the Scene to save someone else in Mortal Danger
If none of these options are available, the Student will lose their life: this is
the only way to die in KotR:A.
The Fomóir ignores Hextor and looks at Nimble with fury. It moves towards
her to end the issue once and for all. Nimble, who Left the Scene to save
Hextor, is now in Mortal Danger.
Hextor spends 4 Limit Points, equal to the Fomóir’s Power, to distract the
giant and save Nimble’s life.
A 167
The role of Affinity
Affinity represents your Students’ heart, and speaks more of
them than their Knight can.
Affinity moves the narrative by inserting a primal component,

an extra level of complexity, that speaks of young Students
struggling with their own feelings and those of others.
Remember that the Students you will play are teenagers who
still have to fully structure their identities, and they will try,
Session after Session, to understand who they are, through
Affinities. You who will play them will do the same.
An Affinity can be many things, the bond that is established can

be widely multifaceted, and we will try to make some examples
of typical Japanese anime tropes in this section.
It is essential to manage these feelings at the game table

through appropriate Safety Tools, which we will suggest in the
next pages.
A 169
Affinity Tropes
An Affinity could represent very different types of bonds. Here are some
examples, typical of Japanese manga and anime.
It could be a romance, typical of many anime and JRPG narratives, where

two or more Students are involved in a loving affective bond. Are you more
interested in a complex love triangle, or would you prefer to explore some
form of polyamory?
It could be a family relationship, in a more “traditional” form derived from a

romance, but also in much more complex forms, emerging from Students’
chosen families.
We often encounter relationships of brotherhood and sisterhood in anime,

which sometimes result from family relationships, but which sometimes
lead to much more complex patterns and the emergence of different
feelings.
Admiration for another character can cause particularly difficult dynamics

to manage when not reciprocated or, worse, when the other character
finds it annoying.
A 170
The ROMANCE between Kaname Chidori and Sousuke Sagara in Full Metal
Panic!, represented by reciprocity in Affinity Points (however expressed
in different forms) is framed by a kind of LOVE TRIANGLE determined by the
similarly reciprocal Affinity between Sousuke and Tessa, to whom Sousuke
mainly shows absolute loyalty and desire for protection, but where Tessa is
completely crazy about Sousuke.
The ROMANCE between Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune in Sailor Moon is
represented by a typically romantic Affinity. When Sailor Saturn destroys
herself and is reborn, she is adopted as the daughter of the two Sailors. Sailor
Pluto moves in with this newly created FAMILY and in turn adopts Sailor Saturn.
The brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist are

characterised first and foremost by a strong bond of BROTHERHOOD.
Naruto shows ADMIRATION for Sasuke, but the Affinity is completely

unreciprocated. The Uchiha ninja has goals that lead him to completely ignore
this Affinity.
A 171
Adolescence and feelings
Teenage characters will make the narrative potentially primal and
impulsive. This does not mean that this impulsivity should be transposed
to the player.
Let yourself be guided by this agenda of goals if you are in doubt:
B There must always be full consensus among players about what is

happening at the table between the characters
B Accept the asymmetry of human relationships among adolescents
B The table must always be aware of each character’s goals, especially

when playing Affinities. What each character feels has to be clear to
the entire game table. Your story will benefit from playing clearly
B Social dynamics between characters will be adolescent and could be

primal and impulsive
B Social dynamics amongst players must be mature and clear
B Allow yourself to be amazed by your characters
B Let your characters experiment with their own feelings
B Use Safety Tools if you need them
If you want to learn more about teen game dynamics, try to play
Monsterhearts 2 by Avery Alder. Your KotR:A Sessions might benefit from
it.
Don’t be afraid of Safety Tools: they’re not on the table to limit you, rather,
they serve to manage the narrative flow and make the gaming experience
better for everyone.
A 172
Safety Tools
Safety Tools are useful for any situation at the table where issues emerge
which you are not comfortable with. Tools, and their meaning, must be
clear to all people at the game table.
When you call a Safety Tool you don’t have to explain why, and the table
doesn’t have to ask you – always remember that.
B Slow down - The Scene’s intensity must decrease immediately.
B Fade to Black - What was happening during the Scene still happens,
but is not narrated, and the Scene fades to black.
B Stop - What was happening on the Scene DOES NOT happen and the
Scene immediately closes.
Remember that you can decide to remove or have removed an Affinity

with another character at any time. You don’t have to explain why, and the
table doesn’t have to ask.
Francesco asks to SLOW DOWN when another Student makes a declaration of love that
he currently considers to be too intense. He doesn’t have to explain why.
Laura calls FADE TO BLACK when her character’s best friend sacrifices herself to save her
life. She doesn’t have to explain why.
Noah calls STOP when his character’s brother, upset by the course of events, is about to
attempt suicide. He doesn’t have to explain why.
If you want to experiment with other Safety Tools at your table, check out Beau Jágr
Sheldon’s SCRIPT CHANGE.
A173
Managing Affinities
A Student gains Affinity Points when:
B They play a Flashback where their Kin Spirit is present (+1)
B They confess their feelings to their Kin Spirit (+1)
B They save their Kin Spirit from certain death (+2)
B Their Kin Spirit saves them from certain death (+2)
B Their Kin Spirit and themselves get involved in an awkward situation

(+2)
B Their Kin Spirit expresses their feelings and they reciprocate (+3)
B Their Kin Spirit turns out to be someone who cannot reciprocate the
feelings they feel (+3)
They lose Affinity Points when:
B They lie to their Kin Spirit about something important (-1)
B They betray their Kin Spirit’s trust (-2)
B They put their Kin Spirit in mortal danger (-3)
A 174
A Student can also gain multiple Affinity Points at once, or compensate for
the loss of Affinity Points with actions that would earn them.
If Arthia wanted to explore their past relationship with Gwen,

remembering when they were kids and went together into the forest
where Arthia saved Gwen from a monster who wanted to eat them (while
omitting the fact that the monster was Gwen’s lost uncle), Arthia would
end up with a total of 2 Romance Points:
B +1 for the Flashback with Gwen
B +2 for saving Gwen from certain death
B -1 for lying to Gwen about their uncle’s disappearance
You should add or lose Affinity Points

whenever you feel it makes sense, even
more than once per Session.
A
Heart’s Gifts
A deep affective bond with someone will give Students different abilities,
depending on how much effort they put into building this bond:
B 2 – They always know when their Kin Spirit is in danger, even if they
are very far away
B 4 – They can consider their Affinity a Trait
B 6 – They can consider their Affinity as if it were a Memory
B (but it does not count in terms of Overdrive Capacity)
B 8 – They can consider their Affinity as if it were a Wound
B 10 – They can bring their Kin Spirit back to life (only once)
Heart’s Gifts granted by your Kin Spirits are cumulable.
So if you have 10 Affinity Points with someone, you can simultaneously know
when they are in danger, use the Affinity slot as a Wound and bring your Kin
Spirit back to life, with all possible options in between.
A 176
Growing up
In KotR:A, Students are young mecha pilots, teenagers who find
themselves inside the cockpit of gigantic robots, while at the
same time they are facing one of the most complex moments in
their lives, as they slowly grow into adults: through first loves,
family drama, personal trauma, practical jokes and friendships
that will last a lifetime.
For Students, growing up doesn’t mean getting stronger and

more powerful: it means accepting their past, while finding their
own place in the world.
Students’ progression maintains precise mechanics, linked both

to Jobs and Memories. It’s an important narrative moment for
players and their Students, with implications of personal growth
rather than power.
A 179
Themes to explore
There’s a Themes to explore space on the Curriculum to keep track of the
direction in which players would like to explore their Students, and at the
same time, give the storyteller a way of creating interesting situations in
which Students can grow and question themselves.
You do not need to fill these spaces with one or more Themes from the
beginning, but after 1 or 2 Sessions, players should start filling them with
Themes, taken from those suggested by Lineages and Jobs, or invented by
themselves.
Only players can tell if a Theme has been addressed in depth, and should
make it explicit to the storyteller their intention to explore it, so that the
storyteller can create the right situations.
Themes can also be explored in a Flashback, giving access to both a

Memory and a new Trait at the end.
CADET - IDEALISM: Face the reality of war outside the Academy, where idealism is in
danger of becoming extremism. How fine is the line between the two?
JESTER - LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE:: The Academy suffered a severe blow after being
attacked by an alien invader. Various professors and students lost their lives. The pain
of loss is overwhelming for all: will I be able to support my classmates at this difficult
time?
A 180
Exploring a Theme
What does Exploring a Theme actually mean?
When we say that to grow you will need to explore one of your chosen
Themes, we mean that you will have to be proactive in your Student’s
choices. Reading a book on past forbidden spells in the Academy Library
is not enough to say that you have thoroughly explored the Templar’s
Forbidden Magic Theme.
Being proactive means two things: first, it means putting your Student in
danger to discover, demonstrate or in some other way put the Theme at
the centre of the action. It also means clearly telling the storyteller that
you would like to see your Student face problems that are linked to a
specific Theme.
The storyteller should try to offer as many opportunities as possible to the

player to explore the Themes they have chosen.
PARAGON - SINS OF THE FATHERS: The Student returns to their father’s house during the
summer holidays, where they discover their family’s past errors: will they be better
than them?
SUMMONER - WE ARE THE MONSTERS: A village has been razed to the ground. During the
investigation, it is revealed that it was not a monster or wild beast, but a cadet blinded
by the power of their own Core. Does being empowered to do something mean being
able to abuse it?
A 181
Exploring a Theme
Players are free to change an existing Student Trait to something that
gives it a new meaning whenever they feel it’s necessary, if it makes sense
within the story.
Adding new Traits, including Jobs, requires you to explore one of the
Themes you chose during creation or during the campaign:
B Exploring a Theme allows you to add, at the end of the Session or

at a suitable moment for the Student, a new Trait, tied to an already
existing one
B By Exploring a Theme specific to a Job, you can add a new Job in any
free Job slot, or exchange an existing Job for a new one
Alternatively, players can ask the storyteller to explore a Memory.
Changing an existing Trait for a new one does not necessarily mean making
it more powerful or better; on the contrary, your Student will often make
mistakes and these will be reflected in their Curriculum.
Courage could become Hot Head if the Student puts other people in danger by
acting without thinking about the consequences, just as Second in Command
could become Leader Against Their Will if the Student is in a position they
would like to avoid.
Traits, even “negative” ones, still work the same way.
A 182
Writing a Trait
Free Traits (that is, not those that form the heart of the Student, Jobs, or
Memories) can be added to any blank space in the Curriculum, as long as
the new Trait is adjacent to an existing one, no matter what type of Trait it
is (Heart, Free, Job, or Memory).
Traits do not necessarily have to be positively connoted, they can also be

characteristics that may seem negative at first sight: moral doubts, scars
of the past or other things that are normally considered physical or mental
defects, could actually prove useful in certain situations, and will certainly
give Students an unexpected depth.
Don’t worry if the Trait you want to add isn’t 100% related to the meaning
of the Traits you’re connecting it to: if it’s important for you to have that
Trait, write it down in your Curriculum!
Inspire
Courage
A 183
Flashback and Memories
When players ask the storyteller to explore a Memory, their Student
becomes the star of a Flashback Session that explores a precise moment
in their life, decided together with the storyteller.
During a Flashback, a Student can only use the Traits that form their heart,
the first four Free Traits, and a Job. Secondary Characters have the same
limitations.
The Overdrive Capacity in a Flashback will always be 3 for everyone,

Student or Secondary Character, because the only Memory available is the
Name.
At the end of the Flashback (decided by the Player and Storyteller), the
protagonist Student will be able to add a new Memory in any available
Memory slot.
You can find a Curriculum dedicated to Flashbacks among the other

sheets.
A 184
Secondary Characters
When the player asks the group to play a Flashback (or when someone
is missing and another person offers to explore their past), that Student
becomes the star of a Session. Exploring a Memory should not last long,
but in reality, nothing prevents you from taking all the time necessary to
do so.
During a Flashback, other players will be Secondary Characters, who will

help protagonists uncover parts of their past. Define who these Secondary
Characters are all together, while giving a more precise timeframe to
the Flashback: how many years have passed since then? Where was the
protagonist Student? What exactly would they like to explore?
Remember that Secondary Characters are, in fact, background characters

and that, as much as they may be an important part of the Flashback, the
protagonist Student should be the real centrepiece, around which events
revolve.
The storyteller will then be able to use them as Secondary Characters in

the campaign, once the Flashback is over.
B Family B Another failed experiment

B My mentor uncle B The soldier who saved me
B The twin sister B My best friend
B The man who adopted me B A childhood love
B My cruel stepmother B My faithful dog
B My drill sergeant B My neighbour
B An orphan like me B The bully that terrified me
A 185
Setting up a Flashback
You only need four easy steps to set up a Flashback:
B When does the Flashback start?
B Where does the Flashback start?
B Describe what you would like to explore in a short sentence
B Define, as a group, which other Students or Secondary Characters will

be in the Flashback
You should only define the bare minimum, as leaving some areas blank will
give you the chance to explore your past more freely, giving players the
chance to be surprised by what they discover about their Student!
Remember: you can also set up a Flashback in a dream, or tie it to a

prophecy, a premonition or any event involving the Student, such as a
Flashback about their family.
ARTHIA: It’s 12 years ago, I’m just 4 years-old and we’re in Castle Pendragon. I’d like to
explore my relationship with my father. Since there are only three players tonight, I will
play Arthia and I’d like you two to play my father and our trusty servant
PERSEE: My Flashback starts 20 years ago, before any of us were born. We’re at the
Round, and the war has just ended. I’d like to discover something about all of our
parents’ past lives, so I’d like each of us to play someone else’s parents. All our parents
piloted Knights. I’d like anyone who plays one of my parents to have the same Knight
as Persee, as it has been passed down from generation to generation in our family
A 186
Flashbacks as Scenes
To create a Memory, you don’t have to play Flashbacks that last one or
more Sessions (although we recommend it, because it’s very rewarding).
A Student can create a Memory even at the very moment when they
need it; that is, when they want to re-roll the dice in a Test. In this case,
the Student’s player will announce that the Scene is moving to the
past for a moment, and narrate – helped by the storyteller and other
Students’ players if necessary – a crucial Scene in their own Student’s
past, important enough to give them the strength to move forward and try
again.
After the Flashback Scene, which can last from a few seconds to a few
minutes, the Student will have to write down a new Memory Trait, which
they can use immediately to re-roll the dice of the Test they were carrying
out.
During a Flashback Scene, you do not need to do Tests or spend Limit

Points, just say how something you experienced in the past is connected
to what you are experiencing at that moment.
Gallad is on the ground and has already suffered 2 Wounds, and Aggro Vain’s blows
are putting him in trouble. Mari, who plays Gallad, announces to everyone that she
wants to create Gallad’s first Memory, in order to be able to re-roll the last Test’s dice.
She then begins talking about Gallad’s childhood and seeing Sir Owyn fighting in a
tournament. His opponent was twice as big as he was, but he managed to disarm
them. Owyn then grabbed Bastion, his shield, and ran to meet his opponent, taking
them by surprise and tipping the duel’s fate. Gallad remembers thinking “Defence is
the best form of attack” at the time.
Mari writes “Defence is the best form of attack” in a Memory slot and re-roll the Test.
A 187
Knights in Flashbacks
Knights can be used in Flashbacks, but it is difficult for a Student to have
had access to their Knight before arriving at the Academy.
Secondary Characters may or may not have a Knight available, also

depending on their role in the Flashback: the young peasant is less likely
to own a Knight than a veteran fighter, the same goes for an old scientist
or a paladin of the Kingdom.
If they have a Knight, Secondary Characters

can choose a Name and a Frame, and it may
also have an Ability.
Changing Nemeses and
Flaws
Nemeses and Flaws don’t have to remain the same throughout the
Students’ existence. A Student might not even have a Nemesis, or they
might not have one anymore after defeating their previous one.
There’s a slightly different discourse for the Flaw, as fearless heroes exist
only in stories told at the Academy, while in reality, even the brightest
paladins have secrets and dark sides.
Nemeses and Flaws should change freely according to what is most

interesting to the story you are telling, as long as the change has real
reasons and consequences for the group narrative: it’s all very well to
remove “Vortigern” as a Nemesis after you have defeated it, and it’s great
to change the “Coward” Flaw to “Reckless” following trauma experienced
by the Students; but you cannot eliminate the Nemesis just because it
appears at a difficult time in the Scene, just as you cannot change a Flaw
just because you do not like it at that time.
B Hot head B I can’t resist a joke

B Shy B Impertinent
B Feeling inferior to classmates B Smartass
B Detached B Coward
B I don’t know where I belong B Unconscious
B Paranoid B Lazy
B Naivety B I never study
A 189
The Knights
Knights are mechanical armours powered by the energy of
Dragon Particles, which arcanists call Dragon’s Breath.
They were built by Dr Merlin, the Round’s scientific director,

who modelled them after ancient artefacts discovered in ruins
scattered throughout Brit’an.
They are divided into three classes, according to size:
Knave (up to 5 metres high), Chevalier (up to 20 metres) and

Paladin (up to 120 metres).
Each Knight binds to a single pilot during the “Ceremony of Siege

Perilous”, which is typically performed at the end of the first
school year. Of course, particularly gifted Students or special
situations could bring the ceremony forward.
A 191
Classes of Knight
Knave: Knaves are small and short-range, going unnoticed easily. They
are also the standard training unit at the Round Academy, and also used
throughout Brit’an as heavy-duty vehicles.
Chevalier: Chevaliers are those which are most commonly called Knights.
Imposing creations, each is bound to a single element from which it draws
power. They can also accommodate two or three people in the cockpit, but
the pilot is always only one.
Paladin: Paladins are often used as transport for Knights and Knaves, due
to their size, although they are also equipped with weapons capable of
rivalling Colony frigates. They are piloted by a crew of at least 3 pilots.
A 192
Dragon Particles
Discovered on Brit’an by early Earthling Colonists, Dragon Particles are
radioactive particles whose quantum charge is capable of manipulating
reality to some degree.
Dragon Particles bound to the same element tend to attract one another,
creating what seem like elemental crystals. A machine or person
capable of influencing Dragon Particles can separate them and exploit
the enormous energy accumulated within them, especially on the same
elements to which the Particles are bound.
Their radiation, however, can be toxic or lead to mutations, such as with

the Dragonbloods, which is why the Round is always researching more
sustainable alternatives, studying alchemy for ways to replace Cores with
more secure batteries (such as the plugged-in Knave you can see on this
page).
A 193
GR.A.I.L. OS
Giant-Robot Artificial Intelligence Legacy Operating System: the operating
system that allows Knights to move and operate in all their majesty.
Developed by Dr Merlin and based on a series of Avalonian rituals, GR.A.I.L.

is an artificial proto-intelligence that can synchronise with the mind of the
Knight’s pilot, allowing them to move their vehicle as if they were simply
moving their body.
This also lets Knights learn new skills and unlock unforeseen potential as
the pilot grows and trains.
GR.A.I.L. also makes it very difficult for anyone who is not the pilot to take
control of the Knight, although people with a similar mentality could find it
easier: in short, GR.A.I.L. is able to understand its pilot’s heart and react to
their will, almost as if they were one.
A 194
Dragon Technology
Dragon Particles power virtually every piece of Brit’an technology.
Particles used by the population are refined to make them less hazardous,
into what is called Essence, liquid fuel with very low levels of radioactivity
and extremely low power.
Essence feeds not only the power plants that enable Kamel’oth’s towns
to be lit, even at night, but also the Horses, the most common means of
transport throughout Brit’an, machines capable of reaching great speeds
thanks to their ability to float a few centimetres above the ground.
There are also civil and military skyships, capable of making long journeys
and connecting Avalon, the Kingdom of Kamel’oth and the Sax’on Empire
in a few days.
A 195
The world of Brit’an
Brit’an is a planet perpetually at war.
On the one side, Kamel’oth, where the Round Academy can be

found, is ruled by the Pendragons and rich in natural resources.
East of Kamel’oth, there are three islands: Wessex, Essex and

Sussex which form the Empire of Sax’onia, a harsh, bitter land,
where force is the only rule accepted. The titanic Divine Sword,
which you can see from almost everywhere on Brit’an, can be
found here.
West of Kamel’oth lies the peaceful Avalon, separated from the

continent by a stormy sea. Avalonians value their independence
above everything else, and don’t usually take part in conflicts
between Kamel’oth and Sax’onia.
You won’t find a highly detailed world in KotR:A, we left it to you

to fill in the blanks and make the world more interesting through
your adventures.
A 197
The Kingdom of Kamel’oth
Rich and prosperous, the Kingdom of Kamel’oth stretches from north to
south, cutting Brit’an in its entirety. Despite its length, it’s actually a very
small Kingdom compared to the Sax’on Empire.
Surrounded by the sea and covered in forest, Kamel’oth is blessed by the

Dragon’s Breath, the energy that binds all things on Brit’an, flowing under
the Kingdom, allowing the people of Kamel’oth to use its energy to power
electric plants and, of course, the Round itself.
For this very reason, cities in Kamel’oth are both rich in technology and
immersed in nature, flora and fauna flourishing due to Dragon Particles.
The castles of Bret’on nobility rise above the homes of the common
people, armed with defence mechanisms that might even hold off a Knight
for several minutes, in case a new war with Sax’onia starts.
Kamel’oth, capital of the Kingdom, is located near the Round and is

actually a flying fortress.
A 198
SOME INTERESTING LOCATION IDEAS
B The Round, the lab specialised in the development of Knights, is also a military
base and Academy for Students. The Round is officially neutral ground,
harbouring promising youngsters from all over the world
B Kamel’oth Fortress, centre of the Kingdom’s power and home to the Knights of
the Round, the Kingdom’s army.
B Lyonesse, a port city famous for the skyships connecting Kamel’oth and Avalon
B Ber Du Lac, a lake surrounded by impenetrable forest. Rumour has it that the
Lady of the Lake, a creature more ancient than Avalon itself, lives here, protected
by numerous Alraunes.
B Kentarobury,
to Sax’onia
Bret’on seat of the Church of the Sword and landing place for ships
A 199
The Empire of Sax’onia
The Empire is a much less welcoming and lush place than Kamel’oth,
destroyed by radiation from Dragon bombs used during the First War.
While the bombs made the Empire’s surface mostly uninhabitable, the
Paladin-class Knight clashes of the Hundred Years’ War reduced the
central part of the continent to an archipelago of small islands. King
Pendragon II’s Divine Sword remains planted in the mountain near
Kamml’ann to remind all inhabitants of Brit’an how dangerous it is to
abuse the Knights’ power.
The numerous wars that have taken place have consumed reserves of
Dragon Particles on the continent, forcing the Sax’on population to find
alternative energy sources and leading them to develop alchemy.
Today, the Empire is officially in a truce with Kamel’oth, but under its quiet
façade, the waters of a possible new invasion are stirring in the hunt for
resources to exploit.
A 200
B Kamml’ann, capital island of the Sax’onia Empire and the site of the last battle of
the Hundred Years’ War. The titanic Divine Sword is here
B Essex, the easternmost island of the Empire, is where the most Avalonian ruins
remain, and where the ground is shaken by continuous landslides caused by
gases extracted to compensate for the scarcity of Dragon Particles
B Wessex, the westernmost island, is the smallest and richest of the islands,
where most of the Sax’on barons have built their own fortified villas, ready for a
new war
B Sussex, the southernmost island, is the largest in the Empire. The inhospitable
heat that characterises it has led the Sax’on to build large cities that develop
underground, mostly illuminated by alchemical lamps
A 201
Ancient Avalon
Matron Maab is the oldest living Avalonian and, although not a ruler, all
Avalon looks to her as a guide: Maab was alive during the First War and
saw the newborn human peoples destroy Brit’an with their weapons.
For this reason, she pushed to close Avalon’s borders, and for a long time
insisted that its people avoid any contact with humans, until the young
Avalonians recently insisted on reopening the borders, and the Council
heard their voice.
Avalon is an extremely rich land, packed with resources and history, and
Avalonian society has been shaped by this wealth: an almost perfect
control of the Dragon’s Breath has allowed them to focus on the purely
intellectual part of their lives and the constant improvement of their body,
pursuing only what stimulates them.
A 202
B Stone’s Edge, an ancient circle of stones used to channel the Dragon’s Breath into
the Kerns, huge stone and steel constructs, which the Knights are inspired by
B Tirnan’og, a western city in Avalon and seat of the Council of Apples, the
Avalonian government still held in the ancient orchards which gave the island its
name
B Magm’ell, the easternmost part of Avalon, is composed of floating islands, so

steeped in Dragon Particles that it defeats the most basic laws of physics
A 203
Life on the edge
The Sidhe do not have a proper country, nor do they know where they
come from. These shape-shifting people are found throughout Brit’an,
on the margins of societies which welcome them willingly or unwillingly.
You’ll find Sidhe in the streets of Bret’on cities, in the underground
complexes of the Sax’onia Empire and even among the wonders of Avalon.
Sidhe culture is very tribal, and almost brutal in some respects: young
Sidhe grow up very quickly, and start to live alone, far from their parents,
by the age of 11 or 12, settling as they can or living in the forests, in
contact with nature.
This primal side of theirs and their ability to change appearance have often
frightened (and still frightens) some humans, who treat the Sidhe with
mistrust, accusing them of feeding on civilisation’s leftovers or, worse
still, of being a changeling, a derogatory term that identifies those Sidhe
that can take other people’s forms, and that the most paranoid and racist
believe kill honest citizens to replace them.
A 204
B Samha’in, one of the two holidays observed by the Sidhe: during the winter
solstice, the Sidhe gather in the forest closest to where they are to celebrate
their ancestors, exchanging stories about their lives
B Bell Thane, the other holiday observed by the Sidhe: during the summer solstice,
the Sidhe seem to almost disappear, because every one of them (or nearly)
explores their own city, remaining in animal form for 24 hours, to remind them
that even overcrowded cities are just one way of viewing the world
B Immram, the only true Sidhe outpost in Avalon – although it would be more
correct to say beneath Avalon: Immram is in fact an underwater city located in
the inland sea of Avalon, and its history is as old as that of the island
A 205
Dangerous places
There is no country, city or even village in Brit’an inhabited solely by
Dragonblood.
There are two reasons for this:
B Dragonbloods are born seemingly at random from human parents

who have been abnormally exposed to the Dragon’s Breath
B Fluctuations in Dragon radiation make places where this happens

highly unstable and dangerous
Although a baby Dragonblood might be considered a blessing of the

Breath itself, the effects of such a high concentration of Dragon Particles
can cause regional upheaval: rocks become light to the point they float,
waterfalls and rivers flow backwards, rains fall incessantly year-round...
Dragonbloods are still very rare, but such births are becoming more
frequent and the Round is continually monitoring the situation.
A 206
B Caer Sidi, an ancient Sax’on fortress that Dragon Particles have transformed
from solid rock into sharp, indestructible crystals. Crystals can be removed by
manipulating the Dragon’s Breath, and are used as batteries for some Knights
B Hybras, an island impossible to reach due to the dense fog that covers it all year
round, except for one day every 7 years: on that day the island burns and lights
up like a giant ember, consuming the fog
B Kerys, a city torn from the land that now fluctuates at various kilometres of
altitude, so much so that it is often used by Colonial ships as a support base
during exit phases from Brit’an’s atmosphere.
A 207
The Orbital Colonies
The Colonies are all that remain of the original land fleet, huge arks
capable of recycling water, purifying air and generating energy thanks to
R2 engines, which exploit near-forgotten technology, unknown to surface
inhabitants.
Colonists are the remnants of humans who originally crossed deep space
in search of a new home, separated for centuries by the exploration
ships that then started Brit’an’s terraformation process, using advanced
nanomachines (that we now call Dragon Particles).
Although the colony ships are no longer able to undertake interstellar

voyages, Colonial scientists are still trying to repair them as they try
to understand what happened to the other colony ships that are still
scattered in the cosmos.
A 208
B Earth-01, the Colony where the Principality of Oisin founded its government,
proclaiming itself the only true descendants of early human settlers. The
Earth-01 crew was the first to awaken from hibernation and receive the first
signals from Brit’an
B A.R.K., the ark ship that has been dismantled to allow the other Colonies to
continue to function properly. Its carcass is also visible from Brit’an on the
clearest nights
B Orbit Eye, a satellite system by which Colonists observe and control everything
that happens on Brit’an. It is said that there is no more informed spy than a
Colonial spy for a valid reason
A 209
Beyond Brit’an: the Sea of
Stars
The time of great interstellar travel seems to have come to an end for
humanity. The large colony ships that brought the first humans to Brit’an
cannot be reactivated without putting their own inhabitants at risk.
The uniqueness of Dragon Radiation, present only on Brit’an, makes it
practically impossible to move beyond the system in which Brit’an is
located.
The technology that allows space travel is, however, completely in the
hands of the Colonies, and is limited to small shuttle ships capable of
carrying about ten people, or Knights built specially by the inhabitants of
the Colonies to defend themselves during the turmoil of the wars between
Kamel’oth and Sax’onia.
Excluded from Brit’an’s life for centuries, Colonists have kept their
dominion and secrecy over their technology, waiting to reactivate their
colony ships in search of a planet where they can finally live away from the
conflicts that Dragon Particles have sparked.
Not even the inhabitants of the Colonies dare to move too far from
Brit’an’s orbit as the Sea of Stars is vast and unknown, and the darkness
that resides there would frighten even the bravest hero. In the oldest
Colonies, one can still find the records of the Earth explorers who tried
to shed light on this darkness, but the story always ends the same way:
ships found drifting, unmanned, signs of claws so large that those of a
dragon look like the claws of a common house cat, voices echoing in the
corridors of the ships inviting anyone who hears them to move away from
what they call the Elsewhere.
A 210
A
213
Making an interesting
location
The world of KotR:A is a world where science and magic are one and the
same, the same thing from different points of view. What for an Avalonian
is a place of spirituality, for a Bret’on scientist is a resource to exploit or an
anomaly to be studied.
Brit’an is as full of cities as it is of forests and deserts, of castles and

keeps, of power plants and orbital elevators: any place you want, can
exist, as long as you remember to give it a proper, Arthurian name, maybe
changing the name of a real location in Great Britain.
When you create a location, put it on the map to remember where it

should be.
Checklist
B Choose where it is
B Choose if it is ancient and abandoned, or modern and lively
B Choose to what extent the Dragon’s Breath has changed the nature
and geography of the place
B Choose who rules over it, and what battles might have occurred here
B Write one or two Threats that the Student might encounter here
B Think of three people or creatures that might be interesting to find
B Choose a name or change the name of a real location
A 214
Location sheet
You can use a Location sheet to help you keep track of places you create and
the interesting ideas that orbit around them.
When you create a place, write a short description with only the general
details, such as the region in which it is located, whether it is a place related
to Brit’an’s past or not, and whether there have been any major events.
Then fill the Location Traits with oddities, mysteries or unique resources, and
write down Threats and Secondary Characters inside the circles.
If a location changes during the game, update the Traits to keep track of the
consequences of Students’ actions in Brit’an.
Location sheets should be public and available to everyone, like some kind of
a map.
EXAMPLE: NARROW BORDERLAND
Narrow Borderland was the first Bret’on outpost to fall when Sax’onia
attacked during the Hundred Years’ War. Today it’s a museum-city on the
southern coast of Kamel’oth, and people say that those attuned to the
Dragon’s Breath can still hear echoes of the War in the castle’s corridors.
Hextor, Echoes of
museum Banshee
war
director
Ancient
Skyport
Knights
King
Uther’s
ghost
A 215
Lyonesse
Don Sergeant
Caliostro Skyport Lamruil
Knight Perilous
Arena Tavern
Riona
Meara
Don Caliostro is the head of the local underworld, and mainly deals with
illegal bets in the Arena.
Riona Meara runs the Perilous Tavern and is the right person to ask for the
right contact at the right time.
Sergeant Lamruil is the security officer at Lyonesse skyport.
A216
Earnwulf Industries
Dr Garth Dragon Waves Dr Seren

Keelan Tower Lanman
Knight Alchemy
laboratory studies
Bryn
Cloyd
Dr Garth Keelan is Merlin’s most credible rival – he studied his work and
apparently was his assistant.
Dr Seren Lanman is probably the most important alchemical researcher in

Brit’an.
Bryn Cloyd is the director of Earnwulf Industries, founded over a hundred

years ago by his great-grandfather. Affable and straight to the point, he’s
a hard person to convince.
A
217
Ober’on Forest
Zorran Ancient Cloud

technology
Stone Dragon
Forest Particles
Ober’on
Ober’on is the Greenman who protects this forest and the technology
hidden there.
Zorran is a Dragon that has found refuge in the stone forest in the centre
of the Ober’on Forest.
Cloud is an ex-pilot, intrinsically connected to the air. Once they got lost
in their power, they finally turned into a living cloud, and now feed the
Ober’on forest with their essence.
A 218
Sheohob District
Black
Iagann Fionna
market
Terrorist Seer
cells
Beitris
The Sheohob District is one of Kamml’ann’s most peripheral districts, as

well as being the neighbourhood where you will most likely find a few
Sidhe – so much so that all points of interest in the area are in their hands.
Iagann, Fionna and Beitris are the three most important Sidhe, linked to all
the less legal activities in the neighbourhood.
A
219
Burnhelm
Banshee Eternal Revenant

flames
Suspended Dragon
in time Syndrome
Derwen
Oliver
Burnhelm is the example of Dragon Particles’ risks. A plant that produced

Essence exploded, releasing an enormous amount of unstable energy.
The result is that the city continues to burn, suspended in time, its dead
inhabitants forced to roam the streets in search of what they once were.
Derwen Oliver makes sure no one gets into town.
A220
Aeternitas Terminal
Morgan Spare Alina

Bennett parts Lindsay
Old
Ionic Engines warehouse
Quinn
Reynolds
The Aeternitas is a half-wreck of an ancient ark ship.
Inside it, in the few still-functioning parts, live the most desperate
Colonists, who cannot afford the expensive way of living of the new
Colonies.
Bennet, Reynolds and Lindsay are scrap merchants who dismantle

working spare parts to sell them to other Colonies.
A221
The Round Academy
The Academy is one of the most peculiar buildings in all of
Brit’an – a white ellipsoidal dome built on top of the Round, Dr
Merlin’s laboratory, where he studies Dragon Particles and builds
Knights.
The Academy is a citadel where Students live, study and

train. They can only leave with permission from Headmaster
Pendragon, and usually only under the supervision of a teacher.
Surrounding the Academy are fields, forests and lakes, used to

sustain life in the Academy.
REMEMBER: the Round Academy isn’t the only military academy

training Knight pilots, although it’s the most prestigious thanks
to the Round’s closeness to where the first Knights were
developed. Other academies around Brit’an might see the Round
Academy as a rival, especially when it comes to sport.
A 223
Around the Academy
The Academy’s surroundings are comparable to the rich suburbs of a
technologically developed small town: low-consumption farms produce all
the food that the students need.
Purification tanks recycle water (and help cool the Round’s servers);
landing platforms allow skyships from all over Brit’an to transport
students, special guests and raw materials that the farms cannot
produce...
Everything is nearby: from the forests to the mountains, even the sea
and a small (artificially created) desert, providing the perfect place to train
Students to use their Knights in any situation.
The area under the Academy’s control is not fenced, and anyone can
leave or enter (although this doesn’t mean that the Round is not watching
anyone crossing the border).
A 224
B O’Tonis farm, managed by the family of the same name. The owners are a large
and helpful family, ready to make sacrifices to help students in need
B The Skyport, the principal point of access to the Academy. Although you can
reach the Academy on foot, most students, guests and teachers prefer to use the
air shuttle service to reach the nearest cities and vice versa
B Lyonesse, the city closest to the Academy, has been the stage of one of the
bloodiest battles in the Brit’an’s history – it was so violent that Kamel’oth and
Sax’onia found themselves forced to sign an armistice. Since then, the city has
been rebuilt and is home to a famous arena
A 225
Dorms and common areas
Students can find everything they need inside the Academy: whether
that’s a comfortable bed, a cup of warm milk or a shop selling crystal
catalysts for their Core, the Academy can provide it.
In addition to dorms, cafeterias and shops, the Academy offers many

public places where students can meet to study, train or simply hang out.
Students will be able to find parks, an auditorium, a pool and more along
its leafy boulevards.
Particular care has been paid to the dormitories, which are more like small
flats where students will live in groups of 2 or 3, during their academic
life – a sign that the Academy values both military training and comfort for
everyone, even for those who thought they could never afford it and can
attend the Academy only thanks to a grant.
A 226
B Dorm A is the largest dorm in the whole Academy, reserved for Students whose
family might not otherwise be able to afford proper accommodation. It’s the
most lively dormitory precisely for this reason, and emotions and feelings tend to
run stronger there
B The cafeteria has become, throughout the years, most Students’ after school
meeting spot. It’s open 24/7 and students can also use it for extracurricular
activities, like the occasional Knightpunk & Dragons: the Masquerade Session
B Throughout the year, plenty of different shows – both musical and

theatrical – are organised in the Academy’s auditorium by school clubs
A 227
The school buildings
The heart of the dome protecting the Academy is filled with buildings
where students can train, both physically and mentally.
Besides classrooms, a student might find peace in the library, with one of
the largest collections of ancient and modern tomes in all Kamel’oth, or
push their body to the limit on the playing fields, where they can also train
to pilot Knaves before they receive their Knight permit.
Along the buildings designed for study, at the core of it all there’s also the
Siege, the building where the teachers live and manage academic life.
The Siege is only open to students during the day, to allow teachers to
meet with students, while all other buildings are usually open late and are
often used by clubs for their activities.
A 228
B The playing fields have two different areas: one reserved to students and one for
Knaves. Those who have not yet been authorised to pilot a Knight can train their
sense of balance and ability in the cockpit of the mechas, without forgetting to
train their own body
B The library is one of the largest in the whole Kingdom, with tomes from all
over the world, usually donated by wealthy parents who want to make a good
impression with the Headmaster and the teaching staff
B The Siege is basically a fortress inside the Academy, with reinforced walls and
weapons concealed all along the building, at the ready in case of an attack
A 229
The military buildings
Students who demonstrate a propensity to use the Dragon’s Breath,
or who are particularly skilled with Knights, can also gain access to the
military buildings once they pass the second-year exams. This is where
real war training begins.
Here they learn to shoot, fence, fly Knights in any condition, and
manipulate and concentrate Breath, focusing on what they are most likely
to be.
This reserved area holds the shooting range, different dojos, a circuit for
Knights, and Dr Merlin’s tower, from where he personally oversees the
growth of the most gifted magicians and scientists.
The Round’s entrance is located just below the tower, making it almost
impossible for anyone to enter the dungeons without his knowledge.
A 230
B The shooting range is a small, soundproofed and heavily guarded building. In

addition to being a range, it also functions as an armoury, and is the first line of
defence in case of an attack on the Academy
B Students can work on their connection to mecha and improve their day-to-day
piloting skills on the Knights’ circuit, even in sub-optimal conditions: the circuit
can change its layout as decided by the teachers, and even simulate space
combat
B Drwhose
Merlin’s tower is one of the most mysterious places in the entire Academy,
structure constantly changes following Merlin’s will, who jealously guards
his most bizarre secrets in his underground labs
A 231
The Round
The Round is a set of underground scientific laboratories located under Dr
Merlin’s tower. Here, he and those he deems worthy, design, and imagine
tomorrow’s technologies, pushing the Knight’s technical and warlike
capabilities further forward each day.
Officially, the Round is only dedicated to Knight research and

development, but there are several projects that the Round’s scientific
director secretly carries out in these laboratories.
All students have access to the Round at least once in their career: that is,
when they receive permission to pilot a Knight and are taken to the Round
hangar to choose what their mecha will be, during the Siege Perilous
ceremony. However, their visit is always as short as possible and is guided
by Dr Merlin, who tries to get through it as quickly as possible.
A 232
B The Joust is the laboratory where Knights are designed and built. Production is
almost fully automated
B Engines which enhance Knights Abilities are built and developed in the Keep,
where scientists try to find more and more effective methods of building them so
that they can enter into sync with their pilots’ hearts
B Invarious
the White Chapel, artificial intelligence development workshops animate
Knight processes, as well as neural interfaces that are used by pilots to
attune to their mechas
A 233
Official underground labs
For decades, the Round has been a military laboratory run by Dr Merlin
under the orders of King Pendragon III, where he first developed the
Knights which ended the Hundred Years’ War, then the Andruids used
during the Battle of Lyonesse.
The truce between Kamel’oth and Sax’onia led, among other things, to the
readjustment of the Round as an Academy that served as neutral ground
between the nations, a gesture of peace and good faith on the part of all
parties involved in the last war.
Although the Academy is officially neutral, the deal is unfortunately not

as precise on the secret underground labs that lie several hundred metres
below the school.
In the depths of the Round, who knows what new projects are ready to
surface in the outbreak of a new war.
A 234
B Hibernation cells, where all Andruids were built. The cells are located in the
Round labs and are mostly considered inactive
B Lionheart System, the central A.I. that follows Andruids’ development and growth
during their stay in the cells (and is rumoured to be the system that controls the
whole Round)
B Broselian, the underground bunker that serves as Dr Merlin’s inaccessible office,

where the first Andruids’ initial designs are contained
A 235
The secret levels
The Round’s underground labs are Dr Merlin’s natural habitat, where he
has conducted every sort of controversial experiment, far from the eyes of
anyone, including Headmaster Pendragon, King Uther IV, the Emperor of
Sax’onia, and the Avalonian Matron.
Only a few selected people can access these secret levels, even amongst
Merlin’s most faithful scientists, and anyone working here will never
voluntarily leave this place looking for a different job, as it would mean
being added to Dr Merlin’s blacklist, something you would never wish even
on your worst enemy.
There are also places that Merlin alone has access to, entire levels
dedicated to his cellular improvement project, which is said he used to
clone himself hundreds of times to live forever.
Only Merlin really knows how deep the Round actually goes, and no one
beside him has ever entered the sancta sanctorum at the bottom of this
abyss, a vault holding a relic no one should ever touch.
A 236
B Infaster,
the cloning and ageing tanks, Dr Merlin grew (and perhaps still does) Andruids
to use them as laboratory assistants or, in the past, as troops. All known
Andruids are from this floor of the Round underground labs
B IfArchive,
anything has happened in Brit’an, there’s surely a record of it in the Round
a giant warehouse doubling as a server farm, where Merlin stores all the
knowledge and the artefacts he has ever laid eyes on
B The Stone is Brit’an’s foundation stone, and Merlin and the Knights’ power: all
that remains of the original terrestrial nanomachines is in this agglomeration
kept in artificial stasis. Freeing them would have catastrophic consequences
A 237
Expanding the Academy
The Academy is way larger than what we are able to describe, so feel
free to add any interesting location you feel like: sports centres, haunted
dorms, cinemas, ancient ruins... the Academy is an independent city (at
least on the surface) and Students can explore it however they like.
The Round is completely in your hands, and maybe not even Merlin knows
every little detail of what lies beneath the Academy.
Remember that the Academy is a neutral ground where the military are
teachers, students live a normal student life most of their time, and the
underground levels hide more secrets than could ever be discovered.
Checklist
B Choose a new building or area
B Choose if it’s on the surface, or underground
B Choose who can access it or who knows about it
B Choose if Knights can enter it
B Choose if Students can use their Core inside it
B Choose a Name
A 238
Life at the Academy
Students, welcome to the Round Academy’s orientation
course, Brit’an’s best Military Academy (though not the only one).
The three years you will spend here will make you grow from
16-year-old Students trying to find their way in the world into
skilled pilots capable of braving any Threat, for the good of the
Kingdom and the whole planet.
Academy classes are small, with about 5 students, to ensure

each of you the maximum attention that our professors can
give (a class should include all the Students and a couple of
Secondary Characters, perhaps taken from the Nemeses and the
Kin Spirits chosen by players).
In this section, we will answer your most common questions

about the Round, the Academy and your duties within the school.
What’s a typical year at the Round Academy?
What is Knightball and how do you play it?
What does the Academy’s motto mean?
A 241
Academic calendar
The academic year is made up of three terms, each lasting three months,
at the end of which you will have to take exams, followed by three weeks
of vacation.
The beginning of the school year always coincides with the Spring Equinox,
and all students are assessed at the end of each term with theoretical
and practical exams, to ascertain their progress and help them direct their
academic career to the Jobs best suited to them.
Field trips and training are often organised during teaching months.
However, students’ two most awaited moments are the winter and
summer holidays: three weeks that most students will spend away
from the Academy’s books and walls, straddling the summer and winter
solstice.
The Autumn Equinox usually coincides with the School Festival, during
which students are invited to join in various activities.
A 242
A FEW ACADEMIC EVENTS
B Summer vacation: the summer vacation is the students’ most awaited moment,
when they can finally relax on the beach with their friends and, of course, get
into trouble, far from the eyes of their teachers
B Exams: if the summer break is the most looked forward to moment, exams are
the most dreaded. Students with passing grades might be able to pursue a new
Job or maybe event pilot their own Knight
B School Festival: whether it being a play, a street food cart or a visit of the
Academy’s seven occult mysteries, every student is invited to join the School
Festival, during which new potential students and members of rival Academies
can visit
A 243
Knightball
Knightball is Brit’an’s most popular sport, and the Academy has a long
tradition with it.
The rules are simple:
B Each team is made of 6 players: 1 goalkeeper (occupying the goal), 1

King (who initially occupies the contested area near their goal) and 4
attackers (who initially occupy the disputed areas in the centre of the
pitch)
B You score a point each time the ball lands inside the opposite goal
B All players, using their Knight (or a smaller mecha in minor leagues)
will try to take control of the ball using anything they can, including
their Core
B The ball cannot leave the pitch
B You score 5 points if you manage to hit the other team’s King
A 244
A FEW RIVAL TEAMS
B Aylesbury’s Darknights: The Darknights have been competing against the Round
Academy Kings for the title of Champions of the Knightball Youth Tournament for
years. Despite unorthodox methods, they’re an exceptional team.
B Crowland’s Mystery Comets: Little is known about this team, recently formed
within the Avalonian Academy, the only one in the whole of Brit’an, founded just
a few years ago at the behest of Matron Maab
B Shepton Mallet’s Quiet Crusaders: Once the undisputed champions of the

tournament, the Quiet Crusaders have been living in the shadow of their coach’s
crimes, who turned out to be a mad Sidhe who tried to use the team to get inside
the Round and destroy it
A 245
The Academy’s motto
UNUM COR, VIS PLURIUM is the motto that stands above the Academy’s
entrance, and it is the most important thing that a Student will learn in
their years of study.
The importance of the motto, chosen by Dr Merlin, goes far beyond

its pure and simple translation (One heart, the strength of many), and
embodies a strong idea, capable of breaking down even the most difficult
obstacles: we are never alone, even when the world seems to be against
us, because, in our hearts, we carry the strength of all the people we have
met.
Friendships, loves and conflicts help us shape our personality and give
us strength through the memories we build. Even moments of crisis,
when everything seems hostile, can help us grow, especially if we have
someone’s support.
This is the most important lesson a Student should learn at the Academy:
face each situation with your heart, knowing that the strength of all the
people you have interacted with is within you. This is real strength.
Some Students have also begun to use a slightly different version of the
motto, Unum Core, Vis Plurium, to highlight just how those who support
us can give us the energy to overcome every obstacle, with a witty pun
that refers to Students’ Cores.
The better educated think it’s a way for Dr Merlin to flaunt the plan that
would allow him to be the oldest Avalonian in existence, and if you listen
to the rumours that there are cloning tanks in the secret levels beneath
the Round... Well, it’s easy to see what Merlin wants.
A 246
The war for Brit’an
Although at the moment the people of Brit’an are living under
a fragile armistice, which enabled the creation of the Round
Academy, the planet has always been at war, at least since the
arrival of the Earthling Colonists.
The Sidhe lived side by side with now-disappeared peoples,

ignoring each other, until the Earthlings found Brit’an at the end
of a long journey into the cosmos, in search of a new habitable
planet.
Colony ships, which remain in orbit above Brit’an to this day, sent
cutting-edge capsules to the planet, losing communication with
them shortly after due to radiation interfering with the terrestrial
communicators’ radio microwaves.
Abandoned to their own devices, the capsules landed on

different parts of the planet, as planned, and began to explore
and conquer the rest of Brit’an.
The Sidhe were curious and interested in the newcomers,

showing them how to survive in their new home. This gesture of
solidarity gave the Earthlings courage to go beyond the borders
initially considered safe by the colonisation plan, discovering a
land of scarce resources and a harsh climate.
But war never changes, and over the centuries, the descendants
of the two capsules which landed on Brit’an began to fight for
domination of natural resources, exploiting what was left of
Earth’s technology, sure that the Colonies had now been lost.
A 249
The Colonies, unable to continue their journey to another planet and
unable to communicate with the capsules launched onto Brit’an, began
to adapt the colony ships so that they could support what was left of
humanity.
At the end of the First Brit’an War, the surviving Earthlings withdrew to
their capsules, freeing the terraforming nanomachines they had brought,
entering a centuries-long hibernation and waiting for the terraformation
process to be completed so they could take advantage of the renewed
resources of a reborn planet.
Reacting with substances present on the planet, the terraforming

nanomachines gave rise to a new type of particle: Dragon Particles, which
began to shape and modify the planet much more profoundly and quickly
than expected by the terraformation process.
One of the capsules woke the crew prematurely from their hibernation
due to a malfunction. They were then struck by nanomachines and Dragon
Particles, radically mutating them and making them forget their origins.
The name of this capsule was “Avalon”.
A 250
The meeting of Avalon and the Earthlings
The crew of what was once a small shuttle was radically changed by
terraforming nanomachines, leading to the development of traits never
before possessed by Earthlings: long ears, alabaster skin and a life
calculated in centuries rather than decades.
The Avalonians dismantled what was left of their ship, buried the
remaining nanomachines underground, and continued with their lives,
developing new powers which they began to call Dragon’s Breath. This
ability allowed Avalonians to shape the laws of physics according to their
own desires, as the nanomachines that had bound themselves to their
DNA were able to resonate with those present in the air, earth and water,
allowing those who could attune to the Breath to perform miracles.
As the Avalonians grew and experimented with new technologies that

exploited the Breath – such as Kerns – the Earthlings who had remained
dormant waiting for the end of the terraformation cycle began to awaken;
finding not only the lush world they expected, but also a people ready to
welcome them as if they were distant relatives.
The Avalonians showed the Earthlings what the Breath was capable of,
while the Earthlings themselves began to be slowly mutated by residual
radiation in the nanomachines, becoming able to develop a Core like the
Avalonians.
The Earthlings immediately tried to exploit this power to take control of

Brit’an, unleashing further civil wars which ended with the division of the
Earthlings between Bret’on and Sax’on, and pushing the Avalonians into
isolationism.
The rest is history...
A 251
... but history is not set in
stone!
The story of the previous pages is only part of Brit’an’s story, and is
deliberately left with several unexplained points:
B Are there any other colonised planets?
B How do you manipulate the Dragon’s Breath?
B Are Dragon Particles just nanomachines?
B What happened between the moment the Colonists went into

cryogenic sleep and the moment they woke up?
All these points (and all those that don’t even come to mind now) have
been deliberately left undefined, to give you the opportunity to shape
these aspects of your game world based on where your story goes and
what you’re interested in discovering.
So don’t think about whether or not something is “canonical”: it can be, if

you want it to, in your games.
In fact, you could even change the premises that we have written in these
pages!
The important thing when playing KotR:A isn’t knowing where a kingdom
is, or what a city is called. The important thing is to live the stories of
young Students, moved by their own passions, by adolescent loves,
capable of finding the strength to go forward, whether with friendship or
the will to bring to light a hidden truth, even in the most difficult moment.
In the Session Zero chapter you will find some questions to try to answer
to shape your Brit’an.
A 252
Omens of war
Brit’an’s story as it has been told so far is the frame within which to
narrate your adventures, but it is a very flexible frame: feel free to use only
what seems interesting to you, to change or add details to make the story
more relatable and more interesting for your Students.
Remember, however, that Brit’an is a world only apparently at peace,

always on the brink of a new war, where resources are plentiful for some
and scarce for others, and that those in power always have secrets to
hide.
Also remember that the Knights are war machines, but that the Academy
was created to train the pilots of the future, attracting recruits from all
over Brit’an, to prepare for both human and alien threats.
Checklist
B Choose which Factions are involved in the event and create Faction
sheets if necessary
B Choose at what point the event is in the past
B Choose whether the event’s consequences still affect Students, allies

or opponents
B Choose whether the event is known to the public or has been kept
secret (and by whom)
B Choose whether the truth of what happened has become legend
A 253
Threats
Not all the challenges the Students will face are necessarily
Threats: convincing the innkeeper to talk, jumping a ditch or
remembering details of something witnessed in the past may
require Tests, but most likely said Test will put an end, one way
or another, to the situation.
Threats are all those challenges that, for any reason, cannot
be overcome with a single Test, or that might entail specific
consequences: an ancient beast that wakens from its slumber,
an ancient Avalonian labyrinth full of traps, or an out of control
artefact from the old Earth, are all things that might give
Students a hell of a time.
Each Threat is composed of a Difficulty score and a Power

score, one to three Traits that make up the heart (and that are
therefore the Wounds necessary to make the Threat harmless),
two optional Traits, a Weak Spot and a special Technique.
A 255
Threat Techniques
Every Threat has access to a special Technique, to activate when a Student
gets a Failure, a Disaster or when something specific happens.
Threat Techniques are split between Active, indicated by (A), and Passive,
indicated with (P): Active Techniques can only be put into play by spending
Failures or Disasters, while Passive ones come into play automatically
upon the occurrence of a condition specified by the Technique, for
example:
B The conflict starts
B A Student is Wounded
B The Threat is Wounded
B A specific event occurs
If there is no clear triggers stated in a Passive Technique, it will come into

play when the Threat enters into play.
When an event puts a Threat Technique into play, it is important that the
Technique is well explained, with the formula, “When X happens...”, so that it
is always clear to both storyteller and players what the triggers of a Threat
Technique are, for example:
B When the Threat comes into contact with a Knight

B When a Student uses the Dragon’s Breath to manipulate an element
B When a Student gets help from someone
A 256
Creating a Technique
When you create a Threat Technique, remember that each of these
Techniques allows you to put in play negative effects when a Test gets a
Disaster or Failure, or in certain specific situations.
Multiple Disasters can have different implications (for example, one

activates the Technique, another one inflicts a Wound).
A Threat Technique might:
B Raise the Difficulty score
B Raise the Power score
B Automatically inflict a Wound under specific circumstances
B Force a Student to spend Limit
B Force a Student to end their Overdrive
B Force a Student to go into Overdrive
B Forbid a Student to spend Limit Points
A257
Creating a Threat
B Choose a Name
B Set the Difficulty score, which will be added to all Tests (1 to 6)
B Set the Power score (1 to 5)
B Choose how many Wounds it can sustain (1 to 3)
B Write a Trait for each Wound
B Add more Traits if you want
B Write a Weak Spot
B Write a brief description of the Threat
B Write a Threat Technique
Horns Rage
Difficulty Control Power

6 over 4
Nature
Father of
Eldritch
all things
Slow
A258
Balancing a Threat
Students have several ways of successfully dealing with even the most
dangerous Threats. Balancing a conflict correctly is therefore a task that
the storyteller must not underestimate.
When Students are in a Conflict situation remember that:
B A Threat may not be alone
B A Threat with Techniques that affect Student’s Limit Points and

Wounds is particularly dangerous
B As anime teaches us, a Threat could have more than one form, each
with different Wounds, Difficulty and Power
If it seems that Students are getting through the pathos you wanted to
bring to the clash too easily, bring in reinforcements, or put the Threat’s
final form into play; while if you’ve cornered the Students and it wouldn’t
help the story to kick them while they are down, remember that Students’
opponents may have their secondary goals and be content to humiliate
those who dared challenge them.
Some examples
B A Tuatha Knight will rarely act alone, there will surely be soldiers or
Knaves supporting them, increasing the Difficulty of both the Tuatha
and the soldiers
B A Dragon prevents you from using Limit Points for many things, so
facing it will be extremely difficult, even without other Threats in the
Scene
B The President of the Student Council may have been defeated by the
Students, but surely it is only because he had not yet activated his
secret Technique
A 259
Defeating a Threat
Inflicting three Wounds on a Threat doesn’t necessarily mean defeating
them. In some cases, inflicting Wounds could mean that the Threat no
longer considers it worth fighting with Students; other times it could mean
that the Threat is becoming too powerful to really be defeated and it will
be necessary to try to limit damage, rather than get a clean victory.
In any case, as with Students, Threats’ Wounds are not the physical
damage they suffer or, at least, not necessarily.
A Threat that suffers three Wounds could become stronger, it could

withdraw to catch its breath, or it could be defeated, depending on what
the most dramatic result is.
Think about how certain videogames use fighting against a boss as an

interlude between one cutscene and another, involving players and then
revealing how everything was part of the Threat’s plan: in KotR:A, Threats
are tools that the storyteller can use to make Student’s life more exciting.
B Defeating Mor Dread in an athletics competition won’t send them to the

infirmary, but it will certainly make them more willing to make those
who dared beat them pay for it.
B Showing an ancient Avalonian A.I. that you are as intelligent as they are
will activate its power saving mode, allowing it to wait for the moment
when it can prove that it is superior
B The Colonies’ Knight pilot who tried to blow up the Round and who was
finally defeated has mysteriously disappeared from the site of their
Knight’s explosion, and no one has found any trace of their body.
A 261
Alraune
Difficulty Will Power

of the
1 Forest
1
Strength
in numbers Spores
Small
Small spirits that embody the

forest’s will, they are usually used
by those who practise magic, or
by more powerful creatures, as
servants and observers of what is
happening in the forest.
ACTIVE THREAT TECHNIQUE
Gemmation
The Alraune split by gemmation, creating two new homunculi that

immediately become aware and act independently of the other
Alraune present in the Scene, each with their own Wound.
A 262
Avalonian Ruins
Unstable Isolated
Particles
Difficulty Power
Old Earth
4 Tech 2
Security Intense
systems cold
Blood of
Avalon
There Avalonian ruins scattered

below the surface in all Brit’an,
built where the Dragon’s Breath
was stronger, or as Dr Merlin would
put it: where the nanomachines
from the Old Earth were still
terraforming the planet.
Terraforming nanomachines
The nanomachines left in these ruins can transform your very body
and soul, at least for a time: you cannot use your Legacy until you get
a Triumph in a Test.
A 263
Banshee
Screeching
Incorporeal
wail
Difficulty Power
3 Death knell
1
Avalonian
tech
A messenger of death, a Banshee

is the spirit of an Avalonian mother
who died violently.
It rarely attacks the living directly,

unless their time has come.
PASSIVE THREAT TECHNIQUE
Deathly Song
A Banshee’s song is usually an omen of death, but it only becomes

really dangerous when a Student is Wounded: if the Power of a
Banshee is normally 1, its Power becomes 5 for all Students who
have already suffered a Wound. A Banshee only stops singing if it is
defeated, disbanding into a flock of spectral crows, or if it is sent away
in some other way.
A
264
Cernunnos
Horns Rage
Difficulty Control Power

over
6 Nature
4
Father of
Eldritch
all things
Slow
A living spirit and embodiment of

Brit’an’s nature, Cernunnos today
is a corrupted version of what he
once was, wounded and mutated
by Breath’s radiation and climatic
changes caused by humans.
The Wild Dominator
Those who dare to try to strike Cernunnos will find themselves

in an uncontrollable state of fury: Students automatically enter
Overdrive and temporarily replace their Flaw with Fury. If they already
were in Overdrive, they leave the Scene. Fury prevents them from
understanding who their friends are, and who their enemies are.
Subsequent Consequences could lead those who are in this state to
strike their classmates.
A 265
Caradoc
Teacher Shape-shifting
Sidhe
Difficulty Power
One arm
4 Techinque 6
Quick
as the Fencer
wind
Cares about
Students
The most famous teacher in the

entire Academy. Caradoc fought
in the last war on Kamel’oth side,
losing her arm during a duel with
Cullwych, a Sax’on warlord. She
developed a particular sword
technique for this reason.
Strongarm
The special sword technique developed by the teacher exploits what

many believe to be her weak spot: her missing arm. This is a big
mistake on their part: when Caradoc is Wounded, the Student must
spend 1d6 Limit Points.
If they only end up spending 1 Llimit Point, Caradoc is not Wounded.
A 266
Cullwych
Longsword Sax’on
Difficulty Power
Duellist
4 3
Alchemical Relics
body of the past
Undead
One of the greatest Sax’on warlord,

he led imperial troops in the assault
on Kamel’oth in the last war,
and was then killed by Professor
Caradoc during the duel in which
she lost her arm, but apparently
came back to life thanks to
alchemy.
Breathless
Cullwych is apparently immune to anything related to the Dragon’s

Breath: using the Core or Techniques that make use of the Breath
brings Difficulty to 6, even if it had been lowered previously.
A
267
Dark Breunor
Dark
Pure hatred
Grievance
Difficulty Class Power
4 Paladin 4
Military Adaptable
techniques Frame
Old
model
The Knight of a hero of tyhe past,

corrupted by the hatred that their
Core had absorbed.
The Artificial Intelligence that

animates it can copy everything
that the pilot could do in the past.
Black Hole
Whoever is on board a Knight must spend 5 Limit Points to keep the

link between Core and robot active.
If they cannot, the Knight is deactivated and to restart it, they will
need to spend 5 Limit Points or succeed in a later Test, performed
with the sole purpose of restarting it.
A
268
Dragon
Strong
Wings
scales
Difficulty Power
Flames
4 3
Cunning Old magic
Stubborn
Dragons are among the oldest

and most revered creatures of all
Brit’an. Many legends circulate
about them, almost all without
foundation. Their innate connection
to the Dragon’s Breath makes them
extremely dangerous.
Padrone del Respiro
Students can’t spend Limit Points to help each other or add dice
to a Test, just as they can’t use them to turn a Consequence into a
Success.
They can still spend Limit Points to activate any available Technique.
A 269
Dullahan
Laser
Fluid
claws
Difficulty Nano Power
4 Machines 4
Giant No vital
point
Electric
impulses
Not all of the first Earth Colonists’

terraforming nanomachines
have been converted into Dragon
Particles, some have mutated a few
of Brit’an’s creatures, entering into
symbiosis with them or copying
their features.
Nube Dragon
The first Wound inflicted by a Dullahan is always to the Core, because

the nanomachines that make up its body are hungry for Dragon
Particles and are constantly trying to devour as many of them as
possible. A Core that suffers a Wound from a Dullahan deactivates
the Knight to which it is bound, making the Dullahan particularly
dangerous to face.
A
270
Fir-Bolg
Tactical Assault
suit rifle
Difficulty Power
To the very
4 limit 2
Thermal
Military
visor
Severd
from the
Breath
Eco-terrorists, convinced that the

source of all Brit’an’s evils is the
use of Dragon’s Breath. They act
brutally to try to dismantle the
Round and the refineries.
Dirty fighting
A DPP (Dragon Particle Pulse) bomb is activated, which temporarily

destabilises the flow of Dragon Particles: Students cannot use
Overdrive Techniques until someone gets a Triumph and decides to
spend it to restore the correct flow of Particles.
A271
Fomóir
Giant Rocks
Difficulty Power
Violent
5 4
Chaos Primeval
Heat
Originally inhabitants of Brit’an,

they survived the human invasion
and the planet’s terraformation
thousands of years ago.
Few remain, and they are now

trying to conquer the power of
Dragon’s Breath.
Berserk
When a Student is Wounded, the Fomóir is overwhelmed by the

battle’s excitement and attacks anything in sight: all Students in the
Scene (except for those who have just received a Wound) mark 5 Limit
Points or suffer a Wound, of their choice.
The Technique does not apply if the Wound is caused by the

Technique itself.
A272
Glatisanthia
Devouring
Shell everything
Difficulty Power
Kaiju
5 5
Ferocious Very ferocious

indeed
Out of
control
Sidhe legend has it that

Glatisanthia was their guardian, a
Taboo who learned to absorb the
essence of creatures without killing
them.
Dragon Particle mutations have

made her an immortal fury.
Sturdy shell
When she suffers a Wound from a Student who has used their Knight,
or a Technique to inflict automatic Wounds, the Knight or Student
suffers a Wound as well, because part of the blow is diverted by
Glatisanthia’s shell.
A
273
Greenman
Blocking Growing
Difficulty Power
Protecting
3 4
Plants Patient
Fire
A Greenman exists for one purpose

only: to protect the forest that
generated it and the secrets that
are kept within it.
It can be friendly if you are

respectful of the forest and if you
do not try to deceive it.
Verdant Lord
The entire forest obeys the Greenman: shrubs, vines, small animals,
dangerous beasts and poisonous fungi. A Greenman can inflict a
Wound on two Students at the same time by exploiting a single
Disaster or Failure, because their fury is that of the whole forest.
Everything that surrounds the Students and their Knights will attack
them without backing down.
A
274
Invader
Tentacles Flying
Difficulty Power
Big as
5 a mountain 5
Infecting
Toxic gas
minds
Cold
These alien creatures have crossed

deep space, attracted by Dragon
Particles’ energy. Their presence
causes disruption and chaos due to
fluctuations in the flow of Dragon
Particles.
Gamma waves
Disasters used by the storyteller to inflict Wounds inflict them on

both the Student and their Knight at the same time, making these
monsters extremely dangerous to anyone.
A 275
Knightmare
Rogue Chain
A.I. of blades
Difficulty Power
Autonomous
6 Knight 5
Avalonian
Colossal
technology
Ancient
These Avalonian destruction

machines hold a horrible secret:
their Artificial Intelligence was
created using corrupt souls,
destined to hell.
No one can control them.
Self-fixing
The Frame of a Knightmare is able to continuously repair itself: the

storyteller can remove a Wound from the Knightmare with a Disaster
or Failure, even if the Knightmare has already suffered three Wounds,
if they suffered them in the same Scene.
A
276
Lady of the Lake
Difficulty Power
Holograms
3 1
Artificial
Sensors
Intelligence
Bound
to the lake
Super advanced Artificial

Intelligence from one of the first
Colonial ships.
It has had centuries to observe

Brit’an and understand its
inhabitants’ behavioural patterns,
and its knowledge is infinite.
Prophecy
The actions of the Students interacting with this super A.I. unleash
a prophecy that cannot be avoided or ignored. The prophecy leaves
little doubt to those who listen to it, and always predicts the death of
someone, or the end of something. Complete the sentence below if
you have no idea on how to set the prophecy:
Disaster detected! ___________ will meet their end unless
___________ is avoided by___________ .
A 277
Majin
Class
Core
Chevalier
Difficulty Power
Amoral
5 3
Predictable
actions
Dr Merlin’s first attempt at building

an autonomous version of a Knight,
their name means machine in
Avalonian (machina in Sax’on).
However unstable, their Artificial

Intelligence provided the basis for
the Andruids.
Artificial Magic
The Majins’ primordial Artificial Intelligence is still the result of Dr

Merlin’s genius, and although not as refined as an Andruid, they
are much more aggressive. When a Majin comes into contact with
a Knight, they try to transfer their consciousness into the new
mechanical body, making it impossible to use Knight Traits until the
pilot gets a double Success or Triumph in a Test against the Majin.
A
278
Merlin
Creator of Omitting
Knights is not
lying
Difficulty Power
Scientific
4 genius 3
G.R.A.I.L. Magic is
Suit just science
Loves
secrets
Dr Merlin is an atypical Avalonian:

he has repudiated his homeland,
finding human leaders’ minds
easier to manipulate for his own
purposes. He has undergone
several surgeries to look like a
normal Bret’on.
Backdoor
Having developed almost all of Brit’an’s most popular operating and

Artificial Intelligence systems, Dr Merlin added several backdoors
which gave him access to a wide variety of computer systems.
His Power increases by 1 for each device equipped with an operating
system or Artificial Intelligence in the Scene, up to a maximum of
5 (Andruid Students do not count, but Andruids managed by the
storyteller do).
A279
Mor Gause
Core:
Templar
Light
Difficulty Power
3 Royal Blood
5
Code Military
of honour tactics
Word is
bond
Mor Gause’s DNA was used by

Dr Merlin to modify Mor Riggan,
hoping to instil in her a greater
sense of obedience.
Mor Gause graduated with flying

colours a few years ago, and is Mor
Dread’s older sister.
Mor Cades
The light emanating from Mor Gause’s Core can remove her allies’
Wounds: with a Failure, a Threat that can see Mor Gause can remove
a wound; with a Disaster, all the Threats present in the Scene that can
see her remove a Wound.
A
280
Mor Riggan
Merlin’s Elemental
pupil magic
Difficulty Power
Andruid
2 3
Planning Vendetta
Knows no
limits
Held by Dr Merlin as his best

creation, this Andruid refused its
creator’s dominion and claimed
freedom for itself and all other
Andruids, forcing King Pendragon
to declare them independent
beings.
Breath Manipulation
Mor Riggan can manipulate large quantities of Dragon Particles with

very little effort: when a Student uses their Core, their Knight or a
Technique that explicitly uses the Dragon’s Breath, Difficulty and
Power increase by 2.
A281
Myrddin
Sidhe Copia
DNA imperfetta
Difficulty Power
5 Core: Void
3
Self
confident
One of Merlin’s crazy clones – the

doctor infused it with Dragon
Particles and Sidhe DNA, hoping to
find a way to prolong his life even
further. These clones just want
revenge on the Round.
Deceptive exchange!
When a Myrddin is Wounded, it takes on the appearance of the

person who inflicted the Wound and creates a psychic connection
with it. The next Wound inflicted will be shared with the person
with whom they share their appearance: both mark a Wound. The
connection lasts until the Myrddin is defeated, decides to sever it, or a
Student performs a special Test.
A
282
Questing Beast
Distorting Bio
The Breath machine
Difficulty Power
Big as
6 a mountain 5
Tank Omega ray
Pure
instinct
A remnant of the Hundred Years’

War, this creature is a virtually
indestructible bio-machine, capable
of regenerating from the smallest
cell.
It moves in search of Dragon

Particles to consume.
Earthquake
The earth is shaken for miles and miles, opening sinkholes

everywhere: Power rises by 1 until the end of the Scene (it can go
beyond 5).
There’s nothing more terrifying than a Questing Beast, on Brit’an.
A 283
Revenant
Consuming
Vendetta
life
Difficulty Power
3 Tenacious
3
Corrupted
memories
The soldiers who died in the fields

of the battle of Lyonesse came
back to life due to an abnormal
reaction to Dragon Particles, and
now they seek revenge on the
living who sent them to die, or their
descendants.
Damaged Memories
The Student choose a Memory: they can no longer use that Memory
until the Revenant has been defeated, neither as a Trait, nor to re-roll
the dice. The memories associated with that Memory become corrupt
and confused, evil shadows of what really happened in the past.
A
284
Scarlet Meteor
New
Ace
Universal
pilot
Order
Difficulty Power
5 Colonist
3
Intuition Newkind
Idealist
Charles Azenby is the face of those

Colonists who think that Brit’an
belongs to them, as collateral for
centuries spent alone in space.
His Knight, the Scarlet Meteor, is

feared all over Brit’an.
Colony Drop
The Disasters used by the storyteller when Charles Azenby is on

board their Knight, the Scarlet Meteor, inflict Wounds on both the
Student and their Knight at the same time.
When Charles is not on board the Meteor, Disasters used to inflict

Wounds also force the Students to spend 1 Limit Point. Charles is the
best Knight pilot in the Colonies.
A 285
Tir Na Nog
Deadly Secrets of
Calm the Sidhe
Difficulty Power
Another
5 world 2
Mental control Gates of Hell
Shape
shifters
Before becoming a nomadic people,

driven first by Avalonians and then
by humans to abandon their lands,
the Sidhe were bound to Brit’an
in a unique way, giving them a
way of creating now abandoned
dimensional pockets.
Geas
The spirits that inhabit this dimension take control of your body for a
few moments: spend 5 Limit Points or attack one of your classmates.
The spirits of the Sidhe do not appreciate intruders. After centuries in

here, they may not even recognise other Sidhe.
A
286
Triath
Digging Absorbing
tunnels Breath
Difficulty Power
Hive
6 mind 4
Changing Chitinous
size shell
Loud
noises
Insects were amongst the

first creatures to be mutated
by nanomachines during
terraformation, and the Triath are
those who, more than any other,
have responded by evolving until
they were able to absorb and
devour them.
Breath mirroring
The Triaths can copy any form of Dragon’s Breath used near them.
This Triath is now immune to the Core of the Student who performed
the Test until the end of Scene.
A287
Tuatha
Stone of Dagda’s
Fàl Cauldron
Difficulty Power
Alchemical
5 Core 3
Lugh’s Spear Sword of

Solais
Pilot
These alchemical Knights were

built in secret by the Empire on
the island of Eire, the richest of all
Sax’on islands. The Tuatha are kept
in such great secrecy by imperial
intelligence that some people think
they are preparing for a coup.
The Treasures of Eire
The Tuatha uses all four weapons at their disposal at the same time
(even if damaged, they will try to push them beyond their limit),
putting opponent Knights in great difficulty: all the Abilities of all
Knights in the Scene are deactivated for the Scene. They will not need
to be repaired once the Tuatha has been defeated or has escaped, but
they are all deactivated at once, no matter how many they are.
A
288
Unseelie
Chaos Threshold
magic of the
afterlife
Difficulty Power
Unstable
4 Form 2
Corrupting
the Breath Darkness
Memories
A Taboo Sidhe which gets lost in

the memories it has absorbed is
called an Unseelie.
They are unstable, both physically

and mentally, because their victims
keep talking in their heads.
Court of illusions
The madness that dwells in the mind of an Unseelie is poured into

their opponent, who will not be able to access their own Memories to
re-roll the dice until the Unseelie has been defeated.
The victim’s mind will be bombarded by voices begging for mercy or

invoking revenge, making it difficult to focus on anything.
A289
Threats and
Costruire il poolPhases della
Matricola
Three Wounds to a single Threat will often seem too few, certainly not
enough to make you feel the weight of the power and inevitability of some
Quando una
conflicts. Fortunately,
Matricolaanime si trovaisad
fullaffrontare
of examples
situazioni
that storytellers
il cui risultato
can use
è to
incertotense
create o che andpotrebbero
interestingaverebattles.
conseguenze inaspettate, la Matricola
dovrà affrontare una Prova. Chi gioca crea un pool di dadi aggiungendo
1d8 per
First of all,
ogniit is
Tratto
important
utile alla
to remind
Prova, fino
the storyteller
a un massimothatdiit6d8.
is rare for an
important opponent to be alone: Students will face inconsequential
Tutti i Tratti,
minions alongside
segnatiopponents
sul Curriculum
who could
in un quadrato,
easily stand
possono
up to them
esserein usati
a duel.
come dadi durante una Prova.
When even being in the minority no longer carries a risk, Threats
Chi gioca
can revealpuò new poiabilities
spingere andil completely
Limite dellachange
propria their
Matricola
Traitsper
andaggiungere
their
d12 anche oltre
Technique, pronouncing
il limite dithe6 words
dadi, spendendo
that are nowPunti
legend:
Limite “This
pariisalla
notPotenza
even
dellafinal
my Minaccia
form!”(minimo 1). Chi gioca può superare il limite di 6 dadi anche
aggiungendo 1d12 se la Matricola è a bordo del Knight o di un altro mecha
e 1d12
A Threatsecould
sfruttahave il suo
twoFrame.
or three Phases, for a total of 9 Wounds or more,
if these Phases also involve the help of henchmen and helpers.
Il pool della Matricola può quindi essere composto da solo d8, un misto di
d8 e d12 o solo d12 (nel caso la Matricola non abbia tratti utili e si limiti a
usare il Knight o il Limite), che sono tutti Dadi Positivi.
NARRATORE: Il BlackCouncil
Knightistroneggia soprathree
agli Wounds
altri Knight sconfitti, spada e
B The Student
scudomain
pronti ad abbattere
members,
a Threat whose
anche
Mor Dread, il Knight
Lance and GalPerzival.
Van
correspond
Cosa fai?
to the three
MARI: Once
Muovo theilfirst
miopart
Corbenik vicinois aover,
Parzival permembers
parare ilwill
colpo del Black
B
Knighttocon la miathe
defeating spada
of the fight
Pentecost
Students:
the three
e darglithen
each member tempo
commit
di allontanarsi.
becomes a Threat. Metto
themselves
in gioco: Pilota provetto, Determinato, Sacrificio e Gioco di squadra, a cui

aggiungo
Whenil all
mio Jobmembers
Cadet, perareun totale diMor5d8. Aggiungo anche il mio
HeroKnight
B
Perzival che
Light, with
three
è anche
whomun he Tanker,
defeated,
confrontspertheun
Dread
totale di
Students one5d8
recalls his
last+time.
Knight, of
2d12. Poi, dato che la
Potenza del Black Knight è 4, spendo 8 Punti Limite per aggiungere altri 2d12
al pool, per un totale di 5d8+4d12.
A 290
Student Council
Treasurer Secretary
Difficulty Power
3 President
2
Merlin’s School
support rules
Pride
The Student Council is the

Academy’s administrative body,
made up of students chosen by Dr
Merlin.
Their power within the Academy is

equal, if not superior, to that of the
Headmaster.
Sanction
The Student Council’s judgement is as relentless and terrible as the

sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of the Students who dare
challenge the Academy’s authority.
Throughout the Scene, the sanctioned Student must replace their

Flaw with a “Sanction”, and when they use the Flaw to recover Limit
Points, they roll two dice and hold the one with the lowest result.
A 291
Mor Dread
Core: Light Undefeated
Difficulty Power
Incredible
5 beautiful 3
Noble Art
lineage of the sword
My
pretty face!
The President of the Student

Council is famous all over the
Round Academy: whoever has
crossed swords with him either
fears him for his vindictive nature,
or loves him for his looks.
Disgraceful!
When he suffers a Wound, his outrage is so palpable that all the

Students present must mark a Wound on their Core.
If they do not want to, or cannot, they spend 3 Limit Points.
A
292
Lance
Core: Superhuman
Flames strength
Difficulty Power
Knight
4 Fu 3
Infernal Reading
flame intentions
I don’t want
to hurt
anyone
The Secretary of the Student

Council is a Dragonblood with a
gentle soul, who hides a terrible
secret. For this very reason, he
tries to avoid fighting as much as
possible, so as not to endanger
those close to him.
Flaming Inferno!
Lance’s Core flames burn like the flames of hell, from whence Lance is
convinced he gains his power.
A Disaster spent to inflict Wounds always inflicts two: a Student can

voluntarily suffer one of these Wounds in place of someone else, but
not both.
A 293
Gal Van
Core:
Electricity Cold blood
Difficulty Power
3 Bret’on
4
Tinkerer Tactics
Iron
logic
The Treasurer of the Student

Council comes from the Empire
of Sax’onia, and has worked more
than others to reach her position
for this reason. She thinks the
Council is the only viable way to
run the Round and Academy under
Merlin’s leadership.
Overload!
The lightning from Gal Van’s Core covers her like armour, giving her
incredible reflexes.
It takes two Triumphs to inflict a Wound, but the Triumphs can be

divided into several Tests, even from different Students.
A
294
Hero of Light
Core:
Light Tanker
Difficulty Power
4 Relic
5
Hear me Slice of
Roar light
Pride
Hero of Light is Mor Dread’s Knight,

a relic passed from generation to
generation in the Mor family.
Hear me Roar and Slice of Light are

his favourite weapons: an energy
shield and a sword of light.
Fiat Lux
At the end of a Test, if Hero of Light has received no Wounds, the

storyteller can remove one the Knight has previously suffered.
If he has suffered no Wounds yet, the storyteller can alternately

choose to increase the Difficulty of the next Test to 6.
A 295
Session Zero
Before starting a Campaign – a series of game Sessions which
we will call Episodes – or an OVA, that is, self-conclusive
Episodes (which are called One Shot in other games), the whole
group should get together to create the Students and define
some game world details, to create a unique experience, while
keeping everyone involved happy.
You will find questions in this chapter that you really should
answer as a group before you start playing, as well as tips to
adapt KotR:A to settings other than Brit’an.
A 297
Set tone and themes
The first thing to do during Session Zero is to decide what themes you are
interested in exploring, both in terms of Students and Campaign, and what
the Campaign’s general tone will be.
This step is very important to align the expectation of everyone at the

table, and to clarify what kind of situations are likely to be staged: a
Campaign focused on exploration and dark themes will hardly feature
romantic misunderstandings in the school halls; while a Campaign that
wants to focus on personal relationships, which wants to be light and
carefree, will see many misunderstandings between Students and comic
gags, and there will only occasionally be an epic fight where someone is
seriously at risk of death.
No themes or tones are more or less suitable than others – you just need
to find a common agreement on how to manage Students and Scenes.
Knowing, for example, that the Campaign the group wants to play will focus
on the past of the Students’ families, and that it will be serious without being
overly dramatic, will help the storyteller to include opponents both bound to
Students and their past, without, at the same time, putting issues that the
group prefers to avoid into play – such as physical or verbal abuse. It also
means that players can also understand when the right time to make a joke
is (for example, in a cafeteria scene, where there are only Students) and when
not to (for example, if Students are facing one someone’s uncle, who was just
discovered to have sold a family heirloom).
A 298
Set the duration
KotR:A is also inspired by anime in terms of a campaign’s duration: to
allow for the Students’ satisfactory growth and to manage enough
Flashbacks for each one of them, you will require approximately 26
Episodes, for a group of four people.
This duration is not a strict rule that must be followed as is: decide how
long you roughly want to play your KotR:A campaign for straightaway, to
have an idea of the commitment needed of participants.
Knowing how many evenings each month will be engaged by the

Campaign, and for how long, will allow everyone to organise in time and
notify the group in the case of absences, giving others the opportunity to
set up a Flashback or an Episode in which a Student is absent for a variety
of reasons.
You may want to do a 26-Episode full Campaign (about 6 months, if you meet
regularly enough, once a week), a series of loosely defined OVAs, or a 13-Episode
Campaign with the option of playing another one if you have a good time. You could
also decide to simply continue as long as you want to, without setting any rigid rules.
The important thing, as always, is to be clear and to have everyone on the same page!
A 299
Define the world
The world in KotR:A is detailed enough to let you start playing right away,
however, there are many deliberate loose ends to enable you to shape
Brit’an around your needs. There are a few questions it might be useful to
answer together before you start playing:
B What are Dragon Particles, really?
B Can just a few people control them, or is it something anyone can do?
B Are Knights mass-produced, real war machines; or are they unique,

relics of a past world made of magic?
B How long has the Academy existed? Is it a centuries-old institution,

or has it just been founded?
B How long was the war between Kamel’oth and Sax’on? Did the
Colonies take part in the battle? What about Avalon?
Dragon Particles could be nanomachines, a form of energy present only on

Brit’an, or the mystical Breath of Dragons that once inhabited the planet. They
could be controlled by anyone and everyone, but at different levels of power,
or by a few individuals who are seen as weapons in an endless war.
The Academy could have been founded centuries ago, at the beginning of the
War, to train Knight pilots; or it could have been founded at the end of the war
as a gesture of coexistence, or to close distance between peoples previously
at war and make sure that new Knights models are effective.
A 300
Adapt the game
There are some game elements that work regardless of the setting you
use (Basic Techniques, Limit Points) and others that have to be slightly
reviewed to be used outside Brit’an or without Knights, according to your
needs (such as some Legacies or Knight Techniques).
KotR:A’s strength lies in the ease with which these pieces can be
replaced or modified. You might decide to use an alternative to Knights,
for example, weapons passed from generation to generation, or
mythical bronze armour. In that case, you just need to agree on what the
alternatives are. The important thing is that each alternative is composed
of a Name, a Trait that will give 1d12, and two Abilities, exactly as if it were
a Knight; also setting which situations you can use it in, and which not (a
Knight cannot be brought to class, for example).
Follow the same reasoning for Techniques: the Tinkerer’s Gattai! Technique
could enable you to merge two weapons, two people (did somebody say
“Fusion”?), or whatever else you decide to use.
Excalibur Sword Cutting the stone Healing
Name Type Ability Ability
Cuisine Avalonian Very spicy Rich in fibers
Name Type Ability Ability
A301
A
302
Ideas for your first
Session
B First day of school: some or all Students have just transferred to the
Academy, and one of them is late for the first day of school. Who do
they stumble upon on their way to their classroom?
B Isekai: the Students, normal Earthling teenagers, are inexplicably

transported to Brit’an and are taken to the Academy to fulfil a
prophecy. Will they ever get back? And who brought them to Brit’an?
B Shadows of War: it looks like it’s just a day like any other at the
Academy when the Students hear an explosion. Knights are raiding
the school and all students have been invited to defend the Academy.
What were the assailants looking for?
B The power of friendship: the Students are all first-years at the

Academy – they can’t yet use a Knight and will have to forge solid
bonds to become tough enough and earn the right to pilot a Knight.
Will they remain united against other students who are stronger
than them? Will the love and friendships formed in the classroom be
transformed into something more lasting?
B Majokko: the Students are chosen by the Lady of the Lake to defend
Brit’an and save it from alien Invaders. They can summon the power
of the ancient Knights and use it to fight the invaders on equal terms.
Will they be able to keep their identities secret while living a normal
life at the Academy?
A 303
Season sheet
The storyteller can use a Season sheet to record the Episodes played and
the synergies and opposition that Threats and Factions put into play to
achieve their goals.
Alchemical Vortigern
Knights
Destroying Time Core

the Round
Suppressing Family Infiltrating

the Breath the Round
Royal blood Spy

technologies
Taking
power
Merlin Arthur Fir-Bolg

Eco-terrorists
A 304
You will find a circle in the centre of the sheet, where you can write the
main theme of your Campaign – which we will call Season.
This theme may change during the course of the Season, as Students
might discover something new about themselves, or the world around
them.
The theme serves as the guiding thread of the Episodes, but it does not
necessarily have to be the focus of every Scene, and not even of every
Episode: it is simply what binds the Season’s entire narrative arc.
Family, Friendship, Courage, Destiny, War and Rebellion are all examples of a
Season theme.
The storyteller can write down the different Factions that are endangering
the Students and the Academy in the four corners.
You do not need to fill all the corners immediately, on the contrary: the
advice is to fill a Faction slot only when this has already been revealed, and
it has already taken the first steps against the Students.
Next to each Faction, the storyteller can also write which Resources have
been deployed to advance towards their Objective, at least those which
the Students are aware of in some way (from direct experience or by
collecting information).
As the Factions advance, more and more Resources will be put into play,
making it clear to Students which are the most dangerous Factions.
Spy Technologies, High-profile Contacts and Brainwashing are all plausible

Resources.
A 305
As soon as a Faction becomes evident to Students, the storyteller
should write which Objective that Faction wants to achieve in one of the
diamonds which surround the Theme.
Each Faction’s Resources are adjacent to two Objectives, but they do

not always need to be filled. This also means one very important thing:
several Factions can share the same Objective. It is up to the storyteller
and players to discover and decide whether this shared intent will lead
the Factions to unite, creating extremely dangerous synergies, or if each
party’s ideological clashes will lead the Factions to war, giving Students
those precious few moments that could change the course of history.
Objectives could also change as the story goes on.
Destroying the Round, Suppressing the Dragon’s Breath and Taking Power are
all good Objectives.
The part on the right of the Card serves as a Season diary: during Session
Zero (the Session in which the players create their Student, the game
world, and set the Season’s mood and tone), you can decide how many
Episodes will make up the Season: from 1 to 26, in the best anime
tradition.
At the end of each Session, the storyteller records the Episode’s name,
also marking which Episodes were Flashbacks in some way.
Once the Season is over, you can always create a new one, even
continuing with the same Students: this will still give you the chance to
take a break and rethink what themes you would like to deal with in the
new narrative arc.
Do not delete or throw away old Season Sheets!

They could help you reconstruct what happened after a long break from
the game!
A 306
How to use the sheet
B Choose a theme
B Choose how many Episodes the Season will be made up of
B Write active Factions in a Faction box
B Write 1 or 2 Objectives per Faction
B Update the sheet every time a Faction puts a Resource into the field
B Update the sheet with an evocative Episode name at the end of each
Session
A 307
The First Scene
The First Scene is the campaign’s opening narrative moment.
Play it immediately after Student Creation in Session Zero.
The First Scene is used by the storyteller to see how the players
places their Student in the game world, and how they relate to
the other Students at a critical moment
A well-designed First Scene can create a solid and functional

game base – it’s very important for the storyteller to introduce
the game world context little by little, allowing those playing the
Students to define their peculiarities.
Modern anime usually start with a first scene to introduce the

characters and the context of the story. In this kind of scenes, we
find ourselves in the middle of the action and, without too much
explanation, we see how the characters will behave in a difficult
situation.
A 309
The First Scene should therefore always start in medias res, with the
Students already in the middle of the action. In terms of play, this does not
mean that a First Scene will always have to be a fight, it could take place
during a chase, a time of great risk or a particularly tense social situation.
When setting up the First Scene, the storyteller should not go into too
much detail, and should only focus on the Campaign’s most important
contextual aspects, to clearly define the themes and “background” on
which the story begins from the outset.
After opening this Scene, the storyteller must immediately pass the game
to the players, asking how their Student will react to this critical situation.
Presenting Students with a First Scene will allow you to set a baseline for
their behaviour, so that when they start to deviate from that initial model,
they will reveal their development within the story.
Some examples of First Scene perfect for a KotR:A campaign may see
Students late for the Beginning of the Year ceremony, engaged in difficult
training on board their Knights, during the final moments before the delivery
of their homework, or in the decisive moments of a Knightball game.
A 310
Remember that the First Scene must be linked to what will be our story’s
main themes: a strongly scholastic campaign should have a First Scene
set in school spaces, or on the way to them. Likewise, a story of magic
and transformation could begin with the Students engaged in dealing with
everyday problems, or already in their Majokko form, struggling against
the villain of the day.
When you define a First Scene, feel free to play with “reality” and time, for
example, with a flashforward of what will happen to the Students, saving
worrying about telling how they got there for subsequent Episodes.
In the same way, a particularly intense First Scene, like a fierce fight, could
then turn out to be a normal training simulation that had our Students
particularly involved: this will allow you to put them in a situation of
perceived crisis, in what is really routine.
To successfully create a First Scene means, first of all, to have understood

what we want to talk about in our story, and taking the first step towards
the change that our stars will have to face.
A 311
The Opening
What would the anime we love be without a memorable
opening?
Within a Session, the Opening is an important narrative tool

that – although not indispensable – brings a strong stylistic
aspect to the campaign, presents the group, and directs Students
towards the main themes and the challenges that await them.
First of all, choose a suitable song to accompany the opening:

once this has been chosen, it will be easier to define the
narration times. You can take inspiration from anime featuring
themes and styles similar to what you want to bring into play in
your campaign, so as not to create the wrong expectations and
misalign the theatre of the mind.
As always, the storyteller can experiment and modify these

elements to suit their group’s tastes, paying particular attention
to the duration (the Opening shouldn’t not be too long) and
keeping the key points straight. The Opening is a powerful tool
that defines the campaign, but it can disorientate players if used
lightly.
Another tip for designing the Opening is to avoid unnecessary

details and excessively long descriptions, focusing only on key
elements that are easy to visualise, using a sharp, clear and very
descriptive narrative.
The main steps of the Opening are described in the next pages, in
the order in which they should be used.
A 313
Elements of an Opening
1. Introduction to the world
The Opening begins with a description by the storyteller of the game
world and the context in which the adventure will take place.
2. The Students
Students are an essential part of the Opening. The storyteller hands the
narration over to the players: each, in turn, has about 30-40 seconds of
free narration to describe a Scene where their Student is doing something
that identifies and represents them. Focus on describing a meaningful
Scene that’s also easy to imagine. To separate one Student’s narration
from the next, the storyteller can use short interlude Scenes, perhaps with
key details of the Campaign, or close-ups of the Students.
3. The enemy
The enemy is a key part of the Opening. This does not mean that the
story’s main opponent must necessarily be revealed, and besides, in
some Campaigns the “enemy” may be difficult to define, or must not be
revealed. However, you should include something which characterises the
main antagonist.
4. Secondary Characters and elements

A brief moment can also be dedicated to introducing Secondary
Characters, be they rivals or allies of the protagonists, and the story’s
secondary elements. In anime openings, these characters usually appear
in a quick tracking shot, performing very simple, fast actions.
5. Conclusion
The conclusion covers the Campaign’s key themes and, if possible, shows
Students and opponents together in the final scene in a high-impact final
moment.
A 314
STORYTELLER: LThe Opening begins on a green meadow, framed by a blue sky dotted
with white clouds. The breeze moves the grass, while the camera pans quickly towards
the horizon, framing the giant Divine Sword in the distance. The camera scans the
sword from the bottom up, framing the sun. Cherry petals cross the screen and the
frame focuses on the first Student.
CLAUDIO: You see Syl, a very small Dragonblood, fighting a giant monster with her bare
hands. As the flames devour her, you see a girl who looks just like her with a sad face,
leaning on her back like a reflection.
ALICE: Morwyn, my Taboo Sidhe, can only be half-seen, the rest of the body is a
silhouette that keeps changing shape, until a light comes from her heart that fills the
screen.
GIANNI: Dion, who is my Sidhe, is training on the athletics track, chased by a small
drone that encourages him when he stops. At some point he stumbles and tries to
regain balance by pulling another boy’s pants down by accident.
ROBERTO: The small drone which was following Dion gets up from the track and flies to
Dieter, my Sax’on, who’s watching from the stands. Dieter fixes his glasses, which only
reflect the light, and turns to look at something in the distance.
STORYTELLER: Dieter’s gaze lands on the Academy’s wall, which breaks under the blows
of a gigantic tentacular creature that seems to be made of stars and darkness. A man
in a lab coat with a thick beard can be seen standing on this creature. He moves his
arm forward and a series of smaller tentacular creatures enter through a crevice in
the wall. You can see the three members of the Student Council, Professor Vortex, and
Professor Caradoc throwing themselves at the creatures.
STORYTELLER: Your Students throw themselves, with others, into battle, and as they help
and support each other, they advance towards the crevice, launching themselves in
unison toward the giant creature. The screen goes completely white and as the series
logo appears, you can see your Students standing, victorious.
A 315
When to do the Opening?
There is no real rule in this respect, but below are some guidelines which
take inspiration from reference sources which have proved useful in our
Campaigns.
Anime and JRPG usually introduce their Openings after the first episode (at
the end) or after several hours of play. This can play a practical purpose,
even in a game Campaign.
Make the first Opening when the players have already developed some
confidence with their Students, so after the First Scene or at the end of
the first Session.
Once created, depending on the group’s taste, the Opening can be a great
way to get back into the game at the beginning of subsequent Sessions.
There are groups who prefer to rewrite the Opening only when, after
several Sessions, they have enacted enough meaningful Scenes, while
others prefer not to repeat it at all.
Try to understand as a group how much this tool has been appreciated and
how to use it so that it can be fun again for everyone.
Finally, remember that, as some of the best anime teaches us, Openings
can change over time, even if they shouldn’t do so too often: perhaps the
villain who was merely metaphorical in the first Opening, has now been
revealed and could play a more decisive role within the Opening, or Students’
particularly important moments or significant changes might be highlighted in
the Opening.
A 316
Opening and First Scene
It’s easy to mistake what makes an Opening and a First Scene, risking
confusing them around or mixing themes. As always, our advice is to focus
on your goals and avoid what you are not sure of.
The First Scene serves to make players understand what their Student’s
role will be in the game, and how to play and characterise them in a
stressful situation: it’s a sequence of events in a specific context, where
the world is explained and Students relate to that story – it’s also the
presentation of the ordinary world, and Students have to react to
that world. Often players will think of their Student one way and then
find themselves playing another: the First Scene serves to avoid this
“displacement”, and to show to the whole group how each Student is
contextualised within the Campaign.
The Opening is a moment outside of playing time and space, where the
players describe significant elements of the world and/or of their Student,
depending on their role. The Opening presents the Campaign, or a single
narrative arc, containing all the key elements that will be a part of it.
Both of these narrative tools aim to strengthen the group’s theatre of the mind, to
direct the table towards a common style of play, and to make Sessions go smoother.
Simplifying even further, the First Scene is used to say who a Student will be in that
context, while the Opening serves to stage their key elements.
A 317
Storytelling tips
Managing a Session, Campaign or even just a Flashback requires
some effort on the storyteller’s part. Unlike more traditional
role-playing games, KotR:A tries to replicate a very specific type
of narrative and fiction – shonen and school anime - which have
precise tropes, scenic cuts, a tight rhythm, and, above all, they
put the Students’ kokoro - that is, their heart, feelings and strong
emotions - at the centre of the narrative.
In KotR:A, sometimes it is more important to put aside realism

and plausibility to give space to emotions, just as it is important
not to think that the satisfaction can only come from lengthy
fights that focus around wearing the opponents’ Hit Points down
(something that KotR:A doesn’t feature, in any case).
We will not teach anything in this section; instead, we will

highlight some aspects of KotR:A that may not be apparent at
first glance, and that, if taken into account, will help you shape a
more rewarding game experience.
Whether you are the storyteller or playing a Student, these pages

will offer you tips for exploiting the rules’ potential and staying
faithful to the narrative’s pillars.
A 319
Conducting the Scenes
The life of a student at the Round Academy is anything but simple and
hassle-free: lessons, exams, school activities and clubs only scratch the
surface of the thousands of events which follow each other in a Student’s
day; not to mention when rival Factions try to gain control of the Academy,
or Dr Merlin loses control of one of his strange experiments and risks
destroying everything.
To make the most out of this side of the fiction, a Session consists of
a succession of not-necessarily continuous and linear Scenes, which
reveal the different aspects and moments of a student’s life at the Round
Academy.
Although in most cases, the storyteller will be introducing when and

where the Students will find themselves in at the start of these Scenes, it
is important to emphasise how the storyteller can also ask the group to
define a specific Scene on their own.
At the end of a Scene, players should discuss what they want to play next,
and propose specific Scenes in case they want to deepen something about
their Students, and remember: play what you would like to see happen in
this “animated series” you are all building together.
In the next pages you will find several guidelines on what the most
common Scenes in this fiction are; how to introduce and close them, and
what effects they may have on the Students.
Remember that in KotR:A, you should play only interesting Scenes, so,
although what is below is a guideline on what is a typical “day”, playing
a sequence of Scenes that represent every part of a Student’s day is not
recommended, unless there is something interesting to stage for the
storyteller or players.
A 320
Defining a Scene
When you decide to play a Scene, it is important to make the following
points really clear for the whole group:
B What kind of Scene it is, and what themes or events can be brought
into play
B What time of day it is, and where the Scene is set
B What is the initial context
B Which Students or Secondary Characters are initially in the Scene
B Point out if there are any Threats at the beginning of the Scene
The following pages are guide lines and ideas of what could be the most
typical Scenes you will play in a Session, so don’t take them as a list to
follow to the letter.
A321
In the school halls
Most of a Student’s school day passes between long and difficult lessons.
Just like in the reference fiction, however, this tedious part is shown only
when it is needed, and must only be played in that case.
When you play these Scenes, characters are put to the test for their
knowledge and theoretical skills, and it is also a great time to show the
Students’ flaws or fundamental qualities.
When to play these Scenes?
B The calm before the storm: these moments of school life put the
storms that will surely strike the Students during their stay in the
Round into perspective, making epic battles against incredible
Threats something unique and unrepeatable, instead of the norm.
B Returning to normality: in the same way, after dealing with events

that would change anyone’s life, being able to return to normal will
calm the Students’ minds for a moment, at least before a professor
shows up with a surprise test!
A 322
Corridors and breaks
A Student’s free time during the school day, far from the eyes of teachers
and adults, is short and rare, so you should make the most of it.
Moving between classes or having lunch in the garden are perfect

moments to deepen relationships between Students or Secondary
Characters, and they should be exploited to the max when players have
the desire to examine events that have taken place at other times, or want
to confront someone.
B A quick glance, an indirect kiss: as we said at the beginning of the

chapter, KotR:A wants to recreate the atmosphere of school anime,
with young adolescent crushes and small groups of friends
B School nemesis: a nemesis isn’t necessarily a fantastic creature

or some paramilitary group devoted to Brit’an’s destruction. A
disagreement with the class bully or a gang of thugs who want to
do as they please in the Round is a great way to put the Student’s
personal themes into play
A 323
Action!
There’s not much difference between physical education hours and
practical exercises with mechas or other technological devilries, at the
Round Academy.
In addition to theoretical knowledge, a true Student must be able to

demonstrate that they know how to put into practice what they have
learned on the battlefield at any time.
Thus it is quite common during a normal school week to have many

moments in a day, if not all of it, dedicated to various exercises designed
specifically to put Students to the test and show if they are really ready.
These Scenes are perfect for showcasing Student skills on board their
mechas, or for using their special skills!
B Resting on your laurels: when Students seem too relaxed it’s the right
time to test them with a practical test of some kind
B I can do it: when a Student seems to be in a personal crisis, or

if they’ve experienced a defeat, putting them up for a physical
challenge that highlights their strengths in a controlled environment
could shake them up and bring them back to their senses
A 324
Afternoon activities
Students have many other tasks to perform in their school life in addition
to practical and theoretical lessons, which usually occupy afternoons until
dinner time.
Your Student could be part of a school club, be a famous Knightball athlete

or just be on cleaning duty.
If these activities don’t take all day to be completed, Students will usually
find themselves busy with endless study sessions in preparation for an
exam.
These Scenes are ideal for showing Students’ passions, or the way in
which they decide to fulfil their duty to the Academy.
B School clubs: what better way of talking about Students’ personal

passions than following them in their club activities? There will surely
be a festival to prepare, or a tournament to win and train for
B Exams: towards the end of the school year, Students have to engage
in heavy study sessions, interrupted by friends, club activities and
threats that adults are too busy to notice – still, nothing of that
should put the end of year exams at risk!
A 325
When the lights go out
Life at the Round Academy is hard and strict, but there are times when
rules have to be broken to follow an irrefutable feeling or investigate
strange events.
Students should not wander around the Academy at night, and professors,
senpai and members of the public morality committee are eager to give
loud punishment to those who fail to comply with the curfew.
These scenes are excellent for showing off Students’ cunning and
curiosity, as well as being ideal for exploring many of the mysteries which
surround the Academy.
B Secrets of the Academy: investigate what the Round is hiding,

or what experiments Dr Merlin is working on, which is practically
impossible during the day; but in the evening, with darkness helping,
it’s easy for a Student to sneak in where they shouldn’t
B Ghost stories: like any self-respecting Japanese school, the Academy

is said to be haunted by the spirits of students who have died under
mysterious circumstances and may manifest themselves every night
in the old abandoned building. Will the Students be brave enough to
spend an entire night there?
A 326
A free day
Every week, Round Academy Students have free days – but how much
they are actually spent studying only depends on each Student’s sense of
duty.
During these days, Students can finally take off their uniform and leave
the confines of the Academy for a few trips out of town or shopping in the
city.
These Scenes are ideal for exploring Students’ relationships with their
past, or with Secondary Characters outside the Academy. They can also
be used to make unforeseeable and dangerous events happen outside the
Academy’s “safe” border, away from their mechas.
B The episode in the city: during the winter holidays, the Academy is
closed and Students can choose to return to their homes or stay
in the dorms, free to come and go as they prefer, going to the city
looking for a hot ramen or a gift for someone special
B The episode at the hot springs: one of the most coveted destinations
for Students, who can relax but also find themselves in awkward
situations when they inadvertently enter the wrong spring
B The episode on the beach: another summer holiday classic, the

beach is a time when Students can finally break into their Kin Spirit’s
affections, or challenge their friends to see who can eat the most
takoyaki
A 327
Danger and upheaval
In the previous pages we described the most common Scenes you might
play out at the Academy, but don’t forget that KotR:A is not just a school
role-playing game.
The Round Academy itself is the point of intersection of political and

military interests, and mysteries and wars could affect Students’ lives at
any time. Any time is indeed good to introduce these issues and suddenly
turn academic life upside-down.
You can subvert the Scenes we described earlier for this purpose.
While students are in the class, the windows explode after a huge blast; some
students disappear in the night, putting the Academy on alert; a rogue Knight
attacks the amusement park where our characters were enjoying a quiet sunny
Sunday.
When you decide to “twist” a scene by introducing new themes in the

game, think about how to do it.
Take advantage of a Scene’s basic themes and purposes as a starting

point, trying to understand if the danger that comes into the action adds
to those themes, or “overturns” them completely, so that you can find the
most suitable scene to introduce the “danger”.
During a mysterious exercise the tension is palpable, but it becomes even more
so when some real bullets are discovered and some Knaves with students
onboard explode: this is a classic way to aggravate a Scene.
A quiet lunch break, suddenly interrupted by terrorists from the Colonies who
invade the school to demonstrate against terrestrial governments, is a perfect
example of a twist.
A 328
Opening and closing
scenes
At the beginning of a KotR:A Session the storyteller will usually introduce
the first Scene to be played, perhaps by referring to a Scene that closed
the last Session, or opening a new one which will introduce the themes
and events that are about to be played.
The storyteller should not close a Scene before all present Students have
had the opportunity to interact in some way, and in the same way, players
must commit to playing only what is essential and interesting to see,
without dragging a Scene that has already run its course on for too long.
As a guideline, when you want to play the effects and consequences of a

Scene, it may be more interesting to close the current one and open one
dedicated to that.
This mechanism, which may seem rigid, is actually based on a

conversation between players at the table, made up of questions and
group answers, to understand what can make sense to stage, or what can
be interesting and fun to play.
In some Sessions, the progress of events is mainly managed by the

storyteller, who, according to the plot, opens and closes Scenes, giving
less “freedom” to the group.
However, always check in with each other, giving feedback or proposing

something when you consider it appropriate or necessary to appreciate
the game Session more.
A 329
How to play Wounds
The rules say that when a Student’s Core, Soul or Lineage are Wounded,
they can no longer be put into play during a Test. Well, you know what?
Don’t stop there.
There’s a reason why these three Traits represent a heart at the centre
of the Curriculum: they are the Student’s heart and, when they are
compromised, they should cause more than just annoyance in the game
narrative.
A Core Wound implies the impossibility of drawing on what makes you

unique and special, a Wound to the Soul implies seeing your nature deeply
compromised, and a Lineage Wound means a scar on your roots, and all
that they mean for the Student.
Obviously, the fact that a Student experiences a Wound intensely, does

not mean that they will be marked forever by it: are young and full of
hope, so they are able to recover quickly from even the most traumatic
experiences.
On the the other hand, if we talk about Threat Traits, the storyteller should
always remember to explicitly say which of the Threat Traits are Wounded
and how, both to give direct feedback of the results of Students’ actions
during the Scene, and because the Threat Traits that come into play during
a Test turn the d6 into d4.
Knowing which Threat Traits have been Wounded allows players to adapt
their Students’ actions during the Scene accordingly.
A 330
The truth lies beyond the
Limit
As in shonen anime, the Students of the Round are the game’s focal point,
the story’s real stars, they are young and full of energy, moved by passion
and daring.
The Students’ young ages imply that, whether serious or half-serious,

any matter that makes them feel involved becomes a personal matter,
and every challenge is a potential turning point. And that’s why, for the
Students of the Round, commitment is not enough; giving everything is
not an endpoint, but a starting point.
In KotR:A, putting one’s Student’s Traits into play represents the will to put
all of oneself in what one does, spending Limit Points means employing
all of your own energies to gain something more... And going beyond that
Limit means, at last, drawing on your own potential.
Going into Overdrive turns every Success into a Triumph, every

Consequence into a Disaster, and gives access to a large number of Job
Techniques. In other words, it catapults you to that moment in the story
when Students pass the point of no return and find something important
inside them.
Consider the importance of Overdrive mechanics and, above all, do not

treat them as an exception. Limit Points are not meant to be saved, but
spent. Do so without hesitation and remember to bring your Flaws and
hobbies into play to recover them.
The more you dynamically use this game currency during Sessions, the
happier you will be.
A 331
Limit Points and fatigue
Limit Points can be used as an excellent mechanical resource to represent
Students’ tiredness, or their commitment to achieving a specific objective,
through the system.
A Student who leaves at night after a heavy day, or who is present in

multiple Scenes in the same day, will have to resort to their Limit Points to
go all-in on what they are doing.
As a general rule of thumb, each Scene after the third that is played in
a single day, could cost 1 Limit Point, showing each Student’s intrinsic
“tiredness”.
After a day of intensive study and field tests with the training Knaves, the
Students want to try to enter the Student Council office in search of evidence.
This is a high-risk action, and they will have to invest all their remaining
resources, despite their fatigue, to get to work.
B Spending a long time aboard Knights

B Studying all night and getting to the exam without having slept a wink
B Getting stuck in a place where you can’t be found
B Helping your parents repaint the old fence
B Starting a new fight just after finishing one
A 332
Limit Points and objectives
When a player chooses to play a Scene where their Student tries to
achieve a specific goal which does not require a Test, it may be interesting
to ask them to spend Limit Points in order to obtain advantages to achieve
that goal.
A player wants to play a Scene where they are particularly involved in the
activities of their traditional archery club: pushing their Limit by one point
could give them an additional die later, during critical Scenes where they
will be forced to hit a very distant enemy.
A group of Students, intent on inquiring about strange evil events that occur
during the night, could invest their time and push their Limit by one point to
obtain arcane knowledge in the library, having a bonus in the Tests they will do
overnight to find or fight the evil presence.
We recommend you only use this option once per Session in a single
Scene, and always give only one additional die.
B Getting information about a Threat in the library to have 1d12 more

when you face it
B Making a good impression in front of a teacher during a club activity to

get a higher grade
B Cooking enough dorayaki for all Students in the second year to get their
support for their candidacy for President of the Student Council
A 333
All the dice are your
friends
The composition of a Test’s Pool suggests possible outcomes even before
the dice have been thrown.
To verify the outcome of a Test, you must keep the highest value you get
between all Negative Dice (d4 and d6) and the highest value of all Positive
Dice (d8 and d12). Be careful, however, every 1 on the Negative Dice
will count as a Disaster and every 12 on the Positive Dice will count as a
Triumph.
The implications of these rules are simple, but very profound:
B Any d4 in your Pool may collect Disasters or Complications, but no

Successes. Any d6 may collect Disasters and Complications, but a
lucky roll could obtain you a Success in the action. Of course, having
more d6 in the Pool means you have a better chance of getting a full
Success, but also of collecting Disasters
B Any d8 contributes to the possibility of collecting Successes, but not

Triumphs, while all d12 will allow you to get Triumphs
Normally d4 are imposed by Threat Traits, while d12 are added to the Pool
by spending Limit Points, or putting your Knight’s Traits in play.
When you face a Test, you put what you have at your disposal into play,
thinking about what kind of outcome you find interesting to get through
the story.
A 334
Celeste plays Arden, a Dragonblood Student with a strong and easily angered
character.
Andrea is narrating and playing Urien, a very popular senpai among Students.
Arden challenged Urien to a duel to prove what she’s worth. She puts the
Traits Dragonblood, Courageous, Champion, Born and Bred Fighter and
Competitive into play, guaranteeing her 6d8, which is transformed into 5d6
and 1d8 by the Difficulty of the Test, which is equal to 5.
In addition, Urien’s Duellist and Braggart Traits turn 2d6 into 2d4.
Urien’s Power is 3, Celeste would like to spend 6 Limit Points and add 2d12 to
her pool, which would lead her to roll 2d4, 3d6, 1d8 and 2d12.
Arden has a good chance of at least succeeding at a cost, but Celeste wants
Arden to be able to inflict at least one Wound, even at the cost of paying
dearly.
She then decides to spend 3 more Limit Points to add 3d12 to her pool, going
into Overdrive. Arden will roll 1d4, 3d6, 1d8, and 3d12. Being in Overdrive,
every Success will be a Triumph, and every Consequence will be a Disaster.
Now it is highly likely that Arden will be able to prove her worth...
But at what price?
A 335
Narrating Successes and
Triumphs
In KotR:A it is up to players to narrate Successes and Triumphs. A simple
rule that, however, has many implications.
In this game, narrating Successes and Triumphs means not only describing
the way your Student succeeds in their intent, but also having the
opportunity to have a significant influence on the story.
Feed it, create new interesting things within it, even give it a different
direction. Successes’ and Triumphs’ connotations corroborate what you
narrate, letting you shape the game’s very fabric – but it is what happens
in the Scene that feeds the story.
Nothing you narrate is just cosmetic: it’s not the how, it’s the why. When
narrating Successes and Triumphs, do not be afraid to exaggerate, to
change the cards on the table, to move the Scene by adding new elements
in it.
Whether you are achieving the result you wanted, be it inflicting a Wound
or recovering Limit Points, the important thing is you don’t stop at
“dressing up” the mechanics. Add new elements, create something new
where it does not exist, develop your Student’s inner reality and potential.
The only advice for the storyteller is this: do not let things said by players
frighten you.
Students have great power. Don’t be afraid of them. Raise the stakes,
ride the wave, find the key to making sure players enjoy their Successes
without being able to lower their guard.
A 336
Arden and Urien face each other and Celeste describes how Arden attacks
their opponent.
Celeste throws the dice, which results in 1, 1, 3 and 6 on Negative Dice and 4,
6, 12 and 12 on Positive Dice.
Arden is in Overdrive: she collects 2 Disasters and 3 Triumphs, a perfect result

for Celeste, who decides not to spend their Triumphs to inflict three Wounds
on Urien, taking him out, but instead to prove something to both of them.
Celeste says: “Arden strikes like a lightning bolt under Urien’s guard, inflicting
a blow to his sternum and a Wound to his Braggart Trait before he could even
move.”
“I spend the second Triumph so that Urien may know that Arden could have
knocked him out, but she decided not to.”
“I spend the last Triumph like this: when Arden looks around quickly, she
realises that a small crowd had gathered to witness the fight, a crowd that
she had not noticed since she was focused on Urien, and now they seem
decidedly impressed. Among them are members of the Student Council and
Professor Dieter.”
A 337
Narrating Consequences
and Disasters
Consequences and Disasters are important tools that the storyteller has
at their disposal to keep the story stimulating, the challenges moving, and
the Threats credible, multifaceted, and worthy of the name.
When you narrate a Consequences or Disaster, take the liberty of raising

the stakes, hitting the Students hard, complicating the Scene and, above
all, adding interesting catches to any newly obtained Successes or
Triumphs.
Sometimes a Threat’s special Technique will suggest interesting uses of

Consequences and Disasters, but always remember that your possibilities
go far beyond the special mechanics that characterise Threats.
It’s what happens in the Scene that really counts: make sure Students
never have an easy life and rely on what they do to enrich the story.
The game’s terms are important, there is a reason we are talking about
Consequences instead of Failures. Always remember that narrating
Consequences and Disasters should never, ever, deny or frustrate any
Triumphs or Successes narrated by players. Nullifying the result of a
Success a player just narrated would have the sole effect of generating
frustration in those who narrated it and, above all, make the Test sterile,
which in all, would have no outcome and, as a result, would not move
anything in the story.
A 338
Andrea has just heard Celeste say how, in one fell swoop, Arden
demonstrated her superiority over Urien in front of some of the Round’s most
important characters.
With two Disasters, Andrea could return 2 Wounds on Arden, but instead he
says: “The crowd explodes in enthusiastic applause. You, Arden, prepare to
defend yourself against Urien’s counterattack. After all, being humiliated in
front of everyone must not have been pleasant for a popular student like him.
“Yet, when you retract, you see there is something other than anger in his
gaze. Stupor and admiration.”
“Urien whispers to you – Arden, I swear I will prove my worth to you, as you
proved yours to me, and then you will be mine –then he bows deeply and
moves away.”
“You thought you’d get a little respect, not a suitor! You look around
confused and you notice Professor Dieter whispering to the Student
Council member – Tell Merlin we have identified a suitable subject for the
experimental combat project.”
A 339
Realism is overrated...
At least in shonen
When you narrate a Session of KotR:A, focus on what is appropriate to the
story you have set, without giving too much weight to whether what is
happening is realistic.
This does not mean you can add any and all elements into the narrative in
a reckless way. Playing Session after Session, you will create assumptions
that will help you evaluate what is likely and what is not in your game.
Of course, the story’s tone is something that evolves over time – many
anime sometimes find themselves overwriting their own rules throughout
the story, or changing their tone of voice in order to keep the narrative
interesting.
Often, rather than focusing on realism, they try to represent how the
protagonists’ inner reality has the power to change things. As a general
rule, if it is useful and appropriate to the story, simply let it happen. One of
KotR:A’s pillars is that feelings are stronger than reality, always take that
into account when you narrate what is happening in the Scene.
Celeste plays Aster, a Student who is drawing from her Fire Core to melt her
Nemesis Knight’s weapon, to render it useless during an orbital fight.
Serena points out that, in orbit and in the absence of oxygen, there is no way
those flames could burn, and therefore Aster’s Core should be useless.
Andrea concludes the discussion by saying that Celeste’s idea seems great,
and not to focus too much on technicalities.
A 340
A
341
Voice your Student’s
thoughts and colour them
When you play, draw on your knowledge of anime and adapt your
narrative accordingly.
First of all, remember that anime characters speak even when it is not
strictly necessary. With other people, with themselves, with the world...
They express what is in their hearts and what goes through their heads all
the time.
If you’ve ever watched anime, you know what we are talking about:
the long dialogues (and monologues) rattled off when staring at some
unknown point in the distance outside the school windows; the verbose,
wonderful and completely unnecessary explanations during battles and
fights, the interminable monologues in non-places such as elevators,
buses and train stations, or those pronounced to a montage of natural and
urban environments.
Secondly, narrating anime means being able to play with a lot of elements
that you wouldn’t otherwise have at your disposal. Colours, illustrative
styles, levels of realism and detail of what is in the Scene.
Would you like to give special emphasis to an element in the Scene?
Describe how it is represented with a higher level of detail or with more

fluid and cinematic animations.
Describe your Students in caricatural ways depending on the moment,

play with the dimensions of elements in the Scene, or fix snapshots that
represent your Student’s mood and feelings into players’ minds by playing
with lights, backgrounds and poses.
A 342
Aster tastes a dish prepared by Kenji, the Round’s best chef, for the first time.
Celeste says, “Aster is beside herself with joy and jumps up happily,
saying – it’s so good!”
However, a playful “You can do better!” comes from the game group, who are
accustomed to Celeste’s caricatural descriptions
Celeste smiles and says, “Aster is viewed from the side as she takes the
chopsticks to her mouth and tastes the morsel. The moment she closes her
mouth on the food, the background disappears and white lightning brings out
the figure of Aster, motionless for a moment.”
“Immediately after, Aster is shown from below surrounded by a flaming

background, the shot revolves around her cinematically, while she raises her
arms in a victorious pose and exclaims – THIS TEMPURA IS WORTHY OF A
KING!!!”
“The Scene returns to normal, Aster is held in a completely anticlimactic fake

pose, while the other Students look on: bewildered, two-dimensional and with
a drip of sweat slowly rolling down her temple.”
A 343
Nemeses mean more than
Threats
While it’s not something that happens every time, a Student could inflict
three Wounds in a single Test with the right roll of the dice. Techniques,
Legacy and being helped by others only add to this possibility.
It’s therefore easy to predict that, during the course of the story, the
storyteller could see the Threats that they have placed in front of the
Students being wiped out in a single blow.
This is not a flaw in the rules, but a chance to play out a kind of Scene
typical of shonen anime, especially with characters who are already well
developed.
If this should happen, give it value by describing it as a topical moment. As

storytellers, don’t get too attached to the idea of how a challenge should
proceed, Threats are meant to be addressed and overcome.
When it comes to Nemeses or recurrent antagonists, however, their

re-appearance in the story assumes a certain importance. As they are
described, Nemeses are practically impossible to defeat quickly, but if this
should happen, remember that not all battles are fought to the death, and
that death itself is also a relative concept in shonen narrative.
A defeated Threat could escape, return horribly transformed (and even

more dangerous) at a later stage, leaving traps that put the Students in
difficulty after their disappearance, or might leave their legacy to someone
(or something) else, or even remaining in the story, haunting the Student’s
dreams and psyche even after being defeated.
A 344
“Threat” is a broad concept
When you think of a Threat, it is totally normal to think of clases between
giant mechas, close-combat duels and fights in which Students risk their
lives; but for a young up-and-coming student of the Round, life is full of
challenges – some of which are not about fighting on board a Knight!
Students of the Round will often find themselves in dangerous places,

either by their own will or by that of their teachers. The aspects of the
story most related to exploration can provide interesting Threats, such as
dealing with security systems, particularly complicated puzzles, hostile
environments or dangers coming from Brit’an’s past.
Going even further, the Students’ very school life can be a Threat.
Challenging a classmate, trying to stand up to a teacher, taking a school

exam, competing in a sport or trying to climb the ranks of
one’s student club are all Threats absolutely worthy of
the name.
In KotR:A even a simple stare-off can

turn into a Threat!
A 345
Acknowledgements
Knights of the Round: Academy has been an effort that involved
many people, from playtesters, to those who have reread every
version of the Corebook, which has changed very frequently,
especially in the first months of development, to get to those
who believed in it enough to add content as a Kickstarter stretch
goal.
Our gratitude goes out to all of you, because as the Academy

motto says, we have only one heart, but the strength of many: all
of you who believed in KotR:A.
Credits
Andrea Lucca
Pages from 313 to 317, and 320-329, 332-333
Marta Palvarini
Pages from 169 to 173
Claudio Pustorino
Pages from 330 to 345
Andrea Cioni
Artworks on page 192 and 268
Valentina Bianconi
Artwork on page 312
Crawling Chaos Games

Artworks on page 15, 18, 60, 64, 68, 72, 76, 80, 84, 88, 92, 96, 100, 104, 108, 113,
117, 137, 148, 155, 190, 245, 257, 260, 262, 264, 273, 276, 278, 282, 288, 295
A 347
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Ed, Edoardo Banchelli, Edoardo Cremaschi, Edoardo Franco, Egidio
Alborghetti, Eisen Azrael, El Nolo, elbove_joco, Elegiac Catalyst, Eleonora,
Elfquest83, Elias Geir, Ellie Macdonald, Elsydeon, Em Orwig, Emanuele
Cracolici, Emanuele Dentis, Emanuele Patella, Emilio, Emilio Fabbri, Emilio
Gabriele Manzotti, emma, enrico brunetti, Enrico Crown’sClown Biondi,
Enrico Fedrigo, Enrico Marmorini, ErekLich, Eric Gomez, Eric Montoya -
Archaeologist of Valoria, Ernest, ettore F, Evan Borgman, F.S.Tail, Fabio,
Fabio, Fabio Bottoni, Fabio Ferretti, Fabio Giannace, Fabio Maria Piacentini,
Fabio Nephew, Fabrizio, fabrizio, Federica Bordin, Federico, Federico,
Federico, Federico, Federico Barbazz Barbazza, Federico Casè, Federico
Farina, Federico Franconieri, Federico Mancini, Federico Manzini, Federico
Scattolin, Federico Sfameni, Federico Viola, Filippo, Filippo Barbato, Filippo
Cerutti, Filippo Formentini, Filippo Franco, Filippo Schipani, Flaminia, Flying
Explosive Monkey, Francesco, Fra, Fraiser, francesco, Francesco,
Francesco, Francesco Calcagni, Francesco Castellani, Francesco Gonzalo Di
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Zanette, Francis Arachea, Francis Helie, Francois-Joseph Molina,
FrankCapra, Franz Torresan, Fureon, Fyrex, Gabriele, Gabriele Albertini,
Gabriele Cerofolini, Gabriele Pusceddu, Gabriele Uccellani, Gabriele Vecchi,
Gabriella Creighton, Gabry2995, Gage, Gallo, Garrett H Beard, Gautam
Behal, GearGames, Gebeji, Geefax, Geoff Neill, Geoffrey Riutta, Ghost6442,
Giacomo, Gian Luca, Gianluca, Gianluca, gianmabbo, Gianni Dalmasso,
Gianni Negrini, Giorgia Odino, Giorgio Catenacci, Giorgio Tentella, Giovanni
Beghini, Giovanni Scardellato, Giulia Cursi, Giuliano Gianfriglia, Giuliano
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can’t think of a good name., I. J. Dean, Iacopo Frigerio, Ian, Ian, Ian McFarlin,
Ice-Dream, Ido, Ignasi Dalmau Llorca, Imperor, Irene, Isaac King, Ivan
Brutto, Ivan Valenti, Ivano, J.T., JA Lopa, Jack Xii Daniels, Jackpot13666,
Jackson Brantley, Jackson Fouracre, Jacob Brown, Jacob Flint, Jacopo,
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Smiley, Joan Julia Trias, Joe Dunn, John A Walz and Katie Walz, John D
A 349
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John Taber, Johnny Parker, JohnPreest, Jon Cockeram, Jon Hygom Gislason,
jonathan, Jonathan Jimenez, Jonathan K. Wolosky, Jonathan Leslie, Jordan,
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Hansen, La Ge, Laura Cardinale, Laura M, Lauren McLemore, Laurence
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Lisa Padol, Lorenzo, Lorenzo, Lorenzo, Lorenzo Antognozzi, Lorenzo De
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Loris Denny La Notte, Luca, Luca, Luca, Luca, Luca, Luca Centanini, Luca
Iuliucci, Luca Lanzillo, Luca Papagna, Luca Piccinini, Luca Vibrante, lucabrl,
Lucas Blomme, Mackenzie Thomas, Malbet, Mana Project Studio, Manuel
Del Bono, Manuel milan, manuele, Marcel Hauptmann, Marcello, Marcello,
Marcello Realdon, Marcelo Morales, Marco, Marco, Marco, Marco, Marco,
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sassi, Marco Savoldelli, Marco Ugolini, Marco Urizzi, Marco Valgimigli,
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Parker, Mark Rutjes, Mark Watson, Martin Opravil, Martina, Martina
Fusaro, Martina Moscoloni, Martino, Marvin Hilpert, Masahiro Odaka, Matt
Penn, Matt Ross, Matt Schwarz, Matteo, Matteo, Matteo, Matteo, matteo,
Matteo, Matteo Barbero, Matteo Bisanti, Matteo Boffadossi, Matteo
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Matteo Magnone, Matteo Mantovanelli, Matteo Merignati, Matteo
Scandolin, Mattheus Sookoo, Matthew A Herrboldt, Matthew Aaron,
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Matthew Willms, Mattia, Mattia, mattia bruno, Mattia Crotti, Maurizio
Maltoni, Mauro, Mauro Albanesi, Max Krembs, MayEti9598, Mechafox,
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Olocco, Mike Fatum, Mike W, MikeGutierrez, Mildra The Monk, miles
husbands, Mirko Campagna, Mirko Paradisi, Mirko Pomella, Mirko
Sacchetti, Mirko Savoia, Mitchell Portarianos, Moranion, Moreno, Morgen
Gabe, moro, MoroArt, Mr.World, MRDILU, Myrrien, N DeVita, Natalie
Woolaver, Navarre, Nazar4iki, Nazareno Binasco, Nerdy, Nic Diaz, Nicholas
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Nicolò Casarotto, Nikolas Foschini, NilfalTap, nilo_core, Noah Rosa,
A 350
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CrescinBeni, Paolo Bianchi, PaoloSpaziosi, parg, Pat Lyon, Patrice
Mermoud, Patrick Herlihy, Patrick Higgins, Patrick Ledet, Patrick St-
Laurent, Patrick Wright, Paul Beakley, Penni Walker, Penny for a Tale,
Peter Holland, Peter Woodworth, Phillip Sacramento, Pieralberto Cavallo,
Pierluca, Pierluigi Lattaro, Pietro, Pietro, Pietro Bianchi, Pietro Caruso,
Pinkopulcino, pmass, Rachel, Raeden2020, Raffaele Spaterna,
randomcitizenx, Randy Pinion, raul, Red Ed, Ricardo, Riccardo, Riccardo,
Riccardo Ferretti, Riccardo Mariotti, Riccardo Sassi, Riccardo Siligato,
Riccardo Vacirca, Richard Wilson III, Rigoberto Jorges, Rob Furzeland,
Robbert Moore, Robert Galonski, Robert John Ruthven, Roberto, Roberto,
Roberto, Roberto, Roberto, Roberto Codato, Roberto De Luca, Roberto
Giacco, Robin Uney, Rodolfo Mastrapasqua, Rodrigo Heathcliff Villanueva,
Romualdo, ron beck, Roxicity, Roy Burns, Rrok Anrolle, Ryan, Ryan, Ryan
Black, Ryan Borowski, Ryan Looker, Ryan Stansberry, Sala’Daus, Sam
Jones, samuele, Samuele Barbarossa Nicotra, Sand, Sandro Impastato,
Sanji80, Sara, Sascha Beyer, Saverio Binetti, Scott gray, Sean, Sebastian,
Sebastian Cuellar, Sebastiano Rosa, Sergio Trenna, Seth Ero, Shachihoko,
shai, Silvio E. Poma, Simona, Simone Bonavita, Simone Da Ros, Simone Di
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Simone Tentori, SimoTheWise, Sinoce, Skylar S., Sledi, SmallRedRobin13,
Snarkayde (Philip), Spacelord Pajamas, Spriggan51, Stef.illa, Stefan
Bridges, Stefano, Stefano Bellaria, Stefano Chiappella, Stefano Lima,
Stefano Manfredini, Stefano Rivolta, Stefano Scaglione, Stefano Stradaioli,
Steven Estes, Suguru Oikawa, Sunjumper, Taiga Brenerman, Taldoz,
Tanked134, TaroTartare, Taylor Smith, Teatermenneske, Tebra Hansing,
Teemu Helasharju, Tekko02, Tendero, Terth, The Creative Fund by
BackerKit, The World Anvil Publishing, TheChoice, TheMysteriousGX, Theo,
Theo P., TheRainmaker, Tim Bartlett, Tim Davis, Tim Gonzalez, Tomaso
Iozzelli, Tomasz Czuma, Tommaso, Tommaso, Trenta Eddie, Trip Space-
Parasite, Triskeldeian, Tuan Rajap, Tuan Vo, Tucker Williamson, Ture
Westlund, Ty Madden, Tyler Hoff, tytonthedruid@gmail.com, Uddina,
Unnecessary_Pixels, Valentina, Valerio Bianchi, Valerio Bianconi, Valerio
Votadoro, ValerioLuigi Montervino, Valtry Valtriani, Vanessa, VanVought,
VerdeD4, Verdestrom, VictorRodrik, Viktor Superbus Perez, Vinc, Vincenzo
Junior Mancuso, Vincenzo Mergola, Vitor Castro, WaterDemyx, Will,
Winterfox, Wulfrick98, Xavier, yosshi12, Younci Denis, Yukiko San, Z3alot,
Zach, Zach Easterly, zasabi, ZioJS, 賴哲偉, 黎璧賢
A 351
Game materials
TYou can find all game materials (Curriculum, Threat sheets, Location
sheets, Campaign sheets, etc.) on our website:
https://fumblegdr.it
Distributed in Italy by MS Edizioni / Magic Store s.r.l.
https://msedizioni.it/
Physical Corebook ISBN: 978-88-32117-25-7
Digital Corebook ISBN: 978-88-32117-26-4
352

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Knights of the Round: Academy is a heavily narrative role-playing

game inspired by Shonen anime, ‘90s super and real robot

Your Student, that is to say, player character, is defined by their

Art Direction and layout

Lineages, Job and Knight illustrations

Knights of the Round: Academy is published by

This manual is issued under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 IT.

You can find free game materials on our website https://fumblegdr.it

First Edition: May 2022

Stampato da: XXX

The role of Affinity 169

The Knights 191

The world of Brit’an 197

Location Sheet 215

The Round Academy 223

Life in the Academy 241

The Academy’s motto 246

The war for Brit’an 249

Threats and Phases 290

Session Zero 297

The First Scene 309

The Opening 313

KotR:A is a storytelling game where:

B Pilots are one with their mechas

The game takes place as a conversation between the storyteller

The conversation consists of a back and forth between the

Use the list below as inspiration for other stories.

B The ancient world is full of mystery, dangers and power which

B Becoming an adult is not easy: the Academy’s Students will explore

B Destiny is not set in stone: no prophecy can deny the doggedness

Before arriving at Student orientation, you will find the main

02. Choose your Lineage

03. Write your Core

04. Write your Soul

05. Write your first Traits

06. Write your Flaw

07. Write your Nemesis

08. Choose your first Job

09. Mark Limit and Overdrive

10. Write the name of your Knight

11. Write the Frame of your Knight

12. Write your Kin Spirit

I’m GALLAD, an AVALONIAN of ANCIENT BLOOD. My Core is FIRE. My Soul is that of an

My Flaw is that I FEEL I DON’T BELONG. MyNemesis is AGGRO VAIN.

My Knight is CORBENIK, its Frame is a LANCER.

My Kin Spirit is NIMUE.

You will need to use your Student’s Name to:

B Attend a class roll call

B Understand your Student’s family

B Use your reputation, or your family’s, as a Trait during a Test

B Re-roll dice once per Session (as a normal Memory)

A Knight should have a name, usually in English, that recalls an aspect of

B Lotte / Lance (Lancelot) B Lionheart (Caerleon)

B Percy (Parsifal) B Camm Rann (Camlann)

B Gallad (Galahad) B Mount Bad’on (Badon)

B Aggro Vain (Agravain) B Tech Dome (Tech Duinn)

B Uriel (Urien) B Tintajet (Tintagel)

B Gwen (Gawain) B Stone’s Edge (Stonehenge)

B Kaine (Kay) B Wasteland

B Izzy (Isolde) B Narrow Borderland

B Triss Tam (Tristan)

B Mor Dread (Mordred)

B dr. Merlin (Merlin)